The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-05-28

-AoJ -Os"4h NAAS lis
course, from a symbol Of the Bible, DR..
Talmage urges the adoption Of an unusu-
al mode Of estimating character end
shows how different is the divine way
from the human way; text, Proverbs xvi,
Z, The Lord weigheth the spirits"
The subject of weights and measures
IS discussed among all nations, is the sub
Ject Of legislation and has much to do
with the worlds prosperity. A system
Of weights and measures was invented
by Phidon. ruler Of Argos, about 500
years before Christ. An ounce, a pound,
a ton, were different in different lands.
Henry III decided that an ounce should
be the weight Of GAO 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 Of the exchequer in
England in an atmosphere of GO F. de-
cides for all Great Britain what a pound
must be. Scientific representatives from
all lands met in 1869 in Paris and estab-
lshed international standards Of weights
and measures.
YOU all know something of avoirdupois
weight, of apothecaries' weight, Of troy
weight. You are familiar with the diff
ferent kinds of weighing machines,
whether q 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 sub
stances huge like mountains, and others
delicate enough to weigh nfnitesimals.
But in all the universe there has only
been one balance that could weigh
thoughts, emotions, affections, hatreds,
ambitions. That balance was fashioned
by an Almighty God and is hung up for
perpetual service. 1.-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 60
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 oc-
c~asional impulse. 1t may depend upon
the condition of the liver or the style of
reakfas partaken OF a little while be-
fore. 1t may be called forth by the love-
illness Of the solicitor. 1t may be exer-
cised in spirit of rivalry, which practical
ly says, my neighbor has given so much;
therefore / must give as much. 1t Is
accidental or occasional or spasmodic.
When such q spirit Of charity is put into
the balance and weighed, God and men
and angels look on and say there is moth
ing 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. 4
man may give his hundreds and thou
sands OF dollars with such feelings and
amid such circumstances, and he will
get no heavenly recognition
But into the divine scales another
mans charity is placed. 1t starts from
love Of God and man. 1t Is born in heav-
en- 1t is a lifelong characteristic. 1t
may have a million dollars or a penny
to bestow, but the manner in which that
giver bestows it shows that it is q di-
yinely implanted principle. The one pen
ny given may, considering the limited cir
cumstances, 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 spirits"
A Noble Resolve.
Perhaps no one but God heard that
good mans resolutions, but it amounted
about to this: From this present mo-
ment to M last moment on earth, God
helping me, i will do all I can to make
this world a purer world, a better world,
a happier world" But the resolution
shines out in his face, sweetens his con-
versation, 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 Uafph rho wpiyhin0 and in
visible choirs chant from the clouds. and
catch one bar of the music. Now
abideth faith. hope. charity-these three;
but the greatest OF these is charity"
So also in the celestial scales is placed
the spirit OF faith. In most eases faith
depends on whether or not the sim shines.
and the man hal sound sleep iaSi night.
and whether the first person he meets in
the morning tells him something agreea-
BILE or disagreeable. Some day the sales
in his store do not amount to so much as
he expected. and he goes HON with
enough complaints to fill the house as
soon as he enters it. Another day the
sales are 20 or 40 per cent larger than
usual. and as he is putting the key into
the door lock his family hear him whis-
ting a tune most jubilant. 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 so years have been contributing to-
ward that object. but they changed their
minds and now despair Of the Flowery
Kingdom since the Boxers began their
massacres. There are those who were
busy in New York missions and expected
The salvation of our American cities until
recent developments showed that the po-
lice were in completely with crime, and
now these Christian workers are despair
full. as though all were lost. OF what
worth is such q mans faith? When
weighed, will they have what the chem
lists call ATOMIC Meight-the weight of an