Milford chronicle., 1906-09-07

nest with a buzzard or the light and
the darkness could together fill the
same room. The love of silver is from
the devil The love of Christ is Of
God. The Bible distinctly says 1t. ''Ys
cannot serve God and Mammon." Ye
sannOt serve two masters. For either
you will hate the one and love the
other or else you will hold to the one
and despise the other. The house divid
ed against itself cannot stand. There
fore my friends, you who are giving
your lives more and more to the aequl'
sition of wealth are at the divergent
forks of two roads. Either you will have
to surrender your love for gold or else
you will have to surrender your love
for Jesus Christ. There is no doubt
about it. The love of silver is a sin
And unless man is ready to sur
render all sin he cannot become one
with Christ.
Not Impractical.
"Oh." says some man to me, that is
absurd. You are taking an impractical
bic view of life Do you mean to tell
me that all merchants who are selling
their goods over counter, that all real
estate spectators who are trying to
make profit out of their land, that all
clerls and mechanics and lawyers and
doctors and professors and scientists
and authors and labOrers who are
earning their weekly wages are antag-
onistic to Jesus Christi" No, my
friend, / never said that. Thousands
and tens of thousands and hundreds of
thousands of men who are working In
the busy marts of trade are doing this.
not for love of silver, but for what that
silver will do for them and their loved
ones. They are working for their chill
dren's education. They are working
to put homes over their loved ones
heads. They are working, as did Peter
Cooper. to build some institution OF
mercy. But you know just as well as
1 know that there are thousands and
hundreds of thousands of men who,
having all their temporal necessities
supplied, are not working for any COM
petency or even for the luxuries of
life. but in order that they may have
power and fame and position; in order
that they may yet make men bow and
worship them; in order that they may
say. as did Nebuchadnezzar of old:
Behold, is not this great Babylon that
have built? Behold, behOld!' Now,
whenever any man comes to the posi-
ton where he is loving gold for COLDS
sake and power for powers sake and
fame for fame's sake, then that man Is
crOwding the love of Jesus Christ out
Of his heart. Paul was a tentmaker.
But Paul never made tents in order
that he might build palace and own a
thousand acres of land. Paul made
tents in order that he might earn
enough money to pay his way to
preach the gospel. And when any man
loses sight of the true purpose for
which we are given the opportunities
of working for money, thea that man
becomes a spiritual outcast. "Ye can
not serve God and MammOn." Ye can
not love silver and love Christ at the
same time.
1 was never more impressed with the
fact that a false love can crowd out
our love for Jesus Christ than when,
short time ago, l saw the copy of a
picture entitled "Despised and Reject
ed of Men" The artist did not de-
pict Christ in the oriental judgment
hall of PLATE. He did not have Jesus
surrounded by Hebrew scOffers in He
brew dress, while he staggered under
his cross through the Jerusalem gates
on his way to Calvary. The artist did
not lift that cross, as we have always
seen it, between two thieves. But this
cross of Christ seemed to be hung upon
one of the pillars of the subtreasury
building of Wall street, New York.
Then as these American scofers
passed by. wagging their heads and
sneering, each one seemed to be alb
sorbed in just one illicit love. There
was the drunkard olinging to his bot
tie. There was the libertine with wan
ton eyes watching his prey. There was
the bishop in his gorgeous robes think
ing more Of ecclesiastical hOnOrs than
of worshiping at the cross. There was
the maiden dressed in the latest fash
ion, seeming to say, "Come, o world,
come and worship me and my beauty"
There was the politician reaching after
fame. And there was the miser or the
banker whose god was gold. As l
watched the long line of men and
women who were rejecting Christ, each
on account of his one Illicit love, this
miser seemed to speak and to stand
out before me as the most despicable
Of all.
why They Reject Him.
I seemed to see him lift his golden
coins and drop them back into the
withered palm of his hand as he said
"Ah, We beauties, how 1 love to hear
the music of your ring worship you
for what you have done for me. You
have sent my ships across the sea to
bring to me the wealth Of other lands.
You have made men cringe and whine
at my feet. You have built me houses
have