BV 3785 .M7 B69 1875
"\
Boyd, Robert, 1816-18
79.
The wonderful career
of
Moody and Sankey
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THE WONDERFUL CAREER
OP
MOODY AND SANKEY,
IN GREA T BRITAIN AND AMERICA,
TOGETHER WITH
f |e S^iiiils aiiir ®riuntrts of i\\\\i\i,
A3 ILLTJSTKATED IN THE LIVES OP
PATRIARCHS, PROPHETS, KINGS AND APOSTLl
^^ I DEC 5 i-/23
Rev. ROBERT BOYD, D.D.\/xv.
EMBELLISHED VTITH
STEEL PLATE PORTRAIT OF Dr. BOYD.
"Likenesses of the Amei\ican Evangelists,
and several other engravinqs.
NEW YORK:
HENRY S. GOODSPEED & COMPANY
14 Barclay Street.
L. U. SNEAD & CO., MT. UNION, OHIO.
M. A. PARKER & CO., Chicago.
N. D. THOMPSON k CO., St. Louis and Chicago.
D. L. GUERNSEY, Concobd, N. H.
F. DEWING & CO., San Francisco, Cal.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, In the year 1875,
By H. S. GOODSPEED,
la the Office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D.C.
PREFACE
In passing through life's journey, the people of God have often
to sing with the poet Cowper, —
"God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform."
And happy are they who have learned to trust their Heavenly
Father where they cannot see him ; who can read his love in
the most trying dispensations ; who do not judge Him by feeble
sense, but who know that when he blesses he does so like a
God, making the things that seemed all against us work for
our good ; and so modifying the heat of the furnace of afflic-
tion, that instead of consuming us, as we feared, it only con-
sumes our dross.
Hence there is nothing so wise, nothing so sweet for the
Christian to do, as quietly to submit himself to the holy will of
God. As a loving child puts his hand into his father's hand,
and is led by him wherever he pleases, so should we trust our
Father in heaven. He may lead us into a wilderness, or into a
garden, by rough places or by smooth ; but it will be found to
be the right way, while He is our guide.
I have been led into these reflections by the sending forth
of this new work from my pen, which opens the present volume.
But a few years ago I was the pastor of a loving, faithful, and
working church, in that most stirring and bustling city, Chicago.
My congregation was large and attentive ; conversions were
frequent and numerous ; I was happy in ray work, and my time
PREFACE.
occupied with it from morning to night. I had no time to
write for the public, and never expected to be the author of
books, but God laid his afflicting hand upon me, and paralysis
left me almost as helpless as a child. Oh, it was a dark and
trying day when I had to leave my loved work, and bid fare-
well to my dear people !
Determined to work as long as I could for my beloved Lord
Jesus, I sent forth book after book which were well received by
the Christian public. Soon communications began to reach me
of the good they were doing. From the crowded city and the
quiet village ; from our patriot soldiers on the tented field, and
from the hospitals filled with the wounded ; from the pastors of
churches, and teachers of Sabbath Schools, came frequent ac-
counts of conversions through my writings. I now began to
have a glimpse of the reason why God afflicted me. I found
that I was addressing a much larger audience than I had ever
done before, and that my affliction, so far from hindering, had
greatly increased my usefulness. This was a great comfort to
me, and caused the song of gratitude to God to ring out of the
dark night of my trouble. The master had led me in a way
that I knew not, and to Him I gave all the glory.
Then came the great Chicago fire, in which my books and
the stereotype plates were destroyed, thus putting my works out
of print. This was again a trial of faith, and I recognize the
goodness of God that I have so soon found a publisher of well-
known enterprize, to send forth all my works on the great er-
rand of preaching Christ crucified ; and I earnestly ask the
prayers of the Christian reader, that they may be abundantly
blessed in leading souls to Jesus, the "World's Hope," and to
build the fabric of their trust for eternity upon " The Rock of
Ages."
R. B.
DEDICATION
TO MY WIFE:
For nearly thirty years the loved and loving companion of
my life; my faithful helper and co-worker in the healthy^ active^
and happy years of my public ministry; my constant, patient, and
affectionate nurse in the years of my trial and sufferif7gj and my
ahvays sympathizing and true-hearted wife, — this book is dedicated
by her loving husband,
The Author.
PART I.
The Trials and Triumphs of Faith.
CONTENTS.
Page
I. Abel — An Accepted Worshiper _i5
II. Enoch— The Heavenly Walk 26
III. Noah — A Preacher of Righteousness 39
IV. Abraham — The Friend of God 53
V. Isaac — The Child of Promise 69
VI. Jacob — The Prevailer with God 82
VII. Joseph — An Example to Young Men. _ 98
VIII. Moses — The Man of God 113
IX. Moses — The Man of God. (Continued.) 126
X. Moses — On Mount Sinai 140
XI. Moses — On Mount Pisgah 155
XII. Joshua — The Pious Soldier. 166
XIII. Job — The Patient Sufferer 182
XIV. Samuel — The Consecrated to God. 199
XV. David — The Royal Prophet 2x5
XVI. David — The Royal Prophet. (Continued.)... 2 2,1
XVII. Elijah — The Tishbite -. 245
XVIII. Elisha — The Prophet of the Succession 262
XIX. Daniel — The Prophet of the Court 280
XX. Stephen — The First Christian Martyr 300
XXI. Peter — The Apostle.. _. 314
XXII. John — The Apostle and Evangelist 329
XXIII. Paul — The Apostle of the Gentiles 342
XXIV. Paul — The Apostle. (Continued.) 356
Part I .
Trials and Triumphsf of Faith ;
SCRIPTURE EXAMPLES.
" Followers of them, who, through faith and patimco,
inherit the promises."
" These all died in faith."
PART II.
MOODY AND SANKEY
HISTORY OF THEIR EARLY LIFE.
PART III.
THE WONDERFUL CAREER
MOODY AND SANKEY,
GREA T BRITAIN.
Part IV.
A COMPLETE HISTORY
OF THE
CAREER AND WORK
OF
MOODY AND SANKEY,
IN AMERICA.
THE TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS
OF FAITH.
CHAPTER I.
ABEL AN ACCEPTED WORSHIPER.
The inspired writers give us very short biographical no-
tices of Scripture characters, but very comprehensive and
pointed. They tell us simply what they did, and leave us to
infer from that what they were. Their virtues wdie not over-
rated, their faults were not concealed. The key-note of a
great character is often given in a few words or a single sen-
tence, and the fact left to speak for itself.
There are many things that conspire together to make Abel
a most notable character; not only a most interesting subject
for our consideration, but one full of practical improvement.
He was a member of the first family that evei existed on the
earth. He was the first human being that was called to pass
through the portals of death. Great is the harvest which
death has reaped since, having made of our earth a huge sep-
ulcher as it revolves around the sun ; but his was the first
human heart over whose strings the cold fingers of death
groped ; the first whose v/arm, bounding life was chilled by
his icy touch. And it is surely worthy of remark, that the first
person of our race that was called to go out to meet the King
of Terrors was a young man. It was not one who had the
frost of years upon his head, whose limbs were tottering and
12 THE WORLD S HOPE.
palsied under the weight of years, who was first taken ; but
one in the prime of youthful vigor, and through whose full
veins the tide of life danced merrily. A terrible rebuke to
those who are planning to neglect the salvation of their souls,
till the shadows of old age pass over them. Death's first vic-
tim was not only young, but such have been the vast majority
of his victims ever since. And the first death in the world
was sudden. With the suddenness of the lightning's flash, with
the rapidity of the lion's spring, death came upon him. The
grim King sent no notice of his approach ; not by slow, slow
advances did he attack the citadel of life ; not even in the
dark midnight hour did he come ; but in the open fields, amid
the splendor of heaven's light, with nature's voices of sweetest
music in his ears, and the pulse of life throbbing vigorously in
his bosom, Abel was stricken down in death.
But the best remains to be told. The first man that died in
our world was a good man. We learn this, not by some flat-
tering inscription put over his grave by the hand of partial
friendship, nor by some glowing eulogy pronounced over his
dust ; but by the testimony of God himself. Before he died
" he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of
his gifts." Blessed be God, that the first human soul that
passed from earth went to glory ! Heaven had the first fruits.
And it is a pleasing reflection, that after all the blighting,
withering curse which sin has brought upon our world,
vastly more of the human family will be saved than lost.
More than one-half of our race die in infancy, and these are
forever safe. Then there are the millions of the redeemed in
every age — a cloud of witnesses : and then, before the end of
time the world will have its long Sabbath of holy rest, its cen-
turies of gospel triumph, when all shall rejoice in the truth.
Yes ; Christ shall have the majority, and the number of the lost
in hell, the outcasts from God through unbelief, shall be but
smaU compared v/ith the vast congregation of holy, blood-
washed souls, that shall be gathered^around him in heaven — a
multitude that no man can number. We thank God for this
happy thought.
ABEL AN ACCEPTED WORSHIPER. I3
But the first man that died from this world was not only a
good man, but a martyr also. He died for his religion. This
vile, wretched business of religious persecution began very
early, and it still goes on. " JMarvel not," says the Master, " if
the world hate you." We are told to expect that those who
are of the flesh will persecute those who are of the Spirit. The
slaves of sin have always hated the truth, and those whom it
made free. The voice of good men testifying for God tor-
ments their consciences ; and they think that the quickest way
to silence is to kill them. Blows, not arguments ; stripes, not
logic ; brute force, not persuasion, are the weapons which error
delights to employ. They are carnal v/eapons, not spiritual ;
weapons forged in hell, not drawn from the polished armory of
heaven.
One thing, however, that has troubled persecutors in every
age is, that though they can kill good men, they cannot kill
their principles. The man dies, but the truths he uttered live
on, all the brighter and the stronger because of his death.
Why did Cain kill Abel ? God tells us that it was " because
his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." But he
did not get rid of the troublesome protest of his brother's
principles by killing him. God said, " The voice of thy
brother's blood calleth to me from the ground." And it not
only called to God, but to men ; and his voice has sounded
down through the ages, and reverberated through the world,
ever since. "He being dead yet speaketh." He never spoke
so pointedly and eloquently in favor of God's grace, as when
wrapped in his bloody shroud he lay in his grave. He then
spoke with a voice potent to touch the hearts of men, and
which the earth and the sod which covered his remains could
not stifle. So it is ever. Truth persecuted advances more
rapidly and spreads like a prairie fire before a sweeping
tempest. God makes the vrrath of man to praise Him, and
"the blood of the martyrs becomeK:iphe seed of the Church."
Abel was the first to test the pov\'er of the covenant of grace
to carry the soul through the awful realities of death. On the
very spot where sin had shown its deformed visage, grace
14
THE. WORLD S HOPE.
planted its holy standard and obtained a victory. It began
its work of restoration on the very soil, in the same family
circle, where the curse and the ruin of sin had fallen. Be-
fore the sinner is driven out of Eden, the scene of his holiness
and his happiness, and also the scene of his sin and his dis-
grace ; the promise of grace comes to him. Not that God's
grace only began when man sinned. No, it was from all eter-
nity: like the life of Jehovah it had no beginning. But when
man sinned, it began to show itself. Man's sin called out and
made known what had forever existed in the divine mind.
And wondrous grace met man just in the depth of his great
need.
, It is ever thus. If sin abounds, grace much more abounds.
The sinner may sink down, down to great depths of sin and
degradation ; but he can find that the arms of mighty grace
are still under him to lift him up, if he depends thereon. This
grace met Paul in the midst of his bloody persecution. It met
the poor, guilty jailor in the midst of his cruelty to the Lord's
servants. It went, with the pleadings of love, to the Jerusalem
sinners, with their hands red with the blood of the Holy and
Just One. It does not stand on a pinnacle of proud dignity
and wait for the sinner's return, but it goes to the lowest
depths to seek and save.
It is the very nature of divine grace to manifest itself. Just
as naturally as the sun pours out his bright and warming
beams, or as the full fountain pours out its sparkling waters,
so does Divine love break out in blessings upon our race. It
is of the very nature of God to love ; but infinite wisdom goes
along with that love, selecting the time and the place and the
way in which this grace was to be displayed. It is a foolish
question : Could not God have appointed some other way to
save sinners than through the death of his Son } No. The
very fact that infinite love and wisdom selected that o?ie way^
sets aside every other. It is the master-piece of God ; and
much as it has done for our world already, it is yet to do much
more. Much as we have seen of it at the foot of the cross,
we will see much more at the foot of the throne. There it will
ABEL AN ACCEPTED WORSHIPER. I5
meet us with new displays of lovCj exceeding abundantly
above all that we can ask or think. We shall then be able to
comprehend more fully the wonders of sovereign grace ; but
after it crowns and enthrones us, we will still have to say, " It
passeth knowledge."
It is wonderful that there is still such a tendency in the sin-
ner's heart to put merit in the place of grace, man's shabby
work in the place of Christ's glorious work. This is man re-
sorting to mere human quackery, instead of going to the balm
of Gilead, that alone brings health and healing to the soul.
There is but one thing that can save a soul, and nothing but
that, nothing before that, nothing besides that, can save ; and
that is faith in Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. It was by be-
lieving in this that Abel was saved ; and you, my reader, can
only be saved in the same way. O the glory, the sweetness,
the nearness of this free grace ! It is near us all, free to us all,
and none are excluded but those that exclude themselves.
Take a firm hold of Christ by the hand of faith, and your
heart will be filled with what Samuel Rutherford called " a
young heaven." A gentleman tells us that he asked a little
girl of only five years, "Are you a sinner.?" "No, sir," she
promptly replied. " But," said he, " have you never done any-
thing that was wrong V " O yes, a great many times." " How,
then, can you say that you are not a sinner.?" " It is tookeii
away,'' was her reply, " Who has taken it away ?" he asked.
Her reply was, "I have trusted in Christ." None could have
given a clearer and more intelligent idea of the plan of sal-
vation.
Reader, you are now enjoying your day of grace. Like an
angel of mercy it walks abroad and in tones sweet and clear,
sounds out the story of God's love. Here and there some
perishing sinner believes the message and is saved. Nov/ it is
a persecuting Saul, then a backsliding Peter. At one time it is
a doubting Thomas, while at another it is an honest inquirer
like Cornelius. But whether it was a proud ruler or an outcast
woman, a humble publican, or a dying thief — in the fullness of
Christ's love there was room for them all. The best robe is
Id THE WORLD'S HOPE.
put upon the wretched wanderer, and he is welcomed home as
a fellow-heir with Christ. Then the believer can adopt the
language of an old author, " My soul is like a hungry and
thirsty child, and I need His love and consolation for my re-
freshment ; I am a wandering and lost sheep, and I need Him
as a good and faithful Shepherd ; my soul is like a frightened
dove pursued by the hawk, and I need His wounds for a
refuge ; I am a feeble vine, and I need His cross to lay hold
of and wind myself about ; I am a sinner, and I need His
righteousness ; I am naked and bare, and need His holiness
and innocence for a covering ; I am in trouble and alarm, and
I need His solace ; I am ignorant, and I need His teaching ;
simple and foolish, and I need the guidance of His Holy
Spirit. When I am forsaken. He must be my support ; when
dying, my life ; when mouldering in the grave, my resurrection.
Well, then, I will part with all the world and all that it con-
tains, rather than with Thee, my Saviour."
We desire now to hx attention upon the most important
point in the history of Abel, and that is, that sinner as >e was
he was an accepted worshiper by the holy God. " The Lord
had respect unto Abel and his offering; but unto Cain and to
his offering he had not respect." In these two brothers there
was a vast difference — a difference almost as great as between
light and darkness, as between an angel and a fiend. But in
what did it consist ? Not of anything natural to them, nor in
their outward circumstance. In these respects they were alike.
They were born of the same parents, brought up in the same
family, heard the same instructions, were surrounded with
the same circumstances, had naturally the same depraved
hearts, and were both sinners before God. Yea, up to a cer-
tain point, their very religion was alike. They both recognized
the Being of a God. They both acknowledged the truth that
God should be worshiped, and that he has imperative claims
upon us and upon all that we possess.
But here the difference between the two becomes very great.
The one came to God in the way of God's appointment, and
the other did not. The difference between them lay not in
ABEL AN ACCEPTED WORSHIPER. I7
anything in the-ir natural characters, but in the sacrifices pre-
sented. " By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent
sacrifice than Cain ;" so we see it was not something in the
offerer, but in the offering, that made the one be accepted and
the other rejected. Cain came to offer to God the fruit of a
sin-cursed earth, with no shed blood to remove that curse. By
faith Abel grasped the great truth that "without the shedding
of blood there could be no remission of sin." He saw that
he was a sinner, and that the wages of sin was death. He saw,
therefore, death and the terrible curse standing between him
and communion with his God ; and in his offering he brought a
sacrificed life to meet the claims of God's insulted purity.
Through the dying struggles of the lamb that he brought,
through the blood that streamed forth from the victim, he
looked away by faith to Calvary, and saw, but dimly it may
be, the Saviour dying for hirn. And hence he had the witness
that he was righteous and that his worship was accepted ; not
because of anything good in him, but simply because of the
goodness of the medium through which he approached. It
was the heaven-appointed medium.
We see, then, that the great cardinal truth upon which man's
salvation has turned, ever since he became a sinner, is the
shed blood of Jesus — a sinless victim. When Christ entered
our world, it would not have been enough that he lived a sin-
less life, that he preached pure, heavenly truth, that he
healed the sick, and brightened his pathway with the
most God-like benevolence ; all these would not have
constituted him a Saviour. To be a Saviour for sinners he
must die upon the cross ; for it was his death that rent the
veil that hung between man and his God ; and that prevented
all approach of the guilty creature to the infinitely holy Cre-
ator. His blood alone cleanses from all sin.
Here was the great mistake of Cain. He came with an un-
bloody sacrifice; merely the fruit of the earth that had the
curse and stain of sin upon it. He came with it proudly as
something that he had toiled for, and as a gift that would se-
cure the favor of God. " God is not worshiped with men's
1 8. TPiE world's hope.
hands, as though he needed anything." No ; the claims of in-
finite justice, the demands of holy law, cannot be met by the
sweat of the sinner's brow, or the toil of his hands ; he has
nothing to offer God which he has not first received from Him ;
and so there can be no merit. Man, in the pride of his heart,
would like to have the flattering unction laid to his soul that he
can confer some favor upon God ; that he can make Jehovah
sometimes the receiver, not always the giver. But he seeth such
proud souls afar off; he rejects with indignation their attempts
to bribe him — their offerings and their pretended worship. " If
I were hungry I would not tell thee."
And yet this Cain worship has been, and still is, the fashiona-
ble, popular religion of the world. No religionist has ever had
so many followers as Cain. Every false religious system that
has ever appeared in the world has gone upon this principle,
that man can by his own gifts and deeds please God and secure
his favor. Some of these systems of error may be more gross
and degrading than others ; but in this they all agree, that in
their own prayers, their tears and repentance, their works and
sacrifices, their alms and good deeds must lie their chief hope
of salvation. Some of them, after doing the best that they can
for themselves, will speak about Jesus being a helper to make
up their deficiencies ; but to depend upon Christ alone, to trust
all on grace, as revealed in the gospel, is a doctrine that makes
them look like Cain, of whom it is said, " he was very wroth,
and his countenance fell."
Here we see that it was not a mere arbitrary act on the part
of God, to reject the sacrifice of the one brother, and to accept
the other. There was a good reason for it. The one adopted
God's plan of acceptance, the other clung to one of his own.
The one was filled with peace and love to God; the other
was filled with wrath and enmity. The one went bound-
ing into the presence of God with joyful assurance; the
other went out from God's presence wi'th a brow dark as a
thunder-cloud. Cain's religion had a bad foundation ; it rested
on human merit. What, then, could be expected from it but
misery and death.? Abel's reUgion rested on the merits of
ABEL AN ACCEPTED WORSHIPER. I9
Christ ; and it secured to him, therefore, all the fullness of God.
In short, the whole difference might be summed up in one
word : the one had faith and the other had not. To some this
may seem a very small matter, but in the sight of God it was
everything. And in matters of religion the question is not
what will suit my notions, or what will please men ; but
what will please the Great Judge with whom we have all
to do .'' If all the world was pleased with us, and the most
learned critics of the world united in calling our theory
of religion rational, and intellectual, and the very embodi-
ment of all wisdom, what would it avail if, when the great
testing time came, God should thunder out, " I know you
not" — "Depart from me!" Now, we are expressly told, that
" without faith it is impossible to please God ; " and so those
who " go in the way of Cain" must perish. Faith in what
God said made Abel a child of God — a favorite of heaven ;
unbelief made Cain an outcast and a cast-away from his Lord's
presence.
It may be asked. How did Abel come to know so well the
plan of salvation } I answer, that faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God. His faith rested where the faith
of all saints in all ages has rested, on God's promise. When
Adam sinned, dark terror took hold of his mind ; and, to show
how far he had fallen, he sought to flee from the glance of the
Omniscient eye ! Dark suspicion, and remorse, and shame, all
wrought together to trouble and distract his soul, as ocean is
lashed into a fury by tempests. The thought of God's pres-
ence was now as painful to him as it had once been delightful ;
and the chief wish of his soul was to live as far from God as
possible — in a Godless state, in a Godless world. But God
follows the fleeing rebel ; not with thunderbolts of wrath, but
with words of grace and promise. The promise of a coming
Saviour was given, who, through suffering, was to bruise the
head of the serpent.
It has been truly said, " This was but a dim and partial rev-
elation. It was the first ray of returning light. It was not the
sun, — that was not to rise for ages, — neither was it the morn.
20 THE WORLD'S HOPE.
It was only the first streak of brightness upon the overhanging
clouds. It foretold the dawn ; it was the forerunner of the sun.
The clouds did forthwith depart, the curse did not leave the
earth, man's restoration was not complete ; but the process was
begun by which all these would be accomplished. Yes, we can
see that all the elements of the glad tidings of the Gospel were
wrapped up in this promise. The coming deliverer was to be
a man, born of a woman ; and yet, he was evidently to be
something more than man, for he was to be the deliverer of the
race and the destroyer of Satan. The Saviour was to be a
sufferer, and yet to come off a conqueror ; he was to meet with
enmity, bitter and relentless ; was to engage in a conflict, and
in that conflict was to be wounded; and through this very
wounding victory was to come. This promise was but dim,
but along with it sacrifices were established ; and the one cast
light upon the other. The altar stood side by side with the
promise ; and what was seen with the eyes helped to explain
what was heard with the ears. There was the flaming sword,
and nothing but blood was able to turn aside i^ts vengeful edge ;
and right before that sword of justice lay the bleeding victim
of sacrifice upon the altar ; all pointing to a time when the
sword of Divine Justice would be quenched in the blood of
Jesus on the hill of Calvary.
These are the great truths which Abel learned and, what is
better, which he practiced. Doubtless Cain liad the same op-
portunities to know the truths which his brother possessed ;
but unbelief shut up his heart against them. He was not the
victim of an arbitrary sovereignty, that took one and rejected
another ; without any good reason. It is true that one was
taken and the other was left ; but it was then as it is now, one
was taken because he had faith in Christ, and the other was
left because of his unbelief. The Divine Master with whom
we have to do is no respecter of persons ; but He has great
respect to the humble in heart, and takes up his abode with
those who lovingly confide in his word.
The great difference between the two brothers as worship-
ers, reminds us forcibly of similar cases occurring many cen-
ABEL AN ACCEPTED WORSHIPER. 21
turies later. Take the case of the Pharisee and the Publican,
who went up to the temple to pray, in our Lord's days upon
earth. What a contrast between these two men ! " One nearer
to the altar stood, the other to the altar's God." The one, full
of pride and vain glory, comes to tell the Lord what a good
man he is ; the other, emptied of self and utterly stripped of
all human dependence, comes to cast himself on God's mercy
alone. The one comes to prove himself the chief of Phari-
sees ; the other, to confess himself the chief of sinners. The
one comes to vindicate himself and condemn his fellow wor-
shiper; the other comes to condemn himself and vindicate
God. The one goes up to a great height of self-glorification, by
which he is only sinking into hell ; the other goes down to a
great depth of self-abasement, by which he rises to heaven.
And we need not wonder that when the hour of worship was
over, the one went down to his home a child of wrath, an heir
of hell ; while the other went down to his house justified, a
child of God and an heir of eternal glory.
We see the same contrast presented in the case of the two
thieves upon the cross. They both heard the words of truth
that Jesus spoke upon the cross. They were both equally near
to Him in the local sense of the term. They were both sin-
ners, on the verge of eternity, their souls exposed to the same
peril. They were in exactly the same outward circumstances ;
had the same opportunities of being saved. Yet one begins to
pray, the other to blaspheme. One reviles Christ, the other
confesses him. One vindicates our Lord's innocence, the other
joins with the mocking crowd against him. In short, the one
believes in our Lord's power to save him, his prayer being the
prayer of faith, while the other continues in unbelief and sin.
The result is, that the one dies with the sound of pardon and
acceptance ringing in his ears and comforting his soul, while
the other dies as he lived, a stranger to God and holiness.
How evident, then, it is, that persons enjoying the same priv-
ileges, who have listened to the san^.e preaching, for whom the
same fervent prayers have been offered, who have been ten-
derly nurtured in the same pious family, and passed through
22 THE world's HOPE.
the same glorious revivals ; may at last be separated from each
other, far as heaven is from hell. Yes, persons may perform
the same outwardly religious acts ; and yet, what is piety in
one is profanity in another, because of the state of their hearts.
The same holy words may be uttered, the same outward relig-
ious acts observed ; and yet, what is spiritual life to one may be
death to another. To the one the gospel is the savor of life
unto life, and to another of death unto death. Just as the
Egyptians went down into the same sea, and by the same path,
as the Israelites; but what proved life and salvation to the
people of God proved death and destruction to their enemies.
The Apostle Paul makes a statement concerning Abel which,
being of general application to all men, is very impressive :
"He being dead yet speaketh." Men are apt to think that
when one has closed his eyes upon life and his body is covered
up in the bosom of mother earth, this is the end of his
influences and acts below, and that henceforth he is as if he
had never been. But this is a great mistake. No matter ho\V
humble or how exalted ; whether he acted in the eyes of a
single family, or in the eyes of the nations of the world ;
whether he spoke to a few hearers from his chair at his own
fireside, or from the most exalted throne on earth ; his words
will sound down through the ages, as we have heard voices
echoing amid the mountain gorges, or reverberating from sum-
mit to summit. " None of us," says Paul, " liveth to himself."
That is, others must be affected by our life either for good
or evil. And so, " no man dieth to himself." Centuries after
we are dead, there will be souls made happy or miserable, saved
or lost, through the influences we started before we died. This
would be readily acknowledged in the case of great and dis-
tinguished men, who have filled the world with their fame ; and
especially those v»'hose printed words survive them, and influ-
ence for good or evil their numerous readers. But it is equally
true, though on a smaller scale, with the most obscure. We
cannot live without touching strings of influence that reach
into eternity.
What vast importance does this thought impart to life ! Life
ABEL AN ACCEPTED WORSHIPER. 23
would be but an empty, vain, paltry thing, if divorced from
eternity. But when we know that all we think, and say, and
do, all that we enjoy and suffer, all that elevates us with
hope or depresses us with sorrow, all our calms and our storms,
our weariness and our rest, are having a direct bearing upon
our own everlasting state, and that of others ; how does life
loom up into an importance that overshadows all worlds ! We
say it is a solemn thing to die, but it is a thousand times more
solemn to live. How we shall die, and where we shall be,
millions of years from now, are dependent on the use we make
of the frail thing we now call life. We are now gathering up
the elements of blessing or woe in which we are to be wrapped
when the sun shall have shot his last ray, and all the retinue
of stars shall have expired in endless night. In this view of it,
life is a priceless, glorious gift, but has hanging upon its slen-
der thread the most tremendous consequences.
If we must speak after death, we should so live that we shall
speak for God and for the good of souls. And we should
welcome any trial that God sends, that will enable us to do so
more effetctively. Hundreds of years ago an old Puritan min-
ister, while under affliction, wrote a little book called the
"Bruised Reed/' which was the means of the conversion of
Richard Baxter. Baxter's "Call to the Unconverted," led to
the conversion of Philip Doddridge. His " Rise and Progress
of Religion in the Soul," led to the conversion of W^ilberforce,
and his " Practical View of Christianity," was much blessed to
Dr. Chalmers, of Scotland, whose influence now is world wide.
When the Lord drove the plowshare of affliction through that
old Puritan's heart, turning up to his view its hidden evils, and
giving him a deeper sympathy with God in the great work he
is carrying on, little did he realize the great harvest of glory
that was to redound to God by such painful discipline. But
he sees it now. Exalted far above the region of sorrow and
strife and sin, he sees the dealing of the Lord in the light of
his love ; and knows that " He hath done all things well."
It has been a wonder to many, why Abel, and good men like
him ever since, have been permitted to suffer affliction. But
24
THE WORLD S HOPE.
these have been intended for their personal good, and to make
them useful to others, through all eternity. Like to yonder
stream rushing on, free and untrammeled among the mountains,
or through the veins of the earth ; but there is nothing to dis-
tinguish it from any other stream of common water, till one
day it strikes in its course some sanative mineral, by which it
has a healing property imparted to it, that gives it a world-
v/ide fame and brings to it thousands of invalids to rejoice in
its health-giving virtues. Thus many now in glory are not
only thanking God personally for their afflictions, but others
who have been saved through their instrumentality, are helping
them to swell their song of praise. They now see, with David,
that it was good for them that they were afflicted ; and are
ready to say with an old writer, " O healthy sickness ! O com-
fortable sorrows ! O gainful losses ! O enriching poverty !
O blessed day that ever I was afflicted !"
Dear, unconverted reader, have you pious friends in heaven ?
Like Abel, they being dead are yet speaking to you. With
them life's weary battle is over, and well over. AVandering
by the banks of the river of life, or walking the golden streets
of the New Jerusalem, they are able to look over the past, and
with quickened memory to bring up scene after scene through
which they have struggled their weary way. There is that
pious mother that so often prayed for you ; that godly father
that counseled you ; that sabbath-school teacher that so ear-
nestly sought to lead your young feet into the ways of the
Lord, and that faithful pastor under whose powerful appeals
of love you so long sat as a hearer. These all speak to you
to-day. They plead with you now. They urge you to flee
from the wrath to come. They tell you of the v/illingness of
that Jesus to save you, whose unclouded glory they now be-
hold. They tell you that His blood still speaks better things
than the blood of Abel- —speaks of mercy and love. O let
them not speak in vein !
ABEL AN ACCEPTED WORSHIPER.
*' Know we not our dead are looking
Downward with a sad surprise,
All our strifes of words rebuking
With their mild and loving eyes?
Shall we grieve these holy angels, shall we cloud these blessed skies f
" Let us dravv' their mantles o'er us,
Whic^i have fallen in our way ;
Let us do the work before us,
Cheerly, bravely, while we may,
Ere the long night — silence cometh, and with us it is not day."
25
G^gi
26 THE WORLDS HOPE;
CHAPTER II.
ENOCH. THE HEAVENLY WALK.
A GOOD man once observed, that when he got to heaven he
expected to meet with three causes of wonder. First, he
would wonder to see some that he did not expect to see
there ; second, he would wonder tofind'some not there that he
did expect to see ; and third, he would wonder most of all to
find such an unworthy sinner as himself there*. No doubt
there will be many whose names have occupied a large place
in the religious world on earth, whose names will not be
known in heaven. They were zealous for a creed ; they had
talent and tact and courage in leading a party ; they were in
their element amidst the bitter rage and unholy strife of
unprofitable controversy, but their hearts were not right in the
sight of God. They made themselves a name and a fame ;
they had many followers and admirers ; their partizans loaded
them with titles and honors ; and when they died, volumes of
biography were written about them, and marble monuments
told a flattering story of their virtues ; but when they ap-
proached the gates of heaven, God said, " I know you not."
When the names recorded in the Lamb's book of life shall
come to be read in heaven, when the affairs of earth shall be
wound up, it will be found that names which went sounding
down through the trumpet of history ; names that made
whole nations tremble, will not be heard there at all. While
on the other hand, the name of many a humble child of God,
but little known on earth, or if known, covered all over with
the slanders of the wicked, shall then stand high in the roll
of glory. Saints, whose names were unknown among the
proud ones of earth, or spoken only with a sneer, will be pro-
nounced with approbation before assembled worlds. They
ENOCH. THE HEAVENLY WALK. 27
that confessed Christ here, shall be confessed by hmi there ;
and all the renown of earth is an empty bauble compared to
that glor/ and honor.
We have been led to make thece remarks from considering
the case of Enoch. Only a few words convey to us all that we
know about him ; but these are of such a character that we
long to know more, and make us look forward with delight to
the time when we shall see him face to face in heaven. Enoch,
being contemporary with Adam, had no doubt learned from
his lips the dark story of man's fall, and the brighter one of
God's grace, as seen in the promise. The dreadful evil of sin,
as seen in the rampant iniquity of the people around him,
whose crimes were already crying to heaven for vengeance,
must have deeply distressed his heart, and he felt the neces-
sity of stemming the tide of profanation and impiety that
rolled in murky darkness before his eyes. It is a pleasing re-
flection ; that in the darkest and most declining time which our
world has ever seen, God has never left himself without faithful
witnesses to testify for him. He has always had a seed to
serve him.
There was a Noah in the midst of the general apostacy.
There was a Lot in the midst of Sodom. There was an Abra-
ham in Ur, and a Job in Uz. In the days of Elijah God's holy
eye could discover seven thousand faithful souls, scarcely
known to the world, and never wanting to be known. And in
Malachi's days, when religion had sunk into such a low and
formal state, the names of a few precious jewels in God's sight
could be recorded, who feared the Lord and thought upon his
name, and cheered their lonely pilgrim path by heavenly con-
verse. Like an oasis in a desert ; like a sweet flower peeping up
amid the departing snows, like a bright star breaking out of a
dark night to cheer the tempest-tossed mariner; such is the
child of God, gathering an increase of brightness from sur-
rounding gloom. To live in the world but not of it ; like a
holy Daniel in Babylon, not a partaker of her sins, but an un-
flinching protester against them ; this is the position for the
good man to occupy. And though the influences of the world
28 THE WORLD'S HOPE.
are corrupting, yet strength from a Divine source is given to
those who seek it by faith. In the dark ages, when pardon
through the blood of Jesus was ignored, and mercenary priests
hawked pardons about the streets for sale ; when justification
by faith in Jesus was sneered at, and justification by fastings
and scourgings and other penances was unblushingly pro-
claimed ; when what was called the Church of Christ became
rich by the blood of souls; God kept alive the Albigenses and
Waldenses to testify for the truth. The world has never been
so dark that the sparkling rays of the Star of Bethlehem
might not be seen by those who were looking for the true
light.
The inspired record about Enoch is very brief, but very
suggestive. " And Enoch walked with God : and he was not ;
for God took him." And upon this the apostle Paul says, " By
faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see death ; and
was not found, because God had translated him ; for before his
translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." Some
writers have spoken of Abel's death as a symbol of Christ as
the great Propitiation for sin, and of Enoch's translation as a
type of If is resurrection and ascension. But not to adopt an
interpretation that may be more fanciful than real, it is evident
that if Abel's death showed the awful nature of sin, the trans*
lation of Enoch showed the power and glory of Divine grace.
In the one we see sin digging a gloomy and loathsome grave;
in the other v/e see grace opening a bright and glorious
heaven. In the death of the one we see the hatred of God to
sin ; but in the translation of the other we see the beauteous
immortality which his love opens up for the faithful — for those
that trust the promises of grace. The one said, " The wages
of' sin is death ;" the other said, " The gift of God is eternal
life."
" Enoch walked with God." This implies a very high state
of piety and of spirituality of mind. The expression is so
often used in religious meetings, and we have become so familiar
with the sound of the words, that we scarcely realize how much
it implies. It tells us of a nearness to God, of an enjoyment
ENOCH, THE HEAVENLY V/ALK. 29
of God, of a sweetness felt in the presence of God, of a per-
fect confidence in Him, and holy familiarity in conversing
with Kim, of which none but the choice spirits of our race, those
of whom the world was not worthy, have ever been made par-
takers. It is man dwelling with God, and God taking up his
abode with man. " I in them, and they in me," says the Lord
Jesus. To souls untaught from above, these expressions sound
like the ravings of a dreamy mysticism, but to those taught in
the school of Christ their unmistakable meaning is engraven on
their hearts. They speak that which they know.
President Edwards gives us a correct picture of walking
with God, in a relation of his own experience. He says, " I
had vehement longings of soul after God and Christ, and after
mor^ holiness, wherewith my heart seemed to be full and
ready to break, which often brought to my mind the words of
the Psalmist, ' My soul breaketh for the longing it hath.' I
often felt a longing and lamenting in my heart that I had not
turned to God sooner, that I might have had more time to grow
in grace. My mind was greatly fixed in Divine things, year
after year, often in walking alone. in the woods and solitary
places, for meditation, soliloquy, and prayer, and converse
with God ; and it was always my manner at such times to sing
forth my contemplation. I was almost constantly in ejacula-
tor} prayer, wherever I was. Prayer seemed to be natural to
me, as the breath by which the inward burning of my heart
had vent. The delights which I now felt in the things of reli-
gion were of an exceedingly different kind from what I ever
enjoyed before, and what I had no more notion of when a boy,
than one born blind has of pleasant and beautiful colors. They
were of a more inward, pure, soul-animating and refreshing
nature. Those former delights never reached the heart,
and did not arise from sight of the Divine excellency of
the things of God, or any taste of the soul-satisfying and
life-giving good there is in them."
Yes; this is truly walking with God. And blessed be God,
it is not confined to patriarchs and prophets, to apostles and
martyrs, to ministers and reformers. There are thousands
30 THE- WORLD S HOPE.
and tens of thousands to-day thus walking with God, that the
world has never heard of and never will till the affairs of earth
shall be brought to their final settlement. It has been my
happy privilege to know many of them, and to see them
ripening for their future life, as they walked on the verge of
glory. And so much of heaven did they possess upon earth,
that their departure seemed more a translation than dying.
We felt the great blank which the loss of their presence here
created, and with heart-longings gazed after them into the
heavens, and wished to follow them to their blessed home.
"And after he was dead and gone»
And e'en his memory dim,
Earth seemed more sweet to live upon,
More full of love because of him."
To walk with God implies a converted character. No man
by nature chooses God for his companion. On the contrary
there is an aversion, an enmity, a dislike to think of God, as
he is revealed in the Bible, 'that make men turn their backs
upon him and seek to get out of his presence. " I remem-
bered God and was troubled." It is true, that sinners some-
times get up a god in their own imagination of which they are
not afraid, and 'which they even cherish an affection for. They
conjure up a god all mercy, making no distinction between sin
and holiness, between the righteous and the wicked ; a god all
made up of what they call goodness — a goodness without
truth and without justice; and this god they can walk with.
But it is just as much an idol they worship as that of the
heathen man who makes one with his own hands, and carries
it about in his pocket, or sets it up in his house. Until men
are converted their whole course is away from the God of the
Bible. They are going from God and toward destruction, and
that with increasing speed day by day, until in conversion a
total change takes place. Indeed, the word conversion,
coming from the Latin word convertere^ means to turn round.
Then they walk with God instead of aAvay from him. Their
faces are turned towards God and heaven, instead of towards
the world and hell. Their old pleasures and pursuits they
ENOCH. THE HEAVENLY WALK
31
leave behind them, and turn with new and consecrated ener-
gies to objects worthy of their high destiny, and their immortal
natures.
To walk with God, in its very nature, implies being of one
mind with him. " How can two walk together unless they be
agreed.^" We must submit our own wills to his, and permit
his wisdom to take the place of our presumption. We must
confide in him, willing to go where he leads, and to suffer what
he appoints. We read of two apostles who walk'^d together
for a time, but they were not of one mind ; and strife and con-
tention was the result. They had to separate and ( ach take
his own way. You have seen a criminal walking with a police
officer, but it was not a willing waik; he was eagerly booking
for a chance to escape. You have seen an insane person
walking with his keeper: but it wr.s not a loving, joyous, in-
telligent walk. The Christian's Avalk is very different from all
of these. He commits himself to God to be led as he plearcs,
just as a loving child puts his hand into its father's, and walk.*
with him through dark night or dense forest, with perfect con-
fidence in his love and his wisdom.
It was among the very first signs of his conversion when
Paul cried, " Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do ?" It is
a state of mind that gives obedience in feeling and obedience
in action. Instead of standing up in opposition to the great,
harmonious, and holy will of our God, which is only beating
our heads with frantic rage against a rock, we must say, " Not
my will, but thine be done." The chief misery of earth arises
from men setting up their own proud, selfish and wicked wills,
and wanting to make everything bow to them. What are
strifes and contentions in families, or nations, or churches, but
a clashing of such wills.? And what causes the impenitent
sinner to live and die an outcast from all good, but because he
will not submit to God's way of saving him ?
We could not walk with any comfort with one who was to us
an object of suspicion. If you thought that he was going to
rob you, or had designs upon your life, you would seek to get
as far away from him as possible. To those who do not walk
32
THE WORLD S HOPE.
by faith, the thought of the constant presence of God is dread-
ful. They do not like to think of it, nor to speak of it; and
though they may not say so in so many words, yet they would
rather that there was no God I Yea, they sometimes speak out
the bitterness of their hearts in the words, " Depart from us ;
we d-esire not a knowledge of thy ways."
Now, the believer is one who has been reconciled to God
through the death of his Son. Through faith in Jesus he has
seen the heart of God, and knows something of the great,
abounding love that reigns there. In that love he confides.
He can look up into the face of his Heavenly Father with the
warm glow of affection, and feels it his highest heaven to be in
his presence. John Bunyan, in relating his conversion, gives a
good idea of the beginning of his heavenly walk. " One day
as I was passing into the field, and that too with some dashes
on my conscience, fearing lest yet all was not right, suddenly
this sentence fell upon my soul : ' Thy righteousness is in
heaven;' and methought withal I saw, with the eyes of my
soul, Jesus Christ at God's right hand. There I saw was my
righteousness ; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was
doing, God could not say of me, * He wants my righteousness,'
for that was just before him. I also saw, moreover, that it was
not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better
nor yet my bad frame that made' my righteousness worse ; for
my righteousness v/as Jesus Christ himself, the same yesterday,
to-day, and forever.* Now did my chains fall off my legs in-
deed,— I v/as loosed from my afflictions and irons, my tempta-
tions also fled away ; so that from that time those dreadful
Scriptures of God left off to trouble me. Now went I also
home rejoicing for the grace and love of God."
To walk Vv'ith God implies a man of prayer. We would »ot
feel much pleasure in walking with one with whom we could
not converse. Now, prayer is just talking with God. When
the two disciples had that delightful walk on the v/ay to Em-
maus, their sv^^eetest recollection of it was recorded in the
words, " Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked
with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures."
■ENOCH. THE HEAVENLY WALK. ^^
This is SO Still. The happiest part of the Christian's journey,
and the part that he will look back upon with the greatest de-
light, will be the hours spent in converse ^vith God. He knows
that he has sent requests to God, and that he has got back
answers from him. He needs no labored argument to prove to
him the existence of God any more than he needs to have his
own existence proved. He is in daily communication with the
Father of Spirits ; and the secret of the Lord is with him. He
constantly asks and receives.
The Rev. Dr. Murray gives us an illustration of this. He
says : " There was among my people a man in middle life, a
German by birth, and a remarkably simple-hearted, pure-
minded Christian. Whoever was absent, he was always pres-
ent at the place of prayer. One evening early in December,
as I was about retiring to rest, I heard a knock at my door,
and my German friend was introduced, his countenance full
of emotion. On taking his seat, his first words were these :
* My dear pastor, I have come to tell you that the Lord is
about to revive his work here.' Surprised at his appearance
and language, and at the lateness of his visit, I asked him,
*VVhy do you think so ?' He replied as follows : ' About eight
o'clock this evening, I went up to my hay-mow to give hay to
my cattle, and while there the Spirit of God came upon me,
and has kept me there praying until now. I feel that God is
about to revive his work, and I could not go into my family
until I told you.' The entire simplicity and earnestness of
the good man convinced me that God had vouchsafed to visit
his servant. After some conversation we parted, mutually
agreeing to pray and labor for a revival of religion, and to
engage as many as we could to do the same."
The revival did come, and that with much pov/er. The
prayer- meetings became crowded and very solemn. The
Spirit of God accompanied the preaching on Sabbath ; and a
mighty ingathering of souls was given, in answer to that pre^
vailing prayer in the hay-mow.
A poor colored woman, in Ohio, sat in the corner of the
gallery in the house gf God on the Sabbath ; and she would
^4 THE WORLD'S HOPE.
single out some young man and continue to pray for him, till
she saw him come forward and join the church. Then she
would take up the case of another, and another, till in the
course of some years, twenty young men for whom she had
thus prayed, but with whom she was not personally acquainted,
were brought to Christ. No one knew what she was doing ;
but she disclosed the fact to her pastor on her death-bed.
Many of that congregation might have been ashamed to walk
with that humble child of God ; but the Lord of all worlds was
not ashamed of her, but gave her the holy privilege of the
sweetest fellowship and communion with Himself.
As a man, Jesus was constant in prayer. He is a bright ex-
ample to us of what it is to walk with God. He often retired
for converse with his Father, even spending whole nights in
this way. He was always in the spirit of prayer, often praying
sile7itly when in the midst of a throng. This is clear from what
he said at the grave of Lazarus : " I thank thee, O Father,
that thou hast heard me. And I know that thou hearest me
always; but because of those that stand by I said it." Jesus
had been praying there right in that crowd, but they had not
heard his prayer, nor seen any signs of his praying, until they
heard the expression of his thanks for being heard. Thus in
the crowded street, in the steamboat or the rushing railroad
car, in the counting-room or the work-shop, the Christian can
keep up his walk with God and his converse with heaven. The
holy McCheyne said, " It is best to have one hour alojie wif/i
God before engaging in anything else. At the same time, I
must be careful not to reckon communion with God by min-
utes, or hours, or by solitude."
Of that dear servant of God, whose words T have just quoted,
his biographer says, "With him the commencement of all
labor invariably consisted in the preparation of his own soul.
The forerunner of each day's visitations was a calm season of
private devotion during morning hours. The walls of his
chamber were witnesses of his prayerfulness — I believe of his
tears as well as of his cries. The pleasant sound of psalms often
issued from his room at an early hour; then followed the
ENOCH. THE HEAVENLY WALK. 35
reading of the Word for his own [ anctification ; and few have
so fully realized the blessing of the first psalm."
Dear reader, can there be any thing nobler, any thing
more blessed and desirable .than such a walk as this.-* How
paltry the honor of walking with kings and nobles, and the
greatest of earth's sons, compared to this .'' James Janeway,,
writing of his brother John, says : " I once hid myself, that I
might take the more exact notice of the intercourse that I
judged was kept up between him and God. But oh, what a
spectacle did I see ! Surely, a man walking with God, con-
versing intimately with his Maker, and maintaining a holy
familiarity with the great Jehovah. Methought I saw someone
talking with God. Methought I saw a spiritual merchant in
a heavenly exchange, driving a rich trade for the treasures of
another world. Oh, what a glorious sight it was I Methinks I
see him still. How sweetly did his face shine ! Oh, with what
a lovely countenance did he walk up and down — his lips going, .
his body oft reaching up, as if he would have taken his flight
to heaven ! His looks, smiles, and every motion spake him to
be upon the very confines of glory. Oh, had one but known
what he was then feeding upon ! Surely he had meat to eat
which the world knew not of!"
It must be evident to all reflecting minds, that a life of walk-
ing with God must be a happy one. Away from God, man's
soul is in a state of unrest. Man is not made to find happi-
ness in himself, or in the world ; but it so constituted that
neglect of his Creator forms his deepest misery, while His favor
forms his highest bliss. We are not independent. We cannot
stand alone. We do not carry around with us a fountain of
satisfaction and happiness from which we can draw, when
troubled with the soul's deep cravings after good. It is not in
the cramped up, narrow circle of our own individuality that we
can ever find the blessed life ; but only in connection with the
God and Giver of every perfect gift. The soul is a greater and
a nobler thing than we think. It is not mere things that can
satisfy it. Try to fill it with honors, titles, riches, and the vast-
est material possessions, and it resents the insult by enlarging
36 THE WORLD'S HOPE.
Still more the boundary of its desires. Man is a spirit, and
nothing can give him rest, peace, satisfaction, but the love of
the Father of spirits, — the living God himself.
\ When the soul is drawn away from the Great Central object
of its love and adoration, God himself, it is left to wander in
darkness and uncertainty; life gets divided up into a hun-
dred different objects and pursuits, each promising much in the
way of happiness, but giving nothing in the end; the chase
after each new idol becomes hot and eager, till it is found to
be a cheat and a lie ; and then comes the reaction of grief and
disappointment, when the heart almost despairs of ever finding
a resting place, and gives utterance to its yearnings in the cry,
"O, who will show us any good !" Then the great danger is,
that the soul will sink down into a stupid indifference as to th-e
great duties of life — a dogged, sullen silence of the heart, in
which but little is feared and little hoped for ,• and which re-
minds one of the horrid, unnatural stillness that falls upon the
doomed city through which the plague rages, and which little
disturbs but the rattle of the dead-cart on its dreaded round
of duty.
Happy is the man. who, feeling his soul restless as the heav-
ing, turbulent sea, and satisfied that none but God can give
him rest, turns to Him with his whole heart. Leaving the
world's vanities behind, he grasps by faith eternal realities ;
and knows that in finding God through Christ, he has found all
his soul can need. His mind then becom.es calm as the little
lake I have seen surrounded with hills, secure from the tempests
that beat upon the mountain's brow, and reflecting from its
tranquil bosom all that was fair and lovely in the heavens
above. In God's love you will find a peace that will flow on
and on like a river. His presence will give vigor to all your
powers, strengthen all your feebleness, satisfy all your cravings
after a higher life, ennoble your immortality, and with all His
unspeakable perfection, become your portion for ever.
It is often the excuse of worldly minds, when urged to high
attainments in piety, that they have so many of the active duties
of life to attend to, the care of providing for a large family,
ENOCH. THE HEAVENLY WALK. 37
the toil of working for those dependent upon them, that they
have little time for walking with God. But Enoch was the
father of a family of children, and yet his soul soared heaven-
ward, and hence gathered fresh strength for the duties of earth.
It is a delusion to think that we must retire from the active
duties of life and from its responsibilities, in order to be very
pious characters. People have thought if they could retire
to some still, sequestered spot, where they would have noth-
ing to do but to pray and read and meditate upon Divine
things, they could live an uncommonly holy life. They for-
get that religion does not consist of certain mental processes
and high wrought moral feelings, but in obeying God ; and in
obeying Him where he puts us, not where we choose to put
• ourselves. Our religion is to show itself in seeking to make
the world better, not in running away from it ; in conquering
difficulties that lie in the way of duty, not in fleeing from the
duty to avoid the difficulty ; in keeping ourselves unspotted
from the world while in it, not by going out of it ; in short, in
working for God where the work is hardest and most needed ;
in fighting the battles of truth where the conflict rages the
fiercest; in seeking not our own ease and enjoyment by a life
of solitude and concentration of thought upon our own states and
frames and feelings ; but by mingling with the great mass of
humanity, in deepest sympathy with Him who came to seek and
to save the lost.
The piety of Enoch led to deeds of active and self-denying
zeal. He did not set down in pleasant meditation, seeking
only his own happiness and enjoyment, and leaving the wicked
around him to perish. He was a faithful preacher of righteous-
ness. He warned men to flee from the wrath to come.. He
preached Christ unto them. This we learn from Jude, who
says: "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied
of these, saying. Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of
his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all
that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which
they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches
which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." What more
38 THE world's hope.
pointed and searching truths could be uttered in the ears of
sinners than these which this good man uttered ? There was
no yielding to fear of man ; no seeking of their favor instead
of their souls ; no shrinking from bringing out the whole testi-
mony of God. He came from pleading with the Lord to plead
with his fellow-men. His intercourse with Jehovah imparted
to him courage which earth nor hell could shake.
" He was not, for God took him." His work on earth was
ended. He was ripe for glory. Angels longed for his society,
and the faithful who had preceded him to glory stood in joy-
ous expectation to give him a welcome. Without going through
the sufferings of a death-bed, of days and nights of languor
and pain, God took him .home. There, free from a sinning
heart and a sinning world, he could walk with God in the per-'
fection of holiness. That walk is still continued as the ages
roll on ; and as from age to age he has seen vast numbers of
blood-washed souls added to the sinless congregation, doubt-
less his gratitude to the God of all grace has increased, and his
song attained to a loftier rapture.
"On we haste, to home invited,
There with friends to be united
In a surer bond than here ;
Meeting soon, and met for ever !
Glorious Hope ! forsake us never,
For thy glimmering light is dear."
*' In that fair land shall disappear
The shadov^fs which we follow here,
The mist-wreaths of our atmosphere."
NOAH. A PREACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 39
CHAPTER III.
NOAH A PREACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
It is of the very nature of sin to spread like a deadly lep-
rosy. Though in the days of Noah the world was but yet in
the very infancy of its being, yet sin had deepened and widened
as it rolled along its dark course ; till hatred of law and truth
and goodness had become almost universal. The wickedness
of man had grown to gigantic and fearful proportions. That
guilty race were deluged in sin before they were deluged in the
waters of the flood. Had they not been first buried under the
accumulated pollution of their guilt, they would not have been
engulphed in the avenging waters.
In the midst of such an appalling disregard of God, Noah
stands up before us a noble spectacle. His simple and child-
like faith, and his unflinching and persevering obedience are
truly sublime. There is exhibited holy integrity in the midst
of universal corruption , an unwavering adherence to right,
when it was the object of popular contempt and scorn ; the
fullest recognition of God's supreme right to govern and to be
obeyed, when all had sunk into unbelief, and revolted against
His laws. It is only when men are brought into circumstances
that test and try them thoroughly, that we know what they are.
We are told that the man who is tried is blessed ; and the
more severe the trial the more glorious is the triumph of Di-
vme grace when it brings him off unscathed. And to every
man there comes his testing time— his time of trial ; and the
worse the state of society around him, the more conspicuous
becomes the integrity of the man that stands boldly up for
God. Thus Noah stood like a rock amidst the swelling torrent
of abounding sin around him, and not for a moment was the
purity of his purpose shaken. There he stood, a true, faithful,
4© THE V/ORLD^S HOPE.
unbending witness for God ; his meekness under insult ; his
deep piety shining bright in its solitude ; and his undaunted
heroism, exciting our warmest admiration. To thus stand
faithful among the faithless requires something more than a
mere religion of form or ceremony ; it requires the power of
God's mighty grace rooted in the deepest depths of our souls,
and a firm hold upon God's truth which the rudest shocks of
time can never relax.
Noah, in the course of God's providence, was made a public
man — a representative man — whose footsteps were to leave deep
prints upon the sands of time. But, for his public work he got
all his strength and power in secret communion with God. It
is in the depth of bis devotion that we are to find all the source
of his fidelity to the public interests committed to his care. If
he was a man of power it was because he was a man of prayer.
He fought a good fight; but it was because he was clad in ar-
mor burnished in the light of heaven. His trust was in God —
a trust that was not disappointed, — for the same waves of deso-
lation that brought destruction to the wicked, only floated him
nearer to his gracious Friend. All external to him was uproar
and confusion, but all v/ithin him was the sweet calm &f God's
peace. He found a safe retreat, a holy repose, in the center of
all life and blessedness — the favor of Almighty Love. And
though his lot was cast upon evil times he found a sweet calm,
a holy pavilion, under the shadow of the eternal throne.
What though the whole world was against him, when he had
this testimony from the lips of Jehovah, " Thee have I seen
righteous before me in this generation I"
Noah was a man of strong faith. He was warned of God of
a coming event, not likely to take place so far as human wis-
dom could see. For centuries the laws of nature had rolled
on in their undisturbed and placid course. The seasons had
come and gone in regular succession. Rain had fallen only to
bless the earth. The rivers and brooks had borne their waters
safely to the sea ; and that vast world of waters had been kept
m place by the fixed decree, " Hitherto shalt thou go and no
farther." Men began to speak about the fixed laws of Nature,
NOAH. A PREACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 41
and then, as now, felt as if they were so fixed \\\2X God himself
could not change them. It is no nev/ thing for men to wish to
make God the slave of his own laws ; and to argue that things
which God has said shall be done, because they will interfere
with the laws of nature. No doubt there were some of these
very people in those days, who sought to shov/ how impossible
it was that a flood could take place, and laughed to scorn the
warnings of the man of God, as the ravings of fanaticism ; as
they intrenched themselves behind what they called the laws of
nature. But Noah firmly and implicity believed God. The
Lord had said it ; and that was enough for him. The argu-
ments of the philosophers were no more to him than the chirp-
ing of grasshoppers, when the voice of eternal Wisdom was
sounding in his ears.
But it appears that Noah's faith in the first place operated
hy fear. " By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not
seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of
his house." Some people think that if a man has any fears, it
is a sure proof that he has no faith. But this is a mistake ;
for faith often intensifies fear. When the sinner honestly be-
lieves the threatenings of God's law, it drives him to Christ.
When a man believes himself in danger of drowning he takes
a firm grasp of the rope that is flung to him. John Bunyan
says, " I was brought into such a dread and horror of the wrath
of God that I could not help trusting in Christ ; I felt that if
he stood vrith a drawn sword in his hand I must even run right
upon its point sooner than endure my sins." If fear was to
have no part in man's turning to God, why has God put so
many terrors in the Bible .'' Why did one say, in view of the
danger of sinners, " Horror hath taken hold upon me, because
of the wicked that forsake thy laws ".^ Why did Paul say,
" Knowing the terrors of the Lord we pursuade men ".^ No
doubt the great power of the Gospel is love ; but it also utters
its stern voice of terror in the words, " He that believeth not
shall be damned !"
On this subject Dr. Guthrie says, "God indeed tells us of
hell, but it is to persuade us to go to heaven ; and, as a skillful
42. THE world's HOPE,
painter fills the background of his picture with his darker coU
ors, God puts in the smoke of torment and the black clouds of
Sinai, to give brighter prominence to Jesus, the cross of Cal-
vary, and his love to the chief of sinners. His voice of terror
is like the scream of the mother bird when the hawk is in the
sky. She alarms her brood that they may run and hide
beneath her feathers ; and as I believe that God had left that
mother dumb unless he had given her wings to cover her little
ones, I am sure that He who is very pitiful, and has no pleas-
ure in any creature's pain, had never turned our eyes to the
horrible gulf unless for the voice that cries, ' Deliver from go-
ing down to the pit, for I have found a ransom.' We had never
heard of sin had there been no Saviour ; nor of hell had there
been no heaven. * Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof; '
and never had Bible light been flashed before the eyes or the
sleeping felon to wake him from his happy dream, but that he
might see the smiling form of Mercy, and hear her as she says,
with pointing finger, ' Behold, I have set before thee an open
door.' "
Noah's faith produced obedience ; and this is always the
case with true faith. He did not sit down and make excuses,
instead of going to work upon the ark, as he was commanded.
He might have urged the great labor and expense of building
such a huge vessel ; that he was no sailor, and that manned
only by himself and sons, she would be quite unmanageable ;
that so many animals brought together would devour each, and
destroy his family ; but it is not the nature of faith to stagger
at God's word. When God commands us to do anything, that
is the highest evidence that he will give us strength to do it, if
we honestly set about obeying his word. A great trial to his
faith must have been the length of time that elapsed from his
receiving the warning till the penalty was inflicted. In great
forbearance God waited for a hundred and twenty years ;
waited so long that men turned his very patience into an occa-
sion of scorn. As the ark went up in its proportions ; as plank
after plank was added, and still no cloud appeared in the heav-
ens as a token of anything unusual about to take place, the
NOAH. A PREACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 43
wicked doubtless made themselves merry at the expense of this
fanatical preacher, as they would call him. The very men that
assisted him at his work would likely beguile their toil with
many a joke at his folly. But there was to be an end to all
this. The day of doom came slowly but surely. God does
not need to be in a hurry in carrying out his purposes ; for He
is from everlasting to everlasting.
All this time Noah's faith does not seem to have wavered.
His trust in God was strong. We are told of Alexander the
Great, that on one occasion he was sick and his physician had
prepared him a potion. A short time before he had received
a warning letter, telling him that this very potion was to con-
tain poison. When the physician came with the medicine, to
show how much he trusted him, what perfect confidence he had
in his faithfulness, he took the cup and drank it off; while at
the same time he handed him the letter. He thus trusted his
life to his physician, so great was his faith in him. The faith
of the believer thus confides in God, however dark the sur-
roundings. He says, '' Though he slay me, yet will I trust in
kim." I have often thought of faith in the soul when looking
at a ship's compass. The ship might be tossing ever so much»
and the restless sea heaving, and the waves rolling beneath her ^
but the compass still keeps its place and maintains its level.
Plunge and toss here and there the ship might, but with tremb^
ling eagerness the needle always pointed to the pole. So is
faith in the soul of the believer. Cares like a wild deluge might
come, and his frail vessel be driven by fierce wirtds ; but faith
steadily turns to God — to Him who can rebuke the tempest and
make a great calm. " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed upon thee." O how miserable are they
who have no trust in God, no principle of holy confidence to
comfort them amid the trials of life ! Wretched their living
and their dying. When Rachel, the famous tragic actress, was
dying, she ordered all her jewls and trinkets to be brought to
her bed-side. They were souvenirs which she had received
from nearly all the crowned heads of Europe, and others of
her admirers ; and therefore reminded her of some of her most
44 THE WORLD'S HOPE.
brilliant triumphs. But they could give no comfort to the poor
soul on the verge of eternity. She exclaimed : " Why have I
to part Vv'ith all this so soon ?" and expired. This Queen of
Tragedy, as she was called, dying without God and hope, is a
sad evidence of how little the world can do for its worshipers.
There is a wail of bitter despair in the last words, or among
the last that she ever wrote : " In a week from now I shall begin
to be devoured by the worms and the biographers."
The faith of Noah led him to an impartial obedience. " He
did according to all that the Lord commanded him." Ke did
not pick and choose among the commands and precepts of the
Lord; obeying some and rejecting others, according as they
suited his notions, his prejudices, or his interests. This is al-
ways a fruit of true faith. It asks, " Lord, what wouldst thou
have me to do V and as soon as it knows the Master's will it is
prepared to do it, whatever hardship or sacrifice it may involve.
We must be careful and conscientious in our search for the
path of duty, and then be prompt in following it. When the
Indians in our forests are in pursuit of an object upon which
they have set their hearts, see how careful they are to discover
the path or trail. They will get down upon their knees to ex-
amine every little bent twig, every faint foot-print upon the
grass or the withered leaves, every slight indication of the path
they should take ; and when satisfied, av/ay they go with in-
creased speed. If Christians v/ould get upon their knees and
study their Bibles to knov\^ God's will, with the same eagerness
and diligence, they would not neglect so many duties, and turn
into so many forbidden paths as they do. A good man once
made the remark, that religion in its beginning interests us al-
most entirely about ourselves ; that in its progress it engages us
about our fellow-men ; but that in its advanced stages it leads
us to consult in all things the glory and honor of God. This
is what the faith of Noah led to, and what strong faith always
leads to. As good old Flavel says, " Faith is the means of our
spifitual livelihood and subsistence ; all the other graces, like
birds in a nest, depend upon v/hat faith brings in to them. It
provides our ordinary food, and our extraordinary cordials.'
NOAH. A PREACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 45
It is said of Noah, that by his faith and his consistent action,
" he condemned the world." This he did not only as a preacher
of righteousness, but as a holy, consistent servant of the true
God. Had he not uttered one word, every nail he drove in
the ark would have been a condemning sound to the ungodly.
As they saw him going to and fro about his work ; as they saw
how calmly and bravely he bore himself under their insults ;
and how meekly he lifted up his eyes to God for help when un-
der peculiar troubles ; it was a condemning power to their
guilty consciences. It said, " God is true, though every man
prove false; and upon his word I respose." In like manner
sinners are still condemned by everything around them that
speaks of God. The return of the holy Sabbath ; the sound
of the church-going bell ; the open door of the sanctuary ; the
sight of the neglected Bible lying upon the shelf; the sound
of prayer and praise floating to his car from a neighbor's fam-
ily altar ; the sight of a holy man passing on the street ; all
speak with condemning emphasis to the guilty heart. They
tell him of time v/asted, privileges neglected, a precious soul
degraded, and God insulted.
But the hour of vengeance has at last come. The elements
of nature, at the voice of their Creator assume a gloomy aspect
and come armed with destruction. It requires no great stretch
of imagination to think of Noah now making his last appeal to
the guilty, with trembling voice, quivering lips, and tearful eyes ;
nor to think of them turning away from him with louder scoffs
and deeper insults than ever before. But Hark ! what is that
sound that arrests their departing footsteps "? It is the door of
the ark being shut, not by the hand of Noah nor by any of his
family, but by the same hand that planted the stars in their or-
bits and that launches the thunderbolt. " And the Lord shut
him in." Now hope is dead ; the last golden opportunity past ;
the last appeal of love made ; even God's great forbearance
with that vile race is exhausted, and swift destruction cometh
among them. As the waters rise higher and higher, sullenly
and remorsely chasing the fleeing sinners to the highest moun-
tains, no doubt conscience^ from a lethargy deep and death-
46 THE world's hope.
like, sprung up into life and uttered its solemn denunciations.
And as they are compelled to abandon the last spot that prom-
ised any safety ; and looked abroad, as one says, " upon a
shoreless ocean, that from the center to the streaming poles,
tumbled round the globe;" how gladly would they have list-
ened to one more offer of mercy from Noah's lips, or had him
offer for them one prayer for mercy. But it is now for ever too
late. The sweet voice of mercy was hushed amid the stern
and imperative demands of justice.
Meantime how safe and secure was Noah under the protec-
tion of the Almighty ! After the Lord shut the door, his foes
were all left behind him and all was peace within. He was
now the guest of his heavenly Friend who would permit no
evil to befall him. A Divine hand was now upon the helm ;
an All Wise Pilot had now charge of the vessel freighted with
the hope of a world. I lately read a thrilling narrative of a
ship rescued from the jaws of destruction by the firmness and
wisdom of a good pilot. All the canvass she could bear he
spread to the gale, and amid the silence of an awful suspense
he drove her close up to the foaming breakers, till all trembled
in fear of instant destruction. Then at the right moment,
quick as thought, he put the ship on another tack, till she ap-
proached two dark, threatening rocks, nearer and nearer, till
the sea was boiling like a cauldron under her bows ; but safely
she passed between the rocks, and again headed toward the
foaming breakers. This time she was permitted to approach
so close that it seemed impossible she could be saved ; but
again, a': the right moment, he turned the laboring and strain-
ing ship safely ; and soon had her lying in the calm harbor.
And no sooner was the order given to let go the anchor, than
the captain sprang forward and caught the pilot in his arms ;
the sailors and passengers rushed up to express their gratitude ;
some hanging around his neck, some shaking his hands, some
embracing his knees, while tears streamed over the weather-
beaten faces of men that had braved untold dangers.
So we have a good Pilot who will guide us in the right way
to the harbor of rest. It may ^eem to irs, at times, as if we
NOAH. A PREACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 47
were being driven upon the rocks of destruction ; but that is
because of our ignorance and unbelief. When the lights of our
households go out one after another, and sadness and desolation
gather around our hearthstones ; when health fails, and busi-
ness fails, and friends fail, and all around us seems hopeless ;
it may, for the moment, seem as if the Pilot had deserted us,
and was letting our frail bark be the sport of chance, the play-
thing of the tempest ; but it is not so. Above the hoarse roar
of the storm comes the cheering voice, " It is I, be not afraid."
As the devoted Judson said, " Every cup stirred by the finger
of God becomes sweet to the humble believer." O believer,
faint not, fear not, for the harbor is just in sight ! You will
soon cast your anchor within the veil, amid peace and eternal
rest.
Noah's household shared the blessings conferred upon him.
" Come, thou and all thy house, into the ark." It is true, reli-
gion is not a hereditary, but a personal matter. The piety of
the parent cannot suffice for the child ; and yet there are un-
told privileges connected with a godly parentage. Infinitely
better to have a father rich in faith, than rich in money ; with
treasure laid up in heaven, than perishable treasure laid up
upon earth. To have the fervent prayer of a righteous parent
uttered over our cradle ; the memory of a holy, pious home
that sheltered our early years ; and the recollection of the con-
sistent, saintly lives of the loved on-es who watched over out
childhood's weakness, to carry through life with us ; is infinitely
better than to have riches, honors and titles descend to us
with the remembrance of a godless youth, and the dreadful
curse of a neglected soul. There are multitudes to-day in
heaven, who were brought to Jesus in answer to the prayers of
pious parents ; and now united families, safe from the storms
and dangers of life, they engage in the sinless worship of
eternity.
Parents, are you trying to take your offspring to the ark of
safety along with you? A minister tells us that when on a
preaching tour at Inverness, Scotland, he was called upon to
visit the cell of a murderer condemned to death. He found
48 THE world's hope.
him loaded with chains, and sitting upon a pallet of straw. He
could not get the wretched man to look up, nor to answer a
single question. When the minister asked if he wished prayer
to be offered for him, he muttered his consent. The criminal's
mother had been to see him only a few hours before, and to
her he said, " Mother, if it had not been for you, I should not
have been here!" She replied, " I'm sure I never told you to
do any harm." With bitter emphasis he rejoined, "/ am sure
yoit never told me to do any goody What a dreadful reproach
was this to that mother, and how like a dagger it must have
pierced her heart ! It is not enough that the parent teaches no
wrong, he inust give early and timely religious instruction ;
made pointed and practical by a holy life.
The children of the pious are in great danger of hardening
their hearts under their privileges. When our very familiarity
with solemn truth and eternal things makes us indifferent to
them, it is a fearful sign of coming damnation. If one of
Noah's children had said, " I am sick and tired of hearing
about this flood, and of the sight of that old ark ; I believe it
is only a delusion of father's brain ; and I mean to pay no at-
tention to what he says, and live as other people around me
do," this would have been a sure sign of an abandoned soul,
lost to all good ; and such an one would have sunk in the angry
waters under a load of aggravated guilt, enough to sink a
world. Only think of sinking into hell, of spending eternity
with the recollection of a mother's prayers and a father's in-
structions wrapped up in the soul ; and counting over innu-
merable opportunities of salvation enjoyed but neglected, if
not despised.
Let us now seek to draw some lessons from the narrative of
Noah's life.
First, we learn that God's goodness, his long forbearance,
and his gracious Fatherhood, will not hinder him from punish-
ing incorrigible sinners. Some would represent God's love as
being of such a nature as to exclude all punishment of sin, all
acts of his impartial justice. This arises from low thoughts of
God's character. They measure God by themselves and
NOAH. A TREACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 49
reason as to v/hat he ought to do, from what they think they
would do themselves. This is an old m.istake of humanity,
and God takes notice of it with high disapprobation. " Thou
thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself." He
alone can tell the evil of sin as committed against infinite
purity; as contempt poured upon a perfectly holy law and
a righteous authority. It is not for us to dictate to God what
he ought or ought not to do. We are criminals in his holy
sight, and when the criminal criticises the law that condemns
him and calls it too strict and its penalty too severe, the wise
judge does not much regard such utterances. In no govern-
ment is it left to those who have broken the law to say what
their punishment is to be. God is our Creator, our Preserver,
our Benefactor. All that we have, all that we enjoy, every
avenue of pleasure that we possess, we owe it all to Him,
And the evil of a whole life of sin against such a Being is so
great, that we can no more form an adequate conception of it,
than we can measure the heavens with a span.
It is absolute folly, then, to say that God cannot punish the
wicked with the pains of hell, because he is represented in the
Bible as the universal Father. God is a moral Governor, as
well as a Father. He is the great Lawgiver and Judge, He
has holy laws to execute and sin to punish ; and unless he does
so his government v/ould be at an end, and universal anarchy
would rage through the universe. It is the merest driveling,
therefore, to object to the punishment of hell, as revealed in
the Bible, by saying, " Could a loving father see his child in
torment, and yet have the power to relieve him, and not do
so ?" God can do many things in infinite justice that it would
be wrong for us to do. It would have been wrong for Noah
to have drowned one of those scoffers that mocked at him ; but
God drowned a world. It would have been wrong for Lot to
have destroyed his sons-in-law ; but God did it in strict jus-
tice. It would be wrong for us to set fire to a neighbor's house,
to a ship at sea, or to a city, knowing the dreadful suffering
that must ensue ; but God in his providence does this, or
permits it to be done, and who can impugn his righteous ways ?
so
THE WORLD S HOPE.
It would be wrong for any man to undermine a neighbor's
house, so that he and his family would be buried in the ruins ;
but God sends his earthquakes rum.bling through the deep
foundations of nature, and buries thousands in the debris. Is
not God, therefore, a God of love ? Certainly he is ; but he
has a vast universe to govern in justice and wisdom ; and
never do we act more absurdly than when we undertake to
judge of Him by ourselves.
Another lesson we may learn is, that God has provided an
ark of safety for sinners now, into which they may flee and be
safe. There is a New Testament ark as well as an Old Testament
one. We, like Noah, are warned of God of coming judg-
ments. We are told of a day of vengeance, a day of wrath,
that is sure to come upon the ungodly. The Lord is coming
in flaming fire, to take vengeance on them that know not God,
and that obey not the Gospel. And because in infinite mercy
he delays his coming, to give the world a longer space for re-
pentance, sinners infer from this that he is not coming at all.
In the public papers, and in every haunt of sin, as well as in
many of the halls of science, so called, men curl their lips with
scorn at the warnings given them, and utter many a jest, and
pen many a witty paragraph, at the expense of those who warn
them of the coming King and the coming doom. But this is
nothing new. It is as old as sin. It is false as the father of
lies. It ruined the old world ; it will ruin you.
Sinner ! I invite you to an ark of safety. You do not re-
quire to build it, it is built already. You do not need to wait
one moment, it is finished and perfect. To enter it is no
doubtful experiment, for it has already saved millions ; it can
save you. That ark is the atonement of the Lord Jesus. The
moment you enter it you will have peace and assurance. You
will know that you are safe. Did not Noah feel confident that
he was safe v/hen God shut him in 1 Some professing Chris-
tians walk in doubt and uncertainty, and call it humility. They
grope in the darkness of unbelief, and then give their doubts
and tormenting fears a holy name; thus calling their evil good.
But the Gospel does not, by a .single word, encourage doubt or
i
NOAH. A PREACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 51
uncertainty. It brings, when believed, not trouble, but peace ;
not anxiety but rest. It enables the soul to come and claim
his sonship, and to take his place joyfully in the family of God.
A missionary in India once knelt beside a dying man, whom
he supposed was still in the darkness of heathenism, and
whispered in his ear, "What is your hope.?" The dying man,
with a great effort, said : " The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth
from all sin." Having uttered these words, he laid down his
head and died. The missionary wondered where he could
have got this knowledge ; but as he looked at the body he saw
a piece of paper grasped tightly in one of the hands. It was
carefully taken out, and proved to be a single leaf of the
Bible on which the above words were found. This precious
soul had found the ark of safety.
There is room for all in that ark. None need stay away be-
cause they are sinners. It was for such it was made. Our
sins are our only qualification to enter it. Our only merit is
our demerit. You may know all about this ark, but that will
not save you. You may go round it and be able to tell its
dimensions and count every plank ; but only those who are tJt
the ark are to be saved. O sinner, enter now ! The Judge is
at the door. Already we can hear the sound of his chariot-
wheels. Convulsions and revolutions, uproar and confusion
among the nations of the earth, herald his approach.
Noah's ark landed him safely on Mount Ararat, but the ark
of salvation will land us on the Mount of Glory. There, amid
scenes of unimagined blessedness, we shall look over the way
that the Lord has led us ; and in that blessed city, that heaven-
ly Jerusalem, that metropolis of the universe, praise God forever
receive your spirit as it leaves the body, amidst the prayers and
vows of your affectionate parent, that he m.ay place it in per-
fect blessedness vv^ith himself. There you shall still be the
consolation and support of my old age, not indeed by your
presence and conversation, but bequeathing me, when you de-
part, the presence and the blessing of the Almighty." To this
Isaac is represented as answering : " I should be unrworthy of
life were I capable of showing reluctance to obey the will of
my father and my God. It were enough for me that my earthly
parent alone called me to the altar, how much more when my
heavenly Father re-demands his own .''"
See Isaac, then, bound upon the altar. The father's hand is
lifted up and firmly grasping the glittering blade, when the
voice from heaven at once arrests the descending blow. " Lay
not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him."
God had indeed provided himself a lamb for a burnt ofi'ering.
A ram was seen caught in a thicket by the horns; and vv'ith
Vv'hat overflowing gratitude must that offering have been pre-
sented by both father and son ! The descent from that Mount
was a joyful one.
ABRAHAM. THE FRIEND OF GOD. 65
This narrative has been much criticised by infidels; and
there seems to me to be, on the part of some Christian writers,
an unnecessary haste to rush in with supposed reasons, and
seeming apologies for the Divine conduct. Who are v/e that
v.-e should set ourselves up to explain God's motives for doing
this, or not doing that ! The High and Lofty One that inhab-
iteth eternity, needs not our explanations and our apologies for
his conduct. We are to examine the evidences that He gives
us that the Bible is a revelation from. Himself And these are
full and overpowering. They are such as have defied the
attacks of infidelity in every age ; and now, amid the light of
the present century, stand firmer than ever. These evidences
are such as to convince any honest mind, when candidly exam-
ined, that the Bible is a revelation to man from God ; and hav-
ing received it as such, let us believe its teachings and facts,
whether w^e can understand the reasons for them or not. It
seems to me beneath the dignity of truth to run after every
empty caviler with explanations, and almost apologies, for Je-
hovah's acts. And generally its only result is to build them
up in their pride and to make them think themselves of im-
mense consequence. Let it be ours, like Abraham, to believe
because God has spoken ; knowing that many things that must
be dark to our puny minds, are bright and clear to the Divine
wisdom.
It is on the same principle that some are ready to gather up
every little crumb of praise that certain distinguished men,
many of them very bad men, choose to drop in favor of Christ-
ianity. One vile sinner, a man of great talent, no doubt, uttered
a few words of praise of Christ's character ; and a fallen and
exiled warrior, v/ho never seems to have cared for any God
but himself, does the same; and their remarks are taken up
and reiterated, as if Christianity and its Author were laid under
great obligation to these men for their condescending praise.
We are told of a great statesman, who perhaps never prayed in
his life, expressing his admiration for the Lord's prayer as a
wonderful composition ; and of a great poet and a great sin-
ner, too, extolling the pure morality of the Bible. All this
66 THE ^V^^RLD'S HOPE.
subserviency to wicked and infidel men is uncalled for. God
will vindicate his own character, and carry on his own cause,
without going to the devil's servants to borrow capital for that
purpose. " Is not my word a fire and a hammer .^ saith the
Lord/' " Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit,"
We have seen the power and triumph of faith in leading
Abraham to give up his own will to the will of God. All sin
consists in opposition to that will ; while, on the other hand, all
holiness is to be found in a ready obedience to the known will
of Jehovah. It is especially in our will that our individuality
lies ; and when that is given up to our Heavenly Father, it car-
ries the whole power of the soul with it. Man may wish to
make some reserve, and think that he can be religious without
such an entire surrender of his whole will to God, but the
faith that works by love, leads the soul to say, '* I am not my
own ; I am bought with a price," It is willing at the command
of God, to bring forth its beloved Isaacs and bind them upon
the altar of sacrifice. The trial may be severely felt ; it may
tear its way through every fiber of his nature : but faith and
love enable him to say, " Not my will, but Thine be done."'
When the patriarch returned home with his son still alive,
with the approving voice of God sounding in his ears, and his
own conscience echoing that voice, we would be ready to say
that his troubles are now all over. He is rich in worldly
goods, his domestic relations are happy, and it seems as if a
serene old age is closing in upon him without a single cloud
in his sky. But life to all is a mixed state, a state of joys and
sorrows, of pains and pleasures, of sunshine and cloud, of storm
and calm. The Lord has still in reserve for his aged servant
sorrows and trials, to keep his faith vigorous and bright, and
to make him feel that earth is not his home, and to lead him
to look more earnestly for that " city that hath foundatio'^is,
whose builder and maker is God."
Accordingly we find that one day there is great sorrow in the
vale of Merare. The face of the father of the faithful is heavy
with sorrow. Death has entered his happy dwelling, and he
stands gazing in speechless anguish upon the fixed and placid
ABRAHAM. THE FRIEND OF GOD. 67
features of his dead wife. Yes ; the loved one who had been
so long the light of his dwelling, who had come with him from
her native land, who had been his faithful companion alike in
poverty and riches, who had shared with him his wanderings
and his trials, and had been the earthly comfort of his life, now
sleeps her last, long sleep. We do not hear that he wept when
the sacrifice of his son was demanded ; but he weeps now.
And those tears are honorable to him, and a silent tribute to
the worth of the loved one that is gone. Gloomy to him now
are the scenes of Kerjath-arba.
There are few sights more affecting than the utter sadness
and desolation of an old man, when the wife of his youth is
taken away. He feels that a part of himself is gone. Others
may be kind, but the one that understood all his ways and an-
ticipated all his wants, is gone ; and he sits for hours in a
helpless kind of state, gazing at the vacant chair. And when
we are told that he has soon been called to join the loved one
in heaven, we heave a sigh of relief.
In commenting upon Abraham's faith, the apostle Paul says :
" For what saith the Scripture ? Abraham believed God, and it
was counted unto him for righteousness." He then goes on in
a most masterly argument to prove that faith, not works, is the
only method of justification before God. He shows that if he
was justified by works he would have had something in which
to glory before God ; but that, being justified by faith, his sal-
vation was all of grace, and consequently cut off all possibility
of glorying in self Abraham was not merely the father and
head of the Israelitish people according to the flesh , but he
was the head of a spiritual people, that is such as had his
faith. " They who are of faith, the same are the children of
Abraham." In our Lord's days on earth, he met with many
self^deceivers, who, building upon a hereditary religion, sup-
posed they v/ere safe because they had Abraham for their
father ; but our adorable Savior rebuked them in the terrible
words, "Ye are of your father the Devil, for his works ye do."
It was revealed to the Patriarch that a descendant of his, ac-
cording to the flesh, was to be the Savior of the world. He
68 THE WORLD S HOPE
believed in that promised Savior, and was justified tlirough
that faith ; and so are all who have the same faith, The reve-
lation was dim and indistinct; but notwithstanding he saw
Christ's day, though afar off, and was glad. He believed
simply because God had promised. That was the only ground
he had to rest upon, for everything of an outward kind was
against his faith.
If Abraham had such firm faith, even amid the dark and
shadowy dispensation in which he lived,, how should this re-
buke the unbelief of those who live amid the blaze of Gospel
light! The gospel trumpet blows in the ear of the slumbering
sinner, many a warning blast ; but he heeds them not. Faith
is the same now that it ever was. The truth to be believed
is the same. The hell to be escaped from is the same. The
Savior that alone can save from sin and its consequence, is
the same. But the light we possess now is so much brighter,
the means of grace are so much more abundant, the calls to
flee from the wrath to come are so much more pressing, that
he who rejects them all, will go into eternity with a load of
guilt upon his soul so deep and damning that we feel lost
amid the very horror of the thought I
" I worship Thee, sv/eet will of God,
And all thy ways adore ;
And every day I live I long
To love Thee more and more.
" Man's weakness waiting upon God,
It's end can never miss ;
For man on eartli no -work can do
More angel-like than this.
" He always v/ins who sides with God,
To him no chance is lost ;
God's will is sweetest to him when
It triumphs at his cost.
"Ill, that God blesses, is our good,
And unblest good is ill,
And all is right that seems most wrong,
If It be his dear will !
" When obstacles and trials seem
Like prison-walls to be,
I do the little I can do,
And leave the rest to Thee."
ISAAC. THE CHILD OF PROMISE. 69
CHAPTER V.
ISAAC. THE CHILD OF PROMISE.
Abraham died and was gathered to his people. " One gen-
eration passeth away, and another cometh." Such is the law
of our being, and from it there is no appeal. We find ourselves
surrounded by the monuments of past generations, and know
assuredly that we are hastening on to join them in their long
sleep of death. Abraham, after his busy life of care and trial,
sleeps in death beside his beloved Sarah ; every jarring sound
hushed, every storm blown over, and resting in hope of a
blessed resurrection. The dust of God's saints is precious
in his sight, and is safely guarded under the care of his Om-
nipotence. Whether they repose in their ancestral sepulchers,
or in far distant lands, laid in their graves by stranger hands ;
whether they sink into ocean's unfathomable depths, or are re-
duced to ashes by devouring fire ; at the appointed time their
Lord shall bring them forth in glory and honor.
Abraham is laid to rest in the cave of Machpelah. The
grave that he bought from strangers is all that remains to him.
As Dr. Bonar says :
" Only a tomb, no more !
A rock-hewn sepulcher,
And tkis, and this is all that's thine,
Fair Canaan's mighty heir !
" Only a tomb, no more !
A future resting-place,
When God shall lay thee down, and bid
All thy long wanderings cease,
*' This cave and field, — no more, —
Canst thou thy dwelling call ;
That land of thine, — plains, hills, woods, streams, —
The stranger has it all !
70 THE world's hope,
" Thy altar and thy tent
Are all that thou hast here ;
With these content, thou passest on,
A homeless wanderer.
*' Thy life unrest and toil ;
Thy course a pilgrimage ;
Only in death thou goest down,
To claim thy heritage ; —
*' A heritage which death
Shall seal to thee for aye,
A resurrection-heritage
When all things pass away.
"A home of endless peace,
Beyond these hills of strife ;
When these old rocks give up their dead,
And death shall end in life.
" A heritage of life,
Beyond this guarded glof>m,
A kingdom, not a field or cave :
A city, not a tomb."
The expression, ''gathered unto his people," is one which is
often used regarding the good men of the Bible. It has been
commonly supposed to mean being buried with their kindred ;
but it has a far higher meaning than this. In this sense it
would not apply to Abraham at all, for his people and he were
buried far from each other. The same expression is applied to
Jacob when he died in Egypt, and it is applied also to Moses,
though buried in an unknown grave. It refers, no doubt, to
the gathering of happy souls in heaven ; to the immediate and
happy reunion of those friends who had for a short time been
separated by death. It was the waiting and joyous host of
glorified spirits in heavenly mansions, to whom they were gath-
ered, when the burden of life was laid down, and the body
went to the tomb. It has been complained that there is but
little evidence of immortality being known in those early days ;
but it should be remembered, that not having a written revela-
tion, the Lord Jesus, in a bodily appearance of some kind,
showed himself to his servants and spoke with them ; and that
ISAAC. THE CHILD OF PROMISE.
71
angels often communicated with men, so that a constant inter-
course was kept up between heaven and earth. They walked
with God, they lived near heaven and knew that there was but
a thin veil between them and the souls of their departed
friends.
Compared with his father, and his son Jacob, there is but
little known of Isaac. He was not called to pass through any
very stirring scenes, and therefore does not fill a large place in
the sacred history. He was not a man of much force of char-
acter, nor of much power of intellect. He had a plastic,
yielding, amiable disposition ; easily acted upon by others, and
but too ready to be governed by those that he ought to have
governed.
But he was a devoutly pious man. The pious example of
his parents, as well as their instructions, were not lost upon
him. His father was one who knew how to train up children
for heaven, as we learn from Divine testimony. " I know him,
that he will command his children and his household after
him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord." And where
this is done, it is a rare case when children are not converted
to God early in life.
On this point the Rev. Richard Cecil, speaking from expe-
rience, says, "Where parental influence does not convert, it
hampers ; it hangs on the wheels of evil, I had a pious
mother, who dropped things in my way : I could never rid my-
self of them. I was a professed infidel ; but then I liked to
be an infidel in company, rather than alone. I was wretched
when by myself. These principles, maxims, and data, spoiled
my jollity. With my companions I could sometimes stifle them ;
like embers, we kept one another warm. Besides, I was here a
sort of hero. I had beguiled several of my associates into my
opinions, and I had to maintain a character before them. But
I could not divest myself of my better principles. Parental
influence thus cleaves to a man ; it harasses him — it throws
itself continually in his way. My mother would talk to me,
and weep as she talked. I flung out of the house with an oath,
but wept when I got into the street. Sympathy is the power-
72 THE world's HOPE.
fill engine of a mother ; it is of incalculable importance to
obtain a hold on the conscience ; children have a conscience,
and it is not seared, though it is evil. Bringing the eternal
world into their view — planning and acting with that world be-
fore us, — thus gains at length such a hold on them, that, with
all the infidel poison which they may afterwards imbibe, there
are few children who at night in their chamber — in the dark
— in a storm of thunder, will not fear. They recollect that
ETERNITY which Stands in their way. It rises up before them ;
it goads them ; it thunders in their ears."
Isaac chose early the religion of heaven — that which is
good for body and soul, for the old and for the young, for the
rich and for the poor, for time and for eternity. There are
many who are greatly alarmed at any unusual display of devo-
tedness on the subject of religion. They will speak in the
most rapturous terms of a devoted friend, a devoted patriot, a
man devoted to the interests of science and education, but a
man wholly devoted to God and to the promotion of his truth
in the world, they are ready to set down as the victim of a weak
delusion, if not of a pernicious fanaticism. The reason is, the
enmity of their hearts to spiritual things, and the blinding
influence of sin. The things that are seen and are tem-
poral fill up their whole little field of vision. They grope
about in the darkness of a mere animal existence, totally unap-
preciative of the eternal realities and the surpassing glories
which God spreads out before the eye of faith.
In seeking after a likeness of God and entire conformity to
his will ; in giving attention to things infinite and eternal ; in
trying to save immortal souls, and win a crown of glory that
fades not away ; hov/ is it possible for us to be too earnest ?
See what a holy earnestness marked our Lord's career from the
manger to the cross. Like a sacred flame it glowed in his
bosom and kept him continually busy for the salvation of the
world — preaching, praying, weeping, working, never loitering.
How carefully every moment was laid out in his Father's busi-
ness ! So devoted was he to the work he had undertaken, so
eager for the salvation of men^ that he longed for his great
ISAAC. THE CHILD OF PROMISE. 73
baptism of blood — for all the big waves and billows of God's
wrath that sinners deserved, to go over him. He made haste
to the work of suffering for us, and was almost impatient for
the dark hour of sacrifice to arrive. Even the designs of the
guilty traitor, Judas, seemed too slow for his longings of love,
for he said, "What thou doest do quickly." The apostles
caught up the same spirit of their Divine Master, and turned
the world upside down by the fiery fervor of their zeal. Steady
as the sun in the heavens, they went on to the accomplishment
of their great work, and as has been said, " struck the kingdom
of darkness with blows that resounded through the universe."
Everything, however, is not Christian earnestness that passes
under that name. There is often an earnestness of mere sym-
pathy that is awakened by contact with others. We are greatly
influenced, at least for a time, by those with whom we asso-
ciate. To some extent we catch their spirit, imitate their ac-
tions, and sometimes the very tones of their voice. For
example, here is a young convert, and circumstances lead him
into connection with a church where, in their meetings, they
shout, and clap their hands, and loudly respond to the peti-
tions expressed in the public prayers ; in short, are very de-
monstrative in the expression of their feeling. He soon learns
to do as the others do ; not because of his religion, for if that was
the case then all who had real religion would do the same; but
simply by the power of sympathy with those with whom he
associates. Had circumstances carried the same man into
connection with the evangelical Society of Friends, he would
have been ready to sit for hours in meeting without a word
being spoken either by himself or others. And yet he might
have as much real religious earnestness in the one case as in the
other.
There is also an earnestness that is merely constitutional.
It is bom with the man. There is a warmth and a fiery fervor
about all that he says and does. There is certain animal ex-
citement which he throws into all that he undertakes, and which
surrounds him with a perpetual tempest. Now, there is no
religion in all this. It is true, religion may take hold of his
74 THE WORLD'S HOPS.
natural temperament, and sanctify and direct it, and make ft
extensive!)^ useful ; just as religion takes the caution and cool
deliberation of the more lymphatic temperament, and makes
them useful. Still there is much that goes by the name of re-
ligious earnestness, in such persons, that is only the result of
nature, not of grace — of feeling, not of principle.
There is also a zeal of mere sentimentality. It will only
work for Jesus when a romantic glow — a publicity and dis-
tinction attend upon the work. If they could act in the eyes
of the world, if they could encounter great perils, and come
out of them spoken of as gi'eat heroes ; recorded as such in
poetry and sermon and public speeches, with what an ambi-
tious burst of zeal would they go into Christ's service. But to
live unknown, to suffer and sacrince, and toil on for Jesus, till
we die unhonored and unknown ; and receive almost cur first
word of approval from the lips of Jesus himself, as we stand
before his throne, requires solid principle, not mere sentiment.
Yet faith teaches us that every act of love, every kind wordy
every tear dropped, every prayer uttered for Jesus, reports
itself before the splendor of the eternal throne. The timid
word spoken for the Savior in the midst of mocking folly, is
heard by him in heaven above the sound of seven thunders. It
is registered in heaven's imperishable record.
True religious earnestness is fed from the unfailing fountain
of love to God. There is more felt inwardly than is repre-
sented outwardly. It lives not by the breath of human ap-
plause, but by the favor of God. At the cross it sees the whole
truths of the Bible, the revelation of God to man for centuries,
condensed into one,word — salvation, — and that a free salvation ;
then it sees the long procession of lost souls as they go to their
eternal prison-house, and is roused to v.^ork v/hile he may to
save those yet in the land of hope. Onward such a man goes,
in his career of usefulness ; Christ interceding above him, the
Holy Spirit interceding within him, the heavenly Jerusalem tO
vdrich he goes, with its pearly gates and golden streets shining
before him, and crying to a mocking world, " O, flee from the
wrath to come !"
ISAAC. THE CHILD OF PROMISE. 75
There is a little incident mentioned in the history of the pa-
triarch that shows us one source of his deep piety. " And
Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide." Vvliat
a beautiful picture of a good man holding fellowship with God
through his works. As the dusky twilight creeps over the face
of nature, and a sweet stillness and repose settling down upon
all things around him, deep thoughts of the future and of eter-
nal things fill his mind ; and as some of the silent stars begin
to appear, he feels with the Psalmist, "What is man that thou
art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou visitest him .?"
The age in which we live is one of many and blessed activi-
ties for Christ. The Word of God, that blessed Book whose
leaves are for the healing of the nations, is circulated by mill-
ions. Missionaries are sent to every land, and toil on amid
hardships and dangers, showing that the martyr-spirit has not
died out. The habitations of sin and festering moral pollution
are entered by the message of salvation, and from a darkness
worse than that of heathenism, millions of children are gath-
ered, and the light of heaven poured upon their dark minds.
We live in a wonderful age, and should bless God for what our
eyes see and our ears hear of the Lord's goodness.
But there is one great peril we are in from the very nature
of our age. There is not enough of secret religion. Like
Isaac, we should be in meditation and prayer and self-exami-
nation, alone before the Searcher of hearts. There is a rush
and a bustle and an excitement about our religious efforts, that
is apt to make us forget God, at the very tim.e we are speaking
of him and engaged in his work. In our large cities, especially,
there are thousands of the most active Christians, whose Sab-
baths are spent in a kind of exhausting religious dissipation.
From early in the morning till late at night, they are engaged
in public services, — prayer-meetings, mission schools, hearing
sermons, seeking out wonders; till tired nature sinks under the
labor ; and it seems a mockery to call the sacred day a day of
rest. No time for sweet meditation, for examining our own
hearts and their hidden motives, for baring the soul before the
Omniscient eye, and praying, " Search me and try me, O God,
and see if there be any wicked way in me !"
7G THE WORLD'S HOPE.
This Is all wrong. We v/ould do more for God in public,
by being more with God in private. If the orator speaks
with power in public it is because his mind has been disci-
plined and stored with knowledge in the solitude of his study.
There it is that he gathers up those elements of power by
which he is able to thrill the hearts and sway the minds of
vast multitudes. A religion of public activity must be
backed up by frequent seasons of meditation, heart searching,
and prayer. In the days of Elijah the cause of truth and
holiness was brought very low, the altars of religion were over-
turned, the preaching of God's servants was prohibited, and it
seemed as if the emissaries of evil were about to triumph. The
Prophet was a bold, daring man, not accustomed to cower be-
fore the frowns of wickedness ; but he felt that he could do
nothing in his own strength. He therefore retired to Mount
Horeb for fasting and prayer, and for pouring out the com-
plaint of his burdened spirit before the Lord ; and there he
heard that " still small voice " that filled him with a confidence
before which systems of error tottered and fell.
But why refer to the example of others when we have that
of the great Master. Jesus did not neglect public meetings.
It was his custom to go to the house of the Lord. He was
regular in his observance of the public means. His activity
was such as to put our most active Christians to the blush ;
and yet he retired into remote places to spend whole nights in
prayer. He commands us to enter our closet and shut the
door, assuring us that the listening ear of God will be open to
our every word. " Come my people, enter thou into thy
chambers, and shut thy doors about thee ; hide thyself as It
were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast."
We have an inspired testimony borne to Isaac's faith. "By
faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to
come." His faith is seen in the fact that he goes on to dispose
of the land of Canaan as if it were already In his possession.
Everything outwardly looked unfavorable. As yet the only
foothold which he had In that land was a grave ; but God had
promised, and there he rests. That promise was to his faith
ISAAC. THE CHILD OF PROMISE. 77
the same as a performance. It \vas as certain to him now,
when all was dark, as if he already saw his seed in full pos-
session of their fair inheritance ; and " sitting under their own
vine and fig tree, none daring to make them afraid."
In reading the account of this act of faith on the part of
Isaac, we should remember that tiie blessing of the patriarch
was a prophetic act. It connected the son, upon whom it
rested, with that illustrious line by which the Messiah was to
come. This was the reason why Jacob's mother was so anxious
to secure it to her favorite child ; for the proud hope of every
mother in Israel was, that through her this great Deliverer
should come. It was God's sovereign purpose that Jacob, the
younger son, should receive this blessing ; and yet, that pur-
pose was effected by the wickedness of others. Isaac did not
mtend to give the blessing where he did. By dissembling and
playing the mean part of a pretender, Jacob secured it ; and
yet, through these unworthy means, God's holy designs were
accomplished. This is a most wonderful and mysterious part
of the ways of Providence. The God with whom we have to
do is, in no sense, the author of sin. The very thought is
blasphemy. He hates sin with a perfect hatred ; and yet, his
divine wisdom often overrules the sins of men for the good of
his creatures, and the carrying out of his purposes of infinite
love. " Out of evil still educing good." He makes the wrath
of man to praise him.
When Job's heavy afflictions fell upon him he said, " Shall
we receive good at the hand of the Lord, and shall we not re-
ceive evil .''" Now, in reading the narrative of his trials, we
would be ready to infer that it was at Satan's hand he received
them, and at the hand of the Chaldeans ; but he recognized the
Lord's hand, for without his permission they could have done
nothing. In the very fact that the Lord did not prevent the
evil from coming upon him, he knew there was some wise de-
sign. The sin connected with what the actors did was their
own ; the good brought out of it w is God's.
In regard to our Lord's death we read : " It pleased the
Lord to bruise him ; he hath put him to grief*." And yet^ iii
78 THE world's hope.
all the torture inflicted upon our Savior, we see the agency
of Judas, of Pilate, of bloody-minded Jews who hated him
without a cause. Still it was done according to the " determi-
nate counsel and foreknowledge of God." Yet the actors, hav-
ing done all that they did freely and by their own voluntary
choice, are left without excuse. " By wicked hands ye cruci-
fied the Lord of glory." Their designs were wicked, their
acts were wicked, their whole being was steeped in wicked-
ness, and yet God overruled all for the highest good of the
v/orld.
How good it is to feel that the Lord reigns, and that he con-
trols the affairs of the universe. Lie had the heart of Pharaoh
in his hand as well as that of Moses, the heart of Saul as well
as that of David. To his boasting, pompous enemy, our Lord
said, " Thou couldst have no power unless it were given thee
from above." This Providence controls alike the great and
the small, the grain of sand as well as the mighty planet, the
helpless infant as well as the vastest empire. Just as the law
of gravitation controls the atom as well as the globe ; so there
is nothing too small or too great to be beyond God's notice
and care.
It is worthy of rem.ark, here, that when Isaac was told of
the mistake which he had made in blessing Jacob, he does not
undertake to correct it. He recognizes the mind and will of
God at once. Said he, " I have blessed him, and he shall be
blessed." Esau, in his bitter grief and disappointment, strove
hard to get the matter reversed, but his father firmly adheres
to what had been done. It is to this that the Apostle refers in
Hebrews xii : i6, 17 : " Lest there be any fornicator, or profane
person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birth-
right. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have
inherited the blessing, he was rejected ; for he found no place
of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears." Upon
this some have founded a doctrine that is not to be found in
the Bible. They have taught that the sinner may reach such
a state of soul that he shall be found pleading with God in
deep earnestness for pardon and salvation, and be turned
away with a refusal.
ISAAC. THE CHILD OF PROMISE. 79
Now, this is not the meaning, The repentance he could not
find was on the part of his father, not on his part. He tried
most earnestly to get the aged patriarch to change his mind,
that is, to repent; but his cries and his tears were of no avail.
The blessing had gone forth, and could not be reversed. No
soul who truly repented was ever turned av/ay by the God
of love, nor ever will be. The sorrow of the v/orld that
worketh death — a mere remorse of conscience — may some-
times be thought to be repentance, but is not. This was the
repentance of Judas, but instead of leading him nearer to God,
it. drove him farther off; for he went out and hanged himself.
There have been some very improper and unguarded things
said about persons, while yet living, having passed their day of
grace. It may be so, but it is certainly not taught in the pas-
sage above quoted. In our intercourse with our fellow-men
we should go upon the principle that while there is life there is
hope. We should take it for granted, that the reason why God
has prolonged life is to afiord opportunity for repentance.
Jesus is willing to receive the very chief of sinners. His blood
cleanseth from all sin. His own glorious words are, " He that
cometli unto me, I will in no wise cast out."
Esau is an example of warning to us all. He enjoyed great
privileges. Born and brought up in a family where the true
God was known and worshiped, with prayers offered up for
him by believing parents, he yet voluntarily despised all these,
formed an alliance with the heathen around him, and became
a profane person. Alas ! How many do the same now. Born
in a land of Bibles, and churches, and Sabbath schools, and
revivals of great pov/er ; vv^ith a mother's prayers uttered over
their cradle, and a father's instruction, from their earliest years,
poured into their ears ; with the Holy Spirit striving with them
from year to year, and pressing upon them the great pov/ers of
the world to come ; they do as did Esau, sacrifice the interests
of the future for a paltry, momentary, and sinful gratification
in the present. They plead their temptations as an excuse,
but the motives to yield to sin can never be so strong as the
motives to resist it are. To sin may secure us a temporary
So THE world's hope.
gratification, but robs us of an eternal weight of glory. To go
with them in the ways of death, may please a few sinful asso-
ciates, but it bririgs down on us the frown of God forever.
Esau sold his birthright, not for a crown, not for a kingdom,
not for a fortune, not even for the breath of fame, empty and
uncertain as that is, but for one morsel of m^eat ! God says to
sinners, "Ye have sold yourselves for a thing of nought." One
sells his soul for money, another for pleasure of a mere animal
kind, another for fame, and, in short, there is no end to the fool's
bargains that are thus made. The devil is buying souls cheap
in the market of sin, every day. *' What is a man profited if
he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul.?" As an old
writer says, " Worldly things are less than the soul and cannot
fill it; they are worse than the soul and cannot satisfy it."
Esau felt his mean and sinful acts end in bitterness and
sorrow. The beginning of a sinful life often looks quite flat-
tering ; but look at its end. " What shall the end be of them
that obey not the gospel of Christ ?" As it is really the end
that crowns the action, that is the way in which we should
judge of things. The wages of sin is death. Sin is hell and
hell is sin. As far as this world is concerned Esau was a pros-
perous man ; but he had no riches of the soul ; and the most
dreadful of all kinds of poverty is that which strikes into the
soul and pierces it through and through.
Some writers have enlarged, at considerable length, upon
Isaac as a type of Christ, especially with reference to his being
offered up in intention as a sacrifice. This has always appeared
to me more fanciful than real. It was the shedding of blood
that made the victims of sacrifice typical of Christ ; and in
this case no blood was shed. And even if his blood had been
shed, it could not have been in the nature of an atonement ;
for one poor sinner could not atone for another. There are
abundant types of our blessed Redeemer, clear and distinct,
v/ithout calling up those which are only imaginary.
In reading the life of such men as Isaac, living a life of such
constant faith and fellowship with God, amid their dark dis-
pensation, how should it rebuke our low state of piety. We
ISAAC. THE CHILD OF PROMISE. 8l
live in the blaze of Gospel light. They had that same Gospel
only in dim outline. In promises and prophecies they saw the
Savior afar off. We see the complete, the perfect Christ. And
yet how far we live below our privileges ! Let us remember
that the only way to use these is to profit by them. Such
great blessings despised turn into avenging judgments. God
removes the candlestick out of its place, and leaves the de-
spiser of its light in darkness; a darkness that precedes the
blackness of darkness forever. Gospel truth ruins if it does
not save. The soul that hears God's voice calling from day to
day, and does not obey, soon occupies that state of soul that
the old writers used to call gospel-hardened. Listen to what
the Word says : " He that despised Moses' law died without
mercy under two or three witnesses ; of how much sorer pun-
ishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath
trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the
blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy
thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace.'"
At last, the fretting cares and domestic sorrows that had
darkened the latter days of Isaac are over ; and gently as the
babe goes to sleep upon its mother's bosom, he sleeps in death.
His happy soul joined the parents in heaven, who had so re-
joiced over his birth on earth. They now have him forever.
*' Hast thou not glimpses in the twilight hour,
Of mountains where immortal morn prevails?
Comes there not through the silence to thine ear
A gentle rustling of the morning gale,
A murmur, wafted from that glorious shore,
Of streams that water banks forever fair,
And voices of the loved ones gone before,
More musical in that celestial air?"
82 THE world's hope.
CHAPTER VI.
JACOB. THE PREVAILER WITH GOB.
In the lives of the people of God, as recorded in the Bibis,
there are two points very manifest; God's treatment of them
as a great moral Governor, and his treatment of them as a
God of forgiving love. As a great moral Governor v/ho can-
not pass by sin, he drove the first transgressor out of Eden,
out into a world cursed for his sake ; but as a God of grace
and love, he at the same time gave him a promise of a coming
Savior. That stern expulsion, and that flaming sword which
*' turns every Vv-ay to keep the way of the tree of life," spoke
of God's unquenchable hatred of sin ; that gracious promise
spoke of his deep love to the sinner. The sinner is forgiven
freely and fully ; but the result of his sins in the cursed earth
in the sweat of his brow, in his struggles v/ith the " thorns and
thistles," are still allowed to remain.
We see this subject illustrated in the case of Moses. He
spake unadvisedly with his lips at the waters of Meribah, and
God, as a moral Governor, was greatly displeased, and pro-
hibited his entering the promised land. Moses was forgiven,
but the prohibition v/hich his sin caused was not withdrawn ;
he was still kept out of the promised land ; but to show the
love of his God he is taken up to Pisgah and permitted to
view the fair Canaan from afar, and when he died the Lord
tenderly buried him. We see the same thing in David's case.
In the matter of Uriah the Hittite, he fell from a high and holy
elevation. His open immorality in the sight of all Israel could
not be passed over. He repented in broken-hearted contrition
before God and he was freely forgiven ; but the result of his
sin goes on unchecked. His child dies. Absalom rises in re-
volt, and a long succession of domestic troubles darkens his
JACOB. THE PREYAILER WITH GOD. 83
earthly lot, and wrings his heart with anguisli. God's govern-
ment and grace work together, the one not interfering with the
other, but both proceeding from the same hand.
Perhaps this principle is nowhere so clearly illustrated as in
the case of the patriarch Jacob. It shows itself throughout
his entire history. Jacob was a chosen child of God, a subject
of God's grace ; but when he sins he comes under the chas-
tisement of God's government. His deceiving his father and
supplanting his brother in the matter of the birthright, v/as a
mean, wicked act ; and the righteous judge could not pass it
over. Hence we see him a fugitive from his home, compelled
to serve a hard master for twenty years, his wages capriciously
changed again and again, never permitted again to see the face
of that over-indulgent mother Vvho had helped him to plan his
wickedness ; his ten sons agreeing to deceive him, as he had
deceived his father ; living for years in bitter sorrow on account
of the supposed death of Joseph ; in terror of being murdered
by his injured brother, and driven out of his own land, among
strangers, by a famine, there to die. Oh what a large harvest
of sorrow from evil seed which it took him but a few minutes
to sovv' ! Yet Jacob was a good man, enjoying God's pardon-
ing love ; but this did not prevent him from being a subject of
God's governmental chastisement. " V/hatsoever a man sows
that shall he also reap."
Some years ago I read an interesting article on this subject
in a small religious magazine, called " Things New and Old,"
which contained a most forcible illustration, which I regret
that I cannot give in the words of the author, but only from
memory. Suppose a master sends a servant to sov/ a field
with wheat. That servant, eithex from ignorance or gross
carelessness, sows some vile weed. The master in the exer-
cise of great goodness and forbearance pardons him freely and
fully. The servant is deeply grieved for the wrong he has done
his master, and sheds many a bitter tear over his fault. But
v/ould the master's pardon and the servant's repentance change
the weeds into wheat ? Certainly not. When the harvest time
comes, and golden grain should be waving over the field, there
84 THE world's hope,
is nothing but the noxious weed. Now, when the servant looks
over that field, ought the fact that the crop is not changed to
make him doubt his master's forgiveness ? Not at all. Just
as the nature of the pardon did not alter the crop, so the na-
ture of the crop does not alter the pardon. The two things
are perfectly distinct.
Still farther ; the master, in the exercise of great chemical
skill, might extract a medicine from the weed that would be a
thousand times more remunerative than the wheat would have
been, and thus the sin of the servant might be overruled for
good. But that would not make his wrong right, nor would it
alter the great law that a man's reaping must be according to
his sowing. This is plain and practical.
Jacob, having obtained the blessing from his father, is com-
pelled to go forth from the land that he loved, and the home
of his affections, to a strange land, of v/hich he knew nothing.
We can easily conceive the deep depression that must have
rested upon his heart. Much that was pleasant he was leaving
behind him, and before him all was dark and uncertain. A
good man, going forth in the path of duty, could not help feel-
ing a sadness pervade his mind, under such circumstances.
But Jacob had been brought into these circumstances not by
duty, but by sin. His exile from his home was the result of
his own transgression of the law of right ; and the knowledge
of this rankling in his conscience, must have made his journey
a melancholy one. To have a deep and abiding sense of God's
favor in the soul, an approving God above us and an approv-
ing conscience within us, is the best support in times of trial.
It makes the timid brave, and the desponding cheerful. It
gives a new aspect to the v/hole face of nature, and fills the
soul with music and sunshine.
At length the shadows of night gather around our traveler,
while the fatigues of the way make rest welcome. He lies
down to sleep under the open heavens, the grass his bed, and
a stone his pillow. But that God who is pitiful and of tender
compassion, saw all the sad desolation of his heart ; and in a
vision cf the night comes to comfort him. In those early ages
JACOB. THE PREVAILER WITH GOD. 85
of t]ie world, before there was a v/ritten revelation, God often
communicated with his servants in this way. Now that we
have a complete revelation, it would be folly to depend upon
dreams for our guidance. As an old writer says, " Read your
dreams, if you like, in the light of Scripture ; but do not read
Scripture in the light of your dreams." We are now to be
guided only by the sure Word of God.
In his dream the patriarch saw a "a ladder set up on the
earth, and the top of it reached to heaven ; and behold the
angels of God ascending and descending on it." The meaning
of this ladder, I think, is clear from the words of our Lord,
" Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God
ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." Christ's
atonement connects heaven with earth; has opened up the
communication between God and man, which sin had closed ;
and now sinners can get visits of mercy and promises of grace
from the righteous Judge that they had offended. A man
going up a ladder is above the earth and getting nearer heaven ;
so a man who receives Christ's atonement by faith gets above
the vanities of earth, and dwells in heavenly places with Christ
Jesus.
When Jacob awoke from sleep he was much affected, and
filled with solemnity. He felt that God had come very near to
him. " Surely Jehovah is in this place; and I knew it not."
A great fear, a solemn dread came over him, as he reflected
upon what had taken place ; and he exclaimed, " How dread-
ful is this place ! this is none other but the house of God, and
this is the gate of heaven." Those whose ideas of worship
are confined to ritualistic forms and priestly ceremonies,
those who feel as if there can be no house of God except in
consecrated piles of architectural splendor, may wonder why
he called that humble spot a house of God. But God's pres-
ence can make the meeting on the hil-lsides, or in the caves of
the earth, the assembly of the true vforshipers in the forests or
in a barn, the house of God; while the grand cathedral, if it
contains nothing but dead forms, is repulsive in the sight of
that Great Spirit, who must be worshiped in spirit and in
86 THE WORLD'S HOPE.
truth. This whole scene at Bethel is highly instructive, and is
well improved in the following beautiful lines :
" Sweet spot ! 't was surely hallowed ground,
Where heaven itself diffused around
The breath of peace and love ;
There Jacob slept — there angels hung
O'er him from whom the Savior sprung,
To guard him from above.
" He slept — but who that saw him there,
Beneath the chill and midnight air,
Upon the dewy sod,
Lone as he seemed, could e'er have guess'd
How bright a glimpse of glory bless'd
That favored child of God !
" The gloomy cloud, by sorrow spread
Around the sleeper's dreamy head,
Had melted into light ;
And, lo ! a vision too intense
In splendor for weak mortal sense,
Blazed on his inward sight.
" A ladder of stupendous height
Led upward through the gates of light
On to the throne of God,
While to and fro, 'twixt heaven and earth,
Fair holy ones, of seraph birth,
In steps of glory trod.
"Some wafted Israel's fervent prayer
Along each heaven-ascending stair,
E'en to the ear of Love,
While myriads more, as swift as thought,
Full many a goodly blessing brought
In answer from above.
" Sweet dream ! its memory oft would cheer
The patriarch's soul through many a year
Of sorrow, feai", and strife ;
He loved it, for he there could see
A beauteous emblem. Lord, of Thee,
Thou glorious Way of Life !
JACOB. THE PREVAILER V,'ITII GOD. 87
" Through thee the Father's love descends,
Through thee our love to him ascends,
And prayer and praise arise ;
While every promise, Lord, of thine,
"What is it but a step divine
To lead us to the skies ? "
Jacob, in token of his gratitude to God for this manifesta-
tion of His presence, took the stone that he had for his pillow,
and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
This he did to commemorate what had so recently transpired,
so that it might be permanently remembered by him. The
great evil with us is, that we are apt to forget what God does
for us, and to allow his gracious interferences of love to fade
away from our minds. This forgetfulness is very guilty, and
were God not so long-suffering, would have provoked him long
ago to remove his goodness from us forever.
The patriarch also dedicated him.self anew to God. His
pouring oil upon the pillar was a symbol of this. His lan-
guage is touchingly beautiful. " If God will be with me, and
will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to
eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my Father's
house in peace ; then shall the Lord be my God : and this
stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house ; and
of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto
thee." Here we see that there is not a single mercy that we
get from God's loving hand, but lays us under obligation to
devote ourselves anew to his holy service. As the Author of
all our blessings he has a claim upon our all. Our time,
our talents, our property, our all, should be held as sa-
credly devoted to Him who has done so much for us. In
seasons of special deliverances, and when new and unexpected
blessings have been conferred upon us, we should feel called
upon to make a new consecration to the Lord. Let any
Christian look back over the way that God has led him, pa-
tiently bearing with his wanderings, supporting him in afflic-
tions, opening a path for him when all seemed shut up, bring-
ing him to many a green spot for refreshment when weary of
88 THE world's hope.
the dusty highway of life, and causing unlooked for blessings
to come down upon him like the dews of heaven ;■ and lost
must his soul be to all emotions of gratitude, if he does not
exclaim, " What shall I render unto the Lord for all his bene-
fits unto me ?" And surely that something that he will render
to the Lord, will be a gift that he will feel, that will require
self-denial and self-sacrifice. Surely he will not be like the
mean, rich man, who, when taken from the river, turned to the
man that saved him from drowning, and offered him a dollar !
Well, perhaps the poor wretch knew best the value of his own
life.
Such an act is nothing to the meanness of the man who,
professing to be saved by Christ from eternal death, stands up
before God in the great congregation, and sings, —
" Were all the realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all,"
and then drops into the Lord's treasury less than his cigars or
some other useless luxury cost him for the last week. O how
will such conduct look when the light of eternity shall reveal
the value of souls, and the infinite importance of salvation !
We come now to consider one of the most wonderful events
in the history of Jacob's eventful life. Fourteen years have
passed away since he had the encouraging vision and received
such cheering promises , and now he is about to return to the
land he had left under the most painful circumstances. In a
solemn review of those years, he says, " I am not worthy of
the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth which thou
hast showed unto thy servant ; for with my staff I passed over
this Jordan, and now I am become two bands." When he ut-
tered these words the blue hills of his native land were in sight,
and he was near to all the familiar scenes of his youth, so
affecting to the heart of an exile, when they again come into
view. He had tested God's promise and it had not failed him ;
and now that he is again in trouble he knows where to go for
help.
JACOB. THE PREVAILER WITH GOD. 89
With his large family and abundance of flocks and property
he is moving along, when he is informed that his brother Esau,
whom he had so deeply wronged, is approaching, with four
hundred men ; and, he has reason to fear, with a murderous
purpose. What does he do in these circumstances ? God had
told him to return to his native land, and had said, " I will
surely do thee good," and therefore he knew that he was in the
path of duty. And yet, he does not recklessly go forward,
without using all the means in his power to avert the threat-
ened danger. In him we see prudence and piety blending in
beautiful union. He divides his company into separate bands ;
he sends forth a handsome present to his brother, accompany-
ing it with a message calculated to allay resentful feelings in
his bosom ; and thus having done all that he could do, he be-
takes himself to God in prayer. He knew that our best laid
plains will fail without a divine blessing upon them.
Jacob was alone with God. The company so dear to
him are sent on before him. It is past the midnight hour.
Great things are pending upon the results of the coming day.
It was not merely that his own life was in danger, but Leah,
and the beloved Rachel^ for whom he had served fourteen
years with hard toil, and also his children, dearer to him than
his own life, were all exposed to the same common danger.
He resolves to devote that night to pleading with God. He knew
that he had the heart of Esau and that of his rude band in his
hands, and he could turn them in kindness towards him, as he
had already done that of his surly, selfish father-in-law. All
that human aid and skill could do had been done ; God must
now be his refuge and his strength.
We see the patriarch kneeling upon the ground, his bosom
heaving with emotions too big for utterance , the deep silence of
night only broken by his voice of earnest entreaty ; when, sud-
denly, strange hands seize and grapple him, and there wrestled
a man with him to the breaking of day. How startled the man
of God must have been ! And yet this sudden and seemingly
rude attack was the harbinger of safety, a token of an answer
to his prayer. It was a true friend that came to him in the
9© THE WORLD'S HOPE.
darkness of that memorable night, though he came as a foe.
Thus God often comes to us his people in a way that is most
alarming , that for a time makes them fear that he has become
their avenging enemy ; but soon we find that the hand that
shook us so vigorously has, after all, contained a most precious
blessing for us. He wounds only to heal ; he casts down only
to exalt.
We are not to understand this as a vision, but as a real trans-
action. There was, no doubt, a bodily struggle ; but still, the
chief thing upon which our minds are to be fixed is, the spir-
itual conflict and victory. Hence it is, that deep anguish and
agony of soul in pleading with Jehovah has been called
*' wrestling with God." This is something, however, that mere
formalists and ritualists cannot understand. It is something
quite different from kneeling on a velvet cushion, opening a
beautifully bound prayer-book, and reading a prayer composed
by some one a century before, with far less emotion than the
last news by the Atlantic cable would be read. It is to plead
till every power of the soul is on the stretch in intense long-
ings after God, and big waves of emotion chase each other
across the soul. So wrestled the adorable Savior on that dark
night in Gethsemane, till the body sweat came from every pore.
Thus did Paul wrestle when he had great heaviness of heart,
for his brethren according to the flesh. Thus did Luther
wrestle in certain great crises of the reformation work. Thus
did Knox wrestle when in an agony he cried out, " Lord, give
me Scotland or I die !" And thus it was that Jacob wrestled.
It is a legitimate subject of inquiry : Who was this person
that wrestled with the patriarch ? In the narrative he is called
" a man," while Hosea speaks of him as " the angel," and Jacob
himself says, " I have seen God face to face." He is also said
to have had " power with God." To us, therefore, this myste-
rious stranger is a stranger no longer. It v/as the Lord Jesus ;
he v/ho as "the angel of the Covenant," had often appeared
in a bodily form, till the fullness of the time came, when he as-
sumed our nature. Then " the Word became flesh, and dwelt
It was the same who had walked in Eden in the
JACOR. THE PREVAILER WITH GOD. 91
cool of the day, and talked with the first pair ; who conversed
with Abraham, and showed himself amid the shadowy visions
of the prophets, who now strove with Jacob. He might, there-
fore, have again said, " Surely, God was in this place and I knew
it not."
Concerning this great Being the wonderful expression is
used, " And v/hen he saw that he prevailed against him." Plow
strange ! The High and Lofty One who inhabiteth eternity,
does not prevail against a poor and sinful child of earth ! The
reason was, that Jacob was, pleading the Lord's own promises,
trusting his own pledged word, and that he never can deny.
The worm Jacob prevails with God because he keeps pleading
the promise, " I will surely do thee good.'' Still, that Jacob
may not become proud and think that he had gained a great
victory in his own strength, with one touch of the Divine finger
his thigh is disjointed. Just as Paul, after the heavenly revela-
tions had been made to him, had a thorn in the flesh left with
him lest he should be exalted above measure.
But though the pleader is now disabled and in pain, he does
not give up the contest. He now has a perfect understanding
of who it is with whom he has been striving; and this only
increases his ardor to obtain the blessing. The Divine visitor
seems as if he would leave him, saying, " Let me go." Just as
the same Holy One, many centuries after, in going with the
disciples to Emmaus, seemed about to go further, and yet in
answer to their constraining prayer tarried with them ; so he
was now only trying his servant's faith. He did not wish to
leave him unblessed, in his weakness and despair. He is more
willing to give than we to ask.
" I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." What bold-
ness of faith, what earnestness of entreaty, what perseverance
of prayer is here ! Was the Lord offended with this familiarity
of faith 1 Was the pleading sinner hurled to the ground a
bleeding corpse } No, no. When we have a promise to plead
he will listen. He loves to have us use the holy violence of
faith. Jacob's determination not to be denyed, reminds us of
the perseverance of the Canaanitish woman, when pleading with
92 THE WORLD S HOPE.
the same Lord long after. Though first met with utter silence,
and with repeated rebuffs, she kept up her plea, tili the gracious
answer came, " O, woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee
even as thou wilt." We lose much for want of this importun-
ity. We become discouraged and disheartened when the
answer to our prayer does not come at once, and turn away in
unbelief. An old writer says, " If the arrow of prayer is to
enter heaven, we must draw it from a soul full bent." By the
parables of the unjust Judge, and the friend that comes in the
night to borrow the three loaves, our Lord teaches us, in the
most emphatic form, the value of importunity in prayer. Let
us lay this to heart.
It is worthy of remark, that Jacob does not specify minutely
what he wanted, but only asks a blessing. He knew that the
Lord was well aware of his present circumstances, and that if
he gives him a blessing at all, it will be sure to be one that will
meet all his present necessities. He left it to the Divine Wis-
dom to choose the best form in which this could be done. And
God did bless him, then and there. Faith obtained a glorious
victory. As one says, " He was knighted on the field." His
old name, Jacob, which signified a supplanter, and therefore was
calculated to remind him of his sin, is removed ; and a new
name, Israel, meaning a prince with God, is given unto him.
The reason of this new name is, that he had " power with men,
and had prevailed." The fact that he had prevailed with God,
was a pledge that he would prevail with his brother. He was
not now afraid to go forward, for if God be for us who can be
against us ?
What a bright, glorious morning was that which now dawned
upon Jacob. The shadov/s of night that now gathered around
him on the previous evening, were but a faint emblem of the
darkness of his mind ; the brightness of the sun that that morn-
ing illuminated the face of nature, was but a faint sign of the
heavenly light that filled the soul of the man of God. What
though he now went along lame and halting in body, his soul
was strong in God. The warrior does not care that he carries
from the field some wounds, when the shout of victory is in his
ears.
JACOP. THE PREVAILER WITH GOD. 93?
Let US learn from this whole subject, the great value of secret
prayer. Jacob had a great deliverance from a public danger
that threatened him ; but it was in secret, in the darkness of
the night, that he obtained the answer to his prayer. The
result of that night's pleading with God appeared openly after-
wards, no doubt to the astonishment of those who did not know
the secret, fervent prayer that had brought about that result.
On this subject Dr. Hamilton beautifully remarks, "When
Jacob and Esau met — on the one side the shaggy chieftain with
his four hundred swordsmen, and on the other side the limping
shepherd with his caravan of children and cattle — a flock of
sheep approaching a band of wolves ; when the patriarch took
his staff in his hand and stepped forward to meet the embat-
tled company, and the anxious retinue awaited the issue — they
saw the sword drop from Esau's hand — they saw his brawny
arms around Jacob's neck — they saw in the red savage a sud-
den and unlooked for brother. They saw the result, but they
had not seen the prelude which led to it. They had not been
with Jacob at the ford of Jabbok the night before. They had
not viewed his agony and heard his prayer; and though they
noticed the halting limb, they did not know the victory whose
token it was. They saw the patriarch, the husband, and the
father; but they knew not that he was a prince with God, and
and had gained Esau's heart from him who has all hearts in
his hand. The halting thigh and the pacified foe were obvious ;
but the wrestling over night was unknown."
How sweetly Charles Wesley gives poetic expression to this
whole scene, in one of the finest hymns in our language :
" Come, O thou Traveler unknown,
Whom still I hold, but cannot see;
My company before is gone,
And I am left alone with thee :
With thee all night I mean to stay,
And wrestle till the break of day.
*' I need not tell thee who I am ;
My sin and misery declare ;
Thyself hast call'd me by my name ;
94 THE world's hope.
Look on thy hands, and read it there;
But who, I ask thee, who art thou ?
Tell me thy name, and tell me now.
** In vain thou strugglest to get free;
I never will unloose my hold :
Art thou the Man that died for me?
The secret of thy love unfold :
Wrestling, I will not let thee go,
Till I thy name, thy nature know.
" Yield to me now, for I am weak,
But confident in self-despair ;
Speak to my heart, in blessings speak;
Be conquer'd by my instant prayer :
Speak, or thou never hence shall move,
And tell me if thy name be Love.
" 'Tis Love ! 'tis Love ! thou diedst for me;
I hear thy whisper in my heart;
The morning breaks, the shadows flee;
Pure, universal Love thou art :
To me, to all, thy bowels move, —
Thy nature and thy name is Love.
*' My prayer hath power with God; the grace
Unspeakable I now receive;
Through faith I see thee face to face;
I see thee face to face, and live !
In vain I have not wept and strove;
Thy nature and thy name is Love.
" I know thee. Savior, who thou art, —
Jesus, the feeble sinner's Friend :
Nor wilt thou with the night depart,
But stay and love me to the end:
Thy mercies never shall remove;
Thy nature and thy name is Love."
It might seem to us, after such a marvelous display of God's
goodness, and such abundant proofs that he was fully forgiven,
that Jacob's trials are now at an end. But alas ! there still
clings to God's people so much of the remains of sin, such a
tendency to find their home on earth, that it becomes neces-
JACOB. THE PREVAILER WITH GOD. 95
sary that they should often feel the sharp strokes of the rod of
affliction. The troubles that thicken around the pathway of
the patriarch, are a proof that the rod is held by the hand of
love. It was the same God that pardoned his sins, that gave
him the assurance of his love, that folded him in the covenant
of eternal blessings, that permitted those distressing afflictions
to come upon him. Vv^e cannot here dwell upon them. His
sons treacherous and blood-thirsty ; his only daughter defiled ;
his life in danger from his neighbors , his favorite son supposed
to be killed and long mourned as lost to him ; the famine
bringing him and his to the verge of starvation ; all these trials
bringing from his soul the bitter cry, " All these things are
against me ;" presents a solemn picture of the way in which
the God of love often finds it necessary to lead his own people.
There are two scenes in the closing up of Jacob's life in
which he appears to great advantage; namely, his introduction
to Pharaoh, and his dying address to his sons. It was in the
eternal counsels of God, that Jacob should go down to Egypt ;
but what striking providences and strange agencies are em-
ployed to bring about the result ! Order, at last, was brought
out of confusion, and the sweetest harmony out of the harshest
discord.
The patriarch stands before the monarch with simple dignity.
The plain sliepherd stands before the most powerful prince
then upon the face of the earth, but there is nothing rude in
his manners on the one hand, nor servile and sycophantic on
the other. " And Jacob blessed Pharaoh." By imploring the
blessing of God upon this heathen king and upon his empire,
he is leadin^his mind to think of that great Jehovah, and in a
way, too, that could not give offence. And how impressive his
reply when he is asked ' his age, " The days of the years of
my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years ; few and evil
have the days of the years of my life been." He knew that he
was standing on the verge of eternity; and this is his solemn
review of his life. It was only a pilgrimage, he had possessed
no certain dwelling-place ; but God had prepared for him a
city, and by the eye of faith he could already see its open gates.
g6 THE world's HOPE.
Though his might be called a long life, yet he speaks of his
days as/wn generous,
loving heart, as it was to them.
At last we see Joseph in a nev/ home, but one very different
from that from which he had been so rudely torn. There he
was a free, happy youth, living in the sunshine of a father's
smiles; now he is a slave. There he had pious instruction and
holy example ; now he is in a family of dark heathenism, and
where his virtue is to be put to the severest test. It is always
a critical time in a young man's life when he leaves home influ-
ences, and enters upon new scenes, far from paternal restraints.
But if he has the love of God in his heart, if he makes a con-
science of carrying his religion into every thing he does, it will
protect him from the corruptions of earth, and the temptations
of hell. Greater is He that is for him than all that can be
against him ; and he will be brought off more than a conqueror.
So we are told that the Lord was with Joseph in his new
home. He was in the path of duty, suffering wrong, but not
doing wrong ; and so he felt a comfortable assurance of the
Divine favor. As Andrew Fuller says, " What a difference is
there betv/een the cases of Joseph and Jonah ! They were both
in trouble, both absent from God's people, both among the hea-
then; but the sufferings of the one were for righteousness' sake,
while those of the other were of his own procuring.
It is worthy of notice that Joseph brings prosperity into his
new home. " His master saw that the Lord was with him, and
that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand."
This shows that this young servant of God had not kept his re-
ligion concealed — that he had not been ashamed of it. He had
not, to avoid persecution, joined in the idolatry of Egypt ; but
openly worshioed the true God of heaven and earth. This
display of principle, of true manly piety, gives his master, such
confidence in him, that he promotes him to be steward over all
his affairs. God not only blesses his own children, but makes
them a blessing. Just as Laban had been prospered for Jacob's
sake, so Joseph became a great blessing to Potiphar, and after^
wards to the whole land of Egypt.
Joseph is now in comfortable circumstances. A tide of sue-
I02 THE WORLD S HOPE.
cess flows in upon him ; every thing that he did prospered,
and a brilliant prospect spread out before him. No doubt, he
often thought' of the vale of Hebron, and the loving father that
he had left there ; but in the land of strangers, his father's God
had been with him, and he felt happy.
But life is a mixed state. Joys and sorrows, smiles and tears,
sunshine and clouds, are strangely mingled together. In the
day of our brightest prosperity we may prepare for a day of ad-
versity. A dungeon is awaiting Joseph. Fiery trials are ap-
pointed him. His faith in God is yet to be more severely tried.
The wife of his master is a profligate woman, one of those who
urged him into " the way to hell." We know something of the
low state of morality among these Pagan nations, sunk in gross
darkness ; and as this woman was ignorant of the true God, an
Idolater, a worshiper of animals and loathsome insects^ we do
not wonder at her degradation. But we tremble for the young
man. Will he remember God } Will his religion sustain him
in this fiery trial.'* There are few forms of temptation more
dangerous to young men than that of sensuality ; and none^ if
yielded to^that will prove so ruinous to soul and body, for time
and eternity. Joseph stands, as it were, upon the brink of a
fearful peril, and the welfare of his whole future is suspended
upon the decision of a moment.
His situation reminds us of what occurred near Niagara
Falls, some years ago. A steamboat started from Buffalo with
sins were not laid?
Oh ! why from his side flowed the sin-cleansing blood,
If his dying //^/debt has not paid?
134 ^"HE WORLDS HOPE.
*' It is not thy tears of repentance, or prayers,
But THE BLOOD that atoncs for the soul ;
On Him, then, who shed it, thou mayest at once
Thy weight of iniquities rolh
** His anguish of soul on the cross hast thou seen,
His cry of distress hast thou heard?
Then, why, if the terror of wratli He endured,
Should pardon to thee be deferr'd ?
*• We are healed by His stripes ; — wouldst thou add to the word?
And He is our righteousness made ;
The best robe of heaven he bids thee put on ;
Oh ! could'st thou be better arrayed ?
We have thus seen how the faith of Moses again triumphed.
In reading some account of the labors of the Rev. John
Eliot among the Indians, vv'e were struck with these words : " I
have not been dry, night or day, from the third day of the
week unto the sixth, but so traveled ; and at night pull off my
boots and wring my stockings, and on with them again, and so
continue, but God steps in and helps T Yes; it may well be
said that, " the hour of our extremity is the hour of His op-
portunity." When all human help steps out and leaves us. He
steps in. Ah ! How pleasant to hear the sound of his foot-
steps approaching, but still more glorious to have His very
presence with us. To resign what we have been trying to do
with trembling hands and failing strength; and to see Him
take it up, with the certainty of success, is happiness indeed.
The very memory of such gracious interference on their be-
half, will fill the mouths of the people of God with songs of
gratitude forever.
But no sooner is one trial over with the man of God, than
another comes. They tread upon each others' heels. Like
the waves of the ocean they come in quick succession. While
the Israelites were yet in a weakened condition, the Amalekites
came, in a most cowardly and treacherous manner, and at-
tacked the camp. Moses at once sent forth Joshua, with a
band of brave warriors, to repel the foe. There was, in sight
of the battle field, a hill, to the top of which Moses ascended,
MOSES. THE MAN OF GOD.
^35
Aaron and Hur being his attendants. There the man of God
engaged in prayer for the success of the army of Israel. It
was noticed that while he held his hands up toward heaven,
Israel prevailed, but when, through fatigue, they drooped, then
Amalek prevailed. Hence, Aaron and Hur, one on each side,
held up the hands of the servant of the Lord, till their ene-
mies were driven from the field.
Moses was a man who lived very near God ; but he was no
fanatic. He unites prayer and exertion together, as they ever
ought to be. He is on the mount pleading and wrestling with
God, while Joshua was below with his brave followers, with
invincible courage doing battle for the right. As this was the
first battle that Israel had fought, no doubt their patriotic
leader felt peculiarly anxious for a complete victory. It would
inspire the people with fresh courage to meet the difficulties
that lay before them in the future ; and increase their confi-
dence in the ultimate success of the undertaking.
What a mighty power is prayer when it springs forth from a
believing heart ! Then it is that we see the enectual, fervent
prayer of the righteous man availing much. The man who
has the true spirit of prayer is happy above all others. God
may not always give him what he asks, for that would not
always be for his good. Indeed, we often ask for that which,
if given, would bring upon us destruction. But his prayer will
be answered in this, that the spirit of holy resignation will be
imparted to him. When our will is lost in God's we are truly
happy. A sweet repose, a holy calm comes over the soul ;
which is a foretaste of the rest that remains for the people of
God.
How happy was Moses to have such noble co-workers as
Aaron and Hur ! And happy is that minister of the gospel
who has those around him v/ho hold up his hands by faith and
prayer. Easy is it to preach and labor under such circum-
stances. The enemies of the Lord are then driven back, the
cause of truth advances gloriously, and the song of victory
breaks forth from the heart that was sinking under a load of
despondency.
136 THE world's hope.
When Moses was pleading for Israel his hands began to
hang down. Human weakness will show itself in the strongest ;
for, as Mathew Henry says, " The best of men are but men at
the best." But we have a great Intercessor in the heavens,
who never grows weary, whose hands never hang down, and
who is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. When con-
scious of guilt, the thought of His intercession brings true
comfort to the believer. The new nature within him makes
him loathe and hate sin. On feeling its workings in his heart,
he can say with Job, " I abhor myself, and repent in dust and
ashes." In such a state of mind the words of the apostle
come like a breeze from paradise : " If any man sin, he hath
an advocate with the Father."
In reading this case of successful intercession on the part of
Moses, we cannot help joining it with another case, that oc-
curred some time later. We have an account of it in the
thirty-third chapter of Exodus. It is when he went to plead
forgiveness for the great sin of making and worshiping the
golden calf. It is a passage in the history of this good man,
so richly edifying that it should be read again and again, and
reflected upon with deepest reverence. It is something like a
rich mine of gold, the more it is wrought the richer the supply.
In the conversation with God which is here recorded, we can-
not help noticing the simple-heartedness of the Prophet. He
ful^y unbosomed himself, and pours out his whole heart. He
has now had some experience of what kind of a people he has
to deal with, and of the difficulties with which he will have to
contend ; and he feels that to have power with the people, he
must first have power with God.
The Lord acknowledges the full power of his plea. He
condescends to talk with this poor feeble mortal face to face.
He listens to his appeals for help, not only with patience, but
even with approval. He does not chide him for his boldness ;
but, on the contrary, acknov/ledges the full force of every word
he says. Moses felt bowed down under a sense of his own
unfitness for the work before him ; and pleads for God to go
with him, with an intensity of earnestness, that almost makes us
MOSES. THE MAN OF GOD, 137
tremble as we read of it. We almost feel as if he were going
too far. But the reply comes, " My presence shall go with thee,
and I will give thee rest." We would think that here the
prophet would stop. But no ; his mind is in so anxious a state,
the issues involved are so tremendous, that he comes nearer
and still more urgently presses his request, when the reply
again comes, " I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken ;
for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by
name."
Emboldened by this success Moses ventures still further.
Indeed, he had been drawing nearer and nearer through the
whole of the interview. A holy familiarity had been going on,
till it reaches a climax that overwhelms us with astonishment.
The man of God now takes such a position as no mortal man
ever took before, as he exclaims, " I beseech thee, show me thy
glory." Oh, what a request to come from a poor worm of the
earth ! V/e expect to see him repelled Avith indignation. We
look for the thunderbolt to leap forth for his destruction ; or to
see him flung to the base of the mountain a ghastly corpse.
But no. Instead of that we hear the gracious words, " I will
make all my goodness to pass before thee." The great Jeho-
vah engages to show him all that he can bear in his present
state. He is assured that the full unveiled glory of the God-
head he could not see and live. But he agrees to show him
all that he can bear ; and to den^ him nothing that will be pos-
sible for his mortal condition.
Here we have a sight which for sublimity and moral gran-
deur is without a parallel in the history of our race. That hand
that guides the stars in their courses, that regulates the course
of the flaming comet, that tunes the thunder's roar, and modi-
fies the rage of the lightning's flash, takes this man of mighty
faith and puts him in the cleft of a rock, that he may show him
his glory and make all his goodness pass before him. Ten-
derly the great Jehovah puts his hand over his feeble creature,
that the full splendor of the Godhead may not consume him.
Christ is represented as a rock in the cleft of which we can
hide and be safe.
138 THE world's hope.
" Rock of ages cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee."
When we look at God in Christ vre can behold him without
a veil between ; and yet know that to us he is not a con-
suming fire.
There was Moses alone with God, amid the deep solitudes
of that rugged, wild and sublime scenery. We see him
rising early in the morning, brushing away the early dew, and
climbing up the craggy summit that he may be alone with God.
No doubt that a deep and profound awe rested upon his mind ;
but there is no evidence that he felt anything like dread. No,
he loved God, and perfect lovecasteth out fear. Hence he was
ready to go into any solitary place,to be alone with Him he loved.
Now, my reader, what would you think of such an interview
with your Maker ; of such a face to face converse with the Lord
of the universe? Suppose that you were informed that you
might have such an interview this very night, would you gladly
accept the offer .'' Would your heart leap with joy at the pro-
posal ? If you knew God through his Son, you would ; but if
not, your heart would quake within you under a consciousness
of guilt. God seen through the law produces nothing but ter-
ror. Paul says, " Wlien the commandment came sin revived
and I died." He had studied that law under the great doctors
of the age, but that was mere theory ; but when the spirituality
of the law was brought home to his heart, sin after sin came
up and filled him with condemnation. In like manner when
Moses saw God through the law he said, " I exceedingly fear
and quake." But when he saw God through atoning blood, all
his fears fled away as the morning fog disappears before the
rising glories of the sun.
No wonder that when Moses came down from the mount,
where such glorious manifestations had been made to him,
his face shone with luster too bright for the people of Israel
to look upon. The impression of God and of eternal truth
which he had obtained reflected themselves upon his counte-
nance, and made him appear like an angel of brightness come
from the upper glory.
MOSES. THE MAN OF GOD.
139
This personal knowledge of God was of more value to him
as a leader than all his previous studies had been. No study,
no learning, no eloquence can be a substitute for this, in one
who would lead the people of God, or in any way do good in
the world. Those sweet hours of communion with heaven
were infinitely more valuable to the prophet than all the learn-
ing of the Egyptians.
Unconverted reader, I ask you to come to God through
Jesus. Do not halt or hesitate, for while you do so the great
gulf will soon be fixed between you and heaven. Your char-
acter is now forming and \vill soon be stereotyped forever. In-
decision soon becomes decision. You decide for hell while
you only think that you are wavering about heaven !
"Go up, go up, my heart,
Dwell with thy God above ;
For here thou canst not rest,
Nor here give out thy love.
" Go up, go up, my heart,
Be not a trifler here ;
Ascend above these clouds.
Dwell in a higher sphere.
" Let not thy love flow out
To things so soiled and dim,
Go up, to heaven and God,
Take up thy love to him.
" Waste not thy precious stores
On creature-love below ;
To God that wealth belongs,
On him that wealth bestow.
" Go up, reluctant heart,
Take up thy rest above ;
Arise, earth-clinging thoughts,
Ascend, my lingering love."
t40 . THE WORLD S HOPE.
CHAPTER X.
MOSES ON MOUNT SINAI.
We now approach one of the most important periode in the
life of Moses. He has come back to the place where he had
received his great commission, according to the promise then
made to him : " Certainly, I will be with thee ; and this shall be
a token unto thee that I have sent thee. AVhen thou hast
brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon
this mountain."
That wonderful column of cloud and fire, which had heretc^-
fore been their heaven-appointed guide, now moved up to the
top of Mount Sinai. These were familiar scenes to the man bf
God. Here, in retirement, away from the din and turmoil of
the world, his soul had been disciplined for true greatness.
There are scarcely any who have left their impress upon the
world for good, who have not been first fitted for that preemi-
nence by retirement.
It was now the purpose of God to display his glory and
make known his will to this people, in such a way as had not
before been done. He was about to take them into covenant
with himself, as a highly honored and favored people ; by
giving them written laws and established institutions of a typi-
cal character. If they would obey his voice, and walk accord-
ing to the statutes he would give them, he promised to make
them his peculiar pleasure above all nations ; and the people
cried out, as with one voice : " All that the Lord has spoken
Avill we do."
But before the law was to be proclaimed three days were to
elapse as days of preparation. Outwardly they were to wash
and cleanse themselves, and inwardly they were to be filled
with a deep conviction of their own sinfulness, and of the holi-
MOSES ON MOUNT SINAI. I^I
ness of that Great Jehovah who was about to address them. A
barrier was placed around the mountain, across which neither
man nor beast was to pass ; for even to touch the sacred en-
closure was to incur the penalty of instant death.
We can easily conceive something of the solemn hush of
expectation which would fall upon the people, while all the
preparations were going on. Many an anxious and eager look
would be turned towards that rugged mountain, and many
conjectures would be whispered from mouth to mouth, regard-
ing the events about to take place.
At last the morning of the third day dawns. The whole
masses are moved with one common excitement. The camp
is all alive under the influence of thrilling expectations. At
the doors of the tents are seen crowds of anxious faces, waiting
to know what is next to be done. The proclamation of Moses
is spread among them, calling upon them to come and meet
with God. There they stand in solemn awe, every tongue
silent, and every murmur hushed. The deep and profound
stillness of the vast throng is at last broken by the outburst of
the elements. The mountain seemed shaken to its very foun-
dations, vivid sheets of blinding flame came from out of the
dark cloud, and terrific crashes of thunder made the most
careless tremble. A black cloud wraps Sinai from view ; and,
piercing through that cloud, and breaking upon the ears of the
trembling people, comes the sound of a trumpet exceeding
loud. God has come down amid that fire and smoke, and not
only do the million's of Israel tremble, but the mountain waves
to and fro under the tramp of God's footstep ; while the very
earth quivers at the presence of its Lord. Ah ! we can imag-
ine how, with pale faces and quivering lips, friends would cling
to each other ; and children, with screams of distress, entreat
their mothers to carry them from the dreadful scene.
