Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1897-12-06

our sick and dying world.
Is it bogus company that is formed?
Is it undeveloped territory? Oh, 10, the
story is truei There are hundreds and
thousands of people who would be will
ing to rise and testify that they have
discovered that gold and have it in
their possession. Notwithstanding all
this, what is the circumstance? One
would suppose that the announcement
would send people in great excitement
I'D and down our streets, that at mid
night men would knock at your door,
asking how they may get those treas
ures Instead Of that many of US put
our hands behind our back and walk up
and down in front of the mine of eter-
nal riches and say, ''Well if am to
be saved will be saved, and if am to
be lost will be lost, and there is moth
ing to do about it. -
Why, my brother, do you not do that
way in business matters? Why do you
not tomorrow 60 to your store and sit
down and fold your arms and say, eff
these goods are to be sold, they will be
sold, and if they are not to be sold they
will not be sold; there is nothing for
me to do about It, No, you dispatch
your agents, you print your advertise
ments, you adorn your show windows,
you push those goods, you use the in
strumentality. Oh that men were as
wise in the matter Of the soul as they
are wise in the matter of dollars and
centS
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, III every passion Of
your soul, you are d free mana free
mainland it will no more tomorrow be
q matter Of choice whether you shall go
to business through Pennsylvania ave-
nue. or some other street, it will be no
mere 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 q matter of free
choice whether you will accept Christ
Or reject him!
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 Lords soldiery
there is not one man but will tell you j:
81 chose Christi wanted him. [ de-
sired to be in his service. I am not a
conscript-I am volunteer. Oh, that
men lad the same common sense in the
matters of religion that they have in
the matters of the world, the same con-
centratiou, the same push, the same en-
thusiasm-in the one case a secular en-
4. ~41r1I
enthusiasm!
Again, I 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 a 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 CT man who should invest $10,- |
900 in monetary institution, then go |
Off for five years, make no inquiry in re-
gard to the investment, then come back,
step up to the cashier of the Institution |
and say, "Have you kept that $10,O 600 |
safely that lodged with your 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 10000. We invest our soul. |
Is it accumulative? Are we growing in
grace? Are we getting better? Are we |
getting worse? God declares many divi- |
dends, but we do not collect them we |
do not ask about them; we do not want |
them. Oh, that in this matter of ac-
cumuIation we were as wise in the mat
tiers Of the soul as we are in the matters
of the world!
The Purpose of the Bible.
How little common sense in the read |
ing of the Scriptures 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 astron omy; it
will teach me astronomy. It is a book
on political economy; it will teach me
political economy Taking up this BIZ
BILE, do we ask ourselves what it means
to teach? 1t 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 q man lost on the mountains? Night
has come down, he cannot find his way
home, and Re sees light in noun
tain cabin. He goes to it. He knocks at
the door. The mountaineer comes out