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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 05:05:44 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 05:05:44 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/19830-doc.doc b/19830-doc.doc Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3b88502 --- /dev/null +++ b/19830-doc.doc diff --git a/19830-doc.zip b/19830-doc.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..51452f1 --- /dev/null +++ b/19830-doc.zip diff --git a/19830-h.zip b/19830-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c6e691c --- /dev/null +++ b/19830-h.zip diff --git a/19830-h/19830-h.htm b/19830-h/19830-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8ee13d5 --- /dev/null +++ b/19830-h/19830-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,9157 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> + <meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" + http-equiv="content-type"> + <title>D. L. Moody's Anecdotes</title> + + +<style type="text/css"> + <!-- + body {text-align:justify; + margin:10%; + text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: .75em; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; } + hr { width: 50%; } + hr.full { width: 100%; } + CENTER { padding: 10px;} + PRE { font-size: 90%; margin-left: 20%;} + // --> +</style> + +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's Moody's Anecdotes And Illustrations, by Dwight L. Moody + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Moody's Anecdotes And Illustrations + Related in his Revival Work by the Great Evangilist + +Author: Dwight L. Moody + +Release Date: November 16, 2006 [EBook #19830] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOODY'S ANECDOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS *** + + + + +Produced by Don Kostuch + + + + + +</pre> + +[Transcriber's Notes]<br> +<br> +Here are the definitions of some unfamiliar (to me) terms.<br> +<br> +<dl> + <dt>antediluvian</dt> + <dd>Person who lived before the Biblical Flood. Very old or +old-fashioned.</dd> + <dt>cavil</dt> + <dd>Raise irritating and trivial objections; find fault unnecessarily.</dd> + <dt>conies</dt> + <dd>Rabbits</dd> + <dt>Chromo (chromolithograph)</dt> + <dd>Colored print</dd> + <dt>livery (clothing)</dt> + <dd>Distinctive uniform.</dd> + <dt>tares</dt> + <dd>Weedy plants of the genus Vicia, especially the common vetch. +Several weedy plants that grow in grain fields.</dd> +</dl> +[End Transcriber's Notes]<br> +<br> +MOODY'S +ANECDOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.<br> +<br> +RELATED IN HIS REVIVAL WORK<br> +BY THE GREAT EVANGELIST<br> +DWIGHT L. MOODY.<br> +<br> +FULLY ILLUSTRATED FROM GUSTAVE DORE<br> +<br> +REVISED EDITION. +EDITED BY +REV. J. B. McClure.<br> +<br> +CHICAGO: +Rhodes & McClure Publishing Co. +1899<br> +<br> +Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1896 by the +Rhodes & McClure Publishing Company, +in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C. +All Rights Reserved.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +PREFACE.<br> +<br> +The breathless interest given to Mr. Moody's anecdotes while being +related by him before his immense audiences, and their wonderful power +upon the human heart, suggested to the compiler this volume, and led +him +to believe and trust that, properly classified and arranged in book +form, they would still carry to the general reader a measure of their +original potency for good. The best anecdotes have been selected and +carefully compiled under appropriate headings, alphabetically arranged, +making the many stories easily available for the private reader and +public teacher. Mr. Moody's idiom has been strictly preserved. He tells +the story. "Gold" will be found scattered through the volume, which +includes Mr. Moody's terse declarations of many precious and timely +truths.<br> +<br> +The compiler acknowledges the benefit received from the extended +reports +of the Tabernacle meetings given in the Daily press of Chicago, also +the +Hippodrome services reported in the New York papers, and the volume of +Addresses revised by Mr. Moody. With the earnest prayer that God's +blessing may accompany the reading of these stories that have blessed +so +many thousands as they fell from the lips of the great Evangelist, this +volume is dedicated to the public by the compiler, J. B. McClure +Chicago, Ill.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +REVISED EDITION.<br> +<br> +We retain in this, all that was in former editions and give forty pages +additional of new anecdotes, properly classified, taken from the +revival +work in Boston and elsewhere. We also give engravings of Messrs. Moody, +Sankey, Whittle, and the late lamented P. P. Bliss, the four +evangelists +who have so long and industriously labored together, and whose names +conjoined, are household words throughout the land. The hearty +reception +already given by the public to this book justifies these improvements, +which are gladly made, and which lead the compiler to hope that in this +form the volume may prove yet more interesting and effective for good.<br> +<br> +The engraving of Mr. Moody is from a copyrighted photograph by Gentile, +used by permission. That of Mr. Whittle is by the same artist.<br> +<br> +J. B. Mc.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +REVISED EDITION 1896<br> +<br> +This edition includes additional anecdotes and many handsome and +appropriate illustrations.<br> +<br> +Over one million copies of this book have been sold since the first +issue. No single volume in the history of literature on the American +continent has met with such a sale, and probably the only approximate +comparison in the world is that of "Pilgrim's Progress."<br> +<br> +Both of these volumes, it should be noted, derive their merited power +and success from the vital truths of the Holy Scriptures which they so +aptly illustrate. May Heaven's blessing follow.<br> +<br> +J. B. McClure +Chicago, Ill.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img title="Illustration: Portrait of D. L. Moody" + alt="Illustration: Portrait of D. L. Moody" src="images/Moody.jpg" + style="width: 736px; height: 858px;"><br> +<br> +DWIGHT L. MOODY<br> +<br> +Self-made, and conscious of the absolute truthfulness of every Bible +declaration, Dwight Lyman Moody is today, perhaps, the most independent +and powerful of living evangelists. Man, rather than books, and God, +rather than man, have been his study, and made his life intensely +individual, and one which has constantly increased in good works. In +his +thirty-five years labor for Christ, from his mission class of fourteen +scholars in a Chicago saloon, down to the ten thousand listening souls +in the Halls of Europe and Tabernacles of America, he has been the same +faithful, persevering, original, and pungent D. L. Moody, with an +unshaken faith in God, and a burning desire for the conversion of +souls. +At home Mr. Moody is cheerful and happy; in the social circle he is +genial and companionable; in the pulpit he is Truth on fire. His native +town is Northfield, Mass., where he was born February 5th, 1837. He is +therefore now, (1896), fifty-nine years old.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +IRA D. SANKEY.<br> +<br> +Ira David Sankey, known throughout the world as the companion of Mr. +Moody, was born in Edenburg, Pa., August 28, 1840. His musical talents +were early developed. Political glee clubs at first monopolized his +genius, but after his conversion in 1857, the Sunday School and Church +opened wider fields, in which he has since labored with increasing +usefulness. In June, 1870, at a Christian Convention in Indianapolis, +after a morning service, where Mr. Sankey led the singing, he met, for +the first time, Mr. Moody. "Where do you live! Are you married? What +business are you in?" at once inquired the Evangelist; "I want you." +"What for?" "To help me in my work in Chicago." "I cannot leave my +business," replied the now astonished singer. "You must," said Moody. +"I +have been looking for you for the last eight years." And thus was Mr. +Sankey "called" to be the companion and helper of the great Evangelist. +They have been laboring together, for about a score of years.<br> +<br> +<img alt="Illustration: Portrait of IRA D. SANKEY" src="images/Sankey.jpg" + style="width: 762px; height: 1002px;"><br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +D. W. WHITTLE.<br> +<br> +For many years D. W. Whittle has been engaged in evangelistic work, +giving it all his time, talents and energy. His first effort in +connection with Mr. Bliss, who afterwards became his companion in the +cause, was made over twenty years ago in a small town near Chicago. It +was on this occasion that he told the story, "Hold the Fort," which the +"Singing Evangelist" has rendered immortal. He is in the prime of life, +and earnestly devoted to the Master's cause. His discourses are concise +and clear, abounding with Scripture quotations, and, like those of Mr. +Moody, interspersed with pointed anecdotes and illustrations. His +preaching has been signally blessed wherever he has been called to +labor.<br> +<br> +<img alt="Illustration: Portrait of D. W. WHITTLE" + title="Illustration: Portrait of D. W. WHITTLE" src="images/Wittle.jpg" + style="width: 746px; height: 916px;"><br> +<br> +<br> +P. P. BLISS<br> +<br> +Philip Paul Bliss, the "Sweet Singer," was born in Clearfield County, +Pa., in 1837. It was not until after he had reached the period of +manhood that he "felt the stirrings of his musical gift." And then, +under the inspiration of his wife, he entered upon the study of musical +science, and laid the basis of his immortal "hymns," now sung around +the +world. In 1864 he removed to Chicago, where his musical talent and +Christian character soon placed him in charge of the choir and Sunday +School of the First Congregational Church, and where he made the +acquaintance of D. W. Whittle, with whom, for the last five years of +his +life he labored in the great Gospel work. Deep spirituality and +persuasiveness pervade all of Mr. Bliss' musical compositions. It is +doubtful if the world ever heard sweeter hymns. Had he lived longer we +should have heard more, but God, who raised him up for the work, called +him:<br> +<br> +For those who sleep, And those who weep, Above the portals narrow The +mansions rise Beyond the skies-- We're going home to-morrow.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="Illustration: Portrait of P. P. BLISS" + title="Illustration: Portrait of P. P. BLISS" src="images/Bliss.jpg" + style="width: 744px; height: 1000px;"><br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +CONTENTS.<br> +<br> +A<br> +<br> +A Blind Man Preaches to 3,000,000 People +<br> +A Boy's Mistake--A Sad Reconciliation +<br> +A Business Man Confessing Christ +<br> +A Child at Its Mother's Grave +<br> +A Child Looking for its Lost Mother +<br> +A Child's Prayer Answered +<br> +A Child Visits Abraham Lincoln and Saves the Life of a Condemned +Soldier +<br> +A Commercial Traveler +<br> +A Day of Decision +<br> +A Defaulter's Confession +<br> +A Distiller Interrogates Moody +<br> +A Dream +<br> +A Dying Infidel's Confession +<br> +A Father's Love for his Boy +<br> +A Father's Love Trampled under Foot +<br> +A Father's Mistake +<br> +Affection +<br> +Affliction +<br> +A Good Excuse +<br> +A Heavy Draw on Alexander the Great +<br> +A Little Boy Converts his Mother +<br> +A Little Boy's Experience +<br> +A Little Child Converts an Infidel +<br> +All Right or All Wrong +<br> +A London Doctor Saved after Fifty Years of Prayer +<br> +A Long Ladder Tumbles to the Ground +<br> +Always Happy +<br> +A Man Drinks up a Farm +<br> +A Man who Would not Speak to his Wife +<br> +A Mother Dies that her Boy May Live +<br> +A Mother's Mistake +<br> +An Emperor Sets Forty Million Slaves Free +<br> +Angry at First--Saved at Last +<br> +An Infidel who would not Talk Infidelity before his Daughter +<br> +An Irishman Leaps into the Life-boat +<br> +A Remarkable Case +<br> +A Rich Father Visits his Dying Prodigal +<br> +Son in a Garret and Forgives him +<br> +Arthur P. Oxley! Your Mother Wishes to See You +<br> +A Rumseller's Son Blows his Brains Out +<br> +A Sad and Singular Story +<br> +Assurance +<br> +A Story Moody Never Will Forget +<br> +A Voice from the Tomb +<br> +A Wife's Faith +<br> +A Zealous Young Lady<br> +<br> +B<br> +<br> +Believe +<br> +Bible Study +<br> +Black-Balled by Man--Saved by Christ +<br> +Blind +<br> +Broken Hearts +<br> +By the Wayside<br> +<br> +C<br> +<br> +Calling the Roll of Heaven +<br> +Cast Out but Rescued +<br> +Child Stories +<br> +Christian Work +<br> +Christian Zeal +<br> +Christ Saves +<br> +Condemned to be Shot +<br> +Confessing Christ +<br> +Conversion<br> +<br> +D<br> +<br> +Decision +<br> +Deliverance +<br> +"Deluged With Blood" +<br> +Dr. Arnott's Dog "Rover"<br> +<br> +<br> +E +<br> +<br> +"Emma. This is Papa's Friend" +<br> +Engaging Rooms Ahead +<br> +Excused at Last +<br> +Excuses<br> +<br> +F<br> +<br> +Faith +<br> +Faith More Powerful than Gunpowder +<br> +"Father, Father, Come This Way" +<br> +Five Million Dollars +<br> +Forgiveness +<br> +Forty-one Little Sermons +<br> +Four-score and Five +<br> +"Free"<br> +<br> +G<br> +<br> +George H. Stewart Visits a Doomed Criminal +<br> +Get the Key to Job +<br> +Gold (Appears in many pages) +<br> +Governor Pollock and the Condemned Criminal +<br> +Grace<br> +<br> +H<br> +<br> +Heaven +<br> +"He Will Not Rest" +<br> +"Hold the Fort, for I am Coming" +<br> +How a Citizen Became a Soldier +<br> +How a Little Study Upset the Plans of a few Prominent Infidels +<br> +How a Young Irishman Opened Moody's Eyes +<br> +How Christ Expounded It +<br> +"How Funny You Talk" +<br> +How Moody's Faith Saved an Infidel +<br> +How Moody's Mother Forgave her Prodigal Son +<br> +How Moody Treated the Committees +<br> +How Moody was Blessed--Mark your Bible +<br> +How Moody was Encouraged +<br> +How Three Sunday-School Children Met their Fate<br> +<br> +I<br> +<br> +I Am not All Right +<br> +I Am not One of the Elect +<br> +I Am Trusting Jesus--A Young Lady's Trust. +<br> +I Can't Feel +<br> +"I Don't Know" +<br> +"If I Knew" +<br> +I Have Intellectual Difficulties +<br> +"I Know" +<br> +Infidel Books +<br> +Infidelity +<br> +Intemperance +<br> +It's Better Higher Up +<br> +"It Will Kill Her"<br> +<br> +J<br> +<br> +<br> +Jesus "Wants them All to Come" +<br> +Johnny, Cling Close to the Rock +<br> +Jumping into Father's Arms<br> +<br> +L<br> +<br> +Lady Ann Erkskine and Rowland Hill +<br> +"Let the Lower Lights be Burning" +<br> +Liberty +<br> +Liberty Now and Forever +<br> +Little Folks +<br> +Little Jimmy +<br> +Little Moody +<br> +Love +<br> +Love, not the Rattan, Conquers Little Moody +<br> +Love's Triumph in John Wannamaker's Sunday-School<br> +<br> +M +<br> +<br> +Madness and Death +<br> +Money Blind +<br> +Moody and his Little Willie +<br> +Moody and the Dying Soldier +<br> +Moody and the Infidel +<br> +Moody and the Judge +<br> +Moody Asks a Few Questions +<br> +Moody a Young Convert +<br> +Moody in a Billiard Hall--A Remarkable Story +<br> +Moody in a California Sunday-School +<br> +Moody in Prison +<br> +Moody on Duty--How he Loves his Mother +<br> +Moody Puts a Man in his Prophets Room +<br> +Moody Visits Prang's Chromo Establishment +<br> +Moody with Gen. Grant's Army In Richmond +<br> +Moody's Declaration +<br> +Moody's First Impulse in Converting Souls +<br> +Moody's First Sermon on Grace +<br> +Moody's Little Emma +<br> +Moody's Mistake +<br> +Mothers Are Looking down from Heaven +<br> +"More to Follow" +<br> +Mr. Morehouse's Illustration +<br> +Mrs. Moody Teaching her Child<br> +<br> +N<br> +<br> +<br> +Napoleon and the Conscript +<br> +Napoleon and the Private +<br> +Never to see its Mother +<br> +Note What Jesus Says<br> +<br> +O<br> +<br> +Obedience +<br> +O, Edward +<br> +Old Sambo and his Massa +<br> +One Book at a Time +<br> +One Word +<br> +Out of Libby Prison<br> +<br> +P<br> +<br> +Parental +<br> +Peter's Confession +<br> +Praise +<br> +Prayer +<br> +Prayer Answered +<br> +Pull for the Shore +<br> +"Pull for the Shore, Sailor"<br> +<br> +R<br> +<br> +Rational Belief +<br> +Reaping +<br> +Reaping the Whirlwind +<br> +Removing the Difficulties +<br> +Reuben Johnson Pardoned<br> +<br> +S<br> +<br> +Sad Ending of a Life that Might Have Been Otherwise +<br> +Sad Lack of Zeal +<br> +Safe In the Ark +<br> +Sambo and the Infidel Judge +<br> +Satan's Match +<br> +Saved +<br> +"Saved" +<br> +Saved and Saving +<br> +Snapping the Chains +<br> +Song Stories +<br> +Sowing the Tares +<br> +Spurgeon and the Little Orphan +<br> +Spurgeon's Parable +<br> +Stubborn Little Sammy +<br> +Sudden Conversion (See Conversion)<br> +<br> +T<br> +<br> +Taking the Prince at his Word +<br> +Ten Years in a Sick Bed--yet Praising God +<br> +Terribly in Earnest +<br> +That is the Price of my Soul +<br> +"That is Your Fault" +<br> +The Arrows of Conviction +<br> +The Artist and the Beggar +<br> +The Bible +<br> +The Blind Beggar +<br> +The Blood +<br> +The Cross and Crown +<br> +The Cruel Mother--Hypothetical +<br> +The Czar and the Soldier +<br> +The Demoniac +<br> +The Drunken Father and his Praying Child +<br> +The Dying Boy +<br> +The Dying Child +<br> +The Eleventh Commandment +<br> +The Faithful Aged Woman +<br> +The Faithful London Lady +<br> +The Faithful Missionary +<br> +The Family that Hooted at Moody +<br> +The Fettered Bird Freed +<br> +The Finest Looking Little Boy Mr. Moody Ever Saw +<br> +The Horse that was Established +<br> +The "I am's," "I will's," Etc. +<br> +The Invitation +<br> +The King's Pardon +<br> +The Little Child and the Big Book +<br> +he Little Tow-headed Norwegian +<br> +The Loving Father +<br> +The Missing Stone +<br> +The Moody and Sankey Humbug +<br> +The Most Hopeless Man in New York now a Sunday-school Superintendent +<br> +The Orphan's Prayer +<br> +The Place of Safety +<br> +The Praying Cripple +<br> +The Praying Mother +<br> +The Prodigal Son +<br> +The Repentent Father +<br> +The Reporter's Story +<br> +The Rich Man Poor +<br> +The Scotch "Draw the Bible" on False Doctrine +<br> +The Scotch Lassie +<br> +The Scotch Lassie and Dr. Chalmers +<br> +The Sinner's Prayer Heard +<br> +The Skeptical Lady ? +<br> +The Sleep of Death +<br> +The Stolen Boy--A Mother's Love +<br> +The Two Fathers +<br> +The Way of the Transgressor is Hard +<br> +The Young Convert +<br> +The Young French Nobleman and the Doctor +<br> +Those Hypocrites +<br> +"Three Cheers" +<br> +True Love +<br> +Trust +<br> +Two Young Men<br> +<br> +V<br> +<br> +Very Hard, yet Very Easy +<br> +Very Orthodox<br> +<br> +W<br> +<br> +"We Will Never Surrender" +<br> +What a Woman Did +<br> +What Moody saw in a Chamber of Horror +<br> +Wisdom +<br> +Word Pictures +<br> +Why Did he not Take his Wife along? +<br> +"Won by a Smile"<br> +<br> +Y<br> +<br> +"You Know me, Moody" +<br> +Young Moody, Penniless in Boston, +is Warned by his Sister to "Beware of Pick-pockets"<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +D. L. MOODY'S +Anecdotes and Illustrations.<br> +<br> +AFFECTION<br> +<br> +Love, not the Rattan, Conquers Little Moody.<br> +<br> +I remember when a boy, I used to go to a certain school in New England, +where we had a quick-tempered master, who always kept a rattan. It was, +"If you don't do this, and don't do that, I'll punish you." I remember +many a time of this rattan being laid upon my back. I think I can +almost +feel it now. He used to rule that school by the law. But after a while +there was somebody who began to get up a movement in favor of +controlling the school by love. A great many said you can never do that +with those unruly boys, but after some talk it was at last decided to +try it. I remember how we thought of the good time we would have that +winter when the rattan would be out of the school. We thought we would +then have all the fun we wanted. I remember who the teacher was--it was +a lady--and she opened the school with prayer. We hadn't seen it done +before and we were impressed, especially when she prayed that she might +have grace and strength to rule the school with love. Well, the school +went on for several weeks and we saw no rattan, but at last the rules +were broken, and I think I was the first boy to break them. She told me +to wait till after school and then she would see me. I thought the +rattan was coming out sure, and stretched myself up in warlike +attitude. +After school, however, I didn't see the rattan, but she sat down by me +and told me how she loved me, and how she had prayed to be able to rule +that school by love, and concluded by saying, "I want to ask you one +favor--that is; if you love me, try and be a good boy;" and I never +gave +her trouble again. She just put me under grace. And that is what the +Lord does. God is love, and He wants us all to love Him.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +True Love.<br> +<br> +One day when I was in Brooklyn, I saw a young man going along the +street +without any arms. A friend who was with me, pointed him out, and told +me +his story. When the war broke out he felt it to be his duty to enlist +and go to the front. He was engaged to be married, and while in the +army +letters passed frequently between him and his intended wife. After the +battle of the Wilderness the young lady looked anxiously for the +accustomed letter. For a little while no letter was received. At last +one came in a strange hand. She opened it with trembling fingers, and +read these words: "We have fought a terrible battle. I have been +wounded +so awfully that I shall never be able to support you. A friend writes +this for me. I love you more tenderly than ever, but I release you from +your promise. I will not ask you to join your life with the maimed life +of mine:" That letter was never answered. The next train that left, the +young lady was on it. She went to the hospital. She found out the +number +of his cot, and she went down the aisle, between the long rows of the +wounded men. At last she saw the number, and, hurrying to his side, she +threw her arms around his neck and said: "I'll not desert you. I'll +take +care of you." He did not resist her love. They were married, and there +is no happier couple than this one. We are dependent on one another. +Christ says, "I'll take care of you. I'll take you to this bosom of +mine." That young man could have spurned her love; he could, but he +didn't. Surely you can be saved if you will accept the Saviour's love. +If God loves us, my friends, He loves us unto the end. "For God so +loved +the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth +in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +How a Young Irishman Opened Moody's Eyes.<br> +<br> +I want to tell you how I got my eyes open to the truth that God loves +the sinner. When I went over to Europe I was preaching in Dublin, when +a +young fellow came up to the platform and said to me that he wanted to +come to America and preach. He had a boyish appearance; did not seem to +be over seventeen years old. I measured him all over, and he repeated +his request, and asked me when I was going back. I told him I didn't +know; probably I should not have told him if I had known. I thought he +was too young and inexperienced to be able to preach. In course of time +I sailed for America, and hadn't been here long before I got a letter +from him, dated New York, saying that he had arrived there. I wrote him +a note and thought I would hear no more about him, but soon I got +another letter from him, saying that he was coming soon to Chicago, and +would like to preach. I sent him another letter, telling him if he came +to call upon me, and closed with a few common-place remarks. I thought +that would settle him, and I would hear no more from him. But in a very +few days after he made his appearance. I didn't know what to do with +him. I was just going off to Iowa, and I went to a friend and said: "I +have got a young Irishman--I thought he was an Irishman, because I met +him in Ireland--and he wants to preach. Let him preach at the +meetings--try him, and if he fails, I will take him off your hands when +I come home." When I got home--I remember it was on Saturday morning--I +said to my wife: "Did that young man preach at the meetings?" "Yes." +"How did they like him?" "They liked him very much," she replied: "He +preaches a little different from you; he preaches that God loves +sinners." I had been preaching that God hated sinners; that he had been +standing behind the sinners with a double-bladed sword, ready to cut +the +heads of the sinners off. So I concluded if he preached different from +me, I would not like him. My prejudice was up. Well, I went down to the +meeting that night, and saw them coming in with their Bibles with them. +I thought it was curious. It was something strange to see the people +coming in with Bibles, and listen to the flutter of the leaves. The +young man gave out his text, saying: "Let us turn to the third chapter +of John, and sixteenth verse: 'For God so loved the world that He gave +His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not +perish, +but have everlasting life.'" He didn't divide up the text at all. He, +went from Genesis to Revelation, giving proof that God loved the +sinner, +and before he got through two or three of my sermons were spoiled. I +have never preached them since.<br> +<br> +The following day--Sunday--there was an immense crowd flocking into the +hall, and he said, "Let us turn to the third chapter of John, sixteenth +verse: 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, +that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting +life;'" and he preached the fourth sermon from this verse. He just +seemed to take the whole text and throw it at them, to prove that God +loved the sinner, and that for six thousand years he had been trying to +convince the world of this. I thought I had never heard a better sermon +in my life. It seemed to be new revelation to all. Ah, I notice there +are some of you here who remember those times; remember those nights. I +got a new idea of the blessed Bible. On Monday night I went down and +the +young man said, "Turn to the third chapter of John, sixteenth verse;" +and he seemed to preach better than ever. Proof after proof was quoted +from Scripture to show how God loved us. I thought sure he had +exhausted +that text, but on Tuesday he took his Bible in his hand and said: "Turn +to the third chapter of John, sixteenth verse,'" and he preached the +sixth sermon from that verse. He just seemed to climb over his subject, +while he proved that there was nothing on earth like the love of +Christ, +and he said "If I can only convince men of His love, if I can but bring +them to believe this text; the whole world will be saved." On Thursday +he selected the same text, John iii., 16, and at the conclusion of the +sermon he said: "I have been trying to tell you for seven nights now, +how Christ loves you, but I cannot do it. If I could borrow Jacob's +ladder and climb up to heaven, and could see Gabriel there and ask him +to tell me how much God loves me, he would only say, "God so loved the +world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in +Him should not perish; but have everlasting life." How a man can go out +of this tabernacle after hearing this text, saying, "God does not love +me," is a mystery to me.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Love's Triumph in John Wannamaker's Sunday School.<br> +<br> +Mr. John Wannamaker, superintendent of probably one of the largest +Sunday schools in the world, had a theory that he would never put a boy +out of his school for bad conduct. He argued if a boy misbehaved +himself, it was through bad training at home, and that if he put him +out +of the school no one would take care of him. Well, this theory was put +to the test one day. A teacher came to him and said, "I've got a boy in +my class that must be taken out; he breaks the rules continually, he +swears and uses obscene language, and I cannot do anything with him." +Mr. Wannamaker did not care about putting the boy out, so he sent the +teacher back to his class. But he came again and said that unless the +boy was taken from his class, he must leave it. Well, he left, and a +second teacher was appointed. The second teacher came with the same +story, and met with the same reply from Mr. Wannamaker. And he +resigned. +A third teacher was appointed, and he came with the same story as the +others. Mr. Wannamaker then thought he would be compelled to turn the +boy out at last. One day a few teachers were standing about, and Mr. +Wannamaker said: "I will bring this boy up and read his name out in the +school, and publicly excommunicate him." Well, a young lady came up and +said to him: "I am not doing what I might for Christ, let me have the +boy; I will try and save him." But Mr. Wannamaker said: "If these young +men cannot do it, you will not." But she begged to have him, and Mr. +Wannamaker consented.<br> +<br> +She was a wealthy young lady, surrounded with all the luxuries of life. +The boy went to her class, and for several Sundays he behaved himself +and broke no rule. But one Sunday he broke one; and, in reply to +something she said, spit in her face. She took out her pocket- +handkerchief and wiped her face, but she said nothing. Well, she +thought +upon a plan, and she said to him; "John,"--we will call him +John,--"John, come home with me." "No," says he, "I won't; I won't be +seen on the streets with you." She was fearful of losing him altogether +if he went out of the school that day, and she said to him, "Will you +let me walk home with you?" "No; I won't," said he, "I won't be seen on +the street with you." Then she thought upon another plan. She thought +on +the "Old Curiosity Shop," and she said, "I won't be at home tomorrow or +Tuesday, but if you will come round to the front door on Wednesday +morning there will be a little bundle for you." "I don't want it; you +may keep your own bundle." She went home, but made the bundle up. She +thought that curiosity might make him come.<br> +<br> +Wednesday morning arrived and he had got over his mad fit, and thought +he would just like to see what was in that bundle. The little fellow +knocked at the door, which was opened, and he told his story. She said: +"Yes; here is the bundle." The boy opened it and found a vest and a +coat +and other clothing, and a little note written by the young lady, which +read something like this:<br> +<br> +"DEAR JOHNNIE:--Ever since you have been in my class I have prayed for +you every morning and evening, that you might be a good boy and I want +you to stop in my class. Do not leave me."<br> +<br> +The next morning, before she was up, the servant came to her and said +there was a little boy below who wished to see her. She dressed +hastily, +and went downstairs, and found Johnnie on the sofa weeping. She put her +arms around his neck, and he said to her, "My dear teacher, I have not +had any peace since I got this note from you. I want you to forgive +me." +"Won't you let me pray for you to come to Jesus?" replied the teacher. +And she went down on her knees and prayed. And now Mr. Wananamaker says +that boy is the best boy in his Sunday-school. And so it was love that +broke that boy's heart.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +AFFLICTION.<br> +<br> +A Child Visits Abraham Lincoln, and Saves the Life of a Condemned +Soldier.<br> +<br> +During the war I remember a young man, not twenty, who was +court-martialed down in the front and sentenced to be shot; The story +was this: The young fellow had enlisted. He was not obliged to, but he +went off with another young man. They were what we would, call "chums." +One night this companion was ordered out on picket duty, and he asked +the young man to go for him. The next night he was ordered out himself; +and having been awake two nights, and not being used to it, fell asleep +at his post, and for the offense he was tried and sentenced to death. +It +was right after the order issued by the President that no interference +would be allowed in cases of this kind. This sort of thing had become +too frequent, and it must be stopped. When the news reached the father +and mother in Vermont it nearly broke their hearts. The thought that +their son should be shot was too great for them. They had no hope that +he would be saved by anything they could do. But they had a little +daughter who had read the life of Abraham Lincoln, and knew how he had +loved his own children, and she said: "If Abraham Lincoln knew how my +father and mother loved my brother he wouldn't let mm he shot." That +little girl thought this matter over and made up her mind to see the +President. She went to the White House, and the sentinel, when he saw +her imploring looks, passed her in, and when she came to the door and +told the private secretary that she wanted to see the President, he +could not refuse her. She came into the chamber and found Abraham +Lincoln surrounded by his generals and counselors, and when he saw the +little country girl he asked her what she wanted. The little maid told +her plain, simple story--how her brother, whom her father and mother +loved very dearly, had been sentenced to be shot; how they were +mourning +for him, and if he was to die in that way it would break their hearts. +The President's heart was touched with compassion, and he immediately +sent a dispatch canceling the sentence and giving the boy a parole so +that he could come home and see that father and mother. I just tell you +this to show you how Abraham Lincoln's heart was moved by compassion +for +the sorrow of that father and mother, and if he showed so much do you +think the Son of God will not have compassion upon you, sinner, if you +only take that crushed, bruised heart to him?<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Broken Hearts.<br> +<br> +There is no class of people exempt from broken hearts. The rich and the +poor suffer alike. There was a time when I used to visit the poor that +I +thought all the broken hearts were to be found among them, but within +the last few years I have found there are as many broken hearts among +the learned as the unlearned, the cultured as the uncultured, the rich +as the poor. If you could but go up one of our avenues and down another +and reach the hearts of the people; and get them to tell their whole +story, you would be astonished at the wonderful history of every +family. +I remember a few years ago I had been out of the city for some weeks. +When I returned I started out to make some calls. The first place I +went +to I found a mother; her eyes were red with weeping. I tried to find +out +what was troubling her, and she reluctantly opened her heart and told +me +all. She said: "Last night my only boy came home about midnight, drunk. +I didn't know that he was addicted to drunkenness, but this morning I +found out that he had been drinking for weeks, and," she continued, "I +would rather have seen him laid in the grave than have have had him +brought home in the condition I saw him in last night." I tried to +comfort her as best I could when she told me her sad story. When I went +away from that house I didn't want to go into any other house where +there was family trouble. The very next house I went to, however, where +some of the children who attended my Sunday school resided, I found +that +death had been there and laid his hand on one of them. The mother spoke +to me of her afflictions, and brought to me the playthings and the +little shoes of the child, and the tears trickled down that mother's +cheeks as she related to me her sorrow. I got out as soon as possible, +and hoped I would see no more family trouble that day.<br> +<br> +The next visit I made was to a home where I found a wife with a bitter +story. Her husband had been neglecting her for a long time; "and now," +she said, "he has left me, and I don't know where he has gone. Winter +is +coming on, and I don't know what is going to become of my family." I +tried to comfort her, and prayed with her, and endeavored to get her to +lay all her sorrows on Christ. The next home I entered I found a woman +crushed and broken-hearted. She told me her boy had forsaken her, and +she had no idea where he had gone. That afternoon I made five calls, +and +in every home I found a broken heart. Everyone had a sad tale to tell, +and if you visited every house in Chicago you would find the truth in +the saying that "there is a skeleton in every house." I suppose while I +am talking you are thinking of the great sorrow in your own bosom. I do +not know anything about you, but if I were to come around to everyone +of +you, and you were to tell me the truth I would hear a tale of sorrow. +The very last man I spoke to last night was a young mercantile man who +told me his load of sorrow had been so great that many times during the +last few weeks he had gone down to the lake and had been tempted to +plunge in and end his existence. His burden seemed too much for him. +Think of the broken hearts in Chicago tonight! They could be numbered +by +hundreds--yea, thousands. All over this city are broken hearts.<br> +<br> +If all the sorrow represented in this great city were written in a +book, +this building couldn't hold that book, and you couldn't read it in a +long lifetime. This earth is not a stranger to tears, neither is the +present the only time when they could be found in abundance. From +Adam's +days to ours tears have been shed, and a wail has been going up to +heaven from the broken-hearted. And I say it again, it is a mystery to +me how all those broken hearts can keep away from Him who has come to +heal them.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"That is Your Fault."<br> +<br> +I remember a mother coming to me and saying, "It is easy enough for you +to speak in that way; if you had the burden that I've got, you couldn't +cast it on the Lord." "Why, is your burden so great that Christ can't +carry it?" I asked. "No; it isn't too great for Him to carry; but I +can't put it on Him." "That is your fault," I replied; and I find a +great many people with burdens who, rather than just come to Him with +them, strap them tighter on their backs and go away struggling under +their load. I asked her the nature of her trouble, and she told me. "I +have an only boy who is a wanderer on the face of the earth. I don't +know where he is. If I only knew where he was I would go around the +world to find him. You don't know how I love that boy. This sorrow is +killing me." "Why can't you take him to Christ? You can reach Him at +the +throne, even though he be at the uttermost part of the world. Go tell +God all about your trouble, and he will take away his sin, and not only +that, but if you never see him on earth, God can give you faith that +you +will see your boy in heaven." And then I told her of a mother who lived +down in the southern part of Indiana. Some years ago her boy came up to +this city. He was a moralist. My friends, a man has to have more than +morality to lean upon in this great city. He hadn't been here long +before he was led astray. A neighbor happened to come up here and found +him one night in the streets drunk.<br> +<br> +When that neighbor went home, at first he thought he wouldn't say +anything about it to the boy's father, but afterward he thought it was +his duty to tell him. So in a crowd in the street of their little town +he just took the father aside, and told him what he had seen in +Chicago. +It was a terrible blow. When the children had been put to bed that +night +he said to his wife, "Wife, I have bad news. I have heard from Chicago +today." The mother dropped her work in an instant and said: "Tell me +what it is." "Well, our son has been seen on the streets of Chicago, +drunk." Neither of them slept that night, but they took their burden to +Christ, and about daylight the mother said: "I don't know how, I don't +know when or where, but God has given me faith to believe that our son +will be saved and will never come to a drunkard's grave."<br> +<br> +One week after, that boy left Chicago. He couldn't tell why--an unseen +power seemed to lead him to his mother's home, and the first thing he +said on coming over the threshold was, "Mother, I have come home to ask +you to pray for me;" and soon after he came back to Chicago a bright +and +shining light. If you have a burden like this, fathers, mothers, bring +it to Him and cast it on Him, and He, the Great Physician, will heal +your broken hearts.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"It will Kill Her."<br> +<br> +I was thinking to-day of the difference between those who knew Christ +when trouble comes upon them and those who knew Him not. I know several +members of families who are just stumbling into their graves over +trouble. I know two widows in Chicago who are weeping and mourning over +the death of their husbands, and their grief is just taking them to +their graves. Instead of bringing their burdens to Christ, they mourn +day and night, and the result will be that in a few weeks or years at +most their sorrow will take them to their graves when they ought to +take +it all to the Great Physician. Three years ago a father took his wife +and family on board that ill-fated French steamer. They were going to +Europe, and when out on the ocean another vessel ran into her and she +went down. That mother when I was preaching in Chicago used to bring +her +two children to the meetings every night. It was one of the most +beautiful sights I ever looked on, to see how those little children +used +to sit and listen, and to see the tears trickling down their cheeks +when +the Saviour was preached. It seemed as if nobody else in that meeting +drank in the truth as eagerly as those little ones.<br> +<br> +One-night when an invitation had been extended to all to go into the +inquiry room, one of these little children said: "Mamma, why can't I go +in too?" The mother allowed them to come into the room, and some friend +spoke to them, and to all appearances they seemed to understand the +plan +of salvation as well as their elders. When that memorable night came +that mother went down and came up without her two children. Upon +reading +the news I said: "It will kill her," and I quitted my post in +Edinburgh--the only time I left my post on the other side--and went +down +to Liverpool to try and comfort her. But when I got there I found that +the Son of God had been there before me, and instead of me comforting +her, she comforted me. She told me she could not think of those +children +as being in the sea; it seemed as if Christ had permitted her to take +those children on that vessel only that they might be wafted to Him, +and +had saved her life only that she might come back and work a little +longer for Him. When she got up the other day at a mothers' meeting in +Farwell Hall, and told her story, I thought I would tell the mothers of +it the first chance I got.<br> +<br> +So if any of you have had some great affliction, if any of you have +lost +a loving father, mother, brother, husband, or wife, come to Christ, +because God has sent Him to heal the broken-hearted.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"Father, Father, Come This Way."<br> +<br> +I remember a number of years ago I went out of Chicago to try to +preach. +I went down to a little town where was being held a Sunday-school +convention. I was a perfect stranger in the place, and when I arrived a +man stepped up to me and asked me if my name was Moody. I told him it +was, and he invited me to his house. When I got there he said he had to +go to the convention, and asked me to excuse his wife, as she, not +having a servant, had to attend to her household duties. He put me into +the parlor, and told me to amuse myself as best I could till he came +back. I sat there, but the room was dark and I could not read, and I +got +tired. So I thought I would try and get the children and play with +them. +I listened for some sound of childhood in the house, but could not hear +a single evidence of the presence of little ones. When my friend came +back I said: "Haven't you any children?" "Yes," he replied, "'I have +one, but she's in Heaven, and I am glad she is there, Moody." "Are you +glad that your child's dead?" I inquired.<br> +<br> +He went on to tell me how he had worshiped that child; how his whole +life had been bound up in her to the neglect of his Saviour. One day he +had come home and found her dying. Upon her death he accused God of +being unjust. He saw some of his neighbors with their children around +them. Why hadn't He taken some of them away? He was rebellious. After +he +came home from her funeral he said: "All at once I thought I heard, her +little voice calling me, but the truth came to my heart that she was +gone. Then I thought I heard her feet upon the stairs; but I knew she +was lying in the grave. The thought of her loss almost made me mad. I +threw myself on my bed and wept bitterly. I fell asleep, and while I +slept I had a dream, but it almost seemed to me like a vision.<br> +<br> +"I thought I was going over a barren field, and I came to a river so +dark and chill-looking that, I was going to turn away, when all at once +I saw on the opposite bank the most beautiful sight I ever looked at. I +thought death and sorrow could never enter into that lovely region. +Then +I began to see beings all so happy looking, and among them I saw my +little child. She waved her little angel hand to me and cried, 'Father, +Father, come this way.' I thought, her voice sounded much sweeter than +it did on earth. In my dream I thought I went to the water and tried to +cross it, but found it deep and the current so rapid that I thought if +I +entered it would carry me away from her forever. I tried to find a +boatman to take me over, but couldn't, and I walked up and down the +river trying to find a crossing, and still she cried: 'Come this way.' +All at once I heard a voice come rolling down, 'I am the way, the +truth, +and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.' The voice awoke +me from my sleep,' and I knew it was my Saviour calling me, and +pointing +the way for me to reach my darling child.<br> +<br> +"I am now superintendent of a Sunday-school; I have made many converts; +my wife has been converted, and we will, through Jesus as the way, see +one day our child."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Place of Safety.<br> +<br> +My friends, there is one spot on earth where the fear or Death, of Sin, +and of Judgment, need never trouble us, the only safe spot on earth +where the sinner can stand--Calvary. Out in our western country, in the +autumn, when men go hunting, and there has not been rain for many +months, sometimes the prairie grass catches fire. Sometimes, when the +wind is strong, the flames maybe seen rolling along, twenty feet high, +destroying man and beast in their onward rush. When the frontiersmen +see +what is coming, what do they do to escape? They know they cannot run as +fast as that fire can run. Not the fleetest horse can escape it. They +just take a match and light the grass around them. The flames sweep +onwards; they take their stand in the burnt district and are safe. They +hear the flames roar as they come along; they see death bearing down +upon them with resistless fury, but they do not fear. They do not even +tremble as the ocean of flame surges around them, for over the place +where they stand the fire has already past and there is no danger. +There +is nothing for fire to burn. And there is one spot all earth that God +has swept over. Eighteen hundred years ago the storm burst on Calvary; +the Son of God took it into his own bosom, and now, if we take our +stand +by the Cross, we are safe for time and eternity.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- Christ never preached any funeral sermons.<br> +<br> +-- His is a loving, tender hand, full of sympathy and compassion.<br> +<br> +-- Take your stand on the Rock of Ages. Let death, let the judgment +come: the victory is Christ's and yours through Him.<br> +<br> +-- The only man who ever suffered before Christ was that servant who +had his ear cut off. But most likely in a moment afterward he had it +on, and very likely it was a better ear than ever, because whatever the +Lord does He does it well No man ever lost his life with Him.<br> +<br> +-- A great many people wonder why it was that Christ did not come at +once to Martha and Mary, whom He loved, whenever He heard of their +affliction. It was to try them, and it is the same with His dealings +toward us. If He seems not to come to us in our afflictions, it is only +to test us.<br> +<br> +-- When the Spirit came to Moses, the plagues came upon Egypt, and he +had power to destroy men's lives; when the Spirit came upon Elijah, +fire came down from heaven; when the Spirit came upon Gideon, no man +could stand before him; and when it came upon Joshua, he moved around +the city of Jericho and the whole city fell into his, hands; but when +the Spirit came upon the Son of Man, He gave His life; He healed the +broken-hearted.<br> +<br> +-- No matter how low down you are; no matter what your disposition has +been; you may be low in your thoughts, words, and actions; you may be +selfish; your heart may be overflowing with corruption and wickedness; +yet Jesus will have compassion upon you. He will speak comforting words +to you; not treat you coldly or spurn you, as perhaps those of earth +would, but will speak tender words, and words of love and affection and +kindness. Just come at once. He is a faithful friend--a friend that +sticketh closer than a brother.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +ASSURANCE.<br> +<br> +Napoleon and the Private.<br> +<br> +It is said of Napoleon that while he was reviewing his army one day, +his +horse became frightened at something, and the Emperor lost his rein, +and +the horse went away at full speed, and the Emperor's life was in +danger. +He could not get hold of the rein, and a private in the ranks saw it, +and sprang out of the ranks towards the horse, and was successful in +getting hold of the horse's head at the peril of his own life. The +Emperor was very much pleased. Touching his hat, he said to him, "I +make +you Captain of my Guard." The soldier didn't take his gun, and walk up +there. He threw it away, stepped out of the ranks of the soldiers, and +went up to where the body-guard stood. The captain of the body-guard +ordered him back into the ranks, but he said "No! I won't go!" "Why +not?" "Because I am Captain of the Guard." "You Captain of the Guard?" +"Yes;" replied the soldier. "Who said it?" and the man, pointing to the +Emperor; said, "He said it." That was enough. Nothing more could be +said. He took the Emperor at his word. My friends, if God says +anything, +let us take Him at His word. "He that believeth on the Lord Jesus +Christ +shall not perish, but have everlasting life." Don't you believe it? +Don't you believe you have got everlasting life? It can be the +privilege +of every child of God to believe and then know that you have got it.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"Five Million Dollars."<br> +<br> +One thing I know--I cannot speak for others, but can speak for myself; +I +cannot read other minds and other hearts; I cannot read the Bible and +lay hold for others; but I can read for myself, and take God at his +word. The great trouble is that people take everything in general, and +do not take it to themselves. Suppose a man should say to me, "Moody, +there was a man in Europe who died last week, and left five million +dollars to a certain individual." "Well," I say, "I don't doubt that; +it's rather a common thing to happen," and I don't think anything more +about it. But suppose he says, "But he left the money to you." Then I +pay attention; I say, "To me?" "Yes, he left it to you." I become +suddenly interested. I want to know all about it. So we are apt to +think +Christ died for sinners; He died for everybody, and for nobody in +particular. But when the truth comes to me that eternal life is mine, +and all the glories of Heaven are mine, I begin to be interested. I +say, +"Where is the chapter and verse where it says I can be saved?" If I put +myself among sinners, I take the place of the sinner, then it is that +salvation is mine and I am sure of it for time and eternity.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Engaging Rooms Ahead.<br> +<br> +Mr. Sankey and myself--going about and preaching the gospel, is nothing +new. You will find them away back eighteen hundred years ago, going off +two by two, like Brothers Bliss and Whittle, and Brothers Needham and +Stebbins, to different towns and villages. They had gone out, and there +had been great revivals in all the cities, towns, and villages they had +entered. Everywhere they had met with the greatest success. Even the +very devils were subject to them. Disease had fled before them. When +they met a lame man they said to him, "You don't want to be lame any +longer," and he walked. When they met a blind man they but told him to +open his eyes, and behold, he could see. And they came to Christ and +rejoiced over their great success, and He just said to them, "I will +give you something to rejoice over. Rejoice that your names are written +in heaven."<br> +<br> +Now there are a great many people who do not believe in such an +assurance as this, "Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." +How are you going to rejoice if your names are not written there? While +speaking about this some time ago, a man told me we were preaching a +very ridiculous doctrine when we preached this doctrine of assurance. I +ask you in all candor what are you going to do with this assurance if +we +don't preach it? It is stated that our names are written there; blotted +out of the Book of Death and transferred to the Book of Life.<br> +<br> +I remember while in Europe I was traveling with a friend--she is in +this +hall to-night. On one occasion we were journeying from London to +Liverpool, and the question was put as to where we would stop. We said +we would go to the "Northwestern," at Lime street, as that was the +Hotel +where Americans generally stopped at. When we got there the house was +full and they could not let us in. Every room was engaged. But this +friend said, "I am going to stay here. I engaged a room ahead. I sent a +telegram on." My friends, that is just what the Christians are +doing--sending their names in ahead. They are sending a message up +saying: "Lord Jesus, I want one of those mansions You are preparing; I +want to be there." That's what they are doing.<br> +<br> +Every man and woman who wants one, if you have not already got one, had +better make up your mind. Send your names up now. I would rather a +thousand times have my name written in the Lamb's Book than have all +the +wealth of the world rolling at my feet.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"He Will Not Rest."<br> +<br> +Suppose a man is going to Cincinnati, and he gets on the cars, but he +feels uneasy lest, the train will take him to St. Louis instead of his +destination. He will not rest till he knows he is on the right road, +and +the idea that we are on the road to eternity as fast as time can take +us, and do not know our destination, is contrary to Scripture. If we +want peace we must know it, and we can know it; it is the Word of God. +Look What Peter says: "We know we have an incorruptible dwelling." Then +in Paul's epistle to the Colossians, i., 12, "Giving thanks unto the +Father which hath made us meet"--hath made us, not going to--"to be +partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Who hath delivered +us"--not going to deliver us, but He hath delivered us: this is an +assurance--"from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the +kingdom of His dear Son."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"Very Orthodox."<br> +<br> +A person came to me some time ago and said: "Mr. Moody, I wish you +would +give me a book that preaches assurance, and that tells the children of +God it is their privilege to know they are accepted." I said, "Here is +a +book; it is very orthodox. It was written by John, the most intimate +friend of Jesus while He was on earth. The man who laid his head upon +His bosom." Turn to John and see what he says in the 5th chapter, "For +in them ye think ye have eternal life."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"I Don't Know."<br> +<br> +There is no doubt about assurance in the Word of God. A person said to +me some time ago: "I think it is great presumption for a person to say +she is saved." I asked her if she was saved. "I belong to a church," +she +sobbed. "But are you saved?" "I believe it would be presumption in me +to +say that I was saved." "Well I think it is a greater presumption for +anyone to say: 'I don't know if I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ +because it is written, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.'" +It is clearly stated that we have assurance.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"If I Knew."<br> +<br> +Many think that assurance is not to be had while traveling through this +world--they must wait till they get before the terrible judgment seat +to +know whether they are accepted or not. And I find some ministers preach +this precious doctrine from their pulpits. I heard of a minister who, +while on his way to the burial of a man, began to talk upon the subject +of assurance. "Why," said he, "if I knew for a certainty that I was +saved the carriage couldn't hold me. I would have to jump out with +joy." +A man should be convinced that he has the gospel, before he preaches it +to anyone else. Why, a man need not try to pull a man out of the river +if he is in it himself. A man need not try to lift a man out of a pit +if +he is there too. No man can preach salvation till he knows he is saved.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"I Know!"<br> +<br> +The man of God who has fixed his feet on the rock of salvation can say +with certainty, "I know." If you have not got assurance and want it, +just believe God's Word. If you go down South and ask those three +million colored people how they think they are free, they won't talk +about their feelings; they just believe that Abraham Lincoln made them +free. They believe the proclamation, and so we must believe the +proclamation God has made in the Bible. "One thing thou teachest," that +is salvation.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/024Pic.jpg" style="width: 488px; height: 712px;"><br> +The Journey To Emmaus; GUSTAVE DORE. Luke xxiv, 13-32<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/025Pic.jpg" style="width: 503px; height: 705px;"><br> +Jesus Questioning The Doctors; GUSTAVE DORE. Luke ii, +41-51<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Moody's Declaration.<br> +<br> +A great many people say, "Mr. Moody, I would like to know whether I am +a +Christian or not. I would like to know if I am saved." The longer I +live +the more I am convinced that it is one of the greatest privileges of a +child of God to know--to be able to say, "I am saved." The idea of +walking through life without knowing this until we get to the great +white throne is exploded. If the Bible don't teach assurance it don't +teach justification by faith; if it don't teach assurance it don't +teach +redemption. The doctrine of assurance is as clear as any doctrine in +the +Bible.<br> +<br> +How many people in the Tabernacle when I ask them if they are +Christians, say, "Well, I hope so,"--in a sort of a hesitating way. +Another class say, "I am trying to be." This is a queer kind of +testimony, my friends. I notice no man is willing to go into the +inquiry +room till he has got a step beyond that. That class of Christians don't +amount to much. The real Christian puts it, "I believe; I believe that +my Redeemer liveth; I believe that if this building of flesh were +destroyed, I have a building not made with hands, eternal in the +heavens." No hoping and trusting with them. It is, "I know." Hope is +assured to the Christian. It is a sure hope; it isn't a doubting hope. +Suppose a man asked me if my name was Moody, and I said, "Well, I hope +so," wouldn't it sound rather strange? "I hope it is;" or, "I'm trying +to be Moody." Now, if a man asks you if you are a Christian, you ought +to be able to give a reason.<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- There cannot be any peace where there is uncertainty.<br> +<br> +-- There is no knowledge like that of a man who knows he is saved, who +can look up and see his "title clear to mansions in the skies."<br> +<br> +-- I believe hundreds of Christian people are being deceived by Satan, +now on this point, that they have not got the assurance of salvation +just because they are not willing to take God at His word.<br> +<br> +-- "But," a man said to me, "no one has come back, and we don't know +what is in the future. It is all dark, and how can we be sure?" Thank +God! Christ came down from heaven, and I would rather have Him coming +as he does right from the bosom of the Father, than anyone else. We can +rely on what Christ says, and He says, "He that believeth on Me shall +not perish, but have everlasting life." Not that we are going to have +it when we die, but right here to-day.<br> +<br> +-- Now, I find a great many people who want some evidence that they +have accepted the Son of God. My friends, if you want any evidence, +take God's word for it. You can't find better evidence than that. You +know that when the Angel Gabriel came down and told Zachariah he should +have a son he wanted a further token than the angel's word. He asked +Gabriel for it and he answered, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the +presence of the Lord." He had never been doubted, and he thundered out +this to Zachariah. But he wanted a further token, and Gabriel said, +"You shall have a token: you shall be dumb till your son shall be given +you."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +BELIEVE.<br> +<br> +Moody and the Dying Soldier.<br> +<br> +After the battle of Pittsburgh Landing and Murfreesboro' I was in a +hospital at Murfreesboro'. And one night after midnight, I was woke up +and told that there was a man in one of the wards who wanted to see me. +I went to him and he called me "chaplain!"--I wasn't a chaplain--and he +said he wanted me to help him die. And I said, "I'd take you right up +in +my arms and carry you into the kingdom of God if I could; but, I can't +do it; I can't help you to die." And he said, "Who can?" I said: "The +Lord Jesus Christ can--He came for that purpose." He shook his head and +said, "He can't save me; I have sinned all my life." And I said, "But +He +came to save sinners." I thought of his mother in the North, and I knew +that she was anxious that he should die right, and I thought I'd stay +with him. I prayed two or three times, and repeated all the promises I +could, and I knew that in a few hours he would be gone. I said I wanted +to read him a conversation that Christ had with a man who was anxious +about his soul. I turned to the third chapter of John. His eyes were +riveted on me, and when I came to the 14th and 15th verses, he caught +up +the words, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so +must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth on Him +should +not perish, but have eternal life." He stopped me and said, "Is that +there?" I said "Yes," and he asked me to read it again, and I did so. +He +leaned his elbows on the cot and clasped his hands together and said, +"That's good; won't you read it again."<br> +<br> +I read it the third time, and then went on with the rest of the +chapter. +When I finished, his eyes were closed, his hands were folded, and there +was a smile on his face. Oh! how it was lit up! What a change had come +over it! I saw hits lips quivering, and I leaned over him and heard, in +a faint whisper; "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so +must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth on Him +should +not perish, but have eternal life." He opened his eyes and said, +"That's +enough; don't read any more." He lingered a few hours and then pillowed +his head on those two verses, and then went up in one of Christ's +chariots and took his seat in the Kingdom of God.<br> +<br> +You may spurn God's remedy and perish; but I tell you God don't want +you +to perish. He says, "As I live I have no pleasure in the death of the +wicked." "Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die?"<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Child at its Mother's Grave.<br> +<br> +I remember seeing a story some time ago in print. It has been in the +papers, but it will not hurt us to hear it again. A family in a +Southern +city were stricken down with yellow fever. It was raging there, and +there were very stringent sanitary rules. The moment anybody died, a +cart went around and took the coffin away. The father was taken sick +and +died and was buried, and the mother was at last stricken down. The +neighbors were afraid of the plague, and none dared go into the house. +The mother had a little son and was anxious about her boy, and afraid +he +would be neglected when she was called away, so she called the little +fellow to her bedside, and said, "My boy, I am going to leave you, but +Jesus will come to you when I am gone." The mother died, the cart came +along and she was laid in the grave. The neighbors would have liked to +take the boy, but were afraid of the pestilence. He wandered about and +finally started up to the place where they had laid his mother and sat +down on the grave, and wept himself to sleep. Next morning he awoke and +realized his position--alone and hungry. A stranger came along and +seeing the little fellow sitting on the ground, asked him what he was +waiting for. The boy remembered what his mother had told him, and +answered, "I am waiting for Jesus," and told him the whole story. The +man's heart was touched, tears trickled down his cheeks and he said, +"Jesus has sent me," to which the boy replied, "You have been a good +while coming, sir." He was provided for. So it is with us. To wait for +results, we must have courage and patience and God will help us.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"You Know Me, Moody."<br> +<br> +Well, let me illustrate it then, and perhaps you will be able to +understand it. Suppose I am dying with consumption; which I inherited +from my father or mother. I did not get it by any fault of my own, by +any neglect of my health; I inherited it, let us suppose. Well, I go to +my physician, and to the best physicians, and they all give me up. They +say I am incurable; I must die; I have not thirty days to live. Well, a +friend happens to come along and looks at me and says: "Moody, you have +got the consumption." "I know it very well; I don't want any one to +tell +me that." "But," he says, "There is a remedy--a remedy, I tell you. Let +me have your attention. I want to call your attention to it. I tell you +there is a remedy." "But sir, I don't believe it. I have tried the +leading physicians in this country and in Europe, and they tell me +there +is no hope." "But you know me, Moody; you have known me for years." +"Yes, sir." "Do you think, then, I would tell you a falsehood?" "No." +"Well, ten years ago I was far gone. I was given up by the physicians +to +die, but I took this medicine and it cured me, I am perfectly +well--look +at me;" I say that it is a very strange case. "Yes, it may be strange, +but it is a fact. That medicine cured me; take this medicine and it +will +cure you. Although it has cost me a great deal, it shall not cost you +anything. Although the salvation of Jesus Christ is as free as the air, +it cost God the richest jewel of heaven. He had to give his only Son; +give all He had; He had only one Son, and He gave Him. Do not make +light +of it, then, I beg of you." "Well" I say, "I would like to believe you, +but this is contrary to my reason." Hearing this, my friend goes away +and brings another friend to me and he testifies to the same thing. He +again goes away when I do not yet believe, and brings in another, and +another; and another, and they all testify to the same thing. They say +they were as bad as myself; and they took the same medicine that has +been offered to me, and it cured them. He then hands me the medicine. I +dash it to the ground; I do not believe in its saving power: I die. The +reason is, then, that I spurned the remedy.<br> +<br> +So it will not be because Adam fell, but that you spurn the remedy +offered to you to save you. You will have darkness rather than light. +How, then, shall ye escape if ye neglect so great salvation? There is +no +hope for you if you neglect the remedy.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Rational Belief.<br> +<br> +Once there were a couple of men arranging a balloon ascension. They +thought they had two ropes fastened to the car, but one of them only +was +fastened, and they unfastened that one rope, and the balloon started to +go up. One of the men seized hold of the car, and the other seized hold +of the rope. Up went the balloon, and the man who seized hold of the +car +went up with it, and was lost. The man who laid hold of the rope was +just as sincere as the man who laid hold of the car. There was just as +much reason to say that the man who laid hold of that would be saved +because he was sincere as the man who believed in a lie because he is +sincere in his belief. I like a man to be able to give a reason for the +faith that is in him. Once I asked a man what he believed, and he said +he believed what his church believed. I asked him what his church +believed, and he said he supposed his church believed what he did; and +that was all I could get out of him. And so men believe what other +people believe and what their church believes, without really knowing +what their church and other people do believe.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- God is truth.<br> +<br> +-- What grounds have we for not believing God?<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +THE BIBLE.<br> +<br> +"How Funny You Talk."<br> +<br> +No book in the world has been so misjudged as the Bible. Men judge it +without reading it. Or perhaps they read a bit here and a bit there, +and +then close it saying, "It is so dark and mysterious!" You take a book, +now-a-days, and read it. Some one asks you what you think about it. +"Well," you say, "I have only read it through once, not very carefully, +and I should not like to give an opinion." Yet people take up God's +book, read a few pages, and condemn the whole of it. Of all the +skeptics +and infidels I have ever met speaking against the Bible, I have never +met one who read it through. There may be such men, but I have never +met +them. It is simply an excuse. There is no man living who will stand up +before God and say that kept him out of the kingdom. It is the devil's +work trying to make us believe it is not true, and that it is dark and +mysterious. The only way to overcome the great enemy of souls is by the +written Word of God. He knows that, and so tries to make men disbelieve +it. As soon as a man is a true believer in the Word of God, he is a +conqueror over Satan. Young man! the Bible is true. What have these +infidels to give you in its place? What has made England but the open +Bible? Every nation that exalteth the Word of God is exalted, and every +nation that casteth it down is cast down. Oh, let us cling close to the +Bible. Of course, we shall not understand it all at once. But men are +not to condemn it on that account. Suppose I should send my little boy, +five years old, to school tomorrow morning, and when he came home in +the +afternoon, say to him, "Willie, can you read? can you write? can you +spell? Do you understand all about Algebra, Geometry; Hebrew, Latin, +and +Greek?" "Why, papa," the little fellow would say, "hew funny you talk. +I +have been all day trying to learn the A B C!" Well; suppose I should +reply, "If you have not finished your education, you need not go any +more." What would you say? Why, you would say, I had gone mad. There +would he just as much reason in that, as in the way that people talk +about the Bible. My friends, the men who have studied the Bible for +fifty years--the wise men and the scholars, the great theologians--have +never got down to the depths of it yet. There are truths there that the +Church of God has been searching out for the last eighteen hundred +years, but no man has fathomed the depths of that ever-living stream.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"How Christ Expounded It."<br> +<br> +You will find Christ, after He had risen, again speaking about the Old +Testament prophets: "And beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he +expounded unto them in all the Scripture the things concerning +Himself." +Concerning Himself. Don't that settle the question? I tell you I am +convinced in my mind that the Old Testament is as true as the New. "And +He began at Moses and all the prophets." Mark that, "all the prophets." +Then in the forty-fourth verse: "And He said unto them, these are the +words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things +must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the +prophets and in the psalms concerning Me. Then opened He their +understanding that they might understand the Scripture."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Scotch "Draw the Bible" on False Doctrine.<br> +<br> +There is no place I have ever been in where people so thoroughly +understand their Bibles as in Scotland. Why, little boys could quote +Scripture and take me up on a text. They have the whole nation just +educated, as it were, with the Word of God. Infidelity cannot come +there. A man got up in Glasgow, at a corner, and began to preach +universal salvation. "Oh, sir," said an old woman, "that will never +save +the like of me." She had heard enough preaching to know that it would +never save her. If a man comes among them with any false doctrine, +these +Scotchmen instantly draw their Bibles on him. I had to keep my eyes +open +and be careful what I said there. They knew their Bibles a good deal +better than I did. And so if the preachers could get the people to read +the Word of God more carefully, and note what they heard, there would +not be so much infidelity among us.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Moody and the Infidel.<br> +<br> +An infidel had come the other day, to one of our meetings, and when I +talked with him, he replied that he didn't believe one-twelfth part of +the Bible, but I kept on quoting Scripture, feeling that if the man +didn't believe, God could do what He chose with His word, and make it +quick and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword. The man kept +saying that he did not believe what the Bible said, and I kept on +quoting passage after passage of Scripture, and the man, who, two hours +before, had entered the hall an infidel, went out of it a converted +man, +and a short time after his conversion he left the City for Boston, a +Christian, to join his family in Europe. Before this gentleman went +away, I asked him if he believed the Bible, and his reply was: "From +back to back, every word of it."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"Deluged with Blood."<br> +<br> +A good many years ago there was a convention held in France, and those +who held it wanted to get the country to deny a God, to burn the Bible, +wanted to say that men passed away like a dog and a dumb animal. What +was the result! Not long since, that country was filled with blood. Did +you ever think what would take place if we could vote the Bible and the +ministers of the gospel and God out from among the people? My friends, +the country would be deluged with blood. Your life and mine would not +be +safe in this City to-night. We could not walk through these streets +with +safety. We don't know how much we owe God and the influence of His +gospel among even ungodly men.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/032Pic.jpg" style="width: 503px; height: 735px;"><br> +The Dumb Man Possessed; GUSTAVE DORE. Matthew, ix, 32.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/033Pic.jpg" style="width: 488px; height: 720px;"><br> +The Burial Of Jesus; GUSTAVE DORE. John, xix, 38-42.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- There are over two hundred passages in the Old Testament which +prophesied about Christ, and every one of them has come true.<br> +<br> +-- God didn't give the world two different Bibles; they are one, and +must be believed from back to back, from Genesis to Revelations, or not +at all.<br> +<br> +-- I haven't found the first man who ever read the Bible from back to +back carefully who remained an infidel. My friends, the Bible of our +mothers and fathers is true.<br> +<br> +-- The Word of God may be darkened to the natural man, but the way of +Salvation is written so plain, that the little child six years old can +understand it if she will.<br> +<br> +-- Set more and more store by the Bible. Then troubles in your +Christian life will pass away like a morning cloud. You will feed and +live on the Word of God, and it will become the joy of your soul.<br> +<br> +-- There are dark and mysterious things in the Bible now, but when you +begin to trust Christ your eyes will be opened and the Bible will be a +new book to you. It will become the Book of books to you.<br> +<br> +-- I notice if a man goes to cut up the Bible and comes to you with one +truth and says, "I don't believe this, and I don't believe that,"--I +notice when he begins to doubt portions of the Word Of God he soon +doubts it all.<br> +<br> +-- If you will show me a Bible Christian living on the Word of God, I +will show you a joyful man. He is mounting up all the time. He has got +new truths that lift him up over every obstacle, and he mounts over +difficulties higher and higher, like a man I once heard of who had a +bag of gas fastened on either side, and if he just touched the ground +with his foot, over a wall or a hedge he would go; and so these truths +make us so light that we bound over every obstacle.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +BIBLE STUDY.<br> +<br> +How Moody was Blessed--"Mark Your Bible."<br> +<br> +I want to tell you how I was blessed a few years ago, upon hearing a +discourse upon the thirtieth chapter of Proverbs. The speaker said the +children of God were like four things. The first thing was: "The ants +are a people not strong," and he went on to compare the children of God +to ants. He said the people of God were like, ants. They pay no +attention to the things of the present, but go on steadily preparing +for +the future. The next thing he compared them to was the conies. "The +conies are but a feeble folk." It is a very weak little thing. "Well," +said I, "I wouldn't like to be as a coney." But he went on to say that +it built upon a rock. The children of God were very weak, but they laid +their foundation upon a rock. "Well," said I, "I will be like a coney +and build my hopes upon a rock." Like the Irishman who said he trembled +himself, but the rock upon which his house was built never did. The +next +thing the speaker compared them to was a locust. I didn't think much of +locusts; and I thought I wouldn't care about being like one. But he +went +on to read, "They have no king, yet they go forth all of them by +bands." +There were the Congregationalist, the Presbyterian, the Methodist bands +going forth without a king, but by and by our King will come back +again, +and these bands will fly to Him. "Well, I will be like a locust; my +King +is away," I thought. The next comparison was a spider. I didn't like +this at all, but he said if we went into a gilded palace filled with +luxury, we might see a spider holding on to something, oblivious to all +the luxury below. It was laying hold of the things above. "Well," said +I, "I would like to be a spider." I heard this a good many years ago, +and I just put the speaker's name to it, and it makes a sermon. But +take +your Bibles and mark them. Don't think of wearing them out. It is a +rare +thing to find a man wearing his Bible out now-a-days--and Bibles are +cheap, too. You are living in a land where they are plenty. Study them +and mark them, and don't be afraid of wearing them.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Moody Visits Prang's Chromo Establishment.<br> +<br> +When I went to Boston, I went into Mr. Prang's chromo establishment. I +wanted to know how the work was done. He took me to a stone several +feet +square, where he took the first impression, but when he took the paper +off the stone I could see no sign of a man's face there. "Wait a +little," he said. He took me to another stone, but when the paper was +lifted I couldn't see any impression yet. He took me up, up to eight, +nine, ten stones, and then I could see just the faintest outlines of a +man's face. He went on till he got up to about the twentieth stone, and +I could see the impression of a face, but he said it was not very +correct yet. Well, he went on till he got up, I think, to the +twenty-eighth stone, and a perfect face appeared, and it looked as if +all it had to do was to speak and it would be human. If you read a +chapter of the Bible and don't see anything in it, read it a second +time, and if you cannot see anything in it read it a third time. Dig +deep. Read it again and again, and even if you have to read it +twenty-eight times do so, and you will see the Man Christ Jesus, for He +is in every page of the Word.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Get the Key to Job.<br> +<br> +An Englishman asked me some time ago, "Do you know much about Job?" +"Well, I know a little," I replied. "If you've got the key of Job, +you've got the key to the whole Bible." "What?" I replied, "I thought +it +was a poetical book." "Well," said he, "I will just divide Job into +seven heads. The first is the perfect man--untried; and that is Adam +and +Eve before they fell. The second head is tried by adversity--Adam after +the fall. The third is the wisdom of the world--the three friends who +came to try to help Job out of his difficulties. They had no power to +help him at all." He could stand his scolding wife, but he could not +stand them. The fourth head takes the form of the Mediator, and in the +fifth head God speaks at last. He heard him before by the ear, but he +hears Him now by the soul, and he fell down flat upon his face. A good +many men in Chicago are like Job. They think they are mighty good men, +but the moment they hear the voice of God they know they are sinners, +they are in the dust. There isn't much talk about their goodness then. +Here he was with his face down. Job learned his lesson. That was the +sixth head, and in these heads were the burdens of Adam's sin. The +seventh head was when God showed him His face. Well, I learned the key +to the Bible. I cannot tell how this helped me. I told it to another +man, and he asked me if I ever thought how he got his property back and +his sheep back. He gave Job double what he had and gave him ten +children +besides, so that he should have ten in heaven besides his ten on earth.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/036Pic.jpg" style="width: 488px; height: 743px;"><br> +Jesus Blessing Children; GUSTAVE DORE. Mark, x, 13-16<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +One Book at a time.<br> +<br> +I have found it a good plan to take up one book at a time. It is a good +deal better to study one book at a time than to run through the Bible. +If we study one book and get its key, it will, perhaps, open up others. +Take up the book of Genesis, and you will find eight beginnings; or, in +other words, you pick up the key of several books. The gospel was +written that man might believe on Jesus Christ, and every chapter +speaks +of Him. Now, take the book of Genesis; it says it is the book of +beginnings. That is the key; then the book of Exodus--it is the book of +redemption; that is the key word of the whole. Take up the book of +Leviticus, and we find that it is the book of sacrifices. And so on +through all the different books; you will find each one with a key. +Another thing: We must study it unbiased. A great many people believe +certain things. They believe in certain creeds and doctrines, and they +run through the book to get Scripture in accordance with them. If a man +is a Calvinistic man he wants to find something in accordance with his +doctrine. But if we go to seek truth the Spirit of God will come. Don't +seek it in the blue light of Presbyterianism, in the red light of +Methodism; or in the light of Episcopalianism, but study it in the +light +of Calvary.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Note what Jesus Says.<br> +<br> +Some people say to me, "Moody, you don't believe in the flood. All the +scientific men tell us it is absurd." Let them tell us. Jesus tells us +of it, and I would rather take the word of Jesus than that of any other +one. I haven't got much respect for those men who dig down for stones +with shovels, in order to take away the word of God. Men don't believe +in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, but we have it sealed in the New +Testament. "As, it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah." They don't +believe in Lot's wife, but He says, "Remember Lot's wife." So there is +not a thing that men to-day cavil at but the Son of God indorses. They +don't believe, in the swallowing of Jonah. They say it is impossible +that a whale could swallow Jonah--its throat is too small. They forget +that the whale was prepared for Jonah; as the colored woman said, "Why, +God could prepare a man to swallow a whale, let alone a whale to +swallow +a man."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +One Word.<br> +<br> +I remember I took up the word "love," and turned to the Scriptures and +studied it, and got so that I felt I loved everybody, I got full of it. +When I went on the street, I felt as if I loved everybody I saw. It ran +out of my fingers. Suppose you take up the subject of love and study it +up. You will get so full of it that all you have got to do is to open +your lips and a flood of the love of God flows upon the meeting. If you +go into a court you will find a lawyer pleading a case. He gets +everything bearing upon one point, heaped up so as to carry his +argument +with all the force he can, in order to convince the jury. Now it seems +to me a man should do the same in talking to an audience; just think +that he has a jury before him, and he wants to convict a sinner. If it +is love, get all you can upon the subject and talk love, love.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The "I Ams," "I Wills," Etc.<br> +<br> +A favorite way to study the Bible with me, is first to take up one +expression, and run through the different places where they are found. +Take the "I ams" of John; "I am the bread of life;" "I am the water of +life;" "I am the way, the truth, and the life;" "I am the +resurrection;" +"I am all, and in all." God gives to His children a blank; and on it +they can write whatever they most want and He will fill the bill. And +then the promises. A Scotchman found out thirty one thousand distinct +promises in the Word of God. There is not a despondent soul but God has +a promise just to suit him.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- The best truths are got by digging deep for them.<br> +<br> +-- When we know our Bible, then it is that God can use us.<br> +<br> +-- When we find a man meditating on the words of God, my friends, that +man is full of boldness and is successful.<br> +<br> +-- When a man is filled with the Word of God you cannot keep him still. +If man has got the Word, he must speak or die.<br> +<br> +-- Let us have one day exclusively to study and read the Word of God. +If we can't take time during the week, we will have Sunday +uninterrupted.<br> +<br> +-- Now, as old Dr. Bonner, of Glasgow, said, "The Lord didn't tell +Joshua how to use the sword, but He told him how he should meditate on +the Lord day and night, and then he would have good success."<br> +<br> +-- One thing I have noticed in studying the Word of God, and that is, +when a man is filled with the Spirit he deals largely with the Word of +God, whereas the man who is filled with his own ideas refers rarely to +the Word of God. He gets along without it, and you seldom see it +mentioned in his discourses.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +BLIND.<br> +<br> +A Mother's Mistake.<br> +<br> +While I was attending a meeting in a certain city sometime ago a lady +came to me and said: "I want you to go home with me; I have something +to +say to you." When we reached her home, there were some friends there; +After they had retired, she put her arms on the table, and tears began +to come into her eyes, but with an effort she repressed her emotion. +After a struggle she went on to say that she was going to tell me +something which she had never told any other living person. I should +not +tell it now; but she has gone to another world. She said she had a son +in Chicago, and she was very anxious about him. When he was young he +got +interested in religion at the rooms of the young Men's Christian +Association. He used to go out in the street and circulate tracts. He +was her only son, and she was very ambitious that he should make a name +in the world, and wanted him to get into the very highest circles. Oh, +what a mistake people make about these highest circles. Society is +false; it is a sham. She was deceived like a good many more votaries of +fashion and hunters after wealth at the present time. She thought it +was +beneath her son to go down and associate with those young men who +hadn't +much money. She tried to get him away from them, but they had more +influence than she had, and, finally, to break his whole association, +she packed him off to a boarding-school. He went soon to Yale College, +and she supposed he got into one of those miserable secret societies +there that have ruined so many young men; and the next thing she heard +was that the boy had gone astray.<br> +<br> +She began to write letters urging him to come into the Kingdom of God, +but she heard that he tore the letters up without reading them. She +went +to him to try and regain whatever influence she possessed over him, but +her efforts were useless, and she came home with a broken heart. He +left +New Haven, and for two years they heard nothing of him. At last they +heard he was in Chicago, and his father found him and gave him $30,000 +to start in business. They thought it would change him, but it didn't. +They asked me when I went back to Chicago to try and use my influence +with him. I got a friend to invite him to his house one night, where I +intended to meet him, but he heard I was to be there, and did not come +near, like a good many other young men, who seem to be afraid of me. I +tried many times to reach him, but could not. While I was traveling one +day on the New Haven Railroad, I bought a New York paper, and in it I +saw a dispatch saying he had been drowned in Lake Michigan. His father +came on to find his body, and, after considerable searching, they +discovered it. All his clothes and his body were covered with sand. The +body was taken home to that broken-hearted mother. She said "If I +thought he was in heaven I would have peace." Her disobedience of God's +law came back upon her.<br> +<br> +So, my friends, if you have a boy impressed with the gospel, help him +to +come to Christ. Bring him in the arms of your faith, and He will unite +you closer to him.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"Pull for the Shore."<br> +<br> +Look at that man in a boat on Niagara River. He is only about a mile +from the rapids. A man on the bank shouts to him, "Young man, young +man, +the rapids are not far away; you'd better pull for the shore." "You +attend to your own business; I will take care of myself," he replies. +Like a great many people here, and ministers, too, they don't want any +evangelist here--don't want any help, however great the danger ahead. +On +he goes; sitting coolly in his boat. Now he has got a little nearer, +and +a man from the bank of the river sees his danger, and shouts: +"Stranger, +you'd better pull for the shore; if you go further, you'll be lost. You +can be saved now if you pull in." "Mind your business, and you'll have +enough to do; I'll take care of myself." Like a good many men, they are +asleep to the danger that's hanging over them while they are in the +current. And I say, drinking young man, don't you think you are +standing +still. You are in the current, and if you don't pull for a rock of +safety you will go over the precipice. On he goes. I can see him in the +boat laughing at the danger. A man on the bank is looking at him, and +he +lifts up his voice and cries, "Stranger, stranger, pull for the shore; +if you don't you'll lose your life;" and the young man laughs at +him--mocks him. That is the way with hundreds in Chicago. If you go to +them and point out their danger, they will jest and joke at you. By and +by he says: "I think I hear the rapids--yes, I hear them roar;" and he +seizes his oars and pulls with all his strength, but the current is too +great, and nearer and nearer he is drawn on to that abyss, until he +gives one unearthly scream, and over he goes. Ah, my friends, this is +the case with hundreds in this city. They are in the current of riches +of pleasure, of drink, that will take them to the whirlpool.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Blind Man Preaches to 3,000,000 People.<br> +<br> +I was at a meeting in London, when I was there, and I heard a man +speaking with wonderful power and earnestness. "Who is that man?" I +asked, my curiosity being excited. "Why, that is Dr. ----. He is +blind." +I felt some interest in this man and at the close of the meeting, I +sought an interview, and he told me that he had been stricken blind +when +very young. His mother took him to a doctor, and asked him about his +sight. "You must give up all hope," the doctor said. "Your boy is +blind, +and will be forever." "What, do you think my boy will never see?" asked +his mother. "Never again." The mother took her boy to her bosom and +cried, "Oh, my boy, ''Who will take care of you when I am gone? Who +will +look to you?"--forgetting the faithfulness of that God she had taught +him to love. He became a servant of the Lord and was permitted to print +the Bible in twelve different languages, printed in the raised letters, +so that all the blind people could read the Scriptures themselves. He +had a congregation, my friends, of three millions of people, and I +think that blind man was one of the happiest beings in all London. He +was naturally blind, but he had eyes to his soul, and could see a +bright +eternity in the future. He had built his foundation upon the living +God. +We pity those who have not their natural sight; but how you should pity +yourself if you are spiritually blind.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Money Blind.<br> +<br> +I heard of a man who had accumulated great wealth, and death came upon +him suddenly, and he realized, as the saying is, that "there was no +bank +in the shroud," that he couldn't take anything away with him; we may +have all the money on earth, but we must leave it behind us. He called +a +lawyer in and commenced to will away his property before he went away. +His little girl couldn't understand exactly where he was going, and she +said: "Father, have you got a home in that land you are going to?" The +arrow went down to his soul. "Got a home there?" The rich man had +hurled +away God and neglected to secure a home there for the sake of his +money, +and he found it was now too late. He was money mad, he was money blind.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- Now I am no prophet, nor the son of a prophet, but one thing I can +predict; that every one of our new converts that goes to studying his +Bible, and loves this book above every other book, is sure to hold out. +The world will have no charm for him; he will get the world under his +feet, because in this book he will find something better than the world +can give him.<br> +<br> +-- What can botanists tell you of the lily of the valley? You must +study this book for that. What can geologists tell you of the Rock of +Ages, or mere astronomers about the Bright Morning Star? In those pages +we find all knowledge unto salvation; here we read of the ruin of man +by nature, redemption by the blood, and regeneration by the Holy Ghost. +These three things run all through and through them.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +THE BLOOD.<br> +<br> +A Mother Dies that her Boy may Live.<br> +<br> +When the California gold fever broke out, a man went there, leaving +his wife in New England with his boy. As soon as he got on and was +successful he was to send for them. It was a long time before he +succeeded, but at last he got money enough to send for them. The wife's +heart leaped for joy. She took her boy to New York, got on board a +Pacific steamer, and sailed away to San Francisco. They had not been +long at sea before the cry of "Fire! fire!" rang through the ship, and +rapidly it gained on them. There was a powder magazine on board, and +the +captain knew the moment the fire reached the powder, every man, woman, +and child must perish. They got out the life-boats, but they were too +small! In a minute they were overcrowded. The last one was just pushing +away, when the mother pled with them to take her and her boy. "No," +they +said, "we have got as many as we can hold." She entreated them so +earnestly, that at last they said they would take one more. Do you +think +she leaped into that boat and left her boy to die? No! She seized her +boy, gave him one last hug, kissed him, and dropped him over into the +boat. "My boy," she said, "if you live to see your father, tell him +that +I died in your place." That is a faint type of what Christ has done for +us. He laid down his life for us. He died that we might live. Now will +you not love Him? What would you say of that young man if he should +speak contemptuously of such a mother! She went down to a watery grave +to save her son. Well, shall we speak contemptuously of such a Saviour? +May God make us loyal to Christ! My friends, you will need Him one day. +You will need Him when you come to cross the swellings of Jordan. You +will need Him when you stand at the bar of God. May God forbid that +when +death draws nigh it should find you making light of the precious blood +of Christ!<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Man Drinks up a Farm.<br> +<br> +A few years ago, I was going away to preach one Sunday morning, when a +young man drove up in front of us. He had an aged woman with him. "Who +is that young man?" I asked. "Do you see that beautiful meadow?" said +my +friend, "and that land there with the house upon it?" "Yes" "His father +drank that all up," said he. Then he went on to tell me all about him. +His father was a great drunkard, squandered his property, died, and +left +his wife in the poor-house. "And that young man," he said, "is one of +the finest young men I ever knew. He has toiled hard and earned money, +and bought back the land; he has taken his mother out of the +poor-house, +and now he is taking her to church." I thought, that is an illustration +for me. The first Adam in Eden sold us for naught, but the Messiah, the +second Adam, came and bought us back again. The first Adam brought us +to +the poor-house, as it were; the second Adam makes us kings and priests +unto God. That is redemption. We get in Christ all that Adam lost, and +more. Men look on the blood of Christ with scorn and contempt, but the +time is coming when the blood of Christ will be worth more than all the +kingdoms of the world.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +All Right or all Wrong.<br> +<br> +I remember when in the old country a young man came to me--a +minister--and said he wanted to talk with me. He said to me: "Mr. +Moody, +you are either all right and I am all wrong, or else I am right, and +you +are all wrong." "Well, sir," said I, "You have the advantage of me. You +have heard me preach, and you know what doctrines I hold, whereas I +have +not heard you, and don't know what you preach." "Well," said he, "the +difference between your preaching and mine is that you make out that +salvation is got by Christ's death, and I make out that it is attained +by His life." "Now, what do you do with the passages bearing upon the +death?" and I quoted the passages, "Without the shedding of blood there +is no remission," and "He Himself bore our own sins by His own body on +the tree," and asked him what he did with them, for instance. "Never +preach them at all." I quoted a number of passages more, and he gave me +the same answer. "Well, what do you preach?" I finally asked. "Moral +essays," he replied. Said I, "Did you ever know anybody to be saved by +that kind of thing, did you ever convert anybody by them?" "I never +aimed at that kind of conversion; I meant to get men to heaven by +culture--by refinement." "Well," said I, "If I didn't preach those +texts, and only preached culture, the whole thing would be a sham." +"And +it is a sham to me," was his reply. I tell you the moment a man breaks +away from this doctrine of blood, religion becomes a sham, because the +whole teaching of this book is of one story, and this is, that Christ +came into the world and died for our sins.