The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1899-05-26


He calls upon His recording angel TO
mark IL: $50 much wanting in that
measure of OIL" The farmer comes In
from the country. He has apples to sell.
lie 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 40 meny 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 II will be found out
that what we learned in boyhood at
school is correct-that 30 hundred
make n ton and 100 solid feet make q
cord of wood. No more, no less And
n religion which does not take lold OF
this life ms well as the life TO come Is no
religion Mt all.
But. my friends, that Is not the style
Of balances l am TO speak of to-day;
that Is not the kind of 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. lis IL possible that our world Is to
be weighed" Yes. Why, you would
think IL Cod put on one side Of the bal
ances suspended from the throne the
| Alps and the Pyrenccs and the Hima-
layas and Mount Washington and all the
cities OF the earth they would crush IL.
No. MOI 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 20 the sins. and away will
go the opportunities, and God will say
To the messengers with the torch:
Burn that world! Weighed and found
wnnting!"
So God will weigh churches. lie takes
great church. That church. great ac-
cording 10 the worldly estimate. must
be weighed. lie puts il on one side the
balances and the minister and the choir
and the building that cost its hundreds
OF thousands of dollars. lie puts them
on one side the balances. On the other
side of the scale lie puts what that
church ought to he. what its consecra-
ton ought to be, what It's sympathy for
the poor ought Ia be, what its devotion
TO all good ought "a be. That is on
one side. That side comes down. and
the church. not being able TO stand the
tes;. rises in the balance. IL does not
make any difference about your mag
nifccnt machinery. A church is built
for one thing TO save souls. IL il saves
"a few souls when IL might save a multi
tudc OF souls, God Will spew IL 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 IL insufficient and condemned IL,
The French empire was placed on one
side Of the scales, and God weighed the
French empire. and Napoleon said
"llave I not enlarged the bouleyardsl
IBID not kindie the glories OF the
Champs Elysces? Have | not adorned
the Tuilcries? Have ! not built the
gildcd opera houSc?" Then God
weighed ;hc nation, and lie put on one
side the scales the emperor. and the
boulevards. and the Tuilcries. and the
Champs Elysces, and the gilded opera
house. and on the other side he puts
that mans denominations. that mans
Iibertinism. that mans sclfishncss. 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 clergymen
ought to be personal in their religious
address. but ought 10 deal with sub iects
In the abstract. ! do not think that
way. What would you think of hunter
who should go To the Adirondncks to
shoot deer in the abstract? All. no!
He loads his gun; he puts the butt of IL
| against his breast, ne runs his eve
along the barrel. he takes sure aim. and
then crash go the antlcrs ON the rocks,
| And SO. IL we want 10 bc hunters for
the Lord, we must take sure aim and
fire. Not in the abstract are we 20 treat
things in religious discussions. II n
| physician comes into IA sick room. does
he treat disease i'm the abstract? No;
he feels the pulse. makes the diagnosis.
| then lac writes the prescription. And,
II we want To heal souls for this life and
the life 90 come. we do not want To treat
them in the abstract. The fact is, you
and | have n malady which. 10 uncurcd
| by grace, will kill us forever Where is
the balm? Where is the physician?
Still the balances are suspended Are
there any others who would like To be
weighed or who will he weighed? Yes:
here comes worldling. lie gets into
the scales. | can very easily see what
his whole life Is made up of. Stocks.
| dividends, percentages, buyer ten
| days" "buyer 20 days" "Get in my
| friend; get into those balances and be
wcighcd-weighed for this life and
weighed for the life To come" He gets
in. | find that the two great questions
in his life are: How chcaply can buy
these goods?" and Glow dearly can
sell them" / find he admires Heaven
because IL is land of gold and money
must be easy" | find, from talking
with him, that religion and the Sabbath
are an interruption, a vulgar Interrupt
| ton, and he hopes on the way 10 church