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Title: To The Work! To The Work!
Exhortations to Christians
Author: Dwight Moody
Release Date: June 28, 2010 [EBook #33014]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TO THE WORK! TO THE WORK! ***
Produced by Keith G. Richardson
TO THE WORK
TO THE WORK
Exhortations to Christians
BY
D. L. MOODY
Fleming H. Revell Company
Chicago, New York & Toronto
_Publishers of Evangelical Literature_
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1884
BY F. H. REVELL,
In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.
_ALL RIGHTS RESERVED._
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
"TAKE YE AWAY THE STONE"
CHAPTER II.
LOVE, THE MOTIVE POWER FOR SERVICE
CHAPTER III.
FAITH AND COURAGE
CHAPTER IV.
FAITH REWARDED
CHAPTER V.
ENTHUSIASM
CHAPTER VI.
THE POWER OF LITTLE THINGS
CHAPTER VII.
"SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD"
CHAPTER VIII.
"WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?"
CHAPTER IX.
"YE ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD"
"TO THE WORK! TO THE WORK!"
CHAPTER I.
TAKE YE AWAY THE STONE.
In the gospel by John we read that at the tomb of Lazarus our Lord
said to His disciples, "Take ye away the stone." Before the act of
raising Lazarus could be performed, the disciples had their part to
do. Christ could have removed the stone with a word. It would have
been very easy for Him to have commanded it to roll away, and it would
have obeyed His voice, as the dead Lazarus did when He called him back
to life. But the Lord would have His children learn this lesson: that
they have something to do towards raising the spiritually dead. The
disciples had not only to take away the stone, but after Christ had
raised Lazarus they had to "loose and let him go."
It is a question if any man on the face of the earth has ever been
converted, without God using some human instrument, in some way. God
could easily convert men without us; but that is not His way.
The stone I want to speak about to-day, that must be rolled away
before any great work of God can be brought about, is the miserable
stone of prejudice. Many people have a great prejudice against
revivals; they hate the very word. I am sorry to say that this feeling
is not confined to ungodly or careless people; there are not a few
Christians who seem to cherish a strong dislike both to the word
"Revival" and to the thing itself.
What does "Revival" mean? It simply means a recalling from
obscurity--a finding some hidden treasure and bringing it back to
the light. I think every one of us must acknowledge that we are living
in a time of need. I doubt if there is a family in the world that has
not some relative whom they would like to see brought into the fold of
God, and who needs salvation.
Men are anxious for a revival in business. I am told that there is a
widespread and general stagnation in business. People are very anxious
that there should be a revival of trade this winter. There a great
revival in politics just now. In all departments of life you find that
men are very anxious for a revival in the things that concern them
most.
If this is legitimate--and I do not say but it is perfectly right in
its place--should not every child of God be praying for and desiring a
revival of godliness in the world at the present time. Do we not need
a revival of downright honesty, of truthfulness, of uprightness, and
of temperance? Are there not many who have become alienated from the
Church of God and from the house of the Lord, who are forming an
attachment to the saloon? Are not our sons being drawn away by
hundreds and thousands, so that while you often find the churches
empty, the liquor shops are crowded every Sabbath afternoon and
evening. I am sure the saloon-keepers are glad if they can have a
revival in their business; they do not object to sell more whisky and
beer. Then surely every true Christian ought to desire that men who
are in danger of perishing eternally should be saved and rescued.
Some people seem to think that "Revivals" are a modern invention--that
they have only been known within the last few years. But they are
nothing new. If there is not Scriptural authority for revivals, then I
cannot understand my Bible.
For the first 2,000 years of the world's history they had no revival
that we know of; probably, if they had, there would have been no
Flood. The first real awakening, of which we read in the Old
Testament, was when Moses was sent down to Egypt to bring his brethren
out of the house of bondage. When Moses went down to Goshen, there
must have been a great commotion there; many things were done out of
the usual order. When three millions of Hebrews were put behind the
Blood of the Slain Lamb, that was nothing but God reviving His work
among them.
Under Joshua there was a great revival; and again under the Judges.
God was constantly reviving the Jewish nation in those olden times.
Samuel brought the people to Mizpah, and told them to put away their
strange gods. Then the Israelites went out and defeated the
Philistines, so that they never came back in his day. Dr. Bonar says
it may be that David and Jonathan were converted under that revival in
the time of Samuel.
What was it but a great revival in the days of Elijah? The people had
turned away to idolatry, and the prophet summoned them to Mount
Carmel. As the multitude stood there on the mountain, God answered by
fire; the people fell on their faces and cried, "The Lord, He is the
God." That was the nation turning back to God. No doubt there were men
talking against the work, and saying it would not last. That is the
cry of many to-day, and has been the cry for 4,000 years. Some old
Carmelite very probably said in the days of Elijah: "This will not be
permanent." So there are not a few in these days shaking their wise
heads and saying the work will not last.
When we come to New Testament times, we have the wonderful revival
under John the Baptist. Was there ever a man who accomplished so much
in a few months, except the Master Himself? The preaching of John was
like the breath of spring after a long and dreary winter. For 400 long
years there had been no prophet, and darkness had settled down on the
nation. John's advent was like the flashing of a brilliant meteor that
heralded the coming day. It was not in the temple or in any synagogue
that he preached, but on the banks of the Jordan. Men, women, and
children flocked to hear him. Almost any one can get an audience in a
crowded city, but this was away out in the desert. No doubt there was
great excitement. I suppose the towns and villages were nearly
depopulated, as they flocked out to hear the preaching of John.
People are so afraid of excitement. When I went over to England in
1867, I was asked to go and preach at the Derby race-course. I saw
more excitement there in one day than I have seen at all the religious
meetings I ever attended in my life put together. And yet I heard no
one complaining of too much excitement. I heard of a minister, not
long ago, who was present at a public dance till after five o'clock in
the morning. The next Sabbath he preached against the excitement of
revivals--the late hours, and so on. Very consistent kind of
reasoning, was it not?
Then look at Pentecost. The apostles preached, and you know what the
result was. I suppose the worldly men of that day said it would all
die away. Although they brought about the martyrdom of Stephen and of
James, other men rose up to take possession of the field. From the
very place where Stephen was slain, Saul took up the work, and it has
been going on ever since.
There are many professed Christians who are all the time finding fault
and criticising. They criticise the preaching, or the singing. The
prayers will be either too long or too short, too loud, or not loud
enough. They will find fault with the reading of the Word of God, or
will say it was not the right portion. They will criticise the
preacher. "I do not like his style," they say. If you doubt what I
say, listen to the people as they go out of a revival meeting, or any
other religious gathering.
"What did you think of the preacher?" says one. "Well, I must confess
I was disappointed. I did not like his manner. He was not graceful in
his actions." Another will say: "He was not logical; I like logic." Or
another: "He did not preach enough about repentance." If a preacher
does not go over every doctrine in every sermon people begin to find
fault. They say: "There was too much repentance, and no Gospel; or, it
was all Gospel, and no repentance." "He spoke a great deal abort
justification, but he said nothing about sanctification." So if a man
does not go right through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, in
one sermon, they at once proceed to criticise and find fault.
"The fact is," says some one of this class, "the man did not touch my
heart at all." Some one else will say, "He was all heart and no head.
I like a man to preach to my intellect." Or, "He appeals too much to
the will; he does not give enough prominence to the doctrine of
election." Or, again, "There is no backbone in his preaching; he does
not lay sufficient stress on doctrine." Or, "He is not eloquent;" and
so on, and so on.
You may find hundreds of such fault-finders among professed
Christians; but all their criticism will not lead one solitary soul to
Christ. I never preached a sermon yet that I could not pick to pieces
and find fault with. I feel that Jesus Christ ought to have a far
better representative than I am. But I have lived long enough to
discover that there is nothing perfect in this world. If you are to
wait until you can find a perfect preacher, or perfect meetings, I am
afraid you will have to wait till the millennium arrives. What we want
is to be looking right up to Him. Let us get done with fault-finding.
When I hear people talk in the way I have described, I say to them,
"Come and do better yourself. Step up here and try what you can do."
My friends, it is so easy to find fault; it takes neither brains nor
heart.
Some years ago, a pastor of a little Church in a small town became
exceedingly discouraged, and brooded over his trials to such an extent
that he became an inveterate grumbler. He found fault with his
brethren because he imagined they did not treat him well. A brother
minister was invited to assist him a few days in a special service. At
the close of the Sabbath morning service our unhappy brother invited
the minister to his house to dinner. While they were waiting alone in
the parlor, he began his doleful story by saying: "My brother, you
have no idea of my troubles; and one of the greatest is, my brethren
in the Church treat me very badly." The other propounded the following
questions:
"Did they ever spit in your face?"
"No; they haven't come to that."
"Did they ever smite you?" "No."
"Did they ever crown you with thorns?"
This last question he could not answer, but bowed his head
thoughtfully. His brother replied: "Your Master and mine was thus
treated, and all His disciples fled and left Him in the hands of the
wicked. Yet He opened not His mouth." The effect of this conversation
was wonderful. Both ministers bowed in prayer and earnestly sought to
possess the mind which was in Christ Jesus. During the ten days'
meetings the discontented pastor became wonderfully changed. He
labored and prayed with his friend, and many souls were brought to
Christ. Some weeks after, a deacon of the church wrote and said: "Your
late visit and conversation with our pastor have had a wonderful
influence for good. We never hear him complain now, and he labors more
prayerfully and zealously." Another charge brought against revivals is
that they are out of the regular order of things. Well, there is no
doubt about that. But that does not prove that they are wrong. Eldad
and Medad were out of the regular succession. Joshua wanted Moses to
rebuke them. Instead of that he said: "Would God that all the Lord's
people were prophets." Elijah and Elisha did not belong to the regular
school of prophets, yet they exercised a mighty influence for good in
their day. John the Baptist was not in the regular line. He got his
theological training out in the desert. Jesus Christ Himself was out
of the recognized order. When Philip told Nathaniel that he had found
the Messiah, he said to him: "Can there any good thing come out of
Nazareth?"
As we read the history of the past few centuries we find that God has
frequently taken up those who were, so to speak, out of the regular
line. Martin Luther had to break through the regular order of things
in his day before he brought about the mighty Reformation. There are
now some sixty millions of people who adhere to the Lutheran Church.
Wesley and Whitefield were not exactly in the regular line, but see
what a mighty work they accomplished!
My friends, when God works many things will be done "out of the
regular order." It seems to me that will be a good thing. There are a
few who cannot be reached, apparently, through the regular channels,
who will come to meetings like these out of the usual routine. We have
got our churches, it is true, but we want to make an effort to reach
the outlying masses who will not go to them. Many will come in to
these meetings simply because they are to be held only for a few days.
And so, if they are to come at all, they must come to a decision about
it quickly. Others come out of idle curiosity, or a desire to know
what is going on. And often at the first meeting something that is
spoken or that is sung will touch them. They have come under the sound
of the Gospel; probably they will become real Christians and useful
members of society. You will sometimes hear people say, "We have our
churches; if men will not come to them, let them keep out." That was
not the spirit of the Master. When our Civil War broke out we had a
very small standing army. Government asked for volunteers to enlist.
Several hundreds of thousands of men came forward and joined the ranks
of the regular army. There was plenty for every man to do. These
volunteers were not so well trained and drilled as the older solders,
but we could use the irregulars as well as the regulars. Many of the
former soon became efficient soldiers, and these volunteers did great
service in the cause of the nation. If the outlying masses of the
people are to be reached we must have the regulars and the irregulars
both.
I remember hearing of a Sunday-school in our country where the teacher
had got into ruts. A young man was placed in charge as Superintendent,
and he wanted to re-arrange the seats. Some of the older members said
the seats had been in their present position for so many years, that
they could not be moved! There is a good deal of that kind of spirit
nowadays. It seems to me that if one method is not successful we ought
to give it up and try some other plan that may be more likely to
succeed. If the people will not come to the "regular means of grace,"
let us adopt some means that will reach them and win them.
Do not let us be finding fault because things are not done exactly as
they have been done in the past, and as we think they ought to be
done. I am sick and tired of those who are constantly complaining. Let
us pay no heed to them, but let us go forward with the work that God
has given us to do.
Another very serious charge is brought against revivals. They say the
work will not last. As I have said there were doubtless many at the
day of Pentecost who said that. And when Stephen was stoned to death,
James beheaded, and finally all the apostles put to death, no doubt
they said that Pentecost was a stupendous failure. But was it a
failure? Are not the fruits of that revival at Pentecost to be seen
even in our time?
In the sight of the world the mission of John the Baptist may have
been thought to be a failure when he was beheaded by the command of
Herod. But it was not a failure in the sight of heaven. The influence
of this wilderness prophet is felt in the Church of God to-day. The
world thought Christ's life was a failure as He hung on the Cross and
expired. But in the sight of God it was altogether different. God made
the wrath of men to praise Him.
I have little sympathy with those pastors who, when God is reviving
the Churches, begin to preach against revivals. There is not a
denomination in Christendom to-day that has not sprung out of a
revival. The Roman Catholics and the Episcopalians both claim to be
apostolic in their origin; if they are, they sprang out of the revival
at Pentecost. The Methodist body rose out of revivals under John
Wesley and George Whitefield. Did not the Lutheran Church come from
the great awakening that swept through Germany in the days of Luther?
Was not Scotland stirred up through the preaching of John Knox? Where
did the Quakers come from if not from the work of God under George
Fox? Yet people are so afraid if the regular routine of things is
going to be disturbed. Let us pray that God may raise up many who will
be used by Him for the reviving of His Church in our day. I think the
time has come when we need it.
I remember we went into one place where one of the ministers found
that his Church was opposed to his taking part in the meetings. He was
told that if he identified himself with the movement he would alienate
some of his congregation. He took the Church record and found that
four-fifths of the members of the Church had been converted in times
of revival, among others the Superintendent of the Sabbath-school, all
the officers of the Church, and nearly every active member. The
minister went into the Church the following Sabbath and preached a
sermon on revivals, reminding them of what had taken place in the
history of the congregation. You will find that many who talk against
revivals have themselves been converted in such a time.
Not long ago a very able minister preached a sermon against these
awakenings; he did not believe in them. Some of his people searched
the Church records to see how many during the previous twelve years
had been added to the membership on profession of their faith; they
found that not a single soul had joined the Church all these years on
profession of faith. No wonder the minister of a Church like that
preached against revivals!
My experience has been that those who are converted in a time of
special religious interest make even stronger Christians than those
who were brought into the Church at ordinary times. One young convert
helps another, and they get a better start in the Christian life when
there are a good many together.
People say the converts sill not hold out. Well, they did not all hold
out under the preaching of Jesus Christ. "Many of His disciples went
back and walked no more with Him." Paul mourned over the fact that
some of those who made profession were walking as the enemies of the
Cross of Christ. The Master taught in His wonderful parable that there
are various kinds of hearers--those represented by the wayside
hearers, the stony ground hearers, the thorny ground hearers, and the
good ground hearers; they will remain to the end of time. I have a
fruit tree at my home, and every year it has so many blossoms that if
they should all produce apples the tree would break down. Nine-tenths,
perhaps, of the blossoms will fall off, and yet I have a large number
of apples.
So there are many who make a profession of Christianity who fall away.
It may be that those who seemed to promise the fairest turn out the
worst, and those who did not promise so well turn out best in the end.
God must prepare the ground and He must give the increase. I have
often said that if I had to convict men of sin I would have given up
the work long ago. That is the work of the Holy Ghost. What we have to
do is to scatter the good seed of the Word, and expect that God will
bless it to the saving of men's souls.
Of course we cannot expect much help from those who are all the time
talking against revivals. I believe many young disciples are chilled
through by those who condemn these special efforts. If the professed
converts sometimes do not hold out, it is not always their own fault.
I was preaching in a certain city some time ago, and a minister said
to me: "I hope this work will not turn out like the revival here five
years ago. I took one hundred converts into the Church, and, with the
exception of one or two, I do not know where they are today." This was
discouraging. I mentioned it to another minister in the same city, and
I said I would rather give up the work, and go back to business, if
the work was not going to last. He said to me: "I took in one hundred
converts at the same time, and I can lay my hand on ninety-eight out
of the hundred. For five years I have watched them, and only two have
fallen away." Then he asked me if his brother minister had told me
what took place in his Church after they brought in those young
converts. Some of them thought they ought to have a better Church, and
they got divided among themselves; so nearly all the members left the
Church. If anyone will but engage heartily in this work they will have
enough to encourage them.
It is very easy for men to talk against a work like this. But we
generally find that such people not only do nothing at all themselves,
but they know nothing about that which they are criticising. Surely it
is hardly fair to condemn a work that we have not been at the trouble
to become personally acquainted with. If, instead of sitting on the
platform and simply looking on or criticising, such persons would get
down among the people and talk to them about their souls, they would
soon find out whether the work was real or not.
I remember hearing of a man who returned from a residence in India. He
was out at dinner one day with some friends, and he was asked about
Missions; he said he had never seen a native convert all the time he
was in India. A missionary who was present did not reply directly to
the statement, but he quietly asked the sceptical Englishman if he had
seen any tigers in India. The man rubbed his hands, as if the
recollection gave him a good deal of pleasure, and said: "Tigers! Yes,
I should think so. I have shot a good many of them." Said the
missionary, "Well, I was in India for a number of years and never saw
a tiger." The fact was that the one had been looking for converts and
the other for tigers, and they both found what they looked for.
If we look for converts we shall find them; there is no doubt about
that. But the truth is that in almost every case those who talk
against revivals know nothing whatever about it from personal contact
and experience. Do you suppose that the young converts are going round
to your house and knock at the door to tell you they have been
converted? If you wish to find out the truth you must go among them in
their homes and talk to them.
I hope no one will be afraid of the Inquiry Room. At one of the places
where I worked once I found a good many people who hated the very word
"Inquiry Room." But I contend that it is a perfectly reasonable thing.
When a boy is at school and cannot solve some problem in algebra, he
asks help of some one who knows it. Here is the great problem of
eternal life that has to be solved by each of us. Why should we not
ask those who are more experienced than ourselves to help us if they
can. If we have any difficulty we cannot overcome, probably we shall
find some Godly man or woman who had the same difficulty twenty years
ago; they will be glad to help us, and tell us how they were enabled
to surmount it. Do not be afraid therefore to let them help you.
I believe there is not a living soul who has a spiritual difficulty
but there is some promise in the Word of God to meet that difficulty.
But if you keep your feelings and your troubles all locked up, how are
you to be helped? I might stand here and preach to you right on for
thirty days and not touch your particular difficulty. But twenty
minutes' private conversation may clear away all your doubts and
troubles.
There was a lady who worked in the Inquiry Room when we were in the
south of London nine years ago. I saw her again a short time ago, and
she told me that she had a list of thirty-five cases of those with
whom she conversed, and who she thought were truly converted. She has
written letters to them and sent them little gifts at Christmas, and
she said to me that so far as she could judge not a single one of the
thirty-five had wandered away. She has placed her life alongside of
theirs all these years, and she has been able to be a blessing to
them.
If we had a thousand such persons, by the help of God we should see
signs and wonders. There is no class of people, however hopeless or
degraded, but can be reached, only we must lay ourselves out to reach
them. Many Christians are asleep; we want to arouse them, so that they
shall take a personal interest in those who are living in carelessness
and sin. Let us lay aside all our prejudices. If God is working it
matters little whether or not the work is done in the exact way that
we would like to see it done, or in the way we have seen it done in
the past.
Let there be one united cry going up to God, that He will revive His
work in our midst. Let the work of revival begin with us who are
Christians. Let us remove all the hindrances that come from ourselves.
Then, by the help of the Spirit, we shall be able to reach these
non-church goers, and multitudes will be brought into the kingdom of God.
CHAPTER II.
LOVE, THE MOTIVE POWER FOR SERVICE.
Let me call your attention to Paul's first letter to the Corinthians,
thirteenth chapter: In reading this passage let us use the word "love"
instead of "charity":--"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of
angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a
tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and
understand all mysteries, and all knowledge: and though I have all
faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am
nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though
I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me
nothing."
It is a great thing to be a prophet like Daniel, or Isaiah, or Elijah,
or Elisha; but it is a greater thing, we are told here, to be full of
love than to be filled with the spirit of prophecy. Mary of Bethany,
who was so full of love, held a higher position than these great
prophets did.
"Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not
itself, is not puffed up; Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not
her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in
iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth
all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never
faileth; but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether
there be tongues, they shall cease: whether there be knowledge, it
shall vanish away. And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but
the greatest of these is love."