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Fettered Bird Freed.<br> +<br> +A friend in Ireland once met a little Irish boy who had caught a +sparrow. The poor little bird was trembling in his hand, and seemed +very +anxious to escape. The gentleman begged the boy to let it go, as the +bird could not do him any good; but the boy said he would not; for he +had chased it three hours before he could catch it. He tried to reason +it out with the boy, but in vain. At last he offered to buy the bird; +the boy agreed to the price, and it was paid. Then the gentleman took +the poor little thing and held it out on his hand. The boy had been +holding it very fast, for the boy was stronger than the bird, just as +Satan is stronger than we, and there it sat for a time, scarcely able +to +realize the fact that it had got liberty; but in a little while it flew +away, chirping, as if to say to the gentleman, "Thank you! thank you! +you have redeemed me." That is what redemption is--buying back and +setting free. So Christ came back to break the fetters of sin, to open +the prison doors and set the sinner free. This is the good news, the +gospel of Christ--"Ye are not redeemed with corruptible things, as +silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- The most solemn truth in the gospel is that the only thing Christ +left down here is His blood.<br> +<br> +-- A man who covers up the cross, though he may be an intellectual man, +and draw large crowds, will have no life there, and his church will be +but a gilded sepulcher.<br> +<br> +-- There is either of two things we must do. One is to send back the +message to heaven that we don't want the blood of Christ to cleanse us +of our sin, or else accept it.<br> +<br> +-- Into every house where the blood was not sprinkled, the destroying +angel came. But wherever the blood was on door-post and lintel, whether +they had worked much, or whether they had worked none, God passed them +over.<br> +<br> +-- A man who has not realized what the blood has done for him has not +the token of salvation. It is told of Julian, the apostate, that while +he was fighting he received an arrow in his side. He pulled it out, +and, taking a handful of blood threw it into the air and cried, +"Galilean, Galilean, thou hast conquered."<br> +<br> +-- Look at that Roman soldier as he pushed his spear into the very +heart of the God-man. What a hellish deed! But what was the next thing +that took place? Blood covered the spear! Oh! thank God, the blood +covers sin. There was the blood covering that spear--the very point of +it. The very crowning act of sin brought out the crowning act of love; +the crowning act of wickedness was the crowning act of grace.<br> +<br> +-- It Is said that old Dr. Alexander, of Princeton College, when a +young student used to start out to preach, always gave them a piece of +advice. The old man would stand with his gray locks and his venerable +face and say: "Young man, make much of the blood in your ministry." +Now, I have traveled considerable during the past few years, and never +met a minister who made much of the blood and much of the atonement but +God had blessed his ministry, and souls were born into the light by it.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +CHILD STORIES.<br> +<br> +"Little Moody."<br> +<br> +I remember when I was a boy I went several miles from home with an +older +brother. That seemed to me the longest visit of my life. It seemed that +I was then further away from home than I had ever been before, or have +ever been since. While we were walking down the street we saw an old +man +coming toward us, and my brother said, "There is a man that will give +you a cent. He gives every new boy that comes into this town a cent." +That was my first visit to the town, and when the old man got opposite +to us he looked around, and my brother not wishing me to lose the cent, +and to remind the old man that I had not received it, told him that I +was a new boy in the town. The old man, taking off my hat, placed his +trembling hand on my head, and told me I had a Father in heaven. It was +a kind, simple act, but I feel the pressure of the old man's hand upon +my head to-day. You don't know how much you may do by just speaking +kindly.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"Won by a Smile."<br> +<br> +In London, in 1872, one Sunday morning a minister said to me, "I want +you to notice that family there in one of the front seats, and when we +go home I want to tell you their story." When we got home I asked him +for the story, and he said, "All that family were won by a smile." +"Why," said I, "how's that?" "Well," said he, "as I was walking down a +street one day I saw a child at a window; it smiled, and I smiled, and +we bowed. So it was the second time; I bowed, she bowed. It was not +long +before there was another child, and I had got in a habit of looking and +bowing, and pretty soon the group grew, and at last, as I went by, a +lady was with them. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to bow to +her, but I knew the children expected it, and so I bowed to them all. +And the mother saw I was a minister, because I carried a Bible every +Sunday morning. So the children followed me the next Sunday and found I +was a minister. And they thought I was the greatest preacher, and their +parents must hear me. A minister who is kind to a child and gives him a +pat on the head, why the children will think he is the greatest +preacher +in the world. Kindness goes a great way. And to make a long story +short, +the father and mother and five children were converted, and they are +going to join our church next Sunday."<br> +<br> +Won to Christ by a smile! We must get the wrinkles out of our brows, +and +we must have smiling faces.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Little Boy's Experience.<br> +<br> +One day as a young lady was walking up the street, she saw a little boy +running out of a shoemaker's shop, and behind him was the old shoemaker +chasing him with a wooden last in his hand. He had not run far until +the +last was thrown at him, and he was struck in the back. The boy stopped +and began to cry. The Spirit of the Lord touched that young lady's +heart, and she went to where he was. She stepped up to him, and asked +him if he was hurt. He told her it was none of her business. She went +to +work then to win that boy's confidence. She asked him if he went to +school. He said, "No." "Well, why don't you go to school?" "Don't want +to." She asked him if he would not like to go to Sunday school. "If you +will come," she said, "I will tell you beautiful stories and read nice +books." She coaxed and pleaded with him, and at last said that if he +would consent to go, she would meet him on the corner of a street which +they should agree upon. He at last consented, and the next Sunday, true +to his promise, he waited for her at the place designated. She took him +by the hand and led him into the Sabbath-school "Can you give me a +place +to teach this little boy?" she asked of the superintendent.<br> +<br> +He looked at the boy, but they didn't have any such looking little ones +in the school. A place was found, however, and she sat down in the +corner and tried to win that soul for Christ. Many would look upon that +with contempt, but she had got something to do for the Master. The +little boy had never heard anybody sing so sweetly before. When he went +home he was asked where he had been. "Been among the angels," he told +his mother. He said he had been to the Protestant Sabbath-school, but +his father and mother told him he must not go there any more or he +would +get a flogging. The next Sunday he went, and when he came home he got +the promised flogging. He went the second time and got a flogging, and +also a third time with the same result. At last he said to his father, +"I wish you would flog me before I go, and then I won't have to think +of +it when I am there." The father said, "If you go to that Sabbath-school +again I will kill you." It was the father's custom to send his son out +on the street to sell articles to the passers-by, and he told the boy +that he might have the profits of what he sold on Saturday. The little +fellow hastened to the young lady's house and said to her, "Father said +that he would give me every Saturday to myself, and if you will just +teach me, then I will come to your house every Saturday afternoon." I +wonder how many young ladies there are that would give up their +Saturday +afternoons just to lead one boy into the kingdom of God. Every Saturday +afternoon that little boy was there at her house, and she tried to tell +him the way to Christ. She labored with him, and at last the light of +God's spirit broke upon his heart.<br> +<br> +One day while he was selling his wares at the railroad station, a train +of cars approached unnoticed and passed over both his legs. A physician +was summoned, and the first thing after he arrived, the little sufferer +looked up into his face and said, "Doctor, will I live to get home?" +"No," said the doctor, "you are dying." "Will you tell my mother and +father that I died a Christian?" They bore home the boy's corpse and +with it the last message that he died a Christian. Oh, what a noble +work +was that young lady's in saving that little wanderer! How precious the +remembrance to her! When she goes to heaven she will not be a stranger +there. He will take her by the hand and lead her to the throne of +Christ. She did the work cheerfully. Oh, may God teach us what our work +is that we may do it for His glory.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Love.<br> +<br> +In our city a few years ago there was a little boy who went to one of +the mission Sunday-schools. His father moved to another part of the +city +about five miles away, and every Sunday that boy came past thirty or +forty Sunday-schools to the one he attended. And one Sunday a lady who +was out collecting scholars for a Sunday-school met him and asked why +he +went so far, past so many schools. "There are plenty of others," said +she, "just as good." He said, "They may be as good but they are not so +good for me." "Why not?" she asked "Because they love a fellow over +there," he answered. Ah! love won him. "Because they love a fellow over +there!" How easy it is to reach people through love! Sunday-school +teachers should win the affections of their scholars if they wish to +lead them to Christ.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Little Boy Converts his Mother.<br> +<br> +I remember when on the North Side I tried to reach a family time and +again and failed. One night in the meeting, I noticed one of the little +boys of that family. He hadn't come for any good, however; he was +sticking pins in the backs of the other boys. I thought if I could get +hold of him it would do good. I used always to go to the door and shake +hands with the boys, and when I got to the door and saw this little boy +coming out, I shook hands with him, and patted him on the head, and +said +I was glad to see him, and hoped he would come again. He hung his head +and went away. The next night, however, he came back, and he behaved +better than he did the previous night. He came two or three times +after, +and then asked us to pray for him that he might become a Christian. +That +was a happy night for me. He became a Christian and a good one. One +night I saw him weeping. I wondered if his old temper had got hold or +him again, and when he got up I wondered what he was going to say. "I +wish you would pray for my mother," he said. When the meeting was over +I +went to him and asked, "Have you ever spoken to your mother or tried to +pray with her?" "Well, you know, Mr. Moody," he replied, "I never had +an +opportunity; she don't believe, and won't hear me." "Now," I said, "I +want you to talk to your mother to-night." For years I had been trying +to reach her and couldn't do it.<br> +<br> +So I urged him to talk to her that night, and I said "I will pray for +you both." When he got to the sitting-room he found some people there, +and he sat waiting for an opportunity, when his mother said it was time +for him to go to bed. He went to the door undecided. He took a step, +stopped, and turned around, and hesitated for a minute, then ran to his +mother and threw his arms around her neck, and buried his face in her +bosom. "What is the matter?" she asked--she thought he was sick. +Between +his sobs he told his mother how for five weeks he had wanted to be a +Christian; how he had stopped swearing; how he was trying to be +obedient +to her, and how happy he would be if she would be a Christian, and then +went off to bed. She sat for a few minutes, but couldn't stand it, and +went up to his room. When she got to the door she heard him weeping and +praying, "Oh, God, convert my dear mother." She came down again, but +couldn't sleep that night. Next day she told the boy to go and ask Mr. +Moody to come over and see her. He called at my place of business--I +was +in business then--and I went over as quick as I could. I found her +sitting in a rocking chair weeping. "Mr. Moody," she said, "I want to +become a Christian." "What has brought that change over you. I thought +you didn't believe in it?" Then she told me how her boy had come to +her, +and how she hadn't slept any all night, and how her sin rose up before +her like a dark mountain. The next Sunday that boy came and led that +mother into the Sabbath-school, and she became a Christian worker.<br> +<br> +Oh, little children, if you find Christ tell it to your fathers and +mothers. Throw your arms around their necks and lead them to Jesus.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Father's Mistake.<br> +<br> +There is a little story that has gone the round of the American press +that made a great impression upon me as a father. A father took his +little child out into the field one Sabbath, and, it being a hot day, +he +lay down under a beautiful shady tree. The little child ran about +gathering wild flowers and little blades of grass, and coming to its +father and saying, "Pretty! pretty!" At last the father fell asleep, +and +while he was sleeping the little child wandered away. When he awoke, +his +first thought was, "Where is my child?" He looked all around, but he +could not see him. He shouted at the top of his voice, but all he heard +was the echo of his own voice. Running to a little hill, he looked +around and shouted again. No response! Then going to a precipice at +some +distance, he looked down, and there, upon the rocks and briars, he saw +the mangled form of his loved child. He rushed to the spot, took up the +lifeless corpse, and hugged it to his bosom, and accused himself of +being the murderer of his child. While he was sleeping his child had +wandered over the precipice. I thought as I heard that, what a picture +of the church of God!<br> +<br> +How many fathers and mothers, how many Christian men, are sleeping now +while their children wander over the terrible precipice right into the +bottomless pit. Father, where is your boy to-night?<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Boy's Mistake--A Sad Reconciliation.<br> +<br> +There was an Englishman who had an only son; and only sons are often +petted, and humored, and ruined. This boy became very headstrong, and +very often he and his father had trouble. One day they had a quarrel +and +the father was very angry, and so was the son; and the father said he +wished the boy would leave home and never come back. The boy said he +would go, and would not come into his father's house again till he sent +for him. The father said he would never send for him. Well, away went +the boy. But when a father gives up a boy, a mother does not. You +mothers will understand that, but the fathers may not. You know there +is +no love on earth so strong as a mother's love. A great many things may +separate a man and his wife; a great many things may separate a father +from his son; but there is nothing in the wide world that can ever +separate a true mother from her child. To be sure, there are some +mothers that have drank so much liquor that they have drunk up all +their +affection. But I am talking about a true mother; and she would never +cast off her boy.<br> +<br> +Well, the mother began to write and plead with the boy to write to his +father first, and he would forgive him; but the boy said, "I will never +go home till father asks me." Then she pled with the father, but the +father said, "No, I will never ask him." At last the mother came down +to +her sick-bed, broken-hearted, and when she was given up by the +physicians to die, the husband, anxious to gratify her last wish, +wanted +to know if there was nothing he could do for her before she died. The +mother gave him a look; he well knew what it meant. Then she said, +"Yes, +there is one thing you can do. You can send for my boy. That is the +only +wish on earth you can gratify. If you do not pity him and love him when +I am dead and gone, who will?" "Well," said the father, "I will send +word to him that you want to see him." "No," she says, "you know he +will +not come for me. If ever I see him you must send for him."<br> +<br> +At last the father went to his office and wrote a dispatch in his own +name, asking the boy to come home. As soon as he got the invitation +from +his father he started off to see his dying mother. When he opened the +door to go in he found his mother dying, and his father by the bedside. +The father heard the door open, and saw the boy, but instead of going +to +meet him, he went to another part of the room, and refused to speak to +him. His mother seized his hand--how she had longed to press it! She +kissed him, and then said, "Now, my son, just speak to your father. You +speak first, and it will all be over." But the boy said, "No, mother, I +will not speak to him until he speaks to me." She took her husband's +hand in one hand and the boy's in the other, and spent her dying +moments +in trying to bring about a reconciliation. Then just as she was +expiring--she could not speak--so she put the hand of the wayward boy +into the hand of the father, and passed away! The boy looked at the +mother, and the father at the wife, and at last the father's heart +broke, and he opened his arms, and took that boy to his bosom, and by +that body they were reconciled. Sinner, that is only a faint type, a +poor illustration, because God is not angry with you.<br> +<br> +I bring you to-night to the dead body of Christ. I ask you to look at +the wounds in his hands and feet, and the wound in his side. And I ask +you, "Will you not be reconciled?"<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Moody and his Little Willie.<br> +<br> +I said to my little family, one morning, a few weeks before the Chicago +fire, "I am coming home this afternoon to give you a ride." My little +boy clapped his hands. "Oh, papa, will you take me to see the bears in +Lincoln Park?" "Yes." You know boys are very fond of seeing bears. I +had +not been gone long when my little boy said, "Mamma, I wish you would +get +me ready." "Oh," she said, "it will be a long time before papa comes." +"But I want to get ready, mamma." At last he was ready to have the +ride, +face washed, and clothes all nice and clean. "Now, you must take good +care and not get yourself dirty again," said mamma. Oh, of course he +was +going to take care; he wasn't going to get dirty. So off he ran to +watch +for me. However, it was a long time yet until the afternoon, and after +a +little he began to play. When I got home, I found him outside, with his +face all covered with dirt. "I can't take you to the Park that way, +Willie." "Why, papa? you said you would take me." "Ah, but I can't; +you're all over mud. I couldn't be seen with such a dirty little boy." +"Why, I'se clean, papa; mamma washed me." "Well, you've got dirty +since." But he began to cry, and I could not convince him that he was +dirty. "I'se clean; mamma washed me!" he cried. Do you think I argued +with him? No. I just took him up in my arms, and carried him into the +house, and showed him his face in the looking-glass. He had not a word +to say. He could not take my word for it; but one look at the glass was +enough; he saw it for himself. He didn't say he wasn't dirty after that!<br> +<br> +Now the looking-glass showed him that his face was dirty--but I did not +take the looking-glass to wash it; of course not. Yet that is just what +thousands of people do. The law is the looking-glass to see ourselves +in, to show us how vile and worthless we are in the sight of God; but +they take the law and try to wash themselves with it.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Jesus "Wants them All to Come."<br> +<br> +I heard of a Sunday-school concert at which a little child of eight was +going to recite. Her mother had taught her, and when the night came the +little thing was trembling so she could scarcely speak. She commenced, +"Jesus said," and completely broke down. Again she tried it: "Jesus +said +suffer," but she stopped once more. A third attempt was made by her, +"Suffer little children--and don't anybody stop them, for He wants them +all to come," and that is the truth. There is not a child who has a +parent in the Tabernacle but He wants, and if you but bring them in the +arms of your faith and ask the Son of God to bless them and train them +in the knowledge of God, and teach them as you walk your way, as you +lie +down at night, as you rise up in the morning, they will be blessed.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Never to See its Mother.<br> +<br> +I was in an infirmary not long since, and a mother brought a little +child in. She said, "Doctor, my little child's eyes have not been +opened +for several days, and I would just like you to do something for them." +The doctor got some ointment and put it first on one and then on the +other, and just pulled them open. "Your child is blind," said the +doctor; "perfectly blind; it will never see again." At first the mother +couldn't take it in, but after a little she cast an appealing look upon +that physician, and in a voice full of emotion, said, "Doctor, you +don't +mean to say that my child will never see again?" "Yes," replied the +doctor, "your child has lost its sight, and will never see again." And +that mother just gave a scream, and drew that child to her bosom. "O my +darling child," sobbed the woman, "are you never to see the mother that +gave you birth? never to see the world again?" I could not keep back +the +tears when I saw the terrible agony of that woman when she realized the +misfortune that had come upon her child. That was a terrible calamity, +to grope in total darkness through this world; never to look upon the +bright sky, the green fields; never to see the faces of loved ones; but +what was it in comparison to the loss of a soul? I would rather have my +eyes plucked out of my head and go down to my grave in total blindness +than lose my soul.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Little Child Converts an Infidel.<br> +<br> +I remember hearing of a Sabbath-school teacher who had led every one of +her children to Christ. She was a faithful teacher. Then she tried to +get her children to go out and bring other children into the school. +One +day one of them came and said she had been trying to get the children +of +a family to come to the school, but the father was an infidel, and he +wouldn't allow it. "What is an infidel?" asked the child. She had never +heard of an infidel before. The teacher went on to tell her what an +infidel man was, and she was perfectly shocked. A few mornings after +the +girl happened to be going past the post-office on her way to school, +and +she saw the infidel father coming out. She went up to him and said, +"Why +don't you love Jesus?" If it had been a man who had said that to him +probably he would have knocked him down. He looked at her and walked +on. +A second time she put the question, "Why don't you love Jesus?" He put +out his hand to put her gently away from him, when, on looking down, he +saw her tears. "Please, sir, tell me why you don't love Jesus?" He +pushed her aside and away he went. When he got to his office he +couldn't +get this question out of his mind. All the letters seemed to read, "Why +don't you love Jesus?" All men in his place of business seemed to say, +"Why don't you love Jesus?" When he tried to write his pen seemed to +shape the words, "Why don't you love Jesus?" He couldn't rest, and on +the street he went to mingle with the business men, but he seemed to +hear a voice continually asking him, "Why don't you love Jesus?" He +thought when night came and he got home with his family, he would +forget +it; but he couldn't. He complained that he wasn't well, and went to +bed. +But when he laid his head on the pillow that voice kept whispering, +"Why +don't you love Jesus?" He couldn't sleep. By and by, about midnight, he +got up and said, "I will get a Bible and find where Christ contradicts +himself, and then I'll have a reason," and he turned to the book of +John. My friends, if you want a reason for not loving Christ, don't +turn +to John. He knew Him too long. I don't believe a man can read the +gospel +of John without being turned to Christ. Well, he read through, and +found +no reason why he shouldn't love Him, but he found many reasons why he +should. He read this book, and before morning he was on his knees, and +that question put by that little child led to his conversion.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Dying Child.<br> +<br> +A lady had a little child that was dying. She thought it was resting +sweetly in the arms of Jesus. She went into the room and the child +asked +her: "What are those clouds and mountains that I see so dark?" "Why, +Eddy," said his mother, "there are no clouds or mountains, you must be +mistaken." "Why, yes, I see great mountains and dark clouds, and I want +you to take me in your arms and carry me over the mountains." "Ah," +said the mother, "you must pray to Jesus, He will carry you safely," +and, my friends, the sainted mother, the praying wife, may come to your +bedside and wipe the damp sweat from your brow, but they cannot carry +you over the Jordan when the hour comes. This mother said to her little +boy, "I am afraid that it is unbelief that is coming upon you, my +child, +and you must pray that the Lord will be with you in your dying +moments." +And the two prayed, but the boy turned to her and said: "Don't you hear +the angels, mother, over the mountains, and calling for me, and I +cannot +go?" "My dear boy, pray to Jesus, and He will come; He only can take +you." And the boy closed his eyes and prayed, and when he opened them a +heavenly smile overspread his face as he said, "Jesus has come to carry +me over the mountains."<br> +<br> +Dear sinner, Jesus is ready and willing to carry you over the mountains +of sin, and over your mountains of unbelief. Give yourself to Him.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Finest Looking Little Boy Mr. Moody ever Saw.<br> +<br> +A few years ago I was in a town down in our state, the guest of a +family +that had a little boy about thirteen years, who did not bear the family +name, yet was treated like the rest. Every night when he retired, the +lady of the home kissed him and treated him in every respect like all +the other children. I said to the lady of the house, "I don't +understand +it." I think he was the finest looking boy I have ever seen. I said to +her, "I don't understand it." She says, "I want to tell you about that +boy. That boy is the son of a missionary. His father and mother were +missionaries in India, but they found they had got to bring their +children back to this country to educate them. So they gave up their +mission field and came back to educate their children and to find some +missionary work to do in this country. But they were not prospered here +as they had been in India, and the father said, "I will go back to +India;" and the mother said, "If God has called you to go I am sure it +will be my duty to go and my privilege to go, and I will go with you." +The father said, "you have never been separated from the children, and +it will be hard for you to be separated from them; perhaps you had +better stay and take care of them."<br> +<br> +But after prayer they decided to leave their children to be educated, +and they left for India. This lady heard of it and sent a letter to the +parents, in which she stated if they left one child at her house she +would treat it like one of her own children. She said the mother came +and spent a few days at her house, and being satisfied that her boy +would receive proper care, consented to leave him, and the night before +she was to leave him, the missionary said to the Western lady: "I want +to leave my boy tomorrow morning without a tear;" said she, "I may +never +see him again." But she didn't want him to think she was weeping for +anything she was doing for the Master. The lady said to herself, "She +won't leave that boy without a tear." But the next day when the +carriage +drove up to the door, the lady went up stairs and she heard the mother +in prayer, crying, "Oh God, give me strength for this hour. Help me to +go away from my boy without a tear." When she came down there was a +smile upon her face. She hugged him and she kissed him, but she smiled +as she did it. She gave up all her five or six children without +shedding +a tear, went back to India and in about a year there came a voice, +"Come +up hither." Do you think she would be a stranger in the Lord's world? +Don't you think she will be known there as a mother that loved her +child?<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"Emma, this is Papa's Friend."<br> +<br> +A gentleman one day came to my office for the purpose of getting me +interested in a young man who had just got out of the penitentiary. "He +says," said the gentleman, "he don't want to go to the office, but I +want your permission to bring him in and introduce him." I said, "Bring +him in." The gentleman brought him in and introduced him, and I took +him +by the hand and told him I was glad to see him. I invited him up to my +house, and when I took him into my family I introduced him as a friend. +When my little daughter came into the room, I said, "Emma, this is +papa's friend." And she went up and kissed him, and the man sobbed +aloud. After the child left the room, I said, "What is the matter?" "O +sir," he said, "I have not had a kiss for years. The last kiss I had +was +from my mother, and she was dying. I thought I would never have another +one again." His heart was broken.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Moody's Little Emma.<br> +<br> +I remember one time my little girl was teasing her mother to get her a +muff, and so one day her mother brought a muff home, and, although it +was storming, she very naturally wanted to go out in order to try her +new muff. So she tried to get me to go out with her. I went out with +her, and I said, "Emma, better let me take your hand." She wanted to +keep her hands in her muff, and so she refused to take my hand. Well, +by +and by she came to an icy place, her little feet slipped, and down she +went. When I helped her up she said, "Papa, you may give me your little +finger." "No, my daughter, just take my hand." "No, no, papa, give me +your little finger." Well, I gave my finger to her, and for a little +way +she got along nicely, but pretty soon we came to another icy place, and +again she fell. This time she hurt herself a little, and she said, +"Papa, give me your hand," and I gave her my hand, and closed my +fingers +about her wrist, and held her up so that she could not fall. Just so +God +is our keeper. He is wiser than we.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Little Jimmy.<br> +<br> +A friend of mine in Chicago took his Sabbath-school out on the cars +once. A little boy was allowed to sit on the platform of the car, when +by some mischance he fell, and the whole train passed over him. They +had +to go on a half a mile before they could stop. They went back to him +and +found that the poor little fellow had been cut and mangled all to +pieces. Two of the teachers went back with the remains to Chicago. Then +came the terrible task of telling the parents about it. When they got +to +the house they dared not go in. They were waiting there for five +minutes +before anyone had the courage to tell the story. But at last they +ventured in. They found the family at dinner. The father was called +out--they thought they would tell the father first. He came out with +the +napkin in his hand. My friend said to him: "I have got very bad news to +tell you. Your little Jimmy has got run over by the cars." The poor man +turned deathly pale and rushed into the room crying out, "Dead, dead." +The mother sprang to her feet and came out of the sitting-room where +the +teachers were. When she heard the sad story she fainted dead away at +their feet. "Moody," said my friend, "I wouldn't be the messenger of +such tidings again if you would give me the whole of Chicago. I never +suffered so much." I have got a son dearer to me than my life, and yet +I +would rather have a train a mile long run over him than that he should +die without God and without hope. What is the loss of a child to the +loss of a soul?<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Stubborn Little Sammy.<br> +<br> +At one time my sister had trouble with her little boy, and the father +said, "'Why, Sammy, you must go now and ask your mothers forgiveness." +The little fellow said he wouldn't. The father says, "You must. If you +don't go and ask your mothers forgiveness I shall have to undress you +and put you to bed." He was a bright, nervous little fellow, never +still +a moment, and the father thought he would have such a dread of being +undressed and put to bed. But the little fellow wouldn't, so they +undressed him and put him to bed. The father went to his business, and +when he came home at noon he said to his wife: "Has Sammy asked your +forgiveness?" "No," she said, "he hasn't." So the father went to him +and +said, "Why, Sammy, why don't you ask your mother's forgiveness?" The +little fellow shook his head, "Won't do it." "But, Sammy, you have got +to." "Couldn't." The father went down to his office, and stayed all the +afternoon, and when he came home he asked his wife, "Has Sammy asked +your forgiveness?" "No, I took something up to him and tried to have +him +eat, but he wouldn't." So the father went up to see him, and said, +"Now, +Sammy, just ask your mother's forgiveness, and you may be dressed and +come down to supper with us." "Couldn't do it," The father coaxed, but +the little fellow "couldn't do it." That was all they could get out of +him. You know very well he could, but he didn't want to. Now, the +hardest thing a man has to do is to become a Christian, and it is the +easiest. That may seem a contradiction, but it isn't. The hard point is +because he don't want to.<br> +<br> +The hardest thing for a man to do is to give up his will. That night +they retired, and they thought surely early in the morning, he will be +ready to ask his mothers forgiveness. The father went to him--that was +Friday morning--to see if he was ready to ask his mother's forgiveness, +but he "couldn't." The father and mother felt so bad about it they +couldn't eat; they thought it was to darken their whole life. Perhaps +that boy thought that father and mother didn't love him. Just what many +sinners think because God won't let them have their own way. The father +went to his business, and when he came home he said to his wife, "Has +Sammy asked your forgiveness?" "No." So he went to the little fellow +and +said, "'Now, Sammy, are you not going to ask your mother's +forgiveness?" +"Can't," and that was all they could get out of him. The father +couldn't +eat any dinner; it was like death in the house. It seemed as if the boy +was going to conquer his father and mother. Instead of his little will +being broken, it looked very much as if he was going to break theirs. +Late Friday afternoon, "Mother, mother, forgive," says Sammy--"me." And +the little fellow said "me," and he sprang to his feet and said: "I +have +said it, I have said it. Now dress me, and take me down to see father. +He will be so glad to know I have said it." And she took him down, and +when the little fellow came in he said, "I've said it, I've said it."<br> +<br> +Oh, my friends, it is so easy to say, "I will arise and go to my God." +It is the most reasonable thing you can do. Isn't an unreasonable thing +to hold out? Come right to God just this very hour. "Believe on the +Lord +Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Spurgeon and the Little Orphan.<br> +<br> +While we were in London, Mr. Spurgeon one day took Mr. Sankey and +myself +to his orphan asylum, and he was telling about them--that some of them +had aunts and some cousins, and that every boy had some friend that +took +an interest in him, and came to see him and gave him a little pocket +money, and one day he said while he stood there, a little boy came up +to +him and said, "Mr. Spurgeon, let me speak to you," and the boy sat down +between Mr. Spurgeon and the elder, who was with the clergyman, and +said, "Mr. Spurgeon, suppose your father and mother were dead, and you +didn't have any cousins, or aunts, or uncles, or friends to come and +give you pocket money, and give you presents, don't you think you would +feel bad--because that's me?" Said Mr. Spurgeon, "the minute he asked +that, I put my right hand down into my pocket and took out the money." +Because that's me! And so with the Gospel; we must say to those who +have +sinned, the Gospel is offered to them.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Child Looking for its Lost Mother.<br> +<br> +A little child, whose mother was dying, was taken away to live with +some +friends because it was thought she did not understand what death is. +All +the while the child wanted to go home and see her mother. At last, when +the funeral was over, and she was taken home, she ran all over the +house, searching the sitting room, the parlor, the library, and the +bedrooms. She went from one end of the house to the other, and when she +could not find her mother, she wished to be taken back to where they +brought her from. Home had lost its attractions for the child when her +mother was not there. My friends, the great attraction in heaven will +not be its pearly gates, its golden streets, nor its choir of angels, +but it will be Christ. Heaven would be no heaven if Christ were not +there. But we know that He is at the right hand of the Father, and +these +eyes shall gaze on Him by-and-by; and we shall be satisfied when we +awake with his likeness.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +CHRIST SAVES.<br> +<br> +Moody in Prison.<br> +<br> +I have good news to tell you--Christ is come after you. I was at the +Fulton-street prayer-meeting, a good many years ago, one Saturday +night, +and when the meeting was over, a man came to me and said, "I would like +to have you go down to the city prison to-morrow, and preach to the +prisoners. I said I would be very glad to go. There was no chapel in +connection with that prison, and I was to preach to them in their +cells. +I had to stand at a little iron railing and talk down a great, long +narrow passageway, to some three or four hundred of them, I suppose, +all +out of sight. It was pretty difficult work; I never preached to the +bare +walls before. When it was over I thought I would like to see to whom I +had been preaching, and how they had received the gospel. I went to the +first door, where the inmates could have heard me best, and looked in +at +a little window, and there were some men playing cards. I suppose they +had been playing all the while. "How is it with you here?" I said. +"Well, stranger, we don't want you to get a bad idea of us. False +witnesses swore a lie, and that is how we are here." "Oh," I said, +"Christ cannot save anybody here; there is nobody lost." I went to the +next cell. "Well, friend, how is it with you?" "Oh," said the prisoner, +"the man that did the deed looked very much like me, so they caught me +and I am here." He was innocent, too! I passed along to the next cell. +"How is it with you?'" "Well, we got into bad company, and the man that +did it got clear, and we got taken up, but we never did anything." I +went along to the next cell "How is it with you?" "Our trial comes on +next week, but they have nothing against us, and we'll get free." I +went +round to nearly every cell but the answer was always the same--they had +never done anything. Why, I never saw so many innocent men together in +my life. There was nobody to blame but the magistrates, according to +their way of it. These men were wrapping their filthy rags of +self-righteousness about them. And that has been the story for six +thousand years. I got discouraged as I went through the prison, on, and +on, and on, cell after cell, and every man had an excuse. If he hadn't +one, the devil helped him to make one. I had got almost through the +prison, when I came to a cell and found a man with his elbows on his +knees, and his head in his hands. Two little streams of tears were +running down his cheeks; they did not come by drops that time.<br> +<br> +"What's the trouble?" I said. He looked up, the picture of remorse and +despair. "Oh, my sins are more than I can bear." "Thank God for that," +I +replied. "What," said he, "you are the man that has been preaching to +us, ain't you?" "Yes." "I think you said you were a friend?" "I am." +"And yet you are glad that my sins are more than I can bear!" "I will +explain," I said "If your sins are more than you can bear, won't you +cast them on One who will bear them for you?" "Who's that?" "The Lord +Jesus." "He won't bear my sins." "Why not?" "I have sinned against Him +all my life." "I don't care if you have; the blood of Jesus Christ, +God's Son, cleanses from all sin." Then I told him how Christ had come +to seek and save that which was lost; to open the prison doors and set +the captives free. It was like a cup of refreshment to find a man who +believed he was lost, so I stood there, and held up a crucified Saviour +to him. "Christ was delivered for our offenses, died for our sins, rose +again for our justification." For a long time the man could not believe +that such a miserable wretch could be saved. He went on to enumerate +his +sins, and I told him that the blood of Christ could cover them all. +After I had talked with him I said, "Now let us pray." He got down on +his knees inside the cell, and I got down outside, and I said, "You +pray." "Why," he said, "it would be blasphemy for me to call on God." +"You call on God," I said. He knelt down, and, like the poor publican, +he lifted up his voice and said, "God be merciful to me, a vile +wretch!" +I put my hand through the window, and as I shook hands with him a tear +fell on my hand that burned down into my soul. It was a tear of +repentance. He believed he was lost. Then I tried to get him to believe +that Christ had come to save him. I left him still in darkness. "I will +be at the hotel," I said, "between nine and ten o'clock, and I will +pray +for you." Next morning, I felt so much interested, that I thought I +must +see him before I went back to Chicago. No sooner had my eye lighted on +his face, than I saw that remorse and despair had fled away, and his +countenance was beaming with celestial light; the tears of joy had come +into his eyes, and the tears of despair were gone. The sun of +Righteousness had broken out across his path; his soul was leaping +within him for joy; he had received Christ as Zaccheus did--joyfully. +"Tell me about it," I said. "Well, I do not know what time it was; I +think it was about midnight. I had been in distress a long time, when +all at once my great burden fell off, and now, I believe I am the +happiest man in New York." I think he was the happiest man I saw from +the time I left Chicago till I got back again. His face was lighted up +with the light that comes from the celestial hills. I bade him good-by, +and I expect to meet him in another world.<br> +<br> +Can you tell me why the Son of God came down to that prison that night, +and, passing cell after cell, went to that one, and set the captive +free? It was because the man believed he was lost.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Father's Love for his Boy.<br> +<br> +A number of years ago, before any railway came into Chicago, they used +to bring in the grain from the Western prairies in wagons for hundreds +of miles, so as to have it shipped off by the lakes. There was a father +who had a large farm out there, and who used to preach the gospel as +well as to attend to his farm. One day, when church business engaged +him, he sent his son to Chicago with grain. He waited and waited for +his +boy to return, but he did not come home. At last he could wait no +longer, so he saddled his horse and rode to the place where his son had +sold the grain. He found that he had been there and got the money for +his grain; then he began to fear that his boy had been murdered and +robbed. At last, with the aid of a detective, they tracked him to a +gambling den, where they found that he had gambled away the whole of +his +money. In hopes of winning it back again, he then had sold his team, +and +lost that money too. He had fallen among thieves, and like the man who +was going to Jericho, they stripped him, and then they cared no more +about him. What could he do? He was ashamed to go home to meet his +father, and he fled. The father knew what it all meant. He knew the boy +thought he would be very angry with him. He was grieved to think that +his boy should have such feelings toward him. That is just exactly like +the sinner. He thinks because he has sinned, God will have nothing to +do +with him. But what did that father do? Did he say, "Let the boy go"? +No; +he went after him. He arranged his business, and started after the boy. +That man went from town to town, from city to city. He would get the +ministers to let him preach, and at the close he would tell his story. +"I have got a boy who is a wanderer on the face of the earth +somewhere." +He would describe his boy, and say, "If you ever hear of him or see +him, +will you not write to me?" At last he found that he had gone to +California, thousands of miles away. Did that father say, "Let him go"? +No; off he went to the Pacific coast, seeking the boy. He went to San +Francisco, and advertised in the newspapers that he would preach at +such +a church on such a day. When he had preached he told his story, in +hopes +that the boy might have seen the advertisement and come to the church. +When he had done, away under the gallery, there was a young man who +waited until the audience had gone out; then he came toward the pulpit. +The father looked and saw it was that boy, and he ran to him, and +pressed him to his bosom. The boy wanted to confess what he had done, +but not a word would the father hear. He forgave him freely, and took +him to his home once more.<br> +<br> +I tell you Christ will welcome you this minute if you will come. Say, +"I +will arise and go to my Father." May God incline you to take this step. +There is not one whom Jesus has not sought far longer than that father. +There has not been a day since you left Him but He has followed you.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/068Pic.jpg" style="width: 492px; height: 761px;"><br> +Mary Magdalene. GUSTAVE DORE. Mark, xvi, 9.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Lady Ann Erskine and Rowland Hill.<br> +<br> +There is a very good story told of Rowland Hill and Lady Ann Erskine. +You have seen it, perhaps, in print, but I would like to tell it to +you. +While he was preaching in a park in London to a large assemblage, she +was passing in her carriage. She said to her footman when she saw +Rowland Hill in the midst of the people, "Why, who is that man?" That +is +Rowland Hill, my lady." She had heard a good deal about the man, and +she +thought she would like to see him, so she directed her coachman to +drive +her near the platform. When the carriage came near he saw the insignia +of nobility, and he asked who that noble lady was. Upon being told, he +said, "Stop, my friends, I have got something to sell." The idea of a +preacher becoming suddenly an auctioneer made the people wonder, and in +the midst of a dead silence he said: "I have more than a title to +sell--I have more than a crown of Europe to sell; it is the soul of +Lady +Ann Erskine. Is there anyone here who bids for it? Yes, I hear a bid. +Satan, Satan, what will you give? 'I will give pleasure, honor, +riches--yea, I will give the whole world for her soul.' Do you hear +another bid? Is there any other one? Do I hear another bid? Ah, I +thought so; I hear another bid. The Lord Jesus Christ, what will You +give for this soul? 'I will give peace, joy, comfort, that the world +knows not of--yea, I will give eternal life.' Lady Ann Erskine, you +have +heard the two bidders for your soul, which will you accept? And she +ordered the door of her carriage to be opened, and came weeping from +it, +and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. He, the great and mighty Saviour, +is +a bidder for your soul to-night. He offers you riches and comfort, and +joy, peace here, and eternal life hereafter, while Satan offers you +what +he cannot give. Poor lost soul, which will you have? He will ransom +your +soul if you but put your burden upon Him. Twenty-one years ago I made +up +my mind that Jesus would have my soul, and I have never regretted the +step, and no man has ever felt sorry for coming to Him. When we accept +Him we must like Him. Your sins may rise up as a mountain, but the Son +of Man can purge you of all evil, and take you right into the palaces +of +Heaven, if you will only allow Him to Save you.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Czar and the Soldier.<br> +<br> +I remember hearing a few years ago a story about a young man away off +in +Russia. He was a wild, reckless dissipated youth. His father, thinking +that if he could get him away from his associates, a reform would be +worked, procured a commission in the army for him. And this is a +mistake +a great many Christian people fall into in dealing with their sons. It +is not a change of place they require, it is a change of heart, A +change +of place will not take them away from the tempter. Well, off to the +army +this young man went, and, instead of reforming, he gambled and +borrowed, +and took to drinking as vigorously as ever. At length he had borrowed +all the money he could, and, as we say he "had come to the end of his +rope." A certain sum of money had to be paid the next day, and he did +not see how it could be done without selling his commission, and if he +did that he would be compelled to leave the army and go home to his +father disgraced. The laws were very rigid in Russia upon the matter of +debt, and if he couldn't pay he knew he would have to go to prison.<br> +<br> +That night as he sat in his barracks, heart-broken at the prospect +before him, he thought he would take up a paper and figure up his +debts, +and see how he stood. And here, let me say, it would be well if the +sinner would pause occasionally, and try and figure up his sins, and +see +where he stood with God. Well, this young man put down one debt after +another, until they made a long column. The total completely +disheartened him; and he just put at the bottom of his figures, "Who is +to pay this"? He laid his head upon his desk wearied, and fell asleep. +That night the Czar, according to his custom, was walking through the +barracks while the soldiers slept, and happened to come to that spot +where the young soldier slept. He saw upon the desk the column of +debts, +and when he came to the bottom saw the question: "Who's to pay them?" +and wrote underneath the name "Nicholas." When the young man awoke he +took up the paper and found written at the bottom the signature of the +Czar of all the Russias. What did it mean? Had an angel dropped down +and +canceled the debt? It was too good to be true. He couldn't believe it. +But by and by the money came from the Emperor himself. This story may +be +true or not. I don't care whether it is or not; but there is one thing +I +do know is true, and that is that the great Emperor of heaven is here, +and if you put down all your sins and multiply them by ten thousand, He +will pay it and shelter you underneath the blood of Jesus Christ, which +cleanseth us from all sin.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Artist and the Beggar.<br> +<br> +I have read of an artist who wanted to paint a picture of the Prodigal +Son. He searched through the madhouse, and the poor houses, and the +prisons, to find a man wretched enough to represent the prodigal, but +he +could not find one. One day he was walking down the streets and met a +man whom he thought would do. He told the poor beggar he would pay him +well if he came to his room and sat for the portrait. The beggar +agreed, +and the day was appointed for him to come. The day came, and a man put +in his appearance at the artist's room. "You made an appointment with +me," he said, when he was shown into the studio. The artist looked at +him, "I never saw you before," he said; "you cannot have an appointment +with me." "Yes," he said, "I agreed to meet you to-day at ten o'clock." +"You must be mistaken; it must have been some other artist; I was to +see +a beggar here at this hour." "Well," says the beggar, "I am he." "You?" +"Yes." "Why, what have you been doing?" "Well, I thought I would dress +myself up a bit before I got painted." "Then," said the artist, "I do +not want you; I wanted you as you were; now, you are no use to me." +That +is the way Christ wants every poor sinner, just as he is. It is only +the +ragged sinners that open God's wardrobe. I remember a boy to whom I +gave +a pair of boots, and I found him shortly after in his bare feet again. +I +asked him what he had done with them, and he replied that when he was +dressed up it spoiled his business; when he was dressed up no one would +give anything. By keeping his feet naked he got as many as five pairs +of +boots a day. So if you want to come to God don't dress yourself up. It +is the naked sinner God wants to save.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Commercial Traveler.<br> +<br> +I remember when preaching in New York City, at the Hippodrome, a man +coming up to me and telling me a story that thrilled my soul. One +night, +he said he had been gambling; had gambled all the money away he had. +When he went home to the hotel that night he did not sleep much. The +next morning happened to be Sunday. He got up, felt bad, couldn't eat +anything, didn't touch his breakfast, was miserable, and thought about +putting an end to his existence. That afternoon he took a walk up +Broadway, and when he came to the Hippodrome he saw great crowds going +in and thought of entering too. But a policeman at the door told him he +couldn't come in as it was a woman's meeting. He turned from it and +strolled on; came back to his hotel and had dinner. At night he walked +up the street until he reached the Hippodrome again, and this time he +saw a lot of men going in. When inside he listened to the singing and +heard the text, "Where art thou?" and he thought he would go out. He +rose to go, and the text came upon his ears again, "Where art thou?" +This was too personal, he thought, it was disagreeable, and he made for +the door, but as he got to the third row from the entrance, the words +came to him again. "Where art thou?" He stood still, for the question +had come to him with irresistible force, and God had found him right +there. He went to his hotel and prayed all that night, and now he is a +bright and shining light. And this young man, who was a commercial +traveler, went back to the village in which he had been reared, and in +which he had been one of the fastest young men--went back there, and +went around among his friends and acquaintances and testified for +Christ, as earnestly and beneficially for him as his conduct had been +against Him.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Governor Pollock and the Condemned Criminal.<br> +<br> +When I was East a few years ago, Mr. Geo. H. Stewart told me of a scene +that occurred in a Pennsylvania prison, when Governor Pollock, a +Christian man, was Governor of the State. A man was tried for murder, +and the judge had pronounced sentence upon him. His friends had tried +every means in their power to procure his pardon. They had sent +deputation after deputation to the Governor, but he had told them all +that the law must take its course. When they began to give up hope, the +Governor went down to the prison and asked the sheriff to take him to +the cell of the condemned man. The Governor was conducted into the +presence of the criminal, and he sat down by the side of his bed and +began to talk to him kindly--spoke to him of Christ and heaven, and +showed him that although he was condemned to die on the morrow by +earthly judges, he would receive eternal life from the Divine Judge if +he would accept salvation. He explained the plan of salvation, and when +he left him he committed him to God. When he was gone the sheriff was +called to the cell by the condemned man. "Who was that man?" asked the +criminal, "who was in here and talked so kind to me?" "Why," said the +sheriff, "that was Governor Pollock." "Was that Governor Pollock? O +Sheriff, why didn't you tell me who it was? If I had known that was +him, +I wouldn't have let him go out till he had given me pardon. The +Governor +has been here--in my cell--and I didn't know it," and the man wrung his +hands and wept bitterly. My friends, there is one greater than a +Governor here to-night. He sent His Son to redeem you--to bring you out +of the prison home of sin. I come to-night to tell you He is here.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Man who would not Speak to his Wife.<br> +<br> +I remember while in Philadelphia, a man with his wife came to our +meetings. When he went out he wouldn't speak to his wife. She thought +it +was very queer, but said nothing, and went to bed thinking that in the +morning he would be all right. At breakfast, however, he would not +speak +a word. Well, she thought this strange, but she was sure he would have +got all over whatever was wrong with him by dinner. The dinner hour +arrived, and it passed away without his saying a word. At supper not a +word escaped him, and he would not go with her to the meeting. Every +day +for a whole week the same thing went on. But at the end of the week he +could not stand it any longer, and he said to his wife: "Why did you go +and write to Mr. Moody and tell him all about me?" "I never wrote to +Mr. +Moody in my life," said the wife. "You did," he answered. "You're +mistaken; why do you think that?" "Well, then, I wronged you; but when +I +saw Mr. Moody picking me out among all those people, and telling all +about me, I was sure you must have written to him." It was the Son of +Man seeking for him, my friends, and I hope there will be a man here +to-night--that man in the gallery yonder, that one before me--who will +feel that I am talking personally to him. May you feel that you are +lost, and that the Lord is seeking for you, and when you feel this +there +is some chance of your being saved.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- There was never a sermon which you have listened to but in it Christ +was seeking for you. I contend that a man cannot but find in every page +of this book that Jesus Christ is seeking him through His blessed Word. +This is what the Bible is for--to seek out the lost.<br> +<br> +-- No man in the world should be so happy as a man of God. It is one +continual source of gladness. He can look up and say, "God is my +Father, Christ is my Saviour, and the Church is my mother."<br> +<br> +-- There is no other way to the Kingdom of God but by the way of the +cross, and it will be easier for you to take it now than it will be +afterward.<br> +<br> +-- Everything has to be tried by the sinner before he will come to +Christ. He has to feel that there is nothing that can save him but +Christ, then he will come.<br> +<br> +-- Have not some of you heard a sermon in which you were offered as a +sinner to the Lord Jesus Christ, and your conscience was troubled? You +went away, but you came back again, and the Spirit of God came upon you +again and again, and you were troubled. Haven't you passed through that +experience? Don't you remember something like that happening to you? +That was the Son of God seeking for your soul.<br> +<br> +-- The Son of God has come into the world to bless us. Look at that +Sermon on the Mount. It is filled with the word blessed, blessed, +blessed. I think it occurs nine times. His heart was full of blessings +for the people. He had to get it out before He gave His sermon.<br> +<br> +-- A rule I have had for years is to treat the Lord Jesus Christ as a +personal friend. His is not a creed, a mere empty doctrine, but it is +He himself we have. The moment we have received Christ we should +receive Him as a friend. When I go away from home I bid my wife and +children good-by, I bid my friends and acquaintances good-by, but I +never heard of a poor backslider going down on his knees and saying: "I +have been near You for ten years; Your service has become tedious and +monotonous; I have come to bid You farewell; good-by, Lord Jesus +Christ." I never heard of one doing this. I will tell you how they go +away; they just run away.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +CHRISTIAN WORK.<br> +<br> +How Moody was Encouraged.<br> +<br> +I remember a few years ago I got discouraged, and could not see much +fruit of my work; and one morning, as I was in my study, cast down, one +of my Sabbath-school teachers came in and wanted to know what I was +discouraged about, and I told him because I could see no result from my +work; and speaking about Noah, he said: "By the way, did you ever study +up the character of Noah?" I felt that I knew all about that, and told +him that I was familiar with it, and he said, "Now, if you never +studied +that carefully, you ought to do it, for I cannot tell you what a +blessing it has been to me." When he went out I took down my Bible and +commenced to read about Noah, and the thought came stealing over me, +"Here is a man that toiled and worked a hundred years and didn't get +discouraged; if he did, the Holy Ghost didn't put it on record," and +the +clouds lifted, and I got up and said, if the Lord wants me to work +without any fruit I will work on. I went down to the noon +prayer-meeting, and when I saw the people coming to pray I said to +myself, "Noah worked a hundred years and he never saw a prayer-meeting +outside of his own family." Pretty soon a man got up right across the +aisle where I was sitting, and said he had come from a little town +where +there had been a hundred uniting with the Church of God the year +before. +And I thought to myself, "What if Noah had heard that! He preached so +many, many years, and didn't get a convert, yet he was not +discouraged." +Then a man got up right behind me, and he trembled as he said, "I am +lost. I want you to pray for my soul." And I said, "What if Noah had +heard that! He worked a hundred and twenty years, and never had a man +come to him and say that; and yet he didn't get discouraged." And I +made +up my mind then, that, God helping me, I would never get discouraged. I +would do the best I could, and leave the result with God, and it has +been a wonderful help to me.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"We Will Never Surrender."<br> +<br> +There's a story told in history in the ninth century, I believe, of a +young man that came up with a little handful of men to attack a king +who +had a great army of three thousand men. The young man had only five +hundred, and the king sent a messenger to the young man, saying that he +need not fear to surrender, for he would treat him mercifully. The +young +man called up one of his soldiers and said: "Take this dagger and drive +it to your heart;" and the soldier took the dagger and drove it to his +heart. And calling up another, he said to him, "Leap into yonder +chasm," +and the man leaped into the chasm. The young man then said to the +messenger, "Go back and tell your King I have got five hundred men like +these. We will die, but we will never surrender. And tell your King +another thing; that I will have him chained with my dog inside of half +an hour." And when the King heard that he did not dare to meet them, +and +his army fled before them like chaff before the wind, and within +twenty-four hours he had that King chained with his dog. That is the +kind of zeal we want. "We will die, but we will never surrender." We +will work until Jesus comes, and then we will rise with Him.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Faithful Aged Woman.<br> +<br> +An old woman who was seventy-five years old had a Sabbath-school two +miles away among the mountains. One Sunday there came a terrible storm +of rain, and she thought at first she would not go that day, but then +she thought, "What if some one should go and not find me there?" Then +she put on her waterproof, and took her umbrella and overshoes, and +away +she went through the storm, two miles away, to the Sabbath-school in +the +mountains. When she got there she found one solitary young man, and +taught him the best she knew how all the afternoon. She never saw him +again, and I don't know but the old woman thought her Sabbath-school +had +been a failure. That week the young man enlisted in the army, and in a +year or two after the old woman got a letter from the soldier thanking +her for going through the storm that Sunday. This young man thought +that +stormy day he would just go and see if the old woman was in earnest, +and +if she cared enough about souls to go through the rain. He found she +came and taught him as carefully as if she was teaching the whole +school, and God made that the occasion of winning the young man to +Christ. When he lay dying in a hospital he sent the message to the old +woman that he would meet her in heaven. Was it not a glorious thing +that +she did not get discouraged because she had but one Sunday-school +scholar? Be willing to work with one.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Dream.<br> +<br> +I heard of a Christian who did not succeed in his work so well as he +used to, and he got homesick and wished himself dead. One night he +dreamed that he had died, and was carried by the angels to the Eternal +City. As he went along the crystal pavement of heaven, he met a man he +used to know, and they went walking down the golden streets together. +All at once he noticed everyone looking in the same direction, and saw +One coming up who was fairer than the sons of men. It was his blessed +Redeemer. As the chariot came opposite, He came forth, and beckoning +the +one friend, placed him in His own chariot-seat, but himself He led +aside, and pointing over the battlements of heaven, "Look over yonder," +He said, "What do you see?" "It seems as if I see the dark earth I have +come from." "What else?" "I see men as if they were blindfolded, going +over a terrible precipice into a bottomless pit." "Well," said He, +"Will +you remain up here, and enjoy these mansions that I have prepared, or +go +back to yon dark earth, and warn these men, and tell them about Me and +my kingdom, and the rest that remaineth for the people of God?" That +man +never wished himself dead again. He yearned to live as long as ever he +could, to tell men of heaven and of Christ.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Faithful Missionary.<br> +<br> +When I was going to Europe in 1867, my friend Mr. Stuart, of +Philadelphia, said, "Be sure to be at the General Assembly in +Edinburgh, +in June. I was there last year," said he, "and it did me a world of +good." He said that a returned missionary from India was invited to +speak to the General Assembly, on the wants of India. This old +missionary, after a brief address, told the pastors who were present, +to +go home and stir up their churches and send young men to India to +preach +the gospel. He spoke with such earnestness, that after a while he +fainted, and they carried him from the hall. When he recovered he asked +where he was, and they told him the circumstances under which he had +been brought there. "Yes," he said, "I was making a plea for India, and +I didn't quite finish my speech, did I?" After being told that he did +not, he said, "Take me back and let me finish it." But they said, "No, +you will die in the attempt." "Well," said he, "I will die if I don't," +and the old man asked again that they would allow him to finish his +plea. When he was taken back the whole congregation stood as one man, +and as they brought him on the platform, with a trembling voice he +said: +"Fathers and mothers of Scotland, is it true that you will not let your +sons go to India? I spent twenty-five years of my life there. I lost my +health and I have come back with sickness and shattered health. If it +is +true that we have no strong grandsons to go to India, I will pack up +what I have and be off to-morrow, and I will let those heathens know +that if I cannot live for them I will die for them." The world will say +that old man was enthusiastic. Well, that is just what we want.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Forty-One Little Sermons.<br> +<br> +A man was preaching about Christians recognizing each other in heaven, +and some one said, "I wish he would preach about recognizing each other +on earth." In one place where I preached, I looked over the great hall +of the old circus building where it was held, and saw men talking to +other men here and there. I said to the Secretary of the Young Men's +Christian Association who got up the meeting, "Who are these men?" He +said, "They are a band of workers." They were all scattered through the +hall, and preaching and watching for souls. Out of the fifty of them, +forty-one of their number had got a soul each and were talking and +preaching with them. We have been asleep long enough. When the laity +wake up and try and help the minister the minister will preach better.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- It is the greatest pleasure of living to win souls to Christ.<br> +<br> +-- I believe in what John Wesley used to say, "All at it, and always at +it," and that is what the Church wants to-day.<br> +<br> +-- If we were all of us doing the work that God has got for us to do, +don't you see how the work of the Lord would advance?<br> +<br> +-- There is no man living that can do the work that God has got for me +to do. No one can do it but myself. And if the work ain't done we will +have to answer for it when we stand before God's bar. +-- What makes the Dead Sea dead? Because it is all the time receiving, +never giving out anything. Why is it that many Christians are cold? +Because they are all the time receiving, never giving out an anything.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +CHRISTIAN ZEAL.<br> +<br> +Satan's Match.<br> +<br> +If you will allow me an expression, Satan got a match when he got Paul. +He tried to get him away from God, but he never switched off. Look how +they tortured him. Look how they stripped and beat him. Not only did +the +Romans do this, but the Jews also. How the Jews tried to drag him from +his high calling. How they stripped him and laid upon the back of the +apostle blow after blow. And you know that the scourge in those days +was +no light thing. Sometimes men died under that punishment. If one of us +got one of the stripes that Paul got, how the papers would talk about +it. But it was nothing to Paul. He just looked at it as if it were a +trivial thing--as if it were a light affliction. When he was stripped +and scourged by his persecutors you might have gone and asked him: +"Well, Paul, what are you going to do now?" "Why, press toward the mark +of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus;" Take your stand before Him +and ask him as they bring the rod down upon his head, "What are you +going to do now, Paul?" "Do? I am going to press toward the mark of the +high calling of God in Christ Jesus." He had one idea, and that was it. +Look at him as they stoned him. The Jews took up great stones to throw +upon the great apostle. They left him for dead, and I suppose he was +dead, but God raised him up. Come up and look at him all bruised and +bleeding as he lies. "Well, Paul, you've had a narrow escape this time. +Don't you think you had better give up? Go off into Arabia and rest for +six weeks. What will you do if you remain here? They mean to kill you." +"Do!" he cries as he raises himself like a mighty giant, "I am going to +press toward the mark of the high calling of God." And he goes forth +and +preaches the gospel. I am ashamed of Christianity in the nineteenth +century when I think of those early Christians. Why, it would take all +the Christians in the Northwest to make one Paul. Look at his heroism +everywhere he went. Talk about your Alexanders; why, the mighty power +of +God rested upon Paul. "Why," said he, "thrice was I shipwrecked while +going off to preach the gospel." What did he care about that? Cold +churches wouldn't trouble him, although they trouble us. What would +lying elders and false deacons be to him? That wouldn't stop him. He +had +but one idea, and over all obstacles he triumphed for that one idea. +Look at him as he comes back from his punishment. He goes up some side +street and gets lodgings. He works during the day and preaches at night +on the street. He had no building like this, no committee to wait on +him, no carriage to carry him from the meeting, no one to be waiting to +pay his board bills. There he was toiling and preaching, and, after +preaching for eighteen months, they say, "We'll have to pay you for all +this preaching, Paul," and they take him to the corner of the street +and pay him with thirty-nine stripes! That is the way they paid him. +Oh, my friends, when you look at the lives of such men don't it make +you feel ashamed of yourselves. I confess I feel like hanging my head. +Go to him in the Philippian jail and ask him what he is going to do +now. +"Do? press forward for the mark of my high calling." And so he went on +looking toward one point, and no man could stand before him.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Saved and Saving.<br> +<br> +One day I saw a steel engraving that I liked very much. I thought it +was +the finest thing I ever had seen, at the time, and I bought it. It was +a +picture of a woman coming out of the water, and clinging with both arms +to the cross. There she came out of the drowning waves with both arms +around the cross perfectly safe. Afterwards, I saw another picture that +spoiled this one for me entirely, it was so much more lovely. It was a +picture of a person coming out of the dark waters, with one arm +clinging +to the cross and with the other she was lifting some one else out of +the +waves. That is what I like. Keep a firm hold upon the cross, but always +try to rescue another from the drowning.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Story Moody "Never will Forget."<br> +<br> +A few years ago, in a town somewhere in this state, a merchant died, +and +while he was lying a corpse I was told a story I will never forget. +When +the physician that attended him saw there was no chance for him here, +he +thought it would be time to talk about Christ to the dying man. And +there are a great many Christians just like this physician. They wait +till a man is just entering the other world, just till he is about +nearing the throne, till the sands of life are about run out, till the +death rattle is in his throat, before they commence to speak of Christ. +The physician stepped up to the dying merchant and began to speak of +Jesus, the beauties of Christianity, and the salvation he had offered +to +all the world. The merchant listened quietly to him, and then asked +him, +"How long have you known of these things?" "I have been a Christian +since I came from the East," he replied. "You have been a Christian so +long and have known all this, and have been in my store every day. You +have been in my house; have associated with me; you knew all these +things, and why didn't you tell me before?" The doctor went home and +retired to rest, but could not sleep. The question of the dying man +rang +in his ears. He could not explain why he had not spoken before, but he +saw he had neglected his duty to his principles. He went back to his +dying friend, intending to urge upon him the acceptance of Christ's +salvation, but when he began to speak to him the merchant only replied +in a sad whisper, "Oh, why didn't you tell me before?" Oh, my friends, +how many of us act like this physician? If we don't practice in every +particular the professions we make, and try to influence the lives of +others, and lead the lives of Christians according to Christian +precept, +the world will go on stumbling over us.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Missing Stone.<br> +<br> +I remember hearing of a man's dream, in which he imagined that when he +died he was taken by the angels to a beautiful temple. After admiring +it +for a time, he discovered that one stone was missing. All finished but +just one little stone; that was left out. He said to the angel, "What +is +this stone left out for?" The angel replied, "That was left out for +you, +but you wanted to do great things, and so there was no room left for +you." He was startled and awoke, and resolved that he would become a +worker for God, and that man always worked faithfully after that.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Sad Lack of Zeal.<br> +<br> +Two young men came into our inquiry room here the other night, and +after +a convert had talked with them, and showed them the way, the light +broke +in upon them. They were asked, "Where do you go to church?" They gave +the name of the church where they had been going. Said one, "I advise +you to go and see the minister of that church." They said, "We don't +want to go there any more; we have gone there for six years and no one +has spoken to us."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Zealous Young Lady.<br> +<br> +I was very much interested some time ago in a young lady that lived in +the city. I don't know her name, or I have forgotten it. She was about +to go to China as the wife of a missionary on his way to some heathen +field. She had a large Sabbath-school class in the city and succeeded +in +getting a blessing upon many of her scholars through her efforts. She +was very anxious to get some one who would look after her little flock +and take care of them while she was gone. She had a brother who was not +a Christian, and her heart was set on his being converted and taking +her +place as leader of the class. The young man--perhaps he is in the +audience to-day--refused to accept of Christ, but away in her closet +alone she pleaded with God that her brother might be converted and take +her place. She wanted to reproduce herself and that is what every +Christian ought to do--get somebody else converted to take up your +work. +Well, the last morning came, and around the family altar as the moment +drew near for the lady's departure, and they did not know when they +should see her again, the father broke down, and the boy went up +stairs. +Just before she left for the train the boy came down, and putting his +arms around his sister's neck, said to her, "My dear sister, I will +take +your Saviour for mine, and I will take care of your class for you," and +the young man took her class, and the last I heard of him he was +filling +her place. There was a young lady established in good work.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +How Moody Treated the Committees.<br> +<br> +I remember when I was in Chicago before the fire, I was on some ten or +twelve committees. My hands were full. If a man came to me to talk +about +his soul I would say I haven't time; got a committee to attend to. But +now I have turned my hack on everything--turned my attention to saving +souls, and God has blessed me and made me an instrument to save more +souls during the last four or five years than during all my previous +life. And so if a minister will devote himself to this undivided work, +God will bless him. Take that motto of Paul's: "One thing I do, +forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those +things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the +high calling of God in Christ Jesus."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Fourscore and Five.<br> +<br> +When we went to London there was an old woman eighty-five years old, +who +came to the meetings and said she wanted a hand in that work. She was +appointed to a district, and called on all classes of people. She went +to places where we would probably have been put out, and told the +people +of Christ. There were none that could resist her. When the old woman, +eighty-five years old, came to them and offered to pray for them, they +all received her kindly--Catholics, Jews, Gentiles--all. That is +enthusiasm. That is what we want.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/084Pic.jpg" style="width: 518px; height: 776px;"><br> +Saul's Conversion. GUSTAVE DORE. Acts, ix.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +CONFESSING CHRIST.<br> +<br> +What a Woman Did.<br> +<br> +One place we were in, in England, I recollect a Quakeress came in. The +meeting was held in a Methodist Church, and the Spirit of God was +there--souls were being saved: multitudes were pressing into the +kingdom. She had a brother who was a drinker and a nephew who had just +come to the city, and he was in a critical state, too. They came to the +meeting with her. Everything appeared strange to her, and when she went +home she did not know really what to say. She and her brother and +nephew +went up stairs, and coming down she thought, it may be that the destiny +of their souls depends on what I say now. When she entered the parlor +she found them laughing and joking about the meeting. She put on a +serious face and said, "I don't think we should laugh at it. Suppose +Mr. +Moody had come to you and asked you if you were converted, what would +you have told him?" "I would have told him to mind his own business," +replied one of them. "I think it is a very important question, and a +question a Christian ought to put to any one; Mr. Moody, as a +Christian, +has a right to ask any one." She talked with them, and when that +brother +went to bed, he began thinking and thinking. He had tickets for the +theater next night, but when next night came he said he would go to the +meeting with his sister, and, to make a long story short, he came and +was converted. He came to me--he was a mechanic--and asked me to talk +to +the laborers and have them come to the meetings. He had got such a +blessing himself that he wanted them to share it.<br> +<br> +That man brought me a list of the names of the mechanics about half as +long as this room, and we got up a meeting in the theater, and we had +that theater packed. That was the first meeting of working men I ever +had, and the work of grace broke out among them. This was but the +result +of the woman taking her stand. She went into the inquiry-room and +became +an earnest worker. I get letters from her frequently now, and I do not +believe there is a happier woman in all England. If she had taken +another course she might have been the means of ruining these young +men. +There is one thing that Christians ought to ask themselves. Ask your +heart, "Is this the work of the devil?" That is the plain question. If +it's the work of the devil turn your back against it. I would if I +thought it was. If it is the work of God, be careful what you do. My +friends, it is a terrible thing to fight against God. If it is the +Lord's wish, come out and take your stand, and let there be one united +column of people coming up to heaven. Let every man, woman and child, +be +not afraid to confess the Lord Jesus Christ.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Business Man Confessing Christ.<br> +<br> +When I was in Ireland I heard of a man who got great blessings from +God. +He was a business man--a landed proprietor. He had a large family, and +a +great many men to work for him taking care of his home. He came up to +Dublin and there he found Christ. And he came boldly out and thought he +would go home and confess Him. He thought that if Christ had redeemed +him with his precious blood, the least he could do would be to confess +Him, and tell about it sometimes. So he called his family together and +his servants, and with tears running down his cheeks he poured out his +soul to them, and told them what Christ had done for him. He took the +Bible down from its resting-place and read a few verses of gospel. Then +he went down on his knees to pray, and so greatly was the little +gathering blessed that four or five out of that family were convicted +of +sin; they forsook the ways of the world, and accepted Christ and +eternal +life. It was like unto the household of Cornelius, which experienced +the +working of the Holy Spirit. And that man and his family were not afraid +to follow out their profession.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Two Young Men.<br> +<br> +I heard a story about two young men who came to New York City from the +country on a visit. They went to the same boarding-house to stay and +took a room together. Well, when they came to go to bed each felt +ashamed to go down on his knees before his companion first. So they sat +watching each other. In fact, to express the situation in one word, +they +were both cowards--yes, cowards! But at last one of them mustered up a +little courage, and with burning blushes, as if he was about to do +something wrong and wicked, he sunk down on his knees to say his +prayers. As soon as the second saw that, he also knelt. And then, after +they had said their prayers, each waited for the other to get up. When +they did manage to get up one said to the other: "I really am glad to +see that you knelt; I was afraid of you." "Well," said the other, "and +I +was afraid of you." So it turned out that both were Christians, and yet +they were afraid of each other. You smile at that, but how many times +have you done the same thing--perhaps not in that way, but the same +thing in effect. Henceforth, then, be not ashamed, but let everyone +know +you are His.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Little Tow-Headed Norwegian.<br> +<br> +I remember while in Boston I attended one of the daily prayer meetings. +The meetings we had been holding had been almost always addressed by +young men. Well, in that meeting a little tow-headed Norwegian boy +stood +up. He could hardly speak a word of English plain, but he got up and +came to the front. He trembled all over and the tears were all +trickling +down his cheeks, but he spoke out as well as he could and said: "If I +tell the world about Jesus, then will He tell the Father about me." He +then took his seat; that was all he said, but I tell you that in those +few words he said more than all of them, old and young together. Those +few words went straight down into the heart of everyone present. "If I +tell the world"--yes, that's what it means to confess Christ.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/088Pic.jpg" style="width: 499px; height: 754px;"><br> +Esther Confounding Haman. GUSTAVE DORE. Esther, viii.<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/089Pic.jpg" style="width: 499px; height: 772px;"><br> +Illustration: The Angel at the Sepulcher. GUSTAVE DORE. Matthew, +xxviii, 1-7.<br> +<br> +<br> +The Family that Hooted at Moody.<br> +<br> +I remember a family in Chicago that used to hoot at me and my scholars +as we passed their house sometimes. One day one of the boys came into +the Sunday-school and made light of it, As he went away, I told him I +was glad to see him there and hoped he would come again. He came and +still made a noise, but I urged him to come the next time, and finally +one day he said: "I wish you would pray for me, boys." That boy came to +Christ. He went home and confessed his faith, and it wasn't long before +that whole family had found the way into the Kingdom of God.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Peter's Confession.<br> +<br> +One day He said, "Whom do men say that I am?" He wanted them to confess +Him. But one said, "They say thou art Elias," and another "that thou +art +Jeremiah;" and another "Thou art St. John the Baptist." But He asked, +"Whom do you say that I am?"--turning to His disciples. And Peter +answers, "Thou art the Son of the living God." Then our Lord exclaimed, +"Blessed art thou, Simon Barjonas." Yes, He blessed him right there +because he confessed Him to be the Son of God. He was hungry to get +some +one to confess him. Let everyone take his stand on the side of the Lord.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Blind Beggar.<br> +<br> +Here is a whole chapter in John (ix) of forty-one verses, just to tell +how the Lord blessed that blind beggar. It was put in this book, I +think, just to bring out the confession of that man. "The neighbors, +therefore, and they which before had seen him which was blind, said, Is +not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he; others said, He +is like him; but he said, I am he." If it had been our case I think we +would have kept still; we would have said, "There is a storm brewing +among the Pharisees, and they have said, 'If any man acknowledges +Christ +we will put him out of the Synagogue.' Now I don't want to be put out +of +the Synagogue." I am afraid we would have said that; that is the way +with a good many of the young converts. What did the young convert +here? +He said, "I am he." And bear in mind he only told what he knew; he knew +the Man had given him his eyes. "Some said, He is like him; but he +said, +I am he." So, young converts, open your lips and tell what Christ has +done for you. If you can't do more than that, open your lips and do +that. "Therefore, said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He +answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed +mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash; and I +went and washed, and I received sight." He said, "He anointed my eyes +with clay, and I went to the pool and washed, and whereas I had no +eyes, +I have now got two good eyes." Some skeptic might ask, "What is the +philosophy of it?" But he couldn't tell that. "Then said they unto him, +Where is he? He said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him +that +aforetime was blind. And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the +clay +and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had +received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes and I +washed and do see." He wasn't afraid to tell his experience twice; he +had just told it once. "Therefore, said some of the Pharisees, This man +is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How +can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? and there was a division +among them." Now I am afraid if it had been us, we would have kept +still +and said, "There is a storm brewing." "They say unto the blind man +again, What sayest thou of Him, that He hath opened thine eyes? He +said, +He is a prophet." Now you see he has got to talking of the Master, and +that is a grand good thing.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Young Convert.<br> +<br> +A young convert got up in one of our meetings and tried to preach; he +could not preach very well either, but he did the best he could--but +some one stood up and said, "Young man, you cannot preach; you ought to +be ashamed of yourself." Said the young man, "So I am, but I am not +ashamed of my Lord." That is right. Do not be ashamed of Christ--of the +man that bought us with His own blood.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- If Christ comes into our hearts we are not ashamed.<br> +<br> +-- I wish we had a few more women like the woman of Samaria, willing to +confess what the Lord Jesus Christ had done for their souls.<br> +<br> +-- Believing and confessing go together; and you cannot be saved +without you take them both. "With the mouth confession is made unto +salvation." If you ever see the kingdom of heaven you have to take this +way.<br> +<br> +-- Satan puts straws across our path and magnifies it and makes us +believe it is a mountain, but all the devil's mountains are mountains +of smoke; when you come up to them they are not there.<br> +<br> +-- I do not know anything that would wake up Chicago better than for +every man and woman here who loves Him to begin to talk about Him to +their friends, and just to tell them what He has done for you. You have +got a circle of friends. Go and tell them of Him.<br> +<br> +-- I can't help thinking of the old woman who started out when the war +commenced with a poker in her hand. When asked what she was going to do +with it she said: "I can't do much with it, but I can show what side +I'm on." My friends, even if you can't do much, show to which side you +belong.<br> +<br> +-- I may say with truth that there is only about one in ten who +professes Christianity who will turn round and glorify God with a loud +voice. Nine out of ten are still born Christians. You never hear of +them. If you press them hard with the question whether they are +Christians they might say, "Well, I hope so." We never see it in their +actions; we never see it in their lives. They might belong to the +church you go to, but you never see them at the prayer-meetings or +taking any interest in the church affairs. They don't profess it among +their fellows or in their business, and the result is that there are +hundreds going on with a half hope, not sure whether their religion +will stand them or not.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +CONVERSION.<br> +<br> +Mr. Moody's First Impulse in Converting Souls.<br> +<br> +I want to tell you how I got the first impulse to work solely for the +conversion of men. For a long time after my conversion I didn't +accomplish anything. I hadn't got into my right place; that was it. I +hadn't thought enough of this personal work. I'd get up in prayer +meeting, and I'd pray with the others, but just to go up to a man and +take hold of his coat and get him down on his knees, I hadn't yet got +round to that. It was in 1860 the change came. In the Sunday school I +had a pale, delicate young man as one of the teachers. I knew his +burning piety, and assigned him to the worst class in the school. They +were all girls, and it was an awful class. They kept gadding around in +the school-room, and were laughing and carrying on all the while. And +this young man had better success than anyone else. One Sunday he was +absent, and I tried myself to teach the class, but couldn't do anything +with them; they seemed farther off than ever from any concern about +their souls. Well, the day after his absence, early Monday morning, the +young man came into the store where I worked, and, tottering and +bloodless, threw himself down on some boxes. "What's the matter?" I +asked, "I have been bleeding at the lungs, and they have given me up to +die," he said. "But you are not afraid to die?" I questioned, "No," +said +he, "I am not afraid to die, but I have got to stand before God and +give +an account of my stewardship, and not one of my Sabbath-school scholars +has been brought to Jesus. I have failed to bring one, and haven't any +strength to do it now."<br> +<br> +He was so weighed down that I got a carriage and took that dying man in +it, and we called at the homes of everyone of his scholars, and to each +one he said, as best his faint voice would let him, "I have come to +just +ask you to come to the Saviour," and then he prayed as I never heard +before. And for ten days he labored in that way, sometimes walking to +the nearest houses. And at the end of that ten days everyone of that +large class had yielded to the Saviour. Full well I remember the night +before he went away (for the doctors said he must hurry to the South), +how we held a true love-feast. It was the very gate of heaven, that +meeting. He prayed, and they prayed; he didn't ask them, he didn't +think +they could pray; and then we sung, "Blest be the tie that binds." It +was +a beautiful night in June that he left on the Michigan Southern, and I +was down to the train to help him off. And those girls everyone +gathered +there again, all unknown to each other; and the depot seemed a second +gate to heaven, in the joyful, yet tearful, communion and farewells +between these newly redeemed souls and him whose crown of rejoicing it +will be that he led them to Jesus. At last the gong sounded, and, +supported on the platform, the dying man shook hands with each one, and +whispered, "I will meet you yonder."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Very Hard, yet Very Easy.<br> +<br> +The hardest thing, I will admit, ever a man had to do is to become a +Christian, and yet it is the easiest. This seems to many to be a +paradox, but I will repeat it, it is the most difficult thing to become +a Christian, and yet it is the easiest. I have a little nephew in this +city. When he was about three or four years of age, he threw that Bible +on the floor. I think a good deal of that Bible, and I don't like to +see +this. His mother said to him, "Go pick up uncle's Bible from the +floor." +"I won't," he replied. "Go and pick up that Bible directly." "I won't." +"What did you say?" asked his mother. She thought he didn't understand. +But he understood well enough, and had made up his mind that he +wouldn't. She told the boy she would have to punish him if he didn't, +and then he said he couldn't, and by and by he said he didn't want to. +And that is the way with the people in coming to Christ. At first they +say they won't, then they can't, and then they don't want to. The +mother +insisted upon the boy picking up the Bible, and he got down and put his +arms around it and pretended he couldn't lift it. He was a great, +healthy boy, and he could have picked it up easily enough. I was very +anxious to see the fight carried on because she was a young mother, and +if she didn't break that boy's will he was going to break her heart by +and by. So she told him again if he didn't pick it up she would punish +him, and the child just picked it up. It was very easy to do it when he +made up his mind. So it is perfectly easy for men to accept the gospel. +The trouble is they don't want to give up their will. If you want to be +saved you must just accept that gospel--that Christ is your Saviour, +that he is your Redeemer, and that he has rescued you from the curse of +the law. Just say "Lord Jesus Christ, I trust you from this hour to +save +me," and the moment you take that stand he will put his loving arms +around you and wrap about you the robe of righteousness.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Arrows of Conviction.