Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-08-16

ao%s' you push those goods, YOU use
the lhstrumentality. On that men were
as Wise In the matters of the soul os
they are wise in the matters of dollars
anu cents! This doctrine of Gods soyer-
elShty. how it is misquotel and spoken
OF as though it We're an iron chain
winch bound us hand and foot Tor time
anu LOT eternity, when. so far from thnt.
!. IN every fiber of your body, in every
4acuty OF your mind, in every passion
OF Your soul, You are a free man and it
Is no more matter of free choice
whether you will Tomorrow 90
abroad or stay at home, than il is this
moment matter of free choice whether
you will accept Christ or reject him, Tn
al he army OF banners there is not one
conscrlpt. Men are not to be draeooped
INTO Heaven. Among all the tens of
thousands of the Lords soldiery there
Is not one man but will tell YOU: Il
chose Christ; wanted him; desired to
De III HIS service; [ am not conscript-
am volunteer" Oh that men hadthe
same common sense in the matters of re-
iiglon that they have in the matters of
the world the same concentration, the
same push, the same enthusiasm! In
the one case secular enthusiasm; in
the other concentrated enthusiasm.
again L remark: We want more COM
mon sense in the building up and en-
aarslng of our Christian character.
Inere are men here who have for forty
years been running the Christian race,
and they have not run quarter of a
mile!
+, No business man would be willing to
nave his investments unaccumulatiye.
Ii You invest q dollar YOU expect that
doNasSto come home bringing another
dollar On its back. What would YOU
think OF a man who should invest ten
thousanf dollars in monetary institu-
ton, theh go off for five years, make no
inquiry n regard to the investment,
then CONF back, step up to the cashier
OF the lnltltution and say: Have you
kept thofe ten thousand dollars safely
that logged with you?" but asking no
question: about interest or about diyi-
dend. Why, you say, That is not COM
mon senfe. Neither is it, but that is
the way We act in matters of the soul.
we MAXI far more important invest
ment thfn ten thousand dollars. We in
vest ou4soul. Is it accumulative? Are
we growing in grace? Are we getting
better? Are we getting worse? God de-
clares flany dividends, but we do not
collectFhem, We do not ask about them,
matterPf accumulation we were 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 fFhe Scriptures! We get any other
book dnd We open it and we say: Nov.
what does this book mean to teach me?
1t is book on astronomy; it will teach
me astronomy. It is a book on political
economy; it will teach me political econ
omy. Taking up the Bible, do we ask
ourselves what it means to teach? 1t
meansto 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, e go into the Bible as
botanists to pick flowers, or we go as
pugilists to get something to fight othe,
Christians with, OF we go as logicians
trying to sharpen our mental faculties
for better argument, andwe 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 Oh
the mountains? Night has come down.
he cannot find his way home and he sees
light in a mountain cabin; he goes tc
it., he knocks at the door; the noun
| taineer comes out and finds the traveller
and says: We'll, here [ have lantern
! y6u can take it and it will guide you OF
the way home;" and suppose that maj
! shpld say: Il don't like that lantern
didn't like the handle of it, there ar,
ten or fifteen things about it don't like
if YOU can't give me better lantern thar
} thai won't have any,"
Now, God says this Bible is to be {
, lamp to our feet and lantern to ou1
path, to guide us through the midnigh
/ of this world to the gates of the celes-
tial city. We take hold of it in SHARP
criticism, and deprecate this, and dep.
recate that. Oh, how much wiser We
} would be if by its holy light we found
our way to our everlasting home!
Then we do not read the Bible as We
read other books. We read it perhaps
four or five minutes just before we re.
so somnolent we hardly know which enc
of the book is up. We drop our eye:
perhaps on the story of Samson and the
foxes, or upon some genealogical table
important in its place, but stirring nc
more religious emotion than the an.
nouncement that somebody begat some.
body else and he begat somebody else
instead of opening the book and saying
Now must read for my immortal life
My eternal destiny is involved in this
book"
How little we use common sense ii
prayer! We say: "Oh, Lord, give me
this. and "Oh, Lord, give me that, ano
"Oh, Lord, give me something else, anc
we do not expect to get it, or getting it.
, we do not know we have it. We have nc
anxiety about it. We do not watch ane
wait for its coming.
AS merchant, you telegraph or yor
, write to some other city for bill Of
goods. You say: Send me by such ex-
press, or by such steamer or by such 6
rail train. The day arrives. You sen5
your wagon to the depot or to the wharf
The goods do not come. You imme.
diately 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 tele-
graphing, and you keep sending your
wagon to the depot, or to the express
office. or to the wharf, until you get the
goods.
In matters of religion we are not sc
| wise as that. We ask certain things te
be sent from Heaven. We do not know
whether they come or not. We have not
any special anxiety as to whether they
; come or not. We may get them and may
not get them. Instead Of at o'clock in
!. the morning saying: Have l got that
blessing?" at II o'clock MONDAY, ask
l. I ,,frp" of