The enemy had got into that little Church at Corinth established by
Paul, and there was strife among the disciples. One said, "I am of
Apollos;" another, "I am of Cephas;" and another, "I am of Paul." Paul
saw that this sectarian strife and want of love among God's dear
people would be disastrous to the Church of God, and so he wrote this
letter. I have often said that if every true believer could move into
this chapter and live in the spirit of it for twelve months, the
Church of God would double its numbers within that time. One of the
great obstacles in the way of God's work to-day is this want of love
among those who are the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If we love a person we will not be pointing out his failings all the
time. It is said: "Many rules of eloquence have been set forth, but,
strange, to say, the first and most essential of all has been
overlooked, namely, love. To address men well they must be loved much.
Whatever they may be, be they ever so guilty, or indifferent, or
ungrateful, or however deeply sunk in crime, before all, and above
all, they must be loved. Love is the sap of the Gospel, the secret of
lively and effectual preaching, the magic power of eloquence. The end
of preaching is to reclaim the hearts of men to God, and nothing but
love can find out the mysterious avenues which lead to the heart. If
then you do not feel a fervent love and profound pity for humanity, be
assured that the gift of Christian eloquence has been denied you. You
will not win souls, neither will you acquire that most excellent of
earthly sovereignties--sovereignty over human hearts. An Arab proverb
runs thus--'The neck is bent by the sword, but heart is only bent by
heart.' Love is irresistible."
Look at these words: "Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth
not." How often it happens that if one outshines another there is apt
to be envy in our hearts toward that one; we want a great deal of
grace to keep it down. "Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up."
One of the worst enemies that Christians have to contend with is this
spirit of rivalry--this feeling, "Who shall be the greatest?"
Some years ago I read a book that did me a great deal of good. It was
entitled, "The Training of the Twelve." The writer said that Christ
spent most of His time during the three years He was engaged publicly
about His Father's business in training twelve men. The training He
gave them was very different from the training of the schools at the
present day. The world teaches men that they must seek to be great;
Christ taught that His disciples must be little; that in honor they
must prefer one another; that they are not to be puffed up, not to
harbor feelings of envy, but to be full of meekness and gentleness,
and lowliness of heart.
When an eminent painter was requested to paint Alexander the Great so
as to give a perfect likeness of the Macedonian conqueror, he felt a
difficulty. Alexander, in his wars, had been struck by a sword, and
across his forehead was an immense scar. The painter said: "If I
retain the scar, it will be an offense to the admirers of the monarch,
and if I omit it it will fail to be a perfect likeness. What shall I
do?" He hit upon a happy expedient; he represented the Emperor leaning
on his elbow, with his forefinger upon his brow, accidentally, as it
seemed, covering the scar upon his forehead. Might not we represent
each other with the finger of charity upon the scar, instead of
representing the scar deeper and blacker than it really is? Christians
may learn even from heathendom a lesson of charity, of human kindness
and of love.
This spirit of seeking to be the greatest has nearly ruined the Church
of God at different times in its history. If the Church had not been
Divine it would have gone to pieces long ago. There is hardly any
movement of reform to-day that has not been in danger of being
thwarted and destroyed through this miserable spirit of ambition and
self-seeking. May God enable us to get above this, to cast away our
conceit and pride, and take Christ as our teacher, that He may show us
in what spirit His work ought to be done.
One of the saddest things in the life of Christ was the working of
this spirit among His disciples even in the last hours of His
intercourse with them, and just before He was led away to be
crucified. We read in the gospel by Luke: "But, behold, the hand of
him that betrayeth Me is with Me on the table. And truly the Son of
man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom He is
betrayed! And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it
was that should do this thing. And there was also a strife among them
which of them should be accounted the greatest. And He said unto them,
"The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that
exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not
be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger;
and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater,
he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at
meat? But I am among you as He that serveth."
Right there, on that memorable night when He had instituted the Last
Supper, after they had been eating of the Passover Lamb, and the
Saviour was on His way to the Cross,--even there this spirit arose
among them: Who should be the greatest!
There is a charming tradition connected with the site on which the
temple of Solomon was erected. It is said to have been occupied in
common by two brothers, one of whom had a family--the other had none.
On this spot was sown a field of wheat. On the evening succeeding the
harvest--the wheat having been gathered in separate shocks--the elder
brother said to his wife: "My younger brother is unable to bear the
burden and heat of the day, I will arise, take of my shocks, and place
with his without his knowledge." The younger brother being actuated by
the same benevolent motives, said within himself: "My elder brother
has a family, and I have none. I will arise, take of my shocks, and
place it with his."
Judge of their mutual astonishment, when, on the following day, they
found their respective shocks undiminished. This course of events
transpired for several nights, when each resolved in his own mind to
stand guard and solve the mystery. They did so; when, on the following
night, they met each other half way between their respective shocks
with their arms full. Upon ground hallowed by such associations as this
was the temple of Solomon erected--so spacious and magnificent--the
wonder and admiration of the world! Alas! in these days, how many
would sooner steal their brother's whole shock than add to it a single
sheaf!
If we want to be wise in winning souls and to be vessels meet for the
Master's use we must get rid of the accursed spirit of self-seeking.
That is the meaning of this chapter in Paul's letter. He told these
Corinthians that a man might be full of faith and zeal; he might be
very benevolent; but if he had not love he was like sounding brass and
a tinkling cymbal. I believe many men might as well go into the pulpit
and blow a tin horn Sabbath after Sabbath as go on preaching without
love. A man may preach the truth; he may be perfectly sound in
doctrine; but if there is no love in his heart going out to those whom
he addresses, and if he is doing it professionally, the Apostle says
he is only a sounding brass.
It is not always _more_ work that we want so much as _a better
motive_. Many of us do a good deal of work, but we must remember that
God looks at the motive. The only tree on this earth that can produce
fruit which is pleasing to God is the tree of love.
Paul in writing to Titus says: "Speak thou the things which become
sound doctrine: that the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in
faith, in charity, (or love) in patience." What is the worth of a
sermon, however sound in doctrine it may be, if it be not sound in
love and in patience? What are our prayers worth without the spirit of
love? People say: "Why is it that there is no blessing? Our minister's
sermons and prayers are very good." Most likely you will find it is
because the whole thing is done professionally. The words glisten like
icicles in the sun, and they are as cold. There is not a spark of love
in them. If that is the case there will be very little power. You may
have your prayer-meetings, your praise meetings, your faith and hope
meetings; you may _talk_ about all these things; but if there is no
love mingled with them, God says you are as sounding brass and a
tinkling cymbal.
Now a man may be a very good doctor and yet have no love for his
patients. He may be a very clever and successful lawyer and yet have
no love for his clients. A merchant may prosper greatly in business
without caring at all about his customers. A man may be able to
explain the wonderful mysteries of science or theology without any
love. But no man can be a true worker for God, and a successful winner
of souls without love. He may be a great preacher in the eyes of the
world and have crowds flocking to hear him, but if love to God and to
souls is not the motive power, the effects will all pass away like the
morning cloud and the early dew.
It is said when the men of Athens went to hear Demosthenes they were
always moved, and felt that they must go and fight Philip of Macedon.
There was another orator of that day who could carry them away by his
eloquence at the time, but when the oration was over, all the
influence had gone; it was nothing but fine words. So a man may be
very eloquent and have a great flow of language; he may sway the
multitudes while they are under his influence; but if there is no love
at the back of what he says, it will all go for nothing. It was
Demosthenes' love for his country that stirred him, and then he
stirred the people.
When we get on to the higher plane of love it will not be hard for us
to work for the Lord. We will be glad to do anything, however small.
God hates the great things in which love is not the motive power; but
He delights in the little things that are prompted by a feeling of
love. A cup of cold water given to a disciple in the spirit of love,
is of far more value in God's sight than the taking of a kingdom, done
out of ambition and vain glory.
I am getting sick and tired of hearing the word, _duty_, _duty_. You
hear so many talk about it being their duty to do this and do that. My
experience is that such Christians have very little success. Is there
not a much higher platform than that of mere duty? Can we not engage
in the service of Christ because we love Him? When that is the
constraining power it is so easy to work. It is not hard for a mother
to watch over a sick child. She does not look upon it as any hardship.
You never hear Paul talking about what a hard time he had in his
Master's service. He was constrained by love to Christ, and by the
love of Christ to him. He counted it a joy to labor, and even to
suffer, for his blessed Master.
Perhaps you say I ought not to talk against duty; because a good deal
of work would not be done at all if it were not done from a sense of
duty. But I want you to see what a poor, low motive that is, and how
you may reach a higher plane of service.
I am thinking of going back to my home soon. I have in my mind an old,
white-haired mother living on the banks of the Connecticut river, in
the same little town where she has been for the last eighty years.
Suppose when I return I take her some present, and when I give it to
her I say: "You have been so very kind to me in the past that I
thought it was my duty to bring you a present." What would she think?
But how different it would be when I give it to her because of my
strong love to her. How much more she would value it. So God wants His
children to serve Him for something else than mere duty. He does not
want us to feel that it is a hard thing to do His will.
Take an army that fights because it is compelled to do so; they will
not gain many victories. But how different when they are full of love
for their country and for their commanders. Then nothing can stand
before them. Do not think you can do any work for Christ and hope to
succeed if you are not impelled by love.
Napoleon tried to establish a kingdom by the force of arms. So did
Alexander the Great, and Caesar, and other great warriors; but they
utterly failed. Jesus founded His kingdom on love, and it is going to
stand. When we get on to this plane of love, then all selfish and
unworthy motives will disappear, and our work will stand the fire when
God shall put it to the test.
Another thing I want you to bear in mind. Love never looks to see what
it is going to get in return. In the Gospel by Matthew we read of the
parable of the man who went out to hire laborers that he might send
them to work in his vineyard. After he had hired and sent out some in
the morning, we are told that he found others standing idle later in
the day, and he sent them also. It so happened that those who went out
last got back first. Those that went out early in the morning supposed
they would get more wages than those that went at the eleventh hour,
and when they found they were only to get the same, they began to
murmur and complain. But what was the good man's answer: "Friend, I do
thee no wrong; didst not thou _agree_ with me for a penny? Take that
thine is, and go thy way; I will give unto this last, even as unto
thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is
thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the
first last." I have generally found that those workers who are all the
time looking to see how much they are going to get from the Lord are
never satisfied. But love does its work and makes no bargain. Let us
make no bargains with the Lord, but be ready to go out and do whatever
He appoints.
I am sure if we go out cherishing love in our hearts for those we are
going to try and reach, every barrier will be swept out of the way.
Love begets love, just as hatred begets hatred. Love is the key to the
human heart. Some one has said: "Light is for the mind, and love is
for the heart." When you can reach men's hearts then you can turn them
toward Christ. But we must first win them to ourselves.
You may have heard of the boy whose home was near a wood. One day he
was in the wood, and he thought he heard the voice of another boy not
far off. He shouted, "Hallo, there!" and the voice shouted back,
"Hallo, there!" He did not know that it was the echo of his own voice,
and he shouted again: "You are a mean boy!" Again the cry came back,
"You are a mean boy!" After some more of the same kind of thing he
went into the house and told his mother that there was a bad boy in
the wood. His mother, who understood how it was, said to him: "Oh, no!
You speak kindly to him, and see if he does not speak kindly to you."
He went to the wood again and shouted: "Hallo, there!" "Hallo, there!"
"You are a good boy." Of course the reply came, "You are a good boy."
"I love you." "I love you," said the other voice.
You smile at that, but this little story explains the secret of the
whole thing. Some of you perhaps think you have bad and disagreable
neighbors; most likely the trouble is with yourself. If you love your
neighbors they will love you. As I said before, love is the key that
will unlock every human heart. There is no man or woman in all this
land so low and so degraded but you can reach them with love,
gentleness and kindness. It may take years to do it, but it can be
done.
Love must be active. As some one has said: "A man may hoard up his
money; he may bury his talents in a napkin; but there is one thing he
cannot hoard up, and that is love." You cannot bury it. It _must_ flow
out. It cannot feed upon itself; it must have an object.
I remember reading a few years ago of something that happened when we
had the yellow fever in one of the Southern cities. There was a family
there who lived in a strange neighborhood where they had just moved.
The father was stricken down with the fever. There were so many fatal
cases happening that the authorities of the city did not stop to give
them a decent burial. The dead-cart used to go through the street
where the poor lived, and the bodies were carried away for burial.
The neighbors of this family were afraid, and no one would visit the
house because of the fever. It was not long before the mother was
stricken down. Before she died she called her boy to her, and said: "I
will soon be gone, but when I am dead Jesus will come and take care of
you." She had no one on earth to whom she could commit him. In a
little while she, too, was gone, and they carried her body away to the
cemetery. The little fellow followed her to the grave. He saw where
they laid her, and then he came back to the house.
But he found it very lonely, and when it grew dark he got afraid and
could not stay in the house. He went out and sat down on the step and
began to weep. Finally he went back to the cemetery, and finding the
lot where his mother was buried, he laid down and wept himself to
sleep.
Next morning a stranger passing that way found him on the grave, still
weeping. "What are you doing here, my boy?" "Waiting for the Savior."
The man wanted to know what he meant, and the boy told the story of
what his mother had said to him. It touched the heart of the stranger,
and he said, "Well, my boy, Jesus has sent me to take care of you."
The boy looked up and replied: "You have been a long while coming."
If we had the love of our Master do you tell me that these outlying
masses would not be reached? There is not a drunkard who would not be
reached. There is not a poor fallen one, or a blasphemer, or an
atheist, but would be influenced for good. The atheists cannot get
over the power of love. It will upset atheism and every false system
quicker than anything else. Nothing will break the stubborn heart so
quickly as the love of Christ.
I was in a certain home a few years ago; one of the household was a
boy who, I noticed, was treated like one of the family, and yet he did
not bear their name. One night I asked the lady of the house to
explain to me what it meant. "I have noticed," I said, "that you treat
him exactly like your own children, yet he is not your boy." "Oh no,"
she said, "he is not. It is quite true I treat him as my own child."
She went on to tell me his story. His father and mother were American
missionaries in India; they had five children. The time came when the
children had to be sent away from India, as they could not be educated
there. They were to be sent to America for that purpose. The father
and mother had been very much blessed in India, but they felt as
though they could not give up their children. They thought they would
leave their work in the foreign field and go back to America.
They were not blessed to the same extent in working at home as they
had been in India. The natives were writing to them to return, and by
and by they decided that the call was so loud the father must go back.
The mother said to him: "I cannot let you go alone; I must go with
you." "But how can you leave the children? You have never been
separated from them." She said: "I can do it for Christ's sake." Thank
God for such love as that.
When it was known they wanted to leave their children in good homes,
this lady with whom I was staying said to the mother if she left one
of them with her she would treat the child as her own. The mother came
and stayed a week in the house to see that everything was right. The
last morning came. When the carriage drove up to the door the mother
said: "I want to leave my boy without shedding a tear; I cannot bear
to have him think that it costs me tears to do what God has for me to
do." My friend saw that there was a great struggle going on. Her room
was adjoining this lady's, who told me she heard the mother crying: "O
God, give me strength for the hour; help me now." She came downstairs
with a beautiful smile on her face. She took her boy to her bosom,
kissed him, and left him without a tear. She left all her children,
and went back to labor for Christ in India; and from the shores of
India she went up, before very long, to be with her Master. That is
what a weak woman can do when love to Christ is the motive power. Some
time after that dear boy passed away to be with the mother.
I was preaching in a certain city a few years ago, and I found a young
man very active in bringing in the boys from the street into the
meetings. If there was a hard case in the city he was sure to get hold
of it. You would find him in the Inquiry Room with a whole crowd round
him. I got to be very deeply interested in the young man and much
attached to him. I found out that he was another son of that grand and
glorious missionary. I found that all the sons were in training to go
as foreign missionaries, to take the place of the mother and father,
who had gone to their reward. It made such an impression on me that I
could not shake it off. These boys have all gone to tell out among the
heathen the story of Christ and His love.
I am convinced of this: When these hard-hearted people who now reject
the Savior are thoroughly awake to the fact that love is prompting our
efforts on their behalf, the hardness will begin to soften, and their
stubborn wills will begin to bend. This key of love will unlock their
hearts. We can turn them, by God's help, from the darkness of this
world to the light of the Gospel.
Christ gave his disciples a badge. Some of you wear a blue ribbon and
others wear a red ribbon, but the badge that Christ gave to his
disciples was LOVE. "By this shall all men know that ye are My
disciples, if ye have love one toward another." Love not only for
those who are Christians, but love for the fallen. The Good Samaritan
had love for the poor man who had fallen among thieves. If we are
filled with such love as that, the world will soon find out that we
are the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. It will do more to upset
infidelity and rebellion against God than anything else.
Speaking about hard cases being reached, reminds me that while I was
in a home in London a young lady in that home felt that she was not
doing as much for Christ as she would like, and she decided she would
take a class of boys. She has now some fifteen or twenty of these
lads, from thirteen to sixteen years of age--a very difficult age to
deal with. This Christian young lady made up her mind that she would
first try and win for herself the affection of these boys, and then
seek to lead them to the Savior. It is a beautiful sight to see how
she has won their young hearts for herself, and I believe she will win
them all to a pure and Godly life. If we are willing to take up our
work among the young with that spirit, these boys will be saved; and
instead of helping to fill our prisons and poorhouses, they will
become useful members of the Church of God, and a blessing to society.
I have a friend who has a large Sabbath-school. He made up his mind
when he began that if a boy did not have a good training in his own
home, he could not get it anywhere else except in the Sabbath-school;
and he resolved that, if possible, when a boy was refractory he would
not turn him adrift.
He had a boy come to the school whom no teacher seemed able to manage.
One after another would come to the Superintendent and say: "You must
take him out of my class; he is demoralizing all the others; he uses
profane language, and he is doing more harm than all the good I can
do." At last my friend made up his mind he would read the boy's name
out and have him expelled publicly.
He told a few of the teachers what he was going to do, but a wealthy
young lady said: "I wish you would let me try the boy; I will do all I
can to win him." My friend said to himself he was sure she would not
have patience with him very long, but he put the boy in her class as
she requested. The little fellow very soon broke the rules in the
class, and she corrected him. He got so angry that he lost his temper
and spat in her face. She quietly took a handkerchief and wiped her
face. At the close of the lesson she asked him if he would walk home
with her when school was over. No, he said, he didn't want to speak to
her. He was not coming back to that old school any more. She asked if
he would let her walk along with him. No, he wouldn't. Well, she said,
she was sorry he was going, but if he would call at her house on
Tuesday morning and ring the front door bell, there would be a little
parcel waiting for him. She would not be at home herself, but if he
asked the servant he would receive it. He replied: "You can keep your
old parcel; I don't want it." However she thought he would be there.
By Tuesday morning the little fellow had got over his mad fit. He came
to the house and rang the door bell; the servant handed him the
parcel. When he opened it he found it contained a little vest, a
necktie, and, best of all, a note written by the teacher. She told him
how every night and every morning since he had been in her class she
had been praying for him. Now that he was going to leave her she
wanted him to remember that as long as she lived she would pray for
him, and she hoped he would grow up to be a good man.
Next morning the little fellow was in the drawing-room waiting to see
her before she came downstairs from her bedroom. She found him there
crying as if his heart would break. She asked him kindly what was the
trouble. "Oh," he said, "I have had no peace since I got your letter.
You have been so kind to me and I have been so unkind to you; I wish
you would forgive me." Said my friend, the Superintendent, "There are
about eighteen hundred children in the school, and there is not a
better boy among the whole of them."
Can we not do the same as that young lady did? Shall we not
reconsecrate ourselves now to God and to his service?
Had I the tongues of Greeks and Jews,
And nobler speech than angels use:
If love be absent, I am found
Like tinkling brass, an empty sound.
Were I inspired to preach and tell
All that is done in heaven and hell--
Or could my faith the world remove:
Still I am nothing without love.
Should I distribute all my store
To feed the hungry, clothe the poor
Or give my body to the flame,
To gain a martyr's glorious name:
If love to God and love to men
Be absent, all my hopes are vain;
Nor tongues, nor gifts, nor fiery zeal,
The work of love can e'er fulfill.
_Dr. Watts_
CHAPTER III.
FAITH AND COURAGE.
The key note of all our work for God should be FAITH. In all my life I
have never seen men or women disappointed in receiving answers to
their prayers, if those persons were full of faith, and had good
grounds for their faith. Of course we must have a warrant in Scripture
for what we expect. I am sure we have a good warrant in coming
together to pray for a blessing on our friends and on our neighbors.