<br> +<br> +I remember while preaching in Glasgow, an incident occurred which I +will +relate. I had been preaching there several weeks, and the night was my +last one, and I pleaded with them as I had never pleaded there before. +I +urged the people to meet me in that land. It is a very solemn thing to +stand before a vast audience for the last time and think you may never +have another chance of asking them to come to Christ. I told them I +would not have another opportunity, and urged them to accept, and just +asked them to meet me at that marriage supper. At the conclusion I soon +saw a tall young lady coming into the inquiry room. She had scarcely +come in when another tall young lady came in, and she went up to the +first and put her arms around her and wept. Pretty soon another young +lady came and went up to the first two and just put her arms around +both +of them. They were three sisters and I found that although they had +been +sitting in different parts of the building, the sure arrow of +conviction +went down to their souls, and brought them to the inquiry room. Another +young lady came down from the gallery and said: "Mr. Moody, I want to +become a Christian." I asked a young Christian to talk to her, and when +she went home that night about 10 o'clock--her mother was sitting up +for her--she said: "Mother, I have accepted the invitation to be +present +at the marriage supper of the Lamb." Her mother and father laid awake +that night talking about the salvation of their child. That was Friday +night, and next day (Saturday) she was unwell, and before long her +sickness developed into scarlet fever, and a few days after I got this +letter:<br> +<br> +"Mr. Moody--Dear Sir: It is now my painful duty to intimate to you that +the dear girl concerning whom I wrote to you on Monday, has been taken +away from us by death. Her departure, however, has been signally +softened to us, for she told us yesterday she was "going home to be +with +Jesus," and after giving messages to many, told us to let Mr. Moody and +Mr. Sankey know that she died a happy Christian."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +How a Citizen Became a Soldier.<br> +<br> +One day I was walking through the streets of York, in England. I saw a +little way ahead a soldier coming toward me. He had the red uniform on +of the infantry--the dress of the army. I knew at once when I saw him +that he was a soldier. When he came near me I stopped him. I said, "My +good man, if you have no objection I would like to ask you a few +questions." "Certainly, sir," said he. "Well, then, I would like to +know how you first became a soldier." "Yes, sir, I will tell you. You +see, sir, I wanted to become a soldier, and the recruiting officer was +in our town, and I went up to him and told him I wanted to enlist. +"Well, sir, he said, 'All right,' and the first thing he did, sir, he +took an English shilling out of his pocket, sir, and put it into my +hand. The very moment, sir, a recruiting-sergeant puts a shilling into +your hand, sir, you are a soldier." I said to myself, "That is the very +illustration I want."<br> +<br> +That man was a free man at one time--he could go here and there; do +just +what he liked; but the moment the shilling was put into his hand he was +subject to the rules of war, and Queen Victoria could send him anywhere +and make him obey the rules and regulations of the army. He is a +soldier +the very minute he takes the shilling. He has not got to wait to put on +the uniform. And when you ask me how a man may be converted at once, I +answer, just the same as that man became a soldier. The citizen becomes +a soldier in a minute, and from being a free man becomes subject to the +command of others. The moment you take Christ into your heart, that +moment your name is written in the roll of Heaven.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Moody a Young Convert.<br> +<br> +I remember soon after I got converted a pantheist got hold of me, and +just tried to draw me back to the world. Those men who try to get hold +of a young convert are the worst set of men. I don't know a worse man +than he who tries to pull young Christians down. He is nearer the +borders of hell than any man I know. When this man knew I had found +Jesus he just tried to pull me down. He tried to argue with me, and I +did not know the Bible very well then, and he got the best of me. The +only way to get the best of those atheists, pantheists, or infidels, is +to have a good knowledge of the Bible. Well, this pantheist told me God +was everywhere--in the air, in the sun, in the moon, in the earth, in +the stars, but really he meant nowhere. And the next time I went to +pray, it seemed as if I was not praying anywhere or to anyone. We have +ample evidence in the Bible that there is such a place as heaven, and +we +have abundant manifestations that His influence from heaven is felt +among us.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"Free."<br> +<br> +You will remember when we had slavery we used to have men come up from +Kentucky, Tennessee, and other slave states in order to escape from +slavery. I hope if there are any Southern people here they will not +think in this allusion I am trying to wound their feelings. We all +remember when these colored men came here how they used to be afraid +lest some one should come and take them back. Why, I remember in the +store we had a poor fugitive, and he used to be quaking all the time. +Sometimes a customer would come in, and he would be uneasy all the +time. +He was afraid it was some one to take him back to slavery. But somebody +tells him if he was in Canada he would be perfectly safe, and he says: +"If I could only get into Canada; if I could only get under the Union +Jack I would be free." There are no slaves under the Union Jack he has +been told--that is the flag of freedom; the moment he gets under it he +is a free man. So he starts. We'll say there are no railways, and the +poor fellow has got ten miles ahead when his master comes up, and he +hears that his slave has fled for Canada and sets off in pursuit. Some +one tells the poor fugitive that his master is after him. What does the +poor fugitive do? What does he do? He redoubles his exertions and +presses on, on, on, on. He is a slave born, and he knows a slave +belongs +to his master. Faster he goes! He knows his master is after him and he +will be taken if he comes up with him before he reaches the lines. He +says, "If I can only hold out and get under the English flag, the +English government will protect me." The whole English army will come +to +protect me if need be. On he presses. He is now nearing the boundary +line. One minute he is a slave, and in an instant he is a free man. My +friends, don't mistake. These men can be saved tonight if they cross +the +line.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +An Irishman Leaps Into the Life-Boat.<br> +<br> +While I was in New York, an Irishman stood up in a young converts' +meeting and told how he had been saved. He said in his broken Irish +brogue that I used an illustration, and that illustration saved him. +And +I declare that that is the only man I ever knew who was converted +without being spoken to. He said I used an illustration of a wrecked +vessel, and said that all would perish unless some assistance came. +Presently a life-boat came alongside and the captain shouted, "Leap +into +the life-boat--leap for your lives, or you will perish," and when I +came +to the point I said, "Leap into the life-boat; Christ is your life-boat +of salvation," and he leaped and was saved.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/096Pic.jpg" style="width: 496px; height: 757px;"><br> +The Expulsion from the Garden. GUSTAVE DORE. Genesis, +iii, 24<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/097Pic.jpg" style="width: 499px; height: 746px;"><br> +The Trial Of The Faith Of Abraham. GUSTAVE DORE. +Genesis, +xxii.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Safe in the Ark.<br> +<br> +When the voice came down from heaven to Noah, "Come thou and all thy +house into the ark, for thee have I seen righteous before me in this +generation," now; there was a minute when Noah was outside the ark, and +another when he was inside, and by being inside he was saved. As long +as +he was outside of the ark he was exposed to the wrath of God just like +the rest of those antediluvians. If he stayed out, and remained with +those antediluvians, he would have been swept away, as they were. It +was +not his righteousness; it was not his faith nor his works that saved +him; it was the ark. And, my friends, we have not, like Noah, to be one +hundred and twenty years making an ark for our safety. God has provided +an ark for us, and the question is: Are you inside or outside this ark? +If you are inside you are safe; if you are outside you are not safe.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- It is our privilege to know that we are saved.<br> +<br> +-- We shall draw the world to Christ when we are filled with religion.<br> +<br> +-- He that overcometh shall inherit all things. God has no poor +children.<br> +<br> +-- I hold to the doctrine of sudden conversion as I do to my life, and +I would as quickly give up my life as give up this doctrine, unless it +can be proved that it is not according to the word of God. Now, I will +admit that light is one thing and birth is another. A soul must be born +before it can see light. A child must be born before it can be taught; +it must be born before it can walk; it must be born before it can be +educated.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +DECISION.<br> +<br> +Moody's Mistake.<br> +<br> +The last time I preached upon this question was in old Farwell Hall. I +had been for five nights preaching upon the life of Christ. I took him +from the cradle and followed Him up to the judgment hall, and on that +occasion I consider I made as great a blunder as ever I made in my +life. +If I could recall my act I would give this right hand. It was upon that +memorable night in October, and the Court House bell was sounding an +alarm of fire, but I paid no attention to it. You know we were +accustomed to hear the fire bell often, and it didn't disturb us much +when it sounded. I finished the sermon upon "What shall I do with +Jesus?" And I said to the audience, "Now, I want you to take the +question with you and think over it, and next Sunday I want you to come +back and tell me what you are going to do with it." What a mistake! It +seems now as if Satan was in my mind when I said this. Since then I +never have dared give an audience a week to think of their salvation. +If +they were lost they might rise up in judgment against me. "Now is the +accepted time." We went down stairs to the other meeting, and I +remember +when Mr. Sankey was singing, and how his voice rang when he came to +that +pleading verse:<br> +<br> +To-day the Saviour calls; For refuge fly. The storm of justice falls, +And death is nigh.<br> +<br> +After the meeting we went home. I remember going down La Salle street +with a young man who is probably in the hall to-night, and saw the +glare +of flames. I said to the young man: "This means ruin to Chicago." About +one o'clock, Farwell Hall went; soon the church in which I had preached +went down, and everything was scattered. I never saw that audience +again. My friends, we don't know what may happen to-morrow, but there +is +one thing I do know, and that is, if you take the gift you are saved. +If +you have eternal life you need not fear fire, death, or sickness. Let +disease or death come, you can shout triumphantly over the grave if you +have Christ. My friends, what are you going to do with Him to-night? +Will you decide now?<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"A Day of Decision."<br> +<br> +I believe there is a day of decision in our lives--a day upon which the +crisis of our lives occurs. There is a day when the Son of Man comes +and +stands at our heart and knocks and knocks for the last time and leaves +us forever. I can imagine when Pilate was banished how this +recollection +troubled him day and night. He remembered how that Saviour had looked +on +him--how innocent He was; he remembered how, when the Jews were +clamoring for His death, and the cry echoed through the streets of +Jerusalem, "Crucify Him! crucify Him!" It seemed as if He had nothing +but love for them. Probably some one told him the story of the +crucifixion, and how when nailed to the cross and the howling mob +around +Him, He cried, "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do;" he +remembered how they clamored for his life, and how he hadn't the moral +courage to stand up for the despised Nazarene, and that preyed upon his +mind, and he put an end to his miserable existence.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Moody Puts a Man in his "Prophet's Room."<br> +<br> +A few years ago as I stood at the door of a church giving out +invitations to a meeting to take place that evening, a young man to +whom +I offered one said, "I want something more than that. I want something +to do!" I urged him to come into the meeting, and after some +remonstrance he consented. After the meeting I took him home, and after +dinner I told him there was a room which I called the "Prophet's Room," +and up stairs was another which I called the "Unbeliever's Room," and I +would give him till night to decide which he would take. He was able by +night to take the first, and the next day was at work urging young men +to attend the noonday prayer-meeting. When I was burned out in the +great +fire and was left perfectly destitute, I received a letter with some +money from this young man in Boston, who said:<br> +<br> +"You helped me and took me in your home, keeping me six weeks and +refused to take anything for it, and I have never forgotten your +kindness." I had lost sight of him, but he had remembered that as a +turning-point in his existence.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- If you receive Him it will be well; if you reject Him and are lost +it will be terrible.<br> +<br> +-- Thanks be to God, there is hope to-day; this very hour you can +choose Him and serve Him.<br> +<br> +-- Now just think a moment and answer the question, "'What shall I do +with Jesus who is called Christ?"<br> +<br> +-- I believe in my soul that there are more at this day being lost for +want of decision than for any other thing.<br> +<br> +-- One of two things you must do; you must either receive Him or reject +Him. You receive Him here and He will receive you there; you reject Him +here and He will reject you there.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/101Pic.jpg" style="width: 529px; height: 780px;"><br> + +Jesus And The Woman Taken In Adultery. GUSTAVE DORE. +John, viii, 3-11<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +DELIVERANCE.<br> +<br> +The Scotch Lassie.<br> +<br> +There is a story told of an incident that occurred during the last +Indian mutiny. The English were besieged in the city of Lucknow, and +were in momentary expectation of perishing at the hands of the fiends +that surrounded them. There was a little Scotch lassie in this fort, +and, while lying on the ground, she suddenly shouted, her face aglow +with joy, "Dinna ye hear them comin'; dinna ye hear them comin'?" "Hear +what?" they asked, "Dinna ye hear them comin?" And she sprang to her +feet. It was the bagpipes of her native Scotland she heard. It was a +native air she heard that was being played by a regiment of her +countrymen marching to the relief of those captives, and these +deliverers made them free. Oh, my friends, don't you hear Jesus Christ +crying to you to-night?<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Geo. H. Stewart Visits a Doomed Criminal.<br> +<br> +I remember hearing a story of Mr. George Stewart. One day the Governor +of Pennsylvania came to him and said, "Mr. Stewart, I want you to go to +such a prison and tell that man for whose execution I signed the +warrant +the other day, that there is not a ray of hope for him. When the day +and +hour comes he must be executed. His mother has been tormenting the life +out of me; and all his friends have been running after me day and +night, +and they are giving the poor fellow a false hope." "That is a very +disagreeable thing to do, Governor," answered Mr. Stewart. "Well, I +want +you to go and tell him, so that he can be settled in his mind." The +story goes that when the doors of the cell were opened, that prisoner +seized Mr. Stewart's hands, and in his joy cried, "You are a good man. +I +know you have come with a pardon from the Governor." But when Mr. +Stewart told him the Governor had sent him to say there was not a ray +of +hope for him, that upon the day and hour he must be executed, the man +completely broke down and fainted away. The thought that at such a day +and such an hour he was going to be ushered into eternity, was too much +for the poor fellow. Suppose I come to you to-night and tell you there +is not a ray of hope--that you have broken the law of pardon. How many +would say, "I know a great deal better. The blackest sinner on earth +Christ can save. He says so." But, my friends, there is no hope without +the deliverance to be free from the bondage of sin.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Demoniac.<br> +<br> +When this man found himself delivered he wanted to go with the Saviour. +That was gratitude; Christ had saved him, had redeemed him. He had +delivered him from the hand of the enemy. And this man cried: "Let me +follow You around the world; where You go I will go." But the Lord +said, +"You go home and tell your friends what good things the Lord has done +for you." And he started home. I would like to have been in that house +when he came there. I can imagine how the children would look when they +saw him, and say, "Father is coming." "Shut the door," the mother would +cry; "look out! fasten the window; bolt every door in the house." Many +times he very likely had come and abused his family and broken the +chairs and tables and turned the mother into the street and alarmed all +the neighbors. They see him now coming down the street. Down he comes +till he gets to the door, and then gently knocks. You don't hear a +sound +as he stands there. At last he sees his wife at the window and he says, +"Mary!" "Why," she says, "why he speaks as he did when I first married +him; I wonder if he has got well?" So she looks out and asks: "John, is +that you?" "Yes, Mary," he replies, "it's me, don't be afraid any mare, +I'm well now." I see that mother, how she pulls back the bolts of that +door, and looks at him. The first look is sufficient, and she springs +into his arms and clings about his neck. She takes him in and asks him +a +hundred questions--how it all happened--all about it. "Well, just take +a +chair and I'll tell you how I got cured." The children hang back and +look amazed. He says: "I was there in the tombs, you know, cutting +myself with stones, and running about in my nakedness, when Jesus of +Nazareth came that way. Mary, did you ever hear of Him? He is the most +wonderful man; I've never seen a man like Him. He just ran in and told +those devils to leave me, and they left me. When He had cured me I +wanted to follow Him, but He told me to come home and tell you all +about +it." The children by and by gather about his knee, and the elder ones +run to tell their playmates what wonderful things Jesus has done for +their father. Ah, my friends, we have got a mighty deliverer, I don't +care what affliction you have, He will deliver you from it. The Son of +God who cast out those devils can deliver you from your besetting sin.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Spurgeon's Parable.<br> +<br> +Mr. Spurgeon, a number of years ago, made a parable. He thought he had +a +right to make one, and he did it. He said: "There was once a tyrant who +ordered one of his subjects into his presence, and ordered him to make +a +chain. The poor blacksmith--that was his occupation--had to go to work +and forge the chain. When it was done he brought it into the presence +of +the tyrant, and he was ordered to take it away and make it twice the +length. He brought it again to the tyrant, and again he was ordered to +double it. Back he came when he had obeyed the order, and the tyrant +looked at it, and then commanded the servants to bind the man hand and +foot with the chain he had made and cast him into prison. "And," Mr. +Spurgeon said, "that is what the devil does with man." He makes them +forge their own chain, and then binds them hand and foot with it, and +casts them into outer darkness." My friends, that is just what these +drunkards, these gamblers, these blasphemers--that is just what every +sinner is doing. But, thank God, we can tell you of a deliverer. The +Son +of God has power to break everyone of these fetters if you will only +come to Him.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- The mightiest man that ever lived could not deliver himself from his +sins. If a man could have saved himself, Christ would never have come +into the world.<br> +<br> +-- He came to deliver us from our sinful dispositions, and create in us +pure hearts, and when we have Him with us it will not be hard for us. +Then the service of Christ will be delightful.<br> +<br> +-- If you are under the power of evil, and you want to get under the +power of God, cry to Him to bring you over to His service; cry to Him +to take you into His army. He will hear you; He will come to you, and, +if need be, He will send a legion of angels to help you to fight your +way up to heaven. God will take you by the right hand and lead you +through this wilderness, over death, and take you right into His +kingdom. That's what the Son of Man came to do. He has never deceived +us; just say here: "Christ is my deliverer."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +EXCUSES.<br> +<br> +"I Have Intellectual Difficulties."<br> +<br> +There is another voice coming down from the gallery yonder: "I have +intellectual difficulties; I cannot believe." A man came to me sometime +ago and said, "I cannot." "Cannot what?" I asked. "Well," said he, "I +cannot believe." "Who?" "Well," he repeated, "I cannot believe." "Who?" +I asked. "Well--I--can't--believe--myself." "Well, you don't want to." +[Laughter.] Make yourself out false every time, but believe in the +truth +of Christ. If a man says to me, "Mr. Moody, you have lied to me; you +have dealt falsely with me," it may be so, but no man on the face of +the +earth can say that God ever dealt unfairly, or that He lied to him. If +God says a thing it is true. We don't ask you to believe in any man on +the face of the earth, but we ask you to believe in Jesus Christ, who +never lied--who never deceived any one. If a man says he cannot believe +Him, he says what is untrue.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +I Am Not All Right.<br> +<br> +I had to notice during the war, when enlisting was going on, sometimes +a +man would come up with a nice silk hat on, patent-leather boots, nice +kid gloves, and a fine suit of clothes, which, probably, cost him $100; +perhaps the next man who came along would be a hod-carrier, dressed in +the poorest kind of clothes. Both had to strip alike and put on the +regimental uniform. So when you come and say you ain't fit, haven't got +good clothes, haven't got righteousness enough, remember that He will +furnish you with the uniform of Heaven, and you will be set down at the +marriage feast of the Lamb. I don't care how black and vile your heart +may be, only accept the invitation of Jesus Christ and He will make you +fit to sit down with the rest at that feast.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"Those Hypocrites."<br> +<br> +"I won't accept this invitation because of those hypocrites in the +churches." My friend, you will find very few there if you get to +heaven. +There won't be a hypocrite in the next world, and if you don't want to +be associated with hypocrites in the next world, you will take this +invitation. Why, you will find hypocrites everywhere. One of the +apostles was himself the very prince of hypocrites, but he didn't get +to +heaven. You will find plenty of hypocrites in the church. They have +been +there for the last one thousand eight hundred years, and will probably +remain there. But what is that to you? This is an individual matter +between you and your God.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"I Can't Feel."<br> +<br> +"I can't feel," says one. That is the very last excuse. When a man +comes +with that excuse he is getting pretty near the Lord. We are having a +body of men in England giving a new translation of the Scriptures. I +think we should get them to put in a passage relating to feeling. With +some people it is feel, feel, feel all the time. What kind of feeling +have you got? Have you got a desire to be saved, have you got a desire +to be present at the marriage supper? Suppose a gentleman asked me to +dinner, I say, "I will see how I feel." "Sick?" he might ask. "No; it +depends on how I feel." That is not the question--it is whether I will +accept the invitation or not. The question with us is, will we accept +salvation--will you believe? There is not a word about feelings in the +Scriptures. When you come to your end, and you know that in a few days +you will be in the presence of the Judge of all the earth, you will +remember this excuse about feelings. You will be saying, "I went up to +the Tabernacle, I remember, and I felt very good, and before the +meeting +was over I felt very bad, and I didn't feel I had the right kind of +feeling to accept the invitation." Satan will then say, "I made you +feel +so." Suppose you build your hopes and fix yourself upon the Rock of +Ages, the devil cannot come to you. Stand upon the Word of God and the +waves of unbelief cannot touch you, the waves of persecution cannot +assail you; the devil and all the fiends of hell cannot approach you if +you only build your hopes upon God's Word. Say, I will trust Him, +though +He slay me--I will take God at His word.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +I Am Not "One of the Elect."<br> +<br> +I can imagine some men saying, "Mr. Moody has not touched my case at +all. That is not the reason why I won't accept Christ. I don't know as +I +am one of the elect." How often I am met with this excuse--how often do +I hear it in the inquiry room! How many men fold their arms and say, +"If +I am one of the elect I will be saved, and if I ain't I won't. No use +of +your bothering about it." Why don't some of those merchants say, "If +God +is going to make me a successful merchant in Chicago I will be one +whether I like it or not, and if he isn't I won't." If you are sick, +and +a. doctor prescribes for you, don't take the medicine, throw it out the +door, it don't matter, for if God has decreed you are going to die, you +will: if he hasn't, you will get better. If you use that argument you +may as well not walk home from this tabernacle. If God has said you'll +get home, you'll get home--you'll fly through the air; if you have been +elected to go home. I have an idea that the Lord Jesus saw how men were +going to stumble over this doctrine, so after He had been thirty or +forty years in heaven, He came down and spoke to John. One Lord's day +in +Patmos, He said to him, "Write these things to the churches." John kept +on writing. His pen flew very fast. And then the Lord, when it was +nearly finished said, "John, before you close the book, put in this: +'The Spirit and the Bride say, Come; and let him that heareth say; +Come.' But there will be some that are deaf, and they cannot hear, so +add, 'Let him that is athirst, Come;' and in case there should be any +that do not thirst, put it still broader, 'Whosoever will, let him take +of the water of life freely.' '' What more can you have than that? And +the Book is sealed, as it were, with that. It is the last invitation in +the Bible. "Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." +You are thirsty. You want water. I hold out this glass to you, and say, +"Take it." You say, "If I am decreed to have it, I am not going to put +myself to the trouble of taking it." Well, you will never get it. And +if +you are ever to have salvation, you must reach out the hand and take +it. +"I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name, of the Lord."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Why did he not take his Wife along?<br> +<br> +Take the excuses. There wasn't one that wasn't a lie. The devil made +them all; and if the sinner hadn't one already the devil was there at +his elbow to suggest one, about the truth of the Bible, or something of +that sort. One of the excuses mentioned was that the man invited had +bought a piece of ground, and had to look at it. Real estate and corner +lots are keeping a good many men out of God's kingdom. It was a lie to +say that he had to go and see it then, for he ought to have looked at +it +before he bought it. Then the next man said he'd bought some oxen, and +must prove them. That was another lie; for if he hadn't proved them +before he bought them he ought to have done so, and could have done it +after supper just as well as before it. But the third man's excuse was +the most ridiculous of them all. "I have married a wife and therefore +cannot come." Why did he not take his wife along with him? Who likes to +go to a feast better than a young bride? He might have asked her to go +too; and if she were not willing, then let her stay at home. The fact +was, he did not want to go.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Good Excuse.<br> +<br> +If you have got a good excuse don't give it up for anything I have +said; +don't give it up for anything your mother may have said; don't give it +up for anything your friend may have said. Take it up to the bar of God +and state it to Him; but if you have not got a good excuse--an excuse +that will stand in eternity--let it go to-night, and flee to the arms +of +a loving Saviour.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Excused at Last.<br> +<br> +It is a very solemn thought that God will excuse you if you want to be +excused. He does not wish to do it, but He will do it. "As I live, +saith +the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the +wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil +ways; +for why will ye die, O house of Israel." Look at the Jewish nation. +They +wanted to be excused from the feast. They despised the grace of God and +trampled it under foot, and look at them to-day! Yes, it is easy enough +to say, "I pray Thee have me excused;" but by and by God may take you +at +your word, and say, "Yes, I will excuse you." And in that lost world, +while others who have accepted the invitation sit down to the marriage +supper of the Lamb, amid shouts and hallelujahs in heaven, you will be +crying in the company of the lost, "The harvest is past; the summer is +ended, and I am not saved."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Invitation.<br> +<br> +Suppose we should write out here to-night this excuse, how would it +sound?<br> +<br> +To the King of Heaven:--While sitting in the Tabernacle in the City of +Chicago, January--, 1877, I received a very pressing invitation from +one of your servants to be present at the marriage supper of your +only-begotten Son. I PRAY THEE HAVE ME EXCUSED."<br> +<br> +Would you sign that, young man? Would you, mother? Would you come up to +the reporters' table, take up a pen and put your name down to such an +excuse? You would say, "Let my right hand forget its cunning, and my +tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I sign that."<br> +<br> +Just let me write out another answer:<br> +<br> +"To the King of Heaven;--While sitting in the Tabernacle, January---, +1877, I received a pressing invitation from one of your messengers to +be present at the marriage supper of your only-begotten Son. I hasten +to reply: BY THE GRACE OF GOD I WILL BE PRESENT."<br> +<br> +Who will sign that? Is there one who will put his name to it? Is there +no one who will say, "By the grace of God I will accept the invitation +now"?<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- There is not an excuse but is a lie.<br> +<br> +-- God's service a hard one! How will that sound in the judgment?<br> +<br> +-- It is easy enough to excuse yourself to hell, but you cannot excuse +yourself to heaven.<br> +<br> +-- When a man prepares a feast, men rush in, but when God prepares one +they all begin to make excuses, and don't want to go.<br> +<br> +-- My friends, to accept this invitation is more important than +anything else in this world. There is nothing in the world that is so +important as the question of accepting the invitation.<br> +<br> +-- If everybody could understand everything the Bible said it wouldn't +be God's book; if Christians, if theologians, had studied it for forty, +fifty, sixty years, and then only began to understand it, how could a +man expect to understand it by one reading?<br> +<br> +-- If God were to take men at their word about these excuses, and swept +everyone into his grave who had an excuse, there would be a very small +congregation in the Tabernacle next Sunday; there would be little +business in Chicago, and in a few weeks the grass would be growing on +these busy streets.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +FAITH.<br> +<br> +How Moody's Faith Saved an Infidel.<br> +<br> +When I was in Edinburgh, at the inquiry meeting in Assembly Hall, one +of +the ushers came around and said, "Mr. Moody, I'd like to put that man +out; he's one of the greatest infidels in Edinburgh." He had been the +chairman of an infidel club for years, I went around to where he was +and +sat down by him. "How is it with you, my friend?" I asked, and then he +laughed and said, "You say God answers prayer; I tell you He doesn't. I +don't believe in a God. Try it on me." "Will you get down with me and +pray?" I asked him; but he wouldn't. So I got down on my knees beside +him and prayed. Next night he was there again. I prayed, and quite a +number of others prayed for him. A few months after that, away up in +the +north of Scotland, at Wick, I was preaching in the open air, and while +I +stood there I saw the infidel standing on the outskirts of the crowd. I +went up to him at the close of the meeting and said: "How is it with +you, my friend?" He laughed and said, "I told you your praying is all +false; God hasn't answered your prayers; go and talk to these deluded +people." He had just the same spirit as before, but I relied on faith. +Shortly after I got a letter from a barrister--a Christian. He was +preaching one night in Edinburgh, when this infidel went up to him and +said: "I want you to pray for me; I am troubled." The barrister asked, +"What is the trouble?" and he replied: "I don't know what's the matter, +but I don't have any peace, and I want you to pray for me." Next day he +went around to that lawyer's office and he said that he had found +Christ.<br> +<br> +This man now is doing good work, and I heard that out of thirty +inquirers there, ten or twelve of his old associates and friends were +among them. So, if you have God with you, and you go to work for Him, +and you meet infidels and skeptics, just bear in mind that you can win +through faith. When Christ saw the faith of those four men, He said to +the man: "Thy sins are forgiven you." My friends, if you have faith all +things are possible.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Taking "the Prince at his Word."<br> +<br> +Some time ago I remember reading of an incident that occurred between a +prince in a foreign land and one of his subjects. This man for +rebellion +against the government was going to be executed. He was taken to the +guilotine block. When the poor fellow reached the place of execution he +was trembling with fear. The prince was present and asked him if he +wished anything before judgment was carded out. The culprit replied: "A +glass of water." It was brought to him, but he was so nervous he +couldn't drink it. "Do not fear," said the prince to him, "judgment +will +not be carried out till you drink that water," and in an instant the +glass was dashed to the ground and broken into a thousand pieces. He +took that prince at his word.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Wife's Faith.<br> +<br> +In one of the towns in England there is a beautiful little chapel, and +a +very touching story is told in connection with it. It was built by an +infidel. He had a praying wife, but he would not listen to her, would +not allow her pastor even to take dinner with them; would not look at +the Bible, would not allow religion even to be talked of. She made up +her mind, seeing she could not influence him by her voice, that every +day she would pray to God at twelve o'clock for his salvation. She said +nothing to him; but every day at that hour she told the Lord about her +husband. At the end of twelve months there was no change in him. But +she +did not give up. Six months more went past. Her faith began to waver, +and she said, "Will I have to give him up at last? Perhaps when I am +dead He will answer my prayers." When she had got to that point, it +seemed just as if God had got her where he wanted her. The man came +home +to dinner one day. His wife was in the dining-room waiting for him, but +he didn't come in. She waited some time, and finally looked for him, +all +through the house. At last she thought of going into the little room +where she had prayed so often. There he was, praying at the same bed +with agony, where she had prayed for so many months, asking forgiveness +for his sins. And, this is a lesson to you wives who have infidel +husbands. The Lord saw that woman's faith and answered her prayers.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Mr. Morehouse's Illustration.<br> +<br> +I remember Mr. Morehouse, while here four years ago, used an +illustration which has fastened itself on my mind. He said, suppose you +go up the street and meet a man whom you have known for the last ten +years to be a beggar, and you notice a change in his appearance, and +you +say, "Halloo, beggar, what's come over you?" "I ain't no beggar. Don't +call me beggar." "Why," you say, "I saw you the other day begging in +the +street." "Ah, but a change has taken place," he replies. "Is that so? +how did it come about?" you inquire. "Well," he says, "I came out this +morning and got down here intending to catch the business men and get +all the money out of them, when one of them came up to me and said +there +was $10,000 deposited for me." "How do you know this is true?" you say. +"I went to the bank and they put the money in my hand." "Are you sure +of +that?" you ask; "how do you know it was the right kind of a hand?" But +he says; "I don't care whether it was the right kind of a hand or not; +I +got the money, and that's all I wanted." And so people are looking to +see if they've got the right kind of a hand before they accept God by +it. They have but to accept his testimony and they are saved, for, as +John says, "He that hath received His testimony hath set his seal that +God is true." Is there a man in this assemblage who will receive His +testimony and set his seal that God is true? Proclaim that God speaks +the truth. Make yourself a liar, but make God's testimony truthful. +Take +Him at His word.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Faith More Powerful than Gunpowder.<br> +<br> +I remember at one of the meetings at Nashville, during the war, a young +man came to me, trembling from head to foot. "What is the trouble?" I +asked. "There is a letter I got from my sister, and she tells me every +night as the sun goes down she goes down on her knees and prays for +me." +This man was brave, had been in a number of battles; he could stand +before the cannon's mouth, but yet this letter completely upset him. "I +have been trembling ever since I received it." Six hundred miles away +the faith of this girl went to work, and its influence was felt by the +brother. He did not believe in prayer; he did not believe in +Christianity; he did not believe in his mother's Bible. This mother was +a praying woman, and when she died she left on earth a praying +daughter. +And when God saw her faith and heard that prayer, he answered her. How +many sons and daughters could be saved if their mothers and fathers had +but faith.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- God will honor our faith.<br> +<br> +-- There is nothing on this earth that pleases Christ so much as faith.<br> +<br> +-- Faith is the foundation of all society. We have only to look around +and see this.<br> +<br> +-- I believe there is no man in the world so constituted but he can +believe in God's word. He simply tells you to believe in Him, and He +will save you.<br> +<br> +-- When I was converted twenty years ago I felt a faith in God; but +five years after I had a hundred times more faith, and five years ago I +had more than ever, because I became better acquainted with Him. I have +read up the Word, and I see that the Lord has done so and so, and then +I have turned to where He has promised to perform it, and when I see +this I have reason to believe in Him.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +FORGIVENESS.<br> +<br> +How Moody's Mother Forgave her Prodigal Son.<br> +<br> +I can give you a little experience of my own family. Before I was +fourteen years old the first thing I remember was the death of my +father. He had been unfortunate in business, and failed. Soon after his +death the creditors came in and took everything. My mother was left +with +a large family of children. One calamity after another swept over the +entire household. Twins were added to the family, and my mother was +taken sick. The eldest boy was fifteen years of age, and to him my +mother looked as a stay in her calamity, but all at once that boy +became +a wanderer. He had been reading some of the trashy novels, and the +belief had seized him that he had only to go away to make a fortune. +Away he went. I can remember how eagerly she used to look for tidings +of +that boy; how she used to send us to the post office to see if there +was +a letter from him, and recollect how we used to come back with the sad +news, "No letter." I remember how in the evenings we used to sit beside +her in that New England home, and we would talk about our father; but +the moment the name of that boy was mentioned she would hush us into +silence. Some nights when the wind was very high, and the house, which +was upon a hill, would tremble at every gust, the voice of my mother +was +raised in prayer for that wanderer who had treated her so unkindly. I +used to think she loved him more than all the rest of us put together, +and I believe she did. On a Thanksgiving day--you know that is a family +day in New England--she used to set a chair for him, thinking he would +return home. Her family grew up and her boys left home. When I got so +that I could write, I sent letters all over the country, but could find +no trace of him. One day while in Boston the news reached me that he +had +returned. While in that city, I remember how I used to look for him in +every store--he had a mark on his face--but I never got any trace. One +day while my mother was sitting at the door, a stranger was seen coming +toward the house, and when he came to the door he stopped. My mother +didn't know her boy. He stood there with folded arms and great beard +flowing down his breast, his tears trickling down his face. When my +mother saw those tears she cried, "Oh, it's my lost son," and entreated +him to come in. But he stood still. "No, mother," he said, "I will not +come in till I hear first you forgive me." Do you believe she was not +willing to forgive him? Do you think she was likely to keep him long +standing there? She rushed to the threshold and threw her arms around +him, and breathed forgiveness. Ah, sinner, if you but ask God to be +merciful to you a sinner, ask Him for forgiveness, although your life +has been bad--ask Him for mercy, and He will not keep you long waiting +for an answer.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/116Pic.jpg" style="width: 514px; height: 758px;"><br> +The Star In The East. GUSTAVE DORE. Matthew, ii, 1-12.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/117Pic.jpg" style="width: 507px; height: 758px;"><br> +Elijah's Ascent In A Chariot Of Fire. GUSTAVE DORE. II +Kings, ii.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Rich Father visits his Dying Prodigal Son in a Garret and Forgives +him.<br> +<br> +There is a story told of Mr. William Dawson, which I would like to +relate. While preaching in London, one night at the close of his +sermon, +he said that there was not one in all London whom Christ could not +save. +In the morning a young lady called upon him and said: "Mr. Dawson, in +your sermon last night you said that 'there was no man in all London +whom Christ could not save.' I find a young man in my district who says +he cannot be saved, and who will not listen to me. Won't you go and see +him? I am sure you can do more with him than I can." Mr. Dawson readily +assented, and went with the young lady to the East End--up one of those +narrow streets there, and at the top of a rickety staircase found a +garret, in which a man was stretched upon straw. He bent over him and +said, "Friend." "Friend!" said the young man, turning upon him, "you +must take me for some other person. I have no friends." "Ah," replied +the Christian, "you are mistaken. Christ is the sinner's friend." The +man thought this too good; "Why," said he, "my whole family have cast +me +off; every friend I had has left me, and no one cares for me." Mr. +Dawson spoke to him kindly, and quoted promise after promise--told him +what Christ had suffered to give him eternal life. At first his efforts +were fruitless, but finally the light of the gospel began to break in +on +the young man, and the first sign was his heart went out to those he +had +injured. And, my friends, this is one of the first indications of the +acceptance of Christ with the sinner. He said: "I could die in peace +now +if my father would but forgive me." "Well," replied the man of God, "I +will go and see your father and ask him for his forgiveness." "No, no," +was the sad answer of the young man, "you cannot go near him. My father +has disinherited me; he has taken my name from the family records; he +has forbidden the mention of my name in his house by any of the family +or servants in his presence, and you needn't go."<br> +<br> +However, Mr. Dawson obtained the address, and went away to the West End +of London; ascended the steps of a beautiful villa, and rang the bell. +A +servant in livery came to the door and conducted him to the +drawing-room. There was everything in that house for comfort and luxury +that money could purchase. He could not help contrasting the scene of +poverty in that garret with the scene of luxuriant elegance everywhere +around him. Presently a proud, haughty-looking merchant came in, and as +he stepped forward to shake hands with Mr. Dawson that gentleman said: +"I believe you have a son named Joseph?" and the merchant threw back +his +hand and drew himself up. "If you come to speak of him--that +reprobate--I want you to go away. I have no son of that name. I disown +him. If he has been talking to you he has been only deceiving you." +"Well," replied Mr. Dawson, "he is your boy now, but he won't be long." +The father stood for a minute looking at the Christian, and then asked: +"Is Joseph sick?" "Yes," was the reply, "he is at the point of death. I +only came to ask your forgiveness for him, that he may die in peace. I +don't ask any favor; when he dies we will bury him."<br> +<br> +The father put his hands to his face and great tears rolled down his +cheeks, as he said, "Can you take me to him?" In a very short time he +was in that narrow street where his son was dying, and as he mounted +the +filthy stairs it hardly seemed possible that the boy could be in such a +place. When he entered the garret he could hardly recognize his son, +and +when he bent over him the boy opened his eyes and said: "O, father, can +you--will you forgive me?" and the father answered: "O Joseph, I would +have forgiven you long ago if you had wanted me to." That haughty man +laid his boy's head on his bosom and the son told him what Christ had +done for him; how He had forgiven his sins, brought peace to his soul; +how that Son of God had found him in that poor garret, and had done all +for him. The father wanted the servant to take him home. "No, father," +said the boy, "I have but a short time to live, and I would rather die +here." He lingered a few hours, and passed from that garret in the East +End to the everlasting hills.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Moody in a Billiard Hall.--A Remarkable Story.<br> +<br> +In a meeting recently a man got up. I didn't know him at first. When I +was here he was a rumseller, and broke up his business and went to the +mountains. This is how it happened. When I was here before, he opened a +saloon and a grand billiard hall. It was one of the most magnificent +billiard halls in Chicago, all elegantly gilded and frescoed. For the +opening he sent me an invitation to be present, which I accepted, and +went around before he opened it. I saw the partners and asked them if +they would allow me to bring a friend. They said certainly, but asked +me +who it was. Well, I said it wasn't necessary to tell who it was, but +said I, "I never go without him." They began to mistrust me. "Who is +it?" they again inquired. "Well, I'll come with him and if I see +anything wrong I'll ask him to forgive you." "Come," said they, "we +don't want any praying." "You've given me an invitation, and I am going +to come." "But if you do come you needn't pray." "Well," said I, "I'll +tell you what we'll do, we'll compromise the matter, and if you don't +want me to come and pray for you when you open, let me pray for both of +you now," which they agreed to. It turned out that one of them had a +praying mother, and the prayer touched his heart, and the other had a +sister in heaven. I asked God to bless their souls, and just to break +their business to pieces. In a few months their business did go all to +pieces. The man who got up in the prayer meeting told me a story that +touched my soul. He said with his business he hadn't prospered--he +failed, and went away to the Rocky Mountains. Life became a burden to +him and he made up his mind that he would go to some part of the +mountains and put an end to his days. He took a sharp knife with him +which he proposed driving into his heart. He sought a part of the +mountains to kill himself. He had the knife ready to plunge into his +heart, when he heard a voice--it was the voice of his mother. He +remembered her words when she was dying, even though he was a boy. He +heard her say, "Johnny, if you get into trouble, pray." That knife +dropped from his hand, and he asked God to be merciful to him. He was +accepted, and he came back to Chicago and lifted up his voice for Him. +He may be in this Tabernacle to-night. Just the moment he cried for +mercy he got it. If you only cry, "God, be merciful to me a sinner," He +will hear you.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Moody and the Judge.<br> +<br> +A number of years ago as I was coming out of a daily prayer meeting in +one of our Western cities, a lady came up to me and said: "I want to +have you see my husband and ask him to come to Christ." She says, "I +want to have you go and see him." She told me his name, and it was a +man +I had heard of before. "Why," said I, "I can't go and see your husband. +He is a booked infidel. I can't argue with him. He is a good deal older +than I am, and it would be out of place. Then I am not much for infidel +argument." "Well, Mr. Moody," she says, "that ain't what he wants. He's +got enough of that. Just ask him to come to the Saviour." She urged me +so hard and so strong, that I consented to go. I went to the office +where the judge was doing business, and told him what I had come for. +He +laughed at me. "You are very foolish," he said, and began to argue with +me. I said, "I don't think it will be profitable for me to hold an +argument with you. I have just one favor I want to ask of you, and that +is, that when you are converted you will let me know." "Yes," said he, +"I will do that. When I am converted I will let you know"--with a good +deal of sarcasm.<br> +<br> +I went off, and requests for prayer were sent here and to Fulton +street, +New York, and I thought the prayers there and of that wife would be +answered if mine were not. A year and a half after, I was in that city, +and a servant came to the door and said: "There is a man in the front +parlor who wishes to see you." I found the Judge there; he said: "I +promised I would let you know when I was converted." "Well," said I, +"tell me all about it." I had heard it from other lips, but I wanted to +hear it from his own. He said his wife had gone out to a meeting one +night and he was home alone, and while he was sitting there by the fire +he thought: "Supposing my wife is right, and my children are right; +suppose there is a heaven and a hell, and I shall be separated from +them." His first thought was, "I don't believe a word of it." The +second +thought came, "You believe in the God that created you, and that the +God +that created you is able to teach you. You believe that God can give +you +life." "Yes, the God that created me can give me life. I was too proud +to get down on my knees by the fire, and said, 'O God, teach me.' And +as +I prayed, I don't understand it, but it began to get very dark, and my +heart got very heavy. I was afraid to tell my wife, and I pretended to +be asleep. She kneeled down beside that bed, and I knew she was praying +for me. I kept crying, 'O God, teach me.' I had to change my prayer, 'O +God save me; O God, take away this burden.' But it grew darker and +darker, and the load grew heavier and heavier. All the way to my office +I kept crying, 'O God, take away this load of guilt; I gave my clerks a +holiday, and just closed my office and locked the door. I fell down on +my face; I cried in agony to my Lord, 'O Lord, for Christ's sake take +away this guilt.' I don't know how it was, but it began to grow very +light. I said, I wonder if this isn't what they call conversion. I +think +I will go and ask the minister if I am not converted. I met my wife at +the door and said, 'My dear, I've been converted.' She looked in +amazement. 'Oh it's a fact; I've been converted! We went into that +drawing-room and knelt down by the sofa and prayed to God to bless us." +The old Judge said to me, the tears trickling down his cheeks, "Mr. +Moody, I've enjoyed life more in the last three months than in all the +years of my life put together." If there is an infidel here--if there +is +a skeptical one here, ask God to give you wisdom to come now. Let us +reason together, and if you become acquainted with God the day will not +go before you receive light from Him.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/120Pic.jpg" style="width: 468px; height: 717px;"><br> +The Tower of Bable. GUSTAVE DORE. Genesis, xi.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/121Pic.jpg" style="width: 472px; height: 740px;"><br> +The Destruction of Sodom. GUSTAVE DORE. Genesis, xix.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Reuben Johnson Pardoned.<br> +<br> +I want to tell you a scene that occurred some time ago. Our +Commissioner +went to the Governor of the State and asked him if he wouldn't pardon +out five men at the end of six months who stood highest on the list for +good behavior. The Governor consented, and the record was to be kept +secret; the men were not to know anything about it. The six months +rolled away and the prisoners were brought up--1,100 of them--and the +President of the commission came up and said: "I hold in my hand +pardons +for five men." I never witnessed anything like it. Every man held his +breath, and you could almost hear the throbbing of every man's heart. +"Pardon for five men," and the Commissioner went on to tell the men how +they had got these pardons--how the Governor had given them, but the +Chaplain said the surprise was so great that he told the Commissioner +to +read the names first and tell the reason afterward. The first name was +called--'Reuben Johnson'--and he held out the pardon, but not a man +moved. He looked all around, expecting to see a man spring to his feet +at once; but no one moved. The Commissioner turned to the officer of +the +prison and inquired: "Are all the convicts here?" "Yes," was the reply, +"Reuben Johnson, come forward and get your pardon; you are no longer a +criminal." Still no one moved.<br> +<br> +The real Reuben Johnson was looking all the time behind him, and around +him to see where Reuben was. The Chaplain saw him standing right in +front of the Commissioner, and beckoned to him; but he only turned and +looked around him, thinking that the Chaplain might mean some other +Reuben. A second time he beckoned to Reuben and called to him, and a +second time the man looked around. At last the Chaplain said to him: +"You are the Reuben." He had been there for nineteen years, having been +placed there for life, and he could not conceive it would be for him. +At +last it began to dawn upon him, and he took the pardon from the +Commissioner's hand, saw his name attached to it, and wept like a +child. +This is the way that men make out pardons for men; but, thank God, we +have not to come to-night and say we have pardons for only five +men--for +those who have behaved themselves. We have assurance of pardon for +every +man. "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- All you have got to do is to prove that you are a sinner, and I will +prove that you have got a Saviour.<br> +<br> +-- Do you believe the Lord will call a poor sinner, and then cast him +out? No! his word stands forever, "Him that cometh unto Me I will in no +wise cast out."<br> +<br> +-- If God put Adam out of this earthly Eden on account of one sin, do +you think He will let us into the Paradise above with our tens of +thousands sins upon us.<br> +<br> +-- The only charge they could bring against Christ down here was, that +He was receiving bad men. They are the very kind of men He is willing +to receive.<br> +<br> +-- "Lord, you don't really mean that we shall preach the Gospel to +those men that murdered you, to those men that took your life?" "Yes," +says the Lord, "go and preach the Gospel to those Jerusalem sinners." I +can imagine Him saying: "Go and hunt up that man that put the cruel +crown of thorns upon My brow, and preach the Gospel to him. Tell him he +shall have a crown in My kingdom without a thorn in it."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GRACE.<br> +<br> +Moody's First Sermon on Grace.<br> +<br> +I remember preaching one night in winter--one of the coldest winters we +had--the winter after the Chicago fire. I had been studying up grace, +and it was the first time I had spoken of it, and I was just full of +it. +I started out of the house, I remember, and the first man I met I asked +him if he knew anything about the grace of God, and I tried to preach +to +him. This man thought I was crazy. I ran on and met another, and +finally +got up to the meeting. That night I thought I was speaking to a lot of +people who felt as I did about grace, and when I got through I asked +anyone who would like to hear about grace--who had any interest in it, +to stay. I expected some would have stayed, but what was my +mortification to see the whole audience rise up and go away. They +hadn't +any interest in grace; they didn't want to learn anything about grace. +I +put my coat and hat on and was going out of the hall, when I saw a poor +fellow at the back of the furnace crying. "I want to hear about the +grace of God," said he. "You're the man I want, then," said I. "Yes," +the poor fellow said, "you said in your sermon that it was free, and I +want you to tell me something about it." Well, I got to talking to him, +and he told me a pitiful story. He had drank away twenty thousand +dollars, his home had been broken up, and his wife and children had +left +him. I spoke to him, and it was not long before we were down together +praying. That night I got him a night's lodging in the Bethel, and next +day we got him on his feet, and when I went to Europe he was one of the +most earnest workers we had. He was just a partaker of grace--believed +that the peace of God was sufficient for him, and he took God at his +word and he was a saved man.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Dr. Arnott's Dog "Rover."<br> +<br> +I remember when Dr. Arnott, who has gone to God, was delivering a +sermon, he used this illustration. The sermon and text have all gone, +but that illustration is fresh upon my mind to-night and brings home +the +truth. He said: "You have been sometimes out at dinner with a friend, +and you have seen the faithful household dog standing watching every +mouthful his master takes. All the crumbs that fall on the floor he +picks up, and seems eager for them, but when his master takes a plate +of +beef and puts it on the floor and says, 'Rover, here's something for +you,' he comes up and smells of it, looks at his master, and goes away +to a corner of the room. He was willing to eat the crumbs, but he +wouldn't touch the roast beef--thought it was too good for him." That +is +the way with a good many Christians. They are willing to eat the +crumbs, +but not willing to take all God wants. Come boldly to the throne of +grace and get the help we need; there is an abundance for every man, +woman and child in the assemblage.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Young Moody Penniless in Boston is Warned by his Sister to "Beware of +Pickpockets."<br> +<br> +I remember when I was a boy and went to Boston, I went to the +postoffice +two or three times a day to see if there was a letter for me. I knew +there was not, as there was but one mail a day. I had not had any +employment and was very homesick, and so went constantly to the +postoffice, thinking perhaps when the mail did come in my letter had +been mislaid. At last, however, I got a letter. It was from my youngest +sister, the first letter she ever wrote to me. I opened it with a light +heart thinking there was some good news from home, but the burden of +the +whole letter was that she had heard there were pickpockets in Boston, +and warned me to take care of them. I thought I had better get some +money in hand first, and then I might take care of pickpockets. And so +you must take care to remember salvation is a gift. You don't work for +salvation; but work day and night after you have got it. Get it first +before you do anything, but don't try to get it yourself. Look at what +Paul says in Ephesians: "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and +that not of yourself, it is the gift of God"--it is the gift of +God--"Not of works, lest any man should boast." There is one thing we +know: We have all got to get into heaven the same way. We cannot work +our way there; we have to take our salvation from God.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Heavy Draw on Alexander the Great.<br> +<br> +There is a story told of Alexander the Great. A general in his army was +a great favorite with him, and he told him to draw anything from his +treasury that he wanted. Well, he presented a bill to the treasurer, +and +the treasurer wouldn't honor it. It was for such an enormous amount +that +the treasurer was astonished. The General went rushing to the Emperor +and told him, and he called the treasurer and said, "Didn't I tell you +to honor the draft of the General." "But," replied the treasurer, "do +you understand its amount?" "Never mind what it is," replied the +Emperor, "he honors me and my kingdom by making a great draft." And so +we honor God by asking for grace in abundance. I tell you, my friends, +it is a pity there are so many half-starved, mean Christians around +when +God says, "Come and get all you want."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Long Ladder Tumbles to the Ground.<br> +<br> +I remember hearing of a man who dreamt that he built a ladder from +earth +to heaven, and when he did a good deed up went his ladder a few feet. +When he did a very good deed his ladder went higher, and when he gave +away large sums of money to the poor up it went further still. By and +by +it went out of sight, and years rolled on, and it went up, he thought, +past the clouds, clear into heaven. When he died he thought he would +step off his ladder into heaven, but he heard a voice roll out from +paradise, "He that climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a +robber." and down he came, ladder and all, and he awoke. He said if he +wanted to get salvation he must get it another way than by good deeds, +and he took the other way.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- We must not limit the mighty grace of God.<br> +<br> +-- Grace means undeserved kindness. It is the gift of God to man the +moment he sees he is unworthy of God's favor.<br> +<br> +-- A man does not get grace till he comes down to the ground, till he +sees he needs grace. When a man stoops to the dust and acknowledges +that he needs mercy, then it is that the Lord will give him grace.<br> +<br> +-- If you are ready to partake of grace you have not to atone for your +sins--you have merely to accept of the atonement. All that you want to +do is to cry, "God have mercy upon me," and you will receive the +blessing.<br> +<br> +-- "The grace of God hath power to bring salvation to all men," and if +a man is unsaved it is because he wants to work it out; he wants to +receive salvation in some other way than God's way; but we are told +that "he that climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a +robber."<br> +<br> +-- When we get full of this grace we want to see everyone blessed--we +want to see all the churches blessed, not only all the churches here, +but in the whole country. That was the trouble with Christ's disciples. +He had hard work to make them understand that His gospel was for +everyone, that it was a stream to flow out to all nations of the earth. +They wanted to confine it to the Jews, and He had to convince them that +it was for every living being.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +HEAVEN.<br> +<br> +Moody in a California Sunday School.<br> +<br> +I remember when I went to California just to try and get a few souls +saved on the Pacific coast, I went into a school there and asked, "Have +you got some one who can write a plain hand?" "Yes." Well, we got up +the +blackboard, and the lesson upon it proved to be the very text we have +to-night. "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." And I said, +"Suppose we write upon that board some of the earthly treasures? And we +will begin with 'gold.'" The teacher readily put down gold, and they +all comprehended it, for all had run to that country in the hope of +finding it. "Well, we will put down 'houses' next, and then 'land.' +Next +we will put down 'fast horses.'" They all understood what fast horses +were--they knew a good deal more about fast horses than they knew about +the kingdom of God. Some of them, I think, actually made fast horses +serve as Gods. "Next we will put down 'tobacco.'" The teacher seemed to +shrink at this. "Put it down," said I, "many a man thinks more of +tobacco than he does of God. Well, then, we will put down 'rum.'" He +objected to this--didn't like to put it down at all. "Down with it. +Many +a man will sell his reputation, will sell his home, his wife, his +children, everything he has, for rum. It is the God of some men. Many +here in Chicago will sell their present and then eternal welfare for +it. +Put it down," and down it went. "Now," said I, "suppose we put down +some +of the heavenly treasures. Put down 'Jesus' to head the list, then +'heaven,' then 'River of Life,' then 'Crown of Glory,' and went on till +the column was filled, and then just drew a line and showed the +heavenly +and the earthly things in contrast. My friends, they could not stand +comparison. If a man just does that, he cannot but see the superiority +of the heavenly over the earthly treasures. Well, it turned out that +the +teacher was not a Christian. He had gone to California on the usual +hunt--gold; and when he saw the two columns placed side by side, the +excellence of the one over the other was irresistible, and he was the +first soul God gave me on that Pacific coast. He accepted Christ, and +that man came to the station when I was coming away and blessed me for +coming to that place.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Mothers are Looking Down from Heaven.<br> +<br> +I remember in the Exposition building in Dublin, while I was speaking +about Heaven, I said something to the effect that at this moment a +mother is looking down from Heaven expecting the salvation of her +daughter here to-night, and I pointed down to a young lady in the +audience. Next morning I received this letter:<br> +<br> +"On Wednesday, when you were speaking of heaven, you said, 'It may be +this moment there is a mother looking down from heaven expecting the +salvation of her child who is here.' You were apparently looking at the +very spot where my child was sitting. My heart said, 'That is my child. +That is her mother.' Tears sprang to my eyes. I bowed my head and +prayed, 'Lord, direct that word to my darling child's heart; Lord save +my child.' I was then anxious till the close of the meeting, when I +went +to her. She was bathed in tears. She rose, put her arms around me, and +kissed me. When walking down to you she told me it was that same +remark--about the mother looking down from heaven--that found the way +home to her, and asked me, 'Papa, what can I do for Jesus?'"<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/128Pic.jpg" style="width: 530px; height: 765px;"><br> +The Destruction Of Sennacherib's Host. GUSTAVE DORE. II +Kings xix.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Rich Man Poor.<br> +<br> +I heard of a farmer who, when a friend of mine called upon him to give +something for the Christian Commission, promptly drew a check for ten +thousand dollars. He wanted the agent to have dinner with him, and +after +they had dined the farmer took the man out on the verandah and pointed +to the rich lands sweeping far away, laden with rich products. "Look +over these lands," said the farmer, "They are all mine." He took him to +the pasture and showed the agent the choice stock, the fine horses he +had, and then pointed to a little town, and then to a large hall where +he lived; he drew himself up, and his face lit up with pride as he +said, +"They are all mine. I came here when a poor boy and I have earned all +that you see." When he got through, my friend asked 'him, "Well, what +have you got up yonder?" "Where?" replied the farmer, who evidently +knew +where my friend meant. "What have you got in heaven?" "Well," said the +farmer, "I haven't anything there." "What!" replied my friend, "You, a +man of your discretion, wisdom, business ability, have made no +provision +for your future?" He hadn't, and in a few weeks he died--a rich man +here +and a beggar in eternity. A man may be wise in the eyes of the world to +pursue this course, but he is a fool in the sight of God. Wealth to +most +men proves nothing more or less than a great rock upon which their +eternity is wrecked.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Dying Boy.<br> +<br> +But I have another anecdote to tell. It was Ralph Wallace who told me +of +this one. A certain gentleman was a member of the Presbyterian Church. +His little boy was sick. When he went home his wife was weeping, and +she +said, "Our boy is dying; he has had a change for the worse. I wish you +would go in and see him." The father went into the room and placed his +hand upon the brow of his dying boy, and could feel that the cold, damp +sweat was gathering there; that the cold, icy hand of death was feeling +for the chords of life. "Do you know, my boy, that you are dying?" +asked +the father. "Am I? Is this death? Do you really think I am dying?" +"Yes, +my son, your end on earth is near." "And will I be with Jesus to-night, +father?" "Yes, you will be with the Saviour." "Father, don't you weep, +for when I get there I will go right straight to Jesus and tell Him +that +you have been trying all my life to lead me to Him." God has given me +two little children, and ever since I can remember I have directed them +to Christ, and I would rather they carried this message to Jesus--that +I +had tried all my life to lead them to Him--than have all the crowns of +the earth; and I would rather lead them to Jesus than give them the +wealth of the world. If you have got a child go and point the way. I +challenge any man to speak of heaven without speaking of children. "For +of such is the kingdom of heaven."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Sad and Singular Story.<br> +<br> +When I was a young boy--before I was a Christian--I was in a field one +day with a man who was hoeing. He was weeping, and he told me a strange +story, which I have never forgotten. When he left home his mother gave +him this text: "Seek first the kingdom of God." But he paid no heed to +it. He said when he got settled in life, and his ambition to get money +was gratified, it would be time enough then to seek the kingdom of God. +He went from one village to another and got nothing to do. When Sunday +came he went into a village church, and what was his great surprise to +hear the minister give out the text, "Seek first the kingdom of God." +He +said the text went down to the bottom of his heart. He thought that it +was but his mother's prayer following him, and that some one must have +written to that minister about him. He felt very uncomfortable, and +when +the meeting was over he could not get that sermon out of his mind. He +went away from that town, and at the end of a week went into another +church and he heard the minister give out the same text, "Seek first +the +kingdom of God." He felt sure this time that it was the prayers of his +mother, but he said calmly and deliberately, "No, I will first get +wealthy." He said he went on and did not go into a church for a few +months, but the first place of worship he went into he heard a third +minister preaching a sermon from the same text. He tried to drown--to +stifle his feelings; tried to get the sermon out of his mind, and +resolved that he would keep away from church altogether, and for a few +years did keep out of God's house. "My mother died," he said, "and the +text kept coming up in my mind, and I said I will try and become a +Christian." The tears rolled down his checks as he said, "I could not; +no sermon ever touches me; my heart is as hard as that stone," pointing +to one in the field. I couldn't understand what it was all about--it +was +fresh to me then. I went to Boston and got converted, and the first +thought that came to me was about this man. When I got back I asked my +mother, "Is Mr. L-- living in such a place?" "Didn't I write to you +about him?" she asked. "They have taken him to an insane asylum, and to +everyone who goes there he points with his finger up there and tells +him +to "seek first the Kingdom of God." There was that man with his eyes +dull with the loss of reason, but the text had sunk into his soul--it +had burned down deep. Oh, may the Spirit of God burn the text into your +hearts to-night. When I got home again my mother told me he was in her +house, and I went to see him. I found him in a rocking chair, with that +vacant, idiotic look upon him. Whenever he saw me he pointed at me and +said: "Young man, seek first the kingdom of God." Reason was gone, but +the text was there. Last month when I was laying my brother down in his +grave I could not help thinking of that poor man who was lying so near +him, and wishing that the prayer of his mother had been heard, and that +he had found the kingdom of God.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Eleventh Commandment.<br> +<br> +There are a great many people who forget that there are eleven +commandments. They think there are only ten. The eleventh commandment +is: "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." How many of us +remember--ah! how many people in Chicago forget the words of the Lord +now in his wonderful sermon on the mount: "Lay not up for yourselves +treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where +thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in +heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do +not break through and steal." How few of our people pay any heed to +these words. That's why there are so many broken hearts among us; +that's +why so many men and women are disappointed and going through the +streets +with shattered hopes; it's because they have not been laying up +treasures in heaven.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"It's Better Higher Up."<br> +<br> +Not long ago there lived an old bed-ridden saint, and a Christian lady +who visited her found her always very cheerful. This visitor had a lady +friend of wealth who constantly looked on the dark side of things, and +was always cast down although she was a professed Christian. She +thought +it would do this lady good to see the bed-ridden saint, so she took her +down to the house. She lived up in the garret, five stories up, and +when +they had got to the first story the lady drew up her dress and said, +"How dark and filthy it is!" "It's better higher up," said her friend. +They got to the next story, and it was no better; the lady complained +again, but her friend replied, "It's better higher up," At the third +floor it seemed still worse, and the lady kept complaining, but her +friend kept saying, "It's better higher up." At last they got to the +fifth story, and when they went into the sick-room, there was a nice +carpet on the floor, there were flowering plants in the window, and +little birds singing. And there they found this bedridden saint--one of +those saints whom God is polishing for his own temple--just beaming +with +joy. The lady said to her, "It must be very hard for you to lie here." +She smiled, and said, "It's better higher up." Yes! And if things go +against us, my friends, let us remember that "it's better higher up."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Calling the Roll of Heaven.<br> +<br> +A soldier, wounded during our last war, lay dying in his cot. Suddenly +the deathlike stillness of the room was broken by the cry, "Here! +Here!" +which burst from the lips of the dying man. Friends rushed to the spot +and asked what he wanted. "Hark," he said, "they are calling the roll +of +heaven, and I am answering to my name." In a few moments once more he +whispered, "Here!" and passed into the presence or the King.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- The way to heaven is straight as an arrow.<br> +<br> +-- Heaven is just as much a place as Chicago. It is a destination.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/132Pic.jpg" style="width: 522px; height: 776px;"><br> +Joseph Makes Himself Known to His Brethern. GUSTAVE +DORE. Genesis, xiv.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +INFIDELITY<br> +<br> +The Young French Nobleman and the Doctor.<br> +<br> +In London, when I was there in 1867, I was told a story which made a +very deep impression upon me. A young French nobleman came there to see +a doctor, bringing letters from the French Emperor. The Emperor +Napoleon +III. had a great regard for this young man, and the doctor wanted to +save him. He examined the young man, and saw there was something on his +mind. "Have you lost any property? What is troubling you? You have +something weighing upon your mind," said the doctor. "Oh, there is +nothing particular." "I know better; have you lost any relations?" +asked +the doctor. "No, none within the last three years." "Have you lost any +reputation in your country?" "No." The doctor studied for a few +minutes, +and then said, "I must know what is on your mind; I must know what is +troubling you." And the young man said, "My father was an infidel; my +grandfather was an infidel, and I was brought up an infidel, and for +the +last three years these words have haunted me, 'Eternity, and where +shall +it find me?'" "Ah," said the doctor, "you have come to the wrong +physician." "Is there no hope for me?" cried the young man. "I walk +about in the day time; I lie down at night, and it comes upon me +continually: 'Eternity, and where shall I spend it?' Tell me, is there +any hope for me?" The doctor said: "Now just sit down and be quiet. A +few years ago I was an infidel. I did not believe in God, and was in +the +same condition in which you are in." The doctor took down his Bible and +turned to the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah and read: "He was wounded +for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the +chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are +healed." And he read on through this chapter.<br> +<br> +When he had finished, the young man said: "Do you believe this, that He +voluntarily left heaven, came down to this earth, and suffered and died +that we might be saved?" "Yes, I believe it. That brought me out of +infidelity, out of darkness into light." And he preached Christ and His +salvation and told him of heaven and then suggested that they get down +on their knees and pray. And when I went there in 1867 a letter had +been +received from that young nobleman, who wrote to Dr. Whinston in London, +telling him that the question of "eternity, and where he should spend +it" was settled, and troubled him no more. My friends, the question of +eternity, and where we are going to spend it, forces itself upon +everyone of us. We are staying here for a little day. Our life is but a +fibre and it will soon be snapped. I may be preaching my last sermon. +To-night may find me in eternity. By the grace of God say that you will +spend it in heaven.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Sambo and the Infidel Judge.<br> +<br> +Once there was a Judge who had a colored man. The colored man was very +godly, and the Judge used to have him to drive him around in his +circuit. The Judge used often to talk with him, and the colored man +would tell the Judge about his religious experience, and about his +battles and conflicts. One day the Judge said to him, "Sambo, how is it +that you Christians are always talking about the conflicts you have +with +Satan. I am better off than you are. I don't have any conflicts or +trouble, and yet I am an infidel and you are a Christian--always in a +muss-how's that, Sambo?" This floored the colored man for a while. He +didn't know how to meet the old infidel's argument. So he shook his +head +sorrowfully and said: "I dunno. Massa, I dunno." The Judge always +carried a gun along with him for hunting. Pretty soon they came to a +lot +of ducks. The Judge took his gun and blazed away at them, and wounded +one and killed another. The Judge said quickly, "You jump in, Sambo, +and +get that wounded duck before he gets off," and did not pay any +attention +to the dead one. In went Sambo for the wounded duck and came out +reflecting. The colored man then thought he had an illustration. He +said +to the Judge: "I hab 'im now, Massa, I'se able to show you how de +Christian hab greater conflict den de infidel. Don't you know de moment +you wounded dat ar duck, how anxious you was to get 'im out, and you +didn't care for de dead duck, but just lef 'im alone!" "Yes," said the +Judge. "Well," said Sambo, "ye see as how dat ar dead duck's a sure +thing. I'se wounded, and I tries to get away from de debbil. It takes +trouble to catch me. But, massa, you are a dead duck--dar is no +squabble +for you. The debbil have you "sure!" So the devil has no conflict with +the infidel.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +An Infidel who would not Talk Infidelity before his Daughter.<br> +<br> +Not long ago I went into a man's house, and when I commenced to talk +about religion he turned to his daughter and said: "You had better go +out of the room; I want to say a few words to Mr. Moody." When she had +gone he opened a perfect torrent of infidelity upon me. "Why," said I, +"did you send your daughter out of the room before you said this?" +"Well," he replied, "did not think it would do her any good to hear +what +I said." My friends, his "rock is not as our rock" Why did he send his +daughter out of the room if he believed what he said? When these +infidels are in trouble why do not they get some of their infidel +friends to administer consolation? When they make a will why do they +call in some follower of the Lord Jesus Christ to carry it out? Why, it +is because they cannot trust their infidel friends.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Dying Infidel's Confession.<br> +<br> +I want to read to you a letter which I received some time ago. I read +this to you because I am getting letters from infidels who say that not +an infidel has repented during our meetings. Only about ten days ago I +got a letter from an infidel, who accused me of being a liar. He said +there had not been an infidel converted during our meetings. My +friends, +go up to the young converts' meeting any Monday night, and you will see +there ten or twelve every night who have accepted Christ. Why, nearly +every night we meet with a poor infidel who accepts Christ, But let me +read this letter. We get many letters every day for prayer, and, my +friends, you don't know the stories that lie behind those letters. The +letter I am about to read was not received here, but while we were in +Philadelphia. When I received it I put it away, intending to use it at +a +future day:<br> +<br> +DEAR SIR: Allow me the privilege of addressing you with a few words. +The +cause of writing is indeed a serious one. I am the son of an +aristocratic family of Germany--was expensively educated, and at +college at Leipsic was ruined by drinking, etc.; was expelled for +gambling and dishonesty. My parents were greatly grieved at my conduct, +and I did not dare return home, but sailed for America. I went to St. +Louis and remained there for want of money to get away. I finally +obtained a situation as bookkeeper in a dry goods house; heard from +home +and the death of my parents. This made me more sinful than ever before. +I heard one of your sermons, which made a deep impression on me. I was +taken sick, and the words of your text came to me and troubled me. I +have tried to find peace of God, but have not succeeded. My friends, by +reasoning with me that there was no God, endeavored to comfort me. The +thought of my sinfulness and approaching the grave, my blasphemy, my +bad +example, caused me to mourn and weep. I think God is too just to +forgive +me my sins. My life is drawing to a close. I have not yet received +God's +favor. Will you not remember me in your prayers, and beseech God to +save +my soul from eternal destruction? Excuse me for writing this, but it +will be the last I shall write this side of the grave.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Infidel Books.<br> +<br> +If you stop to ask yourself why you don't believe in Christ, is there +really any reason? People read infidel books and wonder, why they are +unbelievers, I ask why they read such books. They think they must read +both sides. I say that book is a lie, how can it be one side when it is +a lie? It is not one side at all. Suppose a man tells right down lies +about my family, and I read them so as to hear both sides; it would not +be long before some suspicion would creep into my mind. I said to a man +once, "Have you got a wife?" "Yes, and a good one." I asked: "Now what +if I should come to you and cast out insinuations against her?" And he +said, "Well your life would not be safe long if you did." I told him +just to treat the devil as he would treat a man who went around with +such stories. We are not to blame for having doubts flitting through +our +minds, but for harboring them. Let us go out trusting the Lord with +heart and soul to-day.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +How a Little Study Upset the Plans of a few Prominent Infidels.<br> +<br> +It is said of West, an eminent man, that he was going to take up the +doctrine of the resurrection, and just show the world what a fraud it +was, while Lord Lyttleton was going to take up the conversion of Saul, +and just show the folly of it. These men were going to annihilate that +doctrine and that incident of the gospel. A Frenchman said it took +twelve fishermen to build up Christ's religion, but one Frenchman +pulled +it down. From Calvary this doctrine rolled along the stream of time, +through the eighteen hundred years, down to us, and West got at it and +began to look at the evidence; but instead of his being able to cope +with it he found it perfectly overwhelming--the proof that Christ had +risen, that He had come out of the sepulcher and ascended to heaven and +led captivity captive. The light dawned upon him, and he became an +expounder of the word of God and a champion of Christianity; And Lord +Lyttleton, that infidel and skeptic hadn't been long at the conversion +of Saul before the God of Saul broke upon his sight, and he too, began +to preach.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- What reason have I for doubting God's own word?<br> +<br> +-- I just as much believe that God sent Christ into the world to be the +Saviour of the world, as I believe that I exist.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +INTEMPERANCE.<br> +<br> +Cast Out But Rescued.<br> +<br> +I met a man in New York who was an earnest worker, and I asked him to +tell me his experience. He said he had been a drunkard for over twenty +years. His parents had forsaken him, and his wife had cast him off and +married some one else. He went into a lawyer's office in Poughkeepsie, +mad with drink. This lawyer proved a good Samaritan, and reasoned with +him, and told him he could be saved. The man scouted the idea. He said: +"I must be pretty low when my father and mother, my wife and kindred, +have cast me off, and there is no hope for me here or hereafter." But +this good Samaritan showed him how it was possible to secure salvation, +got him on his feet, got him on his beast, like the good Samaritan of +old, and guided his face toward Zion. And this man said to me: "I have +not drank a glass of liquor since." He is now leader of a young men's +meeting in New York. I asked him to come last Saturday night to +Northfield, my native town, where there are a good many drunkards, +thinking he might encourage them to seek salvation. He came and brought +a young man with him. They held a meeting, and it seemed as if the +power +of God rested upon that meeting when these two men went on telling what +God had done for them--how He had destroyed the works of the devil in +their hearts, and brought peace and unalloyed happiness to their souls. +These grog shops here are the works of the devil--they are ruining +men's +souls every hour. Let us fight against them, and let our prayers go up +in our battles. It may seem a very difficult thing for us, but it is a +very easy thing for God to convert rumsellers.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Way of the Transgressor is Hard.<br> +<br> +There was a man whom I knew who was an inveterate drinker. He had a +wife +and children. He thought he could stop whenever he felt inclined, but +he +went the ways of most moderate drinkers. I had not been gone more than +three years, and when I returned I found that that mother had gone down +to her grave with a broken heart, and that man was the murderer of the +wife of his bosom. Those children have all been taken away from him, +and +he is now walking up and down those streets homeless. But four years +ago +he had a beautiful and a happy home with his wife and children around +him. They are gone; probably he will never see them again. Perhaps he +has come in here to-night. If he has, I ask him: Is not the way of the +transgressor hard?<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Rum-Seller's Son Blows his Brains Out.<br> +<br> +Look at that rum-seller. When we talk to him he laughs at us. He tells +you there is no hell, no future--there is no retribution. I've got one +man in my mind now who ruined nearly all the sons in his neighborhood. +Mothers and fathers went to him and begged him not to sell their +children liquor. He told them it was his business to sell liquor, and +he +was going to sell liquor to everyone who came. The saloon was a blot +upon the place as dark as hell. But the man had a father's heart. He +had +a son. He didn't worship God, but he worshiped that boy. He didn't +remember that whatsoever a man soweth so shall he reap. My friends, +they +generally reap what they sow. It may not come soon, but the retribution +will come. If you ruin other men's sons some other man will ruin yours. +Bear in mind God is a God of equity; God is a God of justice. He is not +going to allow you to ruin men and then escape yourself. If we go +against his laws we suffer. Time rolled on and that young man became a +slave to drink, and his life became such a burden to him that he put a +revolver to his head and blew his brains out. The father lived a few +years, but his life was as bitter as gall, and then went down to his +grave in sorrow. Ah, my friends, it is hard to kick against the pricks.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Distiller Interrogates Moody.<br> +<br> +In Europe in a place where there was a good deal of whisky distilled, +one of the men in the business was a church member, and got a little +anxious in his conscience about his business. He came and asked me if I +thought that a man could not be an honest distiller. I said, You should +do whatever you do for the glory of God. If you can get down and pray +about a barrel of whisky, and say, for instance, when you sell it, "O +Lord God, let this whisky be blessed to the world," it is probably +honest.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Most Hopeless Man in New York now a Sunday-School Superintendent.<br> +<br> +A young man in one of our meetings in New York got up and thrilled the +audience with his experience. "I want to tell you," he said, "that nine +months ago a Christian came to my house and said he wanted me to become +a Christian. He talked to me kindly and encouragingly, pointing out the +error of my ways, and I become converted. I had been a hard drinker, +but +since that time I have not touched a drop of liquor. If anyone had +asked +who the most hopeless man in town was they would have pointed to me." +To-day this man is the superintendent of a Sabbath-school. Eleven years +ago, when I went to Boston, I had a cousin who wanted a little of my +experience. I gave him all the help I could, and he became a Christian. +He did not know how near death was to him: He wrote to his brother and +said: "I am very anxious to get your soul to Jesus." The letter somehow +went to another city, and lay from the 28th of February till the 28th +of +March--just one month. He saw it was in his brother's handwriting, and +tore it open and read the above words. It struck a chord in his heart, +and was the means of converting him. And this was the Christian who led +this drunken man to Christ. This young man had a neighbor who had drank +for forty years, and he went to that neighbor and told him what God had +done for him, and the result was another conversion. I tell you these +things to encourage you to believe that the drunkard can be saved.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Remarkable Case.<br> +<br> +I may relate a little experience. In Philadelphia, at one of our +meetings, a drunken man rose up. Till that time I had no faith that a +drunken man could be converted. When any one approached he was +generally +taken out. This man got up and shouted, "I want to be prayed for." The +friends who were with him tried to draw him away, but he shouted only +louder, and for three times he repeated the request. His call was +attended to and he was converted. God has power to convert a man even +if +he is drunk.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"O Edward."<br> +<br> +I remember going into a young converts' meeting in Philadelphia, where +I +heard a story that thrilled my soul. A young man said he had been a +great drunkard. He had lost one situation after another; till finally +he +came to the very dregs. He left Philadelphia, and went first to +Washington, and then to Baltimore. One night he came back to +Philadelphia. He had lost his key and could not get into his home. He +was afraid to go into the house while the people were stirring, so he +staid outside watching till all had retired. He knew that after that +there would be at least one who would hear him and come to the door. He +went to the door; he knocked; when he heard the footsteps of his +mother. +"O Edward," said she, "I am so glad to see you." She did not reprove +him; did not rebuke him. He went up stairs and did not come down for +two +days. When he came to, the servants were walking about the house very +softly--everything was quiet. They told him that his mother was at the +point of death. His brother was a physician, and he went to him and +asked him if it was so. "Yes, Ned," said he, "mother can't live." He +immediately went up stairs, and asked his mother's forgiveness, and +prayed to his mother's God to have mercy upon him. "And God," said he, +"my mother's God, heard my prayers," and the tears trickled down his +face and he said: "God has kept me straight these four years in the +face +of all trials." O sinner, ask for His grace and might; do not turn Him +away.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Moody Asks a Few Questions.<br> +<br> +Let me ask you a question. Do you think that those gamblers, thieves, +harlots, and drunkards who are trampling the ten commandments under +their feet, they who have never given any respect to God's Word or to +His instructions--do you think they will be swept into the kingdom of +heaven, against their will? Do you think those antedeluvians who were +so +sinful that God could not let them live on the earth would be swept +into +Paradise and Noah left to wade through the deluge? Do you think that +these people, too corrupt for earth, would go there? As I have said +before, an unregenerated man in heaven would make a hell of it. An +unregenerated man couldn't stay there. Why, some of you cannot wait an +hour here to listen to the Word of God. Before the hour expires you +want +to go out. Some of you just wish it was over so that you could go and +get a drink in some of those saloons. I tell you, from the very depths +of my heart, I believe heaven would be a hell to an unregenerated man. +"I don't want to be here," he would say. My friends, heaven is a +prepared place for prepared people, and no one will ever see the +kingdom +of God without being born of God.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Drunken Father and his Praying Child.<br> +<br> +I remember when out in Kansas, while holding a meeting, I saw a little +boy who came up to the window crying. I went to him and said: "My +little +boy, what is your trouble?" "Why, Mr. Moody, my mother's dead, and my +father drinks, and they don't love me, and the Lord won't have anything +to do with me because I am a poor drunkard's boy." "You have got a +wrong +idea, my boy, Jesus will love you and save you and your father too," +and +I told him a story of a little boy in an Eastern city. The boy said his +father would never allow the canting hypocrites of Christians to come +into his house, and would never allow his child to go to Sunday-school. +A kind-hearted man got his little boy and brought him to Christ. When +Christ gets into a man's heart he cannot help but pray. This father had +been drinking one day and coming home he heard that boy praying. He +went +to him and said: "I don't want you to pray any more. You've been along +with some of those Christians. If I catch you praying again I'll flog +you." But the boy was filled with God and he couldn't help praying. The +door of communication was opened between him and Christ, and his father +caught him praying again. He went to him. "Didn't I tell you never to +pray again? If I catch you at it once more you leave my house." He +thought he would stop him. One day the old tempter came upon the boy, +and he did something wrong and got flogged. When he got over his mad +fit +he forgot the threats of his father and went to pray. His father had +been drinking more than usual, and coming in found the boy offering a +prayer. He caught the boy with a push and said, "Didn't I tell you +never +to pray again? Leave this house. Get your things packed up and go." The +little fellow hadn't many things to get together--a drunkard's boy +never +has, and went up to his mothers room. "Good-by, mother." "Where are you +going?" "I don't know where I'll go, but father says I cannot stay here +any longer; I've been praying again," he said. The mother knew it +wouldn't do to try to keep the boy when her husband had ordered him +away, so she drew him to her bosom and kissed him, and bid him good-by. +He went to his brothers and sisters and kissed them good-by. When he +came to the door his father was there and the little fellow reached out +his hand--"Good-by, father; as long as I live I will pray for you," and +left the house. He hadn't been gone many minutes when the father rushed +after him. "My boy, if that is religion, if it can drive you away from +father and mother and home; I want it." Yes, may be some little boy +here +to-night has got a drinking father and mother. Lift your voice to +heaven, and the news will be carried up to heaven, "He prays."