Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-08-15
COMMON SENSE.
SAINTS oUTWITTED By sIKEERs
tTalmAse Says Moro ~ it n Wanted
In MasseRs os Rslielon,

Hght1St Luap xvi, 8 ...
That Is nnothar way Of saying that Chris
tians are not 60 Gkillful in The msnipulation Of
spiritual Affairs a. worldhngs are slnIlful IN
the management Of temporalities. Isas all
around me people who are alert earnest, con-
ceptreted and Skiilful In monetary matters,
who. In the affairs Of the soul. af0 laggards
inaps, inert. ~.,,- 6
Ths greet want Of this world b rnore.com-
mon sense in matters OF religion. II one-hali
OF tho skill and forcefulness employed in
nnaneihl affairs were employed In disssninat-
ing the truths Of Christ, and trying TO make
the world better, within ten years the Last
juggeEnaut would foil, the last throne Of op-
preston upset. the last iniguity tumble, and
the anthem that was chanted over Bsthlaham
ON Christmas night would be echoed and re-
echosd from all nations and kindred and
pecple: 'falory to God In the highest and
op earth peace, good viii TO men
) Some years ago, ON train going toward
the southwest, as the porter Of the sleeping
car was making up the berths al the evening
tide, / saw q man knee down to pray.
Worldly people in the car looked On, as much
asto say: What does this meanr Isup-
pose The most Of the people in the car thought
that man was either insane or that he was Q
taAatic; but he disturbed no one when he
HAsAANt utAu uAbeaA W. OdO WIiUu ne oNOtld.
lnattcr conversation with him ] found out
that he was msmber Of . church in my own
city, that he was q seafearing man, and
thst he Yves on bis way to New Or
leaAs to take command Of o veesei I
thought then, as think now, that ten such
uian-snnen with guch courage for God a. that
tnan had-WouN bring the whole city to
Christ; q thoassnd such fnan would bring this
TAoae land TO God; ten thousand such men,
m Q short time, would bring the whols earth
Int2 the Kingdom Of JesuG That he was sue
eesIful In worldly Affairs found out. That
heSgas skinfu In spiritual affairs you arc
Noh persuaded. II men had the courage the
kIndk, the alertness. the aeumsn, the Indus
~, the coznno0 sense in matters Of tie soul
Hiet fhsy havein earthly matters, this would
eaTery different kind Of woEld TO 1--we in
FSIn the first ple,e we want more common
kepse IN the building and conduct OF churches.
Itie idea CT the adaptivoness is always para
tacuiat in any other kind OF structure. II
bankers meet together and they resolve upon
prtting up q bank, the bank Is especially
ndepted to banking purposes; IL Q manu-
featuring company put UP o building, IL Is to
he adapted to manufacturing purposes; but
hdaptiVemsss is not always the question in
Ehe roaring OF chnrehes. In many Of our
Ehnrches We want more light more
room, moro ventilation, more comfort. Vast
GUMS 0f money are expended On ecclekf0sScal
tfhcturss, and meA sit down In thena, and
you ask q man how h0 likes the church; he
Ays: II like It very well, but can't hear"
AS, though shawl factory were good for
Everything but making shAMis. The voice
q the preacher daShaS against the pillars
Men Gt down under the shadows OF the
EVtiSc arches and shiyer, and feel they must
hBgetipg religion, or something olse, they
tael so uncomfortable. .. -,
10 my friends, we want moro common sense,
lp the rearing Of churches. There is NO. ex-
ctee Tor lack Of Light when the heavens are
full Of II, no exeuse for lack Of fresh air
when the world swins In 1t. Il ought to be
an expreBsion not only Of ou spiritual hap
iifnssS but Of our physical comfort, when wo
Eay: "HCw amisble are Thy tabernacles, o
Lord God Of Hostsl A day in Thy courts Is
bett@ than thousand"
sEAgain Ireaark: We want more common
Eense In the obtaining of religious hope. All
men understand that In order to succeed in
worldly directions they must concentrate.
They think On that onesubject until their
mind takes fire with the velocity Of their own
thoughts. All their aeumen, all their strategy,
oil their wisdom, al their common sense, they
put in that one direction and they succeed.
But how seldom il Is true in the matter of
seeking after God. While no man expects to
accomplish anything for this world without
concantration and enthusiasm, how many
there are expecting after awhile to get into
the kingdom Of God without the use of
any such means. A miller in Califor-
nia, many years ago, held up sparkle
Of gold until 1t bewitched nations
homes. They took their blankets and their
pickaxes and their pistols and went to the
wilds Of California. Cities sprang up sud-
denly on the Pacific coast. Merchants put
aside their elegant apparel and put on the
miners garb. All the land was full Of tho
talk about gold. Gold in the eyes, gold in
the ears, gold in the wake Of ships, gold in
the streets-gold, gold, gold. Word comes
10 us that the mountain of Gods love is full Of
bright treasure; that men have been Dig
ging there, and have brought up gold, and
amethyst, and carbuDcle, and jasper, and
sardonyx, and chrysoprasus, and oil tbs pre-
cious stones out Of which the walls Of heaven
were buiided. Word comes of a man who,
digging in that mine for one hour, has
brought up treasures worth more than
all the stars thnt keep vigil over our
sick and dying world. Is It a bogus
company that is formed? Is it unde-
veloped territory Oh no, the story is true.
There are thousands Of people in this audience
who would be willing to rise and testify thai
they have discovered that gold. and have il
In their possession. Notwithstanding all this
what Is the circumstances? One would sup
pose that the announcement would send peo
pie In great excitement up and down oul
streets. That OF midnight men woult
knock at your door, asking how
they may get those treasures. In
stead Of that, many Of us put our hands be
hind our back and walk up and down In front
of the mine of eternal riches, and say: !''Well
If am to be saved, will be saved; and if
am to be damed, I will be damned, and there
is nothing to do about it" Why, my broth
or, do You not do that way in business mat
tiers? Why do you not tomorrow go to youl
store and sit down and fold your arm
and say: "If these goods are to be sold
they will be sold, and if they are not to b,
sold, they will not be sold; there is nothing
for me to dO about it." No, you dispatch
your agents, you print your advertisements
you adorn your show windows, you pusl
those goods, You use the instrumentality
Oh that men were as wise in the matter O
ths soul as they are wise in the matter O.
dollars and centsi This doctrine O
Gods sovereignty, how it is misquotet
and spoken Of as though it were az
iron chain which bound us hand anG
foot for time and for eternity, when
50 far from that in every fiber Of yonl
body, in every faculty Of your mind, il
every passion Of your soul, you ore {
free man andit is no more matter of FIRE,
choice whether you will tomorrow n
abroad or stay at home, than it is thi
moment q matter of free choice whether
you will accept Christ or reject Him
In all the army of banners there is not on,
conscript Men are not to be dragooned int
heaven. Among all the tens of thousands o
the Lords soldiery there is not one, man bu,
will tell you: Il chose Christ. WANTED Him
Idesired to be in His service, am not q con
script-I am volunteer" Oh, that men bad
the same common sense in the masters Of. re
ligion that they have i'm the matters OF th,