But hark ! another sound is heard : it is the voice of God
commanding Moses to come up to him to the mount. Will he
go up amid the smoke and tempest, and the sounding of Hea-
ven's dread artillery ? Every eye is fixed upon him ; but he
does not hesitate for a moment. With calm and tranquil look
S42
THE WORLD S HOPE.
he moves forward through the boundary line, and is lost to
sight as he enters the cloud. For forty days and nights he
there remained alone with Jevovah. There he received the
ten commandments, inscribed by the finger of God himself,
upon two tables of stone. This whole scene is awfully grand,
and brings before our minds the solemn events of the day of
judgment, when the trumpet shall sound and its peals echo from
pole to pole, break upon the ear of the slumbering dead, and
bring them forth to give an account of the deeds done in the
body.
We are told that such was the effect upon the people, of the
sights and sounds of Sinai, that, retreating in terror from the
mountain, they cried out to Moses : " Speak thou to us ; but
let not the Lord speak to us lest we die," Oh, happy those
who, in the day of account shall have the Great Advocate to
come between God and them, claiming them as the purchase
of his own blood.
While standing at Sinai there are some most important les-
sons that we may learn. One of these is the greatness of the
God w^th whom we have to do. When man was first called
into being the law of his Lord was written upon his heart, en-
graved upon his very soul, and no scenes of terror were
required to impress it upon his mind. His soul as naturally
ascended to God as the grass grows upwards, or as the rivers
run down hill. But he became a rebel, and the law had again
to be proclaimed, amid those displays of power of which we
have spoken. That God still holds man to a strict accounta-
bility. We must soon meet Him ; and it must be either as par-
doned or unpardoned sinners. It cannot be doubted that it
must be a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a being whose
law and gospel have both been dispised. Oh come then to
a shelter from the stormy blast, provided by infinite love ! It
is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, while
trying to put the rags of your own righteousness in the place
of the spotless robe which Jesus has provided.
In the conduct of the people of Israel at the foot of Mount
Sinai, we see an awful proof of the depravity of our race.
MOSES ON MOUNT SINAI,
143
Scarcely had the sound of the thunders and the trumpet and
the voice of the Lord died away upon their ears, than we see
them upon their knees before an idol God of their own mak-
ing. O how base and ungrateful ! The Lord had delivered
them from bondage the most degrading and painful ; had made
them a highway through the waters of the sea, the surging bil-
lows of which found a grave for their enemies; had brought
waters from the flinty rock, and rained down bread from
heaven ; and yet all this is forgotten. The same place that
had but lately witnessed their pale faces and trembling fears,
their pledges publicly given that they would serve the Lord,
now witnesses their profane mirth, mingled with their horrid
idolatry.
In them we see a true picture of ourselves. How often have
we broken our vows and falsified our best resolutions. How
often we have forgotten God and turned to our idols. Our
proper place is in the dust before Him. It is natural for us to
think highly of ourselves, but we can gain nothing by such
folly. It may be very painful to know the worst about our-
selves, but thus only can we know the best about Jesus. We
must be emptied of self in order to be filled with Christ.
This law given, amidst-such solemnity, was good and just and
perfect. It was worthy of our love and obedience. It was the
moral likeness of the Creator, and had his glorious perfections
stamped upon it. To violate the law was to incur great guilt,
and bring upon the soul a tremendous curse. That curse is
on every man out of Christ. No attempts of his own can ever
remove it. No tears, no prayers, no reformation of conduct
can bring the soul from under its condemnation. There is but
one name given under heaven that can bring us deliverance.
It is the name of Jesus. He has kept that law, honored it, and
magnified it. He bore the curse of it for us ; and none need
fall under its condemnation if they go to him by simple faith.
We are told of a poor boy, a shoeblack in one of our East-
ern cities, who had heard the story of the cross at a mission
Sabbath school. He was stricken with disease, and expected
to die. His teacher went to see him and found both his
144 "^^"^^ WORLD S HOPE.
parents drunk, and the dying boy quite neglected. " Shall I
bring you a nurse or medicine ?" said the teacher. " No, I
only want to ask you two questions. Did Jesus die for all of
us?" " Yes, my boy, he did." " Well, will he save all who
come to him.?" " Yes, he will." "Thank God he has saved
me," said the dying boy, and his head fell upon his breast.
His soul had gone to be forever with the Lord.
** Grace is flowing like a river;
Millions there have been supplied;-
Still it flows as full as ever
From the Savior's wounded side."
Our Lord's substitution was a perfect one. The blood shed
was that of God in our nature; and therefore can wash away
the blackest stains. Had he been but a man, we might well
be afraid to venture our eternal all upon him. No where can
we see the beauty of the gospel more clearly than at Sinai.
There we learn that by the works of the law, no flesh can be
justified. In the midst of terror and flashing lightnings and
rolling thunders the law came, while humanity trembled before
its just and infallible demands; but the gospel came in the
stillness of the night, spoken by the sweet voices of angels, and
telling of peace and the good will of God to men. The law
says, "The soul that sinneth it shall die;" the gospel says,
" Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."
The law comes with frowns and threatenings ; the gospel with
smiles and invitations. The law wounds; the gospel heals.
The law kills; the gospel makes alive.
Blessed be God, the gospel reveals the greatest of Saviors
for the greatest of sinners. He is mighty to save. He comes
traveling in the greatness of his strength, with garments dyed
in blood, and hands stretched out to save you from going down
to the pit. In the French Revolution we are told of a young
man who was condemned to the guillotine, and shut up in one
of the prisons. He had many friends who loved him well, but
one who loved him above all others. How did that person
prove this.? Why, by giving up his life for him. It was his
MOSES ON MOUNT SINAI. I45
own father, and when the lists were called, his name being the
same as the son's, he answered for him, rode out in the gloomy
death-cart for him, and for him had his head cut off by the
cruel instrument of death. In this see a faint picture of the
love of your Savior. Your name was on the condemned list.
You would surely have died. But Jesus took your place.
Come to him and your name will no longer be on the con-
demned list ; for he takes your condemnation upon himself.
There is no condemnation to them who are in Christ. They
are set free forever.
Leaving the solemn scenes of Mount Sinai the Israelites
were marched into the wilderness of Paran. Here the old
spirit of discontent and rebellion began to foment, and soon
broke out against the Lord and his servant Moses. Even the
long forbearance of God has an end, and his displeasure was
kindled against them so that multitudes were destroyed. In
their vile ingratitude they complained of the very bread that
was rained dovrn to them from heaven to eat. Such constant
murmuring and complaining began to weigh down the spirit of
the man of God, so that he felt the burden of governing such
a people too heavy for him, and called to the Lord for deliv-
erance. His prayer was answered, and he was directed to
choose out seventy elders as a judicial court, to attend to the
affairs of this great peofile. This was no doubt the origin of
the great Jewish Sanhedrim, which was in full operation in the
days of our Lord.
And here a circumstance occurred which presents the spirit
of Moses in a noble light. It seems that the spirit of proph-
ecy had been given to two young men of the camp, named
Eldad and Meclad. Some of the prophet's friends being jeal-
ous for his honor, told him of this and wished him to put a stop
to it. But he had a mind lifted infinitely above all such paltry
jealousy. He only wanted good to be done, he cared not where
or by whom. His exalted reply was, "Would God that all the
Lord's people v/ere prophets, and that the Lord would put his
spirit upon them." V/hat a beautiful magnanimity was here
displayed. It reminds us of the spirit and temper shown by
146 THE WOKLD's hope.
another great man, many centuries afterwards, that is Paul, the
Apostle of the Gentiles. In his day there Avere some who
preached the gospel out of envy, and others from a malignant
wish to add to his afflictions, already heavy enough; but in-
stead of returning evil for evil, his great heart of love spoke
out in the noble Avords, " Notwithstanding the gospel is
preached; and in this I rejoice; yea, and will rejoice." There
are some small, paltry minds, who cannot rejoice in good
done, unless it be in connection with their own individual
efforts. They are ever trumpeting abroad what they have
done and what they have attempted ; while the self-denying
efforts of others are past by with indifference or silence. O,
how unlike the spirit of the Lord Jesus !
There are others v/ho take but little interest in the work of
God, unless in connection with their church or their denomi-
nation. Soul's may be converted in hundreds and thousands
in other churches, but it fills their souls with no gladness, but
often with a doubtful shake of their heads they seek to cast
discredit on the whole matter. Now this is far from the lovely
spirit of the gospel. As long as good is done and precious
souls saved, let us rejoice in it, and give the work our fullest
sympathy and heartiest cooperation.
We have knovvn pome ministers who showed themselves
somewhat jealous of the successful labors of laymen. They
seem to think that their peculiar preogatives were being en-
croached upon, and that they must stand up for their profess-
ional dignity. This is as silly as it is wicked. The world can
never be converted by ministers alone. They cannot do all the
work that must be done, and there is a certain class to whom they
cannot gain access as easily as laymen can. Besides, the Bi-
ble nowhere tells us that ministers have an exclusive right to
preach the gospel — a grand monopoly of the work of saving
sinners. The Bible says, "Let him that heareth say. Come !"
By teaching in the Sabbath school; by distributing tracts ; by
visiting from house to house ; and where they have talents for
the work,by preaching in destitute places, in school-houses, in
prisons, in the open air, or wherever the masses of the people
MOSES ON MOUNT SINAI. I47
congregate ; the whole membership of the church is to be em-
ployed. Happy that minister who knows how to organize the
hosts of the Lord ; and can prove himself a skillful leader, well
pleased if the Lord condescends to make the humblest of his
members, more useful than himself. But that narrow-minded
bigot who, standing upon his professional dignity, looks coldly
upon all such efforts, can neither have the approbation of God
nor of good men.
It is certainly one of the most encouraging signs of the times
that God is raising up and qualifying so many laymen to en-
gage in his work. As we see them go forth with the love of
Christ in their hearts, with fervent zeal, with ready speech, and
with ability to sway the minds of the masses of men, they bear
all the evidences of being heaven-sent. In such numbers have
these sprung up in America, in Britain, and in Germany, that
we cannot but regard it as one of the signs of the coming of a
brighter day for Zion. The Lord is choosing these men from
all classes and conditions of life. In Scotland and in Canada
he has sent some forth from the ranks of the titled nobility,
who, in the drawing-rooms of the rich, as well as in the humble
home of the poor, are publishing the glad tidings. In other
cases he is sending out young men who, working at their me-
chanical employments for their own support, have gone from
town to town, telling the simple story of the cross with great
power and wonderful success. In other cases persons are con-
verted from the lowest and most degraded of the people, living
way down at the very bottom of society, and these have carried
the truths of salvation into the circles that the minister of the
gospel could not reach, and could effect but very little if he
did. Glory to God for all this ! The work is His ; and woe to
the man who would cast the least obstacle in the way in order
to sustain the interests of any particular class.
Let the minister seek to make every member of his church
a co-worker with himself and with God, in the world's deliv-
erance from sin. Let every young convert be taught to be a
worker for Jesus every day of his life. Let them understand
that to cease working for the Savior is a strong evidence of
1.48 THE world's hope.
blacksliding of heart. Let there be a noble emulation of who
shall do most in their own spheres, and according to the talent
committed to them, for the honor of the gracious Master. Let
all ministers cultivate the noble spirit of Moses. " Would to
God that all the Lord's people were prophets."
We come now to an event which is full of the richness of
gospel truth, and which shows how the wisdom and goodness
of God can bring out of the wickedness of man that which will
be of world-wide benefit to our race. It has been truly said, that
sin is the most expensive thing in the whole world. Whether
it is pardoned or unpardoned, it costs an infinite price. If
pardoned, it costs the precious blood of God's own Son ; if not
pardoned it costs an eternity of woe. God will not do any-
thing to lower the dignity of his own law. It has been dis-
honored by wicked men and devils ; but all that God does for
his creature's eternal welfare must be done in such a way as
to honor that law in the highest degree. That law is essential to
the happiness of all his intelligent creatures. Hence its honor
must be kept up, whatever it costs. It did cost avast sacrifice,
but it was freely given. " Not with corruptible things, such as
silver and gold, were ye redeemed ; but with the precious blood
of the Son of God."
While the Israelites lay encamped at Mount Hur, King Arad
came out in a secret manner and took a number of them pris-
oners. He gained nothing by this, however, for the men of
war went forth and destroyed his cities. This success so filled
them with pride that they thought they could conquer the
whole land, and march directly into Canaan. Hence they
murmured about the length of the way by which the Lord was
leading them, and displayed generally a very seditious spirit.
As a punishment fiery serpents were sent among them, the bite
of which was deadly. Numbers were dying all over the camp,
and the people, repenting cf their conduct, entreated Moses to
plead with the Lord on their behalf. This he did, and with
great success. And the Lord said unto Moses, " Make thee a
fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole ; and it shall come to pass,
that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall
MOSES ON MOUNT SIANI.
149
live." "And Moses made a serpent of brass and put it upon
a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any
mah, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."
That this was directly typical cf the Lord Jesus we learn
from his own words to Nicodemus. " As Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be
lifted up ; that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish,
but have eternal life." In both cases the object was to save
dying men. The bite of the serpent was sure death, unless a
remedy had been provided ; and so sin is certain destruction
to the soul, had not a Savior been provided.
Whoever looked at the brazen serpent was cured. It might
be an old, hoary-headed sinner, or it might be a youth of tender
years and amiable impulses ; but both were to be saved in the
same way. The man, at the very point of death, whose black-
ened and bloated form told of his near approach to eternity ;
and the man who had just been bitten, and could see no danger
at all in his present state, were both to be saved by looking at
the same object. So it is with the plan of salvation through
a crucified Redeemer. The vilest transgressor and the most
moral and amiable sinner, must come in the same way ; trust-
ing alone in Christ's merits. This has been a great stumbling
block to many a proud soul. Here, for example, is a pirate
just come from the slippery deck of his vessel, his hands red
with the blood of murder. The vilest passions gleam from his
eyes, and his lips burn with the most horrid blasphemies. But
the very first time he hears the gospel he is cut to the heart
and begins to cry for mercy. His sins roll up before him in
terrific array ; and as if they were mountains of lead, he feels
that they are dragging him down to perdition. But suddenly
he hears the Lord telling him, that His blood can cleanse from
all sin ; and that whosoever cometh to him he will in no wise
cast out. He believes it, takes God at his word, and is at once
saved. A sense of peace and pardon takes possession of his
soul. He knows that his sins are all forgiven him for Jesus'
sake. As an adopted child he can go with confidence into the
150 THE world's hope.
presence of the heavenly Father, and worship him without a
cloud between.
But here is an amiable, kind-hearted man, whose life glides
smoothly on in acts of benevolence and good-will to his fellow-
men. In all the relations of life, he is strictly moral and duti-
ful. In short, in many respects he is regarded by his neighbors
as a model man. Yet inwardly he has a sinful heart. He
does not love God with all his soul. He has, in thought and
feeling, broken God's law every hour of his life. The curse of
that law is upon him. From that curse he can only be saved
by the same means that saved the blood-stained murderer. He
must com^e emptied of self, a poor hell-deserving sinner as the
other came ; and be saved by the blood of Jesus alone. He
must count all his morality and outward goodness as doing
nothing for him in the way of obtaining eternal life. But will
he do it ? Will not his pride rebel against this humbling and
mortifying plan of mercy ? Alas ! many are constantly doing
so ; and publicans and harlots rush into the kingdom of
heaven, while they shut themselves out by their self-righteous-
ness. As the wounded Israelites were saved by simply look-
ing at the brazen serpent lifted up, so all sinners are to be
saved by a look of faith at the Lord Jesus. " Look unto me
and be ye saved, all the ends of ye earth."
In the case of the Israelites the remedy was perfect. When
God's direction was complied with, there was not a single case
of failure. Not one could stand up and say, I have tried the
remedy ; it has done me no good ; I must die. So in the whole
history of the world never man came to Jesus by faith, and was
turned away unsaved. None can say, I have tried the blood
of Jesus ; it may have saved others, but it is not able to save
me. Nay, in every case the remedy has been immediate
in its saving power. It is a present salvation. If there is any
delay it is on the part of the sinner ; for with God noia is the
acceptable time. The remedy is divinely certified never to
fail. It is not like those human nostrums, certified to cure the
sick and the dying, and that for a moment enkindle hope in
the bosom of despair, only to cast them back into the bitter
MOSES ON MOUNT SIANI. 15I
anguish of hope deferred. No, the whole countless multitude
of the redeemed in heaven and on earth unite in singing,
" Worthy is the Lamb that was slain ; for he has washed us
from our sins in his own blood."
In the braz-n serpent lifted up we see the necessity of faith
in the work of salvation. Men looked at the serpent, believing
what God said as to its curative power. Even the people liv-
ing under that dark dispensation knew very well that that piece
of brass was only a type, and that there was nothing in it to
save them. They knew that the principle thing was faith in
the true word of God regarding it. These Hebrews got the
healing power by simply doing what God bid them. Suppose
that a wounded man had applied some of his own remedies,
having more faith in them than he had in God's, and yet to
please his neighbors, or as a kind of experiment of his own,
would go out and look at the brazen serpent, he would have
received no good. His v/ant of faith would have been dishonor
done to God.
Faith has a mighty power in the affairs of men. It binds
families and nations together. Without it the wheels of com-
merce could not revolve for a single day. Of the power of
faith I lately met with the following illustration. Admiral Du-
pont was telling Admiral Farragut the reason why he failed to
enter Charleston harbor with his splendid fleet of ironclads.
He gave first one reason, then another and another. Farragut
stood silent till he got through, and then said : " Ah, Dupont,
there was one more reason." " What was that .?" " You didn't
le/ieve you could do it." Now if faith is so important in the
affairs of men, is it any wonder that it should be so important
when God speaks to his creatures.
Suppose that a wounded Israelite had given as a reason why
he should not look at the brazen serpent, that he was not yet
sick enough, that he did not yet suffer enough, but that
by and by v/hen he felt in greater danger, he would do v/hat
was required. Would you not regard this as exceedingly absurd ?
And yet there are those who are waiting to feel themselves
greater sinners, waiting to feel deeper convictions before they
152 THE WORLD S HOPE.
come to Jesus. My reader, you know that you are a sinner
and that you need a Savior ; well, that is enough. Come as
you are. If you wait for anything you are not likely to come
at all. Or if you do, it will be after wearing your life out in
trying human plans, that only being increased guilt upon your
soul. Let me urge you now to resolve, that turning away from
every false way you will at once go to Him who is the way, the
truth, and the life.
AVhen a wounded Israelite looked at the brazen serpent he
would at once hww that he was cured. He would not say, I
hope I am, but I have often many doubts and fears. Thus the
soul that comes to Christ has a divine certainty given — an un-
clouded confidence imparted to him. And yet many of th&
people of God are almost afraid to take that comfort from the
gospel which it is fitted and intended to give, lest they should
be too bold and manifest a lack of that proper humility that
becomes a sinner.
Now if we ourselves had anything to do with obtaining this
assurance, then we might well have doubts about it. But it is
not so. The ground of our confidence is entirely independent
of anything that we have done or can do. It depends alone
upon the sufficiency of Christ's death and the veracity of God's
word. My certainty of being accepted is made to turn upon
this point, did Jesus die for sinners like me, and is God speak-
ing the truth when he says I can be forgiven for the sake of
w^hat he has done } Assurance in this case is honoring the
faithfulness of God, and doubt is casting discredit upon his
veracity. If a friend comes and makes a statement to you,
and you entertain doubts about it, you, in that case, dishonor his
credibility. If he is a man of truth, and you have long known
him as such, you have no right to have any doubts at all. So it is
in regard to our assurance of salvation. The Apostle John
says, " If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of
God is greater." Jesus always referred to the truth of what he
said as the reason why he expected it to be believed. "If I
say the truth, why do ye not believe me ?"
Here it is where many believers make a great mistake. They
MOSES ON MOUNT SIANI. 153
look within themselves for a ground of assurance, and exam-
ine their own feelings and experience, to find a rock of confi-
dence on which to build. No wojider they fail. God's true
saying concerning his Son is the tiue foundation on which to
rest ; and the soul that does so shall never be confounded.
Paul called his hearers to witness, that he came declaring unto
them the testimony of God. Not his testimony, not his feel-
ings, nor his experience, but the word of the God of truth. O
surely if we can be certain of anything, it must be what rests
upon such testimony !
An infidel had got a woman to believe his pernicious doc-
trines. When she was dying he said to her, " Hold fast, Mary."
"I can't hold fast, for you have given me nothing to hold by."
He had taught her to doubt, but had given her nothing to be-
lieve. How diff'erent with the Christian who rests upon the
truth of God. He can look death and judgment in the face
with an assurance that earth and hell cannot shake, for he
knows that his Divine Master can not deny himself. The
strong bulwark of salvation behind which the believer stands
was built by Jehovah, and it is a burning shame for us to doubt
our security while standing there.
** My friend, God does not ask thy tears,
Nor aught that thou canst give ;
Thy prayers can never save thy soul,
*Believe,' and thou shalt live.
" The work was finish'd long ago,
• All merit. set aside,
When Jesus, in the sinner's stead,
Upon Mount Calvary died.
*' He there became a substitute,
The sinner's debt to pay —
He brought in everlasting life
For all who will obey.
" And Jesus risen from the dead
Is now the proof to thee,
That all the debt was fully paid
Upon the cursed tree.
154
THE WORLD S HOPE.
'• There's nothing left for you to give,
Nothing for you to pay —
If you but trust in Jesus' blood,
You may be saved to-day.
" Saved, if you simply place your trust
In God's beloved Son,
And only rest your faith upon
The work which He has done.
" Thus having Christ by living faith, '
You stand before the throne.
In all His perfect spotlessness —
His righteousness alone.
" Then cease from all thy useless toil,
Thou art not asked to give —
God tells thee Christ has paid the debt^
'•Believe, and thou shalt live' "
MOSES ON MOUNT PISGAH. 155
CHAPTER XL
MOSES ON MOUNT PISGAH.
We come now to contemplate Moses in the closing days of
his life. Properly speaking, a good man never dies. His char-
acter is brightened by the years that roll on, lives through all
time and, like a fixed star, shines with undiminished luster.
" The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance."
Such men live not for themselves, but for others. Their lives
are a complete consecration to the good of humanity. Not in
dreamy, selfish ease did they spend their days on earth, but
filled with the love of God, these heroic souls labored and
suffered and died, to add to the sum total of human happiness.
Such characters triumph over death, and while passing away
from earth leave to mankind the noblest legacy — that of a holy
example. It is not wealth, nor distinguished birth, nor brill-
iant genius, but goodness that imparts to a man true immor-
tality. Men say that such a man is dead, but his usefulness
lives right on. He may be laid in the silent grave, but his holy
acts of self-denying zeal defy the power of death and the
grave to cast over them the pall of oblivion.
How strikingly is all this seen in the case of Moses. Here
is true principle and Godlike character embodied and person-
ified. We now see him closing up his earthly career. Through
countless perils and trials he had led the chosen people to the
very borders of the promised land. We see the tents of the
Israelites stretching away over hill and plain, and looking' pic-
turesque and beautiful in the rays of the morning sun. The
face of nature is cahii and beautiful. All around is sweet re-
pose— a holy quiet. On the morning of that day so memorable,
when the prophet is to take farewell of the people that he had
loved so well, and for whom he had suffered so much ; we see
156 THE world's hope.
the people gathering together from every quarter, till they
stand there a mighty host. Then comes the farewell address
of their great leader, and his parting benediction. That was
a solemn moment when the man of God cast his eye over that
vast sea of faces for the last time. He remembered the past
with prophetic power, looked into the future, and the tenderest
emotions rushed like a mighty river through his soul. They
are met for the last time on earth, and he speaks to them in
terms the most fit and memorable. It is, ineded, a wonderful
address. For pious fervor, for bold imagery, for melting ten-
derness, for faithfulness of rebuke, and for the impetuous rush
of sweeping and majestic eloquence, it casts into the shade the
greatest orators of Greece and Rome. It was heaven-inspired.
He was but the trumpet through which the voice of the Lord
sounded ; and with what thrilling pathos do those words fall
upon our ears, " O that they were wise, that they understood
this, that they would consider their latter end V*
But his work is done, and well done. His death-warrant is
signed, and the decision from which there is no appeal has
gone forth. We see him turn away from the weeping multi-
tude, and with eye undimmed and vital energy still strong
within him, begin to ascend the mount where he was to die. He
did .not look like a dying man, for his physical system bore no
signs of decay. His Lord, however, Avanted him for higher
service, and to fill and satisfy his soul with unspeakable de-
lights. What a lovely sight, to see that hale old man, wdth such
a sweetly composed look upon his face, climbing up to his
grave. Never king went with greater alacrity to his throne
than did this venerable saint of God to meet with death. At
last he stands upon Pisgah's summit looking on the magnificent
scene that opens before him. Every object is bathed in light
and beauty, and his soul is filled with delight as he looks at last
upon the fair land of promise.
Away yonder, in the distance, flows the Jordan, hastening
to empty itself into the Dead Sea; its waters flashing and
sparkling in rays of the sun. We can imagine him stand-
ing on some gray rock, and looking with intense eagerness upon
MOSES ON MOUNT PISGAH. 157
a land that for forty years had been so much in his thoughts.
Away on his right he sees the snow peaks of Mount Lebanon,
gleaming like a huge mass of crystal in heaven's light. There,
too, is the hill of Zion, where in coming years the beautiful
temple will be built, and multitudes of his descendants go up
to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. When he turns
and looks to the left, some spots that are to be the most mem-
orable on earth meet his views. There he sees Bethlehem,
where the world's Savior is to be born ; and there is Mount
Calvary, where he is to die in untold agony, the just for the
unjust. It is not too much to suppose that his Lord told him
of those places, and of what was to occur upon them ; and if
so, with what emotions must his soul have been filled !
But suddenly a new light breaks upon him. He begins to
see the spiritual instead of the material, eternal things in-
stead of temporal. A new light breaks upon his astonished
view ; a light more brilliant than anything he had ever
conceived of before; and in comparison with which the sun
in his brightness would look like a dark spot. It is the
light of glory, the brightness of his future hope. He has
reached the pearly gate of the city of God. Angels open and
bid him welcome. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and many
others of whom he wrote, press forward to hail his entrance
with delight. Peals of ravishing music, and bursts of triumph-
ant praise, break upon his ear. O, thrice happy soul ! Thy
sorrows are ended, thy immortal joys are begun, never, never
to end !
But look at the top of Pisgah ! What is that which lies upon
the old gray rock ? It is the corpse of Moses. The immortal
spirit is in heaven, and that is only the tabernacle of clay. We
know not how long he was dying, nor what were the last
earthly words he spoke to his Lord. No human friends were
with him in his last moments ; but he needed them not, for
" beneath him were the everlasting arms." He had the most
magnificent funeral ever given to mortal man. God, himself,
buried him, and there his flesh rests in hope as the ages roll
away, his grave unknown to mortals.
158 THE world's hope.
The God that he served and loved so well took care of his
dust, and the secret of his resting-place is shut up in the Di-
vine mind till the morning of the resurrection. Many a trav-
eler may pass over the sacred spot without knowing it. There
the dust of the man of God reposes undisturbed, " with the
thunder of the passing storm as his only dirge." For this con-
cealment Jehovah had, no doubt, good reasons. We have seen
how prone these Hebrews were to idolatry; and had they
known the place of his sepulcher they might have profaned it
in such a way. In this way the Lord put his condemnation
upon all superstition. We know even in this dispensation of
superior light and knowledge, what a traffic has been kept up in
the bones of persons called saints, and what pretended miracles
have been wrought by them. Very likely the bones of Moses
would have been preserved and carried about with them. To
help them in time of battle, to bring them rain in time of
drouth, to drive av>'ay pestilence and disease, and to work all
kinds of charms, these bones might have been resorted to. But
by keeping the place of his burial secret the Lord rendered
this forever impossible.
We know that the Israelites were liable to fall into such su-
perstitious practices from the way that they treated the brazen
serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness. This serpent,
it seems, was preserved, and in the days of Hezekiah they had
begun to worship it. This filled that good man with a holy
indignation, so that he brake it in pieces that this temptation
to idolatry might be forever out of their way.
Christ is said to have abolished death ; that is, he has dis-
armed it of its stings, and its power to hurt the believer. A
new life reigns in the renewed soul and takes possession of it
forever. The earthly tabernacle is subject to death because it
has in it the seeds of decay ; but when Jesus rose from the
grave, death was swallowed up in victory. Just as sure as he
lives, we shall live also, in the whole of our nature. It was
not one part of our nature that he undertook to deliver from
the effects of sin ; but the perfected work shall show body and
soul renewed and reigning in life through Jesus Christ.
MOSES ON MOUNT PISGAH. 159
With such a sublime confidence in the soul, no wonder that
the Christian's death is one of triumph. He has grasped the
grand central truth of Christianity ; and bigger, and better, and
brighter than all earthly joys put together is the gladness tha.t
fills his whole being. God has always kept the hope of a res-
urrection, less or more distinctly, before the world. Hence,
before the flood, Enoch was translated bodily from this world
to be with God ; showing that our bodies were capable of such
changes as to fit them to live in heaven. Then after the flood,
Elijah's translation testified to the same thing. Then our
adorable Redeemer rose from the dead ; and thus became the
first fruits of them that slept. As the great type of our human-
ity, He showed that the resurrection was not merely a thing
possible or probable, but a positive, accomplished fact. The
vast, wide dominions of death heard the glad tidings that came
from the open tomb of Jesus ; and though we may go to the
graves of our friends to weep there, it is not with the sorrow of
the infidel or of the heathen, who have no hope. The Savior
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, v/ith the voice
of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in
Christ shall rise first. Here is the hope of Christ's people—
the hope of the new creation. There our perfected humanity,
made like unto Christ's, shall start upon a glorious career of
immortal bliss.
It is called eternal life. It will be eternal life to both body
and soul. All the promises of future good from the beginning
of the creation, are, as it were, condensed into these words,
eternallife. All that the soul can enjoy, with all its vast capacity
of progression, and drawing forever from the unlimited fullness
of God, is implied in the words, eternal life. When millions of
ages shall have passed away, it will still be, eternal life. Could
we add together the age of our world to that of all the stars,
and then add the age of every redeemed soul to the age of
every angel in heaven, we would have a period so vast as to
confound the mind ; but still it v/ould be as nothing, compared
with eternal life. When all these years would have passed away,
the blood-bought throng would still be singing : " The gift of
l6o """^ - ~ THE world's hope.
God is eternal life!" We know that we must live forever in
some condition. Everywhere, the vast world over, men feel
that they have an immortal part within them. Savage and sage
alike believe that they must live forever. But it is to be
remembered that there is such a thing as banishment from God ;
which in the Bible is called eternal death. It is only the soul
that has been taken to the bosom of Divine Love, and that has
heard the whisper of the still, small voice, saying, " I give unto
them eternal life, and they shall never perish." Who can feel
the blessedness of a heaven begun on earth.
" The men of grace have found
Glory begun below ;
Celestial faith, on earthly ground,
By faith and hope may grow."
It is the privilege of all believers to have Pisgah views of
heaven. I have been an earnest observer at the death-beds of
many Christians, and I know that God gives special grace and
support for that trying hour. Clearer light illuminates their
minds. V/ider and deeper conceptions of the fullness of
Christ, fill their hearts to overflowing. Consolation, which in
its sweetness tells of its divine origin, is imparted to sustain the
soul, as it stands all ready for its mysterious flight. How firm
the foot is placed upon the Rock of Ages ! How strong the
courage, how noble the bearing of the believer in that hour !
What a sweet calm — a holy stillness — we have seen come over
him, like the calm of the going down of the summer sun, with
a golden glory all around. In such circumstances we have seen
the looks and the words of Christians bear an aspect almost
unearthly. They will often tell you that they hear angelic
music. " Listen ! Do you not hear it } O, how sweet ! how
rapturous!" Often they will seem astonished when told that
you did not hear anything. Sometimes they speak as if seeing
angel convoys. " See, see ! there are the shining ones ! They
have come for me ! O, let me go !" And they reach out their
cold arms, stiffening in death. Now I have no doubt that they
are often permitted to see something of heaven, before going
out of the body ; and that the soul gets so spiritual as to see
MOSES ON MOUNT PISGAH. r6l
around it its future companions. "VVe know that it was so with
Stephen before he died, even when the stones were falling
around him and the curses of his enemies were in his dying
ears. Thus God's holy ones are comforted. The loving hand
of their Savior pulls back the veil, and lets them get a glimpse
of their fair inheritance. Let worldly men call this fanaticism
and mere rhapsody if they please ; I call it Pisgah views, given
for loving purposes. Child of God, be comforted ! A few
more struggles, and you shall be in the calm glory of your Fa-
ther's house. A few more trials, and you shall be vv^ith the
unnumbered multitude of the glorified. Your crown is waiting
for you ; your white robe all fit to put on.
What blessed and joyous welcome will be given to the re-
deemed, when they land upon the shore of glory. Pastor, there
are spiritual children which God has given you, waiting to give
you a joyous reception. Mother, there are your loved children,
ready to join you in eternal songs of gratitude. Believers,
there are your brethren with whom you took sweet counsel on
earth. What happy prayer-meetings you used to have. How
pleasantly you labored together to promote the Savior's cause.
They have got to heaven before you ; but they wait and watch
for your coming. They hail you, as it were, from the heavenly
shore.
" E'en now by faith we join our hands
With those who went before,
Those great and blood-besprinkled bands
Upon th' eternal shore."
There are some people, even here, that it seems like a little
heaven to enjoy their society. To spend an evening with them
refreshes and strengthens us by the way, for months afterwards.
Think, then, of the society beyond the Jordan. Think of hav-
ing a long conversation with Enoch, and Moses, and Abraham »*
and of hearing David striking his heavenly harp to thrilling notes
of harmony. Think of hearing Milton, no longer blind, rolling
out his deathless numbers. Think of hearing and seeing the
great Reformers, Luther, and Calvin, and Zwingle, and many
others of whom the world was not worthy. If that man is
l62 THE world's HOPE.
peculiarly happy who enjoys these Pisgah views of which we
have spoken, how unspeakably happy must he be who is in full
possession of the promised land.
Moses enjoyed some privileges that were peculiar to himself;
because of the important position he was called to occupy. But
a peaceful, happy death was not one of these. . That is the priv-
ilege of all God's children. " Mark the perfect man, and
behold the upright ; for the end of that man is peace." Society
may be convulsed to its center ; earthly comforts may crumble
to ashes in the grasp ; the bright lights in our homes may go
out one by one in darkness ; but peace to live by and to die by,
is the assured inheritance of the Christian. With Christ for
his treasure, with heaven for his home, v/ith precious promises
to pillow his head upon, he can make the dark valley ring with
the cry, " I will fear no evil for thou art with me."
When I have spoken about these Pisgah glimpses, I do not
mean that any new thing is made known to the soul, that can-
not be found in the Bible ; no new revelation is given. There
are times, however, in the experience of all good people, when
portions of the Bible are so illuminated by the Holy Spirit, tha
they come with almost the force and the power of a nev/ reve-
lation. Like the blind man whom our Lord cured, who at first
saw things dimly, men like trees walking; so truths, of which
we had but a dim and shadowy view, are made to stand out in
all their lovely proportions. So is it with these Pisgah views.
We have a deeper, clearer insight into the deep things of God.
There is given to us the spiritual mind, and hence a fuller real-
ization of invisible things of eternity. The things that are seen
and temporal, and that used to absorb us so much, have lost
their power ; and the soul is now engrossed v/ith the things of
the world to come.
As the christian nears the eternal world, who can tell how
far his thoughts may be carried into the light of a higher reve-
lation .of God. I have often seen christians so filled v/ith the
love of God, and longing so intensely for his presence, that
there seemed a holy impatience for the gate to open and let
them go to their Father. I have visited such as their p^inister,
MOSES ON MOUNT PISGAH. 163
but not as their instructor. I felt that the secret of the Lord
was with them, and that they were able to instruct me. I might
know a great deal more about theology than they did ; but for
real heartfelt communion with God, for those joys in religion
that words are too poor to describe, for that glory bursting upon
their view, of which only angel language could tell, I felt that
my proper place was to sit at their feet and learn as a little
child. I have watched the lamp of life flickering till it ex-
pired; I have seen the dark shadow of death pass over the face,
brightened by flashes of glory, and I have cried out, " Let me
die the death of the righteous, and let my latter end be like
his."
To the truly spiritual man these views of his heavenly home
are given all his journey through. Moses lived in daily fellow-
ship with his God, and was thus changed from glory to glory.
The truly spiritually-minded man is a blessing to all who come
in contact with him. If you go to his house, he will tell you of
a house not made with hands. If you sit at his hospitable
table, he will feed you with the bread of life. If you do busi-
ness with him, he will seek to induce you to buy the pearl of great
price. If you injure him, he can forgive you as he himself has
been forgiven. If you curse him, he will bless you. He has gone
into the heavenly country, and brought us a bunch of the heav-
enly fruit, to increase our desire for more. Such a man is
the highest type of our humanity. Even in old age he brings
forth fruit abundantly for God. In the fall of the year you
may have seen the withered leaves shining like gold, because
the rays of the sun were reflected from them ; so the aged saint
reflects back upon the world the beams of the sun of Righteous-
ness. How great is the influence of such a life. As a single
atom of matter cannot be put in motion without afi'ecting the
innumerable other atoms that compose the globe, so is it with
human character. We move all around us for good or for evil
every day that we live. How important, then, that we should
be able to say, " For me to live is Christ."
We conclude the history of Moses v/ith the following beau,
tiful lines :
164 THE world's hope.
By Nebo's lonely mountain,
On this side Jordan's wave,
In a vale in the land of Moab,
There lies a lonely grave.
•" And no man dug the sepulcher,
And no man gave it air,
For the angels of God upturned the SOd»
And laid the dead man there.
•* That was the grandest funeral
That ever passed on earth,
But no man heard the tramping.
Or saw the train go forth.
" For, without sound of music,
Or voice of them that wept,
Silently down from the mountain's crowa
The great procession swept.
** Perchance, the bald old eagle,
On gray Bethpeor's height,
Out of his rocky eyrie
Looked on the wondrous sight.
"Perchance, the lion, stalking,
Still shuns that hallowed spot,
For beast and bird have seen and heard
That which man knoweth not.
" But when the warrior dieth,
His comrades in the war,
"With arms reversed, and muffled drum,
Follow the funeral car.
*' They show the banners taken.
They tell his battles won ;
And after him lead his masterless steed,
While peals the minute gun.
** A^tetid the noblest of the land,
Men lay the sage to rest.
And give the bard an honored place,
With costly marble drest,
MOSES ON MOUNT PISGAH. 165
' In the great Minster transept,
Where lights like glories fall,
And the choir sings, and the organ rings.
Along the emblazoned wall.
** This was the bravest warrior.
That ever buckled SAVord,
This the most gifted poet
That ever breathed a word.
** And never earth's philosopher
Traced with his golden pen,
^n the deathless page, truths half so sago
As he wrote down for men.
•'And had he not high honors?
The hillside for his pall.
To lie "in state while angels wait,
With stars for tapers tall ?
" And the dark rock pines with tossing plumes.
Over his bier to wave,
And God's own hand in that mountain land,
To lay him in the grave.
** In that deep grave without a name,
Whence his uncoffmed clay
Shall break again — most wondrous thouglit-
Before the judgment day,
* And stand with glory wrapped around
On the hills he never trod,
And speak of the strife that won our life
With the incarnate Son of God.
** Oh, lonely tomb in Moab's land !
Oh, dark Bethpeor's hill !
Speak to those anxious hearts of ours
And teach them to be still.
••God hath his mysteries of grace,
Ways that we cannot tell ;
He hides them deep, like the secret sleep
Of him he loved so well."
i66 THE world's hope.
CHAPTER XII.
JOSHUA, THE PIOUS SOLDIER.
Whether it is right for a religious man to engage in war has
long been a mooted question among rood people. Without
going into this discussion we may mention, that war with all
its attendant horrors has been permitted by God ; and very
often overruled by him for the accomplishment of the greatest
good. The opening China, containing one-third of the world's
population, to the preaching of the gospel was brought about
through the means of war. The overthrow of American
slavery, with all its accompanying abominations, was effected
by the same means. These are recent examples, but the his-
tory of the world is full of such cases.
It is also worthy of our notice, that some of the best of men
have been engaged in the profession of arms The armies of
Cromwell and of the Scottish Covenanters, afford examples of
the deepest piety, and show that religion, so far from unfitting
for the duties of a soldier, impart to him the highest courage.
Col. Gardiner lived very near God, rising early when the army
was on the move, in order to have time for prayer and reading
the Scripture. Capt. Headly Vicars, in that desperate strug-
gle before Sevastopol, was acknowledged by his superiors to be
one of the most efficient young officers in the army, and yet
his piety was of the highest type, and his zeal for the salvation
of souls unwavering.
Gen. Havelock was one of the bravest and most successful
of soldiers in modern times ; and yet one of the most consist-
ent of Christians. I^ord Harding said of him, '' Havelock is
every inch a soldier ;" and he was every inch a Christian. Once,
when some military emergency had arisen, the general in com-
mand had ordered out a particular corps, but was told that
JOSHUA, THE PIOUS SOLDIER. 167
they were not fit to take the post of danger, because they were
intoxicated. Now, mark what the general next said • — " Call out
Havelock's saints: he is always ready, and his men are never
drunk." When dying he said to his son, "Come, my son, and
see how a Christian man can die." To Sir James Outram, who
visited him on his death- bed, he said, " For more than forty
years I have so ruled my life that when death came I might
face it without fear."
In the late conflict in America, what noble specimens of the
Christian soldier were presented before the world. Both among
the officers and in the ranks were men who walked with God,
and were equally efhcient as soldiers of the Republic and as
soldiers of the Cross. Their religious convictions led them
to leave their comfortable homes, and bid farewell to loving
friends, to encounter hardships and perils, the very recital of
which makes our souls shudder. And never for a moment
did they look back and regret their choice. Who can look
upon such true specimens of Christian manhood as Gen.
Mitchell and Gen. Rice, without feeling that the true martyr
spirit still lives in the church of God. The latter, just before
entering the battle in which he was killed, wrote to his mother
as follows : " My entire hope is in the cross of my Savior. In
this hope I am always happy. I trust that God may again
graciously spare my life, as He has in the past ; and yet one
cannot fall too early if, loving Christ, he dies for his country."
Thus, from those high in rank down to the humblest drummer-
boy, there were many bright trophies of the power of Christ's
gospel to save.
We have been led into these remarks because we are now
to consider the character of Joshua, a brave and successful
warrior, and as pious as he was brave. By the choice of
Moses and the approval of Jehovah, he was put at the head
of the Israelitish people and had a responsibility of vast mag-
nitude laid upon him. When God has a v/ork to do he is never
at a loss for an instrument to accomplish it. There is no man,
hovv-ever great, who is absolutely necessary to the carrying on
©f God's work. There never was a man in the world so ne-
i68 THE world's hope.
cessary that the world could not do without him. Moses would
seem to be essential to the very existence of the Jewish nation,
but even he can be spared. He is dead, but the designs of
the Almighty go on as if he had never lived. This thought
may be very humbling and mortifying to the self-importance
of some people. The popular minister may think himself
necessary to the prosperity, if not to the existence, of the
church over which he presides. Some of his inj-udiciou-s
friends have told him so again and again ; and in so doing
spoke the honest feelings of their hearts. But he is removed,
and the work goes on as if nothing had happened. For some
time the face that used to look down upon them from the pulpit is
kindly remembered and honest regrets are expressed that the
voice they loved to hear so well will be heard by them no more ;
but soon all this will cease, and things will move on as if he
had never been. And all this is right enough. Death is not
to be permitted to strike with paralysis the whole frame-work of
society. When one falls in the ranks of the Lord's army, the
Captain of our salvation has another just as good to take his
place. The great fight of faith must not stop, for God can
raise up, out of the very stones, children to Abraham.
Joshua displayed the boldness and conscientiousness of his
character during the life of Moses. On reaching the borders
of the land of Canaan, twelve persons were selected from the
different tribes, whose duty it was to explore the country and
bring back correct information as to its inhabitants, its natural
productions and the strength of its fortifications. Dividing
themselves into companies, they went forth, passing quietly
through the land and obtaining what information they could.
Ten of these spies came back with a most doleful report.
Taking counsel of their own fears, they represented, with the
wildest exaggeration, the people as very numerous, their cities
as strongly fortified, and the utter impossibility of ever con-
quering such a people. They acknowledged, indeed, that the
land v/as all it had been represented for fertility, and even
brought specimens of its fruitfulness. But, upon the whole,
their report was so discouraging as to create a panic of fear, so
JOSHUA, THE PIOUS SOLDIER. 169
that the voice of weeping was heard all over the camp. Now,
Joshua and Caleb had been among the number of spies, and
presented quite a different report. They denounced the
report of the others as incorrect, and as the result of coward-
ice. They said, " The land which we passed through to search
it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then
he will bring us into this land and give it us ; a land which
floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the
Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bread
to us ; their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is
with us ; fear them not." This showed that Joshua was a man
of the right spirit for the enterprise for which he was now
called. It is true, a formidable work lay before him ; but he
had a most sustaining promise from the mouth of Jehovah
himself: " There shall not any man be able to stand before
thee all the days of thy life ; as I was with Moses, so I will be
with thee; I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."
Along with the assurance of the Divine presence came a
solemn injunction to make the law of God his constant study;
yea, to meditate upon it by day and by night. He had a great
work before him, and the requisite wisdom for its accomplish-
ment could only be obtained from the statutes of the Lord.
That great man, Judge Hale, used to spend a portion of each
morning in the study of the Scriptures, however much engaged
he might be. He tells us that if this was omitted nothing
seemed to go right with him all day. That distinguished
writer. Sir William Jones, wrote on the blank leaf of his Bible
the following beautiful sentiment: "I have regularly and
attentively perused these Holy Scriptures, and am of opinion
that this volume, independently of its Divine origin, contains
more true sublimity, more exquisite beauty, more pure morality,
more important history, and finer strains of poetry and elo-
quence, than can be collected from all other books, in whatever
age or language they may have been written." Count Oxen-
stein, Chancellor of Sweden, said to one who visited him, " All
the comfort I have, and all the comfort I take, and which is
more than the whole world can give, is the knowledge of God's
lyo THE WORLD S HOPE.
love in my heart, and the reading of this blessed Book," laying
his hand on the Bible. "You are now," he continued, ''in the
prime of your age and vigor, and in great favor and business ;
but this will all leave you, and you will one day better under-
stand and relish what I say to you. Then you will find that
there is more wisdom, truth, comfort, and pleasure, in retiring
and turning your heart from the world, in the good spirit of
God, and in reading his sacred word, than in all the courts and
favors of princes." The celebrated John Locke, we are told,
spent the last fourteen years of his life in the study of the
Bible; and speaking of it to a young friend, he said, "It has
God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any
mixture of error, for its matter."
Joshua now began to make all needed preparation for cross-
ing the Jordan, and taking possession of the promised land.
He has the Divine promise to sustain him ; but he does not
make that an excuse for omitting the use of all proper means
of accomplishing his object. He proceeds as if all depended
upon himself; and yet relied upon God, as if he could do
nothing. This is the true spirit, which all workers in Christ's
vineyard should cultivate. Let them work as hard as if all suc-
cess depended upon their doing so ; and yet, by prayer and
faith in God, show that in him is their dependence.
Joshua sent out two confidential persons to visit Jericho, to
find out something as to its population, its resources, and the
strength of its fortification. It was the frontier city of Canaan,
and was inhabited by a very wicked and degraded people.
There was, however, one person in that city whose heart was
moved by the fear of the Lord. This was a woman of tarnished
reputation, but who had ceased from her wicked ways, and re-
ceived the spies into her house with peace. She protected
them from the police "by hiding them in a secure place, and
saved their lives by assisting their escape. She showed her
faith in God by saying, " I know that the Lord hath given you
the land." She begged them to promise her that when the
city was taken, her life and the life of her kindred would be
preserved. The promise was given, and the sign of protection
JOSHUA, THE PIOUS SOLDIER. 17I
for her and her kindred was to be the scarlet line by which she
let them down over the wall of the city, being hung up in the
window. Now that this woman, once an abandoned character,
became a really good woman, is evident from the Apostle Paul
placing her in the ranks of the worthies that he mentions in his
epistle to the Hebrews : " By faith the harlot Rahab perished
not with them that believed not, when she had received the
spies with peace."
Thus we see that God is indeed no respecter of persons ; but
that individuals of every condition, of every phase of human
life, are received by him through repentance and faith. There
is not a depth of degradation, not a sink of human pollution,
from which God cannot lift the sinful soul, and make it a bright
gem in his crown forever.
" God scatters truths on eveiy side,
Freely among his children all ;
And always hearts are lying open wide,
Wherein some grains may fall.
*' There is no wind but soweth seed
Of a more true and open life,
"Which burst, unlooked-for, into high-souled deed,
With way-side beauty rife."
In regard to this woman's faith, notice how implicit her con-
fidence in the promise of the spies. She does not seem to
doubt them for a moment. Sin is always suspicious, and sin-
ners are always distrustful of each other. She had faith in the
word of the good men that God sent to her dwelling ; and, as
the Apostle James says, " Her faith brought forth works." She
entertains them at the risk of her own life, hides them from their
persecutors, refuses to betray them, and acknowledges the
power of the God of Israel. And how much her faith was hon-
ored. Honorable mention is made of her by two inspired
apostles. From a child of wrath she is lifted up to be a child
of God ; and from being a citizen of a vile heathen city, she is
taken to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the Great King.
When the hour of trial came, this woman's faith did not dis-
appoint her. She was not confounded. The city is surrounded
172 THE WORLD S HOPE.
by the invincible hosts of Israel, but she has no fear. The day
of doom has at last come for that accursed city. She and her
kindred are sitting quietly at her home, when the shrill and
penetrating sound of the trumpets of Israel is heard coming
nearer and nearer. The avenging army is about to descend
upon that city already given over to destruction. Does Rahab
turn pale and tremble ? No, she looks to the scarlet line in
the window, and feels secure. A terrible shout is heard, as if
smiting against the very heavens. Hark ! there is a fearful
crash ! The wall of the city has fallen, and as a roaring flood
comes rushing on, when the embankment, which for a time
restrained it, has broken down, so the triumphant and con-
quering hosts rush into the city. Does this woman join in the
wild scream of despair that is going up from so many voices.'*
No, she has only to look at the scarlet line in the window. The
army are now rushing through the streets, each with a sword in
his hand, dripping with the blood of the slain. The M^ork of
destruction goes on apace. Torrents of blood run down the
streets like water. The death-cry is heard every moment break-
ing upon the air. But this believing woman looks to the scarlet
line in the window, and feels calm as if in the heart of a forest.
Many a man of war, with bloody weapon in hand, comes to that
house, but he looks up and sees the scarlet line in the window,
and passes on. But hark ! there come footsteps approaching
the house — they enter the door — they are coming up the stairs.
Has the scarlet line failed to do its work ? Has Rahab 's faith,
after all, been in vain ? Has she fallen at last into the hand of
the destroyer ? No, no ; it is only messengers come from Joshua
— the very men whose lives she had saved, to bring her and
all her kindred out of the city, before it is committed to the
devouring flames. The scarlet line /las done its work. She
and those dear to her are safe out of that doomed place.
Turning to look behind her, she sees great billows of fire rolling
over Jericho and great tongues of flame leaping up as if to the
very heavens. Her faith has triumphed and placed her beyond
the reach of harm.
May not this scarlet line, under which this household found
JOSHUA, 7HE PIOUS SOLDIER. 173
protection, be taken as a type of the blood of Jesus ? The
safety of that house did not depend upon strong preparations
made to keep out the men of war. It was not by putting
strong bolts upon their doors, or fortifications round their
dwelling, that their safety was secured ; it was by simply placing
the scarlet line in the window. So our salvation is not secur-
ed by any act of our own, by any preparation that we may
make to save us from the wrath to come ; we are saved, if saved
at all, by faith in the blood of Jesus.
The peace of that household, amid the destruction all
around them, did not depend upon their own feelings or do-
ings. They did not need to sit up all night keeping watch ;
nor was it necessary to be constantly looking within to exam-
ine the state of their own feelings. Their safety depended
upon one thing, the scarlet line in the window. Suppose that
they had taken it from the window and hung it on the door ;
or, supposing they had held it in their hands for greater secu-
rity ; they would doubtless have perished. So we can only be
saved by acting strictly in accordance with God's way, that is,
faith in the blood of the Lord Jesus. Faith in that blood will
give peace and assurance forever. Amid the swellings of Jor-
dan, and the terrific scene of judgment, we will fear no evil ;
for who can lay anything to the charge of those whom God
justifies for the sake of his Son.
But we must hasten on with the history of Joshua. The Jor-
dan is past, its waters miraculously opening to let them pass
through with the ark of the Lord. While Joshua was exam-
ining the fortifications of Jericho a wonderful personage ap-
peared before him, with a drawn sword in his hand. He
boldly went up to this person and demanded whether he was
for them or for their enemies. The answer was, " Nay, but as
the Captain of the Lord's host am I come." Joshua at once
understood who this was ; and instantly bowed down and wor-
shiped him. For this act he received no rebuke, which he
would have received had it been any mere creature that he
worshiped. No doubt this was the angel of the covenant,
who had on so many occasions appeared to his fathers ; who
174 ' THE WORLDS HOPE.
had so often conversed with Moses, and had now come to put
them in possession of the promised land. It was doubtless the
J.ord j esus in whose presence he stood, and who, instead of
rebuking him for his worship, requested him, as he did Moses
at Horeb, to take his shoes off his feet because he stood upon
holy ground.
The faith of Joshua was seen in following implicitly the di-
rections of God in regard to the way of taking Jericho. He
did not ask, as unbelief would have done, what connection
then could be between the blowing of Rams' horns and the
tumbling down of stone walls. He promptly did what he was
bid, without setting up his own petty reasons or following the
plans of other people, and the result was most triumphant.
The city was taken, and its very existence blotted out of the
record of the cities of the earth. Where can we find a more
lovely spectacle than that of a man whose own will is swallow-
ed up in the will of the all-wise Creator. His peace flows like
a river, because whatever God does is pleasing to him. With
such a man, the good, and perfect, and holy will of God is his
delight day and night. To do that will is his meat and his
drink ; and with all hotiesty of heart he can say, " Not my will,
but thine be done."
At this time a circumstance occurred that showed the strict
principles of justice upon which Joshua acted, and the disas-
trous effect which the conduct of one man may have upon
the cause of truth. During the siege of Jericho a strict com-
mand was given to the people not to take any part of the spoils
of that city, which was to be regarded as accursed and doomed
to destruction. Regardless of this command, Achan, a person
of rank and influence, stole and concealed a quantity of the
spoils. This act was unknown to any one but himself, and he
soothed his conscience with the hope that he would escape de-
tection. Shortly after this, Joshua sent out three thousand of
his men of war to fight Ai ; but God was not with them, as
formerly, to give victory to their arms. They met with a ter-
rible repulse, and fled in terror before their enemy. This had
a, most depressing effect upon the people, and filled the heart
JOSHUA, THE PIOUS SOLDIER. ijc
of their general with the deepest anguish. We are told that
he "rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before
the ark of the Lord until the evening tide, he and the elders
of Israel, and put dust upon their heads." He presented the
matter before the Lord in earnest prayer. The reply was,
"There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel;"
and he was directed to find out the guilty man and bring him
to punishment.
Meantime Achan was rejoicing in his ill-gotten gain. It is
true, he could not wear the beautiful stolen garments, but he
could take them out and look at them in the privacy of his
own tent ; and he could feast his greedy eyes upon the silver
and the gold. But his false security is soon broken in upon.
God's word to the sinner is, " Be sure your sins will find you
out." This is acknowledged, on all hands, to be an uncertain
world ; but here is one thing that we may be certain of, that
sin will find out the sinner and expose him before men and
angels. Achan hears that an investigation is about to be made.
This makes him very uneasy ; but still he puts a brave face
upon the matter, perhaps is very loud in denouncing the crime,
and in asserting his innocence. The people are all assembled
before the Lord ; but in such a large crowd he feels compara-
tively secure. The criminal is to be detected by the casting of
lots. The first lot is cast, and the tribe of Judah was taken.
His heart throbs strongly now, for that is the tribe to which he
belongs. The lot is again cast, and the family of the Zerhiter
is taken. Ah ! his face is now pale with fright, and his knees
smite against each other; for he belonged to that family. He
feels that vengeance, like a blood-hound true to the scent,
is upon his track. The lot is again cast, and falls upon him-
self. Miserable man ! There he stands pointed out by the
finger of God as the guilty man, and as the cause of all the
trouble that had befallen his brethren.
Had this man been asked, when he put forth his hand to do
this wickedness, if he wished to bring defeat and death into
the camp of Israel, he would have spurned the thought.
But he went on to gratify his own covetousness and thus
176 THE world's hope.
turned the sword of the enemy against his friends. It is
thus^with inconsistent members of the church Of Christ. Ask
them if they intend to bring ruin upon the church, to grieve
their brethren and ahiiost break the heart of their pastor, and
they would repel with indignation such a charge. And yet
they are really doing it.
The progress of sin is seen in the case of Achan. There
was, in the first place, an undue familiarity with things forbid-
den. He looked at these spoils, turning them over and over
till he began to covet them. The eye is a great inlet to the
soul, and the only true safety is to act as David did, " turn
away the eyes from beholding vanity." The next step
in his sin was, that he coveted these things, and thus the evil
had already become intrenched in his heart. Many think that
if the sin is confined to the heart there is little harm done ;
but that is the very place upon which God's eye is fixed. The
Christian finds it easy to keep his mere outward actions right ;
but his heart gives him great trouble. He mourns over its
wanderings as did David and Paul, and says, " How long shall
vain thoughts dwell within me." As the least spark of fire, if
encouraged, would burn a whole city, so evil indulged in the
heart will break out in open and disgraceful acts of sin. So
was it with Achan. His next step was to put forth his hand
and steal the accursed thing. Let the devil get a strong desire
for sin lodged in the heart, and then the very first favorable
opportunity, when there is little chance of detection and ex-
posure, the open act will be committed. "Lust, when it
hath conceived, bringeth forth sin."
We see in Achan 's case that no man can live to himself.
Shame, defeat and death were all brought upon the people of
Israel by this man's conduct. That protection that covered
their heads in the day of battle was withdrawn. Their heav-
enly friend said, " I will not be with you any more, unless ye
put away the accursed thing." This wicked man was more to
be feared than all their enemies. If you could find out the
wickedest man in a nation, that would bp the greatest enemy
which that nation has ; and yet you might find him very boast-
JOSHUA, THE PIOUS SOLDIER. 177
ful of his patriotism, while his sin was bringing down upon the
land the curse of God. Thus the enemy that the church of
God has to fear is, not the infidel or the bold blasphemer, but
the inconsistent member. These are they that keep back the
blessing of the Most High, and bring up a reproach upon the
cause of truth that cannot easily be wiped away.
What anguish of heart sinners cause to good men. See
Joshua lying upon his face upon the ground, pouring out the
deep anguish of his soul before the Lord. Listen to David
and Jeremiah pouring out the wail of their sorrowful souls
because of the wickedness around them. Sinner ! how it adds
to your guilt that a praying father has wept in bitterness of
soul over you. Did it not add to the guilt of Jerusalem that
the gracious Savior wept over her .'' Ah ! yes, these tears will
rise up with condemning power in the day of judgment.
Let us learn from Achan's case never to undervalue the
power of temptation. At the very time we may think our-
selves most secure we may be in greatest danger of a fall.
You can meet no temptation in your own strength ; for, if you
have no better armor than that, the feeblest arrow that Satan
aims will pierce you through and through. Peter was never
more in danger than when he boasted how firmly he stood.
We may learn, from the example of Joshua, that a good man
may be putting prayer in the place of some other duty. He
was lying upon his face before the ark, praying, when God said
unto him, " Get thee up ; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy
face ?" Prayer can only succeed when we are using all the
means within our reach. We must search out every idol, seek
to mortify every sin, and maintain the purity of the church of
Christ, else our prayers will be hindered and the work of God
cease to advance.
We come now to consider a most striking evidence of
Joshua's faith and power in prayer. The Gibeonites, witness-
ing the powers of the army of Israel, and greatly alarmed for
their own safety, sent to the general a deputation, representing
that they came from a great distance, and requesting the privi-
lege of forming an alliance with his people. After some
178 THE world's hope.
inquiries the heads of Israel gave their consent to this, and the
treaty was consummated. But when it was discovered that these
Gibeonites were neighbors, the people of Israel were dissatisfied
with what their leaders had done and wished the treaty to be
annulled. This Joshua refused to do, considering that it would
be a violation of public faith. The rest of the Canaanites be-
came enraged at Gibeon, as having acted the part of an apos-
tate nation, and joined to make war against it. Joshua felt in
honor bound to protect and defend his allies, and the result
was, a great battle was fought, in which his arms were victo-
rious.
It was on this occasion that a great miracle was wrought in
answer to prayer. God arrested the sun in the heavens in
order that a total defeat of his enemies might be effected.
Much difficulty and many perplexities have been raised regard-
ing this miracle. The fact, however is. Divinely authenticated
by the word of truth ; and as to the way in which it was done,
that was God's matter, with which we have nothing to do.
Surely, no one will say that anything is too hard for God. He
has laws that govern in the works of creation, but these laws
do not govern Him. He has not enslaved himself by his own
laws so that he cannot hear the prayer of his own people and
work miracles for their deliverance if he deems it proper. Men
talk about fixed laws as if even God himself could not break
them. This is surely setting up the laws of nature above the
Creator himself. As the maker of a watch can stop it when
he pleases, putting it back or forward at pleasure ; so the Maker
of all things still holds the entire control of the great fabric of
creation that came from his own hands.
We may not follow Joshua through all those wars by which the
land of promise was at last put in full possession of Israel. Infi-
dels have made an outcry against Joshua as a blood-thirsty man,
and destitute of all humanity, because of the way he treated
the Canaanites. But it should be remembered that they were
destroyed by the direct command of God, and that the terri-
ble judgments that came upon them were caused by their
wickedness, which made them ripe for devouring vengeance.
JOSHUA, THE PIOUS SOLDIER. I79
Divine mercy and patience, that had been so long with them,
now retired from the field and left justice to do its vengeful
work. God sent the same judgments upon the Jews on ac-
count of their sins, at a subsequent period of their history,
when Jerusalem was taken by the Romans and her people
caused to pass through sufferings,the bare recital of which makes
our blood run cold. But those infidels that denounce Joshua
have not a word to say against Titus on account of his cruelty.
When the whole land was conquered, Joshua made a wise
division of it among the different tribes. He kept nothing
for his own family, but the people gave him Timnath-serah,
where the rest of his life was spent in inward and outward
peace. With the approval of God, with an inward conscious-
ness of having done his duty, and with the love and gratitude
of the whole nation, his days glided peacefully on. He lived
one hundred and ten years, and when he died was carried to
the grove, amid great manifestations of sorrow by the whole
people for whom he had done so much.
When this great and good man was near eternity, and with
the hallowed influence of coming glory upon his mind, he
gathered the people together to give them his parting address.
He enters upon a solemn review of all the Lord had done for
them in the past, for the double purpose of exciting within
their minds gratitude for what they had received, and trust for
the future. A review of the past is very profitable, if it is
done in the right spirit. We can then look upon our sins and
short-comings after the excitement and passion that accom-
panied them have passed away ; and are humbled in the very
dust on account of them. We see the hand of God in so
marked a manner, leading us in the right way and by the best
means, though we did not think so at the time ; and we see
his wisdom overruling our very faults for our good.
Joshua goes on, in a most earnest manner, to warn them
against the idolatry around them. They must not have any
intimacy with idolaters, must not intermarry with them, nor in
any way put themselves into danger of falling into their
abominations. We are to shun the very appearance of evil.
l8o THE world's hope.
To dabble around the edges of sin is the surest way to be en-
gulfed in destruction. He warns them of the terrible deso-
lation that would come upon them if they departed from the
living God ; and that as he had been faithful to his promises,
they would find him equally true in his threatening. His ad-
dress reminds us of the words of Paul, " Knowing the terrors
of the Lord, we persuade men."
The Lord prolonged the life of his servant so that he was
able to deliver a second address. This he did at Shechem, a
place of blessed memories. This was the place where Abra-
ham settled on his coming to Canaan, and where God ap-
peared to him with words of comforting promise. Near it
stood the mounts Gerizim and Ebal, where the people renewed
their covenant upon their coming into the land. The spot
selected then was calculated to remind them of two things,
God's promise to them, and their promise to God. Joshua
goes into a history of Jehovah's dealings with them, and then
makes a pointed appeal to them to serve the Lord in sincerity
and truth. He brings his remarks to a close with the solemn
appeal, " Choose you this day whom ye will serve." The peo-
ple, as with one voice, pledged themselves to serve the Lord ;
and in memory of the event a great stone was set up, Joshua
uttering the solemn words, " This stone shall be a witness un-
to us.'
We see the people, with tears in their eyes, turn away to
their several homes, while the venerable servant of the Lord
goes to his home to die. Of his death-bed, or the words he
uttered there, we know nothing. No doubt his end was peace-
ful as the going down of the summer sun. Of the blessed-
ness of his admission into the heavenly Canaan, his meeting
with Moses with whom he had enjoyed such sweet intercourse
on earth and, above all, his enjoyment in the presence of the
Lord, whom he had loved and served so faithfully, we can
form but a faint conception. His faith had ended in sight,
and his expectation in full enjoyment.
Thus the redeemed of the Lord are brought safely and
surely to their fair inheritance. The Captain of cwir salvation,
JOSHUA, THE PIOUS SOLDIER. iSl
of whom Joshua was a type, is leading his people through
many conflicts, only to bring them off more than conquerors.
And when the last redeemed soul shall be gathered from earth
and led into the heavenly glory, what a jubilee of rejoicing
there will be in that sinless congregation. It will then be seen
that not one of all the promises have failed, and rising and
swelling into a rapturous song, their hearts will be poured out
in the words, " Our Jesus has done all things well."
" Midst crosses, Faith her triumph knows ;
The palm-tree pressed more vigorous grows ;
Go tread the grasses 'neath thy feet —
The stream that flows is full and sweet ;
In troubles, virtues grow and shine,
Like pearls beneath the ocean brine.
" Crosses abound : love seeks the skies ;
Blow the rough winds, the flames arise ;
When hopeless gloom the welkin shrouds,
The sun comes laughing through the clouds;
The cross makes pure aff'ection glow,
Like oil that on the fire we throw.
*' Who wears the cross prays oft and well ;
Bruised herbs send forth the sweetest smeL .
Were ships ne'er tossed by stormy winds,
The Pole-star who would care to find ?
Had David spent no darksome hours,
His sweetest songs had ne'er been ours.
" From trouble springs the longing hope \
From the deep vale we mount the slope ;
Who treads the desert's dreariest way,
For Canaan most will long and pray ;
Here finds the trembling dove no rest,
Flies to the ark, and builds his nest."
l82 THE world's HOPE.
CHAPTER XIII.
JOB, THE PATIENT SUFFERER.
Sin and sorrow are insei^arable companions. Ours is a
Weeping world because it is a sinful world. We cannot pass
through it without experiencing affliction, less or more. And
those afflictions become to us a blessip.3 or a curse, according
to the use we make of them. They Must, in the very nature
of things, either harden or soften our hearts. We will come
out of the furnace either purified like gold^ or blackened and
hardened by the process through which we have passed. Un-
der the chastening hand of God we will learn to say with
David, " It is good for me that I have been afflicted ; "or else
we will say in the hardened spirit of Cain, " My punishment is
greater than I can bear."
Some, under the losses and crosses of life, render themselves
and all around them miserable, by bitter and unavailing com-
plaints. Others sit down under their trouble with an attempt
at stoical indiff"erence, submitting to the lashes of something
they call fate. Others, taught by a false philosophy, try to find
comfort to themselves and to impart comfort to others by say-
ing, '' We must just submit to what can't be helped." None of
these are the Christian's methods of finding comfort in trouble.
In the story of Job's life we may learn how to bear the loss of
friends, health, riches and honors, in a spirit at once rational
and pleasing to God.
There are some who would take away Job from the list of
Scripture characters altogether. They deny him a real exist-
ence, turning the history which we have of him into a parable
or allegory ; but this finds no warrant in the Bible. Job is
mentioned in other parts of the Scriptures, and his name
connected with persons who are acknowledged to be real char-
JOB, THE PATIENT SUFFERER. 183
acters. For example, in the fourteenth chapter of Ezekiel,
Moab, Daniel and Job are spoken of together. Men might as
well attempt to make Abraham, Noah, or Daniel, a mere crea-
ture of fancy, as Job. The Apostle James makes direct allu-
sion to him in the fifth chapter of his epistle : " Ye have heard
of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord ;
that the Lord is very pitiful." This is spoken as of a real
character ; and it seems absurd to think that the Holy Spirit
would hold up an imaginary person as an example and model
to Christians in all after ages.
There has been a great deal of learned discussion as to the
authorship of the Book of Job. The most general opinion is
that it was written by Moses during his long and lonely so-
journ in Midian. That it is very ancient, is evident from the
fact that there is no reference to the deliverance of Israel from
the bondage of Egypt ; nor to the many wonderful events
attending their journey to the promised land. Except the
book, of Genesis it is, in all probability, the most ancient book
in the world. On this subject Gilfillan says : " The book of
Job shows a mind smit with a passion for nature in her sim-
plest, most solitary and elementary forms — gazing perpetually
at the great shapes of the material universe and reproducing to
us the infinite wonder with which the first inhabitants of the
world must have seen their first sunrise, their first thunder-
storm, their first moon waning; their first midnight heaven
expanding like an arch of triumph over their happy heads.
One object of the book is to prophecy of nature — to declare
its testimony to the Most High— to unite the leaves of its
trees, the wings of its fowls, the eyes of its stars, in one act of
adoration to Jehovah. August undertaking, and meet for one
raised in the desert, anointed with the dew of heaven, and
by God himself inspired."
Job is brought before us a man great and distinguished ;
the greatest of all the men of the East, we are told. There
are many kinds of greatness according to the estimate of
different persons as to v/hat constitutes it. Some think that
the possession of great wealth alone constitutes greatness,-
184 THE world's hope.
Others that distinguished birth and hereditary titles confer
greatness ; while still others consider genius alone as impart-
ing greatness. Job had a kind of greatness above all these;
it was the greatness of true goodness. He was high in rank,
according to the idea of his times, being patriarch of his tribe.
He had also great wealth, and extensive possessions. That he
was a great man intellectually is also clear from the high poetic
beauty of his utterances, the power of his imagination and the
clear logic of his arguments. But he was great in a better and
higher sense ; for we are told that he was " perfect and upright,
one that feared God and eschewed evil." Of course, we are
not to understand the word perfect here as meaning that he
was sinless, for he repeatedly acknowledged himself a sinner.
It means that he was perfectly sincere and free from guile. A
sinless perfection, so far as the creature is concerned, is not to
be found on earth ; for " all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God." Any claim of that kind, set up by fallen man,
can only spring from pride and self-righteousness.
But there is a sense in which every believer is perfect before
God — a sense in which he is without sin. He is perfectly jus-
tified for Jesus' sake. He is complete in Christ. There is not
one sin left unpardoned, not one guilty act left unatoned for,
and not one dark spot that the blood of Jesus cannot wash
away. So that, in the sense of being perfectly justified from
all things, the believer is perfect. Paul brings this out in the
tenth chapter of Hebrews : " By one offering Christ has per-
fected forever them that are sanctified." In this sense Job
was perfect. Through the blood of sacrifice he looked away
to Calvary and was justified through faith in a Savior to come.
There has been but one way of salvation in every age, and
that way he knew ; for he said, " I know that my Redeemer
liveth."
Job comes before us as a highly prosperous man ; as one
who seems to have all that heart can wish. He lives in a com-
fortable home, has every necessary within his reach, has power
and authority among his fellows, is highly popular among all
ranks and conditions of society, being reverenced, as we are
JOB, THE PATIENT SUFFERER. 185
told, " By the young and old, by nobles and by princes." Be-
sides all this, he had grown up around him healthy and loving
children ; and better than all, and above all, he had the appro-
val of God, filling his soul with a foretaste of heaven.
Now, that he stood firm for God and duty in the midst of
all this, speaks highly for the spirituality of his mind. How
many in the midst of prosperity forget God. How many in
the midst of power become vain and arrogant. How many who,
when their bodily wants are all supplied, forget the wants of
their immortal souls. Not so with this good man. The
tendency of riches is to harden the heart, and to make us for-
get the suff'erings of others. Being successful in all our own
undertakings, we are apt to blame those who are not so, as the
victims of their own folly. Hence, we are ready to think that
poverty and crime are inseparably united.
But Job felt in regard to his wealth, that he was only a
steward of his Lord's bounties, an almoner of the blessings of
heaven to the poor. And he gave with a kind and loving
spirit. He did not, by a haughty and tyrannical manner, hurt
the feelings of those whose wants he relieved. He did not
wound the spirit while he fed the body. He showed deep
sympathy in all his intercourse with the afilicted. His own
words are, " Did I not weep for him that was in trouble ?
Was not my soul grieved for the poor?" In regard to such a
man, we rejoice in his prosperity, we are pleased when his
riches increase ; for his good is the good of all. He gives as
he gets, and the more he receives the more blessed are those
around him.
Now, when the bolts of adversity suddenly strike such a
man, we are taken by surprise. Like thunder roll^g out of a
clear sky, it startled us by its unexpectedness. And not only
so, but we are puzzled and perplexed by such a thing being
permitted under the government of a good God. The fre-
quent afflictions of good men, and the temporary prosperity
of the wicked, have led to dark and unhappy reflections ill the
minds of those who felt themselves confronted with this mys-
tery. Among the Jews the idea seemed to have been quite
i86 THE world's hope.
general, that great afflictions were an evidence of great sins,*
and this error our Lord frequently rebuked during his minis-
try upon earth. Job's friends could not but acknowledge
that his outward conduct was correct, and therefore, they
came to the conclusion that there must have been dark, hidden
hypocrisy to account for so much suffering. Even our Lord's
disciples, who ought to have known better, pointed to a poor
blind man and asked, " Who did sin, this man or his parents,
that he is born blind ?" Under the superior light of the gos-
pel we know that afflictions are an evidence of God's love
rather than of his displeasure. They are sent to accomplish
the very highest good ; and are often effectual when all other
means have failed. But under a dark dispensation this was
not so clearly seen ; and the book of Job would be of great
service in clearing up this mystery, and vindicating the ways
of God to man.
We should remember that this book is thrown into a poetic
form, and that the different scenes presented are highly figura-
tive and dramatic. The writer suddenly takes us to the court
of heaven, on a day when the ministering angels are assembled
before God, giving an account of their missions of love. W^e
are made to see these holy ones standing reverently before
Jehovah, when Satan also presents himself. He is asked
whence he came, and to his significant answer we should all
give heed. " From going to and fro in the earth, and from
walking up and down in it." This accords with what an
inspired writer says of him, that he goes about like a roaring
lion, seeking whom he may devour. The Lord is then repre-
sented as speaking in high terms of Job ; to which the dark,
scowling fiend replied, "Does Job serve God for naught .''"
This question implied that he considered all Job's piety as
selfishness ; that he served God, because he was well paid for
it ; and because constant blessings and favors were showered
upon his pathway. Let these only be removed, let his
religion cease to pay^ and instead of worshiping God, Satan
insisted that he would curse him to his face.
We have here a most striking illustration of the union of sin
JOB, THE PATIENT SUFFERER. 187
and selfishness. Satan is the most selfish being in the whole
universe, because he is the most sinful. Now, when any being
becomes thoroughly selfish he cannot believe in the existence
of disinterestedness. Unbelief shuts up the soul in thick
darkness, and there is no faith in either God or man. The idea
that any one would give anything for nothing, he regards as one
only to be laughed at. You need not tell him ; he knows bet-
ter ; he knows what human nature is ; and is not to be en-
trapped by fine spun theories of benevolence and disinterested-
ness.
But the meaning of all this talk about knowing human na-
ture, is simply that he knows a little of his own nature. He
knows that he would not give something for nothing. He
knows that there is no disinterestedness about him ; and as
water cannot rise above its own level, in his conception of
others he cannot rise higher than himself. Let a minister
show great zeal for the salvation of souls, and sinners will tell
you that he does it to increase the membership of his church,
and consequently to add to his own salary. I know a minister
who, feeling deeply for perishing souls, went out into the
streets, hoping to save some who never go to the house of God.
An editor published in his paper that this was done to fill up
his church and increase his pay ; when the fact was, that at
that very time his church was crowded to the door, every pew
rented, and more constantly being asked for. In a city where
I resided several of the lady members of the church went out
into the lowest haunts of poverty and crime, carrying food
and clothing to the starving wretches that pined and shivered
in these filthy dens. These poor creatures would often ask
the ladies what salary they got fordoing this; finding it im-
possible to believe that any one would go through all this toil
and exposure and danger for nothing. When told that it was
all done from love to Jesus, and love to them as his creatures,
they stared in absolute astonishment. Some shook their heads
and looked incredulous. There was no room in their selfish
souls for such a grand conception. Like their master, the
Devil, they had no faith.
i88 THE world's hope.
Take another illustration. The young people connected
with my church commenced a mission school in one of the
most wicked parts of the city. It did, indeed, seem a forlorn
hope to attempt doing any good there. The young people,
however, were full of the love of Christ, and of love to souls,
and went from house to house inviting the children in. At the
appointed hour there was a good attendance. I noticed two
little boys, dirty and ragged, enter, and casting a suspicious
look around them, take a seat near the door. One of them laid
his hat upon the end of a bench. It was dirty, greasy, and
torn, and certainly not worth a cent ; but no sooner had he
laid it down than his companion, giving him a dig in his ribs
with his elbow, exclaimed, " Bill, pick up your hat ; they II hook
ity Poor child! he had lived in such scenes of crime and
selfishness, had been so accustomed to hatred and suspicion,
that he firmly believed that we had been to all that pains of
furnishing a school-house and inviting him in, only to hook his
old hat.
The more men are like Satan, that is, the more wicked they
are, the harder it is to get them to believe in God's disinterested
love. Even when conscience lashes them into an attempt to
come back to their Maker, their first thought is that they must
pay something for their pardon. They bring, in some way, a
price in their hand. This is the reason that those forms of
religion that permit the sinner to pay something for his salva-
tion are so popular. The good news of the gospel, that God
pardons freely, without money and without price, they find it
hard to receive. There seems no room in their minds
for such a glorious view of God, they are so filled and narrowed
up with sin and selfishness.
We learn from the history of Job that Satan has no indepen-
dent power to injure God's people. He could do nothing
without permission, and all that he did do was overruled for
the increase of the faith and purity of him whom he attacked.
With all his boasted knowledge of human nature, he was com-
pletely defeated. His cunning devices were all foiled. The
reason is, that the same Lord that permitted Job to be tried
JOB, THE PATIENT SUFFERER. l8g
sustained him by his mighty power in the trial. If the powers
of darkness were permitted to sift Peter, the Great Advocate
was praying for him at the same time, that his faith might not
fail.
The blow has at last fallen, and that, too, at a time when it
would be felt most severely, on one of the joyful days of his
life. There was a family festival at the house of his oldest son.
They were a cheerful, happy, united family; joy beamed in
every face and flashed from every eye. No unhappy jealousies
no unlovely bickerings, disturbed the harmony of the occasion.
It was a sight to gladden a father's heart, and even to arrest
the pleased attention of a passing angel. " Behold how good
and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."
There are some things that are pleasant, but not good ; there
are others, again, that are good but not pleasant ; but this was
both pleasant and good. Job is not with his children on this
occasion, but he rejoiced in their joy, and sent to heaven many
a prayer that their earthly prosperity might not lead them to
forget God.
But what means this ! A man is seen rushing towards the
house, and his face tells a tale of woe before his tongue can
utter a word. His clothes are torn and bloody, and he has all
the appearance of one who has passed through a severe conflict.
He reports to his master that while he and his fellow servants
were at work in the fields, a band of Sabeans fell upon them,
killed all but himself, and went off with the cattle. It has often
been noticed in families, that one trouble scarcely ever comes
alone. Rushing after each other like the great waves of the
stormy sea, they come down upon the heads of the sufferers
with surging might. Scarcely has this man finished telling his
tale of woe, when another comes in hot haste, breathless, pale,
and a whole volume of evil tidings in his eye. He reports that
the lightnings of heaven had fallen in consuming blaze, and
killed all Job's servants and the vast flocks of sheep which they
had been attending. He had scarcely done speaking when an-
other reporter of evil tidings entered. He reports that the
Chaldeans, in three bands, have seized upon the camels, and
190 THE WORLD S HOPE.
taken them away, killing the servants while defending their
master's property. But heavier and heavier fall the blows
upon this good man's head. His property is nearly all gone;
he is now a poor man ; but his children are yet spared to him.
They have always been kind and loving and dutiful, and he
is still rich in possessing them. But here comes another mes-
senger with words of horror ! A wild tempest, a desolating
tornado has smote the house where his children had their
family gathering, and crushed them to death in its ruin. Oh,
what a crushing blow is this ! The loss of riches could have
been borne, but his brave, his lovely, his loving children — the
joy of his life, the beloved of his soul — all gone ; never to see
them more, never again to gladden his heart and his home with
their beaming smiles and loving ways !
Who that have lost children themselves do not pity this old
man, standing in this howling tempest of adversity, like a
solitary tree in a field, stripped of all its branches. I remem-
ber meeting a brother minister in Canada, who when he left
Scotland had a large family of lovely children ; but when he
landed at Montreal had not one. They had sickened and died,
one after another, till all had been committed to the great
deep. He looked .like a man who had been stunned with a
blow on the head. He walked and talked like a man in a
dream. But Job's children were not taken from him by dis-
ease, giving him a little time to prepare for the appalling loss :
but suddenly, without a moment's notice, he was written child-
less. And then, it was by a violent death that he lost them.
No doubt, to the Christian sudden death is sudden glory ; but
it fills us with horror to have the bodies of our friends mangled
by sudden death, it may be almost beyond recognition. Let
us learn from this dark catalogue of trouble w^hich befell Job,
to keep a loose hold of earth, and not to set our affections too
strongly upon anything below the skies, for we know not wha^.
a day may bring forth. A few brief hours may sweep oiu
possessions from the face of the earth. Let us have out
treasure in heaven, our all in God himself.
Meantime, how bears this good man this succession of
JOB, THE PATIENT SUFFERER. I9I
troubles ? In such a way as to excite our highest admiration.
He does not throw himself upon the ground in an agony of
turbulent and frenzied sorrow. He does not rush off into the
wilderness, nor hide himself in a hermit's cave, there to brood
over his losses. It is true that he feels those losses keenly, but
his sorrow is manly and dignified. There is no extravagant
expression of his sorrow, either in word or act. His faith
gains a complete victory, compared with which all the victories
ever gained on battle fields sink into insignificance. By that
faith he conquered Satan, and set an example that has been
like a tower of strength to believers in every age since his day,
Listen to the sublime outpourings of his anguished soul. " The
Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the
name of the Lord."
But his afflictions are not yet ended. Fierce disease
fastens upon his own person. He is smitten with sore boils,
from, the sole of his feet unto his crown. Eminent scholars
and physicians, judging from the symptoms described, say that
it was the black leprosy with which he was afflicted. This is
described as a universal ulcer, and one of the most painful and
loathsome diseases which can afflict humanity. He is brought
before us in a most forlorn and miserable condition ; sitting
among ashes and scraping himself with a potsherd. We are
told that the disease named is so offensive that all the friends
flee from the sufferer, leaving him to be his own nurse. The
whole is such a dark picture of sorrow and desolation that
our hearts break out in pity, and we would be glad if
death would step in and end the scene. His own picture
of his state is this : " When I lie down I say, when shall
I arise, and the night be gone ? I am full of tossings to and
fro unto the dawning of the day. My flesh is clothed with
wounds and clouds of dust ; my skin is broken and become
loathsome."
At this crisis we hear, for the first time, of his wife. We are
glad to learn that she still lives ; and are ready to assure our-
selves that she will bring him comfort. No man can be utterly
desolate and forsaken who has the strong affection and undy-
192 THE WORLDS HOPE.
ing love of a good wife to fall back upon. Heaven's richest
gift to man is a wise, loving, true-hearted wife. She will prove
to him a helpmeet in every trial ; and her sympathy, her strong
faith in her husband, and her hope in the future will prove an
unfailing support. But, alas ! even this fails Job in the day
of trouble. We would not wonder to find his wife the victim
of bitter grief and sunk under a load of despondency. Many
of the calamities that had befallen him had smitten her also.
The children that he had lost were also her children. If he
was homeless and beggared by the loss of his earthly all, she
was an equal sharer in the loss. We are prepared to excus ^
her, then, for any outbreak of passionate sorrow to which she
may give vent. But when we see her approach him with the
harsh, unwomanly, and blasphemous words, " Curse G^od and
die '" we are shocked, and feel that this is a heavy addition to
his troubles. His property is gone, his children are gone, his
health gone, his high position in society gone, even his friends
are turned against him and are denouncing him as a hypocrite ;
and now he has nothing left but his God and his religion, and
even his own wife asks him to renounce these. To curse his
God, and to tear from his agonized soul the hope of heaven, is
the counsel which Satan gives ; not through his own foul, lying
lips, but through the lips of her he had loved so long and so
well. His answer, under the circumstances, is one of great
mildness and wisdom. "Thou speakest as one of the foolish
women speaketh. What ! shall we receive good at the hand of
God, and shall we not receive evil ?"
The Apostle Paul tells us that " no affliction for the present
seemeth to be joyous, but rather grievous." He then points
us out the results which affliction works, such as the peaceable
fruits of righteousness, and the far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory. The bud may be bitter, but the flower will
be sweet.
A minister tells us that he was spending several days in one
of our Western cities. He put up at a hotel, and one morn-
ing he heard, while up in his room, the most wonderful whist-
ling he had ever listened to. It seemed like the notes of a
JOB, THE PATIENT SUFFERER. I93
bird, but he thought it could not be that, for there was a per-
fectly regular tune kept up with much power. Though he was
in the third story, yet the music came gushing up in its sweet
melody, and seemed to fill the whole house. He ran down
stairs to get a sight of the wonderful performer, looking every
man that he met in the face. At last he asked the clerk who
it was that had such amazing power as a whistler. Laughing
at his simplicity he pointed him to a canary bird that had been
trained to perform in this way, and was valued at one hundred
and fifty dollars.
" How was that bird trained to sing this way .?" the gentle-
man enquired. In reply the clerk told him that during the
training process the bird is nearly starved and shut up in a
room that is almost dark. While it is under this severe disci-
pline, and its attention undivided, a bird organ is made to play
this one tune over and over again, for days. Hearing nothing
else, and taught by his troubles^ the poor little bird takes up the
tune which he performs so perfectly.
Thus it is that God permits his people to be afflicted that
they may learn the heavenly song. He shuts them up in the
dark room of sorrow, away from the tempting sights and sounds
of the world, that they may, without distraction, listen to his
voice and learn to sing the higher melodies of glory. Blessed
are those who patiently wait the Lord's good time to work out
their deliverance. When the song of grace is fully learned, he
brings them into a large place, sets their feet upon a rock, and
others learn from them the sweet song of redeeming love.
There was lately on exhibition, in New York, a beautiful
work of art, a drawing so perfect, that in the opinion of the
best judges, it deserved to be put beside the works of the great
masters. It tells a story of patience and perseverance, of
courage and self-reliance, and of the power of the mind over
outward difficulties, truly amazing.
The drawing is by John Carter, and it was executed in India
ink, with the point of a hair pencil which he held be^veen his
teeth. He has executed a number of pieces, all of which have
been eagerly bought up, but the one referred to is said to be
194 THE WORLD S HOPE.
^s masterpiece, and is called ^'' The Rat Catcher and his Dogs."
Carter was a poor, uneducated, common day laborer, having
only been long enough at school to learn to read and write.
One day in climbing a tree he fell and injured his spine. He
was taken up for dead ; but, contrary to all expectation, lived
for fourteen years without power to move a limb of his body,
and without feeling anywhere below his neck. His head and
neck had feeling and power of motion. To pass the time he
began to draw, holding the brush in his teeth and moving it
with his lips and tongue. A beautiful butterfly came in at his
window one day, and he took that for his first subject. He
went on day by day, forgetting his troubles in his intense inter-
est in his occupation, till he produced a picture that excites the
admiration of the best judges in Britain and America.
Nor was this all. He died in 1850, and a short memoir of
him was written by his minister, from which we learn that his
moral qualities kept pace with his intellectual. While he was
learning to draw the works of God the Holy Spirit was draw-
ing the Divine image upon his soul. His poor, hard, repulsive
life was made lovely and of good report, and the humble cot-
tage in which he lived became to many like the gate of heaven.
A sweet calm, unbroken by fretfulness or repining, sat upon
his soul day by day, and made a visit to him the most power-
ful of sermons. And while he showed such energy, ingenuity,
and invincible pluck in overcoming difficulties, yet in humil-
ity and gratitude and cheerful piety, he showed that his trust
was in God alone.
So it is that thousands in the school of affliction have learned
that of which they had no conception in prosperous days. They
have in quiet patience possessed their souls till the Savior's
image could be seen in them. Could we to-day go up to that
heavenly multitude, in numbers beyond computation, and speak
to them one by one, we would find that they had come there
through much tribulation. And now they know that it was not
too much — that not one trial, not one stroke of the rod could
have been spared.
JOB, THE PATIENT SUFFERER. I95
" All their toils and conflicts over,
Lo ! they dwell with Christ above ;
Oh ! what glories they discover
In the Savior whom they love !
Now they see him face to face,
Him who saved them by His grace."
But to return to Job. Three of his special friends paid him
a visit of sympathy and condolence. He was so fearfully
changed that they could scarcely recognize him, and contrast-
ing his present condition with that in which they had last seen
him, " they lifted up their voices and wept." With much deli-
cacy of feeling they sat down by him upon the ground without
uttering a word ; paying, as the poet says :
" A debt of reverence to distress so great."
We have an account of a long discussion between Job and
his friends, into which we have not room fully to enter. To
do so would require a book by itself. Job still retains his faith
in God, but through weakness of the flesh, and his extreme
mental and bodily anguish, he gives utterance to sentiments
that cannot be justified. There are lamentations of too de-
sponding a character ; and he shows too much self-righteous-
ness in vindicating himself. Eliphaz, being the oldest of the
three, is the first speaker. His arguments are powerful, and
his language has great poetic beauty and eloquence. But hi^
whole address is founded upon the false conception that Job^s
great sufferings are a proof that he was a great sinner.
In the course of his remarks he has a splendid description
of a supernatural visitor, which has been greatly admired by
men of literary taste. Many attempts have been made lo
describe in poetic numbers the visits of spirits to earth ; but
their description remains unapproached and unapproachable.
Barnes says of it, " It is impossible to conceive anything more
sublime than the whole description. It was midnight. There
was silence and solitude all around. At that fearful hour the
vision came, and a sentiment was communicated to Eliphaz of
the utmost importance, and suited to make the deepest possible
impression. The time, the quiet, the form of the image, its
196 THE world's hope,
passing along, and then suddenly standing still ; the silence,
and then the deep and solemn voice — all were fitted to pro-
duce the profoundest awe,"
Bildad, the Shuhite, is the next speaker. There is a great
deal of good sound truth in his remarks ; but going upon the
ground that Job must have been a hypocrite, it sounds harsh,
severe, and cruel.
Zophar is the third of those miserable comforters. He
takes the same ground as the rest, as to the cause of Job's
affliction, and is even more violent and denunciatory against
the man of God. There is in his discourse one of the grand-
est descriptions of God's attributes. He dwells upon the
sovereignty of God and the unsearchableness of his ways;
and argues from the perfection of the Divine wisdom the folly
of sinful man setting himself up to question God's ways.
While the controversy was going on a young man, called
Elihu, had been an earnest listener, and now in a very modest
way began to give his opinions. He rebukes both sides ; Job
for justifying himself rather than the Lord, who doeth right-
eously, and his friends for condemning, without cause, so good
a man. With wonderful power he shows the impossibility of
sinful man making himself acceptable to God by his own
works. And his speech had a great effect upon Job. He
makes no direct reply to it, but his eyes become open to his
faults, and to a humble view of himself before God. Toward
the close of his remarks there is a very sublime description
of a thunder storm. Nowhere can we find, in the writings
of uninspired men, anything to be compared to it. In the
eighteenth Psalm there is a description of the same thing, that
perhaps excels it. It is likely that such a storm was raging
at the very time Elihu was speaking ; for shortly after we are
told of the Lord speaking to Job out of the whirlwind.
This speech of the Almighty is awfully solemn and sublime.
Bishop Patrick says, " that its grandeur is as much above all
other poetry as thunder is louder than a whisper." Gilfillan,
who regards the book of Job as an allegory, says, " To put
suitable language in the mouth of Deity, has generally tasked
JOB, THE PATIENT SUFFERER. 197
to straining or crushed to feebleness the genius of poets."
Homer, indeed, at times, nobly ventriloquizes from the top of
Olympus ; but it is ventriloquism ; Homer's thunder, not
Job's. Milton, while impersonating God, falls flat ; he peeps
and mutters from the dust ; he shrinks from seeking to fill up
the compass of the Eternal's voice. Adequately to represent
God's speaking, required not only the highest inspiration, but
that the poet had heard, or thought that he heard, his very
voice, shaping articulate sounds from midnight torrents, from
the voices of the wind, from the chambers of thunder, from
the rush of whirlwinds, from the hush of night, and from the
breeze of day. And doubtless, the author of the book of Job
had this experience."
Job is now humbled in the dust. He takes his true position
as a sinner. He says to God, " I have heard of thee by the
hearing of the ear ; but now mine eyes see thee, wherefore I
abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes." The Lord from
the whirlwind rebukes the three friends in words of strong
displeasure. They had given a distorted view of God's char-
acter, and had persistently slandered a good man. They were
commanded to bring an expiatory sacrifice for themselves,
while Job is to intercede on their behalf. Prosperity now rolls
in upon Job. Two-fold more than he had lost is restored to
him. Friends crowd around him with presents in their hands,
and in a happy and serene old age he found that the prom-
ises of God never fail the trusting and confiding believer.
"Weeping may endure for anight, but joy cometh in the morn-
ing."
" Leave all to God,
Forsaken one, and still thy tears,
For the Highest knows thy pain ;
Sees thy suffering and thy fears ;
Thou shalt not wait his help in vain,
Leave all to God.
"Be still and trust!
For his strokes are strokes of love
Thou must for thy profit bear ;
He thy filial fear would move ;
Trust thy Father's loving care :
Be still and trust !
198 THE world's hope.
" Know God is near !
Though thou think him far away,
Though his mercy long have slept.
He will come and not delay,
When his child enough hath wept 5
For God is near.
" O, teach him not
When and how to hear thy prayers ;
Never doth our God forget ;
He the cross who longest bears
Finds his sorrow's bounds are set ;
Then teach him not.
"If thou love him,
Walking truly in his ways,
Then no trouble, cross, or death
Shakes thy heart or quells thy praiso 5
All things serve thee here beneath*
If thou love God !"
SAMUEL, THE CONSECRATED TO GOD. 199
CHAPTER XIV.
SAMUEL: THE CONSECRATED TO GOD.
How much the world owes to pious mothers can never be
known. The men who have done the most to bring our
wandering race back to God ; who "fiave stood forth the bold
and unflinching advocates of civil and religious liberty ; in
whose souls have burned a patriotic fervor that eagerly and
earnestly aimed at the highest good of their countrymen for
both world's; men who made no account of life itself when
put in competition with the glory of God and the high and
holy interests of truth ; men, in short, who in the presence of
assembled worlds shall hear the " well done " of the great
Judge addressed to them, have been delighted to acknowl-
edge that all that they were, under God, was due to the
prayers and instructions of their pious mothers.
It has been noticed that among the women of Israel, there
existed a strong desire for children. To be a wife and not a
mother was regarded as a heavy affliction ; nay, a kind of re-
proach. This has been accounted for by the influence which
the promise of the Messiah had upon their minds, each hop-
ing that the high honor which in the fullness of time was
given to the Holy Mary might be hers. But this only accounts
for it in part. They regarded the possession of children as a
great blessing, " a heritage from the Lord;" and an increase
of the family was a matter of rejoicing and gratitude. And
permit me to say, that this is always the case, where society is
not sunk into a fearfully perverted and corrupted state. Woe
to the country where children are regarded rather as an in-
cumbrance than as a blessing, as something to be feared
rather than desired, and to prevent which means are resorted
to, at the very thought of which modesty blushes and human-
ity shudders.
200 THE WORLD S HOPE.
This Strong desire for children gave rise to a practice, which,
not only never had the approval of God, but incurred his
highest displeasure. I refer to the practice of introducing
into the household, another or a subordinate wife, when the
first had no children. The family distractions, the jealousies,
and heart-burnings, the utter loss of all home comfort, to
which this almost universally gave rise, proved that the way of
transgressors is hard.
The father of Samuel was Elkanah, a Levite, of the city of
Ephraim. He was a person of wealth and influence, and
seems to have been a kind, good, God-fearing man. His wife,
Hannah, was one of the best of women. Her piety was deep
and earnest, and marked by great humility and conscientious-
ness, while her faith in piayer was extraordinary. Her
husband loved her fondly, but their home was not gladened
by the voice of childhood, which was a standing sorrow to
her heart. In an evil hour her husband brought another wife
to his house, named Penannah, and all comfort fled the
dwelling. She brought Elkanah sons and daughters, we are
told ; but being a woman of a weak and malignant mind, she
made Hannah very unhappy by her constant abuse.
But that good woman was as eminent for her goodness as for
her piety, and patiently bore evils which could not be helped.
She made no complaint to her husband, and entered into no
angry altercations with her foolish and cruel rival. Her meek
and gentle spirit was far above anything of that kind, and led
her to carry all her heart troubles to Him who has said, " Call
upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee."
Her husband went up yearly to the tabernacle of the Lord
in Shiloh, to offer sacrifices, taking his family with him. It
would seem that on such occasions Hannah's rival was at
special pains to insult her and to triumph over her. Her poor,
trembling, timid soul, flies to the sanctuary, and pours out her
troubles into the loving and sympathizing ear of her heavenly
Friend.
There is nothing on earth so powerful as prayer. More
powerful than the might of kings, the decrees of cabinets, or
SAMUEL, THE CONSECRATED TO GOD. 20I
the mandates of senators, is the prayer of faith. More to be
feared, by the enemies of truth and righteousness, is the ap-
peal to heaven, by the humblest child of God, than the tramp
of armies, and the might of well appointed navies, for prayer
can do what these cannot, move the arm of God. Hannah's
prayer was a powerful and an effective one, but it was not a
noisy one. There were deep groanings within her that could
not be uttered. Her lips moved, but her voice was only
heard by the ear of God. Very likely there was the marks of
deep emotion upon her countenance ; and Eli, the High priest,
who had been watching her, came to the conclusion that she
was intoxicated, and administered to her a severe jebuke,
" How long wilt thou be drunken ? Put away thy wine from
thee.''
Poor woman ! As if she had not trouble enough already,
must she be called a drunkard in God's house and by God's
minister ! How hard and stunning must this blow have been
to such a gentle and sensitive spirit. The best of men are lia-
ble to make mistakes in judging of their fellow-creatures, but
how cautious should we be in forming our opinions about oth-
ers, and still more so in expressing them. We may offend one
of God's little ones, and bring upon ourselves a terrible woe.
What does Hannah do ? Does she break out into indignant
protest and angry invective against such a charge ? No ; she
treats God's high priest with becoming reverence and courtesy.
" No, my Lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have
drank neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my
soul before the Lord."
The good man was convinced that he had made a serious
mistake, and joined his prayers to her's. She made a vow,
that if the Lord would give her a son he should be wholly
devotefd to the Lord's service. In due time her prayer was
answered, and as she gazed upon the face of her son with all
a mother's fond love, she called him Samuel, which means,
asked of the Lord.
Soon as Samuel was old enough to be spared from his moth-
er, she is not unmindful of her solemn vow. From the Lord's
202 THE WORLD S HOPE.
hands she had received him, and to His service she is resolved
he shall be dedicated. To part with him, at a time when he
was becoming most interesting, must have been a hard trial to
her motherly heart, but faith can triumph even over natural
affection. We see her then holding her boy by the hand and
journeying to Shiloh. Perhaps Eli had forgotten her by this
time, but a few words would soon recall all the circumstances
of the case. He takes the gift from the mother, recognizing
the hand of God in the whole matter ; and from that time, we
are told, the child ministered to him.
And now she must go back to her home without him who,
as far as any earthly thing could, had been the joy and light of
her dwelling. We expect to hear the voice of weeping and
lamentation, but instead of that, she breaks forth into a song of
thanksgiving, and the outgushing of a happy, loving heart.
But though she has parted with her son and knows that he
is in safe keeping, she still watches over him, and cares for
his wants. What a sweet picture is that which the inspired
narrator brings before us. " She made him a little coat,
and brought it from year to year, when she came with her
husband to the yearly sacrifice." How these yearly visits
would be looked forward to, how they would be talked about
before and after, we need not tell. It has not been thought
beneath the dignity of inspired history to mention that little
coat, every stitch of which was a labor of love. God gave
her other children, who made many demands upon her time ;
but her oldest son, the child of her many prayers, was never
forgotten. She saw him growing up in favor with God and
man. He was humble, prompt in the performance of his
duties, reverent and earnest in all that related to God's wor-
ship, greatly beloved by the high priest, and gave promise of
future greatness even beyond a fond mother's expectations.
What a great work does that mother accomplish who trains
up a child for God. Her sphere may seem a small one, her
lot lowly and obscure ; but world-wide is the influence she
exerts. Her work will go down undiminished, and extending
through all ages ; even down to the last moment of recorded
SAMUEL, THE CONSECRATED TO GOD. 203
time. And yet it is not every good Christian that is a good
trainer of youth. Some, by sour and gloomy presentation of
truth, may make reUgion repulsive to their children. Some,
by too great severity, break the twig instead of bending it in a
heavenly direction ; while others, like Eli, refusing to use the
appropriate restraints, let them rush on, with unbridled passions,
to perdition.
We cannot estimate the great influence of youthful piety.
Then impressions are received that are to be perpetual as the
soul's own being. It is then that the die is struck, the in-
scription impressed, that is to be read through all eternity.
Then is the crisis of our being — the moulding time of charac-
ter— that is to develop into an an angel or a fiend. We
sometimes, in traveling, meet old men mature in wickedness ;
lost to faith in God, lost to faith in man's truth or woman's
virtue ; the wretched, depraved, sensual soul, having engraved
its likeness upon the wrinkled visage ; the filthy mouth forming
an outlet for the vile, volcanic-like passions that dwell within ;
and we are shocked at the sight. But all this maturity in sin
began in one false step in youth. We are shocked to read in
the papers accounts of wrecked ships, beaten to pieces by
angry waves upon frowning cliffs and rocky coasts. In the
quiet and security of our own homes, we can imagine th&,t we
hear the shrieks of the perishing ones, rising above the hoarse
voice of the tempest ; and that we see faces distorted with
terror, as they are borne on to destruction by the mountain
billow. But what is this to the wrecks that are going on
among young souls, every day, in our crowded cities. With
strong passions within, clamoring for gratification ; with temp-
tations all around, making them more familiar with sin, they
are among the breakers; and nothing but early piety, taking
Jesus for their pilot, can save them. He alone can guide
them to a secure haven.
Samuel was consecrated to God. An old man may do this,
but he only offers God the dregs of his life. His health, his
vigor, his bright manhood, his warm, glowing affections, have
all been given to the world. To deliberately plan to put reli-
204
THE WORLD S HOPE.
gion off to old age, is supremely mean, not to speak of its
wickedness. It is a positive insult to God ; for he gave the
world the very best gift he had to give, namely, his own Son.
And yet men will tell us that when they are old and worn out
in sin and worldliness, they will come with a sudden flaring
out of piety, and make God a present of the dregs of their
existence.
Can we conceive of anything more forlorn and sad than an
old man sitting amid the wrecks of the past, with dull ears,
and dim eyes, and benumbed brain, looking over a misspent
life, while his sins, gathering round him, call for vengeance,
like the ghosts of murdered men. He wants to go to heaven;
not that he cares about its employments or its holiness, but
only to escape hell. The habit of delaying religion has be-
come so strong that it binds him as if with chains of iron ;
and dozing his days away in a sleepy indifference he passes
into eternity. Young reader, come early to Jesus. Let the
first fruits of your whole being be given to him. The most
useful men the world has ever seen were converted early.
Samuel, David, Daniel and Timothy are all examples of this.
And may God make you another illustrious example of the
same thing !
• Samuel was not only early called to be a subject of real
piety, but he was early called into the prophetic office. This
was done in a remarkable manner. Waiting upon the high
priest, and performing many little offices for his personal com-
fort, he slept at night near to his chamber. The old man had
gone to rest ; and, his duties being all performed, Samuel had .
retired also. It was the silent hour of midnight ; the Levites
were all asleep ; the lights had begun to grow dim in the sanc-
tuary, when Samuel is aroused by a voice calling his name.
He goes at once to the room of the high priest, saying, " Here
am I." Three times he was called, and thrice he responded
in like manner. On none of those occasions had Eli called
him, but the aged servant of God, suspecting that there was
something supernatural in the voice, instructed the youth next
time he was called to reply, " Speak, Lord, for thy servant
SAMUEL, THE CONSECRATED TO GOD. 205
heareth." This he did, and the Lord answered by revealing
to him the fearful judgment he was about to bring upon Eli
and his family, on account of the wicked and sacrilegious
conduct of his sons.
Samuel was now in a difficult position. Eli had ever been a
kind and loving friend to him ; and he felt great diffidence in
communicating the awful revelation entrusted to him. He felt
that the burden of the Lord was upon him ; but went about
his common every day duties as before. Eli, however, sus-
pected that he had received some communication that he
wished to keep back ; and solemnly charged him to tell him all
the truth. This the young lad did, and when the venerable
man heard the appalling sentence he meekly replied : " It is
the Lord; let him do what seemeth good in his sight."
The threatened judgment did not tarry long. Eli was a
good, pure, kind-hearted man; as is seen in all his dealings
with Hannah and her son. But he had no force of character;
he was timid, and destitute of n-ioral courage. His sons, who
served with him in the sanctuary, were vile men, profaning by
their conduct the house of God. This he knew, and no doubt
mourned over the fact ; but he loved peace more than purity,
and let matters go on till his sons brought a reproach and a
disgrace upon the cause of God. The great God is now about
to take the matter into his own hands ; and Eli has not a word
to say, but acknowledges his coming punishment right and
just. That the rebukes of the Almighty should fall upon him,
is only what he feels that he deserves. Some men would have
shown resentment against Samuel, as the messenger of those
sad tidings ; but he loves the youth as much as ever, and only
condemns himself.
A war breaks out between the Philistines and the Israelites.
According to custom the people of Israel take the ark with
them — the symbol of Divine presence. The possession of that
sacred object used to put fresh courage into their armies and
strike terror into the hearts of their foes. But now an alarm-
ing disaster befalls them. They flee before their enemies ;
Eli's sons are both killed ; the ark is taken, and the high priest
2o6 THE world's HOPE.
dies under the blow inflicted upon him by the sad tidings !
It is, indeed, a most affecting picture, to see that old man
sitting, watching and waiting for tidings from the battle field.
We are told that his heart trembled for the ark of God. At
last he hears the noise of the tumult of people ; one comes
running out of the army,' his clothes torn and earth upon his
head, and tells Eli a tale of horror. His sons are dead —
great slaughter among the people — Israel fleeing like fright-
ened sheep before their foes ; and, worst of all, the ark of God
taken ! Ah ! this was more than he could bear. We see him
stretch out his trembling and palsi^ed hands ; the ghastly hue
of death comes over his face ; and, in the touching language
of the inspired narrative, " He fell from off the seat back-
ward, by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died ;
for he was an old man, and heavy."
This whole narrative reads a most impressive lesson to
parents and guardians of youth. If we have a restraining
power and fail to exercise it, so that evil goes on, having too
little moral courage, or too indolent or selfish a desire for
peace, we are held accountable for the evil that occurs. We
are held to account for evil that we could have prevented in
others and did not, as much as for evil that we directly do
ourselves. Eli should have restrained his sons, by meekness
and gentleness if he could, but by the most harsh and most
severe measures, if nothing else would avail. God should
have been honored first and above all ; if the nearest ^nd the
dearest had been turned out beggar upon the world. Here we
see how one defect of character may destroy the usefulness of
a good man. This man was gentle, loving, kind ; took a deep
interest in the prosperity of God's cause; had great power in
prayer ; and meekly bore the rebukes of the Lord. But he
had no firmness, and this made his whole character like a rope
of sand ; so that no dependence could be put in him. We
must add to our faith, courage ; that is, the power to say no, at
the right time and at the right place.
Sin is no trifle. God does not spare it even in his own dear
people. And if this is the case with them, oh sinner I what
SAMUEL, THE CONSECRATED TO GOD. 207
will become of you ? " If these things be done in the green
tree, what shall be done in the dry? "
Samuel was now the one to whom the eyes of the people
turned. They had been long familiar with his wonderful his-
tory, and recent events had pointed him out as a chosen
prophet of the Lord. " And Samuel grew, and the Lord was
with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground."
He found the nation of Israel in a fearfully corrupt state. The
sons of Eli had brought the public worship of God into disre-
pute, and idol worship began to reappear and to become
popular. The young prophet showed great zeal for the right ;
his voice was lifted up against the abominations around him ;
and the trumpet of truth, as sounded by him, gave no uncer-
tain sound.
After Samuel was formally recognized as Judge his first act
was to call an assembly of the people, for fasting and prayer
and deep humiliation before the Lord. He urged the entire
extirpation of idolatry ; and promised the people that if this
was done the Lord would return to them and deliver them
from the oppression of the Philistines. Their enemy, hearing
of this great meeting, and judging that it boded them no good,
came up in battle array against them. For this they were not
prepared, and great fear took hold of them. But one thing
was favorable. They had learned to know where their strength
lay, and said to Samuel, " Cease not to cry unto the Lord our
God for us." God heard prayer, their enemies were driven
before them, and in grateful memory of the event, Samuel set
up a stone, calling it Ebenezer, saying, "Hitherto hath the
Lord helped us."
Every Christian that has carefully noted the ways of the
Lord with him, can raise up many a joyful Ebenezer. It is a
sad sign of our ingratitude that we are loud in our cries for
help, when in trouble, but not so loud in our shouts of praise
when deliverance comes. Our adorable Lord said : " Were
there not ten cleansed, but v/here are the nine V Only one
had come back to give thanks for his cure. To remember past
mercies, and draw from them occasion of thanksgiving and of
2o8 THE world's HOPE.
encouragement for the future, is well pleasing to God. When
prayer has been answered, and faith has gained a victory, we
should not permit unbelief to come in with the false insinua-
tion, that perhaps it was going to happen as it did, at any rate.
But let us promptly raise our Ebenezers, leaving them all the
way behind us as monuments of God's goodness and our
thankfulness. Thus the righteous shall hear of it and be glad;
and many, led by our example, shall extol the God of their
salvation. If we could realize that we receive no good of any
kind that we have deserved, that all has been of grace, from
beginning to end, how would thanksgivings break forth from
our hearts, and shine forth in every act of our lives !
So far we have marked in Samuel one prominent point of
character, that is, he aimed directly at God's glory in all that
he did.' We do not see him seeking ease, nor emoluments, nor
honors; his grand aim was to honor God. This is a vital
point in true Godliness ; and leads to works of faith and labors
of love. Those who have it are always found zealous workers,
and that, too, from right motives. Let the following fact illus-
trate this. A dear boy, a Sabbath school scholar, was dying.
His teacher visited him, and found one of his classmates just
leaving the chamber as he entered it. It was the only one of
the class who did not love Jesus, and the dying youth had
been urging him to come to the Savior.
The teacher said, " Oh, I do so want to see H— — a Chris-
tian, and then our band will be complete, it will be such a joy
to think we shall all meet in heaven."
"Yes it will," said Arthur, his eyes kindling at the thought,
*'but that is not the best reason, teacher, is it.?"
"What is the best reason, Arthur.?" I asked. "Why," said
he, " Jesus will be so glad, because, you know, that was what
he died for."
Soon after this dear youth was taken away, but his words
should be remembered; for they teach us that the highest
reason for our zeal in God's service, is not our own happi ess,
nor even the happiness of others, but the glory of God.
A soul, then, in earnest will speak to sinners in such a way that
SAMUEL, THE CONSECRATED TO GOD. 209
fhey 7nust hear him. His whole heart will be in his words. Dr.
Ida has a good illustration of this, which I present to the reader.
"A traveler was journeying in the darkness of night along
a road that led to a deep and rapid river, which, swollen by sud-
den rains, was chafing and roaring within its precipitous banks.
The bridge that crossed the stream had been swept away by
the torrent, but he knew it not. A man met him, and, after
inquiring whither he was bound, said to him in an indifferent
way —
" Are you aware that the bridge is gone.?" "No," was the
answer, " why do you think so V " Oh, I heard such a report
this afternoon, and though I am not certain about it, you had
better, perhaps, not proceed.'
Deceived by the hesitating and undecided manner in which
the information was given, the traveler pushed onward in the
v/ay of death. Soon another, meeting him, cried out in con-
sternation— " Sir, sir, the bridge is gone !"
"Oh, yes," replied the wayfarer, "some one told me that
story a little distance back ; but from the careless tone with
which he told it, I am sure it is only an idle tale."
"Oh, it is true, it is true!" exclaimed the other. ''I know
the bridge is gone, for I barely escaped being carried away
with it myself. Danger is before you, and you must not go
on." And, in the excitement of his feelings, he grasped him
by the hands, by the arms, by the clothes, and besought him
not to rush upon manifest destruction.
Convinced by the earnest voice, the earnest eyes, the ear-
nest gestures, the traveler turned back and was saved. The
intelligence in both cases was the same ; but the manner of its
conveyance in the one gave it an air of fable, in the other an
air of truth.
So it is only through a burning zeal for the salvation of the
lost — a zeal glowing in the heart, and flashing out in the look,
and action, and utterance — that the confidence of unbelief can
be overcome, and the heedless travelers of the broad way come
to the path of life and happiness. Love is the most potent
logic ; interest and sympathy are the most subduing eloquence.
2IO THE WORLDS HOPE.
An earnest desire for the honor of God will overcome cov-
etousness, and make men liberal in giving to the cause of
truth. A minister tells us of a case in point. " Many years
ago, happening to be in South Wales, I made the acquaintance
of a Welsh gentleman. He was then a landed proprietor,
living in his own mansion, and in very comfortable circum-
stances. He had been before carrying on an extensive busi-
ness in a large town. By the death of a relative he had unex-
pectedly come into possession of this property. After consider-
ing whether he should retire from business, he made up his
mind he should still continue to carry it on, though no longer
for himself, but for Christ. I could not help being struck
with the gleesomeness of a holy mind which lighted up his
countenance when he said: ' I never knew before what real
happiness was. Formerly, I sought as a master to earn a live-
lihood for myself, but now I am carrying on the same work as
diligently as if for myself, and even more so, but it is now for
Christ, and every half-penny of profit is handed over to the
treasury of the Lord, and I feel that the smile of the Savior
rests upon me.' "
Samuel is growing old. His two sons, whom he had called
to his assistance as Judges, did not show the incorruptible in-
tegrity of their father. One day, to his great surprise, the
elders of Israel came to him at Ramah, and desired that a
king should be appointed over them. This request was not
made from a sudden impulse, but seems to have been the re-
sult of long deliberation and consultation. They proceed
with great delicacy in breaking the matter to the prophet ; and
Were careful to let him understand that they had no fault to
find with his administration. This request was not at all
pleasing to Samuel. He seems to have felt it, to some extent,
as a personal reflection upon himself. And yet though he
thus felt, he says nothing till he could lay the whole matter be-
fore the Lord. Oh that all God's servants would act thus
wisely ! One angry word, one bitter taunt, at this time, might
have done great mischief. Blessed are the people who carry
their troubles and their cares to the Lord.
SAMUEL, THE CONSECRATED TO GOD. 211
The answer that Samuel received was, to let the people have
such a government as. they chose, but to warn them that they
would involve themselves in trouble and in a very bitter expe-
rience. The Lord, in a measure, rebuked the personal feel-
ing which the prophet had upon the subject, by saying,
" They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me."
In the days of their highest prosperity they professed to take
Jehovah as their king ; but now they are disposed to turn to an
arm of flesh. God's words are, " Cursed is he that trusteth in
man, and maketh flesh his arm ;" and the Israelites felt the truth
of this in all its force. Hosea tells us that "the Lord gave them
a king in His wrath." They wanted to be like the nations
around them, forgetting that if they got all the glitter, and
pomp, and parade of majesty, they were very likely to get all its
despotic and tyrannical abuse also. Heretofore they had been
under a very mild rule, but unlimited power has a tendency
to make an oppressor of even a good man. Such power is
only fit for God himself; he alone makes a good use of it.
It had been foretold, that a line of kings would rise in Israel.
It was part of the promise to Abraham, that kings should
spring from him, and Jacob had predicted that the scepter
should not depart from Judah till Shiloh came. But,
though God foreknows what is going to occur, and may fore-
tell it, this does not imply that he approves it. Samuel drew a
very graphic picture of what they might expect under the
reign of a king, and the oppressions to which they were likely
to be subjected. This was not favorably received, for the peo-
ple replied, " Nay, but we will have a king over us, that he may
judge us, and go out before us to battle." The prophet felt
that he could do no more to dissuade them from their purpose,
and sorrowfully proceeded to make the necessary arrange-
ments for the great governmental change.
With the utmost fairness Samuel proceeded to the nomina-
tion of the king, so that no one could accuse him of favorit-
ism. At Mizpeh, the assembled tribes made their choice by
lot. Saul, the son of Kish, was the individual pointed out.
It would seem that he had no ambition in that direction ; was
212 THE WORLDS HOPE.
afraid to encounter the great responsibility of such a position,
and would have prefered to remain in the humble and obscure
condition in which he was born. Accordingly he had
withdrawn himself from notice, being hid among the baggage.
Perhaps he thought that if not found, they would go on and
elect another ; but he was soon discovered and brought before
the people. All eyes were turned upon him with pride, for
he had a tall, noble form that towered up above the crowd, and
a majestic presence. He was saluted with a shout of admi-
ration.
This being the beginning of a constitutional monarchy,
Samuel took great care to secure the liberties of the people.
He not only addressed them upon the subject, but committed
the whole matter to writing, which document, we are told, was
laid up before the Lord.
Samuel now felt that his work was nearly done, and he took
the opportunity of a great gathering of the people at Gilgal
to deliver his farewell address. There was the king elevated
to power, and having just obtained a great victory on the
field, the prophet began his address in very touching terms :
" And now, behold, the king walketh before you, and I am old
and gray headed; and behold, my sons are with you, and I
have walked before you from my childhood unto this day."
He then appealed to the people as to his integrity as a judge.
When had he ever taken a bribe, or displayed favoritism in
the administration of justice ? The people with one voice tes-
tified to his strictly honorable and upright conduct. He
takes a rapid glance at their past history, showing from it God's
goodness and their ingratitude. He then urges them to a holy
life, and in great faithfulness said, " But if ye shall still do
wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both you and your king."
Then solemnly lifting up his hands to heaven, the thunder
rolled out in wild crashes, as if the voice of God was giving
confirmation to his words.
Thus Samuel retired from his public duties as a magistrate,
but still retained his office as prophet of the Lord. In conse-
quence of Saul's constant disregard of God's will, Samuel is
SAMUEL, THE CONSECRATED TO GOD. 213
commanded to anoint David, the son of Jesse, king in his stead.
The best men have their seasons of timidity and unbelief, and
Samuel showed, on this occasion, that he was no exception to
the rule. He was afraid of the wrath of Saul, and very reluc-
tantly obeyed the command of the Lord. When he came to
the house of Jesse he first offered a solemn sacrifice, and then
had the sons of the household brought before him. The
eldest son, Eliab, was tall in person, and of a noble counte-
nance, and he thought that he must be the one chosen for
king ; but the Lord rebuked him in these words, " Look not
on his countenance, nor on the height of his stature, for I
have refused him ; for the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for
man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh
on the heart." How solemn is this thought ! If kept in
remembeance, how would it demolish the shams and hypoc-
risies of the world.
Seven more sons did Jesse pass before the man of God, but
none of them were accepted. David, the youngest, was in
the fields keeping sheep ; he was sent for, and the moment he
appeared the prophet anointed him king, in the presence of
his brethren. Samuel died in Ramah, amid the lamentations
of the whole nation. His was a noble character, the honor of
God and the good of his fellow-men forming the ruling mo-
tive of his life. Early did he give his heart to God, and served
him with untarnished reputation through all his long life.
When he was taken away every family felt as if a father had
departed, and tears of honest grief and affection watered his
last resting place.
" Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord ; they rest from
their labors, and their works do follow them." That blessed-
ness surely rested upon the departure of the righteous
Samuel.
" Hush'd was the evening hymn,
The temple courts were dark
The lamp was burning dim
Before the sacred ark ;
When suddenly a voice divine
Rang through the silence of the shrine.
£14
THE WORLD S HOPE.
" The old man, meek and mild,
The priest of Israel, slept;
His watch the temple-child,
The little Levite, kept;
And what from Eli's sense was seal'd,
The Lord to Hannah's son reveal'd
" O, give me Samuel's ear!
The open ear, O Lord !
Alive and quick to hear
Each whisper of Thy word ;
Like him to answer at Thy call,
And to obey Thee first of all.
*
" O, give me Samuel's heart !
A lowly heart, that waits
Where in Thy house Thou art,
Or watches at thy gates :
By day and night, a heart that still
Moves at the breathing of Thy will.
" O, give me Samuel's mind !
A sweet unmurmuring faith,
Obedient and resigned
To Thee in life and death ;
That I may read, with childlike eyes,
Truths that are hidden from the v/ilS."
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET. 215
CHAPTER XV,
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET.
The birth-place of those who are to become great and dis-
tinguished attracts to it a world-wide attention. Bethlehem
was but a small and insignificant place in itself; but it was
honored to be the birth-place of David, the greatest of Israel's
kings, and of Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
David's early years were spent in the humble employment of
a shepherd. In those days this was an occupation that required
great courage and activity, to defend the flocks from wild beasts.
The sheep had often to be driven far from home, amid rugged
scenery of surpassing grandeur. Sometimes, for months at a
time, the shepherds would be absent from their homes, left to
the company of their own thoughts, and communion with God
through his own glorious works.
From his very childhood David had, no doubt, been taught
the fear of the Lord. The soul-stirring truths which God had
spoken to his fathers, and the mighty wonders which he had
wrought out before their eyes, had all been told him by his
pious father, again and again, and led him early to choose the
God of his fathers as his God. While attending upon his
flocks, the thoughts in that lovely psalm beginning with " The
Lord is my Shepherd," must have often passed through his
mind. When he had been driven into the caves of the rocky
mountains by a passing thunder storm, we can imagine that we
see him raising his voice till it mingled with the roar of the
mountain torrent, saying : " The voice of the Lord is upon the
wr.ters ; the God of glory thundereth ; the Lord is upon many
waters ; the voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness ; the
Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kedesh." Many an evening
after he had folded his flocks, he would look to the heavens,
shining in their starry glory, and sing in a rapture of devout
2l6 THE world's HOPE.
gladness, " The heavens declare the glory of God, and the
firmament showeth his handiwork." His writings show that
he was a lover of God's works, and w^as fond of listening to
their teaching ; and no doubt he often watched his flocks, and
sang his song of praise on the very same spot where the angel
host sang the commg of the world's Redeemer in words wor-
thy of their harps, saying, " Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good will towards men."
It has often been remarked how faithfully the Bible depicts
the faults of the great men whose biographies it records. It
does not attempt to glorify men, by picturing them as perfect,
but to glorify the grace of God in saving sinful men, like our-
selves, from the wrath to come. It has been common for infi-
dels to point to David's great sins, and to ask sneeringly, if
that is the man after God's own heart. But when was David
after God's heart .'^ Not when he was sinning; for then the
fierce displeasure of the Lord was kindled against him, and
severe punishments were let loose from the hand of Jehovah
against him. If he was a great sinner he was also a great peni-
tent, and it was when he saw and abhorred his sin as God did
that he was after God's heart. He and God were of one mind
about sin, and about the free grace that can alone save from it ;
and so they could walk together.
Why do those who talk so much about his sins, say not a sin-
gle word about his repentance ? Why do not they imitate him as
a penitent, and not as a sinner.? It is because they are not
honest readers of the Bible, but are only seeking an excuse for
their sins. Where can we find such deep anguish, such heart-
rending sorrow for sin, as we see in the religious experience of
David ? Hark ! How he cries as he sinks into the great
depths of distress, and the pains of hell get hold upon his tremb-
ling soul. His tears were his food, night and day; he wets his
pillow with his tears, and his spirit, smitten by the displeasure
of the Almighty, cries out, " Pardon my iniquities, for they are
great." Ah ! yes, he is scourged as with a whip of scorpions,
for his sins ; till at last we see the loving hand of God lifting
him up out of the horrible pit of despair in which he lay, and
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET. 217
putting his feet upon a rock, even the Rock of Salvation, put-
ting a new song in his mouth.
In the last chapter we have spoken of Samuel as anointing
David king ; but Saul is not yet dead, and the young man goes
on with his humble duties, assured that God will call him out
into notice when he wants him. Nor had he long to wait.
The hour was at hand that was to bring him prominently be-
fore the whole nation. Saul's army, and that of the Philistines
are lying opposite to each other in battle array. David's
brothers are with the army, and his father sends him with pro-
visions to them.
We see this youth going towards the camp in his plain shep-
herd dress. To look upon him as he moves along, who would
suppose him to be the man chosen of God to deliver Israel,
and stand before the world in towering greatness down to the
end of time ? But thus it is in every great revolution in the
affairs of men. The man for the occasion is raised up to do
the work of the day ; but he is seldom such a person as men
in their wisdom would have chosen. Generally taken from
humble and obscure positions; simple and unassuming in
their manners ; they yet show in great results, that they have
been raised up by God to accomplish their special work.
How clearly has this been seen in the raising up of such men
as Lincoln and Grant, in the great rebellion. But to proceed
with our narrative. As David drew near to the army he heard
the shouting of the hosts, as if a battle was about to begin.
This quickens his young blood, and with throbbing heart he
pressed forward.
Just as he arrives a mighty champion comes forth from the
army of the enemy, with a bold and insulting defiance to all
Israel to meet him in single combat. Goliath was a man of
gigantic proportions and was clad in a complete armor of
brass. His weapons were of great size, and David was told
this challenge he had put forth day by day for some time, but
as yet it remained unanswered. David's cheek burned with
the blush of shame, that this infidel should be so long allowed
to triumph over the chosen people of God. His patriotism
2l8 THE WORLDS HOPE
and his piety were alike shocked. It was having a most
depressing effect upon the army, and Saul had offered large
rewards to any one who would meet this bold boaster, David i^
prepared to meet him, not forgetting the great strength of his
antagonist, but trusting in the God of Israel. His words are
indicative of a faith beautiful in its simplicity : " The Lord that
delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of
the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine."
Saul hears of this daring youth and wishes to see him. Per-
haps he expected to see one of the largest, bravest, and long-
tried heroes of his army ; but instead of that there stands be-
fore him a beardless youth of eighteen years. He seeks to
turn him from his brave purpose, but the youth remains firm
in his determination to meet his vaunting foe ; and Saul gives
his consent in the words, " Go, and the Lord be with thee."
The moment, big with great results, has come. The trumpet
sounds and its clear notes echo among the hills. A solemn
silence ensues. Down into the valley steps the man of giant
strength, clad in glittering armor, and the slender youth, with
his sling and a few stones from the brook, as his only weapons.
But with undaunted and calm spirit the young hero goes
forth, his trust in God, and knowing that "the race is not to
the swift, nor the battle to the strong." Ah ! little did Jesse know
the danger in which his darling boy was standing at that mo-
ment, and what mighty results were depending upon him.
What were the feelings of his three brothers we cannot tell.
A shout of contempt comes from the army of the Philistines
as they look on the fair boy, and contrast him with their great
champion.
But see, the two combatants advance ; the anxiety in the
vast multitude is intense. It is not a moment for words ; and
strong men, and brave warriors stand almost breathless with
suspense. The little hero puts a stone in his sling, and swing-
ing it rapidly around his head, it is propelled through the air
with unerring aim, and smites^ the proud boaster dead. He
fell, like some giant tree of the forest, the vaster its growth
the more terrible the resounding downfall. Terror-stricken
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET. 219
the Philistines turn and flee, while the hosts of Israel shout
forth the joy of their hearts in praise of the young victor.
The victory is complete, and the future king is favorably intro-
duced to his people
Let us remember that we have a spiritual battle to fight with
a powerful enemy. As in the case of David, the odds are to
all appearance against us. Our adversary, the devil, is skill-
ful and practiced in this spiritual warfare. He comes to us
armed with infernal weapons and hellish darts, and the struggle
is for eternal life or death. We must go forth to meet him
with faith as our only weapon, and the Lord of Hosts as
our only defence. Thus resisting, he will flee from us. In
like manner the world is a foe to grace, and we are not able to
overcome it in our own strength. Some one said to Luther,
" The world is against you ;" to which he replied, " Then I am
against the world." Faith can thus overcome the world — faith
in the blood of Jesus. This blessed gospel was preached in
paradise, was sealed by the blood of Abel, was rejoiced in by
patriarchs, preached by prophets and apostles, and died for
by innumerable maityrs. Let us hold it fast, and it will bring
Us off more than conquerors over all our foes.
David lay down the head of the Philistine at the feet of Saul,
and is called to give an account of his family. That day he
was introduced into the court and entered upon all the perils
and dangers of public life. That day he gained much fame,
much honor, but he got one of heaven's best blessings — a irue
friend. Saul's son, Jonathan, loved him as his own soul. It
is most delightful to contemplate the sweet, constant friend-
ship that from that day existed between these young men. It
was a heartfelt sympathy and ardent love that never wavered,
but grew in strength day by day, till death separated them
from each other on earth, and now it is perpetuated in richer
perfection in heaven. What a blessing to earth true friendship
is! It is, indeed, a relic of paradise, come down to us from
amid the ruins of the fall. Of it Robert Hall says, " It is a
treasure possessed when it is not employed ; a reserve of
strength, ready to be called into action when most needed ; a
220 THE WORLD S HOPE.
fountain of sweets to which we may continually repair, whose
waters are inexhaustible."
There is nothing more touching in poetry or eloquence, than
David's lament when his friend died. It is a wail of anguish
that has come down to us through all these ages, and that still
starts the sympathetic tear. " How are the mighty fallen in
the midst of the battle ! O Jonathan, thou wast-slain in thine
high places. I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan !
very pleasant hast thou been unto me; thy love to me was
wonderful, passing the love of women." David never forgot
this dear friend. Long afterwards he takes his son, an afflicted
youth under his protection, and treated him as his own son.
" Fear not, for I will surely show thee kindness, for Jonathan,
thy father's sake."
It is a difficult thing, in this fallen world, to find such true
friendship. And yet there is a strong craving in 'our nature
after it. There is one true friend who will never disappoint
us ; it is the Lord Jesus, who will never leave nor forsake us,
and who sticketh closer than a brother. Born for adversity,
when others forsake us, he comes nearer in the warmth of a
love that is to live forever. David had no way of repaying the
love of his friend, except in the person of his son ; so the dear
Friend that died for us, is now in glory ; his sorrows are for-
ever ended, but there is one way in which we can show our
love, that is by showing love to the poor and afflicted among
his people. These are dear to his heart ; they are as the apple
of his eye, and when we seek them out, feed them, clothe them,
and cheer them with our sympathy, Jesus looks down from his
lofty seat in the heavens well pleased, and says, " Inasmuch as
ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye
have done it unto me."
We come now to consider David as in adversity and passing
through the deep waters of affliction. After the splendid
achievement of the overthrow of the champion of the Philis-
tines, he is taken into Saul's household, as one of his chief
captains. This strange man "professed great friendship for
him, but it was not of long continuance. He was one of those
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET. 221
weak, passionate, impulsive characters, who are warm friends
or bitter enemies, and may be both in the same day. A warm,
ardent temperament, joined to a weak mind and an ambitious
spirit, makes a hard case to live at peace with ; and such was
Saul. A circumstance occurs that awakens against David his
rancorous hate. When returning from the battle-field, and
passing throu^gh the cities, the army was received with shouts
of welcome by the populace. Far and wide, from mouth to
mouth, had spread the news of the great victory. Bands of
patriotic women met them with songs of gladness, the burden
of which was, " Saul has slain his thousands, but David his
tens of thousands." Unfortunate words! They stir to its
depths all the malignity and hate, and murderous revenge of
his nature ; and from that time till his death he became the
deadly enemy of the young hero. Repeatedly he attempts his
life in a manner most sneaking and cowardly. David has to
flee from the court, and can find no rest from his inveterate
enemy anywhere. Go where he will he is pursued and at-
tacked. Well may it be said, " Jealousy is cruel as the grave."
Alas ! how uncertain are earthly honors. The great deliv-
erer of Israel, the man who but lately stood highest in favor at
court and with the people, has now to flee from the habitations
of men as if he were a criminal, and has to hide himself in
holes and caves of the earth. How does he stand these trials .?
For the most part of his time his trust is in God, and he tri-
umphs over his trials. At other times he sinks into unworthy
expedients to get out of his troubles, and giving way to dark
thoughts and unbelieving fears, says, " I shall one day perish
by the hand of my enemy." This language was unworthy of
one for whom God had done so much, and who knew so well
the faithfulness of the promises. But thus it is with us all.
There is a constant struggle going on, the flesh pulling one way,
the spirit of truth the other; now faith prevailing, and then
unbelief, till we seem like two different persons at different
times, according to the influence prevailing. Alas ! How
sinful is this state of things, and how much do we need the
services of the Great Advocate to plead for us.
222 THE WORLDS HOPE.
During his exile a circumstance occurs that shows the for-
giving spirit of David. Saul, in chasing him among the moun-
tains, has gone into a cave and fallen asleep. In that state
David found him, and had it in his power to take his life. To
this he was tempted by many strong inducements ; but he
nobly resisted them all, and only cut off a portion of his ene-
my's garment that he might know that he had been in his
power.
The effect of this act of forbearance upon Saul was, for a
time, most wonderful. His hard heart was touched ; he melted
into tears ; the generous kindness of the youth he had so much
injured smote his soul with regret for the past, and he prom-
ised amendment for the future. But no confidence could be
put in his promises. From impulsive natures like his, a sud-
den outbreak of good feeling sometimes shows itself like sparks
of fire struck out of the cold, hard flint, but it is soon gone
and their habitual state of mind returns again. Thus it was
with Saul. His persecutions soon become as relentless as ever.
But his last hour comes. He enters his last battle, in which
all goes against him. His three sons are slain, the day is lost,
and to avoid the disgrace of being taken, this strange child of
passion kills himself with his own sword.
And now a change takes place with the son of Jesse. His
wanderings for the present are over, and the bright sun of
prosperity, coming from under the cloud, shines upon his
head. I believe it was Luther who said that always before
being called to perform any high and honorable work for God
he was made to pass through severe afflictions of some kind.
David had long known trouble, now he comes forth from the
hiding-place of the cave to the throne and the crown. After
twelve years of trouble and incessant persecution, he is called
by the voice of the people to the high position of Israel's king.
He was now in the full vigor of young manhood, and few
kings have ever mounted the throne with richer endowments,
both spiritual and physical. Long accustomed to toil and
danger, the earth for his bed and the heavens for his covering,
he is not likely to let the affairs of the nation be neglected
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET 223
through effeminate habits, as many have done. He has been
taught in a stern school the instability of all earthy things, and
that God is the sovereign Ruler among the nations of the earth.
When established in power, the first thing he did was to
drive out a small remnant of the Canaanites that were still
in the land. The Jebusites had possession of a city which
they considered impregnable, and insultingly defied David to
take it. He did take it, and after repairing the fort and en-
larging the wall he made it the capital of his kingdom. This
was Jerusalem, though then called the city of David. It is
the oldest existing city in the world, and no other has such
stirring and solemn memories connected with it. It has been
five times taken in bloody conflict, and twice has it been lev-
eled to the ground. Here he erected for himself a palace,
and when it was completed it was dedicated by that song of
praise which we find in the thirtieth Psalm, " O Lord, thou hast
brought up my soul from the grave ; thou hast kept me alive
that I should not go down to the pit. Sing unto the Lord, O
ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his
holiness. For his anger endureth but a moment ; in his favor
is life ; weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the
morning."
What a glorious hope is that of the Christian ! His troubles
shall soon be ended, and a crown and throne far more splen-
did than David's shall be his. He shall have a palace, too,
not made with hands, but eternal in the heavens. O what a
glorious, sweet, lovely home ! Read a description of the happy
condition of those that live there, and long for the hour that
shall bid you enter its Joys. " They shall hunger no more,
nor thirst any more, nor shall the sun light on them, nor any
heat, for the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, shall
feed them, and lead them to living fountains of water."
What a sweet promise is that which is given us : " God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes." This hope, nay, this
blessed certainty, may well fill us with joy unspeakable, even in
a world which sin has made a vale of tears.
David now began to make preparation for bringing the ark
224 THE WORLD'S HOPE.
of God to Jerusalem. It was a solemn procession and had a
most important meaning. It was God taking up his abode
among them. And as the ark moved on through the assem-
bled thousands, amid shouts of joy and the sounding of trumpets,
we are reminded of what happened ages after, when God man-
ifested in the flesh walked in those same streets amid the
waving of palm branches, and cries of " Hosanna to the son
of David." As the procession came up the slope of Mount
Zion, the singers sang the sixty-eighth Psalm. " This is the
hill which God desireth to dwell in ; yea, the Lord will dwell
in it forever." And when it arrived at the resting-place of the
ark, the singers broke out into that sublime dialogue in the
twenty-fourth Psalm. " Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; and
be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors ; the king of glory shall
come in. Who is this king of glory ? The Lord of hosts ;
he is the king of glory."
About this time David began to cherish in his heart a strong
desire to build a temple to the Lord. At this time his mind
seems to have been in a most spiritual state. His faith seems
to have grown stronger by the trials through which it had
passed, just as the oak grows all the stronger for the storms
that beat upon it. It was not God's design that he should
build his house, that honor being reserved for his son ; but he
was told that in as far as it was in his heart to do it, the Lord
accepted the will for the deed.
This is an encouraging principle of the Divine government ;
especially so to those sincere and deeply pious souls who,
thinking of all that God has done for them, never feel as if
they could do enough for him. They plan, in the depth of
their loving hearts, all manner of ways by which they may
honor his name and promote his cause ; but through bodily
infirmity, or the loss of worldly property, or obstacles thrown
in their way by agents of evil, they are disappointed ; and their
throbbing hearts need the comfort of the Lord's words to Da-
vid, " Thou didst well that it was in thine heart."
When the holy and devoted Rev. Samuel Pearce, was on his
death-bed, a young friend of his just about to start for India
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET. 225
as a missionary, came to bid him farewell. It was a most
affecting occasion to both, as they were well assured they should
never meet again on earth. The parting was most tender, but
brightened by the certainty of a joyful m-eeting in glory.
But strange to say, the young missionary was the first to die.
Though in perfect health at the time of sailing, he sickened
and died before reaching the dark land of heathenism where
he had hoped to do so much for the Lord. Soon after Pearce
died, and Andrew Fuller speaks of the surprise with which
these happy souls would meet in the blessed land. He repre-
sented Pearce as saying, "I thought that by this time you were
working for Jesus in India." " That was my hope and inten-
tion," the missionary replies," but my dear Lord had other
designs. He called me away in the midst of my plans and
projects of usefulness, and here I am, an unworthy inhabitant
of the heavenly Canaan." While they are discussing this mat-
ter, they are joined by a spirit high in glory, who upon learn-
ing the subject of their discussion says, " This reminds me of
my experience when on earth. It was strongly in my heart to
build a temple to God's glory. I was ready to make any sac-
rifice to accomplish this object ; but my Lord told me that
high honor was not to be mine, but that as far as it was in my
heart to do the work, the wish was graciously accepted as if
the work had been done." This last speaker was David, and
as he concludes he tunes his harp to a lofty song of praise in
honor of Him who doeth all things well. I have given this
beautiful conception of Fuller from memory, giving his
thoughts but not his words.
Here is a young man who, with much toil and self-denial,
goes through a long course of training for preaching the good
news. But when ready, he is taken away by death, after
preaching but a few months, or it may be but a few sermons.
The talented author of the " Course of Time," was only al-
lowed to preach once or twice, before being called to his
eternal home. Is all that preparation to be lost.'' By no
means. God recognizes what was in the hearts of his young
servants to do for him, as if it was done ; and he has higher
226 THE world's HOPE.
service for them to do in other departments of his vast do-
minions, where their talents and knowledge may find abundant
scope.
So, dear child of God, take comfort, when unable to give to
the Savior's cause as you would like. Though so poor as to
drop a mite into the Lord's treasury, your Lord sees thousands
of dollars in your heart ; and in the great day of account, he
may say of you, before an assembled world, that you have
given more than all the others of your associates, in giving
that small sum, of which you were almost ashamed. " If there
be first a willing mind, it is accepted ; not according to what
he hath not, but according to what he hath,"
And to the invalid, laid aside from active work in the Lord's
vineyard, this subject is full of comfort. His plan of active
labors are all broken off, cut short of accomplishment. He had
it in his heart to do so much, and now can do so little. His
unfinished designs, like broken columns, stand up around him,
and, gazing at them with tearful eyes, he cries, " Why is it
thus.?" Ah! my brother, God knows what is in your heart,
and approves it well ; but he wants to lay you aside from the
busy rush of life, from the conflicting passions and strifes of
earth, that you may find your all in God himself. He wants
to make you look into the grave of your disappointed hopes,
your blighted expectations, that high above the perishing and
mutable things of time, you may learn to drink in immortal
life from your Savior's love. There he tells thee the tree of
life grows; and there only are eyes that tears never dim,
hearts beating with rapture that disappointment never turns to
sorrow, and a perfection of life that is to know no death. You
go into the crowded, though silent city of the dead, and you
see sweet flowers growing over the graves of the dead, —
flowers born of corruption, and watered with tears, and fanned
with sighs. So, over the grave of all your plans, God will
cause to grow the fair flowers of the heavenly graces that are
to bloom forever in immortal beauty in the paradise of God.
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET. 22J
" His purposes shall ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour,
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.''^
So far it has been most pleasant and delightful to watch the
career of David. It is true that we have not seen in him a
perfect character, for that does not belong to sinful man ; even
the bright sun has his spots ; but, for the most part, our hearts
have glowed with admiration of the conduct of Jesse's son.
Prosperity does not seem to have spoiled him, and out of the
furnace of fiery trial he comes forth refined. We have fol-
lowed him up to a pinnacle where, if he falls at all, the fall
must be very great. And, alas ! fall he did, or, rather, cast
himself down headlong. Oh, who could have expected this.^
The sudden change fills us with horror. One moment of
temptation and we look upon David the adulterer and the
murderer ! We can scarcely believe our eyes or our ears, and
are ready to ask, can it be the same person .'' Alas ! it is but
too true. How are the mighty fallen !
In reading the account of David's fall, we can enter into the
feelings of Bishop Hall ; " With what unwillingness, with what
fear do I look upon the miscarriage of the man after God's
own heart ! Oh, holy prophet, who can promise himself to
stand, when he sees thee fallen, and maimed with the fall ?
Let profane eyes behold thee contentedly, as a pattern, as an
excuse for sinning ; I shall never look upon thee but througlf-
tears, as a woful spectacle of human infirmity."
There is generally a long preparatory process going on, un-
known to the v/orld, before professing Christians fall into out-
ward sin, in this way. Gradually there is a decline of spirit-
uality of mind ; prayer is neglected ; the mind gets filled with
worldly thoughts and feelings ; carnal desire slowly but surely
gains the ascendancy ; and a spirit of proud self-sufficiency
takes possession of the soul. Then, when all the elements of
evil are thus prepared the great temptation is presented, and
the fall comes. It seems to be sudden, but is not really so.
There was a long prelude of evil.
228 THE world's HOPE.
Thus was it with David. His army is in the field against
the Ammonites. Instead of staying at home to enjoy the lux-
uries of his splendid palace, he should have been fighting the
Lord's battles. Out of the path of duty, we are on Satan's
ground, and liable to be attacked. We put ourselves into the
way of temptation. The king is walking in the evening upon
the roof of his house, when he saw Bathsheba, a beautiful
woman, the wife of a brave soldier, now away fighting his bat-
tles, engaged in bathing herself. A pure delicacy should have
led him to turn away, but he does not ; and corrupt thoughts
lead to vile actions. He becomes, an adulterer, and then, to
hide the shame of the transaction, resorts to the meanest plans
to accomplish the death of the brave captain, Uriah, whom he
had so greatly injured already. He efi'ects this dark and
horrid design, and stains his soul with the blood of murder.