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- The drunkard, the open blasphemer, the worst sinners, are precisely +the ones that need Jesus most. The well don't need Him at all.<br> +<br> +-- There is many a gem in these billiard halls that only needs the way +pointed out to fill their souls with the love of Christ.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +LIBERTY.<br> +<br> +Old Samba and "Massa."<br> +<br> +A friend of mine said he was down in Natchez before the war, and he and +a friend of his went out riding one Saturday--they were teaching school +through the week--and they drove out back from Natchez. It was a +beautiful day, and they saw an old slave coming up, and they thought +they would have a little fun. They had just come to a place where there +was a fork in the road, and there was a sign-post which read, "40 miles +to Liberty." One of the young men said to the old darkey driver, +"Samba, +how old are you?" "I don't know, massa. I guess I'se about eighty." +"Can +you read?" "No, sah; we don't read in dis country. It's agin the law." +"Can you tell what is on that sign-post?" "Yes, sah; it says 40 miles +to +Liberty." "Well, now," said my friend, "why don't you follow that road +and get your liberty. It says there, 'only 40 miles to Liberty.' Now, +why don't you take that road and go there?" The old man's countenance +changed, and he said, "Oh, young massa, that is all a sham. If the post +pointed out the road to the liberty that God gives, we might try it. +There could be no sham in that." My friend said he had never heard +anything more eloquent from the lips of a preacher. God wants all his +sons to have liberty.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"Liberty Now and Forever."<br> +<br> +When Miss Smiley went down South to teach, she went to a hotel and +found +everything covered with dirt. The tables were dirty, dishes dirty, beds +were dirty. So she called an old colored woman who was in the house, +and +said, "Now you know that the Northern people set you at liberty. I came +from the North and I don't like dirt, so I want you to clean the +house." +The old colored woman set to work, and it seemed as if she did more +work +in that half day than she had done in a month before. When the lady got +back the colored woman came to her and said, "Now, is I free or ben't I +not? When I go to my old massa he says I ain't free, and when I go to +my +own people they say I is, and I don't know whether I'm free or not. +Some +people told me Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation, but massa says he +didn't; he hadn't any right to." So Christian people go along, not +knowing whether they are free or not. Why, when they have the Spirit +they are as free as air. Christ came for that. He didn't come to set us +free and then leave us in servitude. He came to give us liberty now and +forever.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Out of Libby Prison.<br> +<br> +There was a story told me while I was in Philadelphia, by Capt. +Trumbull. He said when he was in Libby prison the news came that his +wife was in Washington, and his little child was dying: and the next +news that came was that his child was dead, and the mother remained in +Washington in hopes that her husband could come with her and take that +child off to New England and bury it; but that was the last he heard. +One day the news came into the prison that there was a boat up from +City +Point, and there were over nine hundred men in the prison rejoicing at +once. They expected to get good news. Then came the news that there was +only one man in that whole number that was to be let go, and they all +began to say, "Who is it?" It was some one who had some influential +friend at Washington that had persuaded the government to take an +interest in him and get him out. The whole prison was excited. At last +an officer came and shouted at the top of his voice, "Henry Clay +Trumbull!" The chaplain told me his name never sounded so sweet to him +as it did that day. That was election, but you can't find any Henry +Clay +Trumbull in the Bible. There is no special case in the Bible. God's +proclamations are to all sinners. Everybody can get out of prison that +wants to. The trouble is, they don't want to go. They had rather be +captives to some darling sin.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +An Emperor Sets Forty Million Slaves Free.<br> +<br> +Once the Emperor of Russia had a plan by which he was to liberate the +serfs of that country. There were forty millions of them. Of some of +them, their whole time was sold, of others, only a part. The Emperor +called around him his council, and wanted to have them devise some way +to set the slaves at liberty. After they had conferred about it for six +months, one night the council sent in their decision, sealed, that they +thought it was not expedient. The Emperor went down to the Greek Church +that night and partook of the Lord's Supper, and he set his house in +order, and the next morning you could hear the tramp of soldiers in the +streets of St. Petersburgh. The Emperor summoned his guard, and before +noon sixty-five thousand men were surrounding that palace. Just at +midnight there came out a proclamation that every slave in Russia was +forever set free. The proclamation had gone forth, and all the slaves +of +the realm believed it. They have been free ever since. Suppose they had +not believed it? They never then would have got the benefit of it. If +one man can liberate forty millions, has not God got the power to +liberate every captive?<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Moody on "Duty"--How He Loves His Mother.<br> +<br> +I have an old mother away down in the Connecticut mountains, and I have +been in the habit of going to see her every year for twenty years. +Suppose I go there and say, "Mother, you were very kind to me when I +was +young--you were very good to me; when father died you worked hard for +us +all to keep us together, and so I have come to see you because it is my +duty." I went then only because it was my duty. Then she would say to +me, "Well, my son, if you only come to see me because it is your duty, +you need not come again." And that is the way with a great many of the +servants of God. They work for Him because it is their duty--not for +love. Let us abolish this word duty, and feel that it is only a +privilege to work for God, and let us try to remember that what is done +merely from a sense of duty is not acceptable to God.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Moody with Gen. Grant's Army in Richmond.<br> +<br> +It was my privilege to go to Richmond with Gen. Grant's army. Now just +let us picture a scene. There are a thousand poor captives, and they +are +lawful captives, prisoners in Libby Prison. Talk to some of them that +have been there for months and hear them tell their story. I have wept +for hours to hear them tell how they suffered, how they could not hear +from their homes and their loved ones for long intervals, and how +sometimes they would get messages that their loved ones were dying and +they could not get home to be with them in their dying hours. Let us, +for illustration, picture a scene. One beautiful day in the Spring they +are there in the prison. All news has been kept from them. They have +not +heard what has been going on around Richmond, and I can imagine one +says +one day, "Ah, boys, listen! I hear a band of music, and it sounds as if +they were playing the old battle cry of the Republic. It sounds as if +they were playing "The star spangled banner! long may it wave o'er the +land of the free and the home of the brave!" And the hearts of the poor +fellows begin to leap for joy. "I believe Richmond is taken. I believe +they are coming to deliver us," and every man in that prison, is full +of +joy, and by and by the sound comes nearer and they see it is so. It is +the Union army! Next the doors of the prison are unlocked; they fly +wide +open, and those thousand men are set free. Wasn't that good news to +them? Could there have been any better news? They are out of prison, +out +of bondage, delivered. Christ came to proclaim liberty to the captive.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Condemned to be Shot.<br> +<br> +There was a man came from Europe to this country a year or two ago, and +he became dissatisfied and went to Cuba in 1867 when they had that +great +civil war there. Finally he was arrested for a spy, court-martialed, +and +condemned to be shot. He sent for the American Consul and the English +Consul, and went on to prove to them that he was no spy. These two men +were thoroughly convinced that the man was no spy, and they went to one +of the Spanish officers and said, "This man you have condemned to be +shot is an innocent man." "Well," the Spanish officer says, "the man +has +been legally tried by our laws and condemned, and the law must take its +course and the man must die." And the next morning the man was led out; +the grave was already dug for him, and the black cap was put on him, +and +the soldiers were there ready to receive the order, "Fire," and in a +few moments the man would be shot and put in that grave and covered up, +when who should rise up but the American Consul, who took the American +flag and wrapped it around him, and the English Consul took the English +flag and wrapped it around him; and they said to those soldiers, "Fire +on those flags if you dare!" Not a man dared; there were two great +governments behind those flags. And so God says, "Come under my banner, +come under the banner of love, come under the banner of heaven." God +will take care of all that will come under His banner.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Snapping the Chains.<br> +<br> +In the North there was a minister talking to a man in the inquiry-room. +The man says, "My heart is so hard, it seems as if it was chained, and +I +cannot come." "Ah," says the minister, "come along, chain and all," and +he just came to Christ hard-hearted, chain and all, and Christ snapped +the fetters, and set him free right there. So come along. If you are +bound hand and foot by Satan, it is the work of God to break the +fetters; you cannot break them.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Napoleon and the Conscript.<br> +<br> +There is a well-known story told of Napoleon the First's time. In one +of +the conscriptions, during one of his many wars, a man was balloted as a +conscript who did not want to go, but he had a friend who offered to go +in his place. His friend joined the regiment in his name, and was sent +off to the war. By and by a battle came on, in which he was killed, and +they buried him on the battle-field. Some time after the Emperor wanted +more men, and by some mistake the first man was balloted a second time. +They went to take him but he remonstrated. You cannot take me." "Why +not?" "I am dead," was the reply. "You are not dead; you are alive and +well." "But I am dead," he said "Why, man, you must be mad. Where did +you die?" "At such a battle, and you left me buried on such a +battlefield." "You talk like a mad man," they cried; but the man stuck +to his point that he had been dead and buried some months. "You look up +your books," he said, "and see if it is not so." They looked, and found +that he was right. They found the man's name entered as drafted, sent +to +the war, and marked off as killed. "Look here," they said, "you didn't +die; you must have got some one to go for you; it must have been your +substitute." "I know that," he said; "he died in my stead. You cannot +touch me: I died in that man, and I go free. The law has no claim +against me." They would not recognize the doctrine of substitution, and +the case was carried to the Emperor. But he said that the man was +right, +that he was dead and buried in the eyes of the law, and that France had +no claim against him. This story may or may not be true but one thing I +know is true; Jesus Christ suffered death for the sinner, and those who +accept Him are free from the law.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The King's Pardon.<br> +<br> +A man was once being tried for a crime, the punishment of which was +death. The witnesses came in one by one and testified to his guilt; but +there he stood, quite calm and unmoved. The judge and the jury were +quite surprised at his indifference; they could not understand how he +could take such a serious matter so calmly. When the jury retired, it +did not take them many minutes to decide on a verdict "Guilty;" and +when +the judge was passing the sentence of death upon the criminal he told +him how surprised he was that he could be so unmoved in the prospect of +death. When the judge had finished, the man put his hand in his bosom, +pulled out a document, and walked out of the dock a free man. Ah, that +was how he could be so calm; it was a free pardon from his king, which +he had in his pocket all the time. The king had instructed him to allow +the trial to proceed, and to produce the pardon only when he was +condemned. No wonder, then, that he was indifferent as to the result of +the trial. Now that is just what will make us joyful in the great day +of +judgment: we have got a pardon from the Great King, and it is sealed +with the blood of His Son.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/148Pic.jpg" style="width: 511px; height: 743px;"><br> +The Judgement of Solomon. GUSTAVE DORE. 1 Kings, iii.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you are free.<br> +<br> +-- There is no sin in the whole catalogue of sins you can name but +Christ will deliver you from it perfectly.<br> +<br> +-- We are led on by an unseen power that we have not got strength to +resist, or else we are led on by the loving Son of God.<br> +<br> +-- The trouble is, people do not know that Christ is a Deliverer. They +forget that the Son of God came to keep them from sin as well as to +forgive it.<br> +<br> +-- You say "I am afraid I cannot hold out." Well, Christ will hold out +for you. There is no mountain that He will not climb with you if you +will; He will deliver you from your besetting sin.<br> +<br> +-- Satan rules all men that are in his kingdom. Some he rules through +lust. Some he rules through covetousness. Some he rules through +appetite. Some he rules by their temper, but he rules them. And none +will ever seek to be delivered until they get their eyes open and see +that they have been taken captive.<br> +<br> +-- When Christ was on the earth there was a woman in the temple who was +bowed almost to the ground with sin. Satan had bound her for eighteen +years; but after all these years of bondage Christ delivered her. He +spoke one word and she was free. She got up and walked home. How +astonished those at home must have been to see her walking in.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +LITTLE FOLKS.<br> +<br> +The Little Child and the Big Book.<br> +<br> +I like to think of Christ as a burden bearer. A minister was one day +moving his library up stairs. As the minister was going up stairs with +his load of books his little boy came in and was very anxious to help +his father. So his father just told him to go and get an armful and +take +them up stairs. When the father came back he met the little fellow +about +half way up the stairs tugging away with the biggest in the library. He +couldn't manage to carry it up. The book was too big. So he sat down +and +cried. His father found him, and just took him in his arms, book and +all, and carried him up stairs. So Christ will carry you and all your +burdens.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Horse that was Established.<br> +<br> +There was a little boy converted and he was full of praise. When God +converts boy or man his heart is full of joy--can't help praising. His +father was a professed Christian. The boy wondered why he didn't talk +about Christ, and didn't go down to the special meetings. One day, as +the father was reading the papers, the boy came to him and put his hand +on his shoulder and said: "Why don't you praise God? Why don't you sing +about Christ? Why don't you go down to these meetings that are being +held?" The father opened his eyes, and looked at him and said, gruffly: +"I am not carried away with any of these doctrines. I am established." +A +few days after they were getting out a load of wood. They put it on the +cart. The father and the boy got on lop of the load, and tried to get +the horse to go. They used the whip, but the horse wouldn't move. They +got off and tried to roll the wagon along, but they could move neither +the wagon nor the horse. "I wonder what's the matter?" said the father. +"He's established," replied the boy. You may laugh at that, but this is +the way with good many Christians.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Scotch Lassie and Dr. Chalmers.<br> +<br> +There is a story of Dr. Chalmers. A lady came to him and said: "Doctor, +I cannot bring my child to Christ. I've talked, and talked, but it's of +no use." The Doctor thought she had not much skill, and said, "Now you +be quiet and I will talk to her alone." When the Doctor got the Scotch +lassie alone he said to her, "They are bothering you a good deal about +this question; now suppose I just tell your mother you don't want to be +talked to any more upon this subject for a year. How will that do?" +Well, the Scotch lassie hesitated a little, and then said she "didn't +think it would be safe to wait for a year. Something might turn up. She +might die before then." "Well, that's so," replied the doctor, "but +suppose we say six months." She didn't think even this would be safe. +"That's so," was the doctors reply; "well, let us say three months." +After a little hesitation, the girl finally said, "I don't think it +would be safe to put it off for three months--don't think it would be +safe to put it off at all," and they went down on their knees and found +Christ.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/152Pic.jpg" style="width: 522px; height: 761px;"><br> +The Sermon on the Mount. GUSTAVE DORE. Matthew, v.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Johnny, Cling Close to the Rock<br> +<br> +Little Johnny and his sister were one day going through a long, narrow +railroad tunnel. The railroad company had built small clefts here and +there through the tunnel, so that if any one got caught in the tunnel +when the train was passing, they could save themselves. After this +little boy and girl had gone some distance in the tunnel they heard a +train coming. They were frightened at first, but the sister just put +her +little brother in one cleft and she hurried and hid in another. The +train came thundering along, and as it passed, the sister cried out: +"Johnny, cling close to the rock! Johnny, cling close to the rock!" and +they were safe. The "Rock of Ages" may be beaten by the storms and +waves +of adversity, but "cling close to the rock, Christians, and all will be +well." The waves don't touch the Christian; he is sheltered by the Rock +"that is higher than I," by the One who is the strong arm, and the +Saviour who is mighty and willing to save.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Obedience.<br> +<br> +Suppose I say to my boy, "Willie, I want you to go out and bring me a +glass of water." He says he doesn't want to go. "I didn't ask you +whether you wanted to go or not, Willie; I told you to go." "But I +don't +want to go," he says. "I tell you, you must go and get me a glass of +water." He does not like to go. But he knows I am very fond of grapes, +and he is very fond of them himself, so he goes out, and some one gives +him a beautiful cluster of grapes. He comes in and says, "Here, papa, +here is beautiful cluster of grapes for you." "But what about the +water?" "Won't the grapes be acceptable, papa?" "No, my boy, the grapes +are not acceptable; I won't take them; I want you to get me a glass or +water." The little fellow doesn't want to get the water, but he goes +out, and this time some one gives him an orange. He brings it in and +places it before me. "Is that acceptable?" he asks. "No, no, no!" I +say; +"I want nothing but water; you cannot do anything to please me until +you +get the water." And so, my friends, to please God you must first obey +Him.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Jumping into Father's Arms.<br> +<br> +I remember, while in Mobile attending meetings, a little incident +occurred which I will relate. It was a beautiful evening, and just +before the meeting some neighbors and myself were sitting on the front +piazza enjoying the evening. One of the neighbors put one of his +children upon a ledge eight feet high, and put out his hands and told +him to jump. Without the slightest hesitation he sprang into his +father's arms. Another child was lifted up, and he, too, readily sprang +into the arms of his father. He picked up another boy, larger than the +others, and held out his arms, but he wouldn't jump. He cried and +screamed to be taken down. The man begged the boy to jump, but it was +of +no use; he couldn't be induced to jump. The incident made me curious, +and I stepped up to him and asked, "How was it that those two little +fellows jumped so readily into your arms and the other boy wouldn't?" +"Why," said the man, "those two boys are my children and the other boy +isn't, he don't know me."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +How Three Sunday School Children Met Their Fate.<br> +<br> +When the Lawrence Mills were on fire a number or years ago--I don't +mean +on fire, but when the mill fell in--the great mill fell in, and after +it +had fallen in, the ruins caught fire. There was only one room left +entire, and in it were three Mission Sunday-school children imprisoned. +The neighbors and all hands got their shovels and picks and crowbars, +and were working to set the children free. It came on night and they +had +not yet reached the children. When they were near them, by some +mischance a lantern broke, and the ruins caught fire. They tried to put +it out, but could not succeed. They could talk with the children, and +even pass to them some coffee and some refreshments, and encourage them +to keep up. But, alas, the flames drew nearer and nearer to this +prison. +Superhuman were the efforts made to rescue the children; the men +bravely +fought back the flames; but the fire gained fresh strength and returned +to claim its victims. Then piercing shrieks arose when the spectators +saw that the efforts of the firemen were hopeless. The children saw +their fate. They then knelt down and commenced to sing the little hymn +we have all been taught in our Sunday-school days, Oh! how sweet--: +"Let +others seek a home below which flames devour and waves overflow." The +flames had now reached them; the stifling smoke began to pour into +their +little room, and they began to sink, one by one, upon the floor. A few +moments more and the fire circled around them and their souls were +taken +into the bosom of Christ. Yes, let others seek a home below if they +will, but seek ye the Kingdom of God with all your hearts.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +PARENTAL.<br> +<br> +A Father's Love Trampled Under Foot.<br> +<br> +I once heard of a father who had a prodigal boy, and the boy had sent +his mother down to the grave with a broken heart, and one evening the +boy started out as usual to spend the night in drinking and gambling, +and his old father, as he was leaving, said: "My son, I want to ask a +favor of you to-night. You have not spent an evening with me since your +mother died. Now won't you gratify your old father by staying at home +with him?" "No," said the young man, "it is lonely here, and there is +nothing to interest me, and I am going out." And the old man prayed and +wept, and at last said: "My boy, you are just killing me as you have +killed your mother. These hairs are growing white, and you are sending +me, too, to the grave." Still the boy would not stay, and the old man +said: "If you are determined to go to ruin, you must go over this old +body to-night. I can not resist you. You are stronger than I, but if +you +go out you must go over this body." And he laid himself down before the +door, and that son walked over the form of his father, trampled the +love +of his father under foot, and went out.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"That is the Price of My Soul"<br> +<br> +I heard a story of a young lady who was deeply concerned about her +soul. +Her father and mother, however, were worldly people. They thought +lightly of her serious wishes; they did not sympathize with her state +of +mind. They made up their minds that she should not become a Christian, +and tried every way they could to discourage her notions about +religion. +At last they thought they would get up a large party--thus with gayety +and pleasure win her back to the world. So they made every preparation +for a gay time; they even sent to neighboring towns and got all her +most +worldly companions to come to the house; they bought her a magnificent +silk dress and jewelry, and decked her out in all the finery of such an +occasion. The young lady thought there would be no harm in attending +the +party; that it would be a trifling affair, a simple thing, and she +could, after it was over, think again of the welfare of her soul. She +went decked out in all her adornments, and was the belle of the ball +Three weeks from that night she was on her dying bed. She asked her +mother to bring her ball dress in. She pointed her finger at it, and, +bursting into tears, said, "That is the price of my soul." She died +before dawn. Oh, my friends, if you are anxious about your soul, let +everything else go; let parties and festivals pass.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Two Fathers.<br> +<br> +Whenever I think about this subject, two fathers come before me. One +lived on the Mississippi river. He was a man of great wealth. Yet he +would have freely given it all could he have brought back his eldest +boy +from his early grave. One day that boy had been borne home unconscious. +They did everything that man could do to restore him, but in vain. "He +must die," said the doctor. "But, doctor," said the agonized father, +"can you do nothing to bring him to consciousness, even for a moment?" +"That may be," said the doctor; "'but he can never live." Time passed, +and after a terrible suspense, the fathers wish was gratified. "My +son," +he whispered, "the doctor tells me you are dying." "Well," said the +boy, +"you never prayed for me, father; won't you pray for my lost soul now?" +The father wept. It was true he had never prayed. He was a stranger to +God. And in a little while that soul, unprayed for, passed into its +dark +eternity. Oh, father! if your boy was dying, and he called on you to +pray, could you lift your burdened heart to heaven? Have you learned +this sweetest lesson of heaven on earth, to know and hold communion +with +your God? And before this evil world has marked your dearest treasures +for its prey, have you learned to lead your little ones to a children's +Christ?<br> +<br> +What a contrast is the other father? He, too, had a lovely boy, and one +day he came home to find him at the gates of death. "A great change has +come over our boy," said the weeping mother; "he has only been a little +ill before, but it seems now as if he were dying fast." The father went +into the room, and placed his hand on the forehead of the little boy. +He +could see the boy was dying. He could feel the cold damp of death. "My +son, do you know you are dying?" "No, am I?" "Yes; you are dying." "And +shall I die to-day?" "Yes, my boy, you cannot live till night." "Well, +then, I shall be with Jesus to-night, won't I, father?" "Yes, my son, +you will spend to-night with the Saviour." Mothers and fathers, the +little ones may begin early; be in earnest with them now. You know not +how soon you may be taken from them, or they may be taken from you. +Therefore let this impression be made upon their minds--that you care +for their souls--a million times more than for their worldly prospects.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Stolen Boy--A Mother's Love.<br> +<br> +There was a boy a great many years ago, stolen in London, the same as +Charley Ross was stolen here. Long months and years passed away, and +the +mother had prayed and prayed, as the mother of Charley Ross prayed, I +suppose, and all her efforts had failed and they had given up all hope; +but the mother did not quite give up her hope. One day a little boy was +sent up to the neighboring house to sweep the chimney, and by some +mistake he got down again through the wrong chimney. When he came down, +he came in by the sitting-room chimney. His memory began at once to +travel back through the years that had passed. He thought that things +looked strangely familiar. The scenes of the early days of youth were +dawning upon him; and as he stood there surveying the place, his mother +came into the room. He stood there covered with rags and soot. Did she +wait until she sent him to be washed before she rushed and took him in +her arms? No, indeed; it was her own boy. She took him to her arms all +black and smoke, and hugged him to her bosom, and shed tears of joy +upon +his head.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Repentant Father.<br> +<br> +Not long ago a young man went home late. He had been in the habit of +going home late, and the father began to mistrust that he had gone +astray. He told his wife to go to bed, and dismissed the servants, and +said he would sit up till his son came home. The boy came home drunk, +and the father in his anger gave him a push into the street and told +him +never to enter his house again, and shut the door. He went into the +parlor and sat down, and began to think: "Well, I may be to blame for +that boy's conduct, after all. I have never prayed with him. I have +never warned him of the dangers of the world." And the result of his +reflections was that he put on his overcoat and hat, and started out to +find his boy. The first policeman he met he asked eagerly, "Have you +seen my boy?" "No." On he went till he met another. "Have you seen +anything of my son?" He ran from one to another all that night, but not +until the morning did he find him. He took him by the arm and led him +home, and kept him till he was sober. Then he said: "My dear boy, I +want +you to forgive me; I've never prayed for you; I've never lifted up my +heart to God for you; I've been the means of leading you astray, and I +want your forgiveness." The boy was touched, and what was the result? +Within twenty-four hours that son became a convert, and gave up that +cup. It may be that some father here has a wayward son. Go to God, and +on your knees confess it. Let the voice of Jesus sink down in your +heart; "Bring him unto Me."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Sleep of Death.<br> +<br> +I read some time ago of a vessel that had been off on a whaling voyage +and had been gone about three years. I saw the account in print +somewhere lately, but it happened a long time ago. The father of one of +those sailors had charge of the lighthouse, and he was expecting his +boy +to come home. It was time for the whaling vessel to return. One night +there came up a terrible gale, and this father fell asleep, and while +he +slept his light went out. When he awoke he looked toward the shore and +saw there had been a vessel wrecked. He at once went to see if he could +not yet save some one who might be still alive. The first body that +came +floating toward the shore was, to his great grief and surprise, the +body +of his own boy! He had been watching for that boy for many days, and he +had been gone for three years. Now the boy had at last come in sight of +home and had perished because his father had let his light go out! I +thought, what an illustration of fathers and mothers to-day that have +let their lights go out! You are not training your children for God and +eternity. You do not live as though there were anything beyond this +life +at all. You keep your affections set upon things on the earth instead +of +on things above, and the result is that the children do not believe +there is anything in it. Perhaps the very next step they take may take +them into eternity: the next day they may die without God and without +hope.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Defaulter's Confession.<br> +<br> +One week ago I preached on the text, "Christ came to heal the +broken-hearted." I told you just before I came down that I had received +a letter from a broken-hearted wife. Her husband one night came in, to +her surprise, and said he was a defaulter and must flee, and he went, +she knew not where. He forsook her and two children. It was a pitiful +letter, and the wail of that poor woman seems to ring in my ears yet. +That night up in that gallery was a man whose heart began to beat when +I +told the story, thinking it was him I meant, till I came to the two +children. When I got through I found that he had taken money which did +not belong to him, intending to replace it, but he failed to do so, and +fled. He said: "I have a beautiful wife and three children, but I had +to +leave her and come to Chicago, where I have been hiding. The Governor +of +the State has offered a reward for me." My friends, a week ago this +poor +fellow found out the truth of this text. He was in great agony. He felt +as if he could not carry the burden, and he said, "Mr. Moody, I want +you +to pray with me. Ask God for mercy for me." And down we went on our +knees. I don't know as I ever felt so bad for a man in my life. He +asked +me if I thought he should go back. I told him to ask the Lord, and we +prayed over it. That was Sunday evening, and I asked him to meet me on +the Monday evening. He told how hard it was to go back to that town and +give himself up and disgrace his wife and children. They would give him +ten years. Monday came and he met me and said, "Mr. Moody, I have +prayed +over this matter, and I think that Christ has forgiven me, but I don't +belong to myself. I must go back and give myself up. I expect to be +sent +to the penitentiary; but I must go." He asked me to pray for his wife +and children, and he went off. He will be there to-day in the hands of +justice. My friends, don't say the way of the transgressor is not hard.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Divided We Fall.<br> +<br> +I remember one mother who heard that her boy was impressed at our +meeting. She said her son was a good enough boy, and he didn't need to +be converted. I pleaded with that mother, but all my pleading was of no +account. I tried my influence, with the boy; but while I was pulling +one +way she was pulling the other, and of course her influence prevailed. +Naturally it would. Well, to make a long story short, some time after I +happened to be in the County Jail, and I saw him there. "How did you +come here?" I asked; "does your mother know where you are?" "No, don't +tell her; I came in under an assumed name, and I am going to Joliet for +four years. Do not let my mother know of this," he pleaded; "she thinks +I am in the army." I used to call on that mother, but I had promised +her +boy I would not tell her, and for four years she mourned over that boy, +She thought he had died on the battlefield or in a Southern hospital. +What a blessing he might have been to that mother, if she had only +helped us to bring him to Christ. But that mother is only a specimen of +hundreds and thousands of parents. If we would have more family altars +in our homes, and train them to follow Christ, the Son of God would +lead +them into "green pastures," and instead of having sons who curse the +mothers who gave them birth, they would bless their fathers and mothers.<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/160Pic.jpg" style="width: 537px; height: 788px;"><br> +Prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Olives. GUSTAVE DORE. +Matthew, xxvi, 36-45<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Faithful London Lady.<br> +<br> +When I was in London, there was one lady dressed in black up in the +gallery. All the rest were ministers. I wondered who that lady could +be. +At the close of the meeting I stepped up to her, and she asked me if I +did not remember her. I did not, but she told me who she was, and her +story came to my mind. When we were preaching in Dundee, Scotland, a +mother came up with her two sons, 16 and 17 years old. She said to me, +"Will you talk to my boys?" I asked her if she would talk to the +inquirers, as there were more inquirers than workers. She said she was +not a good enough Christian--was not prepared enough. I told her I +could +not talk to her then. Next night she came to me and asked me again, and +the following night she repeated her request. Five hundred miles she +journeyed to get God's blessing for her boys, Would to God we had more +mothers like her. She came to London, and the first night I was there I +saw her in the Agricultural Hall. She was accompanied by only one of +her +boys--the other had died. Toward the close of the meeting I received +this letter from her:<br> +<br> +"DEAR MR. MOODY: For months I have never considered the day's work +ended +unless you and your work had been specially prayed for. Now it appears +before us more and more. What in our little measure we have found has +no +doubt been the happy experience of many others in London. My husband +and +I have sought as our greatest privilege to take unconverted friends one +by one to the Agricultural hall, and I thank God that, with a single +exception, those brought under the preaching from your lips have +accepted Christ as their Savior, and are rejoicing in his love."<br> +<br> +That lady was a lady of wealth and position. She lived a little way out +of London; gave up her beautiful home and took lodgings near +Agricultural Hall, so as to be useful in the inquiry room. When we went +down to the Opera House she was there; when we went down to the east +end, there she was again, and when I left London she had the names of +150 who had accepted Christ from her. Some have said that our work in +London was a failure. Ask her if the work was a failure, and she will +tell you. If we had a thousand such mothers in Chicago we would lift +it. +Go and bring your friends here to the meetings. Think of the privilege, +my friends, of saving a soul. If we are going to work for good, we must +be up and about it.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Arthur P. Oxley! Your Mother Wishes to See You.<br> +<br> +There was a lady that came down to Liverpool to see us privately; it +was +just before we were about to leave that city to go to London to preach. +With tears and sobs she told a very pitiful story. It was this: She +said +she had a boy nineteen years of age who had left her. She showed me his +photograph, and asked me to put it in my pocket. "You stand before many +and large assemblies, Mr. Moody. My boy may be in London, now. Oh, look +at the audience to whom you will preach; look earnestly. You may see my +dear boy before you. If you see him, tell him to come back to me. Oh, +implore him to come to his sorrowing mother, to his deserted home. He +may be in trouble; he may be suffering; tell him for his loving mother +that all is forgiven and forgotten, and he will find comfort and peace +at home." On the back of this photograph she had written his full name +and address; she had noted his complexion, the color of his eyes and +hair; why he had left home, and the cause of his so doing. "When you +preach, Mr. Moody, look for my poor boy," were the parting words of +that +mother. That young man may be in this hall to-night. If he is, I want +to tell him that his mother loves him still. I will read out his name, +and if any of you ever hear of that young man, just tell him that his +mother is waiting with a loving heart and a tender embrace for him. His +name is Arthur P. Oxley, of Manchester, England.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Cruel Mother--Hypothetical.<br> +<br> +Suppose a mother should come in here with a little child, and after she +has been here a while the child begins to cry, and she says, "Keep +still," but the child keeps on crying, and so she turns him over to the +police and says, "Take that child, I don't want him." What would you +say +of such a mother as that? Teach a child that God loves him only so long +as he is good, and that when he is bad the Lord does not love him, and +you will find that when he grows up, if he has a bad temper he will +have +the idea that God hates him because he thinks God don't love him when +he +has got a bad temper, and as he has a bad temper all the time, of +course +God does not love him at all, but hates him all the time. Now God hates +sin, but He loves the sinner, and there is a great difference between +the love of God and our love.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Loving Father.<br> +<br> +I remember my little girl had a habit of getting up in the morning very +cross. I don't know whether your children are like that. She used to +get +up in the morning speaking cross, and made the family very +uncomfortable. So I took her aside one morning and said to her, "Emma, +if you go on that way I shall have to correct you; I don't want to do +it, but I will have to." She looked at me for a few moments--I had +never +spoken to her that way before--and she went away. She behaved herself +for a few weeks all right, but one morning she was as cross as ever, +and +when she came to me to be kissed before going to school, I wouldn't do +it. Off she went to her mother, and said: "Mamma, Papa refused to kiss +me: I cannot go to school because he won't kiss me." Her mother came +in, +but she didn't say much. She knew the child had been doing wrong. The +little one went off and as she was going down stairs I heard her +weeping, and it seemed to me as if that child was dearer to me than +ever +she had been before. I went to the window and saw her going down the +street crying, and as I looked on her I couldn't repress my tears. That +seemed to be the longest day I ever spent in Chicago. Before the +closing +of the school I was at home, and when she came in her first words were: +"Papa, won't you forgive me?" and I kissed her and she went away +singing. It was because I loved her that I punished her. My friends, +don't let Satan make you believe when you have any trouble, that God +does not love you.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +PRAISE.<br> +<br> +"Three Cheers."<br> +<br> +Once, when a great fire broke out at midnight and people thought that +all the inmates had been taken out, way up there in the fifth story, +was +seen a little child, crying for help. Up, went a ladder, and soon a +fireman was seen ascending to the spot. As he neared the second story +the flames burst in fury from the windows, and the multitude almost +despaired of the rescue of the child. The brave man faltered, and a +comrade at the bottom cried out, "Cheer him!" and cheer upon cheer +arose +from the crowd. Up the ladder he went and saved the child, because they +cheered him. If you cannot go into the heat of the battle yourself, if +you cannot go into the harvest field and work day after day, you can +cheer those that are working for the Master. I see many old people in +their old days, get crusty and sour, and they discourage everyone they +meet by their fault finding. That is not what we want. If we make a +mistake, come and tell us of it, and we will thank you. You don't know +how much you may do by just speaking kindly to those that are willing +to +work.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Always Happy.<br> +<br> +There was a man converted here some years ago, and he was just full of +praise. He was living in the light all the time. We might be in the +darkness, but he was always in the light. He used to preface everything +he said in the meeting with "praise God." One night he came to the +meeting with his finger all bound up. He had cut it, and cut it pretty +bad, too. Well, I wondered how he would praise God for this; but he got +up and said, "I have cut my finger, but, praise God, I didn't cut it +off." And so, if things go against you, just think they might be a good +deal worse.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/164Pic.jpg" style="width: 522px; height: 784px;"><br> +Ruth and Boaz. GUSTAVE DORE. Ruth, ii.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Ten Years in a Sick Bed, yet Praising God.<br> +<br> +I have found people who were poor in this world's goods, in bad health, +and yet continually praising God. I can take you to a poor, burdened +one +who has not been off her bed for ten years, and yet she praising Him +more than hundreds of thousands of Christians. Her chamber seems to be +just the ante-room of heaven. It seems as if that woman had just all +the +secrets of heaven. Her soul is full of the love of God, full of +gladness, and she is poor. Like Elijah at the brook of Cherith, she is +just fed by the Almighty; God provides for all her wants. Any man that +knows God can trust Him and praise Him. He knows that the word of God +is +true, and he knows that He will care for him. He who cares for the +lilies of the field, He, without whose knowledge not a sparrow can fall +to the ground, He who knows every hair of our heads, any man that knows +this, cannot he rejoice? Is there anyone here, who, although he is +poor, +can find no reason to praise God? Some of those Christians who are so +poor, but who have the love of God, would not give up their place for +that of princes.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- Praise is not only speaking to the Lord on our own account, but it +is praising Him for what He has done for others.<br> +<br> +-- If we have a praise church we will have people converted. I don't +care where it is, what part of the world it's in, if we have a praise +church we'll have successful Christianity.<br> +<br> +-- Every good gift that we have had from the cradle up has come from +God. If a man just stops to think what he has to praise God for, he +will find there is enough to keep him singing praises for a week.<br> +<br> +-- We have in our churches a great deal of prayer, but I think it would +be a good thing if we had a praise meeting occasionally. If we could +only get people to praise God for what He has done, it would be a good +deal better than asking Him continually for something.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +PRAYER.<br> +<br> +A Voice from the Tomb.<br> +<br> +The other day I read of a mother who died, leaving her child alone and +very poor. She used to pray earnestly for her boy, and left an +impression upon his mind that she cared more for his soul than she +cared +for anything else in the world. He grew up to be a successful man in +business, and became very well off. One day not long ago, after his +mother had been dead for twenty years, he thought he would remove her +remains and put her into his own lot in the cemetery, and put up a +little monument to her memory. As he came to remove them and to lay her +away the thought came to him, that while his mother was alive she had +prayed for him, and he wondered why her prayers were not answered. That +very night that man was saved. After his mother had been buried so long +a time, the act of removing her body to another resting place, brought +up all the recollections of his childhood, and he became a Christian. +O, +you mothers!<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Prayer Answered.<br> +<br> +Only a few years ago in the City of Philadelphia there was a mother +that +had two sons. They were just going as fast as they could to ruin. They +were breaking her heart, and she went into a little prayer-meeting and +got up and presented them for prayer. They had been on a drunken spree +or had just got started in that way, and she knew that their end would +be a drunkard's grave, and she went among these Christians and said, +"Won't you just cry to God for my two boys?" The next morning those two +boys had made an appointment to meet each other on the corner of Market +and Thirteenth streets--though not that they knew anything about our +meeting--and while one of them was there at the corner, waiting for his +brother to come, he followed the people who were flooding into the +depot +building, and the spirit of the Lord met him, and he was wounded and +found his way to Christ. After his brother came he found the place too +crowded to enter, so he too went curiously into another meeting and +found Christ, and went home happy; and when he got home he told his +mother what the Lord had done for him, and the second son came with the +same tidings. I heard one of them get up afterwards to tell his +experience in the young converts' meeting, and he had no sooner told +the +story than the other got up and said: "I am that brother, and there is +not a happier home in Philadelphia than we have got."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Praying Mother.<br> +<br> +I remember being in the camp and a man came to me and said, "Mr. Moody, +when the Mexican war began I wanted to enlist. My mother, seeing I was +resolved, said if I became a Christian I might go. She pleaded and +prayed that I might become a Christian, but I wouldn't. I said when the +war was over I would become a Christian, but not till then. All her +pleading was in vain, and at last, when I was going away, she took out +a +watch and said: 'My son, your father left this to me when he died. Take +it, and I want you to remember that every day at 12 o'clock your mother +will be praying for you.' Then she gave me her Bible, and marked out +passages, and put a few different references in the fly-leaf. I took +the +watch and the Bible just because my mother gave them. I never intended +to read the Bible. I went off to Mexico, and one day while on a long, +weary march, I took out my watch, and it was 12 o'clock. I had been +gone +four months, but I remembered that my mother at that hour was praying +for me. Something prompted me to ask the officer to relieve me for a +little while, and I stepped behind a tree away out on those plains of +Mexico, and cried to the God of my mother to save me." My friends, God +saved him, and he went through the Mexican war, "and now," he said, "I +have enlisted again to see if I can do any good for my Master's cause."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Sinner's Prayer Heard.<br> +<br> +There was a man at one of our meetings in New York City who was moved +by +the Spirit of God. He said, "I am going home, and I am not going to +sleep to-night till Christ takes away my sins, if I have to stay up all +night and pray. I'll do it." He had a good distance to walk, and as he +went along he thought, "Why can't I pray now as I go along, instead of +waiting to go home?" But he did not know a prayer. His mother had +taught +him to pray, but it was so long since he had uttered a prayer that he +had forgotten. However, the publican's prayer came to his mind. +Everybody can say this prayer. That man in the gallery yonder, that +young lady over there: "God be merciful to me a sinner." May God write +it on your hearts to-night. If you forget the sermon, don't forget that +prayer. It is a very short prayer, and it has brought +joy--salvation--to +many a soul. Well, this prayer came to the man, and he began, "God be +merciful to me a--," but before he got to "sinner" God blessed him.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Black-balled by Man, Saved by Christ.<br> +<br> +At the Fulton street prayer-meeting a man came in, and this was his +story. He said he had a mother who prayed for him; he was a wild, +reckless prodigal. Some time after his mother's death he began to be +troubled. He thought he ought to get into new company, and leave his +old +companions. So he said he would go and join a secret society; he +thought +he would join the Odd Fellows. They went and made inquiry about him, +and +they found he was a drunken sailor, so they black-balled him. They +would +not have him. He then went to the Freemasons; he had nobody to +recommend +him, so they inquired and found there was no good in his character, and +they, too, black-balled him. They didn't want him. One day, some one +handed him a little notice in the street about the prayer-meeting, and +he went in. He heard that Christ had come to save sinners. He believed +Him; he took Him at his word; and, in reporting the matter, he said he +"came to Christ without a character, and Christ hadn't black-balled +him." +My friends, that is Christ's way.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Praying Cripple.<br> +<br> +I once knew a little cripple who lay upon her death-bed. She had given +herself to God, and was distressed only because she could not labor for +Him actively among the lost. Her clergyman visited her, and hearing her +complaint, told her that there from her sick-bed she could offer +prayers +for those whom she wished to see turning to God. He advised her to +write +the names down, and then to pray earnestly; and then he went away and +thought of the subject no more. Soon a feeling of great religious +interest sprang up in the village, and the churches were crowded +nightly. The little cripple heard of the progress of the revival, and +inquired anxiously for the names of the saved. A few weeks later she +died, and among a roll of papers that was found under her little +pillow, +was one bearing the names of fifty-six persons, every one of whom had +in +the revival been converted. By each name was a little cross, by which +the poor crippled saint had checked off the names of the converts as +they had been reported to her.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +A Child's Prayer Answered.<br> +<br> +I remember a child that lived with her parents in a small village. One +day the news came that her father had joined the army (it was at the +beginning of our war), and a few days after the landlord came to demand +the rent. The mother told him she hadn't got it, and that her husband +had gone into the army. He was a hard hearted wretch, and he stormed +and +said that they must leave the home; he wasn't going to have people who +couldn't pay the rent. After he was gone, the mother threw herself into +the arm-chair, and began to weep bitterly. Her little girl whom she had +taught to pray in faith (but it is more difficult to practice than to +preach), came up to her, and said, "What makes you cry, mamma? I will +pray to God to give us a little house, and won't He?" What could the +mother say? So the little child went into the next room and began to +pray. The door was open, and the mother could hear every word. "O God, +you have come and taken away father, and mamma has got no money, and +the +landlord will turn us out because we can't pay, and we will have to sit +on the doorstep, and mamma will catch cold. Give us a little home." +Then +she waited, as if for an answer, and then added, "Won't you, please, +God?" She came out of that room quite happy, expecting a house to be +given them. The mother felt reproved. I can tell you, however, she has +never paid any rent since, for God heard the prayer of that little one, +and touched the heart of the cruel landlord. God give us the faith of +that little child, that we may likewise expect an answer, "nothing +wavering."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Orphan's Prayer.<br> +<br> +A little child whose father and mother had died, was taken into another +family. The first night she asked if she could pray, as she used to do. +They said "Oh yes." So she knelt down, and prayed as her mother taught +her; and when that was ended she added a little prayer of her own: "Oh +God, make these people as kind to me as father and mother were." Then +she paused and looked up, as if expecting the answer, and added: "Of +course He will." How sweetly simple was that little one's faith; she +expected God to "do," and, of course, she got her request.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- All should work and ask God's guidance.<br> +<br> +-- The world knows little of the works wrought by prayer.<br> +<br> +-- Let us pray, and as we pray, let us make room for Jesus in our +hearts.<br> +<br> +-- Unless the Spirit of God is with us, we cannot expect that our +prayers will be answered.<br> +<br> +-- David was the last one we would have chosen to fight the giant, but +he was chosen of God.<br> +<br> +-- Every one of our children will be brought into the ark, it we pray +and work earnestly for them.<br> +<br> +-- The impression that a praying mother leaves upon her children is +life-long. Perhaps when you are dead and gone your prayer will be +answered<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +REAPING.<br> +<br> +Sad Ending of a Life that Might have been Otherwise.<br> +<br> +I remember a few years ago I felt very anxious for a man who was +present +at a meeting like this. At the close of the meeting I asked all to +rise, +and he rose among the others. I took him aside and said, "Now you are +going to become a Christian--you will come out for the Lord now?" He +said he was wanting to very much. The man was trembling from head to +foot, and I thought surely he was going to accept Him. I spoke to him +in +his hesitating condition, and found out what was standing between him +and Christ. He was afraid of his companions. Nearly every day and night +news came to me that some of these employers and clerks make light of +these meetings, and make fun of all who attend them, and so many give +the same reason that this man did. I said to him: "If heaven is what we +are led to believe it is, I would be willing to accept it and bear +their +fun." I talked with him, but he wouldn't accept it. He went off, but +for +weeks he came every night, and went away as he came, without accepting +it. One day I received a message to come and see him. He was sick, and +I +went to his chamber. He wanted to know if there was hope for him in the +eleventh hour? I spoke to him, and gave him every hope I could. Day +after day I visited him, and, contrary to all expectation, I saw him +gradually recovering. When he got pretty well he was sitting on the +front porch, and I sat down by him and said: "You will be going now to +confess Christ; you'll be going to take your stand for him now?" +"Well," +said he, "Mr. Moody, I promised God on my sick bed that I would; but I +will wait a little. I am going over to Michigan, where I am going to +buy +a farm and settle down, and then I'll become a Christian." "If God +cannot make you a Christian here he cannot do it there," I replied. I +tried to get him to make an unconditional surrender, but he wouldn't; +he +would put it off till the next spring. "Why," I said, "you may not live +till next spring." "Don't you see I am getting quite well?" "But are +you +willing to take the risk till next spring?" "Oh, yes, I'll take it; Mr. +Moody, you needn't trouble yourself any more about my soul; I'll risk +it; you can just attend to your business, and I will to mine, and if I +lose my soul, no one will be to blame but myself--certainly not you, +for +you've done all you could." I went away from that house then with a +heavy heart.<br> +<br> +I well remember the day of the week, Thursday, about noon, just one +week +from that very day, when his wife sent for me. When I went to their +home +I found her in great trouble, and learned that he had had a relapse. I +asked if he had expressed a desire to see me. She said "No; he is +always +saying 'there is no hope,' and I cannot bear to have him die in that +condition." I went into the room. He did not speak to me, but I went +around to the foot of the bed and looked in his face and said, "Won't +you speak to me?" and at last he fixed that terrible deathly look upon +me and said, "Mr. Moody, you need not talk to me any more. It is too +late; there is no hope for me now. Go talk to my wife and children; +pray +for them; but my heart is as hard as the iron in that stove there. When +I was sick He came to the door of my heart, and I promised to serve +Him, +but I broke that promise, and now I must die without Him." I got down +to +pray. "You needn't pray for me," he said. I prayed, but it seemed as if +my prayer went no higher than my head. He lingered till that night, +repeating, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and I am not +saved." There he lay in agony, every few minutes this lamentation +breaking from him. Just as the sun was going down behind those Western +prairies, his wife leaned over him, and in an almost inaudible voice, +he +whispered, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and I am not +saved," and he died. He had lived a Christless life, he died a +Christless death, he was wrapped in a Christless shroud, and he was +buried in a Christless grave. Oh, how dark and sad! Dear friends, the +harvest is passing; the summer will soon be ended; won't you let Him +redeem you?<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +By the Wayside.<br> +<br> +I went down past the corner of Clark and Lake streets one day, and, +fulfilling my vow, on seeing a man leaning up against a lamp-post, I +went up to him and said: "Are you a Christian?" He damned me and cursed +me, and told me to mind my own business. He knew me, but I didn't know +him. He said to a friend of his that afternoon that he had never been +so +insulted in his life, and told him to say to me that I was damning the +cause I pretended to represent. Well, the friend came and delivered his +message. "May be I am doing more hurt than good," I said; "may be I'm +mistaken, and God hasn't shown me the right way." That was the time I +was sleeping and living in the Young Men's Christian Association rooms, +where I was then President, Secretary, janitor, and everything else. +Well one night, after midnight I heard a knock at the door. And there +on +the step leading into the street stood this stranger I had made so mad +at the lamp-post, and said he wanted to talk to me about his soul's +salvation. He said: "Do you remember the man you met about three months +ago at the lamp-post, and how he cursed you? I have had no peace since +that night; I couldn't sleep. Oh, tell me what to do to be saved." And +we just fell down on our knees, and prayed, and that day he went to the +noon prayer meeting and openly confessed the Saviour, and soon after +went to the war a Christian man. I do not know but he died on some +Southern battle-field or in a hospital, but I expect to see him in the +kingdom of God.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Sowing the Tares.<br> +<br> +I was at the Paris Exhibition in 1867, and I noticed there a little oil +painting, only about a foot square, and the face was the most hideous I +have ever seen. On the paper attached to the painting were the words +"Sowing the tares," and the face looked more like a demon's than a +man's. As he sowed these tares, up came serpents and reptiles, and they +were crawling up his body, and all around were woods with wolves and +animals prowling in them. I have seen that picture many times since. +Ah! +the reaping time is coming. If you sow to the flesh you must reap the +flesh.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +What Moody Saw in the Chamber of Horror.<br> +<br> +When I was in London I went into a wax work there--Tassands--and I went +into the chamber of Horror. There were wax figures of all kinds of +murderers in that room. There was Booth who killed Lincoln, and many of +that class: but there was one figure I got interested in, who killed +his wife because he loved another woman, and the law didn't find him +out. He married this woman and had a family of seven children. And +twenty years passed away. Then his conscience began to trouble him. He +had no rest; he would hear his murdered wife pleading continually for +her life. His friends began to think that that he was going out of his +mind; he became haggard and his conscience haunted him till, at last he +went to the officers of the law and told them that he was guilty of +murder. He wanted to die, life was so much of an agony to him. His +conscience turned against him. My friends if you have done wrong, may +your conscience be woke up, and may you testify against yourself. It is +a great deal better to judge our own acts and confess them, than go +through this world with the curse upon you.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Reaping the Whirlwind.<br> +<br> +I remember in the north of England a prominent citizen told a sad case +that happened there in the city of Newcastle-on-Tyne. It was about a +young boy. He was very young. He was an only child. The father and +mother thought everything of him and did all they could for him. But he +fell into bad ways. He took up with evil characters, and finally got to +running with thieves. He didn't let his parents know about it. By and +by +the gang he was with broke into the house, and he with them. Yes, he +had +to do it all. They stopped outside of the building, while he crept in +and started to rob the till. He was caught in the act, taken into +court, +tried, convicted, and sent to the penitentiary for ten years. He worked +on and on in the convict's cell, till at last his term was out. And at +once he started for home. And when he came back to the town he started +down the street where his father and mother used to live. He went to +the +house and rapped. A stranger came to the door and stared him in the +face. "No, there's no such person lives here, and where your parents +are +I don't know," was the only welcome he received. Then he turned through +the gate, and went down the street, asking even the children that he +met +about his folks, where they were living, and if they were well. But +everybody looked blank. Ten years rolled by and though that seemed +perhaps a short time, how many changes had taken place! There where he +was born and brought up he was now an alien, and unknown even in the +old +haunts. But at last he found a couple of townsmen that remembered his +father and mother, but they told him the old house had been deserted +long years ago, that he had been gone but a few months before his +father +was confined to his house; and very soon after died broken-hearted, and +that his mother had gone out of her mind. He went to the mad-house +where +his mother was, and went up to her and said, "Mother, mother, don't you +know me? I am your son." But she raved and slapped him on the face and +shrieked, "You're not my son," and then raved again and tore her hair. +He left the asylum more dead than alive, so completely broken-hearted +that he died in a few months. Yes the fruit was long growing, but at +the +last it ripened to the harvest like a whirlwind.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Madness and Death.<br> +<br> +I was coming along north Clark street one evening when a man shot past +me like an arrow. But he had seen me, and turned and seized me by the +arm. Saying eagerly, "Can I be saved to-night. The devil is coming to +take me to hell at 1 o'clock tonight." "My friend, you are mistaken." I +thought the man was sick. But he persisted that the devil had come and +laid his hand upon him, and told him he might have till 1 o'clock, and +said he: "Won't you go up to my room and sit with me." I got some men +up +to his room to see to him. At 1 o'clock the devils came into that room, +and all the men in that room could not hold him. He was reaping what he +had sown. When the Angel of Death came and laid his cold hand on him, +oh +how he cried for mercy.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +SAVED.<br> +<br> +A London Doctor Saved after Fifty Years of Prayer.<br> +<br> +When I was in London there was a leading doctor in that city, upwards +of +seventy years of age, wrote me a note to come and see him privately +about his soul. He was living at a country seat a little way out of +London, and he came into town only two or three times a week. He was +wealthy and was nearly retired. I received the note right in the midst +of the London work, and told him I could not see him. I received a note +a day or two after from a member of his family, urging me to come. The +letter said his wife had been praying for him for fifty years, and all +the children had become Christians by her prayers. She had prayed for +him all those years, but no impression had been made upon him. Upon his +desk they had found the letter from me, and they came up to London to +see what it meant, and I said I would see him. When we met I asked him +if he wanted to become a Christian, and he seemed every way willing, +but +when it came to confession to his family, he halted. "I tell you," said +he, "I cannot do that; my life has been such that I would not like to +confess before my family." "Now there is the point; if you are not +willing to confess Christ, He will not confess you; you cannot be His +disciple." We talked for some time, and he accepted. I found while I +had been in one room his daughter and some friends, anxious for the +salvation of that aged father, were in the other room praying to God, +and when he started out willing to go home and confess Christ, I opened +the door of the other room, not knowing the daughter was there, and the +first words she said were: "Is my father saved?" "Yes, I think he is," +I +answered, and ran down to the front door and called him back. "Your +daughter is here," I said; "this is the time to commence your +confession." The father, with tears trickling down his cheeks, embraced +his child, "My dear daughter, I have accepted Christ," and a great +flood +of light broke upon him at that confession.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Angry at First, Saved at Last.<br> +<br> +In Dublin I was speaking to a lady in the inquiry-room, when I noticed +a +gentlemen walking up and down before the door. I went forward, and +said: +"Are you a Christian?" He was very angry, and turned on his heel and +left me. The following Sunday night I was preaching about "receiving." +and I put the question: "Who'll receive Him now?" That young man was +present, and the question sank into his heart. The next day he called +upon me--he was a merchant in that city--and said: "Do you remember +me?" +"No, I don't." "Do you remember the young man who answered you so +roughly the other night?" "Yes, I do." "Well, I've come to tell you +that +I am saved." "How did it happen?" "Why, I was listening to your sermon +last night, and when you asked, 'Who'll receive Him now?' God put it +into my heart to say: 'I will;' and He has opened my eyes to see His +Son +now."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Removing the Difficulties.<br> +<br> +I was speaking to a young lady in the inquiry-room some time ago, and +she was in great distress of mind. She seemed really anxious to be +saved, and I could not find out what was the trouble between God and +her. I saw there was something that was keeping her back. I quoted +promise after promise, but she didn't seem to take hold on any of them. +Then we got down on our knees, but still there was no light. Finally I +said: "Is there anyone against whom you have bitter feelings?" "Yes; +there's a young lady on the other side of the room, talking to your +wife, whom I can't forgive." "Ah I've got it now; that's why the +blessing won't come to you." "Do you mean to tell me," said the young +lady, looking up in my face, "that I can't be saved until I forgive +her?" "No you can't! and, if there are any others whom you hate, you +must forgive them also." She paused a moment, and then she said: "I +will +go." It seems that my wife and the other young lady had been going over +the same ground, and just at that time the other young lady had +resolved +to come to ask this one's forgiveness. So they met in the middle of the +room, both saying at once: "Will you forgive me?" Oh, what a meeting it +was! They knelt together, and joy beamed on their souls, and their +difficulties vanished. In a little while they went out of the room with +their arms around each other, and their faces lit up with a heavenly +glow.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"Saved."<br> +<br> +I remember while in a town East at the time of the loss of the Atlantic +on the banks of Newfoundland, there was a business man in the town who +was reported lost. His store was closed, and all his friends mourned +him +as among those who went down on that vessel. But a telegram was +received +from him by his partner with the word "saved," and that partner was +filled with joy. The store was opened and the telegram was framed, and +if you go into that store to-day you will see that little bit of paper +hanging on the wall, with the word "saved" upon it. Let the news go +over +the wires to heaven to-night from you. Let the word "Saved" go from +everyone of you, and there will be joy in heaven. You can be saved--the +Son of man wants to save you.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Terribly in Earnest.<br> +<br> +I read a number of years ago of a vessel that was wrecked. The +life-boats were not enough to take all the passengers. A man who was +swimming in the water swam up to one of the life-boats that was full +and +seized it with his hand. They tried to prevent him, but the man was +terribly in earnest about saving his life, and one of the men in the +boat just drew a sword and cut off his hand. But the man didn't give +up: +he reached out the other hand. He was terribly in earnest. He wanted to +save his life. But the man in the boat took the sword and cut off his +other hand. But the man did not give up. He swam up to the boat and +seized it with his teeth. Some of them said, "Let us not cut his head +off," and they drew him in. That man was terribly in earnest, and, my +friends, if you want to get into the kingdom of God, be in earnest.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"The Moody and Sankey Humbug."<br> +<br> +There was a man, while we were in London, who got out a little paper +called "The Moody and Sankey Humbug." He used to have it to sell to the +people coming into the meeting. After he had sold a great many thousand +copies of that number, he wanted to get out another number; so he came +to the meeting to get something to put into the paper; but the power of +the Lord was present. It says here in this chapter (Luke 5) that the +Pharisees, scribes, and doctors, were watching the words of Christ in +that house in Capernaum, and that the power of the Lord was present to +heal. It don't say they were healed. They did not come to be healed. If +they had, they would have been healed. But sometimes there is a prayer +of faith going up to God from some one, that brings down blessings. And +so this man came into that meeting. The power of the Lord was present, +and the arrow of conviction went down deep into his heart. He went out, +not to write a paper, but to destroy his paper that he had written, and +so to tell what the Holy Ghost had done for him.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Reporter's Story.<br> +<br> +One of the most conspicuous persons at the Brooklyn Rink was a man of +over fifty years, a reporter, apparently of a sensational sort. One of +my friends entered into conversation with him the second evening, and +found him partially intoxicated, ribald, sneering, and an infidel. +Inquiring further concerning him, we found that he had been several +times in the city jail for drunken brawls, although originally a man of +culture and polish. Time passed, and on our last day at Brooklyn the +same man, conspicuous by his commanding figure, sat in a back seat in +the Simpson Church. My friend accosted him once more, and this was the +answer: "I am waiting to thank Mr. Moody, who, under God, has been the +greatest blessing of my life to me. I have given up my engagement, the +temptations of which are such as no Christian can face. And I am a +Christian--a new creature; not reformed; you cannot reform a drunkard; +I +have tried that a hundred times; but I am regenerated, born again by +the +grace and power of God. I have reported sermons many a time, simply to +ridicule them, but never had the least idea what true religion meant +till I heard Mr. Moody's address on 'Love and Sympathy,' ten days ago, +and I would not have believed there could be so much sweetness in a +lifetime as has been condensed into those ten days. My children knew +the +change; my wife knew it; I have set up the family altar, and the +appetite for liquor has been utterly taken away, that I only loathe +what +I used to love." "Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall," +suggested my friend. "No, not while I stand so close to the cross as I +do to-day;" and he opened a small hymn-book, on the fly-leaf of which +was written: "I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall +not be ashamed."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Skeptical Lady.<br> +<br> +When Mr. Sankey and I were in the north of England, I was preaching one +evening, and before me sat a lady who was a skeptic. When I had +finished, I asked all who were anxious, to remain. Nearly all remained, +herself among the number. I asked her if she was a Christian, and she +said she was not, nor did she care to be. I prayed for her there. On +inquiry, I learned that she was a lady of good social position, but +very +worldly. She continued to attend the meetings, and in a week after I +saw +her in tears. After the sermon, I went to her and asked if she was of +the same mind as before. She replied that Christ had come to her and +she +was happy. Last Autumn I had a note from her husband saying she was +dead, that her love for the Master had continually increased. When I +read that note, I felt paid for crossing the Atlantic. She worked +sweetly after her conversion, and was the means of winning many of her +fashionable friends to Christ. O, may you seek the Lord while He may be +found, and may you call upon Him while He is near.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +GOLD.<br> +<br> +-- I would rather go into the kingdom of heaven through the poor house +than go down to hell in a golden chariot.<br> +<br> +-- I believe there are more young men who come to Boston who are lost +because they cannot say no, than for any other reason.<br> +<br> +-- It ain't necessary to leave the things of this life when you follow +Him. It is not necessary to give up your business, if it's a legitimate +one, in order to accept Christ. But you mustn't set your heart on the +old nets by a good deal.<br> +<br> +-- A great many people want to bring their faith, their works, their +good deeds to Him for salvation. Bring your sins, and He will bear them +away into the wilderness of forgetfulness, and you will never see them +again.<br> +<br> +-- Do you believe that He would send those men out to preach the gospel +to every creature unless he wanted every creature to be saved? Do you +believe He would tell them to preach it to people without giving people +the power to accept it? Do you believe the God of heaven is mocking men +by offering them his gospel and not giving them the power to take hold +of it? Do you believe He will not give men power to accept this +salvation as a gift? Man might do that, but God never mocks men. And +when he says "Preach the gospel to every creature," every creature can +be saved if he will.<br> +<br> +-- Lift your eyes from off these puny Christians--from off these human +ministers, and look to Christ. He is the Saviour of the world. He came +from the throne to this earth: He came from the very bosom of the +Father. God gave Him up freely for us, and all we have to do is to +accept him as our Saviour. Look at Him at Gethsemane, sweating as it +were great drops of blood; look at Him on the cross, crucified between +two thieves; hear that piercing cry, "Father, Father, forgive them, +they know not what they do." And as you look into that face, as you +look into those wounds on His feet or His hands, will you say He has +not the power to save you? Will you say He has not the power to redeem +you?<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/180Pic.jpg" style="width: 492px; height: 761px;"><br> +The Pharisee And The Publican. GUSTAVE DORE. Luke, +xviii, 9-14.<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/181Pic.jpg" style="width: 562px; height: 903px;"><br> +Deborah's Song of Triumph. GUSTAVE DORE. Judges.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +SONG STORIES.<br> +<br> +"Hold the fort, For I am Coming."<br> +<br> +I am told that when General Sherman went through Atlanta towards the +sea--through the Southern States--he left in the fort in the Kennesaw +Mountains a little handful of men to guard some rations that he brought +there. And General Hood got into the outer rear and attacked the fort, +drove the men in from the outer works into the inner works, and for a +long time the battle raged fearfully. Half of the men were either +killed +or wounded; the general who was in command was wounded seven different +times; and when they were about ready to run up the white flag and +surrender the fort, Sherman got within fifteen miles, and through the +signal corps on the mountain he sent the message: "Hold the fort; I am +coming. W. T. Sherman." That message fired up their hearts, and they +held the fort till reinforcements came, and the fort did not go into +the +hands of their enemies. Our friend, Mr. Bliss, has written a hymn +entitled "Hold the fort for I am coming," and I'm going to ask Mr. +Sankey to sing that hymn. I hope there will be a thousand young +converts +coming into our ranks to help hold the fort. Our Saviour is in command, +and He is coming. Let us take up the chorus.<br> +<br> +Ho! my comrades, see the signal<br> +Waving in the sky! <br> +Reinforcements now appearing, <br> +Victory is nigh!<br> +<br> +CHO.-- "Hold the fort, for I am coming," <br> +Jesus signals still. <br> +Wave the answer back to heaven,<br> +"By Thy grace we will."<br> +<br> +See the mighty hosts advancing,<br> +Satan leading on;<br> +Mighty men around us falling,<br> +Courage almost gone.--Cho<br> +<br> +See the glorious banner waving <br> +Hear the bugle blow. <br> +In our Leader's +name we'll triumph <br> +Over every foe.--Cho.<br> +<br> +Fierce and long the battle rages, <br> +But our Help is near; <br> +Onward comes our Great Commander,<br> +Cheer, my comrades, cheer!--Cho.<br> +<br> +P. P. Bliss.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"Let the Lower Lights be Burning."<br> +<br> +A few years ago at the mouth of Cleveland harbor there were two lights, +one at each side of the bay, called the upper and lower lights; and to +enter the harbor safely by night, vessels must sight both of the +lights. +These western lakes are more dangerous sometimes than the great ocean. +One wild, stormy night, a steamer was trying to make her way into the +harbor. The Captain and pilot were anxiously watching for the lights. +By +and by the pilot was heard to say, "Do you see the lower lights?" "No," +was the reply; "I fear we have passed them." "Ah, there are the +lights," +said the pilot; "and they must be from the bluff on which they stand, +the upper lights. We have passed the lower lights; and have lost our +chance of getting into the harbor;" What was to be done? They looked +back, and saw the dim outline of the lower lighthouse against the sky. +The lights had gone out. "Can't you turn your head around?" "No; the +night is too wild for that. She won't answer to her helm." The storm +was +so fearful that they could do nothing. They tried again to make for the +harbor, but they went crash against the rocks, and sank to the bottom. +Very few escaped; the great majority found a watery grave. Why? Simply +because the lower lights had gone out. Now with us the upper lights are +all right. Christ himself is the upper light, and we are the lower +lights, and the cry to us is, Keep the lower lights burning; that is +what we have to do. He will lead us safe to the sunlit shore of Canaan, +where there is no more night.<br> +<br> +Brightly beams our Father's mercy <br> +From His lighthouse ever more. <br> +But to us He gives the keeping <br> +Of the lights along the shore.<br> +<br> +CHO.-- Let the lower lights be burning! <br> +Send a gleam across the wave!<br> +Some poor fainting struggling seaman <br> +You may rescue, you may save.<br> +<br> +Dark the night of sin has settled, <br> +Loud and angry billows roar; <br> +Eager eye's are watching, longing, <br> +For the lights along the shore.--Cho.<br> +<br> +Trim your feeble lamp, my brother; <br> +Some poor seaman tempest-tost, +<br><br> +Trying now to make the harbor, <br> +In the darkness may be lost.--Cho.<br> +<br> +P. P. BLISS.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"More to Follow."<br> +<br> +Rowland Hill tells a good story of a rich man and a poor man in his +congregation. The rich man desired to do an act of benevolence, and so +he sent a sum of money to a friend to be given to this poor man as he +thought best. The friend, just sent him five pounds, and said in the +note: "This is thine; use it wisely; there is more to follow." After a +while he sent another five pounds and said, "more to follow." Again and +again, he sent the money to the poor man, always with the cheering +words, "more to follow." So it is with the wonderful grace of God. +There +is always "more to follow."<br> +<br> +Have you on the Lord believed? <br> +Still there's more to follow; <br> +Of His grace have you received? <br> +Still there's more to follow; <br> +Oh, the grace the Father shows! <br> +Still there's more to follow, <br> +Freely He His grace bestows, <br> +Still there's more to follow.<br> +<br> +CHO.-- More and more, more and more, <br> +Always more to follow, <br> +Oh, his boundless matchless love! <br> +Still there's more to follow.<br> +<br> +Have you felt the Saviour near? <br> +Still there's more to follow; <br> +Does His blessed presence, cheer? <br> +Still there's more to follow; <br> +Oh, the love that Jesus shows! <br> +Still there's more to follow,<br> +Freely He His love bestows, <br> +Still there's more to follow.--Cho.<br> +<br> +Have you felt the spirit's power? <br> +Still there's more to follow; <br> +Falling like the gentle shower? <br> +Still there's more to follow; <br> +Oh, the power the spirit shows! <br> +Still there's more to follow, <br> +Freely He His power bestows, <br> +Still there's more to follow.--Cho.<br> +<br> +P. P. Bliss.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/184Pic.jpg" style="width: 590px; height: 900px;"><br> +Daniel. GUSTAVE DORE. Daniel, x.<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/186Pic.jpg" style="width: 507px; height: 761px;"><br> + +Solomon. GUSTAVE DORE.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +"Pull for the Shore, Sailor."<br> +<br> +A vessel was wrecked off the shore. Eager eyes were watching and strong +arms manned the life-boat. For hours they tried to reach that vessel +through the great breakers that raged and foamed on the sand-bank but +it +seemed impossible. The boat appeared to be leaving the crew to perish. +But after a while the Captain and sixteen men were taken off, and the +vessel went down. "When the life-boat came to you," said a friend, "did +you expect it had brought some tools to repair your old ship?" "Oh, +no," +was the response; "she was a total wreck. Two of her masts were gone, +and if we had stayed mending her, only a few minutes, we must have gone +down, sir." "When once off the old wreck and safe in the life-boat, +what +remained for you to do?" "Nothing, sir, but just to pull for the shore."<br> +<br> +Light in the darkness, sailor, day is at hand! <br> +See o'er the foaming billows fair Haven's land, <br> +Drear was the voyage, sailor, now almost o'er <br> +Safe within the life-boat, sailor, pull for the shore.<br> +<br> +CHO.-- Pull for the shore, sailor, pull for the shore!<br> +Heed not the rolling waves, but bend to the oar; <br> +Safe in the life-boat, sailor, cling to self no more!<br> +Leave the poor old stranded wreck, and pull for the shore.<br> +<br> +Trust in the life-boat, sailor, all else will fail,<br> +Stronger the surges dash and fiercer the gale, <br> +Heed not the stormy winds, though loudly they roar; <br> +Watch the "bright morning star," and pull for the shore.-Cho.<br> +<br> +Bright gleams the morning, sailor, lift up thy eye; <br> +Clouds and darkness disappearing, glory is nigh! <br> +Safe in the life-boat, sailor, sing evermore; <br> +"Glory, glory, hallelujah!" pull for the shore.--Cho.<br> +<br> +P. P. BLISS.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +TRUST.<br> +<br> +"I Am Trusting Jesus"--A Young Lady's Trust.<br> +<br> +The other Sunday, when I was speaking on "Trust," a person came to me +next day and said, "I want to tell you how I was saved. You remember +you +told about that lady who sought Christ three years and could not find +Him, and when you told that, it was I. I was in that same condition and +through your story I got light." I don't think I have ever told it but +what somebody got light and life. I will tell it again, for I would go +up and down the world telling it if I could get a convert. One night I +was preaching, and happening to cast my eyes down during the sermon, I +saw two eyes just riveted upon me. Every word that fell from my lips +she +just seemed to catch with her own lips, and I was very anxious to go +down where she was. After the Sermon I went to the pew and said, "My +friend, are you a Christian?" "Oh, no," said she, "I wish I was. I have +been seeking Christ three years and I cannot find Him." Said I; "Oh, +there is a great mistake about that." Says she, "'Do you think I am not +in earnest? Do you think, sir, I have not been seeking Christ?" Said I, +"I suppose you think you have, but Christ has been seeking you these +twenty years, and it would not take an anxious sinner and an anxious +Saviour three years to meet, and if you had been really seeking Him you +would have found Him long before this." "What would you do, then?" Said +I, "Do nothing, only believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be +saved." "Oh," said she, "I have heard that till my head swims. +Everybody +says, believe! believe! believe! and I am none the wiser. I don't know +what you mean by it." "Very well," said I, "I will drop the word; but +just trust the Lord Jesus Christ to save." "If I say I trust Him, will +He save me?" "No, you may do a thousand things; but if you really trust +Him, He will save you." "Well," said she, "I trust Him, but I don't +feel +any different." "Ah," said I, "I have found your difficulty. You have +been hunting for feeling all these three years. You have not been +looking for Christ." Says she, "Christians tell how much joy they have +got." "But," said I, "you want Christian experience before you get one. +Instead of trusting God, you are looking for Christian experience." +Then +I said: "Right here in this pew, just commit yourself to the Lord Jesus +Christ, and trust Him, and you will be saved," and I held her right to +that word "trust," which is the same as the word "believe" in the Old +Testament. "You know what it is to trust a friend. Cannot you trust God +as a friend?" She looked at me for five minutes, it seemed, and then +said slowly: "Mr. Moody, I trust the Lord Jesus Christ this night to +save my soul." Turning to the pastor of the church she took him by the +hand and repeated the declaration. Turning to an elder in the church +she +said again the solemn words, and near the door, meeting another officer +of the church, she repeated for the fourth time, "I am trusting Jesus," +and went off home. The next night when I was preaching I saw her right +in front of me, "Eternity" written in her eyes, her face lighted up, +and +when I asked inquirers to go into the other room she was the first to +go +in. I wondered at it, for I could see by her face that she was in the +joy of the Lord. But when I got in I found her with her arms around a +young lady's neck, and I heard her say, "It is only just trusting. I +stumbled over it three years and found it all in trusting;" and the +three weeks I was there she led more souls to Christ than anybody else. +If I got a difficult case I would send it to her. Oh, my friends, won't +you trust Him? Let us put our trust in Him.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +Mrs. Moody Teaching her Child.<br> +<br> +There was a time when our little boy did not like to go to church, and +would get up in the morning and say to his mother, "What day is +to-morrow?" "Tuesday." "Next day?" "Wednesday." "Next day?" "Thursday;" +and so on, till he came to the answer, "Sunday." "Dear me," he said. I +said to the mother, "We cannot have our boy grow up to hate Sunday in +this way; that will never do. That is the way I used to feel when I was +a boy. I used to look upon Sunday with a certain amount of dread. Very +few kind words were associated with the day. I don't know that the +minister ever put his hand on my head. I don't know that the minister +even noticed me, unless it was when I was asleep in the gallery, and he +woke me up. This kind of thing won't do; we must make the Sunday the +most attractive day of the week; not a day to be dreaded; but a day of +pleasure." Well the mother took the work up with this boy. Bless those +mothers in their work with the children. Sometimes I feel as if I would +rather be the mother of John Wesley or Martin Luther or John Knox than +have all the glories in the world. Those mothers who are faithful with +the children God has given them will not go unrewarded. My wife went to +work and took those Bible stories and put those blessed truths in a +light that the child could comprehend, and soon the feeling of dread +for +the Sabbath with the boy was the other way, "What day's to-morrow?" he +would ask, "Sunday." "I am glad." And if we make those Bible truths +interesting--break them up in some shape so that these children can get +at them, then they will begin to enjoy them.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +WISDOM.<br> +<br> +-- I remember a gentleman of Boston, a man high in life, a Congressman, +who was accustomed to carry with him little cards and distribute them +wherever he went, and on some of these cards were words like these: "I +expect to pass through this world but once, and therefore if there be +any kindness I can show, if there is anything I can do to make men +happy, I shall do it, for I may not pass this way again."<br> +<br> +-- A man was asked what his persuasion was. He said it was the same as +Paul's. I don't know what Paul's persuasion was. All persuasions claim +him. Sankey says he is a Methodist. Listen: "I am not ashamed, for I +know whom I believe, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that +which +I have committed to Him." That is Paul's persuasion. You may call it +what you have a mind to, it is a good persuasion.<br> +<br> +-- If we are going to be successful, we have got to take our stand for +God, and let the world and everyone know we are on the Lord's side. I +have great respect for the woman that started out during the war with a +poker. She heard the enemy were coming and went to resist them. When +some one asked her what she could do with the poker, she said she would +at least let them know what side she was on. And that is what we want.<br> +<br> +-- Let us do all the work we can. If we can't be a lighthouse, let us +be +a tallow candle. There used to be a period when people came to meeting +bringing their candles with them. The first one, perhaps, wouldn't make +a great illumination, but when two or three got there, there would be +more light. If the people of Boston should do that now, if each one +should come here in this Tabernacle, with a candle, don't you think +there would be a little light.<br> +<br> +-- When I was a little boy I used to try and catch my own shadow. I +don't know whether any of you have ever been so foolish as that or not. +I could not see why the shadow always kept ahead of me. Once I happened +to be racing with my face to the sun and I looked over my head and saw +my shadow coming back of me, and it kept behind me all the way. It is +the same with the Sun of Righteousness. Peace and joy will go with you +while you go with your face toward Him.<br> +<br> +-- There are nine different qualities--peace, gentleness, +long-suffering, hope, patience, charity, etc., but you can sum them all +into one, and you have love. I saw something in writing the other day +bearing upon the subject which I just took a copy of: "The fruit of the +Spirit is in just one word--love. Joy is love exalted; peace is love in +repose, long-suffering is love enduring, gentleness is love in society, +goodness is love in action, faith is love on the battle field, meekness +is love in school, and temperance is love in training. And so you can +say that the fruit is all expressed by one word--love."<br> +<br> +-- I believe there is a great deal more hope for a drunkard or a +murderer or a gambler than there is for a lazy man. I never heard of a +lazy man being converted yet, though I remember talking once with a +minister in the back woods of Iowa about lazy men. He was all +discouraged in his efforts to convert lazy men, and I said to him, "Did +you ever know of a lazy man being converted?" "Yes," said he; "I knew +of +one, but he was so lazy that he didn't stay converted but about six +weeks." And that is as near as I ever heard of a lazy man being +converted.<br> +<br> +-- I remember, I was talking with a man one day and an acquaintance of +his came in, and he jumped up at once and shook him by the hand--why I +thought he was going to shake his hand out of joint, he shook so +hard--and he seemed to be so glad to see him and wanted him to stay, +but +the man was in a great hurry and could not stay, and he coaxed and +urged +him to stay, but the man said no, he would come another time; and after +that man went out my companion turned to me and said, "Well, he is an +awful bore, and I am glad he's gone." Well I began to feel that I was a +bore too, and I got out as quickly as I could. That is not real love.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +WORD PICTURES.<br> +<br> +The Prodigal Son.<br> +<br> +The boy got his money, and away he went. He feels very independent; he +can take care of himself; he can work his own way. I don't know where +he +went to. Perhaps he went away down to Memphis, and perhaps he went to +Egypt--got as far away from home as he could. When he went away he soon +commenced to go down to ruin. When he gets down to that part of the +country he suddenly becomes very popular with a certain class of men. +Perhaps he was very popular with the men who hung around the opera +house, or the theatre, or the billiard halls. A great many courted his +company. Perhaps he was a good talker, perhaps he was a good singer and +could sing a comic song; perhaps he was a literary man, and entertained +them with his wit, and all were delighted with him. But as we would +say, +he got to the end of his rope, and when his money went his friends +disappeared: The poor fellow was in a blaze of glory while his money +lasted, but when it had gone he woke up to find himself without +friends. +A man in New England said while his money lasted he had friends, but +when he was ruined and in prison he found out who his real friends +were. +Not one of his old friends came near him, but the Christian people came +and spoke to him words of kindness and comfort, and it was then he made +the discovery who his true friends were. So this young prodigal didn't +get his eyes open till his money was all gone. No one in that foreign +country loved him then, no one in that land cared for him; but away off +over those green hills there was one who loved him still. It was his +father, and that father received him back.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The Cross and Crown.<br> +<br> +At last He cried, with a loud voice: "It is finished!" Perhaps not many +on earth heard it, or cared about it when they did hear it; but I can +imagine there were not many in heaven who did not hear it, and if they +have bells in heaven how they must have rung out that day; "It is +finished! It is finished!" The Son of God had died that poor sinful man +might have life eternal. I can imagine the angels walking through the +streets of heaven crying: "It is finished!" and the mansions of that +world ringing with the glad tidings: "It is finished!" It was the shout +of victory. All you have got to do is to look and be saved. You have +seen the waves of the sea come dashing up against a rocky shore. They +come up and beat against the rock, and, breaking into pieces, go back +to +gather fresh strength, and again they come up and beat against the rock +only to be again broken into pieces. And so it would seem as if the +dark +waves of hell had gathered all their strength together and had come +beating up against the bosom of the Son of God; but he drives them all +back again with that shout of a conqueror: "It is finished." And with +that shout He snapped the fetters of sin, and broke the power of Satan.