The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-02-17
THOU ART FOUND WANTING
HANDWRITING UPON THE WALL Ar
BELSHAZzAR,S FEAST

Formed the Topic of Mr.. Spears Sermon
at Howard Avenue Baptist Church Last
Night-lt Was Strong Summing Up of
Christian Faults and Religious Failures. !
Thou Art Weighed in the Balance
and Art Found Wanting" was the sub
ject of w. H. Spears discourse last
night in the Howard avenue Baptist
church revival service.
In opening his sermon Mr.. Spear por-
the feast of Belshazzar, and drew
pointed lessons from the life of the
great king of Babylon whose sins
weighed so much more than his virtues
that God brought him to judgment,
stripped him Of his kingdom and Bel
shazzar met violent death. He was
weighed in the balance of Gods judg-
ment and found sadly wanting. Bring
ing this text to apply upon Christian
life as it is to-day, Mr.. Spear drew
many close applications.
zone Of the strongest evils he said
"the Christian worker to-day has to
contend with is the sanctimonious
Christian-the one who goes around
with a long drawn face and signs and
Rroans as though life was continuous
torture and torment. Such Christian
as that does not possess religion; he's
got dyspepsia, and the sooner he con-
suits doctor and begins course Of
medical treatment for the disease the
sooner he will get rid of it, and the
better it will be for himself, his fam
lily and for the church whose misfor-
tune it is to have him upon its roll of
membership.
Long does not constitute
true piety, There are more men won
to Christ by cheerful smile and a
fervent hand-clasp than by all the
groans and signs that have filled the
ages.
Oh, Christian, if you have Christ in
your heart let Him shine in your coun-
tenance. Away with this mask of I'M
naturalness. Christ sees and estimates
it at It's full worth. 1t is weighed in
the balance and found wanting
when I see a man with a lugubrious
face and sychophantic whine always
bemoaning the worlds lost condition
and signing over the downfall of the
human race I always feel like keeping
a tight hold upon my pocketbook in
that mans presence, whether 1t con-
tains a dollar or q nickel, for he Is like
wolf in Sleeps clothing, and you
can't tell where he stands. Weigh him
in the balance Of rugged experience
and you'll find him short In weight.
''I told you last night how the world
looks on and criticises; how the young
people at times come into our prayer
meetings and go out unreached by
prayer was untouched by testimony.
Why is it? I'll tell you why. The av-
erage church prayer meeting is more
like the death chamber of a morgue in
its frigid GOODNESS than it is like fer
vent meeting Of workers for Christ.
And I want to emphasize that fact to-
night. It's cold; It's heartless; its
dead. Oh, that God by His infinite
power would breathe new breath of
life into it's death-like nonotony. A
few meet together and go through the
stereotyped form of worship, and it's
the same old story, and the same old
song, and the same old sigh, until near
ly everybody feels as though they were
at a funeral and by way Of diversion
fervently wish they were, and that the
funeral of such a farcial travesty as
some so-called prayer meetings are was
then and there being attended.
christians, wake up! Let the Lord
put a new song into your mouths; a
new testimony into your heart, and let
it be a song of gladness that shall ring
the gospel message to earth's remotest
bounds. Let your testimony show
what blessings Christ has brought into
you life. Don't forever ring the old
time changes on the worlds sinful con-
dition that your great-grandfather
gave as his in the ages past! Awake
and do something to make the world
better for your having lived In it. Don't
eternally be finding fault with some
body else. Search your own heart
Take off your coat and go to work!
IF there are rocks in the path help
push them aside! Let the young man
and the young woman. as they come
into our prayer meetings, and the chill
dren, see, and feel, and realize by your
happy Christian testimony, your songs
of gladdest praise and the light Of
glory that shines in your face, that the
prayer meeting Is not only the house
of God, but the very gate Of heaven.
"Once this reform is inaugurated ant
thoroughly migrated, we shall hear ne
longer the old, old story, that the
church is spiritually dead and that
there is no life In her meetings that she
Is weighed In the balances and is found
wanting.
SIS there a Christian brother who is
saying harsh things against some othel
brother, or one whose heart is ranking
with bitterness and hate and malice.
God weighs your Christianity upor
scales that never lie. He looks int
the depths Of your soul. Thou ar
weighed in the balance and fount
wanting. Wouldst thou obtain Divine
pardon, then leave the gift Of thy peni
tence upon the altar and go to tn,
brother and be reconciled, lest the hant
writing of judgment even now. be pass
Ing its vivid characters upon the wall
-"Christ came a messenger Of peace
He brought to earth glad tidings O.
great joy and those tidings are tina
your soul shall be redeemed for thu
bondage of death and find its home IL
paradise.
"But there are conditions to this, q.
to all Of Christ's promises. 'Ye mus
be born againl is as true to-day a.