Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-09-12

! thousands Of dollars he puts them on one
side the balances. On the other side OF
the scale be puts what that church ought
to be, what its sympathy for the poor
| ought to be, what its devotion to all good
ought to be. That Is on one side. That
side comes down. and the church not being
| able to stand the test rises in the balances.
It does not make any difference about
your magnificent machinery. church
| is built for one thing-to save souls. IL 1t
saves a 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'll The French Empire
/ was placed on one side the scales. and
| God weighed the French Empire, and
Napoleon said: Have l not enlarged
the boulevards? Did 1 not kindle the
glories of the Champs Elyseesl Have
l not adorned the Tuileries! Have
not built the guided opera houseW
Then God weighed the nation, and He
put on one side the scales the Emperor,
and the boulevards. and the Tuileries,
and the Champs Elysees, and the gilded
opera house, and on the other side He puts
that mans denominations, that mans lib
ertinism, that mans selfshness, that
mans goddess ambition. This last came
down, and all the brilliancy of the scene
vanished. What is that voice coming up
from Sedan: Weighed and found want
| ingi
But 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 adj
dress, but ought to deal with subjects in
the abstract. l do not think that way.
What would you think of hunter who
should go to the 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 aim and then crash go the antlers
on the rocks. And so. il we want to be
hunters for the Lord, we must take sure
aim and fire. Not in the abstract are We to
treat things in religious discussions. If
physician comes into a sick room does he
treat disease in the abstract? No; he
feels the pulse, takes the diagnosis, then
he makes the prescription And il we
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
have a malady which, if uncured by
grace, will kill US forever. Now / want
no abstraction. 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 1 to-day are
being canvassed, inspected, weighed
Here are the balances Of the sanctuary.
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 up
right men in the country. He comes.
Well, my brother, get in-get in the bal
ances now and be weighed. But as he
gets into the balance, l say: What is
that bundle you have along with you"
20" he says, that is my reputation for
goodness, and kindness, and charity and
generosity, and kindliness generally"
30 my brother! we can not weigh that;
we are going to weigh you-you. Now
stand in the scales-you, the moralist "
Paid your debts?" YES" you say,
paid all my debts" ''Have you acted in
an upright way in the community" Eyes.
yes" Have you been kind to the poor?
Are you faithful in a thousand rela-
tions in life!" Yes" so far, so
good. But now, before you get out of
this scale, l want 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 ten thousand things
you have come short-have you nct?'
IL (N,rrna
now, get me book large enough to make
the record 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 says must put thereon the
other side the scales and opposite to yours
1 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 1 see
that all his religion is in genufections and
outward observances. As he gets into the
scales say: ''What is that you have in
this pocket" "Ow he says, that is
Westminster Assembly Catechism."
say: every good. What have you in the
the other pocket" "O!" he says, 'that
is the Heidelberg Catechism" Very good.
What is that you have under your arm,
standing in this balance of the sanctuary
cop says he, that is church record. y
Very good. What are these books on
your side the balances?" sop he says
those are Calvin's Institutes"
my brother, we are not weighing books.
we are weighing you. 1t can not be that
you are depending for your salvation upon
your orthodoxy. Do you not know thai
the creeds and the forms of religion are
merely the scaffolding of the buildingi
You certainly are not going to mistake
the scaffolding for the temple. Do you
know that men have gone to perditior
with a catechism in their pocket" But y
saws the man, II cross myself often.'
"Ah! that will not save you" But
says the man, 81 am sympathetic for the
DOOR" That will not save you" Says
the man, 81 sat at the communion table. .
THAT will not save you" "But" says
the man, 81 have had my name od the
church record" ''That will not save
youo "But l have been a professor Of
religion forty years" THAT will moi
save you" Stand there on your sids
the balances and l will give you
the ADVANTAGE will let you have
all the creeds, all the church rec.
ords, all the Christian conventions thai
were ever held, all the communion tables
that were ever built on your side the bal
ances. On the other side the balances
must put what God says 1 must put there. .
put this million pound weight on the
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