<br> +<br> +While I was at a convention in Illinois an old man past 70 years, got +up, and said he remembered but one thing about his father, and that one +thing followed him all through life. He could not remember his death, +he +had no recollection of his funeral, but he recollected his father one +winter night, taking a little chip, and with his pocket knife whittling +out a little cross, and with the tears in his eyes he held up that +cross +telling how God in His infinite love sent His Son down here to redeem +us, how He had died on the cross for us. The story of the cross +followed +him through life.<br> +<img alt="" src="images/192PicB.jpg" style="width: 223px; height: 163px;"><br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/193Pic.jpg" style="width: 514px; height: 787px;"><br> +The Prodigal Son. GUSTAVE DORE. Luke, xv 11-32.<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/201Pic.jpg" style="width: 541px; height: 791px;"><br> +Christ Stilling The Tempest. GUSTAVE DORE. Matthew. +viii, 23-27<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +AFFECTING INCIDENT AT SEA.<br> +<br> +Moody's Love and Prayer for 700 "Quaking Souls."<br> +<br> +"I remember clearly lying in my berth early that Saturday morning (Nov. +26th, 1892, on the steamer Spree when she was one thousand miles out +from Southampton on her way to New York), congratulating myself that I +had gotten passage in so swift a ship, when my thoughts were stopped by +a great crash that shook the vessel from stem to stern.<br> +<br> +"My son, William Revell Moody, jumped from his berth and rushed on +deck. +He was back again in an instant, crying that the shaft was broken and +the ship sinking. Then ensued a scene the like of which I hope never to +witness again. There was no panic, but the passengers, who had +scrambled +on deck at the first warning, looked at each other in an appealing way +that was, if anything, more terrible than demonstrative fear. The +captain told us there was no danger, and some of the second cabin +passengers returned to their berths only to tumble back pellmell a +moment later. The rising water had driven them out. Some of them lost +all their clothes and valuables.<br> +<br> +"At this point the officers buckled on their revolvers, but there was +no +need to use them. The people, though terribly frightened, did not seem +to realize what had happened. The women didn't scream, but stood around +trembling and with blanched faces. Nobody said a word, but each waited +for his neighbor to speak. We felt that we might be looking on our +graves.<br> +<br> +"The captain told us at noon that he thought he had the water under +control and was in hopes of drifting in the way of some passing vessel. +The ship's bow was now high in the air, while the stern seemed to +settle +more and more. There was no storm, but the sea, was very rough, and the +ship rolled from side to side with fearful lurches. I think that if she +had pitched at all the overstrained, bulkheads would have burst and we +should have gone to the bottom. The captain cheered us by telling us +that he thought we should run in with a ship by 3 o'clock that Saturday +afternoon, but the night drew on and no sail appeared to lighten our +gloom.<br> +<br> +"We knew the ship was sinking when we came on deck, but there was no +panic. The big engines of the ship were all working at the pumps, but +the water was steadily gaining in spite of them. With each roll of the +ship it could be heard like the roar of the surf. All the day was +passed +in anxiously watching for a sail. We could not talk of religion, for +the +first word brought forth a hundred exclamations, 'Are we sinking?' Then +in that first night one woman went insane. It seemed an age until the +Sabbath morning came, When the vigil on the deck was resumed.<br> +<br> +"I think that was the darkest night in all our lives. None of us +thought +to live to see the light of another day. Nobody slept. We were all +huddled in the saloon of the first cabin--Americans and Germans, Jews, +Protestants, Catholics and skeptics--although at that time I doubt if +there were many skeptics among us. For forty-eight hours we were in +this +mortal fear.<br> +<br> +"Sabbath morning dawned upon as wretched a ship's company as ever +sailed +the sea. There was at that time no talk of religious services. I think +that if this had been suggested then there would have been a panic. To +talk of religion to those poor people would have been to suggest the +most terrible things to them. Everybody was waiting for his neighbor to +say: 'Are we, then, doomed to die?'<br> +<br> +"But as night approached I gathered those 700 quaking souls together +and +we held a prayer meeting. I think everybody prayed. There were no +skeptics present. I have been under fire in the war, I have stood by +deathbeds during the cholera epidemic in Chicago, but I never was so +sorely tried. I could with difficulty command my voice as I read the +ninety-first Psalm. I read without comment, and then I prayed that God +would still the anger of the deep and bring us safely to our desired +heaven. The people were weeping all around me. I also read from the +107th Psalm.<br> +<br> +"We tried to sing. I gave out the first verse of 'Jesus, Lover of My +Soul,' and General Howard started the tune. He sang the hymn through in +a strong voice, but very few joined him. Instead, the melody was +punctuated by broken sobs and exclamation of grief. That night I went +to +bed and slept, I felt that everything would be all right.<br> +<br> +"Never was a more earnest meeting held than this. All prayed together, +and I did not hear much talk of skepticism, I can tell you. At 2:30 +o'clock in the morning a ship's light was sighted, and in a few hours +we +were comparatively safe, although our danger was not over. The strain +on +our minds was almost as great, and minds gave way under it. Two women +became violently insane and it was necessary to confine them. A young +man from Vienna threw himself overboard and was drowned.<br> +<br> +"When we were finally safe in port we had a thanksgiving service, and +then such singing as there was--such praises that went up.<br> +<br> +"We prayed that the ship be brought to a haven, and relief came on the +night after our prayer meeting. I am a firm believer in prayer. I +always +have been. I believe and I know that God saved the Spree in response to +our prayers."<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +PUBLISHED BY<br> +RHODES & McCLURE PUBLISHING CO.,<br> +CHICAGO.<br> +<br> +All handsomely bound in the best English and American cloths, with full +Silver embossed side and back stamp; uniform, in style and binding. +Together making a handsome library, or, separately, making handsome +center-table volumes. PRICE, $1.00 EACH. SENT POST-PAID.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/204Lincoln.jpg" style="width: 197px; height: 284px;"><br> +Portrait of Lincoln.<br> +<br> +ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES; in one volume, complete New +(1897) edition, handsomely illustrated; containing the many witty, +pointed and unequaled stories as told by Mr. Lincoln, including Early +life stories, Professional life stories, White House and War stories; +also presenting the full text of the popular Speeches of Mr. Lincoln on +the great questions of the age, including his "First Political Speech," +"Rail-Splitting Speech," "Great Debate with Douglas," and his Wonderful +Speech at Gettysburg, etc., etc.; and including his two great +Inaugurals, with many grand illustrations. An instructive and valuable +book; 477 pages.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/204Moody.jpg" style="width: 235px; height: 298px;"><br> + Portrait of Moody.<br> +<br> +MOODY'S ANECDOTES; 210 pages exclusive of engravings. Containing +several +hundred interesting stories, told by the great evangelist, D. L. Moody, +in his wonderful work in Europe and America. Hundreds of thousands of +copies have been sold. Illustrated with excellent engravings of Messrs. +Moody, Sankey, Whittle and Bliss, and thirty-two full-page engravings +from Gustave Dore, making and artistic and handsome volume. "A book of +anecdotes which have thrilled hundreds of thousands,"--Pittsburg Banner.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +MOODY'S GOSPEL SERMONS. As delivered by the great Evangelist, Dwight +Lyman Moody, in his revival work in Great Britain and America, Together +with a biography of Mr. Moody and his co-laborer, Ira David Sanke. +Including, also, a short history of the Great Revival. Each sermon is +illustrated with a handsome, full page engraving from Gustave Dore. The +book also contains an engraving of D. L. Moody, Ira D. Sankey, Mr. +Moody +preaching in the Royal Opera House, Haymarket, London, Chicago +Tabernacle (erected for Mr. Moody's Services) and "I Am the Way." A +handsome and attractive volume of 443 pages.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +MOODY'S LATEST SERMONS. As delivered by the great Evangelist, Dwight +Lyman Moody. Handsomely illustrated with twenty-four full-page +engravings from Gustave Dore. 335 pages.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +MOODY'S CHILD STORIES. As related by Dwight Lyman Moody in his revival +work. Handsomely illustrated with sixteen full-page engravings from +Gustave Dore and 106 illustrations from J. Stuart Littlejohn. A book +adapted to children, but interesting to adults. A handsome volume. +Should be in every family 237 pages. + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Moody's Anecdotes And Illustrations, by +Dwight L. Moody + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOODY'S ANECDOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS *** + +***** This file should be named 19830-h.htm or 19830-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/8/3/19830/ + +Produced by Don Kostuch + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. 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0000000..8941aca --- /dev/null +++ b/19830-h/images/Moody.jpg diff --git a/19830-h/images/Sankey.jpg b/19830-h/images/Sankey.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..787f129 --- /dev/null +++ b/19830-h/images/Sankey.jpg diff --git a/19830-h/images/Wittle.jpg b/19830-h/images/Wittle.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e2adeb4 --- /dev/null +++ b/19830-h/images/Wittle.jpg diff --git a/19830.txt b/19830.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0a0cafe --- /dev/null +++ b/19830.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7926 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Moody's Anecdotes And Illustrations, by Dwight L. Moody + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Moody's Anecdotes And Illustrations + Related in his Revival Work by the Great Evangilist + +Author: Dwight L. Moody + +Release Date: November 16, 2006 [EBook #19830] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOODY'S ANECDOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS *** + + + + +Produced by Don Kostuch + + + + + +[Transcriber's Notes] + +Here are the definitions of some unfamiliar (to me) terms. + +antediluvian + Person who lived before the Biblical Flood. Very old or old-fashioned. + +cavil + Raise irritating and trivial objections; find fault unnecessarily. + +conies + Rabbits + +Chromo (chromolithograph) + Colored print + +livery (clothing) + Distinctive uniform. + +tares + Weedy plants of the genus Vicia, especially the common vetch. Several + weedy plants that grow in grain fields. + +[End Transcriber's Notes] + + +MOODY'S +ANECDOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. + +RELATED IN HIS REVIVAL WORK +BY THE GREAT EVANGELIST +DWIGHT L. MOODY. + +FULLY ILLUSTRATED FROM GUSTAVE DORE + +REVISED EDITION. +EDITED BY +REV. J. B. McClure. + + +CHICAGO: +Rhodes & McClure Publishing Co. +1899 + + +Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1896 by the +Rhodes & McClure Publishing Company, +in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C. +All Rights Reserved. + + + +PREFACE. + +The breathless interest given to Mr. Moody's anecdotes while being +related by him before his immense audiences, and their wonderful power +upon the human heart, suggested to the compiler this volume, and led him +to believe and trust that, properly classified and arranged in book +form, they would still carry to the general reader a measure of their +original potency for good. The best anecdotes have been selected and +carefully compiled under appropriate headings, alphabetically arranged, +making the many stories easily available for the private reader and +public teacher. Mr. Moody's idiom has been strictly preserved. He tells +the story. "Gold" will be found scattered through the volume, which +includes Mr. Moody's terse declarations of many precious and timely +truths. + +The compiler acknowledges the benefit received from the extended reports +of the Tabernacle meetings given in the Daily press of Chicago, also the +Hippodrome services reported in the New York papers, and the volume of +Addresses revised by Mr. Moody. With the earnest prayer that God's +blessing may accompany the reading of these stories that have blessed so +many thousands as they fell from the lips of the great Evangelist, this +volume is dedicated to the public by the compiler, + J. B. McClure + Chicago, Ill. + + + +REVISED EDITION. + +We retain in this, all that was in former editions and give forty pages +additional of new anecdotes, properly classified, taken from the revival +work in Boston and elsewhere. We also give engravings of Messrs. Moody, +Sankey, Whittle, and the late lamented P. P. Bliss, the four evangelists +who have so long and industriously labored together, and whose names +conjoined, are household words throughout the land. The hearty reception +already given by the public to this book justifies these improvements, +which are gladly made, and which lead the compiler to hope that in this +form the volume may prove yet more interesting and effective for good. + +The engraving of Mr. Moody is from a copyrighted photograph by Gentile, +used by permission. That of Mr. Whittle is by the same artist. + +J. B. Mc. + + + +REVISED EDITION 1896 + +This edition includes additional anecdotes and many handsome and +appropriate illustrations. + +Over one million copies of this book have been sold since the first +issue. No single volume in the history of literature on the American +continent has met with such a sale, and probably the only approximate +comparison in the world is that of "Pilgrim's Progress." + +Both of these volumes, it should be noted, derive their merited power +and success from the vital truths of the Holy Scriptures which they so +aptly illustrate. May Heaven's blessing follow. + +J. B. McClure +Chicago, Ill. + + + +[Illustration: Portrait of D. L. Moody] + + +DWIGHT L. MOODY + +Self-made, and conscious of the absolute truthfulness of every Bible +declaration, Dwight Lyman Moody is today, perhaps, the most independent +and powerful of living evangelists. Man, rather than books, and God, +rather than man, have been his study, and made his life intensely +individual, and one which has constantly increased in good works. In his +thirty-five years labor for Christ, from his mission class of fourteen +scholars in a Chicago saloon, down to the ten thousand listening souls +in the Halls of Europe and Tabernacles of America, he has been the same +faithful, persevering, original, and pungent D. L. Moody, with an +unshaken faith in God, and a burning desire for the conversion of souls. +At home Mr. Moody is cheerful and happy; in the social circle he is +genial and companionable; in the pulpit he is Truth on fire. His native +town is Northfield, Mass., where he was born February 5th, 1837. He is +therefore now, (1896), fifty-nine years old. + + + +IRA D. SANKEY. + +Ira David Sankey, known throughout the world as the companion of Mr. +Moody, was born in Edenburg, Pa., August 28, 1840. His musical talents +were early developed. Political glee clubs at first monopolized his +genius, but after his conversion in 1857, the Sunday School and Church +opened wider fields, in which he has since labored with increasing +usefulness. In June, 1870, at a Christian Convention in Indianapolis, +after a morning service, where Mr. Sankey led the singing, he met, for +the first time, Mr. Moody. "Where do you live! Are you married? What +business are you in?" at once inquired the Evangelist; "I want you." +"What for?" "To help me in my work in Chicago." "I cannot leave my +business," replied the now astonished singer. "You must," said Moody. "I +have been looking for you for the last eight years." And thus was Mr. +Sankey "called" to be the companion and helper of the great Evangelist. +They have been laboring together, for about a score of years. + + +[Illustration: Portrait of IRA D. SANKEY] + + + +D. W. WHITTLE. + +For many years D. W. Whittle has been engaged in evangelistic work, +giving it all his time, talents and energy. His first effort in +connection with Mr. Bliss, who afterwards became his companion in the +cause, was made over twenty years ago in a small town near Chicago. It +was on this occasion that he told the story, "Hold the Fort," which the +"Singing Evangelist" has rendered immortal. He is in the prime of life, +and earnestly devoted to the Master's cause. His discourses are concise +and clear, abounding with Scripture quotations, and, like those of Mr. +Moody, interspersed with pointed anecdotes and illustrations. His +preaching has been signally blessed wherever he has been called to +labor. + + +[Illustration: Portrait of D. W. WHITTLE] + + + +P. P. BLISS + +Philip Paul Bliss, the "Sweet Singer," was born in Clearfield County, +Pa., in 1837. It was not until after he had reached the period of +manhood that he "felt the stirrings of his musical gift." And then, +under the inspiration of his wife, he entered upon the study of musical +science, and laid the basis of his immortal "hymns," now sung around the +world. In 1864 he removed to Chicago, where his musical talent and +Christian character soon placed him in charge of the choir and Sunday +School of the First Congregational Church, and where he made the +acquaintance of D. W. Whittle, with whom, for the last five years of his +life he labored in the great Gospel work. Deep spirituality and +persuasiveness pervade all of Mr. Bliss' musical compositions. It is +doubtful if the world ever heard sweeter hymns. Had he lived longer we +should have heard more, but God, who raised him up for the work, called +him: + + For those who sleep, + And those who weep, + Above the portals narrow + The mansions rise + Beyond the skies-- + We're going home to-morrow. + + + +[Illustration: Portrait of P. P. BLISS] + + + +CONTENTS. + +A + +A Blind Man Preaches to 3,000,000 People +A Boy's Mistake--A Sad Reconciliation +A Business Man Confessing Christ +A Child at Its Mother's Grave +A Child Looking for its Lost Mother +A Child's Prayer Answered +A Child Visits Abraham Lincoln and Saves the Life of a Condemned Soldier +A Commercial Traveler +A Day of Decision +A Defaulter's Confession +A Distiller Interrogates Moody +A Dream +A Dying Infidel's Confession +A Father's Love for his Boy +A Father's Love Trampled under Foot +A Father's Mistake +Affection +Affliction +A Good Excuse +A Heavy Draw on Alexander the Great +A Little Boy Converts his Mother +A Little Boy's Experience +A Little Child Converts an Infidel +All Right or All Wrong +A London Doctor Saved after Fifty Years of Prayer +A Long Ladder Tumbles to the Ground +Always Happy +A Man Drinks up a Farm +A Man who Would not Speak to his Wife +A Mother Dies that her Boy May Live +A Mother's Mistake +An Emperor Sets Forty Million Slaves Free +Angry at First--Saved at Last +An Infidel who would not Talk Infidelity before his Daughter +An Irishman Leaps into the Life-boat +A Remarkable Case +A Rich Father Visits his Dying Prodigal +Son in a Garret and Forgives him +Arthur P. Oxley! Your Mother Wishes to See You +A Rumseller's Son Blows his Brains Out +A Sad and Singular Story +Assurance +A Story Moody Never Will Forget +A Voice from the Tomb +A Wife's Faith +A Zealous Young Lady + +B + +Believe +Bible Study +Black-Balled by Man--Saved by Christ +Blind +Broken Hearts +By the Wayside + +C + +Calling the Roll of Heaven +Cast Out but Rescued +Child Stories +Christian Work +Christian Zeal +Christ Saves +Condemned to be Shot +Confessing Christ +Conversion + +D + +Decision +Deliverance +"Deluged With Blood" +Dr. Arnott's Dog "Rover" + +E +"Emma. This is Papa's Friend" +Engaging Rooms Ahead +Excused at Last +Excuses + +F + +Faith +Faith More Powerful than Gunpowder +"Father, Father, Come This Way" +Five Million Dollars +Forgiveness +Forty-one Little Sermons +Four-score and Five +"Free" + +G + +George H. Stewart Visits a Doomed Criminal +Get the Key to Job +Gold (Appears in many pages) +Governor Pollock and the Condemned Criminal +Grace + +H + +Heaven +"He Will Not Rest" +"Hold the Fort, for I am Coming" +How a Citizen Became a Soldier +How a Little Study Upset the Plans of a few Prominent Infidels +How a Young Irishman Opened Moody's Eyes +How Christ Expounded It +"How Funny You Talk" +How Moody's Faith Saved an Infidel +How Moody's Mother Forgave her Prodigal Son +How Moody Treated the Committees +How Moody was Blessed--Mark your Bible +How Moody was Encouraged +How Three Sunday-School Children Met their Fate + +I + +I Am not All Right +I Am not One of the Elect +I Am Trusting Jesus--A Young Lady's Trust. +I Can't Feel +"I Don't Know" +"If I Knew" +I Have Intellectual Difficulties +"I Know" +Infidel Books +Infidelity +Intemperance +It's Better Higher Up +"It Will Kill Her" + +J + +Jesus "Wants them All to Come" +Johnny, Cling Close to the Rock +Jumping into Father's Arms + +L + +Lady Ann Erkskine and Rowland Hill +"Let the Lower Lights be Burning" +Liberty +Liberty Now and Forever +Little Folks +Little Jimmy +Little Moody +Love +Love, not the Rattan, Conquers Little Moody +Love's Triumph in John Wannamaker's Sunday-School + +M +Madness and Death +Money Blind +Moody and his Little Willie +Moody and the Dying Soldier +Moody and the Infidel +Moody and the Judge +Moody Asks a Few Questions +Moody a Young Convert +Moody in a Billiard Hall--A Remarkable Story +Moody in a California Sunday-School +Moody in Prison +Moody on Duty--How he Loves his Mother +Moody Puts a Man in his Prophets Room +Moody Visits Prang's Chromo Establishment +Moody with Gen. Grant's Army In Richmond +Moody's Declaration +Moody's First Impulse in Converting Souls +Moody's First Sermon on Grace +Moody's Little Emma +Moody's Mistake +Mothers Are Looking down from Heaven +"More to Follow" +Mr. Morehouse's Illustration +Mrs. Moody Teaching her Child + +N + +Napoleon and the Conscript +Napoleon and the Private +Never to see its Mother +Note What Jesus Says + +O + +Obedience +O, Edward +Old Sambo and his Massa +One Book at a Time +One Word +Out of Libby Prison + +P + +Parental +Peter's Confession +Praise +Prayer +Prayer Answered +Pull for the Shore +"Pull for the Shore, Sailor" + +R + +Rational Belief +Reaping +Reaping the Whirlwind +Removing the Difficulties +Reuben Johnson Pardoned + +S + +Sad Ending of a Life that Might Have Been Otherwise +Sad Lack of Zeal +Safe In the Ark +Sambo and the Infidel Judge +Satan's Match +Saved +"Saved" +Saved and Saving +Snapping the Chains +Song Stories +Sowing the Tares +Spurgeon and the Little Orphan +Spurgeon's Parable +Stubborn Little Sammy +Sudden Conversion (See Conversion) + +T + +Taking the Prince at his Word +Ten Years in a Sick Bed--yet Praising God +Terribly in Earnest +That is the Price of my Soul +"That is Your Fault" +The Arrows of Conviction +The Artist and the Beggar +The Bible +The Blind Beggar +The Blood +The Cross and Crown +The Cruel Mother--Hypothetical +The Czar and the Soldier +The Demoniac +The Drunken Father and his Praying Child +The Dying Boy +The Dying Child +The Eleventh Commandment +The Faithful Aged Woman +The Faithful London Lady +The Faithful Missionary +The Family that Hooted at Moody +The Fettered Bird Freed +The Finest Looking Little Boy Mr. Moody Ever Saw +The Horse that was Established +The "I am's," "I will's," Etc. +The Invitation +The King's Pardon +The Little Child and the Big Book +The Little Tow-headed Norwegian +The Loving Father +The Missing Stone +The Moody and Sankey Humbug +The Most Hopeless Man in New York now a Sunday-school Superintendent +The Orphan's Prayer +The Place of Safety +The Praying Cripple +The Praying Mother +The Prodigal Son +The Repentent Father +The Reporter's Story +The Rich Man Poor +The Scotch "Draw the Bible" on False Doctrine +The Scotch Lassie +The Scotch Lassie and Dr. Chalmers +The Sinner's Prayer Heard +The Skeptical Lady ? +The Sleep of Death +The Stolen Boy--A Mother's Love +The Two Fathers +The Way of the Transgressor is Hard +The Young Convert +The Young French Nobleman and the Doctor +Those Hypocrites +"Three Cheers" +True Love +Trust +Two Young Men + +V + +Very Hard, yet Very Easy +Very Orthodox + +W + +"We Will Never Surrender" +What a Woman Did +What Moody saw in a Chamber of Horror +Wisdom +Word Pictures +Why Did he not Take his Wife along? +"Won by a Smile" + +Y + +"You Know me, Moody" +Young Moody, Penniless in Boston, +is Warned by his Sister to "Beware of Pick-pockets" + + + +D. L. MOODY'S +Anecdotes and Illustrations. + + +AFFECTION + +Love, not the Rattan, Conquers Little Moody. + +I remember when a boy, I used to go to a certain school in New England, +where we had a quick-tempered master, who always kept a rattan. It was, +"If you don't do this, and don't do that, I'll punish you." I remember +many a time of this rattan being laid upon my back. I think I can almost +feel it now. He used to rule that school by the law. But after a while +there was somebody who began to get up a movement in favor of +controlling the school by love. A great many said you can never do that +with those unruly boys, but after some talk it was at last decided to +try it. I remember how we thought of the good time we would have that +winter when the rattan would be out of the school. We thought we would +then have all the fun we wanted. I remember who the teacher was--it was +a lady--and she opened the school with prayer. We hadn't seen it done +before and we were impressed, especially when she prayed that she might +have grace and strength to rule the school with love. Well, the school +went on for several weeks and we saw no rattan, but at last the rules +were broken, and I think I was the first boy to break them. She told me +to wait till after school and then she would see me. I thought the +rattan was coming out sure, and stretched myself up in warlike attitude. +After school, however, I didn't see the rattan, but she sat down by me +and told me how she loved me, and how she had prayed to be able to rule +that school by love, and concluded by saying, "I want to ask you one +favor--that is; if you love me, try and be a good boy;" and I never gave +her trouble again. She just put me under grace. And that is what the +Lord does. God is love, and He wants us all to love Him. + + + +True Love. + +One day when I was in Brooklyn, I saw a young man going along the street +without any arms. A friend who was with me, pointed him out, and told me +his story. When the war broke out he felt it to be his duty to enlist +and go to the front. He was engaged to be married, and while in the army +letters passed frequently between him and his intended wife. After the +battle of the Wilderness the young lady looked anxiously for the +accustomed letter. For a little while no letter was received. At last +one came in a strange hand. She opened it with trembling fingers, and +read these words: "We have fought a terrible battle. I have been wounded +so awfully that I shall never be able to support you. A friend writes +this for me. I love you more tenderly than ever, but I release you from +your promise. I will not ask you to join your life with the maimed life +of mine:" That letter was never answered. The next train that left, the +young lady was on it. She went to the hospital. She found out the number +of his cot, and she went down the aisle, between the long rows of the +wounded men. At last she saw the number, and, hurrying to his side, she +threw her arms around his neck and said: "I'll not desert you. I'll take +care of you." He did not resist her love. They were married, and there +is no happier couple than this one. We are dependent on one another. +Christ says, "I'll take care of you. I'll take you to this bosom of +mine." That young man could have spurned her love; he could, but he +didn't. Surely you can be saved if you will accept the Saviour's love. +If God loves us, my friends, He loves us unto the end. "For God so loved +the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth +in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." + + + +How a Young Irishman Opened Moody's Eyes. + +I want to tell you how I got my eyes open to the truth that God loves +the sinner. When I went over to Europe I was preaching in Dublin, when a +young fellow came up to the platform and said to me that he wanted to +come to America and preach. He had a boyish appearance; did not seem to +be over seventeen years old. I measured him all over, and he repeated +his request, and asked me when I was going back. I told him I didn't +know; probably I should not have told him if I had known. I thought he +was too young and inexperienced to be able to preach. In course of time +I sailed for America, and hadn't been here long before I got a letter +from him, dated New York, saying that he had arrived there. I wrote him +a note and thought I would hear no more about him, but soon I got +another letter from him, saying that he was coming soon to Chicago, and +would like to preach. I sent him another letter, telling him if he came +to call upon me, and closed with a few common-place remarks. I thought +that would settle him, and I would hear no more from him. But in a very +few days after he made his appearance. I didn't know what to do with +him. I was just going off to Iowa, and I went to a friend and said: "I +have got a young Irishman--I thought he was an Irishman, because I met +him in Ireland--and he wants to preach. Let him preach at the +meetings--try him, and if he fails, I will take him off your hands when +I come home." When I got home--I remember it was on Saturday morning--I +said to my wife: "Did that young man preach at the meetings?" "Yes." +"How did they like him?" "They liked him very much," she replied: "He +preaches a little different from you; he preaches that God loves +sinners." I had been preaching that God hated sinners; that he had been +standing behind the sinners with a double-bladed sword, ready to cut the +heads of the sinners off. So I concluded if he preached different from +me, I would not like him. My prejudice was up. Well, I went down to the +meeting that night, and saw them coming in with their Bibles with them. +I thought it was curious. It was something strange to see the people +coming in with Bibles, and listen to the flutter of the leaves. The +young man gave out his text, saying: "Let us turn to the third chapter +of John, and sixteenth verse: 'For God so loved the world that He gave +His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, +but have everlasting life.'" He didn't divide up the text at all. He, +went from Genesis to Revelation, giving proof that God loved the sinner, +and before he got through two or three of my sermons were spoiled. I +have never preached them since. + +The following day--Sunday--there was an immense crowd flocking into the +hall, and he said, "Let us turn to the third chapter of John, sixteenth +verse: 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, +that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting +life;'" and he preached the fourth sermon from this verse. He just +seemed to take the whole text and throw it at them, to prove that God +loved the sinner, and that for six thousand years he had been trying to +convince the world of this. I thought I had never heard a better sermon +in my life. It seemed to be new revelation to all. Ah, I notice there +are some of you here who remember those times; remember those nights. I +got a new idea of the blessed Bible. On Monday night I went down and the +young man said, "Turn to the third chapter of John, sixteenth verse;" +and he seemed to preach better than ever. Proof after proof was quoted +from Scripture to show how God loved us. I thought sure he had exhausted +that text, but on Tuesday he took his Bible in his hand and said: "Turn +to the third chapter of John, sixteenth verse,'" and he preached the +sixth sermon from that verse. He just seemed to climb over his subject, +while he proved that there was nothing on earth like the love of Christ, +and he said "If I can only convince men of His love, if I can but bring +them to believe this text; the whole world will be saved." On Thursday +he selected the same text, John iii., 16, and at the conclusion of the +sermon he said: "I have been trying to tell you for seven nights now, +how Christ loves you, but I cannot do it. If I could borrow Jacob's +ladder and climb up to heaven, and could see Gabriel there and ask him +to tell me how much God loves me, he would only say, "God so loved the +world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in +Him should not perish; but have everlasting life." How a man can go out +of this tabernacle after hearing this text, saying, "God does not love +me," is a mystery to me. + + + +Love's Triumph in John Wannamaker's Sunday School. + +Mr. John Wannamaker, superintendent of probably one of the largest +Sunday schools in the world, had a theory that he would never put a boy +out of his school for bad conduct. He argued if a boy misbehaved +himself, it was through bad training at home, and that if he put him out +of the school no one would take care of him. Well, this theory was put +to the test one day. A teacher came to him and said, "I've got a boy in +my class that must be taken out; he breaks the rules continually, he +swears and uses obscene language, and I cannot do anything with him." +Mr. Wannamaker did not care about putting the boy out, so he sent the +teacher back to his class. But he came again and said that unless the +boy was taken from his class, he must leave it. Well, he left, and a +second teacher was appointed. The second teacher came with the same +story, and met with the same reply from Mr. Wannamaker. And he resigned. +A third teacher was appointed, and he came with the same story as the +others. Mr. Wannamaker then thought he would be compelled to turn the +boy out at last. One day a few teachers were standing about, and Mr. +Wannamaker said: "I will bring this boy up and read his name out in the +school, and publicly excommunicate him." Well, a young lady came up and +said to him: "I am not doing what I might for Christ, let me have the +boy; I will try and save him." But Mr. Wannamaker said: "If these young +men cannot do it, you will not." But she begged to have him, and Mr. +Wannamaker consented. + +She was a wealthy young lady, surrounded with all the luxuries of life. +The boy went to her class, and for several Sundays he behaved himself +and broke no rule. But one Sunday he broke one; and, in reply to +something she said, spit in her face. She took out her pocket- +handkerchief and wiped her face, but she said nothing. Well, she thought +upon a plan, and she said to him; "John,"--we will call him +John,--"John, come home with me." "No," says he, "I won't; I won't be +seen on the streets with you." She was fearful of losing him altogether +if he went out of the school that day, and she said to him, "Will you +let me walk home with you?" "No; I won't," said he, "I won't be seen on +the street with you." Then she thought upon another plan. She thought on +the "Old Curiosity Shop," and she said, "I won't be at home tomorrow or +Tuesday, but if you will come round to the front door on Wednesday +morning there will be a little bundle for you." "I don't want it; you +may keep your own bundle." She went home, but made the bundle up. She +thought that curiosity might make him come. + +Wednesday morning arrived and he had got over his mad fit, and thought +he would just like to see what was in that bundle. The little fellow +knocked at the door, which was opened, and he told his story. She said: +"Yes; here is the bundle." The boy opened it and found a vest and a coat +and other clothing, and a little note written by the young lady, which +read something like this: + +"DEAR JOHNNIE:--Ever since you have been in my class I have prayed for +you every morning and evening, that you might be a good boy and I want +you to stop in my class. Do not leave me." + +The next morning, before she was up, the servant came to her and said +there was a little boy below who wished to see her. She dressed hastily, +and went downstairs, and found Johnnie on the sofa weeping. She put her +arms around his neck, and he said to her, "My dear teacher, I have not +had any peace since I got this note from you. I want you to forgive me." +"Won't you let me pray for you to come to Jesus?" replied the teacher. +And she went down on her knees and prayed. And now Mr. Wananamaker says +that boy is the best boy in his Sunday-school. And so it was love that +broke that boy's heart. + + + +AFFLICTION. + +A Child Visits Abraham Lincoln, and Saves the Life of a Condemned Soldier. + +During the war I remember a young man, not twenty, who was +court-martialed down in the front and sentenced to be shot; The story +was this: The young fellow had enlisted. He was not obliged to, but he +went off with another young man. They were what we would, call "chums." +One night this companion was ordered out on picket duty, and he asked +the young man to go for him. The next night he was ordered out himself; +and having been awake two nights, and not being used to it, fell asleep +at his post, and for the offense he was tried and sentenced to death. It +was right after the order issued by the President that no interference +would be allowed in cases of this kind. This sort of thing had become +too frequent, and it must be stopped. When the news reached the father +and mother in Vermont it nearly broke their hearts. The thought that +their son should be shot was too great for them. They had no hope that +he would be saved by anything they could do. But they had a little +daughter who had read the life of Abraham Lincoln, and knew how he had +loved his own children, and she said: "If Abraham Lincoln knew how my +father and mother loved my brother he wouldn't let mm he shot." That +little girl thought this matter over and made up her mind to see the +President. She went to the White House, and the sentinel, when he saw +her imploring looks, passed her in, and when she came to the door and +told the private secretary that she wanted to see the President, he +could not refuse her. She came into the chamber and found Abraham +Lincoln surrounded by his generals and counselors, and when he saw the +little country girl he asked her what she wanted. The little maid told +her plain, simple story--how her brother, whom her father and mother +loved very dearly, had been sentenced to be shot; how they were mourning +for him, and if he was to die in that way it would break their hearts. +The President's heart was touched with compassion, and he immediately +sent a dispatch canceling the sentence and giving the boy a parole so +that he could come home and see that father and mother. I just tell you +this to show you how Abraham Lincoln's heart was moved by compassion for +the sorrow of that father and mother, and if he showed so much do you +think the Son of God will not have compassion upon you, sinner, if you +only take that crushed, bruised heart to him? + + + +Broken Hearts. + +There is no class of people exempt from broken hearts. The rich and the +poor suffer alike. There was a time when I used to visit the poor that I +thought all the broken hearts were to be found among them, but within +the last few years I have found there are as many broken hearts among +the learned as the unlearned, the cultured as the uncultured, the rich +as the poor. If you could but go up one of our avenues and down another +and reach the hearts of the people; and get them to tell their whole +story, you would be astonished at the wonderful history of every family. +I remember a few years ago I had been out of the city for some weeks. +When I returned I started out to make some calls. The first place I went +to I found a mother; her eyes were red with weeping. I tried to find out +what was troubling her, and she reluctantly opened her heart and told me +all. She said: "Last night my only boy came home about midnight, drunk. +I didn't know that he was addicted to drunkenness, but this morning I +found out that he had been drinking for weeks, and," she continued, "I +would rather have seen him laid in the grave than have have had him +brought home in the condition I saw him in last night." I tried to +comfort her as best I could when she told me her sad story. When I went +away from that house I didn't want to go into any other house where +there was family trouble. The very next house I went to, however, where +some of the children who attended my Sunday school resided, I found that +death had been there and laid his hand on one of them. The mother spoke +to me of her afflictions, and brought to me the playthings and the +little shoes of the child, and the tears trickled down that mother's +cheeks as she related to me her sorrow. I got out as soon as possible, +and hoped I would see no more family trouble that day. + +The next visit I made was to a home where I found a wife with a bitter +story. Her husband had been neglecting her for a long time; "and now," +she said, "he has left me, and I don't know where he has gone. Winter is +coming on, and I don't know what is going to become of my family." I +tried to comfort her, and prayed with her, and endeavored to get her to +lay all her sorrows on Christ. The next home I entered I found a woman +crushed and broken-hearted. She told me her boy had forsaken her, and +she had no idea where he had gone. That afternoon I made five calls, and +in every home I found a broken heart. Everyone had a sad tale to tell, +and if you visited every house in Chicago you would find the truth in +the saying that "there is a skeleton in every house." I suppose while I +am talking you are thinking of the great sorrow in your own bosom. I do +not know anything about you, but if I were to come around to everyone of +you, and you were to tell me the truth I would hear a tale of sorrow. +The very last man I spoke to last night was a young mercantile man who +told me his load of sorrow had been so great that many times during the +last few weeks he had gone down to the lake and had been tempted to +plunge in and end his existence. His burden seemed too much for him. +Think of the broken hearts in Chicago tonight! They could be numbered by +hundreds--yea, thousands. All over this city are broken hearts. + +If all the sorrow represented in this great city were written in a book, +this building couldn't hold that book, and you couldn't read it in a +long lifetime. This earth is not a stranger to tears, neither is the +present the only time when they could be found in abundance. From Adam's +days to ours tears have been shed, and a wail has been going up to +heaven from the broken-hearted. And I say it again, it is a mystery to +me how all those broken hearts can keep away from Him who has come to +heal them. + + + +"That is Your Fault." + +I remember a mother coming to me and saying, "It is easy enough for you +to speak in that way; if you had the burden that I've got, you couldn't +cast it on the Lord." "Why, is your burden so great that Christ can't +carry it?" I asked. "No; it isn't too great for Him to carry; but I +can't put it on Him." "That is your fault," I replied; and I find a +great many people with burdens who, rather than just come to Him with +them, strap them tighter on their backs and go away struggling under +their load. I asked her the nature of her trouble, and she told me. "I +have an only boy who is a wanderer on the face of the earth. I don't +know where he is. If I only knew where he was I would go around the +world to find him. You don't know how I love that boy. This sorrow is +killing me." "Why can't you take him to Christ? You can reach Him at the +throne, even though he be at the uttermost part of the world. Go tell +God all about your trouble, and he will take away his sin, and not only +that, but if you never see him on earth, God can give you faith that you +will see your boy in heaven." And then I told her of a mother who lived +down in the southern part of Indiana. Some years ago her boy came up to +this city. He was a moralist. My friends, a man has to have more than +morality to lean upon in this great city. He hadn't been here long +before he was led astray. A neighbor happened to come up here and found +him one night in the streets drunk. + +When that neighbor went home, at first he thought he wouldn't say +anything about it to the boy's father, but afterward he thought it was +his duty to tell him. So in a crowd in the street of their little town +he just took the father aside, and told him what he had seen in Chicago. +It was a terrible blow. When the children had been put to bed that night +he said to his wife, "Wife, I have bad news. I have heard from Chicago +today." The mother dropped her work in an instant and said: "Tell me +what it is." "Well, our son has been seen on the streets of Chicago, +drunk." Neither of them slept that night, but they took their burden to +Christ, and about daylight the mother said: "I don't know how, I don't +know when or where, but God has given me faith to believe that our son +will be saved and will never come to a drunkard's grave." + +One week after, that boy left Chicago. He couldn't tell why--an unseen +power seemed to lead him to his mother's home, and the first thing he +said on coming over the threshold was, "Mother, I have come home to ask +you to pray for me;" and soon after he came back to Chicago a bright and +shining light. If you have a burden like this, fathers, mothers, bring +it to Him and cast it on Him, and He, the Great Physician, will heal +your broken hearts. + + + +"It will Kill Her." + +I was thinking to-day of the difference between those who knew Christ +when trouble comes upon them and those who knew Him not. I know several +members of families who are just stumbling into their graves over +trouble. I know two widows in Chicago who are weeping and mourning over +the death of their husbands, and their grief is just taking them to +their graves. Instead of bringing their burdens to Christ, they mourn +day and night, and the result will be that in a few weeks or years at +most their sorrow will take them to their graves when they ought to take +it all to the Great Physician. Three years ago a father took his wife +and family on board that ill-fated French steamer. They were going to +Europe, and when out on the ocean another vessel ran into her and she +went down. That mother when I was preaching in Chicago used to bring her +two children to the meetings every night. It was one of the most +beautiful sights I ever looked on, to see how those little children used +to sit and listen, and to see the tears trickling down their cheeks when +the Saviour was preached. It seemed as if nobody else in that meeting +drank in the truth as eagerly as those little ones. + +One-night when an invitation had been extended to all to go into the +inquiry room, one of these little children said: "Mamma, why can't I go +in too?" The mother allowed them to come into the room, and some friend +spoke to them, and to all appearances they seemed to understand the plan +of salvation as well as their elders. When that memorable night came +that mother went down and came up without her two children. Upon reading +the news I said: "It will kill her," and I quitted my post in +Edinburgh--the only time I left my post on the other side--and went down +to Liverpool to try and comfort her. But when I got there I found that +the Son of God had been there before me, and instead of me comforting +her, she comforted me. She told me she could not think of those children +as being in the sea; it seemed as if Christ had permitted her to take +those children on that vessel only that they might be wafted to Him, and +had saved her life only that she might come back and work a little +longer for Him. When she got up the other day at a mothers' meeting in +Farwell Hall, and told her story, I thought I would tell the mothers of +it the first chance I got. + +So if any of you have had some great affliction, if any of you have lost +a loving father, mother, brother, husband, or wife, come to Christ, +because God has sent Him to heal the broken-hearted. + + + +"Father, Father, Come This Way." + +I remember a number of years ago I went out of Chicago to try to preach. +I went down to a little town where was being held a Sunday-school +convention. I was a perfect stranger in the place, and when I arrived a +man stepped up to me and asked me if my name was Moody. I told him it +was, and he invited me to his house. When I got there he said he had to +go to the convention, and asked me to excuse his wife, as she, not +having a servant, had to attend to her household duties. He put me into +the parlor, and told me to amuse myself as best I could till he came +back. I sat there, but the room was dark and I could not read, and I got +tired. So I thought I would try and get the children and play with them. +I listened for some sound of childhood in the house, but could not hear +a single evidence of the presence of little ones. When my friend came +back I said: "Haven't you any children?" "Yes," he replied, "'I have +one, but she's in Heaven, and I am glad she is there, Moody." "Are you +glad that your child's dead?" I inquired. + +He went on to tell me how he had worshiped that child; how his whole +life had been bound up in her to the neglect of his Saviour. One day he +had come home and found her dying. Upon her death he accused God of +being unjust. He saw some of his neighbors with their children around +them. Why hadn't He taken some of them away? He was rebellious. After he +came home from her funeral he said: "All at once I thought I heard, her +little voice calling me, but the truth came to my heart that she was +gone. Then I thought I heard her feet upon the stairs; but I knew she +was lying in the grave. The thought of her loss almost made me mad. I +threw myself on my bed and wept bitterly. I fell asleep, and while I +slept I had a dream, but it almost seemed to me like a vision. + +"I thought I was going over a barren field, and I came to a river so +dark and chill-looking that, I was going to turn away, when all at once +I saw on the opposite bank the most beautiful sight I ever looked at. I +thought death and sorrow could never enter into that lovely region. Then +I began to see beings all so happy looking, and among them I saw my +little child. She waved her little angel hand to me and cried, 'Father, +Father, come this way.' I thought, her voice sounded much sweeter than +it did on earth. In my dream I thought I went to the water and tried to +cross it, but found it deep and the current so rapid that I thought if I +entered it would carry me away from her forever. I tried to find a +boatman to take me over, but couldn't, and I walked up and down the +river trying to find a crossing, and still she cried: 'Come this way.' +All at once I heard a voice come rolling down, 'I am the way, the truth, +and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.' The voice awoke +me from my sleep,' and I knew it was my Saviour calling me, and pointing +the way for me to reach my darling child. + +"I am now superintendent of a Sunday-school; I have made many converts; +my wife has been converted, and we will, through Jesus as the way, see +one day our child." + + + +The Place of Safety. + +My friends, there is one spot on earth where the fear or Death, of Sin, +and of Judgment, need never trouble us, the only safe spot on earth +where the sinner can stand--Calvary. Out in our western country, in the +autumn, when men go hunting, and there has not been rain for many +months, sometimes the prairie grass catches fire. Sometimes, when the +wind is strong, the flames maybe seen rolling along, twenty feet high, +destroying man and beast in their onward rush. When the frontiersmen see +what is coming, what do they do to escape? They know they cannot run as +fast as that fire can run. Not the fleetest horse can escape it. They +just take a match and light the grass around them. The flames sweep +onwards; they take their stand in the burnt district and are safe. They +hear the flames roar as they come along; they see death bearing down +upon them with resistless fury, but they do not fear. They do not even +tremble as the ocean of flame surges around them, for over the place +where they stand the fire has already past and there is no danger. There +is nothing for fire to burn. And there is one spot all earth that God +has swept over. Eighteen hundred years ago the storm burst on Calvary; +the Son of God took it into his own bosom, and now, if we take our stand +by the Cross, we are safe for time and eternity. + + + +GOLD. + +-- Christ never preached any funeral sermons. + +-- His is a loving, tender hand, full of sympathy and compassion. + +-- Take your stand on the Rock of Ages. Let death, let the judgment come: + the victory is Christ's and yours through Him. + +-- The only man who ever suffered before Christ was that servant who had + his ear cut off. But most likely in a moment afterward he had it on, + and very likely it was a better ear than ever, because whatever the + Lord does He does it well No man ever lost his life with Him. + +-- A great many people wonder why it was that Christ did not come at + once to Martha and Mary, whom He loved, whenever He heard of their + affliction. It was to try them, and it is the same with His dealings + toward us. If He seems not to come to us in our afflictions, it is + only to test us. + +-- When the Spirit came to Moses, the plagues came upon Egypt, and he + had power to destroy men's lives; when the Spirit came upon Elijah, + fire came down from heaven; when the Spirit came upon Gideon, no man + could stand before him; and when it came upon Joshua, he moved around + the city of Jericho and the whole city fell into his, hands; but when + the Spirit came upon the Son of Man, He gave His life; He healed the + broken-hearted. + +-- No matter how low down you are; no matter what your disposition has + been; you may be low in your thoughts, words, and actions; you may be + selfish; your heart may be overflowing with corruption and + wickedness; yet Jesus will have compassion upon you. He will speak + comforting words to you; not treat you coldly or spurn you, as + perhaps those of earth would, but will speak tender words, and words + of love and affection and kindness. Just come at once. He is a + faithful friend--a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. + + + +ASSURANCE. + +Napoleon and the Private. + +It is said of Napoleon that while he was reviewing his army one day, his +horse became frightened at something, and the Emperor lost his rein, and +the horse went away at full speed, and the Emperor's life was in danger. +He could not get hold of the rein, and a private in the ranks saw it, +and sprang out of the ranks towards the horse, and was successful in +getting hold of the horse's head at the peril of his own life. The +Emperor was very much pleased. Touching his hat, he said to him, "I make +you Captain of my Guard." The soldier didn't take his gun, and walk up +there. He threw it away, stepped out of the ranks of the soldiers, and +went up to where the body-guard stood. The captain of the body-guard +ordered him back into the ranks, but he said "No! I won't go!" "Why +not?" "Because I am Captain of the Guard." "You Captain of the Guard?" +"Yes;" replied the soldier. "Who said it?" and the man, pointing to the +Emperor; said, "He said it." That was enough. Nothing more could be +said. He took the Emperor at his word. My friends, if God says anything, +let us take Him at His word. "He that believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ +shall not perish, but have everlasting life." Don't you believe it? +Don't you believe you have got everlasting life? It can be the privilege +of every child of God to believe and then know that you have got it. + + + +"Five Million Dollars." + +One thing I know--I cannot speak for others, but can speak for myself; I +cannot read other minds and other hearts; I cannot read the Bible and +lay hold for others; but I can read for myself, and take God at his +word. The great trouble is that people take everything in general, and +do not take it to themselves. Suppose a man should say to me, "Moody, +there was a man in Europe who died last week, and left five million +dollars to a certain individual." "Well," I say, "I don't doubt that; +it's rather a common thing to happen," and I don't think anything more +about it. But suppose he says, "But he left the money to you." Then I +pay attention; I say, "To me?" "Yes, he left it to you." I become +suddenly interested. I want to know all about it. So we are apt to think +Christ died for sinners; He died for everybody, and for nobody in +particular. But when the truth comes to me that eternal life is mine, +and all the glories of Heaven are mine, I begin to be interested. I say, +"Where is the chapter and verse where it says I can be saved?" If I put +myself among sinners, I take the place of the sinner, then it is that +salvation is mine and I am sure of it for time and eternity. + + + +Engaging Rooms Ahead. + +Mr. Sankey and myself--going about and preaching the gospel, is nothing +new. You will find them away back eighteen hundred years ago, going off +two by two, like Brothers Bliss and Whittle, and Brothers Needham and +Stebbins, to different towns and villages. They had gone out, and there +had been great revivals in all the cities, towns, and villages they had +entered. Everywhere they had met with the greatest success. Even the +very devils were subject to them. Disease had fled before them. When +they met a lame man they said to him, "You don't want to be lame any +longer," and he walked. When they met a blind man they but told him to +open his eyes, and behold, he could see. And they came to Christ and +rejoiced over their great success, and He just said to them, "I will +give you something to rejoice over. Rejoice that your names are written +in heaven." + +Now there are a great many people who do not believe in such an +assurance as this, "Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." +How are you going to rejoice if your names are not written there? While +speaking about this some time ago, a man told me we were preaching a +very ridiculous doctrine when we preached this doctrine of assurance. I +ask you in all candor what are you going to do with this assurance if we +don't preach it? It is stated that our names are written there; blotted +out of the Book of Death and transferred to the Book of Life. + +I remember while in Europe I was traveling with a friend--she is in this +hall to-night. On one occasion we were journeying from London to +Liverpool, and the question was put as to where we would stop. We said +we would go to the "Northwestern," at Lime street, as that was the Hotel +where Americans generally stopped at. When we got there the house was +full and they could not let us in. Every room was engaged. But this +friend said, "I am going to stay here. I engaged a room ahead. I sent a +telegram on." My friends, that is just what the Christians are +doing--sending their names in ahead. They are sending a message up +saying: "Lord Jesus, I want one of those mansions You are preparing; I +want to be there." That's what they are doing. + +Every man and woman who wants one, if you have not already got one, had +better make up your mind. Send your names up now. I would rather a +thousand times have my name written in the Lamb's Book than have all the +wealth of the world rolling at my feet. + + + +"He Will Not Rest." + +Suppose a man is going to Cincinnati, and he gets on the cars, but he +feels uneasy lest, the train will take him to St. Louis instead of his +destination. He will not rest till he knows he is on the right road, and +the idea that we are on the road to eternity as fast as time can take +us, and do not know our destination, is contrary to Scripture. If we +want peace we must know it, and we can know it; it is the Word of God. +Look What Peter says: "We know we have an incorruptible dwelling." Then +in Paul's epistle to the Colossians, i., 12, "Giving thanks unto the +Father which hath made us meet"--hath made us, not going to--"to be +partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Who hath delivered +us"--not going to deliver us, but He hath delivered us: this is an +assurance--"from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the +kingdom of His dear Son." + + + +"Very Orthodox." + +A person came to me some time ago and said: "Mr. Moody, I wish you would +give me a book that preaches assurance, and that tells the children of +God it is their privilege to know they are accepted." I said, "Here is a +book; it is very orthodox. It was written by John, the most intimate +friend of Jesus while He was on earth. The man who laid his head upon +His bosom." Turn to John and see what he says in the 5th chapter, "For +in them ye think ye have eternal life." + + + +"I Don't Know." + +There is no doubt about assurance in the Word of God. A person said to +me some time ago: "I think it is great presumption for a person to say +she is saved." I asked her if she was saved. "I belong to a church," she +sobbed. "But are you saved?" "I believe it would be presumption in me to +say that I was saved." "Well I think it is a greater presumption for +anyone to say: 'I don't know if I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ +because it is written, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.'" +It is clearly stated that we have assurance. + + + +"If I Knew." + +Many think that assurance is not to be had while traveling through this +world--they must wait till they get before the terrible judgment seat to +know whether they are accepted or not. And I find some ministers preach +this precious doctrine from their pulpits. I heard of a minister who, +while on his way to the burial of a man, began to talk upon the subject +of assurance. "Why," said he, "if I knew for a certainty that I was +saved the carriage couldn't hold me. I would have to jump out with joy." +A man should be convinced that he has the gospel, before he preaches it +to anyone else. Why, a man need not try to pull a man out of the river +if he is in it himself. A man need not try to lift a man out of a pit if +he is there too. No man can preach salvation till he knows he is saved. + + + +"I Know!" + +The man of God who has fixed his feet on the rock of salvation can say +with certainty, "I know." If you have not got assurance and want it, +just believe God's Word. If you go down South and ask those three +million colored people how they think they are free, they won't talk +about their feelings; they just believe that Abraham Lincoln made them +free. They believe the proclamation, and so we must believe the +proclamation God has made in the Bible. "One thing thou teachest," that +is salvation. + + + +[Illustration: The Journey To Emmaus; GUSTAVE DORE. Luke xxiv, 13-32] + +[Illustration: Jesus Questioning The Doctors; GUSTAVE DORE. Luke ii, +41-51] + + + +Moody's Declaration. + +A great many people say, "Mr. Moody, I would like to know whether I am a +Christian or not. I would like to know if I am saved." The longer I live +the more I am convinced that it is one of the greatest privileges of a +child of God to know--to be able to say, "I am saved." The idea of +walking through life without knowing this until we get to the great +white throne is exploded. If the Bible don't teach assurance it don't +teach justification by faith; if it don't teach assurance it don't teach +redemption. The doctrine of assurance is as clear as any doctrine in the +Bible. + +How many people in the Tabernacle when I ask them if they are +Christians, say, "Well, I hope so,"--in a sort of a hesitating way. +Another class say, "I am trying to be." This is a queer kind of +testimony, my friends. I notice no man is willing to go into the inquiry +room till he has got a step beyond that. That class of Christians don't +amount to much. The real Christian puts it, "I believe; I believe that +my Redeemer liveth; I believe that if this building of flesh were +destroyed, I have a building not made with hands, eternal in the +heavens." No hoping and trusting with them. It is, "I know." Hope is +assured to the Christian. It is a sure hope; it isn't a doubting hope. +Suppose a man asked me if my name was Moody, and I said, "Well, I hope +so," wouldn't it sound rather strange? "I hope it is;" or, "I'm trying +to be Moody." Now, if a man asks you if you are a Christian, you ought +to be able to give a reason. + + +GOLD. + +-- There cannot be any peace where there is uncertainty. + +-- There is no knowledge like that of a man who knows he is saved, who + can look up and see his "title clear to mansions in the skies." + +-- I believe hundreds of Christian people are being deceived by Satan, + now on this point, that they have not got the assurance of salvation + just because they are not willing to take God at His word. + +-- "But," a man said to me, "no one has come back, and we don't know + what is in the future. It is all dark, and how can we be sure?" Thank + God! Christ came down from heaven, and I would rather have Him coming + as he does right from the bosom of the Father, than anyone else. We + can rely on what Christ says, and He says, "He that believeth on Me + shall not perish, but have everlasting life." Not that we are going + to have it when we die, but right here to-day. + +-- Now, I find a great many people who want some evidence that they have + accepted the Son of God. My friends, if you want any evidence, take + God's word for it. You can't find better evidence than that. You know + that when the Angel Gabriel came down and told Zachariah he should + have a son he wanted a further token than the angel's word. He asked + Gabriel for it and he answered, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the + presence of the Lord." He had never been doubted, and he thundered + out this to Zachariah. But he wanted a further token, and Gabriel + said, "You shall have a token: you shall be dumb till your son shall + be given you." + + + +BELIEVE. + +Moody and the Dying Soldier. + +After the battle of Pittsburgh Landing and Murfreesboro' I was in a +hospital at Murfreesboro'. And one night after midnight, I was woke up +and told that there was a man in one of the wards who wanted to see me. +I went to him and he called me "chaplain!"--I wasn't a chaplain--and he +said he wanted me to help him die. And I said, "I'd take you right up in +my arms and carry you into the kingdom of God if I could; but, I can't +do it; I can't help you to die." And he said, "Who can?" I said: "The +Lord Jesus Christ can--He came for that purpose." He shook his head and +said, "He can't save me; I have sinned all my life." And I said, "But He +came to save sinners." I thought of his mother in the North, and I knew +that she was anxious that he should die right, and I thought I'd stay +with him. I prayed two or three times, and repeated all the promises I +could, and I knew that in a few hours he would be gone. I said I wanted +to read him a conversation that Christ had with a man who was anxious +about his soul. I turned to the third chapter of John. His eyes were +riveted on me, and when I came to the 14th and 15th verses, he caught up +the words, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so +must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth on Him should +not perish, but have eternal life." He stopped me and said, "Is that +there?" I said "Yes," and he asked me to read it again, and I did so. He +leaned his elbows on the cot and clasped his hands together and said, +"That's good; won't you read it again." + +I read it the third time, and then went on with the rest of the chapter. +When I finished, his eyes were closed, his hands were folded, and there +was a smile on his face. Oh! how it was lit up! What a change had come +over it! I saw hits lips quivering, and I leaned over him and heard, in +a faint whisper; "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so +must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth on Him should +not perish, but have eternal life." He opened his eyes and said, "That's +enough; don't read any more." He lingered a few hours and then pillowed +his head on those two verses, and then went up in one of Christ's +chariots and took his seat in the Kingdom of God. + +You may spurn God's remedy and perish; but I tell you God don't want you +to perish. He says, "As I live I have no pleasure in the death of the +wicked." "Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die?" + + + +A Child at its Mother's Grave. + +I remember seeing a story some time ago in print. It has been in the +papers, but it will not hurt us to hear it again. A family in a Southern +city were stricken down with yellow fever. It was raging there, and +there were very stringent sanitary rules. The moment anybody died, a +cart went around and took the coffin away. The father was taken sick and +died and was buried, and the mother was at last stricken down. The +neighbors were afraid of the plague, and none dared go into the house. +The mother had a little son and was anxious about her boy, and afraid he +would be neglected when she was called away, so she called the little +fellow to her bedside, and said, "My boy, I am going to leave you, but +Jesus will come to you when I am gone." The mother died, the cart came +along and she was laid in the grave. The neighbors would have liked to +take the boy, but were afraid of the pestilence. He wandered about and +finally started up to the place where they had laid his mother and sat +down on the grave, and wept himself to sleep. Next morning he awoke and +realized his position--alone and hungry. A stranger came along and +seeing the little fellow sitting on the ground, asked him what he was +waiting for. The boy remembered what his mother had told him, and +answered, "I am waiting for Jesus," and told him the whole story. The +man's heart was touched, tears trickled down his cheeks and he said, +"Jesus has sent me," to which the boy replied, "You have been a good +while coming, sir." He was provided for. So it is with us. To wait for +results, we must have courage and patience and God will help us. + + + +"You Know Me, Moody." + +Well, let me illustrate it then, and perhaps you will be able to +understand it. Suppose I am dying with consumption; which I inherited +from my father or mother. I did not get it by any fault of my own, by +any neglect of my health; I inherited it, let us suppose. Well, I go to +my physician, and to the best physicians, and they all give me up. They +say I am incurable; I must die; I have not thirty days to live. Well, a +friend happens to come along and looks at me and says: "Moody, you have +got the consumption." "I know it very well; I don't want any one to tell +me that." "But," he says, "There is a remedy--a remedy, I tell you. Let +me have your attention. I want to call your attention to it. I tell you +there is a remedy." "But sir, I don't believe it. I have tried the +leading physicians in this country and in Europe, and they tell me there +is no hope." "But you know me, Moody; you have known me for years." +"Yes, sir." "Do you think, then, I would tell you a falsehood?" "No." +"Well, ten years ago I was far gone. I was given up by the physicians to +die, but I took this medicine and it cured me, I am perfectly well--look +at me;" I say that it is a very strange case. "Yes, it may be strange, +but it is a fact. That medicine cured me; take this medicine and it will +cure you. Although it has cost me a great deal, it shall not cost you +anything. Although the salvation of Jesus Christ is as free as the air, +it cost God the richest jewel of heaven. He had to give his only Son; +give all He had; He had only one Son, and He gave Him. Do not make light +of it, then, I beg of you." "Well" I say, "I would like to believe you, +but this is contrary to my reason." Hearing this, my friend goes away +and brings another friend to me and he testifies to the same thing. He +again goes away when I do not yet believe, and brings in another, and +another; and another, and they all testify to the same thing. They say +they were as bad as myself; and they took the same medicine that has +been offered to me, and it cured them. He then hands me the medicine. I +dash it to the ground; I do not believe in its saving power: I die. The +reason is, then, that I spurned the remedy. + +So it will not be because Adam fell, but that you spurn the remedy +offered to you to save you. You will have darkness rather than light. +How, then, shall ye escape if ye neglect so great salvation? There is no +hope for you if you neglect the remedy. + + + +Rational Belief. + +Once there were a couple of men arranging a balloon ascension. They +thought they had two ropes fastened to the car, but one of them only was +fastened, and they unfastened that one rope, and the balloon started to +go up. One of the men seized hold of the car, and the other seized hold +of the rope. Up went the balloon, and the man who seized hold of the car +went up with it, and was lost. The man who laid hold of the rope was +just as sincere as the man who laid hold of the car. There was just as +much reason to say that the man who laid hold of that would be saved +because he was sincere as the man who believed in a lie because he is +sincere in his belief. I like a man to be able to give a reason for the +faith that is in him. Once I asked a man what he believed, and he said +he believed what his church believed. I asked him what his church +believed, and he said he supposed his church believed what he did; and +that was all I could get out of him. And so men believe what other +people believe and what their church believes, without really knowing +what their church and other people do believe. + + +GOLD. + +-- God is truth. + +-- What grounds have we for not believing God? + + + +THE BIBLE. + +"How Funny You Talk." + +No book in the world has been so misjudged as the Bible. Men judge it +without reading it. Or perhaps they read a bit here and a bit there, and +then close it saying, "It is so dark and mysterious!" You take a book, +now-a-days, and read it. Some one asks you what you think about it. +"Well," you say, "I have only read it through once, not very carefully, +and I should not like to give an opinion." Yet people take up God's +book, read a few pages, and condemn the whole of it. Of all the skeptics +and infidels I have ever met speaking against the Bible, I have never +met one who read it through. There may be such men, but I have never met +them. It is simply an excuse. There is no man living who will stand up +before God and say that kept him out of the kingdom. It is the devil's +work trying to make us believe it is not true, and that it is dark and +mysterious. The only way to overcome the great enemy of souls is by the +written Word of God. He knows that, and so tries to make men disbelieve +it. As soon as a man is a true believer in the Word of God, he is a +conqueror over Satan. Young man! the Bible is true. What have these +infidels to give you in its place? What has made England but the open +Bible? Every nation that exalteth the Word of God is exalted, and every +nation that casteth it down is cast down. Oh, let us cling close to the +Bible. Of course, we shall not understand it all at once. But men are +not to condemn it on that account. Suppose I should send my little boy, +five years old, to school tomorrow morning, and when he came home in the +afternoon, say to him, "Willie, can you read? can you write? can you +spell? Do you understand all about Algebra, Geometry; Hebrew, Latin, and +Greek?" "Why, papa," the little fellow would say, "hew funny you talk. I +have been all day trying to learn the A B C!" Well; suppose I should +reply, "If you have not finished your education, you need not go any +more." What would you say? Why, you would say, I had gone mad. There +would he just as much reason in that, as in the way that people talk +about the Bible. My friends, the men who have studied the Bible for +fifty years--the wise men and the scholars, the great theologians--have +never got down to the depths of it yet. There are truths there that the +Church of God has been searching out for the last eighteen hundred +years, but no man has fathomed the depths of that ever-living stream. + + + +"How Christ Expounded It." + +You will find Christ, after He had risen, again speaking about the Old +Testament prophets: "And beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he +expounded unto them in all the Scripture the things concerning Himself." +Concerning Himself. Don't that settle the question? I tell you I am +convinced in my mind that the Old Testament is as true as the New. "And +He began at Moses and all the prophets." Mark that, "all the prophets." +Then in the forty-fourth verse: "And He said unto them, these are the +words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things +must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the +prophets and in the psalms concerning Me. Then opened He their +understanding that they might understand the Scripture." + + + +The Scotch "Draw the Bible" on False Doctrine. + +There is no place I have ever been in where people so thoroughly +understand their Bibles as in Scotland. Why, little boys could quote +Scripture and take me up on a text. They have the whole nation just +educated, as it were, with the Word of God. Infidelity cannot come +there. A man got up in Glasgow, at a corner, and began to preach +universal salvation. "Oh, sir," said an old woman, "that will never save +the like of me." She had heard enough preaching to know that it would +never save her. If a man comes among them with any false doctrine, these +Scotchmen instantly draw their Bibles on him. I had to keep my eyes open +and be careful what I said there. They knew their Bibles a good deal +better than I did. And so if the preachers could get the people to read +the Word of God more carefully, and note what they heard, there would +not be so much infidelity among us. + + + +Moody and the Infidel. + +An infidel had come the other day, to one of our meetings, and when I +talked with him, he replied that he didn't believe one-twelfth part of +the Bible, but I kept on quoting Scripture, feeling that if the man +didn't believe, God could do what He chose with His word, and make it +quick and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword. The man kept +saying that he did not believe what the Bible said, and I kept on +quoting passage after passage of Scripture, and the man, who, two hours +before, had entered the hall an infidel, went out of it a converted man, +and a short time after his conversion he left the City for Boston, a +Christian, to join his family in Europe. Before this gentleman went +away, I asked him if he believed the Bible, and his reply was: "From +back to back, every word of it." + + + +"Deluged with Blood." + +A good many years ago there was a convention held in France, and those +who held it wanted to get the country to deny a God, to burn the Bible, +wanted to say that men passed away like a dog and a dumb animal. What +was the result! Not long since, that country was filled with blood. Did +you ever think what would take place if we could vote the Bible and the +ministers of the gospel and God out from among the people? My friends, +the country would be deluged with blood. Your life and mine would not be +safe in this City to-night. We could not walk through these streets with +safety. We don't know how much we owe God and the influence of His +gospel among even ungodly men. + + + +[Illustration: The Dumb Man Possessed; GUSTAVE DORE. Matthew, ix, 32.] + + +[Illustration: The Burial Of Jesus; GUSTAVE DORE. John, xix, 38-42.] + + + +GOLD. + +-- There are over two hundred passages in the Old Testament which + prophesied about Christ, and every one of them has come true. + +-- God didn't give the world two different Bibles; they are one, and + must be believed from back to back, from Genesis to Revelations, or + not at all. + +-- I haven't found the first man who ever read the Bible from back to + back carefully who remained an infidel. My friends, the Bible of our + mothers and fathers is true. + +-- The Word of God may be darkened to the natural man, but the way of + Salvation is written so plain, that the little child six years old + can understand it if she will. + +-- Set more and more store by the Bible. Then troubles in your Christian + life will pass away like a morning cloud. You will feed and live on the + Word of God, and it will become the joy of your soul. + +-- There are dark and mysterious things in the Bible now, but when you + begin to trust Christ your eyes will be opened and the Bible will be + a new book to you. It will become the Book of books to you. + +-- I notice if a man goes to cut up the Bible and comes to you with one + truth and says, "I don't believe this, and I don't believe that,"--I + notice when he begins to doubt portions of the Word Of God he soon + doubts it all. + +-- If you will show me a Bible Christian living on the Word of God, I + will show you a joyful man. He is mounting up all the time. He has + got new truths that lift him up over every obstacle, and he mounts + over difficulties higher and higher, like a man I once heard of who + had a bag of gas fastened on either side, and if he just touched the + ground with his foot, over a wall or a hedge he would go; and so + these truths make us so light that we bound over every obstacle. + + + +BIBLE STUDY. + +How Moody was Blessed--"Mark Your Bible." + +I want to tell you how I was blessed a few years ago, upon hearing a +discourse upon the thirtieth chapter of Proverbs. The speaker said the +children of God were like four things. The first thing was: "The ants +are a people not strong," and he went on to compare the children of God +to ants. He said the people of God were like, ants. They pay no +attention to the things of the present, but go on steadily preparing for +the future. The next thing he compared them to was the conies. "The +conies are but a feeble folk." It is a very weak little thing. "Well," +said I, "I wouldn't like to be as a coney." But he went on to say that +it built upon a rock. The children of God were very weak, but they laid +their foundation upon a rock. "Well," said I, "I will be like a coney +and build my hopes upon a rock." Like the Irishman who said he trembled +himself, but the rock upon which his house was built never did. The next +thing the speaker compared them to was a locust. I didn't think much of +locusts; and I thought I wouldn't care about being like one. But he went +on to read, "They have no king, yet they go forth all of them by bands." +There were the Congregationalist, the Presbyterian, the Methodist bands +going forth without a king, but by and by our King will come back again, +and these bands will fly to Him. "Well, I will be like a locust; my King +is away," I thought. The next comparison was a spider. I didn't like +this at all, but he said if we went into a gilded palace filled with +luxury, we might see a spider holding on to something, oblivious to all +the luxury below. It was laying hold of the things above. "Well," said +I, "I would like to be a spider." I heard this a good many years ago, +and I just put the speaker's name to it, and it makes a sermon. But take +your Bibles and mark them. Don't think of wearing them out. It is a rare +thing to find a man wearing his Bible out now-a-days--and Bibles are +cheap, too. You are living in a land where they are plenty. Study them +and mark them, and don't be afraid of wearing them. + + + +Moody Visits Prang's Chromo Establishment. + +When I went to Boston, I went into Mr. Prang's chromo establishment. I +wanted to know how the work was done. He took me to a stone several feet +square, where he took the first impression, but when he took the paper +off the stone I could see no sign of a man's face there. "Wait a +little," he said. He took me to another stone, but when the paper was +lifted I couldn't see any impression yet. He took me up, up to eight, +nine, ten stones, and then I could see just the faintest outlines of a +man's face. He went on till he got up to about the twentieth stone, and +I could see the impression of a face, but he said it was not very +correct yet. Well, he went on till he got up, I think, to the +twenty-eighth stone, and a perfect face appeared, and it looked as if +all it had to do was to speak and it would be human. If you read a +chapter of the Bible and don't see anything in it, read it a second +time, and if you cannot see anything in it read it a third time. Dig +deep. Read it again and again, and even if you have to read it +twenty-eight times do so, and you will see the Man Christ Jesus, for He +is in every page of the Word. + + + +Get the Key to Job. + +An Englishman asked me some time ago, "Do you know much about Job?" +"Well, I know a little," I replied. "If you've got the key of Job, +you've got the key to the whole Bible." "What?" I replied, "I thought it +was a poetical book." "Well," said he, "I will just divide Job into +seven heads. The first is the perfect man--untried; and that is Adam and +Eve before they fell. The second head is tried by adversity--Adam after +the fall. The third is the wisdom of the world--the three friends who +came to try to help Job out of his difficulties. They had no power to +help him at all." He could stand his scolding wife, but he could not +stand them. The fourth head takes the form of the Mediator, and in the +fifth head God speaks at last. He heard him before by the ear, but he +hears Him now by the soul, and he fell down flat upon his face. A good +many men in Chicago are like Job. They think they are mighty good men, +but the moment they hear the voice of God they know they are sinners, +they are in the dust. There isn't much talk about their goodness then. +Here he was with his face down. Job learned his lesson. That was the +sixth head, and in these heads were the burdens of Adam's sin. The +seventh head was when God showed him His face. Well, I learned the key +to the Bible. I cannot tell how this helped me. I told it to another +man, and he asked me if I ever thought how he got his property back and +his sheep back. He gave Job double what he had and gave him ten children +besides, so that he should have ten in heaven besides his ten on earth. + + + +[Illustration: Jesus Blessing Children; GUSTAVE DORE. Mark, x, 13-16] + + + +One Book at a time. + +I have found it a good plan to take up one book at a time. It is a good +deal better to study one book at a time than to run through the Bible. +If we study one book and get its key, it will, perhaps, open up others. +Take up the book of Genesis, and you will find eight beginnings; or, in +other words, you pick up the key of several books. The gospel was +written that man might believe on Jesus Christ, and every chapter speaks +of Him. Now, take the book of Genesis; it says it is the book of +beginnings. That is the key; then the book of Exodus--it is the book of +redemption; that is the key word of the whole. Take up the book of +Leviticus, and we find that it is the book of sacrifices. And so on +through all the different books; you will find each one with a key. +Another thing: We must study it unbiased. A great many people believe +certain things. They believe in certain creeds and doctrines, and they +run through the book to get Scripture in accordance with them. If a man +is a Calvinistic man he wants to find something in accordance with his +doctrine. But if we go to seek truth the Spirit of God will come. Don't +seek it in the blue light of Presbyterianism, in the red light of +Methodism; or in the light of Episcopalianism, but study it in the light +of Calvary. + + + +Note what Jesus Says. + +Some people say to me, "Moody, you don't believe in the flood. All the +scientific men tell us it is absurd." Let them tell us. Jesus tells us +of it, and I would rather take the word of Jesus than that of any other +one. I haven't got much respect for those men who dig down for stones +with shovels, in order to take away the word of God. Men don't believe +in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, but we have it sealed in the New +Testament. "As, it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah." They don't +believe in Lot's wife, but He says, "Remember Lot's wife." So there is +not a thing that men to-day cavil at but the Son of God indorses. They +don't believe, in the swallowing of Jonah. They say it is impossible +that a whale could swallow Jonah--its throat is too small. They forget +that the whale was prepared for Jonah; as the colored woman said, "Why, +God could prepare a man to swallow a whale, let alone a whale to swallow +a man." + + + +One Word. + +I remember I took up the word "love," and turned to the Scriptures and +studied it, and got so that I felt I loved everybody, I got full of it. +When I went on the street, I felt as if I loved everybody I saw. It ran +out of my fingers. Suppose you take up the subject of love and study it +up. You will get so full of it that all you have got to do is to open +your lips and a flood of the love of God flows upon the meeting. If you +go into a court you will find a lawyer pleading a case. He gets +everything bearing upon one point, heaped up so as to carry his argument +with all the force he can, in order to convince the jury. Now it seems +to me a man should do the same in talking to an audience; just think +that he has a jury before him, and he wants to convict a sinner. If it +is love, get all you can upon the subject and talk love, love. + + + +The "I Ams," "I Wills," Etc. + +A favorite way to study the Bible with me, is first to take up one +expression, and run through the different places where they are found. +Take the "I ams" of John; "I am the bread of life;" "I am the water of +life;" "I am the way, the truth, and the life;" "I am the resurrection;" +"I am all, and in all." God gives to His children a blank; and on it +they can write whatever they most want and He will fill the bill. And +then the promises. A Scotchman found out thirty one thousand distinct +promises in the Word of God. There is not a despondent soul but God has +a promise just to suit him. + + +GOLD. + +-- The best truths are got by digging deep for them. + +-- When we know our Bible, then it is that God can use us. + +-- When we find a man meditating on the words of God, my friends, that + man is full of boldness and is successful. + +-- When a man is filled with the Word of God you cannot keep him still. + If man has got the Word, he must speak or die. + +-- Let us have one day exclusively to study and read the Word of God. If + we can't take time during the week, we will have Sunday + uninterrupted. + +-- Now, as old Dr. Bonner, of Glasgow, said, "The Lord didn't tell + Joshua how to use the sword, but He told him how he should meditate + on the Lord day and night, and then he would have good success." + +-- One thing I have noticed in studying the Word of God, and that is, + when a man is filled with the Spirit he deals largely with the Word + of God, whereas the man who is filled with his own ideas refers + rarely to the Word of God. He gets along without it, and you seldom + see it mentioned in his discourses. + + + +BLIND. + +A Mother's Mistake. + +While I was attending a meeting in a certain city sometime ago a lady +came to me and said: "I want you to go home with me; I have something to +say to you." When we reached her home, there were some friends there; +After they had retired, she put her arms on the table, and tears began +to come into her eyes, but with an effort she repressed her emotion. +After a struggle she went on to say that she was going to tell me +something which she had never told any other living person. I should not +tell it now; but she has gone to another world. She said she had a son +in Chicago, and she was very anxious about him. When he was young he got +interested in religion at the rooms of the young Men's Christian +Association. He used to go out in the street and circulate tracts. He +was her only son, and she was very ambitious that he should make a name +in the world, and wanted him to get into the very highest circles. Oh, +what a mistake people make about these highest circles. Society is +false; it is a sham. She was deceived like a good many more votaries of +fashion and hunters after wealth at the present time. She thought it was +beneath her son to go down and associate with those young men who hadn't +much money. She tried to get him away from them, but they had more +influence than she had, and, finally, to break his whole association, +she packed him off to a boarding-school. He went soon to Yale College, +and she supposed he got into one of those miserable secret societies +there that have ruined so many young men; and the next thing she heard +was that the boy had gone astray. + +She began to write letters urging him to come into the Kingdom of God, +but she heard that he tore the letters up without reading them. She went +to him to try and regain whatever influence she possessed over him, but +her efforts were useless, and she came home with a broken heart. He left +New Haven, and for two years they heard nothing of him. At last they +heard he was in Chicago, and his father found him and gave him $30,000 +to start in business. They thought it would change him, but it didn't. +They asked me when I went back to Chicago to try and use my influence +with him. I got a friend to invite him to his house one night, where I +intended to meet him, but he heard I was to be there, and did not come +near, like a good many other young men, who seem to be afraid of me. I +tried many times to reach him, but could not. While I was traveling one +day on the New Haven Railroad, I bought a New York paper, and in it I +saw a dispatch saying he had been drowned in Lake Michigan. His father +came on to find his body, and, after considerable searching, they +discovered it. All his clothes and his body were covered with sand. The +body was taken home to that broken-hearted mother. She said "If I +thought he was in heaven I would have peace." Her disobedience of God's +law came back upon her. + +So, my friends, if you have a boy impressed with the gospel, help him to +come to Christ. Bring him in the arms of your faith, and He will unite +you closer to him. + + + +"Pull for the Shore." + +Look at that man in a boat on Niagara River. He is only about a mile +from the rapids. A man on the bank shouts to him, "Young man, young man, +the rapids are not far away; you'd better pull for the shore." "You +attend to your own business; I will take care of myself," he replies. +Like a great many people here, and ministers, too, they don't want any +evangelist here--don't want any help, however great the danger ahead. On +he goes; sitting coolly in his boat. Now he has got a little nearer, and +a man from the bank of the river sees his danger, and shouts: "Stranger, +you'd better pull for the shore; if you go further, you'll be lost. You +can be saved now if you pull in." "Mind your business, and you'll have +enough to do; I'll take care of myself." Like a good many men, they are +asleep to the danger that's hanging over them while they are in the +current. And I say, drinking young man, don't you think you are standing +still. You are in the current, and if you don't pull for a rock of +safety you will go over the precipice. On he goes. I can see him in the +boat laughing at the danger. A man on the bank is looking at him, and he +lifts up his voice and cries, "Stranger, stranger, pull for the shore; +if you don't you'll lose your life;" and the young man laughs at +him--mocks him. That is the way with hundreds in Chicago. If you go to +them and point out their danger, they will jest and joke at you. By and +by he says: "I think I hear the rapids--yes, I hear them roar;" and he +seizes his oars and pulls with all his strength, but the current is too +great, and nearer and nearer he is drawn on to that abyss, until he +gives one unearthly scream, and over he goes. Ah, my friends, this is +the case with hundreds in this city. They are in the current of riches +of pleasure, of drink, that will take them to the whirlpool. + + + +A Blind Man Preaches to 3,000,000 People. + +I was at a meeting in London, when I was there, and I heard a man +speaking with wonderful power and earnestness. "Who is that man?" I +asked, my curiosity being excited. "Why, that is Dr. ----. He is blind." +I felt some interest in this man and at the close of the meeting, I +sought an interview, and he told me that he had been stricken blind when +very young. His mother took him to a doctor, and asked him about his +sight. "You must give up all hope," the doctor said. "Your boy is blind, +and will be forever." "What, do you think my boy will never see?" asked +his mother. "Never again." The mother took her boy to her bosom and +cried, "Oh, my boy, ''Who will take care of you when I am gone? Who will +look to you?"