Connecticut western news., 1897-12-09

wise in the matter of the soul as they are wise in the matter of dollars and centsi
 Not One Conscript.
 This doctrine of Gods sovereignty, how it is misquoted and spoken of as though it were an iron chain which bound us hand and foot for time and for eternity, when, so far from that, in every fiber of your body, in every facul- ty of your mind, in every passion of your soul, you are free mana free man-and it will no more tomorrow be B matter of choice whether you shall go to business through Pennsylvania ave- nue or some other street, it will be no more a matter of choice with you to- morrow whether you shall go to Phila- delphia or New York or stay at home, than it is this hour a matter of free choice whether you will accept Christ or reject himi
 In all the army of banners there is not one conscript. Men are not to be dragooned into heaven. Among all the tens of thousands of the Lord s soldiery there is not one man but will tell you
 CuOS6 SuT1sb-l Wdubtu HILL hC- sired to be in his service. I am not a conscript-I am a volunteer. Oh, that men had the same common sense in the matters of religion that they have in the matters of the world, the same con- centration, the same push, the same en- thusiasm-in the one case secular en- thusiasm, in the other a consecrated enthusiasm
 Again, l remark we want more com mon sense in the building up and en- larging of our Christian character. There are men who have for 40 years been running the Christian race, and they have not run a quarter of mile. No business man would be willing to have his investments unaccumulative. If you invest dollar, you expect that dollar to come home bringing another dollar on its back What would you think of a man who should invest $10,- . 900 in a monetary institution, then go off for five years, make no inquiry in re- step up to the cashier of the institution and say, Have you kept that $10. 900 safely that lodged with you?" but ask ing no question about interest or about dividend? Why, you say, "That is no common sense" Neither is it, but that is the way we act in matters of the soul. We make far more important invest ment than $10, 900. We invest our soul. Is it accumulative? Are we growing in grace? Are we getting better? Are we getting worse? God declares many divi- 1,,k 1o nn11aak do not ask about them; we do not want them. Oh, that in this matter of ac- cumulation we were as wise in the mat ters of the soul as we are in the matters of the worldi
 The Purpose of the Bible.
 How little common sense in the read ing of the Scripturesl We get any other book, and we open it, and we say "Now, what does this book mean to teach me? It is book on astronomy; it will teach me astronomy. It is a book on political economy; it will teach me political economy" Taking up this Bi- ble, do we ask ourselves what it means to teach? It means to do just one thing get the world converted and get us all to heaven. That is what it proposes to do. But instead of that we go into the Bible as botanists to pick flowers, or we go as pugilists to get something to fight other Christians with, or we go as logicians trying to sharpen our men, tai faculties for better argument, and we do not like this about the Bible. and we do not like that, and we do not like the other thing. What would you think of man lost on the mountains? Night has come down, he cannot find his way home, and he sees light in noun tain cabin. He goes to it. He knocks { the door. The mountaineer comes ou here 1 have lantern. You can take it and it will guide you on the way home" And suppose. that traveller should say 1T don t like that lantern. don't like the handle of it. There are 10 or 15 things about it I don't like. If you can't give me a better lantern than that won't have any?'
 Now, God says this Bible is to be a lamp to our feet and lantern to our path, to guide us through the midnigl of this world to the gates of the celes- tial city. We stop and say we do not like this about it, and we do not like that, and we do not like the other thing. Oh, how much wiser we would be if by its holy light we found our way to our everlasting homel Then we do not read the Bible as we read other books. We read it perhaps four or five minutes just before we retire at night. We are weary and sleepy, so somnolent we hardly know which end of the book is up. We drop our eye perhaps on the story of Samson and the foxes, or upon some genealogical table, important in it's place, but stirring no more religious emotion than the announcement that somebody begat somebody else, and he begat somebody else, instead of open ing the book and saying, "Now I must read for my immortal life; my eternity is involved in this book. D
 Common Sense In Prayer. -
 How little we use common sense in prayerl We say, 70 Lord, give me this," and 70 Lord, give me that, and 70 Lord, give me something else," and we do not expect to get it, or, getting it. we do not know we have it. We have no anxiety about it. We do not watch and wait for its coming. As a merchant you telegraph er you write to some other city for bill of goods You say, "Send me by such express or by such steamer or by such rail train. 7" The day arrives. You send your wagon to the depot or to the wharf. The goods do not come. You immediately tele- graph: What is the matter with those goods? We haven't received them. Send them right away. We want them now. or we don't want them at all" And you keep writing, and you keep tele- graphing and kesp sending your wagon to the depot or to the express office or to the wharf until you get the goods. In matters of religion we are not so wise as that We ask certain things to be sent from heaven. We do not know whether they come or not We have not