The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1896-12-24
REV. 1ALMAGES SUNDAY SERMON.
A GOSPEL MESSAGE.
Subjects "a Practical Religion"

charged with putting too much stress upon
good works and not enough upon faith.
charge protestantism with putting not
enough stress upon good works rs connected
with salvation. Good works will never save
man. but II man have not rood works he
has no real faith aud no genuine religion.
There are those who depend upon the fact
that they are all right inside while their con.
duct il wrong outside. Their religion for
the most part Is made up OF tnlk-vigorous
talk. fluent talk, hoastful talk, perpetual
talk They will entertain you by the hour
I'm telling you how good thoy are. They
come up to such higher life that they have
no paticncc with ordinary Christians in the
plain discharge Of their duty, As uear rs
can tell this ocean craft Is mostly sail and
very little tonnage. FOretopmast staysail,
foretopnust studdiug sail. maiu tOpsail. miz
zen tolsail everything from flying iib to
mizzen spaukcr, but making no useful voy-
age Now, the world has got tired Of this,
and II wants n religion that will work Into
all the circumstances ofliie. We do not want
a new religion, but the old religion applied
In all possible directions.
Nouder j. n river with steep and rocky
banks, Hul II roars like young Niagara as
IL rolls on over it, rough bed Il does moth
Ing bd, talk about itself all the way from It's
source inthe mountain 20 the place where IL
empties iato the sea. The banks are so steep
that the ulltle cannot come down to drink
II does not run one frrtiizing riil into the
fact ~ "a either side. IL sulks In wet
weather sith chilling logs. No one cares
when thH river Is born among the rocks aud
no one ctres when IL dies into the sea. But
yonder y another river. aud II NOSES its
banks With the warm tides. and II rocks with
nOrai lullaby the water lilies asleep on its
bosom. II Invites herds OF cattle and nOcks
OF sheep and cOycys OF birds TO come there
and drink. II has three gristmils on one
side aud six cotton faciOri, on the other. IL
Is tho wealth OF 200 miles OF luxurinnt farms
The biris Of heaven chanted when IL was
born In the mountains, and the ocean ship
ping will press In from the sea 10 halt 1t rs IL
CONES down from the Atlantic Coast. The
one liver IS man who lives FOR himself.
The other river is man who lives for
Others.
10 you know how the site OF the ancient
city pf Jerusalem was chosen2 There were
two brothers who had adjoining farms. The
one bi other had n large family. the other
had no family. The brother with large
family said; "Iherc Is my brother with no
family. He must be lonely. aud will try
% oheer him up. and will take some OF the
shelyes from my Held in tho night time ani
seJ them over on his farm and say nothing
about IT," The other brother said. "My
brother has largo family ami II Is very
iiiicut Tor him To support them. and | will
help him along, and | will iake some OF
tho shcayes from my farm in the night time
and set them over IN his farm aud say moth
Ing about it, 50 the work OF transferencs
went on night after night and night after
night. but every morning things seemed To
bc Just ~ they were, for, though shenyes
had been substracted from each farm,
shoaves had also been adlei, and the broth
crs were perpleXed and could not uuder.
stand. But one night the brothers hap
pened 70 meet while making this generous
transierence, and the spot where they met
WIS 50 sacred that IL was chosen as tho site
~ satf M
should prove uufuunded, 1t will neyerths-
less stand ns beautiful allegory, setting
forth the idea that wherever u kindly and
generous and loving act Is performed that is
the spot fit for some temple Of commem-
Grafton.
l have often spoken to you about faith,
hut thia morning ispenk 10 you about works,
for Faith without works Is dead" 1 think
you Will agree with me in the statement that
The greal want in this world is more practi-
cal religion. We want practical religion TO
20 into all merchandise Il will supervise
the labelling OF goods. IL will not allow a
man 10 say that u thing WAS made in ono
factory when II was made IN another. Il
Will not allow the merchant to say that watch
was manufactured in Geneva when il was
manufactured In Massachusetts, IL will not
allow the merchant TO say that wine came
from Madeira when II cane from California.
Practical religion will walk along by the
store shelves and tear or all tho tags that
make Misrepresentation. 1t will not allow
the merchant To- say that Is pure coffee when
dandeliOu root and chcory and other ingred-
tents 20 intoit II will not allow him to say
that is pure sugar when there are in il sand
and ground glass.
When practical religion gets its full swing
IN the world, II will 90 down the street aud
II viii come TO that shoe store and rip of tho
fictitious sOles Of many u fine looking puir Of
Shoss and show that II Is uasteboRrd sand
wlchei between the sound leather. And this
practical religion will 90 right into "A cro-
Gerry store and il will pull out the plugs Of all
the adnlternted sirups, and It will dump into
tie ash barrel in from. OF the store the cassia
bark that Is sold for cinnamon and the brick
dust that Is sold for cayenne pepper. and il
Will shake out the prussian blue from the tea
leaves, aud II will silt from the flour plaster
OF paris and bone dust and sOapstone, and IL
VIII by chemical analysis separate the one
quart ot water from the few honest drops of
cows milk. and it will throw out the live
anlmalculcs from the brown sugar.
lherc Eas been so much aiulteration OF
articles OF food that 1t is an amazement to
me that there Is healthy man or woman In
America. Heaven only knows what they
put into tho spices and into the sugars and
into the butter aud into the apoihocary drug
But chemical analysis and the microseope
have made wonderful revelations The board
oi health in Massachusetts analyZed great
amount OF what was called pure coffee aud
found II not one particle OF coffee. Ia Eng
land there is Il law that forblds the putting
OF alum In bread. The public authorities
examined hhy-one packages OF bread and
found them all guilty. The honest physi-
elan, writing prescription, docs not know
Dut that u may bring death instead OF health
TO his patient, because there may bo one Of
the drugs weakened by cheaper art cle.
ard another drug may be In full force, and
so the prescription may have just the oppo
site effect intended. oil OF wormwood war
rantei pure from Boston was found 10 have
ioity-one per cent. OF rOsln and alcohol and
chlorolorm. Scammony Is one OF tho most
valuable medical drugs. II IL very rare.
very precious, II Is the sap OF tho gum OF a
tree or bush in Syru. The root OF the trec
Is exposed, an inclsion Is made into the root,
ana then shells are placed at this incison to
catch tho sap or the gum as IL eNudes. IL Is
worry precious, this scammony. But the
peasant mixes IL with cheaper material;
Ihen II Is tnken ~ Alepno. md tho merchnnl