--forgetting the faithfulness of that God she had taught +him to love. He became a servant of the Lord and was permitted to print +the Bible in twelve different languages, printed in the raised letters, +so that all the blind people could read the Scriptures themselves. He +had a congregation, my friends, of three millions of people, and I +think that blind man was one of the happiest beings in all London. He +was naturally blind, but he had eyes to his soul, and could see a bright +eternity in the future. He had built his foundation upon the living God. +We pity those who have not their natural sight; but how you should pity +yourself if you are spiritually blind. + + + +Money Blind. + +I heard of a man who had accumulated great wealth, and death came upon +him suddenly, and he realized, as the saying is, that "there was no bank +in the shroud," that he couldn't take anything away with him; we may +have all the money on earth, but we must leave it behind us. He called a +lawyer in and commenced to will away his property before he went away. +His little girl couldn't understand exactly where he was going, and she +said: "Father, have you got a home in that land you are going to?" The +arrow went down to his soul. "Got a home there?" The rich man had hurled +away God and neglected to secure a home there for the sake of his money, +and he found it was now too late. He was money mad, he was money blind. + + + +GOLD. + +-- Now I am no prophet, nor the son of a prophet, but one thing I can + predict; that every one of our new converts that goes to studying his + Bible, and loves this book above every other book, is sure to hold + out. The world will have no charm for him; he will get the world + under his feet, because in this book he will find something better + than the world can give him. + +-- What can botanists tell you of the lily of the valley? You must study + this book for that. What can geologists tell you of the Rock of Ages, + or mere astronomers about the Bright Morning Star? In those pages we + find all knowledge unto salvation; here we read of the ruin of man by + nature, redemption by the blood, and regeneration by the Holy Ghost. + These three things run all through and through them. + + + +THE BLOOD. + +A Mother Dies that her Boy may Live. + +When the California gold fever broke out, a man went there, leaving +his wife in New England with his boy. As soon as he got on and was +successful he was to send for them. It was a long time before he +succeeded, but at last he got money enough to send for them. The wife's +heart leaped for joy. She took her boy to New York, got on board a +Pacific steamer, and sailed away to San Francisco. They had not been +long at sea before the cry of "Fire! fire!" rang through the ship, and +rapidly it gained on them. There was a powder magazine on board, and the +captain knew the moment the fire reached the powder, every man, woman, +and child must perish. They got out the life-boats, but they were too +small! In a minute they were overcrowded. The last one was just pushing +away, when the mother pled with them to take her and her boy. "No," they +said, "we have got as many as we can hold." She entreated them so +earnestly, that at last they said they would take one more. Do you think +she leaped into that boat and left her boy to die? No! She seized her +boy, gave him one last hug, kissed him, and dropped him over into the +boat. "My boy," she said, "if you live to see your father, tell him that +I died in your place." That is a faint type of what Christ has done for +us. He laid down his life for us. He died that we might live. Now will +you not love Him? What would you say of that young man if he should +speak contemptuously of such a mother! She went down to a watery grave +to save her son. Well, shall we speak contemptuously of such a Saviour? +May God make us loyal to Christ! My friends, you will need Him one day. +You will need Him when you come to cross the swellings of Jordan. You +will need Him when you stand at the bar of God. May God forbid that when +death draws nigh it should find you making light of the precious blood +of Christ! + + + +A Man Drinks up a Farm. + +A few years ago, I was going away to preach one Sunday morning, when a +young man drove up in front of us. He had an aged woman with him. "Who +is that young man?" I asked. "Do you see that beautiful meadow?" said my +friend, "and that land there with the house upon it?" "Yes" "His father +drank that all up," said he. Then he went on to tell me all about him. +His father was a great drunkard, squandered his property, died, and left +his wife in the poor-house. "And that young man," he said, "is one of +the finest young men I ever knew. He has toiled hard and earned money, +and bought back the land; he has taken his mother out of the poor-house, +and now he is taking her to church." I thought, that is an illustration +for me. The first Adam in Eden sold us for naught, but the Messiah, the +second Adam, came and bought us back again. The first Adam brought us to +the poor-house, as it were; the second Adam makes us kings and priests +unto God. That is redemption. We get in Christ all that Adam lost, and +more. Men look on the blood of Christ with scorn and contempt, but the +time is coming when the blood of Christ will be worth more than all the +kingdoms of the world. + + + +All Right or all Wrong. + +I remember when in the old country a young man came to me--a +minister--and said he wanted to talk with me. He said to me: "Mr. Moody, +you are either all right and I am all wrong, or else I am right, and you +are all wrong." "Well, sir," said I, "You have the advantage of me. You +have heard me preach, and you know what doctrines I hold, whereas I have +not heard you, and don't know what you preach." "Well," said he, "the +difference between your preaching and mine is that you make out that +salvation is got by Christ's death, and I make out that it is attained +by His life." "Now, what do you do with the passages bearing upon the +death?" and I quoted the passages, "Without the shedding of blood there +is no remission," and "He Himself bore our own sins by His own body on +the tree," and asked him what he did with them, for instance. "Never +preach them at all." I quoted a number of passages more, and he gave me +the same answer. "Well, what do you preach?" I finally asked. "Moral +essays," he replied. Said I, "Did you ever know anybody to be saved by +that kind of thing, did you ever convert anybody by them?" "I never +aimed at that kind of conversion; I meant to get men to heaven by +culture--by refinement." "Well," said I, "If I didn't preach those +texts, and only preached culture, the whole thing would be a sham." "And +it is a sham to me," was his reply. I tell you the moment a man breaks +away from this doctrine of blood, religion becomes a sham, because the +whole teaching of this book is of one story, and this is, that Christ +came into the world and died for our sins. + + + +The Fettered Bird Freed. + +A friend in Ireland once met a little Irish boy who had caught a +sparrow. The poor little bird was trembling in his hand, and seemed very +anxious to escape. The gentleman begged the boy to let it go, as the +bird could not do him any good; but the boy said he would not; for he +had chased it three hours before he could catch it. He tried to reason +it out with the boy, but in vain. At last he offered to buy the bird; +the boy agreed to the price, and it was paid. Then the gentleman took +the poor little thing and held it out on his hand. The boy had been +holding it very fast, for the boy was stronger than the bird, just as +Satan is stronger than we, and there it sat for a time, scarcely able to +realize the fact that it had got liberty; but in a little while it flew +away, chirping, as if to say to the gentleman, "Thank you! thank you! +you have redeemed me." That is what redemption is--buying back and +setting free. So Christ came back to break the fetters of sin, to open +the prison doors and set the sinner free. This is the good news, the +gospel of Christ--"Ye are not redeemed with corruptible things, as +silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ." + + + +GOLD. + +-- The most solemn truth in the gospel is that the only thing Christ + left down here is His blood. + +-- A man who covers up the cross, though he may be an intellectual man, + and draw large crowds, will have no life there, and his church will + be but a gilded sepulcher. + +-- There is either of two things we must do. One is to send back the + message to heaven that we don't want the blood of Christ to cleanse + us of our sin, or else accept it. + +-- Into every house where the blood was not sprinkled, the destroying + angel came. But wherever the blood was on door-post and lintel, + whether they had worked much, or whether they had worked none, God + passed them over. + +-- A man who has not realized what the blood has done for him has not + the token of salvation. It is told of Julian, the apostate, that + while he was fighting he received an arrow in his side. He pulled it + out, and, taking a handful of blood threw it into the air and cried, + "Galilean, Galilean, thou hast conquered." + +-- Look at that Roman soldier as he pushed his spear into the very heart + of the God-man. What a hellish deed! But what was the next thing + that took place? Blood covered the spear! Oh! thank God, the blood + covers sin. There was the blood covering that spear--the very point + of it. The very crowning act of sin brought out the crowning act of + love; the crowning act of wickedness was the crowning act of grace. + +-- It Is said that old Dr. Alexander, of Princeton College, when a young + student used to start out to preach, always gave them a piece of + advice. The old man would stand with his gray locks and his venerable + face and say: "Young man, make much of the blood in your ministry." + Now, I have traveled considerable during the past few years, and + never met a minister who made much of the blood and much of the + atonement but God had blessed his ministry, and souls were born into + the light by it. + + + +CHILD STORIES. + +"Little Moody." + +I remember when I was a boy I went several miles from home with an older +brother. That seemed to me the longest visit of my life. It seemed that +I was then further away from home than I had ever been before, or have +ever been since. While we were walking down the street we saw an old man +coming toward us, and my brother said, "There is a man that will give +you a cent. He gives every new boy that comes into this town a cent." +That was my first visit to the town, and when the old man got opposite +to us he looked around, and my brother not wishing me to lose the cent, +and to remind the old man that I had not received it, told him that I +was a new boy in the town. The old man, taking off my hat, placed his +trembling hand on my head, and told me I had a Father in heaven. It was +a kind, simple act, but I feel the pressure of the old man's hand upon +my head to-day. You don't know how much you may do by just speaking +kindly. + + + +"Won by a Smile." + +In London, in 1872, one Sunday morning a minister said to me, "I want +you to notice that family there in one of the front seats, and when we +go home I want to tell you their story." When we got home I asked him +for the story, and he said, "All that family were won by a smile." +"Why," said I, "how's that?" "Well," said he, "as I was walking down a +street one day I saw a child at a window; it smiled, and I smiled, and +we bowed. So it was the second time; I bowed, she bowed. It was not long +before there was another child, and I had got in a habit of looking and +bowing, and pretty soon the group grew, and at last, as I went by, a +lady was with them. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to bow to +her, but I knew the children expected it, and so I bowed to them all. +And the mother saw I was a minister, because I carried a Bible every +Sunday morning. So the children followed me the next Sunday and found I +was a minister. And they thought I was the greatest preacher, and their +parents must hear me. A minister who is kind to a child and gives him a +pat on the head, why the children will think he is the greatest preacher +in the world. Kindness goes a great way. And to make a long story short, +the father and mother and five children were converted, and they are +going to join our church next Sunday." + +Won to Christ by a smile! We must get the wrinkles out of our brows, and +we must have smiling faces. + + + +A Little Boy's Experience. + +One day as a young lady was walking up the street, she saw a little boy +running out of a shoemaker's shop, and behind him was the old shoemaker +chasing him with a wooden last in his hand. He had not run far until the +last was thrown at him, and he was struck in the back. The boy stopped +and began to cry. The Spirit of the Lord touched that young lady's +heart, and she went to where he was. She stepped up to him, and asked +him if he was hurt. He told her it was none of her business. She went to +work then to win that boy's confidence. She asked him if he went to +school. He said, "No." "Well, why don't you go to school?" "Don't want +to." She asked him if he would not like to go to Sunday school. "If you +will come," she said, "I will tell you beautiful stories and read nice +books." She coaxed and pleaded with him, and at last said that if he +would consent to go, she would meet him on the corner of a street which +they should agree upon. He at last consented, and the next Sunday, true +to his promise, he waited for her at the place designated. She took him +by the hand and led him into the Sabbath-school "Can you give me a place +to teach this little boy?" she asked of the superintendent. + +He looked at the boy, but they didn't have any such looking little ones +in the school. A place was found, however, and she sat down in the +corner and tried to win that soul for Christ. Many would look upon that +with contempt, but she had got something to do for the Master. The +little boy had never heard anybody sing so sweetly before. When he went +home he was asked where he had been. "Been among the angels," he told +his mother. He said he had been to the Protestant Sabbath-school, but +his father and mother told him he must not go there any more or he would +get a flogging. The next Sunday he went, and when he came home he got +the promised flogging. He went the second time and got a flogging, and +also a third time with the same result. At last he said to his father, +"I wish you would flog me before I go, and then I won't have to think of +it when I am there." The father said, "If you go to that Sabbath-school +again I will kill you." It was the father's custom to send his son out +on the street to sell articles to the passers-by, and he told the boy +that he might have the profits of what he sold on Saturday. The little +fellow hastened to the young lady's house and said to her, "Father said +that he would give me every Saturday to myself, and if you will just +teach me, then I will come to your house every Saturday afternoon." I +wonder how many young ladies there are that would give up their Saturday +afternoons just to lead one boy into the kingdom of God. Every Saturday +afternoon that little boy was there at her house, and she tried to tell +him the way to Christ. She labored with him, and at last the light of +God's spirit broke upon his heart. + +One day while he was selling his wares at the railroad station, a train +of cars approached unnoticed and passed over both his legs. A physician +was summoned, and the first thing after he arrived, the little sufferer +looked up into his face and said, "Doctor, will I live to get home?" +"No," said the doctor, "you are dying." "Will you tell my mother and +father that I died a Christian?" They bore home the boy's corpse and +with it the last message that he died a Christian. Oh, what a noble work +was that young lady's in saving that little wanderer! How precious the +remembrance to her! When she goes to heaven she will not be a stranger +there. He will take her by the hand and lead her to the throne of +Christ. She did the work cheerfully. Oh, may God teach us what our work +is that we may do it for His glory. + + + +Love. + +In our city a few years ago there was a little boy who went to one of +the mission Sunday-schools. His father moved to another part of the city +about five miles away, and every Sunday that boy came past thirty or +forty Sunday-schools to the one he attended. And one Sunday a lady who +was out collecting scholars for a Sunday-school met him and asked why he +went so far, past so many schools. "There are plenty of others," said +she, "just as good." He said, "They may be as good but they are not so +good for me." "Why not?" she asked "Because they love a fellow over +there," he answered. Ah! love won him. "Because they love a fellow over +there!" How easy it is to reach people through love! Sunday-school +teachers should win the affections of their scholars if they wish to +lead them to Christ. + + + +A Little Boy Converts his Mother. + +I remember when on the North Side I tried to reach a family time and +again and failed. One night in the meeting, I noticed one of the little +boys of that family. He hadn't come for any good, however; he was +sticking pins in the backs of the other boys. I thought if I could get +hold of him it would do good. I used always to go to the door and shake +hands with the boys, and when I got to the door and saw this little boy +coming out, I shook hands with him, and patted him on the head, and said +I was glad to see him, and hoped he would come again. He hung his head +and went away. The next night, however, he came back, and he behaved +better than he did the previous night. He came two or three times after, +and then asked us to pray for him that he might become a Christian. That +was a happy night for me. He became a Christian and a good one. One +night I saw him weeping. I wondered if his old temper had got hold or +him again, and when he got up I wondered what he was going to say. "I +wish you would pray for my mother," he said. When the meeting was over I +went to him and asked, "Have you ever spoken to your mother or tried to +pray with her?" "Well, you know, Mr. Moody," he replied, "I never had an +opportunity; she don't believe, and won't hear me." "Now," I said, "I +want you to talk to your mother to-night." For years I had been trying +to reach her and couldn't do it. + +So I urged him to talk to her that night, and I said "I will pray for +you both." When he got to the sitting-room he found some people there, +and he sat waiting for an opportunity, when his mother said it was time +for him to go to bed. He went to the door undecided. He took a step, +stopped, and turned around, and hesitated for a minute, then ran to his +mother and threw his arms around her neck, and buried his face in her +bosom. "What is the matter?" she asked--she thought he was sick. Between +his sobs he told his mother how for five weeks he had wanted to be a +Christian; how he had stopped swearing; how he was trying to be obedient +to her, and how happy he would be if she would be a Christian, and then +went off to bed. She sat for a few minutes, but couldn't stand it, and +went up to his room. When she got to the door she heard him weeping and +praying, "Oh, God, convert my dear mother." She came down again, but +couldn't sleep that night. Next day she told the boy to go and ask Mr. +Moody to come over and see her. He called at my place of business--I was +in business then--and I went over as quick as I could. I found her +sitting in a rocking chair weeping. "Mr. Moody," she said, "I want to +become a Christian." "What has brought that change over you. I thought +you didn't believe in it?" Then she told me how her boy had come to her, +and how she hadn't slept any all night, and how her sin rose up before +her like a dark mountain. The next Sunday that boy came and led that +mother into the Sabbath-school, and she became a Christian worker. + +Oh, little children, if you find Christ tell it to your fathers and +mothers. Throw your arms around their necks and lead them to Jesus. + + + +A Father's Mistake. + +There is a little story that has gone the round of the American press +that made a great impression upon me as a father. A father took his +little child out into the field one Sabbath, and, it being a hot day, he +lay down under a beautiful shady tree. The little child ran about +gathering wild flowers and little blades of grass, and coming to its +father and saying, "Pretty! pretty!" At last the father fell asleep, and +while he was sleeping the little child wandered away. When he awoke, his +first thought was, "Where is my child?" He looked all around, but he +could not see him. He shouted at the top of his voice, but all he heard +was the echo of his own voice. Running to a little hill, he looked +around and shouted again. No response! Then going to a precipice at some +distance, he looked down, and there, upon the rocks and briars, he saw +the mangled form of his loved child. He rushed to the spot, took up the +lifeless corpse, and hugged it to his bosom, and accused himself of +being the murderer of his child. While he was sleeping his child had +wandered over the precipice. I thought as I heard that, what a picture +of the church of God! + +How many fathers and mothers, how many Christian men, are sleeping now +while their children wander over the terrible precipice right into the +bottomless pit. Father, where is your boy to-night? + + + +A Boy's Mistake--A Sad Reconciliation. + +There was an Englishman who had an only son; and only sons are often +petted, and humored, and ruined. This boy became very headstrong, and +very often he and his father had trouble. One day they had a quarrel and +the father was very angry, and so was the son; and the father said he +wished the boy would leave home and never come back. The boy said he +would go, and would not come into his father's house again till he sent +for him. The father said he would never send for him. Well, away went +the boy. But when a father gives up a boy, a mother does not. You +mothers will understand that, but the fathers may not. You know there is +no love on earth so strong as a mother's love. A great many things may +separate a man and his wife; a great many things may separate a father +from his son; but there is nothing in the wide world that can ever +separate a true mother from her child. To be sure, there are some +mothers that have drank so much liquor that they have drunk up all their +affection. But I am talking about a true mother; and she would never +cast off her boy. + +Well, the mother began to write and plead with the boy to write to his +father first, and he would forgive him; but the boy said, "I will never +go home till father asks me." Then she pled with the father, but the +father said, "No, I will never ask him." At last the mother came down to +her sick-bed, broken-hearted, and when she was given up by the +physicians to die, the husband, anxious to gratify her last wish, wanted +to know if there was nothing he could do for her before she died. The +mother gave him a look; he well knew what it meant. Then she said, "Yes, +there is one thing you can do. You can send for my boy. That is the only +wish on earth you can gratify. If you do not pity him and love him when +I am dead and gone, who will?" "Well," said the father, "I will send +word to him that you want to see him." "No," she says, "you know he will +not come for me. If ever I see him you must send for him." + +At last the father went to his office and wrote a dispatch in his own +name, asking the boy to come home. As soon as he got the invitation from +his father he started off to see his dying mother. When he opened the +door to go in he found his mother dying, and his father by the bedside. +The father heard the door open, and saw the boy, but instead of going to +meet him, he went to another part of the room, and refused to speak to +him. His mother seized his hand--how she had longed to press it! She +kissed him, and then said, "Now, my son, just speak to your father. You +speak first, and it will all be over." But the boy said, "No, mother, I +will not speak to him until he speaks to me." She took her husband's +hand in one hand and the boy's in the other, and spent her dying moments +in trying to bring about a reconciliation. Then just as she was +expiring--she could not speak--so she put the hand of the wayward boy +into the hand of the father, and passed away! The boy looked at the +mother, and the father at the wife, and at last the father's heart +broke, and he opened his arms, and took that boy to his bosom, and by +that body they were reconciled. Sinner, that is only a faint type, a +poor illustration, because God is not angry with you. + +I bring you to-night to the dead body of Christ. I ask you to look at +the wounds in his hands and feet, and the wound in his side. And I ask +you, "Will you not be reconciled?" + + + +Moody and his Little Willie. + +I said to my little family, one morning, a few weeks before the Chicago +fire, "I am coming home this afternoon to give you a ride." My little +boy clapped his hands. "Oh, papa, will you take me to see the bears in +Lincoln Park?" "Yes." You know boys are very fond of seeing bears. I had +not been gone long when my little boy said, "Mamma, I wish you would get +me ready." "Oh," she said, "it will be a long time before papa comes." +"But I want to get ready, mamma." At last he was ready to have the ride, +face washed, and clothes all nice and clean. "Now, you must take good +care and not get yourself dirty again," said mamma. Oh, of course he was +going to take care; he wasn't going to get dirty. So off he ran to watch +for me. However, it was a long time yet until the afternoon, and after a +little he began to play. When I got home, I found him outside, with his +face all covered with dirt. "I can't take you to the Park that way, +Willie." "Why, papa? you said you would take me." "Ah, but I can't; +you're all over mud. I couldn't be seen with such a dirty little boy." +"Why, I'se clean, papa; mamma washed me." "Well, you've got dirty +since." But he began to cry, and I could not convince him that he was +dirty. "I'se clean; mamma washed me!" he cried. Do you think I argued +with him? No. I just took him up in my arms, and carried him into the +house, and showed him his face in the looking-glass. He had not a word +to say. He could not take my word for it; but one look at the glass was +enough; he saw it for himself. He didn't say he wasn't dirty after that! + +Now the looking-glass showed him that his face was dirty--but I did not +take the looking-glass to wash it; of course not. Yet that is just what +thousands of people do. The law is the looking-glass to see ourselves +in, to show us how vile and worthless we are in the sight of God; but +they take the law and try to wash themselves with it. + + + +Jesus "Wants them All to Come." + +I heard of a Sunday-school concert at which a little child of eight was +going to recite. Her mother had taught her, and when the night came the +little thing was trembling so she could scarcely speak. She commenced, +"Jesus said," and completely broke down. Again she tried it: "Jesus said +suffer," but she stopped once more. A third attempt was made by her, +"Suffer little children--and don't anybody stop them, for He wants them +all to come," and that is the truth. There is not a child who has a +parent in the Tabernacle but He wants, and if you but bring them in the +arms of your faith and ask the Son of God to bless them and train them +in the knowledge of God, and teach them as you walk your way, as you lie +down at night, as you rise up in the morning, they will be blessed. + + + +Never to See its Mother. + +I was in an infirmary not long since, and a mother brought a little +child in. She said, "Doctor, my little child's eyes have not been opened +for several days, and I would just like you to do something for them." +The doctor got some ointment and put it first on one and then on the +other, and just pulled them open. "Your child is blind," said the +doctor; "perfectly blind; it will never see again." At first the mother +couldn't take it in, but after a little she cast an appealing look upon +that physician, and in a voice full of emotion, said, "Doctor, you don't +mean to say that my child will never see again?" "Yes," replied the +doctor, "your child has lost its sight, and will never see again." And +that mother just gave a scream, and drew that child to her bosom. "O my +darling child," sobbed the woman, "are you never to see the mother that +gave you birth? never to see the world again?" I could not keep back the +tears when I saw the terrible agony of that woman when she realized the +misfortune that had come upon her child. That was a terrible calamity, +to grope in total darkness through this world; never to look upon the +bright sky, the green fields; never to see the faces of loved ones; but +what was it in comparison to the loss of a soul? I would rather have my +eyes plucked out of my head and go down to my grave in total blindness +than lose my soul. + + + +A Little Child Converts an Infidel. + +I remember hearing of a Sabbath-school teacher who had led every one of +her children to Christ. She was a faithful teacher. Then she tried to +get her children to go out and bring other children into the school. One +day one of them came and said she had been trying to get the children of +a family to come to the school, but the father was an infidel, and he +wouldn't allow it. "What is an infidel?" asked the child. She had never +heard of an infidel before. The teacher went on to tell her what an +infidel man was, and she was perfectly shocked. A few mornings after the +girl happened to be going past the post-office on her way to school, and +she saw the infidel father coming out. She went up to him and said, "Why +don't you love Jesus?" If it had been a man who had said that to him +probably he would have knocked him down. He looked at her and walked on. +A second time she put the question, "Why don't you love Jesus?" He put +out his hand to put her gently away from him, when, on looking down, he +saw her tears. "Please, sir, tell me why you don't love Jesus?" He +pushed her aside and away he went. When he got to his office he couldn't +get this question out of his mind. All the letters seemed to read, "Why +don't you love Jesus?" All men in his place of business seemed to say, +"Why don't you love Jesus?" When he tried to write his pen seemed to +shape the words, "Why don't you love Jesus?" He couldn't rest, and on +the street he went to mingle with the business men, but he seemed to +hear a voice continually asking him, "Why don't you love Jesus?" He +thought when night came and he got home with his family, he would forget +it; but he couldn't. He complained that he wasn't well, and went to bed. +But when he laid his head on the pillow that voice kept whispering, "Why +don't you love Jesus?" He couldn't sleep. By and by, about midnight, he +got up and said, "I will get a Bible and find where Christ contradicts +himself, and then I'll have a reason," and he turned to the book of +John. My friends, if you want a reason for not loving Christ, don't turn +to John. He knew Him too long. I don't believe a man can read the gospel +of John without being turned to Christ. Well, he read through, and found +no reason why he shouldn't love Him, but he found many reasons why he +should. He read this book, and before morning he was on his knees, and +that question put by that little child led to his conversion. + + + +The Dying Child. + +A lady had a little child that was dying. She thought it was resting +sweetly in the arms of Jesus. She went into the room and the child asked +her: "What are those clouds and mountains that I see so dark?" "Why, +Eddy," said his mother, "there are no clouds or mountains, you must be +mistaken." "Why, yes, I see great mountains and dark clouds, and I want +you to take me in your arms and carry me over the mountains." "Ah," +said the mother, "you must pray to Jesus, He will carry you safely," +and, my friends, the sainted mother, the praying wife, may come to your +bedside and wipe the damp sweat from your brow, but they cannot carry +you over the Jordan when the hour comes. This mother said to her little +boy, "I am afraid that it is unbelief that is coming upon you, my child, +and you must pray that the Lord will be with you in your dying moments." +And the two prayed, but the boy turned to her and said: "Don't you hear +the angels, mother, over the mountains, and calling for me, and I cannot +go?" "My dear boy, pray to Jesus, and He will come; He only can take +you." And the boy closed his eyes and prayed, and when he opened them a +heavenly smile overspread his face as he said, "Jesus has come to carry +me over the mountains." + +Dear sinner, Jesus is ready and willing to carry you over the mountains +of sin, and over your mountains of unbelief. Give yourself to Him. + + +The Finest Looking Little Boy Mr. Moody ever Saw. + +A few years ago I was in a town down in our state, the guest of a family +that had a little boy about thirteen years, who did not bear the family +name, yet was treated like the rest. Every night when he retired, the +lady of the home kissed him and treated him in every respect like all +the other children. I said to the lady of the house, "I don't understand +it." I think he was the finest looking boy I have ever seen. I said to +her, "I don't understand it." She says, "I want to tell you about that +boy. That boy is the son of a missionary. His father and mother were +missionaries in India, but they found they had got to bring their +children back to this country to educate them. So they gave up their +mission field and came back to educate their children and to find some +missionary work to do in this country. But they were not prospered here +as they had been in India, and the father said, "I will go back to +India;" and the mother said, "If God has called you to go I am sure it +will be my duty to go and my privilege to go, and I will go with you." +The father said, "you have never been separated from the children, and +it will be hard for you to be separated from them; perhaps you had +better stay and take care of them." + +But after prayer they decided to leave their children to be educated, +and they left for India. This lady heard of it and sent a letter to the +parents, in which she stated if they left one child at her house she +would treat it like one of her own children. She said the mother came +and spent a few days at her house, and being satisfied that her boy +would receive proper care, consented to leave him, and the night before +she was to leave him, the missionary said to the Western lady: "I want +to leave my boy tomorrow morning without a tear;" said she, "I may never +see him again." But she didn't want him to think she was weeping for +anything she was doing for the Master. The lady said to herself, "She +won't leave that boy without a tear." But the next day when the carriage +drove up to the door, the lady went up stairs and she heard the mother +in prayer, crying, "Oh God, give me strength for this hour. Help me to +go away from my boy without a tear." When she came down there was a +smile upon her face. She hugged him and she kissed him, but she smiled +as she did it. She gave up all her five or six children without shedding +a tear, went back to India and in about a year there came a voice, "Come +up hither." Do you think she would be a stranger in the Lord's world? +Don't you think she will be known there as a mother that loved her +child? + + + +"Emma, this is Papa's Friend." + +A gentleman one day came to my office for the purpose of getting me +interested in a young man who had just got out of the penitentiary. "He +says," said the gentleman, "he don't want to go to the office, but I +want your permission to bring him in and introduce him." I said, "Bring +him in." The gentleman brought him in and introduced him, and I took him +by the hand and told him I was glad to see him. I invited him up to my +house, and when I took him into my family I introduced him as a friend. +When my little daughter came into the room, I said, "Emma, this is +papa's friend." And she went up and kissed him, and the man sobbed +aloud. After the child left the room, I said, "What is the matter?" "O +sir," he said, "I have not had a kiss for years. The last kiss I had was +from my mother, and she was dying. I thought I would never have another +one again." His heart was broken. + + + +Moody's Little Emma. + +I remember one time my little girl was teasing her mother to get her a +muff, and so one day her mother brought a muff home, and, although it +was storming, she very naturally wanted to go out in order to try her +new muff. So she tried to get me to go out with her. I went out with +her, and I said, "Emma, better let me take your hand." She wanted to +keep her hands in her muff, and so she refused to take my hand. Well, by +and by she came to an icy place, her little feet slipped, and down she +went. When I helped her up she said, "Papa, you may give me your little +finger." "No, my daughter, just take my hand." "No, no, papa, give me +your little finger." Well, I gave my finger to her, and for a little way +she got along nicely, but pretty soon we came to another icy place, and +again she fell. This time she hurt herself a little, and she said, +"Papa, give me your hand," and I gave her my hand, and closed my fingers +about her wrist, and held her up so that she could not fall. Just so God +is our keeper. He is wiser than we. + + +Little Jimmy. + +A friend of mine in Chicago took his Sabbath-school out on the cars +once. A little boy was allowed to sit on the platform of the car, when +by some mischance he fell, and the whole train passed over him. They had +to go on a half a mile before they could stop. They went back to him and +found that the poor little fellow had been cut and mangled all to +pieces. Two of the teachers went back with the remains to Chicago. Then +came the terrible task of telling the parents about it. When they got to +the house they dared not go in. They were waiting there for five minutes +before anyone had the courage to tell the story. But at last they +ventured in. They found the family at dinner. The father was called +out--they thought they would tell the father first. He came out with the +napkin in his hand. My friend said to him: "I have got very bad news to +tell you. Your little Jimmy has got run over by the cars." The poor man +turned deathly pale and rushed into the room crying out, "Dead, dead." +The mother sprang to her feet and came out of the sitting-room where the +teachers were. When she heard the sad story she fainted dead away at +their feet. "Moody," said my friend, "I wouldn't be the messenger of +such tidings again if you would give me the whole of Chicago. I never +suffered so much." I have got a son dearer to me than my life, and yet I +would rather have a train a mile long run over him than that he should +die without God and without hope. What is the loss of a child to the +loss of a soul? + + + +Stubborn Little Sammy. + +At one time my sister had trouble with her little boy, and the father +said, "'Why, Sammy, you must go now and ask your mothers forgiveness." +The little fellow said he wouldn't. The father says, "You must. If you +don't go and ask your mothers forgiveness I shall have to undress you +and put you to bed." He was a bright, nervous little fellow, never still +a moment, and the father thought he would have such a dread of being +undressed and put to bed. But the little fellow wouldn't, so they +undressed him and put him to bed. The father went to his business, and +when he came home at noon he said to his wife: "Has Sammy asked your +forgiveness?" "No," she said, "he hasn't." So the father went to him and +said, "Why, Sammy, why don't you ask your mother's forgiveness?" The +little fellow shook his head, "Won't do it." "But, Sammy, you have got +to." "Couldn't." The father went down to his office, and stayed all the +afternoon, and when he came home he asked his wife, "Has Sammy asked +your forgiveness?" "No, I took something up to him and tried to have him +eat, but he wouldn't." So the father went up to see him, and said, "Now, +Sammy, just ask your mother's forgiveness, and you may be dressed and +come down to supper with us." "Couldn't do it," The father coaxed, but +the little fellow "couldn't do it." That was all they could get out of +him. You know very well he could, but he didn't want to. Now, the +hardest thing a man has to do is to become a Christian, and it is the +easiest. That may seem a contradiction, but it isn't. The hard point is +because he don't want to. + +The hardest thing for a man to do is to give up his will. That night +they retired, and they thought surely early in the morning, he will be +ready to ask his mothers forgiveness. The father went to him--that was +Friday morning--to see if he was ready to ask his mother's forgiveness, +but he "couldn't." The father and mother felt so bad about it they +couldn't eat; they thought it was to darken their whole life. Perhaps +that boy thought that father and mother didn't love him. Just what many +sinners think because God won't let them have their own way. The father +went to his business, and when he came home he said to his wife, "Has +Sammy asked your forgiveness?" "No." So he went to the little fellow and +said, "'Now, Sammy, are you not going to ask your mother's forgiveness?" +"Can't," and that was all they could get out of him. The father couldn't +eat any dinner; it was like death in the house. It seemed as if the boy +was going to conquer his father and mother. Instead of his little will +being broken, it looked very much as if he was going to break theirs. +Late Friday afternoon, "Mother, mother, forgive," says Sammy--"me." And +the little fellow said "me," and he sprang to his feet and said: "I have +said it, I have said it. Now dress me, and take me down to see father. +He will be so glad to know I have said it." And she took him down, and +when the little fellow came in he said, "I've said it, I've said it." + +Oh, my friends, it is so easy to say, "I will arise and go to my God." +It is the most reasonable thing you can do. Isn't an unreasonable thing +to hold out? Come right to God just this very hour. "Believe on the Lord +Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." + + + +Spurgeon and the Little Orphan. + +While we were in London, Mr. Spurgeon one day took Mr. Sankey and myself +to his orphan asylum, and he was telling about them--that some of them +had aunts and some cousins, and that every boy had some friend that took +an interest in him, and came to see him and gave him a little pocket +money, and one day he said while he stood there, a little boy came up to +him and said, "Mr. Spurgeon, let me speak to you," and the boy sat down +between Mr. Spurgeon and the elder, who was with the clergyman, and +said, "Mr. Spurgeon, suppose your father and mother were dead, and you +didn't have any cousins, or aunts, or uncles, or friends to come and +give you pocket money, and give you presents, don't you think you would +feel bad--because that's me?" Said Mr. Spurgeon, "the minute he asked +that, I put my right hand down into my pocket and took out the money." +Because that's me! And so with the Gospel; we must say to those who have +sinned, the Gospel is offered to them. + + +A Child Looking for its Lost Mother. + +A little child, whose mother was dying, was taken away to live with some +friends because it was thought she did not understand what death is. All +the while the child wanted to go home and see her mother. At last, when +the funeral was over, and she was taken home, she ran all over the +house, searching the sitting room, the parlor, the library, and the +bedrooms. She went from one end of the house to the other, and when she +could not find her mother, she wished to be taken back to where they +brought her from. Home had lost its attractions for the child when her +mother was not there. My friends, the great attraction in heaven will +not be its pearly gates, its golden streets, nor its choir of angels, +but it will be Christ. Heaven would be no heaven if Christ were not +there. But we know that He is at the right hand of the Father, and these +eyes shall gaze on Him by-and-by; and we shall be satisfied when we +awake with his likeness. + + + +CHRIST SAVES. + +Moody in Prison. + +I have good news to tell you--Christ is come after you. I was at the +Fulton-street prayer-meeting, a good many years ago, one Saturday night, +and when the meeting was over, a man came to me and said, "I would like +to have you go down to the city prison to-morrow, and preach to the +prisoners. I said I would be very glad to go. There was no chapel in +connection with that prison, and I was to preach to them in their cells. +I had to stand at a little iron railing and talk down a great, long +narrow passageway, to some three or four hundred of them, I suppose, all +out of sight. It was pretty difficult work; I never preached to the bare +walls before. When it was over I thought I would like to see to whom I +had been preaching, and how they had received the gospel. I went to the +first door, where the inmates could have heard me best, and looked in at +a little window, and there were some men playing cards. I suppose they +had been playing all the while. "How is it with you here?" I said. +"Well, stranger, we don't want you to get a bad idea of us. False +witnesses swore a lie, and that is how we are here." "Oh," I said, +"Christ cannot save anybody here; there is nobody lost." I went to the +next cell. "Well, friend, how is it with you?" "Oh," said the prisoner, +"the man that did the deed looked very much like me, so they caught me +and I am here." He was innocent, too! I passed along to the next cell. +"How is it with you?'" "Well, we got into bad company, and the man that +did it got clear, and we got taken up, but we never did anything." I +went along to the next cell "How is it with you?" "Our trial comes on +next week, but they have nothing against us, and we'll get free." I went +round to nearly every cell but the answer was always the same--they had +never done anything. Why, I never saw so many innocent men together in +my life. There was nobody to blame but the magistrates, according to +their way of it. These men were wrapping their filthy rags of +self-righteousness about them. And that has been the story for six +thousand years. I got discouraged as I went through the prison, on, and +on, and on, cell after cell, and every man had an excuse. If he hadn't +one, the devil helped him to make one. I had got almost through the +prison, when I came to a cell and found a man with his elbows on his +knees, and his head in his hands. Two little streams of tears were +running down his cheeks; they did not come by drops that time. + +"What's the trouble?" I said. He looked up, the picture of remorse and +despair. "Oh, my sins are more than I can bear." "Thank God for that," I +replied. "What," said he, "you are the man that has been preaching to +us, ain't you?" "Yes." "I think you said you were a friend?" "I am." +"And yet you are glad that my sins are more than I can bear!" "I will +explain," I said "If your sins are more than you can bear, won't you +cast them on One who will bear them for you?" "Who's that?" "The Lord +Jesus." "He won't bear my sins." "Why not?" "I have sinned against Him +all my life." "I don't care if you have; the blood of Jesus Christ, +God's Son, cleanses from all sin." Then I told him how Christ had come +to seek and save that which was lost; to open the prison doors and set +the captives free. It was like a cup of refreshment to find a man who +believed he was lost, so I stood there, and held up a crucified Saviour +to him. "Christ was delivered for our offenses, died for our sins, rose +again for our justification." For a long time the man could not believe +that such a miserable wretch could be saved. He went on to enumerate his +sins, and I told him that the blood of Christ could cover them all. +After I had talked with him I said, "Now let us pray." He got down on +his knees inside the cell, and I got down outside, and I said, "You +pray." "Why," he said, "it would be blasphemy for me to call on God." +"You call on God," I said. He knelt down, and, like the poor publican, +he lifted up his voice and said, "God be merciful to me, a vile wretch!" +I put my hand through the window, and as I shook hands with him a tear +fell on my hand that burned down into my soul. It was a tear of +repentance. He believed he was lost. Then I tried to get him to believe +that Christ had come to save him. I left him still in darkness. "I will +be at the hotel," I said, "between nine and ten o'clock, and I will pray +for you." Next morning, I felt so much interested, that I thought I must +see him before I went back to Chicago. No sooner had my eye lighted on +his face, than I saw that remorse and despair had fled away, and his +countenance was beaming with celestial light; the tears of joy had come +into his eyes, and the tears of despair were gone. The sun of +Righteousness had broken out across his path; his soul was leaping +within him for joy; he had received Christ as Zaccheus did--joyfully. +"Tell me about it," I said. "Well, I do not know what time it was; I +think it was about midnight. I had been in distress a long time, when +all at once my great burden fell off, and now, I believe I am the +happiest man in New York." I think he was the happiest man I saw from +the time I left Chicago till I got back again. His face was lighted up +with the light that comes from the celestial hills. I bade him good-by, +and I expect to meet him in another world. + +Can you tell me why the Son of God came down to that prison that night, +and, passing cell after cell, went to that one, and set the captive +free? It was because the man believed he was lost. + + + +A Father's Love for his Boy. + +A number of years ago, before any railway came into Chicago, they used +to bring in the grain from the Western prairies in wagons for hundreds +of miles, so as to have it shipped off by the lakes. There was a father +who had a large farm out there, and who used to preach the gospel as +well as to attend to his farm. One day, when church business engaged +him, he sent his son to Chicago with grain. He waited and waited for his +boy to return, but he did not come home. At last he could wait no +longer, so he saddled his horse and rode to the place where his son had +sold the grain. He found that he had been there and got the money for +his grain; then he began to fear that his boy had been murdered and +robbed. At last, with the aid of a detective, they tracked him to a +gambling den, where they found that he had gambled away the whole of his +money. In hopes of winning it back again, he then had sold his team, and +lost that money too. He had fallen among thieves, and like the man who +was going to Jericho, they stripped him, and then they cared no more +about him. What could he do? He was ashamed to go home to meet his +father, and he fled. The father knew what it all meant. He knew the boy +thought he would be very angry with him. He was grieved to think that +his boy should have such feelings toward him. That is just exactly like +the sinner. He thinks because he has sinned, God will have nothing to do +with him. But what did that father do? Did he say, "Let the boy go"? No; +he went after him. He arranged his business, and started after the boy. +That man went from town to town, from city to city. He would get the +ministers to let him preach, and at the close he would tell his story. +"I have got a boy who is a wanderer on the face of the earth somewhere." +He would describe his boy, and say, "If you ever hear of him or see him, +will you not write to me?" At last he found that he had gone to +California, thousands of miles away. Did that father say, "Let him go"? +No; off he went to the Pacific coast, seeking the boy. He went to San +Francisco, and advertised in the newspapers that he would preach at such +a church on such a day. When he had preached he told his story, in hopes +that the boy might have seen the advertisement and come to the church. +When he had done, away under the gallery, there was a young man who +waited until the audience had gone out; then he came toward the pulpit. +The father looked and saw it was that boy, and he ran to him, and +pressed him to his bosom. The boy wanted to confess what he had done, +but not a word would the father hear. He forgave him freely, and took +him to his home once more. + +I tell you Christ will welcome you this minute if you will come. Say, "I +will arise and go to my Father." May God incline you to take this step. +There is not one whom Jesus has not sought far longer than that father. +There has not been a day since you left Him but He has followed you. + + + +[Illustration: Mary Magdalene. GUSTAVE DORE. Mark, xvi, 9.] + + + +Lady Ann Erskine and Rowland Hill. + +There is a very good story told of Rowland Hill and Lady Ann Erskine. +You have seen it, perhaps, in print, but I would like to tell it to you. +While he was preaching in a park in London to a large assemblage, she +was passing in her carriage. She said to her footman when she saw +Rowland Hill in the midst of the people, "Why, who is that man?" That is +Rowland Hill, my lady." She had heard a good deal about the man, and she +thought she would like to see him, so she directed her coachman to drive +her near the platform. When the carriage came near he saw the insignia +of nobility, and he asked who that noble lady was. Upon being told, he +said, "Stop, my friends, I have got something to sell." The idea of a +preacher becoming suddenly an auctioneer made the people wonder, and in +the midst of a dead silence he said: "I have more than a title to +sell--I have more than a crown of Europe to sell; it is the soul of Lady +Ann Erskine. Is there anyone here who bids for it? Yes, I hear a bid. +Satan, Satan, what will you give? 'I will give pleasure, honor, +riches--yea, I will give the whole world for her soul.' Do you hear +another bid? Is there any other one? Do I hear another bid? Ah, I +thought so; I hear another bid. The Lord Jesus Christ, what will You +give for this soul? 'I will give peace, joy, comfort, that the world +knows not of--yea, I will give eternal life.' Lady Ann Erskine, you have +heard the two bidders for your soul, which will you accept? And she +ordered the door of her carriage to be opened, and came weeping from it, +and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. He, the great and mighty Saviour, is +a bidder for your soul to-night. He offers you riches and comfort, and +joy, peace here, and eternal life hereafter, while Satan offers you what +he cannot give. Poor lost soul, which will you have? He will ransom your +soul if you but put your burden upon Him. Twenty-one years ago I made up +my mind that Jesus would have my soul, and I have never regretted the +step, and no man has ever felt sorry for coming to Him. When we accept +Him we must like Him. Your sins may rise up as a mountain, but the Son +of Man can purge you of all evil, and take you right into the palaces of +Heaven, if you will only allow Him to Save you. + + + +The Czar and the Soldier. + +I remember hearing a few years ago a story about a young man away off in +Russia. He was a wild, reckless dissipated youth. His father, thinking +that if he could get him away from his associates, a reform would be +worked, procured a commission in the army for him. And this is a mistake +a great many Christian people fall into in dealing with their sons. It +is not a change of place they require, it is a change of heart, A change +of place will not take them away from the tempter. Well, off to the army +this young man went, and, instead of reforming, he gambled and borrowed, +and took to drinking as vigorously as ever. At length he had borrowed +all the money he could, and, as we say he "had come to the end of his +rope." A certain sum of money had to be paid the next day, and he did +not see how it could be done without selling his commission, and if he +did that he would be compelled to leave the army and go home to his +father disgraced. The laws were very rigid in Russia upon the matter of +debt, and if he couldn't pay he knew he would have to go to prison. + +That night as he sat in his barracks, heart-broken at the prospect +before him, he thought he would take up a paper and figure up his debts, +and see how he stood. And here, let me say, it would be well if the +sinner would pause occasionally, and try and figure up his sins, and see +where he stood with God. Well, this young man put down one debt after +another, until they made a long column. The total completely +disheartened him; and he just put at the bottom of his figures, "Who is +to pay this"? He laid his head upon his desk wearied, and fell asleep. +That night the Czar, according to his custom, was walking through the +barracks while the soldiers slept, and happened to come to that spot +where the young soldier slept. He saw upon the desk the column of debts, +and when he came to the bottom saw the question: "Who's to pay them?" +and wrote underneath the name "Nicholas." When the young man awoke he +took up the paper and found written at the bottom the signature of the +Czar of all the Russias. What did it mean? Had an angel dropped down and +canceled the debt? It was too good to be true. He couldn't believe it. +But by and by the money came from the Emperor himself. This story may be +true or not. I don't care whether it is or not; but there is one thing I +do know is true, and that is that the great Emperor of heaven is here, +and if you put down all your sins and multiply them by ten thousand, He +will pay it and shelter you underneath the blood of Jesus Christ, which +cleanseth us from all sin. + + + +The Artist and the Beggar. + +I have read of an artist who wanted to paint a picture of the Prodigal +Son. He searched through the madhouse, and the poor houses, and the +prisons, to find a man wretched enough to represent the prodigal, but he +could not find one. One day he was walking down the streets and met a +man whom he thought would do. He told the poor beggar he would pay him +well if he came to his room and sat for the portrait. The beggar agreed, +and the day was appointed for him to come. The day came, and a man put +in his appearance at the artist's room. "You made an appointment with +me," he said, when he was shown into the studio. The artist looked at +him, "I never saw you before," he said; "you cannot have an appointment +with me." "Yes," he said, "I agreed to meet you to-day at ten o'clock." +"You must be mistaken; it must have been some other artist; I was to see +a beggar here at this hour." "Well," says the beggar, "I am he." "You?" +"Yes." "Why, what have you been doing?" "Well, I thought I would dress +myself up a bit before I got painted." "Then," said the artist, "I do +not want you; I wanted you as you were; now, you are no use to me." That +is the way Christ wants every poor sinner, just as he is. It is only the +ragged sinners that open God's wardrobe. I remember a boy to whom I gave +a pair of boots, and I found him shortly after in his bare feet again. I +asked him what he had done with them, and he replied that when he was +dressed up it spoiled his business; when he was dressed up no one would +give anything. By keeping his feet naked he got as many as five pairs of +boots a day. So if you want to come to God don't dress yourself up. It +is the naked sinner God wants to save. + + + +Commercial Traveler. + +I remember when preaching in New York City, at the Hippodrome, a man +coming up to me and telling me a story that thrilled my soul. One night, +he said he had been gambling; had gambled all the money away he had. +When he went home to the hotel that night he did not sleep much. The +next morning happened to be Sunday. He got up, felt bad, couldn't eat +anything, didn't touch his breakfast, was miserable, and thought about +putting an end to his existence. That afternoon he took a walk up +Broadway, and when he came to the Hippodrome he saw great crowds going +in and thought of entering too. But a policeman at the door told him he +couldn't come in as it was a woman's meeting. He turned from it and +strolled on; came back to his hotel and had dinner. At night he walked +up the street until he reached the Hippodrome again, and this time he +saw a lot of men going in. When inside he listened to the singing and +heard the text, "Where art thou?" and he thought he would go out. He +rose to go, and the text came upon his ears again, "Where art thou?" +This was too personal, he thought, it was disagreeable, and he made for +the door, but as he got to the third row from the entrance, the words +came to him again. "Where art thou?" He stood still, for the question +had come to him with irresistible force, and God had found him right +there. He went to his hotel and prayed all that night, and now he is a +bright and shining light. And this young man, who was a commercial +traveler, went back to the village in which he had been reared, and in +which he had been one of the fastest young men--went back there, and +went around among his friends and acquaintances and testified for +Christ, as earnestly and beneficially for him as his conduct had been +against Him. + + + +Governor Pollock and the Condemned Criminal. + +When I was East a few years ago, Mr. Geo. H. Stewart told me of a scene +that occurred in a Pennsylvania prison, when Governor Pollock, a +Christian man, was Governor of the State. A man was tried for murder, +and the judge had pronounced sentence upon him. His friends had tried +every means in their power to procure his pardon. They had sent +deputation after deputation to the Governor, but he had told them all +that the law must take its course. When they began to give up hope, the +Governor went down to the prison and asked the sheriff to take him to +the cell of the condemned man. The Governor was conducted into the +presence of the criminal, and he sat down by the side of his bed and +began to talk to him kindly--spoke to him of Christ and heaven, and +showed him that although he was condemned to die on the morrow by +earthly judges, he would receive eternal life from the Divine Judge if +he would accept salvation. He explained the plan of salvation, and when +he left him he committed him to God. When he was gone the sheriff was +called to the cell by the condemned man. "Who was that man?" asked the +criminal, "who was in here and talked so kind to me?" "Why," said the +sheriff, "that was Governor Pollock." "Was that Governor Pollock? O +Sheriff, why didn't you tell me who it was? If I had known that was him, +I wouldn't have let him go out till he had given me pardon. The Governor +has been here--in my cell--and I didn't know it," and the man wrung his +hands and wept bitterly. My friends, there is one greater than a +Governor here to-night. He sent His Son to redeem you--to bring you out +of the prison home of sin. I come to-night to tell you He is here. + + + +A Man who would not Speak to his Wife. + +I remember while in Philadelphia, a man with his wife came to our +meetings. When he went out he wouldn't speak to his wife. She thought it +was very queer, but said nothing, and went to bed thinking that in the +morning he would be all right. At breakfast, however, he would not speak +a word. Well, she thought this strange, but she was sure he would have +got all over whatever was wrong with him by dinner. The dinner hour +arrived, and it passed away without his saying a word. At supper not a +word escaped him, and he would not go with her to the meeting. Every day +for a whole week the same thing went on. But at the end of the week he +could not stand it any longer, and he said to his wife: "Why did you go +and write to Mr. Moody and tell him all about me?" "I never wrote to Mr. +Moody in my life," said the wife. "You did," he answered. "You're +mistaken; why do you think that?" "Well, then, I wronged you; but when I +saw Mr. Moody picking me out among all those people, and telling all +about me, I was sure you must have written to him." It was the Son of +Man seeking for him, my friends, and I hope there will be a man here +to-night--that man in the gallery yonder, that one before me--who will +feel that I am talking personally to him. May you feel that you are +lost, and that the Lord is seeking for you, and when you feel this there +is some chance of your being saved. + + + +GOLD. + +-- There was never a sermon which you have listened to but in it Christ + was seeking for you. I contend that a man cannot but find in every + page of this book that Jesus Christ is seeking him through His + blessed Word. This is what the Bible is for--to seek out the lost. + +-- No man in the world should be so happy as a man of God. It is one + continual source of gladness. He can look up and say, "God is my + Father, Christ is my Saviour, and the Church is my mother." + +-- There is no other way to the Kingdom of God but by the way of the + cross, and it will be easier for you to take it now than it will be + afterward. + +-- Everything has to be tried by the sinner before he will come to + Christ. He has to feel that there is nothing that can save him but + Christ, then he will come. + +-- Have not some of you heard a sermon in which you were offered as a + sinner to the Lord Jesus Christ, and your conscience was troubled? + You went away, but you came back again, and the Spirit of God came + upon you again and again, and you were troubled. Haven't you passed + through that experience? Don't you remember something like that + happening to you? That was the Son of God seeking for your soul. + +-- The Son of God has come into the world to bless us. Look at that + Sermon on the Mount. It is filled with the word blessed, blessed, + blessed. I think it occurs nine times. His heart was full of + blessings for the people. He had to get it out before He gave His + sermon. + +-- A rule I have had for years is to treat the Lord Jesus Christ as a + personal friend. His is not a creed, a mere empty doctrine, but it is + He himself we have. The moment we have received Christ we should + receive Him as a friend. When I go away from home I bid my wife and + children good-by, I bid my friends and acquaintances good-by, but I + never heard of a poor backslider going down on his knees and saying: + "I have been near You for ten years; Your service has become tedious + and monotonous; I have come to bid You farewell; good-by, Lord Jesus + Christ." I never heard of one doing this. I will tell you how they go + away; they just run away. + + + +CHRISTIAN WORK. + +How Moody was Encouraged. + +I remember a few years ago I got discouraged, and could not see much +fruit of my work; and one morning, as I was in my study, cast down, one +of my Sabbath-school teachers came in and wanted to know what I was +discouraged about, and I told him because I could see no result from my +work; and speaking about Noah, he said: "By the way, did you ever study +up the character of Noah?" I felt that I knew all about that, and told +him that I was familiar with it, and he said, "Now, if you never studied +that carefully, you ought to do it, for I cannot tell you what a +blessing it has been to me." When he went out I took down my Bible and +commenced to read about Noah, and the thought came stealing over me, +"Here is a man that toiled and worked a hundred years and didn't get +discouraged; if he did, the Holy Ghost didn't put it on record," and the +clouds lifted, and I got up and said, if the Lord wants me to work +without any fruit I will work on. I went down to the noon +prayer-meeting, and when I saw the people coming to pray I said to +myself, "Noah worked a hundred years and he never saw a prayer-meeting +outside of his own family." Pretty soon a man got up right across the +aisle where I was sitting, and said he had come from a little town where +there had been a hundred uniting with the Church of God the year before. +And I thought to myself, "What if Noah had heard that! He preached so +many, many years, and didn't get a convert, yet he was not discouraged." +Then a man got up right behind me, and he trembled as he said, "I am +lost. I want you to pray for my soul." And I said, "What if Noah had +heard that! He worked a hundred and twenty years, and never had a man +come to him and say that; and yet he didn't get discouraged." And I made +up my mind then, that, God helping me, I would never get discouraged. I +would do the best I could, and leave the result with God, and it has +been a wonderful help to me. + + + +"We Will Never Surrender." + +There's a story told in history in the ninth century, I believe, of a +young man that came up with a little handful of men to attack a king who +had a great army of three thousand men. The young man had only five +hundred, and the king sent a messenger to the young man, saying that he +need not fear to surrender, for he would treat him mercifully. The young +man called up one of his soldiers and said: "Take this dagger and drive +it to your heart;" and the soldier took the dagger and drove it to his +heart. And calling up another, he said to him, "Leap into yonder chasm," +and the man leaped into the chasm. The young man then said to the +messenger, "Go back and tell your King I have got five hundred men like +these. We will die, but we will never surrender. And tell your King +another thing; that I will have him chained with my dog inside of half +an hour." And when the King heard that he did not dare to meet them, and +his army fled before them like chaff before the wind, and within +twenty-four hours he had that King chained with his dog. That is the +kind of zeal we want. "We will die, but we will never surrender." We +will work until Jesus comes, and then we will rise with Him. + + + +The Faithful Aged Woman. + +An old woman who was seventy-five years old had a Sabbath-school two +miles away among the mountains. One Sunday there came a terrible storm +of rain, and she thought at first she would not go that day, but then +she thought, "What if some one should go and not find me there?" Then +she put on her waterproof, and took her umbrella and overshoes, and away +she went through the storm, two miles away, to the Sabbath-school in the +mountains. When she got there she found one solitary young man, and +taught him the best she knew how all the afternoon. She never saw him +again, and I don't know but the old woman thought her Sabbath-school had +been a failure. That week the young man enlisted in the army, and in a +year or two after the old woman got a letter from the soldier thanking +her for going through the storm that Sunday. This young man thought that +stormy day he would just go and see if the old woman was in earnest, and +if she cared enough about souls to go through the rain. He found she +came and taught him as carefully as if she was teaching the whole +school, and God made that the occasion of winning the young man to +Christ. When he lay dying in a hospital he sent the message to the old +woman that he would meet her in heaven. Was it not a glorious thing that +she did not get discouraged because she had but one Sunday-school +scholar? Be willing to work with one. + + + +A Dream. + +I heard of a Christian who did not succeed in his work so well as he +used to, and he got homesick and wished himself dead. One night he +dreamed that he had died, and was carried by the angels to the Eternal +City. As he went along the crystal pavement of heaven, he met a man he +used to know, and they went walking down the golden streets together. +All at once he noticed everyone looking in the same direction, and saw +One coming up who was fairer than the sons of men. It was his blessed +Redeemer. As the chariot came opposite, He came forth, and beckoning the +one friend, placed him in His own chariot-seat, but himself He led +aside, and pointing over the battlements of heaven, "Look over yonder," +He said, "What do you see?" "It seems as if I see the dark earth I have +come from." "What else?" "I see men as if they were blindfolded, going +over a terrible precipice into a bottomless pit." "Well," said He, "Will +you remain up here, and enjoy these mansions that I have prepared, or go +back to yon dark earth, and warn these men, and tell them about Me and +my kingdom, and the rest that remaineth for the people of God?" That man +never wished himself dead again. He yearned to live as long as ever he +could, to tell men of heaven and of Christ. + + + +The Faithful Missionary. + +When I was going to Europe in 1867, my friend Mr. Stuart, of +Philadelphia, said, "Be sure to be at the General Assembly in Edinburgh, +in June. I was there last year," said he, "and it did me a world of +good." He said that a returned missionary from India was invited to +speak to the General Assembly, on the wants of India. This old +missionary, after a brief address, told the pastors who were present, to +go home and stir up their churches and send young men to India to preach +the gospel. He spoke with such earnestness, that after a while he +fainted, and they carried him from the hall. When he recovered he asked +where he was, and they told him the circumstances under which he had +been brought there. "Yes," he said, "I was making a plea for India, and +I didn't quite finish my speech, did I?" After being told that he did +not, he said, "Take me back and let me finish it." But they said, "No, +you will die in the attempt." "Well," said he, "I will die if I don't," +and the old man asked again that they would allow him to finish his +plea. When he was taken back the whole congregation stood as one man, +and as they brought him on the platform, with a trembling voice he said: +"Fathers and mothers of Scotland, is it true that you will not let your +sons go to India? I spent twenty-five years of my life there. I lost my +health and I have come back with sickness and shattered health. If it is +true that we have no strong grandsons to go to India, I will pack up +what I have and be off to-morrow, and I will let those heathens know +that if I cannot live for them I will die for them." The world will say +that old man was enthusiastic. Well, that is just what we want. + + + +Forty-One Little Sermons. + +A man was preaching about Christians recognizing each other in heaven, +and some one said, "I wish he would preach about recognizing each other +on earth." In one place where I preached, I looked over the great hall +of the old circus building where it was held, and saw men talking to +other men here and there. I said to the Secretary of the Young Men's +Christian Association who got up the meeting, "Who are these men?" He +said, "They are a band of workers." They were all scattered through the +hall, and preaching and watching for souls. Out of the fifty of them, +forty-one of their number had got a soul each and were talking and +preaching with them. We have been asleep long enough. When the laity +wake up and try and help the minister the minister will preach better. + + + +GOLD. + +-- It is the greatest pleasure of living to win souls to Christ. + +-- I believe in what John Wesley used to say, "All at it, and always at + it," and that is what the Church wants to-day. + +-- If we were all of us doing the work that God has got for us to do, + don't you see how the work of the Lord would advance? + +-- There is no man living that can do the work that God has got for me + to do. No one can do it but myself. And if the work ain't done we + will have to answer for it when we stand before God's bar. +-- What makes the Dead Sea dead? Because it is all the time receiving, + never giving out anything. Why is it that many Christians are cold? + Because they are all the time receiving, never giving out an + anything. + + + +CHRISTIAN ZEAL. + +Satan's Match. + +If you will allow me an expression, Satan got a match when he got Paul. +He tried to get him away from God, but he never switched off. Look how +they tortured him. Look how they stripped and beat him. Not only did the +Romans do this, but the Jews also. How the Jews tried to drag him from +his high calling. How they stripped him and laid upon the back of the +apostle blow after blow. And you know that the scourge in those days was +no light thing. Sometimes men died under that punishment. If one of us +got one of the stripes that Paul got, how the papers would talk about +it. But it was nothing to Paul. He just looked at it as if it were a +trivial thing--as if it were a light affliction. When he was stripped +and scourged by his persecutors you might have gone and asked him: +"Well, Paul, what are you going to do now?" "Why, press toward the mark +of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus;" Take your stand before Him +and ask him as they bring the rod down upon his head, "What are you +going to do now, Paul?" "Do? I am going to press toward the mark of the +high calling of God in Christ Jesus." He had one idea, and that was it. +Look at him as they stoned him. The Jews took up great stones to throw +upon the great apostle. They left him for dead, and I suppose he was +dead, but God raised him up. Come up and look at him all bruised and +bleeding as he lies. "Well, Paul, you've had a narrow escape this time. +Don't you think you had better give up? Go off into Arabia and rest for +six weeks. What will you do if you remain here? They mean to kill you." +"Do!" he cries as he raises himself like a mighty giant, "I am going to +press toward the mark of the high calling of God." And he goes forth and +preaches the gospel. I am ashamed of Christianity in the nineteenth +century when I think of those early Christians. Why, it would take all +the Christians in the Northwest to make one Paul. Look at his heroism +everywhere he went. Talk about your Alexanders; why, the mighty power of +God rested upon Paul. "Why," said he, "thrice was I shipwrecked while +going off to preach the gospel." What did he care about that? Cold +churches wouldn't trouble him, although they trouble us. What would +lying elders and false deacons be to him? That wouldn't stop him. He had +but one idea, and over all obstacles he triumphed for that one idea. +Look at him as he comes back from his punishment. He goes up some side +street and gets lodgings. He works during the day and preaches at night +on the street. He had no building like this, no committee to wait on +him, no carriage to carry him from the meeting, no one to be waiting to +pay his board bills. There he was toiling and preaching, and, after +preaching for eighteen months, they say, "We'll have to pay you for all +this preaching, Paul," and they take him to the corner of the street +and pay him with thirty-nine stripes! That is the way they paid him. +Oh, my friends, when you look at the lives of such men don't it make +you feel ashamed of yourselves. I confess I feel like hanging my head. +Go to him in the Philippian jail and ask him what he is going to do now. +"Do? press forward for the mark of my high calling." And so he went on +looking toward one point, and no man could stand before him. + + + +Saved and Saving. + +One day I saw a steel engraving that I liked very much. I thought it was +the finest thing I ever had seen, at the time, and I bought it. It was a +picture of a woman coming out of the water, and clinging with both arms +to the cross. There she came out of the drowning waves with both arms +around the cross perfectly safe. Afterwards, I saw another picture that +spoiled this one for me entirely, it was so much more lovely. It was a +picture of a person coming out of the dark waters, with one arm clinging +to the cross and with the other she was lifting some one else out of the +waves. That is what I like. Keep a firm hold upon the cross, but always +try to rescue another from the drowning. + + +A Story Moody "Never will Forget." + +A few years ago, in a town somewhere in this state, a merchant died, and +while he was lying a corpse I was told a story I will never forget. When +the physician that attended him saw there was no chance for him here, he +thought it would be time to talk about Christ to the dying man. And +there are a great many Christians just like this physician. They wait +till a man is just entering the other world, just till he is about +nearing the throne, till the sands of life are about run out, till the +death rattle is in his throat, before they commence to speak of Christ. +The physician stepped up to the dying merchant and began to speak of +Jesus, the beauties of Christianity, and the salvation he had offered to +all the world. The merchant listened quietly to him, and then asked him, +"How long have you known of these things?" "I have been a Christian +since I came from the East," he replied. "You have been a Christian so +long and have known all this, and have been in my store every day. You +have been in my house; have associated with me; you knew all these +things, and why didn't you tell me before?" The doctor went home and +retired to rest, but could not sleep. The question of the dying man rang +in his ears. He could not explain why he had not spoken before, but he +saw he had neglected his duty to his principles. He went back to his +dying friend, intending to urge upon him the acceptance of Christ's +salvation, but when he began to speak to him the merchant only replied +in a sad whisper, "Oh, why didn't you tell me before?" Oh, my friends, +how many of us act like this physician? If we don't practice in every +particular the professions we make, and try to influence the lives of +others, and lead the lives of Christians according to Christian precept, +the world will go on stumbling over us. + + + +The Missing Stone. + +I remember hearing of a man's dream, in which he imagined that when he +died he was taken by the angels to a beautiful temple. After admiring it +for a time, he discovered that one stone was missing. All finished but +just one little stone; that was left out. He said to the angel, "What is +this stone left out for?" The angel replied, "That was left out for you, +but you wanted to do great things, and so there was no room left for +you." He was startled and awoke, and resolved that he would become a +worker for God, and that man always worked faithfully after that. + + + +Sad Lack of Zeal. + +Two young men came into our inquiry room here the other night, and after +a convert had talked with them, and showed them the way, the light broke +in upon them. They were asked, "Where do you go to church?" They gave +the name of the church where they had been going. Said one, "I advise +you to go and see the minister of that church." They said, "We don't +want to go there any more; we have gone there for six years and no one +has spoken to us." + + + +A Zealous Young Lady. + +I was very much interested some time ago in a young lady that lived in +the city. I don't know her name, or I have forgotten it. She was about +to go to China as the wife of a missionary on his way to some heathen +field. She had a large Sabbath-school class in the city and succeeded in +getting a blessing upon many of her scholars through her efforts. She +was very anxious to get some one who would look after her little flock +and take care of them while she was gone. She had a brother who was not +a Christian, and her heart was set on his being converted and taking her +place as leader of the class. The young man--perhaps he is in the +audience to-day--refused to accept of Christ, but away in her closet +alone she pleaded with God that her brother might be converted and take +her place. She wanted to reproduce herself and that is what every +Christian ought to do--get somebody else converted to take up your work. +Well, the last morning came, and around the family altar as the moment +drew near for the lady's departure, and they did not know when they +should see her again, the father broke down, and the boy went up stairs. +Just before she left for the train the boy came down, and putting his +arms around his sister's neck, said to her, "My dear sister, I will take +your Saviour for mine, and I will take care of your class for you," and +the young man took her class, and the last I heard of him he was filling +her place. There was a young lady established in good work. + + + +How Moody Treated the Committees. + +I remember when I was in Chicago before the fire, I was on some ten or +twelve committees. My hands were full. If a man came to me to talk about +his soul I would say I haven't time; got a committee to attend to. But +now I have turned my hack on everything--turned my attention to saving +souls, and God has blessed me and made me an instrument to save more +souls during the last four or five years than during all my previous +life. And so if a minister will devote himself to this undivided work, +God will bless him. Take that motto of Paul's: "One thing I do, +forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those +things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the +high calling of God in Christ Jesus." + + +Fourscore and Five. + +When we went to London there was an old woman eighty-five years old, who +came to the meetings and said she wanted a hand in that work. She was +appointed to a district, and called on all classes of people. She went +to places where we would probably have been put out, and told the people +of Christ. There were none that could resist her. When the old woman, +eighty-five years old, came to them and offered to pray for them, they +all received her kindly--Catholics, Jews, Gentiles--all. That is +enthusiasm. That is what we want. + + + +[Illustration: Saul's Conversion. GUSTAVE DORE. Acts, ix.] + + + +CONFESSING CHRIST. + + +What a Woman Did. + +One place we were in, in England, I recollect a Quakeress came in. The +meeting was held in a Methodist Church, and the Spirit of God was +there--souls were being saved: multitudes were pressing into the +kingdom. She had a brother who was a drinker and a nephew who had just +come to the city, and he was in a critical state, too. They came to the +meeting with her. Everything appeared strange to her, and when she went +home she did not know really what to say. She and her brother and nephew +went up stairs, and coming down she thought, it may be that the destiny +of their souls depends on what I say now. When she entered the parlor +she found them laughing and joking about the meeting. She put on a +serious face and said, "I don't think we should laugh at it. Suppose Mr. +Moody had come to you and asked you if you were converted, what would +you have told him?" "I would have told him to mind his own business," +replied one of them. "I think it is a very important question, and a +question a Christian ought to put to any one; Mr. Moody, as a Christian, +has a right to ask any one." She talked with them, and when that brother +went to bed, he began thinking and thinking. He had tickets for the +theater next night, but when next night came he said he would go to the +meeting with his sister, and, to make a long story short, he came and +was converted. He came to me--he was a mechanic--and asked me to talk to +the laborers and have them come to the meetings. He had got such a +blessing himself that he wanted them to share it. + +That man brought me a list of the names of the mechanics about half as +long as this room, and we got up a meeting in the theater, and we had +that theater packed. That was the first meeting of working men I ever +had, and the work of grace broke out among them. This was but the result +of the woman taking her stand. She went into the inquiry-room and became +an earnest worker. I get letters from her frequently now, and I do not +believe there is a happier woman in all England. If she had taken +another course she might have been the means of ruining these young men. +There is one thing that Christians ought to ask themselves. Ask your +heart, "Is this the work of the devil?" That is the plain question. If +it's the work of the devil turn your back against it. I would if I +thought it was. If it is the work of God, be careful what you do. My +friends, it is a terrible thing to fight against God. If it is the +Lord's wish, come out and take your stand, and let there be one united +column of people coming up to heaven. Let every man, woman and child, be +not afraid to confess the Lord Jesus Christ. + + + +A Business Man Confessing Christ. + +When I was in Ireland I heard of a man who got great blessings from God. +He was a business man--a landed proprietor. He had a large family, and a +great many men to work for him taking care of his home. He came up to +Dublin and there he found Christ. And he came boldly out and thought he +would go home and confess Him. He thought that if Christ had redeemed +him with his precious blood, the least he could do would be to confess +Him, and tell about it sometimes. So he called his family together and +his servants, and with tears running down his cheeks he poured out his +soul to them, and told them what Christ had done for him. He took the +Bible down from its resting-place and read a few verses of gospel. Then +he went down on his knees to pray, and so greatly was the little +gathering blessed that four or five out of that family were convicted of +sin; they forsook the ways of the world, and accepted Christ and eternal +life. It was like unto the household of Cornelius, which experienced the +working of the Holy Spirit. And that man and his family were not afraid +to follow out their profession. + + + +Two Young Men. + +I heard a story about two young men who came to New York City from the +country on a visit. They went to the same boarding-house to stay and +took a room together. Well, when they came to go to bed each felt +ashamed to go down on his knees before his companion first. So they sat +watching each other. In fact, to express the situation in one word, they +were both cowards--yes, cowards! But at last one of them mustered up a +little courage, and with burning blushes, as if he was about to do +something wrong and wicked, he sunk down on his knees to say his +prayers. As soon as the second saw that, he also knelt. And then, after +they had said their prayers, each waited for the other to get up. When +they did manage to get up one said to the other: "I really am glad to +see that you knelt; I was afraid of you." "Well," said the other, "and I +was afraid of you." So it turned out that both were Christians, and yet +they were afraid of each other. You smile at that, but how many times +have you done the same thing--perhaps not in that way, but the same +thing in effect. Henceforth, then, be not ashamed, but let everyone know +you are His. + + +The Little Tow-Headed Norwegian. + +I remember while in Boston I attended one of the daily prayer meetings. +The meetings we had been holding had been almost always addressed by +young men. Well, in that meeting a little tow-headed Norwegian boy stood +up. He could hardly speak a word of English plain, but he got up and +came to the front. He trembled all over and the tears were all trickling +down his cheeks, but he spoke out as well as he could and said: "If I +tell the world about Jesus, then will He tell the Father about me." He +then took his seat; that was all he said, but I tell you that in those +few words he said more than all of them, old and young together. Those +few words went straight down into the heart of everyone present. "If I +tell the world"--yes, that's what it means to confess Christ. + + + +[Illustration: Esther Confounding Haman. GUSTAVE DORE. Esther, viii.] + + +[Illustration: The Angel at the Sepulcher. GUSTAVE DORE. Matthew, +xxviii, 1-7.] + + +The Family that Hooted at Moody. + +I remember a family in Chicago that used to hoot at me and my scholars +as we passed their house sometimes. One day one of the boys came into +the Sunday-school and made light of it, As he went away, I told him I +was glad to see him there and hoped he would come again. He came and +still made a noise, but I urged him to come the next time, and finally +one day he said: "I wish you would pray for me, boys." That boy came to +Christ. He went home and confessed his faith, and it wasn't long before +that whole family had found the way into the Kingdom of God. + + + +Peter's Confession. + +One day He said, "Whom do men say that I am?" He wanted them to confess +Him. But one said, "They say thou art Elias," and another "that thou art +Jeremiah;" and another "Thou art St. John the Baptist." But He asked, +"Whom do you say that I am?"