The Penn's Grove record., 1899-09-29

religion is a protest against all dissipa.,

hSo
ion have ~nbsconded." Yes, but they
threw away their religion before they did
their morality. If n man on a White Stat
line steamer, bound for Liverpool, In mid
Atlantic jumps overheard and is drowned,
is that anything against the White Star
lines capacity to take the man across the
ocean? And IL a man jumps over the gum
vale OF his religion and goes dow nevef
to rise, is that any reason for you believ.
ing that religion has no capacity to take
the man clear through? In tho one case,
il he had kept to the steamer, his body
would have been saved; in the other case,
II he had kept to his religion, bis morals
| would have been saved.
There are aged people who would have
been dead twenty-five years ago but fot
the defenses and the equipolse OF religion.
You lmve no more natural resistance than
hundreds OF people who lie in the ceme-
%terles, to-day slain by their own vices. The
doctors made their case as kind and
pleasant as they could, and 1t was called
congestion OF the brain or something else,
but the snakes and the blue flies that
seemed to crawl over the pillow In the sight
OF the dellrlous patient showed what was
the matter with him. You, the aged
Christian man, walked along by that I'M
happy one until you came to the golden
pillar Of a Christian life. You went to the
right; he went to the left. That is all the
difference between you. II this religion Is
a protest against all forms OF dissipation,
then 1t Is an illustrlous friend of longevity.
"With long lie will l satisfy him."
Again, religion is q friend OF longevity
In the fact that 1t takes the worry out of
our temporalitles. Ii is not work that'kills
men; 1t Is worry. When a man becomes u
| genuine Christian, he makes over to God
not only his affections, but his family, his
business, his reputation, his body, his mind,
his soul, everything. Industrious he will
be, but never worrying, because God Is
managing his affairs. How can he worry
about business when In answer to his pray
ers God tells him when to buy and when to
sell? And il he gain, that is best, and II he
lose, that is best.
Suppose you had a supernatural neigh
Dor who came in and said: "Sir, l want
you to call on me in every eXigency. lam
your fast friend. l could fall back on $780,
coo, 000.- l can foresee IL panic ten wears. I
hold the controlling stock in thirty of the
best monetary institutions of New York.
Whenever you are In trouble call on me,
and l will help you. You can have my
money, and you can have my influence.
Here Is my hand in pledge for it." How
much would you worry about business?
Why, you would say, "Ill do the best I
can, and then I'll depend on my friends
generosity for the rest"
Now, more than that Is promised to every
buSthO75 IA eOo ohS " III
81 own New York and London and st.
Petersburg and Pekin. and Australia and
California are mine. ] can foresee a panic
a hundred years. | have all the resources
OF the universe, and l am your fast friend.
When you get In business trouble or any
| other trouble, call ON Me, and / will help.
Here Is My hand In pledge of omnipotent
deliverance. How much should that man
worry? Not much. What lion will dare to
put his paw on that Daniel2 Is there not
rest In this? Is there not an eternal vaca-
tion in this? "Oh," you say, there is n nan
who asked God for a blessing In a certain
enterprise, and he lost $4,000 in i'll Explain
that"
/ will. Yonder is a factory, and one
wheel is going north, and the other wheel
Is going sou.h, and one wheel plays
laterally and the other plays vertically.
| go to the manufacturer md | say: 80
manufacturer, your machinery is a con-
tradictionl Why do you not make all the
wheels go one way?" "Well,h he says, 81
made them to go IN opposite directions on
purpose, and they produce the right re-
suit. You go down stairs and. examine
the carpets We are turning out in this
establishment and you will see." l go
down on the other floor, and / see the
carpets, and / am obliged to confess that,
though the wheels in that factory go Ia
opposite directions, they turn out a beauti-
| lui result, anu Wulle L MI sthluiuk tucfo
looking at the exquisite fabric an old
Scripture passage comes into my mind,
"All things work together for good to
them who love God" Is there not q tonic
in that2 Is there not longevity in that2
Suppose a man Is all the time worried
about his reputation? One man says he
lies, another man says he is stupid, an
other says he Is dishonest, and half a dozen
printing establishments attack him, and he
Is In a great state OF excitement and worry
and fume and cannot sleep, but religion
comes to him and says: "Man, God is on
your side. He will take care OF your repu-
tation. II God be for you, who can be
against you?" How much should that man
worry about his reputation? Not much.
II that broker wto some years ago in Wall
street, after he had lost money, sat down
aud wrote II farewell letter to his wife be-
fore he blew his brains outfit, instead of
taking out OF his pocket q pistol, he had
taken out n well read New Testament,
there would have been one less suicide.
O nervous and feverish people OF the
world, try this almighty sedative! You will
live twenty-five years longer under Its
soothing power. 1t Is not choral that you
want or morphine that you want. 1t is the
gospel of Jesus Christ. with long lie
will l satisfy him."
Again, practical religion is a friend Of
longevity In the fact that 1t removes all cor
roding care about a future existence.
Every man wants to know what Is to be.
Before / had this matter settled with refer
ence to my future existence the question
almost worried me into ruined health. The
anxietIes men have upon this subject put
together would make a martyrdom. rms
is a state OF awful unhealthiness. There
Sre people who fret themselves to death
FOR fear OF dying. l want to take the
strain off your nerves and the de-
.un,ata,N ~ ..nV,u gAut and mAkn
two or tAree experiments. Expert
ment first: When you go out OF this
world, 1t does not make any difference
whether you have been good or bad
whether You believed truth or error, you
will go straight to glory. ~"lmpossib e.
you say. my common sense as well as
my religion teaches that the bad and the
good cannot live together forever. You
give me no comfort in that experiment.
Experiment the second; When you leave
this world, you will gointo an intermediate
state, where you can get converted anu
prepared for heaven. impossible, you
say. ''As the tree falletb, so must IL
lie, and l cannot postpone to an inter-
mediate state reformation which ought
to have been effected In this state" Expert
ment the third: There is no future world.
When u man dies, that is the last OF MIN.
Do not worry about what you a. DO IN
another state OF being. You y not do
anything. Impossible" you ~. There
is something that tells me th9 Heath is not
| the appendix, but the preq Q 10 life.
There is something that tell ne that on
this side OF the grave l oDit get started
and that I shall go on forever. My power
TO think says forever my affections say
forever my capacity to enjoy or suhsr'
forever"
BoHEMlANs BLAME IMcERSoLL;l