Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1901-05-27
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usual mode of estimating character
and shows how different is the divine
way from the human way; text, Prov
cribs xvi, 2 The Lord weigheth the
spirits"
The subject of weights and measures
is discussed among all nations, is the
subject of legislation and has much to
10 with the worlds prosperity. A sys-
fem of weights and measures was in
vented by Phidon, ruler Of Argos, about
800 years before Christ. An ounce, a
pound, a ton, were different in differ
ent lands. Henry III decided 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 VIII the English
pound was the weight of 1850 grains
of wheat. Queen Elizabeth decreed
that a pound should be 1000 grains Of
wheat taken from the middle of the
ear. The piece of platinum kept at the
office ofNthe eXchequer in England in
an atmosphere of GO degrees F. decides
for all Great Britain what q pound
must i, be. Scientific representatives
from ali lands met in 1869 in Paris and
established 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 in
vented to weigh substances huge, like
mountains, and others delicate enough
to weigh infiniteSimalS. But in all
the universe there has only been one
balance that could weigh thoughts,
emotions. affections hatreds, ambi-
tionS. That balance 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
how much of it really exists. 1t 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 impulse. 1t may
depend upon the condition 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 practically says, My neighbOr
has given so much: therefore l must
give as much" 1t is accidental or Oc-
casional or spasmOdic. When such a
spirit of charity is put into the balance
and weighed, God and men and angels
look on and say there is nothing of it.
1t does not weigh 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. A
man may give his hundreds and thou
sands of dollars with such feelings
and amid such circumstances, and he
will get no heavenly recognition.
\ Divine Principle.
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 a lifelong characteristic.
1t may have Il million dollars or a pen
ny to bestOw, but the manner in which
that giver bestows it shows that it is
a divinely implanted principle. The
j penny given may. considering the
limited circumstances, 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-
its
Perhaps no one but God heard that
good mans resolutions, but it amounted
about to this: From this present mo-
ment to my last moment on earth. God
helping me, ! will do all l can to make
this world a purer world. a better
world, happier world" But the resO-
luton shines out in his face, sWeetens
his conversation, enlarges his nature,
controls his life and shows itself as
plainly in the contribution of 81 as
though he had the means to contribute
100000. When that charity is put
into the royal balance, the heavens
watch the weighing and invisible
choirS chart from the clouds, and l
catch one bar of the music-"Now
abideth faith, hope, charity-these
three; but the greatest of these is char
tty."
So also in the celestial scales is
placed the spirit of faith. In most
eases 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 agreeable or disagreed
bic. Some day the sales in his store
do not amount to so much as he ex-
pected, and he goes home with enough