Such is the progress of sin. It is said to be like the letting
out of water; first a small, thread-like stream, trickling
through the embankment, and then a roaring, dashing, irre-
sistible torrent, leaving behind a track of desolation and
death. The light of God is first resisted, then hated, then
forcibly put out of the soul ; till the poor, unhappy spirit
gropes about in a darkness that may be felt. Conscience be-
coming stupefied and seared, for the time being, lays by its
functions ; and all restraint being removed, the miserable
sinner rushes on, with increased velocity, down the road to
eternal death.
It is a sad evidence of the blinding effects of sin, that
months roll on, and there is no awakening of the king to re-
pentance— no bitter throes of remorse in the soul of this
sinful man. There seems to have been no dread of the ven-
geance of heaven; if the displeasure of man could be averted
he was well content. It seemed as if all sense of right and
wrong was dead within him ; but it was not so. He was
blinded, infatuated, and his conscience seared by sin. And
this state of things would have continued forever, had it not
been for God's mighty grace.
^ It was a kind providence that a faithful man of God was still
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET. 229
left in Israel, who did not fear kings nor kingly power, in the
exercise of his duty. The fearless Nathan goes and tells David
his sin to his face. He begins by a parable of a rich man, who
had flocks and herds in great abundance ; but when he wanted
to make a feast for a guest, instead of taking his own, he took
the one ewe lamb of a poor man. The king's brow grows
dark with wrath. Such is the blinding effects of sin that even
now he does not see his own great transgression, but thun-
dered out, " The man that hath done this thing shall surely
die ; and he shall restore the lamb four-fold, because he did
this thing, and had no pity." Ah! how ready are sinners to
see the fault of others, but blind as bats to their own. He is
like the drunkard, that thinks the giddy and unsteady motion
that he feels is in others, and in things around him, not in
himself. To all of us there can be no more important warn-
ing than to beware lest we be hardened through the deceitful^
ness of sin.
Like a bolt of lightning the words of Nathan smote down
the offender: "Thou art tlie man." Under the circumstances
we cannot conceive of four more powerful words. It is a
winged sentence coming from the throne of God, and the soul
of David heaves as if volcanic fires had been kindled within
him. As Paul's heart was changed by the sudden light that
gleamed from heaven and struck him to the ground, so was
the king of Israel all broken down by the bolt of truth that
had been aimed so well ; and he cries out, " I have sinned against
the Lord." The sentence of punishment was then pro-
nounced. The sword was not to depart from his house, and
bitter heart troubles were to spring up out of his own house-
hold. He now saw his sin in all its horrid loathsomeness.
Hour after hour and day after day did he ponder upon his
guilt. He wanders about his palace in broken-hearted an-
guish, and by night he wet his pillow with tears. If ever
there was a true penitent he was the man. The fifty-first
Psalm was composed at this time by him, and gives us an in-
sight into the state of his heart. " Hide thy face from my
.•sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean
230 THE WORLD S HOPE.
heart, oh God ; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me
not away from tiiy presence ; and take not thy Holy Spirit
from me."
How many broken hearts have been comforted as they
poured out their cries for mercy in the words of this Psahii.
And oh how gracious is our God. He sends him a message
of mercy. " The Lord hath put away thy sin ; thou shalt not
die." Pardon for all sin, for the vilest transgressors, is the
law of God's kingdom of grace. The blood of Jesus cleans-
eth from all sin. There is but one sin that cannot be par-
doned, and that is a persistent rejection of Christ till life's last
moment. Unbelief is a damning sin. It rejects heaven's only
remedy, a certain cure for the evil of sin ; and leaves nothing
before the soul but a fearful looking-for of judgment, and
fiery indignation.
A visitor among the poor in London, came in contact with
a wretched man who repulsed every attempt to do him good.
But the mother of this savage ruffian cried out from an inner
room, " Does your book tell of the blood that cleanseth
from all sin.^" Going to her bedside, he said, "My poor
friend, what do you want to know of the blood that cleanseth
from all sin ?" With great energy she replied, " Man, I am
dying ! I am going to stand before God. I have been a
very wicked woman all my life. But once I stopped at the
door of a church, and one word I can never forget. Oh, if I
could hear it now ! It was something about the blood that
cleanseth from all sin."
The visitor read her the words from the New Testament ;
her soul grasped them by faith, and she died in assurance of
pardon. Her son also was saved by the same glorious truth.
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET. 23I
CHAPTER XVI.
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET. [Continued.]
David is forgiven, but that is not to avert the effect of his
sin in bringing punishment. As we showed in the chapter on
Jacob, there is a great difference between grace and govern-
ment. God's grace pardons David, freely, fully pardons him;
but the Divine government must make an example of his sin.
Thus while he is rejoicing in the sweet voice of grace that tells
him of pardon, he feels the strokes of the rod of government
fall heavy and fast upon his head.
He was a very fond father, and the blows fell upon the most
tender part of his nature. Take Bishop Sanderson's descrip-
tion of his troubles. " As Nathan foretold to him, so a world
of mischief and misery fell out to him from this one presump-
tuous act. His daughter was defiled by her brother; that
brother was slain by another brother; a strong conspiracy was
raised against him by his own son ; his concubines were openly
defiled by the same son ; himself afflicted by the untimely
death of that son, who was his darling; reviled and cursed to
his face by a base, unworthy companion, besides many other
troubles, affronts and vexations."
Of all his troubles, the revolt and death of Absalom was the
most severely felt. That abandoned youth put himself at the
head of a strong faction, drove his father from Jerusalem, and
again made him a fugitive on the face of the earth. When
Joab marshaled his army and went forth to crush this vile, un-
natural rebellion, the express orders of the king to his general
were, " Beware that none touch the young man, Absalom."
This son, in whose beautiful body dwelt a fearfully corrupt
soul, had heaped upon the head of his father every kind of
insult, public and private ; and yet, the loving heart of the
232 THE WORLD S HOPE.
parent clings to him, and would avert from him his deserved
doom. The stern and brave general, however, paid no atten-
tion to this injunction ; but finding him, caught him by the hair
in the branches of a tree, killed him with his own hand.
While the battle is raging, David sits between the gates of
the city, looking with great anxiety for intelligence from the
scene of action ; and as one after another came in hot haste
to tell of victory, his first question is, " Is the young man Ab-
salom safe.^" And when told that he was slain, the agony of
his soul breaks out in one of the most pathetic wails of distress
ever heard : " He was much moved, and went up to the
chamber over the gate, and wept ; and as he went, thus he said :
" O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom ; would God I
had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son." If such was
the depth of love felt by an earthly father, how great must be
the love of the heavenly Father to his offending children. He
gave his son to die for us, and when that last gift of his love
is rejected, and the righteous stroke of death is about to fall,
he cries out, " O how can I give thee up !"
And now for a short time there comes a lull in the storm of
adversity, a calm day of repose after the troubles through
which he had passed. The deranged country is once more at
peace, and a return of prosperity begins to obliterate the
traces of war. David was comforted, and it is feared that he
became lifted up with pride, for he fell into the last great error
of his reign. I refer to his numbering of the people. At first
sight this may seem but a small offence, but from the severity
of the punishment that was inflicted, it was not so regarded
in God's eyes. Let us try to consider in what his sin con-
sisted.
It has been thought by some that the reason why the king
wished this census taken was from a vain-glorious pride of
heart as to the number of subjects over which he ruled. There
may have been something of this ; but I have no doubt that
the cause was unbelief of heart, or distrust of God. He ought
to have known that the strength or greatness of a nation is
not in the number of its population, or the vastness of its army.
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET. 233
but in the blessing of the Most High God. It was not that
the numbering of the people was in itself sin; for under some
circumstances that might be a duty ; but it was the dark dis-
trust of God that lay at the bottom of this matter that brought
down upon him the displeasure of heaven. He is remonstrated
with by Joab, but heeds it not. Nine months are taken up in
this work, during which time his heart remains insensible to
his folly. But when the numbers are put into his hand he
awakes to the knowledge of the evil he has done. The prophet
of God is sent to rebuke him and announce his punishment.
He has his choice of three years of famine, three months of
defeat by his enemies, or three days of pestilence in the land.
The choice which the king made was a wise one. He chose
pestilence, as that came directly from the hand of the Lord, and
was something to which he would be as much exposed as the
poorest of his subjects. " Let us fall now into the hand of the
Lord; for his mercies are great, and let us not fall into the
hand of man." An angel was employed to inflict the punish-
ment that had been threatened. This minister of Divine
displeasure appeared to David and his elders. His aspect
was one well calculated to excite awe." He stood between
the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand,
stretched out over Jerusalem." The king in great distress of
soul, cast himself upon the ground, pleading for the life of his
people. He offers himself as a sacrifice : " So I have sinned,
and have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they
done } Let thy hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against
my father's house."
Praying breath was never spent in vain ; his supplications
were heard, the city is spared at his request, and the Lord said
to the destroying angel, "It is enough ; stay now thy hand."
An altar was built upon that spot and grateful sacrifices offered
up to the hearer of prayer. In all this matter David appears
as a sincere penitent. He mourned before God on account of
his sin ; he sent up his earnest cry for mercy ; he was more
ready to condemn himself than others, and was willing to bear
alone the result of his sins. In short, from this time forth
234 THE WORLD S HOPE.
his life flows on in one consistent stream of works of faith and
labors of love.
As a prophet, how clearly he spoke of the coming of Christ.
Jesus and his Apostles often appealed to the Psalms which
spoke of the coming Messiah as being the eternal Son of God,
the Great High Priest, the imparter of the Holy Spirit and the
resurrection from the dead. In the Psalms the most minute
particulars of our Lord's sufferings are given by the spirit of
prophecy. His being betrayed by one of his own chosen
band, the casting lots for his raiment, and the giving him vin-
egar to drink on the cross.
This book of Psalms has been a most blessed legacy to the
church of God. How sublimely does it describe the attri-
butes of God, especially his mercy. The penitent can here
find the most fit language of confession ; when blessings are
received the thankful soul can here find glowing words of
praise ; and when the pardoned sinner would break out into a
song of highest rapture he will find it in the Psalms. These
songs are everywhere applicable and appropriate ; by land and
by sea, in joy or sorrow, in palaces or prisons, for they are the
sincere out-gushmg of a human heart in all the circumstances
in which our common humanity is placed. A sweet simplicity
of style is united to great sublimity of thought, so that they
are suited for the learned and the unlearned alike. In short
there are no utterances among all the prophets so dear to pious
minds as these sweet songs. At one time the Psalmist carries
us among the works of God, to fill us with rapture and awe ;
"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament
sKoweth his handiwork." Sometimes he breaks out in a rap-
ture of praise almost too great for words. " Sing unto the
Lord a new song ; for his right hand and his holy arm have
gotten him the victory." And in a transport of love he calls
upon all nature to help him to praise God ; the trees, the gray
rocks, the lofty mountains : " Let the sea roar, and the fullness
thereof; the world, and they Ah at dwell therein."
David now began to feel the effect of age and infirmity
creeping upon him. He has yet much to do, and but little
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET. 235
time in which to do it. Though his bodily powers begin to
fail, his strong mind retains all its powers. He assembles to-
gether the princes, the captains of the army, and leading men
of the nation, and addressed them with great solemnity and
power in regard to establishing the worship of God. He spoke
of his ardent desire to build a house for the Son, and of the
revelation he had received that that work was to be performed
by Solomon, his son. Then turning to that son, he charged
him in the presence of them all, to give himself to this matter
with honesty of purpose. He also gave to his son an exact
description of the temple as it had been delivered to him from
heaven, and contributed, from his own resources, great wealth
to be devoted to this object.
This liberal example had a good effect upon the people;
their contributions poured in with the greatest readiness, as if
they were delighted to aid so good a work. They gave not
grudgingly, but of a ready mind. The aged king was delighted
with this zeal for the Lord's cause, and broke out, before them
all, in warm and devout acknowledgment to God for so dis-
posing their hearts, and in earnest prayer for Solomon's reign.
Then the whole congregation worshiped together; sacrifices
were offered to God, and David resigned his regal authority to
Solomon, who was anointed king in his stead.
But it is the lot of the greatest of earth's sons to die. Those
who ruled millions with a word, and on whose will the fate of
nations hung suspended, must fall before the King of Terrors.
So, great warrior and mighty monarch as David had been, the
time came when he must die. We gather around his dying
bed, and listen eagerly to hear his last words. That hand, once
so strong to wield the implements of war, is now palsied with
age, and the cares of many years have plowed deep furrows
upon his face.
What are the subjects upon which his mind dwells in this
solemn hour.> Is he proudly recalling the time when as a
shepherd boy he came, all unknown, from the plains ot I^ethle-
hem, and smote the proud and boastful Philistine, and turned
the whole fortunes of the day in favor of his people ? Is he
236 THE world's hope.
thinking of the shout of joy that greeted him from a whole
nation when he ascended the throne, and of the long list of
brilliant victories by which he made that throne so secure ?
Ah ' no : these look but small things when viewed from a
death-bed. Other thoughts, more noble and suitable, are fill-
ing his soul. The sovereignty of God, the comforts of the
Divine covenant, so full and sure, and the unchangeableness of
Jehovah's love, are the vastly important themes upon which
his mind dwells. His dying words are, " Although my house
be not so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure ; for this is all my
salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow."
We here notice his touching confession in regard to his fam-
ily : 'Although my house be not so with God." We have
already seen that his youth was full of devotedness to God, and
the years of adversity that followed his entering upon public
life, seem to have driven him nearer to God. The unfaithful-
ness of his fellow-men made him think more of God's faith-
fulness, and the persecution of Saul only made him cling more
firmly to the covenant promises of his Divine Friend in heaven,
who knew all that was in his heart.
But the full cup of prosperity was more than he could bear.
When lifted up upon the high eminences' of life he became
high-minded and fell into the snare of the devil. As a head
of a family he was destituted of all government. Foolishly
fond of his children, he let them have their own way. The
result was what might have been expected ' spoiled by indul-
gence, they embroiled him and his kingdom in trouble and
disgrace.
It is a sad sign of how great is the depravity of our nature
when even good men fall into sin. After all that grace has
done for them, after such a marvelous change has been wrought
by the Holy Spirit, after a new life has been implanted, a life
that is spiritual, imperishable, progressive, and that is to grow
up to a glory and heavenly beauty of which we can form no
proper conception ; yet so strong are the remains of sin, that
it occasionally breaks out in a way that astonishes the world.
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET. 237
If God's mighty grace were to leave the best of men to himself
for one moment ; if proud, self-righteous thoughts gain the
ascendancy ; if the fascination of sin gets its entanglements
around him, he must fall into the snare of the enemy. Upon
no prop can we lean with safety but Christ's love ; no safe
refuge but in his grace.
When good men fall into sin they are awakened to penitence.
While the sinner goes on growing worse and worse, the erring
child of God is awakened to a knowledge of his guilt that
makes him condemn himself more than his friends have done.
I once knew a minister who in an hour of sudden temptation
fell into sin. He was in awful anguish of soul. His old
friends were denouncing him, the newspapers were blaming
him, the ungodly were rejoicing in his downfall, and calling him
by the vilest of names, but none of them spoke so much against
him as he did against himself. It was heart-rending to witness
his agony of soul under the rebukes of conscience and the con-
victions of the Holy Spirit. I think that if the most hardened sin-
ner had been in that man's company for an hour he would have
had a strong conviction that though he had sinned greatly, he
was still a son of God. Yes, such an one may wander far, but
grace never gives him up ; it keeps him in view go where he
may, and in some favorable opportunity flashes conviction over
his soul, producing a repentance that needs not to be repented
of. Some messenger is sent, whose words pierce his soul like
fire-tipped arrows, singling him out from the whole world, with
" Thou art the man."
After this return to God is brought about by afflictions, the
soul is swept up by some terrible tempest, that seems to crush
it down, as in some dark night the sturdy tree of the forest is
laid low. The furnace is heated, but God's eye keeps watch
that his child shall not be consumed, but only purified.
Peter and Judas both sinned against Jesus. Peter was a
real Christian, and showed it by going out and weeping bit-
terly ; Judas was only a mere professor, and he showed it by
going from bad to worse, and rushing uncalled into eternity,
with the blood of murder upon his soul.
238 THK world's hope.
David in his dying moments had but one truth to which he
could cling; God's covenant of grace through Jesus. The
religion that saves the soul has always been essentially the
same in all ages. From the fall downwards the only hope of
the sinner has been the blood of the covenant. It begins with
the promise of a Savior in the garden of Eden, and ever since
has been saving lost souls. From the garden of Eden to the
garden of Gethsemane, and up to Calvary, it has uttered but
one voice, "Without the shedding of blood there is no remis-
sion of sins."
It is called by the king of Israel an " everlasting covenant."
It is so in its conception in the Divine mind. The plan of
salvation was no new idea to Jehovah to meet an unexpected
difficulty. Long before this world was swung out into space
from the Creator's hand, long before he made those orbs of
light that sparkle in the canopy of heaven, long before the
comet was sent forth to wander through space, or when space
was shoreless or unborn, this wonderful plan of mercy was in
God's thoughts. The Holy Trinity are represented as in con-
sultation devising means for man's redemption. But this is
only in accommodation to our weakness of comprehension.
Infinite wisdom needs no deliberation. With God there is no
weighing of measures, no balancing of expedients, no examin-
ation of different plans. Before his Omniscient eye all things
stand unveiled in their truest order and in their fittest arraign-
ment ; the means, the agency and the end are all before him
from all eternity ; he cannot be taken by surprise, nor does he
need to change his plans to meet unexpected emergencies.
This covenant is everlasting in its saving results. The be-
liever is not saved for a few years, but for ever and ever. Once
in Christ by a living faith, he can no more be lost than hif
Great Substitute can be lost. The Savior's own words are,
"They shall never perish." All hell, and all the elements of
evil on earth may unite against him, but he shall never perish.
Like David and like Peter, the enemy may seem to have him
in his power for a season, but the Great Advocate is pleading
for him, and he can never perish. And when the dangers of
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET. 239
earth are over, and the ages of eternity roll on, they shall all
unite who have ever known this grace to sing His praises who
wrought out this everlasting salvation.
Another noticeable point in the description of this covenant
is, "well ordered in all things." It is just suitable to the case
of sinners. Man is a guilty being, and often feels the terror of
this through all the powers of his soul. When the Spirit of
God makes him feel the strictness of the holy law, and its
awful curses thickening and darkening around his soul ; to
hear that this law has been vindicated and the claims of justice
satisfied by the death of Jesus, gives peace and assurance of
acceptance. To trust in a man's own good deeds is seen by
the enlightened mind to be the highest folly. To suppose that
the performance of a few good deeds, even allowing them to
be good, could cancel a lifetime of sin is a view of God's char-
acter at once the most foolish and pernicious. Here is a crim-
inal before a court, accused of stealing his neighbor's goods.
What plea does he make? Why this: that he has obeyed far
more laws than he has broken, that he had only stolen once or
twice, but had been honest all the rest of his life. How would
such a plea look in the eyes of the judge and jury ? They
would treat it with scorn. And men of intelligence in other
things are found trusting in such a hope between God and
their souls.
But surely present obedience can never make up for past dis-
obedience ; for if we obeyed perfectly all our lives we would
only be doing our duty. If we failed in one act, that is sin,
and that one sin unpardoned will ruin the soul forever. And
it cannot be pardoned by setting over against it some duty or
duties well performed. You can never recall a sin, nor blot it
out of God's record by anything you can do. The blood oi
Jesus alone can blot out sin, all sin, sin to the very uttermost
extent of sinning. And to refuse to recognize this truth, is to
add to the sin of breaking God's holy law, the yet greater sin '
of rejecting the Savior. You need pardon, in Him you have
it rich and free. You need a perfect righteousness, and here
it is, more pure and spotless than an angel. You need a title
240 THE WORLD S HOPE.
to heaven, and here it is, signed and sealed by the Judge.
But David said this covenant was sure. Well, this is more
than can be said of earthly things, of which men now make so
much. When a few years have gone what a change do they
leave behind them, in blighted hopes, disappointed expecta-
tions, and vacant chairs at family gatherings. A father of a
large home circle had been long absent ; but the day of his
expected arrival had at last come. Every heart was joyful,
every eye was bright with love. The very hour fixed for the
joyful meeting has come, and the tea table waits the happy
throng that were to gather around it. Meanwhile the father is
coming rushing, on in the cars, with a happy heart. The last
entry which he had made in his journal was, " Now for home."
But as he nears the place there is a crash, a wild shriek from
hundreds of voices, and that loving father lies dead. The
hopes of that family are gone out in darkness. Like thousands,
they have found that the things of earth are not sure.
" I thought that the course of the pilgrim to heaven
Would be bright as the summer, and glad as the morn ;
Thou showedst me the path, it was dark and uneven,
All rugged with rock, and all tangled with thorn.
" I dreamt of celestial rewards and renown,
I grasped at the triumph which blesses the brave ;
I asked for the palm-branch, the robe, and the crown,
I asked — and Thou showeist me a Cross and a Grave."
All that can be said about the uncertainty of earthly things
is true, but should be used to draw us to the greater truth to
which David clung, the sureness of every thing about the cove-
nant of redemption. Its doctrine of justification by faith is
sure ; its precious promises are sure ; its peace and unspeaka-
ble joys here are sure; and the unending bliss which it fixes
our hopes upon beyond the boundary line of time are sure.
Let all who have found the world a vain show, a delusion
and a snare, turn to the faith and true word of God, that
never deceives. Every earthly trust may perish, but they that
wait upon the Lord shall surely renew their strength.
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET. 241
David could say in his last moments, " This is all my hope
and all my desire." To have all the hope in Christ makes a
happy life and a happy death. To have a divided hope, a little
in Christ and a little in something else, makes an unhappy
professor. The religion of such people makes them miserable,
being one of alternate hope and fear, doubts and trusts, joys
and sorrows. A writer in a religious paper says : "A company
of captives were one day set at liberty. For many years they
had been in bonds ; and the joy of being set free was like a
foretaste of heaven. But there was one who, instead of re-
joicing in his freedom, gathered up his broken fetters and car-
ried them with him on his homeward journey. Wherever he
stopped he might be heard mourning : ' Oh, these chains,
these chains ! What misery have they caused me !' And at last
death found him still hugging his chains to his bosom."
Thus it is with many professing Christians. Christ shed his
blood to redeem them from the curse of the law. He wishes
them to be his freemen, rejoicing in true gospel freedom from
the curse of the law, the condemnation of sin, and the terror
of coming wTath. But they will not be made happy. They
speak as if they must still be saved by the law ; and as if Jesus
had not shed his blood at all for sin, they keep crying out,
" Oh, my sins, my sins ! what is to become of me because of m.y
sins.?"
Several years ago a passenger vessel was crossing the Atlantic
ocean, when, one afternoon, all on board were startled by the
fearful cry, "A man overboard!" It was a young lad, who,
when attending to some duty on the bowsprit of the ship, had
been swept off by a mighty wave. The life-boat was instantly
lowered, and stout arms were propelling her with all speed
toward the drowning youth. On the deck stood four hundred
persons intensely excited, and watching the result with throb-
bing hearts and tearful eyes.
As a strong wind was blowing at the time, a great distance
soon separated the ship from the life -boat and the youth that
it had gone to save. But now and again they could see him
rise, struggling for life, upon the crest of some great wave,
242 THE WO^LD S HOPE.
while every moment brought the life -boat nearer. At last a
strong arm is stretched out to grasp him, and very soon he
was safe on deck.
The editor of the "New York Evangelist," who was on board,
says : " Never did we experience such feelings of relief as at
that moment. A murmur of joy and approbation, though al-
most choked with tears, ran through the ship, a thrill like that
which runs through heaven when a soul, shipwrecked and
ready to perish, is rescued and brought back to God.
Now, for this drowning young man there was but one hope
— the life-boat. His safety did not depend upon his past life,
whether good or bad, but upon getting into the life -boat. He
did not need to raise any question as to whether that boat was
built tcx save him, nor as to who built it, and what were the
intentions of its builder. There it comes to him in his ex-
tremity, and the great thing was to get aboard. So Jesus in-
vites the sinner to come to him and be saved, just as he is.
He must see that the Lord is in earnest when he invLt^s. He
would not ask him to come to him, if he was not prepared to
receive him the moment he does come ; and once in the Lord
he shall never be confounded.
Such was the hope of the Psalmist in his last moments.
Upon this he pillowed his dying head, and his own description
of the dying saint was applicable to his own case, "The end
of that man is peace." Some Christians, in their closing mo-
ments^n earth, have unspeakable raptures of joy ; but much
depends upon the nature of the disease that takes them away.
But all who are in Jesus die safely. David Brainerd said, on
his death-bed, " The grave appeared really sweet, and I
longed to lodge my weary bones in it." And again, "Oh,
blessed God, I am speedily coming to thee, I hope. Hasten
the day, if it be thy blessed will."
Said another dying saint, " Faith lies at anchor in the midst
of the waves, and believes the accomplishment of the promises
through all overturning confusions. Upon this God do I live,
who is our God forever, and will be our guide even unto death.
Methinks I lie becalmed in his bosom." As Luther said in
DAVID, THE ROYAL PROPHET. 243
such a case, " I am not much concerned. Let Christ see to it.
I have nothing to fear." A missionary lady, Mrs. Bixly, died
exclaiming, "Precious Jesus!" "Matchless grace!" "Joy,
joy, joy!"
But I must close. Let us learn, from David's history, the
importance of watchfulness in the day of prosperity. A man
who had got a large fortune left him, sent to his church a re-
quest for prayer. He felt that he was in a dangerous position
• — standing on slippery places. " Let him that thinketh he
standeth take heed lest he fall."
Let us also learn to welcome the word of God, even when it
comes to smite and condemn us. Nathan's preaching was
very painful to David. But he did not kill the preacher, like
Herod, because he did not preach smooth things. He did not
get into a rage and hate the preacher instead of hating his
sins, as many do. No, he let the truth come in its condemning
power, and starting back from the brink of ruin cried, " Forgive
my iniquities, because they are great," He did not try to ex-
cuse them, or make them appear small.
" I gave my life for thee,
My precious blood I shed,
That thou might'st ransomed be,
And quickened from the dead.
I gave my life for thee,
What hast thou done for me.
•* I spent long years for thee
In weariness and woe.
That one eternity
Of joy thou might'st know;
I spent long years for thee ;
Hast thou spent one for me ?
*' My Father's house of light,
My rainbow-circled throne,
I left for earthly night,
For wanderings sad and lone ;
I left it all for thee ;
Hast thou left aught for me ?
§44 THE WORLD S HOPE.
" I suffered much for thee,
More than thy tongue can ta^9
Of bitterest agony.
To rescue thee from hell ;
I suffered much for thee ;
What dost thou bear for me?
" And I have brought to thee,
Down from my home above^
Salvation full and free,
My pardon and my love ;
Great gifts I brought to thee ;
What hast thou brought to me ?
" Oh, let thy life be given,
Thy years for me be spent,
World-fetters all be riven.
And joy with suffering blent \
Give thou thyself to me,
And I will welcome thee f*
ELIJAH, THE TISHBITE. 245
CHAPTER XVII.
ELIJAH, THE TISHBITE.
Elijah is one of the greatest of the prophets; perhaps, with
the exception of Moses, the greatest of them all. Indeed, be-
tween him and the great law-giver there are many points of
resemblance. They both come from God at a very dark pe-
riod of the history of the Church. They both show great
faith and invincible bravery in dealing with wicked men in
high power ; and ages after, from among the innumerable mul-
titude in heaven, these two were chosen to meet the Lord on
the mount of transfiguration.
Of the youth and early history of Elijah we are told nothing.
He bursts upon us all at once in the sacred history, a full-
grown prophet of the Lord ; and the first words we hear from
him, are such as make our ears tingle, and that smote against
the king and his guilty court like huge billows of wrath. He
comes upon us sudden as the lightning flashes from heaven ;
or, as one says, " a meteor kindled at the eye and blown on
the breath of the Eternal."
Religion was at a low ebb at this time, idolatry having
usurped the place of the worship of the God of heaven. The
priests of Baal had taken possession of the land, erected their
altars upon the hills, and made the groves resound with their
abominable blasphemies. The wicked king Ahab, and his
wife Jezebel, did all they could to encourage and perpetuate
this state of things. But the darkest hour is before the dawn ;
and God's messenger, with the flashing sword of truth in his
hand, and Almighty power to defend him, has come to Israel.
Elijah was a man of a strong and marked individuality of
character. His history impresses us, so that we seem to see
him stand before us, the perfect representative of true great-
ness ; and to hear him thunder out his heaven-sent message,
246 THE world's hope.
with a courage that excites our admiration and wins our love.
It was the highest and noblest kind of courage, true moral
courage. There is often a great amount of mere animal
courage, while the courage worthy of a man is wanting. To
dash into the conflict of the battle-field, and in the wild excite-
ment of the moment to perform deeds of wonderful daring,
is often done by men who shrink back from doing what God
and conscience tells them is right lest they should encounter
the sneer of their companions in sin. Boasting of their cour-
age they are the veriest cowards in the cause of eternal right.
Many a Christian lady, who would turn pale at the sight of
blood, has boldly gone into the consuming flame, or walked to
the scaffold with songs of victory, rather than deny her Lord.
This is true courage worthy of immortal and responsible
beings ; the other kind is possessed by tigers and bull-dogs, in
larger measure than by man.
Elijah goes boldly into the presence of the king, with plain
garments and yet plainer speech. " As the Lord God of Israel
liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain
these years, but according to my word." Now, the inspired
writers let us know that this closing up the heavens, and open-
ing them again was the result of prayer. The apostle James
says, " Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are,
and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain : and it rained
not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth
brought forth her fruit."
Is it possible that a mortal man can thus have power with
God } It is possible and true ; and forms one of the wonders
of his condescending love. Believing prayer takes hold of the
Almighty's strength, it has the key that unlocks the treasures
of heaven, and it has power to move that hand that moves all
things. Oh Christian, be you man or minister, maid or ma-
tron, of exalted position, or in poverty's vale, get the spirit of
faith in prayer, and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Obstacles of all kinds in the path of duty will be removed or
turned into helps; rocks will be rent, and red seas part at
ELIJAH, THE TISHBITE. 247
yrouT bidding; and heaven's wonderful treasures will be at
your command !
I am profoundly impressed with the thought that the grand
defect of the religion of the day is, a lack of strong, unshaken
confidence in the power of prayer. There are plenty of public
forms of prayer, and great activity, energy, and enthusiasm
in missions, and Sabbath Schools, and what is called Christian
enterprise ; but I fear that the strong, wrestling importunity,
the giving up of days to faithful pleading with God, the as-
sured faith that the very things asked of God will be given,
hov/ever unlikely to the eyes of sense, or the cold abstractions
of science, which marked the Christians of former times, are
wanting. God grant that in this- I may be mistaken, but I
have not the consolation of thinking so, from all I see and
know among professing Christians. There is a desperate effort
being made in our day to take as much of the supernatural
out of religion as possible, and prayer is largely represented,
not as man asking, and God directly giving, but as only doing us
good indirectly by bringing our minds in contact with God.
If men ever succeed in getting the supernatural out of reli-
gion, there will be no religion left worth having — a mere cold
compound of science and philosophy, with a dark, cheerless
gloom of infidelity to pervade all. But God will take care that
such a time shall never come.
We have seen, as far as we have gone in this book, that all
these men of faith were men of prayer. They asked what
they wanted direct from God, and got direct answers. We
can see that they were not troubled with the modern nonsense,
held by some calling themselves ministers of Christ, that God
does not directly give us anything now, but that all there is in
prayer is the reflex influence it has upon our own minds. This
is an invention of the enemy to get men to give up prayer alto-
gether ; and it is very certain that Satan would not tremble
before a million of prayers founded on such a theory.
According to this notion, Abraham did not keep back the
storm of coming wrath for a time from Sodom ; his prayer
only produced a benevolent effect upon his own mind. On
248 THE world's hope.
the same theory, that little band in John Mark's cottage, pray-
ing all night, had no effect in the deliverance of Peter from
prison, that would have happened at any rate ; but then t^ey
had a good time ; not that their prayers moved God, but only
moved themselves. Away with such infidel notions, coming
sneaking into Christian pulpits and prayer meetings, under
false colors ! Every real Christian knows that God does di-
rectly answer prayer every day ; though not by miracles, for
with a completed revelation that is not necessary ; but by
proofs of His interference in human affairs as direct as any
miracle.
But to be successful at a throne of grace, we must not only
have faith, but be willing to make sacrifices to secure special
seasons of prayer. The gay, the worldly, the gambler, give
up night after night to the service of sin ; do we give up an
hour of the quiet night to be alone with God ? In some of his
great troubles, Luther was heard agonizing in prayer thus :
" Oh God ! Oh thou my God ! Help me against all the wis-
dom of the world. Thou should 'st do this. The work is not
mine, but Thine. I have no business here. The cause is
Thine, and it is everlasting and righteous." And again he
was heard crying, " Lord, where art Thou ? My God, where
art Thou ? Come, I pray Thee ; I am ready . Behold me
prepared to lay down my life for Thy truth. I will not let
Thee go ; I will cling to Thee forever. Oh God, send help !"
Listen to the midnight cry of John Knox, feeling almost at
the point of death in his great importunity ; and John Welsh,
found by his wife on a cold night, prostrate on the floor,
pleading for the cause of God in Scotland. Ah ! this is some-
thing different from saying prayers. Try it, my reader. You
have Jesus for your example. " He went up into a mountain
to pray, and contined all night in prayer to God." Oh, could
we only have hid ourselves behind one of those gray rocks,
and listened to that prayer! We would forever after be
ashamed of our prayerless praye?'s. Up, up my Christian
friends ; shake off sloth ; working for God is good, and giving
to God is good, but none of these will avail much without
ELIJAH, THE TISHBITE. 249
the closet prayer of faith. God will allow you to come very
near, and use great familiarity, if you only fully trust his
word. Yea, he says, " Command ye me !"
" Faith, bold faith, the promise sees,
And trusts to that alone ;
Laughs at impossibilities,
And says, ' It shall be done.' "
Elijah goes by the command of God to the brook Cherith,
a quiet retreat, where he is to remain till events ripen for
farther action. His drink is to be the little stream that rolls
babbling over its pebbly bed, and ravens are to supply his food.
Well supplied are those that God supplies. Their bread shall
be given, their water sure. Their gracious Provider tells them
not to be anxious, for while engaged in his work, he undoubt-
edly will supply their wants. Indeed, his promise is pledged
to that effect, and all undue care is dishonor done to his
word.
Dr. Krlimmacher, speaking on this event in the life of Elijah,
relates the following beautiful illustration :
"This God still liveth, a living Savior, who is always to be
found' of them that seek him, and is nigh unto them that call
unto him. Mighty hosts are encamped about his servants,
and when he saith ' Come,' they come, or ' Go,' they go. And
there has been no end to his wonderful providence, even to
the present day. What else was it, but the Lord God of
.Elijah, who, but a short time since, in our very midst, so kindly
delivered a poor man out of his distress — not, indeed, by a
raven, but by a poor little fugitive singing bird ? You are all
well acquainted with the circumstances. The poor man was
sitting at his front door, early in the morning, his eyes red
with weeping, and his heart crying to heaven, for he was ex-
pecting an officer, that very day, to come and sell his property
for a small debt, which he could not pay. While sitting thus,
with a heavy heart, a little bird flew through the street, flutter-
ing up and down, as I'f in distress, until at length, quick as an
arrow, it flew over the good man's head into his cottage, and
250 THE WORLD S HOPE.
perched itself upon an empty cupboard. The good man, little
imagining who had sent him the bird, closed the door, caught
the bird, and put it in a cage, where it immediately began to
sing very sweetly, and it seemed to him as if it were singing
the tune of a favorite hymn, viz.: " Fear thou not when dark-
ness reigns," and as he listened to it he found himself much
soothed and comforted by its melody.
" Suddenly a knock is heard at the door. ' Ah, it is the
officer,' thought the poor man, and arose to open it with fear
and trembling. But no, it was the servant of a very respecta-
ble lady. He said that the neighbors had seen a bird fly into
his house, and he wished to know if he had caught it. * Oh,
yes,' answered the poor man, 'and here it is.' In a few min-
utes the servant returned, and said : ' You have done my mis-
tress a great service, for she sets a high value upon this bird.
She is much obliged to you, and requests you to accept this
trifle, with her thanks." The poor man received it thankfully,
and it proved to be neither more nor less than the very
SUM for which he was sued.
" Soon after, the officer came; the poor man handed him the
money, saying, ^ Here is you?' 7?w?iey, God hath sent it; now
leave me in peace /' "
Happy they who have a firm trust in this God and his con-
trolling Providence. In great peace shall they possess their
souls. Their best Friend sits at the helm of affairs, and
guides in such a way that all things shall work for their good.
We remember the story of the distinguished man, who, unable
to proceed in his journey on account of a storm, was groaning
in great mental distress, and unable to sleep. His pious
servant said, " Master, do you not believe that God governed
this world very well before you came into it.?" "Yes," was
the reply. " And do you not believe that he will govern it
very well after you leave it } " I have no doubt of it." " Then,
master, can you not believe that he will govern it all right
while you are in it.?" To this he made no reply, but shortly
after turned over and went to sleep.
ELIJAH, THE TISHBITE. 251
More than two years have passed, and, according to the
word of Elijah, the drouth continues ; and great distress be-
gins to prevail in the guilty land. Even the brook Cherith has
dried up, and, by Divine direction, the prophet has gone to
reside with a widow of Sarepta, whose little store failed not
while he remained in her house. But on these matters we
cannot dwell at length. The time for action has come, and
Elijah shows himself to the king. " Art thou hs- that troubleth
Israel.?" is the angry greeting of Ahab. The prophet boldly
replies, " I have not troubled Israel ; but thou and thy father's
house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the
Lord, and thou hast followed Balaam." He demands from
the king an opportunity to meet the priests of Baal on Mount
Carmel, in the presence of the people ; that imposture might
be exposed, and the truth of God vindicated. This righteous
demand Ahab could not refuse, and messengers are sent in all
directions to assemble the people.
The appointed day has come, and the expected thousands
begin to assemble. The ffTur hundred and fifty priests of
Baal, and the same number of the priests of the grove, are all
there. The mountain is covered with an eager and excited
crowd, and great results, both for time and eternity, hang upon
the decisions of that day. The crowd, we can suppose, are
beginning to grow impatient, when, in the outskirts of the
throng, there is an excitement seen. It is the wicked king,
who, in great pomp and grandeur, has just arrived. The mul-
titude of idolaters lift up a shout of welcome that seems to
smite against the very heavens, while old Carmel seems to
frown down upon their wicked contempt of the true God.
Again the crowd becomes quiet under the hush of a general
expectation. They are waiting for Elijah, and the question is.
Will he come ? Some there, no doubt, are hoping that he has
shrunk back from the trying ordeal ; but there he comes, across
the valley of Jezreel, with slow and solemn step, and the calm
dignity of faith in Cxod enthroned upon his brov/. He loses
no time, but with flashing eye, and tones of thrilling earnest-
ness, says, " How long halt ye between two opinions ? If the
252
THE WORLD S HOPE.
Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." He
pauses, but there is no reply. The royal lips are sealed and
the false priests are confounded. He then proposes a fair and
equitable arrangement of the sacrifices, saying, "The God that
answereth by fire, let him be the God." To which the people
all shouted, " It is well spoken."
And now came a moment of great anxiety. The priests of
Baal began calling upon their God, " O Baal, hear us !" And
the poor fanatics shouted, and danced, and made the most
frantic efforts around the sacrifice ; but no sign was given, no
fire from heaven came. Elijah had stood quietly by watching
their antics, but he now steps forward, and in words of
scathing irony, said, " Cry aloud, for he is a God ; either he
is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey, or perad-
venture he sleepeth and must be awakened." And haggard,
bleeding, and mortified, these deceivers of the people retire
from the spot. God's true servant now approaches, and to
put the direct interposition of God beyond all doubt, he fills
four barrels of water and pour^ them on the wood and the
sacrifice ; commands this to be done a second and a third
time, till all is drenched with water, and the trenches are filled.
Then lifting his eyes to heaven he utters an earnest prayer, and
fire came down from heaven and burneth all up, as if it had been
chaff in a furnace. AVith a shout that resounded among the
mountain peaks and caves, the people fell upon their faces,
crying, "The Lord, he is the God; the Lord he is the God."
These wicked priests, the deceivers of souls, are slain accord-
ing to the word of the Lord, and the truth is vindicated before
all the people.
Idolatry in such a gross form as we see it here is disgusting
to us; but all loving of earthly things instead of God is
idolatry. Our houses, our farms, our business, and our chil-
dren, may all become our idols, by having that place in our
hearts which God himself should occupy. We severely
censure these Hebrews for departing from the living God, bu^
in so doing we are only condemning ourselves.
ELIJAH, THE TISHBITE. 253
Let US imitate Elijah, and be zealous for the true v/orship of
the Lord. He has written the great truths of salvation in the
Bible, and by his Spirit written them again upon our hearts ;
and we ought to be bold in their defence. We are encom-
passed on every side with the enemies of truth, and so should
contend earnestly for the faith of the gospel. Even when
religion is at a low ebb, its friends seemingly few, and its ene-
mies m.any, then is the time to speak out for God, not in a
corner nor in a whisper, but in the face of the multitude, and
in tones loud and emphatic. We can see, in the case of the
prophet, what good one bold, earnest man can do when ani-
mated by the right spirit. Such men are the true patriots to
their country, the true benefactors of their race. They avert
the awful judgments of God, and bring down im.perishable
blessings by their powerful prayers.
Let us be co-workers with God in the work of making our
sin-cursed world better. The hand that moves the stars is
working for man's elevation. That heart which makes all
hearts pulsate feels the highest interest in the salvation of
souls ; and although his eye takes in at a glance the whole of
his glorious works, there is nothing he loves so well to see as
the humble and contrite heart turned toward himself.
Sinner ! Take care that you do not die in the halt betv/een
two opinions. Are you sometimes almost persuaded to be
wholly for Christ ? Do not hesitate and vacillate any longer ;
but nov/ take the Lord for your portion forever.
But we must return to the course of the prophet. After such
a display of God's power and goodness on that mount, we
would suppose that he would go on, his faith n^axing stronger
and stronger. But alas ! this is not so. When the Queen
Jezebel hears of what has happened, she is filled with rage
and hate against the man of God. He is seized with a sud-
den panic and flees for his life. The courageous prophet
of yesterday becomes a trembling coward to-day. What a
poor, changeable, unreliable creature is man, if not found lean-
ing on Divine strength. He ought to have known that he was
254 THE world's HOPE.
only safe when doing God's work, and that to cast himself out
of the path of duty, is to cast himself into the worst danger.
But he flees into the wilderness and sits down under a juniper
tree, full of doubts and fears and despondency. He sleeps,
and after partaking of food miraculously provided, he journeys
on to Mount Horeb.
Here he takes up his abode in a cave, very likely the very
same in which Moses once found a refuge. There in that
desert grandeur, and amid its awful solitude, he wraps his
prophet's mantle around him, and lies down on the hard ground
as his bed, congratulating himself on his safety. All at once
he is startled by a voice :" What doest thou here, Elijah .?"
How that question must have confounded him. No work to
do there, no mission of love to souls to accomplish there ; but
plenty of great, noble work to do, from which he had fled. The
question was three times repeated, and like as we all do, when
he had no good reason to give for his conduct, he presented
an excuse. " I have been very zealous for the Lord God of
hosts ; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant,
thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword ;
and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life to take it
away."
How patiently and condescendingly the Lord dealt with his
erring child. He bids him come forth and stand upon the
summit of old Horeb, around the hoary brow of which cluster
such immortal remembrances. There the Lord passes before
him in a representation full of terror and full of meaning.
First there is a mighty wind that rends the rocks and tears up
the trees by the roots and casts all things on the surface into
a wild confusion. This is followed by an earthquake that
comes rumbling and grumbling through the mountain, and ex-
torting many a groan from its flinty bosom. But look ! the
whole mountain seems on fire, forked flames leaping from point
to point, bursting through every fissure and threatening the
prophet with instant destruction. But in none of these agents
of terrible power did God show himself to Elijah. Hark ! he
hears a voice, still and small, sweet in its tones of love, and he
ELIJAH, THE TISHBITE. 255
knew that God was in that voice. His Lord had not come to
destroy, but to save, not in wrath but in love.
To every wandering child of God the question comes, "What
dost thou here V If in wicked and worldly society to do them
good, or in the discharge of some plain duty, then we can ex-
pect God's protection; but if we run into danger or go to
worldly society from choice, as Peter did, then we are in great
spiritual peril. To those who go into scenes of sinful dissipa-
tion and amusement, God says, "What dost thou here V When
Peter was in the company where he denied his Lord, one of
them put to him that searching question, " Did not I see thee
m the garden with Him .?" How he must have felt these words,
for the gardeil was connected with most solemn and impressive
remembrances. So when professing Christians go to the giddy
ball-room, to the theater, to places of fashionable resort where
God is openly dishonored, they may be asked, " Did not I see
thee at the communion-table with him .? or at the prayer-meet-
ing, or making a public profession of your love to him, and
recording your vows forever to be his ?"
And nothing can restore the wandering soul, but the still
small voice that comes from Calvary. The whirlwind may
produce a surface change, a mere outv/ard movement ; the
earthquake may go deeper and reveal the inward evils that lay
under the mere exterior ; and the fire may alarm and terrify,
but the power of God to salvation is only in the Cross. It is
the still small voice which says, " It is finished," which, plead-
ing for the guiltiest of the guilty, says, " Father, forgive them
for they know not what they do." And if the sweet, melting
love that beams forth from that hallowed spot, does not lift us
up to God, purifying our hearts and making us new creatures,
then we are lost indeed.
Elijah returns from Horeb by the wilderness of Damascus,
and to his great joy he finds that there are seven thousand
faithful souls in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal.
In our seasons of depression we are apt to view things through
the false medium of our own dark conceptions. God has ever
kept a seed to serve him. In obscurity, in retirement, scarcely
256 THE world's hope.
known to the world, nor wanting to be known, he has those
who love him with pure hearts fervently, and had rather die
than dishonor his cause.
Elijah comes back to his work with renewed courage. He
found Ahab and his queen still engaged in their wicked prac-
tices. To gain possession of a coveted vineyard he has mur-
dered Naboth, and is going down in great state to take pos-
session of his ill-gotten gain. All at. once he sees a man
approaching him with a steady step and stern look. Had the
murdered man appeared before him in his bloody shroud he
could not have been more startled, for he sees that it is the
prophet of God, and he knowing that he comes with the rebuke
of the Lord upon his lips. Fixing his eye upon the king, he said,
" Hast thou killed and taken possession ? in the place where
dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall they lick thy blood, even
thine." With scowling brow but guilty fear in every feature,
he says to the prophet, " Hast thou found me, O my enemy !"
"I have found thee," was the laconic, but terrible reply.
The scene when Elijah opens the windows of heaven by his
fervent prayers, is most graphic and highly instructive. At
first there is but a little cloud like a man's hand, but he pleads
on with faith encouraged and strengthened by this sign. The
cloud increases till it curtains the whole heavens in darkness,
and then breaks in teeming showers upon the parched and
burning earth. All nature quickens into life under the heaven-
sent blessing, and as streams of water leap from rock to rock,
and roll down the mountains and fill up the rivers and brooks,
the beds of which had so long been dry, who does not see that
God is the hearer of prayer. So God, in answer to prayer, still
pours out refreshing showers of spiritual blessings upon his
people. John Livington, of Scotland, called a number of his
brethren around him and proposed that they should spend a
whole night in prayer for a blessing on the preaching of the
gospel ; and the very next day five hundred were converted.
In like manner a number of Christians in Enfield, Massachu-
setts, spent a whole night in prayer just before President Ed-
wards preached that awful sermon, " Sinners in the hands of
ELIJAH, THE TISHBITE. 257
an angry God," under which great numbers were converted.
It is well known how greatly blessed that school of the
prophets, at Hamilton, New York, has been. It was founded
in prayer and in every strait its founders called upon God. In
the life of Dr. Nathaniel Kendrick the following fact is stated :
" The meetings of the board, particularly in the early history
of the seminary, often presented scenes of deep and moving
interest. They were not so much seasons for the dry discus-
sion of business as of prayer, inasmuch as from their great
extremity they were driven to ask counsel of God and implore
deliverance from embarrassment through his interposition. At
one meeting in 1826, most of the time was spent in earnest
prayer and strong crying to God for direction. The board
felt the need of a suitable edifice to accommodate the growing
school, and besides, it was in a great measure destitute of
funds to aid those whom they had received as beneficiaries.
At the meeting now referred to, the only vote passed was one
appointing a day of fasting and prayer, some weeks from that
session. It was a dark hour, but just the darkness that pre-
cedes the cheerful light of day. For those prayers were taking
effect. They disturbed the sleep of Mr. Nicholas Brown, of
Providence, Rhode Island, and he dreamed nightly about Ham-
ilton. And so he came to his pastor. Dr. Gano, and said,
' They are in trouble at Hamilton, I think, for I can't sleep
nights; my dreams about them disturb me. Do you know
their condition?' Upon being told that he was ignorant of
their exact condition, Mr. Brown said, 'You must go and see;'
and upon this Dr. Gano made the journey to Hamilton, at Mr.
Brown's expense, and finding out their great distress, and re-
porting it to Mr. Brown, he at once sent them one thousand
dollars, which relieved their perplexity."
Those who honor God he delights to honor. Elijah had
long stood a bold and fearless defender of the right; fighting
right manfully the battles of the Lord. And now his heavenly
Master wants him home, and is going to take him in a tri-
umphant chariot of fire. He is informed of his coming glory,
and we can form no idea of the hallowed joy which he must
258 THE world's hope.
have carried about in his soul as he walked about among his
fellow-men — in the world but not of it. His last visit is paid
to the school of the prophets, for he could not but feel a deep
interest in those who are to stand up for truth and righteous-
ness when he is gone. God's ministers are never so taken up
with their future blessedness as to forget the interests of that
loved Zion for which they have labored and wept and prayed,
and nothing can please them better than to see good, faithful
men of prayer and faith coming forward to take their places,
and to grasp the standard that is falling from their failing and
trembling hands.
So great were the thoughts that came crowding upon the
mind of the prophet at this moment that he wished to be
alone ; but his faithful friend Elisha, knowing what was to oc-
cur, would not leave him. His soul clung to his Master the
more closely as the last moment of parting approached. Our
privileges are more valued as they are about to take their de-
parture; and, no doubt, he wished to catch his friend's last
words and his parting blessing. See these two good men jour-
neying on together, the one soon to be in glory, the other
about to begin a career of great usefulness. Fifty of the sons
of the prophets stand at the distance to view the expected
translation. The miraculous events of the Bible were not
done in secret. Our Lord's miracles were all performed in
the open day, and for the most part before great numbers. He
showed himself after his resurrection to five hundred brethren
at once, and breathing upon his followers his parting blessing,
he was taken up into heaven before many witnesses.
Elijah is not to die in the vv^ay appointed to other men ; but
he must pass over Jordan before he mounts his chariot of fire.
The stroke of his mantle parts the waters, and now, turning to his
friend, he says, "Ask what I shall do for thee before I
am taken from thee." He did not tell him to ask for some-
thing when he M^as a glorified saint in heaven ; no, he was to
ask now, for nowhere does God encourage petitions to be
made to the redeemed in glory. " Let a double portion of
thy spirit be upon me." O happy man ! to have in his heart
ELIJAH, THE TISHBITE. 259
such a wise wish — such a holy choice. Wealth will perish,
honors die away, and fame is but a puff of breath ; but a
holy disposition comes from God, and, like its source, can never
die. We are to covet earnestly the best gifts ; those which will
make us the most holy and the most useful. If such is our
choice to-day, our Heavenly Father says, " Ask what ye will,
and itshall be done unto you." According to our faith are our
gifts in regard to spiritual things.
Elijah confessed the difficulty of answering such a request,
and said that its being granted was to depend upon one con-
dition : " If thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall
be so unto thee ; but if not, it shall not be." We are told that
this holy man was going on talking when, all at once, the heav-
enly chariot came for him. When he got the intimation
that he was soon to leave earth, he did not retire to some cell or
cave of the earth, but went on until the last moment attending
to the ordinary duties of life. Let us seek so to live that when
the Master sends for us we may be found about His business.
Elisha sees the ascension of his friend and cried out, " My
Father, my Father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen
thereof!" He rends his garments as a token of his sorrow;
for though the event was gain to his old Master, it was a great loss
to him and to the church. of God ; heaven was richer but earth
was poorer by the departure of such a good man. In this as-
cension the mantle of Elijah falls to the earth. It is not taken
and laid up in the school of the prophets, to be venerated
and worshiped as a holy relic. Such things can only be done
when true, intelligent piety gives place to superstition. He
casts it about him, and sad and solitary he journeys on to be-
gin the great work to which he has been called and set apart.
The whole history of Elijah shows how God honors his dear
servants. Down to the last hour of their national existence,
the Jews felt the holy influence of this good man. In no period
of the world's history has the Lord left himself without faith-
ful witnesses, and when one is taken av/ay to his glorious home
another comes forth with heavenly credentials to prove that
he is the sent of God.
26o THE world's HOPE.
After centuries had passed away with this good man in
heaven, he was permitted to visit our earth. He had seen our
adorable Redeemer leave his throne in glory to come to earth
to lay down his life for sinners ; and when the time drew near
for the tragic scenes of Calvary to transpire, he and Moses
were permitted to meet our Lord on the Mount of Transfigur-
ation. The leader and law-giver of Israel and one of the
most distinguished among the prophets, are sent to pay their
adoration to their Lord, in the presence of his disciples. In
him both the law and the prophets find their fulfillment, and
these holy visitors from the courts of glory joined with those
on earth who were beginning to love him, to " Crown him Lord
of all."
^ Here was a visit to earth made by glorified human beings.
No doubt God employs them often on errands of love. Often
may those that have been taken from us be near us when we
know it not; and when the last hour of our earthly probation
shall come, they will be among those who shall give a glad
welcome to our liberated spirits to our eternal home.
But we must bid farewell to the prophet of Carmel. We
part with him reluctantly, for the contemplation of his strong
and noble character does us good. His is a life well worth re-
cording. The most that can be said of a great majority of our
race is, that they lived, that they were worse than useless, and
that they died. But here was a life in earnest, a life dedicated
to God, and useful through all time to men. The earth of our
planet contains not his dust, but passing through some change
it is glorified, like as the bodies of the saints shall be after their
resurrection. How glorious to spend an eternity with such
men } But O how much more glorious to see Him face to face
iviio died for our offences !
"'Though earth has full many a beautiful spot,
As a poet or painter might show.
Yet more lovely and beautiful, holy and bright,
To the hopes of the heart, and the spirit's glad sight,
Is the land that no mortal may know."
ELIJAH, THE TISHBITE. 261
" There the crystaline stream bursting forth from the throne,
Flows on, and for ever will flow ;
Its waves, as they roll, are with melody rife,
And its waters are sparkling with beauty and life,
In the land which no mortal may know.
** And there, on its margin, with leaves ever green,
With its fruits healing sickness and woe,
The fair Tree of Life, in its glory and pride.
Is fed by that deep, inexhaustible tide,
Of the land which no mortal may know.
" There, too, are the lost ! whom we loved on this earth.
With whose mem'ries our bosoms yet glow ;
Their relics we gave to the place of the dead,
But their glorified spirits before lif have fled
To the land which no mortal m^'^r know.
** There the pale orb of night, and thf 'fountain of day.
Nor beauty nor splendor bestow ;
But the presence of Him, the unchanf*^g, I Am !
And the holy, the pure, the immaculate Lamb !
Light the land which no mortal may I^"\ow.
** Oh ! who but must pine, in this dark vale of tears.
From its clouds and its shadov/s to go ?
To walk in the light of the glory above,
And to share in the peace, and the joy, and th<» h:*TBf
Of the land which no mortal may know."
262 THE world's hope.
CHAPTER XVIII.
ELISHA, THE PROPHET OF THE SUCCESSION.
That most devoted Christian, the Rev. Samuel J. Mills,
when in a deeply distressed state of mind on account of his
sins, said to his mother, " O that I had never been born ! For
two years I have been sorry God ever made me." Her
noble reply was, " My son, you are born, and you can never
throw off your existence, nor your everlasting accountability
for your conduct." God has a plan of our lives, and the
noblest spirit we can cultivate is, to be a cheerful co-worker
with God in all his holy purposes and designs, and in the
darkest hour to believe that he is leading us in the right way. ,
Fletcher said, " I have been forced by many disappointments
to look for comfort in nothing but in the comprehensive
words, ' Thy will be done' A few more trials will convince
you experimentally of the heavenly balm they contain to
sweeten the pains and heal the wounds that crosses and afflic-
tions may cause."
When the heavenly call came to Elisha, it found him at the
plough ; and leaving all his worldly entanglements, he followed
the divine direction, till now we find him the honored suc-
cessor of the translated prophet. When great men are
removed from the church we are ready to feel as if the cause
of God had sustained an irreparable loss. But God knows
the end from the beginning ; and though he takes the most
useful of his servants away, yet he sees to it that his own cause
shall not suffer for want of agents to carry it on. It is true
that it is a solemn event when God's faithful servants are
taken away. We feel as if the bulwarks of the church were
torn away, and as if the wild waves of error could now roll in
with impunity. But God is in the midst of his church, and
ELISHA, THE PROPHET OF THE SUCCESSION. 263
she shall not be moved. Their holy example, their fervent
prayers, their wise counsels, are greatly missed ; but their
work is taken up by others, to whom a kindred spirit is given,
and the cause of truth stands secure as the throne of God.
When God called, and inspired his prophets and apostles
he did not disturb or change their natural talents, or the
peculiarities of temperament and disposition, which constituted
their individuality among men. On the contrary, he uses
these for his own glory and the edification of his people.
Moses was naturally meek and sagacious ; Isaiah, full of poetic
fire ; Peter, all zeal and impetuosity ; John, gentle and loving ;
and Paul, logical and intellectual ; and so they were all unlike
to each other in some respects, and *yet alike in having the
same spirit, and working to the accomplishment of the same
object. Luther and Melancthon were no more alike than is
the violet and the rose, yet they both ornamented the garden
of the Lord. Carey and Judson, were very different, yet their
hearts both burned with missionary zeal. So with Elijah
and Elisha ; there was a wonderful unity in their lives, and
yet a marked individuality distinguished each.
" Distinct as the billows, yet one as the sea."
The new prophet has much hard work before him ; for
Israel is now in a dark and wicked state. The corrupt king
Ahab is dead ; but his wife, equally corrupt and with more
force of character, is still alive. False gods are still wor-
shiped, while " darkness covered the land, and gross dark-
ness the people." Elisha goes to Jericho, to the school of the
prophets, to wait for further manifestations of his Lord's will.
We must both wait and work, in God's service. They who
wait, renew their strength, and so are more fit for their work.
The fisherman is not always engaged in catching fish, but must
sometimes be employed in mending his nets. And so must it
be with fishers of men. Even the temporary residence of a
good man in a place is a blessing to it. The inhabitants of
the city came to the prophet, and represented that they had
one great draw-back to the prosperity of the place — -the water
264 THE world's hope.
was bad. Josephus mentions a spring at this place that was
injurious to health, and made the trees and the fruits of the
earth decay.
Elisha at once listens to the petition of the people to heal
their waters. Our most common mercies are the most impor-
tant, but this truth is only recognized when they are taken
from us. By a direct miracle the waters were rendered
healthful and pleasant. He thus took an early opportunity, in
a public and influential manner, to show his credentials as one
sent of God. The whole Bible is founded on miracle, and all
the attempts of men to explain these on natural principles are
utterly silly and absurd. On this subject a clear reasoner, Dr.
Uhlhorn, says :
" Miracles cannot be got out of the Bible, either by natural
explanation or by figurative interpretation. Nor is it of any
use to abate something here and there, to set aside this or that
miracle entirely, or to conceive its miraculous quality to be less
miraculous, for the least miracle is as incomprehensible as the
greatest. In vain, also, is the attempt to disjoin the miracles ;
to separate them as deh-is^ and to hold fast only what remains,
for all Christianity rests fundamentally upon the miracle of the
appearance of Christ ; and whoever rejects miracles must
also reject the fundamental fact of Christianity, the chief
article of the Christian faith. Nor is this all ; he must reject
all revelation, for revelation is miracle. And if he then, per-
haps, comforts himself with the thought that natural religion
still remains, this consolation also rests fundamentally upon
illusion. To speak plainly, whoever denies miracles has no
God. He may always, if only from an instinctive fear of
atheism, hold fast that there is a God, but it is a dead word, a
name, for this God stands in no living relation to the world.
Man has nothing to hope or to fear from him. Prayer is no
longer possible, for all praying depends upon the conviction
that God grants what we ask. If God performs no miracles,
and can perform none ; or, in other words, if he no longer
acts in this world, if he is shut out of it, if the order of nature
does not admit him, if everything that takes place is nothing
ELISHA, THE PROPHET OF THE SUCCESSION. 265
but an unbroken chain of final causes and effects— tlien prayer
depends upon an illusion ; and the illusion must sooner or
later become evident to man, shrink as he may from this con-
clusion of his reason."
" I would therefore ask you not to shrink from a clear per-
ception of the whole scope and bearing of this question, from
the beginning to the end. Strauss is perfectly right in treat-
ing the question of miracles as the question of the existence
of Christianity, He who does away with miracles not only
banishes, as Strauss says, the priests from the Church ; he
banishes the Church itself, and Christianity, and the living
God, besides."
Mercy and judgment are blended together in God's ways,
and so must they be in the actions of his prophets, and the
teaching of his ministers. Elisha had just performed a mira-
cle of great mercy to a whole city, but now we are to see the
flashing of the sword of Divine justice. While on his way to
Mount Carmel, he had to go through Bethel, a place rendered
memorable by the vision which Jacob had there. It is now a
wicked and profane place, where the altars of the true God
are thrown down, and where idol worship abounds. As soon
as the man of God came in view of the place, there came out
a large number of wicked youths, in our translation rendered
little children. The word, however, is used in reference to
young men, or persons grown up. Very likely they were
sent out by the idolatrous priests to insult the prophet.
These profane youths began to shout, " Go up, thou bald
head! Go up thou bald head!" No doubt by the phrase,
" Go up," they referred to the translation of Elijah, and thus
showing their hatred of both the prophets. The blighting
curse of God fell upon them there and then ; and forty-two of
them were torn by two she bears that came out of the woods.
Let this teach young people to stand in awe and sin not. God
will avenge any disrespect shown to his aged servants, and,
sooner or later, all contempt displayed to the religion of
heaven, through its professors, will recoil upon the heads of
those who manifest it. In this case the parents were as
266 THE world's HOPE.
guilty as their children. They had trained them up in igno-
rance of the true God, and had set them an example of mock-
ing at sacred things.
Alas ! even among professing Christians there is too little
respect shown to God's servants in the presence of the young.
How often will some peculiarity of person or manner, some
weakness of God's ministers, be made a subject of ridicule or
rude jest in the presence of the children; and that, too, just
after returning from the house of prayer. Need they wonder
if these young people get into the habit of scoffing at all min-
isters ; and to mock at the messenger of truth is the sure way
to learn to mock the message itself.^ Let such remember that
God will not be mocked, and that as they sow so will they
reap. They have sowed in laughs and mockery at holy things,
and so God says that he will " laugh at their calamities, and
mock when their fear cometh."
But we must pass to several events in the life of this good
man, in which the power of God was shown to be with him.
Traveling about in the Lord's work, he one day entered
Shunem. There dwelt a woman of wealth, and of a kind and
hospitable heart. She urged him to make her house his home,
which proposal is accepted, and " as oft as he passed by he
turned in thither to eat bread." This good woman projected
a plan for making him still more comfortable, and, consulting
with her husband about it, " a prophet's chamber " was built
on the wall ; and there he found a quiet resting-place and a
spot for uninterrupted communion with God.
All this kindness on the part of this family excited the
prophet's gratitude ; and that Lord who takes notice of even
a cup of water when given to his people from a right motive,
did not let their kindness pass without its reward. This
couple had lived long together, but, as yet, their home had not
echoed the glad voice of childhood's prattle. They were
childless. God, in answer to the prophet's prayer, sends them
a lovely boy, and we can easily imagine how their fond hearts
would cling around him. The whole aspect of their home is
ELISHA, THE PROPHET OF THE SUCCESSION. 267
changed, and he grows up under their loving care, a happy
and dutiful boy.
But, alas ! he is soon taken from them. Being out with his
father in the field one day, he is seized by the cold hand of
death. Perhaps that very morning his mother had gazed upon
him proudly, and thought of what a prop he would be to her
declining years ; but before noon she looks upon his pale face,
on which death has stamped his seal.
How does this fond mother act under this crushing blow?
Does she give way to that wild and clamorous grief that
murmurs against God.^ No, far from it. She hastens to
Mount Carmel to tell her sorrows to Elisha, and, in reply to his
question, "Is it well with the child.?" she answered, "It is
well.'' Sweetly meek and submissive under this severe trial,
she looks up through her tears into the face of her Heavenly
Father, and said, "It is well." She dreads to return to her
home, for its chief joy has gone out in darkness, but // is well.
That bright eye which always met the kindred glance of her
own love is closed in death, but // is well. Silent now is the
tongue that spoke to her such loving words, and cold now are
the lips that kissed her so fondly, but // is well. Oh woman,
great is thy faith ! From thy bright example may we learn to
trust God when we cannot see him, and to say, in the wildest
storm that beats upon us, "// is well.'''
Is is, doubtless, a sore affliction to a mother when her babe
is torn from her bosom. Through her fast falling tears she
says :
** One little bud adorned my bower,
And shed sweet fragrance round;
It grew in beauty every hour,
Till, ah .' the spoiler came in power,
And crushed it to the ground."
But, tenderly as a mother loves, he who has taken the dear
one loves it still more. Yes, afflicted mother, your babe is in
safe hands. Your Lord will take good care of it for you ; and
if you are one of Christ's redeemed ones, you will find your
darling again, so bright and so loving, and so happy that you
268 THE world's HOPE.
will be compelled to acknowledge that your Friend above did
all things well. To a weeping mother, standing over the little
dead body of her babe, a good minister said, '' Your child will
have two Fathers in heaven, but only one mother." So you
see it is not lost to you. It is yours still, and will be yours
forever.
To those who have children in heaven, let it lend a new
attraction to that bright world for you. Dr. Payson, I believe
it was, who said that he thought more of heaven since his wife
had gone to be a citizen of the golden city. Many a mother
takes a deep interest in some far distant land, that before she
cared not for, because her son or daughter now lives there. It
is a great privilege to have a child in glory, singing God's
high praise. But do not miss the way, and make the parting
an eternal one. Put your hand into that of your adorable
Savior, and he will lead you safely in through the golden gate,
to go no more out forever.
But, to proceed with our narrative ; the prophet goes to the
house of mourning with the sad woman, prays over the dead
child, and gives him alive once more to the now joyful mother.
O, how blessed to the people of God will be the day when the
same power that wrought this change shall raise from the dead
those who sleep in Jesus, and death-divided friends shall meet,
not only in spirit but in the body, and be for ever with each
other and with the Lord. Then, even in the flesh, shall we see
the Lord.
Naaman's cure of leprosy by Elisha is full of instruction and
interest. When read in the light -of the Cross of Christ, it is
full of gospel truth. As I have dwelt at length upon this inci-
dent in my book called " Grace and Truth," I will now only
refer to a few points not there spoken of at any great length.
In some of Naaman's invasions of war he had carried away a
number of captives out of the land of Israel. Among them
was a little maid whom he gave to his wife to wait upon her.
As an old writer says, " A small chink may serve to let in
much light," and so this little maid brings a great blessing,
both temporal and spiritual, to that house. A great wrong had
ELISHA, THE PROPHET OF THE SUCCESSION. 269
been done her, she had been torn away from nome and dear
friends, and perhaps some very dear to her had been slain by the
conqueror ; yet, instead of sitting down in sullen despair and
brooding over her wrongs, she seeks to return good for evil,
and tells her mistress of the man of God in Israel who could
cure her husband of his loathsome disease.
There is work in this world for every child of God to do.
The fields are white to harvest, and the weakest and the fee-
blest can gather in a little for the Lord. One can give
time to the work of making the world better, while an-
other can give money. One can employ the ready pen,
another the eloquent tongue, and a third the prayer of faith.
The great thing is, to have " a mind to work " for Jesus. If we
have the love of Jesus in our hearts, that will make us ingen-
ious in finding out plans to promote his glory. To speak a
word to some one whom you have influence with, to send a
tract to some one in a letter, following it with much prayer,
and to set an example such as all can see who honor the Lord,
are means of doing good open to all.
Naaman hears the words of the little maid concerning the
man of God. Faith cometh by hearing, and faith at once
brings forth works. So with great pomp and much display of
his greatness, he comes to Elisha. In one thing he fails. He
is not disposed to take the blessing of a cure from God in the
humble way it is offered. He must have the blessing in his
way, not in God's way. His way is to pay for it ; God's way,
to give it for nothing. His way is for the man of God to come
to him, go through some splendid and impressive ceremonies,
and then a cure be effected ; God's way was that the prophet
was not to see him at all, to perform no rites, nor ceremonies,
but simply to tell him to dip his diseased body seven times in
Jordan. God would not bow to his plan, and he would not
bow to God's; and so, in a rage, he was about to carry his dis-
ease back with him, had he not repented, that is, changed his
mind.
It is the old story over again, as old as the .all of man.
Maji wants to pay a price for his salvation. He wants to put
270 THE world's hope.
forms and rites and stately performances in the place of the
worship of the heart. The religion of form is the religion of
fallen humanity. We need not wonder at the great popularity
of ritualism in the present day. It will cgme to this by and
by, that nearly all who are not in Christ by a living faith will
have a religion of form, and the more gorgeous and pompous
the form, the more fashionable it will be. This is so clearly
illustrated in the following little narrative that my readers will
be pleased that I quote it :
" Alice was an only child, an heiress. Lovely and accom-
plished, she lived for this world, and this world offered her no
ordinary attractions. Idolized by her parents, and beloved by
an accepted suitor, she knew not the meaning of a wish ungrat-
ified.
" But an unexpected visitor arrived at the mansion. A pale
messenger came to Alice. A hectic flush suffused her beauti-
ful face rendering it, if possible, more lovely still. The eagle
eye of affection soon perceived that the seeds of consumption
had been laid. The skilled physician pronounced the heart-
rending verdict that her days were numbered and self-indul-
gence would soon close.
" Alice sank by degrees, and as she lay on her couch, sur-
rounded with all the luxuries that wealth could procure, began
to think how sad it was to leave her loving friends and all her
brilliant prospects, and to go — where ? where ?
" She could not find an answer satisfactory to her soul.
" So she sent for the High Church clergyman. He came.
The family were assembled. He produced a missal. They
all knelt around the bed. He intoned the service for the sick.
Having received her confession, and pronounced absolution,
he, with peculiar genuflexions, administered the sacrament, and
placing his hands on her, blessed her, and pronounced her a
good child of the Church. He departed, perfectly satisfied
with his own performances, and assuring the parents that all
was right.
*' Was Alice satisfied ?
ELISHA, THE PROPHET OF THE SUCCESSION. 27 1
" She had submitted to all. She had endeavored to join in
the service, but in her immortal soul she felt a blank.
*" Father,' said she, 'I am going to die. AVhere am I
going.?'
" The father gave no reply.
" ' Mother, darling, can you tell me what I am to do to get to
heaven.?'
" No reply, save tears. '
*' ' WiUiam, you who were to be the guide of my life, can you
tell me anything of the future.?'
" No response.
" ' I'm lost ! lost !' she exclaimed. 'Am I not, father ? Is there
any one who can tell me what I must do to be saved .?*
" At length the father spoke.
" ' My child, you have always been a dutiful daughter, and
have never grieved your parents. You have regularly attended
the Abbey Church and helped in its services, and the minister
has performed the rights of the Church and expressed himself
satisfied with your state.'
" ' Alas ! father, I feel that is not enough. It is no rest to
my soul. It is hollow — it is not real. Oh ! I am going to die^
and I know not where I am going. Oh! the blackness of the
darkness! Can no one tell me what I can do to be saved.?'
" Blank despair was pictured on her countenance. Misery
overshadowed the circle. They were overtaken by a real
danger. Death was in their midst. Eternity was looming
before them. They knew not how to answer the appeal of au
immortal soul, awakened to a sense of sin — to a dread of ap-
pearing before God — to the terror of hell.
"Alice was attended by a little maid, who was in the habit of
frequenting a meeting held in a barn in the village, where
prayer and praise were offered up in simplicity, and where
they sang the old hymns :
" There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel's veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains ; "
and
272 THE WORLD S HOPE.
" I lay my sins ou Jesus,
The spotless Lamb of God ;
He bears them all, and frees us
From the accursed load ; "
and where she heard words which reminded her of the good
old pastor.
" She longed to tell her mistress that she might ' wash and be
clean,' but felt diffident. At last she took courage, and just
as the Israelitish captive said unto Naaman's wife, ' Would God
my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he
would recover him of his leprosy,' she told her mistress,
' There is a preacher in the village who proclaims salvation
through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and urges us to accept
the forgiveness freely offered in the gospel.'
" ' Oh that I could see him !' exclaimed the dying girl.
" Alice besought her father to invite the strange preacher to
the house ; and though he thought it extraordinary, her wish
was law.
"Again the family were assembled, and the man of God
entered the room. The dying girl, raising herself, appealed to
him ; ' Can you tell me what I must do to obtain rest for my
soul, and die at peace with God .-*'
"'I fear I cannot.'
"Alice fell back. *Alas!' said she, 'and is it so.^ Is there
no hope for me .-*'
" 'Stay,' said he, 'though I cannot tell you what you can
do to be saved, I can tell you what has been done for you.
" ' Jesus Christ, the Savior God, has completely finished a
work by which lost and helpless sinners may be righteously
saved. God, who is love, saw us in our lost and ruined state.
He pitied us, and in love and compassion sent Jesus to die for
us. ' God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.' He shed his precious blood on the
accursed tree, in the stead and place of sinners, that they
might be pardoned and saved. 'Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved,'
ELISHA, THE PROPHET OF THE SUCCESSION. 273
" ' And I have nothing to do ?'
" * Nothing, but to believe. No doing, working, praying,
giving, or abstaining, can give relief to a conscience
burdened with a sense of guilt, or rest to the troubled
heart. It is not a work done in you by yourself^ but a work
done/.i?r you by another^ long, long ago. Jesus has completed
the work of our redemption. He has said, 'It is finished,*
Through faith in him you have pardon. It is impossible for a
sinner to do ought to save himself. It is impossible to add
anything to the perfect work of Christ, Doing is not God's
way of salvation, but ceasing from doing, and believe what
God in Christ has already done for you. ' God has given to us
eternal life and this life is in his Son, '
" ' I do believe that Jesus died on the cross for sinners ; but
how am I to know that God has accepted me V
'' * Jesus, the God-man, has ascended into heaven. He has
presented his blood before God, and has been accepted for
us; and when you believe, you are accepted in him.'
" The awakened sinner listened with breathless attention.
She received the word of God, which revealed Christ to her
soul. The glad tidings fell as a bahii upon her wounded
spirit. Her face was lit up with heaven's sunlight. Looking
upwards, she exclaimed, ' Oh, what love \ what grace I
' Jesus, thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress.'
And in a few days she departed to be with Christ."
Naaman, listening to better counsel than his own prejudices
and national pride, and so in obeying the word of the Lord,
went home cured in body, and with his soul filled with a clear
conception of the Great Jehovah, and determined to worship
him only.
An incident here occurred, that is so full of warning and
instruction, that we must not pass it by in silence. Gehazi
was a servant of Elisha, and, it has been supposed, was with
Elijah in the same capacity. Gratitude for his cure, led
Naaman to press upon the prophet the acceptance of a very
liberal present. His wish was to impress upon the mind of
274 THE WORLD S HOPE.
this distinguished heathen, that the gifts of God can not be
bought, that all was of free grace, and his reply to the gene-
rous offer was, "As the Lord liveth, I will accept none."
Then it was that the wicked thought of enriching himself
by a lie occurred to the mind of Gehazi. He thought that it
was too bad that this rich man should carry back all this
wealth to his own country. If his master had false scruples
about receiving a gift, he had none ; and acting on the wicked
impulse, he runs after the carriage of Naaman, and, under a
false representation, obtains the desire of his heart.
Ah I how little do we know our own weakness till the day of
trial comes. We think ourselves strong, fortified by a good
reputation built up steadily by a life time of moral integrity ;
and if any man were to suggest a departure from the straight
line of honesty, we would indignantly exclaim, " Is thy serv-
ant a dog that he should do this thing .^" But when the unex-
pected hour of trial comes, the very thing is done the mention
of which was so repulsive. That stream seems very bright
and clear ; you would not think that there is a great deal of
mud and impurity lying at the bottom, till something occurs to
stir it up, and then we are astonished to find a filthy puddle
instead of a pure, sparkling stream.
Gehazi carries his gains into the tower, or secret place, and
having hid it securely away, puts on a look, as if nothing had
occurred, and boldly goes into the presence of the prophet.
Little did he think that all was already known, and that his sin
had found him out. Elisha calmly rebukes him, and pro-
nounces his punishment, which was, that the loathsome disease
of Naaman should cleave to him all his days. Ah ! how
empty his gains would seem now. He had been thinking him-
self rich; perhaps, in imagination, picturing to himself the
things he would buy, and in the style in which he would live.
But now, with his health gone, his character gone, all enjoy-
ment in life gone, a disgraced and ruined man, he slunk away
from the society of men ; carrying with him the conviction
that all this misery he had pulled down on his own head.
We see that we may fall into sin, while possessing the very
ELISHA, THE PROPHET OF THE SUCCESSION. 275
best religious privileges. The means of grace and the grace of
the means are very different. This man dwelt in the house-
hold of this holy man, saw his godly life and heard his fervent
prayers ; and yet, was not made better by either. So Judas
enjoyed our Lord's ministry, and saw his holy example, and yet
was lost. And it is worthy of notice that both those men were
ruined by the same sin, the sin of covetousness. "They that
will be rich, fall into temptations and a snare, and many hurt-
ful lusts that drown men in destruction and perdition."
But to return to the life of Elisha ; that noble man goes on
in his career of doing good on every hand. The sons of the
prophets were enlarging the place of their abode, and to save
one of theiu from distress, a miracle is wrought. The king of
Syria was preparing ambuscades against Israel, but his designs
are exposed by the prophet. This so enraged the king that
he sends an armed host to apprehend him. His servant was
much alarmed, and cried, " Alas ! my master, how shall we
do.?" But the prophet was quite calm and serene in the midst
of all the danger. His reply was, " Fear not ; for they thai
be with us are more than they that be with them." He re-
ferred to a great multitude of angels with which they were en-
compassed, and which the young man's eyes were opened to
see. If we could clearly see the means that God has taken for
our protection how trifling would our outward and physical
dangers seem. This host of armed men were stricken with
blindness, so that the prophet led them to the king of Israel,
In the course of this book we see how much holy angelg
have to do with the affairs of men ; and what a deep interest
they have taken in the progress of our race. Called into ex-
istence before man, gifted with superior intellectu^tl powers,
and having no body of flesh to encumber them, they are capa-
ble of putting forth mighty efl'orts in carrying out God's will.
Hence they are called "mighty angels," and are said to
"excel in strength." Their home has been the highest heav-
ens ever since their creation, and as they have been permitted
to appear in the immediate presence of God, to behold his
beauty, and to see his holy, wise and sovereign goodness, as
276 . THE world's hope.
the ages have rolled away, we can form no conception of how
great their knowledge of God must be. Sinlessly pure, they
are able the better to comprehend the greatness of Jehovah,
and so bow before him in profound humility.
We learn that the number of these holy ones is very great.
"Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him." Our
adorable Lord said that he could invoke to his aid, " More
than twelve legions of angels ;" and Paul speaks of them as "an
innumerable company of angels." There seems to be different
degrees of glory among them, as we read of " thrones, do-
minions, principalities, and powers." And the angels Michael
and Gabriel are spoken of as leaders among the heavenly
throng. But they all " do His commandments, hearkening to
the voice of his word."
When the creating word called our world into existence,
these holy beings sang forth their emotions of delight, yea
shouted for joy, and all the way down the history of our
planet, they have v/atched over the servants of the Lord,
stimulating them to duty, and protecting them from dangers.
The Psalmist tells us that they encamp around God-fearing
people, for their deliverance; and that the Lord gives his
angels charge over them. They have often been sent forth as
ministers of destruction, as well as of mercy. They are never
idle, for they not only praise God in strains to mortal ears un-
known, but are quick as the flash of the lightning to go forth
on his errands. These holy angels have taken a great interest
in the plan of salvation. Though they need no Savior them-
selves, they rejoice in the love shown to us, in God's unspeak-
able gift. They announced our Lord's incarnation to Joseph
and Mary; and to the shepherds told of his birth- in songs of
rapture, the echo of which still sounds around our globe,
" Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
to men." Yea, God's command to the angels concerning his
Son was, " Let all the angels of God worship him." And they
did worship him, with all the power of their pure natures.
During the whole of our blessed Lord's sojourn on earth,
these holy angels waited upon him. After his temptation in the
ELISHA, THE PROPHET OF THE SUCCESSION. 277
wilderness, after his agony in the garden, and on other occa-
sions, angels ministered to him. It was one of them that
rolled away the stone from the sepulchter, and when oar Lord
was taken up to glory, two shining ones appeared to the apos-
tles, and told of his coming again to this earth.
These holy ones take a great interest in the spiritual well-
being of Christians. They rejoice over their conversion ; and
in regard to young converts, our Lord says, " Take heed that
ye despise not one of these little ones, for 1 say unto you^ that
in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father
which is in heaven." And when Christians die, we learn from
the case of Lazarus, that they carry their souls to their future
glorious home.
And when the great day of judgment shall come, the angels
shall be our Lord's attendants. Yea, they are to herald his
approach, for Jesus says, " He shall send his angels with a
great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his
elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other." And it is evident that they are to have something to
do in carrying out the sentence that is to be pronounced from
the great white throne.
Have we reason to believe that these celestial beings are
employed in the affairs of earth, as of old ? I have no doubt
of it. We may be assured that they are not idle, and surely
this sin-cursed world is not now independent of their aid. It
may suit the purposes of the poet to represent their agency in
human affairs, as only a beautiful picture of the imagination,
and to speak of their visits as "few and far between.' But
God's word represents them as constantly near us, interested
in our movements, watching for our welfare, and often putting
forth kind and active exertions for our good. If the veil could
only be taken from our eyes, as in the case of Elisha's servant,
we would be astonished at their numbers around us, and con-
founded at our own unbelief. Let us seek to imitate these
holy beings in their steady obedience to the will of their
Lord; and seek so to live in their presence and in the pres-
ence of their Lord, as we shall wish we had when we come to
stand amid the realities of eternity.
278
THE WORLD S HOPE.
We now come to near the closing scenes of Elisha's life.
The inhabitants of Samaria, being besieged, were perishing by-
famine. The prophet predicted that day there would be a
great plenty in the city. One of the courtiers ridiculed this
assertion, and was told that he would see it, yet perish in the
midst of the plenty. For upwards of sixty years from the
time of his appointment to his high office, he went on to fulfill
its high duties with untiring zeal. At last his release came.
Among the weeping friends that stood around his death-bed
was Joash, the king. Though not translated in the body, he
had a triumphant entry into the heavenly kingdom.
Let us serve his Lord as he did, with zeal and fidelity. We
may not be known far from our homes, but nothing honestly
said or done for God can be lost. This is beautifully brought
out by the following lines by Dr. Bonar :
" Up and away, like the dew of the morning,
Soaring from earth to its home in the sun —
So let me steal away, gently and lovingly.
Only remembered by what I have done.
" My name and my place and my tomb, all forgotten,
The brief race of time well and patiently run,
$0 let me pass away, peacefully, silently.
Only remembered by what I have done.
" Gladly away from this toil would I hasten,
Up to the crown that for me has been won;
Unthought of by man in rewards or in praises,
Only remembered by what I have done.
" Up and away, like the odors of sunset,
That sweeten the twilight as darkness comes on, —
So be my life, — a thing felt but not noticed,
And I but remembered by what I have done.
" Yes, like the fragrance that wanders in freshness,
When the flowers that it came from are closed up and gone, —
So would I be to this world's weary dwellers,
Only remembered by what I have done.
ELISHA, THE PROPHET OF THE SUCCESSION. 279
•' Needs there the praise of the love-written record,
The name and the epitaph graven on the stone ?
The things we have lived for, — let them be our story,
We ourselves but remembered by what we have done.
" I need not be missed, if my life has been bearing
(As its summer and autumn moved silently on)
The bloom, and the fruit, and the seed of its season;
I shall still be remembered by what I have done.
" I need not be missed, if another succeed me,
To reap down those fields which in spring I have sown;
He who ploughed and who sowed is not missed by the reaper,
He is only remembered by what he has done.
" Not myself, but the truth that in life I have spoken,
Not myself, but the seed that in life I have sown.
Shall pass on to ages. — all about me forgotten,
Save the truth I have spoken, the things I have done.
** So let my living be, so be my dying ;
So let my name lie, unblazoned, unknown;
Upraised and unmissed, I shall still be remembered;
Yes, — but remembered by what I have done."
28o THE world's HOPE.
CHAPTER XIX.
DANIEL, THE PROPHET OF THE COURT.
Daniel was one of the children of the captivity. Isaiah had
prophesied, " Thy sons shall be chamberlains in the palace of
the King of Babylon," and little more than a century had
passed when this prophecy was fulfilled. The people of Israel,
with their king, nobles and priests were carried into captivity,
and out of those of princely birth were chosen four to serve
in the court of the king of Babylon. One of these was Dan-
iel, a man who towers up before us, preeminent for the great-
ness of his soul — the grandeur of his moral nature.
As drawn before us by the pen of inspiration, he appears
a faultless character. We do not mean to say that he was a
sinless man, for he had to be saved by grace, like all that ever
have been saved. But he stands up before the ages as they
pass, a bright example of what God's grace can build up out
of the ruins of our moral nature ; a lofty, generous, pure and
true man ; anxious to live in love and peace with all, and yet
firm as a rock, where any principle of right was involved ; will-
ing to obey those that had authority over him, and ready to
conciliate his captors in every way consistent with truth and
righteousness ; but all the kings of the earth, and all the ter-
rors that power can accumulate, could not make him swerve
one hair's breadth from the obedience which he owed to the
great King of kings. The fact that such a man lived in our
world has proved a blessing to our common humanity, and his
very name and example brings strength and comfort to the
tempted and the tried.
It should be remembered that Daniel was quite young when
brought into this heathenish court, not more than eighteen
years ; and this makes his noble resistance of wrong and his
DANIEL, THE PROPHET OF THE COURT. 281
bold Stand for the ris^ht all the more wonderful. In order that
he and his companions might be fit to appear before the king,
according to oriental notions, they are to be taught the lan-
guage of the Chaldeans, and to be put through a course of
physical and intellectual training. It was usual for them du-
ring this training to eat of the meat and drink of the wine
brought from the king's table, in order that they might appear
ruddy. But Daniel wished to be faithful to the law of his God
and the teachings of his fathers in regard to meats and drinks.
He would not defile himself by indulging appetite at the ex-
pense of conscience. Some might call it bigotry and making
a great deal of little things ; but such people are in great dan-
ger of making great things little. When people get into the
habit of sitting in judgment upon God's commands, and reject
one because it is little, and choose another because it is great,
they will soon set up their own judgment as the standard of
right and wrong in all things. " He that trusteth to his own
heart is a fool." A thus saith the Lord, is to be our rule in
everything.
Daniel obtained leave from the officer who had charge of
their education, to use as the food and drink for himself and
companions, only pulse and water ; and so well did they thrive
upon this that their appearance indicated better health and
vigor than those who had been fed from the king's table.
Hence, when brought up for examination, Daniel and his thrcQ
companions were chosen to the high post of waiting upon the
king's person.
Thus religion is profitable for both worlds, for this world and
for the world to come. A strict compliance with the injunc^
tions of the Bible is as good for the health of the body as for
that of the soul. The fruit of the spirit is temperance, as well
as other excellencies; and we are enjoined not to defile oui
bodies, from the high and solemn consideration that they are
the temples of the Holy Spirit. We see in this young man
the triumph of religious principle over the lusts of the flesh,
a firm regard to God's will, even when the doing of that will
is going to cost some sacrifice ; and all this gives us an assur-
252 THE WORLD S HOPE.
ance that his future life will be marked by the same spirit oV
unflinching trust in the right. Instead cf daring to stand up
for God and right, suppose that he had yielded to the custom
of Babylon, that one false step would have led to others ; and
having begun to yield, he would have gone on till his pathway
would have been that which leads to hell.
Those who honor God he delights to honor. The spirit of
prophetic power came upon Daniel about this time ; so that
while he was being taught of men the duties of the court he
was taught of heaven to read the mysteries of the future, and
to draw before the eyes of men inspired pictures of things yet
to be. God imparted to him such a spirit of wisdom that
when brought into contrast with the wisdom of earth, was as
much superior as the sun in his noon-day glory is to the glim-
mer of a rush-light. That Daniel was a true prophet of the
Lord is evident from the fact that Jesus and the inspired apos-
tles, speak of him as such ; especially Paul refers to his predic-
tions. He bears a clear testimony to Christ as the Messiah,
the great work that he should do, and the blessed and glorious
kingdom that he should set up.
At this time the kingdom of Babylon was the greatest among
the nations of the world. All others had to acknowledge its
greatness, and some of them had to bow to its supremacy and
submit to be its slaves. All was prosperous so far as external
observation could discern, when a strange restlessness — a fear-
ful foreboding of coming evil began to oppress the spirit of
the king, Nebuchadnezzar. Restlessly he tossed upon his bed,
unable to find that sleep that came unsought to the poorest of
his subjects. " His spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake
from him." When he did sleep a fearful vision of the night
alarmed him. In the morning the dream was forgotten in its
distinct outlines, though the horror it had caused still weighed
down his soul. He sends for his astrologers and magicians, a
class of imposters that they dignified with the title of wise
men, and with promises of rich presents, commands them to
tell him his dream and its interpretation. And to show
the despotic character of the man, if they failed in this, their
DANIEL, THE PROPHET OF THE COURT. 283
lives were to be forfeited. Of course, the wise men failed, and
the tyrannical king was furious, and commanded them to be
destroyed. Daniel, having learned these particulars, enters the
king's presence and asks for time, that he may show the inter-
pretation of the dream. This is granted, and gathering his
three companions, they pour out their hearts in prayer for wis-
dom to be given from on high. Nor did they plead in vain.
The secret is revealed to this young servant of God, and he
hastens to state his readiness for an interview.
The time has come, and the Jewish exile stands before the
sovereign of a great empire ; the king unhappy in the midst of
his riches and luxuries, but the poor captive happy in his God.
He is at great pains to impress upon the king that no honor is
due to him, but all the glory is God's, " There is a God in
heaven that revcaleth secrets." The monarch is all solemn
attention, for part by part the vision of the night is repro-
duced, and then the interpretation is given with all faithful-
ness and fidelity. We can not go into the whole of this striking
vision, at present ; but there is one part that demands atten-
tion. It is the stone cut out of the mountain without hands,
first breaking the image into pieces, and then increasing until
it fills the whole earth. Daniel's words are : " Forasmuch as
thou sawest this stone, the great God hath made known to the
king what shall come to pass hereafter ; and the dream is cer-
tain, and the interpretation thereof sure. In the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall
never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other
people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these king-
doms, and it shall stand forever."
This stone is no doubt the kingdom of Christ, hewn out of
the quarry of our poor sunken, sinful human nature, without
hands, that is, not by the power of man, but by the power of
God. This kingdom is composed of holy spiritual subjects,
who take Christ as their king, and who depend upon his gra-
cious promise that the gates of hell shall not prevail against
them. The kingdoms of this w^orld may rise and fall, and the
kings that reigned over them may strut their little hour, and,
284 THE world's hope.
puffed up with a lofty conception of themselves and their
power, look coldly, it may be contemptuously, on the cause of
Christ ; but as the winds of the coming winter sweep the dead
leaves before them, so kingdoms and kings that once filled the
earth with their fame have been swept into a common grave ;
but Christ's kingdom goes on conquering and to conquer.
Ridicule and contempt, proscription and persecution, the
flashes of genius and the ravings of vulgar blasphemy, have all
been tried against this kingdom ; but it not only stands un-
shaken, but hastens to fill the whole earth with its glory.
The king was much impressed with Daniel's interpretation,
recognizing not only his wisdom, but fell down before the Eter-
nal God, saying, " Of a truth, your God is a God of Gods,
and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets." He con-
fered many honors upon Daniel, and made him ruler of the
province of Babylon. This last honor he asked might be con-
fered upon his three companions instead of himself; which
was done. By this means the condition of the Jewish captives
was rendered more comfortable. When men of true piety are
in power the people have reason to rejoice ; but when power
and wickedness are united the people mourn. Only suppose
that Satan had unlimited power for one day, and what a hell
our world would become !
To trust in an arm of flesh is sure to bring disappointment ;
and if history has taught us one lesson more emphatically than
another, it is the unreliableness of the favor of kings. " If I
had served my God as faithfully as I have served my king,"
said a disappointed statesman, " he would not forsake me now."
How strange that men will put confidence in the word of their
fellow men, and yet speak as if the faith that saves the soul,
which is just taking God at his word, was a very difficult
thing. This is beautifully illustrated in the following :
" It was a time of some spiritual awakening in a small man-
ufacturing town. The foreman in a department of one of the
factories became anxious about his soul. He was directed to
Christ as the sinner's only refuge by many, and by his own
master among the rest ; but it seems to be without result. At
DANIEL, THE PROPHET OF THE COURT- 285
last his master thought of reaching his mind and bringing him
to see the sincerity of God in the gospel by writing a note,
asking him to come and see him at six o'clock, after he left
*the work.'
" He came promptly, with the letter in his hand. When
ushered into the room his master inquired, * Do you wish to
see me, James ?'
"James was confounded, and holding up the note requesting
him to come, said, 'The letter ! the letter!'
"' Oh,' said his master, ' I see you believed that I wanted to
see you. When I sent you the message you came at once.'
" ' Surely, sir ! surely sir !' replied James.
" ' Well, see, here is another letter sending for you, by one
equally in earnest,' said his master, holding up a slip of paper
with some texts of scripture written on it.
* James took the paper and began to read slowly, ' Come —
unto — me — all — ye — that — labor,' etc. His lips quivered, his
eyes filled with tears, and, like to choke with emotion, he
thrust his hand into his jacket pocket, grasped his large red
handkerchief, with which he covered his face, and then he
stood for a few moments, not knowing what to do. At length
he inquired :
" ' Am I just to believe that in the same way I believe your
letter.?'
"'Just in the same way,' rejoined the master, 'If we
receive the witness of men the witness of God is greater.*
" This expedient was owned of God in setting James at liberty.
He was a happy believer that very night, and has continued to
go on his way rejoicing in God his Savior, to point others to
Calvary, and walk in the narrow way."
A few years had passed, during which time the arm^s of
Nebuchadnezzar had been quite successful. This so filled his
heart with pride that he forgot all his fair promises to Daniel,
and returned to idol worship with increased zeal and bigotry.
He took the spoils that he had obtained in his wars and made
a golden image, setting it up in the plain of Dura, and com-
manding all the rulers and the people to worship it, on pain of
286 THE world's HOPE.
death. This image was about three-score cubits, that is
about ninety feet, in height ; and six cubits, or about nine feet,
in breadth. A proclamation was issued calling upon " the
princes, the governors and captains, the judges, the treasurers,
the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces,"
not only to attend the dedication of this image, but at the
sound of the musical instruments mentioned, to bow down
and worship it. Should any refuse to do this, they were in
the same hour to be cast into the midst of a burning fiery fur-
nace.
The appointed day has come and the great assembly is con-
vened, when it is reported to the king that the three Hebrews
whom he had appointed over the province of Babylon had
refused to worship his image; these were Daniel's compan-
ions, named Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. In a tower-
ing rage the tyrant calls them before him, repeats his decree,
and tells them the punishment that must follow disobedience
to his will. They answer respectfully, but firmly, " Be it
known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor
worship the golden image which thou hast set up." At this the
king commanded the furnace to be heated seven times more
than it was wont, and that these men, with their clothes upon
them, should be cast into the flames.
Now comes the time of exciting trial. There is the great
king surrounded by his flatterers, the officers of his govern-
ment, and his victorious army. And yet his power is defied
by these three children of God. Religion is a matter purely
between God and the conscience of man, and never do hu-
man governments make themselves more contemptible than
when they undertake to dictate what man shall believe and
how he shall worship. It is a good man's duty to obey the
laws of the government under which he lives, as far as these
laws do not interfere with the duty he owes to his God ; but
the moment that they do this, he is bound to obey God rather
than man. This is the principle upon which good men have
acted in every age of the world. Men might crush their
bodies with torture, their affections with imprisonment, and
DANIEL, THE PROPHET OF THE COURT. 287
their good name with infamous charges, but they could not
crush out of them the determination to worship God accord-
ing to the dictates of their own conscience, enHghtened by the
word of truth.
The furnace is flaming at its highest pitch, and mto it are
cast these Hebrew exiles. So furious are the flames that the
very men who were the instruments of the tyrant's will, in
casting them into the furnace, are burned to death. But, see !
astonishment and alarm gather upon the face of the king.
Gazing into the furnace for some time, he turns to his attend-
ants and says, " Did not we cast three men bound into the
midst of the fire?" "True, O king!" was the reply. He
then told them that he saw four men walking unhurt in the
midst of the fire, and that one of them is like the Son of God.
Yes, blessed Savior, thou hast never left thy dear people alone
in their troubles ! Prisons and dens and caves of the earth
have been illuminated by the light of thy countenance ; and
thou hast made sick beds and beds of flame easy as a bed of
down to thy dying saints and martyrs.
We can conceive with what a feeling of shame and remorse
the king uttered these words : " Ye servants of the Most High
God, come forth." They did so, showing themselves unhurt,
before the whole multitude, not even the smell of fire upon
their garments. This miracle must have produced a great
change in public opinion. We hear no more of the great
golden image, nor the universal worship wliich it was to receive.
But the king publishes a decree, that any one speaking a word
against the God of these three men should be cut in pieces,
*' Because there is no other God that can deliver after this
sort."
Now, he had a right to exalt the name of Jehovah above
idols, and to do all he could to glorify his name, but he had no
right to use his power to compel people to, think as he did.
He had no mor€ right to kill men for not worshiping the God
of heaven than he had to kill them for not worshiping his idol.
How hard it has been, in every age, for men in power to under-
stand the true doctrine of religious liberty. Hence, whenever
288 THE world's HOPE.
the state has taken even true religion under her protection and
patronage, a spirit of intolerance begins to show itself, very-
injurious to the cause of Christ. Secular governments should
not interfere in religion any further than to see that all have
the liberty to worship God according to their consciences.
In these three Hebrews we see a fine example of true decis-
ion of character. Christian decision is always exercised with
a special reference to God's holy will. Mere natural decision
is a man adhering to a course that is marked out by his own
will. Such men often pursue a course without any regard to
its being right or wrong, but only because they have resolved
upon it. The Christian is firm and resolved, because God has
spoken. In matters of small moment, where God has given
no direct intimation of his will, it is our duty to yield. In
this we can be all things to all men, like Paul, to gain men into
a right spirit of peace and love ; but in regard to things im-
portant in religion, and all is important that God has com-
manded, the Christian is to be firm and unyielding.
Christian firmness does not trouble itself much about con-
sequences. It does not ask what will people think of me if I
do this, or what effect will it have upon my business if I do
that. It asks only, is it God's will ? and if so, it must be done.
This gives a oneness and a uniformity to the good man's course.
You know where to find him. He is not one thing to-day and
another to-morrow. He is reliable, for he acts from a fixed
and unchangeable rule; that is, the will of God that changes
never.
Nebuchadnezzar had another dream, which filled him with
terror. The vision was that of a great tree growing in the
midst of the earth, towering up to the heavens, and its branches
stretching to the ends of the earth. In it the fowls of the air
dwelt, and under it the beasts of the field found shelter. But
"a watcher, even a holy one," approaches the tree, and in a
loud voice cries, " Hew down this tree, cut ofi" its branches,
shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit ; let the beasts get away
from under it, and the fowls from its branches ; only leave its
stump in the earth, bound about with iron and brass."
DANIEL, THE PROPHET OF THE COURT. 289
Daniel is sent for to interpret as before. The matter filled
him with astonishment, and "his thoughts troubled him," we
are told. He faithfully told the king that the fall of this great
tree was emblematic of his own downfall. That by insanity
he was to be driven from the abodes of men and made to herd
with the beasts of the field; that this state of things would
continue for seven years ; and he urged the proud monarch to
repentance, and to turn to the Lord by works meet for re-
pentance. But worldly prosperity had completely hardened
his heart. It made him feel independent of God.
An English magazine tells us that the butchers of London
have great difficulty in driving a flock of sheep through the
crowded streets. They are apt to get scattered in all direc-
tions. To avoid this they take a sheep that has been petted
till it loves its owner, and has got so used to the crowded streets
that it will go after him anywhere. This one is used as a
decoy to a whole flock. The owner puts it at the head of the
flock that he wants to take to the slaughter-house, and they
follow it to their destruction. Thus Satan has many decoys to
lead souls to hell, and one of the most common and successful
of these is the love of the world. A little more, and then they
are going to be satisfied ; but the satisfaction never comes ;
instead thereof comes an awful hardness of heart, a proud,
dark contempt of everything sacred, the harbinger of eternal
death.
About a year after the king had been warned by the vision
and by Daniel, he was walking in his palace and thinking of
all his vast power and the greatness of his kingdom, when he
exclaimed, " Is not this great Babylon that I have builded, by
the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty.^"
The proud boast has scarcely left his lips till a voice from
heaven told him that God's predicted time of judgment had
come, and in a moment he becomes as a beast. For seven
years he lives in this degraded condition, when his reason was
again restored to him, and looking up in humility to the great
God of heaven, and acknowledging his hand in the whole mat-
ter, he was again restored to his throne. By public proclama-
290 THE WORLD S HOPE.
tion he owned his guilt, and the great goodness of God in his
restoration. At last he died, and his grandson, Belshazzar,
ascended the throne in his stead.
The terrible judgments that were sent to his grandfather had
no effect upon him ; for he entered upon a career of idolatry,
blasphemy and licentiousness that makes us truly thankful that
his reign was a short one. He had been defeated in battle by
Cyrus, and for two years had been besieged in Babylon. De-
fended by massive walls and bulwarks, by gates of brass and
the great river Euphrates, and having provisions enough to last
for twenty years, he feared neither God nor man, but gave
himself up to the gratification of his lusts.
One night be made a feast, conducted with all the oriental
display that he could command. He gathered around his fes-
tal board a thousand of his lords, with his wives and concu-
bines, and the grandees of his great empire. All that could
administer to the lust of the flesh was there. The wine ex-
cited them to madness, and a roar of mirth and revelry went
forth from the excited throng. The king ordered the vessels
of gold and silver, which his grandfather had taken from God's
house at Jerusalem, to be brought out that he and his drunken
crew might drink out of them to the honor of their vile gods.
It was a fearful act of sacrilege, for these vessels had been con-
secrated to the service of the great God, and had often been
used by holy men in his worship ; and now to be used by these
wicked wretches in their abominable orgies, was an insult to
the Most High.
But see ! All at once the king turns pale and trembles in
excessive terror. The excited laugh of the drunkard has died
away upon his lips, and left his heart quaking under a horror,
all the more dreadful that it is undefined. He starts from his
seat and fixes his eyes in a wild stare upon the wall. All are
now filled with dread, and their eyes following that of the king
see the hand of an invisible being writing some mysterious
words upon the wall : " Mene, mene, Tekel, Upharsin,'*
were the words, and it was in vain that the magi were called,
for they could not explain them. The king's consternation
DANIEL, THE PROPHET OF THE COURT. 29I
increasing, the queen, supposed to be his mother, remembers
Daniel, and urges his being sent for.
We can imagine the holy man of God coming into that hall
and looking solemnly around on the wicked throng. The
king offers him rich rewards, but he is there, not to please
kings and nobles, not to be bought, but to speak God's truth.
Accordingly, with a quiet dignity he says, " Let thy gifts be to
thyself, and give thy rewards to another." He then goes on
to tell the king what God had done for Nebuchadnezzar, from
which he had taken no warning ; and in most emphatic terms
to rebuke his great wickedness. It is not often that royal ears
listen to such a sermon. He then interpreted the words to
mean, that his kingdom and reign was at an end, that he had
been weighed in the batlance and found wanting.
That very night the city was taken. Two deserters told
Cyrus how it might be taken ; that by drying up the waters of
the Euphrates, that ran beneath the powerful walls of the city,
an entrance could be accomplished and the city secured by sur-
prise. This was done, the king slain, and his kingdom divided.
Darius now reigned in Babylon, and proceeded to make new
arrangements in regard to the government. Daniel was at
once exalted to a position of great honor and power. This
was done because the king saw that " an excellent spirit was
in him." But this very eminence to which he was lifted up,
made him an object of envy and hatred to some. The more
holy and upright he was, the more such vile men would hate
him. They were maddened with rage to think that they could
not find something on which to found a complaint against him,
to the king. Unable to find anything against him in regard to
his moral character, or the discharge of his civil duties, they
turned to his religion. This is very instructive. After watch-
ing him closely, their keen espionage being sharpened by
intense hatred, they could not find a single act or word or
event in his life, that could be charged as wrong. The only
thing that they could charge against him was that he was a
praying man — praying three times a day to the God of
heaven !
292 THE WORLD S HOPE.
A plan for Daniel's destruction is now formed. A concourse
of his enemies assemble at the palace, and ask the king to pass
a decree according to the law of the Medes and Persians.
This decree was to be to the effect, that for thirty days no
person in the whole realm should ask anything of either God
or man, except of Darius, the king ; and any violation of this
absurd decree was to be punished by the offender being cast
into the den of lions. It is to be presumed that the king did
not for a moment suppose that this would, in any way affect
Daniel to his injury ; and as it was flattering to his pride, it
was at once sent forth in due form. We sejgjhem come forth
with the smirk of unholy triumph upon their faces. They
chuckle among themselves, and congratulate each other upon
their success in having the man they hate now in their power.
Ah ! little did these wicked presidents and princes think that
at that very time they were digging a pit for their own de-
struction.
Daniel hears of what has been done, but heeds it not. He
goes calmly about his duties as before, and when the hour for
his accustomed devotion arrives he goes up to his house and
prays as usual, with his face toward Jerusalem. He knew that
his enemies were watching for evil ; but along with that as-
surance was another, that the God of the universe was watch-
ing him for good. It may be thought by some that as God
can hear prayer anywhere, he might have gone into a secret
place, where all evidence of his violation of the decree that
had been passed would have been wanting ; but this would
have been acting on a false expediency. No kings, nor
princes, nor presidents had a right to come between him and
his God — to dictate when he should or should not pray; and
he goes on as if no such dictation had been attempted. What
a noble, God-like character ! He stands up before us a bright
example for all ages, of a bold Christian consistency ; and of
what it is to trust God, when every other trust has failed.
" So should we live that every hour
May die as dies the natural flowe~
A self-reviving thing of power ;
DANIEL, THE PROPHET OF THE COURT. 293
" That every thought and every deed
May hold within itself the seed
Of future good and future need."
The enemies of the prophet hastened again to the palace to
accuse him to the king. He had prayed to the God of heaven,
they said, and thus set at defiance the monarch's authority.
The king now all at once began to see the snare that had been
set, and, greatly vexed with Mmself, he tried to discover some
way by which the prophet could be saved ; but by the inflexi-
ble nature of the law" this was not possible. Daniel is, there-
fore, cast into the den of lions, and a stone is placed at the
mouth of the den, with the royal seal upon it.
There he remains during the whole night ; in all likelihood
the happiest night of his life. Oh, what thoughts of God's
great goodness he must have had when he saw those wild ani-
mals crouching at his feet ! That heavenly Friend, who had
showered down blessings all along his pathway through life,
had now given such manifest tokens of his love, that his whole
soul must have overflowed with a peace that could make
even a lion's den the gate of heaven. Not only had he the
presence of God during that memorable night, but the com-
panionship of holy angels also; and he enjoyed a happiness
to which the greatest and richest of his enemies were alto-
gether strangers.
The king, who had spent a restless night, hastens to the
lion's den at the dawn of day, and cries, " Daniel, O Daniel,
servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest con-
tinually, able to deliver thee from the lions .?"
The voice of the prophet was at once heard in reply, " O
king, live forever ! My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut
the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me ; forasmuch as
before him innocency was found in me ; and also before thee,
O king, have I done no hurt." The king was rejoiced ex-
ceedingly that the incorruptible statesman, who had served
him so well, was still alive ; and, although Daniel had pre-
sented no complaint against those who had treated him so
wickedly, yet the same destruction which they had prepared
294 THE WORLD S HOPE.
for him came upon themselves, they were devoured by the
wild beasts.
Here we have another instance of the power of the prayer
of faith. Such prayer is always answered; while that prayer
that is mingled with distrust and doubt, receives nothing. Our
blessed Lord sets this in so clear a light that his words should
be engraven upon our hearts. 'AH things whatsoever ye shall
ask in prayer believing, ye shall receive. ' And again, "What
things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive
them, and ye shall have them. ' These passages seem very plain ;
and yet when Mr Miiller, and a few others like him, act as if
these words were to be taken as literally true, the Christian
world looks astonished, and speaks as if a mistake had been
made in some way. No. there is no mistake in taking God at
his word : and that faith that does so, he honors now as much
as he did in the days of Daniel.
Who can read the ninth chapter of the book that is called
by this prophet s name without seeing that he was a man
mighty in prayer ? We find that he had given himself up to
study the prophecies of Jeremiah in regard to the close of
the captivity. He saw that that time was at hand, and by
fastmg and deep humiliation before God, he betakes himself
to prayer And O, such a prayer ! We seem to see his tears of
penitence, and to hear his sighs and his groans poured forth from
his earnest heart, as he pleaded for himself and the ancient peo-
ple of the Lord. Such confession of sin, such laying open of
the soul, in all its vileness, before the eye of Infinite pu rity ;
such a broken-hearted melting of the soul, in awe before the
great and dreadful God, makes us ashamed of what we have
called our prayers. And then, such terrible earnestness, such
fervent importunity as we have in this prayer ! We seem to
see him getting nearer God every cry that breaks from his
agonizing soul, till he feels that he has prevailed. " O Lord,
hear ; O Lord, forgive ; O Lord, hearken and do ; defer not, for
thy ovv^n sake.'' We feel that this is not mere repeating of
words, but that every cry of the soul is a new victory of faith.
And, sweeping from the heavens, comes the angel Gabriel, to tell
him that his prayer is answered.
DANIEL, THE PROPHET OF THE COURT. 295
Of the prophecies of this man " greatly beloved oi God,"
we cannot now speak. They are full of the coming Messiah,
and in images the most sublime and glorious, tell of the time
when his kingdom of love shall triumph over all opposition.
Of the time and the place of his death we know nothing. He
has long been a bright, happy spirit in glory ; but his influence
is still very mighty on earth. His life is a fit study for young
and old. A noble statesman, an invincible patriot, an un-
daunted hero, a mighty prevailer in prayer, a prophet, great
in the sight of God and man; we feel our hearts glow at
the mention of his name ; and it adds to the attractions of
heaven, that he is there, and that ^"e shall join him in praising
God and the Lamb for ever.
*" The king was on his throne,
The satraps thronged the hall ;
A thousand bright lamps shone
O'er that high festival.
A thousand cups of gold,
In Judah deemed divine— v
Jehovah's vessels hold
The godless heathen's wine !
" In that same hour and hall,
The fingers of a hand
Came forth against the wall,
And wrote as if on sand:
The fingers of a man —
A solitary hand
Along the letters ran.
And traced them like a wand.
" The monarch saw, and shook.
And bade no more rejoice ;
All bloodless waxed his look,
And tremulous his voice.
* Let the men of lore appear,
The wisest of the earth,
And expound the words of fear.
That mar our royal mirth.'
2^6 THE world's HOPE
•' Chaldea's seers are good,
But here they have no skill ;
And the unknown letters stood,
Untold and awful still.
And Babel's men of age
Are wise and deep in lore ;
But now they were not sage,
They saw, but knew no more.
** A captive in the land,
A stranger and a youth,
He heard the king's command,
He saw that writing's truth.
The lamps around were bright.
The prophecy in view ;
He read it on that night —
The morrow proved it true,
*' Belshazzar's grave is made,
His kingdom passed away,
He in the balance weighed,
Is light and worthies:, clay.
The shroud, his robe of state,
His canopy, the stone.
The Mede is at his gate !
The Persian on his throne."
It has thus been our happy privilege to go over the most
notable examples of faith recorded in the old Testament. As
these noble men, of whom the world was not worthy, have
passed in review before us, we should earnestly seek to have
like precious faith with theirs. We may be encompassed with
ten thousand trials ; but if, like them, we only have faith and
patience, we shall be brought through triumphantly. We
shall meet in heaven those men of strong faith, and join with
Item in singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.
" E'en now by faith we join our hands
With those that went before,
And greet the blood-besprinkled band
On the eternal shore,"
DANIEL, THE PROPHET OF THE COURT. 297
One thing we can not but have noticed, in the course of our
meditations upon these holy men, faith enabled them to see
God everywhere. They did not long go groping around the
world in darkness and despondency, crying, " O that I knew
where I might find him!" Faith found him, through the
blood of their sacrifices, pointing to Calvary, and knew him
to be a God of Love. To such faith the whole world was full
of God. As they walked by the side of the murmuring
streams and sheltered themselves in the caves of the moun-
tains and heard the rush of the wind through the swaying,
bowing pines, they heard the voice of Jehovah speaking to
them in accents of love. Amid scenes of prosperity and
sweet domestic endearments, they found their highest enjoy-
ments in God ; or, when exiles from home and country, they
wandered in dreary deserts, or sat on the banks of strange
rivers, with songs dying away into sighs and groans ; yet God
was their refuge and their strength.
Reader, do you find God everywhere, in this way ? In the
dark, dense, solemn forest, or in the rush of the city, where
the sound of sin and suffering, of business and selfish clamor,
never dies by night nor by day; can you be still and know
your God ? Do you walk with God, in a loving, cheerful,
willing way, as the loving child does with its father, feeling its
highest joy in his approving smile ? If so, happy are ye, for
you shall soon be with the sinless congregation above, and
■your faith be lost in the fullness of glorified vision.
Paul, in speaking of the good who have gone before us and
set us an example, says, "Be not slothful, but followers of
them who, through faith and patience inherit the promises."
It was upon these promises that the ancient people of God
lived. They are the pledges which Jehovah gave to them,
and by faith in which they were sustained all through the
wilderness. These promises are God's storehouse opened to
his people, into which they can go, and get all their wants sup-
plied. They are a rich treasury of blessings, and if we are
poor, we may be enriched, for faith holds the key.
These promises arc for this life and for the life to come.
298 THE WORLD S HOPE.
To the guilty they offer pardon ; to the soul struggling with
indwelling guilt, they offer the cleansing of the precious blood
of Jesus; to the weary and heavy-laden they offer rest in
jgsus — the sweet repose of the spirit when sins are all forgiven ;
to the sorrowful they offer comfort, not such as the world
gives, but real heart-ease, when the head is resting upon the
bosom of Jesus. And then what a glorious prospect these
promises open before us for the future ! A victory over the
last enemy, death ; a home of eternal bliss, with all the com-
pany of the redeemed ; a resurrection of the flesh from the
darkness and corruption of the grave, while the body shall be
made like unto Christ's glorified body ; and then the word
of approval, spoken before assembled worlds, "Well done,
good and faithful servant."
Such are the promises that the heroes of faith lived by and
died by. As an old writer says, " They are high as heaven
and wide as the sea." They take all in, none are excluded.
They are not for the rich only, nor for the poor only, but they
are for all. And oh, how sure and steadfast they are 1 Spoken
by the God of truth. Written in the blood of the covenant,
sealed by the Holy Spirit, they are all yea and amen to the
believer. The world's promises are vain ; Satan's promises are
plausible but deceitful ; but God's promises are sure and
steadfast. No contingency can occur that can interrupt the
kindly flow of his loving intentions. His promises are the
voluntary, spontaneous outcoming of his love ; and hence they
are spoken in words so gentle and loving.
No wonder that they are called " precious promises." God
has scattered precious things through all his material works.
Far away down ocean's bed, unseen by human eye, he has
treasured up precious things ; and away up to the very sum-
mits of the cloud-topped mountains, they are to be found.
But it is in God's Word that the most precious things come to
view. The most precious things of earth are perishable, but
the things which the Bible reveals become more valuable
through all eternity. Precious blood, precious faith, precious
promises, and precious mansions, are among the fair portions
God gives his people.
DANIEL, THE PROPHET OF THE COURT. 299
Now, those good men of whom we have been speaking are
inheriting the promises. What they long looked for they now
possess. They no longer look through a glass darkly, but see
face to face. The things that they longed and earnestly looked
for, they now enjoy. No longer tossed upon the stormy ocean
of life, they are safe in the quiet harbor. The toils of the wil-
derness are all over, and they rest at home. Let this comfort
us. We have the same help that they had — the same strength
and comfort. They met death in all forms, but they feared no
evil. That last enemy was turned into a friend — into great
gain. They were not merely calm in their last moments, but
cheerful; not only resigned, but joyful and triumphant. By
faith let us see our blessed inheritance awaiting our arrival;
and let the sight quicken our pace to glory. It is but a short
atep from a death-bed to a throne and a crown !
3QO THE WORLD S HOPE.
CHAPTER XX.
STEPHEN, THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYR.
As it is appointed unto all to die, it is to us a matter of great
moment to know how we may die well. This we can only
learn at the Cross ; and it is encouraging and strengthening to
our faith to see those who have been there pass away from
earth peaceful as the going down of a summer sun.
There is no death recorded in the Bible which, for moral
sublimity, comes so near the death of our Lord as that of Ste-
phen. Of course, there is no death really like that of Jesus.
His life and his death stand alone ; for even an infidel had to
say, " Socrates died like a philosopher, but Jesus Christ like
a God." Only a short time after Jesus died for our offenses,
Stephen, very nearly on the same spot, was called to lay down
his life for the truth. Both in his life and with his lips he bore
testimony to the truth and then sealed it with his, blood. He
was the first of the Christian Church that fell under the bloody
hand of persecution, and thus had the honor of leading the
van of that noble army who are now crowned with immortal
blessedness in heaven. Striving against error and sin, they
resisted unto blood, and rose unto fame eternal by suffering —
conquered by dying.
Stephen was one of the first seven deacons ordained at Je-
rusalem. These were to be men of honest report, and full of
the Holy Spirit , and with this description this good man fully
agreed. At that time the church was in a most prosperous
condition. With a zealous, holy, heaven-taught ministry, with
a membership so spiritual and consistent that Jesus was not
ashamed to call them brethren, and with a constant mcrease
of young members glowing with love to Christ, the whole city
was shaken by their moral power. Stephen stood in the front
of the battle, dealing sturdy and vigorous blows to Satan's
STEPHEN, THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYR. 301
kingdom ; and, therefore, he soon became the object of the
most rancorous hate and persecution. We are told that " full
of faith and power, he did great wonders and miracles among
the people." The enemies of God and of truth felt that this
must not be allowed, and that something must be done to
silence so able and zealous a preacher.
They sent their most able and subtle disputants to put him
down by argument. This was just what he wanted, for when
did truth ever fear to meet error in fair discussion ? Christi-
anity invites inquiry — courts the most rigid investigation ; and
the most sifting and severe tests that science and logic can
apply, only leave her friends the better pleased with the results,
the more satisfied with the heavenly origin of that religion to
which they have, in confidence of faith, committed their souls.
As we might expect, in this conflict Stephen came off triumph-
ant. He spoke with a wisdom and a power that astonished
and confounded the enemies of truth. They were baffled and
defeated at every attempt, and with the bright sword of truth
flashing about their heads, were driven from the field.
Now, had they been honest seekers after truth, this would
have been the end of the matter ; they would have acknowl-
edged their error, with penitent hearts, and at once yielded
themselves up to the guidance of the heavenly light that had
been made to shine around them. But such was not their
character. They were haters of God and of good men, and
if the progress of the gospel can not be stopped in one way
they will try another. Accordingly they betake themselves to
the use of the vilest slanders and malicious misrepresentations,
the chosen supports of every sinking cause. Vile wretches
were hired to utter false accusations, and Stephen was dragged
before the great council of the Sanhedrim that a show of justice
might be gone through. " We have heard him speak blas-
phemous words against Moses and against God," said the
false witnesses. In a court of justice the countenance of the
accused is often looked upon to see if tokens of guilt or inno-
cence can be distinguished there. At that moment Stephen's
face would bear examination. It was neither inflamed with
302 THE WORLD S HOPE.
passion nor pale with fear. There dwelt upon it a look of
calm faith and undisturbed confidence in God ; a look of
meek, forgiving love united with inflexible firmness of purpose.
It shone like an angel of God, as if the heaven he was so soon
to be in, had sent out a few of its rays of glory to meet him
on his way. The emotions of his happy soul illuminated his
face, and give us some faint idea of what a glorified body will
be.
When this good man stood forth in his own vindication, he
appears a fine example of a faithful gospel minister. He is
far more anxious to save their souls than to vindicate his own
character. Some of those present might never hear the truth
as it is in Jesus again, and he felt that he must speak out, even
if his life should be the price of his faithfulness to their souls.
Hence those strong, powerful, personal appeals to their hearts
and consciences. There are some ministers who may be said
to preach the truth, but it is in a very general way. It is true
as far as it goes, but it has no application to the people sitting
before the preacher. It is preached before them rather than to
them. There is nothing of " thou art the man " about it,
This was not the way that John the Baptist preached to Herod,
or the way that Stephen preached to the people in that court
house. Such preaching as his will produce some effect, either
in the way of softening the heart or of hardening it. It will
prove a savor of life unto life, or of death unto death. It will
either kindle resentment in the sinner's heart against the
preacher who rebuked those sins, set them at war with them-
selves or with the truth that smites the conscience.
In the case of Stephen's hearers, they were filled with rage
against their best friend because he told them the truth. As
he charged them with resisting the Holy Spirit, as murderers
of the holy Savior, they were lashed into a tempest of fierce
passion and resentment. With glaring eyes " they gnashed
upon him with their teeth," like wild beasts of prey. From
such a mob, furious with diabolical rage, the saint of God
knew that he had nothing good to expect. With such he could
no more reason than with a whirlwind. How does he deport
STEPHEff, THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYR, 303
himself? Does he look to the council for protection and
mercy? Or does he look around the hall to find some mode
of escape ? No ; nothing of that kind. He looked steadfastly
up to heaven ; and from that look he gathered new vigor and
strength for the great conflict in which he was engaged. It
made him long to spring from earth into the bosom of his lov-
ing Savior. There is often embodied in a single look a world
of meaning and the most powerful eloquence. We remember
the look from our Lord's loving eye that sent Peter out weep-
ing bitterly, his heart melted into contrition under a convic-
tion of his base ingratitude. The look of Stephen was an
appeal to his adorable Lord. It said, " here I am doing thy
work, suffering for thy cause, leave me not to my own strength,
O my Lord, or I will fail !"
What a glorious sight met his enraptured gaze, at that mo-
ment ! No wonder that it fired and filled his soul with a di-
vine transport. There lay revealed to his view the throne of
Jehovah encircled with unspeakable glories ; and there stood
the Savior, bending upon him a look of deepest affection
and of sympathy. Nor could he keep the knowledge of this
blessed sight locked up in his own heart. "Behold," said he,
" I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on
the right hand of God." Observe, he saw him sta^iding; and
yet it was said, "When he had by himself purged our sins, he
sat dow7i on the right hand of the Majesty on high." And
again, as an evidence that his work was accepted the Father
said to him, " Sit on my right hand, till I make thy enemies
thy footstool." But when Jesus looked down and saw the
dauntless Stephen defending his cause single-handed, in the
midst of bloody-minded men, he stood tip to receive and to
welcome the soul of his dear suffering child. Like Joseph
with his brethren, he could no longer refrain himself. Oh,
who can tell with what intense interest the Prince of Martyrs
stood and gazed upon him who was proving faithful unto
death ! Well might the martyr " rejoice in spirit " when he
saw that Almighty gush of tenderness towards him. There
he saw a Savior who more than died a thousand deaths for
304
THE WORLD S HOPE.
him, and whose loving heart, longing to have him a sharer of
his glory, parted the sky asunder, and made the way to heaven
ready, ere he was ready to enter.
And now the madness of the mob has reached its height.
Raging and roaring like the waves of the sea lashed by a
furious tempest, they rushed upon Stephen. With faces all
distorted by passion, they drag him out of the city, that they
may stone him to death. The better to accomplish this bloody
work they cast off their upper garments. And who is that
young man that we see standing guard over that pile of cloth-
ing ? He is not a direct actor in the murderous work of the
hour, but he is giving his consent to it, and, to use his own
words, is " exceeding mad " against the followers of the Lord
Jesus. Had any one stepped up to him as he stood there, and,
tapping him upon the shoulder, said, " Saul, you will soon be
stoned yourself for the same cause for which that holy man is
now laying down his life," he would have felt indignant at the
imputation. But God's holy eye was upon him, and had
chosen him to be a most distinguished preacher of his gospel,
and at last to die for the truths he preached so faithfully.
But let us not lose sight of the blessed martyr. Hark to
those savage howls of these wicked men, and see the shower
of stones that thick and fast fall upon him. His body is
bruised and bleeding, and, as an opening is for a moment
made in the crowd, we see him with his eyes uplifted to
heaven ; and hark ! what words are these he utters ? Ah ! he
is praying for his murderers ! What great things grace can
do for our fallen humanity. Man by nature hates his enemies,
and seeks to return blow for blow and curse for curse, to the
very last hour of his life. But Stephen's words are, " Lord,
lay not this sin to their charge." All who are Christ's own
possess his spirit. They are like him in their longings and
aspirations, and like him in their love to the souls of the vilest
of our sin-cursed race. In our Lord's dying moments he
prayed, " Father, forgive them, for they know not what they
do." And now here is one of his dear servants dying, with
the same spirit of forgiving love upon his lips, and only there
because it has welled up from his heart.
STEPHEN, THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYR. 305
But the dying saint uttered another prayer on this memora-
ble occasion. Feeling that his work was done, and his per-
manent home very near, he cried, " Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit." This is a plain evidence that he considered Christ a
Divine Being, truly God, equal with the Father. We are told
that Stephen was a good man, full of faith and of the Holy
Spirit, and yet, if the Divinity of Christ is not acknowledged,
then he must have died an idolator. No truth is clearer in
the Bible than that worship is only to be offered to God, and
here this devoted and highly enlightened Christian, offers hfs
last prayer to Jesus. This is a clear proof that while he took
upon him the nature of man, he was at the same time God
over all, blessed forever. Stephen paid the same homage to
the Redeemer, in his last moments, which Jesus himself did to
his Father, when he was departing from earth. And this fact
reminds us of the words, " I and my Father are one."
The expression used in regard to the death of this good
man is quite beautiful: " He fell asleep." He was dying a
very painful death, his body bruised, his bones broken, his
skull fractured, perhaps his face fearfully disfigured and cov-
ered with blood ; and yet, when the soul escaped from this
tortured body, the inspired penman said it was like going to "
sleep. What a happy thought ! Just going to sleep as the
weary child goes to sleep upon its mother's bosom ; or, as the
laboring man goes to sleep after the exhausting toils of the
day and forgets them all in peaceful repose. The sleep of the
pious, with God's ever wakeful eye keeping watch over them,
according to the words, " He giveth his beloved sleep." So
the dead in Christ, as far as their bodies are concerned, sleep
under the watch-care of God, and at the fit time shall wake to
immortal beauty and glory.
"Asleep in Jesus ! blessed sleep,
From which none ever wakes to weep —
A calm and undisturbed repose,
Unbroken by the last of foes.
'* Asleep in Jesus ! Ch, for me
May such a blissful refuge be ;
Securely shall my ashes lie,
And wait the summons from on high."
3o6 THE world's hope.
The thought that God knows the time, the place, and the
manner of his death, is a very happy one to the believer in
Jesus. None of these things are to happen by chance, but in
accordance with a plan in the Divine Mind. Whether we are
to die alone in the silent watches of the night, or with many
loving and sympathizing friends around us; whether our death
shall be sudden, as in the case of the startling accident, that
quick as the flash of lightning rends the body to pieces, and
lets the soul escape ; or whether with slow and stealthy foot-
steps, the work of years, disease shall lay us among the dead ;
all is known to and planned by our best Friend ; one who loves
us, and will surely do us no harm. Whether our body is to lie
in the crowded city, or under the waving grass of the lonely
country graveyard, or in that grandest of cemeteries, the vast
ocean, with the furious dash of the mountain waves singing
our requiem ; all shall be well, for even our dust shall be
precious in His sight.
Stephen's death, then, was a very happy one, notwithstand-
ing the violence that attended it. He was filled with the Holy
Spirit, and that made him calm and self-possessed. He could
look an awful death quietly in the face. His soul rested at
anchor on the untroubled sea of God's promises. He was
confident of victory. His blessed Lord still lived, and that
thought made him sure that he should live also. He would
not be in glory and leave him behind. There are many who
think that to be filled with the Spirit, to have a high state of
religious enjoyment, and to be fervent in spirit, must be a
state of high wrought excitement ; but I do not think so. Look
at Stephen. Calm, cool, deliberate, bold and fearless; not at
all excited though he knew that he was preaching his last ser-
mon. The nature of true religion is to make the soul calm
and sweetly peaceful even when the pillars of the earth seem
to be shaking. It was Socrates that used to say, " Philoso-
phers can be happy without music," and so Christians can be
happy when the world's smiles are withdrawn; when it frowns
and hates ; yes, even when its curses and its blows fall fast
upon their heads.
STEPHEN, THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYR. 307
Another thing worthy of notice is, though Jesus was well
pleased with his servant and deeply sympathized with him, he
did not prevent the stones from wounding and killing him. He
had power to do so; but that is not his plan under this dispen-
sation. He does not promise to prevent his people suffering,
but only to comfort and support them under their troubles,
and to make them result in their present and eternal good.
They are sustained inwardly with a. joy that lifts them far
above the world and all its sorrows. That city did not that
day contain so happy a man, as he who was dying the object
of the popular rage and hatred. He was conquering when he
fell ; he really began to live when he died; and the last stone
that did its bloody work and ended his earthly life opened the
gates of glory to him.
We come now to notice the estimation in which Stephen was
held by good men. " Devout men carried Stephen to his
burial, and made great lamentation over him." It is when we
have buried our friends that we begin to feel the greatness of
the loss that we have sustained. While the body is yet with
us and we can go to the room where it lies and gaze upon the
familiar features, it is hard to realize that the dear one is really
gone. There is the constant visits of dear friends with their
loving attempts to divert our minds from the great sorrow, and
there is the excitement attending the preparation for the
funeral. But when we have taken our last look and imprinted
our kiss upon the brow of our dead ; when the cofiin is low-
ered into the grave, and we go back to our lonely and desolate
home ; when the vacant chair, the empty bed, the books that
the loved one used to read, and many little things, as we wan-
der through the house, tell us that the object of our affection
is really gone to return no more; then comes upon us the bitter-
est hour of our bereavement.
To the mourners the home seems so sad, under these
circumstances, that they go often to the grave to weep there.
But that is a poor place to go to look for comfort. It tells us
that we live in a sinful world, that our race is a fallen race.
Yes, the first grave that was dug in our world was sin's monu*
3o8 THE world's hore.
ment ; and yet, Jesus brings light even out of this darkness, for
he says, "I am the resurrection and the life." "I will ransom
thee from the power of the grave."
We are also told that holy and devout men were the mourn-
ers for Stephen. This was true honor. To be the favorites
of vile and wicked men, to have our names honored and
applauded by the children of the wicked one, is a disgrace
rather than an honor. Such are the persons who, before Pilate,
voted to have the murderer rather than the blessed Lord Jesus
given to them. But to have the love andprayers and good
wishes of pious people when we live, and their tears when we
die, is a high honor indeed. The good opinion of such is
worth something. It is next to the favor of their Heavenly
Master, whose sentence of approval at last will shut all scoff-
ing mouths ; for " who can lay anything to the charge of God's
elect."
These Godly men made great lamentation for their departed
brother. Their burning tears fell upon his grave, when they
reflected upon his noble, unselfish friendship. They did not
doubt for a moment that to him death was a great gain, but to
the church his departure was a great loss. They could, from
their whole souls, utter the prayer, " Help, Lord, for the Godly
man ceaseth." Good men are the hope of the world. Let all
such be taken away, and the salt being taken away, the world
would become a mass of moral pollution. Only think of the
whole world of the impenitent being alone in one place, with-
out God, without churches, without a prayer being offered, as
the years rolled on ! Dr. Macleod, of Scotland, puts this
thought in a striking form : " Let the fairest star be selected,
like a beautiful island in the vast and shoreless sea of the
azure heavens, as the future home of the. criminals from the
earth, and let them possess whatever they most love, and all
that it is possible for God to bestow ; let them be endowed with
•undying bodies, and with minds which shall forever retain
their intellectual powers ; let no Savior ever press his claims
upon them, no God reveal himself to them, no Sabbath ever
dawn upon them, no saint ever live among them, no prayer
STEPHEN, THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYR. 309
ever be heard within their borders ; but let society exist there
forever, smitten only by the leprosy of hatred to God, and with
utter selfishness as its all-prevailing and eternal purpose — then,
as sure as the law of righteousness exists, on which rests
the throne of God and the government of the universe, a
society so constituted must work out for itself a hell of soli-
tary and bitter suffering, to which there is no limit except the
capacity of a finite nature ! Alas ! the spirit that is without
love to its God or to its neighbor, is already possessed by a
power which must at last create for its own self-torment a
worm that will never die, and a fire that can never more be
quenched."
From the conduct of primitive Christians in regard to the
death of Stephen, we may learn that it is not wrong to mourn
when our friends are taken from us. We see this also in the
example of our adorable Lord at the grave of his personal
friend: "Jesus wept." It is wrong to murmur, to fret and
complain against the providences of God. Our grief must run
in a channel which submission to God has dug. AVe must
reverently adore his sovereignty, and be still and know that he
is God. And all this may be consistent w4th the keenest sor-
row. When our Father takes away our loved ones he expects
that we will feel the bereavement. If we did not, the effective
stroke would do us no good, Our tears are a testimony borne
to the value of tlie gift which God bestowed upon us, and of
the intense longing of our souls to meet our loved ones again
in heaven.
It should be our aim so to live that we will be missed and
regretted when we die. There are some who so live that their
departure from earth is a matter of joy, rather than of sorrow.
Their example was corrupting, and when they are dead we
feel as if a plague was stayed. When death came they were
not willing to go, but nearly all their neighbors were willing.
It is true the loss of their souls is a cause of great mourning,
but as all hope of their ever being better had died out, the
longer they live the more mischief they do ; and so when their
day of grace ends, God takes them away and shuts them up
3IO THE WORLD S HOPE.
where they can do no more harm. But the holy, devoted,
working Christian is useful here while he lives, and when he
dies he is only promoted to higher service in heaven. Though
never weary of Christ's work here he is often weary in
it. Bodily infirmities make him feel so, and a view of the evils
of his own heart makes him long to go home. He often says :
"Savior, I come to Thee,
A weary child with pain and care oppressed j
Ah, let me lean this aching, burning heart
Upon Thy loving breast f"
There are some important lessons that we may learn from
the narrative we have been considering.
First, let ministers learn to depend more on the influence of
the Holy Spirit. Here was a man filled with that mfluence, and
with what power and energy he spoke. It was not a prepared
sermon, and yet how fitly adapted to the circumstances and to
the hearers is every word. The spirit enabled him to collect
his thoughts, gave vigor to his memory so that the very facts
he wished to use all came to his mind at the right time and
made his words flow forth with burning power. Of course, a
minister should study faithfully the Word of God,, and do all
that he can to prepare for his solemn work ; but if all that he
can do in that way makes him feel less dependent upon the
Holy One, his preparation will be a curse rather than a bless-
ing. If our dependence is on our manuscript, or upon every
word being committed to memory, then it is only a solemn
mockery for us to pray for the Holy Spirit to help us, We
should study with all the power that God has given us, and yet
honor the spirit by constantly watching for his instruction and
guidance.
I was greatly interested lately in reading the experience of
a minister in regard to his style of preaching. He had in the
early part of his ministry given his chief attention to rhetori-
cal and poetical forms of expression in the preparation of his
sermons. His vanity was well pleased when he heard himself
extolled as a young man of brilliant talents, and saw his church
crowded with that class of novelty seekers who are ever run-
STEPHEN, THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYR. 311
ning after something new. But no souls were being saved, and
believers were not being spiritually fed and built up in their
holy faith. His wife, who was a holy, prayerful woman, and
much displeased with the state of things existing in the church,
said to him one day, " My dear, I am afraid you are making
more admirers of yourself than followers of Jesus." This re-
mark not being well received, she took the matter to the Lord
in earnest prayer. Let the result be told in his own words.
" It pleased the Lord to hear that prayer of my excellent
wife. One Sunday morning I preached as usual to a crowded
congregation, chiefly composed of the principal inhabitants of
the neighborhood. I was just then engaged in giving my au-
dience a picturesque description of a sunset on the sea of
Galilee, when all of a sudden, owing to the close atmosphere, a
little girl fell into a fainting fit. The disturbance which it
created, though only short and comparatively insignificant, yet
so much put me out that I became altogether confused. The
rest of my sermon vanished from my memory. I could not
possibly recollect one word of it. In my perplexity I cried to
God for help. While looking down on my Bible, which was
lying open before me, my eyes fell upon the text of Peter, "All
flesh is as grass, and all .the glory of man as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away, but
the word of the Lord endureth forever." Yielding, as it were,
to an instinctive impulse, I read it to my hearers and began
preaching from it an improvised sermon, just as it came up in
my heart. And here, having lost my oratorical flower-basket,
I could not help laying bare the truths of God's Word in all
their simplicity and startling reality. Connecting the text
with my previous description, I called the glory of man a set-
ting sun, but which was never to rise again. I spoke of the
utter vanity of everything human, of the certainty of the de-
struction of this world and of our everlasting condemnation if
we were to die in the midst of our sins. In a word, I ' shunned
not to declare to them all the counsel of God,' proclaiming
death and destruction as it is in Adam, and life and salvation
as it is in Jesus.
312 THE WORLDS HOPE.
" On walking home after service, my wife almost wept for
joy. Never in her life, she said, had she heard such a heart-
searching sermon. But I was almost in a desponding mood
and quite ashamed of myself, ' for the people must have noticed
my confusion', I said : ' and what a gossip it will be all over
the place that the minister broke down in the middle of his
sermon!' 'Surely,' I added, ' this was the worst sermon ever
preached from a pulpit.'
" We had scarcely got home, however, when a lady desired
to speak to me. The impression which her appearance made
upon me was not very agreeable. She was gaudily dressed
and carried a flourish of trinkets, lace and finery about her
which created a most unfavorable impression.
"' Sir,' she said, while her lip quivered, 'could you permit
me to speak to you in confidence.'*' ' Certainly, ma'am.'
" ' I am a lost woman,' she said, while tears burst from her
eyes ; ' but you, sir, can perhaps tell me whether there is still
salvation for me who have so long lived a careless life.' "
She then briefly told him her history. She had lived a gay,
careless, pleasure-seeking life, without God in the world. That
day she had gone to church, and his sermon had proved a two-
edged sword to her soul, and now she entreated him to tell
her of that Savior of whom he had spoken at the close of his
sermon. He did so, and she received Christ by faith into her
soul, and became a most consistent Christian.
In closing the account the minister says, " The Lord taught
me this great lesson, which I hope I have not forgotten
since — viz. : that oratory, rhetoric, etc., maybe excellent things
in a pulpit, but that without the eloquence of the Holy Spirit,
which tells us of the love of him who died for our sins, they
will never lead a lost sinner to the fold of the only Good Shep-
herd."
In the case of Stephen we see how a Christian can die.
There was not only the absence of all fear, but the presence of
great joy. The very worst that his enemies could do was to
hasten him home. No shade of anger is on his brow, no feel-
ing of revenge in hii heart. On the contrary he loves them,
STEPHEN, THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYR. 313
he longs for their salvation, and spends his last failing breath
in pra3^er for them. Ah ! what an empty, vain thing is infidel-
ity compared to such a religion as this. It can only fill the
mind with dark negatives while the man lives, and curtain his
death-bed round with guilty horrors and with dark despair
'■Deathless principle, arise '
Soar, thou native of the skies !
Pearl of price, by Jesus bought,
To his glorious likeness wrought,
Go, to shine before his throne —
Deck his mediatorial crown ;
Go, his triumphs to adorn —
Born for God, to God return.
" Lo, he beckons from on high i
Fearless to his presence fly ;
Thine the merit of his blood,
Thine the righteousness of God ;
Angels, joyful to attend,
Hovering round thy pillow bend ;
Wait to catch the signal given,
And escort thee quick to heaven !"
214 THE world's hope.
CHAPTER XXI.
PETER, THE APOSTLE.
Peter, the apostle of our Lord Jesus, was a native of Galilee.
To be an apostle was to occupy a very high and honorable
position in the church of God, and one full of solemn respon-
sibilities. Those who occupied this high and holy office were
the heaven-appointed teachers and legislators in Christ's
church. They were inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that their
word was law in the new kingdom of love. To reject their
word was to reject the v/ord of the Lord Jesus. To them
was imparted the gift of working miracles, and of imparting
supernatural powers to other members of the church. They
were placed in a loftier position than the prophets of the old
dispensation, inasfar as they had to be witnesses and repre-
sentatives of a purely spiritual kingdom.
Peter was brought to Jesus in the first place by his brother
Andrew. That brother and a companion of his, walking togeth-
er, heard John the Baptist bear witness to the character of
Jesus in the impressive words, "Behold the Lamb of God!"
This so impressed the mind of Andrew that he hastened to
communicate the good news to his brother Simon, and at once
introduced him to the Lord. What a loving and brotherly act
was this ; and what a turning point in the life of Peter was
this ! The greatest act of kindness we can perform for our
kindred, the best proof of love that we can give, is to seek the
salvation of their souls. We may exert ourselves to bring
them to occupy positions of worldly distinction and honor;
to walk upon the eminences of life, the objects of the world's
applause ; but if we fail to bring them to Jesus, who alone can
save their souls, what will it all avail .^ If parents only put
forth one half the effort for their children's souls, that they do
PETER, THE APOSTLE. -^I^
to be able to leave them an earthly inheritance, how numerous
would be the conversion of souls among the young ; and fami-
lies would become nurseries for heaven.
Peter was a man of a naturally warm and ardent tempera-
ment. Everything that he did was apt to be done under
strange impulses of feeling. He had an earnest impetuosity
of character that made him frank and fearless in acting and
speaking ; but which often led him into unexpected difficul-
ties. Of an affectionate heart, a hasty temper, a glowing
imagination, he was deficient in that calmness of judgment
that leads men to think and deliberate before they act. Such
men are apt to call caution coldness, and anything short of a
fiery enthusiam they are ready to denounce as indifference.
In the deep earnestness of his warm heart he was ready to
promise much and to undertake much in the service of those
he loved ; but there was a m^oral weakness in his character, a
readiness to yield to present impulse, and to the influence of
the company in which he happened to be, that made his prom-
ise unreliable. Not that he could ever be accused of insincerity,
for his whole soul was in whatever he undertook ; but lie was
apt to act under the power of his feelings, and unexpected events
springing up would turn him in a new direction. Of course,
I am only speaking of the traits of character that were natu-
ral to Peter ; what grace made him and what he became under
the teachings of the Holy Spirit, we shall see in the progress of
this chapter.
When Peter was introduced to Jesus, as we might expect, he
was received with great kindness. It was on that occasion
that he gave him a new name, being about to take him into his
service ; a name expressive of great firmness. " Thou art
Simon, the son of Jona ; thou shalt be called Cephas, which
is, by interpretation, a stone or rock." Hence the name Peter
is given, which signifies the same as Cephas. On one occasion
our Lord asked his disciples what the people thought of him ;
when Peter replied, giving the different opinions expressed.
Then he was asked by our Lord, "Whom say ye that I am ?"
