Connecticut western news., 1898-05-05

to the docks. "What is the matter? Has there been a fall ill gold?" ''Oh, mo-" "Has there been new tariff" "No." "Has there been a failure in crops?" "No." "Has there been an un- accountable panic?' "No." This is the secret: The Lord God has set up his throne of judgment ill the exchange. He has summoned the righteous and the wicked to come before him. What was 1887? A day of judgment. What was 1857? A day of judgment What was the extreme depression of two years ago? A day of judgment. Do you think that God is going to wait until he has burned the world up before he rights these wrongs? I tell you, nay. Every day is day of judgment.
 The fraudulent man piles up his gains, bond above bond, United States security above United States security, emolument above emolument, until his property has become a great pyramid, and as he stands looking at it he thinks it can never be destroyed, but the Lord God comes, and with his little finger pushes it all over.
 You build house, and you put into it a rotten beam. A mechanic standing by says, "It will never do to put that beam in; it will ruin your whole build ing" But you put it in. The house is completed. Soon it begins to rock. You call in the mechanic and ask, "What is the matter with this door? What is the matter with this wall? Everything seems to be giving out" Says the mechanic, "You put rotten beam into that structure, and the whole thing has got to come down." Here is an estate that seems to be all right now. It has been building a great many years. But l5 years ago there was dishonest transaction i'll that commercial house. That one dishonest transaction will keep on working ruin in the whole structure until down the estate will come in wreck and ruin about the pos sessor's ears-one dishonest dollar in the estate demolishing all his posses sions. I have seen it again and again, and so have you.
 Here is your money safe. The manu- facturer and yourself only know how 1t can be opened. You have the key. You touch the lock, and the ponderous door swings back. But let me tell you that however firmly barred and bolted your money safe may be you cannot keep God out. He will come, some day, into your counting room, and he will de- mand: "Where did that note of hand come from? How do you account for this security? Where did you get that mortgage from? What does this mean?" If it is all right, God will say: Well done, good and faithful servant. Be prospered in this world. Be happy in the world to come." If it is all wrong, he will say: Depart, ye cursed. Be miserable for your iniquities in this life, and then go down and spend your eternity with thieves and horse jockeys and piokpookets. ''
 You have an old photograph of the signs on your street. Why have those signs nearly all changed within the last 20 years? Does the passing away of generation account for it? Oh, no. Does the fact that there are hundreds of honest men who go down every year &C., count for it? Oh, no. This is the secret: The Lord God has been walking through the commercial streets of our great cities, and he has been adjusting things according to the principles of eternal rectitude.
 The time will come when, through the revolutionary power of this gospel, falsehood instead of being called ex- aggeration, equivocation or evasion will be branded a lie, and stealings that now sometimes go under the head of percentages and commissions and bonuses will be put into the catalogue of state prison offenses! Society will be turned inside out and upside down and ransacked of Gods truth until business dishonesties shall come to an end and all double dealing, and God will over turn and overturn and overturn, and commercial men in all cities will throw up their hands, crying out, "These that have turned the world upside down are come hither.'
 Christian Conquest.
 The religion of Jesus Christ will pro- duce revolution in our churches. The noncommittal, do nothing policy of the church of God will give way to spirit of bravest conquest. Piety i'll this day seems to me to be salted down just so as to keep. It seems as if the church were chiefly anxious to take care of it. self, and if we hear of want and squa- Tor and heathenism outside we say, "What pity !" and we put our hands in our pockets, and we feel around for 9 cent piece, and with great four ish we put it upon the plate and are amazed that the world is not converted in six weeks. Suppose there were a great war, and there were 300, 900 sol diers, but all of those 300, 900 soldiers ex- cepting 10 men were in their tents or securing their muskets or cooking ra- tions. You would say, "Of course defeat must come in that case. '' It is worse than that in the church. Millions of the pro- fessed soldiers of Jesus Christ are cook ing rations or asleep in their tents, while only one man here and there goes out to do battle for the Lord.
 "But," says some one, i've are es- tablishing a great many missions, and I think they will save the masses" No, | they will not. Five hundred thousand of them will not do it. They are doing a magnificent work, but every mission 1 chapel is confession of the disease and weakness of the church. It is making | dividing line between the classes. It is | saying to the rich and to the we'll con- ditioned, "If you can pay your pew rents, come to the main audience room." It is saying to the poor man: "Your coat is too bad and your shoes are not good enough. If you want to get to heaven, you will have to go by the way of the mission chapel" The mission chapel has become the kitchen, where the church does its sloppy work. There are hundreds and thousands of churches in this country-gorgeously built and pported-that, even on bright and sun- shiny days, are not half full of wor- shipers, and yet they are building mis- sion chapels because by some expressed AZ Al