News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1896-08-13

and revet % and uncleanness and all
sensualiti.s, and wait unon me. 1t may
abbreviat" my earthly life by dissolute-
ness, but that will only give me heav-
emily indulgence On a larger scale in a
! shorter length Of time. | will overtake
the righteous before long, l will only
come in heaven a little late, and 1 will
be little more fortunate than those
who have behaved themselves on earth
and then went straight TO the bosom of
Goa, because | will see more and have
wider excursion, and | will come into
heaven via gehenna, via sheol" Hear
ers! Readers! Another chance in the
next world means free license and the
demolition Of this. Suppose you had
case IN court, and all the judges and all
the attorneys agreed i'll telling you the
first trial Of tit would be tried twice
the first trial would not be of ve4y
much Importance, but the second trial
would decide everything. On which
trial would you put the most expendi-
ture? On which trial would you employ
the ablest counsel? On which trial
would you be most anxious to have the
attendance of all the witnesses? ''Oh,
you would say, eff there are to be two
trials, and the first trial does not amount
to much, the second trial being every
thing, everything depending upon that,
l must have the most eloquent attorney,
and | must have all my witnesses
present, and | will expend nay money
on that. " If these men who are i'm
penitent and who are wicked felt
there were two trials, and the first was
of no very great importance and the
second trial was the one of vast and in
finite Importance, all the preparations
for eternity would be post mortem, post
funeral post sepulchral, and this world
would be jerked off into impenitency
and godlesSness. Another chance in an
other world means the demolition of
this world.
At the Banquet.
Furthermore, my friends-tor 1 am
preaching to myself as we'll as to you;
we are ON the same level, and though
the platform be little higher than the
pew, it is only for convenience, and that
we may the better speak to the people;
we are all OH the same platform, and |
am talking to my soul while l talk to
yours-my friends, why another chance
in another world when e have declined
SO many chances in this? Suppose you
spread banquet and you invite a vast
number of friends, and among others
you send an invitation to man who
dlsregards it, or treats it in an obnoX-
ious way. During 20 years you give 20
banquets, banquet a year; and you in
wife your friends, and every time you
invite this man, who disregards your
invitation or sends back some indignity
After awhile you move into a larger
house and amid more luxuriant sur
roundings and you invite your friends,
but you do not invite that man to whom
20 times you sent an invitation to the
smaller house Are you to blame? You
would only make yourself absurd before
God and man to send that man another
invitation. For 20 years he has been
declining your offers and sending insult
for your kindness and courtesy, and can
he blame you? Can he come up to your
house on the night of the banquet?
Looking up and seeing it is a finer house,
will he have any right to say: ''Let
me in. declined all those other offers,
but this is a larger house, a brighter
house, a more luxuriant abode. Let me
i'll. Give me another chance" God has
spread a banquet Of his grace before us.
For 800 days of every year, since we
knew the difference between our right
hand and orr left, he has invited us by
his providence and by his spirit. Sup
pose we decline all these offers and all
this kindness. Now the banquet is
spread i'll larger place, in the heavenly
palace. Invitations are sent out, but no
invitation is sent to us. Why? Because
we declined all those other banQuets.
Will God be to blame? Will we have
any right to rap on the door of heaven
and say, 81 ought not to be shut out of
this place; give me another chance?"
Twelve gates of salvation standing wide
for free admission all our life and then
when the II gates close we rush on the
bosses of Jehovah's buckler, saying,
"Give me another chanceP'
A ship is to sail for Hamburg. You
want to go to Germany by that line.
You see the advertisement of the steam
ers sailing. You see it for two weeks.
You see it in the morning papers, and
you see it in the evening papers; you
see it placarded on the walls. Circulars
are thrown into your office telling you
all about that steamer One day you
come down on the wharf and the steamer
has swung out into the stream. You
say: "Oh, that isn't fair. Come back ;
swing up again to the docks. Throw the
plank ashore that Imay come on board.
1t isn't fair. l want to go to Germany
by that steamer. Give me another
chance" Here is magnificent offer for
heaven. 1t has been anchored withiJt
our sight year after year, and year aftel
year, and year after year, and all the
benign voices of earth and heaven have
urged US to get on board, since it may
sail at any moment. Suppose we let
that opportunity sail away, and then we
look out and say: "Send back that op-