A Pocket Rule

MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS: I am sure you will be able to tell me what these are which I hold in my hand. This you would call a yard-stick; the other, because it folds, you would call a pocket rule, and here is another, which you would call a tape measure. Now, if I were going to measure any of you, to tell how tall you are, I would use one or the other of these rules; as each is divided into even inches, I could use any of these three I should prefer.

I would say one boy is four feet two inches, another four feet nine inches and another five feet four inches, and so on, according to the height of each individual. We speak of this kind of measure as feet and inches. When it is used in measuring cloth, or other goods in a store, we speak of it as yards and parts of yards.

Then there are also other forms of measures, dry measure—quarts, pecks, bushels; and liquid measure—quarts, gallons and barrels. There is also a standard of weight—ounces, pounds and tons. It is necessary to have standards of weights and measures. This is absolutely necessary, or we could not tell in purchasing cloth or lumber, in buying sugar or molasses, or other things, whether we are getting the right quantity, or whether we are not getting the right quantity.

So, everywhere you go in the United States we have the same size or standards of weights and measures, and the Government appoints men in each city to go about and examine whether the scales which the storekeeper uses for weighing sugar, and the measures which he uses when he sells vinegar and molasses—whether these are perfectly accurate, as the law requires. But, if you look on the other side of this tape measure, there is a different standard of measure.

This, on the reverse side, is the metric system, used in France and many other countries. If you were to go into a store in France and wanted to purchase cloth, you would not ask for a yard, you would ask for a metre of cloth, which instead of thirty-six inches, which makes our yard, would be a little over thirty-nine inches; so the standard of measures and values varies in different countries. There is a slight difference in the length of the English yard and the American yard.

In this country we also speak of dollars and cents. In England they have the penny, shilling, pound and the sovereign. And so in different countries there are different pieces of money, having a great variety of values. I have spoken of these things simply to call your attention to the fact that God has a standard of measure, and a standard of value, as well as men.

When the Government enlists soldiers into the army every man is measured, and he must be of a given height; if he is not as tall as the requirement, then he is rejected When Napoleon chose his body-guard the men had all to be exceedingly tall. God also has his standard of measure. He does not measure us according to the height of our body, but according to our moral character.

He measures us to see whether we are good or bad. God’s standard of the measure of our moral character is found in the Bible. You will find it, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. In the Old Testament we have the Ten Commandments, in which we are required to worship God, and to worship nothing else; to keep the Sabbath day holy; to honor our parents; and various other requirements.

In the New Testament we have a great many principles for moral government which Jesus announced when He was on earth. We have all broken some one or more of the Ten Commandments and the precepts which Jesus left for us to follow. If you desire to see how you should live if you would keep the law perfectly, you will have to look at the life of Jesus Christ. He was the only perfect man who ever lived.

He came to this world to set a perfect example for men to imitate. Just the same as you copy after the lines correctly written at the top of your writing book, so you and I are to copy after the life and character of Jesus Christ.

The moral law is a perfect law; the Psalmist says, “the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” I showed you how in France they have a different standard of measure from that which we have in the United States, but with the moral law the standard is the same everywhere and at all times.

If it is wrong to lie or steal in America, it is equally wrong to lie or steal in France, or in Africa, or in India, or on the islands of the sea, or anywhere in all of the universe. If it is wicked now to swear, or to commit murder, it always was wicked. It was just as wicked four thousand years ago as it is to-day, and it never will be right to take the name of God in vain, or to destroy human life.

God has but one standard of morality for all people and for all time. What God requires of the young in order that they may be pure and holy, He requires the same thing of grown-up people. If it is wrong for the preacher and the Sunday-school superintendent to go to the theatre, or to do anything else, it is equally wrong for every member of the church and for every member of the Sunday-school. Before God we must all be measured by the same standard of morality.

If I had one year ago measured the height of each of these young people before me and written it down, and measured them again to-day, I would find that during these twelve months they have grown. They are taller to-day than they were a year ago. Now, God has given us a standard of moral character, right and wrong, and I want you all to study it very carefully, so that you may see how tall you are, how far you come short of the character of Jesus Christ.

And as you grow taller in body, so you should grow in moral character, and if you will study God’s word carefully, you will be able to discover what progress you are making in becoming more like Christ, in becoming better boys and better girls, and afterward better men and better women, from year to year, than you were each preceding year. May God bless you abundantly, and may you grow daily “unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. (Eph. iv: 13.)