St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-06-24


will be the worlds opportunities ant
on the other side the worlds sins
So God will weigh churches. He take
. great church. That church, great nc
cording to the worldly estimate, mus
he weighed. He puts it on one side TIL
balances and the minister and the choi
and the building that cost its hundreds
Of thousands of dollars. He puts then
on one side the balances. On the othel
side of the scale lie puts what tha
church ought to BE-, what its consecra
ton ought to be, what its sympathy fol
the poor ought to lie, what its devotion
to all good ought to be. That is OF
one side. That side comes down, ant
the church, not being able to stand thu
test, rises in the balance. 1t does MOI
make any difference about your mag
nificent machinery. A church is bull
for one thing-to save souls. If it saves
few souls when it might save multi
tude of souls, God will spew it out Of
His mouth. Weighed and found want
ing!
So we perceive that God estimates ma.
tons. How many times He has put the
Spanish monarchy into the scales and
found it insufficient and condemned it!
The French empire was placed on one
side of the scales. and God weighed the
French empire, and Napoleon said:
"IIave l not enlarged the boulevards?
Did l not kindlc the glories of the
Champs Elysces? Have l not adorned
the Tuileries? Have l not built the
gilded opera house?" Then God
weighed the nation, and He put on one
side the scales the emperor, and the
boulevards, and the Tuileries. and the
Champs Elysees. and the giided opera
house, and on the other side he puts
that mans denominations. that mans
libertinism. that mans selfishness. that
mans goddess ambition. This last
came down. and all the brilliancy Of the
scene vanished. What is that voice
coming up from Sedan? Weighed and
found wanting!
But i must become more individual
and more personalin my address. Some
people say they do not think clergymen
ought to be personal in their religious
address, but ought to deal with subjects
in the abstract. do not think that
way. What would You think of a hunter
who should go to the Adirondacks to
shoot deer in the abstract? All, no!
He loads his gun; he puts the butt of it
against his breast, he runs his eye
along the barrel, he takes sure aim, and
then crash GO the antlers On the rocks!
And SO, if we want to be hunters for
the Lord, we must take sure aim and
fire. Not in the abstract are we to treat
things in religious discussions. If a
physician comes into sick room, does
he treat disease in the abstract? No;
he feels the pulse, makes the diagnosis,
then he writes the prescription. And.
if we want to heal souls for this life and
the life tocome, we do not want to treat
them in the abstract. The fact is, you
and 1 have a malady which, if uncured
by grace, will kill us forever. Where is
the balm? Where is the physician?
People say there is a day Of Judgment
coming. My friends. every day is day
Of judgment, and you and to-day are
being canvassed, inspected, weighed.
Here are the balances of the sanctuary.
They are lifted, and we must all be
weighed. Who will come and be
weighed first? Here is moralist who
He is one Of the most up
right men in the country. He comes.
''Well, my brother. get in-get into the
balances now, and be weighed" But
as he gets into the balances / say:
what is that bundle you have along
with you?" ''Oh," he says, that is my
reputation for goodness and kindness
and charity and generosity and kindli-
ness generally" ''Oh, my brother, we
cannot weigh that; we are going to
weigh you-you. Now stand in the
the moralist. Paid your
debts?" "Yes," you say. paid all my
debts" Have you acted in an upright
way in the community?' Eyes. yes"
Have you been Kind to the poor? Are
vou faithful in a thousand relations in
Iife?' YES" $50 far, SO good. But
now, before you get out of this scale,
want to ask you two or three ques-
lions. Have your thoughts always been
right?' NO" You say; no" Put
down one mark. Have you loved the
Lord with all your heart and soul and
mind and strength" NO." you say.
Make another mark. Come, now, be
frank, and confess that in ten thou
sand things you have come short-have
rou not?' YES" Make ten thousand
marks. Come. now. get me book
arge enough to make the record Of the
deficits. My brother, stand
n the scales; do not fly away from
hem. | put on your side the scales
III the good deeds You ever did, all the
lind words you have uttered. but on
he other side of the scales put this
weight which God says I must put
here-on the other side the scales and
opposite to yours put this weight:
BY the deeds of the law shall no flesh
living be justified" Weighed and
ound wanting.
Still the balances of the sanctuary are
and we are ready to weigh
my who come. Who shall be the next?
Veil. here is Journalist. He comes,
nd he gets into the balances, and as
le gets in ! see that all his religion is
n genuflections and in outward OBJ
ervances. As he gets into the scales
say: what is that yon have in this
'ocket?" ''Oh, he says, "that is West
Minister Assembly Cafechism." I saw.
Very good. What have you in the
'ther pocket" oh he says. shat
) the Heidelberg Catchism." every
God. What is that you have under your
rm standing in this balance Of the
anctuary?" oh" he says. "that is a
hurch record Very good. What
re these books on your side the bal
nces?" Oh" he says, those arc Cal |
ms Institutes" MY brother. we are
ct weighing books; we are weighing
on. 1t cannot be that you are de-
ending for your salvation upon your
rthodoxy. Do you not know that the
reeds and the forms Of religion are
merely the scaffolding for the build
lg? You certainly are not going to
Mistake the scaffolding for the tenn
le. DO you not know that men have
one down to per1ition with a cate
hism in their pocket" But" saws
he man. II cross myself often" "Ah.