The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-09-02

torch: Burn [ at world weighed and
found wantingr
So God will weigh churches. He takes a
great church. That great church, accord
ing to the world estimate, must be weighed.
He puts it O O e ide the balances. aud the
minister and the choir ami the building that
cost its hundreds Of thOus n Is OF dollars.
He puts them on one side the balances. On
the other side Of SC ale he puts what tnat
church on yht o be, wlat its conservation
ought u be, what sympathy for the poor
ought TO be, what its devotion TO all goo
ought 70 be. That is on one side
That side mes down. and the
church, not beng able to stand the
test. rises in the balances. 1t does not
make any difference about YOUR ma ,nlfi-
cent machinery. a chui en- is built Tor one
thing-to save souls. If 1t sa es a few soul,
when it might save multitude of souls,
God will spew it out of hi, mouth. Weighed
and found wantingl So God estimates ma
tons. How many times he has put tle
Snanis1 monarchy into the scales nd found
il insufficient and condemned it, The
French empire was placed on one slds tn
scales, and God weighed the Ere lch empire,
and Napoleon said: Have / not enlarge
the boulevardsl Did l not kindle tne giori s
of the Champs Elysees. Have ! not adj rne |
the Tuile les! Have | not built the gilded
opera houser Then God weighed the
emperor. and the boulev rds and the Tuile
les, and the Champs Elyse-s. and the gilded
opera house, and on the other he puts tina
mans abominatiols, that mans Ibertlnlsin N,
that mans selfshness, that mans goddess
ambition This last came down, I'd all
the brilhancy Of the scene vanished. What
is that voice coming up from the Sedant
Weighed and found wantngl
But ! must become more individual AMI
al IN m SOma T1p
say they do not think rlergymen o lgnt to
be personal in their religions address, bu
ought to deal with subjects in the stract.
do not think that way. What y uld you
think OF a hunter who should 60 b the
Adirondacks TO shoot deer IN the abstract!
All, no. He loads the gun, he puts the butt
of it against tue brea t, he runs ete
alo, the barrel, he takes sure aim, and
then crash go the a tiers on the rocks.
And so, if we wart to be hunters for the
Lord, we must take sure aim and fire. Net
in the abstract are We to treat things III
religious discussions. II physical comes
into a sick room, does he treat diseases in
the abstract! NJ; he feels the pulse, takes
the diagnosis, then he makes the prescrip-
ton. And if we want to heal souls for is
life and the life to come, we do not want to
treat them in the abstract. The fact is,
you and | have malady which, if uncured
by grace, viii Kill u forever. Now, wan,
no abstraction. Where is the balml Where
is the physiciapl
People say there is a day of Judgment
coming. My friends, every day is a d y OF
Judgment, and you and to-day are bel &
canvassed, inspected, weighed. Here are
the balances of the sanctuary. They @
lifted, and we must all be weighed. W.
will come and be weighed firstl
Here is a moralist who volu iteers. He Is
one of the most upright men in the country
he comes Well, my brother, get in-get
into the balaac now, and be weighed
But as he gets into the balances, l say:
''What is hat bundle you have along wit
your ooh, he says, 'that is my reputa
ZION for goodness, and kind less, and char
itY, and generosity, a ID kndhuess gener-
ally" 90. my brother! we cannot weign
that; we are going to weigh you
you. Now, stand in the scales-you, the
moralist. Paid your debtsF' Yes" you
say, paid all my debts" Have you acted
in an upright way in the community
Yes, yes.n Have you been kind to the
poorl Are you fai hful in a thou sand re-
lations in lifep' Yes" $50 far, so good
But now. before you get out of this scale,
want to ask you Two or three questions.
Have your thoughts always been right e.
NO you say; mo- Put dow one mark
'Have you loved the Lord with all your
heart, and soul, and mi d, and strengthP
NO" you say. Make another mark
Come now, be frank, and confess that in
ten thousand things you have come short
have you notN "Nes." Make ten
thousand marks. Come now, get me "a
book large enough 10 make the record of
that moralist's deficits. NY brother, stand
in the scales; do not fly away from them
l put ON your side the scales all the good
deeds YOU ever did. all tie kind word you
ever uttered; but on the other side the
scales put tins weight which God says |
must put thereon the other side the scale,
and oppos 10 to yours | put this weight;
''By the deeds of the law shall no flesh living
be Justified" Weighed and found want
ing.
Still, the balances of the sanctuary are
suspended, and we are ready to weigh any
who come. Who shall be The nexta Well
here is O Journalist. He comes and he gets
into the balances, and as he gets l see
that all his religion is in genufiexions and in
outward observances. As he gets into the
scales say; Nv nat is that you nave in this
pocketW "Ohm he says, "that is West
minister Assembly Ca;echism." l say
Very good. What have you il
the other pocketl' "Ohp he says
"that IS the Heidelberg Cate
chism.n Very good. What is thai
you have under your arm, standing in thi.
balance OF the sanctuaryP "Ohn ne say
UOO0
What are these books on your side tn,
balaaces~ our he says, chose are Cal
wins Institutes. my brother, we a
not weighing books; we are weighing you
1t cannot be that you are depe ding 70
your salvation u"on your or thod Ky d,
you not know that the creeds ami the form
of religion are merely the scatf Jlding 70
the buildinRs You certainly are not goinj
to mistake the scatfoiding for the temple
DO yuu not know a. men nave gone Il
perdiuon with catechism in their pocket!
But" says the man, II cross my>el
often.n "Ahl that will not save YOU
''But, says the man, II am sympathetic
for the poor" THAT will not save YOU
Says the man, 81 sat at the commu iol
table" That will not save you" But.
says the man, II have had my name o. tn
church record" That will not say
you" But | have been a profe ,sor O
religion forty years" "That will no
save you. Sta ID tere on your sid
the balances, and | will give you tn
advantage will let you have all til
creeds, all the church records, all the chri
tian conventions that we're ever held, a
the communion tables that were ever built
on your side the balances On the othe
side the balances | must put what God sa
l must put there. | put this million-poun
weight on the other side the balances
"Having the form of goodness, but deny
ing the power thereof. From such tur
away" Weighed and found wantlngl
Still the balances are suspended. Al
there any others who would like to b
weighed or who will be weiohed2 Va,