The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-09-11

come when God will SIT down upon the
white throne to see the world weighed
and one side Will be the worlds opportu-
mites and on the other side the worlds
sins. Down will 90 the sins and away
will 60 the opportunities, and God will
say to the messengers with the torch !:
Burn that world Weighed and found
wantingw
So God will weigh churches. He takes
a great church. That great church, ac-
cording to the worldly estimate, must be
weighed. He puts it on one side the bal
ances, and the minister and the choir and
the building cost us hundreds of thou
sands of dollars. He puts them on one
side the balances. On the other side OF
the scale He puts what that church ought
to be, what its conservation ought to be-
what its sympathy for the poor ought to
be, what its devotion to all good ought to
he. That is on one side. That side comes
down, and the church, not being able to
stand the test, rises in the balances. 1t
does not make any difference about your
magnificent machinery. A church is
built for one thing-to save souls. II it
saves few souls when it might save
multitude of souls, God will spew it out Of
His mouth. Weighed and found wanting
So God estimates nations. How many
times He has put the Spanish monarchy
into the scales and found it insufficient
and condemned it. The French empire
was placed on one side the scales and God
weighed the French empire, and Napoleon
said: "Have [ not enlarged the boule-
wards? Did 1 not kindle the glories of the
Champs Elysees? Have l not adorned
the Tuilleries? Have | not built the gilded
81 Than God watched tho
nation, and he put on one side the scales
the emperor, and the boulevards, and the
Tuilleries, and the Champs Elysees, and
the gilded opera-hOuse, and on the other
side He puts that mans denominations,
that mans libertinism, that mans selfish
ness, that mans Goddess ambition. This
last came down, and all the briliancy of
the scene vanished. What is that voice
coming up from Sedan? Weighed and
found wantingl
But l must become more individual and
more personal in my address. Some peo-
pie say they do not think clergymen ought
to be personal in their religious addresses,
but ought to deal with subjects in the alb
stract. | do not think that way. What
woU you think OF hunter who should
go t. he Adirondacks to shoot deer in the
abstract? All! no. He loads the gun, he
puts the butt of it against the breast, he
runs his eye along the barrel, he takes
sure aim, and then crash 60 the antlers on
the rocks. A-ad so, I We want TO be hunt
ers for the Lord, we must take sure aim
and fire. Not in the abstract are we to
treat things in religious discussions. If a
physician comes into sick room, does he
treat disease in the abstract? No; he
feels the pulse, takes the diagnosis, then
h. tho And VIC
want to heal souls for this life and the life
to come, we do not want to treat them in
the abstract. The fact is, you and l have
a malady which, if uncured by grace, will
kill us forever. Now, L want no abstrac-
ton. Where is the balm? Where is the
physician?
People say there is a day of judgment
coming. My friends, every day is day
of judgment, and you and to-day are be-
ing canvassed, inspected. weighed. Here
are the balances of the sanctury. They
are lifted, and we must all be weighed.
Who will come and be weighed first
Here is a moralist who volunteers. He is
one of the most upright men in the coun-
try. He comes. Well, my brother, get in
get into the balances now and be weighed.
But as he gets into the balances, / say
What is that bundle you have along with
YOU ?' "0h," he says, that is my repu
tation for goodness, and kindness, and
charity, and generosity, and kindliness
generally" 80, my brother! we cannot
weigh that; We are going to weigh you
YOU Now, stand in the scales-you, the
moralist Paid your debts ?" Eyes" you
say, "paid all my debts" ''Have you
acted in an upright way in the commun-
ity?" Eyes, yes" "Have you been kind
to the poor? Are you faithful in thou
sand relations in life?" eyes" $50 far.
so good. But now, before you get out of
this scale, | wan. to ask you two or three
questions. Have your thoughts always
been right?' NO." you say; no" Put
down one mark. "Have you loved the
Lord with all your heart, and soul, and
mind, and strength" NO." you say.
Make another mark. "Come, now, be
frank, and confess that in 10000 things
YOU have come short-have you not?'
Eyes" Make 10000 marks. Come, now,
get me book large enough to make a rec
ord of that moralist's deficits. My brother,
stand in the scales; do not fly away from
them. put on your side the scales all
the good deeds you ever did, all the kind
words YOU ever uttered; but on the other
side the scales | put this weight which
God saws / must put thereon the other
side the scales and opposite to yours put
this weight ''By the deeds OF the law
shall no flesh living be justified" Weighed
and found wanting.
Still, the balances of the sanctuary are
suspended, and we are ready to weigh any
who come. Who shall be the next?
Well. here is Journalist. He comes and
he gets into the balances, and as he gets
in see that all his religion is in genufex-
ions and in outward observances. As he
gets into the scales | say: What is that
You have in this pocket?" ''Oh :" he saws,
THAT is Westminster assembly catechism.
L say: every good. What have you in
the other pocket?" "Ohp he says, that
is the Heidelberg catechism. Every
good. What is that you have under your
arm, standing in this balance of the sane
tuary % ''Ohr' he says, that is a church
record" every good. What are these
books on your side the balances?" "Ohl"
he SAYS "those are 'Calvin's Institutes.
"My brother, we are not weighing books;
we are weighing you. 1t cannot be that
you are depending for your salvation upon
your orthodoxy. Do you not know that
the creeds and the forms of religion are
merely the scaffolding for the building?
You certainly are not going to mistake the