Unbelief is as much an enemy to the Christian as it is to the
unconverted. It will keep back the blessing now as much as it did in
the days of Christ. We read that in one place Christ could not do many
mighty works because of their unbelief. If Christ could not do this,
how can we expect to accomplish anything if the people of God are
unbelieving? I contend that God's children are alone able to hinder
God's work. Infidels, atheists, and sceptics cannot do it. Where there
is union, strong faith, and expectation among Christians, a mighty
work is always done.
In Hebrews we read that without faith it is impossible to please God.
"For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a
Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." That is addressed to us
who are Christians as much as to those who are seeking God for the
first time. We are all of us seeking a blessing on our friends. We
want God to revive us, and also that the outlying masses may be
reached. We read in this passage that God blesses those who
"diligently seek Him." Let us diligently seek Him to-day; let us have
great faith; and let our expectation be from God.
I remember when I was a boy, in the spring of the year, when the snow
had melted away on the New England hills where I lived, I used to take
a certain kind of glass and hold it up to the warm rays of the sun.
These would strike on it, and I would set the woods on fire. Faith is
the glass that brings the fire of God out of heaven. It was faith that
drew the fire down on Carmel and burned up Elijah's offering. We have
the same God to-day, and the same faith. Some people seem to think
that faith is getting old, and that the Bible is wearing out. But the
Lord will revive his work now; and we shall be able to set the world
on fire if each believer has a strong and simple faith.
In the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews the writer
brings up one worthy after another, and each of them was a man or a
woman of faith; they made the world better by living in it. Listen to
this description of what was accomplished by these men and women of
faith: "Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness,
obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence
of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made
strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the
aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again; and others
were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a
better resurrection: and others had trial of cruel mockings and
scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment. They were
stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the
sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being
destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom the world was not worthy):
they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of
the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith,
received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for
us, that they without us should not be made perfect."
Surely no child of God can read these words without being stirred. It
is said that "women received their dead raised to life again." Many of
you have children who have gone far astray, and have been taken
captive by strong drink, or led away by their lusts and passions; and
you have become greatly discouraged about them. But if you have faith
in God they may be raised up as from the dead, and brought back again.
The wanderers may be reclaimed; the drunkards and the harlots may be
reached and saved. There is no man or woman, however low he or she may
have sunk, but can be reached.
We ought in these days to have far more faith than Abel, or Enoch, or
Abraham had. They lived away on the other side of the Cross. We talk
about the faith of Elijah, and the Patriarchs and Prophets; but they
lived in the dim light of the past, while we are in the full blaze of
Calvary, and the Resurrection. When we look back and think of what
Christ did, how He poured out His blood that men might be saved, we
ought to go forth in His strength and conquer the world. Our God is
able to do great and mighty things.
You remember that the Roman Centurion sent for Christ to heal his
servant; when the Savior drew near, the Centurion sent to Him to say
that He need not take the trouble to come into his house; all that was
needed was that He should speak the word and his servant would live.
Probably he thought that if Christ had the power to create worlds, to
say "Let there be light," and there was light, to make the sea and the
earth bring forth abundantly, He could easily say the word and raise
up his sick servant. We are told that when Christ received the Roman
soldier's message He marvelled at his faith. Dear friends, let us have
faith at this moment that God will do great things in our midst.
Caleb and Joshua were men of faith. They were worth more to Israel
than all the camp of unbelievers and the other ten spies put together.
We read that Moses sent out twelve men to spy out the land. Let me say
that faith never sends out any spies. You may perhaps reply that Moses
was commanded by God to send them out; but we read that it was because
of the hardness of their hearts. If they had believed in God, they
would have taken possession of the land at Kadesh Barnea. I suppose
these twelve men were chosen because they were leading men and
influential men in the twelve tribes.
After they had been gone some thirty days they came back with what we
might call a minority and a majority report. All the twelve admitted
that the land was a good land, but the ten said, "We are not able to
take it. We saw giants there--the sons of Anak." You can see these ten
spies in camp the night they returned; great crowds are gathered
around them listening to their reports. Probably there were very few
gathered to hear Caleb and Joshua. It really seems sometimes that
people are much more ready to believe a lie than to believe the truth.
So these unbelieving men gathered around the ten spies. One of them is
describing the giants in the land, and he says: "Why, I had to look
right up in order to see their faces; they made the earth tremble at
their tread. The mountains and valleys are full of them. Then we saw
great walled cities. We are not able to take the land."
But Caleb and Joshua had quite a different story to tell. Those mighty
giants seemed to be as grasshoppers in their sight. These men of faith
remembered how God had delivered them out of the hand of Pharaoh and
brought them through the Red Sea; how He had given them bread from
heaven to eat, and water to drink from the rock in the wilderness. If
He marched with them surely they could go right up and take possession
of the land. So they said: "Let us go up at once and possess it; we
are well able to take it."
What do we see in the Church of God to-day? About ten out of every
twelve professed Christians are looking at the giants, at the walls,
and at the difficulties in the way. They say: "We are not able to
accomplish this work. We might do it if there were not so many
drinking saloons, and so much drunkenness, and so many atheists and
opposers." Let us not give head to these unbelieving professors. If we
have faith in God we are well able to go up and possess the land for
Christ. God always delights to honor faith.
It may be some sainted weak woman, some bed-ridden one who is not able
to attend the meetings, who will bring down the blessing. In the day
when every man's work is tested, it may be seen that some hidden one
who honored God by a simple faith was the one who caused such a
blessing to descend upon our cities as shall shake the land from end
to end.
Again, in these Bible histories we find that faith is always followed
by COURAGE. Caleb and Joshua were full of courage, because they were
men of faith. Those who have been greatly used of God in all ages have
been men of courage. If we are full of faith we shall not be full of
fear, distrusting God all the while. That is the trouble with the
Church of Christ to-day--there are so many who are fearful, because
they do not believe that God is going to use them. What we need is to
have the courage that will compel us to move forward. Perhaps if we do
this we may have to go against the advice of lukewarm Christians.
There are some who never seem to do anything but object, because the
work is not always carried on exactly according to their ideas. They
will say: "I do not think that is the best way to do things." They are
very fruitful in raising objections to any plans that can be
suggested. If any onward step is taken they are ready to throw cold
water on it; they will suggest all kinds of difficulties. We want to
have such faith and courage as shall enable us to move forward without
waiting for these timid unbelievers.
In the second book of Chronicles we read that King Asa had to go right
against his father and mother; it took a good deal of courage to do
that. He removed his mother from being queen, and cut down the idols
and burnt them. There are times when we have to go against those who
ought to be our best friends. Is it not time for us to launch out into
the deep? I have never seen people go out into the lanes and alleys,
into the hedges and highways, and try to bring the people in, but the
Lord gave His blessing. If a man has the courage to go right to his
neighbor and speak to him about his soul, God is sure to smile upon
the effort. The person who is spoken to may wake up cross, but that is
not always a bad sign. He may write a letter next day and apologize.
At any rate it is better to wake him up in this way than that he
should continue to slumber on to death and ruin.
You notice when God was about to deliver Israel out of the hand of the
Midianites, how he taught this lesson to Gideon. Gideon had gathered
around him an army of thirty-two thousand men. He may probably have
counted them, and when he knew that the Midianites had an army of a
hundred and thirty-five thousand he said to himself: "My army is too
small; I am afraid I shall not succeed." But the Lord's thoughts were
different. He said to Gideon: "You have too many men." So He told him
that all those among the thirty-two thousand who were fearful and
afraid might go back to their own homes, to their wives and their
mothers; let them step to the rear. No sooner had Gideon given this
command than twenty-two thousand men wheeled out of line. It may be
Gideon thought the Lord had made a mistake as he saw his army melt
away. If two-thirds of a great audience were to rise and go out you
would think they were all going.
The Lord said: "Gideon, you have too many men yet. Take your men down
to the brook and try them once more. All those who take the water up
in their hands and drink as they pass by can stay; those who stoop
down to drink can go back." Again he gave the word, and nine thousand
seven hundred wheeled out of line and went to the rear, so that Gideon
was left with three hundred men. But this handful of men whose hearts
beat true to the God of heaven, and who were ready to go forward in
His name, were worth more than all the others who were all the time
sowing seeds of discontent and predicting defeat. Nothing will
discourage an army like that. Nothing is more discouraging in a Church
than to have a number of the people all the time expecting disaster
and saying: "We do not think this effort will amount to anything; it
is not according to our ideas."
It would be a good thing for the Church of God if all the fearful and
faithless ones were to step to the rear, and let those who are full of
faith and courage take their empty pitchers and go forward against the
enemy. This little band of three hundred men who were left with Gideon
routed the Midianites; but it was not their own might that gave them
the victory. It was "the sword of the Lord and of Gideon." If we go on
in the Name of the Lord, and trusting to His might, we shall succeed.
Before Moses went up to heaven he did all he could to encourage
Joshua, to strengthen and cheer him. There was no sign of jealousy in
the heart of Moses, although he was not permitted to go into the land.
He went up to the top of Pisgah and saw that it was a good land; and
he tried to encourage Joshua to go forward and take possession of it.
After Moses had gone, we read that three times in one chapter God said
to Joshua: "Be of good courage." God cheered his servant; "There shall
not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life."
Soon after that Joshua took a walk around the walls of Jericho. As he
walked around he saw a man stand before him with a drawn sword in his
hand. Joshua was not afraid, but he said: "Art thou for us or for our
adversaries?" His courage was rewarded, for the man replied: "As
Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." He had been sent to
encourage him and to lead him on to victory.
So you will find all through the Scriptures that God uses those who
have courage, and not those who are looking for defeat.
Another thought: I never knew a case where God used a discouraged man
or woman to accomplish any great thing for Him. Let a minister go into
the pulpit in a discouraged frame of mind and it becomes contagious.
It will soon reach the pews, and the whole church will become
discouraged. So with a Sabbath-school teacher; I never knew a worker
of any kind who was full of discouragement and who met with success in
the Lord's work. It seems as if God cannot make any use of such a man.
I remember a man telling me he preached for a number of years without
any result. He used to say to his wife as they went to church that he
knew the people would not believe anything he said; and there was no
blessing. At last he saw his error; he asked God to help him, and took
courage, and then the blessing came. "According to your faith it shall
be unto you." This man had expected nothing and he got just what he
expected. Dear friends, let us expect that God is going to use us. Let
us have courage and go forward, looking to God to do great things.
Elijah on Mount Carmel was one man; Elijah under the juniper tree was
quite another man. In the one case he was a giant, and nothing could
stand before him. When he lost heart and got terrified at Jezebel's
message, and wished himself dead, God could not use him. The Lord had
to go to him and say: "What doest thou here, Elijah?" I wish God would
speak to many professing Christians who have their harps on the
willows, and are out of communion with Him, so that they are of no use
in His cause.
When Peter denied his Master he was a very different man from what he
was on the day of Pentecost. He got out of communion with his Lord,
and the word of a servant nearly frightened him out of his life. He
denied his Master with oaths and cursing. How terribly a man falls
when he loses faith and courage.
But he was restored; look at him on the day of Pentecost. If that maid
whose question made him tremble had been present, and heard him preach
the marvellous sermon recorded in the Acts, I can imagine she would be
the most amazed person in all Jerusalem, "Why," she says, "I saw him a
few days ago, and he was terribly alarmed at being called a disciple
of Christ; now he stands up boldly for this same Christ; he has no
shame now." God used him mightily on the day of Pentecost, as he
preached to that vast congregation, some of whom were the very
murderers of his Lord and Master. But he could not use Peter till he
had repented of his cowardice and had been restored to faith and
courage. So when any man who is working for Christ loses heart and
gets discouraged, the Lord has to lay him aside.
I remember a number of years ago I got cast down for a good many
weeks. One Sunday in particular I had preached and there did not seem
to be any result. On the Monday I was very much cast down. I was
sitting in my study and was looking at myself, brooding over my want
of success. A young man called upon me, who had a Bible class of 100
adults in the Sabbath-school which I conducted. As he came in I could
see he was away upon the mountain top, while I was down in the valley.
Said he to me, "What kind of a day did you have yesterday?" "Very
poor; I had no success, and I feel quite cast down. How did you get
on?" "Oh, grandly; I never had a better day." "What was your subject?"
"I had the life and character of Noah. Did you ever preach on Noah?
Did you ever study up his life?" "Well, no; I do not know as ever I
made it a special study." I thought I knew pretty well all there was
about him in the Bible; you know all that is told us about him is
contained in a few verses. "If you never studied it before, you had
better do it now. It will do you good. Noah was a wonderful
character."
When the young man went out I got my Bible and some other books, and
read all I could find about Noah, I had not been reading long before
the thought came stealing over me: Here was a man who toiled on for a
hundred and twenty years and never had a single convert outside of his
own family. Yet he did not get discouraged. I closed up my Bible; the
cloud had gone; I started out and went to the noon prayer-meeting. I
had not been there long when a man got up and said he had come from a
little town in Illinois. On the day before he had admitted a hundred
young converts to Church membership. As he was speaking I said to
myself: "I wonder what Noah would have given if he could have heard
that. He never had any such result as that to his labors."
Then in a little while a man who sat right behind me stood up. His
hand was on the seat, and I felt it shake; I could realise that the
man was trembling. He said: "I wish you would pray for me; I would
like to become a Christian." Thought I to myself: "wonder what Noah
would have given if he had heard that. He never heard a single soul
asking God for mercy, yet he did not get discouraged." I have never
hung my harp on the willows since that day. Let us ask God to take
away the clouds of fear and unbelief; let us get out of Doubting
Castle; let us move forward courageously in the name of our God and
expect to see results.
If you cannot engage in any active work yourselves you can do a good
deal by cheering on others. Some people not only do nothing, but they
are all the time throwing discouragement on others, in every forward
step they take. If you meet with them they seem to chill you through
and through. I think I would as soon face the east wind in Edinburgh
in the month of March, as come in contact with some of these so-called
Christians. Perhaps they are speaking about some effort that has been
made, and they say: "Well, yes, a good deal of work was done, but then
many were not reached at all." Such and such a thing ought to have
been done in a different way, and I know not what. They are all the
time looking at the dark side.
Let us not give heed to these gloomy and discouraging remarks. In the
name of our great Commander let us march on to battle and to victory.
There are some generals whose name alone is worth more than a whole
army of ten thousand men. In our army in the Civil War there were some
whose presence sent a cheer all along the line. As they passed on
cheer upon cheer went up. The men knew who was going to lead them, and
they were sure of having success. "The boys" liked to fight under such
generals as that. Let us encourage ourselves in the Lord, and
encourage each other; then we shall have good success.
We read in the book of First Chronicles that Joab cheered on those who
were helping him in warfare. "Be of good courage, and let us behave
ourselves valiantly for our people and for the cities of our God; and
let the Lord do that which is good in His sight." Let us go forward in
this spirit, and the Lord will make us to triumph over our foes. If we
cannot be in the battle ourselves let us not seek to discourage
others. A Highland chief of the M'Gregor clan fell wounded at the
battle of Sheriff-Muir. Seeing their leader fall, the clan wavered,
and gave the foe an advantage. The old chieftain, perceiving this,
raised himself on his elbow, while the blood streamed from his wounds,
and cried out, "I am not dead, my children; I am looking at you to see
you do your duty." This roused them to new energy and almost
superhuman effort. So, when our strength fails and our hearts sink
within us, the Captain of our salvation cries: "Lo, I am with you
alway, even to the end of the world. I will never leave nor forsake
thee. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of
life."
A friend of mine was telling me that a worker came to him very much
cast down. Everything was going wrong, and he was greatly depressed.
My friend turned upon him and said: "Do you have any doubt about the
final result of things? Is Jesus Christ going to set up His Kingdom,
and reign from the rivers to the ends of the earth? Is He going to
succeed or not?" The man said that of course Christ was going to
triumph; he had never thought of it in that light. If people would
sometimes take a look into the future and remember the promises, they
would not be cast down. Dear friends, Christ is going to reign. Let us
go out and do the work He has given us to do. If it happens to be dark
round about us, let us remember it is light somewhere else. If we are
not succeeding just as we would like, others, it may be, are
succeeding better.
Think of the opportunities we have, compared with the early
Christians. Look at the mighty obstacles they had to encounter--how
they had often to seal their testimony with their blood. See what
Peter had to fight against on the day of Pentecost, when the people
looked on him with scorn. The disciples in those days had no committee
to put up large buildings for their use, in which they could preach.
They had no band of ministers sitting near by, to pray for them, and
help them and cheer them on. Yet look at the wonderful results of
Peter's preaching on the day of Pentecost.
Look at the dense darkness that surrounded Martin Luther in Germany.
Look at the difficulties that John Knox had to meet with in Scotland.
Yet these men did a mighty and a lasting work for God in their day and
generation; we are reaping the blessed fruits of their faithful labors
even now. Look at the darkness that brooded over England in the days
of Wesley and Whitefield. See how God blessed their efforts; and yet
they had a great many obstacles to contend with that we do not have in
these days. They went forward with strong and courageous hearts, and
the Lord gave them success.
I believe if our forefathers who lived in the last century could come
back to this world in the flesh, they would be amazed to see the
wonderful opportunities that we have. We have a great many advantages
they did not possess, and probably did not dream of. We live in a
grand and glorious day. It took John Wesley months to cross the
Atlantic; now we can do it a few days. Think of the power of the
printing press in these days; we can print and scatter sermons to all
the corners of the earth. Look at the marvellous facilities that we
have in the electric telegraph, Then we can take the railway train and
go and preach at a distance of hundreds of miles in a few hours. Am I
not right in saying that we live in a glorious day? Let us not be
discouraged, but let us use all these wonderful opportunities, and
honor God by expecting great things. If we do we will not be
disappointed. God is ready and willing to work, if we are ready and
willing to let Him, and to be used by Him.
It may be that some are old and feeble, and are saying to themselves:
"I wish I were young again; I would like to go out into the thick of
the battle." But any one, young or old, can go into the homes of the
people and invite them to come out to the meetings. There are large
halls everywhere with plenty of room; there are many who will help
sing the Gospel. The Gospel will also be preached, and there are many
people who might be induced to come, who will not go out to the
regular places of worship.
If you are not able to go and invite the people, as I have said, you
can give a word of cheer to others, and wish them Godspeed. Many a
time when I have come down from the pulpit, some old man, trembling on
the very verge of another world, living perhaps on borrowed time, has
caught hold of my hand, and in a quavering voice said, "God bless
you!" How the words have cheered and helped me. Many of you can speak
a word of encouragement to the younger friends, if you are too feeble
to work yourselves.
Then again, you can pray that God will bless the words that are spoken
and the efforts that are made. It is very easy to preach when others
are all the time praying for you and sympathizing with you, instead of
criticising and finding fault.
You have heard the story, I suppose, of the child who was rescued from
the fire that was raging in a house away up in the fourth story. The
child came to the window, and as the flames were shooting up higher
and higher it cried out for help. A fireman started up the ladder of
the fire-escape to rescue the child from its dangerous position. The
wind swept the flames near him, and it was getting so hot that he
wavered, and it looked as if he would have to return without the
child. Thousands looked on, and their hearts quaked at the thought of
the child having to perish in the fire, as it must do if the fireman
did not reach it. Some one in the crowd cried, "Give him a cheer!"
Cheer after cheer went up, and as the man heard them he gathered fresh
courage. Up he went into the midst of the smoke and the fire, and
brought down the child in safety. If you cannot go and rescue the
perishing yourselves, you can at least pray for those who do, and
cheer them on. If you do, the Lord will bless the effort.
"They helped every one his neighbor; and every one said to his
brother, 'Be of good courage.'"
We are living, we are dwelling
In a grand and awful time,
In an age on ages telling--
To be living is sublime.
Oh, let all the soul within you
For the truth's sake go abroad!
Strike! let every nerve and sinew
Tell on ages--tell for God!
_Coxe_
CHAPTER IV.
FAITH REWARDED.
"And it came to pass on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there
were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out
of every town of Galilee, and Judea and Jerusalem; and the power of
the Lord was present to heal them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a
man which was taken with a palsy; and they sought means to bring him
in, and to lay him before Him. And when they could not find by what
way they might bring him in, because of the multitude, they went upon
the house-top, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into
the midst before Jesus. And when He saw their faith, He said unto him,
'Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.'"
All the three evangelists, Matthew, Mark and Luke, record this
miracle. I have noticed that when any two or three of the Gospel
writers record a miracle it is to bring out some important truth. It
seems to me that the truth the Lord would teach us here is this: The
honor He put upon the faith of these four men who brought the palsied
man to him for healing. Whether the palsied man himself had any faith
we are not told; it was when He saw "_their_ faith" that His power was
put forth to cure the sick of the palsy.