Promptly the answer came, " Thou art the Christ, the Son of
3i6 THE world's hope.
the living God." Matthew tells us that when Peter had made
this noble confession, Jesus said unto him, " Blessed art thou,
Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say also unto
thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." It
is evident from these words, that this confession was not a
mere intellectual matter, but the avowal of a heart touched by
the Holy Spirit. A bright ray of light from heaven had
flashed upon his soul, and kindled up a flame of Divine love
in his heart. We can imagine that we see his weather-beaten
face kindle up with rapture as he uttered the words. From
that moment he knew Jesus in his true character as the true
Messiah, and could say, " To whom can we go but unto Thee ?
Thou hast the words of eternal life."
From the time this apostle entered our Lord's service, he
manifested great zeal and activity ; he was always prominent
in speech and action ; and yet we can see in the inspired his-
tory no evidence of that supremacy over the other apostles
which has been claimed for him by the Romanists. Such
superiority was never given him by our blessed Lord, was
never claimed by himself, and was never recognized by his
brethren. So that the arrogant claims of those who call them-
selves his successors, have no foundation in the Bible. Christ's
church is not built upon any mere man, however holy and great
he may be; but is built upon those sublime doctrines of
Christ which Peter so boldly confessed under the influence of
heavenly teaching. No doubt great and miraculous powers
and gifts were given to this apostle, but they were given in
common with his brethren of the apostolic office, and not to
make him a lord over God's heritage.
Indeed, this kind of exalting one above another is utterly
inconsistent with our Lord's aim in all his teaching, which was
to produce humility of heart. " Learn of me, for I am lowly
inspirit." "Blessed are the poor in spirit." " One is your
Master, and all ye are brethren." And the more of the spirit
of Christ any one attains to the more humble he becomes. It
PETER, THE APOSTLE. 317
was when Job had a very near view of God, that he ceased to
vindicate himself, and said, " I abhor myself, and repent in
dust and ashes." Perhaps there did not live a more holy man
in his day than Isaiah, the evangelical prophet ; and yet in
God's sight he felt himself so vile that he cried out, " I am a
man of unclean lips." Paul calls himself " the chief of sinners,"
and "the least of sinners;" while he was so near God that
sometimes he seemed like one already in heaven. Yes, in
Christ's Kingdom of love there is no exalting of one child of
God above another, for through the precious blood of Jesus
they are all heirs of God, all kings and priests unto God ; and
he who would be the greatest among them is to be the servant
of all. The most humbled is to be the most exalted.
*' The bird that soars on highest wing,
Builds on the ground her lowly nest ;
And she that doth most sweetly sing,
Sings in the shade when all things rest ;
In lark and nightingale we see
What honor hath humility.
"The saint that wears heaven's brightest crown.
In lowliest adoration bends ;
The weight of glory bows him down
The most when his soul ascends ;
Nearest the throne itself must be
The footsteps of humility."
We come now to consider Peter in some of the phases of
his spiritual life. And first, let us turn to the circumstance
related in the fourteenth chapter of Matthew. It was the
dark midnight hour on the Lake of Tiberias, and a fearful
storm is raging. A ship is out in the tempest, and the furious
winds and dashing waves threaten her with instant destruc-
tion. That little vessel contains a precious band of passen-
gers; men who are to be an unspeakable blessing to the
world. The chosen apostles of the Lord Jesus are there ; but
their Divine Master is not with them, and they are greatly
alarmed for their safety. The Lord has been up on the
mountains engaged in prayer. Behind the shelter of some old
3i8 THE world's hope.
gray rock, he has been pouring out his supplication ; and oh,
had we been there to listen, how formal would all our prayers
have seemed compared with his ! But he has not forgotten
that ship struggling with the stormy elements. His watchful
eye has been upon his loved disciples all the time, and at the
right time he will appear for their deliverance.
Down he comes to the edge of the turbulent waters. He
puts his foot upon a foam-crested wave, and from wave to
wave walks as securely as upon dry land. Here we see the
Divinity and humanity of our Lord acting in close contact.
Up among those rocks on the mountain, we see his humanity,
for it was as a man he prayed, often with strong cries and
tears; but now that he walks upon the stormy water we see
him as God. Seeing that majestic form approaching the ship,
the disciples were afraid. But with gentle kindness he reas-
sures them by the words, " Be of good cheer ; it is I ; be not
afraid." Then Peter said, " Lord, if it be thou, bid me come
unto thee on the water." The Lord gave him the inviting
word, and at once he goes forth to meet his Master. At first
all goes well. His faith was strong, his eye was fixed upon
Jesus, and he feared nothing. But, see ! all at once his face
shows fear, almost despair, and he begins to sink. What is the
cause ? Has any new danger arisen } We are told that "when he
saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid." But it was so before he
started. No change had taken place in Jesus, none in the storm,
none in the ship, nor in his fellow-disciples ; but the change was
in himself. Instead of looking at his Lord, and thinking of his
power and of his invitation, he began to think of his danger,
at the greatness of the waves and the fierce power with which
they were driven by the winds. Then his faith gave way and
he began to sink. Still he has faith to believe that Jesus can
save him, and cries, "Lord save; I perish!" A short, but
very comprehensive prayer ; and a successful one ; for that
hand which planted the stars in their places, lifts him up from
impending ruin.
We see here a striking illustration of the blending of faith
and unbelief, which is often seen in good people. If it be the
PETFr, THE APOSTLE. 319
Lord, he seemed to say, I will fear nothing ; the howling
winds and the raging waves will not alarm, if I am only as-
sured that blessed Master is here. But his Lord had be-
fore this told him that it was he himself that was walking on
the water; and yet he says "Lord, if it be thou." Now,
what right had he to put in that if 1 He had the Lord's own
word for it, and that is the very highest evidence we can have.
But, like many, he wanted something more. He wished some
other token or sign to supplement the plain word of Him who
cannot lie. God says to the sinner, " Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved," and " Whosoever be-
lieveth in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." But,
instead of simply believing this, and at once being at peace,
he looks for something more ; some inward sign, some light
from heaven, some sudden impression, almost like an audible
voice, to tell him that his sins are forgiven him.
Our Lord condescended to give Peter the additional evi-
dence he asked. He bids him come to him, and for a time
his faith seems to be strong ; but he had only gone a few steps
when he began to sink. There was nothing to prevent his
going on that might not have prevented his starting. True,
the waves were tempestuous, but so they were before he left
the boat. The same power that had enabled him to take two
or three steps, could have enabled him to walk across the lake.
But he turned his eyes from that power which sustained him,
to his own weakness and his dangers. He became frightened
at his former courage ; began to doubt the propriety of his
former faith ; and he instantly began to sink like lead.
Often have we seen this same thing manifest itself in the
spiritual history of the young convert. He has by faith re-
ceived the Lord Jesus as his all and in all. Peace reigns in
his heart; he rejoices in hope; and he goes on his way re-
joicing. But after a little he begins to think of his sins, the
evil that still lurks in his heart begins to show itself; his atten-
tion is taken from the fullness that is in Jesus to his own vile-
ness, and then he begins to sink in a sea of troubles. Happy
for him if he has still faith enough left to pray, — to cry, " Lord
320 THE WORLD S HOPE.
save, or I perish." Then will the arm that is mighty to save
lift him up and place his feet upon the unshaken rock of Divine
promise. " If it be thou," will no longer be the cry of such a
soul — that is the creed of unbelief; but it will rather say, "I
know in whom I have believed."
This spirit of unbelief, if indulged, will grow upon the soul,
till the man not only doubts about his own personal salvation,
but almost about everything. We cannot conceive of any-
thing more gloomy than a soul walking amid a perpetual
doubt in regard to the most vital and important matters in the
whole universe. Oh how chilling and miserable to live under
the shadow of this tormenting if. If the Bible be true ; if
God really does take an interest in the affairs of human
beings; if prayer is really ever heard or answered; if I am
one of the elect ; or, it may be, drifting down the dark stream
of unbelief, till they come to the infidel's prayer, "Oh God, if
there be a God !" Such is the state of many who have trifled
with God's simple, plain testimony as given. in his Holy Book;
till they are given over to believe a lie. That is, they find it
very easy to believe what is false, they have strong faith where
error is concerned; but the moment that pure truth, fresh and
glowing from heaven, is presented, they recoil back as from an
enemy. They are like a person whose stomach has been ruined
by intefhperate living, till it constantly craves that which will
only increase the evil, and repels, with loathing, that which
would restore it to health and tone.
We see, then, that trusting in Christ the believer is very
strong, but that away from him he is nothing but weakness.
Paul had a high appreciation of Christ when he said, " I can
do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me;" and he
felt just as certain that without him he could do no good
thing. The three Hebrews were able to walk through the fur-
nace flames unhurt because the Son of God was with them.
Fire or water, persecution or bodily affliction, the wrath of
man or the blandishments of the world; all are powerless to
harm when Jesus is with us. We can then say, " None of these
things move me. " When a hardened wretch put a pistol to
PETER, THE APOSTLE. 32I
the heart of tiie devoted Fletcher, and threatened his life be-
cause of his faithfuhiess, he looked the ruffian calmly in his
eye, and said, " Have I served the Lord these thirty years, now
to be afraid of death ?" Faith fears nothing. Its language is
not " Lord, if it be thou," but rather, " It is the Lord, let Him
do what seemeth good in his sight." Our religion, if real, will
begin and end in distrust of ourselves and in trust in Jesus.
A noble Christian sailor, when asked how he could remain so
calm during a fearful storm, replied, " Though I sink, I shall
but drop into my Father's hands, for he holds all these waters
there."
But we must hasten on to notice other events in the life of
Peter.
From the naturally impulsive and forward character of Peter
he comes before us more frequently than any of the other of
the apostles in the New Testament narratives. On one occa-
sion many of our Lord's disciples were forsaking him. The
holy, heart-searching truths which he preached ; the sacrifices
and self-denial which a profession of his name demanded ; the
persecution and contempt to which his followers were con-
stantly exposed ; all acted as a sifting wind to separate the
chaff from the wheat — the mere professor from the possessor
of his love. Even the apostles seemed shaken, and were ready
to depart, for Jesus said to them, " Will ye also go away V
Peter's noble reply was, " Lord, to whom shall we go 7 Thou
hast the words of eternal life. " This was very fine, and makes
our hearts warm toward the servant of the Lord ; but only a
short time after this he gave utterance to words which called
forth a most emphatic rebuke from the Savior.
The circumstances were these : the Lord was preparing the
minds of the apostles for the tragic events that were to take
place at Jerusalem, when he must die, the just for the unjust.
Peter, acting, as usual, under the power of his feelings, revolted
at the thought of his loved Master being put to death, and at
once said, " Be it far from thee, Lord ; this shall not be unto
thee." This was a manifestation of great presumption, and
called out one of the most severe rebukes our Savior ever
322 THE WORLD S HOPE.
Uttered. " Get thee behind me, Satan ; thou art an offence
unto me; for thou savorist not the thmgs that be of God, but
those that be of men." Peter had at this time a very imper-
fect conception of the nature of the work which our Lord
came to do. He wanted to leave the Cross out of that work,
and that would have been to cut off the hope of the world—
the only refuge of guilty men. Alas ! how many there are
still, who are willing to blot out the Cross, to speak much of
Christ's beautiful life, and nothing at all about his vicarious
death. The Cross is still an offence to such; to those that
perish it is foolishness.
This apostle was greatly honored by his Divine Master by
being permitted to be with him on special occasions of great
interest. He was one of the favored three that saw the trans-
figuration on the holy mount. Seeing our Lord's divinity
bursting through the body he had taken, so that his face shone
like the sun in its brightness, he was filled with rapture, and
exclaimed, " Lord, it is good for us to be here ;" and even pro-
posed that a permanent abode should be made there. This
scene made an impression upon him which he never forgot.
He refers to it in his second epistle in most impressive terms.
Peter was also one of those who were permitted to be with our
Lord on the occasion of his deep agony in the garden, when
over and over again he uttered the prayer that the cup of suf-
fering might pass. The apostle and his associates were over-
powered by sleep and received the mild rebuke, " Could ye
not watch with me one hour ?" accompanied with a loving
apology for their weakness. " The spirit is willing but the flesh
is weak."
But as the time drew near for our adorable Redeemer to
take his departure from earth, events occurred that bring
Peter prominently before us, and that powerfully rebuke that
self-confidence which is so strong an element in our fallen na-
ture. Jesus had sougl^t to prepare the minds of his disci-
ples for the storm which was soon to burst upon them, and
had warned them of the feelings with which they would be
tempted to regard him when he became the object of popular
PETER, THE APOSTLE. 323
hate. "All ye shall be offended because of me." Here Peter
spoke out with great boldness, and no doubt with perfect sin-
cerity, " Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet
shall I never be offended." Our Lord, to warn him not to be
so self-confident, told him that he would deny him three times
that very night. The first trial to which he was put, he seemed
to have a great deal of courage of a certain kind. When they
came out to arrest his Lord he showed no signs of fear; but
drawing his sword, he displayed all the fiery ardor of the sol-
dier who is ready to lay down his life for the cause he loves.
There is no doubt that had Christ's kingdom been of this world,
and had he required his apostles to lead forth an army to fight
for him, Peter would have been distinguished as a military
leader. He was not wanting in mere physical courage, but in
that higher and nobler endowment which we call moral
courage, we will see that he afterwards failed. There are many
who could rush up to the cannon's mouth, or storm the deadly
breach, or lead on the desperate and almost hopeless charge,
without shrinking ; who have not the courage to kneel down
and pray before a wicked companion, or stand up for Jesus in
the camp. Mere physical courage the inferior animals pos-
sess, but to stand up for the right, if the whole world were
opposing us and pointing at us the finger of scorn, has some-
thing God-like about it.
Jesus is taken by an armed band and is hurried off to the
house of Caiaphas the high priest. The other disciples have
fled, but where is Peter } We look to find him by his Lord's
side, but he is not there. Looking away behind, you see him
following afar off; and we are not told that he seemed in a
great hurry to catch up. But when at last the place is reached
w^e surely expect to find him side by side with his Lord ; but
no such siri;ht gladdens our eyes. He enters the palace, but
it is only to mingle with the servants. He does not mean to
deny Christ ; he takes a deep interest in the result of the trial,
and he wished to be near Jesus without being at all exposed
to the mockery and scorn that a full knowledge of who he was
would involve. Ah ! he is not the only one who has tried to
324 THE world's HOPE.
find a middle place-between Christ and the world; but it has
always proved a failure. Not to be for the Lord fully is to be
against him ; and the man who does not stand on his side, pa-
tiently and even joyfully taking all the scorn and blows that
belong to the position, is counted with his enemies.
How astonished must Peter have felt when a damsel turned
to him and said, " Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee." We
can almost see his face flush and hear the throbbing of his
heart as he replies, " I know not what thou sayest." He thinks
it best to change his position, however, and he went out into
the porch, where another met him and said, " This fellow also
was with Jesus of Nazareth." He seems now to have felt a
good deal of irritation, for with an oath he said, " I do not
know the man." Then returning into the hall he stood by the
fire to warm himself, when some persons standing by said to
him, " Surely thou also art one of them, for thy speech be-
trayeth thee." Here was a proof brought home to him that
he could not deny, and, filled with turbulent passion, his guilty
soul rushes into greater guilt by adding cursing and swearing
to this his third denial of his Tord.
Alas ! how weak is man, if left to his own strength, in the
conflict with temptation. Can this be the same man who made
such a noble confession of Christ, who boasted that though all
the world should deny him he would stand faithful, who so
lately was ready to fight for him, and had taken the emblematic
bread out of his hand ? Yes, this is the same man. He had
been warned of the temptation that was coming upon him,
but did not seem to heed it. He was confident in his own
power of resisting evil, and, stepping out of the path of duty
to mingle with the Lord's enemies, he fell. "Let him that
thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall."
But Peter's fall, though very great, was not of long continu-
ance. That very night he is seen coming back to his God a
weeping penitent. The crowing of the cock, to which our
Lord referred when he warned him of his danger, together
with a glance of peculiar expressiveness from those eyes that
had so often looked lovingly upon him, were the means that
PETER, THE APOSTLE. 325
led to his repentance. It is supposed that our Lord was
standing at the upper end of the hall, and that at the fit mo-
ment he turned and gave the guilty man that look which he
will never forget through all eternity. All his sinfulness, with
its peculiar aggravations, was made to flash upon his mind.
His vain boasts, his Lord's predictions, his oaths and curses,
the unutterable vileness and meanness of his conduct ; all lit
up his soul with the gleams of a sudden conviction, as we
have seen the mighty ruins of some once noble building Ht up
by the midnight lightning. Rushing from the palace he went
out into the gloom of night, and wept bitterly. Ah ! now he
begins to come to right views of himself. Memory is taking
him over the past, and all his sins are made to stand before
him like accusing spirits of vengeance. He has no excuse to
make for them. They are his own — the only thing that he can
call his own ; and nothing but bitterness of spirit does the
sight of them produce.
We read no more of this apostle till he comes before us on
the glorious morning of the Lord's resurrection. No doubt
the interval had been a time of great anguish of soul to him,
of strong cries and tears before God. The tidings had
reached his ears that the Redeemer had arisen from the dead,
and we see him, in company with John, running in eager
haste to reach the place where he might judge for himself
There was one thing which must have been very comforting
to his sad and burdened heart. A heavenly messenger ap-
peared to the women at the sepulcher, and, after announcing
that the Lord had risen, told them to go and tell his disciples,
but mentioning the name of Peter in particular. This let him
know that the Lord still thought of him, still loved him, and
wanted to comfort him with a message of good news. It
was as if he had said, " Go tell my brethren, but that poor
backslider and wanderer, Peter, in particular, that I am still
alive. I know how sorrowful is his heart, how true his re-
pentance, and I have died for his sins, and have risen again for
his justification." This token of love, and of deep personal in-
terest, coming from the Master he loved but had so fearfully
326 THE world's hope.
sinned against, must have been unspeakably dear to his
heart.
The next we hear of Peter is in that remarkable interview
with Jesus, at the sea of Tiberias. Several of the apostles
were engaged in fishing, but had not succeeded in catching
anything after a night of hard toil. Early in the morning a
stranger appeared on the shore who encouraged them to make
another trial with their nets. This they did, and they could
not drag up the abundance of fishes which they contained.
This seems to have led John to think of who the stranger was,
for he exclaimed, '' It is the Lord." No sooner had Peter
heard this, than, with all his characteristic impetuosity, he
plunged into the sea and soon stood, dripping with the briny
waters, before Jesus. This was the first time he had seen his
Lord since that awful night when he denied him, and since he
gave him that look that melted his heart. Jesus breaks the
silence by the pointed question, " Lovest thou me?" Three
times this question was repeated, at which he felt grieved ;
though as he had thrice denied his Master he had no right to
complain. We notice, also, that in speaking to him the Lord
withholds his name of honor, and addresses him by his old
worldly name, "Simon, son of Jonas." Yet, when he an^
swered, " Lord, thou knowest all things ; thou knowest that 1
love thee;" our blessed Savior took him back into his service
and appointed him his work, saying, " Feed my sheep ; feed
my lambs." Here we see the real test of Christian character,
which is, love to Christ. It is not mere opinions, nor profes^
sions, nor resolutions that are wanted, but pure heart love to
the Savior. As John Newton says, " Jesus did not ask Peter
what he thought about the five points of theology so long in
dispute among controversialists." Neither did he ask him how
long he had been under conviction, nor how strong had been
his fear and terrors of coming wrath. To believe with the
whole heart that Jesus died for us produces love to him ; and
love to him produces obedience to his holy will ; arid this is
true religion.
In all his after life Peter showed the transforming- power of
PETER, THE APOSTLE. 327
the love to Christ that had taken possession of his heart.
There is no more wavering, no more fear of consequences if
he follows the Lord fully. He stands up for the Lord firm
as a rock. The next we see of him is at the great outpouring
of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The city is in an
uproar. A wild, turbulent mob fills the street, agitated by
conflicting passions. Up stands Peter, the sturdy fisherman,
and begins to speak with melting power. Judging from its
effects, he delivers the greatest sermon ever uttered by human
lips. His words of fire go from heart to heart. Sobs and cries
and prayers are heard all over the crowd, till at last the
preacher's voice is lost in a general crv to God for mercy ;
and also an earnest cry for spiritual direction, " Men and
brethren, what shall we do.?" The result was, that three
thousand were added to the church.
Henceforth Peter seems an entirely different man. He
comes before us often in the first part of the Acts of the
Apostles, and always in a manner to show us the wonderful
power and grace of God in him. In healing the sick; in
preaching Jesus in all kinds of places, and under the most
deadly persecutions ; in telling the authorities that he must
obey God rather than man ; in his calm trust in God when in
prison, and expecting to be led out to execution ; in short, in
his whole deportment he shows the mighty power of Christ's
love when it takes possession of the human heart.
Peter was honored to be the first to preach the gospel to
the Gentiles. He was also honored to be one of the inspired
writers in the Holy Book ; and his two precious epistles have
edified millions of God's children, and will continue to do so
to the end of time. Being dead he yet speaketh. And he
was honored to die as a martyr for Jesus. It is generally held
that he died when about seventy-five years of age, under the
persecutions of the bloody Nero. As to the manner of his
death there is an old tradition that he was crucified, but, at his
own request, with his head downwards, he deeming himself
unworthy to die as his Lord died. And now he walks in
white with that gracious Savior that treated him so tenderly,
and that he loved so dearly.
328 THE world's hope.
** Come, wandering sheep, O come !
I'll bind thee to My breast,
I'll bear thee to thy home,
And lay thee down to rest.
O come then to My breast,
This is a blessed home,
Come, wandering sheep, O come t
" I saw thee stray forlorn,
And heard thee faintly cry,
And on the tree of scorn
For thee I deigned to die.
What greater gift could I
Give than to seek the tomb ?
Come, wandering sheep, O come ?"
JOHN, THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST. 329
CHAPTER XXII.
JOHN, THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST.
John comes before us with this preeminence attached to
him above all the apostles, " the disciple whom Jesus loved."
In a high and general sense he loved them all ; but John, the
youngest of them all, and possessed of a sweet, amiable dispo-
sition, and a wealth of loving affection, seems to have had the
special friendship of our adorable Lord. Many proofs of
Christ's loving regard and confidence are given in the life of
this apostle. He was not only one of the three permitted to
witness his glory on the mount and his agony in the garden,
but to him was first committed the secret of who should
betray him, and into his care our Lord gave his mother
in the last hour of his dying anguish. He not only loved John
with the higher love of a Savior, but with the warm love of a
human friend. As a man he had, no doubt, his own particular
attachments, as we see often illustrated in the history of his life.
John and his brother James were called into our J.ord's ser-
vice at the same time. When called to the apostleship they
were called Boanerges, meaning sons of thunder. In John's
life there is not much of exciting interest to record. The
events of stirring importance which we find in the lives of Pe-
ter and Paul are, to a great extent, wanting in his. He was of
a loving, gentle, mild and meditative character ; one who would
be more at home in the study and the closet, than struggling
and contending for the truth in the rough scenes of the world.
There are none of the apostles about whom tradition has
been so busy in preserving anecdotes as John. Eusebius re-
lates the following beautiful story : When on a visit to a city
near Ephesus, he commended to the care of the pastor of the
church a young man of fin£ personal appearance and of good
33^
THE WORLD S HOPE.
mind, as one suited to the work of the ministry. The pastor
neglected his duty, and after a while the young man became
idle in his habits and went from bad to worse, till he was pre-
vailed upon to join a band of robbers, such as then had their
strongholds in the vicinity of Greek cities. He even became
their captain, and was eminent in crime. After a long time
John visited the place again and enquired for the young man.
" He is dead," said the pastor, " dead to God." After hearing
the particulars, and solemnly rebuking the pastor, he mounted
a horse, rode into the country, and was taken prisoner. He
did not attempt to flee, but said, " For this purpose I am come ;
conduct me to your captain." When he entered the presence
of the armed bandit, the guilty man knew him and tried to flee
from him. "Why dost thou fly, my son," he said, "from thy
father — thy defenceless, aged father ? Fear not ; thou still
hast hope of life, I will pray to Christ for thee, I will give my
life for thine. Believe that Christ hath sent me."
The man was quite subdued, cast himself into the arms of
the apostle, prayed with many tears for pardon, and was re-
stored to the fellowship of the church.
There is also a traditional story of John being carried into
the church at Ephesus in his old age, and of his stretching out
his trembling hands, wfiile he said, several times over, " Little
childreuj love one another."
There are many proofs that John was not only loved of Jesus,
but that he returned the love with the warmest fervor. " We
love him because he first loved us." His standing near to the-
cross when the other disciples had forsaken the Master, his
tender care of the bereaved mother, the early visit to the sep-
ulcher, out-running even the impetuous Peter, all tell how much
he loved his Divine Lord. It was more than a love of mere
human friendship, it was the love of a soul that felt itself saved
by precious blood shed on the cross. He felt that he owed
his all for time and eternity to that Savior, and therefore es-
teemed it his very highest honor to work and to suffer in his
service. This is vital and essential to the spiritual life of all ;
there can be no true religion without it.
JOHN, THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST. 331
This love which the apostle had for Jesus led to love for the
members of the church. His religion was of a highly practical
character, and he reasoned that love to the Great Father would
produce love to his children. " Beloved, if God so loved us,
we ought also to love one another." Here is a statement that
commends itself to our judgments and our consciences. " If
a man says, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar ;
for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can
he love God whom he hath not seen .?" He scathingly rebukes
that class of people whose love and liberality is all in an empty
profession. " Whoso hath this world's good, and shutteth up
his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of
God in him .'* let us not love in word, neither in tongue ; but
in deed and in truth." With him Christian love was not merely
something for poets to sing of, or for orators to declaim about,
but the very life and spring of all spiritual action.
John's natural character has been, I think, to some extent
mistaken. Some speak as if this love to which we have referred
was natural to him, the result of disposition rather than of
grace. Modern painters have represented him with a soft and
languid expression upon his countenance, and of a weak and
feminine appearance. Stanley, in his "Apostolic Age," says of
him, " It is not as John the beloved disciple, but as John the
Son of Thunder ; not as the apostle who leaned on his Mas-
ter's breast at supper, but as the apostle who called down fire
from heaven, who claimed with his brother the highest places
in the kingdom of heaven, and who forbade the man to cast
out devils, that he was known to the readers of the first three
gospels." We see what he afterwards became under the power
of Christ's love, and of the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.
All that depth and warmth of love was not the cause of our
Lord loving him, but the effect of his doing so.
The loving presence of Jesus transformed him into his own
image, so that his revengeful and ambitious temper is seen
no more. Like Him he loved, he was meek and lowly of heart.
This will be the result of communion with Jesus always. It
changes the whole man, and takes possession of his entire na-
$^2 THE WORLD S HOPE.
ture. Where lusts, evil tempters, irritable and revengeful
passions, and dark, sullen thoughts held sway, Christ's love
takes the control and makes him a new creature. It is a bad
sign of us if our religion does not make us better in all the re-
lations of life, so that all our friends will not only know that
we have been with Jesus, but know also that we have been
made Christ-like by the contact. " If any man have not the
spirit of Christ, he is none of his."
We will now call the readers attention to some events in the
life of this apostle that will illustrate the remarks we have
made above.
On a certain occasion John and some other of the disciples
saw a man casting out devils in the name of Christ, and he at
once forbade him to do so, because he did not belong to their
company. This was such a narrow and bigoted view of our
Lord's design in coming to earth that he rebuked it in the
most pointed manner. " Forbid him not, for he that is not
against us, is for us." This rebukes that spirit which looks
upon the efforts of other denominations with suspicion because
they differ, in some respects, from us. It condemns those who
look with a cold eye, and utter doubtful words about revivals
that are not conducted by their own church. Such persons,
instead of rejoicing that souls are saved, are ready to first
call your attention to some extravagance in conducting the
meetings, or some mere incidental blemish, such as belongs to
nearly all human efforts. Let us try to cultivate the noble
liberality of soul that marked Paul when he rejoiced that the
gospel was preached, even when a spirit of opposition and
envy was prominent in those who proclaimed it.
Let me now call attention to another error into which John
fell. When Jesus was journeying to Jerusalem a village of
Samaritans refused to entertain him, no doubt on account of
their hatred of the Jewish people ; John regarded this as an
insult to his Master and became very indignant and wished
fire from heaven to be sent upon the offenders. This was zeal
without knowledge, and showed a spirit the very reverse of
the gospel of love. Our Lord's reply conveyed not only a
JOHN, THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST ^^^
sharp rebuke, but also a noble sentiment which should fill the
world with joy. " The Son of man is not come to destroy
men's lives, but to save them." He told them that they knew
not what manner of spirit they had when under the pro-
fession of love for him, they sought to rush unprepared souls
into eternity. How true it is, that " the wratlf of man worketh
not the righteousness of God." O that we had always the
loving and forgiving spirit of Jesus ! That spirit which led
him to pray for his enemies, " Father forgive them, for they
know not what they do." What a lovely and perfect model
we have in Jesus !
No doubt the fiery displeasure of the apostle on this occa-
sion arose, in part, from his strong prejudice against the
Samaritans, whom he had been taught to despise from his
youth. He had often heard the Scribes and the Pharises heap
insults upon the head of his Lord, and yet had not wished
them to be consumed by the lightnings of heaven. Hence we
should avoid the indulgence of prejudice against our fellow-
men. It will mislead us in all our thoughts of them, bias our
modes of reasoning about them, and stamp with its own dark
impress all the conclusions at which we arrive about them.
We now call the reader's attention to an event in John's
history, which shows the imperfect knowledge which, at that
time, he had of Christ's kingdom. When our Lord was on his
last journey to Jerusalem, and had foretold his death on the
cross, John and his brother presented by their mother a peti-
tion requesting that they might be exalted to the highest
positions in the kingdom of heaven. They had worldly
notions of the Savior establishing a temporal kingdom on
earth, and selfishly wanted to secure for themselves the best
places. The mild reply was, "Ye know not what ye ask."
Alas! how often is this the case with us all. We ask things
in our ignorance, which, if God were to give us, would prove
our ruin. How much of what is called praying breath is
spent in vain, because we ask amiss. Surely there is great
need of the prayer, " Lord, teach us how to pray."
334
THE WORLD S HOPE.
Jesus asked them, "Are ye able to drink of the cup that I
shall drink of, and to be baptised with the baptism that I am
baptised with?" That is, can ye take part in those most
appalling troubles that lie right before me, and like surging
billows are soon to come down upon me ? To this question they
gave an affirmative reply : '^ We are able." Our Lord acknowl-
edged that they might be made partakers of his sufferings,
which was afterwards the case ; but that an exalted place in
glory could only be given to those for whom it was prepared,
that is, a holy people. Heaven is a prepared place for a pre-
pared people. Its lofty seats are not the gifts of partial
friendship, but are given to those who through the blood of
Jesus, have attained the greatest likeness to Him.
There is one event in the life of John that greatly endears
him to every Christian heart. When the blessed Savior was
on the cross, in the midst of his sufferings, there stood the
noble apostle to the very last. And his courage and his con-
stancy did not go without their reward. Looking upon him
from the cross, his dying Master gave him a proof of his great
regard and confidence, by committing to his care his mother.
He took her to his own house, and from that hour treated her
with all filial tenderness and love. The love of Jesus which
he saw so fully displayed on the bloody tree, and in the whole
of the Redeemer's wonderful life, transformed his whole
nature into love. Henceforth he lived not to himself, nor
sought his own glory, but the glory of God, and the good of
mankind became the supreme desire of his soul.
And it is faith in Christ's love alone that can change any
human heart. None are born holy, none love God and the
souls of men naturally. There are differences of natural
disposition among the human family, but so far as real holiness
of heart is concerned, they have all alike departed from God,
and can only be brought back by the blood of Jesus. This
was seen lately in a Tract Society meeting, in London. A
man who had been a notorious sinner, rose up and said :
" These fists, my friends, struck the devil's blows ; these
feet trod the devil's steps; this body was the devil's home;
JOHN, THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST. 335
this soul, the devil's victim ; but one day a tract of the Relig-
ious Tract Society was put into my hands, and Jesus Christ
was too strong for the prize fighter that stands before you.
My soul was in such a state that I groaned and wept ; I could
not eat or sleep. On Lord's day morning I heard Mr. Spurg-
eon preach ; and as he lifted up Jesus as the refuge for the
sinner's soul, I said to myself, ' That is what I want ; He is a
refuge for my soul;' and then and there my soul got liberty.
"Now," added he, "these hands work for Jesus, these feet
walk with Jesus, this body is a temple of the Holy Ghost, this
soul is the purchase of his blood. Men, which of you will
keep back from Jesus to-night, when he has saved the prize-
fighter before you .?"
Peter's question of mere curiosity, in regard to Jesus' future,
got this reply : " If I will that he tarry till I come, what is
that to thee.?" This gave rise to a report that John was not
to die; and although he refuted the notion in the gospel that
he wrote, yet even in the days of Augustine there were some
who thought him still alive. He was, perhaps, the only one of
the apostles who did not die a martyr's death, and that, not
because he was less faithful than others, but because God had
other work for him to do, down to his old age. He had the
true martyr spirit, and would have died a thousand deaths
rather than deny his Lord,
After the Lord's ascension, John comes out more prominent
as a zealous worker for the truth. In common with the others
he enjoyed the great outpouring of the Spirit on the day of
Pentecost. He and Pettr are spoken of as frequent compan-
ions in works of faith and in labors of love. When going
up to the temple to worship, they cured the lame man in the
name of Jesus. They were together preaching when they
were arrested and cast into prison. They were together
before the council when they refused to promise to preach no
more, but boldly said they must obey God rather than man.
They also went down from Jerusalem together to comfort and
confirm the young converts in Samaria. There they imparted
many spiritual gifts to the people of God, and preached the
336 THE world's hope.
gospel with great power in the region around. These two men,
so unlike in their natural disposition, were great helps to
each other ; and like Luther and Melancthon amid the struggles
of the Reformation, they accomplished that together which,
separated, neither could have done so well.
It would seem that John made his chief residence at Jeru-
salem. Paul speaks of him in his epistle to the Galatians, as
a main pillar in the church there. But after some time he
removed to Ephesus, and from thence he took long journeys
in Asia, to publish the good news of Jesus.
We are told that during the great persecution raised by the
Roman emperor Domitian, John was sent to Rome, where
he was condemned to die by being cast into a cauldron of boil-
ing oil, from which the Lord brought him forth unhurt.
Whether this tradition be true or not, we know that man is
immortal till his Lord's time has come to call him, and that
this apostle was preserved to a good old age, in spite of all his
enemies.
John's gospel was published after all the others, and brings
out many things that had been omitted by them. He gives
the Divinity of the Lord Jesus a very prominent place in all
his writings, and joyfully bears his testimony to not only be-
holding his glory, but to also receiving of his fullness. He sees
in his Lord two things that specially fill his soul with delight,
that is, LIGHT and love. Light to illuminate the whole mind,
light to walk by in this dark world, light to work by in the
Master's service ; and love to fill the heart, to give the true
motive-power to every duty, and to draw us in our heart-
longings to that world where all is love.
This holy apostle lived to see the gospel that he loved ex-
tend through the greater part of the then known world. But
he lived also to see some deadly errors creep into the church.
None of these distressed him more than that which denied the
divinity of Jesus. He opposed it with great firmness and
earnestness. " This is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye
have heard that it should come, and even now already is it in
the world." We have much reason to bless God for his
JOHN, THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST. 337
writings, which have been for the defence of truth, and for the
comfort and edification of God's people in every age, since
his day. There is great sweetness of expression, joined to
great sublimity of thought, in all that we have from his pen.
Although John's epistles breathe a sweet spirit of love, yet
when he comes to speak of error he comes out as a true son
of thunder. "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in
the doctrine of Christ, hath not God." And he goes on to
tell them not to receive such into their houses, nor bid them
God speed. In this age of sham liberality this would no
doubt be called bigotry ; but love to the souls of men is quite
consistent with undying hatred to soul-destroying errors.
There is a latitudinarianism that sneers at everything in the
form of zeal or doctrine. But this finds no sanction in the
book of God. Paul said that if any man preached any other
gospel he was to be considered accursed.
At length the hand of persecution fell heavily upon the
apostle- He is banished to the island of Patmos, condemned,
as he tells us, " For the word of God, and for the testimony of
Jesus Christ." It was while there that that wonderful and
sublime book of the Revelations was written by him. In the
midst of his solitude, on one particular Lord's day, his soul
was greatly refreshed and comforted. Under the sweet influ-
ence of the Spirit, his prison became like a paradise to him.
Suddenly a voice addressed him in tones distinct and clear ;
and turning round he saw, to his unspeakable joy, his blessed
Lord standing before him. There is He on whose bosom he
leaned so lovingly, with whom he walked and talked amid the
scenes of Judea, and whose sufferings on the cross he had
witnessed ; but how changed is his appearance '
Then he was the man of sorrows, in the midst of his hu-
miliation ; now he is glorified. He appeared to John clothed
in a garment of light and glory, and girt about with a golden
girdle. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet like brass
when it burns and gleams in a furnace, and the majestic tones
of his voice were like the sound of many waters. His coun-
tenance shone like the sun in its noon day glory; in his hand
338 THE world's hope.
were seven stars, signifying the ministers of the churches ; and
out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, no doubt
emblematic of the power of his word. At this sight John fell
down like one dead, but Jesus laid his hand upon his head
sa)ang, " Fear not ; I am he that liveth, and was dead ; and
behold, I am alive forevermore."
He was then commanded to write in a book the things
that would be revealed to him. The counsels of the Lord in
regard to future ages, and the wonderful designs of Provi-
dence in the future, were all made known to him in visions
hard to be understood. The glories of the heavenly home
were made known to him, in views thrilling and delightful.
He was permitted to look upon the throne of God, and to
hear the lofty swell of the song of pi*aise from angels and
saints. He gives us such a view of God, and of the future
glorious home of the believer as excite our love and joy.
This poor world seems but a dark passage-way through which
we are passing to our Father's home, and we long to get out
into the light of an eternal day ; the society of heaven seems
more attractive as we gaze upon their employments, and we
long to join the blessed company that move around the eternal
throne.
John was privileged with bright views of heaven when on
earth, but how much clearer and brighter does he now behold
eternal things. Compared with what he now knows, he was
formerly seeing dimly through a glass. Let us seek to get
ready for that state by being washed in the blood of Jesus, by
having the seal of God on our fo'reheads, and by such a train-
ing of love in communion with Jesus here, that it will be easy
for us to join in the song of heaven: "Blessing, and honor,
and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne,
and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever."
John found in his solitude that his Lord had not forgotten
him, nor the churches from which his bodily presence was now
removed. More than half a century had gone past since he
ascended on high, and he shows that his love to the church is
still the same. It is true, that during that time he had appeared
JOHN, THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST. 339
to the dying Stephen, and the persecuting Saul ; but now he
breaks again the silence of eternity to deliver his last message
to the churches, and to complete the canon of Scripture.
This renowned Isle of Patmos where the apostle was so long
confined, is often visited by modern travelers. They describe
it as rugged, desolate and barren, and in every way unattract-
ive. To this gloomy abode Roman officers conducted the
beloved disciple, and left him alone with God and a good con-
science, the best of company in trouble. There is a rocky
mountain which rises up from the sea, and about half way up
is found a natural grotto formed in the rocks. Tradition says
that into this John often retired for prayer and meditation,
and that this was the place where he saw the Lord Jesus on
that memorable Lord's day of which he speaks.
We can imagine that we see this venerable old man, then
about ninety years of age, walking around his rocky prison.
His countenance beams with love, and as he looks over the
past, as old men delight to do, he has the most delightful mem-
ories to recall. Unlike the great Emperor of the French when
confined to his isle of the sea, he has not to look back upon
bloody battle-fields, and desolate homes, and blazing cities.^
with long trains of widows and orphans, made such by his mad
ambition. There are few things in history more sad than that
great general in his last moments, muttering out his commands
to his armies, and in imagination fighting over his bloody con-
flicts when he was in the grasp of the great conqueror death.
John had very different scenes to look back upon.
I With what happy emotions would he look back upon the
time when the God-man came up to him and said, " Follow me."
And with what delight he would call up the many discourses he
had heard from the lips of Jesus, and the many mighty miracles
he had seen wrought by his hands. That sight on the Mount of
Transfiguration; the institution of the supper when he leaned
upon the bosom of the Lord ; the awful night in Gethsemane,
with its prayers and sweat of blood ; and the cross with the
Divine sufferer upon it, the darkness, the earthquake, the cry,
"It is finished ;" all would he fondly dwell upon in his solitary
340 THE WORLD S HOPE.
hours. He would recall the joy he felt when the good news
broke upon his ears, "The Lord is risen," and his early run
to the sepulcher ; the happy meeting when Jesus unexpectedly
appeared in their midst and said, " Peace be unto you;" and
that wonderful walk up the slopes of Olivet, when he breathed
upon them his parting blessing and was received up into glory.
Nor could he cease to think of subsequent thrilling scenes,
such as the mighty out-pouring of the Spirit on the day of
Pentecost, the death of Stephen, the martyrdom of his own
dear brother James, the awful destruction of Jerusalem, and
many pleasant remembrances of the holy lives and the tri-
umphant deaths of his fellov\^ apostles, all of whom had entered
upon their eternal rest. Standing upon that barren rock, he
could take a long look over the past and a joyful look into the
future, and say, in his own inspired words, " Behold, now are
we the sons of God ; and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be ; but when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we
shall see him as he is."
This was the real heaven for which John longed, likeness to
Christ. His loftiest conception of happiness was to be with
Jesus and like him at the same time. It is a glorious thing to
be a son of God, but to be such a son as Christ had proved
himself to be — one who never disobeyed, who regarded it as
his meat and drink to do his Father's will, and who pleased
the Father in all things perfectly — this is what is implied in
our being like him. Yes, likeness to him has been the strong-
est wish, the most ardent hope of pious souls in all ages. For
this their prayers have ascended to heaven by night and by day ;
and when at last they shall be able to utter sinless songs and
adore God with a sinless heart, whoxan tell their unspeakable
blessedness ! With sinless souls, intellects strengthened and
exalted, and tongues flowing out in an eloquence of song and
praise, O what a rapturous eternity is before God's people !
In closing this chapter let us observe, that we have the same
reasons for loving Jesus that John had. For us the same pre-
cious blood was shed, the same agonizing sufferings endured ;
for us he intercedes in heaven, and he sends the Holy Spirit
JOHN, THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST. 341
to make intercession within us on earth. For us he has pre-
pared the same home in heaven, and his Providences taking
the same tender care of us in our journey on earth. John
said, "We love him because he fiist loved us." That is the
gospel in a small compass — in a nutshell, as it were. It is one
of those strong, pithy sentences wita which his writings abound,
and which as Dr. McAU said, contain the very core of the gos-
pel. Faith fixes its eye upon his love as manifested to us, and
as it gazes, the heart begins to burn, till it cries, " O, the height
and the depth, the length and the breadth of the love of Christ,
it passeth knowledge !"
" Without, within, is light, is light,
Around, above, is love, is love;
We enter, to go out no more,
We raise the song unsung before.
We doff the sackcloth that we wore ;
For all is joy above.
"Ascend, Beloved, to the life ;
Our days of death are o'er ;
Mortality has done its worst,
The fetters of the tomb are burst,
The last has now become the first,
For ever, evermore.
"Ascend, Beloved, to the feast ;
Make haste, thy day is come ;
Thrice blest are they the Lamb doth call,
To share the heavenly festival,
In the new Salem's palace-hall,
Our everlasting home ! "
342 THE world's HOPE.
CHAPTER XXIII.
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES.
We are now to consider the Christian character and career
of one of the greatest of men. His original name was Saul,
and he was born in the city of Tarsus, in Cilicia, which lies on
the bank of Cydnus. It was a special favor conferred upon
the natives of that city, that they had the freedom and privi-
leges of Roman citizens. His parents were Jews, and it was
his boast that he could trace his descent from Abraham, and
that all the necessary ritual observances had been attended to
in his youth. His own words concerning this are, " Circum-
cised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of
Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews."
We can conceive of the deep interest with which he would
listen to his mother as she told him the wonderful story of
God's dealings with her people, and sa.ng to him some of the
sweet songs of David. He was taught the trade of a tent-
maker, as it was customary with the Jews to give their child-
ren the knowledge of some trade, even when in opulent
circumstances ; so that whatever might happen in after life,
they might be able to support themselves. It is much to be
regretted that this custom is not universal. That Saul's parents
were in easy circumstances, we infer from the fact that they
gave him a learned education and sent him to Jerusalem to
study under Gamaliel, the great doctor of the age in which he
lived.
The first notice we have of Saul in the sacred history, is on
the occasion of the martyrdom of Stephen. He was consent-
ing to that vile murder, and took charge of the clothing of
those who stoned to death that good man. But it is of the
nature of sin that its votaries go from bad to worse, and this
young man was no exception. He became furious and savage
as a wild beast in his opposition to Christians. He made
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES. 343
havoc of the church, dragging men and women to prison and
to death, as his daily emplo}aTient. We are told that he
*' breathed out threatenings and slaughters," as if his very hfe
breath \yas vengeance and blood. He tells us himself that he
was " exceeding mad " against Christ's followers, and not con-
tent with a local bloodshed, he even pursued them to strange
cities. He got a commission to go to Damascus on this
bloody errand, with a number of assistants, and entered upon it
with all that relentless determination and fiery zeal which were
a part of his nature.
We see that wicked, cruel band on the way to that distant
city. Fresh from scenes of carnage and blood, and flushed
with the power that has been put into their hands by their
superior, they rush on like blood-hounds that have got upon
the right scent. The leader, though young in years, is old in
the business of persecution ; and in this journey he hopes to
gratify his vindictive ambition, and acquire fresh laurels as an
enemy of Jesus of Nazareth. His strong and active mind is
engaged in planning his mode of proceeding. He will hunt the
Christians out of every retreat ; he will give them no quarter ;
he will listen to no appeal for mercy ; and will not be satisfied
till the last follower of Jesus has perished from the earth.
With knit brow and flashing eye he presses his way forward,
till at last the domes of the city break upon his view.
But what means this ! His horse recoils and the young
leader falls to the earth. The whole company are thrown into
confusion. They are brave and are accustomed to fight with
dauntless courage; but this is a case in which swords and
bravery are of no use. A light from heaven above the bright-
ness of the sun, has blazed around them ; and a voice of
thrilling power addresses the leader, " Saul, Saul, why perse-
cutest thou me. ^" His followers hear the voice, but do not
see the majestic form that appears to him, and kindly reasons
with him. What a change has taken place in a few moments !
His plans of vengeance are all given up, his bigotry and
prejudice against Christians, his hatred to the name of Jesus,
all have disappeared ; the hands that grasped the sword of
344 THE WORLD S HOPE.
persecution are now lifted to heaven in supplication ; and he
who was to have proudly entered yonder city as a conqueror,
is led into it blind and helpless.
When Saul, from his prostrated position on the earth, asked,
"Who art thou, Lord.?" and got back the answer, "I am
Jesus, whom thou persecutest," he must have been cut to the
heart Vv^ith deepest contrition. That all this time when he
thought that he was doing God's service, he was persecuting
the only Savior of the world, and that he was now speaking
to him so tenderly when he might have crushed him with the
thunderbolts of his power, must have filled him with self-
abhorrence. Every blow that he had given the cause of truth
was now rebounding upon his own heart. From a lethargy
long and death-like, his conscience has sprung up into self-
accusing energy ; and all that he was so proud of before he is
now heartily ashamed of. An entire revolution takes place in
his soul. He becomes a new creature in Christ. What he
called right before he now hates as a vile wrong. What he
before called truth he now sees to be damnable error. He
now prays for the first time, though he had been saying prayers
all his life. The lion has become a Iamb, the vulture a dove ;
it is the Lord's doings and wondrous in our eyes. This was
a brand plucked out of the burning, and should teach us never
to despair of any sinner, however far he may have gone in sin.
God can snatch the prey from the mighty, and make one who
seemed helplessly toppling on the brink of hell the mightiest
instrument of good to souls that God ever honored.
At this time Paul's soul passed through a deep law work,
such as he afterwards describes in his writings. He had been
a proud Pharisee before, thinking that he had kept the law of
God perfectly, because he had not committed outwardly the
acts of sin which it condemns. Now he felt that the law reached
to the feelings and emotions of his corrupt heart, and that he
had, in that view of the matter, been breaking this holy law
every moment of his God-dishonoring life. Thus he tells us
that when the commandment came to him in this sense, sin
revived and he died. His whole life was now seen to be sin,
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES. 345
and all his former proud hopes of his own goodness died within
him. All dependence on himself for salvation failed ; he saw
himself the chief of sinners; and he was glad to go to
Jesus, all lost and guilty as he wa:^, for pardon and righteous-
ness.
It must have been a hard struggle to give up all his own
fancied goodness, and to be saved alone by grace. It is
always so with these haughty Pharisees. The thief on the
cross, and persons of that stamp, who know they have no
goodness of their own to depend upon, will come to Jesus at
once ; while those who have lived a moral life, will keep look-
ing to their good deeds, and balancing their good works
against their bad ones, rejecting Christ, and alternating
between hope and fear, for months and even years.
A gentleman tells us of a conversation which he had with an
old lady, on her death-bed, which throws light on this subject.
She acknowledged that she had, notwithstanding her moral
life, no knowledge of her acceptance with God, or of the par-
don of her sins; but she said that we are sure to get it if we
are only earnest enough. The gentleman asked her if she
was to go to the bank and ask for twenty pounds very ear-
nestly, would the banker be likely to give it to her.? She
acknowledged that inasfar as she had no money laid up in the
bank, and therefore no right to plead, her earnestness would
not help her. The banker was there to do what was right,
and would only give money to those who had a right to
receive it.
The gentleman then said, " Suppose that you know a kind
and wealthy gentleman who has plenty of money in this bank,
and who, besides, is interested in you. Well, suppose you go to
him and tell him your need, and, after he has heard you out,
he smiles and says, ' Now you have done me the greatest favor
you could have done me, for I feel it such a pleasure to help
you.' And so saying he fills up an order out of his bank-book
instructing the banker to pay you twenty pounds on demand,
and to charge the same to his account. Now what would yoa
do with that little bit of paper that he gave you ? "
346 THE world's hope.
"I would take it to the bank and get the money," she said.
" But would you not need to ask for the money very ear-
nestly ? "
" No, no," she replied, " the bit of paper would be plenty of
itself."
"Yes, certainly, everything depends on that bit of paper,
and the naine that is written on it. If you take the paper
with you, you will at once get the money for the sake of him
whose name is written at the bottom of it ; but if you go with-
out the paper, all your earnest asking will be quite useless,
and why .^ Because it would not be right in the banker to give
it to you. The banker, you see, will give you nothing for your
own sake, but he will give you any amount your friend pleases,
for your friend's sake."
"And now," he continued, "I wish you to attend very
carefully to the application of this little parable to the subject
we were speaking about. Do you know that you have nothing
at all in God's bank, and that it is quite out of the question
for you to expect such great blessings as forgiveness of sins,
and such like, when you ask them in your name, however ear-
nest you may ask ? Ah, my friend, your name has as little
weight in God's bank as it has in man's bank. Now, it is a
blessed fact that God is willing to give to the sinner — nay,
that he delights in giving ; but then he will give us only in a
way that is just and righteous. In order that there might be
such a way for God to forgive our sins, and to bless ourselves,
he sent his beloved Son to bear our sins himself, and thus to
become the Author of eternal salvation to all who believe in
his name. And now, since the Lord Jesus has done all this,
God is quite ready to pardon and to bless any sinner at once ;
but it must be clearly understood, that what he gives us he
gives us only for Jesus' sake and not for our oivn. Now, you
have been all along completely setting aside the name of
the Lord Jesus ; and when you did go to ask anything from
God you have been expecting to get it, not for Christ's sake,
but for the sake of your earnest praying."
This simple explanation of the plan of salvation, under the
' PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES. 347
Divine blessing caused the light to break in upon the mind of
the inquirer. It is the same truth that converted Paul, and
which, alone can save any one, for under heaven or among
men, there is no salvation but in the name of Jesus, Vv'hen
the light of God's law is flashing upon the conscience, it is
only like the light of day being let in upon a dark and loath-
some dungeon ; it makes the prisoner feel worse than before,
for it lets him see disgusting sights that the darkness hid from
him. Light coming to us through the law, only enables us to
see our vileness and to read our sentence of death pronounced
upon us. But light coming from God to us through the cross,
brings comfort and peace and joy; because it tells us of God
both as the just Law-giver, and the Savior; and hence Paul
said, " The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ,
that we might be justified by faith."
The great obstacle in the way of the sinner coming to God,
when his conscience is awakened, is the sight of his sins —
formerly he made light of his sins ; they were but a trifle —
now he cries, " I have sinned beyond the hope of mercy."
Before he could not be induced to fear, now ' cannot
be persuaded to hope. See Paul sitting in darkness and
distress for three days. He cannot sleep, he cannot eat.
Oh how vile his past life appears ! Only a short time before
he thought himself a very pious man; now he feels that
he is the worst man in the whole world. But hark ! there
is a footstep at the door. It is a messenger sent by God
to comfort him. He tells him of the blood that cleanses from
all sin, restores his sight, and the new convert, being filled with
the Holy Spirit, goes forth to begin to work for Jesus, who hag
done so much for him. He conferred not with flesh and blood.
Being baptised and added to the church, and having been
called to the work of an apostle, he at once began to preach
the faith which once he destroyed. The tongue of him who
blasphemed the name of Jesus, is now eloquent in his praise,
and glories in no other. Jiov/ can we account for such a
mighty change ? It was not the result of delusion or imagin-
ation ; nor could it be a desire for honor, nor wealth, nor power,
348 THE world's hope.
that induced him to make a mere profession of such a change,
for he had to give up all these things in becoming a follower
of Jesus. No, it was the power of God through the gospeJ
that alone did it. And that same power still goes forth in its
transforming energy, subduing the hardest hearts to the love
of Christ.
Paul's cry had been, *'Lord what wouldst thou have me to
do } " When he got an answer to this question, he imme-
diately proceeded to do what was required of him. He did
not ask for light only to disobey its requirements. Fast as the
Lord said to him, " This is the way," he was ready to walk in
it. He did not think that his whole duty was done when he
uttered the prayer; but was diligent in finding out the Lord's
will, and equally so in doing it. There are many who uttef
such a prayer who refuse to do what the Lord points out be-
cause it is disagreeable to their natural feelings. This is dis-
honest praying. When we ask any thing of God we must be
willing to have him answer it in his own way. He is infinitely
wise and good, and his way of answering must be for our best
good, in the end. When Paul followed out what the Lord
w^ould have him to do, it led him into great and peculiai
trials. It led him into prison, and relentless persecutions, and
personal sufferings, the mere recital of which causes our souls
to shudder within us. So we often ask the Lord to make us
holy and heavenly minded, and he answers us in a way that
fills us with alarm, and looks more like judgments than lov-
ing answers to our supplications. By the death of friends, by
the loss of property, by sickness and pain, and by other unex-
pected ways, God seeks to loose us from the world and draw us
nearer to himself. " Be still and know that I am God.'
After his conversion, Paul lost no time in preaching Christ
to the souls around him. He began in Damascus, where he
continued for three years, excepting a short time spent in re-
tirement in Arabia. He felt a strong solicitude for the souls
of his own countrymen, the Jews, and poured out his prayers
for their salvation with intense earnestness. With unremitting
zeal, and untiring fidelity, he presents to their minds the gos^
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES. 349
pel of the grace of God in their synagogues and other places
of public resort. In season and out of season, in public and
in private, whether they would hear or forbear, he fails not,
night and day with tears, to warn them of coming wrath if they
continued in unbelief, and with all the tenderness of love to
invite them to Jesus.
This love to souls is a common characteristic of converts to
Jesus. So much is this the case, that if a man or woman pro-
fesses to have come to the Savior, and yet does not at once
begin to pray and to labor for the salvation of souls, especially
for that of their own kindred, it is a sure sign that such a person
is deceived or deceiving. It is true there are degrees in this
love to souls according to the faith of the person converted.
When it rises to a high degree of fervor, so as to become a
ruling passion of the mind, it indicates a high state of piety.
This was tlie case with Paul ; with him it swayed and con-
trolled his whole nature. He had a passion for souls. Most
persons have a wish to obtain money because of what it can
obtain, or of the good that can be done with it ; but the miser
has a controlling passion for it. His whole soul is given up to
it. He loves to look at it, to count it over and to add to his
heap day by day. So, in like manner, all Christians wish to
see souls saved ; for this they pray and labor to some extent.
But there has always been a few choice spirits — a few elect
souls of our race, whose love t® souls has been so great as to
cast all the common feelings and efforts of their fellow disci-
ples far into the shade. Such was Paul. He had great sorrow
and heaviness of heart for those yet in their sins. A whole
city given over to idolatry stirred his soul to its very depth
and brought forth from him an appeal so eloquent in its ear-
nestness that it has moved the souls of men all the way down
through the ages till the present hour.
The love of such men to the souls of the perishing gives us
a very touching proof of the love of God. It is a little of his
Spirit that produced such love for souls in the hearts of Paul,
Luther, Calvin, Whitfield, Wesley, Carey, Judson, and hun-
dreds of others; and if a little of God's Spirit produces such
350 THE WORLD S HOPE.
love for sinners, O how great must be the love that dwells in
the Divine bosom from whence that little flows forth. It is
but a very little of God's spirit that the human heart can con-
tain. One to whom God imparted much of himself, cried out,
"Lord, stay thy hand; thy frail vessel can hold no more."
More would have consumed the body of clay. How great
then, is Infinite Love! God only knows the love of God."
Only an infinite mind can lathom the infinite; well, therefore,
might it be said of the Divine Love, that it " passeth knowl-
edge." Still, we can know enough of it to change the heart
from its natural enmity, to fill it with the confidence of faith,
and to impart the peace that passeth all understanding.
Before leaving the subject of Paul's change of heart we must
notice the full assurance of his faith. From the first moment
of his receiving the Lord Jesus, till that moment when he laid
his head on the block, he never seems to have had a doubt of
his acceptance vath God. He feels deeply his inward cor-
ruption of heart — the remains of sin yet unsubdued ; he speaks
strongly of his former sinful course, calling himself the chief
of sinners, the least of all saints, and not worthy to be called
an apostle ; but never does he doubt the love of the Savior
who called him by his grace. His language is always that of
the confidence of faith. " He loved w^, and gave himself for
me.'" "I know in whom I have believed." He does not live
under a cloud of doubt, groping about amid clouds of uncer-
tainty, writing bitter things against himself, and uttering a
whine of fear for his future, instead of a strong, joyous shout
of gospel gladness. Such is dishonoring to God and to our
holy religion ; and more likely to send men into the gloom of
monks' cells or hermits' caves, than out into the world with the
glowing, healthy love of a true Christian philanthropy.
The love of Christ was the grand constraining power that
governed him, and all his movements among men were made
that he " might save some." This gives a certain unity and
purpose to all he does and says, that delights and charms us
as we study his history. Whether we see him making tents, or
standing before kings and making them tremble before his
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES. 35 1
manly appeals and impassioned eloquence, he is always the
same.
Into whatever company he is thrown, he shows himself a
master spirit. In circumstances that would depress others his
brave heart is cheerful, and always rises to the necessities of
the occasion. Whether standing on the deck of a ship swept
by a tempest and drifting on a lee shore, or standing on Mars
Hill surrounded by the philosophers and critics of the age, he
is equally calm and self-possessed. There is a noble inde-
pendence about him that makes him stand up before the profli-
gate Agrippa and persecuting Roman officers as their judge
Tather than one put upon trial ; shaking his chains proudly as
badges of honor, and making wickedness and oppression shrink
and tremble before the glance of his eye. And there was
nothing either cynical or stoic in his nature. A more tender
heart, and one more susceptible to the warm glow of friend-
ship never beat in human bosom. A cold nature may be
respected or feared, but seldom loved ; but Paul drew warm
hearts around him wherever he went — hearts that would have
shed their blood for his welfare. We see the proof of this in
the many scenes of parting tenderness recorded in the history
of his missionary journeys and in his own words to his weep-
ing friends, " What mean ye to weep and to break my heart ?"
The labors of this great missionary of the Cross were
brought to a close in Damascus, by a conspiracy among the
Jews to take his life. He was no fanatic ; he did not court
danger nor unnecessarily expose his life to peril. He remem-
bered the precept of our Lord, "When they persecute you
in one city, flee ye to another." Let down over the wall of
the city in a basket, in the darkness of the night, he escaped
from his enimies, and went to Jerusalem to form the acquaint-
ance and enjoy the fellowship of the Christians in that city.
The brethren there were somewhat shy in receiving him. They
well remembered his former mad career of blood-thirsty
vengeance ; and perhaps not having received any satisfactory
account of his conversion they were disposed to look coldly on
his professions. We gften pray for the conversion of great
352 TOE WORLDS HOPE,
sinners, and when God hears our prayers in this respect we
find it hard to believe that he has really done so. Barnabas
related to the brethren what the Lord had done for Paul, when
he was cordially received by the church as a brother beloved.
His intercourse with them was of short duration. Persecu-
tion drove him from their improving society to Tarsus, his
native city. Here he labored diligently in preaching the gos-
pel, but with what success we are not told. At length Barna-
bas took him to Antioch, the capital of Syria, where they
labored together for a year with great success. A large church
was here gathered, and here it was that the word so dear to
our hearts was first used to designate the people of God. The
disciples of Jesus were first called, by way of reproach. Christ-
ians by the people of this city. Little did the man think who
first used it, that it would become the most honored name on
earth ; and that in the great day of account, when all worldly
titles shall be of no avail, this name properly applied to any
one, will be a passport to immortal glory.
From this place Paul and Barnabas went forth upon a long
missionary tour, after being set apart to the work by solemn
prayer and fasting by the whole church. They arrived at
another Antioch, a large city in Pisidia, where was a Jewish
Synagogue, in which Paul delivered one of his most notable
discourses.
As this is the first of his addresses of which we have any
extended report, let us dwell for a moment on its chief points.
And first we are struck with its appropriateness. Spoken to a
Jewish audience, it at once secured their attention by recount-
ing the dealings of God with their fathers ; and sought their
spiritual profit by a most skillful application of these historical
facts to their present condition. With an affectionate man-
ner, and in a way least likely to give offence, he introduces the
saving doctrines of the cross. Then comes a direct personal
appeal, and that faithful application of the truth to the con-
science, without which the most eloquent sermon is only like
flourishing a sword, without edge or point. He tells them that
salvation by Jesus, is now brought very near to them : " Unto
353
you is the word of this salvation sent." The forgiveness of
sin is oftered them by faith in the blood shed on Calvary ; and
they are told of the utter impossibility of being justified by
the deeds of the law. In closing up he tells them that the
blessings of the gospel are for all, without distinction, whether
Jews or Gentiles. (See Acts xiii : 38, 39.) In this discourse the
apostle shows not only the skill of the orator but the faithful-
ness to souls and the whole hearted earnestness of the true
minister of Jesus Christ. There is nothing unnecessary said,
and nothing left out essential to the salvation of his hearers.
This discourse, of which we have only an out-line, was
intended to be introductory to others, in which the truth as it
is in Jesus would be more fully set forth. Earnest inquiry
was awakened and a desire expressed for more instruction on
the great gospel themes. It is worthy of notice, that this re-
quest came chiefly from the heathen portion of the hearers.
The Jews who had been greatly favored of heaven, to whom
the oracles of truth had been committed, and to whom in the
first place the Savior had come, organized a strong opposition
against the truth ; so that next Sabbath, when the people came
together in great numbers to hear Paul, these Jews '' contra-
dicted and blasphemed," and got up a furious persecution.
The apostles met this emergency with great boldness and
promptitude, and turning to the Jews, said, "It was necessary
that the word of God should first have been spoken to you ;
but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy
of everlasting life, lo ! we turn to the Gentiles." And shaking
off the dust of their feet as a testimony against them, they
departed from the place. Paul swung loose from all the prej-
udices that might bind him to any one people or nation, and
felt that the whole world was his parish ; and that obligation
was laid upon him to preach the gospel to the whole human
race, as opportunity offered.
We cannot follow the great apostle through all his labors.
We have seen him last among his own countrymen ; let us now
see him among the heathen. We see him enter Lystra as one
earnestly desiring the good, both temporal and spiritual, of
354 THE WORLD S HOPE.
the whole family of man. He felt himself as acting under the
commission of Jehovah, as laid under obligations to preach
the gospel to every creature ; and hence he ignored all lines of
distinction between tribes and nations and races of people ;
and in his own emphatic words, he felt himself " a debtor both
to the Greeks and to the barbarians ; both to the wise and to
the unwise."
In Lystra, Paul's first act awoke the attention, nay, the en-
thusiasm of the whole population. In the name and by the
power of the Lord Jesus, he caused a man to walk who had
been lame from his birth. This ignorant and benighted people
gazed in wonder upon the apostles, and thought that the gods,
according to their heathen notions, had come down in the form
of men. Under this impression they were proceeding to offer
them worship, the priest of Jupiter bringing forth victims to
be sacrificed ; when the apostles, filled with horror, rushed out
among the people, exclaiming against the wickedness about to
be done and assuring the people that they were only men,
with all the common passions and imperfections of other men.
The remarks here made were adapted to the people. He
does not begin by appealing to the sacred Scriptures, as he
did when addressing the Jews ; for of these they knew noth-
ing. He bade them look at the book of creation, and to the
great law of conscience written within them by the finger of
God. He sought to lead them to God as the bountiful pro-
vider of all the blessings they enjoyed, and to turn them from
their lying vanities to the Lord of heaven and of earth. We
see how it was that this apostle became " all things unto all
men," in order that he might save their souls.
Alas ! how uncertain is the breath of human applause.
Some persecuting Jews got among the people, and so poisoned
their minds against Paul, that the very multitude that were
going to worship him but a little before, now began to stone
him; and dragging him out of their city, left him for dead.
Dead he was not, however, for God had more work for him to
do ; and while some of the disciples stood sorroufully around
him, his consciousness returned, and he went back with them
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES. ^cjgj-
into the city. In a short time we again find him in his Master's
service,— work from which no terrors of earth or hell could
turn him aside.
356 THE WORLD'S HOPE.
CHAPTER XXIV.
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES. [Contintted.]
Passing by many events of interest in the labors and travels
of the great apostle, let us see him in Philippi, laboring in
word and doctrine with great zeal. Under his labors many
souls had been saved, churches planted and built up in the
faith of the gospel. Guided by the Holy Spirit he had trav-
ersed a large part of Asia, till by means of a very solemn
call he was led to cross into Europe and proclaim the good
news in Macedonia.
At Philippi some remarkable events occurred. At a certain
place set apart for prayer, and where many women were
assembled, Paul preached the Gospel, and one of his hearers
was brought to Jesus, proving the beginning of a large and
flourishing church. The Lord opened Lydia's heart so that
she attended to the things spoken by the messenger of heaven.
She first became an eager hearer, and then a true believer;
for "faith cometh by hearing." Others heard the same words
spoken, but they let them pass as the idle wind, while she
received the truth into an honest heart, and became an inher-
itor of eternal life. And, not only was she personally blessed,
but a most precious blessing. was brought through her to the
members of her household. We do not know their numbers
nor their ages ; we only know that they were old enough to
believe in Jesus, and to make an intelligent profession of that
faith by being baptized, according to the Lord's command.
There was here a damsel who was possessed of a demon.
She professed to have the power of divination, and, being a
slave, brought her owners great gain. She followed Paul and
his fellow-laborers with words of high approval, declaring pub-
licly that they were the true servants of the living God. This
was a cunning trick of the devil. He wished to make it appear
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES.
357
to the multitude, that the apostles were in league with this
impostor, so that discredit might be brought upon the gospel.
Paul defeated this design by commanding the evil spirit to
come out of her. This was an unexpected blow to those who
had reaped large pecuniary profits from her deceptions; and
filled'with rage, they stirred up the populace against the heralds
of the gospel. For a mob to act unreasonably and unjustly does
not surprise us ; it is what we expect. But in this case the
magistrates treated them basely. They condemned them with-
out a fair trial, they caused them to be severely scourged, and
with their bodies bleeding, casting them into a loathsome
prison, had their feet made fast in the stocks. We might expect
that under these circumstances the servants of the Lord would
have been much depressed ; but instead of that, they make the
prison ring with their songs of praise to God and the Lamb.
Our Lord told his followers that when persecuted for his sake,
they should " rejoice and be exceeding glad ; " and here was
an illustration of this truth. All was discomfort without them,
but all was peace within. Into that prison they carried two
blessings that never fail to make their possessors happy — a
good conscience, and the favor of God. With these, if it were
possible for a man to go to hell itself, it would be a heaven to
him.
The apostles sang praises and the prisoners heard them.
The God of heaven also heard them, and appeared for their
deliverance. An earthquake comes rumbling through the
deep foundations of nature, shakes the prison to its found-
ation, while the jailor, aroused suddenly out of his sleep, and
seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about
to kill himself, because he supposed the prisoners had all
escaped. But Paul arrested his wicked design by crying with
a loud voice, "Do thyself no harm; for we are all here."
Then, after procuring a light, he came trembling, before them,
with the words, which have broken from many a heart pierced
by the sword of the Spirit, " What must I do to be saved ? "
Truly the most important question ever uttered by human lips ;
and he has come to the right quarter for an answer. He might
35^ THE world's hope.
have gone to all the most brilliant orators and philosophers of
Greece and Rome, and none of them could have given a reply,
that would at once satisfy the deep spiritual wants of the soul,
and at the same time be pleasing to God. But the answer
given was beautiful in its heavenly simplicity : " Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."
This man became a true convert. He brought the apostles
out of their confined and painful condition, washed their bleed-
ing bodies, and set before them needed refreshment. He also
obeyed the Lord in the ordinance of baptism, in which he was
joined by the members of his household, they also having joy-
fully received the truth.
And here we cannot but admire the wonderful simplicity of
the gospel. Here is a man but a few moments before a hard-
ened sinner, now a child of God. He felt himself a sinner, he
wanted to be saved, and wanted to know how this could be
done. He is sent upon no long pilgrimage ; no severe penances
are appointed him to endure ; no methods of making himself
better are spoken of; no long course of deep convictions and
terrors, a kind of mental purgatory, are said to be necessary
to fit him for Christ. No. Just as he is, without one moment's
delay, he is told to believe in Christ as his Savior. The result
was that there and then he obtained the pardon of his sins, and
was received for Jesus' sake into the favor of God. He was
not merely hoping to be saved when he came to die, but he
knew that he was a saved man now. " He that believeth on the
Son of God hath life;" and that life is eternal. It can never
be taken from him. " I give unto them eternal life, and they
shall never perish."
If Jesus has revealed himself as a Savior, that implies the
eternal safety of every one who commits his soul to him. Here
the soul can rest with unshaken confidence. Christ's work is
perfect, and he who rests upon that work is perfectly saved.
A man may know systems of theology, and preach them and
contend for their truth, and yet, be lost forever; but to take
Jesus by faith as his surety before God, is to have eternal life.
Trust in Christ lies at the foundation of all true religion. This
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES. 359
only is the Divine plan of saving. It stands forth in the Bible
as above all things in eternal importance. We can cleaily see
God's ha7id in creation, but if we would see his hearty and know
how he feels towards us, we must see him in Christ. There we
see a Father that can love us in all our misery and guilt ; who
has loved us with a love so vast as to astonish all heaven, and
would astonish all earth, were it not for the unbelief of men.
On the cross we see Christ dying for the whole world, not
for a particular class, or nation, or caste. Being love, God is
the same to all. Love is his very nature, and goes towards the
most unworthy. Whatever men may think, whatever they may
say, whatever they may feel of fear and doubt, and almost
despair, under a sense of their own unworthiness, yet, if they
are ever to have peace here or hereafter, it must be by faith in
God's love to them, as shown through Christ. Here only is
peace and rest for the guilty sinner ; a salvation full, free,
boundless, and not depending upon the good that may be found
in the sinner, but upon the perfect worthiness that may be
found in Christ.
This love of God can never fail the trusting soul, for it reigns
through righteousness. The law had said, " The soul that sin-
neth it shall die." Christ came forth to die in our stead. He
condemned sin, honored the demands of the law by satisfying
its every claim, and saves the sinner. This love is a holy love.
" On Jesus' cross this record's graved,
Let sin be damned, and sinners saved."
It is a love that acts in harmony with holiness and justice.
And these attributes of God's nature are satisfied by the atone^
ment that satisfies the conscience of the sinner. Ah ! what can
we say, as we look at this wonderful plan of mercy } We are
at a loss for words, and can only use those of the world's
Redeemer, "God so loved the world."
We must now proceed with our narrative of Paul's works of
faith and labors of love. Passing over his visit to Thessalo-
nica and Berea, let us see him at Athens. We associate with
the name of Washington all that is great and noble in patriot-
ism ; and so to the mind of a learned heathen, the very men-
^6'0 THE world's hope.
tion of Athens called up all that was great in the arts and the
sciences. Thoughtful men and ardent minds from all the sur-
rounding country resorted to that city, and in gardens and
olive-shaded walks, as well as in its halls of learning, they
discussed their various mental speculations, and listened to
the teachings of the great philosophers of the age, with pro-
found admiration. It was into this place that Paul came, bring-
ing with him that which could alone make the people wise unto
salvation. As a scholar and as a man of a highly cultivated
mind, there was much in that proud city to interest him. Its
splendid buildings, its beautiful temples, its sages, its poets,
and orators, with its lofty fame and historic remembrances,
were all calculated to attract the attention of a man of culture,
like the apostle. But his heart was so filled with sorrow at
the sight of a whole city given over to sin, that he could pay
but little attention to mere sight-seeing. He looked upon them
as probationers for eternity, not as the mere creatures of a day ;
and when he considered how rapidly that probation was com-
ing to a close, he felt there was not a moment to lose. Hence
he began to preach to them the blessed gospel of the grace of
God.
Paul takes his stand upon Mars Hill, and around him gath-
ers a mixed assembly. There are the philosophers of the op-
posing schools, the Cynic, the Stoic, and the Epicurian ; some
with a look of contempt upon their faces, and others giving
expression to a bitter sneer, as they draw near to listen to the
apostle. There stands that plain, earnest man, calm and self-
possessed, and reposing, in that exciting hour of solemn respon-
sibility, upon his Lord's promise, " Lo ! I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world," And he soon showed them that
he was no ignorant pretender who wanted to obtain a little
brief notoriety. In the use of the closest logic and the dialec-
tic art, he showed that he was perfectly at home. He quotes
from their poets, and shows such a familiarity with their own
literature as must have astonished them. He showed them that
with all their intelligence and general knowledge in regard to
the character of the true God, they were as ignorant as the
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES. 361
rudest barbarians. Their idol worship did not satisfy the strong
longings and cravings of their souls after the Infinite ; and in
their blind groping about after the knowledge of something
better, they erected a notable altar, inscribing upon it, "To
THE Unknown God." It was a bold step which Paul took
when he exposed their superstitions, and presented to them
the great truths of the gospel. He was there single-handed
and alone. There were no friends to protect him, should his
bold attack upon their ancestral religion, cause them to rush
upon him with the fury of sudden passion. But he had faced
too many mobs and been too often delivered to be afraid now ;
and even had he known that his last hour had come, he would
not have shunned to declare unto them the whole truth.
Of the apostle's discourse on this occasion but a mere out-
line is reported. He sets forth the character and perfections
of the true and living God, for such a knowledge must lie at
the foundation of all acceptable worship. " He that coraeth to
God must believe that he is, and that he is the rewarder of
them who diligently seek him." He showed them, also, that
the great Creator presided, by an overruling and minute prov-
idence, over all the works of his hands. That all things, great
or small, the affairs of an obscure individual or of vast com-
munities, are all under his governmental sway ; for in God we
live, and move, and have our being. He taught them that
this great Being was not far from any of them, striking thus
at the very root of their false philosophy and idolatrous wor-
ship, and making them feel personally responsible for ever^
act of their lives.
But he did not leave them here, else had they been little
better than before. To know that God is ever near us, and
that he holds us responsible for all the actions of our lives, can
bring no peace to a sinner. We want to know if He loves us,
and if He will pardon our sins. But Paul was not the man to
leave out the gospel of Christ on such an important occasion.
He was not preaching for the applause of his hearers, but for
their profit. He was trying to win their souls, not their favor.
In what he had said he was only clearing the way for the all-
362 THE world's hope.
mportant message of salvation. He preached to them a sal-
vation already perfect ; a plan of mercy existing in the Divine
mind from all eternity, and now revealed to a guilty world by
the death of Jesus upon the cross. This Jesus, of whom they
were now hearing for the first time, died for them ; his salva-
tion was offered to them ; it was in every way adapted to their
wants, and without it they must perish.
What success attended this sermon ? It is the old story that
must be told in regard to that. Some mocked ; some hesitated,
wavered, were almost convinced, but delayed ; and some
promptly took Christ as their Savior. There is nothing that
shows more clearly the awful depravity of the human heart,
than the reception they give to the gospel, who hear it under
the most favorable circumstances. The preacher may be tbe
most able and earnest — a Paul, or even the Lord Jesus himself;
the truths spoken may be as well adapted to the case of the
hearer as Divine inspiration can make them ; the evidence for
the truth of the statements made may be invulnerable — the
logic perfect in every shining link ; the understanding of the
hearer may be convinced, and even his conscience enlightened,
so that he approves the truth to which he listens ; and yet, so
great is the opposition of the natural heart to the humbling
plan of salvation, that not one soul would ever receive it, were
it not for the power of the Holy Spirit, in applying the truth.
This comforts the hearts of those who preach. No words that
they can use, no arguments that they can advance, no power
of human eloquence can convert souls ; but there is a Divine
Agent present who can apply the truth to the sinner's heart
with mighty power. To the soul unenlightened by the Spirit,
the gospel is treated as foolishness; but to those to whom it is
brought with power, it is the wisdom of God.
That so few received the gospel in Athens, compared to
some other places, is a solemn lesson as to the effect of pride
of intellect in leading men to reject the Savior. Our Lord
rejoiced in spirit, that the things which men wise in the esti-
mation of the world despised, were clearly apprehended and
loved, by those who might be called babes in knowledge ; and
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES. 363
Paul said, " Where is the wise ? where is the scribe ? where is
the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world ? " A man must become as a little child
in humility and simplicity of spirit, before he can enter Christ's
holy kingdom. Many great and distinguished men have come
to the adorable Savior, but they did not come as such, but as
poor, lost sinners. And to all who come in that way the arms
of his mercy are ever open. He will in no wise cast out.
We next find the apostles in Corinth. This was a large and
populous city, abounding in wealth, and remarkable for the
magnificence of many of its buildings. In regard to morality,
its people were proverbial for their wick-edness. As it was the
mart of the world, luxury and dissipation abounded. It has
been called the Paris of antiquity, because of its gayety and
corruption. Its very religion was debasing, the principal deity
which they worshiped being Venus, the goddess of licentious-
ness. Here Paul began to preach Christ crucified, first among
the Jews, and when they rejected the truth, he turned to the
Gentiles, He had at this time great distress and depression
of mind. He says he was with them in much weakness, and
in fear and trembling. No doubt the sight of the wickedness
around him, the -contempt and insult witli which the name of
his divine Mastery ud been treated, and the slight prospect of
doing any good there, tended to produce this effect upon his
mind. He had evidently thought of leaving the place before
his work was done ; for the Lord appeared to him in a vision
of the night, saying, " Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not
thy peace ; for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee
to hurt thee, for I have much people in this place,"
Encouraged and emboldened by this promise, Paul continued
to preach in this city for a year and six months ; and with
cheering success. A large church was gathered, to whom he
afterwards addressed two epistles. Some of those who were
converted had been among the lowest and most abandoned o£
the people of that wicked city, and thus became monuments
of God's mercy, and of the efficacy of the blood of Jesus to
cleanse from all sin. Some persons of rank and iniluence
364 THE world's hope.
were also among the converts; such as Chrispus, aruler of the
synagogue. It was at this place that he wrote his epistles to
the Thessalonians ; and in the opinion of many, the epistle to
the Galatians was also v/ritten in this city.
It was while in this place that he met with two persons of
eminent piety, and well instructed in the Scriptures. These
were Aquila and his wife, Priscilla. They had been banished
from Rome on account of their love to the blessed gospel, and
with them the apostle took up his abode, and supported him-
self, for a time, by working at his trade. This devoted Chris-
tian couple were truly patterns of all that is excellent in the
walks of private life. In a quiet, unostentatious way they did
good to all as they had opportunity, and their names find
honorable mention in the sacred record, on several occasions.
When Apollos, a man of great eloquence, but imperfectly
informed as to the doctrines of Christ, began to preach where
they lived, they took him to their quiet home and explained to
him the way of the Lord clearly. They could not preach
themselves, but they could make the plan of salvation plainer
to one who had the gift of eloquence, and who could sway and
interest the listening crowd. They could not reason and write
like Paul, but they (?ould give him the comforts of a home,
cheer and comfort him by the warmth of a true Christian
friendship, and hold up his hands by believing prayer. None
need be idle in Christ's vineyard if they are only willing to do
the work, however humble, that is laid to their hands
We next find the apostle in labors more abundant in the
city of Ephesus. Wliat a glorious sight is a powerful intellect,
a strong will, and a persuasive eloquence, all devoted to the
glory of God — the whole soul, body and spirit, given up to
the Lord's service, as the great business of life. Such was
Paul. No sooner does he see the cause of Christ established
in one place, than he pushes on to enter another field of
untouched heathenism. He does not pause to enjoy rest and
the delights of fellowship with his Christian brethren, for
which he had the highest relish , but presses forward to work
while it is called to-day, and waiting for the long rest of heaven.
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES. 365
Ephesus was at one time regarded as the m'ost splendid city
in Asia Minor. There stood the Temple of Diana, said to
have been four hundred and twenty-five feet in length, and
two hundred and twenty feet in breadth. It had one hundred
and twenty-seven pillars, each ot which was sixty feet in height.
It will be seen, then, that this city was one of the strong-holds
of idolatry ; and Paul remained longer here than at any other
one place, as if determined to do what he could to establish
a strong church of Christ there. In preaching the word of
God it was evidently his plan to first plant strong churches in
the large cities, as great centers of influence and power, from
which the gospel would sound forth. Those places, especially
where the most splendid temples were built to the gods, were
the fields of moral labor where he most earnestly and perse-
veringly toiled. This accounts for his spending three v/hole
years of his active life in Ephesus ; and it v/as doubtless for the
same reason that John spent so many years as pastor of the
church there.
The apostle began his w^ork of faith and love in this city by
preaching in the synagogues of the Jews ; and for three months,
by powerful arguments and touching appeals, sought to bring
them to Christ. But they Avere so filled with prejudices and
enmity against the gospel that he left them, and in a public
school in the city, preached to all who came in, the unsearch-
able riches of Christ. To arrest public attention and to con-
firm the truth, he was permitted to perform many miracles ;
such as healing all kinds of diseases, and casting out demons,
in the name of the Lord Jesus.
In connection with this latter act a remarkable circumstance
occurred. Some Jews who pretended to the power of casting
out demons began to imitate Paul, and in their adjurations
used the Savior's blessed name. The seven sons of a Jewish
priest while doing this, were confounded by the evil spirit say-
ing, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know ; but who are ye ? " And
the possessed flew upon them with great fury, so that they had
to flee from the house naked and wounded. This created a
great sensation, both among the Jews and the Greeks, and a
^66 THE world's H0PE>
solemn dread fell upon the minds of men. Great numbers
were converted^ and gave striking evidence of the reality of
the change, by bringing forth their bad books and publicly
committing them to the flames. As in this case the pecuniary
sacrifice was very great, their sincerity could not be doubted.
I once saw a case of this kind occur in a powerful revival.
A man had been converted, who was engaged in the sale of
intoxicating drinks. Next morning he went into his bar room,
after having had prayer with his family for the first time. He
ssLW one after another of his bloated custom.ers come in to get
their accustomed morning potion; and as he thought of their
present and future misery, the guilt of his business burst upon
his mind in all its horror. He had his barrels of liquor rolled
out into the street and their contents poured forth ; and as the
stream ran down the street, a dark torrent of death, many a
prayer v/ent up for the wretched victims of intemperance. Yes,
in modern as well as in ancient times, the gospel is "mighty to
the pulling down of strong holds.'*
Great good was being done in Ephesus; and, of course, Sa-
tan began to rage. The apostle described the state of things
very aptly in the words, " A great door and effectual is opened
unto me, and there are many adversaries." Demetrius was a
man, who made great profits by the worship of Diana, and
fearing that if Paul was allowed to go on preaching his gains
would be at an end, he gathered together a furious mob, who
thirsted for the apostle *s blood. We can novirhere get a bet-
ter picture of an unreasoning mob than is here presented.
There they are, filling the streets, heaving to and fro like the
waves of the ocean, a sea of upturned faces inflamed v/ith dead-
ly hate, and shouting for two hours, " Great is Diana of the
Ephesians." No wonder that the apostle said he " fought with
beasts at Ephesus.'*
When the time came that he must leave this place, it was
evidently with feelings of deep sorrow that he parted from his
dear Christian friends. His parting address to the elders of
the church is most touching and affecting. He appealed to them
as to the purity of his conduct while among them, and as to
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES. 367
the earnestness with which he had sought them not theirs. He
told them that in his purposed journey, he knew only one
thing, namely that bonds and affliction would be his portion*
and then comes that noble and heroic statement, " But none
of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto my-
self, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the minis-
try, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the
gospel of the grace of God."
He then tells them that they should see his face no more ;
and warned them against the designs of evil men, who would
seek to divide them, and lead them astray from the faith of the
gospel. Then kneeling down he prayed with them, and they
parted, to see each other no more on earth. The whole scene
is most tender and affecting. They loved him and felt as if
they could not give him up. They wept bitterly, fell upon his
neck and kissed him, and felt as if their hearts would break,
as they thought that they should see him no more on the shores
of time. What a beautiful character we see in Paul ! Firm
as a rock where firmness is needed, and yet gently and loving
as a woman among his friends. His loving and affectionate
spirit won the hearts of the people every where ; and his terri-
ble rebukes made the enemies of the truth to tremble. A
M^armer heart never beat in human bosom ; and yet, where duty
required, he could be severely stern, even to his friends.
Among all men he so lived and spoke as to be clear of their
blood, in the great day of account.
Paul sailed from Miletus and landed at Tyre. Here he
spent several days, comforting and edifying the church. One
of his friends, who had the prophetic power, told him that he
would be imprisoned and delivered over to the Roman power.
He was urged by his brethren to give up his intended visit to
Jerusalem ; but he was not to be turned aside by the tears of
friends or the threats of foes, when duty called him. Arrived
at Jerusalem he took up his abode with an aged disciple named
Mnason. He visited the apostle James, and in the presence of
the elders told what a great work of grace God wrought, by
his means, among the Gentiles. The church gave him a cor-
368 THE world's hope.
dial greeting and glorified God for the great good done by his
ministry. The Jews were strongly prejudiced against him, and
on his first public appearance raised a mob against him, beat
him, and would have taken his life had not Lysias, a Roman
officer, with armed men, come and rescued him out of their
hands, and conducted him to the castle as a prisoner. Mean-
time the mob followed, shouting with great fury, as they did
with his divine Master, " Away with him."
Paul got permission from the captain to speak to the people ;
and when they heard him address them in Hebrew, they were
silent. We cannot dwell on this speech. He related his con-
version, and referred to his past life as a zealous persecutor of
the ifaith of Christ ; but when he came to speak of his mission
to the Gentiles, they broke out, crying, " Away with such a
fellow from the earth !"
The Roman officer, wanting to know more of this prisoner,
commanded him to be examined by scourging. Preparatory to
that being done, the soldiers were binding him with thongs,
when he turned to the centurion and quietly said, " Is it lawful
for you to scourge a man that is a Roman and uncondemned ?"
What a sudden change the words produce ! They are startled
as if a bolt of lightning had fallen in their midst. Hands
drop and eyes stare ; and fear, at what they had already done
in binding him, showed itself in their countenances. In great
haste a superior officer came in to ask Paul if it was indeed
true, that he was a Roman citizen. He assured him that it was,
and that he was free born. Thus Paul always stood up for
his civil rights as a citizen, and on one occasion when these
rights were trampled upon, he would not go out of prison, till
the magistrates came in person and made an apology to him.
Next day the apostle was called before the Jewish Sanhe-
drim. The night before the Lord appeared before him, telling
him to be of good cheer, and that he was to bear testimony for
his name at Rome. No sooner had he begun to address the
council, than Ananias, the high priest, commanded him to be
struck upon the mouth. This was so manifestly unjust and
insolent, that Paul turned to him and indignantly exclaimedj
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES. 369
" God shall smite thee, thou whited wall ! for sittest thou to
judge nie after the law, and commandest me to be smitten con-
trary to the law?" This was a well deserved rebuke; and we
can imagine the glowing countenance and flashing eye with
which the words were spoken. When told the official position
of the man he rebuked, he partially apologized for his words ;
for it is often proper to show that respect to the office which
we cannot feel for the man that holds it.
With a quick eye, Paul saw that the council was composed
of Pharisees and Sadducees ; and with great readiness he re-
marked that for his belief in the resurrection of the dead, he
had been accused by his countrymen. As the Sadducees did
not believe that there was any resurrection, nor any spiritual
existence, there was a division and strife among them ; the re-
sult of which was, that the prisoner was still left in the hands of
the Roman governor. Finding that the Jews had formed a
conspiracy to kill his wonderful prisoner, to protect v.'hom he
felt in honor bound, he sent him down, under a large military
escort, to the Roman Castle at Cesarea.
The Jews still pursued him with relentless hatred. When
Festus became governor of Judea, on his first visit to Jerusa-
lem they brought great charges against Paul, and petitioned
that he might be sent to that city, intending to murder him on
the way. This plan was defeated, for Festus requested his ac-
cusers to appear at Cesarea. And when they did make their
appearance, Festus, in order to please the Jews, wanted to send
him to Jerusalem ; but the apostle, seeing through the design,
claimed the privilege, as a Roman citizen, to be tried before
the emperor, and therefore boldly appealed unto C^sar.
But before following him to Rome, let us notice his tv.o pub-
lic appearances — that before Felix and before King Agrippa.
In regard to Felix, the Roman governor, Tacitus gives him
this character : " In the practice of all kinds of lust and cruelty
he exercised the power of a King with the temper of a slave,"
And certainly all that history tells us of him, fully justifies this
description. The v/oman that he called his wife, he had sedr.ced
f.-.-^-.i 'nor-rvr Irii-'ful h-Ji^b.ind. Hii.': '.v.ir. the man before wl^^op.i
370 THE WORLD S HOPE.
Paul was called to make his defence. The high priest, together
with leading men among the Jews and a celebrated and elo-
quent lawyer, named Tertullus, were there as his accusers.
The speech of this paid advocate against the apostle shows a
good deal of ability, and in a very cunning way he mixes his
charges, so as to make it appear that the prisoner had broken
both the law of the Romans, and also the ecclesiastical law of
the Jews. He spoke of him in the most contemptuous terms,
as a pestilent fellow ; and one in ignorance of the facts, might
have supposed that Paul was the ring-leader of the mob, instead
of being the innocent victim of its senseless rage and cruelty.
But Paul is upon his feet, and with all the tact and dignity
of the perfect orator, begins his defense. By a clear and sim-
ple statement of facts, he exposes the falsehoods that had been
uttered against him ; till the tide of feeling turns in his favor,
and his vindication is complete. Felix sent for Paul, some
days after this, to hear more from him concerning the faith of
Christ. The man of God, is not afraid of the vile libertine;
nor has he any favors to ask of him. He no longer pleads his
own case, but seeks to save the souls before him. What he
said is not fully reported ; but we are told that he reasoned so
powerfully, and spoke so faithfully, on the matters of righteous
ness, temperance, and a judgment to come, that Felix trembled
before the majesty of the truth. Like all convicted sinners,
when they are not honest in resolving to give up their sins, he
delayed the matter to some more convenient time, as he called
it , which time, alas ! never came.
Before going to Rome, Paul had another opportunity of
pleading the Savior's cause, before those whom the world calls
great. King Agrippa and his wife Bernice paid a visit to Fe-
lix, at Cesarea, and having heard much of Paul, desired to see
him for themselves . An appointment was made, the court
was called together, the principal officers of the army and the
leading men of the city were there, and in all the glory of offi-
cial dignity appeared Agrippa and his court . Before this
great and brilliant assembly the apostle was to make his de-
fense . It was a great occasion, but he was equal to it . It is
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES, 37 1
the proof of true genius, chat it rises, without much seeming ef-
fort, to meet the calls that are made upon it, even when unex-
pected. How great and Christ-like the apostle seemed on that
day ! His manner is so dignified and respectful, and yet so
manly and independent. He felt tenderly for the precious
souls before him, and made strong efforts to carry their con-
victions of mind and heart for Christ. We cannot dwell upon
the address. We have but an outline of it, yet fragmentary as
it is, we love to read it over and over. He relates his conver-
sion, and the solemn and miraculous events connected with
it. As the stream of his eloquence rushes on, his hearers are
much impressed. It is too much for the conscience of Festus —
he can keep still no longer, but with a loud voice exclaims,
"Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee
mad." An old trick of mad sinners is, to call those mad who
seek to save them from the ruin upon which they are rushing.
To this rude interruption Paul makes a graceful reply, assur-
ing them that he spoke only the words of truth and soberness.
Agrippa was a Jew, and therefore he makes to him the bold
appeal, "King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets ? I know
that thou believest." The King was much moved, and said,
"Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." Nothing
could be more apt and beautiful than the apostle's response :
"I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me
this day, were both almost and altogether such as I am, ex-
cept these bonds."
On Paul's voyage to Rome, I need not dwell. It was stormy
and tedious. The ship was crowded and unfit to put to sea ;
but Paul, though a prisoner, showed the power of a great mas-
ter mind. In storm or in calm, in danger or in safety, he was
always the same brave, joyful, self-denying spirit. When he
was delivered over to the military commander at Rome, he
was allowed the privilege of living in his own hired house, and
he soon turned it into a place of prayer, and a place where
Christians were confirmed in the faith and sinners converted.
God did a great work by his servant in that city, so that the
gospel found an entrance into the palace of Nero himself. How
372 THE WORLDS HOPE. f
wonderful are God's ways ! He overrules the very wickedness
of man to accomplish his designs of love. The fury of that
mob at Jerusalem, and all the wrath of the Jews, only resulted
in giving Paul opportunities of preaching Christ, in places and
to persons, that he would not otherwise have had ; and results
in the conversion of some in the household of Cesar. After
two years, he had his trial before the emperor and was set at
liberty.
Paul then traveled, as before, for some years. He visited
Spain, and some think France and Britain. He returned again
to Rome, and, on some pretence, was cast into prison. During
this imprisonment he wrote his Second Epistle to Timothy,
evidently expecting soon to die for the cause of Christ. Chry-
sostum says, that one of Nero's concubines was converted un-
der the apostle's preaching; which so enraged the tyrant that
he first sent him to prison, and soon after had him put to death.
That he met the last enemy with triumph, we may know from
the words he addressed to Timothy ; "I am-now ready to be
offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have
fought a good fight ; I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous-
ness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at
that day ; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love
his appearing." He has long been with Christ; that Savior
that he loved so dearly and served so faithfully on earth, has
wiped all tears from his eyes ; and in the joy of his presence,
he forgets all the pains and the toils of the way. Let us fol-
low him as he followed the adorable Redeemer. Such men
are God's heroes.
" Not on the gory fields of fame
Their noble deeds were done ;
Not in the sounds of earth's acclaim
Their fadeless crowns were won.
Not from the palaces of Kings,
Came the great souls, whose life-work flings
Luster o'er earth and time.
PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES. 373
" For truth with tireless zeal they sought;
In joyless paths they trod;
Heedless of praise or blame they wrought,
And left the rest .with God.
The lowest sphere was not disdained ;
Where love could soothe or save
They went, by fearless faith sustained,
Nor knew their deeds were bj?av8. **
PART II.
MOODY AND SANKEY
HISTORY OF THEIR EARLY LIFE.
CHAPTER XXV.
HISTORY OF THEIR EARLY LIFE.
In seeking to satisfy a natural curiosity respecting tlie men
wbo have accomplished the grandest evangelistic work of
modern times, and who seem but to have entered upon their
wonderful career of Christian conquest, we also unfold a stran-
ger page of Divine Providence than we usually encounter, and
see how God trains His servants for the peculiar service to
which He invites them. Where so much has been written on
this part of our subject, it is easy to gather materials for a
much fuller sketch than is necessary to open the topic to the
intelligent apprehension of our readers. It is true that what-
ever truly represents a human life must be interesting, however
lowly that existence and humble its surroundings. We could
wish for more information concerning our blessed Lord and His
early life, but enough has been given to verify Him to us as a
real personage, and to show that all was in keeping with the
unique character He possessed and the double office He per-
formed. The same is true respecting the apostles and evan-
gelists. We have no .burdensome minutiae of description, but
only general outlines and occasional facts of characteristic
interest and historic importance.
In reference to these new candidates for honor as great
harvesters in the field of souls, one of whom is a personal friend,
we find the ample materials scattered in books and periodi-
cals, and gather them into such form as will best meet the
wants of our readers, being careful to exercise judgment in
376 MOODY AND SANKEY.
the selection and grouping, that we may portray truthfully the
ways of Providence in their course of education and training
for their present mighty success.
Dwight Lyman Moody was born in Northfield, Massachu-
setts, February 5th, 1837. He received but little education,
being naturally averse to study and more fond of work and play.
His people were of the Unitarian faith, and he tells a story of
himself that shows how natural it is for even a wild, wicked boy
to pray when in trouble.
He was not a praying lad, though on one occasion when a
fence fell on him and he could not throw it off, he first exhausted
all his powers in calling for help, and then, finding that nobody
came, he "happened to think that maybe God would help him,
and so asked Him. And after that he could lift off the rails just
as easy! " How true it is that God is not far from every one
of us.
Mr. Moody often tells the story of the departure of the elder
brother from home, and his return after years of absence, his
whereabouts being all the time unknown to the widowed mother
and sorrowing family. He came back after he grew to manhood,
and waiting at the door till his mother should recognize and for-
give him, he melted under her tender words and entered the
house forgiven, a restored son. "And that," says the evangelist,
"is just the way God forgives all the prodigal sons who come
back to Him. Do you think mother kept her long-lost boy out
there in the porch till he had gone through with a long string of
apologies, and done a list of penances, and said ever so many
prayers ? Not at all ! She took him to her heart at once. She
made him come right in. She forgave him all^ and rejoiced over
his coming more than over all the other children. He had been
lost and now he was found ! " He has a nature so strong
in its domestic attachments that such an event appeals to him
most deeply, and enables him to use it with tremendous power
when he wishes to illustrate, to great congregations, God's for-
giving mercy.
HISTORY OF THEIR EARLY LIFE. 377
forms and restraints of religion. His mother, whom he loved
with rare tenderness, could alone control the strong-willed boy.
His native energy made him restless, and gave him a certain
commanding influence which amounted among his youthful com-
panions to leadership. They naturally followed him in all the
sports and pranks which boys delight in, and he was their guiding
and master-spirit. The boy was father of the man, for Mr. Moody's
genius for taking the lead has contributed materially to his mar-
velous usefulness. There is something amusing at times in the
readiness with which the most eminent men of the clergy and
laity circle round the little blunt man, and do his bidding with
meekness and alacrity. All this he does so unassumingly and
naturally, and with such excellent judgment and purpose, that all
seem cheerfully to acknowledge his control and mastery in the
prosecution of the Lord's work.
Much has been said of his great physical stamina, which
serves like a solid foundation for the weight and working of a
massive engine. He can endure gigantic labors, such as ordinary
men would quickly break down under, and be as fresh as a vig-
orous boy. This firm constitution was established among the
hills of old Massachusetts, by the hard labors incident to the life
of a farmer's boy who toils all summer to gather scanty nourish-
ment from the rugged bosom of nature, and plows his way among
the snowdrifts to pick up the elements of an education in the
drill of the school-house. This is severe training, but it gives
physical vigor, and makes great achievements possible to the
hardy men whose ambition pushes them out into enterprises of
pith and moment. These early hardships go against the grain,
and boys deplore them, and wish they could have the easy times
that many others enjoy, not knowing that if they accept their lot,
and work up through and out of it to something higher and
better, they will have no regrets for their harsh discipline and
manly training. Any less thorough grounding in the flesh, in the
body, the muscular and nervous forces, would be so m^uch taken
from their power to do and to enjoy in after years.
Moody's success in his spiritual work is largely due to his
378 MOODY AND SANKEY.
corporal manhood, which grew while his mind was comparatively
asleep, and no dissipation enervated his nerves.
The boy's high spirits and destiny led him to dash out from
the quiet home in the country ; and, as he had an uncle in Bos-
ton, he went there to enter upon a business life. After several
ineffectual attempts to find a place for himself, he ventured to
consult his uncle, who kindly took him into his employ under
certain restrictions and conditions, one of which was that he
should attend the Mt. Vernon Church where his religious training
was certain to be carefully and wisely directed. Here the noble
pastor was Rev. E. N. Kirk, of evangelistic tendencies and ear-
nest piety. What can be wiser for young men thus thrown into
the turmoil of city life, than to seek the influence of a Christian
Church with its intellectual pastor and devoted membership? It
is a splendid school for mind and morals, as well as a source of
benefit in a spiritual sense. Mr. Moody was connected with
Edward Kimball's Bible class, where he found abundant sugges-
tions for thought and inquiry. His ignorance of the Scriptures
was only equalled by his general want of intelligence. He had
wasted his few opportunities of improvement, and appeared at
great disadvantage among the well educated youth of this popular
church. Yet such impressions were made on his uncultured
mind and sensitive heart, that he soon found salvation through
the blood of Christ. But the account he gave of himself was
not sufficiently clear to warrant experienced Christians in admit-
ting him to the communion of the church. He kept on his way,
and made constant endeavors to let his light shine, though some-
times rebuked for his forwardness. So poorly was he prepared
to speak in meetings of intelligent people, that his pastor kindly
advised him not to attempt it till he had learned more. The
irrepressible ardor of his soul burned to deliver its message, and
drove him away from Boston. Turning his eyes toward the Great
West, he resolved to go to Chicago, the future scene of his
noblest triumphs and severest trials. He arrived there in Sep-
tember, 1856. It was easy for him to obtain a situation, with
his Eastern recommendations, where he could earn a living j and
HISTORY OF THEIR EARLY LIFE. 379
once fixed in that, his habits and industry won the confidence
of his employers.
While Mr. Moody was obliged to enter into secular business
in Chicago, he did not secularize himself and become worldly.
Many young men lose their balance, and fall, by submitting to
the love of money ; whereas, if they would instantly offset the
worldliness of the weekday work, by earnest Sabbath devotion
and religious toil, they would neutralize the evil of business and
climb up the golden ladder that raises the soul to Heaven. That
such was young Moody's plan the following record of one of
his biographers will show :
" On Sunday he sought out a Mission Sunday-school, and
offered his services as a teacher. He was informed that the
school had a full supply of teachers, but if he would gather a
class, he might occupy a seat in the school-room. The next
Sabbath he appeared with eighteen boys, and a place was as-
signed him for his new and rough recruits. This was the be-
ginning of his mission to ' the masses.' On that day he
unfolded his theory of how ' to reach the masses ' — ' Go for
them.'
"Soon after, he commenced the 'North Market Hall Mis-
sion-school.' The old market-hall was used on Saturday nights
for dancing ; and after the motley crowd had dispersed, Mr.
Moody and his associates spent the late hours of Saturday
night and the early hours of Sunday morning in removing the
sawdust and filth, cleansing the floor, and putting the room in
order for their Christian work. The repetition of this kind of
labor week after week was obviously not very agreeable ; but
it vvas cheerfully rendered by a young man who lived for one
object — the salvation of souls. In this hall the school was
held for six years, and increased to over one thousand mem-
bers. Many were brought to Jesus ; and the work was carried
forward amidst marked encouragements and discouragements.
" Finding it extremely difficult to hold prayer-meetings or
Sabbath-evening services in this hall, Mr. Moody rented a
saloon that would accommodate about two hundred persons.
He boarded up the side windows, and furnished it with un-
painted pine-board seats. It was a dismal, unventilated place.
380 MOODY AND SANKEY.
and during service it was necessary to have policemen to guard
the door and building. Here he collected the poor and the
vicious ; and sought, by melting appeals and fervent prayer's,
to lead hardened sinners to abandon their evil courses, and
accept the offers of salvation."
Says another: "The man who maybe q.?^^A^ par excellence,
the Lightning Christian of the Lightning City is Mr. Moody,
the President of the Young Men's Christian Association, and a
man whose name is a household word in connection with mis-
sionary work. I went to one of his mission schools, and have
rarely beheld such a scene of high-pressure evangelization. It
made me think irresistibly of those breathing steamboats on
the Mississippi, that must either go fast or burst. Mr. Moody
himself moved energetically about the school most of the time,
seeing that every body was at work, throwing in a word where
he thought it necessary, and inspiring every one with his own
enthusiasm.
''As soon as the classes had^been going on for a specific
number of minutes, he mounted a platform, rang a bell, and
addressed the children. He is a keen, dark-eyed man, with a
somewhat shrill voice, but with thorough earnestness of manner
and delivery. His remarks were few, but pointed and full of
interrogation,. keeping the children on their mettle. It is one
of his first principles, never, in any of the religious exercises, to
allow the interest or attention of the audience to flag for an
instant. At a great religious convention held at Chicago to
which five hundred delegates came from all parts of the United
States, he got a resolution passed that no one should be al-
lowed more than three minutes for his speech. The result wns
that an immense number got an opportunity for speaking, and an
admirable check was put on the American tendency to copious
flowery oratory. Every man had to dash in medias res, at
once, say what he had to say without loss of words, and leave
out all minor points to get time for the points of most impor-
tance. One or two of Moody's remarks were, * Services are
not made interesting enough, so as to get unconverted people
to come. They are not expected to come, and people would
HISTORY OF THEIR EARLY LIFE. 381
be mortified if they did come. Don't get into a rut. I abomi-
nate ruts. There are few things that I dread more.'
"Though earnest in his piety, and full of religious conversa
tion, Moody has no patience with mere cant, and wants every
body to prove his sincerity by his acts. At a meeting in behalf
of a struggling charity, a wealthy layman, loud in his religious
professions, offered up a prayer that the Lord would move the
hearts of the jDcople to contribute the sum required. Mr.
Moody rose, and said that all the charity wanted was only two
thousand dollars, and that he considered it absurd for a man
with half a million to get up and ask the Lord to do any thing
in the matter, when he could himself, with a mere stroke of his
pen, do all that was needed, and ten times more, and never
feel the difference.
"The first thing Mr. Moody does with those whom he
succeeds in bringing under Christian influences is, to turn them
to account in pushing on the good work. He considers no
place too bad, no class too hardened, to be despaired of. He
sometimes takes a choir of young people, well trained in singing,
to the low drinking saloons, to help him in wooing the drunk-
ards and gamblers away to the meetings. On one such occa-
sion, which was described to me, he entered one of these dens
with his choir, and said, ' Would you like to have a song, gen-
tlemen } " No objection was offered, and the children sung a
patriotic song in fine style, eliciting great applause. Mr. Moody
then had a hymn sung by them, and meanwhile went round
giving tracts to those present. When the hymn was over he said,
' We shall now have a word of prayer.' 'No, no,' cried several
in alarm, 'no prayer here.' 'Oh yes, we'll have a few words
of prayer. Quiet for a minute, gentlemen,' he said, and pro-
ceeded to offer up a few earnest petitions. Some of the men
were touched ; and when he invited them to go with him to his
meeting and hear more about salvation, half of them rose and
went. It is believed that if Pandemonium were accessible, Mr.
Moody would have a mission started there within a week."
Mr. Reynolds of Peoria said recently, as if in illustration of
this last remark :
§82 MOODY AND SANKEY.
*'The first meeting I ever saw him at was in a little old
shanty that had been abandoned by a saloon-keeper. Mr.
Moody had got the place to hold the meeting in at night. I
vvent there a little late ; and the first thing I saw was a man
standing up, with a few tallow candles around him, holding a
negro boy, and trying to read to him the story of the Prodigal
Son ; and a great many of the words he could not make out, and
had to skip. I thought. If the Lord can ever use such an
instrument as that for his honor and glory, it will astonish me.
After that meeting was over Mr. Moody said to me, ' Reynolds,
I have got only one talent : I have no education, but I love the
Lord Jesus Christ, and I want to do something for Him ; and
I want you to pray for me.' I have never ceased from that day
to this, morning and night, to pray for that devoted Christian
soldier. I have watched him since then, have had counsel with
him, and know him thoroughly ; and, for consistent walk and
conversation, I have never met a man to equal him. It astounds
me when I look back and see what Mr. Moody was thirteen
years ago, and then what he is under God to-day — shaking
Scotland to its very centre, and reaching now over to Ireland.
'• The last time I heard from him, his injunction was, ' Pray
for me every day ; pray now that God will keep me humble.' "
" I shall always remember Mr. Moody," says one ; "for he
was the means of leading me to Christ. I was in a railway
train one day, when a stout, cheery-looking stranger came in
and sat down in the seat beside me. We were passing through
a beautiful country, to which he called my attention, saying, —
"'Did you ever think what a good Heavenly Father we
have, to give us such a pleasant world to live in ? '
" I made some indifferent answer ; upon which he earnestly
inquired, —
" ' Are you a Christian ? '
"I answered, ' No.'
" ' Then,' said he, ' you ought to be one at once. I am to
get off at the next station, but if you will kneel down, right here,
I will. pray to the Lord to make you a Christian.'
*' Scarcely knowing what I did, I knelt down beside him
HISTORY OF THEIR EARLY LIFE. 383
there, in the car filled with passengers, and he prayed for me
with all his heart. Just then the train drew up at the station,
and he had only time to get off before it started again.
'' Suddenly coming to myself out of what seemed more like
a dream than a reality, I rushed out on the car platform, and
shouted after him, ' Tell me who you are ! '
" He replied, ' My name is Moody.'
" I never could shake off the conviction which then took
hold upon me, until the strange man was answered, and I had
become a Christian man."
Thus he wrought with men wherever he could find open
ears to hear the message of salvation, whether in the saloon,
the railway car, the mission building or the sanctuary.
His soul being intent on saving men, he knew that by
joining others in his Christian enterprises he would thus vastly
multiply his usefulness. He accordingly made himself a recruit-
ing agent for his school, and brought the neglected multitudes
of the North side into classes taught by such helpers as he could
yoke up with himself. The population of his district was largely
made up of Germans and other foreigners, who are accustomed
to a Sabbath not of the Puritanic but rather the Satanic sort.
Sunday is the day devoted by many to concerts, balls, and
pleasure generally. Mr. Moody saw that to succeed in such a
population, a school must be exceedingly lively and attractive,
and as he observed that the Germans made constant use of
music in their meetings, he was led to consider v/hether music
might not be employed somewhat prominently in the service of
Christ. Not being himself a singer, he got a friend who could
sing to help him, and for the first few evenings the time was
spent between singing hymns and telling stories to the children,
so as to awaken their interest and induce them to return. A
hold having in this way been established, the school was divided
into classes, and conducted more in the usual way.
This school became the basis of wider operations. After a
time a lively interest in divine things began to appear among the
cbiildren. This led to the holding of meetings every night, and
to the offering of prayers and delivery of addresses suitable to
384 MOODY AND SANKEY.
the circumstances of the children. These meetings began tc
be attended also by the parents, some of whom shared the
blessing. It may be stated here that some of those young per-
sons who were converted at this time, remain to the present
day the most valuable and active coadjutors in the work with
which Mr. Moody is associated in Chicago.
In most cases neither the children nor their parents had
hitherto been connected with any Christian church. Mr.
Moody began to find himself constrained to supply them with
spiritual food. At first he encouraged them to connect them-
selves with other congregations. But it was found that in these
they were next to lost or swallowed up : they felt themselves
strangers, sometimes unwelcome strangers, while they lost all
the benefit of neighborhood, mutual interest, and combination
in the worship of God. Gradually, therefore, Mr. Moody felt
shut up to taking charge of them, and supplying them with
Christian instruction. Both school and church continued to
increase, the school amounting to about a thousand, and suit-
able buildings were erected through the liberality of friends.
Mr. Moody had by this time given up business, so that he
might be free to give his whole time and attention to the work.
As he felt himself called by the Lord to this step, he resolved
to decline all salary or allowance from any quarter, and trust
for his maintenance solely to what it might be put into the
hearts of God's people to contribute. Being quite destitute of
private means, this resolution showed that his faith in a divine
call to give himself to Christian work was capable of bearing a
great strain. At the same time, while adopting this course for
himself, he has never pressed it upon others, unless they should
clearly see it to be their duty. And while believing himself
called to a kind of supplementary work in the ministry, he is
very far from prescribing the same r'le to others. On the con-
trary, he is the steady friend of a regular ministry, being fully
persuaded that in " ordaining elders in every city," the apostles
meant to set up the permanent platform of the Christian
Church.
Mr. Moody had acquired a position of much influence in
HISTORY OF THEIR EARLY LIFE. 385
Ihe United States in connection with Sunday-schools and mis-
sion work when the war broke out between North and South.
This led to a new turn being given to his labors. There was a
large camp in the neighborhood of Chicago, to which he gave
much attention, going there night after night and striving to bring
the soldiers under the influence of divine grace. When the
Christian Commission was organized, under the presidency of his
friend, George H. Stuart, of Philadelphia, Mr. Moody became
one of his most energetic coadjutors. He did not go into the
army as an agent of the Commission, but he was President of
the Executive branch for Chicago, and nine different times he
went to one or other of the scenes of warfare, remaining some
weeks and working with all his might. These services with
the army w^ere of no little use, not only in producing direct
fruit, but also in developing that prompt and urgent method of
dealing with men, that strenuous endeavor to get them to accept
immediate salvation, which is still so conspicuous a feature of
his mode of address. With wounded men hovering between
life and death, or with men in march, resting for an evening in
some place which they were to leave to-morrow, it was plainly,
so far at least as he was concerned, the alternative of ''now
or never ; " and as he could not allow himself nor allow them to
be satisfied wilh the " never," he bent his wdiole energies to the
"now."
In all this work Mr. Moody bore an important and honora-
ble part. His frequent excursions to battle-fields and camps
made him, more than any other man, the medium of communi-
cation between the work in the army and the work at home.
He was on the field after the battles of Pittsburgh Landing,
Shiloh, and Murfreesboro', with the army at Cleveland and
Chattanooga, and was one of the first to enter Richmond,
where he ministered alike to friend and foe.'
The war being ended, Mr. Moody had more time to
develop his work in Chicago.
To set others to w^ork in the vineyard had long been one
of his chief aims, and by means of the Young Men's Christian
Association, in which he took a great interest, he was highly
17
386 MOODY AND SANKEY.
successful. Mr. Moody strove to inspire the Cliicago Associa-
tion with his own spirit, and to send them to work in the vine-
yard. The hall of the association became one of the stated
scenes of his own labors. Tlie association was very unfortunate
in the matter of fires — its first building having been burnt down
in 1867, and its second in the great fire of Chicago in 187 1.
According to Mr. David Macrae, " the lightning city " showed
such activity of movement that the money fo;- the second build-
ing was all subscribed before the fire had completed the destruc-
tion of the first. This, we believe, is somewhat hyperbolical ;
but in sober truth, the arrangements for the restoration of the
building after the first fire were made with wonderful rapidity.
The new building contained a hall of enormous size. Mr.
Moody was accustomed to preach to his own people in the
morning, to superintend a Sunday-school of about a thousand
in the afternoon, and to preach again in the evening in the hall
of the Young Men's Association.
In October, 187 1, occurred the terrible fire which destroyed
a great part of Chicago. Mr. Moody, with his wife and two
children, was roused in the middle of the night to find the fierce
fire approaching their dwelling, and leaving his house and
household gear to their fate (all the property he possessed), had
to hurry along to seek shelter in the houses of friends. Mr.
Moody's school and church, as well as the buildings of the
Young Men's Christian Association, perished likewise in the
conflagration. The feelings of himself and his fellow-citizens,
on going to see the ruins, can hardly be conceived. But after
the first stunning sensation was over, faith and hope revived.
In one month after the fire, a temporary erection was com-
pleted ! No small energy must have been required to accom-
plish this, amid the confusion, the bustle, and the infinity of
things that had to be attended to. But reared the wooden
building was, and it has served the purpose of church and
school, till a new and substantial building has been erected.
When things h^d settled down after the Chicago fire, Mr.
Moody began to think of permanent premises for his school and
church. A suitable site was secured, and it was resolved to
liiilii
■ i|llffiiiililita
11
^m
xmm
HISTORY OF THEIR EARLY LIFE. 387
proceed with the erection of a large and commodious buildings
which, besides accommodation for the schools, will have a hall
or church, containing sittings for 2,500. The cost of the whole
will be about $100,000. Mr. Moody, by his disinterested labors,
has made so many friends all over his country that the contri-
butions have flow^ed freely from all parts. Among the most
interesting was a colossal subscription from 500,000 Sabbath-
school children, of five cents each, all anxious to have a brick
in Mr. Moody's tabernacle. From Pekin he received a contri-
bution of $300 from an unknown friend. A few converted
Chinamen collected a few dollars even from their Pagan
countrymen.
Mr. Moody was now so well known that invitations to hold
or address meetings poured in upon him from all parts of the
country, and his connection with the Young Men's Christian
Association gave him prominence, and won him hosts of influ-
ential friends. He saw that he could be more useful in widen-
ing his sphere of labor, and this also induced him to cross the
sea, and catch the inspiration from earnest hearts in England,
where piety runs deeper than it usually does in our active com-
munities. A large number of his congregation in Chicago were
also Britons, and this circumstance gave him an introduction
to the scenes where he has won his splendid triumphs.
Twice has Mr. Moody visited England, and become known
by his preaching and by organizing a daily prayer-meeting in Lon-
don. His heart was won by young Harry Morehouse, who gave
him many beautiful lessons in preaching by his example, and
also encouraged him in those Bible readings which have
made him a power for good in many cities and communi-
ties at home and abroad. Morehouse and Varley were chosen
friends of the x\merican Evangelist, and they welcomed him to
their own country with hearty enthusiasm. Mr. Varley relates
that :
" On visiting at a friend's house with Mr. Moody in England
some years ago, I said to him, ' It remains for the world to see
what the Lord can do with a man wholly consecrated to Christ.
Mr. Moody soon returned to America, but those words clung
388 MOODY AND SANxKEY.
to him with such power that he was induced to return to Eng-
land, and commenced that wonderful series of labors in Scot-
land and England in which he is still engaged. Mr. Moody
said to me on returning to England, ' Those were the words
of the Lord, through your lips, to my soul' "
Mr. Moody also passed through some marvellous religious
experiences that roused him to attempt great things for God,
so that when asked why he was going to England a third time,
he answered, "to win ten thousand souls for Christ." He had
no means to go with, but having felt called of God to enter
upon his tour, he prepared for it as if the money was already
in hand. And up to the very eve of his departure he knew
not where the money was coming from to pay his passage.
Then a gentleman came to him, and said he thought he might
need funds after he got to England, and placed in his hands
live hundred dollars.
Mr. Moody's financial condition after the Great Fire was
well shown by an incident that occurred the following Sunday
night. He had been invited by Dr. Goodspeed, the pastor
of the Second Baptist church, to preach for him. This invita-
tion v;as conveyed to him by his brother-in-law W. H. Holden
Esq., Superintendent of the S. S. of the Second church, and
accepted. After sermon, the pastor offered him ten dollars
with the remark, "this is all I have." "Then," said Mr. M.,
" I won't take but half of it, though I have not one cent." An
immense congregation greeted the preacher, and Dr. Robert
Patterson, who was present, remarked that there was more
Gospel in that sermon than in half a dozen ordinary ones.
His Bible which he had snatched from the flames, he left on the
desk, and the pastor finding it there examined it with care, and
observed with wonder how thoroughly and faithfully it had
been studied, as was shown by the ink marks it bore on
almost every page. He had been wont to rise before day, and
give himself with absolute devotion to the prayerful conscien-
tious study of that Divine Manual of instruction for the
preacher's work. Going frrth clad in the panoply of God, he
has filled the world with his fame as a herald of Christ, who
HISTORY OF THEIR EARLY LIFE. 389
has honored him with power over men for salvation such as
few of the world's heroes and saints have ever had.
What are the elements of Mr. Moody's power ? He is not
a man of much education or culture ; his manner is abrupt and
blunt ; his speech bristles with Americanisms ; his voice is
sharp, rapid, and colloquial ; and he never attempts anything
like finished or elaborate composition. But he is in downright
earnest. He believes what he says ; he says it as if he believed
it, and he expects his audience to believe it. He gets wonder-
fully near to his hearers, without any apparent effort. What-
ever size the audience may be, he is at home with them at once,
and he makes them feel that they are at home with him. He is
gifted with a rare sagacity, an insight into the human heart, a
knowledge of what is stirring in it, and of what is fitted to
impress it. He has in his possession a large number of inci-
dents and experiences well fitted to throw light on the points he
employs them to elucidate, and to clench the appeals which he
uses them to enforce. In addition to all this, he has a deeply
pathetic vein, which enables him to plead very earnestly at the
very citadel of the heart. At first his tone may seem to be
hard. He will take for his text, "There is no difference," and
press the doctrine of universal condemnation as if the worst and
the best were precisely alike. Possibly the antagonism of his
audience is somewhat roused. But by and by he will take them
with him to some affecting death-bed, and his tone will show
how profoundly his own heart is stirred by what is happening
there. The vein of pathos comes out tenderly and beautifully.
He seems as if he were lying on the ground pleading in tears
with his hearers to come to Christ. But, most important of
all, he seems to rely for effect absolutely on divine power.
Of course, every true preacher does, but in very different
degrees of conscious trust and expectation. Mr. Moody goes
to his meetings, fully expecting the divine presence, because he
has asked it. He speaks with the fearlessness, the boldness,
and the directness of one delivering a message from the King
of kings and Lord of lords. And he takes pains to have his
own heart in the spirit of the message. He tries to go to his
390 MOODY AND SANKEY.
audience loving them, and actively and fervently longing for
their salvation. He says that if he does not try to stir up this
spirit of love beforehand, he cannot get hold of an audience ; if
he does, he never fails. He endeavors to address them with a
soul steeped in the corresponding emotion. He seems to try,
like Baxter, never to speak of weighty soul concerns without
his whole soul being drenched therein.
With all this, there is in Mr. Moody a remarkable natural-
ness, a want of all approach to affectation or sanctimoniousness,
and even a play of humor which spurts out sometimes in his
most serious addresses. Doubtless he gets the tone of his
system restored by letting out the humor of him after a long
day's hard and earnest work. For children he has obviously a
great affection, and they draw to him freely and pleasantly.
We should fancy him a famous man to lead a Sunday-school
excursion party to the country, and set them agoing with all
manner of joyous and laughing games. We are sure he
himself would be the happiest of the party, enjoying the fun
himself as well as pleased at their enjoyment of it. The re-
pression of human nature, or the running of it into artificial
moulds, is no part of his policy. We are sure he must agree
with the late Dr. Guthrie, that there is nothing bad in human
nature except its corruptions, and that our aim should be not to
destroy it or any part of it, but to get it restored, as God at
first made it. His instincts of sagacity make him recoil from
all one-sidedness, and desire that men and women, under God's
grace, should hide no true accomplishment, and lose no real
charm.
Speaking of his preparation for Christ's service, one tells us
of a prayer-meeting where he and others offered themselves to
Him with a new spirit of consecration. •' We have reason to
believe that at that time Mr. Moody received a fresh and full
baptism of the Spirit, and that this was the divine preparation
in his soul for the great work upon which all Christendom
looks to-day with wonder and with thanksgiving to God.
Among Mr. Moody's gifts is the rare one of bearing rebuke
with Christian meekness. Some time before the period just
HISTORY OF THEIR EARLY LIFE. 39T
referred to, a person met him and said, " I fear, Brother
Moody, that you may be losing some of your humility and
religious devotion, and with these your power in Christ's
service." He replied, in substance, " Perhaps I am ; I will
look into my heart, and endeavor to humble myself before
God."
The question is often asked, What are the elements of Mr
Moody's power ? They are certainly not his natural gifts.
They flow directly from Christ. Filled with the Spirit, he
seems to lose sight of every thing but the message of his
Master to perishing sinners ; and he cannot rest until they
are rescued from peril. His Heavenly Father is around him
and within him, pressing him every moment to serve him, and
to think of nothing else. The love of the Saviour pervades
and quickens all his sensibilities, and is the atmosphere
through which he sees his fellow-men. He can say with the
apostle Paul, " I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me."
Dr. Van Doren, of Chicago, says: "An incident, some
twelve years ago, occurred at the city of , where the
pastors and friends of a revival sought were assembled. Mr.
Moody, as his manner then was, laid the blame of spiritual
coldness on the church, and of course the several ministers
present felt the strokes.
" One arose and brought down the lash on what he called
the Pharisaic display, etc., and repelled the charge. Poor
Marsyas did not come out of the hands of Apollo more
thoroughly flayed alive than did Brother Moody from the hands
of that trenchant speaker. Instead of resentii^ it, he arose,
and trembling with emotion, said, ' I, from my heart, thank
that brother. I deserved it ; ' and then asked that brother
who held the rod " to pray for him.' Every heart was melted ;
and v^'hen that prayer was ended, not one, we believe, in that
vast audience but was willing to embrace and welcome Brother
Moody from that moment to this.
" Secondly : Our Brother Moody is a man of inextinguisha-
ble zeal. In our city of 400,000 people all the boys of this
wicked city know him, and respect him too. A short time
392 MOODY AND SANKEY.
since, while distributing tracts, I rebuked some boys kindly for
profanity. ' Say, mister, do you belong to Brother Moody ? '
At one time, walking in the crowded South Water street with
a friend, he met a knot of worldly acquaintances. Pausing a
moment — ' Friends, we may never meet again. Here is an
alcove. Let us have a prayer.' Love like that drew them
aside, and he led, all standing. Waving his hand, and with an
eye beaming with tears, he passed on in silence.
" Brother Moody is a firm believer in God's word. It is a
marvel to all our ministers, that while so many educated clergy-
men in the Evangelical Church treat the Bible as Homer or
Plato, he practically writes over every verse, ' TAus saith the
Lord.'' Hence he has avoided all those crotchets that weaken
and deform the influence of many good preachers. His pro-
found, adoring love of the Scriptures has led some to think that
he reads nothing else. But, like Dr. Johnson, who was said
' to take the heart out of a book,' he grasps an author's plan
and illustrations with an intuitive glance.
"Thirdly: He is a man of prayer. This, I hold, includes
faith. We know that Luther spent half the night in prayer,
at times.
" When President Edwards preached that memorable ser-
mon, ' Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,' at Enfield, New
England, and a glorious revival began, it was discovered, by
chance, that the elders of the church had speiit the whole pre-
vious night in prayer for a descent of the Holy Ghost.
" What is remarkable with Brother Moody is that the Holy
Ghost seems 2s:\x!i?^y to precede him, as the cloudy pillar did
Israel; and when he comes, his announcement of the terms of
mercy falls on open ears and hearts."
Before we accompany this beloved brother to England, we
must give some account of his famous coadjutor the sweet singer,
Ira D. Sankey.
His father's family were English, and his mother's Scotch-
Irish, so that he has good blood in him. He was born in Edin-
burgh, Pa., in the year 1840. The influences of his home were
IRA D. SANKEY.
HISTORY OF THEIR EARLY LIFE. 393
spiritual, and there was an earnest Scotchman to whose kindly
offices he was much indebted. In a speech at a children's
meeting, Mr. Sankey says of this good man, Fraser, "The very
first recollections I have of anything pertaining to a religious
life was in connection with him. I remember he took me by
the hand along with his own boys to the S. S., — that old
place which I will remember to my dying day. He was a plain
man, and I can see him standing up and praying for the chil-
dren. He had a great warm heart, and the children all loved
him. It was years after that when I was converted, but my
impressions were received when I was very young, from that
man." He was seventeen when he joined the M. E. church,
and at twenty lie was a S. S. superintendent, and then began
to sing, as an attraction to the children, the bright melodies
they love. He developed an early taste for the Word of God,
and as a class-leader encouraged his brethren to use Bible lan-
guage in their remarks. He was a soldier in the war for the
Union, and retained his faith and zeal amidst the temptations
of army life. He was President of the Y. M. C. A. of his town
of Newcastle, and thus came into contact with Mr. Moody, v.-ho
at first sight fell in love with his style of singing, and felt
drawn toward him as a dear brother. He also made overtures
to him to join him in evangelizing labors at Chicago and else-
where. After solemn deliberation, he resolved to cast off all
worldly business, and devote his life to the service of song.
He united himself with Mr. Moody and they began operations,
with Chicago as a centre. This was only a short time before
the city was burned ; the church of Mr. Moody's gathering was
likely to be broken up. But this calamity was averted and
Mr. Sankey ministered to the flock, while Mr. M. was absent.
He related an incident in Dundee that is illustrative of the
blessing God early gave his labors.
" I want to speak a word about singing, not only to the little
folks, but to grown people. During the winter after the great
Chicago fire, when the place was built up with little frame
houses for the people to stay in, a mother sent for me one day
to come and see her little child, who was one of ©ur Sabbath-
*i7
394 MOODV AND SANKEY.
school scholars. I remembered her very well^ having seen hei
in the meetings very frequently, and was glad to go. She was
lying in one of these poor little huts, everything having been
burned in the fire. I ascertained that she was past all hopes
of recovery, and that they were waiting for the little one to
pass away. ' How is it with you to-day ? ' I asked. With a
beautiful smile on her face, she said, ' It is all well with me
to-day. I wish you would speak to my father and mother.'
' But,' said I, ' are you a Christian ? ' ' Yes.' ' When did you
become one ? ' ' Do you remember last Thursday, in the Tab-
ernacle, when we had that little singing-meeting, and you sung
'Jesus Loves even Me?' 'Yes.' 'It was last Thursday I
believed on the Lord Jesus, and now I am going to be with him
to-day.' That testimony from that little child, in that neglected
quarter of Chicago, has done more to stimulate me and bring me
to this countr}^, than all that the papers or any persons might
say. I remember the joy I had in looking upon that beautiful
face. She went up to heaven, and no doubt said she learned
upon the earth that Jesus loved her_, from that little hymn. If
you want to enjoy a blessing, go to the bedsides of these bed-
ridden and dying ones, and sing to them of Jesus, for they can
not enjoy these meetings as you do. You will get a great bless-
ing to your own soul."
These testimonies have been frequent since those humble
beginnings, and Mr. Sankey has proved himself only less gifted
in speech than in song. He was sought by others as a com-
panion in evangelizing towns, but providentially clung to Mr.
Moody and together they set sail for the old world. How
admirably he was adapted to meet the tastes of the British, the
following testimonies, and a multitude of others may serve to
show.
" As a vocalist, Mr. Sankey has not many equals. Pos-
sessed of a voice of great volume and richness, he expresses
with exquisite skill and pathos the Gospel message, in words
very simple, but ' replete with love and tenderness,' and always
with marked effect upon his audience. It is however, alto-
gether a mistake to suppose that the blessing which attends
HISTORY OF THEIR EARLY LIFE. 39^
Mr. Sankey's efforts is attributable only or chiefiy to his fine
voice and artistic expression. These, no doubt, are very
attractive, and go far to move the affections and gratify a taste
for music ; but the secret of Mr. Sanlcey's power lies, not in
his gift of song, but in the spirit of which the song is only the
expression. He, too, is a man in earnest, and sings in the full
confidence that God is working by him. Like his colleague, he
likewise has a message to lost men from God the Father ; and
the Spirit of God in him finds a willing and effective instru
ment in his gift of song, to proclaim in stirring notes the
' mighty love ' of God in Christ Jesus. ' It was a few evenings
ago,' said a youth in the Young Men's iMeeting in Roby
Chapel, 'when Mr. Sankey was singing in the Free Trade
Hall ''Jesus of Nazareth passeth by," that I was made to feel
my need of a Saviour ; and when he came to these words,
" Too late, too late," I said to myself it must not be too late
for me, and I took him to my heart there and then.' ' I was in
great darkness and trouble for some days,' said a poor woman,
rejoicing and yet weeping; 'and just a little time ago, when
Mr. Sankey was singing these words' (pointing to them with
her finger), '"And Jesus bids me come," my bonds were
broken in a moment, and now I am safe in his arms.'
"Who ever heard of a fine voice and sweet music yielding
such results as these.? It is mere scoffing to say that Mn
Moody's touching stories and xMr. Sankey's sweet singing are
the secret of the power exercised by these men. The^'wo'^rk is
of God, and they are his instruments, each earnestly using, to
the best of his ability, the gift that God has given him, in the
full confidence that the blessing will and must follow."
"Not a few have been, not unnaturally, offended by the
phrase, ' Singing the Gospel,' which was at first used in adver-
tisements; and some have, unfortunately, never taken the
trouble to inquire what was meant. But every one who has
heard Mr. Sankey sing is well aware that his hymns are more
than the mere accessory to speeches, as they have too often
been among us. He has taught by example how great is the
power of song when a man with gifts of music loves the truth
396 MOODY AND SANKEY.
of which he sings; and the hymns which we have heard him
sing, with his wonderful distinctness of articulation, unaffected
feeling, and magnificent voice, will linger in our ears and hearts
till our dying day. A few weeks have made his favorite hymns
as familiar to every rank and to every age as those older hymns
which we have known best and longest. Poor sufferers in the
wards of the infirmary, lone old men and women in dark rooms
of our high houses and back streets, are now cheered in a way
no one dreamed of before Mr. Sankey came, by visits from
those who do not attempt to preach to them, but only to sing
jDsalms and hymns and spiritual songs. The consoling power
of song has been tested and proved at many a sick-bed, and
many a death-bed. And that is not all ; for we have been led
to see that it is a mistake to confine song to utterances of praise
or prayer in Christian meetings. We have learned to value more
highly its power in instruction. The use of song for instruction
and for the application of the truth is not new. It is as old as
David, as old as Moses, but it has received a new impetus
among us ; and we who are called to ' teach and admonish one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,' may well be
glad to have been reminded how this may be done."
" The admiration of Mr, Sankey 's music is enthusiastic.
When he sings a solo a death-like silence reigns, or, as the Irish
Tmies describes it, ' It seems that he only is present in the vast
building.' When he ceases there is a rustling like the leaves
of a forest when stirred by the wind. We might apply to him
the language of Scripture : ^ Lo ! thou art unto them as a very
lovely song of one who hath a pleasant voice, and can play well
on an instrument.' No one can estimate the service he has
rendered to the Church of Christ by the compilation of his book
of ' Sacred Songs ' and their sweet tunes. They are the delight
of all ages. I have heard in Scotland that already they are
sung in our most distant colonies. Ere long I believe that
they will be sung wherever the English language is spoken over
the earth. Nor will they be confined to that language, for a
lady is at present engaged in translating tbem into German.
HISTORY OF THEIR EARLY LIFE. 397
He was a wise man who said, ' Let me make the songs of a
country, and I care not who make its laws.' "
Mrs. Barbour says : " Mr. Sankey sings with the conviction
that souls are receiving Jesus betv.-een one note and the next.
The stillness is overawing ; some of the lines are more spoken
than sung. The hymns are equally used for awakening, none
more than ' Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.' When you hear
the ' Ninety and Nine ' sung, you know of a truth that down in
this corner, up in that gallery, behind that pillar which hides
the singer's face from the listener, the hand of Jesus has been
finding this and that and yonder lost one, to place them in his
fold. A certain class of hearers come to the services solely to
hear Mr. Sankey, and the song throws the liOrd's net around them.
" We asked Mr. Sankey one day what he was to sing. He
said, ' ril not know till I hear how Mr. Moody is closing.
Again, we were driving to the Canongate Parish Church one
winter night, and Mr. Sankey said to the young minister who
had come for him, ' Tm thinking of singing "I am so Glad"
to-night.' ' Oh ! ' said the young man, ' please do rather sing
" Jesus of Nazareth." An old man told me to-day that he had
been awakened by it the^'last night you w'ere down. He said,
" It just went through me like an electric shock."'
" A gentleman in Edinburgh was in distress of soul, and
happened to linger in a pew after the noon-meeting. The choir
had remained to practice, and begin ' Free from the Law, O
happy Condition,' etc. Quickly the Spirit of God carried that
truth home to the awakened conscience, and he was at rest in
the finished work of Jesus.
" It is interesting to know that there are scarcely two of
those hymns which Mr. Sankey sings by the same author.
They have been collected during an eight years' experience of
the Lord's use of them among believers, inquirers, and the
careless. In the singing of them he seems to become uncon-
scious of every thing but the desire that the truth should sink
deep into the souls of the listeners, and that the people who sit
in darkness should see a great light shining for them from the
cross of him who bung upon the tree.
39^ MOODY AND SANKEY.
" In a Highland parish, a young man who had lived far
from God, and seemed to his minister inaccessible to the truth,
was found one day last summer deeply awakened. When asked
to what this was owing, he said it was in consequence of hearing
his little sister sing,
' When he cometh, when he cometh.
To make up his jewels.'
" Perhaps not a Vv'eek has passed during the last year in
which we have not had evidence that the Lord had directly
used a line of one of these hymns, in the salvation of some soul.
A young man who had been deeply impressed, and was yet
unwilling to stay to the inquirers' meeting, and about to leave a
church, was arrested at the door by hearing the choir sing,
'Yet there is Room.' He felt there was room for him, went
back to the pew, and after having the truth clearly laid before
him, received Christ.
The wave of sacred song has spread over Ireland, and is
now sweeping through England. But, indeed, it is not being
confined to the United Kingdom alone, for away off on the
shores of India, and in many other lands, these sweet songs of
a Saviour's love are being sung. Mr. Sankey's collection of
sacred songs has been translated into five or six languages, and
are winging their way into tens of thousands of hearts and
homes, and the blessing of the Lord seems to accompany them
wherever sung.
' We may forget the singer,
But will ne'er forget the song.' "
" Mrs. Sankey is an earnest Christian woman, and fully
sympathizes with her husband in his blessed work. Both are
members of the Methodist Church ; while his sweet songs float
over and inspire multitudes in all Christian denominations.'
The Harp of David was the prototype of the Harmonium of
Sankey.
PART III
THE WONDERFUL CAREER
MOODY AND SANKEY,
m
GREA T BRITAIN.
400 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAPTER XXVI.
BEGINNINGS ABROAD.
In the spring of 1873, Messrs. Moody and Sankey left
Chicago for England. They had been invited by three gentle-
men to hold meetings in that country. No one else had joined
in the invitation, and no one else was interested in their visit.
They had no appointments. No arrangements were made for
them. No compensation was promised. No one knew of
their intention to come. They were persuaded that God sent
them, and therefore they went. Mr. Moody carried his Bible,
Mr. Sankey his organ and singing book. In June they landed
in Liverpool, sought a place to preach and sing the Gospel, and
held a few services. No attention was attracted and nothing
accomplished, and after a few days they proceeded toward
York to find the friends who had invited them over. Two of the
men were dead. But with a confidence that resembled audacity,
they found a place to preach and went to work. One preached
the Gospel ; the other sang it. They held their meetings, con-
versed with sinners, prayed to God ; and men and women began
to ask what they must do to be saved. They labored in York
a month, and it is believed that two hundred persons were con-
verted to Christ.
On Sunday, July 27th, they went to Sunderland, a consider-
able town near York, on the invitation of a Baptist minister,
Rev. Arthur Rees. The other ministers generally hesitated, or
opposed the work. " We can never go on in this way " was
Moody's characteristic remark ; " it is easier fighting the devil
than fighting the ministers." At length a delegation of young
men from the Y. M. C. A. of Sunderland, waited upon the
evangelists at their lodgings, and one of them tells the story of
their reception in the following fashion :
" They had already been a week in Sunderland ; but, as
BEGINNINGS ABROAD. 40I
yet, I had not seen either of them. Ah ! thought I, what a lift
heavenward shall I get from these holy men ! We were shown
into a back parlor by the servant, and very soon the two
evangelists samitered in in a style neither ecclesiastical nor
dignified. Turning to me, Mr. Moody asked, in true Yankee
fashion, What was our business with him ? He did not show
us a seat ; he did not offer us his hand : altogether an
auctioneer-like reception.
" ' We represent the Young Men's Christian Association,
Mr. Moody, and have come to ask if you will give us an
address in Victoria Hall, on Sunday afternoon.'
'"Preach for you? Oh yes! I'll preach for you,' replied
Mr. Moody.
"'We don't want you to preach for us; we want 3'OU to
preach for Christ.'
" ' Oh yes — yes ! All right I I'll preach for you.'
" ' Our committee,' continued I, ' hope you will not misunder-
stand the reason of their not joining you earlier in your work.
It is not for want of sympathy ; but because you came to us in
a sectarian connection, and have allied yourself with Mr. Rees ;
and if we were to join you, on sectarian grounds, we should
injure our Institution, which has enemies enough already.'
"After explaining his position, and that his connection with
Brother Rees and his congregation had no sectarian signifi-
cance, he said, —
"' I go where I can do most good : that is what I am after.'
And when we left, he followed us out to the gate, saying, ' It is
souls I want: it is souls I want.'
" Alas ! I had mistaken the man ; and whether he spoke of
souls or anything else, it is all the same to me now.
"' Well, Frank, what did you think of it ?' asked my com-
panion, as v;e walked off from this strange interview.
" ' Think ! It is money : that is what it is, James.'
" However, I went to the meeting, being careful to keep
out of sight ; but when Sankey began singing, I felt it draw
me, and very little more of it would have pulled me on to the
platform."
402 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
" That was not a good afternoon for Mr. Moody. His eye
blazed with mournful earnestness, as it ranged that crowd,
looking for anxious faces : and its strange light lives in my
memory yet, while all my prejudices and misconceptions are
dead and rotten.
" On the following Sunday night, when I got to the rooms
of the Young Men's Christian Association, I found the meeting
on fire. The young men were speaking with tongues, propnesy-
ing. What on earth did it all mean ? Only that Moody had
been addressing them that afternoon. 'What manner of man
is this ? ' thought I ; but still I did not give him my hand. . .
Many of the clergy were so opposed to the movement that they
turned their backs upon our poor innocent Young Men's
Christian Association, for the part we took in the work ; but
afterward when the floodgates of Divine grace were opened,
Sunderland was taken by storm.
" I cannot describe Moody's great meeting ; I can only say
that the people of Sunderland warmly supported the movement,
in spite of their spiritual advisers ; that there was a tremendous
work of grace, when measured by its immediate effects, but far
greater in its consequences, after the evangelists were away.
All honor to these two brother-soldiers of the cross, who, like
Jonathan and his armor-bearer, stormed this fortress of British
unbelief alone ! "
The second Sunday evening, three thousand people crowded
Victoria Hall, and after the sermon, many followed them to a
neighboring church, for an inquiry meeting. Among the
inquirers, a young man came up the aisle, and threw his arms
about his father's neck and kissed him, asking his forgiveness
with many tears ; then kissing his mother and asking her for-
giveness, afterward tenderly embracing and kissing his younger
brother.
The little fire kindled in York flamed so high in Sunderland,
that Newcastle on the Tyne saw it. The ministers came over,
and their hearts were warmed. The evangelists were invited
to go back vvith them, and went. Their fame had preceded
them, and ministers and people were ready to welcome them.
BEGINNINGS ABROAD. 403
The meetings were so multiplied that as many as thirty-four
were held in a single week. They continued through two months,
the attendance and interest increasing to the close. Crowds
came from all the surrounding towns, caught the fire, and
kindled it through all the neighboring counties.
Mr, Moody said :
'^ We have not done much in York and Sunderland, because
the ministers opposed us ; but we are going to stay in New-
castle till we make an impression, and live down the prejudices
of good people who do not understand us.
" I am always glad to see a minister come to our meetings,
for he always brings a large reinforcement with him."
Among the ministers prominent in connection with these
services have been several of the Protestant Episcopal pastors,
most of them of the Low Church party. The Rev. Dr. Stewart,
of St. Clement's Church, a leading High Churchman has, how-
ever, given utterance to the following sentiments from his pul-
pit, which will 'be read with a good deal of interest :
" It is probably well that I should say something respecting
the work of certain evangelists who commenced their labors in
this city to-day. T have heard that they are regarded with
unkindly feelings by several ministers ; how far this extends I
know not, but it certainly does not reach the clergy of this parish.
The right and duty of every layman is by precept and example
to bring erring souls to Christ, and in the exercise of this plain
right I bid these evangelists God-speed in their good work of
awakening souls who, when awakened, will seek the church and
its sacraments. These men do not come to make proselytes,
but Christians, and should be aided rather than hindered in the
effort to bring lost souls to their Saviour."
From the interesting narratives of the glorious dealings of
God with his people we compile such as will most graphically
portray them to our readers. After three weeks at Newcastle,
great blessings were poured out on their work, which began at
the Rye Hill Baptist chapel and thence overflowed on every side.