--turning to His disciples. And Peter +answers, "Thou art the Son of the living God." Then our Lord exclaimed, +"Blessed art thou, Simon Barjonas." Yes, He blessed him right there +because he confessed Him to be the Son of God. He was hungry to get some +one to confess him. Let everyone take his stand on the side of the Lord. + + + +The Blind Beggar. + +Here is a whole chapter in John (ix) of forty-one verses, just to tell +how the Lord blessed that blind beggar. It was put in this book, I +think, just to bring out the confession of that man. "The neighbors, +therefore, and they which before had seen him which was blind, said, Is +not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he; others said, He +is like him; but he said, I am he." If it had been our case I think we +would have kept still; we would have said, "There is a storm brewing +among the Pharisees, and they have said, 'If any man acknowledges Christ +we will put him out of the Synagogue.' Now I don't want to be put out of +the Synagogue." I am afraid we would have said that; that is the way +with a good many of the young converts. What did the young convert here? +He said, "I am he." And bear in mind he only told what he knew; he knew +the Man had given him his eyes. "Some said, He is like him; but he said, +I am he." So, young converts, open your lips and tell what Christ has +done for you. If you can't do more than that, open your lips and do +that. "Therefore, said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He +answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed +mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash; and I +went and washed, and I received sight." He said, "He anointed my eyes +with clay, and I went to the pool and washed, and whereas I had no eyes, +I have now got two good eyes." Some skeptic might ask, "What is the +philosophy of it?" But he couldn't tell that. "Then said they unto him, +Where is he? He said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him that +aforetime was blind. And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay +and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had +received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes and I +washed and do see." He wasn't afraid to tell his experience twice; he +had just told it once. "Therefore, said some of the Pharisees, This man +is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How +can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? and there was a division +among them." Now I am afraid if it had been us, we would have kept still +and said, "There is a storm brewing." "They say unto the blind man +again, What sayest thou of Him, that He hath opened thine eyes? He said, +He is a prophet." Now you see he has got to talking of the Master, and +that is a grand good thing. + + +The Young Convert. + +A young convert got up in one of our meetings and tried to preach; he +could not preach very well either, but he did the best he could--but +some one stood up and said, "Young man, you cannot preach; you ought to +be ashamed of yourself." Said the young man, "So I am, but I am not +ashamed of my Lord." That is right. Do not be ashamed of Christ--of the +man that bought us with His own blood. + + + +GOLD. + +-- If Christ comes into our hearts we are not ashamed. + +-- I wish we had a few more women like the woman of Samaria, willing to + confess what the Lord Jesus Christ had done for their souls. + +-- Believing and confessing go together; and you cannot be saved without + you take them both. "With the mouth confession is made unto + salvation." If you ever see the kingdom of heaven you have to take + this way. + +-- Satan puts straws across our path and magnifies it and makes us + believe it is a mountain, but all the devil's mountains are mountains + of smoke; when you come up to them they are not there. + +-- I do not know anything that would wake up Chicago better than for + every man and woman here who loves Him to begin to talk about Him to + their friends, and just to tell them what He has done for you. You + have got a circle of friends. Go and tell them of Him. + +-- I can't help thinking of the old woman who started out when the war + commenced with a poker in her hand. When asked what she was going to + do with it she said: "I can't do much with it, but I can show what + side I'm on." My friends, even if you can't do much, show to which + side you belong. + +-- I may say with truth that there is only about one in ten who + professes Christianity who will turn round and glorify God with a + loud voice. Nine out of ten are still born Christians. You never hear + of them. If you press them hard with the question whether they are + Christians they might say, "Well, I hope so." We never see it in + their actions; we never see it in their lives. They might belong to + the church you go to, but you never see them at the prayer-meetings + or taking any interest in the church affairs. They don't profess it + among their fellows or in their business, and the result is that + there are hundreds going on with a half hope, not sure whether their + religion will stand them or not. + + + +CONVERSION. + +Mr. Moody's First Impulse in Converting Souls. + +I want to tell you how I got the first impulse to work solely for the +conversion of men. For a long time after my conversion I didn't +accomplish anything. I hadn't got into my right place; that was it. I +hadn't thought enough of this personal work. I'd get up in prayer +meeting, and I'd pray with the others, but just to go up to a man and +take hold of his coat and get him down on his knees, I hadn't yet got +round to that. It was in 1860 the change came. In the Sunday school I +had a pale, delicate young man as one of the teachers. I knew his +burning piety, and assigned him to the worst class in the school. They +were all girls, and it was an awful class. They kept gadding around in +the school-room, and were laughing and carrying on all the while. And +this young man had better success than anyone else. One Sunday he was +absent, and I tried myself to teach the class, but couldn't do anything +with them; they seemed farther off than ever from any concern about +their souls. Well, the day after his absence, early Monday morning, the +young man came into the store where I worked, and, tottering and +bloodless, threw himself down on some boxes. "What's the matter?" I +asked, "I have been bleeding at the lungs, and they have given me up to +die," he said. "But you are not afraid to die?" I questioned, "No," said +he, "I am not afraid to die, but I have got to stand before God and give +an account of my stewardship, and not one of my Sabbath-school scholars +has been brought to Jesus. I have failed to bring one, and haven't any +strength to do it now." + +He was so weighed down that I got a carriage and took that dying man in +it, and we called at the homes of everyone of his scholars, and to each +one he said, as best his faint voice would let him, "I have come to just +ask you to come to the Saviour," and then he prayed as I never heard +before. And for ten days he labored in that way, sometimes walking to +the nearest houses. And at the end of that ten days everyone of that +large class had yielded to the Saviour. Full well I remember the night +before he went away (for the doctors said he must hurry to the South), +how we held a true love-feast. It was the very gate of heaven, that +meeting. He prayed, and they prayed; he didn't ask them, he didn't think +they could pray; and then we sung, "Blest be the tie that binds." It was +a beautiful night in June that he left on the Michigan Southern, and I +was down to the train to help him off. And those girls everyone gathered +there again, all unknown to each other; and the depot seemed a second +gate to heaven, in the joyful, yet tearful, communion and farewells +between these newly redeemed souls and him whose crown of rejoicing it +will be that he led them to Jesus. At last the gong sounded, and, +supported on the platform, the dying man shook hands with each one, and +whispered, "I will meet you yonder." + + + +Very Hard, yet Very Easy. + +The hardest thing, I will admit, ever a man had to do is to become a +Christian, and yet it is the easiest. This seems to many to be a +paradox, but I will repeat it, it is the most difficult thing to become +a Christian, and yet it is the easiest. I have a little nephew in this +city. When he was about three or four years of age, he threw that Bible +on the floor. I think a good deal of that Bible, and I don't like to see +this. His mother said to him, "Go pick up uncle's Bible from the floor." +"I won't," he replied. "Go and pick up that Bible directly." "I won't." +"What did you say?" asked his mother. She thought he didn't understand. +But he understood well enough, and had made up his mind that he +wouldn't. She told the boy she would have to punish him if he didn't, +and then he said he couldn't, and by and by he said he didn't want to. +And that is the way with the people in coming to Christ. At first they +say they won't, then they can't, and then they don't want to. The mother +insisted upon the boy picking up the Bible, and he got down and put his +arms around it and pretended he couldn't lift it. He was a great, +healthy boy, and he could have picked it up easily enough. I was very +anxious to see the fight carried on because she was a young mother, and +if she didn't break that boy's will he was going to break her heart by +and by. So she told him again if he didn't pick it up she would punish +him, and the child just picked it up. It was very easy to do it when he +made up his mind. So it is perfectly easy for men to accept the gospel. +The trouble is they don't want to give up their will. If you want to be +saved you must just accept that gospel--that Christ is your Saviour, +that he is your Redeemer, and that he has rescued you from the curse of +the law. Just say "Lord Jesus Christ, I trust you from this hour to save +me," and the moment you take that stand he will put his loving arms +around you and wrap about you the robe of righteousness. + + + +The Arrows of Conviction. + +I remember while preaching in Glasgow, an incident occurred which I will +relate. I had been preaching there several weeks, and the night was my +last one, and I pleaded with them as I had never pleaded there before. I +urged the people to meet me in that land. It is a very solemn thing to +stand before a vast audience for the last time and think you may never +have another chance of asking them to come to Christ. I told them I +would not have another opportunity, and urged them to accept, and just +asked them to meet me at that marriage supper. At the conclusion I soon +saw a tall young lady coming into the inquiry room. She had scarcely +come in when another tall young lady came in, and she went up to the +first and put her arms around her and wept. Pretty soon another young +lady came and went up to the first two and just put her arms around both +of them. They were three sisters and I found that although they had been +sitting in different parts of the building, the sure arrow of conviction +went down to their souls, and brought them to the inquiry room. Another +young lady came down from the gallery and said: "Mr. Moody, I want to +become a Christian." I asked a young Christian to talk to her, and when +she went home that night about 10 o'clock--her mother was sitting up +for her--she said: "Mother, I have accepted the invitation to be present +at the marriage supper of the Lamb." Her mother and father laid awake +that night talking about the salvation of their child. That was Friday +night, and next day (Saturday) she was unwell, and before long her +sickness developed into scarlet fever, and a few days after I got this +letter: + +"Mr. Moody--Dear Sir: It is now my painful duty to intimate to you that +the dear girl concerning whom I wrote to you on Monday, has been taken +away from us by death. Her departure, however, has been signally +softened to us, for she told us yesterday she was "going home to be with +Jesus," and after giving messages to many, told us to let Mr. Moody and +Mr. Sankey know that she died a happy Christian." + + + +How a Citizen Became a Soldier. + +One day I was walking through the streets of York, in England. I saw a +little way ahead a soldier coming toward me. He had the red uniform on +of the infantry--the dress of the army. I knew at once when I saw him +that he was a soldier. When he came near me I stopped him. I said, "My +good man, if you have no objection I would like to ask you a few +questions." "Certainly, sir," said he. "Well, then, I would like to +know how you first became a soldier." "Yes, sir, I will tell you. You +see, sir, I wanted to become a soldier, and the recruiting officer was +in our town, and I went up to him and told him I wanted to enlist. +"Well, sir, he said, 'All right,' and the first thing he did, sir, he +took an English shilling out of his pocket, sir, and put it into my +hand. The very moment, sir, a recruiting-sergeant puts a shilling into +your hand, sir, you are a soldier." I said to myself, "That is the very +illustration I want." + +That man was a free man at one time--he could go here and there; do just +what he liked; but the moment the shilling was put into his hand he was +subject to the rules of war, and Queen Victoria could send him anywhere +and make him obey the rules and regulations of the army. He is a soldier +the very minute he takes the shilling. He has not got to wait to put on +the uniform. And when you ask me how a man may be converted at once, I +answer, just the same as that man became a soldier. The citizen becomes +a soldier in a minute, and from being a free man becomes subject to the +command of others. The moment you take Christ into your heart, that +moment your name is written in the roll of Heaven. + + + +Moody a Young Convert. + +I remember soon after I got converted a pantheist got hold of me, and +just tried to draw me back to the world. Those men who try to get hold +of a young convert are the worst set of men. I don't know a worse man +than he who tries to pull young Christians down. He is nearer the +borders of hell than any man I know. When this man knew I had found +Jesus he just tried to pull me down. He tried to argue with me, and I +did not know the Bible very well then, and he got the best of me. The +only way to get the best of those atheists, pantheists, or infidels, is +to have a good knowledge of the Bible. Well, this pantheist told me God +was everywhere--in the air, in the sun, in the moon, in the earth, in +the stars, but really he meant nowhere. And the next time I went to +pray, it seemed as if I was not praying anywhere or to anyone. We have +ample evidence in the Bible that there is such a place as heaven, and we +have abundant manifestations that His influence from heaven is felt +among us. + + + +"Free." + +You will remember when we had slavery we used to have men come up from +Kentucky, Tennessee, and other slave states in order to escape from +slavery. I hope if there are any Southern people here they will not +think in this allusion I am trying to wound their feelings. We all +remember when these colored men came here how they used to be afraid +lest some one should come and take them back. Why, I remember in the +store we had a poor fugitive, and he used to be quaking all the time. +Sometimes a customer would come in, and he would be uneasy all the time. +He was afraid it was some one to take him back to slavery. But somebody +tells him if he was in Canada he would be perfectly safe, and he says: +"If I could only get into Canada; if I could only get under the Union +Jack I would be free." There are no slaves under the Union Jack he has +been told--that is the flag of freedom; the moment he gets under it he +is a free man. So he starts. We'll say there are no railways, and the +poor fellow has got ten miles ahead when his master comes up, and he +hears that his slave has fled for Canada and sets off in pursuit. Some +one tells the poor fugitive that his master is after him. What does the +poor fugitive do? What does he do? He redoubles his exertions and +presses on, on, on, on. He is a slave born, and he knows a slave belongs +to his master. Faster he goes! He knows his master is after him and he +will be taken if he comes up with him before he reaches the lines. He +says, "If I can only hold out and get under the English flag, the +English government will protect me." The whole English army will come to +protect me if need be. On he presses. He is now nearing the boundary +line. One minute he is a slave, and in an instant he is a free man. My +friends, don't mistake. These men can be saved tonight if they cross the +line. + + +An Irishman Leaps Into the Life-Boat. + +While I was in New York, an Irishman stood up in a young converts' +meeting and told how he had been saved. He said in his broken Irish +brogue that I used an illustration, and that illustration saved him. And +I declare that that is the only man I ever knew who was converted +without being spoken to. He said I used an illustration of a wrecked +vessel, and said that all would perish unless some assistance came. +Presently a life-boat came alongside and the captain shouted, "Leap into +the life-boat--leap for your lives, or you will perish," and when I came +to the point I said, "Leap into the life-boat; Christ is your life-boat +of salvation," and he leaped and was saved. + + +[Illustration: The Expulsion from the Garden. GUSTAVE DORE. Genesis, +iii, 24] + + + +[Illustration: The Trial Of The Faith Of Abraham. GUSTAVE DORE. Genesis, +xxii.] + + + +Safe in the Ark. + +When the voice came down from heaven to Noah, "Come thou and all thy +house into the ark, for thee have I seen righteous before me in this +generation," now; there was a minute when Noah was outside the ark, and +another when he was inside, and by being inside he was saved. As long as +he was outside of the ark he was exposed to the wrath of God just like +the rest of those antediluvians. If he stayed out, and remained with +those antediluvians, he would have been swept away, as they were. It was +not his righteousness; it was not his faith nor his works that saved +him; it was the ark. And, my friends, we have not, like Noah, to be one +hundred and twenty years making an ark for our safety. God has provided +an ark for us, and the question is: Are you inside or outside this ark? +If you are inside you are safe; if you are outside you are not safe. + + + +GOLD. + +-- It is our privilege to know that we are saved. + +-- We shall draw the world to Christ when we are filled with religion. + +-- He that overcometh shall inherit all things. God has no poor children. + +-- I hold to the doctrine of sudden conversion as I do to my life, and I + would as quickly give up my life as give up this doctrine, unless it + can be proved that it is not according to the word of God. Now, I + will admit that light is one thing and birth is another. A soul must + be born before it can see light. A child must be born before it can + be taught; it must be born before it can walk; it must be born before + it can be educated. + + + +DECISION. + +Moody's Mistake. + +The last time I preached upon this question was in old Farwell Hall. I +had been for five nights preaching upon the life of Christ. I took him +from the cradle and followed Him up to the judgment hall, and on that +occasion I consider I made as great a blunder as ever I made in my life. +If I could recall my act I would give this right hand. It was upon that +memorable night in October, and the Court House bell was sounding an +alarm of fire, but I paid no attention to it. You know we were +accustomed to hear the fire bell often, and it didn't disturb us much +when it sounded. I finished the sermon upon "What shall I do with +Jesus?" And I said to the audience, "Now, I want you to take the +question with you and think over it, and next Sunday I want you to come +back and tell me what you are going to do with it." What a mistake! It +seems now as if Satan was in my mind when I said this. Since then I +never have dared give an audience a week to think of their salvation. If +they were lost they might rise up in judgment against me. "Now is the +accepted time." We went down stairs to the other meeting, and I remember +when Mr. Sankey was singing, and how his voice rang when he came to that +pleading verse: + + To-day the Saviour calls; + For refuge fly. + The storm of justice falls, + And death is nigh. + +After the meeting we went home. I remember going down La Salle street +with a young man who is probably in the hall to-night, and saw the glare +of flames. I said to the young man: "This means ruin to Chicago." About +one o'clock, Farwell Hall went; soon the church in which I had preached +went down, and everything was scattered. I never saw that audience +again. My friends, we don't know what may happen to-morrow, but there is +one thing I do know, and that is, if you take the gift you are saved. If +you have eternal life you need not fear fire, death, or sickness. Let +disease or death come, you can shout triumphantly over the grave if you +have Christ. My friends, what are you going to do with Him to-night? +Will you decide now? + + + +"A Day of Decision." + +I believe there is a day of decision in our lives--a day upon which the +crisis of our lives occurs. There is a day when the Son of Man comes and +stands at our heart and knocks and knocks for the last time and leaves +us forever. I can imagine when Pilate was banished how this recollection +troubled him day and night. He remembered how that Saviour had looked on +him--how innocent He was; he remembered how, when the Jews were +clamoring for His death, and the cry echoed through the streets of +Jerusalem, "Crucify Him! crucify Him!" It seemed as if He had nothing +but love for them. Probably some one told him the story of the +crucifixion, and how when nailed to the cross and the howling mob around +Him, He cried, "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do;" he +remembered how they clamored for his life, and how he hadn't the moral +courage to stand up for the despised Nazarene, and that preyed upon his +mind, and he put an end to his miserable existence. + + + +Moody Puts a Man in his "Prophet's Room." + +A few years ago as I stood at the door of a church giving out +invitations to a meeting to take place that evening, a young man to whom +I offered one said, "I want something more than that. I want something +to do!" I urged him to come into the meeting, and after some +remonstrance he consented. After the meeting I took him home, and after +dinner I told him there was a room which I called the "Prophet's Room," +and up stairs was another which I called the "Unbeliever's Room," and I +would give him till night to decide which he would take. He was able by +night to take the first, and the next day was at work urging young men +to attend the noonday prayer-meeting. When I was burned out in the great +fire and was left perfectly destitute, I received a letter with some +money from this young man in Boston, who said: + +"You helped me and took me in your home, keeping me six weeks and +refused to take anything for it, and I have never forgotten your +kindness." I had lost sight of him, but he had remembered that as a +turning-point in his existence. + + + +GOLD. + +-- If you receive Him it will be well; if you reject Him and are lost it + will be terrible. + +-- Thanks be to God, there is hope to-day; this very hour you can choose + Him and serve Him. + +-- Now just think a moment and answer the question, "'What shall I do + with Jesus who is called Christ?" + +-- I believe in my soul that there are more at this day being lost for + want of decision than for any other thing. + +-- One of two things you must do; you must either receive Him or reject + Him. You receive Him here and He will receive you there; you reject + Him here and He will reject you there. + + + +[Illustration: Jesus And The Woman Taken In Adultery. GUSTAVE DORE. +John, viii, 3-11] + + + +DELIVERANCE. + +The Scotch Lassie. + +There is a story told of an incident that occurred during the last +Indian mutiny. The English were besieged in the city of Lucknow, and +were in momentary expectation of perishing at the hands of the fiends +that surrounded them. There was a little Scotch lassie in this fort, +and, while lying on the ground, she suddenly shouted, her face aglow +with joy, "Dinna ye hear them comin'; dinna ye hear them comin'?" "Hear +what?" they asked, "Dinna ye hear them comin?" And she sprang to her +feet. It was the bagpipes of her native Scotland she heard. It was a +native air she heard that was being played by a regiment of her +countrymen marching to the relief of those captives, and these +deliverers made them free. Oh, my friends, don't you hear Jesus Christ +crying to you to-night? + + + +Geo. H. Stewart Visits a Doomed Criminal. + +I remember hearing a story of Mr. George Stewart. One day the Governor +of Pennsylvania came to him and said, "Mr. Stewart, I want you to go to +such a prison and tell that man for whose execution I signed the warrant +the other day, that there is not a ray of hope for him. When the day and +hour comes he must be executed. His mother has been tormenting the life +out of me; and all his friends have been running after me day and night, +and they are giving the poor fellow a false hope." "That is a very +disagreeable thing to do, Governor," answered Mr. Stewart. "Well, I want +you to go and tell him, so that he can be settled in his mind." The +story goes that when the doors of the cell were opened, that prisoner +seized Mr. Stewart's hands, and in his joy cried, "You are a good man. I +know you have come with a pardon from the Governor." But when Mr. +Stewart told him the Governor had sent him to say there was not a ray of +hope for him, that upon the day and hour he must be executed, the man +completely broke down and fainted away. The thought that at such a day +and such an hour he was going to be ushered into eternity, was too much +for the poor fellow. Suppose I come to you to-night and tell you there +is not a ray of hope--that you have broken the law of pardon. How many +would say, "I know a great deal better. The blackest sinner on earth +Christ can save. He says so." But, my friends, there is no hope without +the deliverance to be free from the bondage of sin. + + + +The Demoniac. + +When this man found himself delivered he wanted to go with the Saviour. +That was gratitude; Christ had saved him, had redeemed him. He had +delivered him from the hand of the enemy. And this man cried: "Let me +follow You around the world; where You go I will go." But the Lord said, +"You go home and tell your friends what good things the Lord has done +for you." And he started home. I would like to have been in that house +when he came there. I can imagine how the children would look when they +saw him, and say, "Father is coming." "Shut the door," the mother would +cry; "look out! fasten the window; bolt every door in the house." Many +times he very likely had come and abused his family and broken the +chairs and tables and turned the mother into the street and alarmed all +the neighbors. They see him now coming down the street. Down he comes +till he gets to the door, and then gently knocks. You don't hear a sound +as he stands there. At last he sees his wife at the window and he says, +"Mary!" "Why," she says, "why he speaks as he did when I first married +him; I wonder if he has got well?" So she looks out and asks: "John, is +that you?" "Yes, Mary," he replies, "it's me, don't be afraid any mare, +I'm well now." I see that mother, how she pulls back the bolts of that +door, and looks at him. The first look is sufficient, and she springs +into his arms and clings about his neck. She takes him in and asks him a +hundred questions--how it all happened--all about it. "Well, just take a +chair and I'll tell you how I got cured." The children hang back and +look amazed. He says: "I was there in the tombs, you know, cutting +myself with stones, and running about in my nakedness, when Jesus of +Nazareth came that way. Mary, did you ever hear of Him? He is the most +wonderful man; I've never seen a man like Him. He just ran in and told +those devils to leave me, and they left me. When He had cured me I +wanted to follow Him, but He told me to come home and tell you all about +it." The children by and by gather about his knee, and the elder ones +run to tell their playmates what wonderful things Jesus has done for +their father. Ah, my friends, we have got a mighty deliverer, I don't +care what affliction you have, He will deliver you from it. The Son of +God who cast out those devils can deliver you from your besetting sin. + + + +Spurgeon's Parable. + +Mr. Spurgeon, a number of years ago, made a parable. He thought he had a +right to make one, and he did it. He said: "There was once a tyrant who +ordered one of his subjects into his presence, and ordered him to make a +chain. The poor blacksmith--that was his occupation--had to go to work +and forge the chain. When it was done he brought it into the presence of +the tyrant, and he was ordered to take it away and make it twice the +length. He brought it again to the tyrant, and again he was ordered to +double it. Back he came when he had obeyed the order, and the tyrant +looked at it, and then commanded the servants to bind the man hand and +foot with the chain he had made and cast him into prison. "And," Mr. +Spurgeon said, "that is what the devil does with man." He makes them +forge their own chain, and then binds them hand and foot with it, and +casts them into outer darkness." My friends, that is just what these +drunkards, these gamblers, these blasphemers--that is just what every +sinner is doing. But, thank God, we can tell you of a deliverer. The Son +of God has power to break everyone of these fetters if you will only +come to Him. + + + +GOLD. + +-- The mightiest man that ever lived could not deliver himself from his + sins. If a man could have saved himself, Christ would never have come + into the world. + +-- He came to deliver us from our sinful dispositions, and create in us + pure hearts, and when we have Him with us it will not be hard for us. + Then the service of Christ will be delightful. + +-- If you are under the power of evil, and you want to get under the + power of God, cry to Him to bring you over to His service; cry to Him + to take you into His army. He will hear you; He will come to you, + and, if need be, He will send a legion of angels to help you to fight + your way up to heaven. God will take you by the right hand and lead + you through this wilderness, over death, and take you right into His + kingdom. That's what the Son of Man came to do. He has never deceived + us; just say here: "Christ is my deliverer." + + + +EXCUSES. + +"I Have Intellectual Difficulties." + +There is another voice coming down from the gallery yonder: "I have +intellectual difficulties; I cannot believe." A man came to me sometime +ago and said, "I cannot." "Cannot what?" I asked. "Well," said he, "I +cannot believe." "Who?" "Well," he repeated, "I cannot believe." "Who?" +I asked. "Well--I--can't--believe--myself." "Well, you don't want to." +[Laughter.] Make yourself out false every time, but believe in the truth +of Christ. If a man says to me, "Mr. Moody, you have lied to me; you +have dealt falsely with me," it may be so, but no man on the face of the +earth can say that God ever dealt unfairly, or that He lied to him. If +God says a thing it is true. We don't ask you to believe in any man on +the face of the earth, but we ask you to believe in Jesus Christ, who +never lied--who never deceived any one. If a man says he cannot believe +Him, he says what is untrue. + + + +I Am Not All Right. + +I had to notice during the war, when enlisting was going on, sometimes a +man would come up with a nice silk hat on, patent-leather boots, nice +kid gloves, and a fine suit of clothes, which, probably, cost him $100; +perhaps the next man who came along would be a hod-carrier, dressed in +the poorest kind of clothes. Both had to strip alike and put on the +regimental uniform. So when you come and say you ain't fit, haven't got +good clothes, haven't got righteousness enough, remember that He will +furnish you with the uniform of Heaven, and you will be set down at the +marriage feast of the Lamb. I don't care how black and vile your heart +may be, only accept the invitation of Jesus Christ and He will make you +fit to sit down with the rest at that feast. + + + +"Those Hypocrites." + +"I won't accept this invitation because of those hypocrites in the +churches." My friend, you will find very few there if you get to heaven. +There won't be a hypocrite in the next world, and if you don't want to +be associated with hypocrites in the next world, you will take this +invitation. Why, you will find hypocrites everywhere. One of the +apostles was himself the very prince of hypocrites, but he didn't get to +heaven. You will find plenty of hypocrites in the church. They have been +there for the last one thousand eight hundred years, and will probably +remain there. But what is that to you? This is an individual matter +between you and your God. + + + +"I Can't Feel." + +"I can't feel," says one. That is the very last excuse. When a man comes +with that excuse he is getting pretty near the Lord. We are having a +body of men in England giving a new translation of the Scriptures. I +think we should get them to put in a passage relating to feeling. With +some people it is feel, feel, feel all the time. What kind of feeling +have you got? Have you got a desire to be saved, have you got a desire +to be present at the marriage supper? Suppose a gentleman asked me to +dinner, I say, "I will see how I feel." "Sick?" he might ask. "No; it +depends on how I feel." That is not the question--it is whether I will +accept the invitation or not. The question with us is, will we accept +salvation--will you believe? There is not a word about feelings in the +Scriptures. When you come to your end, and you know that in a few days +you will be in the presence of the Judge of all the earth, you will +remember this excuse about feelings. You will be saying, "I went up to +the Tabernacle, I remember, and I felt very good, and before the meeting +was over I felt very bad, and I didn't feel I had the right kind of +feeling to accept the invitation." Satan will then say, "I made you feel +so." Suppose you build your hopes and fix yourself upon the Rock of +Ages, the devil cannot come to you. Stand upon the Word of God and the +waves of unbelief cannot touch you, the waves of persecution cannot +assail you; the devil and all the fiends of hell cannot approach you if +you only build your hopes upon God's Word. Say, I will trust Him, though +He slay me--I will take God at His word. + + + +I Am Not "One of the Elect." + +I can imagine some men saying, "Mr. Moody has not touched my case at +all. That is not the reason why I won't accept Christ. I don't know as I +am one of the elect." How often I am met with this excuse--how often do +I hear it in the inquiry room! How many men fold their arms and say, "If +I am one of the elect I will be saved, and if I ain't I won't. No use of +your bothering about it." Why don't some of those merchants say, "If God +is going to make me a successful merchant in Chicago I will be one +whether I like it or not, and if he isn't I won't." If you are sick, and +a. doctor prescribes for you, don't take the medicine, throw it out the +door, it don't matter, for if God has decreed you are going to die, you +will: if he hasn't, you will get better. If you use that argument you +may as well not walk home from this tabernacle. If God has said you'll +get home, you'll get home--you'll fly through the air; if you have been +elected to go home. I have an idea that the Lord Jesus saw how men were +going to stumble over this doctrine, so after He had been thirty or +forty years in heaven, He came down and spoke to John. One Lord's day in +Patmos, He said to him, "Write these things to the churches." John kept +on writing. His pen flew very fast. And then the Lord, when it was +nearly finished said, "John, before you close the book, put in this: +'The Spirit and the Bride say, Come; and let him that heareth say; +Come.' But there will be some that are deaf, and they cannot hear, so +add, 'Let him that is athirst, Come;' and in case there should be any +that do not thirst, put it still broader, 'Whosoever will, let him take +of the water of life freely.' '' What more can you have than that? And +the Book is sealed, as it were, with that. It is the last invitation in +the Bible. "Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." +You are thirsty. You want water. I hold out this glass to you, and say, +"Take it." You say, "If I am decreed to have it, I am not going to put +myself to the trouble of taking it." Well, you will never get it. And if +you are ever to have salvation, you must reach out the hand and take it. +"I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name, of the Lord." + + + +Why did he not take his Wife along? + +Take the excuses. There wasn't one that wasn't a lie. The devil made +them all; and if the sinner hadn't one already the devil was there at +his elbow to suggest one, about the truth of the Bible, or something of +that sort. One of the excuses mentioned was that the man invited had +bought a piece of ground, and had to look at it. Real estate and corner +lots are keeping a good many men out of God's kingdom. It was a lie to +say that he had to go and see it then, for he ought to have looked at it +before he bought it. Then the next man said he'd bought some oxen, and +must prove them. That was another lie; for if he hadn't proved them +before he bought them he ought to have done so, and could have done it +after supper just as well as before it. But the third man's excuse was +the most ridiculous of them all. "I have married a wife and therefore +cannot come." Why did he not take his wife along with him? Who likes to +go to a feast better than a young bride? He might have asked her to go +too; and if she were not willing, then let her stay at home. The fact +was, he did not want to go. + + +A Good Excuse. + +If you have got a good excuse don't give it up for anything I have said; +don't give it up for anything your mother may have said; don't give it +up for anything your friend may have said. Take it up to the bar of God +and state it to Him; but if you have not got a good excuse--an excuse +that will stand in eternity--let it go to-night, and flee to the arms of +a loving Saviour. + + + +Excused at Last. + +It is a very solemn thought that God will excuse you if you want to be +excused. He does not wish to do it, but He will do it. "As I live, saith +the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the +wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; +for why will ye die, O house of Israel." Look at the Jewish nation. They +wanted to be excused from the feast. They despised the grace of God and +trampled it under foot, and look at them to-day! Yes, it is easy enough +to say, "I pray Thee have me excused;" but by and by God may take you at +your word, and say, "Yes, I will excuse you." And in that lost world, +while others who have accepted the invitation sit down to the marriage +supper of the Lamb, amid shouts and hallelujahs in heaven, you will be +crying in the company of the lost, "The harvest is past; the summer is +ended, and I am not saved." + + + +The Invitation. + +Suppose we should write out here to-night this excuse, how would it sound? + + To the King of Heaven:--While sitting in the Tabernacle in the City of + Chicago, January--, 1877, I received a very pressing invitation from + one of your servants to be present at the marriage supper of your + only-begotten Son. I PRAY THEE HAVE ME EXCUSED." + +Would you sign that, young man? Would you, mother? Would you come up to +the reporters' table, take up a pen and put your name down to such an +excuse? You would say, "Let my right hand forget its cunning, and my +tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I sign that." + +Just let me write out another answer: + + "To the King of Heaven;--While sitting in the Tabernacle, January---, + 1877, I received a pressing invitation from one of your messengers to + be present at the marriage supper of your only-begotten Son. I hasten + to reply: BY THE GRACE OF GOD I WILL BE PRESENT." + +Who will sign that? Is there one who will put his name to it? Is there +no one who will say, "By the grace of God I will accept the invitation +now"? + + + +GOLD. + +-- There is not an excuse but is a lie. + +-- God's service a hard one! How will that sound in the judgment? + +-- It is easy enough to excuse yourself to hell, but you cannot excuse + yourself to heaven. + +-- When a man prepares a feast, men rush in, but when God prepares one + they all begin to make excuses, and don't want to go. + +-- My friends, to accept this invitation is more important than anything + else in this world. There is nothing in the world that is so + important as the question of accepting the invitation. + +-- If everybody could understand everything the Bible said it wouldn't + be God's book; if Christians, if theologians, had studied it for + forty, fifty, sixty years, and then only began to understand it, how + could a man expect to understand it by one reading? + +-- If God were to take men at their word about these excuses, and swept + everyone into his grave who had an excuse, there would be a very + small congregation in the Tabernacle next Sunday; there would be + little business in Chicago, and in a few weeks the grass would be + growing on these busy streets. + + + +FAITH. + +How Moody's Faith Saved an Infidel. + +When I was in Edinburgh, at the inquiry meeting in Assembly Hall, one of +the ushers came around and said, "Mr. Moody, I'd like to put that man +out; he's one of the greatest infidels in Edinburgh." He had been the +chairman of an infidel club for years, I went around to where he was and +sat down by him. "How is it with you, my friend?" I asked, and then he +laughed and said, "You say God answers prayer; I tell you He doesn't. I +don't believe in a God. Try it on me." "Will you get down with me and +pray?" I asked him; but he wouldn't. So I got down on my knees beside +him and prayed. Next night he was there again. I prayed, and quite a +number of others prayed for him. A few months after that, away up in the +north of Scotland, at Wick, I was preaching in the open air, and while I +stood there I saw the infidel standing on the outskirts of the crowd. I +went up to him at the close of the meeting and said: "How is it with +you, my friend?" He laughed and said, "I told you your praying is all +false; God hasn't answered your prayers; go and talk to these deluded +people." He had just the same spirit as before, but I relied on faith. +Shortly after I got a letter from a barrister--a Christian. He was +preaching one night in Edinburgh, when this infidel went up to him and +said: "I want you to pray for me; I am troubled." The barrister asked, +"What is the trouble?" and he replied: "I don't know what's the matter, +but I don't have any peace, and I want you to pray for me." Next day he +went around to that lawyer's office and he said that he had found +Christ. + +This man now is doing good work, and I heard that out of thirty +inquirers there, ten or twelve of his old associates and friends were +among them. So, if you have God with you, and you go to work for Him, +and you meet infidels and skeptics, just bear in mind that you can win +through faith. When Christ saw the faith of those four men, He said to +the man: "Thy sins are forgiven you." My friends, if you have faith all +things are possible. + + + +Taking "the Prince at his Word." + +Some time ago I remember reading of an incident that occurred between a +prince in a foreign land and one of his subjects. This man for rebellion +against the government was going to be executed. He was taken to the +guilotine block. When the poor fellow reached the place of execution he +was trembling with fear. The prince was present and asked him if he +wished anything before judgment was carded out. The culprit replied: "A +glass of water." It was brought to him, but he was so nervous he +couldn't drink it. "Do not fear," said the prince to him, "judgment will +not be carried out till you drink that water," and in an instant the +glass was dashed to the ground and broken into a thousand pieces. He +took that prince at his word. + + +A Wife's Faith. + +In one of the towns in England there is a beautiful little chapel, and a +very touching story is told in connection with it. It was built by an +infidel. He had a praying wife, but he would not listen to her, would +not allow her pastor even to take dinner with them; would not look at +the Bible, would not allow religion even to be talked of. She made up +her mind, seeing she could not influence him by her voice, that every +day she would pray to God at twelve o'clock for his salvation. She said +nothing to him; but every day at that hour she told the Lord about her +husband. At the end of twelve months there was no change in him. But she +did not give up. Six months more went past. Her faith began to waver, +and she said, "Will I have to give him up at last? Perhaps when I am +dead He will answer my prayers." When she had got to that point, it +seemed just as if God had got her where he wanted her. The man came home +to dinner one day. His wife was in the dining-room waiting for him, but +he didn't come in. She waited some time, and finally looked for him, all +through the house. At last she thought of going into the little room +where she had prayed so often. There he was, praying at the same bed +with agony, where she had prayed for so many months, asking forgiveness +for his sins. And, this is a lesson to you wives who have infidel +husbands. The Lord saw that woman's faith and answered her prayers. + + + +Mr. Morehouse's Illustration. + +I remember Mr. Morehouse, while here four years ago, used an +illustration which has fastened itself on my mind. He said, suppose you +go up the street and meet a man whom you have known for the last ten +years to be a beggar, and you notice a change in his appearance, and you +say, "Halloo, beggar, what's come over you?" "I ain't no beggar. Don't +call me beggar." "Why," you say, "I saw you the other day begging in the +street." "Ah, but a change has taken place," he replies. "Is that so? +how did it come about?" you inquire. "Well," he says, "I came out this +morning and got down here intending to catch the business men and get +all the money out of them, when one of them came up to me and said there +was $10,000 deposited for me." "How do you know this is true?" you say. +"I went to the bank and they put the money in my hand." "Are you sure of +that?" you ask; "how do you know it was the right kind of a hand?" But +he says; "I don't care whether it was the right kind of a hand or not; I +got the money, and that's all I wanted." And so people are looking to +see if they've got the right kind of a hand before they accept God by +it. They have but to accept his testimony and they are saved, for, as +John says, "He that hath received His testimony hath set his seal that +God is true." Is there a man in this assemblage who will receive His +testimony and set his seal that God is true? Proclaim that God speaks +the truth. Make yourself a liar, but make God's testimony truthful. Take +Him at His word. + + + +Faith More Powerful than Gunpowder. + +I remember at one of the meetings at Nashville, during the war, a young +man came to me, trembling from head to foot. "What is the trouble?" I +asked. "There is a letter I got from my sister, and she tells me every +night as the sun goes down she goes down on her knees and prays for me." +This man was brave, had been in a number of battles; he could stand +before the cannon's mouth, but yet this letter completely upset him. "I +have been trembling ever since I received it." Six hundred miles away +the faith of this girl went to work, and its influence was felt by the +brother. He did not believe in prayer; he did not believe in +Christianity; he did not believe in his mother's Bible. This mother was +a praying woman, and when she died she left on earth a praying daughter. +And when God saw her faith and heard that prayer, he answered her. How +many sons and daughters could be saved if their mothers and fathers had +but faith. + + +GOLD. + +-- God will honor our faith. + +-- There is nothing on this earth that pleases Christ so much as faith. + +-- Faith is the foundation of all society. We have only to look around + and see this. + +-- I believe there is no man in the world so constituted but he can + believe in God's word. He simply tells you to believe in Him, and He + will save you. + +-- When I was converted twenty years ago I felt a faith in God; but five + years after I had a hundred times more faith, and five years ago I + had more than ever, because I became better acquainted with Him. I + have read up the Word, and I see that the Lord has done so and so, + and then I have turned to where He has promised to perform it, and + when I see this I have reason to believe in Him. + + + +FORGIVENESS. + +How Moody's Mother Forgave her Prodigal Son. + +I can give you a little experience of my own family. Before I was +fourteen years old the first thing I remember was the death of my +father. He had been unfortunate in business, and failed. Soon after his +death the creditors came in and took everything. My mother was left with +a large family of children. One calamity after another swept over the +entire household. Twins were added to the family, and my mother was +taken sick. The eldest boy was fifteen years of age, and to him my +mother looked as a stay in her calamity, but all at once that boy became +a wanderer. He had been reading some of the trashy novels, and the +belief had seized him that he had only to go away to make a fortune. +Away he went. I can remember how eagerly she used to look for tidings of +that boy; how she used to send us to the post office to see if there was +a letter from him, and recollect how we used to come back with the sad +news, "No letter." I remember how in the evenings we used to sit beside +her in that New England home, and we would talk about our father; but +the moment the name of that boy was mentioned she would hush us into +silence. Some nights when the wind was very high, and the house, which +was upon a hill, would tremble at every gust, the voice of my mother was +raised in prayer for that wanderer who had treated her so unkindly. I +used to think she loved him more than all the rest of us put together, +and I believe she did. On a Thanksgiving day--you know that is a family +day in New England--she used to set a chair for him, thinking he would +return home. Her family grew up and her boys left home. When I got so +that I could write, I sent letters all over the country, but could find +no trace of him. One day while in Boston the news reached me that he had +returned. While in that city, I remember how I used to look for him in +every store--he had a mark on his face--but I never got any trace. One +day while my mother was sitting at the door, a stranger was seen coming +toward the house, and when he came to the door he stopped. My mother +didn't know her boy. He stood there with folded arms and great beard +flowing down his breast, his tears trickling down his face. When my +mother saw those tears she cried, "Oh, it's my lost son," and entreated +him to come in. But he stood still. "No, mother," he said, "I will not +come in till I hear first you forgive me." Do you believe she was not +willing to forgive him? Do you think she was likely to keep him long +standing there? She rushed to the threshold and threw her arms around +him, and breathed forgiveness. Ah, sinner, if you but ask God to be +merciful to you a sinner, ask Him for forgiveness, although your life +has been bad--ask Him for mercy, and He will not keep you long waiting +for an answer. + + + +[Illustration: The Star In The East. GUSTAVE DORE. Matthew, ii, 1-12.] + + +[Illustration: Elijah's Ascent In A Chariot Of Fire. GUSTAVE DORE. II +Kings, ii.] + + + +A Rich Father visits his Dying Prodigal Son in a Garret and Forgives him. + +There is a story told of Mr. William Dawson, which I would like to +relate. While preaching in London, one night at the close of his sermon, +he said that there was not one in all London whom Christ could not save. +In the morning a young lady called upon him and said: "Mr. Dawson, in +your sermon last night you said that 'there was no man in all London +whom Christ could not save.' I find a young man in my district who says +he cannot be saved, and who will not listen to me. Won't you go and see +him? I am sure you can do more with him than I can." Mr. Dawson readily +assented, and went with the young lady to the East End--up one of those +narrow streets there, and at the top of a rickety staircase found a +garret, in which a man was stretched upon straw. He bent over him and +said, "Friend." "Friend!" said the young man, turning upon him, "you +must take me for some other person. I have no friends." "Ah," replied +the Christian, "you are mistaken. Christ is the sinner's friend." The +man thought this too good; "Why," said he, "my whole family have cast me +off; every friend I had has left me, and no one cares for me." Mr. +Dawson spoke to him kindly, and quoted promise after promise--told him +what Christ had suffered to give him eternal life. At first his efforts +were fruitless, but finally the light of the gospel began to break in on +the young man, and the first sign was his heart went out to those he had +injured. And, my friends, this is one of the first indications of the +acceptance of Christ with the sinner. He said: "I could die in peace now +if my father would but forgive me." "Well," replied the man of God, "I +will go and see your father and ask him for his forgiveness." "No, no," +was the sad answer of the young man, "you cannot go near him. My father +has disinherited me; he has taken my name from the family records; he +has forbidden the mention of my name in his house by any of the family +or servants in his presence, and you needn't go." + +However, Mr. Dawson obtained the address, and went away to the West End +of London; ascended the steps of a beautiful villa, and rang the bell. A +servant in livery came to the door and conducted him to the +drawing-room. There was everything in that house for comfort and luxury +that money could purchase. He could not help contrasting the scene of +poverty in that garret with the scene of luxuriant elegance everywhere +around him. Presently a proud, haughty-looking merchant came in, and as +he stepped forward to shake hands with Mr. Dawson that gentleman said: +"I believe you have a son named Joseph?" and the merchant threw back his +hand and drew himself up. "If you come to speak of him--that +reprobate--I want you to go away. I have no son of that name. I disown +him. If he has been talking to you he has been only deceiving you." +"Well," replied Mr. Dawson, "he is your boy now, but he won't be long." +The father stood for a minute looking at the Christian, and then asked: +"Is Joseph sick?" "Yes," was the reply, "he is at the point of death. I +only came to ask your forgiveness for him, that he may die in peace. I +don't ask any favor; when he dies we will bury him." + +The father put his hands to his face and great tears rolled down his +cheeks, as he said, "Can you take me to him?" In a very short time he +was in that narrow street where his son was dying, and as he mounted the +filthy stairs it hardly seemed possible that the boy could be in such a +place. When he entered the garret he could hardly recognize his son, and +when he bent over him the boy opened his eyes and said: "O, father, can +you--will you forgive me?" and the father answered: "O Joseph, I would +have forgiven you long ago if you had wanted me to." That haughty man +laid his boy's head on his bosom and the son told him what Christ had +done for him; how He had forgiven his sins, brought peace to his soul; +how that Son of God had found him in that poor garret, and had done all +for him. The father wanted the servant to take him home. "No, father," +said the boy, "I have but a short time to live, and I would rather die +here." He lingered a few hours, and passed from that garret in the East +End to the everlasting hills. + + +Moody in a Billiard Hall.--A Remarkable Story. + +In a meeting recently a man got up. I didn't know him at first. When I +was here he was a rumseller, and broke up his business and went to the +mountains. This is how it happened. When I was here before, he opened a +saloon and a grand billiard hall. It was one of the most magnificent +billiard halls in Chicago, all elegantly gilded and frescoed. For the +opening he sent me an invitation to be present, which I accepted, and +went around before he opened it. I saw the partners and asked them if +they would allow me to bring a friend. They said certainly, but asked me +who it was. Well, I said it wasn't necessary to tell who it was, but +said I, "I never go without him." They began to mistrust me. "Who is +it?" they again inquired. "Well, I'll come with him and if I see +anything wrong I'll ask him to forgive you." "Come," said they, "we +don't want any praying." "You've given me an invitation, and I am going +to come." "But if you do come you needn't pray." "Well," said I, "I'll +tell you what we'll do, we'll compromise the matter, and if you don't +want me to come and pray for you when you open, let me pray for both of +you now," which they agreed to. It turned out that one of them had a +praying mother, and the prayer touched his heart, and the other had a +sister in heaven. I asked God to bless their souls, and just to break +their business to pieces. In a few months their business did go all to +pieces. The man who got up in the prayer meeting told me a story that +touched my soul. He said with his business he hadn't prospered--he +failed, and went away to the Rocky Mountains. Life became a burden to +him and he made up his mind that he would go to some part of the +mountains and put an end to his days. He took a sharp knife with him +which he proposed driving into his heart. He sought a part of the +mountains to kill himself. He had the knife ready to plunge into his +heart, when he heard a voice--it was the voice of his mother. He +remembered her words when she was dying, even though he was a boy. He +heard her say, "Johnny, if you get into trouble, pray." That knife +dropped from his hand, and he asked God to be merciful to him. He was +accepted, and he came back to Chicago and lifted up his voice for Him. +He may be in this Tabernacle to-night. Just the moment he cried for +mercy he got it. If you only cry, "God, be merciful to me a sinner," He +will hear you. + + + +Moody and the Judge. + +A number of years ago as I was coming out of a daily prayer meeting in +one of our Western cities, a lady came up to me and said: "I want to +have you see my husband and ask him to come to Christ." She says, "I +want to have you go and see him." She told me his name, and it was a man +I had heard of before. "Why," said I, "I can't go and see your husband. +He is a booked infidel. I can't argue with him. He is a good deal older +than I am, and it would be out of place. Then I am not much for infidel +argument." "Well, Mr. Moody," she says, "that ain't what he wants. He's +got enough of that. Just ask him to come to the Saviour." She urged me +so hard and so strong, that I consented to go. I went to the office +where the judge was doing business, and told him what I had come for. He +laughed at me. "You are very foolish," he said, and began to argue with +me. I said, "I don't think it will be profitable for me to hold an +argument with you. I have just one favor I want to ask of you, and that +is, that when you are converted you will let me know." "Yes," said he, +"I will do that. When I am converted I will let you know"--with a good +deal of sarcasm. + +I went off, and requests for prayer were sent here and to Fulton street, +New York, and I thought the prayers there and of that wife would be +answered if mine were not. A year and a half after, I was in that city, +and a servant came to the door and said: "There is a man in the front +parlor who wishes to see you." I found the Judge there; he said: "I +promised I would let you know when I was converted." "Well," said I, +"tell me all about it." I had heard it from other lips, but I wanted to +hear it from his own. He said his wife had gone out to a meeting one +night and he was home alone, and while he was sitting there by the fire +he thought: "Supposing my wife is right, and my children are right; +suppose there is a heaven and a hell, and I shall be separated from +them." His first thought was, "I don't believe a word of it." The second +thought came, "You believe in the God that created you, and that the God +that created you is able to teach you. You believe that God can give you +life." "Yes, the God that created me can give me life. I was too proud +to get down on my knees by the fire, and said, 'O God, teach me.' And as +I prayed, I don't understand it, but it began to get very dark, and my +heart got very heavy. I was afraid to tell my wife, and I pretended to +be asleep. She kneeled down beside that bed, and I knew she was praying +for me. I kept crying, 'O God, teach me.' I had to change my prayer, 'O +God save me; O God, take away this burden.' But it grew darker and +darker, and the load grew heavier and heavier. All the way to my office +I kept crying, 'O God, take away this load of guilt; I gave my clerks a +holiday, and just closed my office and locked the door. I fell down on +my face; I cried in agony to my Lord, 'O Lord, for Christ's sake take +away this guilt.' I don't know how it was, but it began to grow very +light. I said, I wonder if this isn't what they call conversion. I think +I will go and ask the minister if I am not converted. I met my wife at +the door and said, 'My dear, I've been converted.' She looked in +amazement. 'Oh it's a fact; I've been converted! We went into that +drawing-room and knelt down by the sofa and prayed to God to bless us." +The old Judge said to me, the tears trickling down his cheeks, "Mr. +Moody, I've enjoyed life more in the last three months than in all the +years of my life put together." If there is an infidel here--if there is +a skeptical one here, ask God to give you wisdom to come now. Let us +reason together, and if you become acquainted with God the day will not +go before you receive light from Him. + + + +[Illustration: The Tower of Bable. GUSTAVE DORE. Genesis, xi.] + +[Illustration: The Destruction of Sodom. GUSTAVE DORE. Genesis, xix.] + + + +Reuben Johnson Pardoned. + +I want to tell you a scene that occurred some time ago. Our Commissioner +went to the Governor of the State and asked him if he wouldn't pardon +out five men at the end of six months who stood highest on the list for +good behavior. The Governor consented, and the record was to be kept +secret; the men were not to know anything about it. The six months +rolled away and the prisoners were brought up--1,100 of them--and the +President of the commission came up and said: "I hold in my hand pardons +for five men." I never witnessed anything like it. Every man held his +breath, and you could almost hear the throbbing of every man's heart. +"Pardon for five men," and the Commissioner went on to tell the men how +they had got these pardons--how the Governor had given them, but the +Chaplain said the surprise was so great that he told the Commissioner to +read the names first and tell the reason afterward. The first name was +called--'Reuben Johnson'--and he held out the pardon, but not a man +moved. He looked all around, expecting to see a man spring to his feet +at once; but no one moved. The Commissioner turned to the officer of the +prison and inquired: "Are all the convicts here?" "Yes," was the reply, +"Reuben Johnson, come forward and get your pardon; you are no longer a +criminal." Still no one moved. + +The real Reuben Johnson was looking all the time behind him, and around +him to see where Reuben was. The Chaplain saw him standing right in +front of the Commissioner, and beckoned to him; but he only turned and +looked around him, thinking that the Chaplain might mean some other +Reuben. A second time he beckoned to Reuben and called to him, and a +second time the man looked around. At last the Chaplain said to him: +"You are the Reuben." He had been there for nineteen years, having been +placed there for life, and he could not conceive it would be for him. At +last it began to dawn upon him, and he took the pardon from the +Commissioner's hand, saw his name attached to it, and wept like a child. +This is the way that men make out pardons for men; but, thank God, we +have not to come to-night and say we have pardons for only five men--for +those who have behaved themselves. We have assurance of pardon for every +man. "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." + + + +GOLD. + +-- All you have got to do is to prove that you are a sinner, and I will + prove that you have got a Saviour. + +-- Do you believe the Lord will call a poor sinner, and then cast him + out? No! his word stands forever, "Him that cometh unto Me I will in + no wise cast out." + +-- If God put Adam out of this earthly Eden on account of one sin, do + you think He will let us into the Paradise above with our tens of + thousands sins upon us. + +-- The only charge they could bring against Christ down here was, that + He was receiving bad men. They are the very kind of men He is + willing to receive. + +-- "Lord, you don't really mean that we shall preach the Gospel to those + men that murdered you, to those men that took your life?" "Yes," says + the Lord, "go and preach the Gospel to those Jerusalem sinners." I + can imagine Him saying: "Go and hunt up that man that put the cruel + crown of thorns upon My brow, and preach the Gospel to him. Tell him + he shall have a crown in My kingdom without a thorn in it." + + + +GRACE. + +Moody's First Sermon on Grace. + +I remember preaching one night in winter--one of the coldest winters we +had--the winter after the Chicago fire. I had been studying up grace, +and it was the first time I had spoken of it, and I was just full of it. +I started out of the house, I remember, and the first man I met I asked +him if he knew anything about the grace of God, and I tried to preach to +him. This man thought I was crazy. I ran on and met another, and finally +got up to the meeting. That night I thought I was speaking to a lot of +people who felt as I did about grace, and when I got through I asked +anyone who would like to hear about grace--who had any interest in it, +to stay. I expected some would have stayed, but what was my +mortification to see the whole audience rise up and go away. They hadn't +any interest in grace; they didn't want to learn anything about grace. I +put my coat and hat on and was going out of the hall, when I saw a poor +fellow at the back of the furnace crying. "I want to hear about the +grace of God," said he. "You're the man I want, then," said I. "Yes," +the poor fellow said, "you said in your sermon that it was free, and I +want you to tell me something about it." Well, I got to talking to him, +and he told me a pitiful story. He had drank away twenty thousand +dollars, his home had been broken up, and his wife and children had left +him. I spoke to him, and it was not long before we were down together +praying. That night I got him a night's lodging in the Bethel, and next +day we got him on his feet, and when I went to Europe he was one of the +most earnest workers we had. He was just a partaker of grace--believed +that the peace of God was sufficient for him, and he took God at his +word and he was a saved man. + + + +Dr. Arnott's Dog "Rover." + +I remember when Dr. Arnott, who has gone to God, was delivering a +sermon, he used this illustration. The sermon and text have all gone, +but that illustration is fresh upon my mind to-night and brings home the +truth. He said: "You have been sometimes out at dinner with a friend, +and you have seen the faithful household dog standing watching every +mouthful his master takes. All the crumbs that fall on the floor he +picks up, and seems eager for them, but when his master takes a plate of +beef and puts it on the floor and says, 'Rover, here's something for +you,' he comes up and smells of it, looks at his master, and goes away +to a corner of the room. He was willing to eat the crumbs, but he +wouldn't touch the roast beef--thought it was too good for him." That is +the way with a good many Christians. They are willing to eat the crumbs, +but not willing to take all God wants. Come boldly to the throne of +grace and get the help we need; there is an abundance for every man, +woman and child in the assemblage. + + + +Young Moody Penniless in Boston is Warned by his Sister to "Beware of +Pickpockets." + +I remember when I was a boy and went to Boston, I went to the postoffice +two or three times a day to see if there was a letter for me. I knew +there was not, as there was but one mail a day. I had not had any +employment and was very homesick, and so went constantly to the +postoffice, thinking perhaps when the mail did come in my letter had +been mislaid. At last, however, I got a letter. It was from my youngest +sister, the first letter she ever wrote to me. I opened it with a light +heart thinking there was some good news from home, but the burden of the +whole letter was that she had heard there were pickpockets in Boston, +and warned me to take care of them. I thought I had better get some +money in hand first, and then I might take care of pickpockets. And so +you must take care to remember salvation is a gift. You don't work for +salvation; but work day and night after you have got it. Get it first +before you do anything, but don't try to get it yourself. Look at what +Paul says in Ephesians: "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and +that not of yourself, it is the gift of God"--it is the gift of +God--"Not of works, lest any man should boast." There is one thing we +know: We have all got to get into heaven the same way. We cannot work +our way there; we have to take our salvation from God. + + + +A Heavy Draw on Alexander the Great. + +There is a story told of Alexander the Great. A general in his army was +a great favorite with him, and he told him to draw anything from his +treasury that he wanted. Well, he presented a bill to the treasurer, and +the treasurer wouldn't honor it. It was for such an enormous amount that +the treasurer was astonished. The General went rushing to the Emperor +and told him, and he called the treasurer and said, "Didn't I tell you +to honor the draft of the General." "But," replied the treasurer, "do +you understand its amount?" "Never mind what it is," replied the +Emperor, "he honors me and my kingdom by making a great draft." And so +we honor God by asking for grace in abundance. I tell you, my friends, +it is a pity there are so many half-starved, mean Christians around when +God says, "Come and get all you want." + + + +A Long Ladder Tumbles to the Ground. + +I remember hearing of a man who dreamt that he built a ladder from earth +to heaven, and when he did a good deed up went his ladder a few feet. +When he did a very good deed his ladder went higher, and when he gave +away large sums of money to the poor up it went further still. By and by +it went out of sight, and years rolled on, and it went up, he thought, +past the clouds, clear into heaven. When he died he thought he would +step off his ladder into heaven, but he heard a voice roll out from +paradise, "He that climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a +robber." and down he came, ladder and all, and he awoke. He said if he +wanted to get salvation he must get it another way than by good deeds, +and he took the other way. + + + +GOLD. + +-- We must not limit the mighty grace of God. + +-- Grace means undeserved kindness. It is the gift of God to man the + moment he sees he is unworthy of God's favor. + +-- A man does not get grace till he comes down to the ground, till he + sees he needs grace. When a man stoops to the dust and acknowledges + that he needs mercy, then it is that the Lord will give him grace. + +-- If you are ready to partake of grace you have not to atone for your + sins--you have merely to accept of the atonement. All that you want + to do is to cry, "God have mercy upon me," and you will receive the + blessing. + +-- "The grace of God hath power to bring salvation to all men," and if a + man is unsaved it is because he wants to work it out; he wants to + receive salvation in some other way than God's way; but we are told + that "he that climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a + robber." + +-- When we get full of this grace we want to see everyone blessed--we + want to see all the churches blessed, not only all the churches here, + but in the whole country. That was the trouble with Christ's + disciples. He had hard work to make them understand that His gospel + was for everyone, that it was a stream to flow out to all nations of + the earth. They wanted to confine it to the Jews, and He had to + convince them that it was for every living being. + + + +HEAVEN. + +Moody in a California Sunday School. + +I remember when I went to California just to try and get a few souls +saved on the Pacific coast, I went into a school there and asked, "Have +you got some one who can write a plain hand?" "Yes." Well, we got up the +blackboard, and the lesson upon it proved to be the very text we have +to-night. "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." And I said, +"Suppose we write upon that board some of the earthly treasures? And we +will begin with 'gold.'" The teacher readily put down gold, and they +all comprehended it, for all had run to that country in the hope of +finding it. "Well, we will put down 'houses' next, and then 'land.' Next +we will put down 'fast horses.'" They all understood what fast horses +were--they knew a good deal more about fast horses than they knew about +the kingdom of God. Some of them, I think, actually made fast horses +serve as Gods. "Next we will put down 'tobacco.'" The teacher seemed to +shrink at this. "Put it down," said I, "many a man thinks more of +tobacco than he does of God. Well, then, we will put down 'rum.'" He +objected to this--didn't like to put it down at all. "Down with it. Many +a man will sell his reputation, will sell his home, his wife, his +children, everything he has, for rum. It is the God of some men. Many +here in Chicago will sell their present and then eternal welfare for it. +Put it down," and down it went. "Now," said I, "suppose we put down some +of the heavenly treasures. Put down 'Jesus' to head the list, then +'heaven,' then 'River of Life,' then 'Crown of Glory,' and went on till +the column was filled, and then just drew a line and showed the heavenly +and the earthly things in contrast. My friends, they could not stand +comparison. If a man just does that, he cannot but see the superiority +of the heavenly over the earthly treasures. Well, it turned out that the +teacher was not a Christian. He had gone to California on the usual +hunt--gold; and when he saw the two columns placed side by side, the +excellence of the one over the other was irresistible, and he was the +first soul God gave me on that Pacific coast. He accepted Christ, and +that man came to the station when I was coming away and blessed me for +coming to that place. + + + +Mothers are Looking Down from Heaven. + +I remember in the Exposition building in Dublin, while I was speaking +about Heaven, I said something to the effect that at this moment a +mother is looking down from Heaven expecting the salvation of her +daughter here to-night, and I pointed down to a young lady in the +audience. Next morning I received this letter: + +"On Wednesday, when you were speaking of heaven, you said, 'It may be +this moment there is a mother looking down from heaven expecting the +salvation of her child who is here.' You were apparently looking at the +very spot where my child was sitting. My heart said, 'That is my child. +That is her mother.' Tears sprang to my eyes. I bowed my head and +prayed, 'Lord, direct that word to my darling child's heart; Lord save +my child.' I was then anxious till the close of the meeting, when I went +to her. She was bathed in tears. She rose, put her arms around me, and +kissed me. When walking down to you she told me it was that same +remark--about the mother looking down from heaven--that found the way +home to her, and asked me, 'Papa, what can I do for Jesus?'" + + + +[Illustration: The Destruction Of Sennacherib's Host. GUSTAVE DORE. II +Kings xix.] + + + +The Rich Man Poor. + +I heard of a farmer who, when a friend of mine called upon him to give +something for the Christian Commission, promptly drew a check for ten +thousand dollars. He wanted the agent to have dinner with him, and after +they had dined the farmer took the man out on the verandah and pointed +to the rich lands sweeping far away, laden with rich products. "Look +over these lands," said the farmer, "They are all mine." He took him to +the pasture and showed the agent the choice stock, the fine horses he +had, and then pointed to a little town, and then to a large hall where +he lived; he drew himself up, and his face lit up with pride as he said, +"They are all mine. I came here when a poor boy and I have earned all +that you see." When he got through, my friend asked 'him, "Well, what +have you got up yonder?" "Where?" replied the farmer, who evidently knew +where my friend meant. "What have you got in heaven?" "Well," said the +farmer, "I haven't anything there." "What!" replied my friend, "You, a +man of your discretion, wisdom, business ability, have made no provision +for your future?" He hadn't, and in a few weeks he died--a rich man here +and a beggar in eternity. A man may be wise in the eyes of the world to +pursue this course, but he is a fool in the sight of God. Wealth to most +men proves nothing more or less than a great rock upon which their +eternity is wrecked. + + + +The Dying Boy. + +But I have another anecdote to tell. It was Ralph Wallace who told me of +this one. A certain gentleman was a member of the Presbyterian Church. +His little boy was sick. When he went home his wife was weeping, and she +said, "Our boy is dying; he has had a change for the worse. I wish you +would go in and see him." The father went into the room and placed his +hand upon the brow of his dying boy, and could feel that the cold, damp +sweat was gathering there; that the cold, icy hand of death was feeling +for the chords of life. "Do you know, my boy, that you are dying?" asked +the father. "Am I? Is this death? Do you really think I am dying?" "Yes, +my son, your end on earth is near." "And will I be with Jesus to-night, +father?" "Yes, you will be with the Saviour." "Father, don't you weep, +for when I get there I will go right straight to Jesus and tell Him that +you have been trying all my life to lead me to Him." God has given me +two little children, and ever since I can remember I have directed them +to Christ, and I would rather they carried this message to Jesus--that I +had tried all my life to lead them to Him--than have all the crowns of +the earth; and I would rather lead them to Jesus than give them the +wealth of the world. If you have got a child go and point the way. I +challenge any man to speak of heaven without speaking of children. "For +of such is the kingdom of heaven." + + + +A Sad and Singular Story. + +When I was a young boy--before I was a Christian--I was in a field one +day with a man who was hoeing. He was weeping, and he told me a strange +story, which I have never forgotten. When he left home his mother gave +him this text: "Seek first the kingdom of God." But he paid no heed to +it. He said when he got settled in life, and his ambition to get money +was gratified, it would be time enough then to seek the kingdom of God. +He went from one village to another and got nothing to do. When Sunday +came he went into a village church, and what was his great surprise to +hear the minister give out the text, "Seek first the kingdom of God." He +said the text went down to the bottom of his heart. He thought that it +was but his mother's prayer following him, and that some one must have +written to that minister about him. He felt very uncomfortable, and when +the meeting was over he could not get that sermon out of his mind. He +went away from that town, and at the end of a week went into another +church and he heard the minister give out the same text, "Seek first the +kingdom of God." He felt sure this time that it was the prayers of his +mother, but he said calmly and deliberately, "No, I will first get +wealthy." He said he went on and did not go into a church for a few +months, but the first place of worship he went into he heard a third +minister preaching a sermon from the same text. He tried to drown--to +stifle his feelings; tried to get the sermon out of his mind, and +resolved that he would keep away from church altogether, and for a few +years did keep out of God's house. "My mother died," he said, "and the +text kept coming up in my mind, and I said I will try and become a +Christian." The tears rolled down his checks as he said, "I could not; +no sermon ever touches me; my heart is as hard as that stone," pointing +to one in the field. I couldn't understand what it was all about--it was +fresh to me then. I went to Boston and got converted, and the first +thought that came to me was about this man. When I got back I asked my +mother, "Is Mr. L-- living in such a place?" "Didn't I write to you +about him?" she asked. "They have taken him to an insane asylum, and to +everyone who goes there he points with his finger up there and tells him +to "seek first the Kingdom of God." There was that man with his eyes +dull with the loss of reason, but the text had sunk into his soul--it +had burned down deep. Oh, may the Spirit of God burn the text into your +hearts to-night. When I got home again my mother told me he was in her +house, and I went to see him. I found him in a rocking chair, with that +vacant, idiotic look upon him. Whenever he saw me he pointed at me and +said: "Young man, seek first the kingdom of God." Reason was gone, but +the text was there. Last month when I was laying my brother down in his +grave I could not help thinking of that poor man who was lying so near +him, and wishing that the prayer of his mother had been heard, and that +he had found the kingdom of God. + + +The Eleventh Commandment. + +There are a great many people who forget that there are eleven +commandments. They think there are only ten. The eleventh commandment +is: "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." How many of us +remember--ah! how many people in Chicago forget the words of the Lord +now in his wonderful sermon on the mount: "Lay not up for yourselves +treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where +thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in +heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do +not break through and steal." How few of our people pay any heed to +these words. That's why there are so many broken hearts among us; that's +why so many men and women are disappointed and going through the streets +with shattered hopes; it's because they have not been laying up +treasures in heaven. + + + +"It's Better Higher Up." + +Not long ago there lived an old bed-ridden saint, and a Christian lady +who visited her found her always very cheerful. This visitor had a lady +friend of wealth who constantly looked on the dark side of things, and +was always cast down although she was a professed Christian. She thought +it would do this lady good to see the bed-ridden saint, so she took her +down to the house. She lived up in the garret, five stories up, and when +they had got to the first story the lady drew up her dress and said, +"How dark and filthy it is!" "It's better higher up," said her friend. +They got to the next story, and it was no better; the lady complained +again, but her friend replied, "It's better higher up," At the third +floor it seemed still worse, and the lady kept complaining, but her +friend kept saying, "It's better higher up." At last they got to the +fifth story, and when they went into the sick-room, there was a nice +carpet on the floor, there were flowering plants in the window, and +little birds singing. And there they found this bedridden saint--one of +those saints whom God is polishing for his own temple--just beaming with +joy. The lady said to her, "It must be very hard for you to lie here." +She smiled, and said, "It's better higher up." Yes! And if things go +against us, my friends, let us remember that "it's better higher up." + + + +Calling the Roll of Heaven. + +A soldier, wounded during our last war, lay dying in his cot. Suddenly +the deathlike stillness of the room was broken by the cry, "Here! Here!" +which burst from the lips of the dying man. Friends rushed to the spot +and asked what he wanted. "Hark," he said, "they are calling the roll of +heaven, and I am answering to my name." In a few moments once more he +whispered, "Here!" and passed into the presence or the King. + + +GOLD. + +-- The way to heaven is straight as an arrow. + +-- Heaven is just as much a place as Chicago. It is a destination. + + + +[Illustration: Joseph Makes Himself Known to His Brethern. GUSTAVE +DORE. Genesis, xiv.] + + + +INFIDELITY + +The Young French Nobleman and the Doctor. + +In London, when I was there in 1867, I was told a story which made a +very deep impression upon me. A young French nobleman came there to see +a doctor, bringing letters from the French Emperor. The Emperor Napoleon +III. had a great regard for this young man, and the doctor wanted to +save him. He examined the young man, and saw there was something on his +mind. "Have you lost any property? What is troubling you? You have +something weighing upon your mind," said the doctor. "Oh, there is +nothing particular." "I know better; have you lost any relations?" asked +the doctor. "No, none within the last three years." "Have you lost any +reputation in your country?" "No." The doctor studied for a few minutes, +and then said, "I must know what is on your mind; I must know what is +troubling you." And the young man said, "My father was an infidel; my +grandfather was an infidel, and I was brought up an infidel, and for the +last three years these words have haunted me, 'Eternity, and where shall +it find me?'" "Ah," said the doctor, "you have come to the wrong +physician." "Is there no hope for me?" cried the young man. "I walk +about in the day time; I lie down at night, and it comes upon me +continually: 'Eternity, and where shall I spend it?' Tell me, is there +any hope for me?" The doctor said: "Now just sit down and be quiet. A +few years ago I was an infidel. I did not believe in God, and was in the +same condition in which you are in." The doctor took down his Bible and +turned to the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah and read: "He was wounded +for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the +chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are +healed." And he read on through this chapter. + +When he had finished, the young man said: "Do you believe this, that He +voluntarily left heaven, came down to this earth, and suffered and died +that we might be saved?" "Yes, I believe it. That brought me out of +infidelity, out of darkness into light." And he preached Christ and His +salvation and told him of heaven and then suggested that they get down +on their knees and pray. And when I went there in 1867 a letter had been +received from that young nobleman, who wrote to Dr. Whinston in London, +telling him that the question of "eternity, and where he should spend +it" was settled, and troubled him no more. My friends, the question of +eternity, and where we are going to spend it, forces itself upon +everyone of us. We are staying here for a little day. Our life is but a +fibre and it will soon be snapped. I may be preaching my last sermon. +To-night may find me in eternity. By the grace of God say that you will +spend it in heaven. + + + +Sambo and the Infidel Judge. + +Once there was a Judge who had a colored man. The colored man was very +godly, and the Judge used to have him to drive him around in his +circuit. The Judge used often to talk with him, and the colored man +would tell the Judge about his religious experience, and about his +battles and conflicts. One day the Judge said to him, "Sambo, how is it +that you Christians are always talking about the conflicts you have with +Satan. I am better off than you are. I don't have any conflicts or +trouble, and yet I am an infidel and you are a Christian--always in a +muss-how's that, Sambo?" This floored the colored man for a while. He +didn't know how to meet the old infidel's argument. So he shook his head +sorrowfully and said: "I dunno. Massa, I dunno." The Judge always +carried a gun along with him for hunting. Pretty soon they came to a lot +of ducks. The Judge took his gun and blazed away at them, and wounded +one and killed another. The Judge said quickly, "You jump in, Sambo, and +get that wounded duck before he gets off," and did not pay any attention +to the dead one. In went Sambo for the wounded duck and came out +reflecting. The colored man then thought he had an illustration. He said +to the Judge: "I hab 'im now, Massa, I'se able to show you how de +Christian hab greater conflict den de infidel. Don't you know de moment +you wounded dat ar duck, how anxious you was to get 'im out, and you +didn't care for de dead duck, but just lef 'im alone!" "Yes," said the +Judge. "Well," said Sambo, "ye see as how dat ar dead duck's a sure +thing. I'se wounded, and I tries to get away from de debbil. It takes +trouble to catch me. But, massa, you are a dead duck--dar is no squabble +for you. The debbil have you "sure!" So the devil has no conflict with +the infidel. + + + +An Infidel who would not Talk Infidelity before his Daughter. + +Not long ago I went into a man's house, and when I commenced to talk +about religion he turned to his daughter and said: "You had better go +out of the room; I want to say a few words to Mr. Moody." When she had +gone he opened a perfect torrent of infidelity upon me. "Why," said I, +"did you send your daughter out of the room before you said this?" +"Well," he replied, "did not think it would do her any good to hear what +I said." My friends, his "rock is not as our rock" Why did he send his +daughter out of the room if he believed what he said? When these +infidels are in trouble why do not they get some of their infidel +friends to administer consolation? When they make a will why do they +call in some follower of the Lord Jesus Christ to carry it out? Why, it +is because they cannot trust their infidel friends. + + +A Dying Infidel's Confession. + +I want to read to you a letter which I received some time ago. I read +this to you because I am getting letters from infidels who say that not +an infidel has repented during our meetings. Only about ten days ago I +got a letter from an infidel, who accused me of being a liar. He said +there had not been an infidel converted during our meetings. My friends, +go up to the young converts' meeting any Monday night, and you will see +there ten or twelve every night who have accepted Christ. Why, nearly +every night we meet with a poor infidel who accepts Christ, But let me +read this letter. We get many letters every day for prayer, and, my +friends, you don't know the stories that lie behind those letters. The +letter I am about to read was not received here, but while we were in +Philadelphia. When I received it I put it away, intending to use it at a +future day: + +DEAR SIR: Allow me the privilege of addressing you with a few words. The +cause of writing is indeed a serious one. I am the son of an +aristocratic family of Germany--was expensively educated, and at +college at Leipsic was ruined by drinking, etc.; was expelled for +gambling and dishonesty. My parents were greatly grieved at my conduct, +and I did not dare return home, but sailed for America. I went to St. +Louis and remained there for want of money to get away. I finally +obtained a situation as bookkeeper in a dry goods house; heard from home +and the death of my parents. This made me more sinful than ever before. +I heard one of your sermons, which made a deep impression on me. I was +taken sick, and the words of your text came to me and troubled me. I +have tried to find peace of God, but have not succeeded. My friends, by +reasoning with me that there was no God, endeavored to comfort me. The +thought of my sinfulness and approaching the grave, my blasphemy, my bad +example, caused me to mourn and weep. I think God is too just to forgive +me my sins. My life is drawing to a close. I have not yet received God's +favor. Will you not remember me in your prayers, and beseech God to save +my soul from eternal destruction? Excuse me for writing this, but it +will be the last I shall write this side of the grave. + + + +Infidel Books. + +If you stop to ask yourself why you don't believe in Christ, is there +really any reason? People read infidel books and wonder, why they are +unbelievers, I ask why they read such books. They think they must read +both sides. I say that book is a lie, how can it be one side when it is +a lie? It is not one side at all. Suppose a man tells right down lies +about my family, and I read them so as to hear both sides; it would not +be long before some suspicion would creep into my mind. I said to a man +once, "Have you got a wife?" "Yes, and a good one." I asked: "Now what +if I should come to you and cast out insinuations against her?" And he +said, "Well your life would not be safe long if you did." I told him +just to treat the devil as he would treat a man who went around with +such stories. We are not to blame for having doubts flitting through our +minds, but for harboring them. Let us go out trusting the Lord with +heart and soul to-day. + + + +How a Little Study Upset the Plans of a few Prominent Infidels. + +It is said of West, an eminent man, that he was going to take up the +doctrine of the resurrection, and just show the world what a fraud it +was, while Lord Lyttleton was going to take up the conversion of Saul, +and just show the folly of it. These men were going to annihilate that +doctrine and that incident of the gospel. A Frenchman said it took +twelve fishermen to build up Christ's religion, but one Frenchman pulled +it down. From Calvary this doctrine rolled along the stream of time, +through the eighteen hundred years, down to us, and West got at it and +began to look at the evidence; but instead of his being able to cope +with it he found it perfectly overwhelming--the proof that Christ had +risen, that He had come out of the sepulcher and ascended to heaven and +led captivity captive. The light dawned upon him, and he became an +expounder of the word of God and a champion of Christianity; And Lord +Lyttleton, that infidel and skeptic hadn't been long at the conversion +of Saul before the God of Saul broke upon his sight, and he too, began +to preach. + + + +GOLD. + +-- What reason have I for doubting God's own word? + +-- I just as much believe that God sent Christ into the world to be the + Saviour of the world, as I believe that I exist. + + + +INTEMPERANCE. + +Cast Out But Rescued. + +I met a man in New York who was an earnest worker, and I asked him to +tell me his experience. He said he had been a drunkard for over twenty +years. His parents had forsaken him, and his wife had cast him off and +married some one else. He went into a lawyer's office in Poughkeepsie, +mad with drink. This lawyer proved a good Samaritan, and reasoned with +him, and told him he could be saved. The man scouted the idea. He said: +"I must be pretty low when my father and mother, my wife and kindred, +have cast me off, and there is no hope for me here or hereafter." But +this good Samaritan showed him how it was possible to secure salvation, +got him on his feet, got him on his beast, like the good Samaritan of +old, and guided his face toward Zion. And this man said to me: "I have +not drank a glass of liquor since." He is now leader of a young men's +meeting in New York. I asked him to come last Saturday night to +Northfield, my native town, where there are a good many drunkards, +thinking he might encourage them to seek salvation. He came and brought +a young man with him. They held a meeting, and it seemed as if the power +of God rested upon that meeting when these two men went on telling what +God had done for them--how He had destroyed the works of the devil in +their hearts, and brought peace and unalloyed happiness to their souls. +These grog shops here are the works of the devil--they are ruining men's +souls every hour. Let us fight against them, and let our prayers go up +in our battles. It may seem a very difficult thing for us, but it is a +very easy thing for God to convert rumsellers. + + + +The Way of the Transgressor is Hard. + +There was a man whom I knew who was an inveterate drinker. He had a wife +and children. He thought he could stop whenever he felt inclined, but he +went the ways of most moderate drinkers. I had not been gone more than +three years, and when I returned I found that that mother had gone down +to her grave with a broken heart, and that man was the murderer of the +wife of his bosom. Those children have all been taken away from him, and +he is now walking up and down those streets homeless. But four years ago +he had a beautiful and a happy home with his wife and children around +him. They are gone; probably he will never see them again. Perhaps he +has come in here to-night. If he has, I ask him: Is not the way of the +transgressor hard? + + + +A Rum-Seller's Son Blows his Brains Out. + +Look at that rum-seller. When we talk to him he laughs at us. He tells +you there is no hell, no future--there is no retribution. I've got one +man in my mind now who ruined nearly all the sons in his neighborhood. +Mothers and fathers went to him and begged him not to sell their +children liquor. He told them it was his business to sell liquor, and he +was going to sell liquor to everyone who came. The saloon was a blot +upon the place as dark as hell. But the man had a father's heart. He had +a son. He didn't worship God, but he worshiped that boy. He didn't +remember that whatsoever a man soweth so shall he reap. My friends, they +generally reap what they sow. It may not come soon, but the retribution +will come. If you ruin other men's sons some other man will ruin yours. +Bear in mind God is a God of equity; God is a God of justice. He is not +going to allow you to ruin men and then escape yourself. If we go +against his laws we suffer. Time rolled on and that young man became a +slave to drink, and his life became such a burden to him that he put a +revolver to his head and blew his brains out. The father lived a few +years, but his life was as bitter as gall, and then went down to his +grave in sorrow. Ah, my friends, it is hard to kick against the pricks. + + + +A Distiller Interrogates Moody. + +In Europe in a place where there was a good deal of whisky distilled, +one of the men in the business was a church member, and got a little +anxious in his conscience about his business. He came and asked me if I +thought that a man could not be an honest distiller. I said, You should +do whatever you do for the glory of God. If you can get down and pray +about a barrel of whisky, and say, for instance, when you sell it, "O +Lord God, let this whisky be blessed to the world," it is probably +honest. + + +The Most Hopeless Man in New York now a Sunday-School Superintendent. + +A young man in one of our meetings in New York got up and thrilled the +audience with his experience. "I want to tell you," he said, "that nine +months ago a Christian came to my house and said he wanted me to become +a Christian. He talked to me kindly and encouragingly, pointing out the +error of my ways, and I become converted. I had been a hard drinker, but +since that time I have not touched a drop of liquor. If anyone had asked +who the most hopeless man in town was they would have pointed to me." +To-day this man is the superintendent of a Sabbath-school. Eleven years +ago, when I went to Boston, I had a cousin who wanted a little of my +experience. I gave him all the help I could, and he became a Christian. +He did not know how near death was to him: He wrote to his brother and +said: "I am very anxious to get your soul to Jesus." The letter somehow +went to another city, and lay from the 28th of February till the 28th of +March--just one month. He saw it was in his brother's handwriting, and +tore it open and read the above words. It struck a chord in his heart, +and was the means of converting him. And this was the Christian who led +this drunken man to Christ. This young man had a neighbor who had drank +for forty years, and he went to that neighbor and told him what God had +done for him, and the result was another conversion. I tell you these +things to encourage you to believe that the drunkard can be saved. + + + +A Remarkable Case. + +I may relate a little experience. In Philadelphia, at one of our +meetings, a drunken man rose up. Till that time I had no faith that a +drunken man could be converted. When any one approached he was generally +taken out. This man got up and shouted, "I want to be prayed for." The +friends who were with him tried to draw him away, but he shouted only +louder, and for three times he repeated the request. His call was +attended to and he was converted. God has power to convert a man even if +he is drunk. + + + +"O Edward." + +I remember going into a young converts' meeting in Philadelphia, where I +heard a story that thrilled my soul. A young man said he had been a +great drunkard. He had lost one situation after another; till finally he +came to the very dregs. He left Philadelphia, and went first to +Washington, and then to Baltimore. One night he came back to +Philadelphia. He had lost his key and could not get into his home. He +was afraid to go into the house while the people were stirring, so he +staid outside watching till all had retired. He knew that after that +there would be at least one who would hear him and come to the door. He +went to the door; he knocked; when he heard the footsteps of his mother. +"O Edward," said she, "I am so glad to see you." She did not reprove +him; did not rebuke him. He went up stairs and did not come down for two +days. When he came to, the servants were walking about the house very +softly--everything was quiet. They told him that his mother was at the +point of death. His brother was a physician, and he went to him and +asked him if it was so. "Yes, Ned," said he, "mother can't live." He +immediately went up stairs, and asked his mother's forgiveness, and +prayed to his mother's God to have mercy upon him. "And God," said he, +"my mother's God, heard my prayers," and the tears trickled down his +face and he said: "God has kept me straight these four years in the face +of all trials." O sinner, ask for His grace and might; do not turn Him +away. + + + +Moody Asks a Few Questions. + +Let me ask you a question. Do you think that those gamblers, thieves, +harlots, and drunkards who are trampling the ten commandments under +their feet, they who have never given any respect to God's Word or to +His instructions--do you think they will be swept into the kingdom of +heaven, against their will? Do you think those antedeluvians who were so +sinful that God could not let them live on the earth would be swept into +Paradise and Noah left to wade through the deluge? Do you think that +these people, too corrupt for earth, would go there? As I have said +before, an unregenerated man in heaven would make a hell of it. An +unregenerated man couldn't stay there. Why, some of you cannot wait an +hour here to listen to the Word of God. Before the hour expires you want +to go out. Some of you just wish it was over so that you could go and +get a drink in some of those saloons. I tell you, from the very depths +of my heart, I believe heaven would be a hell to an unregenerated man. +"I don't want to be here," he would say. My friends, heaven is a +prepared place for prepared people, and no one will ever see the kingdom +of God without being born of God. + + +The Drunken Father and his Praying Child. + +I remember when out in Kansas, while holding a meeting, I saw a little +boy who came up to the window crying. I went to him and said: "My little +boy, what is your trouble?" "Why, Mr. Moody, my mother's dead, and my +father drinks, and they don't love me, and the Lord won't have anything +to do with me because I am a poor drunkard's boy." "You have got a wrong +idea, my boy, Jesus will love you and save you and your father too," and +I told him a story of a little boy in an Eastern city. The boy said his +father would never allow the canting hypocrites of Christians to come +into his house, and would never allow his child to go to Sunday-school. +A kind-hearted man got his little boy and brought him to Christ. When +Christ gets into a man's heart he cannot help but pray. This father had +been drinking one day and coming home he heard that boy praying. He went +to him and said: "I don't want you to pray any more. You've been along +with some of those Christians. If I catch you praying again I'll flog +you." But the boy was filled with God and he couldn't help praying. The +door of communication was opened between him and Christ, and his father +caught him praying again. He went to him. "Didn't I tell you never to +pray again? If I catch you at it once more you leave my house." He +thought he would stop him. One day the old tempter came upon the boy, +and he did something wrong and got flogged. When he got over his mad fit +he forgot the threats of his father and went to pray. His father had +been drinking more than usual, and coming in found the boy offering a +prayer. He caught the boy with a push and said, "Didn't I tell you never +to pray again? Leave this house. Get your things packed up and go." The +little fellow hadn't many things to get together--a drunkard's boy never +has, and went up to his mothers room. "Good-by, mother." "Where are you +going?" "I don't know where I'll go, but father says I cannot stay here +any longer; I've been praying again," he said. The mother knew it +wouldn't do to try to keep the boy when her husband had ordered him +away, so she drew him to her bosom and kissed him, and bid him good-by. +He went to his brothers and sisters and kissed them good-by. When he +came to the door his father was there and the little fellow reached out +his hand--"Good-by, father; as long as I live I will pray for you," and +left the house. He hadn't been gone many minutes when the father rushed +after him. "My boy, if that is religion, if it can drive you away from +father and mother and home; I want it." Yes, may be some little boy here +to-night has got a drinking father and mother. Lift your voice to +heaven, and the news will be carried up to heaven, "He prays." + + + +GOLD. + +-- The drunkard, the open blasphemer, the worst sinners, are precisely + the ones that need Jesus most. The well don't need Him at all. + +-- There is many a gem in these billiard halls that only needs the way + pointed out to fill their souls with the love of Christ. + + + +LIBERTY. + +Old Samba and "Massa." + +A friend of mine said he was down in Natchez before the war, and he and +a friend of his went out riding one Saturday--they were teaching school +through the week--and they drove out back from Natchez. It was a +beautiful day, and they saw an old slave coming up, and they thought +they would have a little fun. They had just come to a place where there +was a fork in the road, and there was a sign-post which read, "40 miles +to Liberty." One of the young men said to the old darkey driver, "Samba, +how old are you?" "I don't know, massa. I guess I'se about eighty." "Can +you read?" "No, sah; we don't read in dis country. It's agin the law." +"Can you tell what is on that sign-post?" "Yes, sah; it says 40 miles to +Liberty." "Well, now," said my friend, "why don't you follow that road +and get your liberty. It says there, 'only 40 miles to Liberty.' Now, +why don't you take that road and go there?" The old man's countenance +changed, and he said, "Oh, young massa, that is all a sham. If the post +pointed out the road to the liberty that God gives, we might try it. +There could be no sham in that." My friend said he had never heard +anything more eloquent from the lips of a preacher. God wants all his +sons to have liberty. + + + +"Liberty Now and Forever." + +When Miss Smiley went down South to teach, she went to a hotel and found +everything covered with dirt. The tables were dirty, dishes dirty, beds +were dirty. So she called an old colored woman who was in the house, and +said, "Now you know that the Northern people set you at liberty. I came +from the North and I don't like dirt, so I want you to clean the house." +The old colored woman set to work, and it seemed as if she did more work +in that half day than she had done in a month before. When the lady got +back the colored woman came to her and said, "Now, is I free or ben't I +not? When I go to my old massa he says I ain't free, and when I go to my +own people they say I is, and I don't know whether I'm free or not. Some +people told me Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation, but massa says he +didn't; he hadn't any right to." So Christian people go along, not +knowing whether they are free or not. Why, when they have the Spirit +they are as free as air. Christ came for that. He didn't come to set us +free and then leave us in servitude. He came to give us liberty now and +forever. + + + +Out of Libby Prison. + +There was a story told me while I was in Philadelphia, by Capt. +Trumbull. He said when he was in Libby prison the news came that his +wife was in Washington, and his little child was dying: and the next +news that came was that his child was dead, and the mother remained in +Washington in hopes that her husband could come with her and take that +child off to New England and bury it; but that was the last he heard. +One day the news came into the prison that there was a boat up from City +Point, and there were over nine hundred men in the prison rejoicing at +once. They expected to get good news. Then came the news that there was +only one man in that whole number that was to be let go, and they all +began to say, "Who is it?" It was some one who had some influential +friend at Washington that had persuaded the government to take an +interest in him and get him out. The whole prison was excited. At last +an officer came and shouted at the top of his voice, "Henry Clay +Trumbull!" The chaplain told me his name never sounded so sweet to him +as it did that day. That was election, but you can't find any Henry Clay +Trumbull in the Bible. There is no special case in the Bible. God's +proclamations are to all sinners. Everybody can get out of prison that +wants to. The trouble is, they don't want to go. They had rather be +captives to some darling sin. + + + +An Emperor Sets Forty Million Slaves Free. + +Once the Emperor of Russia had a plan by which he was to liberate the +serfs of that country. There were forty millions of them. Of some of +them, their whole time was sold, of others, only a part. The Emperor +called around