I want to say to all Christian workers, that if the Lord sees our
faith for those whom we wish to be blessed, He will honor it. He has
never disappointed the faith of any of His children yet. You cannot
find an instance in the Bible, where any man or woman has exercised
true faith in God, where it has not been honored. Nothing that the
Savior found when He was on this sin-cursed earth pleased Him so much
as to see the faith of His disciples; nothing refreshed His heart so
much.
We read in the Gospel narrative that there was a great stir in the
town of Capernaum at this time. A few weeks before, the Savior had
been cast out of his native town of Nazareth. He had come down to
Capernaum, and the whole country was greatly moved. His star was just
rising, and His fame was being spread abroad. Peter's wife's mother
had been healed by a word. The servant of an officer in the Roman army
had been raised up from a sick bed, and the Savior had performed many
other wonderful miracles. Men had come to Capernaum from every town in
Galilee, and Judaea, and from Jerusalem. They had gathered together to
look into these wonderful events that were occurring. The voice of
John the Baptist had been ringing through the land, proclaiming to the
people that a Prophet would soon make His appearance, whose shoe
latchet he was not worthy to unloose. While the Baptist was telling
out this message the Prophet Himself made His appearance in the
northern part of the country, and all these wonderful things were
transpiring.
The Pharisees and doctors of the law had come to Capernaum to look
into the reports that were spread abroad. The house where they were
gathered was filled to overflowing, and these wise men were listening
to the Savior's teaching. Many of them hardly believed a word that He
said. It may be there were some believing ones among these wise men.
Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea may have been there: if so, they
were not yet known as disciples of Jesus.
The writer of the Gospel says: "The power of the Lord was present to
heal them." We are not told, however, that one of them was healed. So
it is very often now. The power of the Lord may be present to heal in
these gatherings; yet many will come and go, wondering what it all
means, and without being healed of their spiritual diseases. What we
need is to have the power of God in our midst.
A man came into one of our meetings in London. He got into a part of
the hall where he could not hear a word of what was spoken or sung; he
could not even hear the text or the portion of Scripture that was
read. There he had to sit through the service, so to speak, shut up
alone with himself. A little while after he told some one that as he
sat there God had revealed Himself to him, and spoken peace to his
soul. There is such a thing as the power of God being present to heal,
though men may not hear the voice of their fellowman.
These four men were real workers. They were worth more than a houseful
of these Pharisees and doctors of the law who came merely to criticise
and look on. I do not know who the four men were, but I have always
had a great admiration for them. It may be one of them had been blind
and the Lord had given him his sight. The other may have been lame
from his birth; when the Master restored him to strength, he thought
he would like to use it in bringing some one else to be healed. The
third man may have been a cured leper, and he wished to help in
getting some other afflicted one cured. Perhaps this palsied man was
his next-door neighbor. The fourth man, it may be, had been deaf and
dumb, and he thought he would employ his hearing and his speech in
helping some one else. These four young converts said to themselves:
"Let us bring our sick neighbor to Christ." The palsied man may have
said he had no faith in Christ. But these four friends told him how
they had been cured, and if the Master could heal them surely He could
heal a palsied man.
Now it seems to me nothing will wake up a man quicker than to have
four persons after him in one day. People are sometimes afraid that
they will entrench on each other's ground if more than one worker
happens to call at the same house. For my part, I wish that every
family had about forty invitations to each meeting.
I lately heard of a man, a non-churchgoer, who did not believe in the
Bible or religious things. Some one who was distributing tickets asked
him if he would go to the meetings. He got quite angry. No, he would
not go; he did not believe in the thing at all; he would not be seen
in such a crowd. A second man came along, not knowing that any one had
been before him, and asked if he would accept a ticket for the
meetings. The man was still angry, and, as we would sometimes say, he
"gave him a piece of his mind." He told him to keep his tickets.
By-and-by a third man called and said: "Would you take a ticket for these
meetings?" The man by this time had got thoroughly waked up, but yet
he declined to receive the ticket. He went into a shop to buy
something. The man in the shop put a ticket for the meetings into the
packet; when the customer got home and opened it, lo and behold there
was a ticket! He got so roused up that he went, not to our meeting,
but to a neighboring church. I do not know that he has come clean out,
but I believe he is, at any rate, in a hopeful condition.
If one visit does not wake up a man whom you want to reach, send a
second visitor after him; if that has no effect, send a third, and a
fourth, and a fifth, and a sixth, and a seventh; go on in that way day
after day. It is a great thing to save one man, to get him out of the
pit, to have his feet set fast on a rock, and a new song put in his
mouth. Nothing will rouse an indifferent man quicker than to have a
number of friends after him. If you cannot bring him yourself, get
others to help you.
These four men found an obstacle in the way. The door of the house was
blocked, and they could not get near the Master. They may have asked
some of these philosophers to stand aside; but no, they would not do
that. They would not disturb themselves about a sick man. Many people
will not go into the kingdom of God themselves, and they will throw
obstacles in the way of others. After trying probably for some time to
get in, these four men began to devise another plan. If it had been
some of us, most likely we would have got quite discouraged, and
carried the man back to his home.
These men had faith, and perseverance too. They are going to get their
friend to Christ some way. If they cannot get him through the door,
they will find a way through the roof! "Zeal without knowledge,"
people say. I would a good deal rather have that than knowledge
without zeal. You can see them pulling and tugging away at the burden.
If you have ever tried to carry a wounded man up a flight of stairs
you will know it is not an easy matter. But these four men were not to
be defeated, and at last he is up there on the roof.
Now, the question was, "How can we get him down?" They began to tear
up the tiling. I can see those wise men looking up and saying to one
another: "This is a strange performance; we have never seen anything
like this in the temple or in any synagogue we were ever in. It is
altogether out of the regular order. These men must be carried away
with fanaticism. Why, they have made a hole large enough to let a man
through. Suppose a sudden shower were to come, it would spoil the
house."
But these four workers were terribly in earnest. They let the bier, on
which the man was lying, down into the room. They laid their friend
right at the feet of Jesus Christ; a good place to lay him, was it
not? Perhaps some of you have a sceptical son or an unbelieving
husband, or some other member of your family, that scoffs at the Bible
and sneers at Christianity. Lay them at the feet of Jesus, and He will
honor your faith.
"When He saw _their_ faith." I suppose these men were looking down to
see what was about to take place Christ looked at them, and when He
saw their faith He said to the palsied man: "Son, be of good cheer;
thy sins are forgiven thee." That was more than they expected; they
only thought of his body being made whole. So let us bring our friends
to Christ, and we shall get more than we expect. The Lord met this
man's deepest need first. It may be his sins had brought on the palsy,
so the Lord forgave the man's sin first of all.
The wise men began to reason within themselves: "Who is this that
forgiveth sins?" The Master could read their thoughts as easily as we
can read a book. "Is it easier to say, 'Thy sins be forgiven thee,' or
'Rise up and walk?' But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath
power on earth to forgive sins, He said unto the sick of the palsy, 'I
say unto thee, arise; take up thy bed and go into thine house.'" The
man leaped to his feet, made whole. He rolled up the old bed, swung it
across his shoulders, and went to his house. Depend upon it, these
philosophers who would not make way in order to let him in stood aside
pretty quick to let him go out. No need for him to go out by way of
the roof; he went out by the door.
Dear friends, let us have faith for those we bring to Christ. Let us
believe for them if they will not believe for themselves. It may be
there are those here who do not believe in the Bible, or in the Gospel
of the Son of God. Let us bring them to Christ in the arms of our
faith. He is unchangeable--"the same yesterday, today, and for ever."
Let us look for great things. Let us expect the dead to be raised, the
harlots reclaimed, the drunkards saved, and the devils cast out. I
believe men are possessed of evil spirits now, just as much as when
the Son of God was on earth. We want to bring them right to the Lord
Jesus Christ, that He may heal and save them. Let this cursed unbelief
be swept out of the way, and let us come to God as one man, looking
for and expecting signs and wonders to be done in the name of Jesus.
He can perform miracles to-day, and He will if we ask Him to fulfill
His promises. "He is able to save to the uttermost."
And let me say to any unsaved man that God has the power to save you
from your sins to-day. If you want to be converted, come right to the
Master as did the leper of old. He said, "Lord, if Thou wilt Thou
canst make me clean." Christ honored his faith, and said, "I will; be
thou clean." Notice--the man put "if" in the right place. "If Thou
_will_." He did not doubt the power of the Son of God. The father who
brought his son to Christ said, "If Thou _canst_, have compassion upon
him." The Lord straightened out his theology then and there; "If
_thou_ canst believe." Mother, can you believe for your boy? If you
can, the Lord will speak the word, and it shall be done.
It will be a good thing for us to get right down at the feet of the
Master, like the poor woman who went to Elisha and told him of her
dead child. He asked his servant to take his staff and lay it upon the
dead child. But the mother would not leave the prophet. He wanted her
to go with the servant, but she would not be satisfied with the
prophet's staff, or even with his servant; she wanted the master
himself. So Elisha went with her; it was a good thing he did, for the
servant could not raise the child.
We want to get beyond the staff and beyond the servant, right to the
heart of the Master Himself. Let us bring our palsied friends to Him.
It is said of Christ that in one place He could not do many mighty
works there because of their unbelief. Let us ask Him to take away
from us this cursed unbelief, that hinders the blessing from coming
down, and prevents those who are sick of the palsy of sin from being
saved.
"The faith that works by love,
And purifies the heart,
A foretaste of the joys above
To mortals can impart;
It bears us through this earthly strife,
And triumphs in immortal life."
CHAPTER V.
ENTHUSIASM.
"Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall
give thee light." I want to apply these words to the children of God.
If the lost are to be reached by the Gospel of the Son of God,
Christianity must be more aggressive than it has been in the past. We
have been on the defensive long enough; the time has come for us to
enter on a war of aggression. When we as children of God wake up and
go to work in the vineyard, then those who are living in wickedness
all about us will be reached; but not in any other way. You may go to
mass meetings and discuss the question of "How to reach the masses,"
but when you have done with discussion you have to go back to personal
effort. Every man and woman who loves the Lord Jesus Christ must wake
up to the fact that he or she has a mission in the world, in this work
of reaching the lost.
A man may talk in his sleep, and it seems to me that there is a good
deal of that kind of thing now in the Lord's work. A man may even
preach in his sleep. A friend of mine sat up in his bed one night and
preached a sermon right through. He was sound asleep all the time.
Next morning his wife told him all about it. He preached the same
sermon in his church the next Sabbath morning; I have it in print, and
a good sermon it is. So a man may not only talk but actually preach in
his sleep. There are many preachers in these days who are fast asleep.
There is one thing, however, that we must remember; a man cannot
_work_ in his sleep. There is no better way to wake up a Church than
to set it to work. One man will wake up another in waking himself up.
Of course the moment we begin a work of aggression, and declare war
with the world, the flesh, and the devil, some wise head will begin to
shake, and there will be the cry, "Zeal without knowledge!" I think I
have heard that objection ever since I commenced the Christian life. I
heard of some one who was speaking the other day of something that was
to be done, and who said he hoped zeal would be tempered with
moderation. Another friend very wisely replied that he hoped
moderation would be tempered with zeal. If that were always the case,
Christianity would be like a red hot ball rolling over the face of the
earth. There is no power on earth that can stand before the onward
march of God's people when they are in dead earnest.
In all ages God has used those who were in earnest. Satan always calls
idle men into his service. God calls active and earnest--not indolent
men. When we are thoroughly aroused and ready for His work, then He
will take us up and use us. You remember where Elijah found Elisha; he
was ploughing in the field--he was at work. Gideon was at the
threshing floor. Moses was away in Horeb looking after the sheep. None
of these eminent servants of God were indolent men; what they did,
they did with all their might. We want such men and women nowadays. If
we cannot do God's work with all the knowledge we would like, let us
at any rate do it with all the zeal that God has given us.
Mr. Taylor says: "The zeal of the Apostles was seen in this--they
preached publicly and privately; they prayed for all men; they wept to
God for the hardness of men's hearts; they became all things to all
men, that they might gain some; they traveled through deeps and
deserts; they endured the heat of the Syrian sun and the violence of
Euroclydon, winds and tempests, seas and prisons, mockings and
scourgings, fastings and poverty, labor and watching; they endured of
every man and wronged no man; they would do any good, and suffer any
evil, if they could but hope to prevail upon a soul; they persuaded
men meekly, they entreated them humbly, they convinced them
powerfully; they watched for their good, but meddled not with their
interest; and this is the Christian zeal--the zeal of meekness, the
zeal of charity, the zeal of patience."
A good many people are afraid of the word ENTHUSIASM. Do you know what
the word means? It means "In God." The person who is "in God", will
surely be fired with enthusiasm. When a man goes into business filled
with fire and zeal, he will generally carry all before him. In the
army a general who is full of enthusiasm will fire up his men, and
will accomplish a great deal more than one who is not stirred with the
same spirit. People say that if we go on in that way many mistakes
will be made. Probably there will. You never saw any boy learning a
trade who did not make a good many mistakes. If you do not go to work
because you are afraid of making mistakes, you will probably make one
great mistake--the greatest mistake of your life--that of doing
nothing. If we all do what we can, then a good deal will be
accomplished.
How often do we find Sabbath-school teachers going into their work
without any enthusiasm. I had just as soon have a lot of wooden
teachers as some that I have known. If I were a carpenter I could
manufacture any quantity of them. Take one of those teachers who has
no heart, no fire, and no enthusiasm. He comes into the school-room
perhaps a few minutes after the appointed time. He sits down, without
speaking a word to any of the scholars, until the time comes for the
lessons to begin. When the Superintendent says it is time to begin the
teacher brings out a Question Book. He has not been at the trouble to
look up the subject himself, so he gets what some one else has written
about it. He takes care not only to get a Question Book, but an Answer
Book.
Such a teacher will take up the first book and he says: "John, who was
the first man?" (looking at the book)--"Yes, that is the right
question." John replies, "Adam." Looking at the Answer Book the
teacher says: "Yes, that is right." He looks again at the Question
Book and he says: "Charles, who was Lot?" "Abraham's nephew." "Yes, my
boy, that is right." And so he goes on. You may say that this is an
exaggerated description, and of course I do not mean to say it is
literally true; but the picture is not so much overdrawn as you would
suppose. Do you think a class of little boys full of life and fire is
going to be reached in that way?
I like to see a teacher come into the class and shake hands with the
scholars all round. "Johnnie, how do you do? Charlie, I am glad to see
you! How's the baby? How's your mother? How are all the folks at
home?" That is the kind of a teacher I like to see. When he begins to
open up the lesson all the scholars are interested in what he is going
to say. He will be able to gain the attention of the whole class, and
to train them for God and for eternity. You cannot find me a person in
the world who has been greatly used of God, who has not been full of
enthusiasm. When we enter on the work in this spirit it will begin to
prosper, and God will give us success.
As I was leaving New York to go to England in 1867, a friend said to
me: "I hope you will go to Edinburgh and be at the General Assembly
this year. When I was there a year ago I heard such a speech as I
shall never forget. Dr. Duff made a speech that set me all on fire. I
shall never forget the hour I spent in that meeting." Shortly after
reaching England I went to Edinburgh and spent a week there, in hopes
that I might hear that one man speak. I went to work to find the
report of the speech that my friend had referred to, and it stirred me
wonderfully. Dr. Duff had been out in India as a missionary. He had
spent twenty-five years there preaching the Gospel and establishing
schools. He came back with a broken-down constitution. He was
permitted to address the General Assembly, in order to make an appeal
for men to go into the mission field. After he had spoken for a
considerable time, he became exhausted and fainted away. They carried
him out of the hall into another room. The doctors worked over him for
some time, and at last he began to recover. When he realized where he
was, he roused himself and said: "I did not finish my speech; carry me
back and let me finish it." They told him he could only do it at the
peril of his life. Said he: "I will do it if I die." So they took him
back to the hall. My friend said it was one of the most solemn scenes
he ever witnessed in his life.
They brought the white-haired man into the Assembly Hall, and as he
appeared at the door every person sprang to his feet; the tears flowed
freely as they looked upon the grand old veteran. With a trembling
voice, he said: "Fathers and mothers of Scotland, is it true that you
have no more sons to send to India to work for the Lord Jesus Christ?
The call for help is growing louder and louder, but there are few
coming forward to answer it. You have the money put away in the bank,
but where are the laborers who shall go into the field? When Queen
Victoria wants men to volunteer for her army in India, you freely give
your sons. You do not talk about their losing their health, and about
the trying climate. But when the Lord Jesus is calling for laborers,
Scotland is saying: 'We have no more sons to give.'"
Turning to the President of the Assembly, he said: "Mr. Moderator, if
it is true that Scotland has no more sons to give to the service of
the Lord Jesus Christ in India; although I have lost my health in that
land, if there are none who will go and tell those heathen of Christ,
then I will be off to-morrow, to let them know that there is one old
Scotchman who is ready to die for them. I will go back to the shores
of the Ganges, and there lay down my life as a witness for the Son of
God."
Thank God for such a man as that! We want men to-day who are willing,
if need be, to lay down their lives for the Son of God. Then we shall
be able to make an impression upon the world. When they see that we
are in earnest, their hearts will be touched, and we shall be able to
lead them to the Lord Jesus Christ.
I did not agree with Garibaldi's judgement in all things, but I must
confess I did admire his enthusiasm. I never saw his name in the
papers, or in a book, but I read all I could find about him. There was
something about him that fired me up. I remember reading of the time
when he was on the way to Rome in 1867, and when he was cast into
prison. I read the letter he sent to his comrades: "If fifty
Garibaldis are thrown into prison, let Rome be free!" He did not care
for his own comfort, so long as the cause of freedom in Italy was
advanced. If we have such a love for our Master and His cause that we
are ready to go out and do His work whatever it may cost us
personally, depend upon it the Lord will use us in building up His
kingdom.
I have read of a man in the ninth century who came up against a king.
The king had a force of thirty thousand men, and when he heard that
this general had only five hundred men, he sent him a message that if
he would surrender he would treat him and his followers mercifully.
Turning to one of his followers, the man said: "Take that dagger and
drive it to your heart." The man at once pressed the weapon to his
bosom, and fell dead at the feet of his commander. Turning to another,
he said: "Leap into yonder chasm." Into the jaws of death the man
went; they saw him dashed to pieces at the bottom. Then turning to the
king's messenger, the man said: "Go back to your king, and tell him
that I have five hundred such men. Tell him that we may die but we
never surrender. Tell him that I will have him chained with my dogs
within forty-eight hours." When the king heard that he had such men
arrayed against him, it struck terror to his heart. His forces were so
demoralized that they were scattered like chaff before the wind.
Within forty-eight hours the king was taken captive and chained with
the dogs of his conqueror. When the people see that we are in earnest
in all that we undertake for God, they will begin to tremble; men and
women will be enquiring the way to Zion.
A fearful storm was raging, when the cry was heard, "Man overboard!" A
human form was seen manfully breasting the furious elements in the
direction of the shore; but the raging waves bore the struggler
rapidly outward, and, ere the boats could be lowered, a fearful space
separated the victim from help. Above the shriek of the storm and roar
of the waters rose his rending cry. It was an agonizing moment. With
bated breath and blanched cheek, every eye was strained to the
struggling man. Manfully did the brave rowers strain every nerve in
that race of mercy; but all their efforts were in vain. One wild
shriek of despair, and the victim went down. A piercing cry, "Save
him, save him!" rang through the hushed crowd; and into their midst
darted an agitated man, throwing his arms wildly in the air, shouting,
"A thousand pounds for the man who saves his life!" but his starting
eye rested only on the spot where the waves rolled remorselessly over
the perished. He whose strong cry broke the stillness of the crowd was
Captain of the ship from whence the drowned man fell, and was _his
brother_. This is the feeling we want to have in the various ranks of
those bearing commission under the great Captain of our salvation.
"Save him! he is my brother."
The fact is, men do not believe in Christianity because they think we
are not in earnest about it. In this same Epistle to the Ephesians the
Apostle says we are to be "living epistles of Christ, known and read
of all men." I never knew a time when Christian people were ready to
go forth and put in the sickle, but there was a great harvest.
Wherever you put in the sickle you will find the fields white. The
trouble is there are so few to reap.
God wants men and women; that is something far better than
institutions. If a man or a woman be really in earnest, they will not
wait to be put on some committee. If I saw a man fall into the river,
and he was in danger of drowning, I would not wait until I was placed
on some committee before I tried to save him. Many people say they
cannot work because they have not been formally appointed. They say:
"It is not my parish." I asked a person one day, during our last visit
to London, if he would go and work in the inquiry room. The reply was:
"I do not belong to this part of London." Let us look on the whole
world as our parish, as a great harvest field. If God puts any one
within our influence, let us tell them of Christ and heaven. The world
may rise up and say that we are mad. In my opinion no one is fit for
God's service until he is willing to be considered mad by the world.