Every morning at twelve o'clock, in the Music-hall, there
was a meeting for prayer, praise, and exhortation, at which were
404 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
gathered from two to three hundred people, all earnestly desir-
ing the revival of God's work in that irreligious town, and daily
bearing before God numerous written requests from believers,
for their unconverted relatives and friends. These prayer-meet-
ings have been felt by all to be true means of grace to the
hearts of God's children, and numerous and striking have been
the answers to prayer for the unconverted. Every evening, in the
Music-hall and Rye-hill Chapel, Gospel services were held, Mr.
Moody and Mr. Moorhouse preaching the Gospel, and Mr.
Sankey singing his sweet spiritual songs. At the commence-
ment of this glorious work. Rye-hill Chapel, which will accom-
modate from sixteen to seventeen hundred people, was used ;
but, as many had to go away, not being able to get in, it was
thought advisable to have two services on the same evening;
hence the Music-hall, v/here Mr. Hoyle was carrying on a noble
work for Jesus, was opened each night, and hundreds attended
there to hear the preaching of the word ; and many were born
again by the regenerating power of the Spirit of God.
In connection with these services, Mr. Moody, with that
indefatigable zeal and fervor which so eminently characterize
him, announced that he intended to have an 'all-day' meeting
on Wednesday, September loth, and earnestly invited all who
could possibly come to attend. An all-day meeting was some-
thing so novel in the history of religious people in Newcastle,
that much wonder was excited as to what would be the result
of so bold an undertaking. Many anticipated a failure, others
thought that it migJit be a success ; but those who felt the reviv-
ing power of God's love, and had made this meeting a matter
of earnest prayer, knew that it would not, could not fail. Ac-
cording to their faith it was done unto them. Wednesday
morning broke clear and beautiful. It was a day when all
nature seemed to be rejoicing in the glad sunshine of the great
Father's beneficence.
At ten o'clock, the hour for the service to commence, the
wide area of Rye-hill Chapel was about half filled, and the peo-
ple coming in quickly. By eleven o'clock the friends from
Sunderland, Shields, Jarrow, and neighboring towns, had come
BEGINNINGS ABROAD. ^qh
in by train, and had occupied nearly the whole of the area. At
twelve o-"clock the message came, ^' No more room in the area ;
we must throw the galleries open." By two o'clock the galleries
were well filled, and before the closing hour came round the
spacious and beautiful chapel was filled with those who had left
business, home cares and work, pleasure and idleness, to come
and worship God and hear his word. Never was the faith of
God's people more abundantly satisfied. They asked and it
was given, they sought and found, they knocked and the door
was opened unto them.
According to the programme which Mr. Moody had dis-
tributed largely over the town, the first hour of the services was
to be devoted entirely to prayer and Bible-reading.
After the singing of that beautiful hymn, " Sweet Hour of
Prayer," Mr. Moody led the devotions of God's people at the
throne of grace, and then read and commented on Nehemiah
viii., I-I2, where it is stated that " all the people gathered them-
selves together as one man. ... and they spake unto Ezra the
scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord
had commanded Israel." Mr. Moody clearly brought out the
appropriateness of this Scripture to the services of that day,
and concluded by unfolding and pressing home to the hearts
of the people the joyous truth contained in the tenth verse,
where Ezra said to the people, "Go your way, eat the
fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom
nothing is prepared, for this day is holy unto our Lord : neither
be ye sorry ; for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
Mr. Hoyle, Mr. Swinburne, and several of the brethren
spoke from the Word of God on the subject of Christian joy,
and the hour of prayer and Bible-reading was gone before we
had well begun to open the Scriptures. This hour was felt to
be exceedingly precious, and was received by all as an earnest
of what was to come.
^ The second hour was devoted to the promises, Mr. Moody
being the leader. He said he wished the friends that day to
try to see how rich they were. He thought that very few of us
had ever fully considered how much our loving Father really
4o6 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
had promised to us. These promises, hke precious gems, were
to be found in every book of the Bible, and that day we might
get into the company of all God's great men who had passed
away, and hear what things they had to tell us about our
Father's love. We could summon the patriarchs — the prophets
— the kings ; we could listen to the historians — the biogra-
phers— the poets of the Bible ; and they would all give to us some
of the precious promises spoken by God, through their lives to
the ears of the whole world. The meeting was to be quite open
and free ; not for speeches about promises, but for the reading
forth of these good words of God to our souls. The audience
at once seemed to catch up the spirit and intention of these
words, and from every part of the chapel — from young and old,
from male and female — came passage after passage of the Holy
Word, declarative of what in the boundless fullness of his love
the Father has promised to all.
The interest of the meeting had been steadily rising, as one
Scriptural topic after another had been most delightfully un-
folded, when the last hour was reached, and appropriately given
to the subject of Heaven.
The address was given by Mr. Moody. Having selected
numerous passages of Scripture to prove his points, Mr. Moody
asked some of the brethren present to read them out as he
called for them. This was a delightful picture — a crowded
chapel — hundreds of open Bibles ready to be marked when the
passage should be announced, and the subject uppermost in
each mind heaven. The first thought which the speaker called
attention to was the locality of heaven. He said that his mind
had once been much distressed by an infidel asking him " why
he always looked upward when he was addressing God t God
was everywhere, and his home was just as likely to be below as
above." This set Mr. Moody back to his Bible to see what it
had to say about the matter. He was soon quite satisfied that
God's home was above. The Word said that God, when com-
muning with Abraham, came doum to see whether the people
living in the cities of the plain had done altogether according
to the cry that had come to him ; the nngels asked the disciples
BEGINNINGS ABROAD. 407
on the morning of the ascension why they stood gazing tip into
heaven ', the same Jesus that had been taken up from them into
heaven would come again in like manner. These and similar
passages were sufficient proof to his mind that the home of
God was above, and that we obeyed a divine instinct when we
'• lifted up " our hearts to him there.
The locality having been spoken of, the next thought was
the compaiiy gathered together there. Whom have we there
that heaven should be so dear to us ?
(i) The Father is there. Heaven is the home, the dwelling-
place of God. No home is complete without the father; and
no ftimily is complete unless they can include the father among
them. Our Father is in heaven. How delightful the thought
of one day being with him amidst all the joy and splendor of
home! Then (2) yesus is there. He about whom we have
read, whose Spirit has created us anew in him, whose blood
bought us, and whose love saved us ; Jesus is there ; and we
look to our home in heaven with longing eyes, because there, if
not before, we shall see him who is crowned with glory and
honor. Then (3) the angels are there. The pure and spotless
creations of God, who have known nothing of sin and sorrow
and travail, who have ever lived their life of bright intelligence
and holy service in the sunshine of God's presence. These are
there, and we shall meet them, and tell them of something they
have never felt — the compassion and love of Jesus for sinful
men. Then (4) there will be the saints, the spirits of just men
made perfect. All the old heroes of God, the warriors and the
kings, the prophets and the poets, the apostles and the early
martyrs, all will be there, and we shall be able to hold sweet
communion with them all ; and our own loved ones, the father
and mother, sisters and brothers, the babes, and the young and
old, they will be among this shining band, who swell the ranks
of the redeemed before the throne of God. O what a company
is there ! Father, Jesus, angels, saints — all who have fallen
asleep in Jesus — all there ! Waiting for us to come.
Another point to which Mr. Moody called attention was
that it is our treasnre-house. The only things we have or can
4o8 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
have, as saints, will be found there. All else must be left
Death strips of everything but heavenly treasure. How this
should lead us more and more to obey the Master's injunction,
and seek "to lay up treasure in heaven." It will be there all
safe when we want it ; for there neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt, and thieves do not break through and steal. Not only
is heaven our treasure-house — it is our reivard. There we
meet with the full fruition of all our labor ; there we receive
every man his own reward for his own work. No mixing up,
no confusion ; to each is given his full due. The Christian
need not expect full compensation below ; he will not get it.
Heaven — and in heaven he will receive all that he expects.
Mr. Moody next spoke very beautifully about heaven being
the place where our names are written. The disciples of
Christ came back to him from one of their journeys flushed
with victory, because even the devils had been subject unto
them; but the Master said they had to rejoice because
their names were written in heaven. Our names have gone on
before us. Just as a man sends his goods often before him
when he is traveling, and he himself follows after, just so our
names have gone on before, and we are journeying after them.
We are known in heaven before we get there. The name of
each saint is in the book of life, and it cannot be blotted out.
Then, again, heaven is to be our rest. The time to toil and
suffer is now. We ought not to want to rest here. Mr.
Moody, on this point, quoted the example which the life of
Paul gives us of a man who conceived of the present being a
life of service, and not of rest. The speaker's soul seemed to
be set on fire with the thought of Paul's labors and consecrated
ambition to serve the Master ; with words of true eloquence he
described the sacred passion which Paul had for his Master's
work, and wound up a splendid panegyric on Paul's character,
by wishing that modern Christianity could be imbued with
some of Paul's fervor.
The last point of this noble address was, " How to get to
heaven.'' And here Mr. Moody found an opportunity for doing
that which is so dear to his heart, namely, preaching the Gospel
BEGINNINGS ABROAD. 409
of Christ to sinful men. The address which throughout had
been interspersed with touching and beautiful illustrations, and
now and again by Mr. Sankey singing, was brought to a close
with an earnest appeal to all " to become as little children, and so
enter the kingdom of heaven." Once more, as it had been many
times that day, was our dear brother Sankey's voice heard giv
ing his beautiful rendering of one of his choice solos, and when
the benediction had been pronounced, and the six hours'
service had come to a close, all present felt that the time had
gone too quickly. The place of meeting had been none other
than the house of God and the gate of heaven. Thus ended
the '* all-day " meeting, but, thank God, not thus ended the
memory of it ; that will live till the last year of our lives, and
many a soul traveling home to God will think of it as one of
the deep pools by the way dug by the hand of a- loving God
for the refreshment of his children.
In the evening a Gospel service was held, Messrs. Moody
and Moorhouse speaking ; the chapel was filled to overflowing,
and many souls went away having found peace in Jesus.
Let the following incident, reported by Henry Moorhouse,
illustrate the feeling among the poor and needy :
A gentleman passing down a street in Gateshead heard
some one knocking at the window of a cottage. He stopped
and a respectable woman came to the door, and said : " Come
in ! " He said he could not then, as he was going to a meeting.
'' Oh, sir, for God's sake come in, and tell me something
about Jesus, for I am wretched."
" What is the matter? " said my friend.
She said, " I am lost ; oh tell me what I must do to be
saved. I have been standing at my window all the day to see
if a Christian would come along, and if it had been a beggar
who loved the Saviour, I would have called him in."
She had been at a meeting a week before, and had been in
a miserable state ever since. A Christian lady called to see
her and told her about the love of Jesus. She trusted, and was
saved. " I saw her to-day," said the speaker, " as happy and
brighL as possible."
1^
4IO MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
The Rev. Thomas Boyd, Presbyterian minister of the place,
after describing the meetings in the VVesleyan Chapel, says,
after the evangelists had gone :
^' Such has been the number of cases, and such many of
the parties, that had it been told to any Christian friend a fort-
night ago, he would not have believed it. Even with all this
before us, so wonderful is it, that we almost feel as if we dreamt.
God's Spirit still works powerfully. Every night souls are
aroused, and, under the guidance of Christian friends, led to
Jesus."
At Stockton-on-Tees, in which the early part of November
was spent, the result is thus described by an intelligent observer
on the spot ; and once for all we call attention to the union of
prayer and Catholic feeling before and in the work :
" This work has been very great ; and in examining, for our
own future guidance and the guidance of others, into the
apparent causes of success, we are struck with the following :
First, the preparation of united, believing prayer. Mr. Moody
said, that on coming into the first meeting, he and Mr. Sankey
felt that they were among a praying peojDle \ and to this and the
next cause, viz. : the united action of the ministers of the town, he
mainly attributed the fact, that in no place which they had
visited had they witnessed such evident results in so short a
time. It was very delightful to see, at each of the services,
eight or ten of these devoted pastors, most of them in the vigor
of young manhood, strong-souled, intelligent men, representing
various shades of denominational belief, but merging all dififer-
ences in mutual affection, and the common desire to aid in the
glorious work \ and many hearts were constrained by the sight
to give thanks for such a ministry in Stockton. Another very
important feature was the absence of noise in the meetings. The
experience of the past few days will, we think, have convinced
them that the best and most successful prayer-meetings ever
held in Stockton have been the quietest, reminding us of the
old lady's description, ' God Almighty was so near that nobody
had to shout to Him.'
" Nothing is so remarkable in this revival as the utter
BEGINNINGS ABROAD.
4n
demolishing of the old-fashioned prayer-meeting. Enter solemn
minister and solemn people, scattered — six, — eight, — ten, —
over a great area. A long slow hymn. Long portion of the
Word. Two elders pray two long prayers, in which they go
from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, and a great
deal farther.
" Now we have crammed meetings. All sit close together.
The singing is lively — new songs, new tunes. A few words
from the minister give the key-note. Prayers are short. A few
texts from the Word of God are frequently interspersed. Brief
exhortations. . . . All this comes from our brethren from
America. Why have we not found out hov/ to conduct a
prayer-meeting before ? We in this country have been bound
hand and foot by traditions. In the far West of America, at
Chicago, for instance, there were no traditions. The only
people that had traditions there, were the Indians. The
brethren have thoroughly solved this question of prayer meet-
ings for us. We thank them.
" The border-town of Carlisle was next approached. The
evangelists are nearing Scotland. The place where, in former
days Englishman and Scotsman used to meet in desperate feud,
becomes the scene of victories of another kind. The truth is
the weapon, and the Victor is Jesus Christ. This none would
more readily own than the instruments He em'ployed.
" This is the Lord's doings : it is marvellous in our eyes.
As in other places, the meetings have been crowded to excess ;
the United Presbyterian Church, of which Mr. Christie is the
pastor, proved altogether inadequate to accommodate the
throngs, and the large Wesleyan Chapel close at hand was also
thrown open, both buildings being completely filled. The
power of God was present in a most marked degree ; the
solemn and magnificent songs, seeming now to bring Jesus of
Nazareth right down into the streets of our own city, or, again,
to take us right up to the gates of heaven, prepared the way for
the word of life from the lips of Mr. Moody; that word was
with power, and many were the anxious souls pressing forward
to know the way of life. Jesus has become precious to many j
412 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
souls have been born of God, and tears of contrition have given
place to tears of joy.
" This much as to the blessing bestowed on the uncon-
verted ; but what shall be said as to that which has rested upon
the Christians ? It has been a time of drawing together such
as we have not known anything of before. Ministers of the
different denominations have thrown themselves heart and soul
into the work^ and the close of the week finds us recognizing,
not in theory but in fact, that we are all one in Christ Jesus,
and banded together, that by our union in Him we may honor
His blessed name.
" Never shall we forget Mr. Moody's farewell address. He
would not say ' Good-bye ! ' No ! ' Good-night ' rather, and
meet them all in the morning, in the dawn of eternal day.
Then strong men bowed and wept out their manly sorrow like
children, blessed children as they were of the same great
Father ; and one of our brothers lifted our American friends up
in the arms of love in prayer to our heavenly Father, the
Jubilee Singers singing thereupon, ' Shall we meet beyond the
River ? ' Then came the benediction. The business was
over, and the grand occasion past, the memory thereof to die
no more.
•' Although our friends took leave thus of the country
brethren, they tarried with us, the people of Newcastle, yet a
while. On that Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday,
were immense meetings, attended by thousands, overflowing
into neighboring churches, although Brunswick Place Chapel
would itself hold two thousand. At these Messrs. Moody and
Sankey were present. Scores were converted. They were
present at the noonday meetings of Thursday, Friday, and
Saturday, at the last of which between two and three thousand
people met from eleven to half-past one o'clock. On Friday
there was a midnight meeting, and four were rescued from sin
and shame. The Saturday meeting was the last attended by
Mr. Moody. Hundreds had private conversation with him
afterward, and crowds went with him to the station, en route for
Carlisle."
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 413
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE WORD IN EDINBURGH.
Reports of the wonderful interest reached Scotland, and
Edinburgh heard the story. " Rev. Mr. Kelman went twice to
Newcastle to see if the reports of what they heard were true.
He returned overflowing with joy, and full of glowing expecta-
tions for Scotland." He spread the tidings; his report was
believed, and ministers and laymen united in inviting the evan-
gehsts to Edinburgh.
On Sunday, the 23d of November, they began their work in
the Music Hall, with two thousand present, and other thousands
seeking admission in vain. The next day five hundred met at
noon to pray, and soon the attendance at the daily prayer-
meeting exceeded a thousand. An all-day meeting was held.
A meeting for students was announced in the Eree Assembly
Hall. So great was the eagerness to obtain admittance, that
the doors were besieged by an immense crowd after it had
become apparent that the hall was full. Mr. Moody went out
and addressed the thousands in the open air, and returned and
spoke to two thousand within, the most eminent professors in
Scotland sitting around hira on the platform. A service was
advertised for the lower classes, and three thousand attended.
Every evening there were around the pulpit ministers of all
denominations, from all parts of the country, while among the
audience there were members of the nobility, professors from
the University, and distinguished lawyers from the Parliament
House.
At this time many abusive pamphlets were put forth against
the methods and the men^ and reports were circulated repre-
senting that Mr. Moody had not the confidence of his brethren
at hct^e. Measures were taken to sift this evil rumor to the
414 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
bottom. Accordingly in response to inquiries from abroad,
the following endorsement was proposed and sent to Scotland :
Chicago, May 21st, 1874.
We, the undersigned, Pastors of the City of Chicago^ learn-
ing that the Christian character of D. L. Moody has been
attacked, for the purpose of destroying his influence as an Evan-
gelist in Scotland, hereby certify that his labors in the Young
Men's Christian Association, and as an Evangelist in this City
and elsewhere, according to the best information we can get,
have been Evangelical and Christian in the highest sense of
those terms; and v/e do not hesitate to commend him as an
earnest Christian worker, worthy of the confidence of our Scotch
and English brethren, with whom he is now laboring; believing
that the Master will be honored by them in so receiving him
am.ong them as a co-laborer in th*e vineyard of the Lord.
A. J. Jutkins, Presiding Elder of Chicago Dist.
C. H. Fowler, President North-western University.
Arthur Edwards, Editor North-western Christian Advocate
(Methodist organ), Chicago.
M. C. Briggs.
S. McChesney, Pastor of the Trinity M. E. Church.
W. H. Daniels, Pastor Park Avenue M. E. Church.
Sanford Washburn, Pastor Halsted St. Ch., Methodist
Episc.
C. G. Trusdell, Gen. Supt. Chicago Relief and Aid Society.
Wm. F. Stewart, Sec. Preachers' Aid Society.
G. L. S. Stuff, Pastor Fulton St. M. E. Church.
T. P. Marsh, Pastor Austin M. E. Church.
Lewis Meredith, Pastor Oakland M. E. Church.
Arthur Mitchell, Pastor First Presb. Ch.
Glen Wood, Western Sec. American Tract Society.
C. D. Helmer, Pastor Union Park Congregational Church.
Arthur Swazey, Pastor Ashland Avenue Presbyterian
Church.
Rev. N. F. Ravlin. Pastor Temple Ch.
A. G. Eberhart, Asst. Pastor.
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 415
David J. Burrel, Pastor Westminster Presbyterian Church.
David Swing, Fourth Presbyterian Church.
Edward P. Goodwin, Pastor of First Cong. Church.
L. T,, Chamberlain, Pastor of New England Cong. Church.
Edward F. Williams ; Edward N. Packard ; John Kimball ;
W. A. Lloyd ; C. A. Sowle ; John Bradshaw ; C. F. Reed ; S.
F. Dickinson ; A. Wesley Bill ; Albert Bushnell, Congregational
Ministers.
T. W. Goodspeed, Second Baptist Ch.
W. A. Bartlett, Plymouth Cong. Ch.
R. W. Patterson, Second Presbyterian Ch.
W. W. Everts, First Baptist Ch.
Si ATE OF Illinois, Cook County, )
City of Chicago. \ ^^'
W. \V. Vanarsdale, being first duly sworn upon oath, says
that he is the Superintendent of the Young Men's Christian
Association of the city of Chicago, Illinois, and that he knows
the foregoing signatures to be genuine.
W. W. VANARSDALE.
Subscribed and sworn to before me,
this 26th day of May, 1874.
Isaac H. Pedrick, Notary Public,
Thus the temporary aspersion was removed, and he was
nobly vindicated as a true, honest, earnest man of God.
The Tide Rising.
We are having a very good time here just now, under the
preaching of Mr. Moody and the singing of Mr. Sankey.
We are all delighted with them ; ministers of all denomina-
tions are joining cordially in the work, and God is indeed work-
ing graciously. About 2,000 are out every night hearing;
many more come and cannot get into the church. Two
churches are to be opened simultaneously each night next week.
The singing of Mr Sankey lays the gospel message and
invitation very distinctly and powerfully on the consciences of
4l6 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
the people ; and Mr. Moody's gospel is clear, earnest, distinct,
and well illustrated — telling of death and resurrection — the
" Gospel of God." He is a first-rate workman, and very prac-
tical, and God has been blessing his preaching.
Every evening there have been a number of souls coming
into the inquiry rooms ; but last night, when preaching on " the
Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost," the
Spirit seemed to be working in special power, and old Foi-mal-
ity got his neck broken, and the wounded and weeping souls
came into the inquiry meeting in droves. I had to speak at
one time to seven all at once, because there was more corn than
reapers ; and others were similarly circumstanced. I saw Mr.
Moody all the evening with generally more than one. Three
rooms were open for inquirers, and I don't know what they had
in the others, but we had about forty names on ih.e paper at the
close, of those we conversed with in our room. Mr. Moody
keeps with us in the elders' vestry. Others, who are less sus-
ceptible and can stand at doors, do so, and lay hold of the peo-
ple as they retire. About one hundred, I should think, were
spoken with privately last night, and numbers of them decided
for Christ. About ten did so (or professed to do so), in con-
versation with myself. May the Divine Spirit make it a grand
reality to their souls that Christ is theirs ! On Tuesday night
I had seven who professed conversion.
On Wednesday I fought away with two only, both chronic
cases, deep in the mire of their own thoughts, and feelings, and
reasonings, and I left them very much the same as I found
them. (One of them has been saved.) This was, I suppose,
to teach me this lesson, that it is altogether God's work to save,
and man is powerless.
This experience made me go out next night with Jesus' word
on my lips, "This kind goeth not out but by praye?- and fast-
iiig; " prayer is the symbol of our dependence upon God, and
fasting is the symbol of " no confidence in the flesh " — or self-
renunciation. No devil has so powerful a hold of an anxious
soul but that prayer and fasting will cast him out in the name
of Jesus.
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 417
Our noon prayer-meeting is well attended ; about 700 are
out daily, and there is a remarkable quickening and earnestness
among ministers and Christians generally. I know Edinburgh
well, and I am safe to say that I never knew a time when there
was a greater appearance of harmony among Christians ; unity
among the Lord's workers ; and humble, prayerful waiting upon
God for blessing.
On Friday there was much blessing to Christians, and num-
bers of souls were also brought in. On that evening we had
delightful work in the inquiry meeting, and, I think, I had about
half-a-dozen I had good hope of. One was specially interest-
irg, a stranger from beyond Stirling. She was passing through,
came to the meeting, heard, was awakened, came into the
inquiry meeting, and into my hands, along with a girl of twelve,
and both professed to see the way of salvation. This woman
was astonished to hear that she had just to believe what she
read there to be saved. She said, " Is that all ? have I only to
believe.?" "Just to believe that forgiveness is yours as a gift
from God." "Then I do believe." "Then God says you are
justified from all things."
Large numbers were out again last night, and we had a
meeting for inquirers at the Free Assembly Hall. About forty
confessed that they were new converts, and about forty stood
up as anxious to be saved, and were asked to go to the other
side of the hall, where they were conversed with.
I got down beside a young lady whom I saw anxious in the
inquiry meeting, but did not have the opportunity of speaking
to her, and kept at work for an hour with her over the Word of
God. I could not tell you at length the deep interest of this
case ; but at the close I had some hope that she has divine life
and will yet get liberty.
A beautiful incident happened as I was speaking to her. A
young girl bounded up to us and said, with an overflowing joy,
'' I am the girl you spoke to at the Barclay Church and gave the
book to ; now I am just going, but could not leave without
coming to tell you that I have found Jesiis.''''
We had a very svv'eet meeting at noon to-day. Mr. Moody
4l8 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
gave US the prayers that God does not answer — Moses, Elijah,
Paul. I pointed out to him afterward, to his great delight, that
Moses' prayer was answered, to see the land 1483 years after-
ward, but not as in the midst of Israel, but in better company,
with Jesus in the midst, on the mount of transfiguration ; and
he saw the land in the light of the glory of Christ. And when
he returned he did not care a bit for the land. He was all
taken up with Christ, and instead of speaking of it or the goodly
mountain and Lebanon, he and Elias spake to Him of His
decease that he should accomplish at Jerusalem, the thing
nearest his heart. That is the sight we, too, shall get of it (if
we do not see it now) when He comes in his glory, and all his
saints with Him.
We have had a most impressive address from Mr. Moody
this evening on the text, " Where art thou? " He spoke very
solemnly to Christians, and said if they were to wake up, Edin-
burgh would be filled with awakening from one end to the other,
inside of forty-eight hours. Then he spoke to sinners, and it
was most alarming. The three steps to hell, he said, were —
I. Neglect ; 2. Refuse ; 3. Despise.
He told them, even weeping, of their danger, and besought
them to get the question settled now. Ah, it is that tender,
weeping power in dear Mr. Moody, that is so overwhelming to
sinners. He is now preaching in one of the best and largest
churches of the New Town, and yet he has been quite as faith-
ful as when among the poor last week in the Old Town ; and
there have been some marked cases of awakening. Mr. San-
key's singing of "^ Jesus of Nazareth " had a fine effect upon
them. I saw it striking in upon the hearts of many ; and many
weeping eyes told of its power. A widow in front of me, with
her little boy by her side, was moved deeply, and publicly
addressed by Mr. Moody, listened with very wistful eyes ; and
both of them came to the second meeting. I was anxious about
the result of the inquiry meeting in that church, and they were
rather long in coming in, but it turned out nearly as good as
before. About fifty were conversed with this first night, and
there seemed to be quite a number that believed.
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND.
419
The first I got hold of was a working man ; and after show-
ing him in the Word the way of life and peace, and getting him
to decide, he said :
"My wife's here."
" Where .? "
" Sitting there by herself."
" Please bring her here."
She, too, professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they
went home together believing.
Then I got a youth about eighteen in a terrible state of
anxiety, and wrought with him a long time, and though hopeful,
I do not know that he sees clearly ; but lie lives near me, and
I hope to see him again to morrow. The life is in, I believe,
but he wants liberty.
Then I got a word with about a dozen besides, and gave
them books.
I saw three all at once profess Christ in Mr. Moody's hands.
But there were chronic cases that baffled the whole of us,
and after ten o'clock there was a man in a corner to whom Mr.
Gall had spoken all night, who was all but desperate with con-
viction, Mr. Moody prayed with him, and he was bowed down
and weeping, but he had to leave him still in bondage, showing
now entirely it is God's work to set a soul free.
Mr. Sankey sang " yesus of Nazareth pas seth by.'' There
was a power in it ; many wept. At the close I had three or
four anxious sinners, and about as many anxious saints. Mr.
Moody had a goodly number professing faith in his hands.
Others also were busy. I had some interesting cases of saints
in darkness who again got light. Just as I was leaving, Mr.
Moody put into my hands a young lady who had been conversed
with by one and another all the evening ; and just as I spoke the
very last word lintended to speak to her, her face was lighted up
with joy, and she said, " I now trust in the Lord Jesus." Dr.
Thomson remarked as we were coming out, that he thought
it had been a night of more solid work than any we have yet
had. One good thing in being in one of the New Town
churches is, that '4he poor rich," as a noble worker calls them,
420 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
have got a chance for their souls. The most respectable men
and women have been plentiful in the meeting, and not absent
from the inquiry rooms. The poor have far more privileges
and opportunities of being saved than the better classes. Eut
they, too, are getting a chance now ; and we have seen some
marked instances of salvation among them. We returned home,
praising God for his grace and blessing.
I have observed that Mr. Moody speaks to inquirers with
an open Bible in his hands, fixing them down to the Word
of God, and anchoring their souls on the living rock of the Holy
Scriptures. He also gets them to their knees in prayer ; and
I have seen them rising from his side by twos and threes, wiping
their eyes, and smiling through their tears, confessing Christ.
Dr. Thomson said, " I think there could not have been
fewer than one hundred inquirers here to-night, and I think
more have professed faith in Christ than any night'' It was
very cheering to see the great heartiness with which Dr. Thom-
son entered into the vvork of the inquirers' meeting ; and also to
see other ministers there, in considerable force, from his own
church and other churches engaged in pointing sinners to Christ.
Having been every night at work for an hour and a half in the
inquiry meeting, and judging of the work from seeing about
forty come to Christ in my own hands, I judge that the Lord is
doing marvellous things among us, whereof we are glad.
Seven professed faith in Christ all at one time in one com-
pany, and we had a conviction that it w^as reality in at least
four of them. On Friday night, after Mr. Moody's solemn
word, there seemed to be a great smashing up of souls (as Mr.
Radcliffe used to call it), and among others, a lady came into
my hands from San Francisco, California, here for the healing
of her body ; and her trouble was that the Spirit, she thought,
had left her. We showed that her anxiety to be saved and her
clinging to Christ were evidences to the contrary ; and she
left after ten minutes' conversation in a state of blessed eman-
cipation and comfort. She was brought to me by one who got
put of bondage the night before ; and I said, " Perhaps you will
be bringing two each on Sunday night."
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 421
The last case we dealt with on Friday night was the most
solemn we have seen, except that man who was specially prayed
for in the noon-day meeting the other day, and saved that night.
This was a young woman weeping floods of tears. She com-
plained of a hard heart, and feared the scorn of the ungodly
when she went home ; she faintly professed faith in Christ.
I felt such an interest in this girl that I could not sleep
without sending her a line by post, inviting her to come next
day that my wife might read the Scriptures with her, and tell
her more about the Lord Jesus. She came: I was at a meet-
ing I have on Saturday evening. We made special prayer for
her, and the person who led us seemed to get near to God, and
we had a conviction that we were heard. It was so ; for on
my return home, I was met with the cheering intelligence,
"The girl has been here : I have read with her for nearly two
hours ; and she has just left, saved and happy. She said she
faintly believed last night, as you said, but she is now at
liberty, and says she never saw the fullness and freeness of
salvation as she sees it now. Her eyes were red and swollen
with weeping last night ; but she was looking bright and smi-
ling ; and the only tears she wept were tears of expressed
gratitude that Jesus had received her, and that we had been so
interested in her as to care for her for Jesus' sake as we had
done." We have seen her since, and she is looking unto Jesus;
but her demeanor is quiet and subdued, and she looks as one
would do who had just escaped from drowning, or from a terri-
ble railway collision.
We have had a meeting to-day for parents and children. It
assembled — about 2,000 were present ; the parents got a good
word. Our dear brother Sankey's singing happily gave the
Gospel to the children in a number of gospel hymns.
Mr. Moody addressed parents from Deut. iv. 5-1 1 ; v. 29 ;
yi. 7, Some young people think they hear too much about
Christ and salvation from their parents, but here they have
authority from God to speak of them, morning, noon, and
night ; when lying down and rising up ; when sitting in the
Jiouse and v/alking by the v;ay. There should be the most
42 2 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
diligent instruction of tlie young by parents, storing their minds
with the Word of God.
Then from Mark x. 13-17 he addressed the children, and
said that this is the only time when Christ was said to be
much displeased. He told of the daughter of an infidel dying
in peace, after being only five weeks at the Sunday school.
Also, of a boy of twelve, who heard Dr. Chalmers preach, and
came, at the close of the service, and said he had nothing to
give, but he would give himself to Christ. He did so, and has
been the means in our country of establishing many Sabbath-
schools, with tens of thousands of scholars, and out of them
have grown as many as thirty-eight churches, in which are
many precious souls saved and happy, all through this boy
coming to Christ and giving himself to Him.
Dr. Thomson said : I should consider it a very superflu-
ous work to say anything of the trustworthiness of these excel-
lent men. They have come among us not as unknown adven-
turers without " letters of commendation,'' but as long-tried and
honored laborers in the fields of evangelism in their own
country, and more recently in Newcastle and other towns in the
north of England, where there appears to have been a pente-
costal blessing in which every denomination of Christians has
shared. And the ministers, and elders, and deacons of our
different churches that have gathered around them every even-
ing, and shared with them in their blessed work, prove the
confidence in which they are held by those in whom the Christian
people of Edinburgh are accustomed to place confidence.
The service of song conducted by Mr. Sanke}', in which
music is used as the handmaid of a Gospel ministry, has
already been described in your columns. I have never found
it objected to except by those who have not witnessed it.
Those who have come and heard, have departed with their
prejudices vanquished and their hearts impressed. We might
quote, in commendation of this somewhat novel manner of
preaching the Gospel, the words of good George Herbert :
" A verse may win him who the Gospel flies,
And turn delight into a sacrifice."
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 423
There is nothing of novelty in the doctrine which Mr.
Moody proclaims. It is the old Gospel — old, yet always fresh
and young, too, as the living fountain or the morning sun — in
which the substitution of Christ is placed in the centre and pre-
sented with admirable distinctness and decision. It is spoken
with impressive directness, not as by a man half convinced and
who seems always to feel that a skeptic is looking over his
shoulder, but with a deep conviction of the truth of what he
says, as if^ like our own Andrew Fuller, he could ^' venture his
eternity on it," and with a tremendous earnestness, as if he felt
that " if he did not speak the very stones would cry out."' The
illustrations and anecdotes, drawn principally from his strangely-
varied life, are so wisely chosen, so graphically told, and so
well applied as never to fail in hitting the mark.
I wish once more to call attention to one essential feature
in the action of these good men — the daily noon-day meeting
for prayer. It began some weeks ago in an upper room in
Queen Street Hall. That was filled after a few days. Next it
was transferred to Queen Street Hall, which is capable of hold-
ing T,2oo persons. It was not long ere this became over-
crov/ded, and now there are full meetings every day in the Free
Assembly Hall, which is capable of holding some hundreds
more. It is a fact with a meaning in it, that simultaneously
with the increase in the noon-day meeting for jDrayer has been
the increase in attendance in Broughton Place Church at the
evening addresses, and also in the number of inquirers after-
wards. Before the end of last week every inch of standing-
ground in our large place of worship was occupied with eager
listeners, and hundreds were obliged to depart without being
able to obtain so much as a sight of the speaker. The number
of inquirers gradually rose from fifty to a hundred per night,
and on Monday evening this week, when the aw^akened and
those who professed to have undergone the " great change "
were gathered together in our church hall, to be addressed by
Mr. Moody, no other persons being admitted, there were nearly
three hundred present, and even these were only a part of the
fruits of one week, I wish to give prominence to the state-
424 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
ment that the persons who conversed with the perplexed and in-
quiring were ministers, elders, and deacons, and qualified pri-
vate members of our various churches ; and also Christian
matrons and Bible-women, as far as their valuable services
could be secured.
And now, at the close of the week of special services in
Broughton Place Church, I wish to repeat the statement in your
paper which I made on Monday in the Assembly Hall, that
there is no week in my lengthened ministry upon which I look
back with such grateful joy. I would not for the wealth of a
world have the recollection of what I have seen and heard during
the past week blotted out from my memory. When Howe was
Chaplain to Cromwell at Whitehall, he became weary of the
turmoil and pomp of the palace, and wrote to his " dear and
honored brother," Richard Baxter^ telling him how much he
longed to be back again to his beloved work at Torrington.
" [ have devoted myself," he said, " to serve God in the work
of the ministry, and how can I want the pleasure of hearing
their cryings and complaints who have come to me under con-
victions." I have shared with many beloved brethren during
the past week in this sacred pleasure, and it is like eating of
angels' bread, first to hear the cry of conviction, and yet more to
hear at length the utterance of the joy of reconciliation and peace !
I was much struck by the variety among the inquirers.
There were present from the old man of seventy-five to the
youth of eleven, soldiers from the Castle, students from the Uni-
versity, the backsliding, the intemperate, the skeptical, the rich
and the poor, the educated and the uneducated ; and in how
many instances 'were the wounded healed and the burdened
released !
It may be encouraging to Christian parents and teachers to
be told that very much of this marvellous blessing, when once
begun in a house, has spread through the whole family, and
those who already had the knowledge of divine truth in their
minds by early Christian education, formed by far the largest
proportion of the converts. The seed was there sleeping in the
soil, which the influence from above quickened into life.
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 425
There was a considerable number of skeptics among the
inquirers, but their speculative doubts and difficulties ver}'
soon became of no account when they came to have a proper
view of their sins. Some have already come to tell me of
their renunciation of unbelief, and their discipleship to Christ.
One has publicly announced that he can no longer live in the
ice-house of cold negations, and has asked Mr. Moody to pub-
lish the address which brought light to his heart, and to circu-
late it far and wide over the land.
I witnessed no excesses in the inquiry rooms, but there was
often deep and melting solemnity, sometimes the sob of sorrow,
and the whispered prayer of contrition or gratitude. There
must, however, occur at times imprudent things and excesses
in connection with even the best works that have imperfect
though good men employed about them. But cold criticism
that is in search of faults, or ultra-prudence that attempts noth-
ing from fear of making mistakes, is not the temper in which to
regard such events. I would not dare to take either of these
positions, " lest haply I should be found to be fighting against
God."
I have already expressed my high appreciation of Mr.
Moody's manner of addressing. If some think that it wants
the polished elegance of certain of our home orators, it has
qualities that are far more valuable ; and even were it otherwise,
the great thing is to have the gospel of the grace of God clearly
and earnestly preached to the multitudes who are crowding
every night to listen to him. When the year of jubilee came in
ancient times among the Jews, I suspect the weary bond-slave
or the poor debtor cared little whether it was proclaimed to
him with silver trumpets or rams' horns, if he could only be
assured that he was free.
The following paper was issued, and sent to every denomi-
nation in Scotland :
" Edinburgh is now enjoying signal manifestations of grace.
Many of the Lord's people are not surprised at this. In
October and November last, they met from time to time to
pray for it. They hoped that they might have a visit from
426 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
Messrs. Moody and Sankey of America, but they very earnestly
besought the Lord that He would deliver them from depending
upon them, or on any instrumentality, and that He himself
would come with them, or come before them. He has gra-
ciously answered that prayer, and His own presence is now
wonderfully manifested, and is felt to be among them. God is
so affecting the hearts of men, that the Free Church Assembly
Hall, the largest public building in Edinburgh, is crowded every
day at noon with a meeting for prayer ; and that building, along
with the Established Church Assembly Hall, overflows every
evening when the Gospel is preached. But the numbers that
attend are not the most remarkable feature. It is the presence
and the power of the Holy Ghost, the solemn awe, the prayer-
ful, believing, expectant spirit, the anxious inquiry of unsaved
souls, and the longing of believers to grow more like Christ, —
their hungering and thirsting after holiness. The hall of the
Tolbooth Church, and the Free High Church are nightly
attended by anxious inquirers. Ail denominational and social
distinctions are entirely merged. All this is of the God of Grace.
" Another proof of the Holy Spirit's presence is, that a
desire has been felt and expressed in these meetings, that all
Scotland should share the blessing that the capital is now
enjoying.
" It is impossible that our beloved friends from America
should visit every place, or even all those to which they have
been urged to go. But this is not necessary. The Lord is
willing Himself to go wherever He is truly invited. He is
waiting. The Lord's people in Edinburgh, therefore, would
affectionately entreat all their brethren throughout the land to
be importunate in invoking Him to come to them, and dismiss
all doubt as to His being willing to do so.
"The week of prayer, from 4th to nth January next, affords
a favorable opportunity for combined action. In every town
and hamlet let there be a daily meeting for prayer during that
week, and also as often as may be before it. In Edinburgh the
hour is from 12 to i, and v.here the same hour suits other
places, it would be pleasing to meet together in faith at the
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND.
427
throne of grace. But let the prayers not be formal, unbelieving,
unexpecting, but short, fervent, earnest entreaties, mingled with
abounding praise and frequent short exhortations ; and let them
embrace the whole world, that God's way may be known upon
earth, His saving health among all nations. If the country will
thus fall on their knees, the God who has filled our national
history with the wonders of His love, will come again and sur-
prise even the strongest believers by the unprecedented tokens
of His grace. ' Call unto me and I will answer thee and show
thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.' "
This was signed by thirty-eight ministers of all denom-
inations.
Mr. Moody addressed some special meetings in Free
Assembly Hall.
On Sabbath morning, December 14, he addressed the
young men of the Sabbath-morning Fellowship Union.
On Friday, December 19, he preached to young men on
being born again.
On Sabbath morning, December 21, he addressed Sabbath-
school teachers.
The same evening he preached to the students of Edinburgh
University and the New College, on " There is no difference."
This was one of the most magnificent sights I have ever wit-
nessed. On the platform with him were numbers of professors
of both colleges, and I believe, the majority of the students.
The hall was densely crowded, and I question whether he ever
addressed a more intelligent audience, or one that gave him more
profound and riveted attention. Had they not had confidence
in him, and felt his power, and, we trust, the higher power of
God's Spirit and truth, they would not have sat for more than
two hours with such quietness. He commanded that immense
meeting of about two thousand men, as no man on that plat-
form, save Dr. Duff, could have done. The living power of
God's Holy Spirit was felt giving the word, and laying convic-
tion on the conscience. The Gospel given at the end was most
touchingly illustrated, and the very appropriate hymn sung by
Mr. Sankey, '' I am sweeping through the gates,' gave a spirit-
428 MOODY AND SAN KEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
ual finish to the whole that had been spoken. It was an oppor-
tunity such as no man ever before enjo3'ed here ; and we can-
not doubt but that God has given and used it for the conversion
of souls and the glory of Christ.
At half-past eight o'clock, December 29, there was a meet-
ing held in the Corn Exchange, Grassmarket, which was at-
tended by about 3,000 persons belonging to the poorer classes.
The Rev. Mr. Morgan opened this meeting with prayer.
Mr. Moody began his address by telling the well-known
story about Rowland Hill and Lady Erskine. Her ladyship
was driving past a crowd of people to whom Hill was preaching.
She asked who the preacher was, and, on being informed, told
her coachman to drive nearer. Rowland Hill, seeing her ap-
proach, asked who she was, and when he was told, he said
there was a soul there for sale. Who would bid, he asked, for
Lady Erskine's soul ? There was Satan's offer. He would give
pleasure, honor, position, and, in fact, the whole world. There
was also, he said, the offer of the Lord Jesus, who would give
pardon, peace, joy, rest, and at last heaven and glory. He then
asked Lady Erskine which of these bids she would accept.
Ordering her coachman to open her carriage-door, she pressed
her way through the crowd to where the preacher was, and said,
"Lord Jesus, I give my soul to Thee ; accept of it."
Mr. Moody went on to urge on his hearers to give them-
selves there and then to the same Saviour who was that day
preached in the hearing of Lady Erskine, and accepted by her.
He brought out the freeness of the gospel offer, and the im-
portance of immediately closing with it. He mentioned several
instances of conversion — one of them concerning a soldier, who
had been at the meeting of the previous night in that same hall,
and who had afterward gone up to the Assembly Hall, had
received Christ there, and was now professing himself a Chris-
tian man.
Mr. Sankey sang several of his hymns — " The Lifeboat,"
" Jesus of Nazareth jxisseth by," and " The Prodigal Child,"
being among them.
The meeting on Sunday night, Dec. 28, seems to have been
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 429
the most extraordinary of all these meetings. Though there
were about 5,000 persons present, the most perfect order was
observed, and the deepest interest manifested in the proceedings.
After this meeting was over, hundreds pressed up to the Free
Assembly Hal!, and when the question was put if there were
any there anxious about their souls and desiring to be saved,
the whole body rose to their feet in answer to the question.
The interest shown was such as many of those present had
never before seen in the course of a long ministry among the
people. Mr. Moody expressed himself as more impressed by it
than he had been by anything he had ever before seen.
Mr. Moody preached on Sabbath forenoon in Free St.
George's Church, his subject being, "What Christ has done for
man." This he treated very generally. In the afternoon
Messrs. Moody and Sankey conducted evangelistic services in
the Free Assembly Hall and the Free High Church at five
o'clock, and in the Established Assembly Hall and Free St.
John's Church at six o'clock— these meetings being for females
only. The Jubilee Singers sang at each of these m.eetings.
There was an immense meeting in the Corn Exchange, Grass-
market, at seven o'clock. The great hall was filled with people,
who stood closely packed together in every part of it. There
must have been between 6,000 and 7,000 persons present.
Short addresses were delivered by several ministers and laymen,
frequent prayer engaged in, and a great number of hymns sung
by Mr. Sankey and the Jubilee Singers. These hymns had
each of them a bearing on the thoughts or sentiments that
formed the themes of the addresses by which they w^ere pre-
ceded. There was the most perfect quiet observed by 'the vast
assemblage, and both addresses and hymns were listened to
with the utmost attention.
In his address Mr. Moody pointed out that though it was
because of Adam's sin man was condemned, it was not because
of it that any one would be lost, but because they neglected to
lay hold of the remedy.
Mr. Moody preached to about fifteen thoicsmtd this first
Lord's-day of 1874, at seven different times. His passion for
430 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
saving souls is self-consuming. Let all Christians pray that he
may be upheld by God, in body and soul, and blessed more
and more.
Tens of thousands of men, women, and children of all
classes of the community have crowded the Iialls and churches
where they have preached and sung of Christ and the Gospel.
Multitudes of men assembled in the Corn Exchange, and
multitudes of women in the Assembly Halls and adjoining
churches on the Lord's day to hear words whereby they might
be saved ; and on the week days the daily prayer-meeting, noon,
and night, was crowded with eager anxious throngs of Christians
or anxious ones ; while in the Newington U. P. Church and the
Canongate Parish Church, fully three thousand came together
nightly to listen to the singing and preaching of the glorious
Gospel of Christ.
Bible lectures have been held in the Free Assembly Hall,
Viewforth Church, West Coates Church, and Free St. Mary's,
and thereby have received clearer light on the Gospel, more
stable standing on the sure foundation, and blessed freedom
from bondage.
Mr. Moody's excellent plan of making the Bible speak for
itself by quoting text after text and commenting on them, and
enforcing them by striking illustrations, has been of eminent
use among Christians who had life but no liberty. Christ haa
said through him to many a young and groaning one, " Loose
him, and let him go."
Mr. Moody's clear preaching of grace reigning through
righteousness and salvation by grace without the works of the
law, and the believer's place in Christ where there is now no
condemnation, and sin shall not have dominion over us, because
we are not under law, but under grace, is fitted to give imme-
diate relief to burdened, unclear, and legal Christians, of whom
we have crowds.
His mind has evidently been in contact with clear Scrip-
ture teachings, such as one seldom meets with in our day : for
he has learned to draw his words of grace and truth from the
clear crystal river of divine Revelation, and not from the
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 43 1
muddy streams of human theology ; and if we, ministers of
Christ, are still to get a hearing from the people who have hung
as if spell-bound on the ministry of Mr. Moody, we must preach
in the same simple, scriptural, loving, and direct manner. He
has lifted up a crucified and glorified Christ, honored the Holy
Ghost by believing in His constant presence and grace, and
his Gospel has been made the power of God unto salvation to
unnumbered souls. We calculate that as many as 30,000 have
listened to his beseeching voice.
The work of grace is no doubt deep, wide-spread, and ex-
traordinary, as compared with the state of things spiritually
previous to the coming of those earnest men ; but it is only the
ordinary and normal result of prayer and preaching, which the
model of the Acts of the Apostles warrants us in expecting
when all the disciples of Christ are continuing with one accord
in prayer and supplications, and in dependence in the Holy
Ghost are bending all their energies to the one work of getting
the Christ of God magnified by the conversion of perishing
souls. When we consider that the great bulk of the ministers
and Christian people of Edinburgh have been doing almost
nothing else for nearly two months but giving themselves to
receive blessing, and to co-operate with our excellent friends to
make the Gospel triumphant in the city ; and when we consider
that there has been this concerted, continued, and concentrated
effort towards this one thing, we have hardly seen so much fruit
as we might reasonably have expected ; and we are very sure
if there had not been much grieving and quenching of the Holy
Spirit of God among us in connection with this work, both se-
cretly and openh% He would have wrought with mightier power,
and the harvest of souls would have been much more abundant.
There has never been, as in other days, thousands pentecos
tally smitten simultaneously : whole meetings arrested as in the
years of the right hand of the Most High in times past, and
made to stand still and see the salvation of God. Might the
Lord not have given such power as would have left hundreds,
instead of tens, anxiously inquiring what must we do, if there
had been an entire exclusion of " the flesh " and a total self-
432 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
surrender on the part of Christians, more regard for the glory
of Christ, less grieving and quenching and more honoring of
the Holy Ghost ?
We do not quite sympathize with some things which have
been said about Mr. Moody's preaching, and especially that he
is not eloquent. What, we would ask, makes the meetings flat
when he is absent but the want of a quality he possesses ? and
what makes them full of life and spiritual emotion when he is
present, but just the superior divine eloquence which flows in
his burning words, as if an electric current were passing through
every heart ?
He is the most powerful speaker — the most eloquent
preacher — who most fully carries an audience with him and
produces the greatest results ; and if Mr. Moody is judged by
such a rule, he is one of the most eloquent of living men, for
none of us here who are ministers feel the least desire to speak
if he is present, for with all our university training we acknowl-
edge his superior power as a heaven-commissioned evangelist.
He has the all-powerful eloquence of a man full of the Holy
Ghost and of faith, and fired with indomitable zeal for the glory
of Christ and the salvation of souls. He may be devoid of rhet-
oric (and that, we suppose, is meant), and he may use his free-
dom in extemporizing grammar to suit himself, but withal
Moody, is the most eloquent, as he is the most successful
preacher among us. The Lord be praised for giving such gifts
to men, and for the thousands of souls He has converted by
him in this city, or set into the liberty of grace by a fuller
knowledge of Christ and His finished work.
What masses of young people from the schools crowded the
meetings during the holidays ! And so great has been the at-
traction of the singing of the one and the eloquence of the
other, that hundreds of young persons, especially of the higher
classes, who were formerly accustomed to go to the theatre,
opera, and pantomime, gave them up deliberately, and from
choice and the force of conviction attended the gospel and
prayer-meetings. Men who can draw away our educated chil-
dren by the hundred in this city that boasts of its education, from
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 433
these haunts of pleasure and amusement, to hear of Christ in
preaching and songs, and embrace Him as their Saviour, and
cHng to them as their friends, have that spiritual education
which ennobles the character, implants delicate feelings, gener-
ous sentiments, tender emotions, and gracious affections, which
the young very quickly discover and reciprocate.
But we have no doubt that a very great part of Mr. Moody's
superiority over most ministers as a preacher of the gospel,
arises from his superior knowledge and grasp of the Holy
Scriptures.
Messrs. Moody and Sankey's principle for gospel work is
the recognition of the divine unity of the one body of Christ ;
and accordingly wherever they go they say, in effect, A truce to
all sectarianism that the Lord alone may be exalted : let all
denominations for the time being be obliterated and forgotten,
and let us bring our united Christian effort to bear upon the
one great work of saving perishing souls. It is a charming
sight to look back over the past eight weeks and think of men
who, it appeared, were for all time to come in religious antag-
onism because of their controversial differences on the Union
question, sitting side by side on the same platform lovingly
co-operating with those American brethren and with one another
for the conversion of souls. All old things seemed to have
passed away, and all things had become new, and all rejoiced
together in the blessing which has been so richly vouchsafed by
the God of all grace.
There has been such a commingling of ministers and Chris-
tians of all the churches — all sectarian thoughts and feelings
being buried — as has never been witnessed in this city since
the first breaking up of the Church of Scotland, more than 140
years ago. What all the ministers and people of Scotland were
unable to achieve — a union of Christians on a doctrinal basis —
God has effected, as it were at once, on the basis of the inner
life by the singing of a few simple h3a-nns and the simple preach-
ing of the gospel : — for as the unity of the nation was secured
by the one purpose to make David king over all Israel : "All
these men of war that could keep rank came with a perfect
19
434 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
heart to Kebron, to make David king over all Israel ; and all
the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king,
and there was great joy in Israel ''(i Chron. xii. 38) ; so the one
purpose to have the Lord Jesus exalted and made supreme, and
His glory in the triumph of His gospel and the salvation of
sinners made manifest, has united the ministers and Christian
people of every name in the metropolis of Scotland : " and there
was great joy in that city" (Acts viii. 8). *' Be it known unto
you all, that by the name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom ye cru-
cified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him " hath
been " shed forth this which ye now see and hear." *' This was
the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is
become the Head of the Corner. Neither is there salvation
in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved" (Acts iv. 10-12).
*'This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This
IS THE DAY WHICH THE LORD HATH MADE. We will be glad
and rejoice in it " (Ps. viii. 23, 24).
Mr. Moody is overpoweringly in earnest, and he brings in the
direct, straightforward, decided methods of a thorough -going,
energetic man of business into his addresses, in conducting
meetings, and his dealing with souls, and, as a preacher gene-
rally stamps his own image upon his converts, we may hope to
see a brood of decided Christian v/itnesses and testifiers arising
out of this time of awakening, that will let it be known that the
glory of the Lord Jesus is the uppermost purpose in their
hearts.
This witness-bearing has already begun in colleges and
schools, in families and work-rooms, in drawing-rooms and
kitchens. There are discussions going on everywhere regarding
both the men and the movement. In ladies' schools there are
young converts testifying for Jesus, and boldly confessing Him
as their Saviour ; evening parties, through the influence of the
young believers in the household, are being converted into
Christian assemblies to talk over the preaching of Mr. Moody,
and to sing in concerted worship the hymns and solos which
have been introduced by the inimitable singing of Mr. Sankey.
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 435
These two quiet and humble Americans have all but turned
society in Edinburgh upside down, and by the grace of God,
have given its citizens the merriest Christmas and the happiest
New Year that they have ever enjoyed, by gathering them
around the Lord Jesus. It seems as if a voice from heaven had
been saying, " O clap your hands, all ye people : shout unto
God with the voice of triumph. God is gene up with a shout,
the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God,
sing praises ; sing praises to our King, sing praises 3 sing ye
praises with understanding. "
WHAT GOOD HAVE MESSRS. MOODY AND SANKEY DONE IN
EDINBURGH ?
This is a question which, in its inward aspect, can be
answered only by Him who knows the hearts of men ; but that
which is visible and apparent can be set down in writing.
For one thing, Mr. Moody has given the Bible its due
place of prominence, and has made it to be looked upon as the
most interesting book in the world. This is honoring the Holy
Ghost more than all the prayers for His outpouring that have
been offered ; for it is getting into the mind of God as the
Psalmist got, when he said, " Thou hast magnified Thy word
above all Thy name." His addresses on such themes as
" How to study the Holy Scriptures," and " The Scriptures
cannot be broken ; " his own Bible lectures, which were so full
of Scripture, and helpful to hundreds of Christians ; his con-
stant reference to the Bible, and quotations from it in his
preaching ; his moving about among the anxious with the open
Bible in his hands, that he might get them to rest their souls
on the " true sayings of God; " and his earnest exhortations to
young Christians to read the Word, and to older and well-
taught Christians to get up " Bible readings," and invite young
Christians to come to them, that they might be made ac-
quainted with the mind of Christ, all showed how much in
earnest he is to give due prominence to the Holy Scriptures.
Mr. Moody has also given us a thorough specimen of good
436 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
Gospel preaching, both as to matter and manner of communica-
tion. It is not a mixture of law and Gospel : his Gospel is " the
Gospel of the grace of God," " without the works of the law."
the " Gospel of God " coming in righteously and saving the lost,
not by a mere judicial manipulation and theoretically, but by
grace, power, and life coming in when men were dead, so that we
have not only sins blotted out by the blood of Christ, but deliv-
erance from sin in the nature by death and resurrection, and
life beyond death, so that a risen Christ is before us, and we in
Him. when it is said, " There is therefore, now no condemna-
tion to them which are in Christ Jesus." There is "justifica-
tion of life " in his preaching, immediately that we are "justified
by His blood:'
He has also distinguished with much decision and precision
between the Adam nature and the new creation in Christ, and
made it as clear as noon-day that salvation is not the mere set-
ting right of man's existing faculties, but the impartation of new
life in Christ, a new nature, a new creation, so that there exist
two utterly opposed natures in the one responsible Christian
man, and that " these are contrary the one to the other : " and
the knowledge of this gives young Christians immense relief,
and a solid foundation for holiness at the very commencement
of their Christian course. New creation in Christ — not the
mending of the old creation — is Mr. Moody's idea of Chris-
tianity : and it is the divine reality which many are now en-
joying.
This also leads to the Pauline theory of holiness, as preach-
ed by him. He has imbibed very fully the theology of the
Epistle to the Romans on this point, and insisted with much
earnestness that Scripture has it that Christians are not under
the law in any shape or form, and that this is essential to holi-
ness : — " For sin shall not have dominion over you ; for ye are
not under law, but under grace " (Rom. vi. 14) ; " But now we
are delivered from the law, that we should serve in newness of
spirit " (Rom. vii.). His doctrine is that the law never made a
bad man good or a good man better, and that we are under
grace for sanctification as well as for justification ; and yet the
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 437
righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us who walk not after the
flesh (that is, under law) "but after the Spirit " (Rom. viii. 4).
His clearness in distinguishing between law and grace has been
the lever of life to many souls.
Our American brethren have also been of great use in show-
ing us what may be accomplished in the conversion of souls, if
the heart is only fully set upon it, and there is a determination
to have it. They came to us with that distinct aim and object
in view ; and the Lord gave them the desires of their hearts ;
and as the result hundreds of souls have professed salvation.
They gave themselves to " this one thing," and they stuck to it,
brushing aside all other things : even the conventional courte-
sies of life were made short work of by Mr. Moody if he spied
an anxious soul likely to escape. His friends might introduce
some notable stranger at the close of a meeting, and feel rather
annoyed that, instead of conversing with him or her, he darted
off in a moment to awakened souls ; but he made that his work,
and everything else had to be subordinate to it. " This one
thing I do," seems to be his life-motto ; and in sticking to this
all-absorbing object, he has read us a noble lesson of holy
resoluteness and decision. If we v. ho are ministers have similar
faith and expectancy, and work like our American friends for
the conversion of souls, the conversion of souls we shall have.
Our Lord said to those who were to be the first preachers of
His Gospel, " I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye
should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should
remain " (John xv. 16); and when they were endued with the
Holy Ghost and with power, they did "bring forth fruit " in the
conversion of souls (Acts ii. 41 ; iv. 4) ; and their fruit remained
(Acts ii. 42), and has done so, in the millions of souls saved
in all ages down to the present day.
Our friends have been the means of rescuing hundreds of
souls in this city from impendin^^ and everlasting damnation.
Their labors have been especially fruitful in the conversion of
young women and girls, who in Lourse of time will be in the
important position of wives and mothers ; and if the thousand
of them that appear at the young converts' meeting, to receive
43S MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
Mr. Moody's farewell address, should all hold out, it will be an
unspeakable blessing that has been conferred by God on this
community through their instrumentality.
Persons at a distance have wondered at us having so many
ladies among the anxious, and the question has repeatedly
come to us, " Where are the men ? Your anxious inquirers
are nearly all women, as we read of them in your reports." If
such persons had been present on Friday, Jan. 16, and run
their eyes over the young converts in the Free Assembly Hall,
between eight and nine o'clock, and counted, as was done, the
1,150 that were present, and failed to find 150 of them men,
they w^ould no longer have been at a loss to see why the greater
proportion of the cases of awakening mentioned are women.
But we believe also that any one who would affirm, from the
excessive preponderance of women over men on Friday at the
young converts' meeting, that the movement had only laid
hold of women, would be very wide of the truth ; for although
the meetings went on for three weeks almost without men,
towards the close there were many young men who were
brought under the power of the truth. It is however, well
known that most young Scotsmen, from a variety of influences
and motives, even though converted, would rather be excluded
from the meeting than face the ordeal through which those had
to pass who received tickets ; and had there been a converts'
meeting for men to come to without any examination or receiv-
ing of tickets, hundreds would have attended it.
In a time of awakening it is also well known that women
who are religiously impressed will go through fire and water to
comply with the wishes of those who have been made useful to
their souls. They v/ill do anything they are asked to do ;
hence the mass-meeting of women on Friday, the i6th. But
not so W'ith men — especially Scotsmen — hence the absence,
notwithstanding that many are known to have been converted.
Before that meeting was held, w^e had given it as our calcu-
lation, based on the facts that had come under our own obser-
vation daily in the inquiry-meeting, that there might be 1,500
souls converted, or v;ho had professed to be converted, believ-
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 439
ing themselves to be so. We are still of the same judgment,
and that very many more of them are men than that converts'
farewell meeting revealed. Twelve hundred women and three
hundred men and boys seem to be the proportion and sum
total who have professed conversion. Hundreds of them may
go on flourishingly, and bring forth thirty, sixty, and a hundred
fold. Hundreds may go back, die out, or be choked with the
world, and many who have divine life in their souls may col-
lapse, and the v/ork may have to be done over again, and they
revived and set at liberty, because of the lack of teaching.
This has been our observation of the results of past revivals,
having been in nearly all that have taken place in this country
for the last six-and-twenty years. But we see no necessity for
this sad outcome of a blessed work of grace, if the professed
converts were fully taught in all the precious truth of God with
regard to their place in a risen and glorified Christ, as Romans,
Ephesians, and Colossians, spiritually and competently ex-
pounded, would teach them. Good milk, and plenty of it,
makes an infant thrive and grow. " As new-born babes, desire
the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereb}'. Grow
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ." The only way not to fall is to grow, and growth and
strength are by the trutli.
440 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
CHAPTER XVIII.
ON TO GLASGOW.
Five meetings in one day, at Berwick-on-Tweed, drew thou-
sands together, and the arrows from God's quiver pierced
hundreds of hearts.
A few days in Dundee awakened such interest that the
evangelists returned five months later, when the enthusiasm far
exceeded that of the previous visit. Every evening for a week
from 10,000 to 16,000 people assembled in the open air to
listen to the Gospel. Hundreds yielded to Christ, and a mighty
impulse was given to religion.
On their leaving Dundee, evangelistic services were held
in various churches, with many tokens of blessing. The number
of inquirers was very considerable. Many cases were charac-
terized by deep conviction of sin, and there were se\'eral remark-
able conversions. Of the many hundreds, doubtless some were
only slightly impressed, while others are bearing about their
trouble to this day. For, whatever may be the explanation,
there are always some Vvho very gradually anive at settled trust
and peace in Christ. As the result of the awakening, there have
been large additions to the membership of the churches — in
some congregations as many as one hundred and upward.
Great care has been taken in watching over the young Chris-
tians, and wc do- not kftow of any who have gone hack.
On the occasion of the second visit of the evangelists to
Dundee, in June, when great open-air meetings were held in the
Barrack Park, Mr. Moody organized and set going special means
and eflbrts for reaching young men. With the aid of a large staff
of earnest Christian men, who volunteered their services at the
call of Mr. Moody, the Young Men's Association carried out
the scheme with energy and success. In the course of two
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 44I
weeks, upward of one hundred and thirty young men were indi-
vidually conversed with, almost tl.e whole of whom ultimately
professed faith in Christ. The work has been carried on
throughout the 3^ear by the Association, as well as by the direct
instrumentality of the churches, with much prayer and pains,
and many have been added to the Lord. In the Post and Tele-
graph offices alone there are some twenty young men and lads
who have come over to the Lord's side, and are zealous in his
service. As Andrew found his brother Simon, and brought him
to Jesus, so in many a pleasing instance, brothers have been
bringing brothers, and young men have been bringing their com-
panions, to the Saviour. The seal of God's blessing has been
clearly stamped on the efforts of the Christian young men. And
although, to the eye of an observer looking only on the surface,
nothing may be apparent save the ordinary ripple of Christian
work, to those who look more closely, a powerful under-current
of spiritual influence is plainly seen to be at work among the
youth of our town. In many quarters the tide is fairly turned
and is setting in steadily in the right direction ; and we
expect still greater and better things.
In regard to the work among the children, we have never
before seen so much precious fruit in the same space of time.
All the year round there has been great joy in many a family,
and in many a Sabbath-school. Nor has this joy proved to be
evanescent or fruitless. To this fact parents and teachers bear
decided testimony. Running parallel with the work of the
Holy Ghost, there has been a remarkable dispensation of Prov-
idence in the removal of many little ones to the spirit-world.
Beautiful and instructive in many instances have been the last
solemn scenes of life. To the clear eye of a child's faith there
is almost no darkness in the valley. To the ear of the little
Christian, quick to catch the voices from above, the solemn
sound of Jordan's waters has no terrors. With marvellous
wisdom and force, these dying children gave forth their testi-
mony to Jesus and his grace.
While the immediate results of the work are exceedingly
precious, the value of its full outcome can scarcely be over-
442 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
estimated: believers are refreshed and lifted higher- -Christian
workers of every class having renewed their strength, and are
filled with fresh hope and zeal. The v.'hole bod}' of the living
Church has made an advance ; her forces are increased, her
methods are improved. So mighty an impulse cannot fail of
great and lasting results. But there remains much land to be
possessed, and from the recent movement there comes to us a
loud and stirring call to go forward. Thanking God for the
past, and taking courage, we look into the future with heart of
good cheer ; for we feel assured, '• 'Tis better on before ! "
But the great meeting in Scotland was in Glasgow. On
Sunday morning, February 8, 1S74, at nine o'clock, Mr. Moody
addressed 3000 Sabbath school teachers and Christian workers
in the City Hall. At half-past five in the evening, an hour
before the time for services to begin, the hall was crowded in
every corner. The crowds became so great that it was neces-
sary to hold separate meetings for men and women, and even
then no building in Glasgow could be found large enough to
hold the congregations. The interest among the impenitent
v/as beyond precedent. It was another Pentecost. Again and
again 1000 inquirers remained after the sermon to be pointed
to Chrisf.
During the six days beginning with Tuesday of last week,
the suburb of Hillhead was nine times flooded with crowds hur-
rying to the Crystal Palace. This unique glass house is the lar-
gest place of public assembly in Scotland, and can seat about
four thousand, while a thousand or two more may be crowded
into it. Tuesday evening was for the young women. Hun-
dreds appealed in vain for tickets after seven thousand five
hundred had been distributed, and hundreds who had them
struggled in vain for admission. The building was crowded up
to the fainting point, and the meeting was partly spoiled by its
numerical success. On Wednesday the young men who were
ticket-holders darkened the Great Western road more than an
hour before the time of meeting. All comers were welcome on
Thursday, so long as there was any room. In spite of the
rain the Palace was filled by seven o'clock, and about one-lialf
THE REVIVAL IX SCOTLAND. 443
of the audience seemed to be young men of the middle classes.
On Friday the noon prayer-meeting was transferred to the Pal-
ace, which was comfortably filled with the better, or better-off,
classes. Friday evening's meeting was the most significant of
the series. Tickets for it vvere given only to those who, on
applying for them in person, declared that they believed them-
selves to have been converted since January ist, and gave their
names, addresses, and church connection, which information,
we are told, is to be forwarded to their several pastors. It
was publicly stated that about three thousand five hundred had
received tickets on these conditions. As the Americans did
not arrive till six weeks after New Years, and as the tickets
. v^-ere not exclusively for the frequenters of their meetings, it
v.'as hardly fair in one of our contemporaries to insinuate that
the object was to number and ticket Moody's converts. The
children had their turn on Saturday at noon, and the working-
people at night. On Sunday morning the young women were
admitted by ticket, and at six o'clock p. m. the Palace was
filled both inside and outside, as an Irishman would say. While
several ministers, along with Mr. Sankey, conducted the service
inside, Mr. Moody addressed a crowd in the open air that filled
the whole space between the Palace and the gate of the Botanic
Gardens. Many hundreds did not even get the length of the
garden gate. The estimates of the vast throng — mere guess-
work, of course — range from fifteen to thirty thousand. A month
ago, in the same place and under the same auspices^, another
meeting was held for six and a half hours. We refer to the
*" Christian Convention," which Dr. Cairns declared to be "un-
paralleled in the history of the Scotch, perhaps of British
Christianity." It was reported that about five thousand were
present, of whom some two thousand were ministers and office-
bearers from Scotland and the North of England.
Now these are conspicuous facts, and challenge the respect-
ful attention and sympathy of all, whatever their religious views
may be, were it on no higher principle than that of the ancient
poet, " I am a man, and deem nothing human uninteresting to
me." Some have already photographed the humorous side of
444 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
these religious assemblies, and proved what we daresay nobody
will deny, that some blemishes cleave to them. We are per-
suaded, however, that many of our readers will not be disinclined
to look at the higher aspects of '' these wondrous gatherings day
by day ; '' for we are not aware that so many large and represent-
ative meetings have been drawn together in Glasgow by any
cause or interest whatever during the past century. Here is a
novel addition to the " May meetings " — a new General Assem-
bly, with representatives of almost every class of society and
every Protestant Church in the land.
The religious movement, of which these meetings are the
most outstanding manifestation, dates, so far as it met the pub-
lic eye from '• the week of prayer " in the beginning of January.
The ministers and office-bearers of almost all the churches then
met, and formed a committee to arrange for united prayer-
meetings, and also for the expected visit of the American Evan-
gelists. The record of what was going on in the North of Eng-
land, and especially in Edinburgh, had previously inflamed, as
well as informed, many of the more receptive and sympathetic
souls. Tokens of growing interest had also been appearing in
many quarters ; and evangelistic services, such as those con-
ducted by Mr. Brownlow North and others, had indicated that
the spiritual thermometer was steadily rising. During the first
week of January St. George's Church was crowded at noon,
while the overflow was accommodated in Hope Street Free
Gaelic Church. After the first fortnight Wellington Street
United Presbyterian Church was made the centre, where^ on
an average, about a thousand met daily for prayer. In the
second week of February, Messrs. Moody and Sankey began
their work among us ; and for the last three months they have
conducted meetings every day, with a few exceptions. The
mind experiences a sense of fatigue in detailing their efforts.
They certainly have not spared themselves. Here is something
like an average week-day's work : twelve to one o'clock, prayer-
meeting ; one to two o'clock, conversation with individuals ;
four to five o'clock, Bible lecture, attended by some twelve or
fifteen hundred ; seven to half-past eight o'clock, evangelistic
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 445
meeting, with inquiry meeting at close ; nine to ten o'clock,
young men's meeting. The tale of some Sabbath-day's work
is even heavier: nine to ten o'clock, City Hall; eleven to half-
past twelve o'clock, a church service ; five to seven o'clock,
women's ; seven to nine o'clock, men's meetings in City Hall.
Very few men possess, or at least exercise, such powers of ser-
vice j though in addition to the aid from the realm beyond on
which true workers rely, we doubt not that congenial and suc-
cessful Christian work may sustain a man beyond any other
form of human effort. Admission to these meetings was usually
by ticket, a necessary precaution against perilous overcrowding.
The animated scenes of last week in the Botanic Gardens prove
that the interest has not waned, even after three months' use
and wont had worn off the edge of novelty.
Accepting this as a genuine Christian work, it may be worth
while to fix attention on some of its leading characteristics and
results. We would say here, in passing, that we cannot well
understand why some educated minds, without granting a hear-
ing, condemn religious revivals out-and-out on philosophical
grounds. Viewed on the human side, the philosophy of
revivals, as they term it, is just a department of the philoso-
phy of history. In no region has progress been uniformly
steady and gradual ; but it has been now and then by great
strides, by fits and starts, and such events as the Germans call
epoch-making. In all the affairs of men there have been tides
with full floods. Every channel along which human energies
pour themselves has had its "freshet." We are familiar with
revivals in trade, science, literature, arts, and politics. Times
of refreshing and visitation are not much more frequent in sacred
than in secular history ; and they indicate the most interesting
and fruitful periods in both.
To say that the work betrays some imperfections, and that
there have been many objectors, is only to say what has been just-
ly said of every great enterprise, civil and religious. But this
revival seems to be distinguished from all previous revivals by
the circumstance that it has been indorsed by something like
the catholic consent of the churches. From the outset, nearly
44^ MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
all our leading ministers, and not a few of our foremost laymen,
identified themselves with it. They sat and sang together on
the pulpit stairs and platform at the daily prayer-meeting. A
Highland member of the Free Church Presbytery lately pro-
tested against some of the accompaniments ; and in a court that
numbers about one hundred and fifty members, there was not
one to second his lament. One of our most conservative
churches — the Reformed Presbyterian — gave its unanimous and
cordial approval the other day at its Synod.
The unfriendly letter-writers fall into two classes. Some
sign themselves clergymen, and are much exercised about their
clerical status. If any in these days will make it their chief
concern to stand upon their official dignity, they shall find by-
and-by that they have not much ground to stand upon. No
evangelists, however, have come among us who have more
respected the position and influence of the ministers. Mr.
Moody's first statement at his first meeting in the City Hall was,
that he met wath the Sabbath-school teachers first, because he
knew that no class would welcome him more heartily, with the
single exception of the ministers, and that it would be pre-
sumption in him to lecture them. The other class of unfriendly
critics write in the interest of intellectualism and culture in its
*' broadest " sense. We suspect that the " sages," whose pro-
fession is, as one of themselves has said, that they are neither
great sinners nor great saints, are the enemies of revivals only
because they are the enemies of the things revived. Would
they object, for instance, to a revival that gave body and
popular attractions to the worn-out ideas which they commend
as the ne plus tilti-a of attainable truth ? At all events, it will
not do for them to say that only the women and the children
have been attracted, for there has been nightly a most impos-
ing muster of the vigorous manhood of our city, and the City
Hall has been often found too small to accommodate the men
who flocked to some of the special services.
Mr. Moody is very fortunate in having such a colleague as
Mr. Sankey. He has enriched evangelistic work by something
approaching the discovery of a new power. He spoils the
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 447
Egyptians of their finest music, and consecrates it to the ser-
vice of the tabernacle. Music in his hands is, more than it has
yet been, the handmaid of the Gospel, and the voice of the
heart. We have seen many stirred and melted by his singing
before a word had been spoken. Indeed, his singing is just a
powerful, distinct, and heart-toned way of speaking, that seems
often to reach the heart by a short cut, when mere speaking
might lose the road. Most people admit that the work has
been conducted in a very calm and sober-minded fashion.
Mr. Moody is credited with a large share of shrewdness and
common sense. He has not yielded to the temptations that
powerfully assail his class. He does not give himself out to be
coddled and petted by well-meaning but injudicious admirers.
We have not noticed in him that offensive affectation of supe-
rior piety that provoked a sarcastic acquaintance of ours to say
that some revivalists seemed to begin their story as Virgil
makes ^neas begin his, " I am the pious ^neas." He keeps
close to the essentials, and is free from such crotchets as often
narrow the sphere and destroy the influence of evangelists. It
is not irritation but balm, that he tries to bring to our religious
divisions. It must be owned that a premium has not been set
on the hysterical, the convulsive, and the sensational forms of
religious excitement. The proverbial weakness for numbers
has been more apparent in some of his sympathizers than in
himself. Nor does he make himself responsible for the reality
of every apparent conversion. He has set his face sternly
against the religious dissipation in which some of his most inde-
fatigable hearers rejoice. Novelty-hunters and marvel-mongers
have not been gratified. Sight-seers have been usually ex-
cluded from the meetings for inquirers, and only "workers"
have been admitted. That there has been nothing necessarily
repellant to thoughtful and educated people is proved by the
number of middle-class young men in sympathy, and by the fair
proportion of them at the " Converts' Meeting," and also by the
crowds of genteel people at the quiet afternoon Bible lectures.
Though he has introduced some novel methods, he has stuck
to the simple old truths, and his convictions are in entire
448 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
accord with Scottish orthodoxy. His straightforward, business-
like, slap-dash style gives a fascinating air of reality to all he
says, white his humor, capital hits, vivid and homely illustra-
tions, and now and again his deep feeling, seldom fail to rivet
the attention of his hearers. He has not a roundabout and far-
off way of handling divine things, and hence many accuse him
of abruptness, brusqueness, and undue familiarity. The
Christian life he commends is manly and genial, intense, and
yet not strained or twisted. These features go far to explain
what would be called in America his personal magnetism.
Many ask, " But will it last ? What is to come out of all
this.'* " In Edinburgh, they say that since the Americans left, the
impression has been steadily increasing, and that it has entered
influential spheres almost untouched before. The summer
scatterings will severely test the reality of the movement, but
perhaps they may also scatter a share of the stimulus along
both sides of the Clyde. The avowed end from the first has
been that the ordinary congregational channels might be flushed
and flooded with fresh energy. Such extraordinary efforts are
most successful, though their success is less apparent when they
add new power to ordinary agencies. If this be the result, the
friends of the movement will have no cause for disappointment,
while its enemies will point to the absence of demonstrative ac-
companiments as a proof that it has entirely collapsed.
We may expect that something will be gained from the
experience of the past months. New methods of conduct-
ing meetings are already finding favor. Some may be in danger
of surrendering hastily their individuality, and adopting modes
of speech and action foreign to them. We may easily ascribe
too much to the new methods of the American evangelists.
Their success is due largely to the fact that they approach the
Scottish churches on the side on which they are weakest. It
would seem that Scottish styles are about as popular in America,
as American styles have proved in Scotland, and for the very
same reason. At the Evangelical Alliance in New York, the
speakers from our country v/ere most appreciated, because they
were strong: where Americans felt themselves to be weak. The
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 449
career of Dr. Hall in New York is also a notable case in point.
By all means let us have more elasticity, and a greater readiness
to adopt and adapt whatever is serviceable. But^ after all, new
methods will not help the churches a great deal. The surprise
and force of contrast soon wear off; and if men go too far for a
little in any direction, they take their revenge in abandoning
what formerly they overpraised. Age and repetition by-and-by
make the most skillful methods dull and conventional. The
grand need is far deeper — an inward vitality that makes men
and churches fresh, vigorous, and fruitful. If, as we are told,
multitudes in all the churches have been recently quickened,
new bottles should be made, as well as borrowed, for the new
wine.
Some confidently expect a more general co-operation of
Christians than has hitherto prevailed. Dr. James Hamilton's
quaint illustration has been so far verified. When the tide is
out, each shrimp has a little pool of salt water, which is to him
all the ocean for the time being. But when the rising ocean
begins to lip over the margin of his lurking-place, one pool joins
another^ their various tenants meet and mingle, and soon they
have ocean's boundless fields to roam in. It will be a pity if an
ebbing tide carries each back to his little narrow pool.
The relation of this work to the masses has been much
discussed. Those who blame Mr. Moody for not working
among them should remember that the tickets for all the meet-
ings were distributed by the ministers of each district, and that
in some cases the non-church-going had the preference. Recent
speeches in presbyteries and synods show that many are anx-
ious to give a home-mission direction to the movement. Quick-
ened life in presence of neglected multitudes must approve its
sincerity by zealous mission work. We hear that the committee
have already purchased a monster tent, capable of holding two
thousand, and that it will soon be one of their chief rallying-
points. The young ladies of the choir, who give invaluable aid,
are likely, it is said, to continue at their post. This would be
a very graceful and telling way of bringing together the East
and West Ends. Hundreds of young ladies with splendid
450 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
voices And an expensive musical education might thus find a
grateful relief from eimici^ and a healthful substitute for other
excitements. The work among the masses gives them a fine
opportunity of gaining a recompense for all the trouble and
cost by which they have become gifted musicians. It will be
a new jDower to them, and to many preachers who can appreciate
such co-operation."
Says one : It seems to be generally admitted that the young
men have had the largest share of the blessing. Their case
from the very first was especially laid upon the hearts and con-
sciences of the praying people. Our spiritual dead among the
young men were carried forth like the dead son of the v/idow
of Nain. A widowed Church carried them forth with affection-
ate sorrow ; but not in despair, as Jesus of Nazareth was pass-
ing by, and His fame was in the land. At His bidding she
stood still, expecting His aid ; and many of our spiritual dead
heard His life-giving word, and were restored to the crown and
joy of the Church. I do not think that I have ever seen better
religious meetings than some of those young men's meetings."
Among the laborers at Glasgow was Brownlow North, Esq.,
one of the wonderful men whom God has lately raised up to
jjropagate the Gospel outside the ordinary channels. We give
the following obituary notice :
The death of this distinguished lay preacher and evangelist
took place at Tillichewan, Dumbartonshire, on the 9th of No-
vember. •' All that was interesting in his life to the Christian
community," sa3^3 the Daily News, " began exactly twenty-one
years ago in November, 1854, when he was suddenly and over-
whelmingly arrested b) the fear of death when playing at cards*
He was then forty-four years of age, and his previous life had
been such as to make him tremble at the prospect of death and
judgment. His talents were of a very high order, with the athletic
frame and vast energy he was fitted to take a foremost position
in any line of life he might have chosen. But, not requiring to
engage in professional pursuits, he gave himself to vdiat seemed
to him a life of pleasure, and, in the highest sense of the word,
became a man of the world. But the cold hand of death, as
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 451
he took it to be, came upon him with a terrible arrest, he earn-
estly cried for mercy that night, next day he announced to his
family and friends that for the future he was a changed man,
and he immediately owned God in his house by daily prayer
and reading of the Scriptures. After many months he found
peace of conscience through our Lord Jesus Christ, set himself
to distribute tracts, and visit the sick and dying in his neigh-
borhood. Gradually this led to larger meetings, and then to
preaching in country churches, for which his Oxford studies
fitted him ; for he had been educated in the Church of England
but his conscience kept him from taking orders. After two or
three years he preached in Edinburgh to great crowds, and with
a very singular power. He had been carefully taught the grand
Bible truths regarding sin, redemption, and regeneration ; he
always stated them with great clearness and force. But at that
time his peculiar power above other preachers lay in his marvel-
lous unfolding of those two truths — the existence and presence of
the Living God, and the great eternity that is betore every man.
These truths he did not hold, but was held by them, and was
borne onward with an irrepressible enthusiasm to communicate
tliem to every living man whom his words could reach.
After three months of toil and conquest almost unparalleled
in the history of evangelization, the brethren turned their faces
to the North, having closed their campaign in the following way :
The last week has been a most impressive one. The
interest may be said to have culminated in the assemblages in
the Kibble palace. On Tuesday evening a fresh meeting of
women took place there ; all classes and ages were largely
represented, and the bearing of the majority was most devout.
Although upward of five thousand were accommodated within the
building, the issue of tickets had been so liberal that nearly two
thousand more could not gain admittance, and were addressed
on the green outside by various clergymen. Even among those
who could hear nothing the greatest good humor prevailed.
On Wednesday night upward of seven thousand men man-
aged to find sitting and standing room within the Palace,
packi ig exceedingly close. The vast assemblage was most
452 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
decorous, and obeyed orders implicitly. The full, strong
singing of the hymns was a sound to be remembered. Num-
bers of inquirers gathered afterward in the opposite church
and many could state that there \yas a good result of that
night's work.
Admission to these two meetings had been exclusively by
ticket. On Thursday night the Palace was open to all ; but
soon the doors had to be shut, leaving large numbers outside.
The meetings throughout were conducted in the usual vigor-
ous style, Mr. Moody being present, and delivering pointed
addresses, clergymen and laymen relating their own experi-
ences, and bringing forward instances and reports of the work
elsewhere.
On Friday evening came the meeting for those who pro-
fessed to have been converted during the last few months.
The tickets for this had only been given to those who placed
their names and addresses, and the names of their ministers,
on a register, opened for the purpose ; and of which, they were
informed, extracts would be forwarded to the clergymen to
whose churches they belonged, thus to prevent thoughtless
application for converts' tickets, an ultimate check being es-
tablished. The Palace was comfortably filled, and the utmost
order prevailed. In looking over the assemblage, it was
apparent that the great proportion consisted of young people,
probably under twenty-five years of age. All were well-
dressed, clear-eyed people, in the ring of whose voices, when
singing the opening hymn of praise, more than the common
sound was heard. It was a glorious sight. Some, no doubt,
may have joined that throng without due warrant ; but with
such exceptions, each individual had found his title clearly
written in the Word of his Lord and Master. One instance
came within our knowledge of two ladies who, receiving tickets
under a misapprehension, personally came to deliver them up.
This was the more honorable, as many would have entered by
any means in tlieir power, had the register not stood in the
way. An instance, indeed, occurred of one old lady, who,
having made up her mind to enter, would take no denial, and
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 453
indignantly gave the peculiar reason for insistence, that she
was well known to the best people of the West End, and to the
magistrates of the city and county.
On Saturday came the meeting for children, and in the
evening another for grown people ; but the greatest gathering
of the week took place on the Sabbath, when, after a meeting
in the morning for women vAio had not obtained admittance on
the previous Tuesday, the gates were thrown open in the after-
noon to all comers. Such a crowd as had never been seen in
these parts before. Many a time during the week the Great
Western road had been darkened for an hour and a half with
the living stream, but that night for three hours the stream was
incessant. Vehicles were not easily to be had on Sunday, so
nearly all came on foot — all classes, " gentle and simple,"
young and old, blind and lame. The Palace was immediately
filled, but the afternoon sun was so hot there that soon the
whole had to turn out on the green ; there a crowd, variously
estimated at from twenty to thirty thousand, was soon gathered.
Some apprehension was entertained that mishaps might ensue
inside or outside the building; but by the exercise of consider-
able firmness, and compliance with orders on the part of the
people, the danger was happily averted. Mr. Moody ad-
dressed the crowd, standing on the box of a private carriage,
and by those within comfortable ear-shot he was considered to
have surpassed himself in earnestness and force. The sing-
ing of the sweet hymns by such a strength of voices, sounded
upon that quiet sunny Sabbath evening from amidst the fresh
foliage of the gardens, was deeply impressive. Such a sight,
too, had probably never before been seen within the limits of
the land. While the main body dispersed, filling all the ap-
proaches and the public roads, about five thousand christians,
and those professedly anxious about their own state, gathered
inside the Palace, and for the last time heard the voice of the
man for whom such an affection has sprung up in the hearts
of many. The scene was impressive when an English speaker,
with rapid and energetic utterance, reminded the assemblage,
many of whom had the greatest cause to thank God for all he
454 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
had recently done for and by them, that that man (Mr. Moody)
ought to be constantly remembered in the prayers of all, to
whom he had proved an instrument of grace. Many were
much moved. Mr. Moody then took a farewell of the people,
most of whom he could never hope to see again in the body, and,
as a final message, declared that many christian friends in that
place and elsewhere had agreed to unite in prayer that night
for those then gathered together v/ho might be anxious about
their ov/n state, conscious they were not saved. The twilight
v/as rapidly deepening when he asked those in such a case to
rise to their feet in sign of their desire. The solemnity of
feeling was indeed deep, when from four to five hundred
persons quietly rose all over the house, and as quietly resumed
their places, actuated evidently by something outside their
ordinary lives.
Was not that something like the Spirit of God ? We shall,
perhaps, never know here; but when from among the ranks of
those who have felt his power we find men and women quietly
affirming to friends and strangers the inner change which has
been wrought in them, and then going out to work for him ;
when we find this wide-spread, and representatives of all classes
among the believers, have we any right further to question that
God has been working, and will continue to work, in men's
hearts powerfully? Be the instruments v.-ho they may, are they
not of God's choosing ? Some of bis own servants may have
been kept from joining in the work of promoting the awakening ;
but now that the first instruments of this general awakening
have left us, it must be, it is, the sacred duty of all the stated
ministers in the field to take up the work where it now stands,
and to carry it on, thankful and joyful in the fresh vigor infused
into the spiritual life of many, and jealous only for the extension
of the Master's kingdom."
TriE Summer Blessing.
Another brief visit to Edinburgh and Dundee was followed
by a tour of great interest in the Scottish Highland country.
Many of their meetings were held in the open air, and attended
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND. 455
by vast multitudes. As a specimen of what transpired at these
places we take the account of a visit to Elgin, Aberdeen, and
Craig Castle.
It was a strange contrast last Thursday ; at five o'clock, in
the busy Show at Inverness, at seven in the streets of Elgin
quiet at all times, but that night altogether passengerless and
deserted. Surely something unusual v/as going on — the streets
abandoned, the house-doors fast, the shops closed. Through
half a mile of the empty streets ours were the only footsteps that
echoed on the pavement, and everything was silent and desolate
as a plague-stricken city ! At last, just on the verge of the
town, the stillness was broken by the distant sound of a voice,
and the turn of a lane revealed a sight which time can never
efface from the memory. There stood the inhabitants, motion-
less, breathless, plague-stricken indeed — -plague-stricken with the
plague of sin. The sermon was evidently half over, and the
preacher, with folded arms, leaned over the wooden rail of the
rude platform. Oh, the sin upon these faces round him ! How
God was searching the heart that night ! I cannot tell you who
were there, or how many, or what a good choir there was, or
what Mr. Sankey sang, or which dignitary prayed. I cannot
tell you how beautifully the sun was setting, or how fresh the
background of woods looked, or how azure the sky was. But
these old men penitent, these drunkards petrified, these strong
men's tears, these drooping heads of women, these groups of
gutter children, with their wondering eyes ! Oh, that multitude
of thirsty ones — what a sight it was ! Vv^hat could the preacher
do but preach his best ? And long after the time for stopping
was it a marvel to hear the persuasive voice still pleading with
these Christless thousands ?
One often hears doubts as to the possibihty of producing an
impression in the open air, but there is no mistake this time.
No, there is no mistaking these long concentric grcs of wistful
faces curving around the speaker, and these reluctant tears,
which conscious guilt has wrung from eyes unused to weep.
Oh, the power of the living Spirit of God ! Oh, the fascination
of the Gospel of Christ ! Oh, the gladness of the old, old story
45'^ MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
of these men and women hurrying graveward ! The hundred-
and one nights in Glasgow excepted, never have we seen the
Holy Spirit's nearness more keenly realized. These thousands
just hung spell-bound on the speaker's lips. It seenied as if he
daren't stop, so many hungry ones were there to feed. At
last he seemed about to close, and the audience strained to
catch the last solemn words; when the preacher, casting his
eye on a little boy, seemed moved with an overpowering desire
to tell the little ones of a children's Christ. Then followed for
fifteen minutes more the most beautiful and pathetic children's
sermon we have ever heard ; and then, turning to the weeping
mothers and fathers, concluded with a last tender appeal, which
must have sunk far into many a parent's heart.
Long before the close of the address it was evident to all
that the Lord of the harvest was going to give us a glorious
reaping-time that night. We had not, indeed, been ten minutes
on the ground, when a stranger whispered, in the very middle
of the address, " Will you come and speak to a woman about
her soul.'*" at the same time pointing out a drooping figure
standing near, with face buried in her shawl. We were not sur-
prised, therefore, at the great crowds which entered the inquiry-
meetings — in one church for women, another in a large hall for
men, while the Christians went apart by themselves to another
church to pray. The arrangements connected with these after-
meetings were all beautifully managed, and shortly after nine
o'clock the whole three were well under way. The women's
inquiry-meeting was supplied with relays of workers from the
prayer-meeting. The work was on a very large scale, and the
workers' report was, that the cases were of a very hopeful char-
acter. But the work among the men — and this is a splendid
testimony to the depth and reality of the impressions — was
even on a larger scale still ; and the sight in the Evangelistic
Hall, where the men's inquiry-meeting was held, is not soon to
be forgotten. The whole hall was filled with men, broken up
into little groups of twos and threes, talking in hushed yet
earnest voices on the great subject of the one thing needful;
v/hile behind, in the committee-room, half a hundred young men
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND.
457
were gathered in prayer for their groping brothers. Many of
these had themselves but newly decided for Christ, and were
the fruit of the week's meetings for men, which have been
blessed by God far above all expectation.
It is useless to attempt to give even an approximate idea of
(he extent of the blessing which fell upon Elgin on Thursday
It gbt. The whole of Morayshire has shared it, and a powerful
hold has been gained in nearly every farm house and village
throughout the country side.
At the pressing request of a large number of those who had
taken part in the evangelistic w^ork set going in Aberdeen
some months ago, Mr. Moody paid a farewell visit to Aberdeen
in August, and addressed several meetings, at the same time
taking occasion to urge on to greater zeal those who were en-
gaged in the good work. Mr. Sankey has been obliged to go
south to a more genial temperature to recruit his health, but
Mr. Moody has wTOught on since he left Aberdeen, in different
districts in the north, almost without ceasing; the same remark-
able results always attending his labors.
At seven o'clock, Mr. Moody met with a large body of young
converts in the Free South Church, and addressed to them a
few parting words. He spoke on his favorite topic of " con-
fessing Christ," pleading hard with those who had lately come to
Christ to come boldly forward and confess Him.
The Music Hall was crowded to excess long before eight
o'clock, the hour at which Mr. Moody was announced to give
an address, the passages, orchestra, and galleries being quite
packed. " Except a man be born again he cannot enter the
kingdom of heaven," was the text on which Mr. Moody based
his discourse. Christ did not say these words to a drunkard,
to a thief, to a harlot, but to a man who in our days would be
made a D.D. or an LL.D.
After referi'ing to the often-doubted possibility of sudden
conversions by those who could not understand it, even although
there were living evidences of it before them, he bade the meet-
ing farewell, with the hope that they would all meet on the
shores of eternity.
458 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
Mr. Moody stayed in the hall conv^ersing with anxious
inquirers until about ten o'clock, when he drove to a men's
meeting in Trinity Free Church, which had gathered at nine
o'clock in the expectation that Mr. Moody would give them a
farewell address. In the course of the few sentences he spoke
to them, Mr. Moody said they could have no idea of the influ-
ence the Aberdeen men's meetings had had in other places he
had visited. In all of the towns the example of Aberdeen had
been followed, and large bands of young men were enlisted in
evangelistic work.
A number of the young men then retired with Mr. Moody
into an ante-room, to hold private conversation with him, and
he continued to converse with them until it was time to go and
prepare for his journey to Wick by steamer.
On Sunday afternoon, an open air evangelistic service was
held on Craig Castle lawn, conducted by Mr. Moody. The
weather in the early part of the day was very unpropitious,
heavy showers descending, with brief intervals, until four p.m.,
when the rain ceased, and it continued fair during the evening.
The wet detained not a few at their homes, no doubt, but most
of those who came seemed to have determined to be present in
any case ; and by five o'clock a very large company — especially
taking into account the thinly-peopled districts from which they
had gathered — had assembled on the beautiful lawn in front of
the castle. Every valley and hamlet within a radius of ten
miles sent its company in gig, cart, or afoot, until at five o'clock
about 2, 500 people stood on the lawn. The gathering resembled
somewhat one of the Covenanter hill-side meetings, save that
while the Bibles were still present, the broadswords were alto-
gether absent; and the rendezvous, instead of being a wild,
rocky pass, was a hospitable castle, with its fairy dell and leap-
ing linn, celebrated in song, and known as one of the loveliest
spots in Scotland.
The beauty of the scene seemed specially to move Mr. Moody,
who referred to it in his discourse, which was one of peculiar
beauty, power, and pathos. Standing in an open carriage placed
near a towering tree, the preacher spoke for nearly an hour from
THE REVIVAL IN SCOTLAND.
459
the parable of the marriage feast. A very marked impression
was produced, and many retired at the close of the service for
conversation with the preacher and other ministers and friends.
The Craig gathering of August, 1874, will, we believe, be
ever memorable to not a few as " the beginning of days " to
them.
" I must say," said Dr. H. Bonar, " that I have not seen or
heard any impropriety or extravagance. I have heard sound
doctrine, sober, though sometimes fervent and tearful speech
the utterance of full hearts yearning over the wretched, and
beseeching men to be reconciled to God. That I should
accord with every statement and fall entirely in with every part
of their proceeding need not be expected. Yet I will say that
I have not witnessed anything sensational or repulsive. Du-
ring the spiritual movement which took place in Scotland about
thirity years ago, in most of which I had part, I saw more of
what was extreme, both in statement and proceeding, than I
have done of late. There was far more of excitement then than
there is now. The former movements depended far more ujDon
vehement appeals, and were carried along more by the sympa-
thetic current of human feeling than the present. When the
present movement began, I feared lest there should be a
repetition of some of the scenes which I had witnessed in
other days, and I did not hesitate to express my fear to
brethren. My fears have not been realized. I have been as
regular in my attendance at the meetings as I could, though I
will not say that there was nothing which I might not have
wished different, yet I have been struck with the exceeding
calmness at all times — the absence of excitement — the peaceful
solemnity pervading these immense gatherings of two or three
thousand people, day by day — the strange stillness that at
times so overawed us ; and I felt greatly relieved at the
absence of those audible manifestations of feelinsf common in
former days. Rowland Hill was once asked the question,
' When do you intend to stop ? ' ' Not till we have carried all
before us.' So say our brethren from Chicago. We say
Amen. This needy world says Amen. Human wickedness
460 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
and evil say Amen. Heaven and earth say Amen. The work
is great and the time is short. But the strength is not of man
but of God."
And after more than two years have passed by, the great
results continue to appear, and the wave of holy influence kas
swept with purifying energy over all that land.
CHAPTER XXIX.
The Evangelists in Ireland.
At his last Bible-reading Mr. Moody said that, in considering
what should be the subject, he thought, What was it he wanted
most himself? When nine months ago he came to Scotland, a
perfect stranger, he felt utterly powerless, and could only have
been sustained by the Holy Spirit's help ; now, when he was
going to Ireland, he felt just the same ; and if he attempted to
go there resting upon the grace given for Scotland he should fail.
He needed a fresh anointing for this new service.
In this spirit of entire reliance upon the Lord, Mr. Moody con-
templated the Irish field. God honors those who honor Him.
We shall see how much this confidence in the Lord was justified
by the results of efforts in Ireland.
It would seem that after fourteen months of such toil, they might
well have taken a little rest. But Ireland was calling them ; and
bidding farewell to Scotland, they proceeded to Belfast, where
they held their first meetings on Sunday, Sept. 6, 1874.
The work had a good commencement in Belfast. Numbers
thronged and crushed to the churches, so much so that the happy
plan was adopted of dividing the meetings, and holding gatherings
for women only at two o'clock, and for men only at eight o'clock.
Consequently, the large churches are well filled, without any
unseemly disorder.
On Friday Mr. Moody addressed both meetings, taking for
his text, " The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that
462 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
which was lost." With great power and aptitude he proclaimed
the Lord Jesus as the " Seeker ; " and very touchingly he con-
vinced the people that He was now seeking each individually,
seeking to save and to bless them. Mighty Faith, then, appears
to be the secret of Mr. Moody's power. On the hearers he urges
decision, now to believe, instant salvation on faith in Jesus only.
His address was interspersed with telling illustrations, which
came right home to every heart. He rapidly referred to the par-
able of the lost sheep and lost piece of silver, and graphically
narrated the sudden conversion of Zaccheus, unmistakably evi-
denced by the immediate fruit of the Spirit in his change from an
extortioner to a restitutor. Mr. Sankey's very sweet solos and
touching hymns, accompanied on the American harmonium,
seemed to exercise a powerful effect in, as it were, deepening the
impression of the Word.
The large church, which holds 2,000, was filled with women of
all classes ; and the one which holds 1,500 had every seat occu-
pied with men. They were mostly shopkeepers and mechanics,
and a large proportion such as do not regularly attend churches.
After the evening meeting the Christians were invited to remain
and pray for the speakers to the anxious, and the inquirers were
directed to side apartments, of which several were filled with
those whom the Holy Spirit was convincing of sin, and of the
need of the seeking Saviour. Thus, while such a glorious work
as has been witnessed in Scotland has not yet taken place
in Belfast, a sweet and encouraging commencement has been
made.
The interest in the meeting in the evening is increasing. From
fifty to a hundred remain each evening, under anxiety of soul,
desiring to be pointed to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the
sin of the world. These are found of all classes, and of all
shades of moral and religious character — backsliders, notorious
sinners, moral 5'oung men, whose consciences are 37et tender, and
skeptics, whose hearts hav'e been blasted as by an east wind. The
majority of the inquirers are young men. This is a special, and
I may add a most hopeful, feature of the work. Many seem
THE EVANGELISTS IN IRELAND. 463
clearly to have embraced the offered gift, and to be rejoicmg in
God.
On Sabbath Mr. Moody held a meeting for Christian workers
at the early hour of eight, and notwithstanding the hour the
place was crowded, so much so that the overflow filled an adjoin-
ing room. The address was touching entire consecration to God,
and more whole-hearted activity in His service. An open-air
meeting was advertised for half-past two o'clock. It was held
in an open space, in the midst of the mill-workers of our town.
Few, if any, of the thousands who attended that meeting will ever
forget it. Very many, I believe, will remember it with joy in
the Father's home on high. The attendance was great, estimated
variously at from ten to twenty thousand ! The weather was
exceedingly favorable. Mr. Sankey sang "Jesus of Nazareth
passeth by." While he did so I could observe in the glistening
eye, and the deep sighs of many around where I stood, that it
was even so.
As time advances, this gracious work of God seems to extend
and deepen rapidly. On Tuesday the experiment was tried of
holding a meeting in the evening exclusively for women, in order
to reach the case of workers in mills and warehouses. More
than an hour before the time of meeting, the streets around were
packed with a dense mass of women; and when the gates were
opened the place was filled almost in a moment ; and after that,
with the overflow, three large churches. In all these meetings
the anxious, willing to be spoken to, were more than could be
overtaken. We have reached a blessed difficulty — our inability
to find Christian workers in sufficient number, who are able and
willing to point the seeking sinner to the Lamb of God.
The number of strangers who from long distances visit Belfast
to attend the mid-day meetings is daily increasing. In this way
the work is already extending, and, I trust, will cover the whole
island. At its present stage of progress, the most marked fea-
tures are desire to hear the Word of God, willingness to be spoken
to upon the state of the soul, frank confession on the part of many
that they do not savingly know Jesus ; and, most blessed of all,
4^4 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
the equally frank confession on the part of many that they have
"found Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did
write, Jesus of Nazareth."
To-day the mid-day meeting is solely for professing Christians
— the subject, " Assurance." In the evening the meeting is
intended for such only as are seeking Jesus. Mr. Moody has
adopted these expedients because of the want of any hall or
building sufficient to contain the crowds seeking admission.
Intense calm and deep earnestness characterized all the meet-
ings. The Holy Spirit was poured out, not with a rushing wind,
but in a still, small voice. An unusual proportion of fine young
men waited to be conversed with in the inquiry-rooms. All
seemed to feel there are but the two classes, the saved and the
lost.
Various were the difficulties felt by inquirers, but all such as
anxious souls have expressed from time to time. Some could
not understand what " coming to Christ " is ; others had previ-
ously come, but were staggered because they had not the com-
plete mastery of sin ; others, again, had not felt a sufficient sense
of danger. Warm-hearted and experienced Christians listened
to the difficulties of each and all, and were in most cases enabled
by the Holy Spirit to speak the suited word and remove the
stumbling-blocks.
The open-air meeting was attended by numbers variously esti-
mated at from 10,000 to 20,000. The fundamental truths of the
gospel were forcibly put and ably illustrated. Many were bathed
in tears. Multitudes of careless men and women have been
awakened.
Singing bears a most important part in the work of God.
Deeply effective are Mr. Sankey's solos, not only in touching the
heart's affections, but in deepening the impressions made by the
Word. The solo " Too Late," following on Mr. Moody's address
on the despair of the lost in hell, had the most solemn effect.
The wail, " Oh ! let us in ; oh ! let us in," and the awful response,
" Too late ! too late ! you cannot enter now," are enough to wring
the inmost soul of every wavering and undecided sinner.
THE EVANGELISTS IN IRELAND. 465
A meeting for inquirers only was arranged to be held in the
evening of the same day, in the Ulster Hall, the largest public
building we have. Admission to this meeting was strictly lim-
ited to those professing anxiety to find Jesus. Christian workers
were admitted by ticket, a method adopted to avoid the mistake
too often made at such meetings of allowing incompetent or im-
proper persons to engage in such work. There is not one Chris-
tian in a hundred fitted for this most delicate and difficult service,
requiring, as it does, close communion with Jesus, much knowl-
edge of the human heart, and very clear views of gospel truth,
and not less a desire to know nothing, and to speak of nothing,
save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
While all this is true, it is equally true that none are oftener
blessed in this work than young converts, while their virgin love
is yet fresh, and their faith clear and simple. There was at the
meeting for inquirers an attendance of some 500 — this in addition,
it may be noticed, to many meetings of like kind held in various
churches at the close of the evening service. It was very touch-
ing and stimulating, when an opportunity was given by Mr. Moody
at the close of the meeting, to hear many young men read out, in
trembling tones, and yet with beaming countenances, some pre-
vious promise of the Word of God. It seemed like throwing out
a life-buoy to the struggling ones around, who were swimming for
life in the waters of death — like the letting down of a cord to the
prisoners in the pit in which there is no water. Subsequent
information in the young men's meeting proved that these truths
were laid hold of savingly by not a few that Sabbath night in the
Ulster Hall.
On Sabbath night we had our first meeting for young men,
from nine till ten o'clock. To the surprise of all of us, there were
about 1,500 present. The beginning is a special work, which, I
trust, will spread as in Glasgow^ There had been during the
spring a very marked work among the young men in Belfast, in
connection with the Young Men's Christian Association. Now it
has been deepened and gready extended.
During the week the tide of spiritual life seemed to increase
466 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
each day. The Bible-readings at two o'clock have been full of
interest, specially stimulating to many whose spiritual life had
hitherto been very dormant.
The manifestations of the Spirit's presence and power were
very marked. In the earlier days of the movement, of the many
who were deeply convinced of sin, comparatively few seemed to
come to rest and peace and faith in Jesus. It seemed as if a
higher tide of the Spirit's power were needed to guide them
through the quicksands of difficulty, and over the bar of doubt
and distrust, into the haven of rest.
This week, we thank God, it is otherwise. We can say with
thanksgiving concerning many, " They which have believed do
enter into rest."
The meeting for the young was very striking. Mr. Moody pre-
sided. The truth seemed to reach, in the Spirit's power, many
young hearts. A meeting for boys under fifteen has been organ-
ized. Some of the cases in it are exceedingly touching, affording,
I conceive, illustrations of the work of God upon the human
heart in its simplest and deepest form. This meeting for boys
assembles every evening now at half-past seven.
On Monday we had no meeting — rather, one of the most
remarkable meetings, I shall venture to say, ever held in Belfast.
Fisherwick Place Church was open for inquirers from two till ten
o'clock. Mr. Moody and other Christian workers were occupied
all that time in pointing sinners to the Lamb of God. It is im-
possible to say how many wounded spirits were conversed with
during the day. Many very experienced Christians, who have
seen much of the Lord's work in other years, declare they never
saw a meeting like it.
It was a sight which would, I think, have drawn tears of joy
from any heart, to see upward of 200 young men, the very flower
of our youth, one after another acknowledgipg the yoke of Jesus.
Passing just across the street, I entered May Street Church,
where more than 1,000 men were assembled to hear the glad
tidings of great joy.
In order that as many as possible might have an opportunity
THE EVANGELISTS IN IRELAND. 467
of hearing the gospel at these special services, admission on Tues-
day night was by tickets, given only to such as had not hitherto
heard Mr. Moody. About 3,000 tickets were given on personal
application. It was a season to be remembered. The soil, so to
speak, was virgin ; the attention so marked as to be almost pain-
ful in its silence ; the presence of God very powerful in the con-
sciousness of every spiritual mind. The inquirers at the close of
the meeting were spoken to, as far as they could be overtaken,
in adjacent churches, to which the men and women were sent
respectively.
It is worthy of remark, the great contrast in outward manifes-
tation between the present work and that of 1859. I have not
heard of or noticed any physical excitement— not even an outcry,
much less what were then known as " prostrations."
Here let me sa}?-, it has been most noteworthy that during the
last weeks, while we have had most inclement weather, every
Sabbath-day, and at the hour of our great gatherings, it has been
all that could be desired.
The number in attendance was fully equal to any preceding
Sabbath. It may give you some idea of the multitude if I state
that the field on which the meeting was held contains about six
acres, and that the people stood densely packed from one end to
the other. There was profound solemnity. The impression upon
the hearts of the people by the truth in the power of the Spirit
was very deep, as the sequel will show,
Mr. Moody held his usual meeting on Sabbath evening for
those in deep distress about salvation, and for those who had
found eternal life during the past weeks through faith in Jesus.
The meeting was exclusively for men, and admission solely by
ticket. The hall in which it was held was completely filled. Mr.
Moody stated in the noon-day prayer-meeting on Monday that,
in his judgment, it was the most 7'emarkable 7iieeting he has had yet
in Europe. To God be all the praise ! One after another of
these young men — and they comprise the very flower of our
youth — rose, and, with clearness and wonderful felicity of expres-
sion, in burning words, declared what God had done for his soul.
At length, at nine o'clock, the meeting: was closed.
468 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
Meanwhile another meeting of men was assembling in a church.
It was already very nearly filled when we heard the tread of a
large company approaching. It was a phalanx of these redeemed
youths. They sang the new song. In a spontaneous burst of
praise they were telling forth the wonders of redeeming love. No
language can describe the scene. The heavenly echoes of that
burst of praise, I think, will never be forgotten by any who heard
it. The meeting that followed, consisting of some two thousand
men, I need not say, was one of profound interest — Jesus in the
midst, and the marching glorious.
During each day of this week, and at every gathering, more
and more of the presence of the God of salvation has been mani-
fested. Let me in a sentence or two describe one which, in sober
language, was most wonderful. Mr. Moody addressed on Mon-
day evening in Fisherwick Place Church, a meeting of men. At
the close of his address all who had recently been found by the
Good Shepherd, and also all who were seeking Him, were
requested to retire to the adjoining lecture-room. Some six
hundred men did so. Mr. Moody again sifted them, by request-
ing that those only who were deeply anxious to be saved should
adjourn to another room. Probably nearly three hundred did so.
In breathless stillness Mr. Moody addressed them, very briefiy
stating that he could do no more for them — that they had heard
the gospel, and that it v/as for themselves to decide. He called
upon them to kneel and pray for themselves. They bowed as
one man, and now here and now there might be heard the short
cry for mercy — a few earnest words of supplication ; probably
about thirty or forty so cried to God one after the other. Surely
the Lord is in this place ! was the thought which rose in holy
fear in the hearts of all.
After a short prayer by Mr. Moody, he addressed them very
faithfully. He again held forth Christ, and invited all to rise
who felt that they could there and then accept Jesus. All of that
large compan}^, save twenty or thirty, stood up, and solemnly
avouched the Lord to be their God. This wonderful sight cannot
be described. The glory of it cannot be realized, even by those
THE EVANGELISTS IN IRELAND. 469
best acquainted with divine things. If there is joy in heaven
over one sinner that repenteth, what shall we say of the gladness
in the Father's house when the prodigals in companies of some
two hundred enter, as it were, at once?
Thursday, October 8, we had fixed for a gathering of the
masses in the open air. Many had fears for the weather, but
much prayer in many places over the three kingdoms was offered
to God for the success of the meeting. God did for us above
what we asked. The weather was splendid ; everything as re-
gards order and decorum all that any of us could wish. It was
the largest open-air meeting I ever attended. I cannot pretend
to fix a limit to the numbers. He who counts the stars knew the
history of each present, and what were the dealings of his heart
with Christ and the free offer of His salvation. The only regret
that seemed to be expressed by any was, that the services were
so short.
Mr. Moody addressed the vast multitude from the words, '' I
pray thee, have me excused." With graphic felicity, great clear-
ness, and soul-piercing power, he exposed the miserable pre-
tences by which sinners impose upon themselves in refusing a
present offer of present blessedness. The address seemed to
strike with convicting power many consciences, and, from many
instances coming under my own observation at the inquiry-meet-
ing in Fisherwick Place Church, I have reason to believe in sal-
vation power.
The great gathering in the Botanic Gardens on October 8 has
been our crowning mercy in this season of blessing. We feel as
if every prayer had been heard and every heart gratified by our
gracious God. As the days pass, and as tidings reach us from
the country districts all around, we continually hear of rich
blessings bestowed and of precious fruits following. Many car-
'ied with them to their homes the spark of renewed life. That
spark has, in some cases, already burnt into a blaze. We receive
the good news from many places of great readiness to hear the
Word of God, and the cry, '' Come over and help us," reaches
us from many quarters. -
470 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
Our dear American brethren left us on Saturday for Derry.
Tidings have reached us that a great and effectual door was
opened unto them in that city.
Messrs. Moody and Sankey returned from Derry this morning
(October 15) to hold their final meeting ere passing on to Dub-
lin. Mr. Moody presided at the noon-day prayer-meeting. The
subject was, " Lessons from the Life of Jacob." The meeting
was one of great interest. The meeting in the evening was held
in St. Enoch's Church. It was exclusively for sinners under
anxiety of soul, who professed to be earnestly seeking Jesus.
Admission was by tickets, and that, moreover, on personal appli-
cation.
Readers may judge of the depth of the movement and the
measure of awakening power upon the souls of men by the Spirit
of God, when I state that upward of 2,400 persons were so ad-
mitted ! It was Mr. Moody's last appeal in Belfast to the Christ-
less. I may not attempt to describe the scene ! He set before
the anxious, sin-stricken multitude, Jesus in all the glory of His
sufficiency — in all the attractions of His dying love. He showed
Him, as with one foot upon the threshold of the heart He sought
admission. Now in f^iithful and firm words he warned them of
the dangers of delay ; and now he gently moved them, in tender-
ness, as one whom his mother comforteth. At length he ceased
speaking, that each might hear, in the silence, the voice of Jesus
pleading directly. And in the awful stillness of that moment
many of that great company of seeking sinners, I trust, were able
to say in words expressive of soul-submission, " Sj^eak, Lord, for
thy servant heareth."
I think it must have been the most notable meeting in the
experience of Mr. Moody. I do not at present remember to
have read of any such meeting, as regards the number of the
awakened, in modern times. Does it not seem like a return of
Pentecostal power, when 3,000 were similarly smitten with soul-
concern?
The meeting in the evening was for the young converts — for
all who have reason to believe that they had found Jesus since
THE EVANGELISTS IN IRELAND.
471
Messrs. Moody and Sankey came to Belfast. Admission was
strictly by ticket. These tickets were only given on personal
application. About two thousand one hicndred and fifty tickets
were given! What a rich harvest! How soon gathered! The
result of some five weeks' work ! I have good reason to believe
that even this number fell very fiir short of the whole number who
profess to have received Jesus as the gift of God.
It was a soul-stirring sight to see that vast multitude, including
the Christian workers and ministers, numbering more than 3,000.
It was like the sound of many waters to hear this multitude sing
the new song. As all stood and sung in one burst of praise —
" O happy day that fixed my choice
On Thee, my Saviour and my God,
the effect was overpowering, filling the soul with a sweet fore-
taste of the praises of heaven.
Mr. Moody's last word of comfort and encouragement was
founded on Rom. xiv. 4, " God is able to make him stand." He
closed his address by commending all the new-born souls " to
Him who is able to keep you from falling." Hundreds of men
not used to a melting mood, with weeping eyes and heaving
bosoms, heard him say, as he concluded, "Good-night; we shall
meet in the morning when the shadows flee away."
A very touching incident in the service was the singing, by
Mr. Sankey, of a hymn composed by a dying youth in Belfast,
" Is there room t they say there is room ! "
CHAPTER XXX.
The Glory of God in Dublin.
The brethren began in this beautiful capital where only about
40,000, or one-sixth of the population, are Protestant, on the 26th
of October, and continued there till November 29. Says one :
"It was not found necessary to preach those sermons which
are generally used as a preparation for revival. The revival
commenced immediately. Dublin had been waiting to hear the
Gospel preached ; and its people, by crowds, when they heard
it, eagerly pressed into the kingdom of Christ. From all over
the island, multitudes came up to attend the meetings ; many of
whom went home happy in the love of Christ. One woman came
a hundred miles to hear Mr. Moody preach, but was too late to
obtain admission. The next day, however, she read a report
of his sermon in a morning paper, and it was blessed to her sal-
vation. One new convert wrote a letter to a lady friend, and
this letter was the means of her conversion. Then she read it to
her mother, who also was led to the Saviour : and afterwards her
father and her brothers, all by reading the same letter, were
induced to give their hearts to Christ."
We have never before seen such sights in Dublin as we have
seen this last week, night after night, at the Exhibition Palace.
It is estimated to hold 10,000 persons. Every night it is filled,
and the attention and silence is wonderful. One feels that the
Spirit of God is present, and that "a wave of prayer" is contin-
ually going up to the throne from the Lord's people.
The committee of management procured the Exhibition Pal-
THE GLORY OF GOD IN DUBLIN. 473
ace for holding these services, the largest and most commodious
building which has yet, in Europe, been placed at Mr. Moody's
disposal. On Sunday last, the Christians of Dublin wit-
nessed a sight to gladden their hearts. It has been estimated
that, at the first service at four o'clock, from twelve to fifteen thou-
sand persons were gathered there. Never before was it put to so
blessed a use.
Such a sight has never before been witnessed here as may now
be seen every day — thousands flocking to the prayer-meeting
and the Bible-meeting, and most of all to the evening services in
the great Exhibition Palace. It is a sight to fill the heart of the
child of God with deepest emotion to stand upon the platform
erected in that building, from which Mr. Moody preaches, and
to cast one's eye over the vast concourse of people, hanging on
the speaker's lips, as in burning words he discourses on life and
death, heaven and hell, "Jesus and His love," and one cannot
but ask the question, "What is the magic power which draws
together those mighty multitudes, and holds them spell-bound?"
Is it the worldly rank, or wealth, or learning, or oratory of the
preacher ? No ; for he is possessed of but little of these (spirit-
ually, indeed, he is richly endowed with them all). It is the sim-
ple lifting up of the cross of Christ — the holding forth of the Lord
Jesus before the eyes of the people in all the glory of His God-
head, in all the simplicity of His manhood, in all the perfection
of His nature, for their admiration, for their adoration, and for
their acceptance.
For some time, notwithstanding the huge crowds, our brethren
felt that they were not reaping heavy sheaves as they had done
elsewhere. But the conviction grows upon us that the " set time "
to favor us has come. The work is deepening and widening
every day. In many families with which I am intimately
acquainted, one or more of the members have hopefully turned
unto the Lord. I know cases in which I may say the whole fam-
ily has been brought to seek salvation as the one thing needful.
It is very observable, too, how previously existing prejudice has
abated, or entirely disappeared, at least in the case of those who
474 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
manifest any respect for religion. Tliere are, of course, scoffers
not a few. But it is truly a matter of astonishment in a city like
this, that there is so little of open resistance or even of
ridicule.
Our Roman Catholic brethren, as a rule, have acted a noble
part. They have been respectful; and, to a certain extent, sym-
pathizing. In this week's number of the Nation — an organ at
once of National (as it is called) and Ultramontane principles —
an article has appeared entitled " Fair Play ! " which is exceed-
ingly creditable, and which indicates the advent of a new day in
Ireland. The editor informs his constituents that ^^ the deadly
danger of the age comes upon us from the direction of Huxley,
and Darwin, and Tyndall, rather than from Moody and Sankey.
Irish Catholics desire to see Protestants deeply imbued with
religious feeling, rather than tinged with rationalism and infidel-
ity ; and as long as the religious services of our Protestant neigh-
bors are honestly directed to quickening religious thought in
their own body, without offering aggressive or intentional insult
to us, it is our duty to pay the homage of our respect to their con-
scientious convictions ; in a word, to do as we would be done byP
(The italics are the Nation's.) It would surely be a bright and
blessed day for our country, if this spirit of mutual respect and
toleration were everywhere honestly acted out amongst us. Mr.
Moody never makes controversial reference to others. His suc-
cess in attracting the favorable attention of our brethren of a
different faith has been unexampled in the history of our
city.
One very marked feature in the movement is the number of
men that are influenced. Many people have remarked the
large proportion of them that are inquiring.
A few nights ago an old gentleman, more than seventy years
of age, threw himself down on his knees and sobbed like a child.
He said, " I was utterly careless about my soul till last night, but
I have been so unhappy since, I could not sleep. I seemed to hear
ringing in my ears, ' Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,' and if I don't
get saved now, I never shall be."
THE GLORY OF GOD IN DUBLIN. ^>j^
Already the influence of this work has begun to tell upon the
most remote districts of the country. Parties of thirty, fifty,
sixty, etc., are being organized from the most distant parts to
Dublin. Many of these carry back with them much blessing.
We hear of the young converts witnessing for Christ fearlessly in
the trains on their way home from their meetings. " The Lord
hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad." But we ex-
pect greater things still. I am fully confident, from all the indi-
cations I see, that next week will be likely greatly to surpass
the previous delightful weeks we have had. The memory of
these blessed meetings in the Metropolitan Hall and the Exhibi-
tion building, will long, yea, will ever be fragrant in our hearts.
I do not think we had ever such an antepast of heaven.
The Public Breakfast given to Messrs. Moody and Sankey
yesterday morning, was, in every way, a wonderful meeting. I
heard nearly all to whom I spoke on the subject, say it was the
happiest reunion they ever attended. It was a truly catholic
gathering. Eminent men among us, under the influence of
deep emotion, bore testimony to the spiritual good they had
received at the meetings. Ministers testified of the instruction
and quickening that had come to them.
No men — ministers, evangelists or others — ever before brought
a more interested assembly around them in Dublin than these
honored servants of the Lord did yesterday morning in the Shel-
bourne Hotel. And yet it is not Messrs. Moody and Sankey,
but the Christ they preach and sing. It is Christ lifted up that
draws all men unto Him. Oh that we might all learn that we
have here the true and only uniting power for Ireland !
I can confidently say that the work here intensifies and spreads
every day, I might say every hour. Some of our more timid and
cautious friends who had almost never come in contact with a
great religious awakening, were fearful, while we were making our
preliminary arrangements, that it would be next to impossible to
keep up the interest of the people for a month or more ; but the
fact is, the interest was never nearly so great as it is this moment ;
and as the time of our brethren's departure draws near, the
47^ MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
eagerness to hear their every word and catch their eveiy song is
something wonderful to see. As I remarked before, this eager-
ness does not now proceed from curiosity.
At all the meetings yesterday, the attendance was enormous.
It is a very healthful sign of this work, that the daily prayer-meet-
ing continues to be so largely attended, although neither Mr.
Moody nor Mr. Sankey usually takes a very prominent part in it.
The requests for prayer have become so numerous, that it has been
found impossible to read even a brief classification of them. The
letters have for some days been " spread before the Lord," after
the example of good King Hezekiah, the meeting uniting in
silent entreaty for the special cases sent in.
Hundreds were obliged yesterday to go away disappointed in
their efforts to get into the Bible-reading in the Metropolitan Hall.
Mr. Moody reserved his best wine to the last. A more suggestive
Bible-lecture it was never our privilege to hear. We had a com-
pendium of some half a dozen Bible-readings. The great bulk
of the people, ministers included, were taking notes. It is given
to few preachers to have so many eager reporters. Many a good
sermon will be got out of yesterday's addresses. One minister
remarked that it was as good as an addition of many a good book
to his librar}^ It is calculated that in the evening there were not
less than 12,000 persons assembled in the Exhibition building.
There is not a Sabbath service in any congregation in Britain in
which there is a greater solemnity and decorum than there was in
that vast assembly. The sight from the platform of these earnest,
and, in many cases, awe-stricken thousands, is one that it will be
impossible for us ever to forget. Some one remarked to me, a
day or two ago, how significant it was that during the severe
weather of last week, even .a cough was scarcely heard in that
great-crowded glass building. When Mr. Sankey sings the
silence is sometimes even oppressive.
We are now engaged in giving out tickets for the Thanksgiving
meeting to be held on Wednesday evening, the last night Mr.
Moody has promised to be with us. The tickets are given only
to those who profess to have been brought to Christ during the
THE GLORY OF GOD IN DUBLIN. 477
special services. We are very careful in giving these tickets,
though I doubt not there may be many stony-ground hearers.
We have had the help in this work of some of the most experi-
enced ministers of the gospel in our city ; and the general impres-
sion made on the minds of the brethren who have taken part in it,
is of deep and intense gratitude for the many indubitable tokens
of the presence and power of the regenerating Spirit of God.
About a thousand tickets have been already given out ; but many
of the converts have not yet applied.
Arrangements have been made for the carrying on of special
prayer and evangelistic meetings, after our brethren have left.
Leading ministers of all our evangelical churches have thrown
themselves heartily into these arrangements. We have felt that
it is a good thing — good for ourselves, and good for that cause
which, with all our imperfections, is dearer to us than life — for
brethren to dwell together, and work together, in unity.
The labors of the Evangelists closed with a three days' con-
vention, which was attended by 800 ministers, from all parts of
Ireland, besides thousands of the general public. The first day
was devoted to discussions on the following topics: "Praise
and Thanksgiving," " How are the masses to be reached .'* "
" What can be done to promote the Lord's work throughout Ire-
land ? " etc. The second day was signalized by a gathering of
over 2,000 converts, to whom Mr. Moody addressed loving coun-
sels, and on the third day there was another gathering of the min-
isters in Exhibition Palace. And thus terminated one of the
most remarkable gatherings ever held in Dublin. Mutual love
and courtesy marked all the proceedings. Strangers could not
tell to what body of Christians many of the speakers belonged.
The labors of the evangelists in Ireland were ended, and on
Sunday, the 29th of November, at Manchester, they began their
new work in England.
The happy visit of Messrs. Moody and Sankey to Dublin is
now a thing of the past. These men of God are gone from us,
but the work remains. That work consists :
I. In a great general azvakening throughout Dublin and its
478 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
neighborhood. This is a fact which is patent to all, and cannot
be gainsayed or denied. It is a fact that from 12,000 to 20,000
persons have been attracted to the Exhibition Palace every Sun-
day afternoon since the work began ; that the attendance at the
services held each evening in the same place, beginning with
some 5,000 people, increased each evening till it became as great
as on the Sundays ; and this notwithstanding an audience of
from 2,000 to 2,500 hard been in daily attendance at the noon
prayer-meeting in the Metropolitan Hall, and on three days in
each week at the Bible-readings at two o'clock in the same place.
What has been the great attractive power which has drawn
together such vast multitudes ? Thank God, it was the simple
statement of gospel truth — the old, old story of Jesus and His
love, plainly and lovingly told.
2. The briiiging in of sovie 3,000 converts to the fold of Christ.
Nearly 2,000 tickets were issued to those who professed to have
found the Lord Jesus as their Saviour since these services began.
To these must be added the many hundreds who came up from'
all parts of the country to attend the services, and who found "joy
and peace in believing," some of whom are known to myself,
besides all those who are still day by day being added to the Lord.
3. The quickening and refreshing of many hinidt'eds of mitiisters
in connection with the convention held this week. It was a happy
thought to bring so many ministers of the various evangelical
denominations together at this time. It afforded them an oppor-
tunity of seeing with their own eyes the reality of this great work
of God which is going on around us, getting their own hearts
warmed up afresh, and thus of becoming, when they return home,
more than ever centres of spiritual light and heat in their own
parishes and districts.
Says a well-informed writer: "The finances of the Dublin
revival are worthy of special attention. Some days before
Messrs. Moody and Sankey arrived, three or four gentlemen met
at the office of Mr. David Drummond ; and, after consultation
and prayer, decided to send out a circular, saying that the Amer-
ican evangelists were coming ; that the Great Exhibition Palace
THE GLORY OF GOD IN DUBLIN.
479
had been engaged for them ; and that money would be wanted to
meet the large expenses attendant upon the services. It was
determined to ask for the sum of ^1,500 ; and circulars for this
purpose were sent out to five or six thousand of the leading citi-
zens of Dublin. Only two instances of personal solicitation are
mentioned; but the money came in so fast, that Mr. Drummond,
who was the treasurer, was obliged to employ a clerk to keep the
record. Old ladies would come in Bath-chairs to bring half a
crown. People in high life came in carriages, bringing cheques
or gold. Even the poor desired to have some share in the work,
and gave their pennies and half-pence. By some means the sub-
scription became known to the prisoners in a certain jail in the
south of Ireland ; and they, regretting their inability to be
present, sent their good wishes, and a little collection which had
been raised among them, to the amount of twenty-five shillings.
From Protestants and Papists, masters and servants, the contri-
butions poured in. No sum larger than ;^3o was received. A
large part of the money was in silver and copper; but the full
amount required was raised.
" Having now come so near to the question of the support of
Messrs. Moody and Sankey, the readers of this work will natu-
rally desire to know something on that interesting topic. Here
let it be said, once for all, that these brethren do not work for
pay. They have never sought an invitation ; never stipulated for
any sum of money to be given them, either for their services or
expenses. In every instance, Mr. Moody determined the ques-
tion of going to, or passing by, a place, under the direction, as he
believed, of the Spirit of God. The committees which invited
him have held the matter of finance entirely in their own hands.
They have raised the money as they pleased, and given him such
sums as they judged suitable; these he has shared with Mr. San-
key ; and thus they have labored together, taking what God sent
them — which in many instances has been very little, and in no
case very much. At Dublin the committee consulted together,
and determined to give Mr. Moody a sum of money which, they
afterwards were glad to learn, was in excess of what he had
480 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
received hitherto ; but even upon the proportion of this generous
gift, the American evangelists will never become rich out of their
present employment. Still, in the secular press, and in the gossip
of the streets and offices, these men are accused, by those who
know nothing of them, of mercenary motives in their great work
for Christ.
" Only a little while ago a certain newspaper suggested that they
were an advance-guard sent over by Barnum ; and that the adver-
tising scheme, no doubt, would presently appear. Another equally
discerning party had heard of Mr. Moody's little device for setting
children to study the Bible, which he calls ' the Gospel clock.' It
consists of the grouping of twelve texts of Scripture in a circle,
containing respectively the same number of words as those which
mark the hours upon a dial. A great many of these Gospel clock-
faces have been arranged by the little people to their no small
profit and deliglit. But the individual referred to saw in it a sug-
gestion of a different character. 'I have it at last,' said he,
' Moody is a clock-maker in America, and this is the beginning
of a system of advertising, by which he means to sell his wares.'
" In like manner Mr. Sankey has been assailed as an agent for
the sale of that peculiar make of harmoniums which he uses to
accompany his singing. But it is scarcely needful to say that no
such charge can be properly made against him."
CHAPTER XXXI.
The Harvest in England.
They were no longer the strangers who first struggled for a
hearing in York, but brethren " beloved and longed for " by thou-
sands who had not yet seen their faces in the flesh. Preparations
at Manchester, whither they first went, were intelligently made
for the successful conduct of their work, and we soon hear the
tidings through the press that " Manchester is now on fire."
The most difficult of all English cities, perhaps, to be set on
fire by anything but politics, is now fairly ablaze, and the flames
are breaking out in all directions.
Free Trade Hall, within whose walls scenes of no common
interest and excitement have often been witnessed, presented a
spectacle such as those who beheld it will not easily forget. Dr.
McKerrow assured me that he had seen no such sight, even in
the most excited political times, during the forty-seven years of
his life in Manchester, as that which he saw there on Sunday
afternoon.
The building was densely crowded. Not an inch of standing-
room was unoccupied. Long before the appointed hour, hun-
dreds found it impossible to gain admission. And Mr. Moody
— in what terms shall I describe his address ? Theological critics
might have said there was nothing in it ; but only eternity will
reveal how much there came out of it, I should not be surprised
if hundreds of conversions should result from that single mighty
appeal. Taking for his text the first question addressed to them,
482 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
" Where art thou ? " he bro'ight it home to the bosom of every
hearer with a power and pathos that were simply irresistible.
Having referred to the case of a young man who had cried out in
the inquiry-room on Friday night, "Oh, mother, I am coming! "
the young man himself sprang to his feet, and exclaimed in tones
of impassioned earnestness, " That was me ! " The effect was
electrical. Not an eye but was suffused with tears. The whole
vast assembly was impressed with a profound sense of the pres-
ence and power of the Holy Ghost.
The meeting for young men in the evening was equally won-
derful, no fewer than seven t3^-one having remained behind as
anxious inquirers, not a few of whom went home rejoicing in the
peace of God that passeth understanding.
There is only one sentiment, I feel convinced, in the hearts of
all God's children in this vast community in regard to this great
work, and that is, a sentiment of devout thankfulness to our
heavenly Father that He has sent among us two such men, full
of faith and power, and yet eminent for humility and lowliness of
mind. "The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we
are glad."
The meetings of December 11, that memorable Lord's day,
gave a tone of solemnity and a character of power to all the meet-
ings of the week. The tide rose steadily day by day, until it
became full, overflowing the bank in all directions — a very spring-
tide of blessing; and only eternity will reveal how many immor-
tals are now launching out upon its waters in the bark of a simple
trust in the Son of God.
The evenings of Monday and Tuesday in the Free Trade Hall
will long be remembered by the thousands who were present.
Mr. Moody delivered his famous discourses on Heaven. Much
as we have read and heard cf the fervor and unction that charac-
terize them, we were not prepared to find these apostolic qualities
in so superlative a degree rs that which marked them on this
occasion. The second was especially interesting and delightful,
treating as it did of the society and the treasure of heaven ; and
the contrast drawn by the preacher between these and the trea'
THE HARVEST IN ENGLAND. 483
sures and society of this world, seemed to strike the minds of the
vast audience with all the force of a revelation, constraining many
a heart, doubtless, to resolve to seek henceforward " the things
that are above." The appeal with which it closed, for power
and pathos, exceeded, in our judgment, anything that he himself
has uttered.
And then the discourse on Hell, on the evening of Wednesday,
coming as it did immediately after the addresses on Heaven, was
certainly one of the most solemn and impressive utterances that
have been heard within those walls. Every eye was riveted on
the speaker. The projected shadow of the great white throne
seemed to fall and rest upon every countenance. Even the fer-
vent exclamations in which some of our friends indulge at reli-
gious meetings, and which had been just a little too fervent the
night previous, were hushed, and scarcely a sound broke the
awful stillness with which, for nearly an hour, the people listened
to the oft-repeated charge, like so many claps of thunder, " Son,
remember ! " In bygone revivals such heart-smiting, conscience-
stirring, soul-firing words as those which poured from the preach-
er's lips would have caused hundreds to start to their feet and
cry out with frenzy, "God be merciful to me a sinner ! " But in
harmony with the prevailing character of this awakening, the
conviction of sin produced on that occasion seemed to be too
deep and too sacred to find expression in mere excited exclama-
tions or physical prostrations, and were known only to Him who
seeth in secret ! God was in the midst of us, of a truth. The
Holy Spirit came, as of old, with the force as of a rushing mighty
wind, and filled all the place where we were sitting. The powers
of the world to come were brought nigh to every conscience in a
manner never to be forgotten. We seemed to be looking across
the gulf that divides time from eternity, and beholding the tor-
ments of the self-destroyed victims of a broken law and a rejected
gospel. No wonder that the inquiry-room was full that night of
inquirers of the most anxious description, and that the after-meet-
ing, over which we presided, was larger and more earnest than
any that has yet taken place. Doubtless the heavens blossomed
484 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
into song overhead, and the angels of God rejoiced over many
souls turning from sin and Satan unto the living God !
On Saturday evening the Oxford Hall presented a spectacle
which those who witnessed it will not soon forget. In response
to Mr. Moody's invitation, some 3,000 persons, professedly Chris-
tians, and chiefly young men, assembled to hear him counsel
them regarding Christian work. The heartiness with which they
ever and anon broke forth into song before he made his appear-
ance, and the manliness with which they sang, especially " Dare
to be a Daniel," indicated that they were ready to receive with
gladness the word of command from the lips of the great Organ-
izer. He spoke briefly but effectively. He told of the work done
by the young converts elsewhere, especially in Glasgow, in con-
nection with the evangelization of the masses. He made particr
ular reference to the noble army of volunteers that rose to their
feet in that city when the appeal was made to them, " Who will
work for Jesus ? " And then, when he made the same appeal to
themselves, calling upon all who were ready to work for the Mas-
ter to stand up, almost the entire body of young men — a grand
and inspiring sight — sprang to their feet. One could not help
exclaiming, *' God be thanked! there's hope for our city! Man-
chester, with such a host, may yet be won for Christ ! " By a
special arrangement, as it seemed, of Providence, Mr. Reginald
Radcliffe was present, and immediately put before them a definite
plan for making a great gospel attack, so to speak, upon the city.
He suggested that an ordinance map of Manchester should be
cut into small squares, each representing a district, and that two
or three young persons should undertake to carry the gospel, in
the shape of a tract or otherwise, to every house, great and small,
within that district, so that no single dwelling should be omitted.
The plan appeared to approve itself to the judgment of the
meeting, all the more so that he told us how successfully he had
carried out a similar one in Edinburgh and Liverpool in years
gone by. The Lord grant it abundant success !
The workers' meeting was the largest since Messrs. Moody
and Sankey came to Manchester. The address was most power-
THE HARVEST IN ENGLAND. 485
ful. A forcible appeal was made to Sabbath-school teachers in
this city ; but one conviction seemed to exist in the minds of the
vast audience of 5,000, " Let us arise and work."
Had Mr. Moody come to deliver only this address, his mission
had not been in vain. In the afternoon from 15,000 to 17,000
struggled for admission. Various meetings had to be held in the
Free Trade Hall, Oxford Hall, and Cavendish Chapel ; all
crowded as they never have been before. As many more halls
of the same size could have been filled. From twenty to thirty
meetings were held in the streets of the neighborhood, where
addresses were delivered by ministers and laymen. At every
meeting the Lord was present to heal. Anxious inquirers were
very numerous. Great numbers professed to find the Saviour.
The meeting for 3'oung men in Oxford Flail, at eight, was also
crowded to excess, hundreds being unable to obtain admission.
Mr. Moody spoke as if tongues of fire hovered over his head.
The spiritual movement in this city is now a fact — a solemn
but joyful fact — which must be observed even by those who take
their stand outside as mere spectators, with marvel ; and, indeed,
skeptics marvel.
" It is a most strange phenomenon," said one to me, who is a
clever journalist, "to see such multitudes brought together by
mere curiosity, and this curiosity increasing day by da}^, when
there is nothing to be seen or heard that is fitted to excite curi-
osity." So it is. A striking feature of these meetings is the
absence of all excitement. The thousands who usually flock to
our hall, when once seated, are impressively still ; it is a grand,
encouraging sight to watch this sea of human faces eagerly wait-
ing for the word of life. Mr. Moody puts no effort forward to
attract ; he stands before his audience quiet ; he never introduces
himself; you see at once he wants 3'ou to listen to his message.
His vv'ords are m.ost simple and earnest ; there is nothing elabo-
rate, or strange, or new, not even his illustrations. But as his
words fall from his lips, hearts are moved. If you watch the
audience you can see faces changing expression ; you can read
there shame, contrition, confession, hope, faith, peace — as the
486 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
case may be. The truth comes home ! There is power ! No
man could do it ! It is God's power ! It is the Lord's doing !
Christians have been drawn together as we' have not known
here before; and though there remains yet much that is to be
desired, still we are encouraged and hope for greater things ; we
know that we cannot make unity by arrangements and efforts ;
the Lord's laborers have learned to realize more than ever that
the work is God's, not ours ; that He works mightily with His
power, if we do not hinder, and are willing, as Mr. Moody puts it,
to be simple channels, just as those dusty, rusty, crooked-looking
gas-pipes. And many who have been hitherto too ignorant
or indifferent, or too cowardly to work, have now come forward
and said, " Here am I ; send me."
A dear friend from Liverpool, who is almost daily with us, has
used the opportunity and organized a scheme by which every
house in this city shall be visited. I will only add, that hundreds
of our visitors are already busy visiting and speaking and singing
in the sick chambers of isolated sufferers, in the desolate homes
of the godless, of Him who came to seek and to save that which
was lost. The reports of the visitors are most cheering.
The noon prayer-meeting in the Free Trade Hall has steadily
kept up its numbers. The large proportion of men who find time
in this commercial centre to consecrate an hour to prayer at mid-
day, is a striking feature of the meeting. The first twenty minutes
are generally spent in reading the requests for prayer, and pre-
senting them in silent and audible supplication to God ; a large
proportion of these requests bear upon intemperance. This
noon gathering affords an opportunity for Christian workers
from all parts to give tidings of the progress of the work of God.
The other day Mr. Moody read a telegram from the venerable
Mr. Somerville, who has gone on an evangelistic mission to Cal-
cutta, reporting the conversion of thirty-one persons at a special
service held by him in the theatre there on the previous evening.
Last Monday, the Rev. G. Stuart, of Glasgow, told how solidly
the work is continuing in that town, and how it is in contempla-
tion to purchase Ewing Place Church for ;f 20,000, for evan-
THE HARVEST IN ENGLAND. 487
gellstic purposes, growing out of Messrs. Moody and Sankey's
labors. He also related several remarkable instances of answers
to the prayers offered at the Glasgow noon prayer-meeting. On
Tuesday, the Rev. A. McLaren followed up Mr. Moody's address
by a brief and telling speech, in the course of which he strongly
urged prayer for the consolidation of the growing union now
observable among the churches of Manchester.
The meetings for Christian workers in the Free Trade Hall
on Sunday mornings at eight o'clock, have imparted a great
stimulus to Christian labor. Never shall we forget Mr. Moody's
address on " Daniel ! " last Sunday morning. The hall was
crowded to excess ; between 5,000 and 6,000 persons brought
together at that early hour, in the depth of winter, testifies to the
power with which the awakening has laid hold of the city. The
character of Daniel was exhibited with graphic skill ; the varied
scenes of the first six chapters of the book were vividly portrayed ;
every actor in the story became instinct with life and humor, and
the lessons were rapidly and sharply drawn in a way not likely to
be forgotten. The scene of Belshazzar's feast was powerfully
sketched ; and while Daniel read out the mysterious writing on
the wall — read it easily, for it was " his Father's handwriting " —
the breathless silence which fell upon the vast throng in the hall
told with what reality the scene was presented before them. The
whole story involved a running satire upon the yielding temper
of the present day ; and the address constituted a powerful
appeal to young men which we have never known surpassed. At
the close Mr. Sankey sung " Standing by a purpose true," and
the audience joined with unmistakable enthusiasm in the chorus,
*'Dare to be a Daniel."
The gospel-meetings on Sunday afternoons and week even-
ings are still as thronged as ever. The numbers at the inquiry-
meetings increase ; many have been led to the Saviour. So
permeated with Bible truth is the teaching given in Mr. Moody's
addresses, that inquirers perceive the way of salvation Avith
unusual quickness ; Christ is presented to them, and they simply
and immediately close with Him. Last Sunday afternoon Mr.
488 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
Moody addressed the great assembly in the Free Trade Hall, from
the seven following " Beholds ": " Behold, I was shapen in iniqui-
ty "; "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy"; "Behold
the Lamb of God "; " Behold, now is the accepted time "; " Be-
hold, now is the day of salvation "; "Behold, I stand at the door
and knock"; "Behold, he prayeth." It was an address of
thrilling solemnity. The crowded meeting which, at the time,
filled the Oxford Hall, was addressed by the Rev. J. Rawlinson
and W. Hubbard. It may interest readers to learn that a band
of workers has been organized to visit every house in Manchester
and Salford, with a card bearing on one side the hymn, "Jesus
of Nazareth passeth by," and on the other the following address
by Mr. Moody: "'Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any
man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and
sup with him, and he with me ' (Rev. iii. 20). A woman in Glas-
gow got into difficulties. Her rent was due, but she had no
money for the landlord, and she knew very w^ell that he would turn
her out if she did not satisfy his claim. In despair she knew not
what to do. A Christian man heard of her distress, and came to
her door with money to help her. He knocked, but although he
thought he could hear some one inside, yet the door was not
opened. He knocked again, but still there was no response.
The third time he knocked, but that door still remained locked
and barred against him !
" Some time after he met this woman in the streets, and told
her how he had gone to her house to pay her rent, but could not
get in. 'Oh, sir!' she exclaimed, 'was that you? Why, I
thought it was the landlord, and I was afraid to open the door.'
"Dear friends ! Christ is knocking at the door of your heart.
He has knocked many times already, and now He knocks again
by this message. He is your best Friend, although, like that
woman, perhaps you think He comes with the stern voice of
justice to demand from you the payment of your great sin-debt.
If so, you are sadly mistaken. He comes not to demand, but to
give I 'The gift of God is eternal life.' He knows you can never
pay the great debt you owe to God. He knows that if that debt
THE HARVEST IN ENGLAND. 489
is not paid for you, you are forever lost ! He loves you, though
He hates you^sins; and in order that 3^ou might be saved, He
laid down His life a sacrifice for the guilty. And now He comes !
bringing the gift of salvation to the door of your hearts. Wiil you
receive t lie gift ^ D. L. Moody."
It has been resolved to purchase the museum in Peter Street
for the Young Men's Christian Association, for $150,000, which
has been raised. The building will then become the home of the
noon prayer-meeting, and the centre of the united Christian effort
which now appears to be fairly inaugurated in Manchester.
A few yards from the Free Trade Hall, on the same side of the
street, stands a clingy-looking old public building. It was for-
merly used as a natural-history museum, but since the erection
•of the magnificent Owen's College, and the consequent trans-
ference of its contents, the old museum has been unused. The
Young Men's Christian Association have long been looking for
some suitable building as a centre for their operations in this
important cit}^, with its 70,000 young men ; and now the neces-
sity is felt for a place to carry on the daily pra5'er-meeting, and
other united evangelistic efforts, after Messrs. Moody and Sankey
have left; so it has been decided to purchase the old museum
building, and use it for these purposes. It was secured accord-
ingly on Monday last ; and in a couple of days, part of the build-
ing, giving accommodation to about 500 persons, was seated,
lighted with gas, and heated ; so that on Wednesday night Mr.
