The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1899-06-17

pretends to be a gallon of oil and there
is less than gallon, God knows it, and
He calls upon His recording angel to
mark it: $50 much wanting in that
measure of OIL" The farmer comes in
from the country. He has apples to sell.
He has an imperfect measure. He
pours out the apples from this imper-
feet measure. God recognizes it. He
says to the recording angel: mark
down so many apples too few--an i'm
perfect measure" We may cheat our
selves, and we may cheat the world, but
we cannot cheat God, and in the great
day of judgment it will be found out
that wha: we learned in boyhood at
school is correct-that 20 hundred
make ton and 120 solid feet make
cord of wood. No more, no less. And
a religion which does not take hold of
this life as well as the Lie to come is no
religion at all.
But, my friends, that is not the style
of balances l am to speak of to-day;
that is not the kind o. weights and
measures. I am to speak of that kind
of balances which weigh principles,
weigh churches, weigh men, weigh ma
tons and weigh words. What" you
say, sis it possible that our world is to
be weighed?" Yes. Why, you would
think if God put on one size of the bal
ances suspended from the throne the
Alps and the Pyrenees and the Hima-
layas and Mount Washington and all the
cities of the earth they would crush it.
No, no! The time will come when God
will sit down on the white throne to
see the world weighed, and on one side
will be the worlds opportunities and
on the other side the worlds sins.
Down will go the sins, and away will
go the opportunities, and God will say
to the messengers with the torch:
"Burn that world! Weighed and found
wanting!"
So God will weigh churches. He takes
a great church. That church, great ac-
cording to the worldly estimate, must
be weighed. He puts it on one side the
balances and the minister and the choir
and the building that cost its hundreds
of thousands of dollars. He puts them
on one side the balances. On the other
side of the scale He puts what that
church ought to be, what it's consecra-
ton ought to be, what its sympathy for
the poor ought to be, what its devotion
to all good ought to be. That is on
one side. That size comes down, ard
the church, not being able to stand the
test, rises in the balance. 1t does not
make any difference abou. your mag
nificcnt machinery. A church is built
for one thing-to save souls. Fit saves
few souls when it might save multi
tudc OF souls, God will spew it out of
His mouth. Weighed and found want
ing!
So we perceive that God estimates ma
tions. 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:
Have l not enlarged the boulevards!
Did l not kindle the glories of the
Champs Elysees? 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 gilded opera
house, and on the other side he puts
that mans denominations, that mans
libertinism. that mans selfshness, 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 | must become more individual
and more personal in my address. Some
people say they do not think clergymer
ought to be personal in their religious
address, but ought to deal with subjects
in the abstract. l do not think that
way. What would you think of hunter
who should go to the Adirondacks tc
shoot deer in the abstract? All, no!
He loads his gun; he puts the butt of il
against his breast, he runs his eye
along the barrel, he takes sure aim, ant
then crash go the antlers on the rocks
And SO, if we want to be hunters fol-
the Lord, we must take sure aim ant
fire. Not in the abstract are we 20 trea'
things in religious discussions. If
physician comes into sick room, doe.
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 ant
the life to come, we do not want to trea
them in the abstract. The fact is, yo,
and l have malady which, if uncuret
by grace, will kill us forever. Where il
the balm? Where is the physician?
| Still the balances are suspended. Ar,
there any others who would like to b.
weighed or who will be weighed? Yes
here comes wording. He gets int,
the scales. l can very easily see wha
his whole life is made up of. Stocks
dividends, percentages, "buyer tel
days." buyer 80 days" Get in m,
friend; get into those balances and b.
weighed-weighed for this life ant
weighed for the life to come" He get
in. | find that the two great question
| ;,~I l., e. L.. 4 I