Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1894-08-03

die the same peaceful death? i re-
ceived letter, sent me by one who
has rejected the Christian religion. 1t
says: II am old enough to know that
the joys and pleasures of life are
evanescent, and to realize the fact
that il must be comforta BILE in old age
TO believe in some thing relative TO the
future, and to have a faith in some
system that proposes to save. i am
free to confess that i would be hap
pier If ] could exercise the simple and
beautiful faith that is possessed by
many whom / know / am not will
ingly out of the church or out of the
faith. My state of uncertainty is one
of unrest Sometimes l doubt my
immortality, and look upon the death
bed as the closing scene, after which
there is nothing. What shall l do
that have not done?" All! scepticism
is dark and doleful land Let me
say that this Bible is either true or
false. If ii be false, we are as we'll off
as you; if it be true, then which of us
is safer?
Let me also ask whether your
trouble has not been that you con-
founded Christianity with the incon-
sistent character of some who profess
it. You are lawyer In your pro-
fession there are mean men and dis
honest men. Is that anything against
the law? You are a doctor. There
are unskilled and contemplate men
in your profession. Is that anything
ant There are thieves and defraud-
ers in your business. Is that anything
against merchandise? Behold, then,
the unfairness of charging upon
Christianity the wickedness of its dis
ciples We admit some of the charges
against those who profess religion.
Some of the most gigantic swindles
of the present day have been carried
on by members Of the church. There
are men in the churches who would
not be trusted for five dollars without
good collateral security. They leave
their business dishonesties in the vesti-
bule of the church as they go in and
sit at the communion. Having con-
cluded the sacrament, they get up,
wipe the wine from their lips,
go out and take up their sins
where they left off, To serve
the devil is their regular work; to
serve God n sort of play spell. With
a Sunday sponge they expect to wipe
off from their business nlate all the
| past weeks inconsiste cies. You have
no more right to take such a mans
life as q specimen of religion than you
have to take the twisted irons and
| split timbers that lie on the beach at
Coney island as n specimen of an
American ship. 1t is time that we
drew a line between religion and the
frailties of those who profess it
To-day invite you back into the
good old-fashioned religion of your
fathers-to the God whom they wor-
SHIPPED, to the Bible they read, to the
promises on which they leaned, TO
the cross on which they hung their
eternal expectations You have not
been happy day since you swung off;
you will not be happy minute until
you swing back.
Again: There may be some of you
who, in the attempt after n Christian
life, will have to run against powerful
passions and appetites Perhaps it is
a disposition to anger that you have to
contend against; and perhaps while
in very serious mood, you hear OF
something that makes you feel that
you must swear or ole. / know of q
Christian man who was once so eXas-
perated that he said to a mean GUS
toner, ~ can not swear at you my
self, for / am q membe of the church:
but if you will go downstairs my part
ner in business will swear at you. y
All your good resolutions heretofore
have been torn to tatters by explosions
Of temper. Now there is no harm in
getting mad if you only get mad al
sin. You need to bride and saddle
these hot breathed passions, and with
them ride down injustice and wrong
There are n thousand things in the
world that we ought to be mad at
There is no harm in getting red hot i
you only bring to the forge tina
which needs hammering. A man whC
has no power of righteous indignation
is an imbecile. But be sure it is ;
righteous indignation, and not {
petulancy that blurs, and unravels
and depletes the soul.
There is large class of persons il
midlife who have still in them appe
titles that were aroused in early man
hood, at a time when they pridet
themselves on being a ''little fast,
"high livers. free and easy" Thai
fellows well met" They are nov
paying in compound interest 70
troubles they collected twenty year
ago. Some of you are trying to es
cape, and you will-yet very narrowly
''as with the skin of your teeth" Cos
and your own soul only know wha
the struggle is. Omnipotent grLc
has pulled out many a soul that wa
deeper in the mire than you are. The
; line the beach of heaven-the multi
tude whom God has rescued from tn
+ thrall of suicidal habits IL you thi
) day turn your back on the wrong, an
: start anew, God will help you Oh