Moody used it as an inquiry-room, after the meeting in the
Free Trade Hall, and we had the joy of seeing it full of anxious
souls. This was a blessed consecration of the building for a
higher and nobler object than ever it had been used for before.
The scheme for the visitation of every house in Manchester is
working well, and with the happiest results. The following is
the plan adopted : A Christian architect, who has entered most
heartily into this service, has cut up the large scale Ordinance
Map of Manchester into about fifty districts, each of which is
under the charge of a superintendent, who is supplied with a
490 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
sufficient number of visitors to reach every house within the Hmits
of his district. A leaflet containing the hymn "Jesus of Nazareth
passeth by," and a short address by Mr. Moody is left at each
house ; but it is understood by the visitors that this paper is only to
be used as an introduction^ for the purpose of gaining admission
to the houses, so as to have personal conversation about eternal
things with each individual, as far as possible. Some of the visitors
have already given in most cheering reports of the marvelous
way in which the hearts of the people seemed open to receive
their visits, showing that the Lord is in this movement, and is
preparing many hearts for the reception of His own blessed
message of salvation.
The meetings came to an end the last day of 1874. They have
been blessed to vast numbers. In the inquiry-room, I have
met with many who stated that they had never had the way of^
salvation so plainly put before them as by Mr. Moody. In not a
few instances, too, Mr. Sankey's beautiful and touching solos,
especially "Jesus of Nazareth passeth by," "Almost persuaded,"
and "Prodigal child," have proved to be arrows of conviction,
entering the heart in the most unexpected manner, and leading
to conversion. And what shall I more say? for the time would
fail me to tell of all the blessed fruits, already apparent, of the
extraordinary efforts of these dear men of God. Suffice it to
say, in a sentence, that all classes of the community — old and
young, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, ministers and
laymen, masters and servants, teachers and scholars — have
received a large blessing from the religious services conducted
by the American brethren, and are deeply sensible, I trust, of
the mighty debt of gratitude under which they have been laid.
The Lord bless them, and make them blessings, wherever they
go!
The closing week has been the most joyful of all. The tide
of blessing, which has been steadily rising, has this week reached
its flood ; the earnestness of the preacher and the eagerness
of the people have seemed alike to intensify, and the uncon-
verted have been called to take refuge in Christ with a vehemence
THE HARVEST IN ENGLAND.
49 r
of entreaty which has exerted a rr;ighty influence on the assem-
blies. During these five weeks God has answered the prayers
of many years, and we cannot but feel that what has been going
on in the city has made Manchester pecuHarly interesting to the
dwellers in heaven.
At nine on Wednesday evening, about 2,000 men reassembled
in the hall, to hear what Mr. Moody had to say on the subject of
the Young Men's Christian Association. Mr. Herbert Spencer
occupied the chair, and gave a brief address, intimating that it
was in contemplation to buy the Museum for the Young Men's
Christian Association, for ;^3o,ooo. Mr. Moody delivered an
inspiriting address, in which he enlarged on the spiritual advan-
tages of the Association, and urged the straining of every effort
to reach the young men of Manchester, and to secure the build-
ing in question for the Association. A collection toward the
object, made at the close, realized $9,000, $5,000 of which was
given, I believe, by the chairman. This amount, with what has
been received before, including $2,500 given last week by Mr. J.
Stuart, makes a total, at present received or promised, of $40,000.
On Thursday morning, Mr. Moody addressed a crowded meet-
ing in the Higher Broughton Presbyterian Church, and then came
on to the noon prayer-meeting in the Oxford Hall, where he read
and commented on the earlier part of the 103d Psalm. He said
he had to bless the Lord for wiiat He had done for him. It had
been the best year of his life. He had been more used by God
than in all the seventeen preceding years. He did not know of
one sermon he had delivered that had not been blessed to the
conviction or conversion of some souls. It was a delightful
meeting. Every word uttered was set to the tune of "Bless the
Lord, O my soul! " When one minister rose to say, "I have to
praise God for the conversion of the brother of dear friends of
mine, who have prayed for him twenty-five years ; for the con-
version of the sister and of the serv.-^.nt of another friend ; for the
salvation of three persons in my own congregation, for the dis-
pelling of the doubts of a young man who had traveled 150 miles
to these meetings — all which blessings have been given in the
492 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
course of the present week "; when another minister rose to say
he had never met with so much scriptural teaching concerning
the way of salvation, and the clear direction of inquirers to Jesus,
as in Mr. Moody's addresses ; and another to say that the last
ten days had been the happiest of his life — that he had derived
an inspiration, had discovered how to preach Christ, had enjoyed
sweeter communion with Jesus, and felt like a man whose chains
were broken — they only uttered what many could have endorsed
as a description of the blessings they themselves had received.
CHAPTER XXXII.
Times of Blessing in Sheffield.
This city of a quarter of a million is noted for its workers in
iron and steel. Hearts hard as adamant were now to be assailed
by sermon and song, and God honored the men who honored
His gracious truth. At nine in the evening of December 31,
1874, the evangelists first appeared before a Sheffield audience,
and for two weeks the power of God was manifested through them
in the most delightful manner.
The work opened here most auspiciously ; the two meetings
held on New Year's eve were crowded, and the impressions pro-
duced were most solemn.
The first meeting was held in the Temperance Hall at nine
o'clock. Mr. Sankey sang a new hymn written by Dr. H. Bonar
expressly for him, " Rejoice, and be glad ! the Redeemer has
come."
The impression produced by his singing was very striking;
those who had been merely curious or altogether indifferent
seemed attracted, and earnest attention and even, in some cases,
silent weeping, took the place of carelessness. The watch-night
service was particularly solemn. The Albert Hall, where it was
held, was crowded, many having stood before the doors an hour
before they were opened, in order to make sure of admittance.
Messrs. Moody and Sankey were accompanied on to the plat-
form by a large number of ministers of all denominations. The
vicar offered up a fervent prayer for the Divine blessing on the
work in Sheffield.
494 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
One most interesting feature in this service was Mr. Sankey's
singing of "Jesus of Nazareth passeth by." It might be the nov-
elty of his style, or the associations naturally arising at the near
approach of the new year, but I certainly have never seen such
an effect produced. I have heard him in all the towns they have
visited in Scotland, and also in Manchester ; but I never heard
him sing so pathetically, more especially in the last stanzas :
" Too late ! too late ! will be the cry,
Jesus of Nazareth has passed by."
Mr. Moody spoke from Luke xix. lo, "For the Son of man is
come to seek and to save that which was lost." As illustrating
this verse, he graphically narrated the two stories immediately
preceding his text, that of the opening of the eyes of blind Bar-
timeus, and the conversion of Zaccheus. It was only a re-telling
of the stories, but given in that way peculiarly Mr. Moody's own,
making his listeners part and parcel of the story, as if the whole
thing were enacted just in the Targate, and Jesus were just pass-
ing the hall-doors. He connected the two stories by throwing
out the thought that as Bartimeus was on his way home to tell
his wife, Zaccheus met him. "Why, isn't that the poor blind
beggar? it's like him ; but it can't be he, for his eyes are open."
"Yes, it is I."
"What has made your eyes open ?"
" Jesus of Nazareth did it."
"Where is He? I must see Him."
"He's just on the road to Jericho."
Away Zaccheus runs ; and because he is a little man, he gets
up a tree, to see well. Jesus stops, looks up, calls him, "Zac-
cheus, come down." This was one instance of sudden conver-
sion. Some don't believe in sudden conversion ; but here Zac-
cheus was not converted when he went up the tree, yet he came
down a converted man. We are told h-e received Jesus gladly.
From these incidents, he proved how willing, how eager Christ
is to save all. What have we to do ? Nothing, blessed be God i
If we had, we would never do it. Only accept. What had Zac-
cheus to do ? Only come down, only obey.
TIMES OF BLESSING IN SHEFFIELD. 495
He concluded by drawing the attention of the audience to the
fact that the old year was fast dying—only a few minutes — and
what if the new year should come and find us where we were —
lost ! Oh, let each of us take it, the offer is here; will you have
it? Salvation — ay, even before this year is closed you maybe
saved. As there are only a few minutes of this year remaining,
let us finish the old and begin the new on our knees.
The whole audience then sank on their knees, and the new
year found them bent in silent prayer. Mr. Moody asked that
those who were unsaved might stand up, that they might be
prayed for. For a time none were willing to do so, but on Mr.
Moody's asking a second time "if there were none in the hall
wishing salvation," a few stood up, and the Christians were asked
to pray for them.
Just then the bells began to ring in the new year, and the Rev.
R. Green engaged in prayer for an outpouring of the Holy Ghost
on the town of Sheffield, and most particularly on the special
meetings to be held. Mr. Moody also engaged in prayer. This
was one of the most solemn scenes I have ever been privileged
to witness. While the audience were bent in prayer the most
intense stillness prevailed, broken only by an occasional sob.
After singing the Doxology, the meeting separated.
The streets were made lively after the meeting with vigorous
singing of hymns, as bands of Christians wended their way home.
Sunday was a day of blessing for Sheffield. The meetings were
attended with most blessed results.
The morning meeting for Christian workers was not, perhaps,
so well attended in point of numbers as might have been expected,
but the Christians who had come out at this early hour were right-
down hearty workers. As Mr. Moody said, " He would rather
have a moderately small meeting of such earnest Christians than
have it packed with thousands of careless people."
At the afternoon meeting, the Albert Hall was densely packed
half an hour before the time; the lower Albert Hall was thrown
open for the overflow, but even then many had to go away disap-
pointed.
4^6 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
Mr. Moody addressed this large gathering from Rom. ii. 23 :
"For there is no difference.''
Many were evidently struck to the heart; some whom we
heard scoffing at the commencement, were in tears at the conclu-
sion of his address.
When Mr. Sankey followed by singing " Free from the law, O
happy condition 1 " it seemed to produce a deep impression.
The Sunday evening meeting was glorious. The hall was
again densely packed. Mr. Sankey sang his solo, " There were
ninety and nine." Mr. Moody then gave his address on " Re-
generation," from the words, "Ye must be born again." The
result of the whole proceedings in Sheffield since the coming of
our dear brethren miist be considered highly satisfactory, and as
affording great cause for thankfulness.
Mr. Moody spoke no less than four times on Friday, on each
occasion with much power, and with signs following. It need
scarcely be added that Mr. Sankey's solos, including such favor-
ites as " Only an armor-bearer," " Dare to be a Daniel," " Whiter
than snow," etc., deepened the influences produced by Mr.
Moody's impassioned discourses. Indeed, it is made more and
more manifest that the special gifts of each evangelist have been
most happily wedded together for the common purpose they have
in view.
At the closing service in the evening there was no diminution
either in the attendance or the interest. It was chiefly intended
for the young converts, who were admitted by ticket, and crowded
a large part of the area of the Albert Hall. Both the galleries
were also crammed long before the hour of commencing. It was
a glorious and inspiring sight to look on such a vast sea of human
faces, all lit up with eager expectation, and all assembled to hear
the simple story of the Saviour's grace and power. The scene
was more impressive still when, at the appointed hour, Mr.
Moody and Mr. Sankey having quietly crossed the front of the
platform, and taken their seats, the whole assembly rose and
joined in singing the hymn,
" Ring the bells of heaven, there is joy to-day,
For a soul returning from the wild."
TIMES OF BLESSING IN SHEFFIELD. 497
And afterward, in that jubilant old hymn that used to be sung at
revival meetings fifteen years ago, and is ever fresh and new :
"O happy day! that fixed my choice
On Thee, my Saviour and my God ;
Well may this glowing heart rejoice,
And tell its raptures all abroad."
After Mr. Sankey had sung " Whiter than snow," Mr. Moody
spoke with his accustomed pungency, simplicity, and power,
chiefly addressing the young converts. Surely they will never be
able to forget his words of affectionate encouragement and cau-
tion, as he pointed out the dangers that would inevitably come to
them in their Christian life, and the unfailing source of strength
amidst them all. Then came his parting words, evidently painful
alike to speaker and hearers. "I have learned to love you," said
Mr. Moody; and the earnest gaze and tearful eyes before him
testified, more loudly than words, how his love was reciprocated,
and his labors and counsels prized. I was forcibly reminded of
the scene of Paul's farewell meeting with the elders at Miletum.
I verily believe that many hundreds of young converts would, one
and all, have fallen on Mr. Moody's neck, and kissed him, sorrow-
ing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see
his face no more. One little fellow, at the close of the meeting,
came to me in great distress when he found that Mr. Moody had
left without having given him a shake of his hand.
Before the meeting was dismissed, Mr. Sankey sang a parting
hymn to the tenderly pathetic tune of " Home, sweet home," and
the vast crowd lingered long in the hall where Christ had won so
many sons and daughters within the past two weeks.
The work among the young men has been taking root during
the week. It has been a " Happy New Year " for Sheffield, and
the faith of the Lord's people prompts them to hope that ''still
there's more to follov/."
Upward of eighty — clergymen of all the evangelical denomina-
tions in the town, and the other members of the committee —met
Messrs. Moody and Sankey at breakfast in the Imperial Hotel,
on Saturday morning, to bid them farewell. Reporters were ex-
49^ MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
eluded, but I understand that the unanimous expression of the
company was one of gratitude to the evangelists for their untiring
and successful labors in Sheffield, and for the spirit of cordial co-
operation among the various divisions of the Church that their
visit had so blessedly generated. Practical as he always is, Mr.
Moody used the occasion to urge upon the committee the neces-
sity of rearing a central and suitable building in the town, where
all those interested in the continued success of the work could
meet on neutral ground, and carry on the meetings.
In summing up the results, and giving general impressions of
the value of these special services, the following account may be
found useful :
The crowded meetings, thrice repeated every day, attended by
persons who set aside engagements, alike of business, work, and
pleasure, have been accompanied with much power from above.
Sheffield is usually considered as a population difficult to arouse,
sturdy, independent, unimpressionable ; like the metal in which
we work in these parts, true, but hard as steel. Yet the place
has been thoroughly aroused, and proof to demonstration given
that God is able to work here, as in Jerusalem of old, and as in
other towns of England now ; thus greatly encouraging Christian
ministers and laborers to look with faith for greater things. All
the meetings have been pervaded by a sense of God's nearness ;
believers have been filled with fresh jo}', and fired with new zeal ;
the anxious have found soul-rest; the careless have been aroused.
In fact, we have had at once a revival and an awakening — a re-
vival touching the hearts of God's people, and an awakening
spreading among the thoughtless. The influence reached its
height on the last night of Mr. Moody's presence in the town,
when he addressed specially the converts, who were present in
goodly numbers, together with a vast crowd of Christian workers.
His words seemed to have a thrilling power among us all. When
he closed by saying that he did not like "farewell," and "good-
bye " was almost as bad ; he would therefore just say " good-
night," and meet us in the morning (pointing to the skies), I
think the whole audience deeply felt how much our beloved
TIMES OF BLESSING IN SHEFFIELD. 499
brother had endeared himself to ns. And when Mr. Sankey fol-
lowed directly with his touching farewell hymn, so appropriate to
such an occasion, and so specially addressing every class of
hearers, many w'ere the eyes that were bathed in tears. Had it
been possible, we would not have parted with our brethren. But
may the Lord go with them in other places, confirming their word
with signs and wonders, as He has done here !
The verdict of almost all Christian people upon this movement
is, that it is the work of God. I am convinced that such an esti-
mate is just, on many grounds.
1. The movement was an answer to prayer. Though we had
not waited on the Lord so long as Christians in some other towns
have done, a weekly united prayer-meeting had been maintained
for nearly a year previously. Many of God's people were also
quietly sighing and crying for the abominations of the city, and
hungering and thirsting for spiritual blessing. One feature in the
prayers previously offered was very noticeable. While all were
preparing heartily to welcome Messrs. Moody and Sankey, there
was a thorough recognition in the supplications that not they,
but their God, must open the flood-gates of grace. The Spirit
was honored ; and we have had the answer.
2. Remarkable unity prevailed. At least in its outward mani-
festation this was realized, when ministers of the Established
Church and those of the Free Churches sat together on the same
platform, and followed each other in prayer. The force of exhor-
tation, backed by the united sympathy and supplications of the
whole Christian Church, is multiplied tenfold. Doubtless Chris-
tian union is of God. When will it genuinely prevail ? Is not
the attainment of it worth the surrender of the causes of division ?
3. The movement had a growing power. Its influence at first
was not to be compared with what it became in its progress. In-
deed, the feeling of myself and of others with whom I have con-
versed was at first one of disappointment. Both Mr. Moody's
speaking and Mr. Sankey's singing seemed to fall short of what
we had expected ; but it was not long before the impressiveness
of both made itself felt to all. To my mind, this is a true test of
500 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
excellence. A picture, a piece of music, a landscape — do they
grow upon you by repetition ? The work of these evangelists has
grown upon us. I apprehend it would have been the other way,
had it not been of God.
4. The stillness was remarkable. The noise and confusion
favorable to revivals which are the work of man was altogether
absent. The quiet, favorable to the descent and operations of
the Holy Ghost, was marked. A man of my acquaintance once/
observed that " anybody could get up a revival, if he only made
enough noise." There was nothing of that kind here. Indeed,
I noticed that if any brother threw a needless physical exertion
into his entreaties, Mr. Moody would be sure to say, " Let us
have a few minutes' silent pra3'er ; " and this was mostly followed
by the subduing strains of Mr. Sankey's harmonium and voice.
A solemn quiet reigned at all times, and even Mr. Moody's hu-
morous sayings did not destroy the solemnity of it. A work done
under conditions such as these, so different from those which
have prevailed in some "revivals," commends itself to me as the
work of God. There are many things that I might touch on ; but
only one thing more will I mention.
5. The work is evidently one of faith. This quality is very
observable in Mr. Mood}-. He has faith — not a proud self confi-
dence engendered by success, but a humble reliance upon God
and fearless expectation of blessing.
Letter of Mr. Moody to the Young Converts.
A meeting of converts was held on the evening of January 19,
presided over by the Rev. R. Staunton.
During the proceedings the chairman read the following letter ;
"Birmingham, yan. 19, 1875.
"My dear Friends: Mr. Sankey and I would have been very
glad to have seen you all once more to-night, but God has given
us work in another corner of His vineyard, and we can only join
you in well-wishes. I am very glad now to have this opportunity
TIMES OF BLESSING IN SHEFFIELD. 50I
of fulfilling my promise to send you a short message. There are
many things I should like to say if I had the time, but I fear I
must confine myself to one or tv/o very plain words. Ever since
we left Sheffield, every one of us will have changed a little. Some
will be merrier, and some will be gloomier. Some will be fuller
of God's love, and some may even feel a little emptier ; others,
again, may not have got over the period of wonder, and still find
themselves asking: 'And can it really all be true? Is it not just
some strange dream ? Is it really possible that God loves us,
and that v/e are really saved for evermore ? ' And this is my only
one reply to these very common and rational questions : We are
changed^ but Christ is not. Oh, if He were different, it would be a
very, very serious thing. And if we are changed and are fright-
ened about it, we must find out at once if He is changed too. If
it is only we who are different, it does not matter much, because
salvation does not depend upon us, but upon Him. And the
Bible tells us all about it in one little golden sentence, which we
must all ask God to burn into our hearts, and then we shall never
be troubled any more about our feelings. In Hebrews xiii. 8,
He says, ' Jesus Christ, the same 3'esterday, and to-day, and for-
ever.' Yes ! the same ; no matter how changed we are, no mat-
ter how dull, how joyless. He is just as He was yesterday, just
as He was the night when we got our first glimpse of His dying
love for us.
" Oh, dear friends, let us keep looking to Him, and as we look,
God will give us the longing to be more and more like Him.
Perhaps some of you already feel that longing, and you don't
know what it is ! Perhaps you think it is very hard to have this'
craving after a better heart and a holier life. But Christ says it
is ' blessed.' It is not hard ; it is not a misfortune ; it is not a
sign that the health of the soul is gone. No ; appetite is not the
symptom of disease, but of health. And the Master Himself has
told us that it is blessed to be hungry and thirsty after Him.
And some of you may be mourning over your empty hearts, for
little love is there ; how little faith, how little zeal for the Mas-
ter's service ! Well, it is not hardship to feel like that. If it be
502 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
real, it is not sad to be that wa}', only don't mourn over it.
Christ says it is ' blessed ' — blessed to be poor in spirit ; and the
poorer, and weaker, and humbler we feel, the more room is there
for Him to perfect strength in our weakness. ' My grace is suffi-
cient for thee ; my strength is made perfect in weakness ; * * *
for when I am weak, then am I strong.' And now, dear friends,
before closing, let me ask 3'ou all to do something for Christ,
something this very week. I cannot tell you what to do ; but
God will if you ask Him. He has something for everybody to
do ; and let us be earnest in doing our best for Him, and let us
do it soon. Death will be upon us when our work will be but
begun, and ' the night cometh when no man can work.' And for
every one of you, that God may bless you, and keep you, and
cause the light of His face to shine upon you, and enable you to
grow in the knowledge and likeness of His only begotten Son, is
the earnest and humble prayer of your affectionate friend,
"D. L. MooDY.'^
CHAPTER XXXIII.
"The Toy-shop of the World" Welcomes Them.
Birmingham, with its 400,000 people, the constituency of
John Bright, the English reformer, now looks up to God for a
shower of grace upon the seed-sowing of the evangelists who
began there January 17, and closed on the 29th.
Never before in Birmingham have any preachers drawn such
vast numbers of people as these brethren are doing at this time.
Thousands are flocking daily to hear them from the districts
around. The whole community seems stirred up. That which
seems to be uppermost in men's minds, is the present marvelous
gatherings that are daily taking place. There is no lack of
opportunity for the Christian to put in a word for the Master, for
wherever you go, whether in the counting-house, shop, refresh-
ment-room, train, omnibus, and even as you walk along the
street, the one topic is the doings of these wonderful men of God.
If you want to get a seat at their meetings, you must be there fully
one hour before the time, and a stranger entering the town must
be struck with the determination of those who daily seek these
gatherings.
Every day this week hundreds have been turned away from
the noon-day meetings held in the Town Hall. Meetings are
now being held in Carr's Lane Chapel every afternoon at three
o'clock, and here again it is necessary to be there some time before
the service commences. In fact, yesterday I was there at two
o'clock, and the body of the chapel was then filled. It is estimated
that three thousand people are in this building every afternoon.
504 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
To convey to the mind of the reader the sight which presents
itself on entering Bingley Hall is impossible. Sloping down
from the galleries which run round the building, other galleries
have been erected, and the whole building, from the speaker's
platform, looks like one vast amphitheatre. The crimson cloth
which drapes the galleries adds to the general effect, and makes
the hall look very comfortable. The immense sea of faces is
singularly impressive, especially when from 12,000 to 15,000
people are listening eagerly to catch the words that fall from the
speaker's lips.
The question may be asked. What effect is this movement hav-
ing upon the people in general ? I repl}^. Good every way. The
stirring addresses given by Mr. Moody to Christians from the
very first morning, are bearing fruit. They are beginning to look
about, and realize that thousands around them are living without
Christ. Many Christians have spoken to me of the fresh energy
with which they have been stimulated, through attending the
meetings. As for those who nightly throng Bingley Hall, the
best test of the work I can give is, that whereas at first the after-
meetings were held in a neighboring church, the anxious ones
have now become so numerous, that they are obliged to remain
in the hall, while earnest Christian workers, with Bible in hand,
pass from one to another, and open to inquirers the way of life.
All this proves to us the great power of God, and what He can
do by two men who give themselves wholly up to Him. The work
" is marvelous in our eyes," but it is not less marvelous that their
physical strength does not give way under their unceasing labors.
While Mr. Sankey is greatly gifted with power to use his voice in
singing the Gospel, Mr. Moody has a way of marvelously picturing,
in the most vivid manner, Bible truths. From the humorous he
can come down to the pathetic, and so move his hearers to tears,
and withal there is a "holy boldness " which is seldom to be met
with in the preachers of the present day.
The Mo7'ning News says : " Never before in the history of Bir-
mingham, I believe, have two men drawn such large numbers of
people together as Messrs. Moody and Sankey have done, time
THE TOY-SKOP OF THE WORLD WELCOMES THEM. 505
after time, during the whole of last week and yesterday. The
Town Hall, Carr's Lane Chapel, and Bingley Hall, have been
entirely filled at most of their meetings, uncomfortably crowded
at some, and all but full at one or tw'o others. Since commencing
their labors here, they have held twenty-tw^o services, namely,
four in Carr's Lane Chapel, six in the Town Hall, and twelve in
Bingley Hall. No doubt in many cases the same persons pre-
sented themselves at the meetings again and again ; but it is
probable that the audiences were, for the most part, different on
each occasion. At the four meetings in Carr's Lane Chapel
some 12,000, at the six in the Town Hall about 24,000, and at the
twelve in Bingley Hall at least 120,000 persons must have been
present, making a total of 156,000 men, women, and children, to
whom, during the last eight days, they have preached and sung
the Gospel. Nor does the interest in the men and their work
as yet know any abatement, it being likely that the services to be
held this week will be as numerously attended as thoseof last week."
Amidst all the cavil of unbelief, and other opponents, thou-
sands can testify, day by day, to the 7'eaUty and poivcr, widely
spreading and deepening blessing upon their souls. Sinners
have been converted to God, and believers edified. Whole con-
gregations, both in churches and chapels, have felt its animating
power. The clergy and ministers of various denominations
have rejoiced together in this blessed w-ork of the Lord, and felt
its quickening influence. Many of the Lord's servants have met
together for the first time, and felt their hearts drawn out in
brotherly love and sympathy, enabling them to overlook various
minor differences of creed and church government.
The noon-day prayer-meeting was first held in the Town Hall,
which large building was filled long before the appointed hour.
A very solemn and prayerful spirit seemed to pervade the masses
— the stillness was quite impressive, and the great bulk of the
people seemed to enter most deeply into the importance and
solemnity of the occasion. The numbers at the noon-day prayer-
meeting were probably quite 3,000. Afterward it was changed
to Bingley Hall, where thousands more might be accommodated.
506 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
The afternoon Bible-reading is also well attended, and greatly
enjoyed by many. The evening meetings have gone on steadily
increasing, until at length I suppose some 15,000 must have been
congregated together. The attention of these great masses
(assembled an hour before the time) was well sustained by sing-
ing— and, as a brother clergyman said to me, on the platform, " we
never heard such singing of the good Old Hundredth Psalm
before, and probably may never hear the like again " — as it burst
forth from the hearts and lips of this vast assemblage. Oh ! it
was a touching sight and a telling sound — such as Birmingham
itself had never w^itnessed before — 15,000 met together, night
after night, to listen to the loving, sympathizing, fervent preach-
ing of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of sinners \ And the audience
felt it! The Holy Spirit of God seemed working in our midst —
alike on preacher and hearers — and many were the hearts moved.
At 7:30 Messrs. Moody and Sankey entered the building.
The service began by singing, then prayer was offered, another
hymn or two were sung, a portion of Holy Scripture read, another
hymn, and then followed the address. Numerous anecdotes
were related, as if not only to illustrate certain points, but also
to rivet the attention, and then, as the preacher's heart and
tongue seemed set on fire, all these little adjuncts were sub-
merged in the one glowing, burning theme — salvation for lost
sinners — yea, a present and immediate salvation for ever}'- one
that believeth in Jesus ! As I sat near the preacher, I could
read the meaning of the big drops upon his brow, and how h'lF.
whole frame was moved, not with selfish passions, seeking per-
sonal admiration, but steeped in the love and spirit of his Master.
One great object was kept steadily in view — the glory of God in
the salvation of sinners through Jesus Christ, and the intense
longing that thousands might share with him the blessings and
the joys of this great salvation ! Almost breathless stillness
chained the .audience.
Numbers stayed for the after-meetings ; the females in the
side-galleries, the males in the Scotch Church adjoining. On
the first Monday evening Mr. Moody himself undertook the men,
"THE TOY-SHOP OF THE WORLD V/ELCOMES THEM. 507
but finding the numbers so large, he sent up to the platform for
assistance. Undoubtedly personal interviews are the best.
We have reason to believe that many found pardon and peace
in Jesus, and are spreading their happy and holy influences
around. The singing appeared to be improving night after
night, as the vast masses gradually learned the tunes and hymns.
Mr. Sankey's solos were powerfully and sweetly sung, and his
clear utterance and distinct enunciation of syllable after syllable
gave a great effect and pathos to the whole.
And on Tuesday, January 26, the day of the convention, it
was supposed that from one to two thousand ministers of various
denominations attended the gathering, which began that day
at ten o'clock and continued till four p. m. Truly it was a great
evidence of the divine blessing, as the delegates from Edinburgh,
and Dublin, and other cities, told how the work was still progress-
ing in their respective cities, after Messrs. Moody and Sankey
had left, and in some places ripening in a most marvelous
manner. Indeed a letter reached me only yesterday, telling me
of a brother clergyman in Dublin, who had a list oi sixty persons
in his congregation, who had apparently been brought to Christ
through attending the meetings of Messrs. Moody and Sankey.
Verily, the Lord is blessing the evangelistic labors of our dear
brothers in Christ — Moody and Sankey. I do not pretend to
endorse every utterance, or to see with them exactly, eye to eye, on
every point. But I do see, and I do greatly rejoice in their being
raised up by God to proclaim, so touching!}', and so successfully,
the utter ruin of sinful, fallen man, and his recovery solely
through FAITH in Jesus Christ!
The all-day convention on Tuesday was in every way a suc-
cessful meeting. It was attended by immense crowds throughout
the day, and many well-known ministers and others were present
from London and various towns in the provinces, as w^ell as Scot-
land and Ireland. Mr. Moody presided throughout the day, with
his usual tact and energy.
The first hour was fitly devoted to praise, and Mr. Sankey's
opening address was followed by powerful testimony to the value
5o8 MOODY AND SA.NKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
of the services by our brethren in Scotland and Ireland. All the
speakers concurred in saying-: that a new song had been put into
their mouths.
Mr. Moody occupied the next hour with an address on " Work ;"
and his trenchant words, uttered in the presence of so many
Christian workers, were potent with blessing, in stimulating them
to do more than ever for tlie Master in their widely separated
vineyards.
" How to conduct Prayer-meetings " was the next topic, and a
most important one it is. We cannot better describe many of
the prayer-meetings we have been accustomed to attend in past
years than by comparing them to " wet blankets." They have
been characterized by so much frigidity and routine, that we do
not wonder the attendance has mostly been small. Mr. Moody
will have done us British Christians a great and lasting service if
he has been enabled to show how our prayer-meetings may be
made broad and deep channels of blessing and happiness, both
to Christians and the careless world round about us. We look
for this result.
More important, perhaps, was the subject of the next hour,
" How to reach the masses." Whoever will solve that problem
will earn the unspeakable gratitude of all who sigh for the conver-
sion of the nations to Christ. The rousing addresses of Mr.
Chown, of Bradford ; Mr. Newman Hall, of London ; Mr. R. W.
Dale, of Birmingham; Mr. Fletcher, of Dublin, and others, all
men of large experience, will, we trust, have contributed some-
what to this desired end.
Mr. Moody was as practical as ever in his answers to the ques-
tions sent in ; and if those who sent them will only apply those
answers, we are inclined to tliink the hour devoted to the " Ques-
tion Drawer " will be the most fruitful of any.
In the evening a public service was held in the same place ;
hundreds were unable to gain admission. The Rev. Newman
Hall, of London, delivered an address, earnestly entreating all
present to forsake sin and come to Christ. Mr. Moody, in his
discourse, urged on his hearers immediate decision for Christ.
"the toy-shop of the world" welcomes them. 509
Mr. Sankey's singing of sacred songs seems to make a deep
impression upon the great congregation.
At the meeting in Bingley Hall on Friday evening, Mr. Moody
said : I was very dejected last night. Our meetings have been
so much blessed that an effort was ] Ait forth to get Bingley Hall
for another week. When we got home last evening, we found a
despatch from a gentleman, saying we could not have the hall. I
was greatly depressed all day. Nov, however, I have just been
told we may yet obtain the hall for another week. But the com-
mittee are wavering a little, as they have some fears the people
will not come out to the meetings next week. We have had good
committees wherever we have been ; but we have never had a
better committee than the Birmingham one, and I know they will
come to a wise decision. But if you are anxious about your souls,
you'll attend the meetings. We'll get several gentlemen to speak,
and we hope you'll rally round the^ii and the committee. We
have had great blessings in other towns ; but I think we never
met with anything that came up to this — to our meetings in Bir-
mingham. I must say I've never enjoyed preaching the gospel
more than I have done since we came to Birmingham. We've
reached so many people. I only wish we could have such a hall
wherever we go. I think if we could only take up Bingley Hall,
we would carry it round the world with us, as a place in whicli to
preach the gospel to all men. But I would like you Birmingham
people to go with us. Well, then, if we do our best to get speak-
ers for another week, will you do 3^our best to get hearers for the
speakers? — (Many cries of "Yes," "yes.") Well, keep your
promise. Why, almost any man could speak in this hall to such
a meeting as this. The very sight of you is enough to make a
dumb dog bark. I'll telegraph off to Liverpool and London to
send us all the help they can. There will be a service on Sunday
afternoon, when one of your own ministers will preach. On Mon-
day night you'll have a thanksgiving service. Come to it to thank
God for having answered our prayers to bless these meetings.
Has God not answered your prayers? — (Cries of "Yes," "yes,")
Then on Tuesday we'll get some one else to speak. On
5IO MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
Wednesday there will be the usual services in the churches and
chapels. On Thursday night there will Be another speaker. On
Friday I will come back, on my way to Liverpool, and we'll have
a meeting for all the converts. Now, let all rise who will support
the committee and attend the different meetings. [Almost the
entire audience stood up in response to this appeal.] Yes ; the
committee are quite satisfied. We'll go on then. Pray there may
be hundreds and thousands converted next week. If things do
■not always please you, don't complain ; just pray. Pray for a
great blessing next week.
Services were held in Bingley Hall, from 5,000 to 7,000 per-
sons having been present at each.
At Messrs. Moody and Sankey's farewell service, Bingley Hall
was once more crowded to its utmost, nearly 1,600 converts*
tickets being applied for. It would be manifestl}'- premature to
assert that this number of people have been converted during the
previous three weeks' services. As Mr. Moody said at the Con-
ference in London, on the same day, they did not desire to reckon
up the number of converts, because they could not judge of the
reality of the cases. At the same time we think it very probable
that many have been brought savingly to believe in Christ who
did not apply for converts' tickets. In any case, the progress of
the movement in Birmingham has been such as greatly to encour-
age and cheer our American brethren and those who helped them
in their labors ; and we respond to Mr. Moody's hope that it may
" continue for a year."
Mr. Moody's address to the converts was, as usual, most fitting.
His parting sentences were the expression of affectionate regard,
and it was plain, from the demeanor of the audience, that the
parting on their side was a most reluctant one.
Mr. Sankey sang the farewell hymn with great pathos and feel-
ing; and on leaving the hall both he and Mr. Moody v/ere be-
sieged with friends anxious to receive a parting shake of the hand.
They proceeded to Liverpool on Saturday.
A correspondent writes concerning this meeting: "We shall
never forget that address." Such was the almost involuntary
"the toy-shop of the world" welcomes them. 511
exclamation of a well-dressed mechanic who was standing by us
in the aisle of Bingley Kail. And truly the work of the Lord in
this town is such as has never before been seen here. We were
praying and expecting great things, but the blessing has exceeded
our expectations ; never before have the people of every class
been so moved and such glorious results followed. A week hav-
ing elapsed since Mr. Moody left us, we are enabled to speak in
a measure of results. First, the life of the ministers who have
taken part has been largely increased, so that the testimony of
many of the hearers last Sunday was, " Our minister preaches like
a new man ; " then the renewed life of the churches is already
manifesting itself in the desire to work either in Sunday-schools
or tract districts ; and besides this, the people outside are more
disposed to hear the gospel, many coming into our churches last
Sunday, and in more cases than one when notice was given out
after the service that inquirers would be spoken to, numbers vary-
ing from twenty to sixty passed into the vestry, and many rejoiced
in a new-found Saviour. Our hearts are indeed full of praise;
should we be silent, the stones might well cry out, "But we will
bless the Lord from this time forth, and forevermore."
I know of no one of the many blessed hymns which has more
struck the heart and arrested attention than that sweet one whose
chorus begins, " Oh, 'twas love, 'twas wondrous love, the love of
God to me." This love and its manifestation is the theme of every
sermon, and, of course, God owns it. Ministers wonder- at fail-
ure, and try to discover the cause ; a week of services such as
Birmingham has had for the last fortnight, I think must answer
the question, " What is the cause of failure ? " for we have seen
in the crowded meetings, in the overwhelming number of anxious
ones, in the utter breaking down of strong men, the secret of suc-
cess. The wondrous love of God has been the weapon which has
been used ; failure in using this weapon has been the cause of
failure in result. Never has Birmingham been so mightily moved ;
in the workshops Sankey's songs are sung, and men v/ho cared for
none of these things are anxiously inquiring after the good news.
Oh, may our God carry on the v/ork begun with mighty power.
CHAPTER XXXrV.
Liverpool's Month of Mercy.
The brethren revisited this great city by the sea on the 7th of
February and remained till March 7, 1875. Twenty thousand
dollars had been expended for a building capable of seating
eight thousand persons, and, when crowded, several thousand
more were accommodated. It was named Victoria Hall.
The Friday preceding the arrival was observed as a day of
preparation on the part of many of the churches, and the first
meeting of the evangelists was on Sunday morning, at eight
o'clock, for Christian workers. This was follov/ed by the after-
noon and evening meetings.
All Liverpool was moved by them ; but not with the most
desiiable feelings. Some were actuated by a spirit of embittered
hostility, and did not hesitate to write and speak of these ser-
vants of Christ what had not the shadow of truth. This very
opposition, however, did good. God makes "the wrath of men
to praise Him." I have known of some who entered Victoria
Hall bitter enemies, and left it attached friends to the move'
ment. Many flock to the meetings, apparently from idle curi-
osity, and thousands under spiritual anxiety, whilst God's people
rally round the evangelists with an enthusiasm and hearty good-
will which is cheering to observe.
At last Monday evening's meeting, an intelligent young man
informed me he came into that hall to scoff at all he heard. "I
believed only in God and the devil ; the latter I served well, and,
as sitting laughing at the fools (as I then thought) about me.
Liverpool's month of mercy. 513
that beautiful hymn, * Safe in the arms of Jesus,' was sung. A
sudden thrill passed through my whole frame, and then like a dart
ran through my very heart. My feelings were awful, but I lis-
tened to the next verse, and felt theie is a Saviour. Who is He?
Where is He? Instantly I realized the truth, Jesus is the
Saviour. I threw myself into His loving arms, and here I am
now, rejoicing in Him."
"Blessed be God," I said, "for such news. Now, brother, go
home and tell your friends what great things God hath done for
your soul."
"Will you pray?" he said.
We went together to the throne, and then he said, " God bless
you. I will now live and work for Jesus."
The devil lays his plans, and no doubt thinks they are well
arranged, but whilst he proposes certain events, God disposes of
them in a very different way than Satan expected.
Of this I have had an instance.
" I am under a dreadful temptation," said a young man to me.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I was given drink by a man processing to be a Christian, and
whom I have heard preaching the truth to me and others, but who
is opposed to Moody and Sankey, and I was sent here by him
to give annoyance. Now I am brought to Christ, in place of dis-
honoring Christ in this meeting, what am I to do to this man ? "
" Pray for him," I said, " and God will give him to you as a
star for 3'our crown. Tell him plainly his state, and bring him
here with you next night."
" I knew a lady who went to a religious meeting an avowed
infidel, sent there by two sisters-in-law for a similar purpose to
that which brought you this night here. She was brought to
Christ, and sent back to them full of Jesus, and was the means
of their saving conversion ; and now all three are rejoicing in the
great salvation effected by Jesus, the Son of God, for every
penitent, believing child of Adam."
Truly the Lord is doing great things for us, " whereof we are
glad."
514 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
It may emphatically be said of them, " They came, they spoke,
they conquered." For twenty years I have been more or less
mixed up with the evangelistic work of the town, but never have
I met with more opposition and scorn to any movement than the
present.
The erection of the vast hall to hold 10,000 persons, was looked
on as monstrous folly. As it was being built, the talk was. To
what purpose is this waste? But now what was called Moody's
folly, is seen to be God's wisdom.
Men who wrote, spoke against, and laughed at it, now speak
with bated breath, come and hear, and go with changed thoughts.
" Nothing succeeds like success," is an old world's adage, and in
this is proved to be true : — 6,000 at a midday prayer-meeting ;
6,000 at the afternoon Bible-lecture ; 10,000 at the evening meet-
ing, with the inquiry-rooms full, are something that even the Ex-
change has to admit. But beyond this, there is the mighty work-
ing power of God's Spirit working and acting, which no tables
can register or numbers record. " 'Tis not by might, nor by power,
but by My Spirit," was the key-note of the preparatory meetings,
which has been steadily kept before all the workers.
The part allotted to me in the great work has enabled me to
see and test much that is going on. And this I can say — there is
wheat ; there is chaff. The wheat is sound, and will be a glorious,
bountiful harvest. The chaff will be blown away. Wheat and
chaff always grow together. Never have we been privileged to
see so much real, genuine work — anxious faces, tearful eyes,
aching hearts.
Mr. Moody, after a telling address, went into the inquiry-room,
and his place was occupied by a layman, who wielded the sword
of the Spirit with amazing power right and left. His words,
powerful and well chosen, fell with force, and told on the vast
audience that seemed spellbound. Many seemed to be convicted
of sin, and hurried into the inquiry-room.
Mr. Moody remarked that many people thought the Victoria
Hall was a bad investment, but that, if souls were born there, per-
haps some of them would like to have a little stock in it.
LIVERPOOL S MONTH OF MERCY. 515
Mr. Moody's earnest invitation to those who were anxious
about tlieir salvation to stand up, and afterward to meet him in
the inquiry-room, was responded to by hundreds, who were not
deterred from showing their anxiety by the curious gaze of many
thousand spectators.
Many striking instances of conversion have occurred, and
other cases have come under my own observation in which back-
sHders have been led to return to their first love. One day at the
noon prayer-meeting, Mr, Moody toid of an interesting case of
conversion he had met the night before. A young, stalwart man,
who was to sail for America next day, had come into the meeting.
He had been pricked to the heart by Mr. Moody's pointed appeals,
and found his way to the inquiry-room, and here, as he believed,
to lay his hitherto unforgiven sins on Jesus. Later in the evening
he called on Mr. Moody at his hotel, and received a letter of intro-
duction to any of the Christian friends in America he might meet.
He was accompanied to the hotel by his brother, who had come
from the country with him to see him sail, and who seemed over-
joyed to think that one so nearly related to him was taking
Christ with him ere he left his native shores.
At the evening meetings the hall is always crowded with some-
thing like 10,000 people, and if it v/ere not that the committee
kept a great part of the passages clear to allow of access to the
inquiry-room, every inch of standing ground w^ould be occupied.
The attendance at the noon prayer-meetings averages 4,000 to
5,000, the audience, of course, not being so mixed as those in the
evening. One gratifying circumstance, however, in connection
with the noon meeting should be noted, and that is, the presence
of so many of the Liverpool merchants and business men. I
have heard it stated that between twelve and one, when the noon
prayer-meeting is held, 'Change is half deserted, and it has been
remarked that no other source of attraction has ever drawn so
many of these busy men away from their money-making for an
hour in the middle of the day. May they carry away some truth
that will cling to them when they are tempted to forget God in
their haste to get rich !
5l6 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
A very happy feature of the work here, as elsewhere, is the^ sym-
pathetic co-operation of many clergymen and ministers of various
denominations. They appear on the platform and take part in
the services, as well as in the personal dealing with the anxious.
" This is glorious work ; this is reality'' Such was the remark
that reached my ears one evening last week, as I was passing
through the inquiry-room adjoining Victoria Hall. There, I
thought, is the whole movement in a nut-shell. The more I see
it, and the more I ponder over it, I am impressed with the feeling
of reality that pervades this work, as it is now going on in Liver-
pool. Endless are the surmises, and very ludicrous some of the
guesses, as to the secret of its wonderful success. The Liver-
pool critics (and their name is legion) are fairly puzzled. I sum
it all up in the one word reality.
Mr. Moody has often been described, and criticised, and dis-
sected, both by friends and foes, but I think sufficient stress has
been laid on his predominating characteristic of reality. As he
said the other da}^, he pulls up his net anon to see what he has
caught. This is the highest test of his reality, and the one that
has evoked the greatest criticism. But it is the one that has all
along contributed most Xo the success of the movement.
During the past week the slain of the Lord have been many.
Ever}^ evening has seen fresh groups scattered over the inquiry-
room, with tearful eyes and troubled hearts, drinking in the
affectionate words of invitation, or the plain words of appeal,
addressed to them by Mr. Moody and his co-workers. People
who know least about it may affect to shrug the shoulder at the
inquiry-room, but one or two visits there would do them good,
and probably convince them how indispensable it is to success in
this work. I hope one result of this awakening in our land will
be that every minister of the gospel, and every one who seeks to
speak to his fellow-men about salvation, will not only cast out
the net, but will draw it up every time.
The leading attraction of the meetings last week was Mr.
Moody's Bible-lectures. On each occasion the hall was crowded ;
so that on a moderate computation, the seed of the word of God
LIVERPOOL S MONTH OF MERCY. 517
relating to these two most important subjects was sown in tlie
hearts of some 60,000 or 70,000 persons, many of them from a
long distance.
The lectures are a treat of no ordinary kind. As expository
discourses they are most valuable, and reveal, to some extent,
how Mr. Moody has got, to use a common phrase, " the Bible at
his finger-ends." But these lectures have a wonderful hortatory
as well as expository value.
It is a gratifying fact that the attendance at the evening meet-
ings chiefly continues to increase. During the first week of the
services the Victoria Hall was almost sufficient to hold the
crowds of eager listeners ; at any rate, the overflow was not con-
sidered so great as to necessitate the opening of other places.
Last week, however, overflow meetings were held, sometimes in
two and sometimes in three different places.
One evening I went to St. John's Church, where I found W.
H. M. Aitken and the vicar of the church conducting the service
after the model of the services in Victoria Hall. The body of
the church was filled partly with the overflow from the hall, and
pardy with those who had been induced to. enter by personal
solicitation, and by hearing a group of young men singing hymns
in the church-yard. It was a motley company, and a great ma-
jority consisted of those who, from their dress and appearance,
do not often find their way to God's house. There were num-
bers of men such as one sees lounging at street-corners and
about public-houses, many young girls in working attire and
without bonnets, and a number of rough, neglected-looking
street Arabs. Their behavior, with one or two exceptions, was
most orderly and attentive. A good sprinkling remained at the
close to be conversed with, and many of them were enabled to
lay their sins on Jesus, or, as the speaker said, to accept the fact
that God had laid them there nearly nineteen hundred years ago.
It is interesting and refreshing to notice how all grades of
society and all ages are represented among the anxious who
throng the inquiry-room at the close of Mr. Moody's addresses.
From the richly-dressed lady to the poor waif of the street, with
5l8 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
scarce enough of clothing to cover" his nakedness ; from the boy
and girl of eight or ten 3'ears to the horny-handed, gray-headed
working-man, with all the intervening stages of life — there you
find all, burdened with the same sense of sin, and afterward
rejoicing in the same Saviour.
The special work among the young men, which has been car-
ried on in other tovv^ns where the evangelists have been, is being
organized here also. On Saturday evening there was a meeting
for young men, chiefly to make arrangements, at which Mr.
Moody was present. In the meantime the meetings vnW be held
in Newsome's Circus, and shortly it is expected that the concert-
room of St. George's Hall will be available.
Sunday last was another day of much sowing of the precious
seed of the word, and reaping too. The early meeting for
" workers " was some 8,000 strong.
The afternoon meeting for women was a wonderful sight. The
hall was packed to excess, and many hundreds failing to gain
entrance, an overflow meeting was held in Newsome's Circus.
Mr. Sankey sang the solo " Mary Magdalene " amidst the most
profound silence, and the pathetic and beautiful words of the
hymn brought tears to many an eye. Mr. Moody spoke on
" What Christ is to us," a most pregnant and powerful address
on a theme that he said it would take all eternity to exhaust.
As at other times, Mr. Moody asked those who wished to be
prayed for to rise up, and hundreds upon hundreds responded in
all parts of the house. A more touching or cheering sight I
never witnessed. Mr. Sankey sang " Almost persuaded," and
Mr. Moody said that there were so many anxious, it would be
impossible to speak with them ; so he asked them to go home,
and at five o'clock to take God's Word, and kneel down pleading
His promise, and commit themselves to Him. All the Christians
in the hall would be praying for them at that hour. He prayed
that they might be altogether persuaded.
Mr. Moody repeated his afternoon address to an immense
audience of men in the evening, and in the course of it made
strong reference to the great curse of Liverpool, the drink traffic,
Liverpool's month of mercy. 519
amid the approval of the vast congregation. He asked them to
show their detestation of it by becoming abstainers. There were
hundreds of inquirers at the close. A deeply interesting meeting
of about 7,000 young men was held in the Circus from nine to
ten o'clock, conducted by Mr. Henry Drummond. These meet-
ings are to be continued every night.
Valuable testimony was given a^s to the tangible effects of the
work in Liverpool. It was stated that one class reached had
been those who, though religiously trained, had, during these
special meetings, seen a new meaning and power in the truths
with which they were familiar. Many sailors, and ship captains,
too, had come to the meetings and been guided into the true
haven of rest and peace. Then there were many workingmen
who had plunged into the depths of intemperance, and whose in-
sulted and injured wives, after being driven from their homes,
had been compelled to support themselves and their children for
years together. These wives, in this day of grace, had sent let-
ters to their husbands, extending their forgiveness and implor-
ing them to come to Victoria Hall and seek forgiveness of the
Saviour. Some of them had come and found that forgiveness,
and gone back to lighten their homes again with a new lustre and
joy-
Allusion was made by one of the speakers to another class,
one much too large and full of strange and painful interest, con-
sisting of those who have in past years made a profession of love
to Christ, but have wandered
" Away on the mountains, wild and bare,"
and have been glad to take of the husks that the swine did eat.
It had often been asked whether the converts connected with this
revival would stand the test of time, and endure the temptations
of the world. When the question is put, as it often is, " Brother,
have all your converts stood fast?" I can only confess that,
during the forty years but one that I have preached in this town,
I have missed a great many from the fold ; but I have found
some of them in that inquiry-room. The first night the inquiry-
520 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
room was needed, I lingered on the platform, not intending to
go into the room, when a message came to me, " You are wanted
immediately ; an inquirer wishes to see you." I went, and I had
not seen that face — I will not tell you whether it was man or
woman — for twenty years ; and I found that soul had wandered
away, and had kept out of my sight with perfect success. The
first conviction was to go and tell him by whose hands they had
been received into the Christian Church. Many a wanderer has
come, and Christ alone knows how many more He will welcome
back to His all-forgiving arms, and fill our hearts with a gladness
they have never experienced before.
And so the great work flows steadily on. As the days and
weeks roll past, and the same scenes are so often repeated, it is
difficult to find fresh terms in which to describe " these wondrous
gatherings day by day." The four meetings on Sunday last may
briefly be stated as a repetition of those on the Sunday before.
All crowded to the utmost capacity of the great hall, and, in some
cases, especially at the afternoon and evening meetings, multi-
tudes turned away for lack of room.
The service for " non-church goers " at eleven o'clock was a
fresh illustration of the power of Christ's wondrous love, or "com-
passion," to melt the hearts of the most supine, and to move the
consciences of the most sin-stricken. The arrows of conviction
went home right and left, and there was a large ingathering of
souls at the close. Mr. Moody used, by way of illustration, a
very touching chapter of personal family history that brought
tears to many eyes.
At the three o'clock service for women, the hall was filled to
overflowing an hour before the time. The women are quite as de-
termined in their efforts to get in as the stronger sex, and some say
not quite so well behaved under the trying conditions of a crowd.
To my mind, these Sunday afternoon meetings for women have
been the most wonderful of all, and certainly not the least impor-
tant, when we consider the power for good or evil that must be ex-
erted by so many thousands of our mothers and sisters. I must say
these meetings have proved that the women are not only quicker
LIVERPOOL S MONTH OF MERCY. 52 1
in their apprehension of the truth, but more honest and courao-eous
in avowing tlieir apprehension of it. At the close of Mr. Moody's
searching address on " Excuses," a very considerable proportion
of the audience promptly stood up to show that they wished to
excuse themselves no longer from accepting the gracious invita-
tion to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Mr. Moody spoke to
the inquirers that filled the inquiry-room, in language and by
illustration so beautifully simple and apt, that it is almost impos-
sible to conceive any difficulty could have remained in their
minds. At the same time Mr. Sankey addressed, in a very art-
less, homely, and touching way, a large body of anxious inquirers
who remained in the hall.
Mr. Moody, before leaving Liverpool, addressed an immense
meeting in behalf of the Young Men's Christian Association, and
laid the corner-stone of the new building, inscribed, "This memo-
rial stone was laid by D. L. Moody of Chicago, 2d March, 1875."
He used a silver trowel presented to him for the occasion.
The closing services were held on Sunday, the 7th of March,
at eight a. m., for Christian workers ; at eleven a. m. for young
converts and inquirers ; at three p. m. for women only ; and at
eight P. M. for men only. Each was very largely attended.
In 1873, not a convert was known to have been made by the
meetings held by the evangelists in Liverpool, and now behold
the wonderful victories of the Truth !
CHAPTER XXXV.
Mighty London is Blessed.
The scale of magnitude by which the work was carried on in
the metropoHs may be measured in our thoughts by one fact —
over one hundred and fifty thousand dollars were expended in
the prosecution during the four months from its commencement,
March 9th to July nth, 1875. During the lirst month the meet-
ings were held in North London, and in Agricultural Hall, the
largest building in that quarter. It is said that once, at the Agri-
cultural Hall, Mr. Spurgeon preached to twenty-two thousand
people. But for the different style of the arrangements in the
vast interior, that would probably have been the number present
on Tuesday night, when the Chicago evangelists entered on their
London campaign. As it was, the audience could not be less
than eighteen thousand ; in all likelihood it reached twenty thou-
sand. The chairs numbered fourteen thousand according to some
authorities, fifteen thousand say others ; and not one of these, nor
scarcely an inch of standing-ground, was left unoccupied, while
the doors had to be closed in the face of many hundreds for
whom there was no room. The anxiety to procure admission
was indicated by the fact that fully two hours before the time ad-
vertised for the beginning of the service crowds began to assem-
ble. We were there a few minutes after six, and already the
building seemed to be more than half full, while the stream of
people entering was in full flood, and required not many minutes
to crowd every vacant spot, excepting only the reserved seats
near the platform, for which tickets were required. At half-past
MIGHTY LONDON IS BLESSED. 523
six the singing of a h3'mn was begun in a distant part of the hall ;
but the Rev. Thain Davidson, from his seat on tlie platform, re-
quested the stewards to repress volunteer attempts of this sort,
and in a moment his wish was obeyed. The arrangements were,
indeed, admirable. Ushers, each invested with an official rod,
were scattered all over the building. Those near me were young
merchants and professional men ; and they did their work with
quiet, effective energy. There seems to have been no screw loose
anywhere. The silent seating of so many thousands was a mas-
terpiece of administrative care and skill.
The appearance of the vast throng was in itself a sight worth
going many m.iles to see. No architectural features of the build-
ing came between the eye and the great sea of humanity that
seemed to stretch as far as the vision could go. There was abun-
dance of light shed from thousands of gas-burners beading the
walls — these at times running in straight lines, and at regular in-
tervals assuming a semicircular form. A broad strip of red cloth
running round beneath the lines and arches of light bore appro-
priate passages in white lettering. The first of these, on the
right of the platform, was, " Repent ye, and believe the Gospel ";
and the first on the left, "The gift of God is eternal life." At
the centre of the platform there is a small dais, covered with red
cloth, and having a slight rail round it, and a little book-board at
one corner. This is for the president of the meetings. On his
right are the seats for the choir, and Mr. Sankey's American
organ. The seats on the left are for the committee and others
taking part in the service. On and around the platform were
hundreds of leading men of all the evangelical communions, min-
isters and laymen ; and it struck me that the Congregational and
Presbyterian churches were represented in special strength, es-
pecially the former body. The Earl of Cavan and Lord Rad-
stock occupied seats on the platform.
At seven o'clock Rev. Thain Davidson gave out the hymn, " I
hear Thy welcome voice," and the volume of sound Vv'hich rose
from the audience indicated that it was a familiar strain to the
most of the people present. Then, after a brief interval, the hymn,
524 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
"Tell me the old, old story of Jesus and His love," was finely
sung by the choir, which was composed of two hundred voices.
At half-past seven to a moment, Mr. Moody stepped on to the
dais, while Mr. Sankey took his place at the organ ; and the for-
mer, in the least conventional of voices, said, "Let us rise and
sing to the praise of God. Let us praise Him for what He is
going to do in London." The response, as the people sung the
familiar Doxology, was thrilling ; and no sooner had the strain
ceased than the Rev. Mr. Billing, the incumbent of the nearest
church, offered prayer. " We bless Thee, that we have seen this
day and this hour," he said ; and hundreds gave audible vent to
a thanksgiving that was uttered with deep fervor. Very hearty,
too, were the "Amens" which followed the request that God
might be pleased to ''speak to all London " by the mouth of His
servants from the other side of the sea. Mr. Moody gave out the
Scotch version of the hundredth Psalm, Mr. Sankey saying, " Let
us rise and sing. Let all the people sing." To all, but more
especially to the Scottish friends, that was a soul-stirring strain.
Mr.'Moody then stated that he had that day received despatches
from all the great cities in Britain, letting him know that the peo-
ple were praying for London. All their expectations must be in
vain unless they were depending upon God. He therefore asked
them to spend a few moments in silent prayer. Hereupon a
great calm fell upon the assembly, and every head was bowed.
In a minute or two the hush was broken by the voice of Mr.
Moody, who prayed that God's blessing might rest upon the work
on which they were now entering, and that many might be encour-
aged to go out and labor in this dark city. " It is a great city,"
he said, " but Thou art a great God. May we ask great things,
and expect them." He gave special thanks for the many minis-
ters present, and prayed that there might be "no strife among
the herdmen." Mr. Sankey then sang the solo, "Jesus of Naza-
reth passeth by," explaining before he did so that it was simply a
Christian song. " May the Lord bless the singing of this song
here, as He has blessed it elsewhere," said Mr. Sankey, and he
requested the people to keep very still. The first stanza, and
MIGHTY LONDON IS BLESSED. 525
especially the line, " What means this strange commotion ? " was
thrilling in its effect ; but a slight disturbance in a distant part
of the hall somewhat marred the closing verses. At the end
of the piece some present began to applaud ; but they were
instantly rebuked into silence by a murmured " Hush ! " from
thousands of lips.
On Wednesday evening the second meeting was held in the
Agricultural Hall. The attendance was not nearly so large as on
the first evening, resulting from the fact that Mr. Moody requested
the doors to be closed at half-past seven, thus preventing many
thousands who were unable to attend so early from gaining ad-
mission.
It was speedily apparent that great blessing from on high was
present in that meeting. The address was full of power ; anec-
dote, illustration, Scripture entreaty, persuasion, succeeded each
other again and again, v/ith lightning speed and force, while the
vast audience listened intently. As the interest heightened, and
story after story was told, many could be seen wiping the tears
openl}'', apparently unconscious of what they were doing. The
graphic picture of the meeting of Bartimeus and Zaccheus, after
the former had been healed, was thoroughly enjoyed ; and the
quiet hit at those "who don't believe in sudden conversions," in
the statement that Zaccheus '' was converted between the branches
and the ground," was greatly enjoyed. The story that followed,
of '• the young man converted on his mother's grave," gave occa-
sion for an impassioned appeal to turn to Jesus then and there.
Silent prayer followed the conclusion of the address ; and, amid
a hush that was almost awful, the sound of music floated on the
air, and Mr. Sankey sang softly, "Come home — come home."
Every head bowed, thousands earnestly praying, while the soft
music seemed to enter into the very souls of that mass of human-
ity, bowing and swaying even the hardest to thoughts of repent-
ance and prayer. Then Lord Radstock concluded with prayer,
and the h3aTin, " I hear Thy welcome voice," was sung as Mr.
Moody went from the Hall to the first inquiry-meeting in London.
Many hundreds followed him, but whether workers or inquirers
526 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
did not at the time appear, and it is far too early yet to speak of
results.
On Thursday Mr. Moody presided for the second time at the
noon prayer-meeting. There was also a falling off in the attend-
ance here compared with the day before ; but the great Hall was
nearly filled, and would doubtlessly have been filled to overflow-
ing during the service had the doors remained open. Mr. Moody
was just a very little bitter in saying, "I don't know what some
men would do at a Pentecost," or his earnestness seemed intensi-
fied to bitterness ; but this disappeared when he spoke of a boy
of fourteen with a Bible under his arm, whom he had met in the
inquiry-room the previous night, and asked as to his presence
there. The boy replied that he v/as a Christian, hoped to meet
some little boy like himself to tell about Jesus. Afterward the
boy was seen kneeling with another in a corner. Mr. Sankey
also spoke earnestly in defence of the inquiry-room — asking ob-
jectors to visit and see for themselves, instead of finding fault
beforehand ; adding, warmly, " It don't take half a man to find
fault." The meeting ended as usual ; but after its close there
appeared to be an impromptu reunion of nearly all the evangeli-
cal workers in London, the resemblance being almost perfect to
one of the evening conferences at Mildmay Park.
The third evening service was much more largely attended
than the second. Much better order was observed than at the
commencement of the previous evening, the meeting being admi-
rably controlled. The address v;as most solemn and searching
in character, concluding with an exhortation to immediate and
final decision. Mr. Moody ended his discourse by prayer. Then
" Safe in the arms of Jesus " was sung; then silent prayer; next,
" Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah ! " then the benediction and
the inquiry-meeting.
On Friday the great hall for the noon prayer-meeting had a glo-
rious gathering, and there were quite as many present as on the
previous day, but notably men ; the ladies could not face the ter-
rible cold and sleet.
After singing, a gentleman spoke earnestly of the way and the
MIGHTY LONDON IS BLESSED.
527
need of working for Jesus. He was followed b}- another, who
told a touching story of how the lost are found in London. A
tract-distributor offered a man a tract on Waterloo Bridge; it
was declined with the remark, " I shall be in hell before night ";
the words were heard and answered, " No, you will not, for I'm
going to heaven, and will stick to you all day." They left the
bridge together, the hungry man was supplied with food and
taken to a place of worship. There he fell asleep. " Perhaps
he has been walking all night," said his friend ; " let him sleep ! "
Service over, he was conveyed home to supper, inquiring con-
cerning all this kindness, " IV/ia^'s 7iJ>?" He was fed, tended,
reasoned with, instructed, and brought to the way of heaven,
instead of being in hell, as he had said.
So ends the first three of Mr. Moody's noon prayer-meetings
and the first three nights of work in London. And it is simple
truth to state, that such meetings were never held before in Lon-
don, if ever they were in the v/orld's history. In ^Aree days of
noon and evening service, about e/g/ify thousand have listened to
the glorious gospel of the blessed God. Well might Mr. Moody
express his thankfulness to God — the encouragement he had
received and felt, and his deep sense of the sympathy and help
extended to him and his colleague in their great work. Well
might he dissolve in broken accents and tears of entreaty for a
rich blessing on himself and those who, laboring with him, will
share his eternal rest and rev/ard. Surely, when bankers and
rich merchants, and ministers holding high official positions,
are content to be doorkeepers, it must be said, "We never saw
it after this fashion," and this was exactly the case at the door of
Exeter Hall yesterday.
Mr. Moody took for his text Isa. Iv. 6, stating for two evenings
he had dwelt on man seeking God, but now he would speak of
God seeking man ; yet recommending earnestness in seeking
God by many touching incidents and suggestions. This, among
others, he thought "the dying thief might have had a praying
mother." He also turned to the ministers around him and asked,
" Did they believe that God was present, and willing to save ? '*
528 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
and was instantly answered by an audible "Yes." A tearful,
impassioned appeal followed to all classes to seek the Lord, and
He would assuredly be found. Silent prayer succeeded, and
Mr. Sankey sang "Almost persuaded." Then the audience were
dismissed, and all anxious, and all workers, were invited to
remain, an invitation that was accepted by several thousands J
The whole space under the arched room was occupied by seekers
and workers, while the responses to earnest prayers rolled around
like the deep tones of the great sea waves at night. The Lord
was there. Inquirer after inquirer made themselves manifest,
until there were scores in the inquiry-room, and scores remaining
in the hall speaking with the workers there. In the inquiry-
room were seekers and workers in every direction, and very many
found peace in believing. One fine young man fell to the lot of
the writer, and it was emphatically good to watch the dawning of
divine truth on the mind, as shown in the intelligent face — to see
the look of anxiety and fear give place to the knowledge and love
of God — to watch the birth of the soul to eternal life bring forth
that look of brightness on the face which is never seen from any
other cause. One young lady said " she was so happy, she seemed
to tread on air"; and in instance after instance the testimony
grew and multiplied, till we could only rejoice in believing that
numbers were born again — not of corruptible seed, but of the
incorruptible, which liveth and abideth for ever. Then the long,
happy evening closed by Mr. Moody calling the workers
together, and giving some brotherly advice and counsel concern-
ing the details of work in the inquiry-room.
Oh for the time of blessing ! Oh for the rain upon the weary !
Oh for the coming, in mightiest power, of the loving Spirit and the
King our Brother, among the ruined and lost — among the weary
and burdened laborers on this rough and stony ground ! Our
Father, hear and answer Thy children's heart-cry, for Jesus' sake !
On Sunday morning, March 14, the usual unbroken quiet of
Islington experienced a striking change. From every direction
solitaires, couples, and bands of well-dressed people were hasten-
ing to the Agricultural Hall. Many parties of singers had
MICHTY LONDON IS BLESSED.
529
arranged to meet in their different localities, and marched with
songs to their destination. Sunday-school teachers resident in
the line of march near to the Hall had invited their fellow-laborers
to breakfast at a very unusual hour ; while the vendors of hymns
and papers round the Hall took their usual week-day positions,
and transacted a large amount of buying and selling, to which
multitudes made strong and indignant objection. Pouring in at
all the entrances to the Hall, there was speedily convened such
a gathering of its Christian workers as London had never seen.
It was a complete r^-union. Friends, whom the exigencies of
work had separated for years, met and clasped hands once more ;
young men grown old in service met with others in like condition,
whom they had labored with in years of strength ; and comely
matrons' faces were recognized as those of former girls in Sunday-
schools. Long before all old friends could be recognized and
greeted, the time for the service arrived, and the evangelists stood
face to face with many thousands of the Christian workers of the
great metropolis for the first time.
Cool, prompt, and business-like as ever, Mr. Moody announced
the first song would be " Hold the fort," which was sung with a
vigor that left nothing to be desired.
Mr. Moody narrated a striking instance of a Sunday-school
su|Derintendent who was not converted, but finding this to be so,
went honestly to his minister and offered to resign. The minister
suggested a more excellent way — that the superintendent should
first turn to the Lord at once and then continue his labors.
This was done ; he turned to the willing Saviour, and then became
the means of the conversion of the teachers and a great revival in
the school. It was the duty of each Christian — not duty, but jDrivi-
lege (Away with mere duty / we did not talk of ditty to wives and
mothers, and why in religion ?) — to speak to some person daily.
For twelve years there had scarcely been a day in which he had
not done this. Seek out friends, and bring them into the current,
that they might get a blessing and pass it on. We must also get
into sympathy with the unsaved. When he was laboring in the
school at Chicago, a teacher, who was going away to die, came to
53© MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
him in bitter trouble about his unconverted class. He felt his
strength too far gone to visit them ; they were unsaved, and he
was leaving them — going away, for ever. Mr. Moody procured a
carriage, and they went together day after day for ten days, until
the teacher had seen all, pleaded with all, and won them all for
Jesus. The tearful eyes, the pale face, and the deep sympathy
had triumphed for Christ ! Then they all met him on the plat-
form, and the wave of his hand from the carriage was a last, long
farewell. The effect produced by this narration was very deep.
Sobs and tears were almost universal The ministers on the plat-
form were wiping both e3^es and glasses, and some were literally
scooping away the tears with their hands. Strong men were weep-
ing like children, and the speaker himself w^ept abundantly as
he remembered and depicted the touching scene. Yes, he con-
tinued, we must get in sympathy — make their case ours, their
troubles and sorrows ours, and then we shall have prevailing
power. He spoke of a poor mother, whose child had been
drowned in procuring drift-wood from the river, and whom he
visited along with his little daughter. " If that was me," said my
child, " wouldn't you fed had, father ? Don't you feel bad for the
poor mother ? " This unlocked the springs of sympath}', and I
did feel bad for her, I found a grave for the poor child, and after-
ward bought ground for a Sunday-school lot, to bury a hundred
of our poor little scholars. In the midst of a most striking scene
of weeping, such as that hall had never seen before, the address
concluded, and Mr. Moody attempted to pray. So deeply was he
moved, that he was compelled to pause in his prayer, amid dead
silence, to recover himself, and be able to proceed. Then we
sang, "Work, for the night is coming," and the benediction
ended the first workers' meeting.
On Sunday afternoon, at three, the first special meeting for
women was held. There were, at the lowest computation, about
17,000 women present; and the power of the Spirit was clearly
there : tears and sobs and repressed cries, anxious faces, low,
earnest words and entreaties for mercy w^ere all around, as the
discourse proceeded from point to point. God was the preacher
MIGHTY LONDON IS BLESSED. 53 1
of this sermon, said Mr. Moody ; and though the first audience
was small, the sermon has come rolling down the ages, and many,
I hope, are asking themselves this question now. I am speaking
to professors, to backsliders, and to those who never made pro-
fession, but all equally lost. Then all sang the hymn, " Lord, I
hear of showers of blessing," and the meeting closed to allow
inquirers to gather. Such a number accepted the invitation
that the large inquiry-room could not contain them, and many
were spoken to in the bitter cold without the room.
The evening service was simply a repetition of the afternoon,
but for men only, instead of women. Thousands of women,
nevertheless, accompanied their male friends in hope of admis-
sion, but were disappointed — they could not be admitted.
Nevertheless, the building was filled to its utmost capacity, and
the doors were closed nearly an hour before the service com-
menced. The would-be infidel orator of London is in the habit
of saying that " Religion is an affair of priests and women."
Never again will he be able to repeat that taunt, after the meeting
on Sunday evening last, when nearly 15,000 men of London were held
breathless by the simple preaching afid singing of the Gospel of Christ
Before the address was delivered, Mr. Sankey sang " Jesus of
Nazareth passeth by "; himself singing the verses, and the vast
multitude joining in singing the last line in each verse, thus pro-
ducing the effect of one of the mightiest choruses ever sung on
earth. After the address the inquiry-room was opened, while
the meeting in the hall continued with praise and prayer.
So great had been the effect produced, so large was the number
of inquirers who were not "priests" or "women," that there
were not enough workers present to deal with them. Nor can
this be vv^ondered at. Christians had been entreated and
enjoined to stay away, that the unconverted might have all the
room ; and this request was too literally obeyed.
St. Mary's Hall is a large concert-room, with chairs on the
floor fronting the platform, and a deep gallery round the sides
and end of the hall. Mr. Moody divided the inquirers, leaving
the women on the basement, and sending the men into the g^al-
532 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
lery, and directed the workers to divide in the same way. All
round the gallery were men in twos and threes, to the number of
two or three hundred — each couple or three separated from their
neighbors, and earnestly engaged in their own work, without tak-
ing any notice of those near and around. Here was a couple
discussing a difficulty in the way. There another couple earnestly
reading passages of God's Word. Next was one pleading ear-
nestly with another. Next one whose work was done, as the close,
loving hand-clasp showed. Many were striving together in prayer,
two by two. Here a worker earnestly asking for the light to come.
There another pressing the inquirer to pray for himself, and
others praying earnestly together. The writer had the pleasure
of speaking with three in succession. The first was a young man
who had made long, wearying endeavor to work out salvation ; he
had been trying hard to come to Jesus, but neither work nor trial
had brought the assurance of faith. To one so much in earnest
it was most pleasant to show salvation as the gift of God, and a
little patience was richly rewarded by the dawning of the light.
Then said he, ^^ I see it noiv ; please to leave me alone with God P^
Most reverently and willingly this was done, and the second was
spoken to ; he also promised to accept the gift, and left to kneel
before the Lord in seeking, as he was compelled to go. The
third had long had a form of godliness, but neither its power nor
hope — he was just a sleeping nominal church-member, who did
not wish to be disturbed. He had wandered into the inquiry-
room, thinking it was public, and he should hear an address.
Unable to deal satisfactorily with him, the attention of another
brother was called to him, and we passed on round the gallery.
On returning, this one was praying earnestly, the second was gone,
and the face of the first showed better than any words that he had
lost his burden. Passing below to leave, a lady who was talking
to three working-girls claimed help, as help had been claimed in the
case above. We held conversation, and speedily all three declared
themselves on the Lord's side ; and the bright, earnest young
faces glowed with the thought of the gift received, and the " cove-
nant unto death " with Jesus. As we saw, so we heard of many
MIGHTY LONDON IS BLESSED. 533
to whom light and peace came ; nor was it the least impressive
to mark how willingly help was given and received, how entirely
absent were evidences of self and self-seeking. Conversions all
around, an atmosphere of prayer and the Word of God, the sub-
dued hum of conversation with each other, and converse with the
Father through the Son, gave a sense of " nearness of access," of
personal presence, of a very present and loving help, that was as
sweet as it was solemn. Verily it " was good to be there ! " It
was just eleven o'clock when, after three hours of delightful ser-
vice, " the labor was done, and the laborers gone home."
The Christian World thus summarizes the first month's
work:
To-day the American evangelists, whose names are on every
lip, enter upon the second month of their London campaign.
They have all but completed the series of meetings at the Agri-
cultural Hall, in Islington, designed more especially for the benefit
of the people dwelling in the great northern region of the metrop-
olis ; and now they are about to enter on the daily occupation of
a building specially erected for their accommodation at the East
End. From week to week we have furnished our readers with
full reports of the proceedings. In this way the public have been
enabled to obtain a comprehensive, and we believe accurate, view
of a series of meetings that certainly stand without a parallel in
the religious annals of England. We may not be able to say, with
a respected contemporary, that Mr. Moody is the modern Wycliffe
— a name we should rather assign, if we used it at all, to a great
English preacher who has been proclaiming the Gospel to multi-
tudes in London every week for more than twenty-one years.
Neither are we prepared to coincide with the magnanimous asser-
tion of a Wesleyan Methodist journal, that this movement puts
the revival which was wrought by Whitfield and Wesley into the
shade, in respect, at least, to the numbers brought under the
sound of the Gospel. These are statements, as it seems to us,
which would require to be greatly qualified before they could be
accepted by thoughtful men. Yet, without going the length of
our too exuberant friends, we can testify that the success of the
534 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
gatherings over which Mr. Moody presides has been simply mar-
velous, and in its way quite unexampled, either within the mem-
ory of living men, or in all that has been recorded by the pen of
the English historian of the Christian Church. Whatever may be
the view he takes of the work, as to its true spiritual significance
and value, every candid onlooker must acknowledge that the
present is a phenomenon which cannot be too carefully scanned,
or too fully described by the contemporary journalist. It will
unquestionably claim for itself a chapter of no inconsiderable
magnitude in the book that deals with the religious history of
England in the last quarter of the nineteenth centur3\ Some
little service to the future, as well as to the present-day reader,
may, therefore, be rendered by an attempt to gather up the salient
points in the story of the first month spent by Messrs. Moody
and Sankey in London.
And first of all we have to note the sustained, and it would
even seem growing, interest which the public take in the meet-
ings. Every day at noon Exeter Elall has been well filled ; often
it has been crowded, and there is no symptom of any falling off
in the attendance, while it may be confidently expected that when
the prayer-meeting is transferred, as it will be on Monday next,
to Her Majesty's Opera House, the audience will be as great as
that building is able to contain. That the interest in the primary
purpose of the noon-gathering has not declined is made manifest
by many pleasing tokens. Not the least eloquent of these was
the statement made by Mr. Moody on Wednesday last, that the
requests for prayer received that morning numbered no fewer
than i8o. The reports of spiritual work achieved in connection
with the movement, not only in London, but also in the provinces,
have been multiplying daily; and these form a feature of the
proceedings at Exeter Hall which does much to keep alive the
interest and to intensify the fervor of the assembly. Then there
has been the appearance of new speakers from day to day — wit-
nesses to the reality of the revival in Scotland, Ireland, and pro-
vincial towns of England. When the meeting is thrown open to
volunteers, the result has not always been edifying; but Mr.
MIGHTY LONDON IS BLESSED.
535
Moody, as a shrewd and ready-witted president, keeps the most
of the time well occupied with a swift and flowing succession of
song, prayer, and exhortation, so that the hour seems to all pres-
ent to be only too short, and is obviously most refreshing to their
spirits. Mr. Moody is, perhaps, seen at his best at Exeter Hall.
Some of his short addresses there have been gems of pithy expo-
sition ; and his occasional quaint bits of self-defence, and frequent
touches of mingled humor and pathos, have been remarkably
effective. People from the country have formed a distinctly per-
ceptible element in the congregation ; and we cannot doubt that
these, along with the city brethren, have derived useful hints from
Mr. Moody's method for the conduct of prayer-meetings in their
own places of worship. In this way, we think it likely that a
great deal of good may be done.
The three afternoon meetings held at Sanger's (formerly Ast-
ley's) Amphitheatre were among the most successful of all the
gatherings, and are said to have been the most fruitful in spiritual
results. The place could not hold all the people who flocked to
them; and a proportionately larger number of the "lapsed
masses " were to be seen in these South-side gatherings than in
the assemblies at the Agricultural Hall. The two afternoon
Bible-readings — the first held in the Conference Hall at Mildmay
Park, and the second at Exeter, and to both of which admission
was procured only by ticket — were crammed, and they seemed to
be greatly enjoyed.
As for the great meetings, those held every night (with the
exception of Saturday) at the Agricultural Hall, and thrice on
Sunday in the same enormous edifice, they have continued to
attract an average attendance of at least eleven or twelve thou-
sand down to the very last. On the two nights when the address
was not given by Mr. Moody there was a great falling off" in the
congregation. On Good Friday the Times "felt bound" to
express its " strong conviction that the interest of the meetings
was rapidly falling off; " but the facts do not sustain this view.
The largest congregations have assembled within the last ten
days ; and these have included all ranks and classes of society.
536 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
Royalty itself, in the person of her Royal Highness the Duchess
of Teck, has expressed its intention to come since the leading
journal proclaimed the turning of the tide. On one evening
there were at least sixty clergymen of the Establishment present,
with Dean Stanley occupying a conspicuous seat on the platform ;
and on the night of Good Friday the evangelical Earl of Shaftes-
bury sat on the same chair which a few evenings before had been
occupied by the Broad Church Dean. Lord Shaftesbury, at the
close of the service, paid a visit, along with his daughters, to the
inquiry-room. In respect to the numbers of the Agricultural
Hall congregation, the floor of the building is capable of seating
9,000 persons ; the raised platform for the choir and ministers,
250 ; the eastern side gallery, 900 ; the western side gallery,
1,000; the upper raised gallery in front of the platform, 1,350;
the balcony in front, 850; and the upper western balcony, 350.
Even on moderate computation, it would seem that about 350,000
must have been the total of the numbers present at the Agricul-
tural Hall services during the month ; though it must be borne
in mind that very many persons were frequent, and not a few
constant, attenders. It would probably be a liberal allowance if
we were to say that 200,000 separate individuals were present.
The arrangements made by the committee for the comfort of the
congregation and the preservation of order have, from first to
last, been admirable.
With respect to the inquir3^-rooms, they have been largely
attended every night by Christian friends, clerical and lay ; and
the penitents pressing in for spiritual advice have, on many occa-
sions, numbered several hundreds. But there has been no more
excitement there than in the public service ; indeed, the proceed-
ings have been more subdued, and a quiet, solemn earnestness
has characterized all that has been done in connection with this
part of the work. Several gentlemen taking part in it have tes-
tified to the good accomplished ; and Mr. Sankey in particular,
who is active in the inquiiy-room, describes the work of which he
was witness on Sunday week, and on every succeeding night, as
being in the highest degree encouraging. Many Christian work-
MIGHTY LONDON IS BLESSED. 537
ers, though not so many as Mr. Moody desires to see, have scat-
tered themselves among the great audience at the ordinary ser-
vices, for the purpose of speaking a word to their unconverted
neighbors ; and a case has been mentioned in which the young
ladies of a certain seminary have, in this way, been instrumental
in leading twenty individuals to the Saviour. With this we may
bracket the case of a lady who took her ten servants to one of the
services, and who reports that seven of these have been, in con-
sequence, converted to God. Mr. Moody has detailed instances
of persons brought to a knowledge of God in the inquiry-room
one night, and appearing on the next with friends whom they
desired to see sharing the peace which they had secured. Since
the second Sunday a young men's meeting has been held every
night at St. Mary's Hall, immediately after the public service ;
and latterly this feature has come more conspicuously into view,
and been more pressingly urged upon the attention of the class
referred to by Mr. Moody, who is ambitious of securing a band
of at least a thousand to assist him in his work.
The meetings in the East End of London were held in the Bow-
road Hall and a tent pitched close by. Here the rich and poor
congregated, and God graciously poured out His Spirit. In the
West End the Royal Opera House, in the Haymarket, was ob-
tained. In South London Camberwell Hall was specially pro-
vided for the immense multitudes sure to gather.
During the greater part of April services had been conducted
daily in each of the four divisions of the metropolis. Messrs.
Moody and Sankey have divided their labors almost equally be-
tween the East and the West Ends — officiating at Her Majesty's
Opera House, in the Haymarket, at the daily noon prayer-meet-
ing, and also at an afternoon Bible-reading, while in the evening
they have generally been present at the service in the Bow-road Hall.
On two evenings of each week they have returned to the Agricul-
tural Hall in Islington. The first week after their departure
from that hall the services there were conducted by Rev. William
Taylor of California ; but the attendance instantly dropped from
12,000 to 2,000, and sank to as low as i,ooo before the week wag-
538 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
done. In the second week Mr. Taylor was succeeded by the
Rev. W. H. M. Aitken (Episcopalian) of Liverpool, who secured
much larger congregations, there being occasionally as many as
5,000 and 6,000 present to hear him ; and at the Victoria Thea-
tre, on the South side, Mr. Taylor held daily meetings, where his
labors would appear to be better appreciated than they were at
Islington. The prayer-meeting at the Opera House has not been
so well attended, on the whole, as that at Exeter Hall ; but the
Bible-readings have attracted great congregations, these including
many members of fashionable society, led by Her Royal High-
ness the Princess of Wales, who was present on Thursday, April
15. In an article on "The American Revivalists in England,"
the New York Independent says : " We presume that the aristoc-
racy and the literati will scarce hear of the movement that is
about them. It is an after-generation that builds the monuments
of the prophets. Bunyan got no words of honor from the Duke
of Bedford, whose descendant has lately set up his statue." Sev-
eral months before these words were written, Mr. Moody had
sojourned as a guest within the walls of Dunrobin Castle, the
northern seat of the Duke of Sutherland ; and weeks before, he
had dined with the Lord Chancellor of England at Bournemouth.
At his first meeting in the Agricultural Hall he was assisted by
a peer of the realm, and other noblemen took part in subsequent
gatherings, while Lord Cairns, the Earl of Shaftesbury, and many
other members of the aristocracy, formed part of his audience.
The favor with which his labors are regarded by a large section
of the nobility has been still more conspicuously displayed since
the opening of the services in the Haymarket, and especially
since the visit paid by the Princess of Wales. Standing some-
what in the same relation to Mr. Moody that the Counte'ss of
Huntingdon did to Whitefield, her Grace the Duchess of Suther-
land has been well-nigh a daily attender, accompanied sometimes
by her daughter and Lady Constance Leveson-Gower. Twice
last week the Duke and Duchess of St. Albans were seen in the
royal box ; the Prince Teck has also been present, and so have
the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, the Countess of Gains-
MIGHTY LONDON IS BLESSED. 539
borough, Lady Dudley, Lord and Lady Rendlesham (the latter a
daughter of the late popular Earl of Eglington), and many more
of the " upper ten thousand." To crown all, it is alleged, not
only that Lord Dudley interested himself in secm'ing the Opera
House for the American evangelists, but that his lordship was en-
couraged to do this by no less a personage than the Heir Apparent.
The following is given as the number of meetings and aggre-
gate attendance during the four months that Mr. Moody has been
in London :
In Camberwell, sixty meetings, attended by 480,000 people ;
in Victoria, forty-five meetings, attended by 400,000 ; in the Opera
House, sixty meetings, attended by 330,000; in Bow, sixty meet-
ings, attended by 600,000; and in Agricultural Hall, sixty meet-
ings, attended by 720,000. The amount of money expended for
buildings, printing, stewards, etc., is $140,000. Messrs. Moody
and Sankey have declined to receive any compensation from the
committee. It is stated that a prominent business man has
bought the Victoria Theatre, and intends to fit it up for religious
work.
Inquirers multiplied ; young men's meetings were held ; thou-
sands of children were gathered. A great array of workers went
out, two by two, to visit every house in London with the Gospel.
Every text Mr. Moody quoted was an arrow from God's bow
which went straight to the heart.; every song from Mr. Sankey
won some soul ; every appeal persuaded- some heart to 3'ield to
Christ ; every meeting swelled the throng of converts. The
mighty movement swept from one end of London to the other.
As the evangelists left one quarter of the city for another, the
meetings were continued in the localities left, until, when Mr.
Moody, during the last month, was at Camberwell Green Hall in
the South, Major Cole was at the Victoria Theatre in the West,
Henry Varley at the Bow-road Hall in the East, while Henry
Drummond was holding his young men's meetings with great
success. Notwithstanding all these great meetings, numbering
often many thousands, the central meetings under our two
brethren moved on with v/onderful power and success.
540 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
As the last week drew to a close, the interest became interne.
On the last night, Mr. Moody became very earnest and urgent
in his appeals to the vast and intensely interested audience, to
accept Christ. "Just let me pause here," he said. "Ask your-
selves whether you ought not to receive the Lord Jesus Christ
now? Who is there in this assembly who will receive the gift
of God and be saved ? " After a brief pause, a voice came from
the left-hand gallery, somewhat faintly, " I will." It was speed-
ily followed by others from all parts of the house. " Well," con-
tinued Mr. Moody, "thank God for that. I am just passing
around the cup of salvation. Who else will take it?" "I will,"
" I will," " I will," " I will," came resounding on every hand.
" That's right, my boy," replied he, speaking to a little fellow
down in front of him, whose " I will " came up to the platform
with the rest. " Will the Christians keep on praying ? Men
do not speak out like this unless God is at work. Who else will
accept the gift of God ? " Again came a perfect volume of
"I will's." "Would it not be a glorious thing if every man
here would take it to-night? Is there another?" "I will."
"Another?" "I will." "How many are to-night willing to
stand up before God and man, and say by that act that they will
join us in our journey to heaven ? You that are willing to take
Christ now, would you just rise ?" A mighty army of men rose
to their feet at once. " Why not three thousand ? The God of
Pentecost still lives ! " Numbers more stood up, until one could
scarce distinguish between those sitting and those standing.
Mr. Moody prayed and said, "and now we will sing 'Safe in the
arms of Jesus.' " Multitudes flocked into the inquiry-room,
v/here there was a scene of ingathering never to be forgotten
by those who were present. A fitting close to the labors of our
brethren in Great Britain. Their work had continued without
interruption through two years and three weeks. They had held
meetings in perhaps a hundred cities and villages. They had
personally attended between two and three thousand services.
Mr. Roberts, of New York, writing from London, says : " The
places of most interest for over two months are those where the
MIGHTY LONDON IS BLESSED. 54I
meetings of Moody and Sankey, the American evangelists, are
held. I had heard of them before leaving home, but I was not
prepared for what I heard and saw at these vast assemblages,
which I attended several days twice, and sometimes thrice a day.
I was present at Agricultural Hall, when there were from twelve
to fifteen thousand persons present. Last Sunday evening the
room was crammed full, and I had to stand an hour and a half
Though there were so many inside, thousands went away. The
Lord Chancellor (Cairns), with his wife, was present. They are
both, I was told, devoutly pious, attending several of the meet-
ings with a number of the nobility and eminent men, including
Gladstone.
" It is a grand sight to see such a vast audience ; and when
they unite in singing, it is thrilling beyond anything I have ever
heard.
" The text was, ' Come thou and all thy house into the ark '
(Genesis vii.). He handled it remarkably well, and I was told
the discourse was more effective than in the morning, which was
based on the story of Naaman (2 Kings v.).
" He usually preached from thirty to forty-five minutes, in a
very clear voice, enunciating distinctly, presenting the truth very
plainly, earnestly, and pungently, appealing to the heart and con-
science, without any effort to excite animal feeling ; and at all
these meetings there was an entire absence of fanaticism. The
people are absorbed by what is said, and there is nothing noisy or
demonstrative, though nearly all join in the singing of hymns full
of Gospel truth, to simple melodious airs.
" Sankey leads the singing usually, and generally sings a solo
at every service, 'Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,' or the ' Ninety
and nine,' based on the parable of the lost sheep. His voice is
so powerful as to be heard easily by such large assemblages, for
he enunciates every word in a remarkably sweet voice.
"The music is, no doubt, a great help to the preaching, the
main element of which is Christ, as set forth in the Bible sent
home to the souls of rich and poor, high and low, the educated
and the ignorant, by the Spirit of God ; for, in my opinion, there
542 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
is no Other way of accounting for the assembling of such vast
multitudes three or four times daily for weeks and months.
"While I was in London, Moody held a noon prayer-meeting
at the Queen's Opera House, Ha3'market, at which, I think,
fifteen hundred attended — preaching there at three and seven
p. M., when the house was filled from top to bottom. At eight
and a half he preached at East London in a large hall, accom-
modating some twelve thousand. How he endures such great
and constant mental and physical labors I cannot understand.
" Thus, substantially, he has worked for over two months in
London, and in about like manner for nearly two years in various
places in Great Britain. He appears very robust — I think larger
around the chest than any man I ever saw, and every time I
heard him, what he said was fresh.
"At the large meetings hundreds stood up for prayers, and
entered the inquiry-rooms, where Christians conversed with
them.
" This was a large hall, nearly filled with groups of inquirers,
two to four attending to the instruction of men and women, each
of their own sex ; and while some were conversing, other groups
were kneeling and praying in a low tone. Thousands remained
in the audience-room praying and singing, where every Chris-
tian was requested, in their places, to speak to his or her neigh-
bor suitable words, if they had no hope in Christ. I spoke to
two young persons near me, and found they were both indulging
hope.
" It reminded me-of the efforts of this kind in the early days of
Brainerd Church.
" Sometimes the scenes of 1831 were brought vividly before
me, and I have a conviction that the means used by Moody and
Sankey, and the preaching, are very like those so much blessed
in our country for eight or ten 3^ears subsequent to 1825, of which
probably Mr. Nettleton was the most prominent author. The
same pungent, direct manner of presenting truth, enforced by
apposite illustrations, v/hich all could understand, accompanied
by singing of hymns containing fundamental truths, in melodious
MIGHTY LONDON IS BLESSED. 543
and simple tunes, nearly the whole congregation joining. No
doubt you will recall the Village Hymn Book compiled by Mr.
Nettleton.
"I cannot but hope this is the beginning of a new era, showing
our ministers that, as Spurgeon said the other day at Exeter Hall
(referring to these meetings), he had no fear of them, for the
^ Bible was kept in the front. ^
" I do not undervalue learning, but it must be kept secondary
to the Bible, the Sword of the Spirit, which is almost the only
weapon Moody uses with so much effect.
" But I must close, though I have not said half I might on this
subject."
It must be conceded that this was the most wonderful series of
revival meetings ever held in the world. In the union of all
God's people ; in the mighty but perfectly quiet workings of
God's Spirit ; in the honor put upon God's simple word ; in the
dependence put upon prayer, and the simplest agencies ; in the
earnestness with which Christians labored, and the liberality
with which they gave their money ; in the multitudes which
everywhere flocked to the services ; in the wide extent of the
work, in the readiness with which men received the Gospel ; in
the number of conversions ; in every aspect of it, the movement
is without a parallel in the history of Christianity. It seems to
betoken a world-wide revival of religion.
Sunday^ July 11. — Last Day. — How shall we write of it?
Fresh from the meeting in the evening, we feel how inadequate
are human words to portray that most marv^elous close of a no
less marvelous season of revival throughout our land.
The doors for the morning service were opened at half-past
six, and by seven o'clock the hall was comfortably full. An hour
yet intervened before the commencement of the service, and the
time was profitably and pleasantly occupied with a service of song
from the familiar book. About half-past seven it was announced
that there were thousands outside, some of them from a great
distance, and if the audience would kindly sit more closely, a few
hundreds more might be got in. The request was good-naturedly
544 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
complied with at once, and room made for a few more. For the
great numbers who were unable to get admission, an overflow-
meeting was held in the Presbyterian church close by, and was
addressed by Dr. A. Bonar, of Glasgow.
Shortly before eight o'clock Mr. Sankey a^Dpeared, and delighted
the audience with a few solos. Before singing " I am praying for
you," he said he hoped in the days to come they would not for-
get to pray for Mr. Moody and himself when they were gone.
In consequence of the crowd at the gates, Mr. Moody could
not gain an entrance, and had to be conveyed through a private
house opening from the back upon the site of the building. This
delayed the opening of the service till about ten minutes past
eight o'clock — a thing altogether unusual at these gatherings, as
one of the most noticeable features of them has been the punctu-
ality observed by our brethren.
Mr. Sankey having sung " Only an Armor-bearer," the audi-
ence swelling out in the chorus, very earnest prayer was offered,
making special reference to the occasion.
Mr. Moody then delivered his well-known address on " Daniel,"
beginning with the secret of his wonderful success, which he at-
tributed to his being able to say " No " at the right moment. He
sketched the eventful career of this man, "beloved of God,"
through the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius,
showing how he was delivered from all the many snares laid for
him by his enemies, because he was faithful to God and His com-
mandments. The history of Daniel in the telling of it rouses Mr.
Moody's enthusiasm, which he succeeds in a large degree in im-
parting to the audience, and many thousands of hearts were
stirred by this closing address to Christian workers. Before part-
ing, we sang with Mr. Sankey " Dare to be a Daniel."
The afternoon service for women was a deeply interesting one,
both in itself and from the fact of its being the last of them. The
hall was crammed in every corner. The opening hymn was
"Yet there is room," very appropriate to the occasion.
All through his mission in Great Britain, Mr. Moody has
striven to make the Gospel so plain as to be understood by the
MIGHTY LONDON IS BLESSED.
545
meanest comprehension. He has avoided collateral issues and
eschewed theological discussions, and held to the proclamation
of the good news of salvation through faith in a crucified and risen
Saviour. One of his favorite texts has been the question of the
jailer, " What must I do to be saved ? " and this he chose for his
final gospel addresses to London audiences. Many people, he
said, still disbelieved in sudden conversion, and he proceeded to
draw from the treasury of Holy Scripture numerous illustrations
to show that the new birth is, of necessity, an instantaneous act,
and not a gradual change. He quoted the ark, the salvation of
Lot from Sodom, the preservation of the children of Israel in
Egypt by sprinkling the blood on their doors, the cities of refuge,
and others, as well as illustrations from history and from daily
life. At the close he spoke with much emotion of how he had
tried in all possible ways to allure sinners to Christ, and en-
treated those present not to go out of the building without receiv-
ing Christ as their Saviour. They might never hear his and Mr.
Sankey's voice again on earth, but he hoped there would not be
one missing at the last great meeting. Many rose in response to
his pressing appeal at the close, and the inquiry-rooms were
afterward the scene of much earnest conversation and prayer with
the crowds of anxious sisters. The evening meeting for men was
almost filled before the last of the inquirers and workers had left
the building.
The last meeting of all will, we think, be reckoned, by those
who have attended the London meetings throughout, the best of
all. It was as closely packed with men as could be ; how many
were left outside we cannot tell. A meeting for them was held
in the Camberwell-green Hall. Mr. Sankey took his seat at the
instrument about half an hour before the time, and while he was
singing for Jesus to the eager crowd of listeners, Mr. Moody and
a few friends were in the little waiting-room below, supplicating
God for a Pentecostal blessing on this parting service. And their
prayer was answered of a truth. We have not witnessed such a
wondrous scene during any of the many gatherings these last
four months ; the only approach to it was one Sunday after-
noon at a women's meeting in the Opera House.
54^ MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
Several of Mr. Moody's American friends were present to wit-
ness the crowning service of this mission, before described.
At the farewell meeting at London, of the 700 and odd ministers
who were present at this memorable gathering, there were 188 be-
longing to the Church of England, 154 Congregationalists, 85
Baptists, 81 Wesleyan Methodists, 39 Presbyterians, 8 foreign pas-
tors, 8 United Methodists, 7 Primitive Methodists, 3 Plymouth
Brethren, 2 Countess of Huntingdon's Connection, 2 Society of
Friends, 3 Free Church of England, i Bible Christian, and
upward of 20 not known. These figures we take from the official
statement supplied at the meeting, and they significantly show
the catholic and unsectarian character of Messrs. Moody and
Sankey's services, as well as the universal esteem with which our
evangelist brethren are regarded by all sections of the Church of
Christ in this country. A large number of influential laymen and
Christian workers were present, among the best known of them
being Lord Shaftesbury, Lord Cavan, Mr. Cowper-Temple^ M. P.,
Mr. Alderman McArthur, M. P., Mr. Samuel Morley, M. P., etc.
We only give those of the addresses containing interesting facts
and statistics relating to the movement.
Rev. R. D. Wilson, of Craven Chapel, said a new spiritual
glow had come into the hearts of many during the last four months.
They had learned, too, that their cherished traditions had no
more sanctity or authority about them than the new things, which
startled some of them at first, but with which they had now become
most blessedly familiar. It was too soon to speak of the results
as a whole, but within the last three days he had met no less than
twelve or thirteen distinct cases of conversion in consequence of
the ministrations of the evangelists. He read the following ex-
tract from a letter he had received : " I feel it my duty and inex-
pressible pleasure to tell you that I and one of my brothers were
converted at one of Mr. Moody's meetings last week. Could you
know my inner life for the past ten years, you would indeed say
I have been plucked like a brand from the burning. I cannot
cease to marvel at the greatness of my salvation." The mother
of that young lady, said the speaker, had come to him yesterday,
MIGHTY LONDON IS BLESSED.
547
and stated that for twenty-five years, with few exceptions, she
had regularly attended the service of the sanctuar}^ but the hap-
piest day in her Christian experience was the previous Sunda)^,
when she sat with her converted daughter on her right hand and
a converted son on her left. As the speaker told this affecting
little story, we felt certain that the tear of joy gathered in many
an eye, only we could not see for the mist that came across our
own. He went on to say that we had never known what it was
to " sing the Gospel " of Jesus Christ till our two brethren came.
We could now understand how the sweetest tones could become
the highest sort of Christian eloquence, in declaring to men the
Way of Life. He would so far disobey the rule that no reference
was to be made to the two evangelists, as to assure them that
they would carry home to their American country the warmest
love and heartiest esteem of the ministers and Christian people
of this country. At this remark the pent-up feelings of the audi-
ence could no longer be restrained, and they burst out into loud
and prolonged applause. We were extremely glad that the nat-
ural emotions of the congregation for once refused to be smoth-
ered by that folse and frigid idea of decorum which obtains too
much in our religious assemblies, and prevents the legitimate
expression of the deepest feelings of the heart. But this is a
digression. Mr. Wilson continued : " We shall not forget, when
the Atlantic lies between their home and ours, at our family altar,
at the place of secret meeting with our God, in our prayer-meet-
ings, and in our Sabbath assemblies, to pray that God's richest
blessing may rest upon them there. And it will be a glad day
for us all, if ever that day comes, when we shall hear from the
other side of the Western Main the intelligence that they are
coming again. Until then we shall continue to pray that, when
God sees meet that they should come, they may come in the full-
ness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ."
Rev. Thomas Richardson, of St. Benet's, Stepney, said the
effect of the meetings in the East End had been to make his
church and congregation " enlarge the place of their tent, and
stretch forth the curtains of their habitation." He would rather
548 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
wait for a year before he gave his testimony as to results, as there
were many reasons why they should not now begin to count.
But he had no doubt that thousands of souls would be recorded
in their various chapels and churches all over London by next
year. His district visitors had sent in to him formal returns,
showing that of i,oo8 families in his parish, 672, or two families
out of every three, had attended the services at Bow-road Hall.
Further, he had two direct testimonies that the attendances at
the theatres of East London had sensibly diminished. Some of
the officials of these theatres had given up the profession, and he
had only to-day had an interview with one who was starting a
different course. He had something too to say about the influ-
ence of the movement on the dock laborers. He had received
testimony from several of the large docks that the men did not
swear so much since Messrs. Moody and Sankey came ; praise
God for that. Besides, drinking was not so prevalent among the
dockmen, and that was the kind of work that the world believed
in. He had been privileged to attend every service in Bow-road
Hall, and he would thank God to all eternity for it. He had seen
the power of sympathy — that sympathy which brought Christ
down to die for sinners. Sinners had felt its power, so they had
stood up and declared they wanted to be saved. He had had the
privilege of conversing personally with 450 anxious souls; his
wife had spoken to 150, and his curate had spoken to 100. There
were thus 700 souls whose names and addresses they knew, and
to whom they had written. Formerly, he had an after-meeting
once a month ; now he had one every Sunday evening, and not
a Sunday passed without some souls being gathered in. The
direct results of the meetings were seen in his church, his wife's
Bible-class, his young men's meetings, and among his district
visitors. He urged the general adoption of the after-meeting, as
being the key to the success of the services, and added that if the
Spirit led him to adopt Mr. Moody's style of preaching he was
going to do it.
Rev. Robert Taylor, of Norwood, gave some intensely interest-
ing facts respecting what had transpired in the inquiry-room at
MIGHTY LONDON IS BLESSED. 549
Camberwell-green Hall. He had to do what Mr. Moody called
"police work" there, and in this capacity he was able to take a
general view of the inquirers who, night after night, thronged the
rooms. One or two things had struck him. First, the large
number of old people who came as inquirers, and who went away
as very young Christians. He was afraid that, in their anxiety
to shut up and shut in the young, they had been in danger of
shutting out the old. They had fallen into the unbelief of Nico-
demus, who said, "How can a man be born when he is old?"
But many blessed births of the old had been seen in the inquiry-
room at Camberwell. He was also struck with the amazing vari-
ety of opinion — religious opinion and no opinion — represented.
One evening he gave up his seat in the hall to a distinguished
literary man, who lately wrote that " there was a Power above us
that, at least, we know to be working for righteousness." One
evening, in the inquiry-room, he met a young woman, and asked
if she was anxious. Yes_, to know if there was a God. Did she
not believe it? Well, the sum of her belief was that "there was
something above us."- He could tell of a wife, deserted by her
husband, who had been in such utter misery and agony that she
had twice contemplated going to London-bridge to commit sui-
cide. In that inquiry-room she was brought to faith in Jesus
Christ and peace with God through the preaching and singing.
Afterward she prayed so beautifully for her husband that the
lady who conversed with her was deeply touched as she listened.
She did not pray that he might be restored to her — now she did
not care so much about that — but that God would bring him to
Himself, and that they might be reunited in heaven. He could
tell of several Roman Catholics brought to simple faith and sweet
peace in Jesus. He could tell of a man who for twenty minutes
hid his face from the lady who spoke to him, so deep was his dis-
tress and shame. He afterward told her how he was standing at
St. Giles's, and tossed up whether he should go to the theatre or
the meeting. It was " Heads the theatre, tails Moody and San-
key." It was tails. He went to the meeting, was led to go into
the inquiry-room, and, as he described it in a letter to the lady
550 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
who was the means of bringing him into light, "She fought man-
fully with him for the Lord Jesus," and he went home a rejoicing
believer. These were but few specimens of hundreds of cases he
could quote, and when friends said to him the night before, with
sad hearts, they were so sorry the meetings were over, he could
only reply, "Yes, and I am so glad the work is so gloriously
begun."
Rev. G. Flindt of Denmark-hill also spoke of the work in the
inquiry-room at Camberwell. He said that one result of the ser-
vices had been to increase the local congregations. In his own
church they had, on several occasions, not had standing-room
during the visit of the evangelists. He had learned this lesson :
that if the ministry is to be useful, a personal Christ must be
lifted up. A man in the inquiry-room had said to him, "It seems
as if that man (referring to Mr. Moody) had his Friend quite
close to him, and he was talking about him." Only eternity
would reveal the good that had been done in the South of Lon-
don. The night before, at the closing service, there were scores
of anxious ones who came asking if it was possible to get a grip
of the hands of the evangelists, and thank them for what had been
told them about the Lord Jesus Christ ; and tears of gladness
flowed down many a furrowed cheek when they were asked to go
home and tell God all about it, and thank Him for the messen-
gers He had sent. One remarkable circumstance in connection
with the Camberwell services had been in the attendance of a
number of medical students from the various hospitals. Some of
the medical men in the neighborhood had found time and oppor-
tunity to invite them to their houses to dine, and afterward had
spoken to them about salvation. If only half a dozen young stu-
dents were brought to Christ, what might not be the result when
they were attending the sick-beds of those who should be com-
mitted to their care ? The South London committee were one
hundred strong, and they were going, by God's grace, to work
shoulder to shoulder and hand to hand in this blessed work.
Rev. Marcus Rainsford said he felt we w^ere living in days
which many had looked and longed for, but had not seen. He
MIGHTY LONDON IS BLESSED. 55 1
thought that God had been working much more with the masses
than the ministers. For his own part, he had learned much
since Messrs. Moody and Sankey came to London. Many pre-
judices had been broken down, many difficulties removed, and
many a lesson learned that he would never forget. He had been
taught by a costermonger how to preach the Gospel. He was
talking to a costermonger one evening, and trying to show him
the great salvation, when a bright-looking young fellow came up
and quietly put him aside, saying, " Sir, I found Christ last week ;
I think I can talk to this man better than you." " Well, let us
hear what you have to say." " I never heard such lingo," said
Mr. Rainsford. " Now, Joe, s'pose it was all up wi' yer ; mother
starvin', wife starvin', children starvin', and the mackerel no-
where. S'pose I see yer lookin' very pale and sad and miserable ;
and, says I, ' Joe, here's a fat half for you.' " (I wondered what
that was, but the other seemed to know all about it.) " I give
it yer with all my heart. Away you go to Billingsgate and spend
the fat half." (It means half a sovereign, and a sixpence means
a " thin half.") " You get the mackerel, and bring it home ;
you get the money, and you bring home some bread ; yes,
there it be at home ; now what would you say? " "I would say,
' Thank you ; God bless you ! ' " " Well, say that to Christ, for
He didn't give you the fot half, but the whole." And that was
the Gospel as ably and spiritually preached, and as blessedly
preached, as the Archbishop of Canterbury could preach it.
After some further striking experiences, he expressed a hope
that the work would go on after our brethren had left, and that
many would be found to imitate their example in telling of Jesus
to all around.
The Earl of Shaftesbury said, nothing but the positive command
of Mr. Moody would have induced him to come forward on the
present occasion and say but a few words in the presence of so
many ministers of the Gospel. But as Mr. Moody had asked
him to speak of what had occurred during the past four months,
he did so with the deepest sense of gratitude to Almighty God
that he had raised up a man with such a message and to be de-
552 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
livered in such a manner. And though Mr. Moody said they
were not to praise him or his friend Mr. Sankey, yet if they
praised God for sending them such men as these, they did no
more than express their admiration of the instruments that He
had raised up, while they gave Him all the glory. He had been
conversant for many years with the people of this metropolis, and
he might tell them that wherever he went he found the traces of
these men, of the impression they had made, of the feeling they
had produced, and of the stamp that he hoped would be indelible
on many of the people. He could speak that as the truth as to
many parts of London, and the lowest parts of London. Only a
few days ago he received a letter from a friend of his, a man
whose whole life was given to going among the most wretched
and the most abandoned of the populous city of Manchester, and
who spoke of the good that had been effected there by the preach-
ing of Moody and Sankey. A correspondent in Sheffield had
also written him that he could not satisfy in any degree the wants
of the people ; that they were calling out for tracts and something
that should keep up the appetite that had been created. He
said, " For God's sake, send me tracts by thousands and mil-
lions ! " Even if Messrs. Moody and Sankey had done nothing
more than to teach the people to sing as they did with energy
and expression, such hymns as " Hold the fort, for I am coming,"
they would have conferred an inestimable blessing.
Mr. Sankey then sang the hymn commencing, " There were
ninety and nine that safely lay," after which he said that when
they got to their own country they would often sing this hymn
again, and they trusted that God's blessing would accompany the
singing of it. They asked their friends here to pray for them,
and that the Lord would continue to bless them. They would be
glad to hear from their friends here, and they trusted to hear that
the work was going on.
Mr. Moody said he would ask them to spend a few moments
in silent prayer, but before they did so, he begged to thank the
ministers for the sympathy they had shown them in the past two
years. They had had nothing but kindness shown them. He
MIGHTY LONDON IS BLESSED. 553
also wished publicly to thank the committee, and also the stew-
ards, who had manifested toward them nothing but kindness.
He had also to thank the reporters for the press. He knew that
he had made mistakes, but they had not reported his mistakes or
his failings. In fact, they had all been kind. He also wished
to thank the police for the considerate manner in which they had
performed their duty. He had one favor to ask of them — he
would not ask them to pass a resolution, for their hearts were
worth more than a resolution — he asked them to pray for them,
and to continue to pray for them as they had done for the last
two years. He now asked them to pray for a short time in
silence.
The congregation then bowed their heads, and, after the lapse
of two or three minutes, audible prayer was offered, after which
Messrs. Moody and Sankey hastily retired, in order to escape
the painful ordeal of bidding so many of their friends a formal
j^^^d-bye.
CHAPTER XXXVL
Farewell in Liverpool.
Turning reluctantly away from London where they had tri-
umphed ' gloriously under the Great Captain Christ, they were
received at the place of final departure from Great Britain, in the
following manner :
About a quarter to three o'clock, Messrs. Moody and Sankey,
with many well-known friends, were greeted by an audience that
crowded every nook and corner of the Victoria Hall. The
heartiness of the welcome found vent in a universal clapping of
hands, which, however, Mr. Moody speedily stopped by a wave
of his hand. Some kind friends had placed very beautiful bou-
quets of flowers on Mr. Sankey's organ.
The Rev. Mr. Aitken said he thought they could not meet in
that hall without feeling that the departure of their dear friends
for America very greatly enhanced the personal responsibility
of all who called themselves Christians. The blessing which
God had been pleased to shower upon His work in various parts
of the land had put them on a vantage-ground, for they occupied
a better position now than they ever occupied before in this land.
He did not believe that the Church of Christ had ever occupied
a better position in this land than it did at the present moment ;
and if that was so, their responsibility must be proportionately
heavy. And if they allowed themselves to lose their vantage-
ground and slip back into the dull routine of the past, they would
have themselves to blame. The question before them was a very
FAREWELL IN LIVERPOOL. 555
practical one, and it was, How were they to push on the advan-
tage ? If they were really to avail themselves of the opportunity,
they must expect further successes. He was apprehensive of
Christian people allowing themselves to think that the period
of reaction had come — that they had been having such great
encouragement that for a little time they must rest on their oars.
If they placed themselves in this attitude, they would have them-
selves to thank for it, if God turned the heavens above. into
brass, and made the earth as iron beneath their feet ; therefore
he felt it incumbent upon him to sound this note of warning.
He thought that their attitude should be this : That they should
thank God, and then rush on against the foe with fresh determi-
nation, believing that the victory was only commencing, and that
inasmuch as God had given them a position of advantage, they
must push it on and fight the battle out, until God in his own
good time placed the crown of victory on their brow.
How was this to be done ? God expected every one of them to
come forward with the gospel of grace in their hearts ; and if they
realized their personal responsibility and went into the battle
fully determined to win souls for Christ, England would very
soon feel the results of their efforts. He desired to warn them
against this season of revival being followed by a period of reac-
tion. Before the present work closed, he thought that minis-
ters of Christ, and also lay people, especially those who occupied
influential positions, should ask themselves solemnly what were
the permanent lessons which had been brought before them in
this great movement. Mr. Moody had given himself up to the
work of evangelization, and he (Mr. Aitken) could not help
believing that the Church of Christ from a very remote period
had practically ignored the evangelist's office. They had their
local pastors, but he thought that the evangelist was more likely
to be powerful in a locality where he was not permanently fixed
than in his own country. If they were desirous to see God's
work still carried on on a large scale, those whom God had in a
large measure gifted with the power of the evangelist should con-
sider whether they could give themselves entirely to the work.
556 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
He had done so, but he utterly disclaimed all credit on that score.
He did not think he should have had the courage to take that
step, but domestic circumstances had rendered it imperatively
necessary that he should leave his flock in Liverpool. He had,
however, long been convinced of this truth, that if a man was to
be a practical evangelist, he must give himself over to the work ;
and he called upon God's people to take this matter into serious
consideration, and say that the great work which had been under-
taken must be followed up in all our towns and villages, for he
believed that even the villages needed it more than the towns.
A great responsibility also rested on the ministers of Christ.
In almost ail the places where the wave of blessing had passed,
there would be a large number of young converts who had given
themselves over to God and wanted something to do. Their duty
at this moment was to set all those young Christians to work.
There were a great many ministers who fell into the mistake of
.trying to do all the work themselves. What was wanted to be
done was to find speoific spiritual work for those who had given
themselves to God, and encourage them ; and he wished to point
out that unless this was done they must be the last persons to
find fault with those extravagances which otherwise must develop
themselves. If, instead of young converts being taken by the
hand, they were left in the rear and not given any kind of encour-
agement, the result would be that they would either draw themselves
up in their shells altogether, or rush into the opposite extreme.
It seemed to him that now was the golden opportunity ; and
unless they got their young Christians to work, they would have
to regret it to the end of their days. If, after the departure of
their American brethren, they resolved to have a holiday tinie of
it, then good-bye to their usefulness, and God's blight would rest
upon them instead of God's blessing ; whereas, if they put them-
selves into God's hands, depend upon it this wave of blessing
which had swept over the land was but the beginning of good
things. He closed his stirring and practical address in the
words of Wesley, which, he said, used to be sung at the close of
his conferences :
FAREWELL IN LIVERPOOL. 557
" A rill, a stream, a torrent flows,
But send the mighty flood ;
Awake the nations, shake the earth,
Till all proclaim Thee God."
The Rev. A. N. Somerville spoke next, and it is not too much
to say that the meeting was fairly electrified as " the old man
eloquent " poured out the wealth of his declamation and illustra-
tion in a perfect torrent of burning words, accompanied by highly
dramatic and expressive gestures. He said Messrs. Moody and
Sankey did not want them to occupy time by throwing their
arms around their necks and kissing them, but they had given
them the motto, and that was to " advance." What, he asked, is
our great encouragement.-' "All power is given unto me in
heaven and earth ; go ye therefore and teach (or disciple) all na-
tions." Just before Christ ascended, He said, " Ye shall receive
power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall
be witnesses unto me in Judea and Jerusalem, and unto the ut-
termost ends of the earth." Why did the Lord Jesus tell us He
had received all power ? That He might confer power upon us.
Mr. Somerville recounted the exploits of the mighty men in the
days of the Judges, upon whom the power of God fell, and pro-
ceeded. The day has come when it will not do for us to remain
within this little isle. Larger efforts must be made to proclaim
Christ's name throughout the world. We read that Alexander
the Great, while a young man (he died before he was thirty-two),
crossed the Hellespont with only 35,000 infantry and 5,000 horse-
men. He had provisions and money to last them only one month,
yet they went forth and took possession of the world. What ! Is
Alexander the Great to be always spoken of as the only man w!iO
can do the like of this } Is Jesus Christ not strong ? Why
should we not gather round Him, and in the power of His ^^jirit
take possession of the world ? We must not only send out men
to engage in this blessed work, but the whole Church must, by
prayer and sympathy, by the voice of encouragement, and by lib-
eral support, work together as one man for this great end. When
I was in India, I felt that wherever I went I was borne up by the
558 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
sympathy and prayers of many dear friends in my own city of
Glasgow, in Edinburgh, in London, and in many parts of the
world besides, and I was strong through their sympathy. If a
man is sympathized with and encouraged in that way, he will do
twice as much as he would do otherwise. Mr. Somerville illus-
trated the power of sympathy by telling how Alexander the Great
was traversing a desert with his followers, who were suffering
greatly from thirst. Some one brought him a little water in a
helmet, and as he was about to partake of the precious refresh-
ment, he looked toward his followers, and seeing their sufferings,
he refused to drink. His men were roused to action by the sym-
pathy thus shown by their leader ; they put their spurs to their
horses, and sped on to a place where relief could be found.
Speaking of the necessity of humility in Christian work, he quoted
a beautifully apt simile, in the use of which he seems to excel. He
said the Rhine, before it reached Basle, received no fewer than
1,200 tributaries. How was this ? It was l^y keeping at its lowest
level. If it had not, these streams would have flowed somewhere
else. He roused the audience to such a pitch of excitement,
that when he sat down they burst into applause, which no at-
tempt was made to suppress.
Mr. Sankey then sang " My Prayer," a beautiful hymn of con-
secration. He prefaced it by saying that he would be able to go
out and work better if we had the blessing of which the hymn
told.
Dr. Barnardo then gave an address, in the course of which he
said the question was frequently asked, " How shall we reach
the masses ? " He knew only of one answer : " Go and preach
Christ to them." That must be the bait ; but there must be
something more than that. Not only must they preach Christ in
His boundless love to a dying world, but there must be the hook
— such an application of the truth as should enter men's hearts
and draw them to the Saviour. What was the great prerequisite
to success ? It was given in the two words of our Saviour, " Fol-
low me." That was the secret of successful service : there was
no royal road ; their brother Mr. Moody had no knack in it.
FAREWELL IN LIVERPOOL
559
God help them to follow Christ, that they may be truly fishers
of men.
Mr. Stalker, of Edinburgh, said he felt that the past two years
had been years of great importance to the whole country, and
would be remembered for many years to come as great years.
One thing that had made them interesting and memorable was
that religion had been made respected among the young men of
the country. Young men had been apt to look down upon evan-
gelical religion ; but in the part he came from they dared not do
that now, because, in all classes of the community, the very back-
bone of these young men had been won to Christ, and they were
bearing themselves so in the ordinary business of life that it was
impossible for those around them not to respect them. He never
thought of this movement without his mind wandering away into
the future ; and he thought not only of the number of men who
had been saved, but of the young men who were devoted to
Christ going on in their various spheres — in the family, in social
intercourse, in business, at the university, in their shops, as
clerks, and in all the different walks in life — distinguishing them-
selves, and showing that their Christianity, instead of keepitig
them back, was helping them on ; that their spiritual regenera-
tion had been at the same time moral and intellectual regenera-
tion ; and that they were determined to be men in all the depart-
ments of life. He read often with pity the remarks made by
some, of the weakness of those who took part in this movement.
At the University of Edinburgh last April, there were only six or
seven men who secured first-class honors, and three of these
were head and shoulders in this work. Only one man got what
was called a "double first," and that man he had heard address-
ing these revival meetings. That was the kind ot revival of reli-
gion they were having now ; and he thanked God for it -vith all
his heart, for their preaching to young men was far more effect've
if they could show them that their religion was making them get
on well in business, and do their business well, and come to the
front in the ordinary walks of life. Let them seek to serve God
by doing their work thoroughly, and at the same time, standing
560 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
on that vantage ground, exhort all their brethren to get that
which had made men of them.
At the evening meeting, Mr. Moody sooke of Thanksgiving
Day in America, the observance of which brings all the scattered
members of the household together. We were strongly reminded
of this by the great gathering of friends who had come from far-
off parts of the country to be present at the farewell services and
departure next day. Many who had taken an active part in the
London services came down expressly to say good-bye to their
evangelist brethren, and not a few had come from across the
border, as well as the other English towns.
We have seldom had to record anything else but crowded
meetings in connection with Messrs. Moody and Sankey's ser-
vices, but this last evening meeting of all must have been — if that
were possible — more crowded than any. As one of the local
papers of next day puts it : " Every inch of space where a person
could sit, or stand, or crouch, was occupied."
Mr. Sankey sang " I am praying for you," and before doing so
he said : " When we are gone from among you, we hope that you
will remember to pray for us, as we will surely remember to pray
for you. Pray God that He may use us in our own dear land as
He has used us here, and even more abundantly. May the bless-
ing of God rest upon the singing of this hymn to-night."
Mr. Moody then commenced his address, and spoke for more
than an hour, but to the very last there was the most rapt atten-
tion. By some means the gas could not be lit, and as the fading
twilight deepened into darkness the scene became intensely sol-
emn, as Mr. Moody's earnest and sometimes faltering words fell
on the hushed and eagerly attentive multitude. At the close of
his address he offered fervent prayer. He besought God's bless-
ing on England and America, on the work among the young men,
and on the ministers, his utterances anon being stayed by his
evident emotion.
Mr. Sankey's voice found expression for the last time in the
farewell hymn which he has sung at many of the towns visited,
though not in London. As Mr. Sankey sang it, by the light of a
FAREWELL IN LIVERPOOL. 56 1
candle, to the justly popular tune of " Home, Sweet Home,*^ the
audience was much moved. It was the last time many of them
will probably hear Mr. Sankey's voice, and we are sure none of
those present will be able to forget it.
On Tuesday evening, after the general meeting, a few friends
gathered at the Compton Hotel, and two or three hours were
spent in an informal conversation on the subject always upper-
most in Mr. Moody's thoughts — the best way to benefit young
men — to conserve and utilize in the way of righteousness, for the
glory of God and the good of men, the young manhood of Great
Britain, America, and the world.
We believe that if one thing more than another will induce Mr.
Moody to return to Great Britain, it will be the desire to weld
together its Christian young men into a band of fellow-laborers,
that, by the operation of the Spirit of God, shall be in the midst
of many peoples as a dew from the Lord, and as a lion among
the beasts of the forest. And to tell the truth, we expect that it
will not be years before we see our brethren again among us.
The last service in England was held by Mr. Moody on the
morning of their departure, so that we may say they left our
shores " with their harness on their backs." Mr. Sankey was not
present.
The hall was opened at seven o'clock, by which time consider-
able crowds had gathered at all the doors, and before Mr. Moody
made his appearance at twenty minutes past seven there were
some 5,000 or 6,000 persons in the hall. After praise and prayer,
Mr. Moody read part of the first chapter of Joshua and twenty-
sixth chapter of Leviticus. He proceeded to give a short address
to the young men, the first part of which was an earnest plea for
a systematic study of the Bible and Bible characters, and for union
with some organized body of Christians. He also urged on them
the necessity of having some definite work to do, and not to at-
tempt too many things at one time. " I have been wonderfully
cheered," he continued, "during the past months by the tidings
coming from Liverpool. I want to say from the depths of my
heart, God bless you, young men. The eyes of Christendom are
562 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
upon you. Perhaps there has not been a place where the work
has been so deep and thorough as the work here aniong the
young men. I believe it was in answer to the prayers that went
up for it when we were here six months ago. And now, as we
cross the Atlantic, it will cheer us as tidings come that the young
men are still advancing. Do not fold your arms and say, ' We
will have a good time next fall.' God is just as ready to work in
August as in July. If some have gone out of town on their holi-
days, the work should not stop ; I think it is the best time to
work when many are away. Every man ought to be worth the
five or six that are away. Then the work will go on. The great
revival at Pentecost was in the hot weather, and also in a very
hot country. People think there cannot be any interest in the
warm months ; but if the prayer goes up to the throne, God does
not look to see what month it is. He is as ready to bless in one
month as in another. Let me give you the watchword we had
yesterday afternoon — ' Advance.' I hope there will be a fresh
interest awakened in Liverpool as there has been in Manchester.
I do not know of anything that has encouraged me more than to
hear of the work going on in Manchester for the last six weeks.
I hope Liverpool and Manchester will shake hands in carrying
on the work, and let the lies of those skeptics who say it is only
* a nine days' wonder ' be driven back. I cannot talk longer. I
say from the depths of my heart, I love you ; God bless you, and
may the power of God come upon you this morning afresh."
After the hymn, "Free from the law," had been sung, Mr.
Alexander Balfour said, " I do not know whether I am the proper
person on behalf of this audience to say good-bye to our dear
friend, Mr. Moody, and our absent friend, Mr. Sankey ; but I feel
that there must be some mouthpiece to say to them what we
really do feel. We thank them froni the bottom of our hearts and
souls for what they have come here and done. Unless Mr. Moody
had been a man like a cannon-ball for hardness of material, for
directness of aim, and for strength of will, he could never have done
what he has been privileged by God to do. His wisdom has been
conspicuous in discovering this — that our young men in Liverpool
FAREWELL IN LIVERPOOL 563
and elsewhere in this country have been greatly neglected, and in
choosing them to be, for the future, not merely the recipients
of God's grace, but the distributors of it. I do feel that Mr.
Moody, in having given so much attention to our young men, has
really done the right thing. Many know that Liverpool has been
a curse to young men. They have come here and been led astray
into all kinds of mischief and wickedness. How many broken
hearts are there in this country because of the mischief done to
young men in Liverpool ! On behalf of the mothers and sisters
of this country, I want to give Mr. Moody the most heartfelt vote
of thanks that it is in my power to convey ; and on behalf of thou-
sands who shall be influenced by the young men in Liverpool, I
want to convey to him the tribute of gratitude for what he has
done. As President of the Young Men's Christian Association,
I want to say this : That it is our purpose as young men to go on
with the work ; and, by God's grace, we shall not go back, but
advance in our endeavor to do our duty before God and men."
Mr. Moody, in reply, simply said, " I will now shake hands with
you all in the person of the President of the Association "j and
the meeting having been closed, he returned to the Compton
Hotel, surrounded by a large crowd, which sang, "Hold the
fort," and the " Doxology " in the street in front of the hotel.
Many of them lingered there during the hour and a half that
elapsed before Mr. Moody, Mrs. Moody, and family, accompan-
ied by a large number of friends, drove away to the landing-stage.
They were followed by the enthusiastic cheers of the assembled
multitude. Mr. Sankey stayed at the residence of a friend, and
so escaped much of the popular attention that Mr. Moody had to
undergo.
A special tender was provided for the conveyance of the evan-
gelists and their party to the " Spain "; and Mr. Sankey, who
spent the night at Edge-lane, and most of the friends, went on
board of it shortly before Mr. Moody. As Mr. Sankey passed
across the landing-stage, upon which a large number of people
had assembled, he was warmly cheered.
As Mr. Moody emerged from the hotel, a hearty cheer arose
564 MOODY AND SANKEY IN GREAT BRITAIN.
from the crowd, and people rushed to the door cf the cab on each
side to shake hands with him, and bid him good-bye. The cab
was, however, immediately driven away to the stage amidst
renewed and warm cheering. For some time prior to the hour
at which the special tender was to leave for the " Spain," people
began to assemble on the Prince's pier and the landing-stage,
and when Mr. Moody arrived, there were several thousands pre-
sent. A wide strip of the stage was kept clear by the police for
the party to walk to the tender, and as Mr. Moody went on board
he was heartily cheered, which he acknowledged by bowing.
When the company were all on board, the tender steamed away.
As it passed down the river, the people upon the pier and the
landing-stage cheered with increased heartiness, and waved
their hats and handkerchiefs. Their example was imitated by
the people on the ferry-boats moored at the stage or crossing the
river ; and when the cheering had subsided, the people on the
stage struck up one of the well-known hymns. The sorrowful
countenances of many of the people showed that it was with no
ordinary feelings of regret that they saw the evangelists going
away.
The tender reached the "Spain" about an hour before the
time for the ship to weigh anchor, and the interval was fully occu-
pied in taking leave of the evangelists, and in receiving from
them or conveying to them parting words of comfort and encour-
agement. Mr. Moody again urged those who have been his fel-
low-laborers in this and other districts to remain united, and to
carry on the work with courage and determination ; whilst on
the other hand, there were very numerous expressions of the
hope that a success equal to that of the last two years may attend
the evangelists' labors wherever and whenever they may be
resumed. Many of the leave-takings, from their intense earnest-
ness, were very affecting. Only when the " Spain's " anchor was
being raised, and the tender was upon the point of starting,
could many of the friends tear themselves away. As the last of
the people " for the shore " were leaving the ship, those who were
already on board the tender sang the hymn, " Safe in the arms of
FAREWELL IN LIVERPOOL. 565
Jesus." As the "Spain" moved slowly down the river, the peo-
ple in the tender, which was still alongside, cheered heartily,
and the passengers on board the " Spain " replied with another
cheer, and the waving of handkerchiefs and hats. As the " Spain "
passed on ahead, the people in the tender sang the hymn, " Hold
the fort," and afterwards the hymn, " Work, for the ni'ght is com-
ing." Mr. Moody and Mr. Sankey stood at the bulwarks of the
" Spain " and bowed and waved their handkerchiefs until the two
ships were out of sight of each other. Shortly before the tender
reached Liverpool, prayer was offered up on board by Mr. R.
Radcliff, and other gentlemen, for the safe arrival of the evan-
gelists at their destination, and for the subsequent success of
their labors, whether carried on in England or America.
Part IV.
A COMPLETE HISTORY
OF THE
CAREER AND WORK
OF
MOODY AND SANKEY,
IN AMERICA.
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. ^6l
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Moody and Sankey in Brooklyn.
When their wonderful career was over in the old country,
and they returned to their native land, these laborers felt
the need of rest, and desired to greet once more their kin-
dred from whom, they had so long been separated. Mr. Moody
proceeded at once to Northfield, Massachusetts, to the home
of his mother, where he could rest, or gather strength for
the work already marked out for him and his associate in
America. For great expectations had been raised by their
success abroad, and eager multitudes awaited their coming.
While in Northfield, delegations visited Mr. Moody, requesting
his services in various cities of the Union, whenever he felt
able to resume the service temporarily laid aside. While
reposing among the quiet scenes of his early days, the wants of
the community pressed heavily on his heart, and his old neigh-
bors were anxious to hear him preach again. He came among
them as a conquering hero, bearing rich trophies and bright
laurels. The pent-up fires of religious earnestness and fervor
burst forth again, and he poured out his soul to the thronging
multitudes, who gathered from far and near to hear the
Gospel from his burning lips. The Unitarian pastor attempted
to controvert and hinder him in his work, but was cast aside as
a leaf before the whirlwind. The tidings flashed over the land
that God was with his servants at Northfield, and raised expec-
tation higher than ever. But there were some who doubted.
They said, and with plausibility, that the songs were familiar
here, and the direct address was characteristically American,
and these men could scarcely interest and hold people as they
had done abroad. The answer will be found stated in the
compend we have made of the reports and editorials of the
568 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
press, for the benefit of our readers who may desire a record
of these glorious events, that shall stir their hearts and show
what God hath wrought. Mr, Moody, after long and careful
consultation, resolved to visit Philadelphia first; but, upon
urgent appeals from the City of Churches, he commenced
there October 24, 1875. Money was freely subscribed and a
perfect Union of Christians obtained. The services were
arranged to be held in the Rink on Clermont Avenue, and
prayer meetings, in Talmage's Tabernacle. The preaching on
Sundays began at half-past eight, so as not to interfere with
the regular church meetings. An afternoon preaching service
occurred at four, and a meeting at nine p. m., for young men.
From the journals we gather the events of the course of revival
efforts, and arrange them in such order as may convey the best
general view of the whole marvelous series, without stopping
-to quote the several sources of information.
All calculations with regard to the coming of the evangelists,
Moody and Sankey, have been at fault. The numbers inter-
ested, the assistance at hand, the religious feeling awakened,
have all been underestimated. This was not a result of mis-
management,— on the contrary, the management has been
singularly good, — but a misconception of the depth and earn-
estness of the religious feeling which awaited the coming of
the evangelists and stood ready at once to aid and to respond
to their efforts. This religious spirit has been lately aroused
in this country by various causes, chief among which we reckon
the general trade and business depression which now, as
always in the past, tends, while multiplying men's troubles, to
quicken their sympathetic and religious feelings. The demon-
stration yesterday in Brooklyn was expected to be noticeable
and earnest, but in its magnitude it has proved a surprise.
The reputation won by Moody and Sankey abroad specially
adapted them to lead in a general revival, and led all to antici-
pate a great following to hear them, but that three or four times
the numbers in attendance would have to be turned away was
wholly unexpected. And instead of an effort being required
to awaken interest and arouse dormant feelings, it was soon
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 569
discovered that the audience was as intensely earnest and
sympathetic as the leaders themselves.
Some of the indications of this spirit, as betrayed at yes-
terday's meetings, are curious. The morning services were
begun at half-past eight o'clock. Before six in the morning
tlie crowd began to gather at the doors ; at eight o'clock over
five thousand persons were seated in the building, and three
thousand or more had been turned away for lack of standing
room. In the afternoon twelve — possibly twenty — thousand
were unable to gain admittance ; meetings had to be organized
in neighboring churches (Mr. Sankey going from place to place
singing his songs), while the sidewalks and house-stoops for
blocks around were black with the constantly increasing crowd.
Additional car-tracks had been laid by the street railroad com-
panies to the doors of the building, and though cars were run
at intervals of only one minute, many thousands had to wend
their ways homeward on foot. The prayer with which the
services were begun, though delivered by a minister whose
manner is never impassioned and whose style is purely argu-
mentative, was interrupted by frequent and fervent ejaculations
from the audience, indicating the intense sympathy with the
movement which existed. The songs of Mr. Sankey renewed
and heightened these demonstrations, and the utterances of Mr.
Moody raised the excitement, enthusiasm, religious fervor, as
one may choose to call it, to the highest pitch.
These comments are founded on the reports of the first
meetings, of which we have most glowing accounts, like the
following.
It was early evident to the coldest and most sceptical per-
son present at yesterday's services that the revival spirit was
thoroughly aroused, and the people ripe for a great and enthu-
siastic religious demonstration. This feeling was manifested at
the veiy beginning of the services, during the prayer of the Rev.
Dr. Budington. Many familiar with the gentleman's manner
thought that his selection for this duty was an error of judgment
on the part of the managers. Dr. Budington has never made
any claims to being a magnetic speaker. He is logical in style,
570 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
and his manner of delivery is polished but cold. His words
would, probably, by their logical force, always keep for him
the close attention of an intellectual assemblage, but they
would not on any ordinary occasion arouse deep feeling or
enthusiasm. Yesterday, before he had uttered half a dozen
sentences of the prayer, fervent " amens " came from many lips,
and there were other signs of profound emotion in the great
throng.
The next opportunity which was offered for the display of
this fervent and reverential enthusiasm was during the singing
of the 1 20th Hymn by Mr. Sankey. Mr. Moody had said, im-
mediately after reading from the Bible, " I am going to ask Mr.
Sankey to sing the 120th Hymn alone " — a sharp emphasis on
the last word. The instant hush of expectation as the great
audience settled back prepared to hear something that should
appeal to their hearts, was very marked, but as Mr. Sankey's
magnetic voice and wonderfully expressive singing filled the
great auditorium, the sympathy among his hearers grew and in-
creased until it seemed as if, had he continued the sweet melody
and earnest supplication, every person in the whole audience
would have risen and joined with him in a grand musical prayer
of mingled appeal and thanksgiving. The effect he produced
was simply marvelous. Many responses, such as "Amen " and
"Glory to God," were heard from all parts of the vast assembly,
and at the close a great many men as well as women were in
tears. Mr. Sankey'tj voice is a marvel of sweetness, flexibility,
and strength. There is a simplicity about his vocalism which
disarms the criticism that would api^ly to it any of the rules
of art. It has a charm purely its own, which attracts and
holds one with a power that is gentle but irresistible.
Mr. Moody's appearance during the delivery of his sermon
was as one man standing in a sea of men and women. On all
sides, and even in rear of him, were the assembled 5,000 persons,
nearly all on a slightly lower plane than himself. Every one's
attention was closely directed to him, and, in moments of intense
utterance or emphasis of some religious truth, fervent responses
came from every part of the room. And when, toward the
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 57 1
close of his sermon, he told his hearers that they must lay aside
the world, its vanities, pleasures, parties, festivals, and its other
gayeties, if they would "go up at once and take the land," the
responsive " Amens," " Yes, yes," '' Glory to God," and " Aye,
aye," were very numerous, and came from every quarter of the
auditorium. Mr. Moody's manner in the pulpit was not such as
a trained elocutionist would use. He is evidently a man who
in his diligent search for truths has made little study of forms.
He is quick in his movements, and so rapid in speech that the
swiftest stenographer present yesterday could not reproduce his
language literally. He is earnest and vigorous in enunciation
and gesture, and \^holly without studied art. But as one listens,
he becomes irresistibly convinced that an intense earnestness
and unquestioning faith in the saving power of Christianity
inspire the rugged, sinewy oratory of the speaker. Often
neglecting a syllable and sacrificing a sound, not always correct
in grammar or fluent in speech, he appears to the amazed lis-
tener a man who feels more than he can express, whose brain
is big with great thoughts which speech — earnest and eager as
Mr. Moody's language is — is incapable of expressing, and which,
in their rapid delivery, tread so fast on each other's heels as to
more or less mar each other's form.
The music is under the direct charge of Mr. Sankey. In ac-
cordance with his request the choir is composed of singers who
are themselves Christians, and recommended by their pastors
as such. It numbers 250 voices. There have been 500 names
entered, so that there will always be a reserve force of as many
more as are requisite from which to keep the ranks full. The
singers have been undergoing several rehearsals, with a view to
adapting themselves in various points of expression to the spirit
of the words they utter. The last of these was conducted on
Saturday night by Mr. Sankey. There will be one large organ
to assist the choir and audience, and a smaller one upon which
Mr. Sankey accompanies himself in his solos.
One of the papers said, near the close of the campaign :
Moody and Sankey will advance upon Philadelphia, after
their Brooklyn experience, as conquerors. There was great
572 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
anxiety about their success when they made their advent in
Brooklyn a month ago. They had stirred up England and
Scotland just before their arrival in this country ; but still there
were doubts whether the conditions here were as favorable as they
had been there. The *' evangelist" Varley and his assistants had
carried on revival operations here last year, in the Hippodrome
and elsewhere; but they were failures. Moody himself had
worked among us with very slight results before he went abroad.
Other revivalists had tried their powers in various places, and
met with discouragement. But the very first meeting held by
Moody and Sankey, on the 24th of last month, was a triumph,
so far as it could be made so by the multitude^n attendance and
the number of anxious inquirers. From then until now, the
popular interest has not only been sustained, but has increased ;
and the meetings of the last two evenings, especially that of last
evening, show that the revival is yet at its flood tide. It is from
such scenes that Moody and Sankey go to Philadelphia. We are
not surprised that the pious Philadelphians now look for great
things, or that they expect a Pentecostal season without prece-
dent in their city. We hope that, if they enjoy it, they will be
the better for it, and that the fruits of it will be apparent to all
observers.
Mr. Moody himself was not surprised at what was witnessed,
for he said to the reporters : " I have nowhere found more im-
pressionable audiences than in Brooklyn. In England, where
I was successful, my friends counseled me against going
into Scotland, saying that I could not move the cool, calculat-
ing spirit of the Scotchman ; and when I started for Ireland,
they told me that the volatile Irish were the last people in the
world among whom I could labor with good results. But in
both those countries there were as great awakenings as any I
have ever seen. It made me think that hearts are the same
all over the world."
" What has been the most encouraging feature of your recep-
tion in Brooklyn } "
" The union of the churches. All the clergy seem to be
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
573
working zealously and harmoniously and intelligently to carry
on the work."
'^ And the most discouraging ? "
" My inability to reach the great masses who ought to be
saved. Still, they may be yet approached through the churches,
for this movement has not stopped."
" Have you any estimate of the number of converts made?"
asked the reporter, for Mr. Moody volunteers nothing to an
interviewer.
" I have not one, and cannot make one. Many go to their
own pastors, and do not come near the inquiry room, and
many more of the wounded will be won if the work is carried
on as it should be."
He said that he as yet felt no fatigue, and that he had been
able to carry on four meetings a day in England, Scotland, and
Ireland, for over two years, without breaking down. He ex-
pressed great satisfaction with the opening meetings, saying
that he had never had a more encouraging outlook. Every-
thing had been planned after the very best manner, and the
indications of success were as satisfactory as any he had found
abroad. The prayer meeting yesterday morning was more
successful than he could have expected. In Great Britain
these meetings were held at noon, but at no time was there a
larger attendance than yesterday. Many of the meetings there
had been overestimated in the numbers in attendance. He
had yet to learn of a circumstance in this country that was un-
favorable. In Brooklyn he had found a universal feeling of
cordiality and support, and in all he had known of the other
cities to which he and Mr. Sankey had been invited, there was
the same unvarying encouragement. • Some of the newspapers
had stated that in New York there were some ministers who
disapproved of their coming, but he had found the feeling there
fully as universal and sympathetic as anywhere else. America
differed in this respect from Great Britain. In the latter coun-
try he and Mr. Sankey were strangers, and many people
regarded them at first from aloof, and it was only after they
became better known and their work was understood that the
574 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
sentiments became cordial and the interest general. He there-
fore believed that a still greater work would be accomplished
in the United States than on the other side of the Atlantic.
Said Mr. Moody : " I am the most overestimated man in
this country. By some means the people look upon me as a
great man, but I am only a lay preacher, and have little learn-
ing. I don't know what will become of me if the newspapers
continue to print all of my sermons. My stock will be
exhausted by and by, and I must repeat the old ideas and
teachings. Brooklyn every Sunday hears a score of better
sermons than I can preach. I can't get up such sermons as
Drs. Budington and Cuyler and Talmage, and many others
who preach here week after week. I don't know what I
shall do."
It is interesting to note the interest excited by Mr. Moody in
such men as Mr. Beecher, the prince of preachers, who said at
one of his lectures, the impression he had gained in conversa-
tion with Mr. Moody was that the number of persons who had
been converted from the outside world, while not inconsiderable,
has not yet been large. This leaves the comforting thought, he
added, that the greatest benefit of the meetings is yet to accrue.
He spoke further, suggesting different methods to prolong the
Christian meetings. He could not see how they could carry on
the central meetings with continued success. If every church
tried to be a little Rink, and everybody a litile Moody and San-
key, they would fail because imitations were very inferior. Moody
was no careless worker ; no man had a more definite conception
of the end he aimed at. " On last Saturday," said Mr. Beecher,
" I had the pleasure of two or three hours' conference with Mr.
Moody in my own house. I thought I saw the secret of his
working and plans. He is a believer in the second advent of
Christ, and in our own time. He thinks it is no use to attempt
to work for this world. In his opinion it is blasted — a wreck
bound to sink — and the only thing that is worth doing is to get
as many of the crew off as you can, and let her go. All that is
worth doing is to work and wait for the appearance of the
Master, and not to attempt a thorough regeneration of a com-
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 575
pjicated state of society. He thinks that Christ may come even
to-morrow. I should be a burning fire all the time if I believed
like that, but I do not say that I must believe like that to be a
burning fire."
Mr. Nordhoff, an accomplished literary gentleman, wrote of
the evangelists a capital review for the " Herald " from which
we copy ;
Mr, Moody is a short and somewhat stout man, with a full,
dark beard, rather small eyes and an active, energetic, but not
nervous, habit. His manner is alert and prompt, but not grace-
ful ; his voice is unmusical, and indeed harsh ; his enun-
ciation is very clear, but somewhat too rapid, andean be heard
and understood in every part of the Tabernacle or the Rink.
In the latter place he has spoken to 7000 people. He gesticu-
lates but little, and his gestures are evidently extremely un-
studied. His style of speaking is entirely conversational, and
hearing him perhaps a dozen times,I have never detected him in
any attempt at eloquence. He is evidently, by his pronuncia-
tion, a Yankee, clippmg some of the minor words in his sen-
tences, as the farmers in the interior of Massachusetts do ; but
he has no " Yankee drawl." He speaks the language of the
people, and has the merit of using always the commonest v^ords;
and that he had no early educational advantages is plain from
his frequent use of " done " for " did " and other ungrammatical
colloquialisms. In short, his appearance is not imposing ; his
figure is not graceful, but that of a farmer or hard-working
laborer ; his voice is not melodious, nor has it a great range ;
his language is not choice. His externals, therefore, are all
against him.
