Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-05-26

| religion which does not take hold of
this life, as well as the life to come, is
no religion at all
Weigh Principles.
But, my friends, that is not the style
of balances l am to speak of today
that is not the kind of weights and
measures. l am to speak of that kind
of balances which weigh principles,
weigh churches. weigh men. weigh ma
tions and weigh worlds. What you
say. lis it possible that cur world is to
be weighed?" Yes. Why, you would
think if God put on one side of the bal
ances suspended from the throne the
Alps and the Pyrenees and the Hima-
Iayas 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 world : sins.
Down will 90 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 its consecra-
tion 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 side comes down, and the
church, not being able to stand the test,
rises in the balances. 1t does not make
machinery y church is built for one
thing-to save souls. If it saves a few
souls when it might save a multitude
Of souls, God viii spew it out of his
mouth Weighed and found wantingl
A MainIy to BE Cured.
So we perceive that God estimates
nations 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 not enlarged the boulevards? :?
Did | not kindle the glories of the
Champs Elysees? Have | not adorned
the TuiIeries? Have l not built the
gilded opera. house?'' Then God weigh
ed the nation, and he put on one side
the scales the emperor and the boule-
wards and the Tuileries and the Champs
Elysees and the gilded opera house, and
on the other side he puts that man
abominaticns, that mans libertinism,
that mans selfshness, that man S god
less ambition. This last came down,
and all the brilliancy of the scene van
ished. What is that voice coming up
from Sedan? Weighed and found want
ingl
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 to deal with subjects
in the abstract. ! do not think that
way What would you think of hunter
who should go to the Adirondacks to
shoot deer in the abstract? Ah, mol He
loads the gun; be 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 1e hunters for the
Lord, we must take sure aim and fire
Not in the abstract are we to treat
things in religious discussions. If
physician comes into a sickroom, does
he treat disease in the abstract? No
He feels the pulse, takes the diagnosis,
then he writes the prescription. And if
we want to heal souls for this life and
the life to come, we do not want to
treat them in the abstract. The fact is,
you and l have malady which, if un
cured by grace, will kill us forever.
Now, want no abstraction Where is
the balm? Where is the physician2
Striking n Balance.
People say there is day of judg
ment coming. My friends. every day is
a day of Judgment, and you and l to-
day are being canvassed, inspected,
weighed. Here are the balances of the
sanctuary. They are lifted, and we
must ali be weighed. Who will come
and be weighed first? Here is a moral
ist who volunteers He is one of the
most upright men in the country. He
comes. ''Well, my brother, get in--get
into the balances now ana be weighed.
But as he gets into the balances l say,
"What is that bundle you have along
with your ''Ob:" he says, THAT is
my reputation for goodness and kindness
and charity and generosity and kindli
ness generallyl' ''Oh, my brother. we
cannot weigh that! We are going to
weigh you-you Now stand in the
scales--you, the moralist Paid your
debts?' Yes" you say, paid all
my debts. - ''Have you acted in an up
right way in the community ''Yes,
yes. - ''Have you been kind to the poor
Are you faithful in thousand relations
in life?'' 'Yes. - 80 far so good. But
now, before you get out of this scale
want to ask yon two OF three questions.
Have. your thoughts always been
right?'' ''No. you say; mo. Pat
down one mark. Have you loved the
Lord with all your heart and soul and
mind and strength ''No, you say
Make another mark. s'Come now, De
frank and confess that in 10, 900 things
you have come short, have you notl"
Eyes. " Make 10. 600 marks Come now,
get me a book large enough to make
the record OF the moralist s deficits Ny