They said Paul was mad. I wish we had many more who were bitten with
the same kind of madness. As some one has said: "If we are mad, we
have a good Keeper on the way and a good Asylum at the end of the
road."
One great trouble is that people come to special revival meetings, and
for two or three weeks, perhaps, they will keep up the fire, but by
and by it dies out. They are like a bundle of shavings with kerosene
on the top--they blaze away for a little, but soon there is nothing
left. We want to keep it all the time, morning, noon and night. I
heard of a well once that was said to be very good, except that it had
two faults. It _would_ freeze up in the winter, and it _would_ dry up
in the summer. A most extraordinary well, but I am afraid there are
many wells like it. There are many people who are good at certain
times; as some one has expressed it, they seem to be good "in spots."
What we want is to be red hot all the time. Do not wait till some one
hunts you up. People talk about striking while the iron is hot. I
believe it was Cromwell who said that he would rather strike the iron
and make it hot. So let us keep at our post, and we will soon grow
warm in the Lord's work.
Let me say a few words specially to Sabbath-school teachers. Let me
urge upon you not to be satisfied with merely pointing the children
away to the Lord Jesus Christ. There are so many teachers who go on
sowing the seed, and who think they will reap the harvest by and by;
but they do not look for the harvest now. I began to work in that way,
and it was years before I saw any conversions. I believe God's method
is that we should sow with one hand and reap with the other. The two
should go on side by side. The idea that children must grow into
manhood and womanhood before they can be brought to Jesus Christ is a
false one. They can be led to Christ now in the days of their youth,
and they can be kept, so that they may become useful members of
society, and be a blessing to their parents, to the Church of God, and
to the world. If they are allowed to grow up to manhood and womanhood
before they are led to Christ, many of them will be dragged into the
dens of vice; and instead of being a blessing they will be a curse to
society.
What is the trouble throughout Christendom to-day, in connection with
the Sabbath-school? It is that so many when they grow up to the age of
sixteen or so, drop through the Sabbath-school net, and that is the
last we see of them. There are many young men now in our prisons who
have been Sabbath scholars. The cause of that is that so few teachers
believe the children can be converted when they are young. They do not
labor to bring them to a knowledge of Christ, but are content to go on
sowing the seed. Let a teacher resolve that, God helping him, he will
not rest until he sees his whole class brought into the kingdom of
God; if he thus resolves he will see signs and wonders inside of
thirty days.
I well remember how I got waked up on this point. I had a large
Sunday-school with a thousand children. I was very much pleased with
the numbers. If they only kept up or exceeded that number I was
delighted; if the attendance fell below a thousand I was very much
troubled. I was all the time aiming simply at numbers. There was one
class held in a corner of the large hall. It was made up of young
women, and it was more trouble than any other in the school. There was
but one man who could ever manage it and keep it in order. If he could
manage to keep the class quiet I thought it was about as much as we
could hope for. The idea of any of them being converted never entered
my mind.
One Sabbath this teacher was missing, and it was with difficulty that
his substitute could keep order in the class. During the week the
teacher came to my place of business. I noticed that he looked very
pale, and I asked what was the trouble. "I have been bleeding at the
lungs," he said, "and the doctor tells me I cannot live. I must give
up my class and go back to my widowed mother in New York State." He
fully believed he was going home to die. As he spoke to me his chin
quivered, and the tears began to flow. I noticed this and said: "You
are not afraid of death, are you?" "Oh, no, I am not afraid to die,
but I will meet God, and not one of my Sabbath-school scholars is
converted. What shall I say?" Ah, how different things looked when he
felt he was going to render an account of his stewardship.
I was speechless. It was something new to me to hear any one speak in
that way. I said: "Suppose we go and see the scholars and tell them
about Christ." "I am very weak," he said, "too weak to walk." I said I
would take him in a carriage. We took a carriage and went round to the
residence of every scholar. He would just be able to stagger across
the sidewalk, sometimes leaning on my arm. Calling the young lady by
name, he would pray with her and plead with her to come to Christ. It
was a new experience for me. I got a new view of things. After he had
used up all his strength I would take him home. Next day he would
start again and visit others in the class. Sometimes he would go
alone, and sometimes I would go with him. At the end of ten days he
came to my place of business, his face beaming with joy, and said:
"The last one has yielded her heart to Christ. I am going home now; I
have done all I can do; my work is done."
I asked when he was going, and he said: "To-morrow night." I said:
"Suppose I ask these young friends to have a little gathering, to meet
you once more before you go." He said he would be very glad. I sent
out the invitations and they all came together. I had never spent such
a night up to that time. I had never met such a large number of young
converts, led to Christ by his influence and mine. We prayed for each
member of the class, for the Superintendent, and for the teacher.
Every one of them prayed; what a change had come over them in a short
space of time. We tried to sing--but we did not get on very well--
"Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love."
We all bade him good-bye; but I felt as if I must go and see him once
more. Next night, before the train started, I went to the station, and
found that, without any concert of action, one and another of the
class had come to bid him good-bye. They were all there on the
platform. A few gathered around us--the fireman, engineer, brakesman,
and conductor of the train, with the passengers. It was a beautiful
summer night, and the sun was just going down behind the western
prairies as we sang together--
"Here we meet to part again,
But when we meet on Canaan's shore,
There'll be no parting there."
As the train moved out of the station, he stood on the outside
platform, and, with his finger pointing heavenward, he said: "I will
meet you yonder;" then he disappeared from our view.
What a work was accomplished in those ten days! Some of the members of
that class were among the most active Christians we had in the school
for years after. Some of them are active workers to-day. I met one of
them at work away out on the Pacific Coast, a few years ago. We had a
blessed work of grace in the school that summer; it took me out of my
business and sent me into the Lord's work. If it had not been for the
work of those ten days, probably I should not have been an evangelist
to-day.
Let me again urge on Sunday-school teachers to seek the salvation of
your scholars. Make up your mind that within the next ten days you
will do all you can to lead your class to Christ. Fathers, mothers,
let there be no rest till you see all your family brought into the
kingdom of God. Do you say that He will not bless such consecrated
effort? What we want to-day is the spirit of consecration and
concentration. May God pour out His Spirit upon us, and fill us with a
holy enthusiasm.
CHAPTER VI.
THE POWER OF LITTLE THINGS.
In the twenty-fifth chapter of Exodus we read: "And the Lord spake
unto Moses, saying: 'Speak unto the children of Israel, that they
bring Me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his
heart ye shall take my offering. And this is the offering which ye
shall take of them: gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple,
and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and rams' skins dyed
red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood, oil for the light, spices
for anointing oil and for sweet incense, onyx stones, and stones to be
set in the ephod and in the breastplate. And let them make Me a
sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show
thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the
instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.'"
I am glad this has been recorded for our instruction. How it ought to
encourage us all to believe that we may each have a part in building
up the walls of the heavenly Zion. In all ages God has delighted to
use the weak things. In his letter to the Corinthians Paul speaks of
five things that God uses: "God hath chosen the foolish things of the
world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the
world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things
which are not, to bring to nought things that are, that no flesh
should glory in His presence."
You notice there are five things mentioned that God uses--foolish
things, weak things, base things, despised things, and things which
are not. What for? "That no flesh should glory in His presence." When
we are weak then we are strong. People often think they have not
strength enough; the fact is we have too much strength. It is when we
feel that we have no strength of our own, that we are willing God
should use us, and work through us. If we are leaning on God's
strength, we have more than all the strength of the world.
This world is not going to be reached by mere human intellectual
power. When we realize that we have no strength, then all the fulness
of God will flow in upon us. Then we shall have power with God and
with man.
In Revelation we read that John on one occasion wept much at a
sight he beheld in heaven. He saw a sealed book; and no one was found
that could break the seal and open the book. Abel, that holy man of
God, was not worthy to open it. Enoch, who had been translated to
heaven without tasting death; Elijah, who had gone up in a chariot
of fire; even Moses, that great law-giver; or Isaiah, or any of the
prophets--none was found worthy to open the book. As he saw this John
wept much. As he wept one touched him, and said: "Weep not; behold,
the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to
open the Book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." When he looked
to see who was the Lion of the tribe of Judah, whom did he see! Lo, the
Lion was a Lamb! God's Lion is a Lamb! When we are like lambs God can
use us, and we are strong in His service. We can all be weak can we not?
Then let us lean on the mighty power of God.
Notice that all the men whom Christ called around Him were weak men in
a worldly sense. They were all men without rank, without title,
without position, without wealth or culture. Nearly all of them were
fishermen and unlettered men; yet Christ chose them to build up His
kingdom. When God wanted to bring the children of Israel out of
bondage, He did not send an army; He sent one solitary man. So in all
ages God has used the weak things of the world to accomplish His
purposes.
I read an incident some time ago that illustrates the power of a
simple tract. A society was some years ago established to distribute
tracts by mail in the higher circles. One of these tracts, entitled,
"Prepare to meet thy God," was enclosed in an envelope, and sent by
post to a gentleman well known for his ungodly life and his reckless
impiety. He was in his study when he read this letter among others.
"What's that," said he. "'Prepare to meet thy God.' Who has had the
impudence to send me this cant?" And, with an imprecation on his
unknown correspondent, he arose to put the paper in the fire.
"No; I won't do that." he said to himself; "On second thoughts, I know
what I will do. I'll send it to my friend B--; it will be a good joke
to hear what he'll say about it." So saying, he enclosed the tract in
a fresh envelope, and, in a feigned hand, directed it to his boon
companion.
Mr. B-- was a man of his own stamp, and received the tract, as his
friend had done, with an oath at the Methodistical humbug, which his
first impulse was to tear in pieces. "I'll not tear it either," said
he to himself. "Prepare to meet thy God" at once arrested his
attention, and smote his conscience. The arrow of conviction entered
his heart as he read, and he was converted. Almost his first thought
was for his ungodly associates. "Have I received such blessed light
and truth, and shall I not strive to communicate it to others?" He
again folded the tract, and enclosed and directed it to one of his
companions in sin. Wonderful to say, the little arrow hit the mark.
His friend read. He also was converted; and both are now walking as
the Lord's redeemed ones.
In Matthew we read: "For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling
into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto
them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and
to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and
straightway took his journey."
Observe, he gave to every man "according to his several ability." He
gave to each servant just the number of talents that he could take
care of and use. Some people complain that they have not more talents;
but we have each the number of talents that we can properly employ. If
we take good care of what we have, God will give us more. There were
eight talents to be distributed among three persons; the master gave
to one five; to a second, two; and to another, one. The man went away;
and the servants fully understood that he expected them to improve
their talents and trade with them. God is not unreasonable; He does
not ask us to do what we cannot do; but He gives us according to our
several ability, and He expects us to use the talents we have.
We read: "He that had received the five talents went and traded with
the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had
received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one
went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money." Notice that
the man who had the two talents got exactly the same commendation as
the man who had the five. The one who got five doubled them, and his
lord said to him: "Well done, good and faithful servant." The one who
had two also doubled them, and so had four talents; to him also the
lord said: "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the
joy of thy lord."
If the man who had the one talent had traded with it, he would have
received exactly the same approval as the others. But what did he do?
He put it into a napkin and buried it. He thought he would take care
of it in that way.
After the lord of these servants had been gone a long while he
returned to reckon with them. What does he find in the case of the
third servant? He has the one talent; but that is all.
I read of a man who had a thousand dollars. He hid it away, thinking
he would in that way take care of it, and that when he was an old man
he would have something to fall back upon. After keeping the money for
twenty years he took it to a bank and got just one thousand dollars
for it. If he had put it at interest, in the usual way, he might have
had three times the amount. He made the mistake that a great many
people are making to-day throughout Christendom, of not trading with
his talents. My experience has been as I have gone about in the world
and mingled with professing Christians, that those who find most fault
with others are those who themselves have nothing to do. If a person
is busy improving the talents that God has given him he will have too
much to do to find fault and complain about others.
God has given us many opportunities of serving Him, and He expects
that we should use them. People think that their time and property are
their own. What saying is more frequent than this? "I have a right to
do what I will with my own."
On one occasion a friend was beside the dying bed of a military man
who had held an important command in successful Indian wars. He asked
if he were afraid to die. He at once said: "I am not."
"Why?" He said: "I have never done any harm."
The other replied: "If you were going to be tried by a court-martial
as an officer and a gentleman, I suppose you would expect an honorable
acquittal?" The dying old man lifted himself up, and with an energy
which his illness seemed to render impossible, exclaimed, "That I
should!"
"But you are not going to a court-martial; you are going to Christ;
and when Christ asks you, 'What have you done for me?' what will you
say?" His countenance changed, and earnestly gazing on his friend,
with agonized feelings he answered: "_Nothing!_--I have never done
_anything_ for Christ!"
His friend pointed out the awful mistake of habitually living in the
sense of our relations one with another, and forgetting our relation
to Christ and to God; therefore the error of supposing that doing no
harm, or even doing good to those around, will serve as a substitute
for _living to God. What have you done for Christ?_ is the great
question.
After some days, he called again on the old man, who said: "Well, sir,
what do you think now?" He replied: "Ah! I am a poor sinner." He
pointed him to the Savior of sinners; and not long afterward he
departed this life as a repentant sinner, resting in Christ. What an
awful end would have come to the false peace in which he was found!
And yet it is the peace of the multitudes, only to be undeceived at
the judgment seat of Christ.
If this world is going to be reached, I am convinced it must be done
by men and women of average talent. After all there are comparatively
few people in the world who have great talents. Here is a man with one
talent; there is another with three; perhaps I may have only half a
talent. But if we all go to work and trade with the gifts we have the
Lord will prosper us; and we may double or treble our talents. What we
need is to be up and about our Master's work, every man building
against his own house. The more we use the means and opportunities we
have, the more will our ability and our opportunities be increased.
An Eastern allegory runs thus: A merchant, going abroad for a time,
gave respectively to two of his friends two sacks of wheat each, to
take care of against his return. Years passed; he came back, and
applied for them again. The first took him into a storehouse, and
showed them his sacks; but they were mildewed and worthless. The other
led him out into the open country, and pointed to field after field of
waving corn, the produce of the two sacks given him. Said the
merchant: "You have been a faithful friend. Give me two sacks of that
wheat; the rest shall be thine."
I heard a person once say that she wanted assurance. I asked how long
she had been a Christian; and she replied she had been one for a
number of years. I said: "What are you doing for Christ?" "I do not
know that I have the opportunity of doing anything," she replied. I
pity the person who professes to be a Christian in this day, and who
says he can find no opportunities of doing any work for Christ. I
cannot imagine where his lot must be cast. The idea of any one knowing
the Lord Jesus Christ in this nineteenth century, and saying he has no
opportunities of testifying for Him. Surely no one need look far to
find plenty of opportunities for speaking and working for the Master,
if he only has the desire to do it. "Lift up your eyes, and look on
the fields; for they are white already to harvest." If you cannot do
some great thing, you can do some little thing.
A man sent me a tract a little while ago, entitled, "WHAT IS THAT IN
THINE HAND?" and I am very thankful he sent it. These words were
spoken by God to Moses when He called him to go down to Egypt, and
bring the children of Israel out of the house of bondage. You remember
how Moses tried to excuse himself. He said he was not eloquent; he was
not this and that; and he could not go. Like Isaiah he wanted the Lord
to send some one else. At last the Lord said to Moses, "What is that
in thine hand?" He had a rod in his hand. It may be that a few days
before he wanted something to drive the sheep with, and he may have
cut this wand for that purpose. He could probably have got a hundred
better rods any day. Yet with that he was to deliver the children of
Israel. God was to link His almighty power with that rod; and that was
enough.
I can imagine that as Moses was on his way down to Egypt he may have
met one of the philosophers or free-thinkers of his day, who might
have asked him where he was going. "Down to Egypt." "Indeed! are you
going down there again to live?" "No, I am going to bring my people
out of the house of bondage." "What! you are going to deliver them
from the hand of Pharaoh, the mightiest monarch now living? You think
you are going to free three millions of slaves from the power of the
Egyptians?" "Yes."
"How are you going to do it?" "With this rod."
What a contemptible thing the rod must have been in the eyes of that
Egyptian freethinker; the idea of delivering three millions of slaves
with a rod! We had three millions of slaves in this country, and
before they could be set free half a million of men had to lay down
their lives. The flower of the nation marched to its grave before our
slaves gained their deliverance.
Here was a weak and solitary man going down to Egypt, to meet a
monarch who had the power of life and death. And all he had with which
to deliver the people from bondage was this rod! Yet see how famous
that rod became. When Moses wanted to bring up the plagues on the
people he had only to stretch out his rod, and they covered the land.
He had but to stretch it out, and the water of the country was turned
into blood. Then when the people came to the Red Sea and they wanted
to go across, he had only to lift up the rod and the waters separated,
so that the people could pass through dry-shod. When they were in the
desert and wanted water to drink, again he lifted this rod and struck
the flinty rock, when the water burst forth, and they drank and were
refreshed. That contemptible rod became mighty indeed. But it was not
the rod; it was the God of Moses, who condescended to use it.
Let us learn a lesson from this history. We are required to use what
we have, not what we have not. Whatever gifts or talents you have,
take and lay them at the Master's feet. Moses took what he had; and we
see how much he accomplished. If we are ready to say: "Here am I,
ready and willing to be used," the Lord will use us; He will link His
mighty power with our weakness, and we shall be able to do great
things for Him.
Look again, and see Joshua as he goes up to the walls of Jericho. If
you had asked what they had with which to bring down the walls of that
city, all you would have seen would have been a few rams' horns. They
must have looked very mean and contemptible in the eyes of the men of
Jericho. Perhaps the city contained some men who were giants; as they
looked over the walls and saw the Israelites marching around the city
blowing these horns, they must have appeared very insignificant. But
God can use the base things, the despised things. However contemptible
an instrument a ram's horn may have appeared in the sight of man, the
people went on blowing them as they were commanded; and at the
appointed time down came the walls, and the city was taken. The
Israelites had no battering rams; no great armor or mighty weapons of
any kind. They simply took what they had, and God used it to do the
work.
Look at Samson going out to meet a thousand Philistines. What has he
with him? Only the jawbone of an ass! If God could use that, surely He
can use us, can he not? Do you tell me He cannot use this woman, that
little boy? There is not one whom He cannot use, if we are willing to
be used.
I remember hearing a Scotchman say, when I was in Great Britain ten
years ago, that there was probably not a man in all Saul's army but
believed that God _could_ use him to go out and slay the giant of
Gath. But there was only one solitary man who believed that God
_would_ use him. David went out to meet Goliath and we know the
result. We all believe that God _can_ use us; we want to take a step
further and believe that He _will_ use us. If we are willing to be
used, He is willing to use us in His service. How contemptible these
smooth stones that David took out of the brook would have appeared to
Goliath! Even Saul wanted David to take his armor, and put it on. He
was on the point of yielding; but he took his sling and the five
smooth stones and went out. The giant of Gath fell before him. Let us
go forth in the name of the God of hosts, using what we have, and He
will give us the victory.
When I was in Glasgow a few years ago, a friend was telling me about
an open-air preacher who died there some years before. This man was
preaching one Sabbath morning on Shamgar. He said: "I can imagine that
when he was ploughing in the field a man came running over the hill
all out of breath, and shouted: 'Shamgar! Shamgar! There are six
hundred Philistines coming toward you.' Shamgar quietly said: 'You
pass on; I can take care of them, they are four hundred short.' So he
took an ox goad and slew the whole of them. He routed them hip and
high. And the Israelites had again fulfilled before their eyes the
words: 'One shall chase a thousand and two shall put ten thousand to
flight.'" Now-a-days it takes about a thousand to chase one, because
we do not realize that we are weak in ourselves and that our strength
is in God.
We want to remember that it is true to-day as ever it was that "One
shall chase a thousand." What we need is Holy Ghost power that can
take up the weakest child here and make him mighty in God's hand.
There is a mountain to be threshed; there lies a bar of iron, and a
little weak worm. God puts aside the iron, and takes up the worm to
thresh the mountain. That is God's way. His thoughts are not our
thoughts; His plans are not ours.
We say: "If such and such a man were only converted--that rich man or
that wealthy lady--how much good would be done!" Very true; but it may
be that God will pass them by and take up some poor tramp, and make
him the greatest instrument for good in all the land. John Bunyan, the
poor Bedford tinker, was worth more than all the nobility of his day.
God took him in hand, and he became mighty. He wrote that wonderful
book that has gone marching through the nations, lifting up many a
weary heart, cheering many a discouraged and disheartened one. Let us
remember that if we are willing to be used, God is willing and waiting
to use us.
