The Brookhaven leader., 1889-08-15

use the lnstrumentality. On, that men
were as wise in the matter of the soul as
they are wise in the matter of dollars and
cents! This doctrine of Gods sovereign
ty, how it is misquoted and spoken of as
though it were an iron chain which bound
us hand and foot for time and for eterni-
ty when, so far from that, in every fiber
of your body, in every faculty of your
mind, in every passion Of your soul, you
are free man, and it is no more a mat
ter of free choice whether you will to-
morrow go abroad or stay at home than
1t is this moment a matter of free choice
whether you will accept Christ or reject
Him.
In all the army of banners there is not
one cOnscript Men are not to be dra-
gooned into Heaven. Among all the tens
of thousands of the Lords soldiery there
is not one man but will tell you: II chose
Christ; wanted Him: desired to be in
His service; / am not a conscript-I am a
volunteer" Oh, that men had the same
common sense in the matters of religion
that they have in the matters of the world
the same concentration, the same push,
the same enthusiasm In the one case a
secular enthusiasm; in the other, a con-
secrated enthusiasm.
Again l remark: We want more COM
mon sense in the building up and enlarg-
ing of our Christian character. There are
men here who have for forty years been
running the Christian race. and they have
net run quarter of a mile! No business
man would be willing to have his invest
ments unaccumulative. If you invest a
dollar you expect that dollar to come
home bringing another dollar on its back.
What would you think of man who
should invest ten thousand dollars in a
monetary institution, then 60 off for five
years, make no inquiry in regard to the
investment, then come back step up to
the cashier of the institution, and say:
"Have you kept those ten thou
sand dollars safely that l lodged
with you?" but asking no ques-
ton about interest or dividend. Why.
you say, "That is not common sense"
Neither is it, but that is the way we act
in matters of the soul. We make q far
more important investment than ten
thousand dollars. We invest our soul.
Is it accumulative? Are we growing in
grace! Are we getting better? Are we
getting worse? God d 9clares many divi-
dends, but we do not collect them, we do
not ask about them, we do not want them.
Oh, that in this matter of accumulation
we are as wise in the matters of the soul
as we are in the matters of the world!
How little common sense in the read
ing of the Scriptures. We get any other
book and we open it and we say: "Now,
what does this book mean to teach me?
1t is book on astronomy; it will teach
me astronomy. 1t is book on political
economy; it will teach me political
economy" Taking up the Bible, do we
ask ourselves what it means to teach?
10 means to do just one thing: get the
world converted and get us all to Heaven.
That is what it proposes to do. But in
stead OF that we go into the Bible as
botanists to pick flowers, or we go as
pugilists to get something to fight other
Christians with, or we go as logicians
trying to sharpen our mental faculties for
better argument, and we do not like
this about the Bible and we do not like
that and we do not like the other thing.
What would you think of man lost on
the mountains? Night has come down,
he can not find his way home and he sees
light in a mountain cabin; he goes to
it, he knocks at the door; the mount
aineer comes out and finds the traveller
and says:
u
take it and it will guide you on the way
hone," and suppose that man should say:
'Idon't like that lantern; L don't like the
handle of it; there are ten or fifteen
things about it don't like. If you can't
give me a better lantern than that won't
have any,"
Now, God says this Bible is to be
lamp to our feet and q lantern to our
fn ne thpnnnh fbea MI lniC of
this world to the gates of the celestial
city. We take hold of it in sharp criti-
cism, and deprecate this and deprecate
that. Oh. how much wiser we would be
if by it's holy light we found our way to
our everlasting home!
How little we use common sense in
prayer! We say: "Oh, Lord, give me
this" and "Oh, Lord, give me that" and
"Oh, Lord, give me something else," and
we do not expect to get it, or, getting it,
we do not know we have it, We have no
anxiety about it. We do not watch and
wait for its coming. AS merchant, you
telegraph or you write to some other city
for bill of goods. You say: Send me
by such express, or by steamer, or by
such a rail train" The day arrives. You
send your wagon to the depot or to the
wharf. The goods do not come. You
Immediately telegraph:
"What is the matter with those goods?
We haven't received them. Send them
right away. We want them now, or We
don't want them at ALL" And you keep
writing and you keep telegraphing, and
you keep sending your wagon to the
depot, or to tie express Office, or to the
wharf. until you get the goods.
In matterS of religion we are not so
wise as that. We osk certain things to
whether they come or not. We have not
any special anxiety as to whether they
come ornot. We may get them and may
not get them. Instead of at seven O'Clock
in the morning saying: "Have got that
blessing!" at twelve O'Clock MONDAY
saying: "Have 1 got that blessing?" at
seven O'Clock in the evening saying:
"Have received that blessing?" and not
getting it, pleading, pleading-begg ging,
asking until you get it.
Now, my brethren, is not that common
sense? If we ask thing from God. who
has sworn by His eternal throne that He
will do that which we ask, is it not COM
mon sense that we should watch and wait
until We get it:
But l remark again: We want more
common sense in doing good. How many
people there are who want to do good
and yet are dead failures? Why is it?
They do not exercise the same tact, the
same ingenuity, the same stratagem, the
same common sense in the work of Christ
that they do in worldly things. Other
wise they would succeed in this direction
as we'll as they succeed in the other.