In spite of all these disadvantages he has succeeded in attract-
ing in England and here vast crowds day after day, which, at
some of the Brooklyn meetings at least, are composed largely
of cultivated people ; he has, evidently, succeeded in interesting
these crowds in what he has had to say ; for nothing is more
remarkable at the meetings than the absolute quiet and order^
the attitude of interested listeners, which prevails among the
audience. He has so entirely controlled his audiences that all
576 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
noisy manifestations of religious feeling have been entirely
suppressed ; and at the same time no one who has sat in the
meetings at the Rink or the Tabernacle can have failed to see
that Mr. Moody's manner of presenting his subject is to an
extraordinary degree effective in moving the hearts of his hear-
ers, in stirring devotional feelings, in producing a profound
impression upon them of the importance of the message he has
to deliver.
Indeed, it has been a common remark that the audiences
were even more remarkable than Mr. Moody, for not only are
they spontaneous gatherings ; to some of the meetings admit-
tance can be secured only by the presentation of a ticket, and
these ticket meetings, where each person must be supposed at
least to have had a desire to attend strong enough to induce
him to take the trouble of securing a ticket, are as crowded as
any others. Nor are convenient hours selected for the meetings.
There is one from eight to nine in the morning, which yet has
seen the Tabernacle filled with an audience, at least a third of
whom were men. There is another at four o'clock in the after-
noon, and again not less than a third of those present have been
men. After the Rink meeting in the evening there has been
held a meeting in the Tabernacle for young men exclusively,
beginning at nine o'clock, and this, too, I have seen crowded,
the large auditorium being on several occasions incapable of
holding all who came. Nor is this all. Not the least remark-
able evidence of the real and profound interest excited by Mr.
Moody's exhortations is seen in what are happily called the
''overflow meetings," composed of persons who could not
gain admission to the regular meetings where Mr. Moody
exhorts and Mr. Sankey sings, and who adjourn to a neighbor-
ing church to listen to some other preacher and to sing the
songs which Mr. Sankey has made familiar to them. If any
considerable part of the crowds who go to the meetings were
composed of the merely curious these "overflow meetings"
could not exist.
Nor is even this all. Mr. Moody does not hesitate to advise
people to stay away from his meetings. He has repeatedly
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA, 577
urged that his labors are for non-church goers ; that he desires
room left for this class, and he has taken special means to
exclude from some of his meetings ail who regularly attend a
church— i^hat is to say, he does not court his audiences, but
the contrary. If you go to hear him it must be because you want
to; if you go the second time it must be because he interested
you the first.
I have heard him a number of times, and always with interest
and gratification ; and it seems to me that this arose mainly —
aside from the interest which any thoughtful man may have in
this subject— because he gives the impression of possessing
remarkable common sense, the clear head of a business man,
and a habit of attending to the one thing which he has on
hand and making all parts of the audience do the same. The
meetings are opened and closed promptly at the preappointed
hour ] there is not even a minute of time lost during the meet-
ing by delays; his own prayers are brief, very earnest, and
directly to the point ; and his exhortations are a running com-
mentary on passages of Scripture which he reads rapidly,
always asking the audience to turn to the passage. Indeed, so
far as Mr. Moody is concerned, there is little or no " machin-
ery." He opens a meeting as though his audience were the
stockholders of a bank to whom he was about to make a
report. He has the air of a business man to whom time is
extremely valuable, and slow and tedious people are evidently
a trial to him. In some of the prayer meetings persons in the
audience take an active part ; and it happened not seldom in
those that I attended that some earnest but indiscreet soul
made a long and rambling prayer. Mr. Moody knew how to
bring back the assembly to the strict object of the hour. In
one of the morning meetings a clergyman made a very long,
loud, and rambling prayer, full of set and stale phraseology.
The moment he ceased Mr. Moody said, " Let us now have a
few minutes of silent prayer ; that will bring us back to our-
selves, and that's where we need to get." After a brief but
impressive silence Mr. Sankey spoke a fev/ words — pertinent,
pointed, and forcible— of prayer, and the meeting proceeded.
578 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
I hope I shall not be thought disrespectful to the clergy if 1
say that the prayers some of them speak at these meetings
contrast unfavorably with the brief and pertinent petitions ot
Messrs. Moody and Sankey. The formal and thread-bare
phraseology of the former is strikingly inaiDpropriate in such
meetings as these, and seemed to me often to jar painfully on
the feelings of the people around me.
Again, in one of the morning meetings prayers were asked
by various individuals in the audience for people in whom
they are interested. One asked the prayers of the assembly
for his sister; another for her brother; one for her mother;
sons for fathers ; fathers for sons and daughters ; wives for
husbands ; one for a church out of town ; another for a church
in New York. Finally a man shyly asked the prayers of the
congregation for himself Instantly Mr. Moody said, "That's
right. I like that. I like to hear people ask prayers for them-
selves. That's where they are often most needed." Such an
incident seems to me to show that he is not an enthusiast who
has lost his self-possession ; and indeed this is evident at
every meeting. He is, of course, enthusiastic in his work,
but with the sobriety of a business man or of a general
in battle.
Again, he is never in the least afraid of his audience. In-
deed, no one can hear him without feeling that he is entirely
unconscious, as much so as a child. His own personality does
not trouble him. Thus at the Rink one evening, while impress-
ing upon the assemblage the importance of immediate conver-
sion, he said : " I wish that friend over there would just wake
up, and ril tell him something which is important to him."
And again, at another meeting, he said : " Salvation is offered
to every man in this Rink, now, to-ijight, at this very moment ;
to that man there, who is laughing and jeering — the Son of
Man comes to him to-night and offers salvation."
Though he aims to reach more particularly the non -church-
going population, he concerns himself also about church-goers.
" The churches," he said on one occasion, '' need awakening ;
it is too easy now to be a church member. If you pay your
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. c^jg
debts and keep out of jail, that seems to be enough." At a
meeting for young men, held at nine o'clock p. m. in the Taber-
nacle, he said, " You don't need that I should preach to you.
There is too much preaching. It's preach, preach, preach, all
the time ; and you, young men, have heard sermons enough
here in Brooklyn to convert every one of you. What you need
is to work among yourselves. Let the converted speak personally
with the unconverted — friend to friend. Then you'll see results."
He has a good deal of dramatic pov^er, and sometimes is very
effective m a natural but strong apjDeal or statement. " When
the prisoners at Phiiippi with Paul cried Amen," he said, " God
himself answered them Amen ! " Speaking of the probability
that we forget none of the events of our lives, and that this is,
perhaps, to be a means of punishment in a future state, he pic-
tured an unrepentant sinner awakening in the other world, and
his misdeeds coming back upon him. '* Tramp ! tramp ! tran)p !
tramp I " he said, suiting the action to the word. " Do you
think that Judas, after nearly 1,900 years, has forgotten that he
betrayed his Saviour for thirty pieces of silver ? Do you think
that Cain, after 5,000 years, has forgotten the pleading look of
his brother Able when he slew him ? " he continued. In speak-
ing of Bible incidents or parables he usually brings them in a
dramatic form — as when he remarked, ''' if I want to know about
some man in Brooklyn I don't ask only his enemies, nor only
his friends, but both. Let us ask about Christ in this way. I
call first Pilate's wife " — and relating her warning to Pilate went
on to call other witnesses to the character and works of Jesus.
He has made an extremely close study of the Bible, and is
evidently that formidable being, a man of one book, and tlius
he is able to give often a novel view of a Bible passage. Thus,
speaking of Jacob^ he remarked that his life was a failure ;
pointed out that Jacob himself had complained of it, and enu-
merated his tribulations, which followed his misdeeds. He
enforced upon the audience the necessity of reading the Bible
biographies not as though tney were the lives of saints, but the
truthfully written lives of mortal men, in which their bad as well
as their good deeds were set forth for our instruction.
580 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
He has in perfection that faculty of epigrammatic statement
which one often finds among the farmers and laboring people
of New England, and this has sometimes the effect of humor.
Thus, preaching at the Rink from the text, "Where the treasure
is, there the heart will be also," he remarked: "If you find a
man's household goods on a freight train, you may be pretty
sure to find him on the next passenger train." On another
occasion he told of a woman who came to him saying that she
had sought Christ without avail. " I told her there must be some
mistake about this, because an anxious sinner and an anxious
Saviour could not need three years to find each other." Speak-
ing of persons who were ambitious to make themselves promi-
nent, he remarked : " It does not say, make your light shine, but
let your light shine. You can't make a light shine. If it is
really a light it will shine in spite of you — only don't hide it
under a bushel. Let it shine. Confess Christ everywhere."
" Satan got bis match when he came across John Bunyan," he
remarked. " He thought he had done a shrewd thing when he
got the poor tinker stuck into Bedford Jail, but that was one of
his blunders. It was there that Bunyan wrote the ' Pilgrim's
Progress,' and no doubt he was more thankful for the imprison-
ment than for anything else in his life."
Speaking of the goodness of God and of "grace abounding,"
he told a striking story of a rich man who sent to a poor friend
in distress $25 in an envelope, on which he wrote, " More to
follow." " Now," said he, " which was the more w^elcome — the
money or the gracious promise of further help ? So it is wMth
God's grace ; there is always more to follow. Let us thank
God, not only for what he gives us, but for what he promises —
more to follow." Contrasting the law and the Gospel, he said.
" Moses, in Egy^^t, turned water into blood, which is death.
Christ turned water into wine, which is life, joy, and gladness."
Speaking of future punishment in one of his Rink sermons, he
said, " God will not punish us. We shall punish ourselves.
When we come before God He will turn us over to ourselves.
Go and read the book of your memory, He will say." Urging
the duty of immediate repentance and the joy in heaven over a
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 581
repentant sinner, he said, "If the President should die to-night,
or if the Governor of the State should be shot^that would make
an outcry here. But perhaps even so great an event would not
be mentioned in heaven at all. But," said he, raising his voice
a little, "if some sinner in this assembly were just now con-
verted, there would be a great shout of joy in heaven." Dwell-
ing upon the certainty of future punishment, he remarked.
" Some people doubt- it ; they think God is so lo.ving that He
will make no distinctions m another world. But do you
imagine that when men had become so wicked that God sent a
flood to exterminate them because they were not fit to live on
earth — do you suppose that when the waters came and drowned
them, He took all this wicked generation into his bosom and
left pool righteous Noah to drift about in his ark? Do you
suppose that when His chosen people crossed the Red Sea,
and Pharaoh's host were drowned, God took those idolatrous
Egyptians directly to heaven and let the children of Israel
wander miserably over the desert for forty years ?'"
Speaking of the real objects to be attained by prayer, he said,
" If you have a thorn in your foot, you are to pray, not that
God shall relieve you of the physical pain — He can do that
too — but what you are to ask Him for is grace and strength
to bear the pain patiently. We should thank God for our trib-
ulations ; they are sent to us as blessings ; they bring us to
Him." Again, " Many things we want God knows are not good
for us; if He gives them it is that we may learn through suffer-
ing ; if He withholds them it is because He loves us." Again
he said, " Suppose a man going from here to Chicago, who knows
me and my wife. When he gets there he goes to see her,
and he says, ' I saw Mr. Moody in Brooklyn.' And then, when
she is naturally anxious to hear all about me, suppose he goes
on to speak about himself, to tell her how he felt on the cars
and where he stopped, and what he said and did and ate.
Would not she presently tell him that it v/as not him she
wanted to hear about, but me.?" Nor is he backward in im-
pressing upon those who listen to him their own responsibility.
*' People attending these meetings during these two weeks," he
582 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
said, "will be eilher better or worse. They will not go away
the same men and women. If I did ncH; want to be a Christian
do you think I would ever go where the Gospel is preached ?
If any of you have made up your minds not to be Christians I
advise you to get up and go out at once. It is not safe for you
to be here."
I do not know whether these passages which I have given
from Mr. Moody's exhortations will seem to those who read
them as forcible as they were to me who heard them. I took
down at the time what appeared to me his most striking utter-
ances, as the best way of showing wherein his power over his
audiences consists. That he is a man of genuine power there
can be no doubt. He has gathered, and held in silent attention,
and deeply moved, some of the largest assemblies that any
speaker has addressed in America ; at least in our day. For
my part I do not doubt that his words have left a lasting im-
pression upon a great many men and women. And he has done
this without frantic or passionate appeals ; without the least of
v/hat we commonly call eloquence. He has none of the vehe-
mence of Peter Cartwright or Elder Knapp, and he possesses
none of the personal advantages or culture of an orator. Instead
of all these he has a profound conviction of the reality of the
future life ; a just idea of its importance compared with this
life and of the relations of the two, and an unhesitating belief
in the literal truth of the Bible. It is, of course, his own deep
and earnest conviction which enables him to impress others.
Mr. Sankey has an effective voice, a clear pronunciation,
and, I shguld think, a quick ear to catch simple and tender
melodies. His singing was, I suspect, more effective and
affecting in England than here, because the hymns he sings
w^ere not as familiar to his English hearers as they are to
Americans, most of whom have been brought up in Sunday
schools, or have heard their children sing their Sunday-school
hymns at home. He is evidently a favorite with the Rink and
Tabernacle audiences, and he has a pathetic and sympathetic
voice. But to me the main figure is Mr. Moody. Of course a
daily paper is not the place in which to discuss his theology,
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 583
even if I desired to do so. Those to whom his creed is false or
ofterisi\:e need not go to hear him. But as to the general ten-
dency and usefulness of his work, it seems to me clear that if
there is a future life, it is useful to have it and its relations to
the present life sometimes brought vividly before men and
women actively and anxiously engaged in the daily struggle for
bread. Mr. Moody addresses himself to a multitude thus ab-
sorbed ; his exhortations raise them for a time out of themselves,
out of sordid cares and engrossing pursuits, and present to them
in a vivid, epigrammatic, often pathetic, always simple and nat-
ural way, the greatest questions and interests which can be
brought to the consideration of a being gifted with immortal life.
It is surely a great merit to do this, and to do it as these "evan-
gelists" doit — calmly, without mere passionate appeals, without
efforts to capture the imagination of their hearers, and without
noisy or disorderly demonstrations among their hearers.
Turning, now, from this thorough and just estimate of these
men to the results of their labors, we find many incidents of
thrilling interest. The requests for prayer at the morning
prayer-meetings revealed the universal awakening that has seized
upon the whole people ; and they also exposed the pitifulness
of our human condition, by unveiling the vast variety of needs
pressing on the hearts of myriads of sufferers. Says one
report :
The requests for prayers exceeded in number those of any
previous day. There were twenty-five for cities and towns,
twenty-seven for revivals in churches ; one for the evangelists
now laboring in Minnesota, one for the Osv^^ego State Normal
School, one for a young ladies' boarding school ; eight for
Sunday-school classes ; six for Sunday-schools ; four clergymen
for themselves ; seventeen for drunkards ; and four hundred
and forty-seven for different persons, many being from parents
for wayward sons and daughters, and from wives for their hus-
bands. Mr. Moody then offered prayer.
Mr. E. W- Hawley then read requests as follows, all heads
being bowed in silent prayer during the reading. Requests for a
sceptic 88 years of age, who will not hear of Jesus; for a father,
584 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
three sons and a daughter ; for a daughter, father and mother sixty
years of age ; for four sons and one daughter ; for two young men
yesterday in the meeting in the church ; for a young lady who is
a backslider ; for a mother who is sick ; for a daughter and son j
for a wife, husband and three daughters ; for a sister, and three
brothers ; for a person sick, that he may be kept from tempta-
tion and doubt ; for a young man, an only son ; for a sick
mother ; for a brother that he may be restored to heahh ; two
requests for backsliders ; for a person very sick, that he may
be kept from temptation and doubt ; for a young man, an only
son ; for an organized band of praying young men ; a father for
himself and six of his family ; a wife for a husband given to
strong drink ; four requests for church members who have an
appetite for strong drink ; three requests for an aged mother ;
for a friend in danger through strong drink ; three requests for
husbands and wives ; four requests for unconverted husbands *
two requests of mothers for health of their sons ; for one who
feels if she delays longer she will be shut out from God's
grace ; a widow for six children ; for a husband and father bit-
terly opposed to attending church ; for sixteen young men by
class-leader ; a request for wives given up to the intoxicating
cup ; four requests for fathers from sons ; one for a nephew ; a
father and m.other for seven sons, two of them intemperate.
The reports brought into the morning meetings indicated the
immediate results of the work: A woman came into the inquiry
meetings broken hearted. She was a wife and a mother.
After she had laid hold on Christ herself, she wanted us to
pray for her husband and children Last evening she came in,
leading that husband by the hand. That man got up and said
he would accept Christ. This m.other, six months ago, received
a letter from her mother in England, asking that when our
American friends ' (Messrs. Moody and Sankey) came to
America, they would come to their meetings. Another letter
was received from Scotland by an infidel from his mother. He
last night came to the inquiry meeting, I talked with him.
He had a fearful struggle. He was a civil engineer. For a
good many years he had roamed around the world, preaching
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 585
against Christ. He did not believe that he preached. It was
the devil in him. He was on a vessel in a storm, and as they
thought the ship was going down, he, like a poor coward, fell
on his knees in prayer. But after the storm he forgot it. For
the last two days this man has been in terrible agony. He
said : '•' I am in terror ; my heart is broken. I'll lay down
the weapons of my rebellion. I'll write to my mother in Scot-
land about it to-morrow." Keep on praying.
At the inquiry meeting there were two or three hundred
seekers, many of them youths of from twelve to sixteen years
of age.
A curious scene was observed at the entrance of the chapel
of the Simpson M. E. Church. A man and wmoan of middle
age and v/ell dressed, coming down Willoughby avenue with
the throng after the services in the Rink, stopped at the
gateway in front of the chapel. After a moment of hurried,
earnest conversation, the man stepped backward away from the
woman toward the chapel steps, all the time looking reproach-
fully at her. He mounted the steps and was about to cross the
threshold when the woman stepped quickly forward and, putting
her foce between the iron bars of the fence, said, in troubled
tones : " I will not go in that place ; you shall not ; come away
at once." She walked hurriedly away and the man followed.
Yesterday, at our Sunday-school, in place of the usual
closing exercises, we invited the scholars to remain for a prayer-
meeting. Five hundred remained. Twenty rose and asked for
prayers, and seven, we think, found peace in believing. Last
evening at the Rink very many souls were brought to Christ.
In the inquiry-room it seemed as if all on each side of me were
anxious to find Christ. Going home last night, as I walked
down the street, I talked with three young men. — one of them
was anxious, but hesitated. I said to him, "You can be con-
verted before you reach yonder lamp-post, if you will." When
within twelve feet of it he stopped still, and after a struggle said,
" I will," with intense feeling. I turned to his companion, and
after a struggle he said, " Yes, I too." The third companion
stiil remained. We knelt down with him around the lamp-post.
586
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
and after a prayer he accepted Christ. The presence of God
was felt in this city yesterday. Thanks be to His Holy name.
A man in the gallery said he wanted to say a word of en-
couragement. In the Rink a man sat before him, singing with
a strong voice — a fine looking gentleman. Something said to
me : " I must speak to that man. It was an effort. With
trembling voice I said : " Are you a Christian ? " " No ; I can't
say I am." I asked him to go to the inquiry-room. He said
^' No ; it is to conspicuous." I said, " I'll go with you ; people
won't know which of us is a sinner." He said, "Perhaps,
presently." I said, a few moments after, " Presently has come."
He went with me, sat down and talked with me, and in one
half-hour had given himself definitely to Christ.
Last night at the Rink I went to get a lady to come to the
inquiry-room. I sent a lady to go for her daughter. She said,
" I can't leave here at present." The lady who went for the
daughter said, at the close of the Rink meeting, she felt so im-
pressed that she must pray for some one who would not come
to the inquiry-meeting. She rose up and prayed in the body of
that church. Pretty soon the daughter came running into the
church, almost out of breath, and said, "Your prayer has
reached me. Nothing had ever reached me before your prayer."
The mother also said, "Your prayer saved me ;" and they sat
down there and all w^ere blessed together.
A man rose and related the conversion of a soldier with an
empty sleeve, and a badge on his breast, revealing the shat-
tered remnant of a noble man. His parents were members of
the Reformed Church of Kinderhook. He came out of the
army a drunkard. His wife and children returned from
Sunday-school one day, and his little girl said to him, "Jesus
loves you." He pushed her away in anger, and rushed out to
a drinking saloon to drink. Just as he was putting the glass
to his lips, a little girl rose, as if in a mirror, before him, and
he seemed to hear ringing in his ears, " Father, Jesus loves
you." He dropped the glass, and rushed out, and walked the
streets all night in agony. He went home and said to his
wife, "Betsy, I want you to pray for me." This man is now
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 587
laboring every day in Water street, New York, trying to save
the lost drunkards there, v/ilhout pay for his service.
Mr. Moody then related, in closing, a very affecting incident
of the reconciliation of a prodigal son and stern father at the
bedside of a dying mother, whose last act in expiring wms to
place their hands in each other's clasp. The story was so feel-
ingly told that a spell of suppressed emotion seemed to sway
the vast audience, and when Mr. Moody said, "Let us pray,"
while the people were silently communing, Mr. Sankey's voice
plaintively breathed forth, " Come home, prodigal child." The
spell was broken, and there was a wail of passionate weeping ;
the grief of the young man particularly, who sat near the plat-
form, becoming almost uncontrollable. Mr. Moody noticed
this at once, and checked tlie excitement by stopping Mr.
Sankey at the end of the first verse, asking the audience to rise
and sing, " There is a fountain filled with blood."
The self-restraint and the genuineness of Mr. Moody's work
was never more signally displayed than in this slight circum-
stance. He might have allowed the excitement to have swept
on till it became a religious frenzy, which would have been
the case in a few minutes, and many mistaken religious leaders
would have done so for the mere gratification of their own love
of excitement. But Mr. Moody, realizing that mere excite-
ment is not healthy, checked it, while that was possible, leav-
ing to the influences of the Holy Spirit the completion of the
work which had evidently commenced in many hearts.
Rev. Mr. Dixon, a colored minister, of Concord Street
Baptist Church, said Friday morning the Lord touched him in
the Rink, while Mr. Moody was preaching about Daniel, and
he got up and ran home to his closet, and he was obliged now
to ask the Lord to stay his hand, he was so full of the joy of
the Lord.
The brother of Orville Gardner arose and said that Orville
said to him, " Though I am a cripple and cannot walk, go and
light for Jesus." God is in Brooklyn and He will shake this
place from top to bottom if we only trust in Him.
Rev. Mr. Murray related the conversion of a man of intellect
58-8 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
and character and a very dear friend, who was addicted to
strong drink. The speaker invited him to go to the Rink
meeting to hear Mr. Moody. He said: "I'll do it for yom'
sake." He went and God touched his heart. On his way home
he resolved he would crush his appetite and curb his profanity,
and set up his family altar there for the first time in the history
of his family. He met me the next day, and embraced me with
tears of thankfulness that I asked him to go to the Rink meet-
ing. We don't know what results come from little things. He
asked me to come here this morning and ask you to bear him
up in your prayers.
A young man in terrible agony and tears said he wanted to
find Jesus. We told him how the best we could. He left the
place greatly relieved. The next night he came to the plat-
form v/ith his face shining with joy. He went for his younger
brother, and he was the next day rejoicing in Christ. Another
young man came to the meeting at the Rink, and could not get
in. He wandered around and went to the Dutch Church ad-
joining, which was empty. About nine o'clock the young man
came into the young men's meeting and I prevailed on him to
stay. That night God spoke to his conscience. He did not
believe in anything. He went away saying that he would pray
for himself. The next night he came and said, " Pray for me."
Last Thursday morning, you may remember, I made a request
for a young lady sick of consumption, asking that her pains
mi^ht be relieved. God told me to rise that mornins: and make
request, which I did. Friday morning her pains left her. She
rose from her bed, made her little bequests of money and gifts
to benevolent objects and friends. She sat up on her couch
all through the evening, talking, with her mind perfectly clear.
Pretty soon her senses left her, one by one. She says, *'It is
all dark now. I can't see, but it is all bright over there."
Pretty soon she said : " I can't hear now. But Christ is here,
all here ; doubts are gone." At 1..30 a. m., Sunday morning
she went to her rest. That prayer last Thursday morning for
this sick young lady was answered. All through the last week
I was praying for my own son, eigb.teen years old, my son
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 589
Walter. He attended meetings at the Rink several times with-
out much feeling. He last night came out of the inquiry room
with brother Sankey, relying on Jesus.
In the Simpson Church occurred a number of singular scenes.
Inquirers and all who desired entrance were first directed into
the main auditorium. A continuous stream of people poured
in from all entrances, front and rear. Mr. Moody took charge
of the meeting, and while the throng were crowding in, a num-
ber of hymns were sung. When the church was thoroughly full,
Mr. Moody asked those who were inquirers and who were really
in earnest about their salvation to pass into the inquiry room
while the audience sang, "Just as I Am." Immediately the sing-
ing commenced, two long processions filed through the two
doors into the chapel. They were composed principally of
young men. After the inquirers had retired, Mr. Moody asked
all who were Christians to rise. Very few were left sitting.
While a hymn was sung, he went down an aisle and spoke to a
few of these, and then after leaving the meeting, to continue as
a prayer meeting, went into the inquiry room. The number
of inquirers dealt with was estimated to be from a hundred
to a hundred and fifty. A number of Mr. Moody's Christian
helpers dealt w'ith many of these. About fifty gathered about
Mr. Moody himself, to whom he made plain the way of life.
Among his coadjutors at present is Mr. Needham, the well-
known Irish evangelist. Mr. Needham, as we announced, was
to have sailed on the Spain on Saturday for Europe. His
family were placed on board, and everything had been prepared
for travelling, when about noon Mr. Moody and Mr. McWil-
liams came to endeavor to persuade him to remain and assist
the Brooklyn work. He took two hours to pray about it, and
concluded to stay. His visit abroad is therefore indefinitely
postponed, perhaps until next summer. He has now no plans
for the future, and will simply follow divine guidance. He will
take charge of one of the overflow meetings, and in other ways
aid Mr. Moody.
The Christian workers present last night were jubilant.
One word was on many a tongue — " It's grand."' An old ^cn-
590 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
tleman said: ''The ice is broken." Dr. Duryea says a young
man of his acquaintance, of very fine culture and wide reading,
came to him, took his hand, and said: "Doctor, I'm going."
He was the first to rise in the main auditorium when Mr. Moody
called ujDon inquirers. He had read German writers on meta-
physics, and become befogged and verging on Universalism, but
Mr. Moody's sermon went home, and broke sunlight through the
vapor and mystification in his mind. Cheering instances like
these occur and attest the force of divine truth, while they uplift
the courage of Christian laborers.
Many people ask, " How many people have been converted
by the special services that are being held?" and they want to
measure the good done by an arithmetical calculation. So
many sermons preached, so many prayers offered, so many
hymns sung, so many people gathered at the services, and so
many converted, is the rule which some who do not understand
•the nature of religious work seek to apply. The number of
conversions will probably never be known ; certainly, it is not
important that any accurate statement of this part of the work
should now be made. There are, however, some questions
which we have a right to ask. Are the Christians of Brooklyn
being stirred up to holy enthusiasm and consecrated service ?
Is there any general awakening among the church members '^
Do they hear the call of the Master to go out into the highways
and hedges — into the dark places of the city — to compel by their
loving entreaty and earnest counsel the hardened and ignorant
and depraved and self-righteous to come and listen to the good
tidings of salvation ? These are questions that may be asked,
and to which answers in the affirmative can now be given.
The churches of Brooklyn were never more alive to their re-
sponsibilities than now, and this gives hope that a genuine re-
vival has already commenced, the ultimate result of which may
not be estimated, and will never be known.
One of the most hopeful and encouraging features of the
Brooklyn special services, conducted by the Messrs Moody and
Sankey, has been the united and perfectly harmonious action of
the minister.^ and lavmen of all denominations of Christians,
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
591
iPi-equcntly may be seen thirty or forty of the city pastors gath-
ered aiound the platform in the Tabernacle at the morning
prayer-meetings, and all ready to do their utmost towards in-
creasing the interest and success of the services. All minor
differences have sunk into obscurity in view of the great work
which is being carried on ; and there is no thought of sectarian-
ism in the heart of any man or woman actively engaged in the
work of winning souls. This union spirit was, it will be remem-
bered, also a leading characteristic of the revival movement in
Great Britain.
Another feature of blessing is an increased use of the Bible
by the attendants, who are constantly urged and inspired to its
study by the speaker's appeals and example.
Mr. Moody's habit of Bible study has been for the past five
years to rise at five o'clock and give an hour in the early morn-
ing to the study of the Bible. This is one secret of his great
Bible knowledge.
Mr. Moody's Bible is an interesting book. It vjas given him
by a friend, and bears on the fly-leaf the words : " D. L. Moody,
Dublin, December, 1872.— 'God is love.' W. Fay." The Bible
is an 8vo volume, with flexible black morocco covers and turned
edges. Though given Moody in the last month of 1872, it
appears as if it might have seen ten years' service. Some of
the leaves are worn through with handling. But nearly every
page gives another and more positive proof of the study Mr.
Moody has given the Book. In the Old Testament many por-
tions are annotated on nearly every page. Especially is this true
of those parts treating of the history of the Israelites, the chosen
people of God. But in the New Testament, open the book
wherever one may, the pages are marked and annotated in
black, red, and blue ink to a wonderful extent. Sometimes
certain words are underscored ; again a whole verse is inclosed
in black lines, with mysterious numbers or a single letter of the
alphabet marked opposite. All around the margins and at the
chapter-heads are comments on certain passages — an idea em-
bodied in two or three words, with the more important word
underscored. Turning to the texts of the sermons Mr. Moody
592 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
has preached in Brooklyn, one finds the burden of his themes
often embodied one of those marginal notes. There is scarcely
a page in the New Testament where a dozen such annotations
could not be counted ; while in some instances every space in
the margin is filled, and hardly a sentence has escaped the
evangelist's pen.
In combating men's trivial objections he said ; one of the
worst excuses is the old Bible. Of all the sceptics that I have
ever heard talk against the Bible, I have yet to find the first
one that has ever read it from back to back. They read a
chapter here and there, and lay it down and say it is dark and
mysterious to them, and they don't understand it, and they
never will understand it until they are spiritually minded, for
its truths are spiritually discerned. No unrenewed man can
understand it. What he can know is that he has sinned.
Everything tells you that in your experience in life. Your rest-
less spirit and anxious soul, whether you acknowledge it or not,
prove it. You can know from the Bible that Jesus Christ came
to save you, a sinner, and prove it by trying it.
The Bible ought to be read right through. It is only then you
can know the music, the swell, the cadence, the rapture and
sorrow, the triumph and the tears, of God's Word. What
would you know of your boy's letter, if you were to read the
superscription on Monday, to look at the signature on Friday,
and read a little in the middle of it three months afterwards.'' I
get tired toward the end of July and I go away to the mountains.
I take the Bible with me ; I read it through, and I feel as if J
had never seen the book before. I have spent most of my life
in reading and expounding it, yet it seems as if I had never seen
it. It is so new, so rich, so varied, the truth flashing from a
thousand unexpected and undiscovered points, with a light
above the brightness of the sun. And that summer reading of
the Bible is what I call tuning the instrument.
If anybody does not believe the Bible, he has never read it
through ; he may have read a little here and there, with general
commentaries and criticisms between, but he has not read the
whole. Once two men said, "We will disprove the conversion
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERIC4.
593
of Paul."' They read it through — and wrote a book in proof of
it. So will God deal with all destructive critics who really make
themselves masters of the situation they intended to overthrov/.
It is wonderful, if you read the whole, how it gets hold of you
somewhere. I have tried it ; and I appeal to you who know it
best, v/hether you will willingly let it drop out of your fingers,
when it has once got into the movement and necessity of your
being.
One secret of his power is well described by himself: Mr.
Moody chose his subject, " The Holy Ghost," and related an
incident in his early life as an evangelist, when an old gentle-
man had said to him : " Young man, when you speak again,
honor the Holy Ghost." Mr. Moody said he had never for-
gotten the advice, and had profited much from it. "The Holy
Spirit is a person. We get life through the Holy Ghost. We
can have no revival save through Him. He gives hope. When
He ai rives we lean upon something more than human supports.
Men often utter the prayers which they spoke twenty years ago.
We only know how to pray when we have the Holy Spirit.
There are two kinds of Christians. The one class are as an
ordinary well, from which you must pump all their religion.
The other are artesian, and send forth the waters of love con-
tinually. If we are full of the Spirit to-day, it is no assurance
for to-morrow. We must keep at the fountain all the time.
Think of Elisha, how he followed Elijah and at last received his
robe and a double portion of his grace. That old farmer made
the mightiest prophet the world ever saw. The Church is living
too much upon old manna. They think one supply enough for
their life." When Mr. Moody had finished the whole congre-
gation sang the 128th hymn, "Come Holy Spirit."
Anotjier Element of influence has been forcibly stated : here
is our view of the case : Unselfishness is the greatest power in
the world. The man who gladly makes sacrifices for the honor
of God and the well being of mankind wields an immense power.
When the Holy Spirit is allowed to enter and occupy, the hearts
of men selfishness disappears. Selfishness and the Holy Spirit
cannot dwell together. It is because of the absolute unselfish-
594 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
ness of these evangelists now working in Brooklyn that multi-
tudes hear them gladly. They are earnest and enthusiastic, not
seeking their own, but Christ's glory. They themselves are
nothing — Christ is everything.
Persistent effort has been made by the enemies of pure and
undefiled religion to discover flaws in the character and n ethods
of these men. The world itself, which generally delights in
truthfulness, and fair play, has frowned down the effort as dis-
honorable. Honest Christians know well the falsit}-' of the ac-
cusation. These self denying men have no stain of Caesar's
gold about them. They are after souls, not money. They are
engaged in heaven's mission, working to lift society from the
debasing bondage of Satan to the blessed service of Christ. In
self-sacrifice they are strong. Consistent and self-denying lives
are yet largely an undeveloped power within the Church.
Unworthy membership breeds much mischief. It was at this
citadel of sin that Moody and Sankey directed their first shot.
The sacred fort has in too many cases been betrayed into the
hands of the enemy through the foes within it. The world is
not reading God's word, but scanning closely the lives of Chris-
tian professors, and they find many grievous blemishes. It is
because Mcody and Sankey are like Enoch walking daily with
God, that they are honored and successful. They have learned
that most difficult lesson that we cannot serve God and mam-
mon. They are fully persuaded that they are their brother's
keeper ; and men flock after them to hear the truths of the
GospCi in all their grand simplicity ; to learn from men who in
their lives and labors present glorious examples of the blessed
influence of the Gospel message. They are bold, yet most un-
assuming soldiers of the cross ; not afraid of the warfare, but
rejoicing in the conflict. It is upon such that the blessing of
heaven descends. There is no difficulty in understanding the
power of these men. It is of God. They are living obedient
lives. If we fail to perceive the connection the fault is our own.
The scales have not yet fallen from our eyes.
Mr. Sankey's singing has caused almost as great an awaken-
ing as his associate's preaching. Choristers have probably as
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 595
seldom adopted Sankey's songs as ministers have used Moody's
sermons, but the power of song has been reaHzed as never be-
fore, the artistic quartette with its soulless music is going out of
favor, and congregations are being lectured, with good effect,
about their neglect of one of the most effective means of
worshiiD.
A pervading sentiment of vigor of soul and the deepest sin-
cerity animates him. He is possessed of all the enthusiasm
which fills the speech of Mr. Moody, and brands his words on
the minds and in the hearts of men as by fire. But it is enthu-
siasm subdued to the rhythm and melody of his songs, and stirs
the souls of his hearers by the feeling it awakens of genuine
and whole-souled praise, such as the devout heart in moments
of religious exaltation may long for but seldom attains fully.
This is the impression left by a first hearing of Mr. Sankey,
as stated by many, and confirmed by the almost breathless si-
lence during the execution of his solos^ and the fervor with
which the vast body of the audience join their voices to swell
the chorus of praise. Another source of power to Mr. Sankey
is the manner in which he subordinates and modulates the organ
in the reinforcement of his voice. The effect produced is some-
thing which would hardly seem attainable were Mr. Sankey to
sing to the accompaniment of some other person. Mr. Sankey
sings and plays with his whole soul and body. He is, however,
entirely free from anything which might be called a mannerism,
and his passages of greatest force are executed with great vigor
and animation of body, wholly natural, and suggested by th
sentiment and stirring feeling of the hymn.
In explanation of the chorus, " Hold the Fort for I am Com-
ing," he said that during the Rebellion one of the Union officers
m command of a fort closely invested by General Hood, was
almost persuaded, by the distress of his men, to surrender the
position, when he received a dispatch from General Sherman
to this effect : " Hold the fort fori am coming— W. T. Sherman."
It filled the soldiers with confidence, they kept up courage and
n'ere saved. He exhorted those present to show an equallj-
abiding faith in Christ and they would be saved.
596 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
Mr. Sankey produced a remarkable effect by the manner in
which he rendered the last line, "Victory is nigh," and dwelt
with redoubled force upon the word " Hold," until the vast
chorus had caught the spirit and action of the leader. Mr.
Sankey also sang the verses of the i8th hymn, " Rescue the
perishing," but the audience did not respond as enthusiastically
as usual in the chorus. After the services Mr. Sankey said
that this hymn was new, at least he had not had it very long,
and that a large portion of the audience was unacquainted with '
the tune. He was confident they would sing it with the usual
force after hearing it a few more times. He expressed himself
highly pleased with the interest the audiences had shown in the
singing throughout the week, and said that feature of the meet-
ings was very similar to their experience in London.
One of the most celebrated of Mr. Sankey's collection of
hymns is " The Ninety and Nine." It was a favorite in Eng-
land, and is much admired here. Several statements concern-
ing its origin have been published which conflict with each other,
and no one of them, Mr. Sankey said yesterday, is correct. The
true facts in the case are these : Some time in 1873, Mr.
Sankey being then in England with Mr. Moody for the first
time, bought a copy of llie Christian Age, a London religious
paper publishing Dr. Talmage's sermons, and in one corner
found this hymn. He had never seen nor heard of it before.
It pleased him, and seemed adapted to religious work. He
cut it out of the paper, and three days afterward he sung it at
a meeting in Free Assembly Hall in Edinburgh, having com-
posed the music himself A short time after, he received a
letter from a lady thanking him for having sung the hymn, and
stating that the author was her sister, Miss Eliza C. Claphane
of Melrose, Scotland. She had written the hymn in 1868 and
shortly after died. She and her whole family were members
of the Church of Scotland, and were not Unitarians, as stated
in this country. Mr. Sankey replied to the lady's letter, asking
if her sister had ever written any other hymns, and was told
that she had written several others which w^ere sent to The
Family Treasury, a religious paper of which the late Dr. Arnot
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 597
was the editor, but only ''The Ninety and Nine" was ever
published. Mr. Sankey communicated with him, and received
several pieces of manuscript. The only other hymn by the
same author in Mr. Sankey's collection is the 43d, " Beneath
the Cross of Jesus." He has been gathering hymns for the
past eight years, keeping a scrap-book for that purpose. Many
of them are found in the common Sunday-school collections,
and were not known in England before Moody and Sankey
introduced them. Since that time they have become the most
popular hymns in Great Britain. While the evangelists were
in Scotland they at first found difficulty in inducing people to
smg their hymns, as the Presbyterians preferred their version
of the Psalms. The evangelists were accustomed to sing the
looth, 23d, and 40th Psalms, or the ist, 107th, and 125th
Hymns of the collection, and then ask the Presbyterian to sing
" Hold the Fort," which they usually did, and at length sang
any of the hymns.
The record of God's gracious dealings by the agency of his
honored servants in Brooklyn promises to be eclipsed by the
brilliant display of divine mercy on their work in Philadelphia ;
and we may bring our review to a close by giving the keynote
as struck by Mr. Moody the morning of his advent in the city
of churches.
" Ah ! Lord God ! behold thou hast made the Heaven and
the earth by thy great power and stretched-out arm and there
is nothing too hard for thee."
" And there is nothing too hard for thee." During the past
two years, into every town and city that Mr. Sankey and I have
gone, we always took this verse as the keynote to our work.
We generally commence every prayer-meeting by reading this
verse — nothing is too hard for God — and it was a wonderful
help to us. Sometimes our ways seemed hard ways. Then we
came back to the old text and these ways were freed from all
darkness. It sometimes seemed as if some men could not be
converted. But we came back to the old text, and flinty hearts
would break. At Edinburgh I was told that a young man who
was pointed out to me was the chairman of an infidel club. I
59^ MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
went and stood beside him, and asked him if he was thinking
of his soul. He turned to me and said, "How do you know
I've got one?" I thought it was no use trying, but then I
thought nothing is too hard for God. I asked him if I might
pray for him. He said, " You may pray if you like. Try your
hand on me." I got down on my knees and prayed for him.
His head was held up and his eyes did not notice me, and he
seemed to say to the people that my prayers did not affect him
at all. For six long months prayers were daily offered in
prayer-meetings for the infidel. This was in January or the lat-
ter part of December, and a year afterward, or a little over a
year, when we were at work in Liverpool, I got a letter from a
person in Edinburgh, who said that the infidel was at the foot
of the cross, crying for mercy ; and just as w^e were leaving
England we heard that he was leading a meeting every night.
I was to give you this as our key-note — nothing is too hard
for God. It is just as easy for God to save the most abandoned
man as for me to turn my hand over. If this is God's work, we
had better cling to it ; if this is Christ's work, it is as lasting as
eternity itself I have a good deal more hope of this prayer-
meeting than the meetings at the Rink. It is not preaching
that you want you have plenty of preaching. You have plenty
of men who can preach better than I can. You have plenty of
men who can sing better than Mr. Sankey can. Let this be
your key-note — nothing is too hard for God to do in His great
power.
I asked my boy how God created the world. He said, " He
spoke." That is all ; "He said, let there be light, and there
was light." He can convert the thief, the harlot, the most
abandoned, and another class still harder, that is the self right-
eous Pharisee. God can do it. Nothing is too hard for him.
Let us every morning keep this text in our hearts, "Nothing
is too hard for thee." Our God can do it. They tell us that
the sun is thirteen hundred thousand times larger than the
world, and our God created it. There have been eighty millions
of other suns discovered, but these are only a fringe on the
garments of God. Our God did it all. If, then, God is so
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 599
great, shall we not ask him for great things ? We honor God
by asking for great things. Alexander had a general who ac-
complished a great victory; and it pleased him greatly. He
told the general to draw on his treasurer for any amount he
wished, and directed his treasurer to honor the draft. The
draft was so large that the treasurer was afraid to pay it. The
emperor said, "Didn't I tell you to honor his draft.-* Don't
you know he honors me by making so large a draft ? " Don't
you know we honor God by asking for great things? The
church has been asking for little things too long.
Let us go nt)w to the 20th verse. " Behold I am the Lord,
the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard foi me ? "
Just as if it pleased him. He says to Jeremiah, " Is there
anything too hard for me} I am the Lord, the God ol all
flesh." God has shown us great things, but when we accept
his truth we will see still greater things.
The next chapter, T)*^ verse : " Call unto Me and I will
answer thee and show thee great and mighty things, which thou
knowest not." Now, my friends, let us this morning call upon
God, and when v^'e pray let us ask him for something. There
are a great many who come for nothing, and therefore they get
nothing. Let us come with some great burden upon our hearts
— some great petition. Let us bring it before God. Let us try
it. When a man was one time making a long prayer, and ask-
ing for nothing in particular, an old Vv'oman says, " Ask God
for something, and see if he don't give it you." Let us ask
for something, and we will get it. Let every mother ask for the
salvation of her sons and daughters. Nothing is too hard
for him. We may not see the answers to our prayers, but
God does answer the prayers of the faithful.
Between thirty and forty years ago, at a prayer-meeting
which I held, there was a mother -who had a very bad son. He
was a very bad man ; he was very profane and was one of the
noted men of the town for his sin. And when the church was
struck with lightning he said he w^ould have given $25 if it had
burned it down. During the past few weeks the Lord God has
found him. He has resolved to stop swearing and come back
6oO MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
to church. I asked him to go down on his knees and pray.
He answered that he had been on his knees all day. We ma}'
not see the answers to our prayers, but God answers the prayer
of faith. Let us pray.
Our heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this " Sweet Hour
of Prayer." We thank thee for the privilege we have this
morning of coming to this place and worshipping, and we pray
that thou wouldst give us the spirit of prayer. Teach us how
to pray. May we come and ask thee great things. Nothing
is too hard for thee. So we pray that thou would take the
whole country to thyself and lay it at thy feet. 'Do a work in
this country that shall make all men embrace salvation. In'
answer to prayer may there go up a cry, "^ What shall I do to
be saved ? " Teach thy servant to preach. Send him a mes-
sage from the upper world to-night, and may his words come
from the heart and go to the hearts of many. We pray for
these mothers that are here this morning. May they pray for
their sons and daughters, that they may be saved. We pray
for these Sunday-school teachers who have unconverted schol-
ars ; may they labor and pray much. We pray that the chil-
dren may be gathered into the fold of Christ. May the harvest
be ripe, and may we come to this place carrying our sheaves,
and Christ will have all the praise and glory. Amen.
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 6oi
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
The Evangelists in Philadelphia.
Their advance on Philadelphia had been carefully prepared
for by earnest, wise, and strong men, who arranged for a gigantic
campaign corresponding with the greatness of their city, and the
popularity of the men who had carried Brooklyn by storm. The
freight depot, corner Thirteenth and Market Streets, was fitted up
for the accommodation of twelve thousand persons, as many as it
was probable the preacher's voice could reach. A grand choir
of five hundred trained and superior singers was drilled to act
as a choir to aid Mr. Sankey, and a union of churches effected,
by which all the ablest and most efficient Christians were com-
bined in solid phalanx. Unworn by the immense labors undergone
in Brooklyn, the brethren tore themselves away from their friends
there, and sped to the City of Brotherly Love, there to preach
and sing of that Divine Love which is the theme of sermon and
song by day and by night, wherever the evangelists set up their
standard. Never had men equal advantages, and never was
more expected of human beings. There was a feeling of need in
the churches of something more than they had, and they were
looking to the men whom God had so greatly honored, and stood
ready to co-operate with them. In one branch of the church,
this was the testimony: Rev. W. P. Corbit spoke with much
earnestness. The Methodist Church, he said, was in a deplor-
able condition. The chief causes were a laxity of discipline and
a want of praying bands. A speedy remedy for this state of
things was needed. No new agencies were wanted. The Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, worked by its own machinery, would
take the world, if it were allowed to work. It is the pioneer
church in this country. The remedy is in union of effort and
activity. Preachers had been preaching their heads off nearly,
.602 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
and yet were effecting nothing. There was a disintegration and
selfishness about the Church. Each one of the church organiza-
tions thought of itself only. There was a jealousy among the
preachers and lay brethren that ought not to exist. The only
remedy is union. There must be a coming together, and a re-
turn to the old circuit system. Let the preachers and people
gather together as Moody and Sankey have got them together.
He did not depreciate Moody and Sankey, but they had many
men in their own body who were just as gifted as the}^, or more
so. It was not Moody, and it was not Sanke}', but the power
which they possess of bringing good people together to work for
God.
In another quarter it was said, and we may understand the
language as confession : The Church was never more aggressive
than now. Machinery was never better managed. There never
was so much of it. The display of strength was never finer. But
all this may be only equipped and organized weakness. The
Church is nothing if not pious. More than this, it is very little
if not consistently pious. To be zealously affected in a good
cause, is good only on condition that it be '''■ always^ A church
is an ekklesia — a company called out from the world. Its strength,
therefore, lies in its divergence from the world. To be in it, yet
not of it, is the double problem which our machinery and our
spirit must combine to solve.
Christians themselves were ready to be touched with an electric
sliock by these surcharged evangelists. And this was early seen
to be a source of weakness as well as of strength to the work. Sin-
ners were to be reached by these fiery apostles, and the church
members filled all the seats before them. So that the cry has
been raised by one of the papers, and may be repeated through-
out the land, that Christians ma^^, stand in the way of the fullest
success of the monster meetings likelv to be held all over the
country.
The Brooklyn revival has been in certain features a sad disap-
pointment to us who have taken an interest and part in it. Mr.
Moody failed, it must be confessed, in his evening meetings at the
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 603
Rink to reach that outside class which he sought. The reason
for his faiku'e is so discreditable that we almost hesitate to give
it. But it must be confessed that it was the dishonesty, the self-
ishness of excitement-seeking professed Christians, that made
these meetings a partial failure. Mr. Moody tried his best to
open the door into his meetings to those who are not church-
goers, and to shut it against church-members. He begged these
latter to stay at home. He plead with them ; but they still would
come. He then issued tickets, that were offered only to the non-
church-goers ; but the conscience-hardened professors would rob
their unconverted neighbors of their tickets and lie their way into
the Rink, and then have the face to stand up when all Christians
were requested to rise, and thus flaunt their hypocrisy in the face
of the evangelist. Our words are strong, but the responsibility
of souls is on the head of these " Christians," who have yet to
learn that Christianity means honor and truthfulness. We do not
like to say these words ; but we commend them now to the mem-
bers of the Philadelphia churches. In a famine, that man, or
crowd of men, were beneath all contempt who, with cellars stored
with grain and their cheeks standing out for fatness, should crowd
the bureaus of public charity, and prevent the poor from receiv-
ing the dole that should save them from starvation. But nothing
better, nay, worse, has been the conduct of these greedy profess-
ors, very many of them from our cities, who have pushed the
Brooklyn hungry, starving poor away from the Gospel feast. May
the Lord not have mercy on their souls until they repent.
It is an unusual spectacle to behold Christians so eager to be
fed or taught, and it is probable that the blessed results will ap-
pear in thousands of churches.
A Scottish Sunday-school teacher says : " I venture to send
you the following letter from London, because of the reference to
young women's meetings, which are already proving so useful to
the many girls in our country who consider themselves too grown
up and too dignified to attend Sunday-school. The letter tells
its own story, but I may just add, in thankful acknowledgment
of our loving Father's willingness to bless the feeblest attempt
604 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
of the weakest beginner, that that young lady was the very first
stranger I ever spoke to about coming to Jesus. It was only the
night before, while Mr. Moody was preaching, that I myself got
into the sunshine ; and when that next night she sat beside me
looking so sad, I could not help saying to her, ' Jesus has made
me so happy, won't you let him make you happy too ? ' She
seemed just waiting to be taken by the hand, and went with me
almost at once to the inquiry-room.
" I write now in testimony of the fact that I am one of the
many, many ' church members ' who will thank God through all
eternity for sending Messrs. Moody and Sankey to our country ;
for, through their means, we have been led to exchange our
hopes and fears for a glad certainty ^ and we can now say, '/
know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to
keep that which I have committed unto him.'
" 'On his word I am resting, assurance divine,
I am "hoping" no longer, I know he is mine.'
" The following is the letter to which I have referred :
" ' London, October 3, 1875.
" 'Dear Miss : I feel that I have neglected this duty too
long. I ought to have written to you before. You were the
means in God's hands of making me one of his own children.
Oh, how happy I have been since the night you won me for our
blessed Redeemer ! You do not know who I am, but possibly
you may remember me when I tell you that you gave me a red
hymn-book of Mr. Sankey's with your address in it. It was at
the Agricultural Hall I met you, and you took me into the in-
quiry-room. After talking to me for some time you brought me
to Mr. Moody, and Mr. Moody handed me over, with several
other young women, to a gentleman from Newcastle, and before
I left the inquiry-room I had found Jesus as my Saviour. How
precious he has been to me since that night ! I went to hear
Mr. Moody that evening out of mere curiosity, and had you not
taken me into the inquiry-room, possibly I should have gone
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 605
away unimpressed. Afterward I went several times to hear Mr.
Mood}' at tlie Opera House. I heard the address to the con-
verts there, and may the burning zeal I felt created in my breast
that night continue. How I wish I had more leisure to work for
Jesus, and more boldness. I became a member of a little chapel
close to home soon after, and, as Mr. Moody advised, I went to
the pastor first, and asked him for work. He found me some-
thing to do among the aged. One of my old people cannot read,
and others are so old they cannot see. One poor old body is
bed-ridden. It is very pleasant work, but I always felt I was not
actually winning souls for Jesus, they being mostly Christians.
I have been asking God for some time to open up a way for me,
and now my prayer has been answered in a way I hardly ex-
pected. Our dear pastor has planned a young women's meeting,
which is to be held one night in the week from half-past eight till
half-past nine ; rather late, but that is the most convenient hour
for business girls, whom it is principally for. The plan is that
each worker is to give out not less than one dozen invitations ;
these are to be given in the streets, as the girls leave their differ-
ent business houses. There never has been anything of the kind
done in this part of the vineyard. The invitations are very neat,
and not like common circulars or bills. Outside there is printed
an invitation and a warm welcome for Wednesday next. Inside
there is a small address telling them how pleased we will be to see
them ; also, that if they are strangers from home in London, they
will meet many who can sympathize with them, being also far
from home. We had a large meeting of workers. I do not
doubt success. It has been made a great subject of prayer, and
God has promised that where two or three are agreed on one
subject he will grant their request. Will you pray for us ?
" ' Etc., etc. C W .' "
In this way the seed sown may yield bountiful harvests year
by year. Mr. Moody, in his first sermon at Philadelphia, said :
" Letters come in from all parts saying that the prayer-meetings
are four or five times larger than ever before ; the prayer-meet-
6o6 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
ing connected with one of the largest churches in New York, at
which before only a few people attended, has, during the last few
weeks, crowded the lecture-room ; all this shows that the spirit
of prayer is coming on the nation. God is ready to give us a
blessing. I never had such large prayer-meetings in any of the
cities in Great Britain as we had in Brooklyn. Some say this is
all sensational. If you can get three or four thousand people to
meet together and pray, not to hear some man, but to meet God,
and call on God, it shows God is in the movement. This is no
sensationalism or false excitement. If we can but stir up the
people to pray, the blessing is ours. I would rather know how
to pray like Daniel than to preach like Gabriel."
It was amazing to note how the subject of religion was handled
by the secular press, whose readers numbered millions ; and their
utterances deserve to be gathered and reperused and studied, for
their corroborative testimony to the importance and thoroughness
of the movement. They used language like this, which deserves
the consideration of professed Christians as well as worldly peo-
ple : " With all this we are quite well aware that there is a large
class of thin-brained, vacant-minded persons for whom life has
nothing serious except personal discomfort, and who are most
flippant over the' weightiest problems of existence ; and that
these stand ready upon the slightest pretext to make the whole
business a jest and turn it into ridicule. But however lightly
they may treat the matter, however much they may burlesque the
actors in it, and make of their zeal and devotion a mockery and
a jest, one thing is certain, that no man or set of men can make
a religious movement of the importance of this one ridiculous
unless it be the men themselves who are engaged in it. So long
as they are sincere and earnest and can forget themselves in the
greatness of their work, nothing can withstand them, and cer-
tainly nothing can detract from their dignity or belittle their
efforts. But the emotions lie close together. High religious
sentiment is of a brittle edge, and easily crumbles into silly sen-
timentality. Faith lies very close to superstition ; it is but a step
from trustfulness to blind credulity. There are well-marked
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 607.
metes and bounds which cannot be disregarded in the presenta-
tion of reHgious truths and the expression of religious sentiments
and emotions. Within these limits the advocate or exhorter is
invested with a grandeur of personal dignity which belongs to
the man who is saturated with his belief, and who, in utter un-
consciousness of self, is rapt in the contemplation of what he
conceives to be the absolute and awful truth. These limits
overstepped for an instant or by a word, and his power is gone.
Between pathos and bathos the difference is less than of a letter j
the step is that ' one ' from the sublime.
" It should not be forgotten by the leaders in this revival
movement that religion is by no means all emotional ; that it
rests on reason and common sense, which its ministers and mis-
sionaries must not affront by lack of logic, or shock by shallow
illustrations and weak appeals.
"The attitude and act of prayer are beyond all other things
in life invested with solemnity and clothed in mystery. It is the
supreme act of faith ; approached by the penitent with doubts and
questions and infinite wondering ; only slowly apprehended, and
so immeasurably vast in its meaning to the helpless soul strug-
gling upward on it, that man at his very best can only throw him-
self upon it in utter self-distrust and leave the rest to God. The
questioning men and women, longing to learn the truth and to
lead true lives, get no light nor comfort from any flippant illus-
trations of the power of prayer. They excite doubts instead of
removing them ; they confirm skepticism and awaken no convic-
tion ; they do not attract but repel the sincere seeker after truth.
The work in hand is of too great moment to be handled without
the profoundest care and the most thoughtful consideration of
every word spoken and every act done.
" It cannot be denied that a ' revival of religion,' as it is called,
adds largely to the merely moral strength of society and increases
the number of those who honestly mean to do right. Every
reader has known within his personal experience more than one
instance of a bad nature made better, of a degraded character
elevated, of an unwise life made true and rational, by the acqui-
,6o8 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
sition of religious motives. Hypocrisy, humbug, conceit, vanity,
fanaticism — these are words which fall easily from our tongues ;
but the fact remains that hundreds and thousands are really in
earnest. These accessions to the right-doing side of the popula-
tion cannot be otherwise than of good import. It is unfair to
weigh ordinary spiritual experience against that of larger natures
— of Fenelon or of Pascal, of Wesley or of Channing. The real
question is, Have we here a man who has resolved to walk
uprightly in this world for the rest of his days? If so, then
society gains a good man in the place of a bad one, or one who
might at any moment have become bad ; a good citizen instead
of a possible felon ; a faithful mechanic or tradesman instead of
a cheat ; an honest merchant instead of a fraudulent bankrupt •
a devoted instead of a neglectful parent; a good Samaritan
instead of a liver for self alone. These surely are acquisitions
which even the world need not despise.
" Apart from the more solemn profession of the religious con-
vert, is his promise that he will be honest and kindly; that he
will neither lie nor cheat nor steal ; that whatsoever of good his
hands may find to do, he will do it ; that he will refrain from the
vices which degrade and impoverish and kill ; that he will no
longer be selfish and ungenerous, and that his works shall prove
the vitality of his faith. There has been so much loose talk
lately about religion and churches and preachers, that we are in
danger of forgetting that all our lives we have been surrounded
by thousands of excellent men and women made gentlemen and
ladies by grace, full-hearted and full-handed helpers of the sick,
the needy, and the suffering, doers of the work whenever and
wherever opportunity has offered, lovely in their lives and cred-
ible because involuntary witnesses of the reality of their faith.
To the number of these a season of marked religious interest
unquestionably must make large additions ; for though the weak
may fall away, though the most vociferous may grow silent and
the warmest cold, there will always be a remnant of stronger
natures abiding to the end."
The chief purpose of Messrs. Moody and Sankey is the con-
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 609
version of souls to Christ. What sort of men and women they
expect their converts to become, their preaching and exhortations
abundantly proclaim. Let us now look in upon them, the first
Sunday in Philadelphia, Nov. 21st, 1875.
While the heavens wept over the departure of the evangelists
from naughty Brooklyn, the driving rain could not dampen the
enthusiasm of thousands who were anxious to attend the initial
services of the expected revival. From every part of the city
the worshippers came, and for almost an hour hurrying streams
of humanity converged to a focus at the old exhibition building.
The police arrangements, as indeed all the arrangements for the
accommodation of visitors and the maintenance of good order,
were perfect. By eight o'clock the grand auditorium was about
two-thirds full, while the stage was occupied by over eight hun-
dred persons, a large proportion of whom were ministers. Among
the more prominent clergymen present were Rev. Richard New-
ton, D.D., of the Episcopal Church ; Rev. R. M. Hatfield, D.D.,
of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; Rev. W. P. Breed, D.D.,
of the Presbyterian Church ; Rev. J. Wheaton Smith, D.D., of
the Baptist Church, the committee who have been training a class
of three hundred for services in the inquiry rooms. Also on the
stage were 500 singers selected from all the choirs in the city, and
thoroughly drilled in Mr. Sankey's songs by Prof. Fischer. In
the middle and close to the front of the platform sat the evange-
list, Dwight L. Moody, and the " sweet singer," Ira D. Sankey,
surrounded by the gentlemen who were mainly instrumental in
persuading the revivalists to come to Philadelphia. Messrs.
George H. Stuart and John Wanamaker, who have had almost
all the great work directly under their charge, were seated on the
right of Rev. Dr. Newton, who presided over the opening ser-
vices.
At precisely eight o'clock the doors of the vast auditorium
were closed, and the hymn,
" All hail the power of Jesus' name,"
was sung with fine effect by the choir. Dr. Newton then made a
6lO MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
fervent prayer for the success of the movement so well begun,
and asked for the blessing of the Holy Spirit on all workers in
the cause. The 24th hymn,
" Rejoice, and be glad !
The Redeemer has come !
Go look on His cradle,
His cross, and His tomb,"
was next given out, and hundreds of voices in the congregation
soon joined in to swell the harmonies of the great choir on the
stage. Then upon the little platform or pulpit in front ascended
the leading spirit of all this congregation of worshippers, Mr.
Dwight L. Moody. His appearance created a momentary stir of
sensation throughout the hall. Mr. Moody is a short and some-
what stout man, with a full, dark beard, rather small eyes, and an
active, energetic, but not nervous habit. His manner is alert
and prompt, but not graceful ; his voice is unmusical, and, indeed,
harsh ; his enunciation is very clear, but somewhat too rapid, yet
can be heard and understood in every part of the building. He
gesticulates but little, and his motions are evidently unstudied.
His style of speaking is entirely conversational, but, though he
seldom makes any attempt at rhetorical display, he possesses and
uses with marvellous effect a dramatic power which clothes the
most trite sayings with the thrilling beauty of fervid eloquence.
But, after all, the great secret of his power over a vast assembly
seems to lie less in what he says or his manner of saying it than
in his personal magnetism, which affects those who are too far off
to hear almost as strongly as those who crowd about his feet.
Before Mr. Moody spoke the first word he glanced quietly about
him for a moment, and almost instantly every whispered tone was
hushed, every breath bated, and throughout the congregation of
six or eight thousand persons not a sound disturbed the strange
stillness which seemed to have been produced by some mighty
strength of will possessed by the very unevangelical-looking gen-
tleman standing on the platform.
"Now," said Mr. Moody, after announcing his text, "what is
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. " 6ll,
the use of these special meetings? I have been asked this ques-
tion often. Are there not churches enough ? Are there not min-
isters enough, and services enough, and sermons enough? Yes,
if sermons could save sinners, there have been enough preached
to convert the whole of Christendom. We have only come to
help you. In time of harvest extra help is always needed, and,
my friends, the harvest is here now."
He closed an earnest sermon on work as follows :
" While at Brooklyn, one teacher worked night and day with
her class, and one evening told me with heartfelt joy that she had
twenty-seven young ladies in the inquiry-room. In less than two
weeks the whole twenty-seven experienced a change of heart.
Don't think because your children are little or young that they
can't share the blessings of this revival. Bring them here, and
we will save them. The power of Almighty God," added Mr.
Moody, suddenly elevating his voice, "is in this hall this morn-
ing. Do you doubt it ? " he asked, turning to the clergy upon the
stage. " No," " No," " No," was answered. " Some time ago,"
continued the speaker, " a lady where we were stopping remained
away from her Sunday-school, saying that there were only five
little boys in her class, and one day could make no difference.
Did you ever stop to think what there may be to save in five
little boys ? In one little tow-headed boy may sleep the Refor-
mation. In another may be a Wesley, a Whitefield, a Bunyan.
Little did Andrew know what he was doing when he brought
Peter to Christ. May each one of you hunt up some Simon
Peter and bring him to Christ ; find some persecuting Saul and
bring him to Christ. One lady in London, by tireless and prayer-
ful labor, succeeded, by the assistance of her husband, a wealthy
barrister of the metropolis, in converting one hundred and fifty
of their friends and acquaintances. In speaking of it with grate-
ful joy, she said, 'We did not work ; we just laid ourselves out
for Christ.' That's the way to do it. Don't count your strokes;
just lay yourselves out. God help you to lay yourselves out for
work. Go ye all into the vineyard ! Don't wait for the harvest,,
for— hark ! "
6l2 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
At this exclamation a thrill of indescribable anticipation seemed
to pass through the breathless assembly, and then, after a pause,
during which only the patter of the rain-drops on the roof could
be heard, the speaker concluded with :
** Hark ! the voice of Jesus crying,
Who will go and work to-day ? "
The tones of Mr. Moody's voice had hardly ceased before the
same words were repeated by Mr. Sankey's musical voice in a
beautiful hymn :
'* Harji ! the voice of Jesus crying,
Who will go and work to-day?
Fields are white and harvest waiting,
Who will bear the sheaves away?"
In the afternoon the throng was immense. For a considerable
time before the hour for the commencement of the services the
hall was crowded, and the number anxious and clamorous to
obtain admission was greater than that within. Thirteenth,
Juniper, and Market streets were filled with people, and all the
doors were guarded by an efficient police force, who kept the
multitude back.. Such a sight has not been witnessed for many
a day, and such a congregation, largely made up of earnest
Christian men and women, has never assembled in this city.
There were, according to estimates made by competent parties,
fully thirteen thousand persons present, and the calculation does
not seem to be at all out of the way when it is remembered that
there are over one thousand chairs in the audience-room, all of
which were occupied. The order throughout the services was
unexceptionable, and prior to their commencement there was a
stillness that is rarely observed. There was neither buzz nor
hum, no one seem.ed inclined to even whisper, and while doubt-
less many were drawn to the place out of curiosity, the larger
portion, by their demeanor, seemed to have but one object, that
of promoting the work of the great revivalists. The ladies and
gentlemen of the choir were promptly in their places ; and punc-
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
613
tual to time the evangelists, Messrs. IMoocly and Sankey, made
their appearance. The latter immediately took his seat at the
melodeon, while the first-named took position at the stand, and
never throughout the afternoon did he sit down, but kept his eye
Upon the audience the entire time. The services were opened
by Mr. George H. Stuart, who gave out a hymn, and after it had
been sung by the choir, Rev. J. Wheaton Smith, D. D., of the
Beth-Eden Baptist Church, stepped forward and led in prayer.
Mr. Sankey then gave out the 11 6th hymn, "Come, thou Fount
of every blessing." At the conclusion of the singing, Mr.
Sankey said : " We will now sing, ' Here I raise my Ebenezer.'
The audience will all join in the singing." The h3aTin was evi-
dently popular wuth the masses, for it was sung with a hearty
good-will. Mr. Moody then announced that he would read a
portion of the first chapter of Joshua, which was' subsequently
made the text of his discourse. Mr. Moody spoke about twenty
minutes. The two points of his remarks, upon which he en-
larged and elaborated, were moral courage and enthusiasm, both
of which, he held, were essential elements for success in the
religious w^ork. The address was stirring, earnest and eftective,
the speaker appearing to be anxious to reach the hearts of his
hearers, and in this he was eminently successful, as more than
one individual seemed to be touched by the powerful appeal
made to take up the cross and enlist under the banner of the
Saviour of mankind.
The hymns, " Hear ye the Battle Cry ? " " Forward the Call,"
and " Hold the Fort," were sung by Mr. Sankey, the choir join-
ing in the chorus. No such singing has been heard in any of the
churches, and the effect produced was all that the revivalists
could have wished.
The revival movement gives promise of complete success. It
is now the talk of all classes. On 'Change, in business circles,
in social gatherings, on the street-cars and the trains, and in the
greeting of friends in the street, the names of Moody and Sankey
are on every tongue. The evangelists and their work are liter-
ally the town talk. " Have you been to hear Moody? " " San-
6 14 MOODY AND SANKEY IN. AMERICA.
key's singing is better than a sermon ; " " Did you hear the
' Ninety and Nine ? ' " " Wasn't that hymn, ' Nothing but Leaves,'
impressive?" "Its Moody's earnestness that tells;" "What a
team they are ! " — these are a few of the thousand-and-one ex-
pressions you hear every day. There are plenty of sharp criti-
cisms on the methods of the revivalists, and doubts enough are
expressed as to the permanency of their work ; but no one
denies that they possess real power, unique in kind and degree,
and wonderfully effective in awakening a new interest in the old
doctrines of religion. A common complaint among the thought-
ful people is that Mr. Moody's sermons have no direct applica-
tion to the relations and duties of everyday life — that they do
not aim to make men less selfish and cold-hearted and more
charitable, genial, generous, and kind — that their sole purpose
is to induce people to accept a certain form of faith, and to
lead devoutly religious rather than moral lives. It should be
remembered by those who make this criticism, that the great
preacher is a firm believer in the immediate second coming of
Christ. He is looking for the end of the world and the appear-
ance of the Saviour every day and hour. No wonder, then, that
he does not think it worth while to talk about business and social
morality. He is perfectly consistent. Why should he try to tell
people how to live, when the important thing is to prepare them
for death and the last judgment ? Why trouble himself about the
affairs of the household, the street, and the mart, when he ex-
pects every moment to see the world rolled up like a scroll ?
With few exceptions the clergy of the city are taking a hearty
interest in the revival. Probably the Methodists are more active
in assisting it than the other sects ; but Presbyterians, Episco-
palians, Baptists, Lutherans, and, in short, ministers of all the
Protestant denominations, attend the meetings in the Depot
Church, and participate in the morning assemblies for prayer.
The general feeling among the clergy is one of gratified disap-
pointment at the character of Moody and Sankey's effort. They
had expected to hear something much more sensational — they
feared, indeed, that it would be objectionably sensational — and
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 615.
they are delighted to find that Mr. Moody preaches only the
soundest doctrine, and makes use of none of the theatrical
devices of oratory employed by many professional revivalists.
His earnest, direct, and humble appeals, his apt and familiar illus-
trations, and his way of preaching on a level with the hearts and
heads of his hearers, is like a new revelation of the possibilities
of pulpit oratory to many clergymen, whose well-turned periods
and fine theological points have proved powerless to stimulate
the faith of their congregations.
A Presbyterian minister, speaking to a friend after the meeting
was over last night, said : '' Moody's verbs don't always agree
with his nouns, but I imagine that Peter the fisherman didn't talk
very good grammar either. Moody's language, if not always
elegant, never fails to convey the exact idea that he wants it to.
Nobody can get a wrong or a doubtful meaning from it."
" I have been trying to get at the secret of his power," said a
Baptist, "and I think it lies, first, in his own profound convic-
tion, and second, in his constant repetition of the same idea, with
just variation enough to keep it monotonous. ' By tireless re-
iteration he wears the truth of the Gospel into the stoniest heart.
Faith in Christ is his simple and never-ending theme. Most
ministers scatter too much. They seek to interest people's heads
by a variety of topics. Mr. Moody hammers away at the heart
with sublime persistence."
Just after the prayer-meeting this morning a Methodist min-
ister, talking to a knot of brother clergymen, praised the revi-
valists warmly. " I declare it gives me new courage," he said,
" to see people flocking to hear the Gospel in crowds larger than
went to Barnum's Hippodrome last summer. Since the war it
has often seemed to me that faith was dying out in the hearts of
men. Any kind of a show or parade would draw a crowd, while
we talked about the soul's salvation and eternal life to half-filled
churches. I believe we are going to see a great awakening in
this country. Moody and Sankey are the Lord's instruments to
begin the work. We have had hundreds of better preachers
than Mr. Moody, but they made no impression on the masses.
.6 1 6 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
Why do thousands rush to hear him ? Because the Spirit of God
is moving the hearts of men, and he has been chosen to lead a
great movement for the salvation of souls."
It would seem that the hold obtained by the evangelists on
the unconverted masses is greater in Philadelphia than in Brook-
lyn. The attendance from this class is larger, and the impres-
sion produced in those who attend seems deep and influential.
Mr, Moody pronounced the gatherings of the second Sunday
more successful, in view of the attendance of the unconverted
so early in the series of meetings, than at any other place in this
country or in England. The week following showed an increase
rather than a diminution of interest, and the third week opens
more auspiciously than either which it follows.
The meetings of Sunday last were remarkably effective. The
day was cold and wet; just such a day as would ordinarily give
smallest attendance at religious meetings ; such a day as would
suggest to many a faint-hearted country superintendent the
thought that it was about time to close the Sunday-school for the
winter. But at eight o'clock on that dreary morning the Depot
Church showed a gathering of some six thousand Christian work-
ers ; enough it would seem to cheer the heart of any doubting
Elijah as to the faith and zeal of very many amid all the coldness
and unbelief in this great city. When, at the close of his ap-
peal to these workers to be " a peculiar people, zealous of good
works," in their service in God's vineyard, Mr. Moody asked
those who during the coming week would endeavor to lead at
least one soul to the Saviour to rise to their feet, nearly one-half
of all present rose in indication of this purpose.
At the Sunday-afternoon meeting for women, at least ten
thousand were present. As nearly five thousand tickets of ad-
mission had been given to women who expressed a desire to find
salvation, while many other tickets were distributed without ques-
tion, Mr. Moody thought there were more than seven thousand
unconverted persons in the audience ; certainly a hopeful gather-
ing at such a time and place. The appeal of the preacher was
most earnest. As he told of the love of the Saviour for the lost,
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 6t7
and of the full salvation offered freely to all, all hearts seemed
to throb as one in gratitude to such a Saviour for such a salva-
tion. When he asked those who desired an interest in this
salvation to rise and stand during his prayer, hundreds rose to
their feet, and afterward repaired to the inquiry-rooms for per-
sonal converse and counsel. It can hardly be doubted that that
evening hour was the birth-hour of many precious souls, then
brought by God's Spirit into the life of Christian love and trust.
At the evening meeting, which was for men, while the attendance
was not quite as large as in the afternoon, there was great se-
riousness, and many rose for prayers and remained at the inquiry-
meeting.
For one whole week Mr. Moody labored, not for the salvation
of sinners, but for the regeneration of professed Christians. At
every service hundreds of long-acknowledged church members
listened with bowed heads and tearful eyes to the fervent exhorta-
tions of the evangelist, who, casting aside all preconceived notions
of church work, and preaching only love to God and devotion to
the Saviour, brought to their awakening souls a vision of the bless-
ings of true holiness more beautiful than even in their most un-
selfish moods they had ever before conceived. He did not
preach, " Repent in order to avoid the wrath of an angry God,"
and thus wring an ephemeral obeisance from weak knees but
cold hearts ; he preached Christ crucified ; drew for his hearers
convincing illustrations of the perfect love of the Father, and
urged them, with tears in his eyes, not to kneel from a sense of
duty, but to cast themselves at the feet of the Saviour, and, with
a heart overflowing with love, there seek to learn how to win
others to the straight and narrow, but pleasant path of joy and
peace.
Rev. Dr. Breed said there was a wonderful power in self-con-
secration ; the ungodly man had at all times a traitor in the cita-
del of his wickedness — a conscience which would compel him to
yield when assaulted by a truly consecrated heart. He once
heard of a young man who had been notoriously bad, but had
suddenly been converted, and was moved by the Spirit to
.6 1 8 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
go and pray with every one in the village. He started, and
knocking at every door, was, in spite of his past reputation, ad-
mitted and permitted to pray. The man truly consecrated to
God could always have the entree into any house or by the Holy
Spirit into every heart.
Mr. Sankey said : "Will you please turn to the 90th hymn. In
that we will find a verse which should give us great comfort if we
do what that verse says. But before we begin, I wish to bear
testimony to the fact that we can do no good without a broken
and a contrite heart. Shortly after the Chicago fire, seven men,
finding that their labors were apparently fruitless, determined to
seek counsel of God, and assembled one afternoon in a gentle-
man's ofiice, and there humbled themselves before their Maker.
I saw these men lying on their faces on the floor, praying to be
emptied of self and filled with the Holy Spirit. These seven
men have since been greatly blessed and greatly honored by God
in their labors. Two are in the West, one in Europe, and two in
this city. Now let us sing."
Mr. Moody, at the conclusion of the singing, said : " Send
thanksgiving, but praise to God is better. What we want to do
to-night is to praise God for all his mercies, for all that we enjoy,
and for all the glorious promises of an immortality. There is a
great deal said at our meetings about prayer, but nothing about
praise. In the Bible there are more passages referring to praise
than to prayer. We want Christ, and if we are heard to praise
him, then will we be able to get to him. What we want to-day is
a praising Church. We can be praising God every day, even when
in sorrow. If we go through the world all the time with a long
face, we will drive men. away from Christ. There are so many
people always borrowing trouble and looking on the dark side of
the picture instead of praising God, that they are only in the way
of men coming to Jesus. A man once severely cut his hand, and
said, 'Praise God,' and," said Mr. Moody, "I thought that it was
a strange thing to praise God for. On asking the man why he
praised God, he said he did it because his hand was not cut off.
You can see, then, that in the midst of affliction one can praise
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. GlCf,
the Lord because it might have been worse. What we want is
more sunny Christian men, who always have happy countenances ;
they go far toward making rehgion attractive and drawing sinners
to a knowledge of their condition and the necessity of seeking
the Lord. If men praise God and are happy in the Church, the
fire will be caught by others and spread until the whole Church
becomes alive, and all are happy in the knowledge that Jesus is
their Master. If there are any who should be happy, it is those
who are sincere Christians, those who have come to Christ. The
first thing a young convert always does is to pray, and when, in
praising God, he sings,
" ' O happy day ! '
how happy he is ! If the ten thousand persons present could be
induced to take Christ as their only friend and sing praises to
him, there would be such a shout as to almost raise the roof.
We want to see the time when the streets are filled with people
filling the air with songs of praise to Zion. When that time comes
the people will be happy, because they have found Christ. When
we stray away from God, we don't want to pray ; but when we
return to God, then we want to sing his praises. What we want
to-day is a Church of workers, and when we have that we will
have a praising Church. When a man gets out of himself, be-
comes unselfish, and commences to work for others, he becomes
a happy man, because he is doing God's service. If you want to
praise God, go and do some work, lift up somebody, relieve the
sick and comfort the heart-broken. By so doing it will be the
best praise that we can give to God." The speaker said that
some years ago he met a man who told him that he was going to
take his family of five children to church with a smile. The man
said to him, whenever he passed a house on a certain street he
always looked at the windows where he saw children, and he
always smiled upon them. Said the speaker: "Kindness to
children is never forgotten ; it is the way to reach^their hearts and
gain their affection." The children became so fond of seeing
the man that they v/atched for him, and finally they said he was
620 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
SO good and kind, that he must be a minister. They resolved
one Sunday after he passed to follow him, and they did so ; when
they found that he entered a church, they also went in, and after
service returned home and said that they heard the best sermon
of their lives. They went again, and finally joined the church.
The man said that he got them in with a smile. A crabbed and
cross Christian never accomplishes any good ; they are stumbling-
blocks in the way of others, and prevent the building up of the
Christian Church. Oh that we may have live churches ! What
we want to do is to get rid of these dead churches, with their
cold forms and ceremonies, and have them filled with live, happy
people. The speaker continued in this strain for some time, and
urged his hearers to come to Christ and be happy. When they
did so they would continually praise Him for His goodness.
Mr. Moody then gave out the 25th hymn, which was sung by
the choir and the entire congregation, led by Mr. Sankey. The
people seemed to be deeply impressed with it, and such whole-
souled singing by more than eleven thousand persons has never
been heard before in this city. It is in these words :
We praise Thee, O God ! for the Son of Thy love,
For Jesus who died and is now gone above.
C/iorus— Halleluiah ! Thine the glory, Hallelujah !. Amen.
Hallelujah ! Thine the glory, revive us again.
We praise Thee, O God ! for Thy spirit of light,
Who has shown us our Saviour and scattered our night.
All glory and praise to the Lamb that was slain.
Who has borne all our sins and cleansed every stain.
All glory and praise to the God of all grace.
Who has bought us, and sought us, and guided our ways.
Revive us again : fill each heart with Thy love ;
May each soul be rekindled with fire from above.
Mr.. Sankey next rose from his cabinet organ, behind which he
had remained s«ated during the service, and said: "How many
prodigal sons may be restored to their homes to-day ! The re-
MOODY. AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 62 1
currence of Thanksgiving recalls to my mind a story told me by
a very dear friend in Europe of a prodigal son who was saved by
love. A wayward boy who could not be persuaded to do good,
whose steps were only evil continually, was finally, at the request
of his brothers, sent into the street. He went away, but on
Thanksgiving day poor John, homesick and heartsick, returned.
His father saw the poor wanderer at the door, and received him
back to his arms. Then his brothers again demanded that the
black sheep should again be cast out, but the father answered,
* No, no, my son John, I'll not cast thee out ; come, gather around
our board to-day.' This overwhelming love was too much. The
long-lost prodigal wept, the family knelt with him and prayed for
him, and to-day that boy is one of the hardest workers for Christ
to be found in all Europe. A father's love saved him ! Let us
remember that. Our friends may cast us off, but our Heavenly
Father will receive us if we only knock at the door. I will now
sing you the hymn ' Ninety and Nine.' " Mr. Sankey here took
his seat, and in a sweet voice sang with touching expression the
words :
*' There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold ;
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare,
Away from the tender Shepherd's care ;
Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine,
Are they not enough for Thee ?
But the Shepherd made answer, Tis of mine
Has wandered far away from me ;
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find my sheep."
Never^was our National Thanksgiving more perfectly symbol-
ized than in the scene which yesterday morning gladdened the
eyes of the Evangelists as they entered the old Exhibition build-
ing at Thirteenth and Market streets to begin their early prayer-
meeting. The seemingly limitless auditorium, decorated as it is
,62 2 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
in our national colors, with wide, beautiful expanses of pure white
between the relieving tints, was almost filled with eager worship-
pers, whose very glances beamed with praise and thanksgiving,
while, with many a benison and on silvery pinions, the light of
opening day, descending earthward, poured in a flood of welcome
through the glass-covered roof and rested on the picture like a
dove of peace.
Large as the building is and ample as the accommodations are,
last evening every seat was occupied, and around the walls men
were standing. Such a gathering of males in this city has never
before been seen, and it is a question whether in this country for
such a purpose there has ever been such an assemblage. The
order was perfect, not the slightest confusion or noise was obser-
vable, but all seemed deeply oppressed with the solemnity of the
occasion. The stillness was remarkable, and throughout the
entire evening a whisper, if made, might have been heard.
While doubtless many were drawn to the place by curiosity, it
was also true that many more were there with an honest purpose
and with honest convictions. It has happened more than once
that men who had no idea of conversion have been brought under
the influence of the great revivalists, and such most likely was
the case last night, when some two hundred sturdy men fearlessly
stood up in that mighty assemblage and acknowledged themselves
sinners, and as being desirous of leading better lives. The occasion
was one long to be remembered, and could not but make a deep
and lasting impression upon very many who stood back. The
preaching of Mr. Moody is irresistible in its effects ; so plainly is
the teaching of the Saviour made, and so convincing is his argu-
ment in behalf of the religion of Christ and the great necessity
of turning away from the paths of vice, that before a person is
aware of it, he is unconsciously forced to make a public confes-
sion of his sinfulness and his desire to lead the life of a Christian.
Greater interest could not have been manifested than was last
evening, and a more resiDectful hearing could not have been
accorded to any preacher.
" Go," said he ; '• go to some hovel where a drunkard reels to
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 623
every day. See the children run away and hide in terror when
the besotted father staggers up the hill; see the pale, haggard-
faced wife tremble ; she bears many a scar made by that strong
right arm on that defenceless body. Such a man may be here to-
day. He may repent at last and secure the Lord Jesus. Then,
in a little while, see what a change ! The little children will
climb on his knee and clasp their loving arms about his neck;
the wife will wear a happy smile, and instead of the drunken
song, you will hear :
" ' There is a fountain filled with blood.'
or perhaps he will remember a hymn his sainted mother taught
him, and on the evening air will come the words :
" * Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.'
"That is what I call regeneration. May the spirit of prayer
come on this assembly this afternoon. You may see many king-
doms, but except you be born again you will never see the King-
dom of God. You may travel through your own country, and in
California stand in awe before the great trees at which so many
have wondered, but except you be born again 3^ou can never see
the tree of life which stands in the paradise of God. You may
stand on the banks of many mighty rivers, but except you be
born again you never can see the river that bursts from the
Throne of God and runs through His Kingdom. You may look
with pleasure upon the jewelled crowns of the earth, but unless
you be born again you cannot see the Crown of Life. You may
meet with princes in this world, but except you be born again
you cannot meet the Prince of Peace. A few years ago I met
with a man who seemed happy and yet very, very lonesome.
* Have you no children ? ' I asked. ' Yes,' was the reply, ' I
have one — in heaven.' He then showed me the picture of a
beautiful child, about seven years of age, and said, ' I am glad
she is in heaven, for while she lived I worshipped her, and when
she was taken from me I almost cursed my Maker, for I was a
624 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
cursing man. And when. I was still in this terrible mood I
threw myself on the bed and at last I slept, and dreamed, I sup-
pose, though it may have been a vision. I thought I was travel-
ing along a desert waste, and at length came to a dark, fathomless
river. I thought I heard the voice of my darling calling,
" Father, come over ; its beautiful over here." Then I saw my
precious one amid a choir of heavenly beings, and she kept on
beckoning to me until I attempted to cross, but found I could
not ford the stream. While I was looking for some way to get
over, I heard a voice from heaven saying, " I am the Way, the
Truth, and the Life." I awoke a changed man, and now only
live to meet her in that heavenly sphere where death can never
again come. If my little one had lived I might have led her
astray, but she is safe now, and I believe that a kind Father will
let me follow her.' Oh ! how many of you," said Mr. Moody in
conclusion, " have little ones beckoning to you from the other
side of the river of death ? Have you children, husbands, wives,
brothers, sisters, godly fathers, or sainted mothers in the land to
come ? Only go to God, be born again, and meet them in the
Kingdom of God." At the conclusion of the sermon, Mr. Moody
called upon those who desired to be prayed for to stand up, and
fully two thousand rose to their feet, and stood with bowed heads
and glistening eyes v/hile the leader offered up a fervent suppli-
cation in their behalf.
Charles M. Morton, of Plymouth Bethel, Brooklyn, then made
a brief address, relating an incident of the recent meetings in
Brooklyn, the reclamation of a man whose home had been broken
up by intemperance. When the man had been converted he
came to the speaker one day and said, " I have got back my
home, my friends, my wife and my children, but something that
my little girl said last night made me cry. She ran up to me,
and, throwing her arms around me, said, ' Papa, you don't stag-
ger any more now.' " Now it is just so with Christians when
they get the Word of God in the heart; they don't stagger any
more.
Hon. S. Farwell, of Chicago, spoke of some special meetings
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 625
now being held in Central Illinois, and said the workers in his
State were listening for the ke3'-note from the City of Brotherly
Love, and were anxious for an interest in their prayers at one of
the meetings in Mason, Illinois, The first convert was the leader
of a company of actors who had been a few evenings before per-
forming in the same hall in which the meeting was held. He
was an intelligent, highly educated man, and is now preaching
the Gospel. He says : " I have served the devil for thirty years.
I am fifty-one years old now. All my time and talents shall
be upon the Lord," and one of the first things he told the
people after his conversion w^as this : '' I have been behind
the scenes. You don't know all that goes on there. Take my
advice, you church members who have been in the habit of going
to theatres, and don't go there again." That was pretty good
preaching for a first sermon. H'e now goes about the street read-
ing the New Testament, as he used to read Shakespeare, and he
tells Brother Dean that every day he finds new texts that he
never knew were in the Bible at all. That might be the case
with all of us, for the Spirit will bring all things to your remem-
brance whatsoever I have said unto you.
There was one point which ought to be mentioned in this con-
nection. It was a matter of experience with him that very often
what prevents persons who are anxious from finding peace is
some difficulty in their business. There is some little thing
which they are not prepared to give up. It was so with a young
man with whom he was speaking last night. He found that he
was engaged in the liquor business, and he told the 3-oung man
that unless he was prepared to give that up he would not have
peace.
Mr. Moody spoke on the prayers of Jesus, and said He was
the example, for He was praying all the night before He chose
the twelve Apostles ; and on every occasion where there was a
special communication to Him from His Father in heaven, it came
in answer to prayers. What we need is more of the praying
spirit, that all who come to these meetings may be reached by the
Spirit of God. Even those who are unable to get into the meet-
626 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
ings are sometimes in that way led to a spirit of reflection. A
man came to one of the services and found the door closed, and
the words of Scripture rushed upon his mind, " And the door
was shut." He said, "What if the door of Heaven should be
shut ? " and was led to serious consideration, which resulted in
his conversion. A lady in Brooklyn had been praying that her
son might attend the meetings. She had tried to persuade him,
but he had refused. On the last of the services there, the young
man thought he would go to the Tabernacle for the afternoon
meeting. He found the gates locked, the building being full.
He went into the overflow meeting, and heard Mr. Needham.
That afternoon he was converted, and his mother's prayers were
answered. There is nothing for which we may not pray. Jesus
prayed at the grave of Lazarus ; and we may bring our dead sons
and daughters to Christ that He may give them spiritual life.
Rev. Dr. Newton said he wanted to relate an incident which
had been revived in his memory by the observations of Mr.
Moody on prayer. Forty years ago, said he, I was a student
in a theological college in New York, and was brought into inti-
macy with a graduate of West Point Military Academy, whose
brother was a fellow-student of mine. The officer was a strictly
moral man of sterling integrity, but not a Christian. His
brother one day spoke to him, and asked if he would not be-
come a Christian. His reply was : " What more do you want
me to be than I am now .'' " and his manner was such that the
brother said no more, but determined to pray for his conversion
instead of arguing with him. The next winter the officer was
ordered out West for frontier service, and his wife, who was a
lady of high moral character and great attainments, was, in con-
sequence, temporarily separated from him, and went -to live at
Providence, Rhode Island. While she was there a great work of
grace was progressing in the parish. She was among those who
were brought to the feet of Jesus ; and after she was converted,
the minister, at whose house she was staying, asked if she would
not join the church. She said, " I can't until I have written to
my husband. I have never taken a step that we could not take
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
627
together since we were married. I can't put a barrier between
him and myself until I have written to him and told him of the
change in my life." She immediately wrote; but before her
letter reached him out on the frontier, he had written to her, and
their letters crossed. He said that for several davs he had a
strange feeling, such as he had never experienced before. He felt
that he v/as unworthy and a sinner, and that he needed pardon.
He had no Bible in his tent, and borrowed one from a comrade ;
then he read about the way of salvation, and found light. He
said in his letter that he had become a Christian ; so when her
letter reached him, the wife was in possession of the glad news
that both were following Jesus. Who can tell the joy there was
in that family? Although this occurred many years ago, and the
dear fellow to whom I refer is now in heaven, the impression it
made upon me will never be effaced, and I tell it to-day because
it may lead others to pray for the conversion of those friends who
do not now feel their need of Christ.
After silent prayer for a fev/ moments, during which it seemed
that every Christian heart was lifted to God in earnest supplica-
tion— for the most solemn stillness prevailed through the house —
the meeting closed with the Doxology and benediction.
MEETING FOR DRUNKARDS.
One of the most interesting meetings yet held by the evangel-
ists in this city was that set apart especially for the benefit of
drunkards who had been unable to conquer the demon of alco-
holic stimulus. The congregation was much larger than on the
preceding day, and, as would naturally be expected, very differ-
ent in many other respects. Several hundreds of Christian
workers, who have been regularly attending all the meetings,
remained away in order to leave as much room as possible to
those who. were directly affected by the curse of intemperance.
A glance over the audience showed a large number of temperance
advocates and missionaries, several clergymen, and a few regular
Christian workers. Almost all the other faces were new. There
were old fathers whose white hairs had almost been brought in
628 MOODY AND SAN KEY IN AMERICA.
sorrow to the grave by the wayward steps of loved and ahnost
lost sons ; aged mothers, whose doubly refined features had been
pinched by suffering, and once rosy, smiling lips blanched to
whiteness by long-continued effort to choke back the sobs which
will well up from hearts wrung by the anguish of seeing dear
ones sinking into ruin ; there were pale-faced, loving-eyed sisters,
vv'hose young lives had been nothing but woe instead of innocent,
hopeful joy, and whose bright smiles had long given place to
sighs over the downward course of some willful brother. Here
and there could be seen the bloated faces of blear-eyed drunk-
ards, who glanced wildly around as though the strangeness of the
situation was so overpowering that it required a great effort of
will to remain, and not a few were accompanied by mothers,
wives, sisters, or, perchance, sweethearts, who, having exhausted
worldly means, had determined to lay their burden before the
Lord. The great majority of all those gathered in the Depot-
Tabernacle yesterday afternoon were as sad-faced and tearful-
eyed a collection of humanity as it would be possible to assemble
in one place. Those who had not directly suffered by intem-
perance grev/ at once into sympathy with the hundreds about
them, whose heavy sighs told the stories of unutterable anguish,
and this influence increased until a cloud of terrible depression
seemed to hang over the entire congregation. Every class of
society was represented in thi^ throng united so closely by such
painful bonds. Close to the half-starved, long-abused, yet faith-
ful wife of some besotted brute was seated the child of fortune
and culture — child no more, but an old, old woman, whose only
son, still in his youth, had fallen almost to the lowest depths of
degradation. Near her was a man, every lineament of whose
features was some index of nobility of soul and rare talents, but
whose threadbare coat and sunken cheeks betrayed to all gazes
the lifelong victim of an unconquerable appetite. Jcist behind
this group was a young girl, whose face, sweet as an angel'-s, was
already furrowed by grief Beside her was a father, whom she
seemed to worship, and this father, broken down in health and
almost ruined in mind by the excessive use of liquor, seemed at
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 6291
last to have resigned himself to hopeless ruin. He gazed about
in a half-sleepy, half-childish way, and several times attempted to
get up and leave his seat, but the hand of the child-woman held
his very tightly, and each time he would conquer his restlessness
and sit down. By far the largest proportion of the congregation
were women, almost all of whom had evidently clutching at their
hearts the agonizing image of some past or present experience
with woe in its most terrible form. As the exercises proceeded
it was interesting to note the change which gradually came over
the scene. As Mr. Moody declared over and over again that the
God who had once cast out devils could do it now, and would do
it if only asked, and as fervent supplications for this Divine inter-
position were made, the cloud seemed to rise from all hearts, the
noonday sun poured in upon the picture like blessed rays of
hope; eyes long dimmed by tears beamed with a new light; lips
so long tightly pressed by anguish smiled with a new-found joy,
and dissipated faces lost their reckless look and became resolute
in the strength of noble determination. It is probable that more
than one slave was freed, and more than one heart made happy.
Rev. Dr. Neu'ton read the requests for prayer. He said that
as the day was set apart particularly for prayers for the intem-
jDerate only, only those which related to persons held by the
demon of drink would be read. Among the requests were twenty
for prayers for intemperate husbands ; ten for drunken fathers ;
tv/enty-five from sisters for dissipated brothers ; ten from widows
for intemperate sons ; one for a young man struggling to over-
come the demon of drink ; one from a sister for three brothers,
one of them a hard drinker; one from a mother in Scottsville
for an intemperate son ; from a friend for a young man in New-
castle, England ; from a friend for a young man who earnestly
desires to reform ; from a sister (long identified with Methodist
missions) for an intemperate brother; from a Christian for an
intemperate brother-in-law in Richmond, Va. ; from a mother,
whose only son was rapidly hastening to ruin ; from a wife whose
husband has almost beggared his family, and from friends for
the Woman's Temperance Society of Plymouth Church. There
630 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
were forty requests for prayers for tavern-keepers' souls, that they
might be turned from the road in which they were leading so
many of their fellows ; two requests for intemperate and ungodly
men ; one against the sale of liquor on the Centennial Grounds ;
one from a wife for a husband; one from a father whose son,
once a professor of religion, was now hurrying on to destruction ;
one from a mother who desired prayers for a drunken husband
and son ; one from a Christian lady whose intemperate husband
had come to believe that not even God could save him from him-
self; another from a sister for a dissipated brother ; another from
a mother for a son who is addicted to the use of intoxicating
drinks ; a doctor in Massachusetts desired prayers for himself —
he had long been striving in vain to overcome the habit, and now
asked for higher aid. Prayers were also requested for a brother
who was once a professed Christian, but who now made the hearts
of his friends heavy by yielding to temptation ; a mother re-
quested prayers for four children, one of whom was addicted to
the use of wine. Prayers were asked for God's blessing on the
Woman's Temperance Society and their " Home for Inebriate
Women ; " also, for the " Franklin Reformatory Home." A wife
and daughter requested prayer for a father in the liquor business.
Prayers were requested for four intemperate men, three of whom
were the sons of three deceased elders in 'one Presbyterian
church, and for three intemperate brothers, the sons of a minis-
ter.
Rev. Dr. J. Wheaton Smith also offered a fervent prayer for
the salvation of those who were unable to take even the first step
towards saving themselves. He asked for comfort for aged
hearts, for wives and daughters and sisters, so that they could
feel to-day the joy of thanksgiving, and asked special blessing on
those who were engaged in the^unhallowed traffic, that they should
be taught that all happiness on earth or in heaven would be lost
if they should continue in their present course.
The congregation then rose, and with heartfelt earnestness
translated into the harmonies of sound the words of the 3d
hymn :
MOODY AND SAN KEY IN AMERICA. 63 1
'* I need Thee every hour.
Most gracious Lord ;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford."
Mr. Sankey stopped the singing at the third verse and said :
"Now we should like to hear every one in tlie house who beheve
that they do need the Lord join in that chorus : "
" I need Thee, oh ! I need Thee,
E^very hour I need Thee ;
Oh ! bless me now, my Saviour,
I come to Thee."
Thus adjured, every voice seemed to combine with every other
to fill the grand auditorium with the musical reverberations of the
beautiful supplication, and the waves of harmony rolled mountain
high through the seemingly limitless structure.
The secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association, Mr.
Cree, spoke of the case of a drunkard who had come into his
office and asked special pra^-ers for strength to resist temptation.
Another case was mentioned of a poor man who came into the
inquirj^-room with a heart almost breaking, and said he wanted
the people to pray for him, but could not write a line, and was
consequently unable to send in a request without help. It was
also requested that prayer be offered for an unworthy son, who
had for years resisted every effort to bring him into the right way,
and also for his companion, with whom he had become united
within a few weeks. Rev. Dr. Hatfield, in referring to the course
of intemperance, said there was, humanly speaking, no hope for
a drunkard. Only in rare instances could the victim of alcoholic
stimulants be saved. But nothing was too hard for God to ac-
complish, and he wanted his hearers to try and have faith in what
seemed an utter impossibility. At one time the speaker could
not force himself to have full faith, but a number of instances
which had since been brought to his attention, had proved to
him how weak had been his confidence in God. One of these
instances was the case of a man who was so completely ruined
632 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
by drink that when at last he showed some sign of repentance
the speaker thought he must have some evil design. But the
man was prayed for again and again, and these prayers were an-
swered, for he has been a sober, industrious, respectable citizen for
the last eighteen years. "Father" Martin next offered a prayer
for the salvation of drunkards. Mr. Moody said he noticed an
aged man the evening before urging a young man to go into the
inquiry-room. Afterward, when he went into the room, he met
that father and the youth together and prayed with them. The
old man, with tears in his eyes, then said : " Mr. Moody, I hve
twenty miles out in the country, and came all the way here to-
night to thank you ; for this afternoon I received a letter from my
son, who has been attending these meetings, and is now con-
verted." " Is this young man also your son ? " asked the speaker.
" No," was the unexpected reply ; " he is a stranger to me.'*
" This," continued Mr. Moody, " was the most beautiful part of
it. The old man had come to thank us for assisting m his son's
conversion, and had seized the opportunity to urge some other
man's son to seek the Lord. Now we ought to lift our eyes above
all human belief, and remember that Christ has the power to help
every one who asks for his divine aid. But some say, ' It has
become a disease with me ; I can't help myself; my soul don't
need a physician ; it is my body that is sick.' But don't you
suppose Christ can heal the body? He has power over disease.
The Great Physician never fails. Some mothers say, ' My son is
dead to everytliing that is pure; dead to every-thing that's holy.'
You remember the child that was dead and Christ raised it up
v/hen asked to do it ? You will find him able to raise up any
child of the flesh, whether dead or not. Christ has power over
devils, over disease, and over death. In London I saw a great
many incurable hospitals. They did not need anything of the
kind when Christ was on earth. No case was incurable then.
Now let us pray that he will cure this disease of drunkenness.
" Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for such a Saviour as
Thou hast sent, and now we come to-day to ask that Thou wilt
rebuke the devils who have taken possession of fathers, and
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 6^^
brothers, and sons, and cast them out; make bare Thine arm to
save these drunkards ; bless these strangers who have come to
us to-day. They are strangers to us, but not strangers to Thee ;
Heavenly Father, help them, raise them, so that soon a band of
men who are now the slaves of strong drink may be working for
His glory. While the infidels are mocking and scoffing and saying,
' God cannot save drunkards,' O God ! make bare Thine arm and
show them Thy strength ; show them that God can save the
lowest drunkards, and it will be to Thy great glory. Amen."
The 56th hymn was then sung as follows :
" The great Physician now is near,
The sympathizing Jesus ;
He speaks the drooping heart to cheer,
Oh ! hear the voice of Jesus.
Chorus — Sweetest note in seraph song,
Sweetest name on mortal tongue,
Sweetest carol ever sung,
Jesus, blessed Jesus !"
Rev. Dr. Breed arose and said he had long felt the strongest
sympathy for those who were suffering from that particular evil,
and he knew there was not a minister living who did not feel in
the same way. In all such cases the man was still the same. It
was only the appetite which was unconquerable. All had heard
of the member of Congress, who, when asked to sign the pledge,
said, "Sign it, yes; and then I w^ould cut off my^-ight hand if
that would compel me to keep it." Don't think there was-no
hope. A lady of this city, who once had a drunken father, many
and many a time had gone out to look for him at night, and, find-
ing him in some saloon, would stand in the cold and snow until
he came out. The touch of her hand would turn him, and he
would follow her staggering to their home. One evening, while
the keen winds of winter swept down evtry street, and a freezing
sleet covered everything with a coat of ice, she attempted in the
same way to lead him home, but he staggered and fell on the
pavement. She bent over him, trying to revive him, and when he
-634 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
returned to consciousness her hair was frozen to his lips. She
succeeded in getting him home alive, and in less than one month
afterwards he comjDletely reformed. A converted rum-seller in
the audience then arose and said he was once a dealer in the
accursed stuff, but now thanked God that he would never again
touch the hell-distilled fluid or raise it to the lips of a brother. Rev.
Dr. Newton prayed earnestly that all who were struggling for sal-
vation might be saved by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and that
those who had sunk so low that they had no desire to rise might
be brought to see the terrible error of their ways and helped to
redeem themselves before it was too late. The congregation
then united in singing the 89th hymn :
" Yield not to temptation,
For yielding is sin ;
Each victory will help you
Some other to win.
Fight manfully onward,
Dark passions subdue,
Look ever to Jesus,
He'll carry you through.
Chorus — Ask the Saviour to help you,
Comfort, strengthen, and keep you ;
He is willing to aid you,
He will carry you through."
This hymn was sung with a will, all joining most heartily in
the chorus. It was then announced by Mr. Moody that another
meeting of the same character would be held next Friday noon,
and the meeting adjourned.
Mr. Sankey, with all his enthusiastic love of the Father, for
whose worship all hymns were written, never forgets that flesh is
very weak, and must be helped by all the means which can be
provided. He therefore usually selects hymns for the opening
praise with a light, joyous melody, which soon brings all hearts
into sympathy, so that, as the services proceed, the majestic
movement and grand harmonies of familiar long-metre hymns do
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 635
not roll ineffectively around souls still insensible from worldly
influence, but sweep in resistless waves of music along the ten-
derest chords of the human heart, lifting the soul far above the
burden of clay which weighs it to the earth.
' When a meeting is held specially for young men, it is alwa3^s
better that those for whom it is intended should take the most
prominent part in the exercises ; but every one who has had the
management of such gatherings will readily appreciate the diffi-
culty that is ahvays experienced in carrying this rule into practice.
What is needed to make young men's meetings full of interest and
productive of benefit is short addresses, prayers, and little crumbs
of experience incident to a young man's life ; and when twenty or
thirty participate within an hour, each contributing to the spiritu-
ality of the occasion, there never need be any fear of a dull meet-
ing. A v/ord of encouragement from an old Christian, who has a
young heart, is always welcome and beneficial ; but when the
aged brethren monopolize three-fourths of the time, as is some-
times the case, with long, prosy, and wearisome sermonizing, all
the soul of the meeting is effectually stamped out, and the time
is, of course, then wasted.
Throughout the series of deeply interesting gatherings of 3^oung
men, held in the North Reformed Church, Brooklyn, under the
excellent superintendence of Charles M. Morton, this difficulty
was not unfrequently encountered ; and the same evil began to
show itself in the meetings held here nightly.
A happy suggestion was, however, made and acted upon.
Mr. Moody announced on Sunday that the following evening a
fathers' meeting would be commenced at Dr. McCook's church,
Penn Square; "and henceforth," said he, "nobody over forty
years of age will be admitted to the young men's meeting. I put
the limit at forty, because that will just allow me to go there when
I want." The fathers' meeting was accordingly held on Monday
night, and last evening it developed into a parents' meeting, both
fathers and mothers being invited to attend for prayer and con-
versation in regard to the conversion of their children. Mr. John
Field has been chosen as the leader ; and it seems likely that
6^6 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA,
this new feature will speedily become one of the most important
auxiliaries of the revival work. The leader last evening delivered
a brief but very impressive address, relating an incident con-
,nected with his own personal history which touched every heart;
then the meeting was opened for prayer and short testimonies,
many petitions being offered for unconverted parents and children
out of the ark of safety.
Said Mr. Moody: "I was never more shocked than on one
occasion when a father said to his son, after he had returned
from a meeting of this kind where he had given his heart : ' My
son, I always hoped that you would become established in busi-
ness before you gave attention to matters of religion ; ' but I don't
believe one father out of ten millions would say such a thing as
that. It is better to go up to heaven from the poor-house than to
go down to hell in a gilded chariot. What is there to be gained
by losing your soul and thinking only all the time of riches ? " The
speaker said that he would rather lose his eyes ten thousand
times over than to lose his soul. He then narrated an incident
of a little child who had been run over and killed, and the news
was taken to the fither by the superintendent of a Sunday-school
in Chicago, and when the superintendent told the father he arose
like a wild man and rushed to the mother, and she cried out to
be taken to see the child ; but the good man told her that the
child's body was so mangled that it could not be recognized by
her. The superintendent said to Mr. Moody that he would rather
do anything again than to bear such news to a family and witness
such a sight. The speaker said that it would be better to lose
everything than lose your own souls. The little child went to
heaven ; it would be far worse to have borne the news that their
little child's soul had been lost. Let the news go up to heaven to-
night, " Saved." Strive to enter heaven by the straight way. A
man has but to will to do a thing, and it will be done. God has
done all he can for you. He has sent his only Son to save you,
and if you will to be saved you will find comfort, peace, and hap-
piness. It is for you to decide to-night whether you will serve
the Lord or will take the side of Satan. Since the fall of
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 637
Adam, Satan has been an usurper; he has no right to this
world. The Son of man has come to seek and save ; he is here
now to seek and save. Are you willing to be saved now ? No
matter how dark and deep your sins may be. He can pardon
your sins if you will only come to him. Christ comes to you to-
night to carry you over the dark river, if you will only let him.
Sinners, won't you come to Jesus to-night ?
Meeting for Women.
The afternoon service, which was exclusively for women, may
be said to have commenced the actual work of the revival. The
meeting was one never to be forgotten by any who were present.
At two o'clock the doors were thrown open, and the crowds be-
gan to pour in until before half-past three all available space was
crowded. More than eleven thousand women gathered at this
religious service, the ushers and reporters being the only men
allowed on the main floor. By far the larger portion of the occu-
pants of the platform were ladies representing the upper and
middle classes, while here and there could be seen poverty-
stricken needle-women who in their battle for life had been unable
to find time to think of the life to come. Fully three hundred
members of the combination choir were in their seats, and on the
stage were many prominent clergymen. Said the evangelist:
" You have seen the murderer before the court of justice. If he
had a mother she was there with him. She was not ashamed of
him, but would say, ' Guilty or not guilty, he is my boy, and I
love him.' How such a mother clings to her son's side every
moment possible ! How she watches every witness who comes
to testify against her own ! How she weeps and prays with him
in his narrow cell, and when at last the verdict comes in 'guilty,'
the loving heart-strings break at last, and the mother is carried
fainting, almost dead, from the room. But her boy still lives for
a few hours, and she comes back. She follows him to the scaf-
fold, and suffers a thousand deaths while he is suffering one."
A*" this point the loud sobbing of a woman in the audience be-
638 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
came so painful that for a moment the speaker could not proceed.
Recovering himself, he said : " Such is a mother's love, and yet
your Heavenly Father loves you more dearly, more devotedly
than a mother ever can." All who desired to be prayed for were
tlien requested to rise, and at least three thousand persons
stood up.
Inquiry-Meetings.
Mr. Moody then arose and said : " I want to say a few words
to you to-day about the inquiry-rooms. Many persons talk about
them as though they were something new, and ask what is the
object of such places ^ We have been much hindered in our
work by people who, night after night, come as spectators, as
though we were all on exhibition. I think it is very strange that
any Christian should not understand the object of inquiry-meet-
ings, for they are not an innovation. Look at the third chapter
of Luke and at the ninth verse : 'And now also the axe is laid at
the root of the trees ; every tree therefore which bringeth not
forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. And the
people asked Him, saying, What shall we do then ? ' Then there
was an inquiry-meeting at once. The people became anxious
about the salvation of their souls, and wanted to know what they
should do to be saved. ' He ansv/ereth and saith unto them. He
that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none;
and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.' That was an in-
quiry-meeting. All the people wanted was a little advice, and
that was given them. ' Then came also publicans to be baptized,
and said unto Him, Master, what shall we do ? And He
said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.'
That was another inquiry-meeting. ' And the soldiers likewise
demanded of Him, saying, And what shall we do? And He said
unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely ;
and be content with your wages.' You see all classes of hearers
were asking, 'What shall we do?' They were given special an-
swers for special cases, and that constituted an inquiry-meeting.
Even John could not preach so plainly but that his hearers
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 639
wanted more expounding. The object of inquiry-meetings is to
answer those who have special questions to ask. Many persons
may be affected by a good sermon or touched by a fervent
prayer, but each one may have pecuhar difficulties to overcome,
and unless these can be presented to some Christian who, having
been through the same trials, can advise how to get rid of them,
even the most anxious souls may go away discouraged, and, v.'hat
is worse, remain away. In the thirteenth chapter of Matthew we
read, ' Now Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the
house ; and His disciples came unto Him, saying, Declare unto
us the parable of the tares of the field. There was another in-
quiry-meeting at once. Even the faithful disciples of Jesus had
questions to ask as soon as opportunity offered. In the fifty-first
verse we find that the Master himself opened an inquiry-meeting,
for it says : ' Jesus saith unto them. Have ye understood all
these things ? They say unto Him, Yea, Lord.' There, you see,
He was encouraging them to make inquiry. This is the only
way the Truth can be preached and be made effective. We must
get right in among the people and answer the numberless ques-
tions which confuse groping minds if we wish to bring souls to
Christ. If there were more inquiry-rooms there would be more
effective preaching. In the eighteenth chapter of Matthew we
read • 'Then came Peter unto Him and said. Lord, how oft shall
my brother sin against me and I forgive him? till seven times?'
This was an inquiry-meeting started by Peter, and it is a very
good thing that Peter went to the Lord with that question, for
otherwise we never would have had this blessed answer : ' Jesus
saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times ; but,
Until seventy times seven.' Christ always encouraged His fol-
lowers to come to Him, and He was always ready to answer
their inquiries. The preaching that does bring inquirers is just
the kind the devil does not want.
"Another inquiry-meeting is told of in the 19th chapter of
Matthew: 'And behold, one came and said unto Him, Good
Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?'
In the 24th chapter of Matthew, still another inquiry-meeting is
640 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
spoken of: 'And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, the dis-
ciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us when shall these
things be ? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the
end of the world?' These all show how they used to have in-
quiry-meetings in the da3^s of Christ. In the 2d chapter of the
Acts we read : ' Now when they heard this, they were pricked
in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles,
Men and brethren, what shall we do ? Then Peter said unto
them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost.' In the 8th chapter of the Acts we hear
of an inquiry-meeting that did not take place after a sermon or
in church, but way off in the desert. Philip found a poor eunuch
out in the desert and quieted his anxious spirit by telling him it
was only necessary to believe in order to be saved. The eunuch
was baptized, and went on his way rejoicing. The Bible is full
of accounts of inquiry-meetings. While Paul w^as at Rome there
was at all times anxious persons hastening to his house and in-
quiring, ' What shall we do to be saved ? ' They did not go
there to kiss Paul's great toe, but to find the w\ay of life. Some
people say you should not speak to persons after they have been
listening to a good sermon, for you may disturb the seed already
sown. Don't you know it's the devil who is most apt to disturb
the seed ? We should not only sow it, but harrow it down.
All the workers in the inquiry-rooms should carry their Bibles and
have them ready for just such cases. When the inquirer is seek-
ing for light, you need not talk to him; hold up just the right
passage from the Scripture and let him read it. The third class
are those who are not convicted of sin. I met a man last even-
ing who acknowledged that he had not been in a place of worship
for eight years, but still he was very anxious to have me under-
stand that he was not a bad man, though he did admit that now
and then, when he became angr}-, he would swear. Now I knew
the only way to do in his case was to get the law on him. So I
turned to the 3d chapter of Romans and read to him: 'And it
is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.' Then I turned
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 64I
to Isaiah and showed him that the thoughts of the Lord could not
be his. The only way to convict a man is to bring the law of
God to bear on his conscience, and then when he fully feels his
wickedness teach him to lift up his heart in prayer to God. There
is generally in the inquirer either the spirit of the Pharisee or
the spirit of the Publican. God be thanked for the spirit of the
Publican. Don't give comfort to the Pharisee, or to the uncon-
victed. Show them plainly their wickedness. But when they are
convicted and feel that nothing ever can wash away their sins,
turn to the ist chapter of Isaiah and show them the iSth verse :
* Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord ; though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ; though
they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.' What more
comfort could be asked than this? Scarlet and crimson are two
fast colors, yet the Lord can make them Vv'hite."
The inevitable question, asked and answered so often. What is
the secret of the power of these men ? recurs to each new com-
munity where their influence is directly exerted. The frequent
motive behind the inquiry is personal desire to enjoy and employ
this secret in the service of Jesus. This becomes every honest
worker, and justifies the attempt to unveil the hiding of their in-
fluence, for the information and inspiration of those who would
fill the earth with redeemed souls. And, again, in the midst of
our gathered threads, M^e insert the answers to this problem, that
they may be woven into the beautiful robe of their wonderful
career.
There are two points here to be considered : i. The occasion
met these men, and, 2. They proved equal to it. If the capabil-
ity had not been in them, they would have dropped into obscurity
like hosts of others. But it is no less true that for lack of occa-
sion great powers often lie concealed, not only from the world,
but even from him whose they are. In Chicago, hundreds, even
thousands, gladly heard Mr. Moody, and he there proved his
efficiency in every department of the work he undertook. Had
he not, it is by no means probable that a larger opportunity
would have opened to him. When the enlarged opportunity was
642 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
given, he showed a breadth of comprehension, a depth of insight,
a control over large masses, and a mastery of the myriad details
of a great undertaking, such as his work in Chicago never would
have called for. There is another consideration. Mr. Moody's
powers have had development; his capabilities have not only
been educed, but they have been improved by exercise.
Mr. Moody talks as if he knew just what he wanted to say, and
was determined to say it. In this he is an example to Sunday-
school teachers.
Mr. Moody's Christian experience was of a most positive
kind ; and a vivid realization of the appalling fact that on every
hand men were perishing eternally moved him to the work which
has now grown to such great proportions. In awakening the
consciences of the unconverted and stimulating the activities of
Christians, he possesses a rare power that none can fail to recog-
nize. Herein lies his greatness. No one will claim for Mr.
Moody the richness of language, the resistless pathos and humor,
the wonderful mimicry and dramatic power that characterize the,
great temperance orator. But Mr. Gough does not more thor-
oughly hold an audience than Mr. Moody. We have heard the
latter when every eye and every ear in his vast audience were
riveted upon him — the place, the man, all else in. the universe
forgotten, while his homely sentences and pointed illustrations
issued forth hot and glowing, radiant with quaint touches of im-
agination, and varied- by occasional sallies of quiet humor, the
whole saturated with sincerity and marked by the simplicity of a
child-like faith. This was oratory of the truest sort. There are
many men who talk as effectively as Mr. Moody /^r a little while,
or occasionally. They can get the sympathy of an audience
when they chance to be in the vein ; but it is a very different
thing to be 7naster of an audience. Mr. Moody is always that ;
at his best superlatively so.
A minister who went to hear Mr. Moody preach was surprised
that there was so little of plan or of argument in his discourse,
that it was made up so largely of declaration and appeal, and he
wondered how such preaching could prove so impressive. In-
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 643
deed, he was sure that a sermon of that kind was not likely to
convince an unbeliever; it seemed, in fact, only addressed to
those who admitted the truth of the great facts which the preacher
emphasized. The minister was pleased with Mr. Moody as a
man. He admired his earnestness and his desire to win souls to
the Saviour ; but he could not think his sermon as a sermon
amounted to much. Something else than such preaching, he was
confident, gave Mr. Moody the ears of the multitude.
Yet, just here, that minister made a great mistake. It would
liave been a blessed thing for him and for sinners about him if he
had recognized, in what he counted the lack of Mr. Mood}^, one
of the sources of Mr. Moody's special power as a preacher.
That minister thinks it always his duty to argue with unbelievers.
He is a little in doubt himself on most points, and he sees that
others are. He opens discussion with them in every sermon,
and at the sermon's close neither he nor they are quite convinced.
He does not rest down on the Word of God with such positive-
ness that he has no thought of its being in question. Hence he
never proclaims, declares, preaches the truth in confidence. He
is called a good sermonizer, but his sermons neither convince
unbelievers nor arouse the careless to seek salvation ; nor yet do
they reassure distrustful Christians. If he would but believe with
Mr. Moody's confidence, and declare the gospel with Mr. Moody's
positiveness, he would have more of Mr. Moody's success in
bringing his hearers to a sense of their danger, and to an accept-
ance of the full salvation to which he points them.
Two men were riding in a street-car together. One was a
skilled infidel and controversialist. The other was a simple-
hearted Christian layman. The infidel sought to provoke an
argument as to the Bible and its truths. The believer's response
was: "I cannot argue the case with you. I am not competent to
that. But this I do know. With all my heart I trust the Lord
Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I only wish you had the joy in him
which I have." The infidel's unexpected answer came promptly:
" There you have got me. I can't answer that." The assurance
which enables a child of God to testify for Christ and his salva-
644 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
tion is more effective than the most carefully constructed argu-
ments for the reasonableness of God's plan of redemption.
The one unmistakable cause of the great interest attending
these two brethren is the conviction that God is with them.
Among the natural agencies which he is using through them are :
(i) An irrepressible ardor of personal conviction ;
(2) The simplicity, quickness, and brightness of the speak-
(3) The speaker's utter forgetfulness of himself; no parading
of his own sanctity, or humility ; of his own goodness or bad-
ness, or of himself in any way.
(4) An unaffected, loving regard for his fellow-men ; a real
and affectionate interest in them ; and a hearty, genial way of
showing it.
(5) The entire naturalness of manner wins and holds attention.
There is none of that straining after effect which is so apparent
and so odious in some professional " revivalists ; " no solemn
farce, no cant, no sentimentalism. He appears to be among
evangelists what Walter Scott was among writers — a sturdy,
wholesome, manly man.
Mr. Moody owes none of his success to fiery enthusiasm, sensa-
tional exhortings, or clever advertising, as many devotees, not to
religion but to special church organizations, so confidently as-
serted. He owes it all to simple earnestness, unerring judg-
ment, and that never-failing conservator of human effort — method.
Most of his brothers of the cloth, knowing that their con-
gregations are comiDosed of representatives of many classes and
conditions of life, and honestly desiring to preach and pray as
much for one as another, forget that homoeopathic principles can-
not be extended to include the soul diseases which the Great
Physician came to cure, and thus continue to dilute the current
of their endeavor by attempting to preach on all sins and to all.
sinners at the same time, until such infinitesimal portions are dis-
pensed to those who need special aid that their work is, after all,
but love's labor lost. Mr. Moody, from the very start, has been
as systematic in his work as an astronomer laboring to master
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA. 645
the secrets of some newly-discovered planet. He is not content
with simply giving his life to the cause of religion, trusting to
some higher power to carry home the arrows shot at random, but
so husbands his strength, so concentrates his energies, and so
persistently directs his efforts to the special work of the moment,
that every word is made to tell, and each succeeding sentence
carries more and more conviction to the hearts which it is in-
tended to influence. It will be remembered that, contrary to
all precedent, the evangelist commenced his work of regenera-
tion, not with the unconverted, but with professed Christians.
Ignoring the sins of sinners, he preached only of the sins of saints.
For one whole week this unexpected but perhaps not unneces-
sary prelude to the regular programme was continued, and dur-
ing that time it is possible that not a few really earnest and de-
voted lovers of their Master discovered that in the crowning
grace of charity they were sadly lacking, for Christian bounty
should be as boundless as the sea and Christian love as deep.
During the past week Mr. Moody has worked exclusively for
those who, while not doubting the truth of Revelation, have failed
to follow its teachings or come into full sympathy with its consol-
ing spirit. These divided from the Christian workers, the pro-
fessed infidels and unbelievers in the plan of the Atonement,
were again subdivided by Mr. Moody's system of teaching into
as many different classes as their varied needs seemed to require.
For each special services vv^ere held, at which special arguments
and appeals were employed to reach their particular cases.
There were meetings for men, meetings for women, meetings for
mothers, for fathers, for young men, for parents, and last, but
not least in importance, for drunkards. At each one of these
assemblages the services, from the opening prayer to the bene-
diction, were conducted exclusively and most heartily for the
spiritual benefit of the class which had responded to the call.
Curious as it may appear, the great evangelist seems instinct-
ively to have adopted in his spiritual warfare with Satan precisely
the same tactics which, originated by the first Napoleon, was the
secret of his numberless and marvellous victories. Napoleon
646 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
never made a direct movement until he had so divided the bat-
talions of the enemy that by a coup d'etat he could concentrate
his whole force on one subdivision, thereby gaining a certain vic-
tory without material loss, and thus continuing until the enemy
was reduced to fragments and routed. The evangelist, in his
crusade against evil, follows exactly the same plan. Instead of
imitating the Church and firing indiscriminate and ineffective
rounds into the well-trained ranks of the enemy, he persuades
the sinners to divide themselves into clearly-defined classes, and
then concentrates his whole force on the separated fragments,
wdth, as a result, an amazing number of unconditional surrenders.
But, besides Mr. Moody's earnestness and attention to system,
there is back of all an overpowering strength of will, made pecu-
liarly effective by a large amount of animal magnetism. These
qualities combined would raise any man of ordinary intelligence
above his fellows ; but when this power is controlled by intense
religious feeling, it not only raises the leader above his fellow^s,
but his fellows above themselves. Who shall describe the evan-
gelist's preaching? He is not oratorical or rhetorical or even
logical. His brightest ideas are not aesthetic, and his most
effective appeals are ndt pathetic. Still, he has the faculty of
selecting out the very arguments or illustrations which w^ill most
affect the particular heart he desires to touch, and of presenting
those arguments or illustrations in such a gleaming light of plau-
sibility as to throw into a shadow every opposite thought which
chance may evolve. When speaking to parents, he invariably
tells of the beautiful children who stand beckoning to their loved
papa and mamma from the summerland ; when talking to sons
and daughters, he adjures them by their white-haired father or
sainted mother to hasten onw^ard to the jDlace of pure delight
where all who love may be again united. He appeals to hus-
bands to reform for the sake of their loving waves and innocent
children, and to wives to come to the Father for the sake of their
wayward husbands and helpless babes. There may be art in
such methods of making truth patent, but with Mr. Moody it
has the effect of the perfection of art — artlessness.
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 647
The Harvest Gathered.
The third week of the evangelists' labors among the uncon-
verted in Philadelphia, drew to a close on Saturday, Dec. nth.
At the end of a fortnight their special work, that of arousing
members of churches to activity and individual effort, was prob-
ably as far advanced as in Brooklyn when the evangelists had
ended their month's labors ; but, then, it must be remembered
that the City of Brotherly Love had caught inspiration from the
glorious and successful meetings in Brooklyn, which will always
be remembered as initiatory of a revival that promises to be
widespread, if not national, in its influence and extent. There
were some difficulties to be overcome when the work was begun
in Brooklyn, which did not present themselves in Philadelphia.
When the evangelists came here on the 21st of November, it was
no longer a matter of doubt that in their own land, as well as in
the British Isles, great crowds would be attracted to listen to Mr.
Moody's earnest talks and Mr. Sankey's sweet gospel sermons in
song. -Something of the methods by which the multitudes were
to be reached and brought under religious influences had begun
to be appreciated ; the efficiency and important mission of the
inquiry-meeting were recognized, if not generally, at least in
part : and so the special work in the City of Churches, while it
has brought forth lasting fruit in the conversion of many souls,
and might have been still more effective had it been of longer
duration, was also influential here in Philadelphia, and in many
cities and towns, through the medium of the press, as sounding
the preliminary bugle-notes which called the Lord's hosts to
battle.
There have been held during the last three weeks thirty-eight
meetings addressed by Mr. Moody, nine of them being specially
for Christian workers, fourteen for the general public (these had
an average attendance of eight thousand), and fifteen daily
prayer-meetings, at which the gatherings have been on the
648 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
average about three thousand. If the congregation had been
composed of new faces at every service, more than two hundred
thousand of the citizens of Philadelphia would have been reached,
but most probably half of each audience has been made up of
substantially the sam.e people. Of the remaining one hundred
thousand, however, there is every reason to believe that a large
proportion were of just the class sought to be reached in these
special services— namely, those who are strangers to religion.
Many who have not been attending any place of worship for a
length of time, have come into the depot church and heard
the Gospel faithfully preached. Thus it will be seen a widespread
influence is being exerted throughout the families of this great
city by these special meetings beyond that which could have
been brought about through the regular services at the various
churches.
A great work has been done amongst the young men. Meet-
ings are conducted each evening by Mr, John Wannamaker in
the Broad and Arch M. E. Church, at which the average attend-
ance has been little short of five hundred. Here many conver-
sions have taken place ; young men have learned to talk to young
men, and with loving entreaty and kind sympathy lead them to
Christ. Mr. Moody spoke to those v,'ho gathered at this meeting,
and incited them to band themselves together for a canvass of
the city, that they might bring many strangers to the meetings
and make their influence felt in all parts of Philadelphia. Not
only was this v;ork recommended, but hints were thrown out that
a still more important mission might be given to the young men
of this city. Philadelphia, he said, was a great centre, and there
are hundreds of towns and villages in all the surrounding country
where special meetings might be held and become productive of
most wonderful results. " A thousand young men are wanted,"
he said, "to devote themselves to Christ's service."
Excursion trains are running almost every night, bringing in
hundreds to the meetings. Thus the village churches and coun-
try ministers will be aroused, quickened, and encouraged, and a
spirit of energy and Christian zeal very widely infused.
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA.
649
Women's meetings are being held every afternoon in Dr.
McCook's church ; but with one or two exceptions, these gather-
ings, although attended by four or five hundred persons, have
not been as profitable or enlivening as they might be made. One
defect has been that the singing is not sufiiciently hearty or con-
gregational— not more than one out of twenty of the sisters seem
to take any part in the service of song. There is also a tendency
to long speeches ; and altogether greater heartiness needs to be
infused into the meetings in order to make them as useful as such
services are designed to be.
Judging from Mr. Moody's own words, the results have been
more than satisfactory — they have been surprising. More con-
verts are believed by the evangelists to have been made during
the past week than in any other week ever spent in America.
The inquiry-rooms, so often explained and so ably defended by
Mr. Moody, have been full almost every evening, and a large pro-
portion of those converted have at once become workers for the
salvation of others. There were on Sunday three regular ser-
vices ; the first in the morning for Christians, the second at four
o'clock for women, and the third in the evening for men. At the
early morning service the evangelists were greeted with a congre-
gation of over 6,000 Christian workers, supported by an excellent
voiced and well-drilled volunteer choir of 500 members. This
choir has been so perfectly trained, under the direction of Mr.
Fischer, that it has become one of the best organizations of its
kind ever drawn together in the city. The services opened with
the nth hymn,
I have a Saviour, He's pleading in glory,
A dear, loving Saviour, though earth friends be few ;
And now He's watching in tenderness o'er me,
And oh ! that my Saviour were your Saviour toj,
which was sung by the whole congregation with much spirit and
rare grace of expression for a body of 6,000 or 7,000 singers,
most of whom were strangers to each other. The words, "■ For
650 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
you I am praying," were repeated in the softest of echoes. The
87th hymn,
Lord, I hear of showers of blessing
Thou art scattering full and free —
Showers the thirsty land refreshing ;
Let some droppings fall on me.
Chorus — Even me, even me.
Let Thy blessing fall on me,
was next sung by the choir, led by Mr. Sankey, whose sweet
voice rang out pure and clear above the multitudinous harmonies,
like the notes of a silver flute amid the fortissimo tones of a pow-
erful orchestra. Wm. B. Dodge, of New York, then made a
prayer, asking that in the spirit of the hymn just sung all might
move forward through the day, and that the Lord might grant to
each and all a Sabbath day's blessing. He prayed that all might
be quickened in their efforts for the advancement of His glory,
and that clearer views of the beauty of salvation, as well as of
the pains of eternal death, might be given. He prayed that His
servant, Mr. Moody, should be strengthened and be able to speak
like a dying man to dying men. The 79th hymn,
Sowing the seed by the daylight fair.
Sowing the seed by the noonday glare,
Sowing the seed by the fading light,
Sowing the seed in the solemn night,
Oh ! what shall the harvest be ?
was next announced. This, whether regarded from a Scriptural,
poetical, or musical standpoint, is one of the most beautiful hymns
in the collection; and it has become such a favorite that nearly
all singers have learned it, and now as the familiar notes of the
chorus are touched by Mr. Sankey, the sweet melody, rich har-
mony, and rather intricate movement are perfectly followed by
thousands of voices. The last verse, " Sowing the seed with an
aching heart," was sung with affecting expression by Mr. San-
key, and as the echoes of the solo died away the choir could be
' THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 65 1
heard repeating the chorus in whispers of melody. Mr. Moody
then arose and read a part of the twelfth chapter of Romans.
After which the 170th hymn,
Hark ! the voice of Jesus crying,
" Who will go and work to-day ? "
was sung by Mr. Sankey to the beautiful tune of " Your Mission,"
which became such a favorite with the martyred President Lin-
coln,
The theme and spirit of the two compositions are very similar,
the latter being religious, while the original, though far from
irreligious, was still better adapted to secular than purely devo-
tional occasions. Mr. Moody made a fervent prayer, thanking
the Father for the success of the past three weeks, and asking
for blessings on the week to come. He prayed that all the
workers in the harvest-field might be strengthened and filled
with zeal for the work. The congregation, with Mr. Sankey,
sang with inspiring earnestness the iioth hymn to the familiar
tune of Antioch. As the stanzas were concluded, Mr. Moody
arose and preached an eloquent sermon from the text, " Occupy
till I come." Luke xix. 13. He said the Church had been
divided by some one into four very familiar classes. First, there
were the destroyers, who found their way into almost every con-
gregation and proved destructive to prosperity, as well as peace
and harmony. Then there were the obstructors, who continually
opposed every movement, whether for good or ill. Next came
the idlers, and finally the workers. " Now, which of these four
classes do you belong to ? " continued Mr. Moody. " I shall
judge no man ; take your places as you please ; but if you have
faith in Christ you must desire and occupy till he comes. The
Church seems to have gone into camp and become demoralized.
Some of its members have gone in simply to sleep and rest. I
heard of one man who left one church where he had been a hard
worker and wanted to enter another, but said he did not want to
do any work. ' Oh ! ' said the minister, ' you have made a mis-
take 5 you should apply to my neighbor, who is pastor of the
652 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
Church of the Heavenly Rest.' I think very many more churches
could appropriately be named the Heavenly Rest. Some people
think because they can do but little their efforts are of no use.
When Moses told Pharaoh that his God could remove the plague
of the frogs, Pharaoh said, ' Oh ! I don't think much of your
God if he is the God of such an insignificant little thing as a
frog.' 'Yes,' replied Moses, 'but there are a great many of
them.' Let us remember that we may be little, but if there are
only a great many of us we can do a great work. We must
remember that each one of us has talent peculiar to himself I
can't sing like Mr. Sankey, or carry on business like Mr. Stuart ;
I am not an organizer like Mr. Wannamaker, yet if I use my half
a talent as such a man as Rev. Dr. Dodge uses his ten, I will
receive the same reward." Mr. Moody here spoke of a number
of interesting instances of men using for the Lord such talents
as he had given them, referring particularly to a Quaker in
London, who, being unable to talk, sing, or otherwise labor, had
expended his fortune in printing and circulating tracts. " This
man," said Mr. Moody, " has already sent out more tracts than
all the American and the London publication societies combined,
and he is now in daily receipt of piles of letters from people who
have been converted all over the world."
The speaker also told of a gentleman of fortune in England
who had spent the past nine years in searching through the slums
of London and educating the gamins whom he rescued. Referring
to the responsibility which all Sunday-school teachers assumed,
he told of a little girl who was converted by her teacher (who
probably afterwards forgot all about the child) ; that child grew
up, became the mother of ten sons, all of whom were led into
"paths of peace," and six of whom became ministers of the
Gospel. Mr. Moody continued at some length exhorting those
who had already received the Saviour to do all in their power
to save others. At the conclusion of this sermon, those who
were willing to try to save even one soul during the week were
called upon to stand up, and fully two-thirds of those present
rose to their feet. The persons who desired to become Christians
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 653
were next requested to rise and one-half of the remainder stood
up.
The women's meeting in the afternoon was thronged with wor-
shippers, every available space being occupied and thousands
being compelled to turn sadly away from closed doors. Mr.
Moody opened the meeting by announcing the 37th hymn —
Tell me the old, old story.
This was sung by the ten thousand voices with an effect hardly
to be described. Wave upon wave of the richest harmony swept
in great billows of musical sound from one end of the mighty
structure to the other and finally seemed to die away among the
sunbeams which rested gently upon the windowed roof. The
last verse was so inspiringly rendered that at Mr. Moody's request
the lines were repeated. After a few moments spent in silent
prayer Bishop Simpson offered up a supplication imploring the
Father to send on every one of the vast assembly the blessings
of His grace, that all might feel that Christ had made them
whole. He thanked the Lord for the wonderful effusion of His
Spirit which had accompanied the labors of His servants, and
prayed that they might see the multitude turning from worldly
ways to paths of holiness and peace. A new hymn,
Let us gather up the sunbeams
Lying all around our path,
was next sung as a solo by Mr. Sankey, the choir joining in the
chorus :
Then scatter seeds of kindness,
Then scatter seeds of kindness.
Then scatter seeds of kindness,
For our reaping by and by.
Mr. Moody then read from the 12th chapter of St. Matthew
the parable of the ten virgins, and as he concluded Mr, Sankey
exquisitely sang the new hymn, "The wise and foolish virgins."
The latter part of this hymn is an adaptation of Balfe's "Too
654 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
Late," and was rendered by Mr. Sankey with rare beauty of
expression.
Mr. Moody next read a few verses in the 14th chapter of the
Gospel according to St. Luke, in which the parable of the mar-
riage supper is written. "I wish,'* said Mr. Moody, "to call
your attention to the words, ' I pray thee, have me excused.'
Though 1,800 years have rolled away, we find people still with
one consent praying to be excused. It was not a pestilential
hospital to which they were called, but to the marriage-supper.
To-day the King of kings sends an invitation to every human
being to be at the marriage-supper, and yet how many want to
be excused. Suppose the Lord should take you all at your word
and then lay the hand of death upon you? What a wail would
go up from this city of Philadelphia ! Suppose He should cease
trying to compel you to come in, and just quietly shut the door
upon you, have you ever tried to think of the anguish which such
a change would bring ? If all who wanted to be excused should
be taken awa}^, the grass would soon be growing in the streets of
Philadelphia. There would be a good many shops shut up, there
would be no saloon-keepers left, and I would have a very small
audience here to-morrow night. Now, look at the excuses which
these three men gave : the first said he had bought some land,
and must needs go and see it. Now, when men buy land they go
and see it before buying it, and even then would not start off" at
supper-time. The answer bears on its face the fact that it was a
downright lie. The excuse was manufactured. The second man
had a more absurd excuse than the first. He said, ' I have bought
a yoke of oxen and must needs go and prove them.' That excuse
was manufactured also. Men don't buy oxen and then prove
them; they prove them first and buy them afterwards. More
than that, the morning not the evening is the time to prove oxen.
That excuse shows in itself that it's a lie. Then the third man
could not come to the supper because he had married a wife.
Why, if he had a wife, this fine banquet was just the place she
would most like to attend. That excuse also was manufactured.
Just notice how miserable all these excuses are. Now, I want to
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 655
ask this audience just one question, Have you got a better one ?
Can any one get up here and say, ' Mr. Moody, I have a good
excuse ' .'' I never saw any one in my life who had a better ex-
cuse, and few have as good ones, yet even these, poor "as they
are, are manufactured. Look at some of the excuses we hear in
the inquiry-rooms. Some say, 'Oh! it's so hard to serve the
Master.' This is a mistake, Christ is an easy Master. ' The
way of the transgressor is hard.^ I stand here as a witness
that my God and my Saviour is not a hard Master. , Another
excuse is that the inquirer don't understand the Bible. Now, I
don't beHeve that excuse will stand the light of eternity. I never
met skeptical people that have read the Bible from back to back,
and I know there is no book more misjudged. People will sel-
dom judge of a new book until they have read it, but they wil-
lingly judge God's book before looking into it. More than that,
the Bible was not made to understand. Don't give up th^ good
old Bible until you can get a better book. You won't want to
stand up before God and say : ' Lord, I was not saved because I
did not understand the Bible.' Others excuse themselves on the
plea that there are so many hypocrites in the Church and they
don't like such company. Now, I admit that there have always
been hypocrites in the Church, but is that a good excuse 1 If
every man on the face of the earth is a black-hearted hypocrite,
is that any reason why you should be ? But if you don't like
hypocrites you had better go to Christ, for not one of them shall
sit down at the marriage-supper of the Lamb. Stay away, and
you'll go with the hypocrites through eternity. Again, I fancy
that there is one in the audience who says, 'I am so vile that
Christ won't receive me.' I know there is not one of you who
can show me a place in the Bible where it says any one is so
wicked that forgiveness is impossible. There is not a mother in
the congregation who would not forgive a wayward child, and
there is not a sinner in this assembly who cannot obtain forgive-
ness of the Heavenly Father." Mr. Moody concluded with a
touching incident in his own experience, relating in affecting
tones the simple story of a brother lost for years and years, but
656 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
at last found and clasped in a forgiving mother's arms. All who
desired to be prayed for were then requested to rise, and about
3,000 stood up, and afterwards, while the congregation united in
singing the 91st hymn, "There is a fountain filled with blood,"
passed into the inquiry-rooms. These rooms soon became filled,
and the overflow were provided with seats in the large hall on
the northwest corner of the building, where Mr. Moody himself
prayed and talked with those who had been affected by the ser-
vices.
The Depot-Tabernacle was crowded to repletion at the services
held in the evening, and the most encouraging part of it was that
the 11,000 persons assembled were all men. It has frequently
been asserted that while Mr. Moody's touching prayers and
simple addresses, combined with Mr. Sankey's singing, might
easily attract large audiences of ladies, it would be impossible to
fill- the structure with representatives of the masculine gender.
It has been proved by Mr. Moody, beyond doubt, that the con-
sciences of men can be easily reached by honest, earnest endeavor,
and manly argument, when showy but soulless phrases would
hardly penetrate beyond the ear.
Jesus, lover of my soul,
was sung by the united tones of at least ten thousand male voices,
led by the clear sopranos of the choir, with an effect as grandly
beautiful as surprising. Rev. Dr. McCook then offered up an
opening prayer, beseeching the Father to hear the supplications
of his servants as they asked for mercy and forgiveness. He
prayed that His Holy Spirit might descend and fill the great
multitude as in the days of Pentecost, so that all could be won
in sweet and holy subjection to Jesus Christ. He asked for faith
to lay the petition from all before the Lord in the name of Jesus ;
and blessings were particularly asked for those who were seeking
Jesus. At the conclusion of the prayer Mr. Sankey took his seat
at the organ, and with marvellous power of expression, sung the
6th hymn :
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 657
There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold.
Mr. Moody then called attention to the 14th chapter of Luke,
beginning at the i6th verse. After the parable of the marriage-
supper had been read Mr. Sankey sang the 8ist hymn :
The Lamb's bright hall of song,
With its fair glory,
Beckons thee on.
Ref. — Room, room, still room,
Enter now.
Day is declining and the sun is low.
The shadows lengthen,
Light makes haste to go.
The refrain was sung by the choir in the softest of musical
whispers, having the effect of the distant melody of heavenly
choristers. Mr. Moody then arose and repeated the sermon of
the afternoon, on the subject of the "Supper of the Lamb."
While the leader spoke of the three excuses, and showed how
absurd they all were, the attention of the vast audience became
more and more intense, until, as he began to exhort his hearers to
come to Christ, to forget self and seek the forgiveness of a loving
Master, the vast sea of faces, as if by some irresistible fascination,
turned fixedly towards the speaker, and every glance became
fastened on the lips from which Christ crucified was preached.
Then, as he concluded and called upon those who desired prayers
to stand up, several hundred strong men arose, and trembling
with emotion, waited with bowed heads while Mr. Sankey exqui-
sitely sang the 38th hymn :
Come home, come home.
You are weary at heart ;
For the way has been dark,
And so lonely and wild,
O prodigal child !
Come home, oh ! come home !
658 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
As the echoes of the song of invitation died away Mr. Moody
lifted up his hands in prayer, saying: " Our Heavenly Father, we
thank Thee for this invitation to be at the marriage-supper, and
we pray that we all may accept it. As these who stand up pray
to God, ' Be merciful to me, a sinner,' may Thy Holy Spirit search
them out. May these young men have courage given them, and
let them not be ashamed of the Word of God. If there is a
prodigal child here, oh ! help the wanderer in his efforts to return."
At the conclusion of the prayer over 1,000 men accepted the
invitation to go into the inquiry-rooms, and as the throng were
pressing forward the vast assemblage sang the 86th hymn :
Rock of Ages, cleft for me.
This hymn was repeated, and with each stanza hundreds more
arose and joined the throngs pouring into the rooms where the
Christian workers waited to receive and comfort them.
Never was the Gospel Truth presented to erring man with
greater force, and at no time since the inauguration of the meet-
ings have such great results been seen. Hundreds flocked to the
inquiry-rooms, all anxious to know more of the love, mercy, and
tenderness of the Saviour, and very many more left for their
homes for the first time giving any heed to the warning words of
Him who came upon earth to call men to repentance, and who
died that sinners might be saved.
At the Monday morning roll-call Mr. Moody said that, as
usual on Monday, the early meeting would be devoted to reports
of progress from all sources. He began by reading an affecting
letter from a convert, who was spoken to only a week before. In
the note the writer said he had not been in church ten times in
as many years. But when he listened to the sermon his heart
broke, and returning home, after being spoken to by Mr. Moody,
he wept for his sins, and, finally, surrendered unconditionally to
Jesus. A man in the audience next arose, and told of two
brothers who started out one Saturday morning, became intoxi-
cated, and continued in that state until Sunday afternoon, when
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA.
659
their mother requested prayers for her wayward boys. Both
afterwards went separately and accidentally to the revival meet-
ings, and, to the surprise of both, they met each other in the
evening converted men. Mr. Cree spoke of a young man who,
after many struggles, rose for prayers, and was finally converted.
Rev. Mr. Culver spoke of the work at the Grace Mission, where
fifty persons went into the inquiry-room, and thirty declared they
had found peace. Many more cases had^been noted in the con-
gregation. A clergyman in the press-box said that at a previous
service he spoke to a man who happened to be seated at his side.
The man acknowledged that he had come to scoff. He went to
the inquiry-room and was converted. Mr. Sankey referred to
three men who had spent the whole of the morning meeting scoff-
ing at the services, but who, upon being spoken to in a kindly
manner, were easily led into the inquiry-room and soon afterwards
led to the foot of the Cross. A number of clergymen gave the
most encouraging accounts of the progress and effect of the
revival in their churches. Several young converts present related
their experiences in their journey from darkness to light.
A young man m the back part of the audience arose, and in a
trembling voice thanked the congregation for prayers and work
which had helped to bring him, broken-hearted and repentant,
to the foot of the Cross.
Rev. Dr. Newton next called attention to the total absorption
of the woman, in the chapter just read, to the will of God. She
had a submission and a sublimity of confidence which all Chris-
tians should endeavor to emulate. When she was asked if 'all
was well, she answered, though she knew the child was lying
cold and lifeless on his bed, " It is well." " Let us, too, remem-
ber," continued the speaker, "that even if our prayers should
not be answered, even if our dearest joys should be stricken
fi-om our lives, we should be able to say ' It is well.' The great
principle of this movement should be entire submission to God
and unfaltering confidence in his love."
Mr. Geo. H. Stuart next arose and related an affecting inci-
dent of a man who came into the inquiry-room on the previous
66o MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
night, and after long years of infidelity at last was able to return
to the wife, who had been so long praying for him, a Christian
man.