I once heard an Englishman speak about Christ feeding the five
thousand with the five barley loaves and the two small fishes. He said
that Christ may have taken one of the loaves and broken off a piece
and given it to one of the disciples to divide. When the disciple
began to pass it round he only gave a very small piece to the first,
because he was afraid it would not hold out. But after he had given
the first piece it did not seem to grow any the less; so the next time
he gave a larger piece, and still the bread was not exhausted. The
more he gave, the more the bread increased, until all had plenty.
At the first all could be carried in one basket; but when the whole
multitude had been satisfied the disciples gathered up twelve baskets
full of fragments. They had a good deal more when they stopped than
when they began. Let us bring our little barley loaves to the Master
that He may multiply them.
You say you have not got much; well, you can use what you have. The
longer I work in Christ's vineyard the more convinced I am that a good
many are kept out of the service of Christ, deprived of the luxury of
working for God, because they are trying to do some great thing. Let
us be willing to do little things. And let us remember that nothing is
small in which God is. Elijah's servant came to him and told him he
saw a cloud not larger than a man's hand. That was enough for Elijah.
He said to his servant, "Go, tell Ahab to make haste; there is the
sound of abundance of rain." Elijah knew that the small cloud would
bring rain. Nothing that we do for God is small.
I remember holding meetings some years ago at a certain place, and I
met a young lady at the house where I was staying. She told me she had
a Sunday afternoon class in a mission-school. At one of our afternoon
meetings I saw this lady sitting right in front; she must have been
there early to get a good seat. After the service I met her, and I
said: "I saw you at the meeting to-day; I thought you had a class."
"So I have."
"Did you get some one to take it for you?" "No."
"Did you tell the Superintendent you were not to be there?" "No."
"Do you know who had the class?" "No."
"Do you know if any one was there to take it?" "I am afraid there was
nobody; for I saw a good many of the teachers of the school at your
meeting."
"Is that the way you do the Lord's work?" "Well, you know, I have only
five little boys. I thought it would not make any difference."
Only five little boys! Why, there might have been a John Knox, or a
Wesley, or a Whitefield, or a Bunyan there. You cannot tell what these
boys might become. One of them might become another Martin Luther;
there might be a second Reformation slumbering in one of these five
little boys. It is a great thing for any one to take "five little
boys" and train them for God and for eternity. You may set a stream in
motion that will flow on after you are dead and gone.
Little did the mothers of the Wesleys know what would be the result,
when she trained her boys for God and for His kingdom. See what mighty
results have flowed from that one source. It is estimated that there
are to-day 25,000,000 adherents of the Methodist faith, and over
5,000,000 communicants. It is estimated there are 110,000 regular and
local preachers in the United States alone. Two new churches are being
built every day in the year; and the work of the Methodist Church is
spreading over this great Republic. And all this has been done in
about a hundred and fifty years. Let not mothers think that their work
of training children for God is a small one. In the sight of God it is
very great; many may rise up in eternity to call them blessed.
I have now in my mind a mother who has had twelve boys. They have all
grown up to be active Christians. A number of them are preachers of
the Gospel; and all of them are true to the Son of God. There are very
few women in our country who have done more for the nation than that
mother. It is a great thing to be permitted to touch God's work, and
to be a co-worker with Him.
There is a bridge over the Niagara River. It is one of the great
highways of the nation; trains pass over it every few minutes of the
day. When they began to make the bridge, the first thing they did was
to take a boy's kite and send a little thread across the stream. It
seemed a very small thing, but it was the beginning of a great work.
So if we only lead one soul to Christ, eternity alone may tell what
the result will be. You may be the means of saving some one who may
become one of the most eminent men in the service of God that the
world has ever seen.
We may not be able to do any great thing; but if each of us will do
_something_, however small it may be, a goof deal will be accomplished
for God. For a good many years I have made it a rule not to let any
day pass without speaking to some one about eternal things. I
commenced it away back years ago, and if I live the life allotted to
man, there will be 18,250 persons who will have been spoken to
personally by me. That of course does not take into account those to
whom I speak publicly. How often we as Christians meet with people,
when we might turn the conversation into a channel that will lead them
up to Christ.
There are many burdened hearts all around us; can we not help to
remove these burdens? Some one has represented this world as two great
mountains--a mountain of sorrow and a mountain of joy. If we can each
day take something from the mountain of sorrow and add it to the
mountain of joy, a good deal will be accomplished in the course of a
year.
I remember Mr. Spurgeon making this remark a few days ago: When Moses
went to tell the king of Egypt that he would call up the plague of
frogs upon the land, the king may have said: "Your God is the God of
frogs, is He? I am not afraid of them; bring them on, I do not care
for the frogs!" Says Moses: "But there are a good many of them, O
king." And he found that out.
So we may be weak and contemptible individually, but there a good many
Christians scattered all over the land, and we can accomplish a great
deal between us. Supposing each one who loves the Lord Jesus were to
resolve to-day, by God's help, to try and lead one soul to Christ this
week. Is there a professing Christian who cannot lead some soul into
the kingdom of God? If you cannot I want to tell you that there is
something wrong in your life; you had better have it straightened out
at once. If you have not an influence for good over some one of your
friends or neighbors, there is something in your life that needs to be
put right. May God show it to you to-day!
I have little sympathy with the idea that a Christian man or woman has
to live for years before they can have the privilege of leading anyone
out of the darkness of this world into the kingdom of God. I do not
believe, either, that all God's work is going to be done by ministers,
and other officers in the Churches. This lost world will never be
reached and brought back to loyalty to God, until the children of God
wake up to the fact that they have a mission in the world. If we are
true Christians we should all be missionaries. Christ came down from
heaven on a mission, and if we have His Spirit in us we will be
missionaries too. If we have no desire to see the world discipled, to
see man brought back to God, there is something very far wrong in our
religion.
If you cannot work among the elder people you can go to work among the
children. Let Christians speak kindly to these boys and girls about
their souls; they will remember it all their lives. They may forget
the sermon, but if some one speaks to them personally, they will say:
"That man or woman must be greatly interested in me or they would not
have been at the trouble to speak to me." They may wake up to the fact
that they have immortal souls, and even if the preaching goes right
over their heads, a little personal effort may be a means of blessing
to them.
This personal and individual dealing is perfectly Scriptural. Philip
was called away from a great work in Samaria to go and speak to one
man in the desert. Christ's great sermon on Regeneration was addressed
to one man; and that wonderful discourse by our Lord on the Water of
Life was spoken to one poor sinful woman. I pity those Christians who
are not willing to speak to one soul; they are not fit for God's
service. We shall not accomplish much for God in the world, if we are
not willing to speak to the ones and twos.
Another thing: Do not let Satan make you believe that the children are
too young to be saved. Of course you cannot put old heads on young
shoulders. You cannot make them into deacons and elders all at once.
But they can give their young hearts to Christ.
A good many years ago I had a mission school in Chicago. The children
were mostly those of ungodly parents. I only had them about an hour
out of the week, and it seemed as if any good they got was wiped out
during the week. I used to think that if ever I became a public
speaker I would go up and down the world and beseech parents to
consider the importance of training their children for God and
eternity. On one of the first Sabbaths I went out of Chicago I
impressed this on the congregation.
When I had finished my address an old white-haired man got up. I was
all in a tremble, thinking he was going to criticise what I had said.
Instead of that he said: "I want to indorse all that this young man
has spoken. Sixteen years ago I was in a heathen country. My wife died
and left me with three motherless children. The first Sabbath after
her death my eldest girl, ten years old, said: 'Papa, may I take the
children into the bedroom and pray with them as mother used to do on
the Sabbath?' I said she might.
When they came out of the room after a time I saw that my eldest
daughter had been weeping. I called her to me, and said: 'Nellie, what
is the trouble?' 'Oh, father,' she said, 'after we went into the room
I made the prayer that mother taught me to make.' Then, naming her
little brother, He made the prayer that mother taught him. Little
Susie didn't use to pray when mother took us in there because mother
thought she was too young. But when we got through she made a prayer
of her own. I could not but weep when I heard her pray. She put her
little hands together and closed her eyes and said: 'O God, you have
taken away my dear mamma, and I have no mamma now to pray for me.
Won't you bless me and make me good just as mamma was, for Jesus
Christ's sake, Amen.'" "Little Susie gave evidence of having given her
young heart to God before she was four years old. For sixteen years
she has been at work as a missionary among the heathen."
Let us remember that God can use these little children. Dr. Milnor was
brought up a Quaker, became a distinguished lawyer in Philadelphia,
and was a member of Congress for three successive terms. Returning to
his home on a visit during his last Congressional session, his little
daughter rushed upon him exclaiming. "Papa! papa! do you know I can
read?" "No?" he said, "let me hear you!" She opened her little Bible
and read, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart." It
was an arrow in her father's heart, It came to him as a solemn
admonition. "Out of the mouth of babes," God's Spirit moved within
him. He was driven to his closet, and a friend calling upon him found
he had been weeping over the _Dairyman's Daughter_. Although only
forty years of age, he abandoned politics and law for the ministry of
the Gospel. For thirty years he was the beloved rector of St. George's
Church, in Philadelphia, the predecessor of the venerated Dr. Tyng.
Dear mothers and fathers, let us in simple faith bring our children to
Christ. He is the same to-day as when He took them in His arms and
said: "Suffer the little children to come unto Me and forbid them not;
for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
I may not do much with all my care,
But I surely may bless a few;
The loving Jesus will give to me,
Some work of love to do;
I may wipe the tears from some weeping eyes,
I may bring the smile again
To a face that is weary and worn with care,
To a heart that is full of pain.
I may speak His name to the sorrowful,
As I journey by their side;
To the sinful and despairing ones
I may preach of the Crucified.
I may drop some little gentle word
In the midst of some scene of strife;
I may comfort the sick and the dying
With a thought of eternal life.
_Marianne Farningham_
CHAPTER VII.
"SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD."
In the gospel by Mark we read: "After two days was the feast of the
Passover, and of unleavened bread: and the Chief Priests and the
Scribes sought how they might take Him by craft, and put Him to death.
But they said, not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the
people. And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He
sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of
spikenard, very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on His
head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and
said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been
sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the
poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, 'Let her alone;
why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work for Me. For ye have
the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good;
but Me ye have not always. She hath done what she could; she is come
aforehand to anoint My body to the burying. Verily I say unto you,
wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world,
this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of
her.'"
John tells us in his Gospel who this woman was. "Then Jesus six days
before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been
dead, whom He raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper, and
Martha served; but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with
him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and
anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the
house was filled with the odor of the ointment. Then saith one of His
disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray Him: 'Why
was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the
poor?' This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he
was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said
Jesus, 'Let her alone: against the day of My burying hath she kept
this. For the poor always ye have with you; but Me ye have not
always.'"
This is the last time we have a glimpse of the family at Bethany. It
was Christ's last week there, and here we have the last recorded
interview between Christ and that lovely family.
Speaking of Martha and Mary some one has said: "They were both dear to
Jesus and they both loved Him, but they were different. The eye of one
saw His weariness and would give to Him; the faith of the other
apprehended His fulness and would draw from Him; Martha's service was
acceptable to the Lord and was acknowledged by Him, but He would not
allow it to disturb Mary's communion. Mary knew his mind; she had
deeper fellowship with Him; her heart clung to Himself."
I want to call your attention specially to one clause from this
fourteenth chapter of Mark, "She hath done what she could." If some
one had reported in Jerusalem that something was going to happen at
Bethany on that memorable day, that should outlive the Roman Empire,
and all the monarchs that had ever existed or would exist, there would
have been great excitement in the city. A good many people would have
gone down to Bethany that day to see the thing that was going to
happen, and that was to live so long. Little did Mary think that she
was going to erect a monument which would outlive empires and
kingdoms. She never thought of herself. Love does not think of itself.
What does Christ say: "Wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached
throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be
spoken of for a memorial of her."
This one story has already been put into three hundred and fifty
different languages, and it is now in circulation in every nation
under heaven. Day by day this story is being printed and published.
One society in London alone prints, every working hour of the day,
five hundred records of this act that took place at Bethany. It is
being spread abroad in all the corners of the earth. It will be told
out as long as the Church of God exists. Matthew speaks of it; so does
John; and so does Mark.
Men seek to erect some monument that will live after they are dead and
gone. This woman never thought to erect a monument; she simply wanted
to lavish her love upon Christ. But the act has lived and will
continue to live while the Church is on earth. It is as fresh to-day
as it was a hundred years ago: it is fresher than it was five hundred
years ago. In fact there never was a time when it was so well known as
to-day. Although Mary was herself unknown outside of Bethany when she
performed the act, now it is known over all the world. Kings have come
and gone; empires have risen and crumbled. Egypt, with its ancient
glories, has passed away. Greece, with its wise men and its mighty
philosophers and its warriors, has been almost forgotten. The great
Roman empire has passed away. We do not know the names of those who
are buried in the Pyramids, or of those who were embalmed in Egypt,
with so much care and trouble, but the record of this humble life
continues to be an inspiration to others.
Here is a woman whose memory has outlived Caesar, Alexander, Cyrus,
and all the great warriors of the ancient world. We do not know that
she was wealthy, or beautiful, or gifted, or great in the eye of the
world. What we do know is that she loved the Savior. She took this box
of precious ointment and broke it over the body of Christ. Some one
has said it was the only thing He ever received that He did not give
away. It was a small thing in the sight of the world. If there had
been daily papers in those days, and some Jerusalem reporter had been
looking out for items of news that would interest the inhabitants, I
suppose he would not have thought it worth putting into his paper. Yet
it has outlived all that happened in that century, except, of course,
the sayings, and the other events connected with the life of Christ.
Mary had Christ in her heart as well as in her creed. She loved Him
and she showed her love in acts.
Thank God, everyone of us can love Christ, and we can all do something
for Him. It may be a small thing; but whatever it is it shall be
lasting; it will outlive all the monuments on earth. The iron and the
granite will rust and crumble and fade away, but anything done for
Christ will never fade. It will be more lasting than time itself.
Christ says: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My word shall not
pass away."
Look again and see that woman in the temple. Christ stood there as the
people passed by and cast their offerings into the treasury. The widow
had but two mites and she cast it all in. The Lord saw that her heart
was in it, and so He commended her. If some nobleman had cast in a
thousand dollars Christ would probably not have noticed it, unless his
heart had gone with it. Gold is of little value in heaven. It is so
plentiful there that they use it to pave the streets with; and it is
transparent gold, much better gold than we have in this world. It is
when the heart goes with the offering that it is accepted of Christ.
So He said of this woman: "She hath cast in more than they all." She
had done all she could.
I think this is the lesson we are to learn from these Scripture
incidents. The Lord expects us to do what we can. We can all do
something. In one of our Southern cities a few Christian people
gathered together at the beginning of the war to see what could be
done about building a church in a part of the city where the poor were
very much neglected. After they had discussed the matter they wanted
to see how much could be raised out of the congregation.
One said he would give so much; others said they would give so much.
They only got about half the amount that was needed, and it was
thought they would have to abandon the project. Away back in the
meeting there sat a washerwoman. She rose and said her little boy had
died a week before. All he had was a gold dollar. She said: "It is all
I have, but I will give the dollar to the cause." Her words touched
the hearts of many of those who heard them. Rich men were ashamed at
what they had given. The whole sum was raised within a very short
time. I have spoken in that church, and I know it to be a centre of
influence in one of our great cities. This poor woman did what she
could; perhaps she gave more in proportion than anyone in the city.
When we were in London eight years ago, we wanted the city to be
canvassed; we called for volunteers to go and visit the people in
their own homes and invite them to come to the meetings. Among those
who came forward was an old woman, eighty-five years of age. She said
she wanted to do a little more for the Master before she went home.
She took a district and went from house to house, delivering the
messages of invitation and the tracts to the people. I suppose she has
now gone to her reward, but I shall never forget her. She wanted to do
what she could. If every Christian man and woman will do what Mary
did, multitudes will be reached and blessed.
Years ago, when Illinois was but a young State, there were only a few
settlers here and there throughout a large portion. One of these was a
man who used to spend his Sundays in hunting and fishing. He was a
profane and notoriously wicked man. His little girl went to the
Sabbath-school at the log school-house. There she was taught the way
into the kingdom of God. When she was converted the teacher tried to
tell her how she might be used of God in doing good to others. She
thought she would begin with her father. Others had tried to reach him
and had failed to do it, but his own child had more influence with
him. It is written, "A little child shall lead them." She got him to
promise to go to the meeting. He came to the door, but at first he
would not go in. He had gone to the school when he was young, but one
day the boys laughed at him because he had a little impediment in his
speech. He would not go back, and so he had never learned to read.
However he was at last induced to go to the Sabbath-school. There he
heard of Christ, and he was converted to God. His little child helped
him and others helped him, and he soon learned to read. This man has
since been called to his reward, but about two years ago when I saw
him last, if I remember well, that man had established on the Western
prairies between 1,100 and 1,200 Sunday-schools. In addition to all
these school-houses, scattered about over the country, churches have
sprung up. There are now hundreds of flourishing churches that have
grown out of these little mission schools that he planted. He used to
have a Sunday-school horse, a "Robert Raikes" horse he called him, on
which he traveled up and down the country, going into many outlying
districts where nothing was being done for Christ. He used to gather
the parents into the log school-houses and tell how his little girl
led him to Christ. I have heard a great many orators, but I never
heard any who could move an audience as he could. There was no
impediment in his speech when he began to speak for Christ; he seemed
to have all the eloquence and fire of heaven. That little girl did
what she could. She did a good day's work when she led her father to
the Savior.
Every one of us may do something. If we are only willing to do what we
can, the Lord will condescend to use us; and it will be a great thing
to be instruments in His hand that He may do with us what He will.
I remember reading in the papers that when the theatre in Vienna was
on fire a few years ago, a man in one of the corridors was hurrying
out. Many others of the people were trying to find their way out so as
to escape from the fire. It was dark, but this man had a single match
in his pocket. He struck it, and by doing so he was able to save
twenty lives. He did what he could.
You think you cannot do much. If you are the means of saving one soul,
he may be instrumental in saving a hundred more. I remember when we
were in England ten years ago, there was a woman in the city where we
labored who got stirred up. I do not know but it was this very text
that moved her, "She hath done what she could." She had been a nominal
Christian for a good many years, but she had not thought that she had
any particular mission in the world. I am afraid that is the condition
of many professedly Christian men and women. Now she began to look
about her to see what she could do. She thought she would try and do
something for her fallen sisters in that town. She went out and began
to talk kindly to those she met on the street. She hired a house and
invited them to come and meet her there.
When we went back to that city about a year or so ago, she had rescued
over three hundred of these fallen ones, and had restored them to
their parents and homes. She is now corresponding with many of them.
Think of more than three hundred of these sisters reclaimed from sin
and death, through the efforts of one woman. She did what she could.
What a grand harvest there will be, and how she will rejoice when she
hears the Master say: "Well done, good and faithful servant."
I remember hearing of a man in one of the hospitals who received a
bouquet of flowers from the Flower Mission. He looked at the beautiful
bouquet and said: "Well, if I had known that a bunch of flowers could
do a fellow so much good, I would have sent some myself when I was
well." If people only knew how they might cheer some lonely heart and
lift up some drooping spirit, or speak some word that shall be lasting
in its effects for all coming time, they would be up and about it. If
the Gospel is ever to be carried into the lanes and alleys, up to the
attics and down into the cellars, we must all of us be about it. As I
have said, if each of us will do what we can, a great multitude will
be gathered into the kingdom of God.
Rev. Dr. Willets, of Philadelphia, in illustrating the blessedness of
cultivating a liberal spirit, uses this beautiful figure--
"See that little fountain yonder--away yonder in the distant mountain,
shining like a thread of silver through the thick copse, and sparkling
like a diamond in its healthful activity. It is hurrying on with
tinkling feet to bear its tribute to the river. See, it passes a
stagnant pool, and the pool hails it: 'Whither away, master
streamlet?' 'I am going to the river to bear this cup of water God has
given me.' 'Ah, you are very foolish for that: you'll need it before
the summer's over. It has been a backward spring, and we shall have a
hot summer to pay for it--you will dry up then.' 'Well,' said the
streamlet, 'if I am to die so soon, I had better work while the day
lasts. If I am likely to lose this treasure from the heat, I had
better do good with it while I have it.' So on it went, blessing and
rejoicing in its course. The pool smiled complacently at its own
superior foresight, and husbanded all its resources, letting not a
drop steal away.
Soon the midsummer heat came down, and it fell upon the little stream.
