The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-06-02
DR. TALMAGES
 SERMON.

oEklEkUN. h@ X < 3 3ashington, May 2s.--In this discourse. 14@n ! symbol of the Bible. pr. Tal, v urges the adoption of an unsuual Is of estimating character and shows M3U different is the divine way from the &&<a6n way; text, Proverbs xvi, 2. The , H1 weiGheth the spirits"
 XEo subtect of weights and measures 11 1iecussed among all nations, fs the uu&I6c< of legislauon and has mucn 70 ~ Xfith the worlds prosperity. A system IT Phidon, ruler of Argos. about so5 years before Christ. An ounce, a Aponno' a fon were different in different lands. Henry III decided that an ounce snoula bo the weight of GO dried grains or wheat from the middle of the ear. From the reifn of william the Condueror to Henry VIfI the English pound was the wetent of 7,eoe grains of wheat; queen Sa.ap1sn M naa < TrSins of wheat taken from the middle ot fhe ear. The piece of platinum kept at tho solfice of the exchequer m Ensiano i, .i sn atmospnsre s. 2. % nonna e must be. 0ci4utidc representatives from ar iAnss Ief in 1889 in Paris and established in. ternational standards of weights anu < Ysr Sil know something of avoirdupois wefRkt. Of apothecaries' weight cf t.oy ve1Iht. You are familiar with tns o. lesent kinds of weignins sh,cn Gn. is ous Sts91yard, or the more usual instrumens eha rS1f7rting of a beam supported In tne mid6le. having two basins of equal weight Sospended @ the easee e a,rS substa rnes h7zxe like mountains, and others dehcale enough to weigh infnitesimals. but n ailathe universe there has only been one balancs that could weigh thoughts, emo. Sions, affections. hatreds. ambitions. That balarlee was fashioned by an Almighty God and Is hung up for perpetual service.
 The Lord weigheth the spirits.
 This divine weigher puts into the bal ance the spirit of charity and decides hoy much of it really exists. It may go for nothing at all It may be that U says to the unfortunate. Take this ana an occasional impulse: It may depend upon the condition of tthe liver or the style of breakfast partaken of little the .ioysliness of the solicitor. It may be exercised in spirit of rivalry,, which prac- ticaily says, My neighbor has given so much: therefore I must give as much. modic. When such a spirit of charity is put into the balance and weighed. God and men and angels look on and say there fs nothing of it. It does not weigh so much as dram. which is only the one eighth part of an ounce, or scruple, which is only the twsnty-fourth part of Gn ounce. A man may give his hundreds and thousands of dollars with such feef-a ing and amid such circumstances, and he will get no heavenly recognition.
 But into the divine scales another mans charity Is placed. It starts from love of God and man.. It is born in heaven. It is a lifelong characteristic It may have a million dollars or penny to bestow, but the manner in which that Givtr bestows it shows that it is di- windy implanted principle. The one pen. ny Given may. considering the limited circumstances. attract as much angelic and heavenly attention as though the cheek giyep in charity va was & so large s It 1t. It Is not the amount given. but the spirit with which 1t is given. The Lord weisheth the spirits asyak
 A Noble Resolvs.ss s.-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. I will do all can to make this world purer world, better world. happier world" But the resolution shines out In his face. sweetens his conversation. en- larges his nature, controls his life and shows itself as plainly in the contribution of s1 as though he had the means tc con tribute $500.00N When that. charity is put into the royal bSsance. the heavens Yatcn the weiKhfng efid Invisible choirs Chant fsoH asss ssseh fsits Gns oSe hepe et char3ty-these three; but the greatest of
 So also In the celestial scales Is placed the spirit of faith. In most cases faith depends on whether or not the sun shines. and the man had sound sleep last night, and whether the first person he meets in the morning tells him something agree- able or disagreeable. Some day the sales in his store do not amount to so much as he expected. and he goes home with enough complaints to fill the house as coon as he enters it. Another day the sales are 20 or 70 per cent. larger than usual. and as he is putting the key into the door lock his family heal shtfn whies ting tune most jnblant. He has faith that everything in his own affairs and in the affairs of church and State are tending toward better conditions until something depressing happens in his own personal experiences or under his own Observation.
 There are Christian people who had faith that China would be redeemed and for thirty years have been contributing toward that object, but they changed their minds and now despair of the Flow cry Kingdom since the Boxers began their massacres. There are those who were busy in New York missions and ex- pected the salvation of our American cities until recent developments showed that the police were in complieity with crime, and now these Christian, workers