Connecticut western news., 1897-07-29

$500 a year." You prepaid your son, and he does not complain. There are thousands of us now who can this year i ct just enough to supply our wants. But did not God supply for us in the Iast and has he not again and again and again paid us in advance? In other words, trusted you all along trusted you more than you had right to ask? Strike, then, balance for God. Econo- lnizo i'll anything rather than in your Christian charities. There is not more than one out of 300 of you who ever give enough to do you any good, and when some cause of Christianity, some mis- sionary society or Bible society or church organization, comes along and gets anything from you what do you say? You say, "I have been bled. And there never was Q more significant figure of speech than that used in com mon parlanee. Yos, you have been bled, and you are spiritually emaciated, when if you had been courageous enough to go through your property and say, "That belongs to God, and this belongs 10 God, and the other thing belongs to God, and no more dared to appropriate 1t to your own use than something that belonged to your neighbor, instead Of being bled to death by charities you would have been 1einyigoTated and re- cuperated and built up for time and for eternity. God will keep many of you cramped ill money matters until the day of your death unless you swing out into larger generosiries.
 A Great Promise.
 People quote us a joke what is divine promise, "Cast thy bread upon the waters, and it will return to thee after many days" What did God mean by that? There is an allusion there. In Egypt when they SOW the corn it is at time when the Nile is overfiowing its banks, and they SOW the seed corn on the waters, and as the Nile begins to recede this seed corn strikes in the earth and comes up a harvest. and that is the allusion. It seems as if they are throw ing the corn away on the waters, but after awhile they gather it up in har- vest. Now says God in his word, "Cast thy bread upon the waters, and it shall come back to thee after many days. It may seem to you that you are throw ing it away on charities, but 1t will yield harvest of green and gold-a harvest on earth and harvest in heav- en. If men could appreciate that and act on that, we would have no, more trouble about individual or national finances.
 Prescription the third, for the cure of all our individual and national finan- cial distresses, great spiritual awaken ing. It is no mere theory. The mer- chants of this country were positively demented with the monetary excite ment ill 1857. There never before nor since has been such a state of financial depression as there was at that time. A revival came, and 500, 900 people were born into the kingdom of God. What came after the revival? The grandest financial prosperity we have ever had In this country. The finest fortunes, the largest fortunes in the United States, have been made since 1857. "Well," you say, "what has spiritual improvement and revival to do with monetary improvement and re- vival?" Much to do. The religion of Jesus Christ has a direct tendency to make men honest and sober and truth telling, and are not honesty and sobriety and truth telling auxiliaries of material prosperity?
 If we could have an awakening in this country as in the days of Jonathan Ed wards of Northampton, as in the days of Dr. Finley of Basking Ridge, as in the days of Dr. Griffin of Boston, the whole land would rouse to higher moral tone, and with that moral tone the honest business enterprise of the country would come up. You say great awakening has an influence upon the future world. tell you it has di- rect influence upon the financial vel fare of this world. The religion of Christ is no foe to successful business. 1t is it's best friend. And if there should come a great awakening in this coun- try, and all tho banks and insurance companies and stores and offices and shops should close up for two weeks and do nothing but attend to the public worship of almighty God, after such spiritual vacation the land would wake up to such financial prosperity as we have never dreamed of. Godliness is profitable for the life that now is=as we'll as for that which is to come. But, my friends, do not put so much empha- sis on worldly success as to let your eternal affairs go at loose ends have nothing to say against money. The more money you get the better, if it comes honestly and goes usefully. For the lack of it sickness dies without medicine, and hunger finds it's coffin in an empty bread tray, and nakedness shiv- CTS for clothes and fire All this canting tirade against money as though it had no practical use, when hear man in- dulge in it, it makes me think the best heaven for him would be an everlasting penthouse. No; there is practical use in money, but while we admit that we must also admit that it cannot satisfy the soul, that it cannot pay for our fer riage across the Jordan of death, that it cannot unlock the gate of heaven for our immortal soul.
 sh.pwreck.'
 Yet there arc men who act as though packs of bonds and mortgages could be traded off for a mansion in heaven, and as thorsh gold were legal tender in that land where it is so common that they mako pavements out of it. Salva- tion by Christ is the only salvation. Treasures ill heaven are the only incor- ruptible treasures. Have you ever eiph- cred out that sum in loss and gain, What shall it profit man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul?' You may wear fine apparel now, but the winds of death will futter it like rags. Homespun and threadbare coat have sometimes been the shadow of robes white in the blood of the Lamb. All the mines of Australia and Brazil, strung in one carcanet, are not worth to you as much as the pearl of great