But the trees crowded to its brink, and threw out their sheltering
branches over it in the day of adversity, for it brought refreshment
and life to them, and the sun peeped through the branches and smiled
complacently upon its dimpled face, and seemed to say, 'It's not in my
heart to harm you;' and the birds sipped the silver tide, and sung its
praises; the flowers breathed their perfume upon its bosom; the
husbandman's eye always sparkled with joy, as he looked upon the line
of verdant beauty that marked its course through his fields and
meadows; and so on it went, blessing and blessed of all!
And where was the prudent pool? Alas! in its glorious inactivity it
grew sickly and pestilential. The beasts of the field put their lips
to it, but turned away without drinking; the breeze stopped and kissed
it by _mistake_, but shrunk chilled away. It caught the malaria in the
contact, and carried the ague through the region; the inhabitants
caught it and had to move away; and at last, the very frogs cast their
venom upon the pool and deserted it, and heaven, in mercy to man,
smote it with a hotter breath and dried it up!
But did not the little stream exhaust itself? Oh, no? God saw to that.
It emptied its full cup into the river, and the river bore it on to the
sea, and the sea welcomed it, and the sun smiled upon the sea, and the
sea sent up its incense to greet the sun, and the clouds caught in their
capacious bosoms the incense from the sea, and the winds, like waiting
steeds, caught the chariots of the clouds and bore them away--away to
the very mountain that gave the little fountain birth, and there they
tipped the brimming cup, and poured the grateful baptism down; and so
God saw to it that the little fountain, though it gave so fully and so
freely, never ran dry. And if God so blessed the fountain, will He not
bless you, my friends, if, as ye have freely received, ye also freely
give? Be assured He will."
A young lady belonging to a wealthy family in our country was sent to
a fashionable boarding-school. In the school Christ had a true witness
in one of the teachers. She was watching for an opportunity of
reaching some of the pupils. When this young lady of wealth and
position came, the teacher set her heart upon winning her to Christ.
The first thing she did was to gain her affections. Let me say right
here that we shall not do much toward reaching the people until we
make them love us. This teacher, having won the heart of her pupil,
began to talk to her about Christ, and she soon won her heart for the
Savior. Then instead of dropping her as so many do, she began to show
her the luxury of working for God. They worked together, and were
successful in winning a good many of the young ladies in the school to
Christ. When the pupil got a taste of work, that spoiled the world for
her. Let me say to any Christian who is holding on to the world: Get
into the Lord's work, and the world will soon leave you. You will not
leave it, you will have something better. I pity those Christians who
are all the time asking if they have to give up this thing and that
thing. You won't be asking that when you get a taste of the Lord's
work; you will then have something that the world cannot give you.
When this young lady went back to her home the parents were anxious
that she should go out into worldly society. They gave a great many
parties, but, to their great amazement, they could not get her
interested. She was hungering for something else. She went to the
Sabbath-school in connection with the church she attended, and asked
the Superintendent to give her a class. He said there were really more
teachers than he needed.
She tried for weeks to find something to do for Christ. One day as she
was walking down the street, she saw a little boy coming out of a
shoemaker's shop. The man had a wooden last in his hand, and he was
running as fast as he could after the boy. When he found he could not
overtake him, he hurled the last at him and hit him in the back. When
the shoemaker had picked up his last and gone back to his shop, the
boy stopped running and began to cry. The scene touched the heart of
this young lady. When she got up to him she stopped and spoke to him
kindly.
"Do you go to the Sabbath-school?" "No."
"Do you go to the day-school?" "No."
"What makes you cry?" He thought she was going to make sport of him,
so he said it was none of her business. "But I am your friend," she
said. He was not in the habit of having a young lady like that speak
to him; at first he was afraid of her, but at last she won his
confidence. Finally, she asked him to come to the Sabbath-school, and
be in her class. No, he said, he didn't like study; he would not come.
She said she would not ask him to study; she would tell him beautiful
stories and there would be nice singing. At last he promised that he
would come. He was to meet her on Sabbath morning, at the corner of a
certain street.
She was not sure that he would keep his promise, but she was there at
the appointed time, and he was there too. She took him to the school
and said to the Superintendent: "Can you give me a place where I can
teach this boy?" He had not combed his hair, and he was barefooted.
They did not have any of that kind of children in the school, so the
Superintendent looked at him, and said he did not know just where to
put him. Finally he put him away in a corner, as far as he could from
the others. There this young lady commenced her work--work that the
angels would have been glad to do.
He went home and told his mother he thought he had been among the
angels. When the mother found he was going to a Protestant school she
told him he must not go again. When the father got to know it, he said
he would flog him every time he went to the school. However, the boy
went again the next Sabbath, and the father flogged him; every time he
went he gave the poor boy a flogging. At last he said to his father:
"I wish you would flog me before I go, and then I won't be thinking
about it all the time I am at the school." You laugh at it, but, dear
friends, let us remember that gentleness and love will break down the
opposition in the hardest heart. These little diamonds will sparkle in
the Savior's crown, if we will but search them out and polish them. We
cannot make diamonds, but we can polish them if we will.
Finding that the flogging did not stop the boy from going to the
school, the father said: "If you will give up the Sabbath-school, I
will give you every Saturday afternoon to play, or you can have all
you make by peddling." The boy went to his teacher and said: "I have
been thinking that if you could meet me on the Saturday afternoon we
would have longer time together than on the Sabbath." I wonder if
there is a wealthy young lady reading this book who would give up her
Saturday afternoons to teach a poor little boy the way into the
kingdom of God. She said she would gladly do it; if any callers came
she was always engaged on Saturdays. It was not long before the light
broke into the darkened mind of the boy, and a change came into his
life. She got him some good clothes and took an interest in him; she
was a guardian angel to him. One day he was down at the railway
station peddling. He was standing on the platform of the carriage,
when the engine gave a sudden start; the little fellow was leaning on
the edge, and his foot slipped so that he fell down and the train
passed over his legs. When the doctor came, the first thing he said
was: "Doctor, will I live to get home?" "No, my boy, you are dying."
"Will you tell my father and mother that I died a Christian?" Did not
the teacher get well paid for her work? She will be no stranger when
she goes to the better land. That little boy will be waiting to give
her a welcome.
It is a great thing to lead one soul from the darkness of sin into the
glorious light of the Gospel. I believe if an angel were to wing his
way from earth up to heaven, and were to say that there was one poor,
ragged boy, without father or mother, with no one to care for him and
teach him the way of life; and if God were to ask who among them was
willing to come down to this earth and live here for fifty years and
lead that one to Jesus Christ, every angel in heaven would volunteer
to go. Even Gabriel, who stands in the presence of the Almighty, would
say: "Let me leave my high and lofty position, and let me have the
luxury of leading one soul to Jesus Christ." There is no greater honor
than to be the instrument in God's hand of leading one person out of
the kingdom of Satan into the glorious light of heaven.
I have this motto in my Bible, and I commend it to you: "Do all the
good you can; to all the people you can; in all the ways you can; and
as long as ever you can." If each of us will at once set about some
work for God, and will keep at it 365 days in the year, then a good
deal will be accomplished. Let us so live that it may be truthfully
said of us: We have done what we could.
CHAPTER VIII.
"WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?"
You have no doubt frequently read the story of the good Samaritan. In
this parable Christ brings before us four men. He draws the picture so
vividly that the world will never forget it. Too often when we read
the Scripture narratives they do not come home to our hearts, and it
is not long before we forget the lesson that the Master would have us
to learn and to remember.
We find that when Christ was on the earth there was a class of people
who gathered round Him and were continually finding fault with
everything He said and did. We read that on this occasion a lawyer
came asking Him what he could do to inherit eternal life. Our Lord
told him to keep the commandments--to love the Lord with all his
heart, and his neighbor as himself. The lawyer then wanted to know who
was his neighbor. In this narrative Christ told him who his neighbor
was, and what it was to love him.
It seems to me that we have been a long while in finding out who is
our neighbor. I think in the parable of the good Samaritan Christ has
taught us very clearly that any man or woman who is in need of our
love and our help--whether temporal or spiritual--is our neighbor. If
we can render them any service we are to do it in the name of our
Master.
Here we have brought before us two men, each of whom passed by one who
was in great need--one who had fallen among the thieves, who had been
stripped, wounded, and left there to die. The first that came down
that road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a priest. As he went along the
highway he heard a cry of distress, and he looked to see who was the
unfortunate man. He could see that the poor sufferer was a Jew; it may
be that he had seen him in the temple on the Sabbath day. But then he
was not in his own parish now. His work was in the temple, and it was
over for the present. He was a professional man, and he had gone
through all that was required of him.
He was in a great hurry to get down to Jericho. It may be they were
going to open a new synagogue there, and he was to dedicate it. A very
important business, and of course he could not stop to help this poor,
wounded, fallen man. So he passed on. It may be, as he went along, he
reasoned with himself somewhat in this way: "I wonder why God ever
permitted sin to enter the world at all. It is very strange that man
should be in this fallen state." Or his thoughts may have taken
another turn, and he said to himself that when he got down to Jericho
he would form a committee to look after these unfortunate brethren. He
would give something toward the expenses. Or he would try and get a
policeman to go and look after those thieves who had stripped him.
He did not think that all the while this poor wounded man was dying.
Most likely he was now crying for water, and it might be that there
was a brook running by, within a few rods of the spot where he lay.
Yet this priest never stopped to give him a drink. All his religion
was in his head: it had never reached his heart. The one thought in
his mind was duty, duty; and when he had got through that which he
considered his duty, he fancied his work was done. God wants heart
service; if we do not give Him that, we can render to Him no service
at all.
We read that a Levite next came along the highway where this wounded
man was lying in his helplessness. As he passed along he also heard
the man's cry of distress. He turned aside for a moment to look at the
poor fellow, and he could see that he was a son of Abraham--a brother
Jew. But he also must hasten on to Jericho. Possibly he had to help in
the ceremony of opening the new synagogue. Perhaps there was going to
be a convention down there, on "How to reach the masses," and he
was going to help discuss the point. I have noticed that many men
now-a-days will go to a conference and talk for hours on that subject,
but they will not themselves lift a hand to reach the masses.
The Levite's thoughts probably took another turn, and he said to
himself: "I will see if I can't get a bill through the Legislature to
prevent those thieves from robbing and wounding people." There are
some now who think they can legislate men back to God--that they can
prevent sin by legislation. Like the priest, this Levite never stopped
to give the poor fellow a drop of water to quench his thirst; he never
attempted to bind up his wounds or to help him in any way. He passed
along the highway, doubtless, saying to himself, "I pity that poor
fellow." There is a good deal of that kind of pity now-a-days; but it
comes only from the lips, not from the heart.
The next one to come along that road was a Samaritan. Now it was
notorious that in those days a Jew would not speak to a Samaritan; the
very presence of the latter was pollution to an orthodox Jew. No Jew
ever entered the habitation of the hated Samaritan; he would not eat
at his table or drink from his well. Neither would he allow a
Samaritan to come under his roof. No religious Jew would even buy from
a Samaritan, or sell to him. You know a Jew must have a very poor
opinion of a man if he will not do business with him, when there is a
prospect of making something out of him.
Not only was this the case, but the Jews considered that the
Samaritans had no souls; that when they died they would be
annihilated. Their graves would be so deep that not even the sound of
Gabriel's trump would wake them on the resurrection morning. He was
the only man under heaven who could not become a proselyte to the
Jewish faith, and become a member of the Jewish family. Repentance was
denied him in this life and the life to come. He might profess the
Jewish religion; they would have nothing to do with him. That was the
way in which they looked upon these men; yet Christ used the despised
Samaritan to teach these bitter Jews the lesson of love to their
neighbor.
The Samaritan came that way. It says in the narrative that the priest
came down that way "by chance;" but we are not told that the Samaritan
came by chance. He represents our Lord and Master. We are told that he
came to where the poor wounded man was; he got off the beast on which
he was riding and stooped right down there by the side of the sick
man. He looked at him and saw that he was a Jew. If he had been like
the Jews themselves, he would most likely have said, "Serve you right.
I only wish the thieves had killed you outright. I would not lift a
finger to help you, you poor wretched Samaritan." But no! not a word
of condemnation or blame did he utter.
Let us learn a lesson from this. Do you think these drunkards
need anyone to condemn them? There is no one in the wide world
who can condemn them as they condemn themselves. What they need is
sympathy--tenderness, gentleness and kindness. This Samaritan did not
pull a manuscript out of his pocket, and begin to read a long sermon to
the wounded man. Some people seem to think that all the world needs is a
lot of sermons. Why, the people of this land have been almost preached
to death. What we want is to preach more sermons with our hands and
feet--to carry the Gospel to the people by acts of kindness.
Neither did he read this poor Jew a long lecture, endeavoring to prove
that science was better than religion. He did not give him a long
address on geology; what could that do for him? What the poor man
needed was sympathy and help. So the first thing the good Samaritan
did was to pour oil into his wounds. How many wounded men there are in
our midst who have need of the oil of pity and sympathy. A good many
Christians seem always to carry about with them a bottle of vinegar,
which they bring out on all occasions.
The Samaritan might have said to the man: "Why did you not stay at
Jerusalem? What business had you to come down this road, any way,
giving all this trouble?" So people will sometimes say to a young man
who has come to the city and got into trouble: "Why did you ever leave
your home and come to this wicked city?" They begin to scold and
upbraid. You are never going to reach men and do them good in that
way; or by putting yourself on a high platform; you have to come down
to them and enter into their sorrows and troubles. See how this
Samaritan "came to where he was," and instead of lecturing him, poured
the healing oil into his wounds.
You observe there are twelve things mentioned in the narrative that
the Samaritan did. We can dismiss in a word all that the priest and
the Levite did--they did _nothing_.
(1.) He "came to where he was."
(2.) He "saw him;" he did not, like the priest, pass by on the other
side.
(3.) He "had compassion on him." If we would be successful winners of
souls we, too, must be moved with compassion for the lost and the
perishing. We must sympathize with men in their sorrows and troubles,
if we would hope to gain their affections and to do them good.
(4.) He "went to him." The Levite went _toward_ him, but we are told
that he, as well as the priest, "passed by on the other side."
(5.) He "bound up his wounds." Perhaps he had to tear up his own
garments in order to bind them up.
(6.) He poured in oil and gave some wine to the fainting man.
(7.) He "set him on his own beast." Do you not think that this poor
Jew must have looked with gratitude and tenderness on the Samaritan,
as he was placed on the beast, while his deliverer walked by his side?
All the prejudice in his heart must have disappeared long before they
got to the end of their journey.
(8.) He "brought him to an inn."
(9.) He "took care of him." I was greatly touched at hearing of a
Christian worker in one of the districts in London where we were, who
met with a drinking man at the meeting. He saw that the man was in
drink, so he took him home and stayed all night with him; then, when
he got sober the next morning, he talked with him. Many are willing
enough to talk with drunkards when they are sober, but how few there
are who will go and hunt them up when they are in their fallen
condition, and stay with them till they can be reasoned with about
their salvation.
(10.) When he departed on the morrow, the good Samaritan asked the
host to care for him.
(11.) He gave him some money to pay the bill.
(12.) He said: "Whatever thou spendest more, when I come again I will
repay thee."
There is nothing I think in all the teachings of Christ that brings
out the whole Gospel better than this parable. It is a perfect picture
of Christ coming down to this world to seek and save the lost.
(1.) He came to this world of sin and sorrow where we were, laying by
His glory for the time, that He might assume our human nature, and put
Himself on a level with those He came to save.
(2.) He mingled with the poor and needy so that He might see their
condition.
(3.) He was "moved with compassion" for the multitudes; how often this
is recorded in the Gospels. We are told, on more than one occasion,
that He wept as He thought of all the woe and distress that sin had
brought upon the human family.
(4.) Wherever Jesus Christ heard of a case of sorrow or need He went
at once. No cry of distress ever reached His ears in vain.
(5.) On one occasion He read from the prophets concerning Himself,
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me . . . . because the Lord hath . . . .
sent me to bind up the broken-hearted." He Himself was wounded, that
the wounds which sin had made in us might be bound up and healed.
(6.) He not only comforted the sorrowing, but gave the promise of the
Holy Spirit, Who was to bring comfort and strength to His redeemed
people.
(7.) As the good Samaritan set the wounded man on his own beast, so
the Savior gives us the unfailing promise of His word on which we may
rest during our pilgrim journey. He Himself has promised to be with us
in spirit by the way.
(8.) He brings us to the place of rest--rest in His love, in His
willingness to save, in His power to keep. At the last He will bring
us to the home of everlasting rest.
(9.) When He was on the earth He took a personal interest in all that
concerned His disciples, and
(10.) When He had gone up on high He sent another Comforter who should
abide with the Church.
(11.) He has furnished the Church with all that is needful for her
support and growth in grace.
(12.) He will come again and reward His servants for all their
faithful service.
Do you want to know how you can reach the masses? Go to their homes
and enter into sympathy with them; tell them you have come to do them
good, and let them see that you have a heart to feel for them. When
they find out that you really love them, all those things that are in
their hearts against God and against Christianity will be swept out of
the way. Atheists may tell them that you only want to get their money,
and that you do not really care for their happiness. We have to
contradict that lie by our lives, and send it back to the pit where it
came from.
We are not going to do it unless we go personally to them and prove
that we really love them. There are hundreds and thousands of families
that could easily be reached if we had thousands of Christians going
to them and entering into sympathy with their sorrows. That is what
they want. This poor world is groaning and sighing for sympathy--human
sympathy. I am quite sure it was that in Christ's life which touched
the hearts of the common people. He made Himself one with them. He who
was rich for our sakes became poor. He was born in the manger so that
He might put himself on a level with the lowest of the low.
I think that in this matter He teaches His disciples a lesson. He
wants us to convince the world that He is their friend. They do not
believe it. If once the world were to grasp this thought, that Jesus
Christ is the Friend of the sinner, they would soon flock to Him. I am
sure that ninety-nine in every hundred of those out of Christ think
that, instead of loving them, God hates them. How are they to find out
their mistake? They do not attend our churches; and if they did there
are many places where they would not hear it. Do you think that if
those poor harlots walking the streets of our cities really believed
that Jesus Christ loved them and wanted to be their friend--that if He
were here in person He would not condemn them, but would take sides
with them, and try to lift them up--they would go on in their sins? Do
you think the poor drunkard who reels along the street really believes
that Christ is his friend and loves him? The Scripture plainly teaches
that though Christ hates sin He loves the sinner. This story of the
good Samaritan is given to teach us this lesson. Let us publish abroad
the good news that Christ loves sinners, and came into the world that
He might save them.
There was a man who lived in one of our large cities. He died quite
suddenly, and it was not long before his wife followed him to the
grave. They left two boys, and there was a wealthy citizen who took
the more promising of the boys and adopted him. The other boy was
placed in the orphan asylum. He had never been away from his father
and mother during their lives, and he had not been separated from his
brother before. Every night he would go to sleep crying for his
brother. One night they could not find him. Next morning he was found
under the steps of the house of the wealthy banker who had adopted his
little brother. When they asked him why he had left a good comfortable
bed at the orphan home and stayed out there all night in the cold, he
said he wanted to get near Charlie. He knew that if he rang the bell
and they found him at the door they would send him hack, and it was a
comfort to him to be near Charlie, even if he had to pass the night
out there. His young heart was craving for sympathy, and he knew that
Charlie loved him as no one else in the world did. If we can only
convince these poor lost ones that some one loves them, then their
hearts will be moved.
During the war a little boy, Frankie Bragg, was placed in one of the
hospitals. He said it was so hard to be there away from all those who
loved him. The nurse who was attending him, bent down and kissed him,
and said she loved him. "Do you love me?" he said; "kiss me again;
that was like my sister's kiss?" The nurse kissed him again, and he
said with a smile: "It is not hard for me to die now, when I know that
some one loves me." If we had more of this sympathy for the lost and
the sorrowing, the world would soon feel our influence.
Shall we not learn a lesson from the good Samaritan? Let us hear the
voice of the Master saying: "Go thou and do likewise." We can all do
something. If we cannot reach the older people, let us try and win the
young. It is a blessed privilege to be used of God to bring one little
lamb into the kingdom. If we are only the means of saving one child
our life will not be a failure; we shall hear the Master's "Well done,
good and faithful servant."
A lady started a hospital for sick crippled children in Edinburgh two
years ago. I was asking her if she had been blessed in the work. I
shall not forget how her face lit up. She was in one of our recent
meetings in London, and her face was beaming. She was telling of some
very interesting cases of conversion among the children. What a
privilege it is to lead these afflicted ones into the kingdom of God.
