Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1901-05-29

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, a ton, were differ
ent in different lands. Henry III. 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
/ 62 degrees +. decides for all Great
Britain what a pound must be. Sci
| entitic representatives from all lands
met in 1869 in Paris and established
| international standards of weights
and measures.
| You all know some thing 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 eXtremi%ies. Scales have been
invented to weigh substances huge like
mountains, and others delicate enough
to weigh infinite imais. But in all the
universe there has only been one bal
ance that could weigh thoughts, emo
tons, affections, hatreds, ambitions
That balance was fashioned by an Al
mighty God and is hung up for perpet-
ual service. The Lord weigheth the
spirits"
This divine weigher puts into the
balance the spirit of charity and de-
eides how much of it really exists
II may go for nothing at all. 1t may
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 little while
before. 1t may be called forth by the
loneliness of the solicitor. 1t NAV be
exercised in spirit of rivalry, which
practically says: MY neighbor has
| given so much, therefore / must give
as much" 1t is accidental or occa-
sional or spasmodic When such 4
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 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
ieellngs and amid such circumstances.
ana he Will get no heavenly recogni-
ton.
But into the divine scales another
mans charity is placed. IT starts
from love of God and man. II is horn
in Heaven. 1t is a lifelong character
lstic. 1t may have million dollars
or penny to bestow, but the man
ner in which that giver bestows it
SHOWS tEat 1T is divinely implanted
principle. The one penny given NAV.
considering the limited circum-
stances, attract as much angelic and
heavenly attention as though the
check given in charity was so lar,e
it staggered the cashier of the honI,
so cash it. 1t is not the amount
given. but the spirit with which il is
given. THE Lord weigheth the spir-
its"
Perhaps no one but God heard that
good mans resolutions, but il
amounted about to this: From tbis
present moment 10 my last moment
ON earth, God helping me. / will no
all j can to make this world a purer
| world. "a better world. bappier
world But the resolution shines
ous in his face, sweetens his copvcr-
sation, enlarges his nature. controls
his life and shows itself as plainly I'm
the contribution OF 81 as though no
had the means TO contribute $500 600
when that charity is put into the
| royal balance, the heavens watch tho
weighing and invisible choirs chant
from the clouds, and ! catch one bsr
OF the music: "Now abideth faith
hope, charity three: but The
greatest OF these is charity"
There are Christian people who had
faith that China would be- redeemed
and for 30 years have been contrib
utrg toward that object but they
changed their minds and now dcspair
Of the Flowery Kingdom since The
boxers began their massacres. There
are those who were busy i'm Now
FORK missions and expected the sal
'aHon oI our American cities until
recent developments showed that
ne police were i'm completely with
crime and now these Christian work
ers are despairful as though ADJ were
lost. OF what worth is such rnan.s
faith? When weighed. will they have
what the chemists call atomic weight
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