him his council, and wanted to have them devise some way +to set the slaves at liberty. After they had conferred about it for six +months, one night the council sent in their decision, sealed, that they +thought it was not expedient. The Emperor went down to the Greek Church +that night and partook of the Lord's Supper, and he set his house in +order, and the next morning you could hear the tramp of soldiers in the +streets of St. Petersburgh. The Emperor summoned his guard, and before +noon sixty-five thousand men were surrounding that palace. Just at +midnight there came out a proclamation that every slave in Russia was +forever set free. The proclamation had gone forth, and all the slaves of +the realm believed it. They have been free ever since. Suppose they had +not believed it? They never then would have got the benefit of it. If +one man can liberate forty millions, has not God got the power to +liberate every captive? + + + +Moody on "Duty"--How He Loves His Mother. + +I have an old mother away down in the Connecticut mountains, and I have +been in the habit of going to see her every year for twenty years. +Suppose I go there and say, "Mother, you were very kind to me when I was +young--you were very good to me; when father died you worked hard for us +all to keep us together, and so I have come to see you because it is my +duty." I went then only because it was my duty. Then she would say to +me, "Well, my son, if you only come to see me because it is your duty, +you need not come again." And that is the way with a great many of the +servants of God. They work for Him because it is their duty--not for +love. Let us abolish this word duty, and feel that it is only a +privilege to work for God, and let us try to remember that what is done +merely from a sense of duty is not acceptable to God. + + + +Moody with Gen. Grant's Army in Richmond. + +It was my privilege to go to Richmond with Gen. Grant's army. Now just +let us picture a scene. There are a thousand poor captives, and they are +lawful captives, prisoners in Libby Prison. Talk to some of them that +have been there for months and hear them tell their story. I have wept +for hours to hear them tell how they suffered, how they could not hear +from their homes and their loved ones for long intervals, and how +sometimes they would get messages that their loved ones were dying and +they could not get home to be with them in their dying hours. Let us, +for illustration, picture a scene. One beautiful day in the Spring they +are there in the prison. All news has been kept from them. They have not +heard what has been going on around Richmond, and I can imagine one says +one day, "Ah, boys, listen! I hear a band of music, and it sounds as if +they were playing the old battle cry of the Republic. It sounds as if +they were playing "The star spangled banner! long may it wave o'er the +land of the free and the home of the brave!" And the hearts of the poor +fellows begin to leap for joy. "I believe Richmond is taken. I believe +they are coming to deliver us," and every man in that prison, is full of +joy, and by and by the sound comes nearer and they see it is so. It is +the Union army! Next the doors of the prison are unlocked; they fly wide +open, and those thousand men are set free. Wasn't that good news to +them? Could there have been any better news? They are out of prison, out +of bondage, delivered. Christ came to proclaim liberty to the captive. + + + +Condemned to be Shot. + +There was a man came from Europe to this country a year or two ago, and +he became dissatisfied and went to Cuba in 1867 when they had that great +civil war there. Finally he was arrested for a spy, court-martialed, and +condemned to be shot. He sent for the American Consul and the English +Consul, and went on to prove to them that he was no spy. These two men +were thoroughly convinced that the man was no spy, and they went to one +of the Spanish officers and said, "This man you have condemned to be +shot is an innocent man." "Well," the Spanish officer says, "the man has +been legally tried by our laws and condemned, and the law must take its +course and the man must die." And the next morning the man was led out; +the grave was already dug for him, and the black cap was put on him, and +the soldiers were there ready to receive the order, "Fire," and in a +few moments the man would be shot and put in that grave and covered up, +when who should rise up but the American Consul, who took the American +flag and wrapped it around him, and the English Consul took the English +flag and wrapped it around him; and they said to those soldiers, "Fire +on those flags if you dare!" Not a man dared; there were two great +governments behind those flags. And so God says, "Come under my banner, +come under the banner of love, come under the banner of heaven." God +will take care of all that will come under His banner. + + + +Snapping the Chains. + +In the North there was a minister talking to a man in the inquiry-room. +The man says, "My heart is so hard, it seems as if it was chained, and I +cannot come." "Ah," says the minister, "come along, chain and all," and +he just came to Christ hard-hearted, chain and all, and Christ snapped +the fetters, and set him free right there. So come along. If you are +bound hand and foot by Satan, it is the work of God to break the +fetters; you cannot break them. + + + +Napoleon and the Conscript. + +There is a well-known story told of Napoleon the First's time. In one of +the conscriptions, during one of his many wars, a man was balloted as a +conscript who did not want to go, but he had a friend who offered to go +in his place. His friend joined the regiment in his name, and was sent +off to the war. By and by a battle came on, in which he was killed, and +they buried him on the battle-field. Some time after the Emperor wanted +more men, and by some mistake the first man was balloted a second time. +They went to take him but he remonstrated. You cannot take me." "Why +not?" "I am dead," was the reply. "You are not dead; you are alive and +well." "But I am dead," he said "Why, man, you must be mad. Where did +you die?" "At such a battle, and you left me buried on such a +battlefield." "You talk like a mad man," they cried; but the man stuck +to his point that he had been dead and buried some months. "You look up +your books," he said, "and see if it is not so." They looked, and found +that he was right. They found the man's name entered as drafted, sent to +the war, and marked off as killed. "Look here," they said, "you didn't +die; you must have got some one to go for you; it must have been your +substitute." "I know that," he said; "he died in my stead. You cannot +touch me: I died in that man, and I go free. The law has no claim +against me." They would not recognize the doctrine of substitution, and +the case was carried to the Emperor. But he said that the man was right, +that he was dead and buried in the eyes of the law, and that France had +no claim against him. This story may or may not be true but one thing I +know is true; Jesus Christ suffered death for the sinner, and those who +accept Him are free from the law. + + + +The King's Pardon. + +A man was once being tried for a crime, the punishment of which was +death. The witnesses came in one by one and testified to his guilt; but +there he stood, quite calm and unmoved. The judge and the jury were +quite surprised at his indifference; they could not understand how he +could take such a serious matter so calmly. When the jury retired, it +did not take them many minutes to decide on a verdict "Guilty;" and when +the judge was passing the sentence of death upon the criminal he told +him how surprised he was that he could be so unmoved in the prospect of +death. When the judge had finished, the man put his hand in his bosom, +pulled out a document, and walked out of the dock a free man. Ah, that +was how he could be so calm; it was a free pardon from his king, which +he had in his pocket all the time. The king had instructed him to allow +the trial to proceed, and to produce the pardon only when he was +condemned. No wonder, then, that he was indifferent as to the result of +the trial. Now that is just what will make us joyful in the great day of +judgment: we have got a pardon from the Great King, and it is sealed +with the blood of His Son. + + + +[Illustration: The Judgement of Solomon. GUSTAVE DORE. 1 Kings, iii.] + + + +GOLD. + +-- If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you are free. + +-- There is no sin in the whole catalogue of sins you can name but + Christ will deliver you from it perfectly. + +-- We are led on by an unseen power that we have not got strength to + resist, or else we are led on by the loving Son of God. + +-- The trouble is, people do not know that Christ is a Deliverer. They + forget that the Son of God came to keep them from sin as well as to + forgive it. + +-- You say "I am afraid I cannot hold out." Well, Christ will hold out + for you. There is no mountain that He will not climb with you if you + will; He will deliver you from your besetting sin. + +-- Satan rules all men that are in his kingdom. Some he rules through + lust. Some he rules through covetousness. Some he rules through + appetite. Some he rules by their temper, but he rules them. And none + will ever seek to be delivered until they get their eyes open and see + that they have been taken captive. + +-- When Christ was on the earth there was a woman in the temple who was + bowed almost to the ground with sin. Satan had bound her for eighteen + years; but after all these years of bondage Christ delivered her. He + spoke one word and she was free. She got up and walked home. How + astonished those at home must have been to see her walking in. + + + +LITTLE FOLKS. + +The Little Child and the Big Book. + +I like to think of Christ as a burden bearer. A minister was one day +moving his library up stairs. As the minister was going up stairs with +his load of books his little boy came in and was very anxious to help +his father. So his father just told him to go and get an armful and take +them up stairs. When the father came back he met the little fellow about +half way up the stairs tugging away with the biggest in the library. He +couldn't manage to carry it up. The book was too big. So he sat down and +cried. His father found him, and just took him in his arms, book and +all, and carried him up stairs. So Christ will carry you and all your +burdens. + + +The Horse that was Established. + +There was a little boy converted and he was full of praise. When God +converts boy or man his heart is full of joy--can't help praising. His +father was a professed Christian. The boy wondered why he didn't talk +about Christ, and didn't go down to the special meetings. One day, as +the father was reading the papers, the boy came to him and put his hand +on his shoulder and said: "Why don't you praise God? Why don't you sing +about Christ? Why don't you go down to these meetings that are being +held?" The father opened his eyes, and looked at him and said, gruffly: +"I am not carried away with any of these doctrines. I am established." A +few days after they were getting out a load of wood. They put it on the +cart. The father and the boy got on lop of the load, and tried to get +the horse to go. They used the whip, but the horse wouldn't move. They +got off and tried to roll the wagon along, but they could move neither +the wagon nor the horse. "I wonder what's the matter?" said the father. +"He's established," replied the boy. You may laugh at that, but this is +the way with good many Christians. + + + +The Scotch Lassie and Dr. Chalmers. + +There is a story of Dr. Chalmers. A lady came to him and said: "Doctor, +I cannot bring my child to Christ. I've talked, and talked, but it's of +no use." The Doctor thought she had not much skill, and said, "Now you +be quiet and I will talk to her alone." When the Doctor got the Scotch +lassie alone he said to her, "They are bothering you a good deal about +this question; now suppose I just tell your mother you don't want to be +talked to any more upon this subject for a year. How will that do?" +Well, the Scotch lassie hesitated a little, and then said she "didn't +think it would be safe to wait for a year. Something might turn up. She +might die before then." "Well, that's so," replied the doctor, "but +suppose we say six months." She didn't think even this would be safe. +"That's so," was the doctors reply; "well, let us say three months." +After a little hesitation, the girl finally said, "I don't think it +would be safe to put it off for three months--don't think it would be +safe to put it off at all," and they went down on their knees and found +Christ. + + + +[Illustration: The Sermon on the Mount. GUSTAVE DORE. Matthew, v.] + + + +Johnny, Cling Close to the Rock + +Little Johnny and his sister were one day going through a long, narrow +railroad tunnel. The railroad company had built small clefts here and +there through the tunnel, so that if any one got caught in the tunnel +when the train was passing, they could save themselves. After this +little boy and girl had gone some distance in the tunnel they heard a +train coming. They were frightened at first, but the sister just put her +little brother in one cleft and she hurried and hid in another. The +train came thundering along, and as it passed, the sister cried out: +"Johnny, cling close to the rock! Johnny, cling close to the rock!" and +they were safe. The "Rock of Ages" may be beaten by the storms and waves +of adversity, but "cling close to the rock, Christians, and all will be +well." The waves don't touch the Christian; he is sheltered by the Rock +"that is higher than I," by the One who is the strong arm, and the +Saviour who is mighty and willing to save. + + + +Obedience. + +Suppose I say to my boy, "Willie, I want you to go out and bring me a +glass of water." He says he doesn't want to go. "I didn't ask you +whether you wanted to go or not, Willie; I told you to go." "But I don't +want to go," he says. "I tell you, you must go and get me a glass of +water." He does not like to go. But he knows I am very fond of grapes, +and he is very fond of them himself, so he goes out, and some one gives +him a beautiful cluster of grapes. He comes in and says, "Here, papa, +here is beautiful cluster of grapes for you." "But what about the +water?" "Won't the grapes be acceptable, papa?" "No, my boy, the grapes +are not acceptable; I won't take them; I want you to get me a glass or +water." The little fellow doesn't want to get the water, but he goes +out, and this time some one gives him an orange. He brings it in and +places it before me. "Is that acceptable?" he asks. "No, no, no!" I say; +"I want nothing but water; you cannot do anything to please me until you +get the water." And so, my friends, to please God you must first obey +Him. + + + +Jumping into Father's Arms. + +I remember, while in Mobile attending meetings, a little incident +occurred which I will relate. It was a beautiful evening, and just +before the meeting some neighbors and myself were sitting on the front +piazza enjoying the evening. One of the neighbors put one of his +children upon a ledge eight feet high, and put out his hands and told +him to jump. Without the slightest hesitation he sprang into his +father's arms. Another child was lifted up, and he, too, readily sprang +into the arms of his father. He picked up another boy, larger than the +others, and held out his arms, but he wouldn't jump. He cried and +screamed to be taken down. The man begged the boy to jump, but it was of +no use; he couldn't be induced to jump. The incident made me curious, +and I stepped up to him and asked, "How was it that those two little +fellows jumped so readily into your arms and the other boy wouldn't?" +"Why," said the man, "those two boys are my children and the other boy +isn't, he don't know me." + + + +How Three Sunday School Children Met Their Fate. + +When the Lawrence Mills were on fire a number or years ago--I don't mean +on fire, but when the mill fell in--the great mill fell in, and after it +had fallen in, the ruins caught fire. There was only one room left +entire, and in it were three Mission Sunday-school children imprisoned. +The neighbors and all hands got their shovels and picks and crowbars, +and were working to set the children free. It came on night and they had +not yet reached the children. When they were near them, by some +mischance a lantern broke, and the ruins caught fire. They tried to put +it out, but could not succeed. They could talk with the children, and +even pass to them some coffee and some refreshments, and encourage them +to keep up. But, alas, the flames drew nearer and nearer to this prison. +Superhuman were the efforts made to rescue the children; the men bravely +fought back the flames; but the fire gained fresh strength and returned +to claim its victims. Then piercing shrieks arose when the spectators +saw that the efforts of the firemen were hopeless. The children saw +their fate. They then knelt down and commenced to sing the little hymn +we have all been taught in our Sunday-school days, Oh! how sweet--: "Let +others seek a home below which flames devour and waves overflow." The +flames had now reached them; the stifling smoke began to pour into their +little room, and they began to sink, one by one, upon the floor. A few +moments more and the fire circled around them and their souls were taken +into the bosom of Christ. Yes, let others seek a home below if they +will, but seek ye the Kingdom of God with all your hearts. + + + +PARENTAL. + +A Father's Love Trampled Under Foot. + +I once heard of a father who had a prodigal boy, and the boy had sent +his mother down to the grave with a broken heart, and one evening the +boy started out as usual to spend the night in drinking and gambling, +and his old father, as he was leaving, said: "My son, I want to ask a +favor of you to-night. You have not spent an evening with me since your +mother died. Now won't you gratify your old father by staying at home +with him?" "No," said the young man, "it is lonely here, and there is +nothing to interest me, and I am going out." And the old man prayed and +wept, and at last said: "My boy, you are just killing me as you have +killed your mother. These hairs are growing white, and you are sending +me, too, to the grave." Still the boy would not stay, and the old man +said: "If you are determined to go to ruin, you must go over this old +body to-night. I can not resist you. You are stronger than I, but if you +go out you must go over this body." And he laid himself down before the +door, and that son walked over the form of his father, trampled the love +of his father under foot, and went out. + + + +"That is the Price of My Soul" + +I heard a story of a young lady who was deeply concerned about her soul. +Her father and mother, however, were worldly people. They thought +lightly of her serious wishes; they did not sympathize with her state of +mind. They made up their minds that she should not become a Christian, +and tried every way they could to discourage her notions about religion. +At last they thought they would get up a large party--thus with gayety +and pleasure win her back to the world. So they made every preparation +for a gay time; they even sent to neighboring towns and got all her most +worldly companions to come to the house; they bought her a magnificent +silk dress and jewelry, and decked her out in all the finery of such an +occasion. The young lady thought there would be no harm in attending the +party; that it would be a trifling affair, a simple thing, and she +could, after it was over, think again of the welfare of her soul. She +went decked out in all her adornments, and was the belle of the ball +Three weeks from that night she was on her dying bed. She asked her +mother to bring her ball dress in. She pointed her finger at it, and, +bursting into tears, said, "That is the price of my soul." She died +before dawn. Oh, my friends, if you are anxious about your soul, let +everything else go; let parties and festivals pass. + + + +The Two Fathers. + +Whenever I think about this subject, two fathers come before me. One +lived on the Mississippi river. He was a man of great wealth. Yet he +would have freely given it all could he have brought back his eldest boy +from his early grave. One day that boy had been borne home unconscious. +They did everything that man could do to restore him, but in vain. "He +must die," said the doctor. "But, doctor," said the agonized father, +"can you do nothing to bring him to consciousness, even for a moment?" +"That may be," said the doctor; "'but he can never live." Time passed, +and after a terrible suspense, the fathers wish was gratified. "My son," +he whispered, "the doctor tells me you are dying." "Well," said the boy, +"you never prayed for me, father; won't you pray for my lost soul now?" +The father wept. It was true he had never prayed. He was a stranger to +God. And in a little while that soul, unprayed for, passed into its dark +eternity. Oh, father! if your boy was dying, and he called on you to +pray, could you lift your burdened heart to heaven? Have you learned +this sweetest lesson of heaven on earth, to know and hold communion with +your God? And before this evil world has marked your dearest treasures +for its prey, have you learned to lead your little ones to a children's +Christ? + +What a contrast is the other father? He, too, had a lovely boy, and one +day he came home to find him at the gates of death. "A great change has +come over our boy," said the weeping mother; "he has only been a little +ill before, but it seems now as if he were dying fast." The father went +into the room, and placed his hand on the forehead of the little boy. He +could see the boy was dying. He could feel the cold damp of death. "My +son, do you know you are dying?" "No, am I?" "Yes; you are dying." "And +shall I die to-day?" "Yes, my boy, you cannot live till night." "Well, +then, I shall be with Jesus to-night, won't I, father?" "Yes, my son, +you will spend to-night with the Saviour." Mothers and fathers, the +little ones may begin early; be in earnest with them now. You know not +how soon you may be taken from them, or they may be taken from you. +Therefore let this impression be made upon their minds--that you care +for their souls--a million times more than for their worldly prospects. + + + +The Stolen Boy--A Mother's Love. + +There was a boy a great many years ago, stolen in London, the same as +Charley Ross was stolen here. Long months and years passed away, and the +mother had prayed and prayed, as the mother of Charley Ross prayed, I +suppose, and all her efforts had failed and they had given up all hope; +but the mother did not quite give up her hope. One day a little boy was +sent up to the neighboring house to sweep the chimney, and by some +mistake he got down again through the wrong chimney. When he came down, +he came in by the sitting-room chimney. His memory began at once to +travel back through the years that had passed. He thought that things +looked strangely familiar. The scenes of the early days of youth were +dawning upon him; and as he stood there surveying the place, his mother +came into the room. He stood there covered with rags and soot. Did she +wait until she sent him to be washed before she rushed and took him in +her arms? No, indeed; it was her own boy. She took him to her arms all +black and smoke, and hugged him to her bosom, and shed tears of joy upon +his head. + + + +The Repentant Father. + +Not long ago a young man went home late. He had been in the habit of +going home late, and the father began to mistrust that he had gone +astray. He told his wife to go to bed, and dismissed the servants, and +said he would sit up till his son came home. The boy came home drunk, +and the father in his anger gave him a push into the street and told him +never to enter his house again, and shut the door. He went into the +parlor and sat down, and began to think: "Well, I may be to blame for +that boy's conduct, after all. I have never prayed with him. I have +never warned him of the dangers of the world." And the result of his +reflections was that he put on his overcoat and hat, and started out to +find his boy. The first policeman he met he asked eagerly, "Have you +seen my boy?" "No." On he went till he met another. "Have you seen +anything of my son?" He ran from one to another all that night, but not +until the morning did he find him. He took him by the arm and led him +home, and kept him till he was sober. Then he said: "My dear boy, I want +you to forgive me; I've never prayed for you; I've never lifted up my +heart to God for you; I've been the means of leading you astray, and I +want your forgiveness." The boy was touched, and what was the result? +Within twenty-four hours that son became a convert, and gave up that +cup. It may be that some father here has a wayward son. Go to God, and +on your knees confess it. Let the voice of Jesus sink down in your +heart; "Bring him unto Me." + + +The Sleep of Death. + +I read some time ago of a vessel that had been off on a whaling voyage +and had been gone about three years. I saw the account in print +somewhere lately, but it happened a long time ago. The father of one of +those sailors had charge of the lighthouse, and he was expecting his boy +to come home. It was time for the whaling vessel to return. One night +there came up a terrible gale, and this father fell asleep, and while he +slept his light went out. When he awoke he looked toward the shore and +saw there had been a vessel wrecked. He at once went to see if he could +not yet save some one who might be still alive. The first body that came +floating toward the shore was, to his great grief and surprise, the body +of his own boy! He had been watching for that boy for many days, and he +had been gone for three years. Now the boy had at last come in sight of +home and had perished because his father had let his light go out! I +thought, what an illustration of fathers and mothers to-day that have +let their lights go out! You are not training your children for God and +eternity. You do not live as though there were anything beyond this life +at all. You keep your affections set upon things on the earth instead of +on things above, and the result is that the children do not believe +there is anything in it. Perhaps the very next step they take may take +them into eternity: the next day they may die without God and without +hope. + + + +A Defaulter's Confession. + +One week ago I preached on the text, "Christ came to heal the +broken-hearted." I told you just before I came down that I had received +a letter from a broken-hearted wife. Her husband one night came in, to +her surprise, and said he was a defaulter and must flee, and he went, +she knew not where. He forsook her and two children. It was a pitiful +letter, and the wail of that poor woman seems to ring in my ears yet. +That night up in that gallery was a man whose heart began to beat when I +told the story, thinking it was him I meant, till I came to the two +children. When I got through I found that he had taken money which did +not belong to him, intending to replace it, but he failed to do so, and +fled. He said: "I have a beautiful wife and three children, but I had to +leave her and come to Chicago, where I have been hiding. The Governor of +the State has offered a reward for me." My friends, a week ago this poor +fellow found out the truth of this text. He was in great agony. He felt +as if he could not carry the burden, and he said, "Mr. Moody, I want you +to pray with me. Ask God for mercy for me." And down we went on our +knees. I don't know as I ever felt so bad for a man in my life. He asked +me if I thought he should go back. I told him to ask the Lord, and we +prayed over it. That was Sunday evening, and I asked him to meet me on +the Monday evening. He told how hard it was to go back to that town and +give himself up and disgrace his wife and children. They would give him +ten years. Monday came and he met me and said, "Mr. Moody, I have prayed +over this matter, and I think that Christ has forgiven me, but I don't +belong to myself. I must go back and give myself up. I expect to be sent +to the penitentiary; but I must go." He asked me to pray for his wife +and children, and he went off. He will be there to-day in the hands of +justice. My friends, don't say the way of the transgressor is not hard. + + + +Divided We Fall. + +I remember one mother who heard that her boy was impressed at our +meeting. She said her son was a good enough boy, and he didn't need to +be converted. I pleaded with that mother, but all my pleading was of no +account. I tried my influence, with the boy; but while I was pulling one +way she was pulling the other, and of course her influence prevailed. +Naturally it would. Well, to make a long story short, some time after I +happened to be in the County Jail, and I saw him there. "How did you +come here?" I asked; "does your mother know where you are?" "No, don't +tell her; I came in under an assumed name, and I am going to Joliet for +four years. Do not let my mother know of this," he pleaded; "she thinks +I am in the army." I used to call on that mother, but I had promised her +boy I would not tell her, and for four years she mourned over that boy, +She thought he had died on the battlefield or in a Southern hospital. +What a blessing he might have been to that mother, if she had only +helped us to bring him to Christ. But that mother is only a specimen of +hundreds and thousands of parents. If we would have more family altars +in our homes, and train them to follow Christ, the Son of God would lead +them into "green pastures," and instead of having sons who curse the +mothers who gave them birth, they would bless their fathers and mothers. + + +[Illustration: Prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Olives. GUSTAVE DORE. +Matthew, xxvi, 36-45] + + + +The Faithful London Lady. + +When I was in London, there was one lady dressed in black up in the +gallery. All the rest were ministers. I wondered who that lady could be. +At the close of the meeting I stepped up to her, and she asked me if I +did not remember her. I did not, but she told me who she was, and her +story came to my mind. When we were preaching in Dundee, Scotland, a +mother came up with her two sons, 16 and 17 years old. She said to me, +"Will you talk to my boys?" I asked her if she would talk to the +inquirers, as there were more inquirers than workers. She said she was +not a good enough Christian--was not prepared enough. I told her I could +not talk to her then. Next night she came to me and asked me again, and +the following night she repeated her request. Five hundred miles she +journeyed to get God's blessing for her boys, Would to God we had more +mothers like her. She came to London, and the first night I was there I +saw her in the Agricultural Hall. She was accompanied by only one of her +boys--the other had died. Toward the close of the meeting I received +this letter from her: + +"DEAR MR. MOODY: For months I have never considered the day's work ended +unless you and your work had been specially prayed for. Now it appears +before us more and more. What in our little measure we have found has no +doubt been the happy experience of many others in London. My husband and +I have sought as our greatest privilege to take unconverted friends one +by one to the Agricultural hall, and I thank God that, with a single +exception, those brought under the preaching from your lips have +accepted Christ as their Savior, and are rejoicing in his love." + +That lady was a lady of wealth and position. She lived a little way out +of London; gave up her beautiful home and took lodgings near +Agricultural Hall, so as to be useful in the inquiry room. When we went +down to the Opera House she was there; when we went down to the east +end, there she was again, and when I left London she had the names of +150 who had accepted Christ from her. Some have said that our work in +London was a failure. Ask her if the work was a failure, and she will +tell you. If we had a thousand such mothers in Chicago we would lift it. +Go and bring your friends here to the meetings. Think of the privilege, +my friends, of saving a soul. If we are going to work for good, we must +be up and about it. + + + +Arthur P. Oxley! Your Mother Wishes to See You. + +There was a lady that came down to Liverpool to see us privately; it was +just before we were about to leave that city to go to London to preach. +With tears and sobs she told a very pitiful story. It was this: She said +she had a boy nineteen years of age who had left her. She showed me his +photograph, and asked me to put it in my pocket. "You stand before many +and large assemblies, Mr. Moody. My boy may be in London, now. Oh, look +at the audience to whom you will preach; look earnestly. You may see my +dear boy before you. If you see him, tell him to come back to me. Oh, +implore him to come to his sorrowing mother, to his deserted home. He +may be in trouble; he may be suffering; tell him for his loving mother +that all is forgiven and forgotten, and he will find comfort and peace +at home." On the back of this photograph she had written his full name +and address; she had noted his complexion, the color of his eyes and +hair; why he had left home, and the cause of his so doing. "When you +preach, Mr. Moody, look for my poor boy," were the parting words of that +mother. That young man may be in this hall to-night. If he is, I want +to tell him that his mother loves him still. I will read out his name, +and if any of you ever hear of that young man, just tell him that his +mother is waiting with a loving heart and a tender embrace for him. His +name is Arthur P. Oxley, of Manchester, England. + + +The Cruel Mother--Hypothetical. + +Suppose a mother should come in here with a little child, and after she +has been here a while the child begins to cry, and she says, "Keep +still," but the child keeps on crying, and so she turns him over to the +police and says, "Take that child, I don't want him." What would you say +of such a mother as that? Teach a child that God loves him only so long +as he is good, and that when he is bad the Lord does not love him, and +you will find that when he grows up, if he has a bad temper he will have +the idea that God hates him because he thinks God don't love him when he +has got a bad temper, and as he has a bad temper all the time, of course +God does not love him at all, but hates him all the time. Now God hates +sin, but He loves the sinner, and there is a great difference between +the love of God and our love. + + + +The Loving Father. + +I remember my little girl had a habit of getting up in the morning very +cross. I don't know whether your children are like that. She used to get +up in the morning speaking cross, and made the family very +uncomfortable. So I took her aside one morning and said to her, "Emma, +if you go on that way I shall have to correct you; I don't want to do +it, but I will have to." She looked at me for a few moments--I had never +spoken to her that way before--and she went away. She behaved herself +for a few weeks all right, but one morning she was as cross as ever, and +when she came to me to be kissed before going to school, I wouldn't do +it. Off she went to her mother, and said: "Mamma, Papa refused to kiss +me: I cannot go to school because he won't kiss me." Her mother came in, +but she didn't say much. She knew the child had been doing wrong. The +little one went off and as she was going down stairs I heard her +weeping, and it seemed to me as if that child was dearer to me than ever +she had been before. I went to the window and saw her going down the +street crying, and as I looked on her I couldn't repress my tears. That +seemed to be the longest day I ever spent in Chicago. Before the closing +of the school I was at home, and when she came in her first words were: +"Papa, won't you forgive me?" and I kissed her and she went away +singing. It was because I loved her that I punished her. My friends, +don't let Satan make you believe when you have any trouble, that God +does not love you. + + + +PRAISE. + +"Three Cheers." + +Once, when a great fire broke out at midnight and people thought that +all the inmates had been taken out, way up there in the fifth story, was +seen a little child, crying for help. Up, went a ladder, and soon a +fireman was seen ascending to the spot. As he neared the second story +the flames burst in fury from the windows, and the multitude almost +despaired of the rescue of the child. The brave man faltered, and a +comrade at the bottom cried out, "Cheer him!" and cheer upon cheer arose +from the crowd. Up the ladder he went and saved the child, because they +cheered him. If you cannot go into the heat of the battle yourself, if +you cannot go into the harvest field and work day after day, you can +cheer those that are working for the Master. I see many old people in +their old days, get crusty and sour, and they discourage everyone they +meet by their fault finding. That is not what we want. If we make a +mistake, come and tell us of it, and we will thank you. You don't know +how much you may do by just speaking kindly to those that are willing to +work. + + +Always Happy. + +There was a man converted here some years ago, and he was just full of +praise. He was living in the light all the time. We might be in the +darkness, but he was always in the light. He used to preface everything +he said in the meeting with "praise God." One night he came to the +meeting with his finger all bound up. He had cut it, and cut it pretty +bad, too. Well, I wondered how he would praise God for this; but he got +up and said, "I have cut my finger, but, praise God, I didn't cut it +off." And so, if things go against you, just think they might be a good +deal worse. + + +[Illustration: Ruth and Boaz. GUSTAVE DORE. Ruth, ii.] + + + +Ten Years in a Sick Bed, yet Praising God. + +I have found people who were poor in this world's goods, in bad health, +and yet continually praising God. I can take you to a poor, burdened one +who has not been off her bed for ten years, and yet she praising Him +more than hundreds of thousands of Christians. Her chamber seems to be +just the ante-room of heaven. It seems as if that woman had just all the +secrets of heaven. Her soul is full of the love of God, full of +gladness, and she is poor. Like Elijah at the brook of Cherith, she is +just fed by the Almighty; God provides for all her wants. Any man that +knows God can trust Him and praise Him. He knows that the word of God is +true, and he knows that He will care for him. He who cares for the +lilies of the field, He, without whose knowledge not a sparrow can fall +to the ground, He who knows every hair of our heads, any man that knows +this, cannot he rejoice? Is there anyone here, who, although he is poor, +can find no reason to praise God? Some of those Christians who are so +poor, but who have the love of God, would not give up their place for +that of princes. + + + +GOLD. + +-- Praise is not only speaking to the Lord on our own account, but it is + praising Him for what He has done for others. + +-- If we have a praise church we will have people converted. I don't + care where it is, what part of the world it's in, if we have a praise + church we'll have successful Christianity. + +-- Every good gift that we have had from the cradle up has come from + God. If a man just stops to think what he has to praise God for, he + will find there is enough to keep him singing praises for a week. + +-- We have in our churches a great deal of prayer, but I think it would + be a good thing if we had a praise meeting occasionally. If we could + only get people to praise God for what He has done, it would be a + good deal better than asking Him continually for something. + + + +PRAYER. + +A Voice from the Tomb. + +The other day I read of a mother who died, leaving her child alone and +very poor. She used to pray earnestly for her boy, and left an +impression upon his mind that she cared more for his soul than she cared +for anything else in the world. He grew up to be a successful man in +business, and became very well off. One day not long ago, after his +mother had been dead for twenty years, he thought he would remove her +remains and put her into his own lot in the cemetery, and put up a +little monument to her memory. As he came to remove them and to lay her +away the thought came to him, that while his mother was alive she had +prayed for him, and he wondered why her prayers were not answered. That +very night that man was saved. After his mother had been buried so long +a time, the act of removing her body to another resting place, brought +up all the recollections of his childhood, and he became a Christian. O, +you mothers! + + +Prayer Answered. + +Only a few years ago in the City of Philadelphia there was a mother that +had two sons. They were just going as fast as they could to ruin. They +were breaking her heart, and she went into a little prayer-meeting and +got up and presented them for prayer. They had been on a drunken spree +or had just got started in that way, and she knew that their end would +be a drunkard's grave, and she went among these Christians and said, +"Won't you just cry to God for my two boys?" The next morning those two +boys had made an appointment to meet each other on the corner of Market +and Thirteenth streets--though not that they knew anything about our +meeting--and while one of them was there at the corner, waiting for his +brother to come, he followed the people who were flooding into the depot +building, and the spirit of the Lord met him, and he was wounded and +found his way to Christ. After his brother came he found the place too +crowded to enter, so he too went curiously into another meeting and +found Christ, and went home happy; and when he got home he told his +mother what the Lord had done for him, and the second son came with the +same tidings. I heard one of them get up afterwards to tell his +experience in the young converts' meeting, and he had no sooner told the +story than the other got up and said: "I am that brother, and there is +not a happier home in Philadelphia than we have got." + + + +The Praying Mother. + +I remember being in the camp and a man came to me and said, "Mr. Moody, +when the Mexican war began I wanted to enlist. My mother, seeing I was +resolved, said if I became a Christian I might go. She pleaded and +prayed that I might become a Christian, but I wouldn't. I said when the +war was over I would become a Christian, but not till then. All her +pleading was in vain, and at last, when I was going away, she took out a +watch and said: 'My son, your father left this to me when he died. Take +it, and I want you to remember that every day at 12 o'clock your mother +will be praying for you.' Then she gave me her Bible, and marked out +passages, and put a few different references in the fly-leaf. I took the +watch and the Bible just because my mother gave them. I never intended +to read the Bible. I went off to Mexico, and one day while on a long, +weary march, I took out my watch, and it was 12 o'clock. I had been gone +four months, but I remembered that my mother at that hour was praying +for me. Something prompted me to ask the officer to relieve me for a +little while, and I stepped behind a tree away out on those plains of +Mexico, and cried to the God of my mother to save me." My friends, God +saved him, and he went through the Mexican war, "and now," he said, "I +have enlisted again to see if I can do any good for my Master's cause." + + + +The Sinner's Prayer Heard. + +There was a man at one of our meetings in New York City who was moved by +the Spirit of God. He said, "I am going home, and I am not going to +sleep to-night till Christ takes away my sins, if I have to stay up all +night and pray. I'll do it." He had a good distance to walk, and as he +went along he thought, "Why can't I pray now as I go along, instead of +waiting to go home?" But he did not know a prayer. His mother had taught +him to pray, but it was so long since he had uttered a prayer that he +had forgotten. However, the publican's prayer came to his mind. +Everybody can say this prayer. That man in the gallery yonder, that +young lady over there: "God be merciful to me a sinner." May God write +it on your hearts to-night. If you forget the sermon, don't forget that +prayer. It is a very short prayer, and it has brought joy--salvation--to +many a soul. Well, this prayer came to the man, and he began, "God be +merciful to me a--," but before he got to "sinner" God blessed him. + + + +Black-balled by Man, Saved by Christ. + +At the Fulton street prayer-meeting a man came in, and this was his +story. He said he had a mother who prayed for him; he was a wild, +reckless prodigal. Some time after his mother's death he began to be +troubled. He thought he ought to get into new company, and leave his old +companions. So he said he would go and join a secret society; he thought +he would join the Odd Fellows. They went and made inquiry about him, and +they found he was a drunken sailor, so they black-balled him. They would +not have him. He then went to the Freemasons; he had nobody to recommend +him, so they inquired and found there was no good in his character, and +they, too, black-balled him. They didn't want him. One day, some one +handed him a little notice in the street about the prayer-meeting, and +he went in. He heard that Christ had come to save sinners. He believed +Him; he took Him at his word; and, in reporting the matter, he said he +"came to Christ without a character, and Christ hadn't black-balled him." +My friends, that is Christ's way. + + + +The Praying Cripple. + +I once knew a little cripple who lay upon her death-bed. She had given +herself to God, and was distressed only because she could not labor for +Him actively among the lost. Her clergyman visited her, and hearing her +complaint, told her that there from her sick-bed she could offer prayers +for those whom she wished to see turning to God. He advised her to write +the names down, and then to pray earnestly; and then he went away and +thought of the subject no more. Soon a feeling of great religious +interest sprang up in the village, and the churches were crowded +nightly. The little cripple heard of the progress of the revival, and +inquired anxiously for the names of the saved. A few weeks later she +died, and among a roll of papers that was found under her little pillow, +was one bearing the names of fifty-six persons, every one of whom had in +the revival been converted. By each name was a little cross, by which +the poor crippled saint had checked off the names of the converts as +they had been reported to her. + + + +A Child's Prayer Answered. + +I remember a child that lived with her parents in a small village. One +day the news came that her father had joined the army (it was at the +beginning of our war), and a few days after the landlord came to demand +the rent. The mother told him she hadn't got it, and that her husband +had gone into the army. He was a hard hearted wretch, and he stormed and +said that they must leave the home; he wasn't going to have people who +couldn't pay the rent. After he was gone, the mother threw herself into +the arm-chair, and began to weep bitterly. Her little girl whom she had +taught to pray in faith (but it is more difficult to practice than to +preach), came up to her, and said, "What makes you cry, mamma? I will +pray to God to give us a little house, and won't He?" What could the +mother say? So the little child went into the next room and began to +pray. The door was open, and the mother could hear every word. "O God, +you have come and taken away father, and mamma has got no money, and the +landlord will turn us out because we can't pay, and we will have to sit +on the doorstep, and mamma will catch cold. Give us a little home." Then +she waited, as if for an answer, and then added, "Won't you, please, +God?" She came out of that room quite happy, expecting a house to be +given them. The mother felt reproved. I can tell you, however, she has +never paid any rent since, for God heard the prayer of that little one, +and touched the heart of the cruel landlord. God give us the faith of +that little child, that we may likewise expect an answer, "nothing +wavering." + + + +The Orphan's Prayer. + +A little child whose father and mother had died, was taken into another +family. The first night she asked if she could pray, as she used to do. +They said "Oh yes." So she knelt down, and prayed as her mother taught +her; and when that was ended she added a little prayer of her own: "Oh +God, make these people as kind to me as father and mother were." Then +she paused and looked up, as if expecting the answer, and added: "Of +course He will." How sweetly simple was that little one's faith; she +expected God to "do," and, of course, she got her request. + + + +GOLD. + +-- All should work and ask God's guidance. + +-- The world knows little of the works wrought by prayer. + +-- Let us pray, and as we pray, let us make room for Jesus in our + hearts. + +-- Unless the Spirit of God is with us, we cannot expect that our + prayers will be answered. + +-- David was the last one we would have chosen to fight the giant, but + he was chosen of God. + +-- Every one of our children will be brought into the ark, it we pray + and work earnestly for them. + +-- The impression that a praying mother leaves upon her children is + life-long. Perhaps when you are dead and gone your prayer will be + answered + + + +REAPING. + +Sad Ending of a Life that Might have been Otherwise. + +I remember a few years ago I felt very anxious for a man who was present +at a meeting like this. At the close of the meeting I asked all to rise, +and he rose among the others. I took him aside and said, "Now you are +going to become a Christian--you will come out for the Lord now?" He +said he was wanting to very much. The man was trembling from head to +foot, and I thought surely he was going to accept Him. I spoke to him in +his hesitating condition, and found out what was standing between him +and Christ. He was afraid of his companions. Nearly every day and night +news came to me that some of these employers and clerks make light of +these meetings, and make fun of all who attend them, and so many give +the same reason that this man did. I said to him: "If heaven is what we +are led to believe it is, I would be willing to accept it and bear their +fun." I talked with him, but he wouldn't accept it. He went off, but for +weeks he came every night, and went away as he came, without accepting +it. One day I received a message to come and see him. He was sick, and I +went to his chamber. He wanted to know if there was hope for him in the +eleventh hour? I spoke to him, and gave him every hope I could. Day +after day I visited him, and, contrary to all expectation, I saw him +gradually recovering. When he got pretty well he was sitting on the +front porch, and I sat down by him and said: "You will be going now to +confess Christ; you'll be going to take your stand for him now?" "Well," +said he, "Mr. Moody, I promised God on my sick bed that I would; but I +will wait a little. I am going over to Michigan, where I am going to buy +a farm and settle down, and then I'll become a Christian." "If God +cannot make you a Christian here he cannot do it there," I replied. I +tried to get him to make an unconditional surrender, but he wouldn't; he +would put it off till the next spring. "Why," I said, "you may not live +till next spring." "Don't you see I am getting quite well?" "But are you +willing to take the risk till next spring?" "Oh, yes, I'll take it; Mr. +Moody, you needn't trouble yourself any more about my soul; I'll risk +it; you can just attend to your business, and I will to mine, and if I +lose my soul, no one will be to blame but myself--certainly not you, for +you've done all you could." I went away from that house then with a +heavy heart. + +I well remember the day of the week, Thursday, about noon, just one week +from that very day, when his wife sent for me. When I went to their home +I found her in great trouble, and learned that he had had a relapse. I +asked if he had expressed a desire to see me. She said "No; he is always +saying 'there is no hope,' and I cannot bear to have him die in that +condition." I went into the room. He did not speak to me, but I went +around to the foot of the bed and looked in his face and said, "Won't +you speak to me?" and at last he fixed that terrible deathly look upon +me and said, "Mr. Moody, you need not talk to me any more. It is too +late; there is no hope for me now. Go talk to my wife and children; pray +for them; but my heart is as hard as the iron in that stove there. When +I was sick He came to the door of my heart, and I promised to serve Him, +but I broke that promise, and now I must die without Him." I got down to +pray. "You needn't pray for me," he said. I prayed, but it seemed as if +my prayer went no higher than my head. He lingered till that night, +repeating, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and I am not +saved." There he lay in agony, every few minutes this lamentation +breaking from him. Just as the sun was going down behind those Western +prairies, his wife leaned over him, and in an almost inaudible voice, he +whispered, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and I am not +saved," and he died. He had lived a Christless life, he died a +Christless death, he was wrapped in a Christless shroud, and he was +buried in a Christless grave. Oh, how dark and sad! Dear friends, the +harvest is passing; the summer will soon be ended; won't you let Him +redeem you? + + + +By the Wayside. + +I went down past the corner of Clark and Lake streets one day, and, +fulfilling my vow, on seeing a man leaning up against a lamp-post, I +went up to him and said: "Are you a Christian?" He damned me and cursed +me, and told me to mind my own business. He knew me, but I didn't know +him. He said to a friend of his that afternoon that he had never been so +insulted in his life, and told him to say to me that I was damning the +cause I pretended to represent. Well, the friend came and delivered his +message. "May be I am doing more hurt than good," I said; "may be I'm +mistaken, and God hasn't shown me the right way." That was the time I +was sleeping and living in the Young Men's Christian Association rooms, +where I was then President, Secretary, janitor, and everything else. +Well one night, after midnight I heard a knock at the door. And there on +the step leading into the street stood this stranger I had made so mad +at the lamp-post, and said he wanted to talk to me about his soul's +salvation. He said: "Do you remember the man you met about three months +ago at the lamp-post, and how he cursed you? I have had no peace since +that night; I couldn't sleep. Oh, tell me what to do to be saved." And +we just fell down on our knees, and prayed, and that day he went to the +noon prayer meeting and openly confessed the Saviour, and soon after +went to the war a Christian man. I do not know but he died on some +Southern battle-field or in a hospital, but I expect to see him in the +kingdom of God. + + +Sowing the Tares. + +I was at the Paris Exhibition in 1867, and I noticed there a little oil +painting, only about a foot square, and the face was the most hideous I +have ever seen. On the paper attached to the painting were the words +"Sowing the tares," and the face looked more like a demon's than a +man's. As he sowed these tares, up came serpents and reptiles, and they +were crawling up his body, and all around were woods with wolves and +animals prowling in them. I have seen that picture many times since. Ah! +the reaping time is coming. If you sow to the flesh you must reap the +flesh. + + + +What Moody Saw in the Chamber of Horror. + + When I was in London I went into a wax work there--Tassands--and I went + into the chamber of Horror. There were wax figures of all kinds of + murderers in that room. There was Booth who killed Lincoln, and many of + that class: but there was one figure I got interested in, who killed + his wife because he loved another woman, and the law didn't find him + out. He married this woman and had a family of seven children. And + twenty years passed away. Then his conscience began to trouble him. He + had no rest; he would hear his murdered wife pleading continually for + her life. His friends began to think that that he was going out of his + mind; he became haggard and his conscience haunted him till, at last he + went to the officers of the law and told them that he was guilty of + murder. He wanted to die, life was so much of an agony to him. His + conscience turned against him. My friends if you have done wrong, may + your conscience be woke up, and may you testify against yourself. It is + a great deal better to judge our own acts and confess them, than go + through this world with the curse upon you. + + + +Reaping the Whirlwind. + +I remember in the north of England a prominent citizen told a sad case +that happened there in the city of Newcastle-on-Tyne. It was about a +young boy. He was very young. He was an only child. The father and +mother thought everything of him and did all they could for him. But he +fell into bad ways. He took up with evil characters, and finally got to +running with thieves. He didn't let his parents know about it. By and by +the gang he was with broke into the house, and he with them. Yes, he had +to do it all. They stopped outside of the building, while he crept in +and started to rob the till. He was caught in the act, taken into court, +tried, convicted, and sent to the penitentiary for ten years. He worked +on and on in the convict's cell, till at last his term was out. And at +once he started for home. And when he came back to the town he started +down the street where his father and mother used to live. He went to the +house and rapped. A stranger came to the door and stared him in the +face. "No, there's no such person lives here, and where your parents are +I don't know," was the only welcome he received. Then he turned through +the gate, and went down the street, asking even the children that he met +about his folks, where they were living, and if they were well. But +everybody looked blank. Ten years rolled by and though that seemed +perhaps a short time, how many changes had taken place! There where he +was born and brought up he was now an alien, and unknown even in the old +haunts. But at last he found a couple of townsmen that remembered his +father and mother, but they told him the old house had been deserted +long years ago, that he had been gone but a few months before his father +was confined to his house; and very soon after died broken-hearted, and +that his mother had gone out of her mind. He went to the mad-house where +his mother was, and went up to her and said, "Mother, mother, don't you +know me? I am your son." But she raved and slapped him on the face and +shrieked, "You're not my son," and then raved again and tore her hair. +He left the asylum more dead than alive, so completely broken-hearted +that he died in a few months. Yes the fruit was long growing, but at the +last it ripened to the harvest like a whirlwind. + + + +Madness and Death. + +I was coming along north Clark street one evening when a man shot past +me like an arrow. But he had seen me, and turned and seized me by the +arm. Saying eagerly, "Can I be saved to-night. The devil is coming to +take me to hell at 1 o'clock tonight." "My friend, you are mistaken." I +thought the man was sick. But he persisted that the devil had come and +laid his hand upon him, and told him he might have till 1 o'clock, and +said he: "Won't you go up to my room and sit with me." I got some men up +to his room to see to him. At 1 o'clock the devils came into that room, +and all the men in that room could not hold him. He was reaping what he +had sown. When the Angel of Death came and laid his cold hand on him, oh +how he cried for mercy. + + + +SAVED. + +A London Doctor Saved after Fifty Years of Prayer. + +When I was in London there was a leading doctor in that city, upwards of +seventy years of age, wrote me a note to come and see him privately +about his soul. He was living at a country seat a little way out of +London, and he came into town only two or three times a week. He was +wealthy and was nearly retired. I received the note right in the midst +of the London work, and told him I could not see him. I received a note +a day or two after from a member of his family, urging me to come. The +letter said his wife had been praying for him for fifty years, and all +the children had become Christians by her prayers. She had prayed for +him all those years, but no impression had been made upon him. Upon his +desk they had found the letter from me, and they came up to London to +see what it meant, and I said I would see him. When we met I asked him +if he wanted to become a Christian, and he seemed every way willing, but +when it came to confession to his family, he halted. "I tell you," said +he, "I cannot do that; my life has been such that I would not like to +confess before my family." "Now there is the point; if you are not +willing to confess Christ, He will not confess you; you cannot be His +disciple." We talked for some time, and he accepted. I found while I +had been in one room his daughter and some friends, anxious for the +salvation of that aged father, were in the other room praying to God, +and when he started out willing to go home and confess Christ, I opened +the door of the other room, not knowing the daughter was there, and the +first words she said were: "Is my father saved?" "Yes, I think he is," I +answered, and ran down to the front door and called him back. "Your +daughter is here," I said; "this is the time to commence your +confession." The father, with tears trickling down his cheeks, embraced +his child, "My dear daughter, I have accepted Christ," and a great flood +of light broke upon him at that confession. + + + +Angry at First, Saved at Last. + +In Dublin I was speaking to a lady in the inquiry-room, when I noticed a +gentlemen walking up and down before the door. I went forward, and said: +"Are you a Christian?" He was very angry, and turned on his heel and +left me. The following Sunday night I was preaching about "receiving." +and I put the question: "Who'll receive Him now?" That young man was +present, and the question sank into his heart. The next day he called +upon me--he was a merchant in that city--and said: "Do you remember me?" +"No, I don't." "Do you remember the young man who answered you so +roughly the other night?" "Yes, I do." "Well, I've come to tell you that +I am saved." "How did it happen?" "Why, I was listening to your sermon +last night, and when you asked, 'Who'll receive Him now?' God put it +into my heart to say: 'I will;' and He has opened my eyes to see His Son +now." + + +Removing the Difficulties. + +I was speaking to a young lady in the inquiry-room some time ago, and +she was in great distress of mind. She seemed really anxious to be +saved, and I could not find out what was the trouble between God and +her. I saw there was something that was keeping her back. I quoted +promise after promise, but she didn't seem to take hold on any of them. +Then we got down on our knees, but still there was no light. Finally I +said: "Is there anyone against whom you have bitter feelings?" "Yes; +there's a young lady on the other side of the room, talking to your +wife, whom I can't forgive." "Ah I've got it now; that's why the +blessing won't come to you." "Do you mean to tell me," said the young +lady, looking up in my face, "that I can't be saved until I forgive +her?" "No you can't! and, if there are any others whom you hate, you +must forgive them also." She paused a moment, and then she said: "I will +go." It seems that my wife and the other young lady had been going over +the same ground, and just at that time the other young lady had resolved +to come to ask this one's forgiveness. So they met in the middle of the +room, both saying at once: "Will you forgive me?" Oh, what a meeting it +was! They knelt together, and joy beamed on their souls, and their +difficulties vanished. In a little while they went out of the room with +their arms around each other, and their faces lit up with a heavenly +glow. + + + +"Saved." + +I remember while in a town East at the time of the loss of the Atlantic +on the banks of Newfoundland, there was a business man in the town who +was reported lost. His store was closed, and all his friends mourned him +as among those who went down on that vessel. But a telegram was received +from him by his partner with the word "saved," and that partner was +filled with joy. The store was opened and the telegram was framed, and +if you go into that store to-day you will see that little bit of paper +hanging on the wall, with the word "saved" upon it. Let the news go over +the wires to heaven to-night from you. Let the word "Saved" go from +everyone of you, and there will be joy in heaven. You can be saved--the +Son of man wants to save you. + + + +Terribly in Earnest. + +I read a number of years ago of a vessel that was wrecked. The +life-boats were not enough to take all the passengers. A man who was +swimming in the water swam up to one of the life-boats that was full and +seized it with his hand. They tried to prevent him, but the man was +terribly in earnest about saving his life, and one of the men in the +boat just drew a sword and cut off his hand. But the man didn't give up: +he reached out the other hand. He was terribly in earnest. He wanted to +save his life. But the man in the boat took the sword and cut off his +other hand. But the man did not give up. He swam up to the boat and +seized it with his teeth. Some of them said, "Let us not cut his head +off," and they drew him in. That man was terribly in earnest, and, my +friends, if you want to get into the kingdom of God, be in earnest. + + + +"The Moody and Sankey Humbug." + +There was a man, while we were in London, who got out a little paper +called "The Moody and Sankey Humbug." He used to have it to sell to the +people coming into the meeting. After he had sold a great many thousand +copies of that number, he wanted to get out another number; so he came +to the meeting to get something to put into the paper; but the power of +the Lord was present. It says here in this chapter (Luke 5) that the +Pharisees, scribes, and doctors, were watching the words of Christ in +that house in Capernaum, and that the power of the Lord was present to +heal. It don't say they were healed. They did not come to be healed. If +they had, they would have been healed. But sometimes there is a prayer +of faith going up to God from some one, that brings down blessings. And +so this man came into that meeting. The power of the Lord was present, +and the arrow of conviction went down deep into his heart. He went out, +not to write a paper, but to destroy his paper that he had written, and +so to tell what the Holy Ghost had done for him. + + + +The Reporter's Story. + +One of the most conspicuous persons at the Brooklyn Rink was a man of +over fifty years, a reporter, apparently of a sensational sort. One of +my friends entered into conversation with him the second evening, and +found him partially intoxicated, ribald, sneering, and an infidel. +Inquiring further concerning him, we found that he had been several +times in the city jail for drunken brawls, although originally a man of +culture and polish. Time passed, and on our last day at Brooklyn the +same man, conspicuous by his commanding figure, sat in a back seat in +the Simpson Church. My friend accosted him once more, and this was the +answer: "I am waiting to thank Mr. Moody, who, under God, has been the +greatest blessing of my life to me. I have given up my engagement, the +temptations of which are such as no Christian can face. And I am a +Christian--a new creature; not reformed; you cannot reform a drunkard; I +have tried that a hundred times; but I am regenerated, born again by the +grace and power of God. I have reported sermons many a time, simply to +ridicule them, but never had the least idea what true religion meant +till I heard Mr. Moody's address on 'Love and Sympathy,' ten days ago, +and I would not have believed there could be so much sweetness in a +lifetime as has been condensed into those ten days. My children knew the +change; my wife knew it; I have set up the family altar, and the +appetite for liquor has been utterly taken away, that I only loathe what +I used to love." "Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall," +suggested my friend. "No, not while I stand so close to the cross as I +do to-day;" and he opened a small hymn-book, on the fly-leaf of which +was written: "I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall +not be ashamed." + + + +The Skeptical Lady. + +When Mr. Sankey and I were in the north of England, I was preaching one +evening, and before me sat a lady who was a skeptic. When I had +finished, I asked all who were anxious, to remain. Nearly all remained, +herself among the number. I asked her if she was a Christian, and she +said she was not, nor did she care to be. I prayed for her there. On +inquiry, I learned that she was a lady of good social position, but very +worldly. She continued to attend the meetings, and in a week after I saw +her in tears. After the sermon, I went to her and asked if she was of +the same mind as before. She replied that Christ had come to her and she +was happy. Last Autumn I had a note from her husband saying she was +dead, that her love for the Master had continually increased. When I +read that note, I felt paid for crossing the Atlantic. She worked +sweetly after her conversion, and was the means of winning many of her +fashionable friends to Christ. O, may you seek the Lord while He may be +found, and may you call upon Him while He is near. + + + +GOLD. + +-- I would rather go into the kingdom of heaven through the poor house + than go down to hell in a golden chariot. + +-- I believe there are more young men who come to Boston who are lost + because they cannot say no, than for any other reason. + +-- It ain't necessary to leave the things of this life when you follow + Him. It is not necessary to give up your business, if it's a + legitimate one, in order to accept Christ. But you mustn't set your + heart on the old nets by a good deal. + +-- A great many people want to bring their faith, their works, their + good deeds to Him for salvation. Bring your sins, and He will bear + them away into the wilderness of forgetfulness, and you will never + see them again. + +-- Do you believe that He would send those men out to preach the gospel + to every creature unless he wanted every creature to be saved? Do you + believe He would tell them to preach it to people without giving + people the power to accept it? Do you believe the God of heaven is + mocking men by offering them his gospel and not giving them the power + to take hold of it? Do you believe He will not give men power to + accept this salvation as a gift? Man might do that, but God never + mocks men. And when he says "Preach the gospel to every creature," + every creature can be saved if he will. + +-- Lift your eyes from off these puny Christians--from off these human + ministers, and look to Christ. He is the Saviour of the world. He + came from the throne to this earth: He came from the very bosom of + the Father. God gave Him up freely for us, and all we have to do is + to accept him as our Saviour. Look at Him at Gethsemane, sweating as + it were great drops of blood; look at Him on the cross, crucified + between two thieves; hear that piercing cry, "Father, Father, forgive + them, they know not what they do." And as you look into that face, as + you look into those wounds on His feet or His hands, will you say He + has not the power to save you? Will you say He has not the power to + redeem you? + + + +[Illustration: The Pharisee And The Publican. GUSTAVE DORE. Luke, +xviii, 9-14.] + +[Illustration: Deborah's Song of Triumph. GUSTAVE DORE. Judges.] + + + +SONG STORIES. + +"Hold the fort, For I am Coming." + +I am told that when General Sherman went through Atlanta towards the +sea--through the Southern States--he left in the fort in the Kennesaw +Mountains a little handful of men to guard some rations that he brought +there. And General Hood got into the outer rear and attacked the fort, +drove the men in from the outer works into the inner works, and for a +long time the battle raged fearfully. Half of the men were either killed +or wounded; the general who was in command was wounded seven different +times; and when they were about ready to run up the white flag and +surrender the fort, Sherman got within fifteen miles, and through the +signal corps on the mountain he sent the message: "Hold the fort; I am +coming. W. T. Sherman." That message fired up their hearts, and they +held the fort till reinforcements came, and the fort did not go into the +hands of their enemies. Our friend, Mr. Bliss, has written a hymn +entitled "Hold the fort for I am coming," and I'm going to ask Mr. +Sankey to sing that hymn. I hope there will be a thousand young converts +coming into our ranks to help hold the fort. Our Saviour is in command, +and He is coming. Let us take up the chorus. + + Ho! my comrades, see the signal + Waving in the sky! + Reinforcements now appearing, + Victory is nigh! + + CHO.-- + "Hold the fort, for I am coming," + Jesus signals still. + Wave the answer back to heaven, + "By Thy grace we will." + + See the mighty hosts advancing, + Satan leading on; + Mighty men around us falling, + Courage almost gone.--Cho + + See the glorious banner waving + Hear the bugle blow. + In our Leader's name we'll triumph + Over every foe.--Cho. + + Fierce and long the battle rages, + But our Help is near; + Onward comes our Great Commander, + Cheer, my comrades, cheer!--Cho. + +P. P. Bliss. + + + +"Let the Lower Lights be Burning." + +A few years ago at the mouth of Cleveland harbor there were two lights, +one at each side of the bay, called the upper and lower lights; and to +enter the harbor safely by night, vessels must sight both of the lights. +These western lakes are more dangerous sometimes than the great ocean. +One wild, stormy night, a steamer was trying to make her way into the +harbor. The Captain and pilot were anxiously watching for the lights. By +and by the pilot was heard to say, "Do you see the lower lights?" "No," +was the reply; "I fear we have passed them." "Ah, there are the lights," +said the pilot; "and they must be from the bluff on which they stand, +the upper lights. We have passed the lower lights; and have lost our +chance of getting into the harbor;" What was to be done? They looked +back, and saw the dim outline of the lower lighthouse against the sky. +The lights had gone out. "Can't you turn your head around?" "No; the +night is too wild for that. She won't answer to her helm." The storm was +so fearful that they could do nothing. They tried again to make for the +harbor, but they went crash against the rocks, and sank to the bottom. +Very few escaped; the great majority found a watery grave. Why? Simply +because the lower lights had gone out. Now with us the upper lights are +all right. Christ himself is the upper light, and we are the lower +lights, and the cry to us is, Keep the lower lights burning; that is +what we have to do. He will lead us safe to the sunlit shore of Canaan, +where there is no more night. + + Brightly beams our Father's mercy + From His lighthouse ever more. + But to us He gives the keeping + Of the lights along the shore. + + CHO.-- + Let the lower lights be burning! + Send a gleam across the wave! + Some poor fainting struggling seaman + You may rescue, you may save. + + Dark the night of sin has settled, + Loud and angry billows roar; + Eager eye's are watching, longing, + For the lights along the shore.--Cho. + + Trim your feeble lamp, my brother; + Some poor seaman tempest-tost, + Trying now to make the harbor, + In the darkness may be lost.--Cho. + +P. P. BLISS. + + + +"More to Follow." + +Rowland Hill tells a good story of a rich man and a poor man in his +congregation. The rich man desired to do an act of benevolence, and so +he sent a sum of money to a friend to be given to this poor man as he +thought best. The friend, just sent him five pounds, and said in the +note: "This is thine; use it wisely; there is more to follow." After a +while he sent another five pounds and said, "more to follow." Again and +again, he sent the money to the poor man, always with the cheering +words, "more to follow." So it is with the wonderful grace of God. There +is always "more to follow." + + Have you on the Lord believed? + Still there's more to follow; + Of His grace have you received? + Still there's more to follow; + Oh, the grace the Father shows! + Still there's more to follow, + Freely He His grace bestows, + Still there's more to follow. + + CHO.-- + More and more, more and more, + Always more to follow, + Oh, his boundless matchless love! + Still there's more to follow. + + Have you felt the Saviour near? + Still there's more to follow; + Does His blessed presence, cheer? + Still there's more to follow; + Oh, the love that Jesus shows! + Still there's more to follow, + Freely He His love bestows, + Still there's more to follow.--Cho. + + Have you felt the spirit's power? + Still there's more to follow; + Falling like the gentle shower? + Still there's more to follow; + Oh, the power the spirit shows! + Still there's more to follow, + Freely He His power bestows, + Still there's more to follow.--Cho. + +P. P. Bliss. + + +[Illustration: Daniel. GUSTAVE DORE. Daniel, x.] + +[Illustration: Solomon. GUSTAVE DORE.] + + + +"Pull for the Shore, Sailor." + +A vessel was wrecked off the shore. Eager eyes were watching and strong +arms manned the life-boat. For hours they tried to reach that vessel +through the great breakers that raged and foamed on the sand-bank but it +seemed impossible. The boat appeared to be leaving the crew to perish. +But after a while the Captain and sixteen men were taken off, and the +vessel went down. "When the life-boat came to you," said a friend, "did +you expect it had brought some tools to repair your old ship?" "Oh, no," +was the response; "she was a total wreck. Two of her masts were gone, +and if we had stayed mending her, only a few minutes, we must have gone +down, sir." "When once off the old wreck and safe in the life-boat, what +remained for you to do?" "Nothing, sir, but just to pull for the shore." + + Light in the darkness, sailor, day is at hand! + See o'er the foaming billows fair Haven's land, + Drear was the voyage, sailor, now almost o'er + Safe within the life-boat, sailor, pull for the shore. + + CHO.-- + Pull for the shore, sailor, pull for the shore! + Heed not the rolling waves, but bend to the oar; + Safe in the life-boat, sailor, cling to self no more! + Leave the poor old stranded wreck, and pull for the shore. + + Trust in the life-boat, sailor, all else will fail, + Stronger the surges dash and fiercer the gale, + Heed not the stormy winds, though loudly they roar; + Watch the "bright morning star," and pull for the shore.-Cho. + + Bright gleams the morning, sailor, lift up thy eye; + Clouds and darkness disappearing, glory is nigh! + Safe in the life-boat, sailor, sing evermore; + "Glory, glory, hallelujah!" pull for the shore.--Cho. + +P. P. BLISS. + + + +TRUST. + +"I Am Trusting Jesus"--A Young Lady's Trust. + +The other Sunday, when I was speaking on "Trust," a person came to me +next day and said, "I want to tell you how I was saved. You remember you +told about that lady who sought Christ three years and could not find +Him, and when you told that, it was I. I was in that same condition and +through your story I got light." I don't think I have ever told it but +what somebody got light and life. I will tell it again, for I would go +up and down the world telling it if I could get a convert. One night I +was preaching, and happening to cast my eyes down during the sermon, I +saw two eyes just riveted upon me. Every word that fell from my lips she +just seemed to catch with her own lips, and I was very anxious to go +down where she was. After the Sermon I went to the pew and said, "My +friend, are you a Christian?" "Oh, no," said she, "I wish I was. I have +been seeking Christ three years and I cannot find Him." Said I; "Oh, +there is a great mistake about that." Says she, "'Do you think I am not +in earnest? Do you think, sir, I have not been seeking Christ?" Said I, +"I suppose you think you have, but Christ has been seeking you these +twenty years, and it would not take an anxious sinner and an anxious +Saviour three years to meet, and if you had been really seeking Him you +would have found Him long before this." "What would you do, then?" Said +I, "Do nothing, only believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be +saved." "Oh," said she, "I have heard that till my head swims. Everybody +says, believe! believe! believe! and I am none the wiser. I don't know +what you mean by it." "Very well," said I, "I will drop the word; but +just trust the Lord Jesus Christ to save." "If I say I trust Him, will +He save me?" "No, you may do a thousand things; but if you really trust +Him, He will save you." "Well," said she, "I trust Him, but I don't feel +any different." "Ah," said I, "I have found your difficulty. You have +been hunting for feeling all these three years. You have not been +looking for Christ." Says she, "Christians tell how much joy they have +got." "But," said I, "you want Christian experience before you get one. +Instead of trusting God, you are looking for Christian experience." Then +I said: "Right here in this pew, just commit yourself to the Lord Jesus +Christ, and trust Him, and you will be saved," and I held her right to +that word "trust," which is the same as the word "believe" in the Old +Testament. "You know what it is to trust a friend. Cannot you trust God +as a friend?" She looked at me for five minutes, it seemed, and then +said slowly: "Mr. Moody, I trust the Lord Jesus Christ this night to +save my soul." Turning to the pastor of the church she took him by the +hand and repeated the declaration. Turning to an elder in the church she +said again the solemn words, and near the door, meeting another officer +of the church, she repeated for the fourth time, "I am trusting Jesus," +and went off home. The next night when I was preaching I saw her right +in front of me, "Eternity" written in her eyes, her face lighted up, and +when I asked inquirers to go into the other room she was the first to go +in. I wondered at it, for I could see by her face that she was in the +joy of the Lord. But when I got in I found her with her arms around a +young lady's neck, and I heard her say, "It is only just trusting. I +stumbled over it three years and found it all in trusting;" and the +three weeks I was there she led more souls to Christ than anybody else. +If I got a difficult case I would send it to her. Oh, my friends, won't +you trust Him? Let us put our trust in Him. + + + +Mrs. Moody Teaching her Child. + +There was a time when our little boy did not like to go to church, and +would get up in the morning and say to his mother, "What day is +to-morrow?" "Tuesday." "Next day?" "Wednesday." "Next day?" "Thursday;" +and so on, till he came to the answer, "Sunday." "Dear me," he said. I +said to the mother, "We cannot have our boy grow up to hate Sunday in +this way; that will never do. That is the way I used to feel when I was +a boy. I used to look upon Sunday with a certain amount of dread. Very +few kind words were associated with the day. I don't know that the +minister ever put his hand on my head. I don't know that the minister +even noticed me, unless it was when I was asleep in the gallery, and he +woke me up. This kind of thing won't do; we must make the Sunday the +most attractive day of the week; not a day to be dreaded; but a day of +pleasure." Well the mother took the work up with this boy. Bless those +mothers in their work with the children. Sometimes I feel as if I would +rather be the mother of John Wesley or Martin Luther or John Knox than +have all the glories in the world. Those mothers who are faithful with +the children God has given them will not go unrewarded. My wife went to +work and took those Bible stories and put those blessed truths in a +light that the child could comprehend, and soon the feeling of dread for +the Sabbath with the boy was the other way, "What day's to-morrow?" he +would ask, "Sunday." "I am glad." And if we make those Bible truths +interesting--break them up in some shape so that these children can get +at them, then they will begin to enjoy them. + + + +WISDOM. + +-- I remember a gentleman of Boston, a man high in life, a Congressman, +who was accustomed to carry with him little cards and distribute them +wherever he went, and on some of these cards were words like these: "I +expect to pass through this world but once, and therefore if there be +any kindness I can show, if there is anything I can do to make men +happy, I shall do it, for I may not pass this way again." + +-- A man was asked what his persuasion was. He said it was the same as +Paul's. I don't know what Paul's persuasion was. All persuasions claim +him. Sankey says he is a Methodist. Listen: "I am not ashamed, for I +know whom I believe, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which +I have committed to Him." That is Paul's persuasion. You may call it +what you have a mind to, it is a good persuasion. + +-- If we are going to be successful, we have got to take our stand for +God, and let the world and everyone know we are on the Lord's side. I +have great respect for the woman that started out during the war with a +poker. She heard the enemy were coming and went to resist them. When +some one asked her what she could do with the poker, she said she would +at least let them know what side she was on. And that is what we want. + +-- Let us do all the work we can. If we can't be a lighthouse, let us be +a tallow candle. There used to be a period when people came to meeting +bringing their candles with them. The first one, perhaps, wouldn't make +a great illumination, but when two or three got there, there would be +more light. If the people of Boston should do that now, if each one +should come here in this Tabernacle, with a candle, don't you think +there would be a little light. + +-- When I was a little boy I used to try and catch my own shadow. I +don't know whether any of you have ever been so foolish as that or not. +I could not see why the shadow always kept ahead of me. Once I happened +to be racing with my face to the sun and I looked over my head and saw +my shadow coming back of me, and it kept behind me all the way. It is +the same with the Sun of Righteousness. Peace and joy will go with you +while you go with your face toward Him. + +-- There are nine different qualities--peace, gentleness, +long-suffering, hope, patience, charity, etc., but you can sum them all +into one, and you have love. I saw something in writing the other day +bearing upon the subject which I just took a copy of: "The fruit of the +Spirit is in just one word--love. Joy is love exalted; peace is love in +repose, long-suffering is love enduring, gentleness is love in society, +goodness is love in action, faith is love on the battle field, meekness +is love in school, and temperance is love in training. And so you can +say that the fruit is all expressed by one word--love." + +-- I believe there is a great deal more hope for a drunkard or a +murderer or a gambler than there is for a lazy man. I never heard of a +lazy man being converted yet, though I remember talking once with a +minister in the back woods of Iowa about lazy men. He was all +discouraged in his efforts to convert lazy men, and I said to him, "Did +you ever know of a lazy man being converted?" "Yes," said he; "I knew of +one, but he was so lazy that he didn't stay converted but about six +weeks." And that is as near as I ever heard of a lazy man being +converted. + +-- I remember, I was talking with a man one day and an acquaintance of +his came in, and he jumped up at once and shook him by the hand--why I +thought he was going to shake his hand out of joint, he shook so +hard--and he seemed to be so glad to see him and wanted him to stay, but +the man was in a great hurry and could not stay, and he coaxed and urged +him to stay, but the man said no, he would come another time; and after +that man went out my companion turned to me and said, "Well, he is an +awful bore, and I am glad he's gone." Well I began to feel that I was a +bore too, and I got out as quickly as I could. That is not real love. + + + +WORD PICTURES. + +The Prodigal Son. + +The boy got his money, and away he went. He feels very independent; he +can take care of himself; he can work his own way. I don't know where he +went to. Perhaps he went away down to Memphis, and perhaps he went to +Egypt--got as far away from home as he could. When he went away he soon +commenced to go down to ruin. When he gets down to that part of the +country he suddenly becomes very popular with a certain class of men. +Perhaps he was very popular with the men who hung around the opera +house, or the theatre, or the billiard halls. A great many courted his +company. Perhaps he was a good talker, perhaps he was a good singer and +could sing a comic song; perhaps he was a literary man, and entertained +them with his wit, and all were delighted with him. But as we would say, +he got to the end of his rope, and when his money went his friends +disappeared: The poor fellow was in a blaze of glory while his money +lasted, but when it had gone he woke up to find himself without friends. +A man in New England said while his money lasted he had friends, but +when he was ruined and in prison he found out who his real friends were. +Not one of his old friends came near him, but the Christian people came +and spoke to him words of kindness and comfort, and it was then he made +the discovery who his true friends were. So this young prodigal didn't +get his eyes open till his money was all gone. No one in that foreign +country loved him then, no one in that land cared for him; but away off +over those green hills there was one who loved him still. It was his +father, and that father received him back. + + + +The Cross and Crown. + +At last He cried, with a loud voice: "It is finished!" Perhaps not many +on earth heard it, or cared about it when they did hear it; but I can +imagine there were not many in heaven who did not hear it, and if they +have bells in heaven how they must have rung out that day; "It is +finished! It is finished!" The Son of God had died that poor sinful man +might have life eternal. I can imagine the angels walking through the +streets of heaven crying: "It is finished!" and the mansions of that +world ringing with the glad tidings: "It is finished!" It was the shout +of victory. All you have got to do is to look and be saved. You have +seen the waves of the sea come dashing up against a rocky shore. They +come up and beat against the rock, and, breaking into pieces, go back to +gather fresh strength, and again they come up and beat against the rock +only to be again broken into pieces. And so it would seem as if the dark +waves of hell had gathered all their strength together and had come +beating up against the bosom of the Son of God; but he drives them all +back again with that shout of a conqueror: "It is finished." And with +that shout He snapped the fetters of sin, and broke the power of Satan. + + +While I was at a convention in Illinois an old man past 70 years, got +up, and said he remembered but one thing about his father, and that one +thing followed him all through life. He could not remember his death, he +had no recollection of his funeral, but he recollected his father one +winter night, taking a little chip, and with his pocket knife whittling +out a little cross, and with the tears in his eyes he held up that cross +telling how God in His infinite love sent His Son down here to redeem +us, how He had died on the cross for us. The story of the cross followed +him through life. + + +[Illustration: The Prodigal Son. GUSTAVE DORE. Luke, xv 11-32.] + +[Illustration: Christ Stilling The Tempest. GUSTAVE DORE. Matthew. +viii, 23-27] + + + +AFFECTING INCIDENT AT SEA. + +Moody's Love and Prayer for 700 "Quaking Souls." + +"I remember clearly lying in my berth early that Saturday morning (Nov. +26th, 1892, on the steamer Spree when she was one thousand miles out +from Southampton on her way to New York), congratulating myself that I +had gotten passage in so swift a ship, when my thoughts were stopped by +a great crash that shook the vessel from stem to stern. + +"My son, William Revell Moody, jumped from his berth and rushed on deck. +He was back again in an instant, crying that the shaft was broken and +the ship sinking. Then ensued a scene the like of which I hope never to +witness again. There was no panic, but the passengers, who had scrambled +on deck at the first warning, looked at each other in an appealing way +that was, if anything, more terrible than demonstrative fear. The +captain told us there was no danger, and some of the second cabin +passengers returned to their berths only to tumble back pellmell a +moment later. The rising water had driven them out. Some of them lost +all their clothes and valuables. + +"At this point the officers buckled on their revolvers, but there was no +need to use them. The people, though terribly frightened, did not seem +to realize what had happened. The women didn't scream, but stood around +trembling and with blanched faces. Nobody said a word, but each waited +for his neighbor to speak. We felt that we might be looking on our +graves. + +"The captain told us at noon that he thought he had the water under +control and was in hopes of drifting in the way of some passing vessel. +The ship's bow was now high in the air, while the stern seemed to settle +more and more. There was no storm, but the sea, was very rough, and the +ship rolled from side to side with fearful lurches. I think that if she +had pitched at all the overstrained, bulkheads would have burst and we +should have gone to the bottom. The captain cheered us by telling us +that he thought we should run in with a ship by 3 o'clock that Saturday +afternoon, but the night drew on and no sail appeared to lighten our +gloom. + +"We knew the ship was sinking when we came on deck, but there was no +panic. The big engines of the ship were all working at the pumps, but +the water was steadily gaining in spite of them. With each roll of the +ship it could be heard like the roar of the surf. All the day was passed +in anxiously watching for a sail. We could not talk of religion, for the +first word brought forth a hundred exclamations, 'Are we sinking?' Then +in that first night one woman went insane. It seemed an age until the +Sabbath morning came, When the vigil on the deck was resumed. + +"I think that was the darkest night in all our lives. None of us thought +to live to see the light of another day. Nobody slept. We were all +huddled in the saloon of the first cabin--Americans and Germans, Jews, +Protestants, Catholics and skeptics--although at that time I doubt if +there were many skeptics among us. For forty-eight hours we were in this +mortal fear. + +"Sabbath morning dawned upon as wretched a ship's company as ever sailed +the sea. There was at that time no talk of religious services. I think +that if this had been suggested then there would have been a panic. To +talk of religion to those poor people would have been to suggest the +most terrible things to them. Everybody was waiting for his neighbor to +say: 'Are we, then, doomed to die?' + +"But as night approached I gathered those 700 quaking souls together and +we held a prayer meeting. I think everybody prayed. There were no +skeptics present. I have been under fire in the war, I have stood by +deathbeds during the cholera epidemic in Chicago, but I never was so +sorely tried. I could with difficulty command my voice as I read the +ninety-first Psalm. I read without comment, and then I prayed that God +would still the anger of the deep and bring us safely to our desired +heaven. The people were weeping all around me. I also read from the +107th Psalm. + +"We tried to sing. I gave out the first verse of 'Jesus, Lover of My +Soul,' and General Howard started the tune. He sang the hymn through in +a strong voice, but very few joined him. Instead, the melody was +punctuated by broken sobs and exclamation of grief. That night I went to +bed and slept, I felt that everything would be all right. + +"Never was a more earnest meeting held than this. All prayed together, +and I did not hear much talk of skepticism, I can tell you. At 2:30 +o'clock in the morning a ship's light was sighted, and in a few hours we +were comparatively safe, although our danger was not over. The strain on +our minds was almost as great, and minds gave way under it. Two women +became violently insane and it was necessary to confine them. A young +man from Vienna threw himself overboard and was drowned. + +"When we were finally safe in port we had a thanksgiving service, and +then such singing as there was--such praises that went up. + +"We prayed that the ship be brought to a haven, and relief came on the +night after our prayer meeting. I am a firm believer in prayer. I always +have been. I believe and I know that God saved the Spree in response to +our prayers." + + + + +PUBLISHED BY +RHODES & McCLURE PUBLISHING CO., +CHICAGO. + +All handsomely bound in the best English and American cloths, with full +Silver embossed side and back stamp; uniform, in style and binding. +Together making a handsome library, or, separately, making handsome +center-table volumes. PRICE, $1.00 EACH. SENT POST-PAID. + + + +[Illustration: Portrait of Lincoln.] + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES; in one volume, complete New +(1897) edition, handsomely illustrated; containing the many witty, +pointed and unequaled stories as told by Mr. Lincoln, including Early +life stories, Professional life stories, White House and War stories; +also presenting the full text of the popular Speeches of Mr. Lincoln on +the great questions of the age, including his "First Political Speech," +"Rail-Splitting Speech," "Great Debate with Douglas," and his Wonderful +Speech at Gettysburg, etc., etc.; and including his two great +Inaugurals, with many grand illustrations. An instructive and valuable +book; 477 pages. + + + +[Illustration: Portrait of Moody.] + +MOODY'S ANECDOTES; 210 pages exclusive of engravings. Containing several +hundred interesting stories, told by the great evangelist, D. L. Moody, +in his wonderful work in Europe and America. Hundreds of thousands of +copies have been sold. Illustrated with excellent engravings of Messrs. +Moody, Sankey, Whittle and Bliss, and thirty-two full-page engravings +from Gustave Dore, making and artistic and handsome volume. "A book of +anecdotes which have thrilled hundreds of thousands,"--Pittsburg Banner. + + + +MOODY'S GOSPEL SERMONS. As delivered by the great Evangelist, Dwight +Lyman Moody, in his revival work in Great Britain and America, Together +with a biography of Mr. Moody and his co-laborer, Ira David Sanke. +Including, also, a short history of the Great Revival. Each sermon is +illustrated with a handsome, full page engraving from Gustave Dore. The +book also contains an engraving of D. L. Moody, Ira D. Sankey, Mr. Moody +preaching in the Royal Opera House, Haymarket, London, Chicago +Tabernacle (erected for Mr. Moody's Services) and "I Am the Way." A +handsome and attractive volume of 443 pages. + + + +MOODY'S LATEST SERMONS. As delivered by the great Evangelist, Dwight +Lyman Moody. Handsomely illustrated with twenty-four full-page +engravings from Gustave Dore. 335 pages. + + + +MOODY'S CHILD STORIES. As related by Dwight Lyman Moody in his revival +work. Handsomely illustrated with sixteen full-page engravings from +Gustave Dore and 106 illustrations from J. Stuart Littlejohn. A book +adapted to children, but interesting to adults. A handsome volume. +Should be in every family 237 pages. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Moody's Anecdotes And Illustrations, by +Dwight L. Moody + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOODY'S ANECDOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS *** + +***** This file should be named 19830.txt or 19830.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/8/3/19830/ + +Produced by Don Kostuch + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. 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