A little boy was brought to Edinburgh from Fife. There was no room in
the children's hospital, and he was taken to the general hospital. He
was only six years old; his father was dead; his mother was sick, so
that she could not take care of him, and he had to be brought to the
hospital in Edinburgh. My friend, Rev. George Wilson, went in one day
and sat at the bedside of the little sufferer. He was telling him that
the doctor was coming on Thursday to take off his little leg. You
parents can imagine, if one of your children, six years old, away from
home, and in a hospital, were told that the doctor was coming on a
certain day to take his leg off, how he would suffer at the thought.
The little fellow, of course, was in great trouble about it. The
minister wanted to know about his mother; she was sick and his father
was dead. The minister wished to comfort him, and he said: "The nurse
is such a good woman; she will help you." "Yes," said the boy, "and
perhaps Jesus will be with me." Do you have any doubt of it? Next
Friday the man of God went to the hospital, but he found the cot was
empty. The poor boy was gone; the Savior had come and taken him to His
bosom.
In our great cities are there not hundreds and thousands who are in
some need of human sympathy? That will speak to their hearts a good
deal louder than eloquent sermons. Many will not be moved by eloquent
sermons, who would yield to tenderness and gentleness and sympathy.
Said the great Dr. Chalmers: "The little that I have seen in the
world, and know of the history of mankind, teaches me to look upon
their errors in sorrow, not in anger. When I take the one poor heart
that has sinned and suffered, and represent to myself the struggles
and temptations it has passed through; the brief pulsation of joy; the
tears of regret; the feebleness of purpose; the scorn of the world
that has little charity; the desolation of the soul's sanctuary and
threatening voices within; health gone--happiness gone--I would fain
leave the erring soul of my fellowman with Him from whose hands it
came."
Some of you may say: "How am I to get into sympathy with those who are
in sorrow?" That is a very important question. Many people go to work
for God, but they seem to do it in such a professional way. I will
tell you how you can be brought into sympathy. I have found this rule
to be of great help to me. Put yourself in the place of the sorrowing
and afflicted ones, with whom you want to sympathize. If you do that
you will soon gain their affections and be able to help them.
God taught me a lesson a few years ago that I shall never forget. I
was Superintendent of a Sunday-school in Chicago with over 1,500
scholars. In the months of July and August many deaths took place
among the children, and as most of the ministers were out of the city
I had to attend a great many funerals. Sometimes I had to be at four
or five in one day. I was so accustomed to it that I got to do it
almost mechanically. I could see the mother take her last look at the
child, and see the coffin lid closed without being moved by it.
One day when I came home my wife told me that one of the Sunday-school
children had been drowned, and the mother wanted to see me. I took my
little daughter with me and we went to the house. I found the father
in one corner of the room drunk. The mother told me that she took in
washing in order to get a living for herself and her children, as her
husband drank up all his wages. Little Adelaide used to go to the
river and gather the floating wood for the fire. That day she had gone
as usual; she saw a piece of wood out a little way from the bank; in
stretching out to reach it she slipped, and fell into the water and
was drowned. The mother told me her sad story; how she had no money to
buy the shroud and the coffin, and she wanted me to help her. I took
out my note-book and put down her name and address, and took the
measure of the coffin, in order to send it to the undertakers.
The poor mother was much distressed, but it did not seem to move me. I
told her I would be at the funeral, and then I left. As my little girl
walked by my side she said to me: "Papa, suppose we were very poor,
and mamma had to wash for a living, and I had to go to the river to
get sticks to make a fire; if I were to fall into the water and get
drowned would you feel bad?" "Feel bad! Why, my child, I do not know
what I should do. You are my only daughter, and if you were taken from
me I think it would break my heart." And I took her to my bosom and
kissed her. "Then did you feel bad for that mother?" How that question
cut me to the heart.
I went back to the house, and took out my Bible and read to the mother
the fourteenth chapter of John. Then I prayed with her and endeavored
to comfort her. When the day for the funeral arrived I attended it. I
had not been to the cemetery for a good many years; I had thought my
time was too precious, as it was some miles away. I found the father
was still drunk. I had got a lot in the strangers' field for little
Adelaide. As we were laying the coffin in the grave another funeral
procession came up, and the corpse was going to be laid near by.
Adelaide's mother said, as we were covering up the coffin: "Mr. Moody,
it is very hard to lay her away among strangers. I have been moving
about a good deal, and have lived among strangers, and I have never
had a burying-lot. It is very hard to place my firstborn among
strangers." I said to myself that it would be pretty hard to have to
bury my child in the strangers' field. I had got into full sympathy
with the poor mother by this time.
Next Sabbath I told the children in the Sunday-school what had taken
place. I suggested that we should buy a Sunday-school lot, and when
any of the children attending the school died, they would not be laid
in the strangers' field, but would be put in our own lot. Before we
could get the title made out, a mother came and wanted to know if her
little girl who had just died could be buried in the lot. I told her I
would give permission. I went to the funeral, and as we were lowering
the little coffin I asked what was the name. She said it was Emma.
That was the name of my own little girl, and I could not help but weep
as I thought of how I would feel if it were my own Emma. Do you tell
me I could not sympathize with that bereaved mother? Very soon
afterward, another mother came and wished to have her dead child
buried in our lot. She told me his name was Willie. At that time that
was the name of my only boy, and I thought how it would be with me if
it were my Willie who was dead. So the first children buried there
bore the names of my two children. I tried to put myself in the places
of these sorrowing mothers, and then it was easy for me to sympathize
with them in their grief, and point them to Him who "shall wipe away
all tears from their eyes."
About the first thing I did when I returned to Chicago nine years ago,
was to drive up to and see our children's lot. I thought it would
last a good many years, but it was about full, for many of my old
Sabbath-school scholars had gone while I had been away, and their bodies
were resting in this lot till the great day. I understood, however, that
the children of the Sabbath-school were about to purchase another and
a larger lot which would suffice for many years under ordinary
circumstances. Many little ones are laid there, waiting for the
resurrection, and I would like to be buried beside them, it would be
so sweet to be in their company when we rise and meet our Lord.
Dear friends, if you would get into full sympathy with others put
yourself in their places. May God fill our hearts with the spirit of
the good Samaritan, so that we may be filled with tenderness and love
and compassion.
I want to give you a motto that has been a great help to me. It was a
Quaker's motto:
"I expect to pass through this world but once. If, therefore, if there
be any kindness I can show or any good thing I can do to any fellow
human being let me do it now; let me not defer nor neglect it, for I
will not pass this way again."
CHAPTER IX.
"YE ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD."
"They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and
they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."
That is the testimony of an old man, and one who had the richest and
deepest experience of any man living on the face of the earth at the
time. He was taken down to Babylon when a young man; some Bible
students think he was not more than twenty years of age. If any one
had said, when this young Hebrew was carried away into captivity, that
he would outrank all the mighty men of that day--that all the generals
who had been victorious in almost every nation at that time were going
to be eclipsed by this young slave--probably no one would have
believed it. Yet for five hundred years no man whose life is recorded
in history shone as did this man. He outshone Nebuchadnezzar,
Belshazzar, Cyrus, Darius, and all the princes and mighty monarchs of
his day.
We are not told when he was converted to a knowledge of the true God,
but I think we have good reason to believe that he had been brought
under the influence of Jeremiah the prophet. Evidently some earnest,
Godly man, and no worldly professor, had made a deep impression upon
him. Some had at any rate taught him how he was to serve God.
We hear people nowadays talking about the hardness of the field where
they labor; they say their position is a very peculiar one. Think of
the field in which Daniel had to work. He was not only a slave, but he
was held captive by a nation that detested the Hebrews. The language
was unknown to him. There he was among idolaters; yet he commenced at
once to shine. He took his stand for God from the very first, and so
he went on through his whole life. He gave the dew of his youth to
God, and he continued faithful right on till his pilgrimage was ended.
Notice that all those who have made a deep impression on the world,
and have shone most brightly, have been men who lived in a dark day.
Look at Joseph; he was sold as a slave into Egypt by the Ishmaelites;
yet he took his God with him into captivity, as Daniel afterward did.
And he remained true to the last; he did not give up his faith because
he had been taken away from home and placed among idolaters. He stood
firm, and God stood by him.
Look at Moses, who turned his back upon the gilded palaces of Egypt,
and identified himself with his despised and down-trodden nation. If a
man ever had a hard field it was Moses; yet he shone brightly, and
never proved unfaithful to his God.
Elijah lived in a far darker day than we do. The whole nation was
going over to idolatry. Ahab, and his queen, and all the royal court
were throwing their influence against the worship of the true God. Yet
Elijah stood firm, and shone brightly in that dark and evil day. How
his name stands out on the page of history!
Look at John the Baptist. I used to think I would like to live in the
days of the prophets; but I have given up that idea. You may be sure
that when a prophet appears on the scene, everything is dark, and the
professing Church of God has gone over to the service of the god of
this world. So it was when John the Baptist made his appearance. See
how his name shines out to-day! Eighteen centuries have rolled away,
and yet the fame of that wilderness preacher shines brighter than
ever. He was looked down upon in his day and generation, but he has
outlived all his enemies; his name will be reverenced and his work
remembered as long as the Church is on the earth.
Talk about your field being a hard one! See how Paul shone for God as
he went out, the first missionary to the heathen, telling them of the
God whom he served, and Who had sent His Son to die a cruel death in
order to save the world. Men reviled him and his teachings; they
laughed him to scorn when he spoke of the Crucified One. But he went
on preaching the Gospel of the Son of God. He was regarded as a poor
tent-maker by the great and mighty ones of his day; but no one can now
tell the name of any of his persecutors, or of those who lived at that
time, unless their names happen to be associated with his, and they
were brought into contact with him.
Now the fact is, all men like to shine. We may as well acknowledge it
at once. You go into business circles and see how men struggle to get
into the front rank. Every one wants to outshine his neighbor and to
stand at the head of his profession. Go into the political world and
see how there is a struggle going on as to who shall be the greatest.
If you go into a school you find that there is a rivalry among the
boys and girls. They all want to stand at the top of the class. When a
boy does reach this position and outranks all the rest the mother is
very proud of it. She will manage to tell all the neighbors how
Johnnie has got on, and what a number of prizes he has gained.
You go into the army and you find the same thing--one trying to
outstrip the other; every one is very anxious to shine and rise above
his comrades. Go among the young men in their games and see how
anxious the one is to outdo the other. So we have all that desire in
us; we like to shine above our fellows.
And yet there are very few who can really shine in the world. Once in
a while one man will outstrip all his competitors. Every four years
what a struggle goes on throughout our country as to who shall be the
President of the United States, the battle raging for six months or a
year. Yet only one man can get the prize. There a good many struggling
to get the place, but many are disappointed, because only one can
attain the coveted prize. But in the kingdom of God the very least and
the very weakest may shine if they will. Not only can _one_ obtain the
prize, but _all_ may have it if they will.
It does not say in this passage that the Statesmen are going to shine
as the brightness of the firmament. The Statesmen of Babylon are gone;
their very names are forgotten.
It does not say that the nobility are going to shine. Earth's nobility
are soon forgotten. John Bunyan, the Bedford tinker, has outlived the
whole crowd of those who were the nobility in his day. They lived for
self, and their memory is blotted out. He lived for God and for souls,
and his name is as fragrant as ever it was.
We are not told that the merchants are going to shine. Who can tell
the name of any of the millionaires of Daniel's day? They were all
buried in oblivion a few years after their death. Who were the mighty
conquerors of that day? But few can tell. It is true that we hear of
Nebuchadnezzar, but probably we should not have known very much about
him but for his relations to the prophet Daniel.
How different with this faithful prophet of the Lord. Twenty-five
centuries have passed away, and his name shines on, and on, and on,
brighter and brighter. And it is going to shine while the Church of
God exists. "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for
ever and ever."
How quickly the glory of this world fades away! Seventy-five years ago
the great Napoleon almost made the earth to tremble. How he blazed and
shone as an earthly warrior for a little while! A few years passed,
and a little island held that once proud and mighty conqueror; he died
as a poor broken-hearted prisoner. Where is he to-day? Almost
forgotten. Who in all the world will say that Napoleon lives in their
heart's affections?
But look at this despised and hated Hebrew prophet. They wanted to put
him into the lions' den because he was too sanctimonious and too
religious. Yet see how green his memory is to-day! How his name is
loved and honored for his faithfulness to his God.
Seventeen years ago I was in Paris at the time of the Great
Exhibition. Napoleon the Third was then in his glory. Cheer after
cheer would rise up as he drove along the streets of the city. A few
short years and he fell from his lofty estate. He died an exile from
his country and his throne, and where is his name today? Very few
think about him at all, and if his name is mentioned it is not with
love and esteem. How empty and short-lived are the glory and the pride
of this world! if we are wise we will live for God and eternity; we
will get outside of ourselves, and will care nothing for the honor and
glory of this world.
In Proverbs we read: "He that winneth souls is wise." If any man,
woman, or child by a Godly life and example can win one soul to God,
their life will not have been a failure. They will have outshone all
the mighty men of their day, because they will have set a stream in
motion that will flow on and on for ever and ever. That little boy may
shine in God's kingdom if he will.
God has left us down here to shine. We are not here to buy and sell
and get gain, to accumulate wealth, to acquire worldly position. This
earth, if we are Christians, is not our home; it is up yonder. God has
sent us into the world to shine for Him--to light up this dark world.
Christ came to be the Light of the world, but men put out that light.
They took it to Calvary and blew it out. Before Christ went up on high
He said to His disciples: "Ye are the light of the world. Ye are my
witnesses. Go forth and carry the Gospel to the perishing nations of
the earth."
So God has called us to shine, just as much as Daniel was sent into
Babylon to shine. Let no man of woman say that they cannot shine
because they have not so much influence as some others may have. What
God wants you to do is to use the influence you have. Daniel probably
did not have much influence down in Babylon at first, but God soon
gave him more, because he was faithful and used what he had.
Remember a small light will do a good deal when it is in a very dark
place. You put one little tallow candle in the middle of a large hall,
and it will give a good deal of light.
Away out in the prairie regions, when meetings are held at night in
the log school-houses, the announcement of the meeting is given out in
this way: "A meeting will be held by early candle-light." The first
man who comes brings a tallow-dip with him. It is perhaps all he has;
but he brings it and sets it on the desk. It does not light the
building much; but it is better than none at all. The next man brings
his candle; and the next family bring their candles. By the time the
house is full, there is plenty of light. So if we all shine a little,
there will be a good deal of light. That is what God wants us to do.
If we cannot all be lighthouses, any one of us can at any rate be a
tallow candle.
A little light will sometimes do a great deal. The city of Chicago was
set on fire by a cow kicking over a lamp, and a hundred thousand
people were burnt out of house and home. Do not let Satan get the
advantage of you, and make you think that because you cannot do any
great thing you cannot do anything at all.
Then we must remember that we are to _let_ our light shine. It does
not say, "_Make_ your light shine." You do not have to _make_ light to
shine; all you have to do is to _let_ it shine.
I remember hearing of a man at sea who was very sea-sick. If there is
a time when a man feels that he cannot do any work for the Lord it is
then--in my opinion. While this man was sick he heard that a man had
fallen overboard. He was wondering if he could do anything to help to
save the man. He laid hold of a light and held it up to the port-hole.
The drowning man was saved. When this man got over his attack of
sickness he got up on deck one day, and was talking with the man who
was rescued. The saved man gave this testimony. He said he had gone
down the second time, and was just going down again for the last time,
when he put out his hand. Just then, he said, some one held a light at
the port-hole, and the light fell on his hand. A man caught him by the
hand and pulled him into the lifeboat.
It seemed a small thing to do to hold up the light; yet it saved the
man's life. If you cannot do some great thing you can hold the light
for some poor, perishing drunkard, who may be won to Christ and
delivered from destruction. Let us take the torch of salvation and go
into these dark homes, and hold up Christ to the people as the Savior
of the world. If these perishing masses are to be reached we must lay
our lives right alongside theirs, and pray with them and labor for
them. I would not give much for a man's Christianity, if he is saved
himself and is not willing to try and save others. It seems to me the
basest ingratitude if we do not reach out the hand to others who are
down in the same pit from which we were delivered. Who is able to
reach and help these drinking men like those who have themselves been
slaves to the intoxicating cup? Will you not go out this very day and
seek to rescue these men? If we were all to do what we can we should
soon empty the drinking saloons.
I remember reading of a blind man who was found sitting at the corner
of a street in a great city with a lantern beside him. Some one went
up to him and asked what he had the lantern there for, seeing that he
was blind, and the light was the same to him as the darkness. The
blind man replied: "I have it so that no one may stumble over me."
Dear friends, let us think of that. Where one man reads the Bible, a
hundred read you and me. That is what Paul meant when he said we were
to be living epistles of Christ, known and read of all men. I would
not give much for all that can be done by sermons, if we do not preach
Christ by our lives. If we do not commend the Gospel to people by our
holy walk and conversation, we shall not win them to Christ. Some
little act of kindness will perhaps do more to influence them than any
number of long sermons.
A vessel was caught in a storm on Lake Erie, and they were trying to
make for the harbor of Cleveland. At the entrance of that port they
had what are called the upper lights and the lower lights. Away back
on the bluffs were the upper lights burning brightly enough; but when
they came near the harbor they could not see the lights showing the
entrance to it. The pilot said he thought they had better get back on
the lake again. The Captain said he was sure they would go down if
they went back, and he urged the pilot to do what he could to gain the
harbor. The pilot said there was very little hope of making for the
harbor, as he had nothing to guide him as to how he should steer the
ship. They tried all they could to get her into the harbor. She rode
on the top of the waves, and then into the trough of the sea, and at
last they found themselves stranded on the beach, where the vessel was
dashed to pieces. Some one had neglected the lower lights and they had
gone out.
Let us take warning. God keeps the upper lights burning as brightly as
ever, but He has left us down here to keep the lower lights burning.
We are to represent Him here, as Christ represents us up yonder. I
sometimes think if we had as poor a representative in the courts above
as God has down here on earth, we would have a pretty poor chance of
heaven. Let us have our loins girt and our lights brightly burning, so
that others may see the way and not walk in darkness.
In the book of Revelation we read: "Blessed are the dead which die in
the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest
from their labors; and their works do follow them."
There are many mentioned in the Scriptures of whom we read that they
lived so many years and then they died. The cradle and the grave are
brought close together: they lived and they died, and that is all we
know about them. So in these days you could write on the tombstone of
a great many professing Christians that they were born on such a day
and they died on such a day; there is nothing whatever between.
But there is one thing you cannot bury with a good man; his influence
still lives. They have not buried Daniel yet; his influence is as
great to-day as ever it was. Do you tell me that Joseph is dead? His
influence still lives and will continue to live on and on. You may
bury the frail tenement of clay that a good man lives in, but you
cannot get rid of his influence and example. Paul was never more
powerful than he is to-day.
Do you tell me that John Howard, who went into so many of the dark
prisons in Europe, is dead? Is Henry Martyn, or Wilberforce, or John
Bunyan dead? Go into the Southern States and there you will find from
three to four millions of men and women who once were slaves. You
mention to any of them the name of Wilberforce, and see how quickly
the eye will light up. He lived for something else besides himself,
and his memory will never die out of the hearts of those for whom he
lived and labored.
Is Wesley or Whitefield dead? The names of those great evangelists
were never more honored than they are now. Is John Knox dead? You can
go to any part of Scotland to-day and you will feel the power of his
influence.
I will not tell you who are dead. The enemies of these servants of
God--those who persecuted them and told lies about them. But the men
themselves have outlived all the lies that were uttered concerning
them. Not only that; they will shine in another world. How true are
the words of the old Book: "They that be wise shall shine as the
brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness
as the stars for ever and ever."
Let us go on turning as many as we can to righteousness. Let us be
dead to the world, to its lies, its pleasures, and its ambitions. Let
us live for God, continually going forth to win souls for Him.
Let me quote a few words by Dr. Chalmers. "Thousands of men breathe,
move and live, pass off the stage of life, and are heard of no
more--Why? They do not partake of good in the world, and none were
blessed by them; none could point to them as the means of their
redemption; not a line they wrote, not a word they spoke could be
recalled; and so they perished; their light went out in darkness, and
they were not remembered more than insects of yesterday. Will you thus
live and die, O man immortal? Live for something. Do good, and leave
behind you a monument of virtue that the storm of time can never destroy.
Write your name in kindness, love and mercy, on the hearts of the
thousands you come in contact with year by year; you will never be
forgotten. No, your name, your deeds will be as legible on the hearts
you leave behind as the stars on the brow of evening. Good deeds will
shine as the stars of heaven."
End of Project Gutenberg's To The Work! To The Work!, by Dwight Moody
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