The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1901-05-31
JUDGING CHARACTER
DR.. Talmage Urges the Adoption of
an Unusual Mode.
In This Discourse He Shows the DIFF
ference in the Divine and the
Human Way-The Weigh
ing of Nations.
copyright, 1901, by Louis Klopscn. N. VI
Washington,

copyright, 1901, by Louis Klopscn. N. Y. ]
Washington,
In this discourse, from symbol of
the Bible, DR.. Talmage urges the adop-
ton of an unusual mode of estima ting
character and shows how different is
the Divine way from the human way;
text, Proverbs, 16, 2: THE Lord
| weigheth the spirits"
The subject of weights and meas
ures is discussed among all nations,
is the subject of legislation and has
much to do with the worlds prosper
ity. system of weights and meas
ures was invented by Phidon, ruler OF
Argos, about 500 years before Christ.
An ounce, pound, ton, were differ
ent in different lands. Henry Ill. de-
| cided that an ounce should be the
weight of $40 dried grains of wheat
from the middle of the ear. From the
reign of William the Conqueror to
! Henry III. the English pound was the
weight of 1850 grains of wheat. Queen
| Elizabeth decreed that pound should
be 1000 grains of wheat taken from
the middle of the ear. The piece of plat
mum kept at the office of the eXche-
quer in England in an atmosphere of
81 degrees +. decides for all Great
Britain what a pound must be. Sci
entific representatives from all lands
met in 1869 in Paris and esta bished
international standards of weights
and measures.
| You all know something of avoirdu-
pOis weight, of apothecaries' weight,
of troy weight. You are familiar with
the different kinds of weighing ma
! chimes, whether a Roman balance,
which is our steelyard, or the more
| usual instrument consisting of a
beam supported in the middle, having
| two basins of equal weight suspended
| to the eXtremities. Scales have been
| invented to weigh substances huge like
mountains, and others delicate enough
| to weigh infinitesimais. But in all the
universe there has only been one bal
| ance that could weigh thoughts, emo
| tionS, affections, hatreds, ambitions.
That balance was fashioned by an AL
mighty God and is hung up for perpet-
ual service. 1.-The Lord weigheth the
spirits"
This divine weigher puts into the
balance the spirit of charity and de-
cides how much of it really exists.
be that it says to the unfortunate:
Take this, and do not bother me any
more" 1t may be an occasional i'm
pulse. 1t may depend upon the con-
dition of the liver or the style of
breakfast partaken of a little while
before. 1t may be called forth by the
loneliness of the solicitor. 1t may be
exercised in spirit of rivalry, which
given so much, therefore / must give
as much" 1t is accidental or occa-
sional or spasmodic. When such a
spirit of charity is put into the bal
ance and weighed, God and men and
angels look on and say there is moth
ing of it. 1t does not weight so much
as a dram, which is only the one-eighth
part of an ounce, or a scruple, which
is only the twenty-fourth part of an
ounce. man may give his hundreds
and thousands of dollars with such
feelings and amid such circumstances,
and he will get no heavenly recogni-
ton.
But into the divine scales another
mans charity is placed. 1t starts
from love of God and man. 1t is born
in Heaven. 1t is lifelong character
istic. 1t may have million dollars
or penny to bestow, but the man
ner in which that giver bestows it
shows that it is a divinely implanted
principle. The one penny given may.
considering the limited circum-
stances, attract as much angelic and
heavenly attention as though the |
check given in charity was so large |
it staggered the cashier of the bank |
to cash it. 1t is not the amount |
given, but the spirit with which it is |
given. THE Lord weigheth the spir- !
it's"
Perhaps no one but God heard that |
good mans resolutions, but it |
amounted about to this: From this |
present moment to my last moment |
on earth, God helping me, 1 will do |
all 1 can to make this world a purer |
world, a better world, a happier
world" But the resolution shines
out ills face, sweetens his CONVEX
sation, enlarges his nature, controls
his life and shows itself as plainly in
the contribution of ST as though he
had the means to contribute $500. 900.
When that charity is put into the
royal balance, the heavens watch the
from the clouds, and i catch one bar
of the music: Now abideth faith.
hope, charity-these three; but the
greatest of these is charity"
There are Christian people who had
faith that China would be redeemed |
and for 80 years have been contrib
uting toward that object, but they
their minds and now despair
of the Flowery Kingdom since the
Boxers began their massacres. There
are those who were busy in New
Y ork missions and expected the sal
walton of our American cities until
recent developments showed that
the police were in completely with
crime, and now these Christian work.
ers are despairful, as though all were
lost. Of what worth is such a mans
faith? When weighed, will they have
what the chemists call atomic weight
the weight of an atom? No. Such
faith is no faith at all.
But there is another man who by
and prayer has put him
self into alliance with the Almighty
God Made all right by the Saviour's
grace, this man goes to work to make