Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-03-28

shsfr Wit and thsir hamor TO the cause q
Chxist.
So il has been Ia al the ages. and say
60 these yeuag theological students, wso
elzster Ia these services Sabbath % Sab
bath. sharpen yocr wits a. keen a. sctEss-
trs and thea take them into this holy
war. IL IS very snort bridge between .
smile aad tear suspension bridge from
eve 20 Up, and IL j. soon crossed over. add
a smile is sometirnes lust as sacred Is
tear. There Is a. much religion. and 1
think hstle more. in spring morning
than in stariess midnigbt
Religious work without aay hunor OF
wit III il Is a banquet with side Of besf,
and that raw. and no condiments snd no
dessert succeeding. People will not al
down az such q banquet. BY all means re-
move all frivoiity and al pathos and an
lshtasss ana all vuigarity-stral them
out through the sieve Of holy discrlmina-
tion; bat, en- the other hand, beware Of that
monster which oyershsdows the Christian
church today conventionaliy, coming up
from the 6Erat Sahara Desert OF Ecclesi-
asticism. having on its back hump Of
sanetimonious gloom-and vehemensly re-
fuse 70 swallow that camel
MAMMOTH cEIAEs IN TRADE.
Oh. how particular a great many people
are about the infnitesimals while they arc
quite reckless about the mnSnitrdes-
What did Christ say' Did he not excori-
ate the people In his time who were 80
careful TO wash their hands before meal.
bat did not wash their hearts, IL Is bad
thing TO have unelean hands; it is a worse
thing 10 have an unclean heart How
many people there are In our time who are
very anxious that after their death they
shall be buried with their feet toward the
east, and not at all anxious that during
their whole life they should face In the
right direction SO that they shall come up
In the resurrection Of the Just whichever
way they are buried How many there
are chiefly anxious that a minister of the
Gospel shall come IN the line of apostolic
succession. not caring so much whether he
comes from Apostle Paul CT Apostle Judas.
They have a way Of measuring gnat en-
I'll it Is larger than camel.
Again, my subject photographs all those
who are abhorrent Of small sins while
they are reckless in regard to magnificent
thefts. You will find many q merchant
who, while be Is so careful that he would
not take q yard of cloth or a spool of cot
ton from the counter without paving for
IL, and who il bank cashier should make
mistake and send in roll Of bills Eve
dollars too much would dispatch a mes
scnger in hot haste to return the surplus,
yet who will go into q stock company
in which after awhile he gets control OF
the stock and then waters the stock and
makes 10000 appear like 600, O0O He
I'll L. q IN 49, . -
OF tho men OF fortune made their wealth In
that way.
One OF those men engaged in such m
righteous acts, that evening, the evening
Of the very day when he watered the stock,
will find n wharf rat stealing an even ng
newspaper from the basement doorway,
and will go cut and catch the urchin by
the collar and twist the collar so tightly
the poor fellow cannot say that il was
thirst for knowledge that led him to the
dishonest act, but grip the collar tighter
and tighter. saying: II have been looking
for you long while. You stole my paper
four or five times. haven't your You mis-
cradle wretch" And then the old stock
gambler, with voice they can hear three
blocks, will cry out. "Police, police."
That same man, the evening OF the day
on which he watered the stock, will kneel
with his family In prayer and thank God
for the prosperity Of the day, then kiss his
children good night with an air which
seems to say, II hope you will al grow up
to be as good as your fatherw Prisons for
sins insectiie in size, but palaces for crimes
dromedarian. No mercy for sins animal
cule in proportion. but great leniency for
mastoion iniquity.
COLOSSAL LIES ABOUT THE CROPS
It is time that we learn in America that
ain is not excusable in proportion as it de-
clares large dividends and has outriders in
equipsge. Many a man is riding to perdi-
ton position ahead and lackey behind.
To steal q dollar Is q gnat; to steal many
thousands of dollars is camel There is
many fruit dealer who would not consent
to steal q basket Of peaches from a neigh
boris stall, but who would not scruple To
depress the fruit market: and as long as
can remember we have heard every sum-
mer the peach crop Of Maryland is a fail
urc, and by the time the crop comes in The
misrepresentation makes difference Of
millions of dollars. A man who would not
steal one peach basket steals fifty thou
sand peach baskets.
Any summer go down into the Mercan-
tile library. in the reading rooms, and see
the newspaper reports Of the crops from all
parts OF the country. and their phraseology
Is very much the same. and the same men
wrote them. Intellectually and UNANIMOUSLY
carrying out the huge lying about the
grain crop from year TO year and for a score
Of years. After awhile there is corner"
in the wheat market, and men who had q
contempt for petty theft will burglarize
the wheat bin of nation and commit lar
ceny upon the American corncrib. And
men will sit in churches and in reforma-
tory institutions trying 10 strain out the
small gnats of scoundrelisn, while in their
grain elevators and in their storchouses
they are fattening huge camels which they
expect after awhile to swallow Society
has to Be entirely reconstructed on this
subject. We are to find that n sin n inex-
cusable in proportion a. IL il great.
know In our time the tendency Is to
charge religious frauds upon go.s. men
They say, "oh, what q class Of frauds you
have in the Church Of God In this day"
and when an elder Of church or deacon
or q minister OF the Gospel or . superin-
tendent OF Sabbath school turns out . de-
fsulter what display heads there are in
many 81 the pewspapt-s-great primer
type; Ave line pica-"Arother Saint Alb
soonded," Clerical ScoundrcIism." RE
tIgion at . Discount" Shame On the
Churches. while there are . thousand
scoundrcls outside the church to where
Ihere 4. one inside the church, and the mis-
behavior OF those who never see the inside
Of church t. so great IL il enough to
tempt = man 10 become Christian 10 gse
vut Of their company.
Bat IN ali circles. religious and iYrsn-
sious. the tendency In TO excuse sin In pro
portion as IL IL mammoth Even John
Il az. n - 4