The Red Cloud chief., 1892-11-25
Juggernaut down. Golden col

0OWu
But, my friends. every day Is a day
Of Judgment, and God Is all the time
grinding To pieces the golden calf.
Merchants OF Brooklyn and New York
and London. what IL the characteristic
of this time in which we live? bad"
you say. Professional men, what il the
characteristic of the times in which we
live? Bad" you say. Though
should be in n minority of one, I ven
ture the opinion that these arc the bes,
times we have had for reason that God
Is teaching the world, as never before,
that old~-fashioned honesty Is the only
thing that will stand. We have learned
as never before that forgeries will not
pay; that the spending Of ESQ, 600
on country seats and a
palatial city residence, when there
are only $1,000 income, will not
pay; that the appropriation Of trust
funds TO our w private speculation
will not pay. We had n great national
tumor, in the shape of fictitious pros.
perity. We called IL national enlarge
ment; instead OF calling IL enlargement,
we might better have called it a SWELL
ing. 1t has been a tumor, and God Is
cutting 1t out--has cut it out, and the
nation will get well and will come back
to h principles of our fathers and
g~randfathers when twice three make
six instead Of sixty, and when the an
pies mt the bottom of the barrel were
just as good rs the apples on the top Of
the barrel, and "a silk handkerchief was
not half cotton, and a man who wore n
five-dollar coat paid for was more hon.
ored than n man who wore a ~ffty-dollar
coat not paid for.
The golden calf OF our day, like the
n OF the text, Is very apt TO be made
out OF borrowed gold. These Israelites
OF the text borrowed the earrings of
the Egyptians and then melted them
into n god. That is the way the golden
calf il made nowadays. A great manv
housekeepers, not paying for the arti-
cles they get, borrow OF the grocer aud
the baker aud tho butcher and the dry
goods seller. Then the retailer borrows
OF the wholesale dealer. Then the
wholesale dealer borrows of the capital.
list, and we borrow, and borrow, and
borrow until the community is divided
into w classes, those who borrow and
those who are borrowed of; and
after awhile the capitalist wants
his money and rushes upon the whole.
dealer, and the wholesale dealer
wants his money and rushes upon the
retailer, and the retailer wants his
money and rushes upon the customer.
and we all so down together. There is
many % man In this day who rides in q
carriage and owes the blacksmith for
the tire, and the wheelwright for tho
wheel, and the trimmer for the curtain,
the driver for unpaid wages, and
the harness maker for the bridle, and
h furrier for the robe, while from the
tip OF the carriage tongue clear back to
the tip of the shawl fluttering out Of
the back Of the vehicle. everything il
paid for by notes that have been three
times renewed.
1t Is this temptation to borrow, and
borrow, and borrow, that keeps the
people everlastingly praying to the
cali for help, and just at the
they expect the help the golden
calf treads on them. The Judgments
OF God, like Moses in the text, will rush
In and break up this worship; and I say, |
let the work go on till every man shall
learn to speak truth with his neighbour. |
aud those who make engagements shall
feel themselves bound to keep them, and
a mar who will not repent of his bust.
ness iniquity, but goes on wishing to
satiate his cannibal appetite by devour-
ing widows houses. shall by the law of
the land be compelled to exchange his
for Sing Sing. Let the golden
calf perish!
But. my friends. II we have made this
our god, when we come to die we
will see our idol demolished. How
much OF this world IRE you going to
with you into the next? Will you
have two pockets-one in each side of
your shroud? viii you cushion your |
coffin with bonds and mortgages and
certificates of stock? All! no.. The
ferryboat that crosses this Jordan takes !
no baggage-nothing heavier than a |
spirit You may, perhaps, take $500 !
with You two or three miles, in the I
shape OF funeral trappings, to Green |
wood, but You will have to leave |
them there. 1t would not be safe for |
you to lie down there with a gold watch !
or u diamond ring; it would bic q temp
tation to the pillagers. All, my friendsi |
II we have made this world our god, |
we die we will see our idol ground |
death by our pillow, and we will
have to drink 1t In bitter regrets for
the wasted opportunities Of a lifetime. |
Soon we will be gone. o! this is u fleet
ing world, 1t is a dying world. A man |
n worshipped it all his days, in |
MS dying moment described himself ,
he said: Fool! fool! foolr-
want you to change temples, and to
give up the worship Of this unsatisfy-
ing and cruel god for the service of the |
Lord Jesus Christ. Here is the God !
that will never crumble. Here are
banks that will never break. Here Ia
altar on which there has been one
once for all. Here is a God who
VAL comfort you when you are In
trouble, m soothe you when you are
sick, and save you when you die. |
when your parents have breathed !
their last, and the old, wrinkled
"a nal trarnhltnar kuNl