Mr. Sankey also spoke of two cases for which he desired
special prayers : One was a man who came to him night before
last and said he was one of eleven children, and all had become
Christians but himself He said he had once come to the meet-
ing in hopes of finding Jesus, but could not. He came again on
Sunday, "And then," continued the man, "when I heard Mr.
Moody tell of that little child beckoning from the other side of
the dark river I thought my heart would break, for I had lost my
only child only three weeks before. Oh ! cannot you help me ? "
" I prayed with him there on the street where we met," added
Mr. Sankey, " and he went home with a changed heart." Another
case mentioned was that of a young girl who was converted on
the previous evening and afterwards informed Mr. Sankey that
she was the niece of an eminent clergyman in Belfast, Ireland,
with whom the speaker had long been acquainted. " I told her
to write to him at once," said the speaker, " and to tell the uncle
who had so often prayed for her while he has. been carrying on
the good work that his loved one had found Jesus clear across
the sea."
Love to Christ will enable us to make sacrifices for him with-
out feeling it to be a hardship. In illustration of this, Mr.
Moody related a touching story of the wife of an Indian mis-
sionary giving up her children to the care of Christian friends in
this country so as to go back to the mission field where her own
and her husband's labors had been before greatly blessed, and
saying, just before she parted from them, "I want to say good-
bye without a tear, for I would not like my children to think that
it cost me tears to serve Christ." Then besides working from
love, let us also put ourselves in sympathy with the people we
want to influence for good. A man who had just come out of
the penitentiary and had no friends, was won and his hard heart
broken by just the kiss of my little girl. Let us put ourselves in
the place of those who are in trouble and distress ; get in sympathy
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 66 1
with them ; then tne Lord will bless our efforts. We must have a
heart to weep with those who weep. I heard a beautiful story told
by Mr. Mingins, in New York. He said a lady came into the
office of the City Mission and wanted a few tracts. She didn't
feel as if she could do very much of active work for the Lord,
but felt like giving away a few tracts. One day she saw a police-
man taking a poor drunken woman to jail, a miserable object,
ragged, dirty, with hair disordered, but the lady's heart went out
in sympathy toward her. She found the woman after she came
out of jail, and just went and folded her arms around her, and
kissed her. The woman exclaimed, " My God, what did you do
that for ? " and she replied, " I don't know, but I think Jesus
sent me to do it." The woman said, "Oh, don't kiss me any
more, you'll break my heart. Why, nobody hasn't kissed me
since my mother died." But that kiss brought the woman to the
feet of the Saviour, and for the last three years she has been
living a godly, Christian life, won to God by a kiss.
There were those who were affected to tears, so pathetic and
yet so strikingly truthful were the words of the revivalist. All
who heard him could not but have been convinced that the
speaker was in earnest, and that he felt that the obligation that
rested upon him was so great that unless he presented the truth
in a manner not to be mistaken or misunderstood he would be
coming short of his duty. The meeting was beyond question the
most effective yet held, and showed the great power possessed
by the evangelist. The singing of Mr. Sankey was in keeping
with the preaching by his co-laborer, and very many were visibly
affected by it. A spirit that can scarcely be understood and may
be ascribed to the Most High seemed to pervade the place.
At a meeting presided over by Mr. Wannamaker, he said:
"These are golden days for Philadelphia. But a little while and
we were all under a shadow. The traveller who has been to Inter-
lachen will remember a feeling coming over him as of some impend-
ing shadow of gloom. It was in some such shadow that we were
iuntil now, like a mantle covering us come these days of bright-
jiess. To-night let this vast congregation join in the solemn
662 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
prayer, he continued, to the Lord for the great and glorious work
that is now progressing amongst us." The hymn,
Rejoice and be glad ! The Redeemer has come,
Go look on His cross and His tomb,
was sung in such a beautiful and touching manner that an old
gentleman sprang up at its conclusion from his seat in the plat-
form and exclaimed : " I have frequently heard it said that Jesus
loved a musical heart more than a musical voice. If that is so I
can tell you that here we have learnt how both can be united ? "
The old gentleman's remark appeared to intensify the quiet feel-
ing felt by every one present as the musical sounds in waves of
melody rolled along the peaked roof of the immense structure.
Mr. Wannamaker at this moment requested the choir to sing
I am so glad that our Father in Heaven.
" I want to utter a word of thanksgiving," said Mr. Sankey, " for
having been permitted to witness in this dear land this glorious
spectacle. Often in the British islands have Mr. Moody and I
wondered, and hoped and prayed that we might be able to spread
the old story amongst you all. When your chairman came to us
in England and told us that a wave of prayer was going through
this city, we were encouraged. We now praise the Lord in our
hearts that we have come, and that our efforts have been benefi-
cial in their results.
A gentleman arose and said that although he had attended
every communion in his church for the last thirty-two years, he
never knew what it was to carry Christ in his heart until two
weeks ago. A city missionary, who has been holding meetings
along the wharves, said that within the last week he had been
more than ever successful. Degraded men and women had
fallen on their faces before the Throne and cried for mercy, and
every day the good fruits of the present revival were becoming
more and more manifest, even among the outcasts who would
never enter a church or any building where Christian . people
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 663
would be willing to congregate. Mr. Wannamaker acknowledged
that in all his experience he had never seen so encouraging a
revival among the young men. Every service had been crowded,
and there never had been sufficient time to accommodate all who
desired to speak or pray. " This depot," continued the speaker,
" may be from this day forth the starting-point of many trains to
heaven. Only keep on praying, and before spring comes to us
again five thousand young men will welcome it as Christians."
Said a gentleman : " Among the most conspicuous persons at
the Rink in Brooklyn was a man of over fifty years, by profession
a reporter, apparently of the sensational sort. Entering into
conversation with him the second evening, we found him partly
intoxicated, ribald, sneering, and professing infidel principles.
Inquiring further concerning him, we found that he had been
several times in the city jail, for misdemeanors committed while
under the influence of liquor, although originally a man of culture
and polish.
" Time passed, and at one Friday evening meeting the same
man, conspicuous by his commanding figure, sat in a back seat
at the Simpson Church. I accosted him once more, and this
was the answer :
" ' I am waiting to thank Mr. Moody, who under God has been
the greatest blessing of life to me. I have given up my engage-
ment, the temptations of which are such as no Christian can face.
And 1 am a Christian, a new creature — not reformed, you can't
reform a drunkard ; I tried that a hundred times — but regen-
erated, born again by the grace and power of God. I have
reported sermons many a time, simply to ridicule them, but never
had the least idea what true religion meant till I heard Mr.
Moody's address on "Love and Sympathy" ten days ago, and I
would not have believed there could be so much sweetness in a
lifetime as had been condensed into those ten days. My chil-
dren know the change ; my wife knows it ; I have set up the
family altar, and the appetite for liquor has been so utterly taken
away, that I only loathe what I used to love.' "
The most interesting part of the meeting was the story told by
664 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
Mrs. Keen, of the way in which she was led, when 19 years of
age, to give herself entirely to God ; of how many times she felt
that she must give up everything to God before she could work
for him, and how at a ladies' meeting she was afraid to rise and
say that she would give up her will to God because the ladies
would say she was such a young giddy girl. It would be all gone
to-morrow, " and," said Mrs. Keen, " they did say so. But I felt
from that hour a different being. That it was all between God
and myself, and it mattered not if I was thought singular, so long
as I had this sweet feeling of rest and peace in my own soul.
The thought came. Can I give my will to Him ? but I said, Lord,
I take Thy will to be mine, so mine must be Thine."
At the close of the morning service an inquiry-meeting was
opened in Rev. Dr. McCook's church, and was continued all the
afternoon. The attendance at this meeting was very large and
the converts many.
Mr. Moody arose and said : " I will open the meeting with a
very few remarks about the inquiry-room. We have a great deal
of trouble with people coming into the inquiry-room on outside
business. One man pressed past the ushers yesterday and wanted
to shake hands with me just because I was born in New England ;
another wanted to see me because I once lived in Chicago ; others
want to present requests for friends ; others want to talk on all
sorts of subjects, and because I cannot attend to them think I
am very rude. Now I don't want that impression to get abroad,
and therefore ask all who desire to talk with me on purely per-
sonal or general subjects, to try and find some other time for
seeing me." The leader next read from the 5th chapter of Ro-
mans, beginning at the 7th verse. Continuing, he said in all
cases where persons had been blessed in the Bible they were
asked to go home and tell their friends, and when they did this,
either then or now, many more souls were at once led to Christ.
He hoped that all young converts would confess Christ before
the world, and thus be the means of leading hundreds and thou-
sands of souls to the Saviour.
" After a man is a Christian I would work him day and night.
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 665
I believe that for one man killed by over-work in the cause of
Christ ten thousand die from laziness."
Mr. Moody, at the conclusion of his address, read a letter
which he had just received from Manchester, in which a lady
stated that all on behalf of whom she had requested prayer
during the services in that city had been converted, except one,
her brother, who had left his wife and family after bringing dis-
grace upon the family, and whose misconduct was breaking his
father's heart. " This is really a story of grace," said Mr. Moody ;
" for this lady says in her letter : ' If he would but come home
there will be no reproach. Nothing but love.' Perhaps this
man may have wandered in here this afternoon, or he may be in
this country. Let us pray that he may be brought back, and that
his family may rejoice over the return of the wanderer.
After preaching his famous discourses on Heaven, Mr. Moody
turned the tide of men's thoughts very sharply, and preached on
" Hell," taking as his text two words from the parable of Dives
and Lazarus, " Son, remember." "I can well imagine," said he,
"that if you had known what I was to preach about to-night
many would have staid away ; but I cannot afford to have it said
that I held services in Philadelphia for four weeks and never
once spoke about hell. ' Son, remember.' These are the words
of the Lord himself. If any one of you has a servant, and you
send him with a message, if he keeps back a part of your mes-
sage because he thinks it too harsh you would dismiss that ser-
vant at once. I must deliver the message that the Lord has
given me as I find it; and if you have any quarrel about these
words it must be with God and not with me. The thought that
we take memory with us into the other world is very solemn.
We talk about forgetting things, but the fact is we never forget.
Twice I have been very near to death ; and all my past life came
rushing back upon me ; everything that I had done crowded
upon my memory. My whole life came up before me, tramp,
tramp, tramp. When God says, ' Son, remember,' all the past
will be recalled. We talk about God's book of record ; but we
will need no one to tell us what we have done, for He makes
666 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
every man keep his record. Talk about God condemning us ;
why, we shall condemn ourselves ; we won't want any one to
condemn us. Memory will come up against us, and there will be
no need of any witnesses to prove our guilt.
"A man who had charge of a swing-bridge opened it just to
oblige a friend who said there was plenty of time for his boat to
pass through before the train of cars came along. But a moment
after the lightning express came thundering on and dashed into the
dark waters below. The bridge-keeper, whose neglect had caused
the disaster, lost his reason, and his life since has been spent in
a mad-house. The first and only words he uttered when the
train leaped into the open chasm were : ' If I only had ! ' and he
has gone constantly repeating the vain regret. That will be the
cry in the lost world, ' If I only had ! ' That is the cry of men
who were living in Philadelphia a year ago. Ask the man in
prison what it is that makes his life so wearisome, and he will
tell you, ' Memory, memory.' And in the prison-house of hell
it is memory that makes the place so awful — to think what they
might have been if they had but accepted Christ when He was
offered to them. A young man met the deacon of a church one
Sabbath morning and asked him the terrible question: 'How
far is it to Hell?' 'Young man,' was the reply, 'don't mock
such a serious reality, you may be nearer to hell than you think.'
They had only just turned the corner of the road, and ridden a
few yards, when his horse threw him and he was picked up dead.
Some of you went out of this building last night laughing and
making merry ; you mocked at the idea of heaven, and when its
joys were offered you, you kicked them away like a foot-ball ; but
the time will come when you will remember that service. Some
may go out to-night and drown the memory of this text in drink,
but it will come up in the other world and then you can't drown
it in drink. No doubt all the six thousand years Cain has re-
membered the terrible sin he committed, and has heard the
voice of that loving brother whom he murdered. Has Judas
ever forgotten how he betrayed the Son of God with a kiss?
How that word has gnawed away at his conscience these eighteen
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 667
hundred years ! I tell you there is coming a time when you
can't forget. Memory is the worm that dieth not. It is the same
Bible which speaks of heaven that tells us of hell. There is no
place in heaven for unprepared men — for those who are unre-
deemed. Besides, what are such men going to do if they get
there ? Do you think that these rumsellers, who are destroying
so many souls, bodies too, as well as souls, and making so many
widows and orphans — are they going to heaven without repenting
and turning to God for salvation ? Or these men that are cursing
and blaspheming God — can they join in the songs of heaven ?
Your own reason tells you no. Now mercy and salvation are
offered, but in the lost world there will be no ' Jesus passing by,'
no praying mother, no praying wife there ; they will be in another
world, and between these is a great gulf fixed. Remember, you
have got a praying wife to-night, perhaps she is sitting by your
side. You can be saved to-night. God offers you salvation and
mercy, and warns you, and pleads with you to be saved.
" It is but one step out of yourself into Christ. Perhaps a
loved minister has been pleading with you for many years — there
will be no ministers there. You may laugh and scoff at these
meetings — but there will be no special meetings in hell. And
this service to-night will come to you by-and-by ; you will remem-
ber how the preacher plead with you from this pulpit, and how
Mr. Sankey sang. There will be no young .man there putting
his hand on your shoulder and asking you to be saved ; no Sab-
bath-school teacher to lead you to Christ. Why not say now, 'I
will turn to the God of my mother; I will this night seek salva-
tion,' for God says : ' Then shall ye find me, when ye shall search
for me with all your heart.'
" I have heard people say, ' These meetings make men worse
instead of better.' That is true — no one can pass through these
special meetings without becoming either better or worse. When
people have been stricken down by your side, and you still go on
living in sin, you will soon get more and more hardened. The
sermons that now move you will make no impression."
Mr. Moody related an incident of a man in Chicago who twice
668 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
determined to give his heart to God, but never had the courage
to acknowledge Christ before his ungodly companions. When
recovering from a long sickness, he still refused to come out
boldly on the side of Christ, saying : " Not yet, I have got a
fresh lease of life. I can't be a Christian in Chicago. I am
going to take a farm in Michigan, and then I will profess Christ."
"I asked him," said Mr. Moody, "How dare you take the risk? "
He said, "I will risk it; don't you trouble yourself any more
about my soul, Mr. Moody. I have made up my mind." I
never left a man with a sadder heart in my life. The very next
week he was stricken down with the same disease. His wife
sent for me, and she said, " He don't want to see you, but I can't
bear that he should die in such an awful state of mind. He
says, " My damnation is sealed, and I shall be in hell in a week."
I tried to talk and pray with him, but it was no use ; he said his
heart was as hard as a stone. " Pray for my wife and my chil-
dren, but don't waste your time praying for me." His last words
were : " The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and I am not
saved," and then the angels bore him away to judgment.
Dr. J. Wheaton Smith offered the closing prayer, and from two
to three hundred persons entered the inquiry-rooms, while the
congregation sang: "Jesus, lover of my soul." The number of
workers in the inquir3^-rooms is gradually increasing ; frequently
upwards of forty clergymen, with many other Christian men and
women, were engaged in conversation with those who are anxious
to find salvation.
Prayer for the intemperate was again the theme of the noon-
day meeting, as on the two previous Fridays. There were not
less than five thousand persons in attendance. Mr. Moody said
he would again call attention to the new birth. " I don't know,"
said he, " of any other refuge for a man addicted to strong drink.
Unless Christ give him a new nature, all his good resolutions and
his efforts to reform himself will be of no avail. You can't find
anything in Scripture which will justify a man in the belief that
he can reform the flesh. It is only when the new life is given
by God that he can resist temptation. Flesh is flesh, and you
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 669
cannot improve it. Some one has said, ' God never mends any-
thing; He creates anew." It is of no use to go and tell a man
he ought to reform ; just tell him to give up trying and accept
the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour. God does not put a new
piece into an old garment. When God saves a drunkard He
takes away all the appetite. Then a man does not have to give
up the drink ; he does not want it any more, has no desire for it.
Why I would just as soon go and eat mud as go into a saloon
and drink. I have got something better.
" Some say, ' Oh, but I want something as a stimulant.' Sup-
pose you da, you can get better stimulants than drink. When
the Spirit of God fills a man's heart, and he gets thorough ac-
quaintance with his Bible, he has the best kind of stimulant.
God wants every poor drunkard to become a partaker of the
divine nature. Of course the natural man don't know what -we
are talking about ; we must be born of God before we receive
spiritual strength ; with God's life in us we shall overcome. A
man who has been intemperate for thirty years, and who would
drink five glasses before breakfast, has just been reclaimed ; he
says that all the appetite has been taken away. God can do this
for every poor drunkard in Philadelphia, and he has done it for
many during the last week or two."
Mr. Moody then read a letter from an inquirer who, while try-
ing to do right, knew his love for Christ was not the motive. He
had come to a meeting hoping some word might be spoken which
would help him to decide die question. What should he do to be
saved ? Mr. Moody continued : " It is better to have love for
Christ than to lead a blameless life without love. Now, the sub-
ject for to-day will be backsliding; but I wish to say, first, that
very few who call themselves backsliders ever slid forward ; they
entered the church for some personal, social, political, or business
reasons, and when they left it they were no worse than when they
went in. Now, I want to speak to those who have really once
been born of God. Such men may have slid backwards, but
they are never satisfied, for any man who was once converted
finds the world spoiled for him. In the 2d chapter of Jeremiah
•
670 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
you will find the question, * What iniquity have your fathers found
in me ? ' What iniquity have you found in God that you should
leave Him? That's what the question means. A backslider
don't leave a congregation or a people ; he leaves God. In the
19th verse you will find the words, 'Thine own wickedness shall
correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee.' Do not
think God can let such faults escape. The backsliders are the
unhappiest mortals on the face of the earth. They seem to think
it's a very light thing to break God's law, but God will punish
them. God says to the backslider, ' I am married to you ; I am
merciful ; but only acknowledge your sins and I will forgive you.
Turn, O backsliding children ! saith the Lord, for I am married
unto you.' What words can be mote beautiful than these ? Why
is it that these men have left such a Father ? If you will only
come back now you will have a warm welcome. But I believe
many backsliders are still Christians outwardly, but they have
been moving away in heart. They neglect secret prayer and
become very formal in public devotion. Now, one very great
comfort is to treat Christ and think of Christ as a personal friend.
If I should go from here to Chicago, I should bid good-bye to
my friends here before I started ; but did you ever hear of a
Christian going to Christ and saying : ' Oh, Christ ! you have
been a dear friend to me, but I must bid you good-bye now. I
am going away from you, and never expect to call again. Good-
bye, for I am going back to the world?' Did you ever hear of
any one backsliding in that way? I never did. You do not
bid farewell to Christ ; you just run away from him without say-
ing a word. All you need do now is to come back, and Christ
will receive you."
Sunday, the coldest day of the winter, seemed most forbidding
for an early service. Nevertheless, at the eight o'clock service
a congregation of seven thousand gathered to listen to Mr.
Moody's address on "Daniel." Anticipation of a rich feast
seemed written on many faces, for a goodly number had heard of
the remarkable impression made by the delivery of this address
in Brooklyn and in the cities across the Atlantic. Mr. Moody
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 67 1
had an audience more sympathetic and thoroughly earnest than
perhaps any that has gathered on previous Sunday mornings.
All had gathered expecting to obtain a blessing and to learn
some great lessons from the life of one of the greatest Bible
characters ; and we venture to say no one went away disap-
pointed. The meeting had been advertised as specially for
young men, and probably three-fourths of those present were of
that class. The address was a rapid review of the life of Daniel ;
and great emphasis was laid upon the fact that at the age of
seventeen he and his companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-
nego were not afraid to come boldly as God's servants. When
ordered to eat meat and drink wine from the king's table, which
had been offered to idols, and therefore was forbidden to the
Jews, they refused. That is often the turning-point in a young
man's history to be able to say " No," when the first temptation
of city life is presented to him. During an address which
lasted three-quarters of an hour the most wrapt attention was
given throughout.
Mr. Moody spoke in the afternoon in continuation of his last
Sabbath afternoon's subject, which was on the text, " I pray thee,
have me excused." Many people, he said, made the doctrine of
election an excuse why they cannot accept salvation. He be-
lieved that the world had nothing to do with that word election ;
it was only intended for the church, not for the unconverted ; the
only word that the unconverted have to do with is "whosoever;"
Christ settled the question by telling John to write, " Whosoever
will, let him come and drink of the water of life freely." " Do
you think that God offers the cup of salvation to all men, and
then, just as you are going to drink, he snatches it away,
and says, 'Oh, but you are not one of the elect?' God doesn't
do anything of the kind. Some young people say that religion
is going to make them gloomy, and they want to enjoy life before
they accept salvation. Who told you that lie ? Pardon for the
condemned, bread for the hungry, a feast in the wilderness — are
these likely to make men gloomy ? None are too young, and a
marriage feast is just the thing likely to make the young happy.
672 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
Some people stumble over their intellect, and say they can't
understand religion. There are hundreds of things we believe
that we cannot understand. Many parts of the Bible I don't
understand ; but I am not going to fight against my Lord with
my puny reason.
"That excuse will not serve us on the last day. We can't say
then that we didn't come because God gave us too much reason
and intellect. Some make the excuse that they are too bad.
We preach a Gospel for the very worst ; but you can't clothe
yourselves with your own righteousness ; you must have the
righteousness of Christ. Many think they must prepare them-
selves. God wants you just as you are in all your guilt and rags.
If you come as princes He sends you away as beggars ; if you
come as beggars He sends you away as princes. Just because
our hearts are so bad is the reason we need a Saviour ; the
harder the heart, the more need you have of Christ. Nobody
tells us we must weep over our sins so many hours ; it ain't
necessary to shed tears to get into the kingdom of God. Feeling
is the last plank the devil throws out just when a man is almost
ready to step on the Rock of Ages. All you have to do is to
believe — not believe yourselves, but believe in Christ. You
can't give a reason for not accepting the invitation. All your
excuses are a tissue of lies. Do you say you have not time ?
Make time. Say, as a lady did last week, ' I won't leave this
room until I have found salvation ; ' and she went out soon after
rejoicing in sins pardoned."
At the close of the sermon no less than five hundred rose for
prayer, and a very solemn feeling was prevalent throughout the
vast assembly.
In the evening the same sermon was preached by Mr. Moody
to a crowded audience, of which the greater portion were men.
The afternoon service was the most effective in results of any
that has yet been held. Three inquiry-rooms were thronged.
Those who sought religious conversation were for the most part
such as were evidently under divine influence. It not unfrequently
happens that persons embrace the invitation to the inquiry room
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 673
just for the pur^DOse of airing their rehgious crotchets, or seeking
the evangelist's opinion upon some pecuUar tenet to which they
may be attached. Some are anxious to have an argumentative
encounter on a doctrinal pointj or an intellectual set-to as to the
reasonableness of some plain statement of Scripture. All such
receive the cold shoulder from both Mr. Moody and Mr. Sankey,
as well as from most of their fellow-workers ; and the cavilers
and questioners are beginning to learn that the inquiry-room is
no place for them unless they come prepared humbly and honestly
to seek direction from the Holy Spirit through conversation with
Christian men and women.
Rev. Dr. C. D. Cooper said : " Probably no man has ever
addressed a more distinguished congregation in this city than
that to which Mr. Moody preached last night. While we are
asking blessings for others, do not let us forget to pray that the
words spoken in the ears of the President, his Cabinet, the
Judges of the Supreme Court, and many members of the Con-
gress of the United States, might prove to each one of them
words of salvation. What an influence would go out through the
distant parts of our beloved land if truth and righteousness
should prevail in the hearts of all who fill important offices at
the seat of government."
Rev. J. Wheaton Smith then prayed very fervently for the dis-
tinguished men who were in the congregation last evening. " We
pray," said he, "for the Chief Magistrate of these United States.
We thank Thee, O God, for what Thou hast wrought by him in
the past, and for the honor given him amongst men ! We pray
for a still greater glory to rest upon him — the crown of a forgiven
sinner. Help him to feel in the discharge of his important duties
that there is a duty which he owes to himself in regard to his
own salvation."
The occasion of these remarks and this prayer was this : A
large party of gentlemen from Washington, who were invited to
visit and inspect the Centennial preparations, took occasion to
hear the evangelists, and on Sunday evening, the 19th, the follow-
ing distinguished persons were upon the platform : President
674 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
Grant ; Hon. Geoi^ge M. Robeson, Secretary of the Navy ; ex-
Gov. Jewell, Pastmaster-General ; ex-Secretary Borie ; Hon.
George Bancroft ; Judge Strong, of the United States Supreme
Court; Governor Hartranft; ex-Governor Joel Parker, of New
Jersey ; ex-Governor Bigler ; Hon. Thomas A. Scott ; Col. Fred.
Grant and lady ; Bishop Simpson, of the Methodist Episcopal
Church; Judge Buell, of New York ; ex-Speaker Blaine; Hon.
Morton McMichael ; General Patterson ; General Garfield ; Sen-
ator Christiancy, of Michigan ; Senator Wallace and wife ; ex-
Senator Cattell ; Congressmen Wets, of Mississippi ; Thompson,
of Massachusetts ; Purham, of Florida ; Judge Pierce ; Messrs.
George H. Stuart, G. W. Childs, and John C. Bulli.
When these prominent and well-known men appeared on the
platform there was quite a commotion in the congregation, and
many evinced a disposition to applaud.
Bishop Simpson made ^le opening prayer, and pleaded very
earnestly for a blessing upon the President and his Cabinet, for
the Governors of States, and all in authority.
It was with great difficulty that Mr. Moody preached on Sun-
day night. He had contracted a severe cold, and the exertion
of speaking during the early Servians of the day, and conversing
with the inquirers for an hour besides, had rendered him very
hoarse. As he warmed up in his discourse, however, his voice
became, for the time at least, stronger and clearer, and he spoke
with almost his wonted earnestness — at fully his usual rapidity.
Governor Hartranft, on leaving the building, said that he had
heard so much of Mr. Moody's power to influence a great pop-
ular assembly, that he had in advance formed a very high esti-
mate of his ability as a public speaker. After listening to him
he had come to the conclusion that all his friends had told him of
Mr. Moody was by no means exaggerated.
President Grant expressed himself as greatly pleased with the
entire service, being especially gratified with the singing of Mr.
Sankey. Ex-Speaker Blaine thought Mr. Moody was a wonder-
ful man, and others of the distinguished visitors who occupied
se-ats on the platform expressed themselves in similar terms of
gratification.
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 675
During the progress of the revival, the question often recurs
as to the results achieved by such vast expenditures and labors..
These are well summed up in the following paragraphs :
Thousands of men and women gather every day in the week
out of the busy masses of this great city to hear the gospel of
Christ preached in simplicity and directness. Very many of
these hearers are not in the habit of church attendance. They
are told plainly of their need of salvation, and urged to yield
themselves to the service of the Lord Jesus. Many others of
them are professed followers of Christ, who have been cold and in-
active in his service. They are called on to be up and doing for their
Master, and are told just how and where to work for Him.
Each day hundreds of the unconverted from among these hearers
ask the prayers of Christians in their behalf, and enter the in-
quiry-rooms for personal conversation with God's children as to
their needs and duty. Many of the church members also are
beginning Christian work with new zeal and new efficiency.
Many of those who have not been avowed disciples of the Lord
Jesus declare their readiness to trust and serve Him heartily.
Moreover, hundreds of requests from those outside come up
daily for special prayer, and on these calls God's children plead
with Him for answers of peace accordingly. There are meetings
for particular classes from time to time. Christian workers are
appealed to as such. Sunday-school teachers receive special
instruction. The unconverted are invited and addressed by
themselves. Young men are brought together and counseled
religiously. Drunkards are talked to plainly and prayed for
earnestly. Women and men meet by themselves, and sermons
are preached for their exclusive benefit.
All this in itself is a great matter. No ordinary curiosity
would bring together such audiences day after day for weeks to-
gether. Mr. Moody is now well known, and most who cared
merely to see and hear him have been gratified. His style of
preaching is so simple that many who hear him wonder at its
power ; but there is no diminishing of the crowds in attendance
week by week. No undue excitement gathers and holds these
676 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
hearers. All is quiet and calm at the meetings. The preacher
makes no effort to sway his audiences by strong appeals to their
passions. The choice he sets before them is simply that which
the gospel offers wherever it is faithfully proclaimed. The in-
terest in the meetings is a healthy interest in the cause and
truth which they represent. The fact that it is exceptional — or
unusual — only makes it the more important. Men of marked
influence in the community, who have been known in almost
every sphere but that of personal religion, are from time to time
seen in attendance at these meetings, on the platform or in the
body of the house. Even if they come from curiosity alone,
there is reason for rejoicing that they are at last curious in this
direction. It is well for them to turn aside from their usual
occupations and hear the gospel preached. If many who are
accustomed to follow their lead in other things imitate them in
this, there will be a gain thereby. It is a good thing to have it
fashionable for sinners to listen to straightforward earnest appeals
to repent and be converted.
The record of these meetings is given day by day in the daily
papers. The words of the preacher are repeated by the press
throughout the country, so that hundreds of thousands have the
gospel preached to them morning and evening from one week's
end to another, through this agency alone. Editorial comments
in the secular papers on this theme are frequent and pointed.
Indeed, both Christians and the unconverted have been wisely
counseled and cautioned by many a secular paper "leader."
This in addition to all that the religious papers have to say on
the same important subject; and it can hardly be doubted that
the tone of the religious press as a whole has been elevated and
bettered through the influences of which these meetings are an
outgrowth. It can safely be asserted that never before was so
much prominence given by the secular press of the United States
to religious matters and to the direct presentation of Christian
truth. The revival of 1858 bore no comparison with the present
revival in this particular.
In the churches of Philadelphia there is more than a common
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 677
interest in Christ and his salvation. This is true ahnost without
exception, even if in any instance the jDastor himself fails as yet
to perceive it ; for the churches are not so shut out from the pre-
vaihng current of popular feeling that they can be excluded from
an influence as general as that which now jDcrvades this com-
munity. Those pastors who participate most heartily in the
special revival meetings naturally share most richly in the
attendant blessings ; yet all have new opportunities of hopeful
work in their fields of church labor. If there is no considerable
gain in any of these churches, it will not be because there is no
special interest in religious things in that church and in the com-
munity about it. On all sides unsaved men and women are unusu-
ally ready to be conversed with, prayed for, taken by the hand and
led to a waiting Saviour. All who make the experiment of intro-
ducing the subject of personal religion, in conversation with those
whom they meet in business or in social intercourse, find signs of
this peculiar readiness — one of the most hopeful signs in any
season of revival.
These results are in themselves great results. If they are to
be counted unimportant, then may also the ordinary jDrcaching of
the gospel in our sanctuaries, and the attendance thereat of
Christians and of unconverted hearers, be looked at as of little
worth, because so few new converts are made each week, so little
progress' is marked in Christian attainment, and so many days of
attention to the world and its interests follow each day of pausing
to consider the things of God. The beginning is good. " The
end is not yet." How much more is to come out of this revival
work cannot now be known. Up to this time there is every rea-
son to rejoice in what God is accomplishing through this agency.
A weighty responsibility rests now in the churches, and on all
Christian workers in this city, and elsewhere as widely as the
knowledge of these revival meetings extends. God is doing great
things before us all. He has called the attention of the com-
munity to the theme of personal religion. Multitudes who were
thoughtless on this subject a little time ago are now thinking
about it earnestly. They are easy of approach. They would like
678 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
to be talked with. They are not yet ready to go to any pastor's
study and ask the way of salvation ; not yet, perhaps, to go into
the inquiry-rooms at the Depot Church. But they are thinking
of themselves as sinners in need of a Saviour, and the one thing
lacking to turn their steps thitherward may be a word from a
Christian believer of their acquaintance. If this harvest time
passes and they are still unsaved, others than Mr. Moody and his
immediate co-workers in the present series of meetings will have
a share in the blame. Systematic, earnest, untiring work on the
part of Christians far and near, in the line of direct, personal vis-
itation and appeal, to induce those who are now without a trust
in Christ as their Saviour to come to Him in penitence and faith,
is the urgent demand of the hour. " Son of man, I have made
thee a watchman unto the house of Israel ; therefore hear the
word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I
say unto the wicked. Thou shalt surely die ; and thou givest him
not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked
way, to save his life ; the same wicked man shall die in his in-
iquity ; but his blood will I require at thine hand."
Mr. Moody says truly, that the test of a revival is the prominence
it gives to Bible study, the power it has in turning men to the exam-
ination of God's Word, that they may learn therefrom of their
danger, their need, their duties, their encouragements, their
helps, and their hopes. From the days of Nehemiah down to
the present time, every true revival of pure religion has shown
itself in a new interest in God's law and testimonies on the part
of leaders and people.
Hence it is that the present great revival is a blessed and hope-
ful revival ; for it secures a prominence to God's Word beyond
anything which has been known since " all the people " of the
Jewish nation "gathered themselves together as one man into
the street," to hear and study " the book of the law of God,"
" day by day, from the first day unto the last day " of the jDro-
tracted meeting which followed their return from captivity.
Never in the best days of olden time was there anything like
the present interest in Bible-study, in the home, in the Sunday-
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA, • 679
school, in the social religious meeting. More people are study-
ing the Bible than ever before. A larger proportion of all the
people are engaged in this study. The study is more systematic,
more intelligent, more thorough, and more fruitful than at any
former time. This interest in Bible-study is not by any means
exclusively a result of the meetings led by Mr. Moody. It is a
result of the work of God in which the Moody meetings are a sin-
gle element, and of which they are an evidence rather than a
cause. But Mr. Moody works in the line of God's providence
in this particular. He values Bible-study. He urges it on all.
He leads many to it. Through his labors and appeal Bible-
study increases, and its methods improve.
It was a remarkable and a most gratifying fact, that at the early
morning meeting last Sunday, at the D£pot Church, on a dark,
damp, chilly day, from six to eight thousand persons came
together expressly to be told how to study the Bible to best
advantage. Mr. Moody said that he counted it the most encour-
aging meeting he had ever attended in America. If he had been
told five years ago that that number of persons would come
together for such a purpose, on such a day, in the city of Phila-
delphia, he would have said* that the man was crazy who sug-
gested it. A very large proportion of all present at that meeting
had their Bibles, and used them freely, and very many in the audi-
ence were taking notes freely, as Mr. Moody told of the methods
he valued in the effort to search out, and to profit by, the truths
of the Bible. It was pleasant to hear that building " rustle wi'
religion,'* as" the thousands of Bible leaves were turned together
at the leader's call.
If Mr. Moody's work in Philadelphia had no other result than
the bringing of disciples, old and new, to the more intelligent
and systematic study of the Bible, it would prove a rich blessing
to the entire community. The entrance of God's words giveth
light ; it giveth understanding to the simple. God's words are
able to make wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ
Jesus. The believer is to be sanctified by God's truth. God'3
Word is truth.
68o MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
How TO Use your Bible.
I have been wonderfully cheered, said Mr. Moody, in going to
the young men's meeting, to hear so much scripture quoted.
Any revival that don't bring people to their Bible is a sham, and
will last only for a few weeks j but if the people are brought to
love the Word of God, there will be a revival that will last 365
days in the year.
In Nehemiah viii. 2, we read that Ezra, the priest, brought the
law before the congregation both of men and women in the street,
and he read therein from morning until midday; and in the
eighth verse, it is said, " they read in the book in the law of God
distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand
the reading." I can imagine the priest reading the passage
over twenty times until the people understood it. Bible Chris-
tians are all the time rejoicing in the Lord, for the Lord is their
strength, but the people who neglect their Bibles are in a back-
sliding state.
Mr. Moody quoted Jeremiah xx. 9, to show that Christian men
are constrained to open their lips and speak\for the Lord. He
said : If the Holy Ghost is our Teacher, we will understand the
Word of God. The best thing to interpret the Bible is the Bible
itself.
There are three books every Christian ought to have. The
Bible, Cruden's Concordance, and the " Bible Text-Book," pub-
lished by the Tract Society.
Newspapers only tell you what has taken place ; this book tells
you what is going to take place. Take up one subject at a time.
Take up " love," and spend a month upon it. Take a concordance
and go through the Bible with it upon this subject, and then you
will be full of love, and there will be no room for malice and
hatred in your heart. After that take up " faith ; " it is better to
go to the Word of God and get faith than to pray for it. Then
take up "blood;" it shows the way to heaven. Now take up
"heaven," and spend months upon it. Then "prayer." We
do not know how to pray as we ought to. Nine-tenths of us read
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 68 1
the Bible just to ease our conscience. You do not get the whole
Bible by reading it in that way. In family worship people often
put a mark in their Bible to know where they left off. I hoed
corn when a boy, and I used to put down a stick to know where
I left off; so it is with reading the Bible. The only way for us
to study the Bible is to take up one subject and try to master that
subject. A man said to me, " Can you recommend the best Life
of Christ .? " I said I could recommend four — Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John. A man had better spend a year over these four
Gospels than to run over the whole Bible. If a man studies Gen-
esis he has a key to the whole Bible. It is the beginning of
everything, and then the other parts of the Bible will unfold
themselves to us. Let us take the Bible up with some object in
view — to get at some truth. In California the best gold is found
at the greatest depth; and so with the Word of God, the best
part is deepest. Here is some law document ; it is uninteresting.
Now suppose it is the will of some man, giving you a great inher-
itance, you will become interested. This Book tells me of this
inheritance. What can the geologist tell you about the Rock of
Ages ? He can tell you about the rocks of this world. What
does the astronomer know about the bright and morning star?
He can tell you about other stars. God did not tell Joshua how
to use the sword and fight in the promised land, but he told him
to meditate upon the law day and night, and no one could stand
before him. These words apply to every one here. This sword
cuts right and left, and with it a man can cut his enemies right
up to the throne of God.
A man filled with the Spirit dwells much with the Scripture. Pe-
ter quoted Scripture at the day of Pentecost, when he was full of
the Holy Ghost. This is the sword of tlie Spirit. What is a man
good for if he has no weapon ? We don't know how to use this
sword ; we should get into the habit of using it. David says :
"Thy Word have I hid in my heart." A good thing in a good
place for a good purpose. If you lose your health, you lie upon
your bed and feed upon the Word of God.
When you meet together to dine it is better to bring out the
682 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
Bible than to bring on wine. I was glad in England at seeing
that done in a great many of the houses of the upper classes. An
Englishman said to me, " Moody, did you ever study the life of
Job ? " I said, " No, I never did." He said, " If you get a key
to Job you get a key to the whole Bible." "What has Job to do
with the Bible?" He said: "I will tell you. I will divide th^
subject into seven heads. First, Job, before he was tried, was a
perfect man untried. He was like Adam in Eden until Satan
came in. Second, he was tried by adversity. Third, the wisdom
of the world is represented by Job's friends trying to restore him.
See what language they used. They were wonderful wise men,
but they could not help Job out of his difficulties. Men are mis-
erable comforters when they do not understand the grace of God.
Job could stand his scolding wife and his boils better than these
men's arguments ; they made him worse instead of better. Fifth,
God speaks, and Job humbles himself in the dust. God, before
He saves a man, brings him down into the dust. He does not
talk about how he has fed the hungry and clothed the naked, but
he says, ' I am vile.' Seventh, God restores him, and the last
end of Job was better than the first. So the last state of man is
better than the first. It is better than the state of Adam, because
Adam might have lived ten thousand years and then fallen;
therefore it is better for us to be outside of Eden with Christ than
that we should be in Eden without Him. God gave Job double
as much wealth as he had before, but He only gave him ten chil-
dren. He had ten before his calamity came upon him. That is
worthy of notice. God w^ould not admit that Job had lost any
children. He gave him ten here and ten in heaven.
We want the Word of God so hidden in our hearts that we will
be constrained to speak of Him. Many flinty hearts and scoffers
have come to the meetings, but before they left they have been
converted to God. A man while in a saloon picked up a news-
paper containing a report of one of the meetings, the first line of
which was, " Where art thou ? " The man was struck with it, and
said to himself, " I am not in the right place," and left. He came
to the meetings and was converted, and is now, said the speaker.
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA.
683
leading a Christian life. We must take the Bible without preju-
dice, and not as Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, or Episco-
palians. He advised all to have a Bible which they could call
their own, and to get the best that could be procured. It might
be said that it cost too much money ; but so much the better, it
would be valued all the more, and would stand usage longer. He
had carried the Bible he now used to CaMfornia and to Europe
and back, and nothing would induce him to part with it. It had
been a great comfort to him, and he had found much pleasure iu
it. It might be argued that the kind he recommended is too
large for a man to put in his pocket. Then carry it under your
arm ; you should always be vSfiing to show your colors. In study-
ing it, it would be well to have a copy of Cruden's Concordance
and a Scriptural text-book. These three books make a very good
library. There is no better book to study the Bible with than the
Bible itself. It is the best news-book that there is. The news-
paper only tells of the news of the day, while the' Sacred Volume
tells of what will take place. The Book should be taken up topic-
ally ; that is, take " love " as a topic, and see how much the Bible
has to say upon that subject. By that means you learn all about
it, and can readily answer any question that may arise upon that
subject. After that the word "blood" can be taken up, in order
to find out how often that word occurs in the blessed Book, and
how it is used. So other tepics might be studied, such as " Faith,"
" Heaven," " Charity," and very many others. By this means a
very good knowledge will be obtained of the Bible, Those who
do it in that manner will be surprised at the amount of informa-
tion that they obtain and the interest they will take in it. The
Book will become very precious to them, and they will never want
to be without it. A man once asked the speaker what was the
best life of Christ. He replied that he did not know. Matthew
wrote a very good account, so did Mark and Luke, but the speaker
liked John's account the best. Some people read the Bible as
though they did it merely to ease their conscience. They take it
up, perhaps, and read a chapter without reflection^ and then lay
it aside with a mark indicating where they left off, just as they
684 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
would do with any other book. If you ever expect to understand
the Word of God you must study it ; you must, as it were, dig
and delve through it. A great many people carry the Bible in
their hands instead of their hearts. The speaker then illustrated
how the Book should be used. He said that if he were to go and
hear Dr. Newton preach a sermon he would turn to his Bible,
which he always carries with him, and on the margin mark down
some of the heads of the discourse, with the date, and five years
after these heads would freshen his mind upon the sermon. He
said that every one in studying the Bible should make notes on
the margin of any matter bearing upon particular passages. It
impresses the subject upon the mind, and in after years, if the
necessity occur for a recurrence to it, an explanation can be given
at once. The speaker gave some further illustrations showing how
he had impressed sermons upon his mind at the time of their de-
livery by making notes upon the margin of the leaves of his Bible,
and how he had studied up the subject.
In connection with these valuable instructions, as to how to
study God's Word, the following letter from Mr. Moody to " the
recent converts in Great Britain " will have an interest to many
in this country ; not only to " recent converts," but to some who
have long been counted as believers.
Dear Christian Friends : Since returning to America, in
response to my invitation, I have received precious communica-
tions from many of you. Were it possible, I would gladly reply
to each ; but, as I have not opportunity for this, I shall avail
myself of the columns of The Christian to send to you all a few
words of greeting.
I praise God continually for what he has done for you in saving
your souls through the blood of Jesus Christ his Son. You are
much on my heart, and in my prayers. But most glad am I to
know, that when I cease to remember, Jesus himself hears
each one of you in continual remembrance before his Father.
You are graven upon the palms of his hands (Isa. xlix. i6), and
written upon the heart of his affections (Ex. xxviii. 29) ; and of
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 685
you he has said, "My sheep shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand " (John x. 28).
You have taken the Lord Jesus for your Redeemer, and it has
become eternal salvation unto you. Now, Jesus is something
more to you. He has become your High-Priest. His great
business in heaven to-day is to represent you — your needs, your
infirmities, and your trials. I want you to know this very fully ;
for no other truth can give you more daily comfort, or more
firmly establish you in a constant holy walk. Having died to
save you, Jesus lives to keep you. At the cross he washed you
from the condemnation of sin ; at the mercy-seat he will cleanse
you from daily defilement.
Some of you have written me how old besetting sins are annoy-
ing you. Take them straight to Jesus. Don't rely too much on
yourselves in overcoming them ; don't follow human advice too
much, or copy the example of other people too much in gaining
the victory. Spare yourselves this weariness. Cast it all
before your blessed Advocate, and let him bear you and your
burdens too.
And do not, above all, forsake your Bibles. You can never
separate Jesus the Word made flesh from the written Word. He
who proclaimed himself the IVay, declared also that he was tJie
Truth. Pack your memory full of passages of Scripture, with
which to meet Satan when he comes to tempt or accuse you ; and
be not content to simply know, but strive to obey the Word of God.
Never think that ycsus has commanded a trifle, nor dare to trifle
with a?iything he has commanded.
I exhort the young men to be sober. Exercise yourselves unto
godliness ; run the race according to Paul's motto, " Looking
off unto Jesus "; draw your inspiration and power directly from
himself.
I exhort the young women to great moderation. Your sphere
of testimony may not be public ; your place of usefulness may
not be large ; in your own homes " adorn the doctrine of God
your Saviour." Keep one little thought in mind — " I have none
but Jesus to please." And so make your dress as simple as you
6S6 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
know will please your Lord ; make your deportment as modest as
you know will commend itself to him.
And for you all, " among whom we have gone laboring," our
prayer is, " That your love may abound yet more and more in
knowledge and in all judglnent ; that ye may approve things
that are excellent ; that ye may be sincere, and without offence,
till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness,
which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God "
(Phil. i. 9, lo, ii). Mr. Sankey joins me in Christian love.
Your brother in Christ, D. L. Moody.
Bj'ooklyn, Nove?nber 12, 1875.
Among the most effective presentations of truth made by the
evangelist are the discourses on Noah. Mr. Moody preached
from Genetsis, chapter vii., verse i : " And the Lord said unto
Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark." He said it
was a loving invitation from a personal God. This communica-
tion came to Noah, that God would destroy the world, that his
Spirit would not always strive with man. This was one hundred
and twenty years before the flood that he told Noah to build the
ark. Grace always precedes judgment. You find that when
Christ came into the world He came in grace, and then judgment
followed. Mr. Moody's description of the entry of the animals
into the ark was very touching. God shut the door of the ark.
As in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the last days. He told
an affecting incident of a mother who told Mr. Moody that her
daughter wanted her to go into the inquiry-room. She went into
the room with her daughter, and they were both blessed. He
mentioned a young woman who was converted at Edinburgh, and
was killed by an accident on a railroad. At the conclusion of the
sermon some five hundred rose for prayers. This was one of the
most solemn meetings ever held.
In his second sermon he said : Some persons say that they do
not believe that there was a flood, and others say that they be-
lieve in the New Testament, but cannot accept the Old Testa-
ment. It won't do to reject any portion ; for if you do, you will
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 687
have to reject it entirely. The speaker said that he firmly be-
lieved that there was a flood, and there is abundant testimony to
prove it. He was not present to defend the Bible, for it defends
itself. He had a message to deliver, and he would do it to the
best of his ability. He then went on to describe the ark built by
Noah, and said that the old man was ridiculed and made fun of,
but he had faith in God and obeyed His commands. The speaker
had been hooted at after leaving the meeting in the afternoon,
but he did not care for it, for he knew that every man who stands
up for Christ or endeavors to serve Him must expect to be
jeered at and ridiculed. The people thought Noah mad ; but
did you ever notice that the man who is mad thinks everybody
else mad ? There are many who think that the men who serve
the Lord and preach his word are mad. What about the man
who deals out death and damnation, and robs his fellow-men of
their brains and money, and robs their families of support ? Is
that man who brings about so much wretchedness insane ? Oh !
no ! no one calls him insane. The man who goes home and
beats his wife and cruelly treats his children is not called mad.
But the one who works for Christ and cares for his family is mad.
The speaker then went on to describe the gathering together of
every living thing in the ark, the closing of the door by God, and
the great flood that followed, which lasted forty days and forty
nights. This portion of the discourse was the same as that given
in the afternoon. He said : Thank God the door of mercy is now
open. He begged all who would be wise, while God is offering
mercy, to step within the door ere it be too late and the door is
closed. The speaker said the past year had been the best of his
life, and he has prayed that the last Sunday of the year would be
the best that he has yet experienced by the conversion of hundreds
and thousands of souls. When God shuts the door it will be too
late — the day of grace will have passed. The last day and
the last hour is coming, and don't you think of it ? Oh ! it
may be that you will never again have the opportunity of
coming to Christ. The time is coming again when God will
judge the world. It will be consumed, as the Lord has said, by
CSS MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
fire. " Come thou and all thy family into the ark." You may
go away from the hall and laugh at and scorn Christ. Oh ! but
you may be called away without being able to see Him. Come to
Him, now that He is offered, or you may never again receive the
message. In 1857 there was a great revival, and all over the
country peojDle were flocking into the churches. There were men
who then tried to write it down, but it was of no avail. The
same effort is being made to write it down now, but they are not
able to do so, because it is God's work. Oh, men ! come into the
ark while the invitation is yet being made. He then related an
incident of a young lady who attended the meeting without any
concern for herself, but before the service was over she said she
would be in the ark before the afternoon was over. The young
lady went to the inquiry-room and there sought Jesus. He then
related another incident of a mother and daughter who^ attended
one of the meetings last Monday night. The latter was a con-
vert, but the other was not. He noticed them, and talked to the
mother. Afterward he observed the two in close conversation,
and, on going up to her, she said that she had not been induced
to come to Christ by anything he had said, but through what her
daughter had told her. He inquired how many fathers present
were out of the ark. " Oh ! " said he, " don't stand in the way
of your children ; come in and bring your whole family, before
the door is closed." He then referred to a man who, on being
converted, told how he had treated his mother; that while she
was praying for him, he left home because he could not stand it.
Finally he heard that his mother was sick, and he thought that
he would go home, but he again thought that if he did, he would
have to become a Christian to Hve under the same roof, and he
decided not to go. Subsequently he heard that she was very
sick, and he started for home, and on reaching there he found
that his mother was dead. He then visited her grave, and he
cried to God for help. He was thus left without father and mo-
ther, and he then cried to God for help and found Christ. The
man told his hearers in Chicago that he would give all in the
world to have his mother and father back, and he besought
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 689
those who had mothers not to treat them unklntlly. Said Mr.
Moody, "Won't you now come in the ark and be saved, for the
door may be closed when it is too late for you ? " An in-vitation
was then extended to all who desired prayers to stand up. A
large number of men responded to the request.
Ex-Mayor Story of Boston then most fervently prayed in be-
half of those who had risen.
So clear and unmistakable is the plan of salvation presented that
the most illiterate can readily understand it. There is no chance
for the slightest excuse ; no one can plead ignorance after hear-
ing the warning words of the evangelists, or say that the oppor-
tunity was not offered them of coming to the Saviour. Some of
the most remarkable instances of conversion have taken place,
and many who attended the meetings with no thought of becom-
ing Christians have, under the preaching of Mr. Moody and the
singing of Mr. Sankey, been induced to enter the inquiry-rooms
and make an unconditional surrender of their hearts to the Mas-
ter. Every day the number of converts is being largely in-
creased, which shows conclusively that the power of the revivalists
is not of themselves, but of Him who has called them to do his
work.
Old 1875 Shrouded with Prayer. — The Great Watch
Meetings.
No outside attractions of holiday week drew away from the
meetings at the Depot Church. Indeed, at no time before was
the attendance uniformly so large, day by day, and the seriousness
of the hearers so general. The interest of the week culminated
in the watch-meetings of Friday night. The building was packed
to overflowing, and crowds outside vainly sought admission.
There were three meetings during the evening, one beginning at
nine, one at ten, and one at eleven o'clock. Mr. Moody preached
earnestly at each service.
" Should any people faint," said Mr. Moody, " I hope the ushers
will carry them right out, and don't let me see three or four thou-
690 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
sand people straining their necks just because some one has
swooned away." After a general chorus of the hymn, " Rejoice
and be glad," Mr. Moody read the thirteenth chapter of the First
Corinthians. "Grant, O God," prayed Mr. Moody, "that if
there be any here who have made resolutions to do better during
the coming year than they did in the blessed year that is clos-
ing, that their resolves may be taken away from them, and cause
them instead to put their trust in Thee." "For the last time
in this old year," said Mr. Sankey, " I will sing you the Ninety
and Nine. Let us ask a blessing upon its singing." The popu-
lar hymn was well rendered, and the evangelist smiled a heavenly
smile of satisfaction. "A man cannot serve two masters," said
Mr. Moody. " I couldn't belong to the Democrats and to the
Republicans at the same time. You remember the border men
in the late war when our army got among them. Oh ! they were
all Union men, red-hot ; and when the Confederates came, then
they were all Southerners, and the result was that both parties
hated and plundered them. None of you, except infidels, would
say that you wouldn't want to become Christians some time.
Why not decide to-night, in the closing moments of the old year ?
All the good men named in the Bible were men of decision, and
the others, Pilate, Agrippa, and the rest, wavering — ' almost per-
suaded.' When Egypt was so troubled with frogs that the king
couldn't stand it any longer — it was frogs, frogs, nothing but frogs
everywhere ; he couldn't move his foot without treading on a
frog — he called Moses, and says he : ' Moses, I want you to get
rid of these frogs for me.' Moses says : ' When ? ' ' Why — a —
a — to-morrow,' says the king. He had no decision, and w^anted
to keep the frogs for another night. You must come down with
the ' I will ! ' If there's no God to punish sin — if there's no here-
after, let's turn our churches into theatres ; if the Bible is a tissue
of lies, let's build monuments to Voltaire and Payne ; if there's no
hell, ' let's eat, drink and be merr}', for to-morrow we die.' I
believe that the hand of God is upon this nation, and that things
are going to be worse if there's not more repentance. I know
what keeps men from deciding ; it's some darling sin. ' I like to
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 69 1
play cards and I can't give it up ;' 'I love my rum-bottle — oh, my
darling rum-bottle, how can I part with you ! ' Sinner, this may
be your last chance to decide. Oh, for Christ's sake— for your
own sake — trust, believe ! throw yourself into the arms of the
Saviour, who alone can bless you with a Happy New Year."
Ten o'clock was announced, the first service closed, and sev-
eral thousand departed, their seats being taken by new-comers.
At eleven o'clock occurred a repetition of this egress and ingress,
and the last portion of the watch began.
A httle after ten o'clock, Mr. Moody called the Rev. Dr.
Plumer, an aged minister, to what he called the " witness-stand,"
and interrogated him as to his Christian experience. It was a
novel way of doing things. Mr. Moody asked questions as if
doubting the Word which he so often preaches, and the vener-
able doctor answered. The following is Mr. Moody's own
account of this original episode :
In response to a request for an account of the watch-night
inquiry-meeting, when the Rev. Dr. Plumer was questioned by
me as to the great truths of salvation, I give the questions and
answers, as I recall them, aided by notes taken by others at the
time:
Dr. Plumer. — I wish to give a year-text to this assembly. It
is from the 73d Psalm : *' Whom have I in heaven but thee ? And
there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee."
Mr. Moody. — Dr. Plumer, we speak of the duty of "convic-
tion." What is conviction ?
Dr. Plumer. — Conviction is a clear persuasion that a thing
is true. Religious conviction is a clear, settled persuasion of
five things. First. That I am ignorant, and need instruction.
Second. That I am guilty, and deserve wrath and not pardon.
Third. That my heart is vile, and must be renewed. Fourth.
That my condition is miserable ; I am " wretched, and miser-
able, and poor." Fifth. That I am helpless; I am without
strength; I cannot save myself; I cannot think a good thought
without divine grace.
Mr. Moody. — What is the use of conviction ?
692 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
Dr. Plumer. — The use of conviction is not to punish a man
for his sins ; nor is it to make him any better. The devils in hell
have been under an awful conviction for a long time, and not one
of them is any better. The sole object of conviction is to light
up the soul to the faith of Jesus. The sole object of conviction
is to bring the sinner to accept salvation by atoning blood.
Mr. Moody. — Is any given amount of distress necessary to
genuine conversion?
Dr. Plumer. — Lydia had no distress — we read of none. God
opened her heart, and she attended to the things spoken by Paul ;
but the jailer of Phihppi would not have accepted Christ without
some alarm. If you will accept the Son of God, you need have
no trouble ; there is nothing in trouble that sanctifies the soul.
Mr. Moody. — Well, Doctor, what is conversion ?
Dr. Plumer. — Glory be to God, there is such a thing as con-
version! If there was not, everlasting chains and darkness
would be our doom. To be converted is to turn from self, self-
will, self-righteousness, all self-confidence, and from sin itself, and
to be turned to Christ. The turning-point in a man's conversion
is his acceptance of Jesus Christ ; that he closes in with Christ
and gives him all his confidence.
Mr. Moody. — Why must a sinner come to Christ for salvation ?
Dr. Plumer. — Because Jesus Christ is the only Saviour. All
the angels in heaven and all the saints in heaven and earth cannot
save one sinner. He must come to the Saviour. I will tell you
why. Here are quintillions of tons of atmospheric air, why does
not that support life without your respiring? You must breathe
it, or you die. For the same reason you must make Christ yours,
or you perish, notwithstanding what he has done. The sight of a
river will never quench thirst, and the sight of food will never
satisfy hunger. You must come to Christ and make his salva-
tion yours.
. Mr. Moody. — Can a man be saved here to-night before 12
o'clock — saved all at once ?
Dr. Plumer. — Why not? In my Bible I read of three thou-
sand men gathered together one morning — all of them murderers
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. • 693
— their hands stained with the blood of the Son of God. They
met in the morning, and before night they were all baptized mem-
bers of Christ. God added to the church in those days such as
should be saved. If you are ever saved there must be a moment
when you accept Christ and renounce the world.
Mr. Moody. — What is repentance ?
Dr. Plumer. — It is turning to God with abhorrence of sin,
and cleaving to Christ with promise of obedience. A man truly
repents of his sins, who does not commit the sins he has repented
of; therefore saving repentance always terminates in purity of
life and reformation. A thorough change of heart is followed by
a thorough change of character.
Mr. Moody. — How can I know that I am saved?
Dr. Plumer. —The fact that God is true. " Let God be true,
but every man a liar." If I accept Jesus Christ it is not Mr.
Moody's word, nor Mr. Sankey's, nor Dr. Newton's; it is the
Word of the living God whose name is Amen. " He that be-
lieveth on the Son hath everlasting life."
Mr. Moody. — What if I haven't got faith enough ?
Dr. Plumer. — Glory be to God, if I can touch the hem of my
Saviour's garment I shall be saved. A little faith is as truly faith
as a great deal of faith. A little coal of fire in the ashes is as
truly fire as the glowing heat of a furnace. Jesus says not, if
you have great faith you will be saved, but "he that believeth
shall be saved." Oh, come and trust him fully. Give him all
your confidence, and if your faith is not as strong as it ought to
be, cry, as did the disciples, " Lord, increase our faith."
Mr. Moody. — But I don't know that I have the right kind of
faith.
Dr. Plumer. — Are you able to analyze your faith and say
whether it is exactly of the right kind } The thief upon the cross
did not say, if I had a little more faith I would ask you to remem-
ber me when thou comest into thy kingdom. He offered his
prayer with the faith he had and Christ accepted him. You
must have faith in God through grace, and then your faith must
have worksj to be of the right kind.
694 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
Mr. Moody. — I don't feel that I love Christ enough.
Dr. Plumer. — And you never will. To all eternity you never
will love him as much as he deserves to be loved.
" Had I ten thousand thousand tongues,
Not one should silent be ;
Had I ten thousand thousand hearts,
I'd give them all to thee."
Mr. Moody. — When the temptation comes, it is so much
stronger than my resolution that I yield. What shall I do ?
Dr. Plumer. — Look to Jesus. He was in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin. Christ can give us the strength
of giants. Jesus is the best Master and the best Friend in the
universe. Glory be to his name forever.
The questions and answers are worthy of preservation. It
would be indeed well if the scene, on the occasion of this con-
ference between the two men of God, could be faithfully pic-
tured to our readers.
It was near midnight. The close of the year was at hand.
The Depot Church was crowded. Twelve thousand persons sat
listening intently to the words of the earnest evangelist. Mr.
Moody had concluded a sermon from the text, " How long halt
ye between two opinions.'* if the Lord be God, follow him; but
if Baal, then follow him." The appeal had come home with
power to many who now longed for words of personal counsel,
or who were burdened with anxious doubt. An ordinary inquiry-
meeting, such as usually follows Mr. Moody's sermons, was not
practicable then and there ; for the services in the main room
were to continue until the new year opened. Said Mr. Moody :
*' You always show an interest in the inquiry-meetings. I often
see some of you who are outside looking in at the doors to see
what is going on in there. Some of you have been in there.
Some of you would like to go there to-night; but we've no
chance for such a meeting now. So I propose to turn this
whole meeting into an inquiry meeting. Here is the Rev. Dr.
Plumer, of South Carolina. He is seventy-four years old. He
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA.
695
has been living on borrowed time for four years. For fifty-five
years he has been sitting at the feet of Jesus. I'm going to put
him on to tlie witness stand, and question him before you all.
Dr. Plumer, will you take the pulpit ? "
The venerable clergyman, with his commanding form and pa-
triarchal presence, arose, and with tremulous movements took
the stand before the vast congregation. He gave his Bible
greeting from the seventy-third Psalm to the waiting hearers.
Every word was spoken with distinctness and with deep feeling
as if under a sense of weighty responsibility in thus witnessing
for the Lord. It was a most impressive service. Many a soul
present seemed to feel himself the questioner, and to listen as
for his life to the answer. In that solemn hour it was as if God's
prophecy for the latter days was fulfilled : " And I will give
power unto my two witnesses." Their speech and their ^'preach-
ing was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demon-
stration of the Spirit and of power."
The Midnight Watch.
At eleven o'clock the doors were again thrown open while the
big audience sang " Oh for a thousand tongues to sing." This
was the commencement of the watch-meeting proper — watching for
the first stroke of the hour which marked the end of the old and
the beginning of the new year. Though but a few more persons
got in through the briefly opened doors, it was because those
who had come to stay the meeting out held on to their seats,
unwilling to give up an opportunity of once a year's happening.
Another solemn hymn " A charge to keep I have," and one of a
joyful character " The Lord of earth and sky," were sung, Mr.
Sankey standing by the organ while Prof Fisher played, beating
time by gently clapping his hands, and the Rev. Dr. March,
formerly of the Clinton Presbyterian, pra3'ed. He entreated God
that all the meditations of the night should draw the congrega-
tion to a cantemplation of their great blessing in Christ. The
twenty-eighth hymn, " One more day's work for Jesus," was sung,
696 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
the solo by Mr. Sankey and the chorus by the choir, Mr. Sankey
substituting the word "year" for "day" and asked the choris-
ters to do the same. The change fitted the hymn very well
Mr. Moody then began his third sermon of the evening by the
sudden utterance of the words " There are thirty-five minutes left
for you to take Jesus." He resumed the theme "decision," which
he had treated two hours before, taking for his text the words
in Matthew, "What shall I then do with Jesus who is called
Christ?" If Pilate, said the preacher, had decided to follow
Christ he would have been walking with Peter, John and the
disciples in heaven ; he would now be in the fold of Christ ; but
he liked popularity, and he listened to the call of ambition, and
he gave Jesus up to be crucified. Every one in the depot had
to go out to-night with or without Jesus; there was no more
serious question to be settled in the last few minutes of the year.
The Jews had said, Crucify Him ! crucify Him ! when the words
of the text were asked of them. Would those present do the
same. Let Christians in "these last minutes of 1875" lift up
voices in prayer for the salvation of sinners. Mr. Moody pic-
tured Pilate's supposed remorse on the morning after he had
refused to save Christ from the cross. He followed the foot-
steps of Judas — this man Pilate, who would be popular with
Caesar — and put an end to his life. The man of pleasure and
the woman of the world were then exhorted to come to Jesus.
" How about you blasphemers who have come in here to-night ?
What are you going to do ? Many are here to-night who have
made resolutions to commence the new year with, but they can do
nothing without Jesus." At 15 minutes to 12 Mr. Moody asked
that all join in a silent prayer. Heads were bowed all over the
building, and silence reigned, Mr. Sankey breaking it by playing
the soft strains of " Almost persuaded," which he sang, or rather
recited, in a broken voice. Mr. Moody asked those Christians
to arise who wished other Christians to pray for them. Almost
the entire audience rose to their feet. Then the unconverted
were invited to stand up and ask Christians for their prayer.
Rev. Mr. Johns led in prayer, remembering both classes — the
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA.
697
converted in need of help and the unconverted in need of a
Saviour. Dr. Newton, after this, recited the Lord's prayer, and
all the congregation followed. The doxology, " Praise God, from
whom all blessings flow," was sung, and Mr. Moody said that
there were about four minutes of the old year left, which he
wanted spent in silent prayer. It was an awful solemn four
minutes. It was so silent inside that the sudden clang of the
bells and shriek of the whistles on the stroke of twelve on all
sides of the building broke with startling distinctness on the
ear. A few words of prayer were uttered in the meanwhile by
Messrs. Moody, Sankey and George H. Stuart, the multitude
still bowing their heads. The benediction was impressively pro-
nounced by Rev. Dr. Plumer, and Mr. Moody, wishing all a
*' Happy New Year," closed the meeting.
Dr. Plumer said, "I wish you all a Happy Eternity," and with
this solemn greeting the vast multitude passed out.
The Mid-Day Service.
At the noon service, which was specially for the reclamation
of inebriates, more than a hundred requests for prayer were read
for unfortunates of all ages and sexes of that class. Mr. Moody's
text was, "All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth."
He told of a man who, in his drunken moments, came into one
of these meetings, declaring : " John Wannamaker's catchpenny
won't have any effect on me." But the question, "Where art
thou?" so affected that drunkard that he was led to the Saviour.
Dr. Plumer, president of Columbia College, exhorted the peo-
ple, saying : " Oh, believe ! Be saved ! Come, ye opium-eaters
and smokers, ye drunkards and ye chloral drinkers, come all and
be saved ! "
The hymn " Sowing the Seed " was announced. Mr. Sankey
said, Before we sing this song I will tell you one reason why we
should sing these hymns, and that is, God is blessing them to
many a poor wanderer who comes to this building night after
night. Last week a man who had once occupied a high position
698 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
in life came into this hall and sat down. While I was singing this
hymn he took out his pass-book and wrote down these words :
" Sowing the seed of a Hngering pain,
Sowing die seed of a maddened brain,
Sowing the seed of a tarnished name,
Sowing the seed of eternal shame.
Oh, what shall the harvest be ? "
Last night that man in the inquiry-room went on his knees and
asked God to break the chain that had dragged him down from
such a high position to the lowest of the low. He said he had
resolved when he went out of that praise-meeting that he would
cease to indulge in the intoxicating cup, but before he reached
home he went into a saloon and broke his resolution. We prayed
for him last night. He is now praying that God may break his
chain. I want you to pray that this brand may be plucked from
the burning, and that God may use these Gospel hymns to turn
the hearts of sinful men.
Rev. Dr. Cuyler, of Brooklyn, said the question was asked :
"Are there any permanent results following the labors of these
two brothers. Moody and Sankey, in the only two cities they have
visited in this country?" We had no substantial results in
Brooklyn until the froth of novelty had blown away. In Phila-
delphia the froth of novelty has now blown away, and you have
got to the blessed work. Every church in Brooklyn that followed
up the labors of Moody and Sankey with personal effort is to-day
in the midst of a greater or more limited revival of religion, and
every case that has been followed up by an effort has been suc-
ceeded by a permanent conversion. Our chief difficulty was from
the self-indulgence of church-members who were greedy to get
enjoyment for themselves and not pass it to a dying soul. Sab-
bath-school teachers were quickened in their work, but the great-
est results of the work have been in regard to young men. Two
union prayer-meetings have grown out of the work^one in Brook-
lyn and the other in New York. God has blessed the labors of
these brothers in reaching that class of men who are addicted to
strong drink. The most significant example I haVe yet met with
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 699
in Brooklyn is that of a man given np b}' everybody. Tliat man
was picked up in the mud before my church-door many a time,
and he has stood before that church and damned it. He is now
sitting at the feet of Jesus, humble and in his right mind. If God
will save him, He will save any man in this city.
Mr. Moody said he had received a note Sunday night, asking
him if a person could come to the Saviour if he wanted to, or, in
other words, has one power in himself to come ? To answer this
he read from Matthew xi. 27, and from other portions of Scrip-
ture. If a man wants to come, no power on earth or hell could
hinder him ; but God will not receive any one who is not willing
to give up his sins.
The only sorrowful meeting of the week is the prayer-meeting
for drunkards on Friday. The glimpse that is given in these
meetings into many of the homes of the great city is an appalling
one. Wives, sisters, daughters, send up a bitter cry for interces-
sions in behalf of those who are walking in the sure way to death,
and wrecking the happiness of others in the work of their own
destruction. And darker still was the revelation when the re-
quests for prayer mentioned wives, mothers, and daughters has-
tening to a shameless end through strong drink. One note was
in behalf of a wife in a home of wealth, of social position, the
slave to strong drink, " whose husband would gladly give all his
wealth for the restoration of his partner and their home." An-
other for an only daughter given to the use of intoxicating liquors.
The prayers in behalf of these cases are most urgent and beseech-
ing, and it is a relief to these dark unveilings to know that some
of the poor slaves of drink have been rescued from their bondage,
and brought in humility and penitence to the feet of Christ.
A Sunday-school Day at the Depot Church.
Thursday, January 6, the noon-day service at the Depot
Church was specially in the interest of the Sunday-schools. The
platform was crowded, as was also the space in front of the sepa-
rating curtain, which was finally lifted and a large number of per^
700 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
sons occupied the space beyond. Mr. Moody conducted the
services, which began by singing, under Mr. Sankey's leadership,
the hymn beginning, " There is a land of pure delight." After
reading a few verses from Matthew xviii., Mr. Moody said :
We have been having such a tender time in these noon-day
meetings for a few days back, that we want to keep on to-day in
the same line. And so our topic is, " How to lead our children
to Christ."
Now my experience in the Sabbath-school has been something
like this : that wherever I could find a teacher who was willing to
work personally with the children, and get them to learn one by
one, and talk with them, and pray with them, and pray for them ;
and then, after they had succeeded — because that kind of work
always succeeds — in bringing them to Christ, if they just nursed
them, and fed them with the sincere milk of the Word— instructed
them, and taught them how Christians ought to live, how Chris-
tians ought to walk — that teacher has always been successful. I
never knew such a teacher to fail But those teachers who never
speak to their scholars, except in the class and when they are all
together, are about as successful as the ministers who never have
any inquiry-meetings, and who always meet their people in the
pulpit, and preach to them in a body. If we are to be successful
in leading children to Christ it must be done personally.
A friend of mine, who has been a teacher some time, said to
me that he had never seen a soul converted. He had in his class
five young ladies of position and influence in the town in which
he lived. He had tried to teach them the Bible, and had talked
to them about Christ, but had never spoken to them personally
about their going to Christ. Some remarks were at length made
to him about working personally with the children. He went
home and thought over the matter, and the next Sunday he said
to one of the five young ladies that he would like to see her and
have a little talk with her after the school had broken up. The
young lady stayed when the rest \vent out, and he then spoke to
her personally about her soul's salvation ; told her how anxious
he was for her conversion. The tears began to trickle down her
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA.
701
cheeks, and he found that she was ready to be taught the way.
The next time the others met that young lady they asked her
what he wanted of her, and she told them. The next Sunday he
asked another one to stay, and in five Sundays those five young
ladies were led to Christ, and all of them have been successful
teachers now for five years. Remember that this was done in five
short weeks, by exhorting them personally, and praying for them.
I remember once going out with two of my teachers' class, call-
ing upon some scholars. We went into one house and met three
young ladies who had grown up in our mission Sunday-school.
They had been there from little childhood up. As I went out I
said, " Now let us go to work and see if we can't win those three
to Christ. You take Margaret, you take Sarah, and I will take
Henrietta, and we will give them books, write to them, visit and
pray for them — work personally with them." Within a month
two of them have been led to Christ, and since I have been in
Philadelphia a young man has come to me from Chicago and
told me that Margaret has been converted. Prayer has prevailed,
and those three have been saved, and two of them have been co-
workers with me in the Sabbath-school for a long time.
If teachers here will hold their classes next Sabbath with a
determination, God helping them, that they will try to lead one
soul to Christ, and pick out one member of their class and ear-
nestly endeavor to work with that one member, you don't know
what you may do for Christ. And if you can't see them on Sun-
day, make a point of meeting them through the week, invite them
to some of your meetings, and then pray to God to convert them.
My friends, when you turn one of these litde children to Christ,
you don't know and you can't tell what God may do with them ;
you don't know how they may be raised to be a great blessing to
the honor of the Lord, or how they may hereafter turn hundreds
and thousands to Christ. If we don't get into this personal work
of dealing with souls I don't think we are going to be very suc-
cessful. It is my experience, after having superintended schools
for twelve or thirteen years, that the people who deal personally
with the scholars make the successes.
702
MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
And not only that. How very few mothers take their children
off into a room, talk with them, pray with them, tell them the way
to Christ ! I know if that were done we would have fewer re-
quests here from mothers for drunken sons ; but the fact is that
hundreds of mothers do not believe in the conversion of their
little children, and the result is that soon those children wander
into billiard-halls and drinking-saloons, and at twenty many of
them have become confirmed drunkards, and then, and then only,
the mothers begin to wake up and cry to God that He must save
their sons. We ought to commence earlier.
In Cincinnati, at a Sunday-school meeting, the little children
were repeating verses, and one of them, a little child only four
years of age, got up. She was so small she had to be put up on
a seat. She got scared at the ■ people, and was afraid to repeat
the verses her mother had been teaching her through the week —
*' Suffer little children." With trembling lip and heart, she said,
" Suffer little children," and then broke down. She commenced
again, " Suffer little children to come," and broke down the sec-
ond time. She attempted it the third time, " Suffer little chil-
dren to come, a7id do?i't any of yon stop them from o?ie and all to
come." She had got the meaning of the phrase. She could not
have given a better one.
Don't any of you stop them, for God wants them all to come,
and it is this miserable unbelief in the church that is keeping
back the children. How many could be brought to Christ in the
morning of their days if we labored for their salvation as we
should. God help us to be wise while we have our children with
us young— their hearts tender. Let us pray to make an impres-
sion on them for eternity, that they may go to Christ in the morn-
ing of their day.
Mr. Sankey said many a parent and many a teacher, it is to be
feared, as the result of all his earthly career, will at last be able
to say nothing better than that he has gathered "nothing but
leaves." Pardon me, then, while I sing that hymn, and let each
one pray that his harvesting will be far better.
After singing, the Rev. H. C. McCook spoke as follows : Faith
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 703
is natural to a child. There is scarcely anything that a child does
not receive by faith. In the family circle, when he comes to
learn the first principles of right and wrong, he has nothing for it
but the word of the father, "This is right, my child," or the word
of the mother, " This is wrong, my child ; you must do this ; you
must not do that," and the child believes. You scarcely ever
find a doubter among children. Now, God has already prepared
the children for this. When you come before them persuaded
that the child can be led to Christ — as Brother Moody has said —
persuaded that the Word of God which you teach is able to make
the child wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ — when
you sit down before that little immortal, God has made the whole
way, so far as his natural disposition is concerned, perfectly plain
and easy for you.
Now, what are you to do ? You do not need to stop and
explain what faith is, or what regeneration is, or to enter into any
other of these questions about religious doctrines and life, but the
great thing is to hold up the object of faith. If you can put
Christ's creed before the child, showing what Jesus is to the child
and to all the world, in all his lovely attributes, the child will fol-
low you, and the Holy Spirit will bring that child to embrace
Christ by faith.
Now, then, point to God as the Father of the child in Jesus
Christ. Let him be taught to believe through all his days that
this heavenly Father is his own father — his Father in heaven —
and that he may go to him for every blessing. Several years ago
I was playing with my own little girl and a companion who had
come to the house, when the children were both very small.
They were leaping down from the stairway, and as I stood below,
my little child said, " Papa, let me jump into your arms." " Very
well," I said, "go up a step or two higher," and I reached out
my arms. The little one stepped up and then sprung down the
steps without any hesitation, and I caught her safely. "Now,"
said I, " Gracie, you try it," and little Gracie went up a step or
two lower and stood as though she was going to make the jump,
but she didn't do it. Once, twice, several times, she tried to
704 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
make the jump and couldn't do it, and I had to reach up and
lift her down in my arms. Now, what was the difference ?
How can you account for the difference in those two children ?
Why, my own little girl had the spirit of a child in her. I was
her father, and so with an unquestioning faith she leaped right
down stairs, knowing that I would catch her. But the other
child was not of my family. She was only in. there as a playmate
for a season, and when she came to attempt to repeat the action
her little heart failed her, because she didn't see her father down
below with outstretched arms.
Rev. C. A. Dickey, D.D., next addressed the meeting. He
said : God has laid on me many responsibilities, under which I
tremble, but there is none that I carry like my two children,
because I feel that for those I am wholly responsible before God.
I believe that in regard to every other soul on God's earth some-
body must share the responsibility with me — some other father or
some other mother must divide it with me — but before God I feel
that for two souls I am wholly responsible. And I say that
nothing bears upon me like the weight that God has put upon me
for those two little children. And if I have one word to say to
you, knowing that most of you are parents here to-day, it is this
one thought, that the responsibility is yours and not the child's.
I therefore wish that this question had been otherwise presented.
Instead of how to bring the children to Christ, we ought to be
considering on our knees how we are liable to hinder the chil-
dren from coming to Christ, for I believe that there is nothing
v/hich can possibly interpret the promise of God and the precepts
of God but this thought, that so far as God and his plans of
mercy are concerned they embrace the children, and God is
exhausting everything to save them all, even those who are hin-
dered by others. It is to me the most humiliating thing that falls
from the Word of God that the disciples are presented in the
most beautiful picture of God's work as the obstacles in the way
of the children. There is no picture that God has painted upon
the Word so beautiful as that where Christ beseechingly says,
"Suffer them to come." And I say that the dark line on that
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA.
705
bright picture is the fact that the disciples must be rebuked and
be gotten out of the way before Christ can be gratified in the
possession of the children. It is not said, " Suffer little children
to be brought unto me," but " suffer them to come," as though
the little ones were themselves eager to come ; as though their
hearts were full of the desire to come ; as though they, by the
plans and purposes of God, could come ; as though everything
that was essential was provided but one thing, and that was the
removal of the obstacle, the taking away of the hindrance.
" Suffer them to come." " I am ready," says Jesus. The chil-
dren are ready. The trouble is that something is in the way,
somebody is violating some pledge, somebody is violating some
promise, somebody has thrown himself in the way of the child,
and it is prevented from coming to me.
Rev. Dr. J. Wheaton Smith, of the Beth-Eden Baptist Church,
related an interesting incident. He said that they organized
some years ago a mission on South street, and among the scholars
was a little boy who was a rider in Dan Rice's circus, and whose
mother kept a peanut stand at the Arch-street Theatre. The
little boy was a great trouble in the school, and none of the male
teachers could do anything with him. Finally a lady said she
would take the boy, and soon after he noticed the little fellow
looking earnestly into his teacher's face, and intently listening
to her. Through her he was led to the Saviour. He finally left
the school, and some time after they heard that he was a drum-
mer-boy in the Union army, and was mortally wounded. He
sent a letter to his old teacher, full of love, thanking her for
leading his soul to Zion. Some persons say that they are not
sufficiently educated for teachers, but, said the speaker, all that
is required is to have the love of Christ in our hearts, and He
will do the rest.
Mr. Moody gave his experience. He said where he found a
teacher willing to work personally with the children — get them
alone one by one and talk with them, and pray with and for them,'
teaching them how a Christian ought to live and walk — that
teacher has always been successful. Teachers that never speak
7o6 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
to their scholars only in the class are about as successful as
preachers who never have any inquiry-meetings. If we are going
to be successful in leading children to Christ it must be by per-
sonal teaching. Mr. Moody related several instances of the
successful result of personal teaching, both by Sunday-school
teachers and mothers with their children. If mothers would
take their children alone in a room and teach them, there would
not be so many requests by mothers for us to pray for sons who
are drunkards.
The Rev. Dr. E. P. Rogers said : I want to give a single illus-
tration of what my friend Mr. Moody said in his opening address.
One fact is worth a thousand arguments. He said we didn't
know what our children might be the instruments of accomplish-
ing in God's hands if they were early converted. I want to state
one single fact to him and to you. The scene occurred about
twenty-five years ago, and I shall never forget. One beautiful
Sunday morning word came to me that a little girl, six years old,
a member of my Sunday-school, was lying on her dying bed. She
was a child of un-Christian parents, the highest people in the
State, her father the Governor of the State, a former Judge of the
Supreme Court, a gentleman of the highest standing, but out of
Christ. The little girl as I stood by her bedside said to her
father, " Father, come here." She took him by the coat, drew
him down to her so that his head almost touched her cheek, and
said, " Father, I am going up, I am going up, I am going to
Jesus ; and now, dear father, I want you to promise me one
thing." "What is it, my child ?" said he, broken down in ago-
nizing sorrow. " I want you to promise me," said she, " that j-ou
will be a Christian and follow me to where I am going, up to
Jesus ; " and turning to her grandfather, an old gray-headed man,
nearly eighty years of age, she said, " Grandpa, your head is very
white; and your time is very short ; but, grandpa, follow me to
Jesus." So she passed away, saying to me, " Give my love to my
Sunday-school teacher, and thank her for all she did for me."
The next day we laid little Sallie in her grave under the tall pine-
trees of the Southern forest, and after the funeral this tall, stately,
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 707
dignified man, always attentive to my voice as a preacher, but
never allowing me to get near him out of the pulpit, said to me
with tears in his eyes, " Mr. Rogers, come and see us every da)",
and talk to us about Jesus, for we want to remember the little
preacher and follow her to Christ.'^
You don't know what your children could accomplish if they
were brought to Jesus. One of the sweetest pictures of the lat-
ter-day glory closes with this climax, " A little child shall lead
them." And there are children in your household who may yet
lead men and women to the Saviour, if we suffer them to come to
Him now-
After silent prayer, the Rev. George A. Peltz said : How can
we reach that very point ? How can we see in the children of
our homes and our classes that work of the Lord God so that
they will lead others to righteousness ? In theory I have long
held that they may be Christ's very early, but I had to wait
for a little girl in my own home to teach me that the thing was a
great reality. That little girl, five years old at the time of which
I speak, was singing around the room, "I love Jesus." We
thought it was to her only a matter of amusement, and one of us
said, " Do you really love Jesus ? " " Why, I can't tell the time
when I didn't love Jesus," said she. Love to Jesus appeared to
have sprung up in that little heart, so far as she was conscious
of it, as early as love to father or love to mother.
It taught me this : First, None can tell how early God's Holy
Spirit may take hold on a heart and mould it savingly. It taught
me, secondl}^, That very little ones may intelligently receive the
blessed Jesus ; and it taught me, thirdly. Never to doubt a child's
experience where there is a sweet trust and a loving faith in the
Saviour. As parents and as teachers let us hold to this.
One other lesson we may learn from children. A boy in my
o\vn Sunda3'-school was convicted of sin. He came to the school
hoping his teacher would say something to help him, but the
teacher did not. He v/ent home with his heart all crushed be-
cause he felt that nobody cared for his soul. He sat down alone
to brood over his terrible condition. His little sister came run-
>joS MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
niiig into the room, and as she came in she repeated the words,
"Let not your heart be troubled," and away she went. He
thought about it. Thought he, "Who sent me that message?"
He supposed an older sister had sent it, and he felt so grateful
that he went to thank her. She said, "I didn't send it." He
called the litde girl and asked who told her to say those words.
" Nobody told me," said she. " Where did you get them ? " said
he. She answered, " Why, I was learning my text for next Sun-
day." He asked where the text was. She showed it to him, and
for the first time the fact dawned on him, there is a Saviour who
said, " Let not your heart be troubled." He thought, " My teacher
had no such word for me, but Jesus had it, and I have it from
the lips of Jesus." And just there and then he felt that Jesus
had personally suffered with and sympathized with him, and was
ready to bear his burden and take away his sins. Let us hold
up a personal Saviour such as that. That is the Saviour the
children need.
Mr. Moody read a letter from an English correspondent, in
which a very touching account was given of the call up higher of
two Christian boys. " Precious Jewels " was then sung, and the
meeting closed, the mothers tarrying to pray in one ante-room,
and many of the men retiring for the same purpose to another.
Teachers in the Sabbath-school might well take some hints
from Mr. Moody. He preaches for a purpose. He does not
merely do it to interest, but to convert. He would not preach at
all, we may be sure, unless he did interest and instruct, but we
may be equally certain that he would cease to preach if he did
no more than this. His great aim is so to interest and instruct
that his hearers shall decide for Christ. When a teacher spends
all his time on that which will secure the attention and give in-
struction, he may find that after all he has accomplished nothing.
He has taken the easily-captured outworks, while the citadel re-
mains untouched. The heart, and not the mind or the fancy, is
the real object of attack.
Mr. Moody, in one of his sermons, said : " Suppose I go to
find a poor beggar-woman whom I have seen standing on the
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA.
709
street clothed in rags. I find her all nicely clothed, and ask,
'What does this mean?' She says, 'Why, Mr. Moody, a man
came and put into my hand, as I stood here, a ten-pound note.'
'How was that? Did you know how to put out the right kind
of hand ? Was your hand all right ? ' ' Why, sir, you don't un-
derstand. The stranger put the money, a ten-pound note, into
my hand ; laid it here on this very palm. Why, I got the money ;
isn't that enough ? ' Now, many come to me and say, ' I am
afraid I haven't got the right kind of faith.' Faith is only the
hand held out to God. Don't look at your hand, look up to God.
You don't feel joyful ? Take Jesus at His word, and let feelings
alone."
Mr. Marsh, who has been on Mr. Moody's track, writes :
I have not once heard the complaint, so often made after revi-
val excitement has cooled, that converts did not " hold out." It
was a common thing for people to come into his meetings indif-
ferent and go away converted. Indeed, the emphasis with which
he preached to all alike the duty of immediate surrender was a
stumbHng-block to some good people. Who could not see that
a man who decides promptly when an issue is fully before him,
is quite as much to be depended on as one who dallies a long
while over a decision ? There are no more steadfast soldiers of
Christ in the British churches to-day than those who enlisted
under Mr. Moody. Perhaps no other minister in Edinburgh has
had to do with so many of the converts in that city as Mr. Wil-
son, of the Barclay Church. He recently stated that he had
known of but two declensions. But I am sure that the most
important result of this two years' work is not measured by the
number of hopeful co'nversions in connection with it, many thou-
sands though they were. The breaking down of denominational
prejudices is most marked. The spiritual life of the churches
has been greatly quickened. Ministers confess that they have
preached since as they never knew how to preach before. " He
used to be a very different man, but he got a blessing when
Moody was here," was a remark made about an earnest Chris-
tian worker in Edinburgh, the like of v/hich one often hears in
^lO MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
Scotland. It was something marvellous how he inoculated those
whom he met with his zeal for souls. A business man in an
English town went to hear him in another city. They had a five
minutes' talk together. A new fire was kindled in his heart,
and since then he has had no greater joy than to preach in the
evening on the street to those who never go to church ; adjourn-
ing to some convenient room for a prayer and inquiry-meeting
with such as may be entangled in his net. In Aberdeen I found
the theatres filled every Sunday evening to listen to the simple,
pleading presentation of Gospel truth from a lawyer ; and a
police magistrate holding meetings in the Infirmary with the old
people who are too feeble to get out to any other service.
The results that followed his flying visits to some of the smaller
cities were sometimes quite remarkable. At Berwick-on-Tweed
I asked whether he held meetings there. " Yes, he was here
for one day." I suggested that such a short visit did not leave
much of a mark, probably. " Indeed it did," was the answer.
"It was the beginning of a great revival. Berwick has never
been the same town since." In many places the special revival
interest — if it may be called special in such a case — which began
with his meetings, still continues.
"Evangelistic meetings" are a common form which this quick-
ened interest in Christian work takes, — meetings with the special
aim of leading sinners to Christ. They are held in halls, in
churches, in tents ; on week-day evenings and on Sundays, con-
ducted sometimes by ministers and sometimes by laymen. Edin-
burgh seemed to be full of them. The noon prayer-meeting is
one of the notable results of the work in^the latter city. It is
held in the Free Assembly Hall, and attended by hundreds
every day. The ministers and members of all denominations
seem to be most thoroughly and delightfully united in it. It
flows on full to the banks with a current of its own. No one
comes for the sake of "keeping it up." The specific requests
for jDrayer that are sent into it sometimes reach a hundred in
one da}^, a goodly number being accompanied by thanksgiving
for answers received to prayers previously solicited. On Satur-
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 71I
days it takes the form of a crowded children's meeting, similar
to those held in Dundee and other cities on Saturday afternoons.
It is with sincere pleasure that we present the views of the
Rev. Dr. Richard Newton as to the work of Messrs. Moody and
-Sankey in Philadelphia. Dr. Newton is so widely known, both
in this country and abroad, from his prominence as a preacher
to children, as a representative clergyman in one school of thought
in the Episcopal church, and as editor of The Simday School
World, that a communication from him will always command
attention. Moreover as chairman of the committee of arrange-
ments for the meetings of the evangelists in Philadelphia, he has
had unequalled opportunities of learning the truth as to the sub-
ject on which he now writes.
I write, by request, a few lines expressive of my own impres-
sions of those dear brethren, Messrs. Moody and Sankey, and
of the work which they are now carrying on in this great city.
The details of their work are reported in the papers every day.
I need not dwell upon them. The striking peculiarities which
mark the men themselves have been spoken of, again and again.
We are all familiar with these. There are three points of view
from which these men, and their work, have most strikingly
impressed me ; and on each of these I wish to say a few
words.
The first of these is the illustration afforded in the zvork of
these men of the essential, practical union existing between Protestant
Christians. Many instances of this might be referred to in con-
nection with this movement. A single one may here be adduced.
This occurred rather in the preparation for the work than in the
work itself A part of this preparation was to have a class of
Christian workers trained and ready to go into the inquiry-rooms
and render service there, in guiding anxious souls to Jesus.
The class was composed of between three and four hundred
Christian men and women. These were gathered from the dif-
ferent churches of the city, known to be in sympathy with the
evangelists and their work. They were the best specimens of
Christian knowledge and experience that these churches could
712 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
furnish. And when convened together this body of " Christian
Workers " made up a deeply interesting assembly.
The preparation of these workers was intrusted to a committee
of four ministers, representing the leading Protestant denomina-
tions. The Rev. Dr. Breed represented the Presbyterian church ;
the Rev. Dr. J. Wheaton Smith, the Baptist ; the Eev. Dr. Hat-
field, the Methodist ; and the present writer the Episcopal church.
This committee met the workers several times for general coun-
sel and directions in view of the solemn and responsible work in
which they were to engage. At these meetings each member of
the ministerial committee addressed the workers in turn. There
was no concert or agreement beforehand, as to the points to be
discussed, and yet the most delightful harmony prevailed through
all the exercises. Not one jarring or discordant note was struck
from the beginning to the end. it a stranger had been present,
he might have listened most attentively to the teachings of these
men, representing the leading branches of the Protestant church ;
and for the life of him, he could not have detected the slightest
shade of difference in their teaching. From anything he saw, or
heard there, he could not have told who was the Presbyterian,
the Baptist, the Methodist, or the Episcopalian. The watchmen
on the walls of Zion were seeing eye to eye. They had ap-
proached so near to Jesus that they no longer saw things in the
decomposed rays of their separate denominationalism. The
pure white light that shines eternally from the Sun of Righteous-
ness was shedding down its beams upon them ; and, on that
grandest of all questions, "How shall a man be just with God.?"
they were made " one in Christ Jesus." And whatever helps to
'• bring us thus together in such a way is a blessed work, and one
on which God's blessing must certainly rest.
Another interesting point of view from which to contemplate
the work of these men is in its influejice for good 07i the churches.
We see several things from which this influence must spring.
One of these is the marked characteristic of these men. If
asked to put my finger on this peculiarity, I should say it was
great singleness of aim, a remarkable earnestness and intensity
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 713
of purpose. And to be brought into contact with such men,
especially when, as in the present case, they are possessed of
great magnetic power, cannot fail of having a good effect on all
about them. We hear the song of life pitched to a higher key
than we have been wont to sing it ; and before we know it, we
find that our own hearts and spirits have been attuned to har-
mony with this loftier strain.
Then, again, the church in general is receiving good from the
effect of Mr. Moody's style of preaching on the clergy. The
most striking peculiarity that marks his preaching, is its simple,
direct, practical, unceasing, and intensely earnest appeals to the
Word of God. And greater conformity to a style of preaching,
so truly primitive and apostolic, in the pulpits of our land, would
be an unspeakable blessing to the church. It would be to put
aside what the Apostle Paul calls " the enticing words of man's
wisdom," and substituting for them "the demonstration of the
Spirit and of power." This is .a great want of the church in the
present day.
Still further, these evangelists are. doing good to the church
by promoting, on the part of Christian people, a more careful
and diligent study of the Word of God. All the services in which
they engage lead to this result. This is especially the case with
the Sunday-morning services for Christian workers. I wished,
while at these last-named meetings, that every member of my
church could have been present, for I was satisfied that it would
have done them all great good. I never went to my Lord's-day
work in a better frame of mind for doing it than on the mornings
when I had the privilege of attending those meetings. What we
need among our church members in these days, above everything
else, is greater acquaintance with the Scriptures. And these
men are blessing the church by helping to lead Christian people
on to just this result.
The other point of interest from Vv^hich to contemplate these
evangelists and their work, is, in their power to reach and bless multi-
tudes of men not reached or blessed by the ordinary ministratiojis of
the gospel. This is seen in the character of the assemblies they
7 14 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
are addressing all the time. It is seen in the open acknowledg-
ment of numbers converted at these meetings ; and especially in
the numerous cases of those, lost to their families, or to society,
and given up to the body-and-soul-destroying tyranny of strong
drink ; but who, through God's blessing on their instrumentality,
have been " plucked as brands from the burning," and restored
to health and hope — to peace, to comfort, and to usefulness.
The recovery of one such would be a sufficient recompense for all
the time, and money, and labor expended in this work since
these brethren came to our city. But when this one comes to be
multiplied by dozens of scores of rescued men, of this most hope-
less class of all who go astray ; and when to this one class are
added large numbers of those in every other class of transgress-
ors, brought back to God, through the labors of these evangelists,
I feel, 'for myself^whatever others may say, or do — that I can do
nothing else than thank God for sending them here ; and pray
Him to bless them more and more while they tarry among us ;
and then to follow them with His blessing, wherever else it may
please Him to lead them.
Mr. Moody's Winsomeness.
Gentlemen thus write from Philadelphia :
For once we have an evangelist who is an evangelist. As such
no fault can be found in him, except by some scurrilous papers,
rumdealers and infidels. Many thanks to Him who has raised
up and sent to us Mr. Moody. No crotchets, or hobbies, or
eccentricities, or taint of heresy, or anything objectionable to
earnest Christians — what a comfort in this, to begin with. But
in expounding the Book he is mighty, because he has made it his
study, is full of the Holy Ghost and of faith, and has strong com-
mon sense. In all these seven weeks of labor no heresy-hunter
has even smelled any unsoundness. Plain, pointed, all-sided,
tender and intensely earnest, he reaches every case. In the
power of illustration he has no equal known to us — though he is
not conscious of any scholastic rules or professional technical-
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 715
ities. For once we have an evangelist who has solved that ques-
tion of ministerial conferences and Sunday-school institutes,
'■'' How shall we reach the masses V^ Over eleven thousand peo-
ple, of all classes, crowd the great tabernacle, all eager to get
near the stand, and all hang upon his thrilling words.
Mr. Moody is an organizer and a manager in the best sense.
Classifying Christian workers by age and sex, for greater effi-
ciency, by meeting at different hours and places adjoining, and
all under his direction, his way of doing things wins the co-opera-
tion of all. And if, as rarely is the case, anything falls out of
line, or is likely to disturb the harmony, he has the happy faculty
of shutting it off without offence. Hence what a work has been
done in seven weeks! No exact estimate can be made, of-
course, but inquirers have gone up to thousands. And the good
gained to the church members in attendance, and to the ministry,
cannot be told. At this point the interest is steadily rising and
extending, and it seems vastly important that Messrs. Moody
and Sankey continue here a long while yet. The sweet gospel-
singer has also won the hearts of the people by his unequalled
singing, and his loving labors in the inquiry-room.
In the churches that are enjoying the influence of these great
meetings, the good will long be felt, and the fruits seen.
God never has a work to be done but he finds a worker to do
it. Commonly, too, his choice is v.-hat just man's would not be.
Samuel blundered as to Israel's first king, and the last thought
of David, the chosen one, prefigured the mlschoices of the kingly
ones by men, and their rectifications by the Lord of the kingdom
ever since. John, the shaggy rustic of the wilderness, with loath-
some " locusts and wild honey " for " his meat," grimy fishermen,
and a hot-headed youngster fiercely " haling men and women to
prison," who of the " wise men " would have picked these as the
men to tell the world the great redemption story?
They were chosen and did it. Seventy 3'ears of Sunday-school
Vv^ork has drawn Christians into the general use of what are
called the International lessons, which are simply a plan by
which Christians agree to open to the same chapter and study it
7l6 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
together, each Sabbath of the year. The Christian world never
before by their own choice hit upon such a doing together of any-
thijig. It has pleased Jesus the king, and throughout the world
he has drawn the heart of man to the divine Word in a wonderful
manner. He has anointed ones in the service. This humbly
born, illiterate Mr. Moody is a " chosen vessel," or witness to the
treasures hid in the book of grace. He didn't set out to do this
work. He doesn't claim to be doing it beyond all other men. I
think he is doing it, though he may not know it, for while aiming
at and attaining other wonderful work — using this as a means
only — he is educating millions in a way of study, which will go
on after all his other work ends, and outgo it in real value.
Look at this assembly, seven or eight thousand, at early morn-
ing of Sabbath, or at 4 p.m. of a week day ; sitting around him in
far more reverent intensity of heed than the disciples of Socrates
or Plato on the banks of the Illyssus ever showed ; than any
group of pupils in any " Divinity School " I have seen ; no
trifling, no fun-making, no dawdling, as in class-rooms ; but the
eager, diligent thousands hearken and turn to chapter and
verse, and make notes of his words, as of no professors of
exegesis and sacred literature I have yet seen.
The value of the work is not alone, not mainly, in what he
does himself, but more in what he is training them to do. These
may show what that is.
(^.) A supreme aim to push the divine Word up to the souls of
men ; to touch all men with God's thought in the Word, whatever
that is. Face to face with God, his friend or his foe, is the prac-
tical fact in this way of using the Bible. The narrative ; the
text ; the setting is second ; how to get at the soul through it,
is first. No matter for the stor}-, or the style, or the commen-
taries on it. Does it stop you from sinning and stir you up
to do what God would have you do ? The persons in the narra-
tive were good or bad, wise or foolish, as may be ; they are there
to carry God's question to you : Are you fleeing from the wrath
to come, and doing God's bidding to you ? To save souls, to
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 717
make alive in Christ, is the ever-visible aim in the reading, and
of his upspringing, comments as he reads.
(d.) Vivid personation marks these readings. Take Lot and
Peter. A quick-handed crayonist could put much of the " read-
ing" on a board as it went on. It would be Lot stealing a look
" toward Sodom," seeming not to see it ; the glamour of its
towers, warehouses, etc., stealing his heart. He gets there ;
makes money ; gets into city office ; is rich. See him strutting
about Sodom : boys whispering, " There goes rich Mr. Lot,
president of bank!" Been any Congress he'd been Hon.
John Lot, M. C. I Sounds well. He's done well for himself!"
Next he is seen lolling in the " best carriage in Sodom," with
wife and daughters, going to opera or theatre, etc. Religion
dead in his soul; "just like you, and you, worldly professor,
getting the world and losing your soul." Then two angels come.
They will put up with him. He's one of the chief men of
Sodom now. Why not have any distinguished strangers ? Ah !
he didn't guess their errand. They tell him ; ask if he has any
other but those in the house. Then the mob ; the stroke of
blindness; and, because they can't see, he gets through the crowd
to houses of sons-in-law. See him ring door-bell ; window opens,
with "Who's there ? " The tidings ; the call, " Up, flee for life."
They laugh at him; "mocked him;" he's out of his head.
There's no danger I Sodom never had better times or stood
firmer. He^s lost his witness ; men don't believe a word he says,
because he's been living as much in the world as they have ; his
testimony is good for nothing, just like so many here. Then the
storm ; the flight ; " the sin of Sodom," etc.
Peter was most effectively sketched ; with more of system and
naturalness than any other I have noted.
He is fishing; is called; leaves all; but as soon as he has
made himself over to Jesus, goes back to his business. [Con-
verts who would jump from the inquiry-room into the pulpit, etc.,
had a plain speaking to at this point] His call when the busi-
ness was good— nets full — (costs to be a Christian); he gets into
" Doubting Castle " — trying to walk the water — " most Christians
7l8 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
live in that castle." On the Mount of Transfiguration he started
" toward Rome " — a touch of High Churchism got into him.
He would have three tabernacles : one for Moses, one for Elias,
one for Christ — all alike, bring Christ down to their "old saints' "
level ! Instantly they were gone ! Christ alone with them ; a
voice of thunder, " hear him ! hear him ! "
This was a masterstroke in the reading. With avv'ful emphasis,
" hear him " rang over the throng. Peter's fall was divided into
six steps — each a kind of medallion scene around the central
figure, which grew into bold and powerful form as he " read him
out." (i.) The feet-washing refusal; didn't know how dirty
travel in the world had made him. (2.) Self-confidence ; " If all
forsake, not I," etc. (3.) Got asleep ; " could not watch one
hour." Malchus and his lost ear, or a half-awake Christian's
blunder, was a telling point. (4.) " Followed afar off" (5.) Got
into bad company ; by the fire in the hall. (6.) Lost his
temper ; swore, etc. This detail is given to show the method
the revival Bible-study is taking. It is simply the Bible made
alive !
Very ragged and inaccurate many of the chalk-marks are,
some almost grotesque, but life is in them ; Christ is in them ;
the way to be saved is seen by them as by no other use of Scrip-
ture. On this method the Bible takes the hearer along with
itself; it does not come at him, corner him, and "hew him in
pieces," as in some uses of it ; but it fills him with itself, and he
walks in the light, seeing by it his sins, and the blessed Jesus
ever so full of waiting love and mercy toward him.
Successors, more accurate, scholarly, and, we hope, as full of
Christ, will carry on this raising to life of the Word of life in the
manner Mr. Moody has so effectively begun. " Thy Word is
truth."
It is a wonderful record which is made of the meetings led by
Messrs. Moody and Sankey in this city up to the present week.
Including the young men's and 3'oung women's meetings, there
have been in all about 250 different services of the series, with
an aggregate attendance at them of perhaps 900,000 persons. It
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 719
is thought by the committee in charge that at least 300,000 dif-
ferent persons have in all been at these meetings. To the last
the interest in the services has deepened, and the attendance at
them has increased. The meetings of last Sunday, at the begin-
ning of the ninth and closing week, were as crowded as any from
the first of the series. Very many Christians have been quick-
ened to new activity in the work of the Lord, and very many
sinners have been led to yield themselves to a waiting Saviour,
through God's blessing on these services. The good results of
the meetings are not to end with the removal of the evangelists
from Philadelphia. There is a new Christian life in this city,
manifested in a spirit of union, and in zeal and heartiness in all
religious endeavors beyond anything hitherto known here. Un-
mistakable evidence of this is given in the varied exercises of
the closing week of these evangelistic meetings. The brightest
anticipations of friends of this work at its beginning are already
more than realized in Philadelphia.
It is interesting to note that the closing meeting of the course
was densely packed by the best people of the city, while thou-
sands were unable to gain admittance. Faithful to Christ and to
the truth he wins the confidence of good men, and more than all
binds them closer to the Lord and to duty.
Mr. Sankey Answers a Question.
" How should music be conducted in the Lord's work?" asks
one. Before we give his reply we insert the crisp remark of a
veteran pastor :
" There are these three," said Dr. Plumer, at one of the Moody
meetings, " faith, hope, charity, but the greatest of these is char-
ity, for charity endureth forever. There are these three, prayer,
the sacraments, praise, but the greatest of these is praise, for
praise endureth forever."
I can scarcely expect that my view^s will be accepted by all
singers ; but my opinions are based upon the results of more
than fifteen years' personal experience in conducting the service
720 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
of praise in various branches of the Lord's work in this country
and other lands.
I will speak first of the music in the church, which should be
conducted by a good, large choir of Christian singers, who would
encourage the congregation to join heartily with them in the
songs of Zion, instead of monopolizing the service themselves,
I would not have unconverted persons leading the praise of the
people of God. I am fully persuaded that four-fifths of the tra-
ditional trouble with choirs arises from having unconverted peo-
ple conducting this part of the service of the sanctuaiy. If I
could not get a converted choir, I would go back to the good old
ways of our forefathers, and select the best Christian man in the
church who had a good voice, and put him up in front of the con-
gregation, and let him lead as best he could, and I am sure the
people would join more heartily under his leading than they
would with a choir who are anxious to show how well they could
execute some new tune which they have just found. But there
are very few churches, if any, in which a good Christian choir
may not be formed, and no one will doubt that when all the parts
of our sweet church songs are sung from the heart, and the
words of the hymn are distinctly pronounced, it is much sweeter
than where all are singing in unison.
I would have the singers and the organ in front of the congre-
gation, near the minister or speaker, and would insist on deport-
ment by the singers in keeping with the services of the house of
God. The conduct of the choir during the service will have very
much to do with the success of the preaching. Instead of whisper-
ing, writing notes, passing books, and the like, the choir should
give the closest attention to all the services, especially to the
preaching of the Word. There should be the most intimate
understanding between the leader of the singing and the pastor.
When new tunes are to be introduced into the church they might
be sung frequently by the choir alone, before the regular services
commence, as voluntaries ; thus the people would become some-
what familiar with the music, and when it is introduced into
the regular service they would be able to take up the tune and
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 721
sing it with pleasure and profit. New hymns and tunes should
be introduced occasionally, but great damage is often done by
injudicious choir leaders trying to introduce a new tune at every
service.
The congregation should be exhorted by the pastor to join
heartily in the singing, and if a choir-master j^ersisted in bring-
ing out new-fangled tunes in which the people could not join
during the hour of public worship, he should be set aside and his
place supplied by some one who would not be so ambitious to
show off how well the choir could perform, but who would be
glad to have all the people join in the good old songs of Zion,
which will be loved and sung until
"All the ransomed church of God
Are saved to sia no more."
The whole question of the singing should be kept in the hands
of the office-bearers of the church, and the choir should never be
encouraged to entertain the idea that they are an independent
organization, with power to levy war upon the church and bring
it to terms, or to secede from it and cause a disruption. Praying
singers are likely to be loyal to the church, and not to give
trouble.
The singing in the regular prayer-meeting should be of the
most spirited and spiritual character, and should be led by a
single voice, usually without instrumental accompaniment, so that
no restraints of any kind may interfere with the worship of even
the oldest saint, who might not be able to sing in just such time
and voice as would be expected were the instrument used.
The singing of long hymns should be avoided. Two or three
verses well sung and bearing upon the key-note or subject of the
meeting will do more good than a dozen verses poorly sung.
Old familiar hymns and tunes should be used, with now and then
a Sunday-school song, so that the children may feel that they
have a part in the prayer-meeting as well as in the Sunday-school.
The young should be encouraged to attend the prayer-meetings
to assist in the singing.
722 • MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA,
Nothing will kill a prayer-meeting more effectual!}^ than poor,
drav/ling, lifeless singing; while many a poor prayer-meeting has
been saved by good and spirited singing.
The American Sunday-school has done more to make us a sing-
ing people than all other causes combined, and to attempt giving
suggestions as to how its singing should be conducted, may seem
rather venturesome. But as there are schools where, for want of
a good singing-leader, there is a sad deficiency in this most
delightful service, I may be pardoned for dropping a few sugges-
tions for their benefit.
In the first place, you should have a lady or a gentleman who
can play the cabinet-organ. If you have not such an instrument
already, I would advise you to get one as soon as possible. Let
the leader, seated at the organ before the school, with a few good
voices near by, conduct the singing in a hearty and spirited man-
ner, inviting and urging all the teachers and scholars to take part
in it. You will have great difficulty in getting the children to
sing at all, if the tunes are allowed to drag, A word now and
then as to the meaning of the hymn, a few directions as to the
way in which it should be sung, and hints as to the correct pro-
nunciation of the words, will add much to the interest and profit
of the singing.
Do not let the school run into a singing-class. See that all the
hymns have a bearing upon the lesson of the day.
When union religious services are held, the singing should
occupy a prominent place, and it should be judiciously conduct-
ed. A union choir should be formed, composed of the best singers
from the different denominations in the community. The pastors
should select the persons from their own choirs or congregations,
and send in their names to the person or persons selected to have
charge of the singing. Frequent meetings of these singers should
be held for practice. Such hymns and tunes should be used as
are easily caught by the people, and such only as contain the
simple gospel ; those which are full of invitations to Christ rather
than to creed.
All these preparatory meetings for practice should be opened
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA.
723
and closed with prayer. Moreover each singer should be im-
pressed with the importance of bearing himself in the most exem-
plary manner. Especially should this be demanded from each
singer during the time of the public services, for inattention to
the preaching on the part of members of the choir will cause
more or less inattention in the congregation.
The time and tune should be led by the organ. The organist
should first play a measure or two, to indicate the time and move-
ment. At the close of this all should join heartily in the singing,
leaving no place for the appearance of the quite useless appen-
dage of too many religious gatherings— a fussy singing-leader.
During the public service I would not have the leader stand up
before the audience, and with a stick or a book beat the time with
such fearful gesticulations as to call the attention of the people
from the singing to himself. Let there be nothing about the
choir to divert the audience from their part of the worship. All
should try and understand the sentiment of the hymn or sacred
song, and enter into it with heart and voice, in a prayerful frame
of mind, silently asking God to bless the song to every soul.
I am persuaded that much interest may be added to evangel-
istic services by the singing occasionally of some sweet gospel
hymn by a single voice. If the voice be strong enough, and the
pronunciation of the words be clear and distinct, and the singer
be full of f^iith that God will bless his message, I have no doubt
that many will accept the "gospel in the song" who would, per-
haps, otherwise remain unreached by the truth. I would not
permit solo singing, or any other kind of singing, to take the place
of the preached Word ; but solo singing, properly conducted,
may be a means of attracting people to the services who would
not have come simply to hear a sermon in the usual way.
What is most needed in all these things is that they be at-
tempted in prayer and faith, and to the glory of God. Ministers
should pray for the singers and the singing. The singers should
pray for themselves and their work. Thus may a bond of union
be formed in this service which will be owned of God, and thereby
will the world be led to see still more and more of the power
of sacred song in winning souls to Jesus.
724 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
At an immense praise-meeting presided over by him, additional
words were spoken worthy of being read by many ten thousands.
Mr. Sankey said: "There has been running through my heart
since coming here this evening, a sort of mournful note along
with these notes of joy. It is that these meetings are soon to
pass away — that this is the last praise-meeting we shall probably
join together in on earth. But with that thought comes this
blessed thought, that by and by, with this large company, and
wdth other large gatherings we have met elsewhere, we shall meet
to sing a better song than we have ever sung on earth. We are
glad of the Christian hope and assurance we have that we shall
stand with that company, and our song shall be, 'Hallelujah, 'tis
done ; I believe on the Son ; I am saved by the blood of the
crucified One.' I would to God that while we are praying, sing-
ing, and speaking to-night, souls may decide for heaven. We are
fast moving on to judgment. May God help us all to believe on
Jesus, so that when we stand before the presence of the King we
may be able to join in the new song of Moses and the Lamb."
Mr. Sankey and the congregation then sang, " 'Tis the promise
of God full salvation to give."
Rev. Dr. McCook spoke of the way Messrs. Moody and San-
key had overcome the prejudices of the people of Scotland against
the organ and songs. When Mr. Sankey showed them he was
singing the Gospel, it struck some of the people as a novelt}^, but
it was no new thing. It was only a part of the old, old way of
declaring the old, old story. He quoted several texts of Scripture
to prove that there was a mij^hty influence in Christian song to
retain in the minds of the people the truths of the Gospel.
Mr. Sankey said : "I have received so many cheering letters of
how these little hymns are blessed, that I am encouraged to go on
with this speaking to one another in hymns and songs. It is
wonderful how these hymns have been spread all over the world
these last two years. After our work in London was over, I had
twelve days to spend before sailing for home. I thought I would
slip off where I would get rest, where I would not be asked to
sing or even talk about these meetings. I went to Calais, thence
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 725
to Paris, and on to Switzerland. I went to the capital of Swit-
zerland, near the foot of the Alps. The evening I got there, the
first thing I heard under my window was the most beautiful vol-
ume of song that I almost ever heard. I looked out of the win-
dow and saw about one hundred and fifty people singing this
sweet hymn : ' Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe on his gentle breast.'
It had been translated into their language. I recognized the
words. I spoke to them through my friend as an interpreter.
The next evening they were requested to attend a large gather-
ing in the capital of that country. I promised to go down and
sing a hymn or two. The old French church was packed, and
people were standing in the street. These people sang nearly all
the hymns that you sing to-day. They had been translated and
sung for months. I heard the children sing them in the Alps.
As I returned through another portion of France, I heard those
hymns sung on board the railway trains, and I thought, ' What
shall the harvest be ? ' You do not know how many souls have
been rested by hearing ' Safe in the arms of Jesus.' Then, I
said, by God's grace I will keep on singing, and I will encourage
every other person who has a voice to keep on singing these sweet
stories of Jesus and His love, and somebody will be blessed, just
as somebody is being blessed here. May God bless the singing
of these hymns throughout the earth until we meet to sing a
better song in heaven."
Rev. Dr. Sheppard said : "We owe a special debt of gratitude
to God that in His good providence He has made the service of
song so efficient in publishing the Gospel. When I first had the
pleasure of being acquainted with Mr. Sankey I told him he had
actualized an idea of the Rev. Albert Barnes. Mr. Barnes said
to me a few weeks before his death, if he could sing as well as I
could, he would not preach but would sing the Gospel in the
pulpit ; for he thought he could accomplish more by singing than
preaching it. The first song I heard Mr. Sankey sing was : ' Je-
sus passeth by,' and I said that was the most eloquent sermon I
ever heard ; it spoke of the opportunity present — soon to pass —
and actually passed. It was most impressing and powerful."
726 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
Mr. Sankey rendered the flivorite hymn, "Jesus of Nazareth
passeth by." His voice, in the Hnes " Oh, all ye heavy-laden,
come," and afterward in " Too late ! too late ! will be the cry,
Jesus of Nazareth has passed by," became so low, broken, full of
pity and clear withal, that dozens of jDeople half rose from their
seats and bent forward toward the stage as if by magnetic attrac-
tion. Mr. Sankey's singing was as fine as ever, and it seems
strange that any one v/ho listens to his beautiful songs of praise
is not touched and brought to look upon the question of eternal
life as the most important that could be presented. Men have
risen for prayer who have stated that they were brought to realize
their lost condition and to seek salvation through the hymns that
they have heard sung.
Mr. Moody read the 35th chapter of Isaiah, after which he
made an earnest pra3'er, thanking God for the rich blessings that
he has showered upon the people. Reports were then received.
Mr. Moody first made the report as to the women's meetings. He
stated that they are very interesting, and God is showing his
power greatly. The prayers of mothers and wives are being
amazingly answered. The 87th hymn was then sung,
Lord, I hear of showers of blessings.
The reports were then continued as follows : Mr. George H.
Stuart reported a great awakening in the First Reformed Presby-
terian Church. He said that the pastor had taken a great inter-
est in the revival services, and that since they have commenced
his only son has given his heart to Christ. There are now twenty-
three young men who are living witnesses of what Jesus is dcing
in that church, and while he could not give the number of ladies
who have professed Christ, he would say that there have been
quite a large number. Several young men in his store had come
out on the Lord's side.
Mr. Rowland represented the Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion. He said that the prayer-meetings on Saturday evenings
are largely attended, and that there is an average of twenty young
men who at every meeting rise for prayer and express a desire
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 727
to come to Christ. There have been twenty-seven drinking men
converted. Meetings have been inaugurated by the young con-
verts among the workmen at the Gas Works and the seamen on
board of the receiving-ship. He also stated that a good work is
being done by the Yoke Fellows, and that bands of workers
were going out, holding meetings, and bringing men to the
Saviour.
Professor William Johnston followed by stating that a great
awakening was going on in a small mission near Germantown,
and that on' last Tuesday evening some twelve or fifteen arose
for prayer, and before leaving the place gave their hearts to
Christ. On Sunday a meeting was held at the House of Correc-
tion, the result of which was most encouraging. Over one hun-
dred persons arose for prayer. At the Bethany Presbyterian
Church, at the request of the pastor, he reported the most happy
results. At the last communioii twenty-nine persons arose for
prayer.
Mr. Wannamaker made a very encouraging report of what the
Lord is doing at the young men's meetings. He said that they
are largely attended, and that nightly a score or more men rise
for prayers and are led to Christ. The meetings are remarkable
for their length, and though it has been his effort to close them
at II o'clock, it is often midnight before some of the young men
are able to get away. He also said that many had been turned
to God through the singing of Mr. Sanke}-, and often when Mr.
Moody feared that he had foiled in his efforts to reach the hearts
of the people, a number ha\'e testified that the sermons had
induced them to take a stand for Christ.
Rev. Dr. Hatfield followed, and said that he had been greatly
encouraged with the meetings, and had given them very much of
his time. He spoke of the great work that is being done among
the women, and said the results are astonishing. He then referred
to the young men's meetings, and stated that he had seen as many
as fifty rise for prayer. The number of conversions are surpris-
ing, and, do what he would, he never could get away until a very
late hour.
728 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
Mr. Moody said that he had received a letter from a young
convert, a resident of Cedarville, New Jersey, who, several weeks
ago, while on a visit to this city, attended a meeting in the depot
and was converted. He went home and opened a prayer-meeting
in a school-house, which has been greatly blessed. The meet-
ings are still being held, and are being attended with glorious
results.
A school-teacher from the country during the Christmas holi-
days was converted at one of the meetings, and he writes that
after he got home he gathered the boys together and had a
prayer-meeting. Several have since been held, all of which, have
been greatly blessed. On Monday last a lady came in the
women's prayer-meeting and was converted. She said that the
evening before her husband had attended the meeting in the
depot and given his heart to Christ. The conversion was brought
about in this manner : The two had engaged in a quarrel, during
which their little girl, unobserved by them, on the porch knelt
down and prayed for them. A neighbor noticed the child, and
went into the house and told the parents. The quarrel ceased,
and that night the father went to the meeting at the depot, and
there was converted. He returned home and set up the family
altar. The result was that the wife and mother the next day
attended the meeting and was also converted. The family are
now rejoicing in the Savioxir.
Mr. John Wannamaker, who has so efficiently presided over
the young men's meetings, made a very encouraging report of the
work that has been done and is being done for the conversion of
souls to Christ. He said that it was difficult for him to know-
just where to commence, and what to say in the limited time
afforded him to speak. The churches in Y^?hich the meetings
have been held have been crowded, and very many interesting
incidents have taken place. On Sunday night, in Rev. Dr.
McCook's church, between four hundred and five hundred young
men on their knees consecrated themselves afresh to the Mas-
ter's work, and nearly all of those young men were converted
during the past eight weeks. He had never witnessed such meet-
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 729
ings, and on earth he never expected to be closer to God than
he has been while in attendance upon them. Every night men
ha\'e stood up and given their hearts to Christ, and are now
laboring hard for the conversion of all out of the fold. A recent
convert who once had been a Christian, but who had fallen
through the power of strong drink, related his experience. He
had lost two fortunes, and all his friends had left him, but through
the efforts of Mr. Moody he had been again brought into the
fold.
Mr. Wannamaker said he did not know how he could get into
words the report he desired to make of the young men's meeting.
He wished he could put it in like the beggar who came to the
door and said : "Please ma'am, give me a drink of water; I am
so hungry, I don't know where to sleep to-night." It has been
high tide all the week at these meetings, and they have been
crowdipd as they have never been before. He never expected
on earth to get as near heaven as he had been when at some of
these meetings, when in some portions of the house young men
were finding the Saviour, others weeping over their sins, others
singing joyous songs ; and such was the spirit of the hour that,
for the time at least, we were all Methodists. It was imiDossible
to enter into details, and, indeed, he would rather not mention
names or special cases except to say that among those who are
coming to take their places on the Lord's side, it seemed to him
that we have the promise of many Moodys and Sankeys, of grand
men to stand in the front and preach for the Lord Jesus Christ.
In all our city the shining host of heaven last night did not look
down upon a more beautiful scene than when between four and
five hundred young men in Dr. McCook's church were upon
their knees consecrating themselves afresh to the service of the
Lord. These men, so far as he had observed, were new recruits
in the ranks of the Master's army. The most beautiful thing
about it was that they came from all classes of society. Some of
the first men in Philadelphia are nobly confessing Christ, and are
ready to work for him. He believed the time was coming again
when, like Joseph, Shadrack, Meshech, Abednego, and Daniel,
730 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
the youDg men are to be noble witnesses for Christ. May God
speed the day when every yoimg man in this city shall feel that
it is the greatest privilege and highest honor to be on the side
of Christ and working for him.
Interest Culminates.
Such an interest in any matter has never been experienced,
much less in religious affairs. It would seem from the crowds
and the number of anxious inquirers that the Master's cause was
being taken up with the determination to carry it through to a
final and complete victory, that Satan and his followers are to be
overcome, and that truth and righteousness are to triumph over
sin and iniquity. Whatever may be said of the meetings, one
thing is certain, that an amount of good has been accomplished
during the past eight weeks that is beyond all calculation.
Blasphemers have been made to realize the extent of their sins ;
scoffers have been turned to Christ; drunkards have been re-
formed through the operations of the Holy Spirit, and those
who denied the existence of a God have been compelled to cry
for mercy and forgiveness. Where there has been strife there is
now happiness ; and where there was once discord there is now
peace. Families have been united, and husbands and wives,
once estranged, reconciled. With all this has come an entire'
dependence upon God, and but for the Scriptural teaching of
the evangelist, it could not have been brought about. With all
these evidences of the power of God, there would seem to be
nothing else necessary to prove the necessity of accepting the
terms of the Saviour. No happiness can be obtained outside of
Him, and he acts rashly who refuses to heed the warning words
of those who are holding up the cross.
Theirs is a holy work, that has the approval of all good men,
and, what is better than all, the blessings of the Father. Every
man or woman who has been checked while on the downward
path of destruction, and through the teaching and preaching of
the evangelists has been induced to look in faith for strength
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA.
731
to a Higher Power, has reason to than1< God that the meetings
were inaugurated. There have been thousands of brands rescued
from the burning, and who are now tasting of a happiness that
hitherto they knew nothing of. Arjything that brings comfort to
the sorrowing heart and peace to a family must be of God, and
those who are the instruments by whicii it is brought about can-
not but be His servants. For all the good that has been done
by the evangeh.sts and by all who are aiding them there is await-
ing a reward in heaven far richer than any gift that could be
bestowed by men.
So great was the desire to hear that the Depot was filled with
upwards of twelve thousand persons, and the doors closed, and
before twenty minutes from this time there were seven thousand
persons around the several doors of the building striving in vain
to gain admittance. There were two thousand persons forming
an excursion party from Wilmington, Del., and Ghester, Penn., a
portion of whom were unable to get within the building. It was
with much difficulty that Mr. Moody himself was able to force
his way through the crowd that thronged the door. One of the
doors was forced open and a number of persons took possession
of some of the seats reserved in front for the unconverted.
Among the distinguished persons on the platform were Hon.
Judge Paxson (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania), Mr. S. Iwanager
(Japanese Commissioner) and friend, Rev. Wm. Harmson (Balti-
more), Mr. Potter (President National Bank), W. Simes, Esq.,
Mr. Noblett (President Commercial Exchange Bank), Hon. Ho-
ratio Gates Jones 'State Senator of Pennsylvania^, Alex. Brown
(banker), Rev. Dr. Aikman (Detroit, Michigan^.
Before commencing his discourse Mr. Moody spoke of how
unfairly a part of the audience had acted in bursting open the
door and taking the seats reserved for the unconverted. Some
of those people who had taken possession of those seats had
been occupying them for the past two weeks, and he hoped their
consciences would trouble them so they would not sleep to-night,
and then they would not break the door open to-morrow. It
might not be right to make these remarks 'in regard to all who
732 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AIMERICA.
had come in b}^ that clod!", but those whom, the coat fitted might
put it on and button it up tight.
At the close of the meeting three thousand persons went into
the inquiry-rooms.
Such an anxious seeking for the truth has never been wit-
nessed, and it is a question whether the same amount of positive
good has been accomplished anywhere in so short a time. What,
apparently, is wanted by the people is the presentation of God's
Word in the same simple and easily-to-be-understood manner,
as has been the case the past few weeks by the evangelists. The
plan of salvation and the promises and mercies of the Father
are often so mysteriously clouded, that people do not really
understand what is required of them. Then again, the truth is
not unfrequently presented in such an uninviting form as to rather
drive away than attract sinners. The plainer it is stated the bet-
ter, and the more good is accomplished. Messrs. Moody and
Sankey have signally succeeded in this matter, for by their
preaching, praying, and exhortation, very many who never
opened a Bible are now studying the sacred volume and in it
are finding comfort and happiness. It may be said with a great
deal of truth that all classes have been benefited by the special
religious services — ministers. Christian workers, and sinners.
There never has been such a delightful period as the past two
months, and all who have been privileged to be present at the
Depot during the sojourn of the evangelists in this city will look
back upon the period with great pleasure, for they have witnessed
wonderful manifestations of the Holy Spirit and the blessings
of the labors of the good and faithful ambassadors of Christ.
Mr. Mood3''s example of constant speaking reminds us of the
resolution formed by Fox, the greatest of English orators, who,
after one frilure in the House of Commons, determined to speak
on every question, and so rose by degrees to be the greatest
debater the world ever saw. Mr. Moody says :
When I began my Christian course, I tried to work in the
churches in Chicago, and I was told that I had better not speak.
I went into the dark ianes and got meetings together. I kept my
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 733
mouth open, I did not let the church close it. Confess Christ in
season and out of season, and let the devil and the world talk and
throw stones at you. Your reward will come by and by. Take
a bold stand for Christ. You will never be good for much for
God's service until the world calls you crazy. If the world has
nothing to say against you, you are not much of a Christian.
" My subject is 'Instant Salvation.' What is that? One minute
Noah was outside of the ark, and the next he was in. The man,
Christ Jesus, is the ark, and the moment you step in you're saved.
A man came to me at a Manchester meeting, and said that it
was his feelings that kept him from believing. Said I, was it
Noah's feelings that saved him in the ark, or was it the ark ? 'Ah,
I see it I ' he exclaimed; * I've got to make a train. Good-by,'
and he was off. He afterward became one of the best workers
in that town. One instant Lot stood inside of Sodom, and in the
next he was outside — don't you see ? That's instant salvation.
The blood of the paschal lamb is placed on the door-posts in a
second, and the Hebrews are safe from the destroying angel."
Mr. Moody made another point in the six cities of Joshua on the
banks of the Jordan, and once within the walls of which a mur-
derer was safe from the avenging pursuit of the murdered man's
relatives. In imitating the actions of a man striking the bloody
blow, mounting his horse, rushing at breakneck speed over the
hills and through the valleys, and at last springing into the city
of safety, from which he turns a look of defiance back at his baf-
fled pursuer, Mr. Moody made quite a lively place of the pulpit,
and as he shouted until he became hoarse, his dramatic display
was very attractive. "As soon as we get into the city, we may
stop running — we're free. When the black man in our country
was in slavery, he always kept looking toward the north star ; he
knew there was no use in going into Pennsylvania or New York,
for he'd be brought back; but he looked farther— across the
Canadian boundar}^, where he beheld waving a flag under which
no bondsmen breathed. He is pursued, he flees, crosses the line
— is one instant a slave, and the next he stands under the Union
Jack a free man. The Queen's soldier is enlisted by simply hav-
734 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
ing a British shilling placed in the palm of his hand — made a
soldier in an instant. Do you want to know when you're a Chris-
tian? It's when you've got the British shilling. Is there one
here to-night who will cross the line and be free ? " [Voice,
" Yes."] " Thank God — any more ? " he inquired. [Voice, "Yes."]
" Praise the Lord ! Who else will come to Christ ? " A lady
arose to her feet and said, " I will." " Let us pray," said Mr.
Moody, "and let all who want our prayers arise. Now, don't
look around to see who else is rising." The intercession for
the penitents being ended, there was a general chorus of the
hymn, " Come to Jesus," and the multitude dispersed.
At the great Christian convention which assem.bled on the
19th and 20th of January, Mr. Moody said he had received a
great many letters from ministers and others asking him how to
get up these meetings, and how to conduct them. If you can
get two or three ministers and congregations agreed in a town of
five thousand inhabitants, let your meeting be appointed and
have it advertised ; and when the meeting is organized, do not
change the speakers each night to please the different denomina-
tions, but let one man speak each night for at least one week,
and then the people become acquainted with his way of present-
ing the Gospel to them. Let the meetings be short. Send the
people away hungry, and they will come back again. Look well
after the ventilation, and have good, lively singing. Have godly
men and women to sing from the heart, and sing new pieces
once in a while. The songs .of John Wesley went further than
his sermons.
There is no general rule as to how to pull the net and gather
in the harvest of souls. There are various ways, such as getting
them to go into the inquiry-room, or to rise for prayer. One way
to find out who want to become Christians is to get them to do
something they do not want to do. At a union meeting do not
speak on controverted subjects if they are not cardinal points ;
but if they are, we must take a firm stand. At these meetings
all denominations have given up something. The Quakers have
given up something, and so have the Methodists. Dr. Hatfield
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 735
has not shouted once since he has been here. [Laughter.] The
object of these union meetings is to proclaim the Gospel.
Mr. Moody expressed himself ready to answer any questions
that might be asked, and these several questions were asked by
the audience :
Q. If a meeting is to last one hour and ten minutes, how long
should the sermon be .-*
A. From thirty to forty minutes. A good many people, by a
long sermon, receive impressions and lose them again before the
sermon is concluded.
Q. What ought to be the character of the prayers ?
A. Special meetings ought to have special prayers. Regular
church services pray for everything in generah This is right ;
but when we have special services we do not want the prayers
offered for our rulers, but for the souls that are present.
Q. Where would you have the meeting held in a small town ?
A. In one of the churches, if there was no sectarian feeling ;
but if there is a spirit among the churches to bring converts to
their particular churches, then go into some public hall.
Q. In villages where there are several churches, and the church-
goers are cold, and you cannot make an impression on their hearts,
how would you act .''
A. Go on with the regular services, but have a special service
to wake them up. These special services are something out of
the regular course and it sets people to thinking.
A gentleman in the audience requested Mr. Moody to repeat
the questions before answering them, as the congregation could
not hear them.
Mr. Moody said he could not hear some of them himself.
[Laughter.]
The meeting for the hour closed with singing " Come Thou
Fount of every blessing." The doors were opened to allow the
departure of some, and the admission of others to the eleven
o'clock meeting, the subject of which was " How to conduct
prayer-meetings."
Rev. Allison Henry, of Philadelphia, made the opening prayer.
'j;^6 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
Mr. Moody gave his ideas of how pra3^er-meetings ought to be
conducted. There should be no formality. If the people will
not come up and take the front seats, the minister should go down
among them and take the stiffness from the meeting. The secret
of the minister's success is to get others to work. People who
take part in your prayer-meetings are the ones that don't find
fault; but when they don't work they will find fault. In Chicago
we have nineteen meetings a week, and there is no time to go to
theatres, if there is any wish to go. The prayer-meetings should
be open if you want to make them interesting.
Q. Do you think prayer-meetings are better than a Wednesday
evening lecture ?
A. I pity the church where the minister has no prayer-meeting;
I do not advocate giving up prayer-meetings for lectures.
Q. Should women and children be encouraged to speak in our
prayer-meetings ?
A. That is a controverted point. The Presbyterians say
women should be silent.
Q. Is it best to have laymen lead the prayer-meeting?
A. I think when a minister has been leading a pra37er-meeting
for fifty years it gets into a groove, and it would be an advantage
to have an elder lead the meeting; then, in the case of a vaca-
tion, the prayer-meeting would not be closed.
Q. How is a spirit of prayer to be developed in a meeting ?
A. It better be commenced in the classes.
Q. If there are members who cannot pray or speak, and yet
are good, conscientious members of the church, ought they to be
encouraged to speak or pray ?
A. That is an important question. When I was converted, I
got up in a good many prayer-meetings to speak for Christ. I
had zeal without knowledge. A minister took me one side ; he
colored up, and I knew something was coming. He hesitated
and then he hung his head. I said, "Say on." He said, " I
have no doubt but that the Lord has converted you, but — ah, ah,
^-ah, don't you think you would serve the Lord by keeping
silent?" [Laughter.] The man v;as honest, and if I had been
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 737
in his place I might have given the same advice. He should
have told me there was some work I could do. I was two years
in finding it out, and then I went into the lanes and went to
among the ragged boys.
Q. Don't you think it would be a failure in a prayer-meeting
if there was no effort made to bring unconverted men to Christ ?
A. There should be an effort made, but it is sometimes best
done by believers giving an account of the joy they experience
in believing, instead of exhorting.
How TO Get Hold of the Non-Church-Goers.
On this subject Mr. Moody spoke as follows :
I want to say a few words on this question if you will allotv
me. We have had in our city (Chicago), for a number of years,
what we call a "Yoke Fellow's Band." They meet every Sunday
night, say at six o'clock. We furnish them with tea. This
doesn't cost much, only about fifteen cents a head ; and after
they have drank their tea, and prayed together, they start out to
find recruits and bring them to the church. I have not known
for years what it is to preach to empty seats ; long before I had
any reputation to draw folks we always used to have our church
full. Many churches around us that had men with great names
to draw a congregation, very often during the Summer season
were only quarter full, or half full, but for the twelve months of
the year our church would be full. It was these young fellows
who brought them there. These men who bring in the recruits
off of the street, found probably in some dark saloon, and brought
in, will be anxious that you should preach well, and if the minis-
ter sees that his helpers are anxious that he should make an
impression upon his hearers, he will preach all the better for it.
There are hundreds and thousands of young men in this
country who want to work in the church, but they don't know
how. They want some one to set them to work. The way we
do in our meetings is this : We have two men generally go to-
738 MOODV AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
gellier ; we put ibcm on the corners of the great thoroughfare,
or we give them so many saloons, and billiard-halls, and hotels
to look after. Every saloon within a mile of that place of w'or-
ship is visited. Many a time I have gone into these saloons and
asked men to come and hear me preach. I know that isn't a
very proper thing for a preacher to do, but it's a good deal better
than preaching to emjDty seats. Some of our brethren said they
didn't like to do it ; I said there were a great many things we
didn't like to do. If we make up our minds to it, we can get
people to the preaching. If we roll up our sleeves, they w^ill
come. Then in the summer season never mind the church,
leave it to the owls and bats ; if the people won't come to the
church, go out on the first street corner you come to and preach,
or go to the court-house square, or the park ; anywhere, to get at
the people. And then when you get the people, have good sing-
ing. And remember when you sing that what the people want is
the words. The words, not the music, reach the soul and convert
the man. And then shake hands with every one who comes.
Instead of staying in the pulpit to pronounce the benediction, I
used to go right down to the door while they sang the last hymn,
then I'd get them as they passed out. Let the benediction go,
but shake hands with them. And we must have plainer churches.
And they must not have mortgages upon them. If we are all the
time stciggering under a big debt, we must be after the money of
the people, and that will soon drive them off. When they won't
come to the church, or, as many can't come-^mothers, washer-
women, people with nothing to wear — why, go to them. Ask
permission to go dowm to their rooms and hold a cottage prayer-
meeting. Let them call in their neighbors. That commits these
people to your side ; they are then known to favor religious
meetings, and good is done in that way. Don't arrange it so as
to keep the hymn-books in the church all the time. Let the
people carry the books home, then they'll sing of Jesus while at
their home work.
In answer to question. What was the secret of your success in
Chicago ? Mr. Moody said : The only way I got along in Chicago
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 739
was by going to preach to the people if they would not come and
hear me.
A Farewell Not Final.
At the close of the course of meetings in Philadelphia, the
Evangelists were greeted in the Old Depot by an immense au-
dience, from which thousands were excluded by lack of room,
who had come to manifest their interest in the mighty work and
its chief promoters. Deep solemnity rested on the vast assem-
blage, and many hearts were saddened by the prospect of the
departure of the men who had won them to Christ, or stimulated
and instructed them as Christian workers.
Mr. Moody, after making the announcements for the meetings
to follow, said that the expenses of the meetings had been paid,
but that this evening he would, on his own responsibility, ask for
a thank-offering with which to finish and pay for the building now
in course of construction for the Young Men's Christian Associ-
ation. He said that he desired it also to be distinctly understood
that they [Moody and Sankey] were receiving no money from the
committee, and declined to have any collections taken up in the
meetings. As to the photographs, they had no interest in them,
and for eight years he had refused to have any taken. If any
one had purchased a copy and felt cheated, he did not pity him.
It is true that there is a royalty upon the hymn-books, which is
paid over to a committee, consisting of Mr. George H. Stuart of
this city, William E. Dodge of New York, and Mr. Farwell of
Chicago. He did not know how much had been realized upon
the sale of the books in this city, but in order to satisfy any one
that no money has been made out of the meetings, the committee
would give one thousand dollars as a thank-offering for the Young
Men's Christian Association's Hall. He trusted that two hun-
dred and fifty thousand dollars wonld be subscribed.
He read the following letter:
Dear Mr. Moody : — Through the instrumentality of the blessed
meetings now closing, my darling son, a prodigal, and his wife are
740 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
now resting in a Saviour's love. The accompanying ring, the
gift of one dearly loved, and so long worn it seems a part of
myself, I now offer to my dear Lord and Master as a thank-
offering for His unspeakable blessing. Do with it as the Holy
Spirit directs. Please join with me in prayer that my son may be
consecrated to God, and be the means of leading many to Christ.
He said : Enclosed I found a diamond ring with eight dia-
monds. One man said he would give $500 for it. If any will
give more he can have it, but if not the ring will be sold for $500
and the money be given to the Y. M. C. A. Let us now go to
work and praise God by giving $280,000 for this object.
The ushers then began to take the collection up, and almost
immediately Mr. Moody announced that three persons had given
$70,000, and shortly after that another person had given $10,000
more, and that the diamond ring had been sold for $1,000.
About $100,000 were speedily raised, a short sermon was
preached, and then Mr. Moody spoke of his past nine weeks'
labor as most precious weeks to him ; but one cloud crossed his
path, and that was that he was now to take his leave of them.
He wanted to thank the people for their attention, and he wanted
their prayers for the success of the work in the metropolis of the
country. He thanked the ministers of Philadelphia for their sup-
port and sympathy. He also thanked the ushers, choir and re-
porters, and invoked the blessing of heaven upon them. 20,000
copies of his little book for the unconverted would soon be
ready, and copies would be sent to those who are not Christians
if they sent their names.
Finally, he said : We love you, and we want your prayers as
we go to New York. He then prayed most earnestly for all the
young converts, that they may be kept true to the faith.
After singing " Blest be the tie that binds," the happy throng
dispersed.
The Last Farewell.
After a brief absence from the city, the Evangelists returned
Feb. 4th, to bid a last farew&ll to the thousands who had learned
THE WCRK IN PHILADELPHIA. 74I
to follow them as the multitudes once followed the Master. The
Depot-Tabernacle was packed to repletion with an eager multi-
tude, many of whom were better content with a few square inches
on which to stand, where the words of the Evangelists could be
heard, than with all the pleasures of the great world beckoning
from the outside. On the stage were almost all the clergymen
who have taken an active interest in the movement.
Mr. Sankey, by request, sang the beautiful hymn,
Sowing the seed by the daylight fair.
The stanzas were sung as a solo by Mr. Sankey, the choir
joining in the chorus with much spirit and expression. The
chorus of the last verse was sung so softly as to give the sweet
effect of a distant choir of angel choristers. At the conclusion of
the hymn Mr. Moody arose, and calling attention to the fact
that at the last meeting a collection was taken up for the benefit
of the Young Men's Christian Association building, said that it
was necessary to raise about $280,000, and at the last meeting
only $120,000 had been subscribed. It might be supposed that
this was a good deal to spend on a building, yet many citizens
had private houses worth far more in actual value, and only one
family could reap the benefits. But this building was to be a
home for thousands of young men who might otherwise be led
astray by the brilliant palaces of crime which Satan was coh-
stantly rearing for the ruin of the young. If it was desirable to
redeem young men it was necessary to go where they would
naturally congregate, and this association, if provided with con-
venient and pleasant quarters, would attract the young of all
classes, and there the workers for Christ could labor. Continu-
ing, he spoke of the advantages of the Young Men's Christian
Association in other cities, showing that in Cleveland especially
the results were beyond calculation. Every young man, when
converted, became a Christian worker, and was it not better to
have one, or two, or three thousand young men voluntarily work-
ing for God than letting the young wander in any direction, while
a few hundred paid missionaries were vainly striving to stem the
742 MOODY AND SANKEY IN AMERICA.
tide of sin? He then told an affecting story of a boy who was
taken by his father from his Scothind home, and lost in the streets
of Chicago while the father was on a drunken spree. The boy
became a street gamin, and grew up surrounded by the worst
influences. Time passed on, and at length, through the Young
JNIen's Christian Association, the youth was saved. Then, as the
love of the Saviour pervaded his heart, the memories of boyhood
returned, and he was seized with an irresistible longing to gaze
once more on the face of the mother so long lost. He wrote
again and again to many different addresses, but the letters were
all returned. Almost despairing, he threw himself on his knees,
and in anguish called on God to help him. As he prayed, the
memory of a long-forgotten village came to his brain, and he
seemed to hear some spirit whisper that there he could find a
letter awaiting him. He wrote, and received the letter which
his mother had written to him seven years before. With this as
a guide he found the mother, so long lost, waiting in submission
to God's will for the return of her son, and when that son not
only returned, but she folded to her arms a Christian, her heart
overflowed with joy, and that one moment repaid for all the long
years of hopeless longing. "Was not the saving of this young
man," asked Mr. Moody, "worth all the money that could be
spent on any building .? Did not that mother's tears bestow a
double blessing on every giver and every worker in Christ ? "
Mr. Moody concluded by beseeching those present to each do
their share towards forwarding the blessed work of the Young
Men's Christian Association by aiding in the erection of a long-
needed building. While the ushers were passing through the
congregation with the contribution baskets Mr. Sankey sweetly
sang a new solo, after which Mr. Moody made a fervent prayer
for the blessing of God on the work already done, and asking that
on the golden shore of the Be3'ond all who had found Christ
might clasp hands without missing the face of one lost brother.
The 82d hymn,
Only an armor-bearer proudl}^ I stand,
Waiting to follow the King's command,
THE WORK IN PHILADELPHIA. 743
was next sung by Mr. Sankey, the choir joining heartily in the
chorus. At the conclusion of the second verse the entire con-
gregation of twelve thousand persons rose to their feet" and
Dlended their voices with those of the choir.
Mr. Moody next arose and said: "I want to call your atten-
tion to one little word in the fourth verse of the fourteenth chap-
ter of Romans. That little word is able, God is able to hold
you, and will hold you up if you have faith in His power, and are
not self-confident. There are three enemies which every young
convert has — the flesh, the world, and the devil. Don't think you
have got rid of them. Not only do the young fall, but some of
the most eminent men have fallen after years of walking in the
right path. Don't think you are to be wafted into heaven without
any effort. You have got to fight — it is a conflict. But how
sweet is the thought that God is able to make us stand. But you
must let God keep hold of you. It is a great deal better to have
God take hold of you than for you to try to take hold of God for
safety, while confident not only that you can stand alone, but can,
if necessary, retain your grasp. Every Christian's life should be
like that of the orange tree. In Florida I saw these trees grow-
ing in dry sand, and when I asked how they lived, I was told
that every tree Ii^d a top root which went right dow^n until it
struck water. We, too, must find a fount so pure and revivifying
that no surroundings can injure our spiritual growth. Now, I
want to call your attention to the second chapter of Hebrews, the
eighteenth verse. It is temptation that brings out the character.
We don't want to be like hot-house plants. We must learn to
overcome temptations. Our Saviour has been tempted, and He
knows how to succor them that are tempted. If you are over-
taken in a fault, 570ung friends, don't be discouraged ; go right to
Christ in your time of trouble and tell it right out. You will find
forgiveness and loving aid. Now look at the first chapter of
Paul, Second Epistle to Timothy. A great many predict that
these young converts will fall away. Perhaps some will. The
parable of the sower is as true to-day as it was when Christ first
spoke it. But if some seeds have fallen on stony ground or
744
MOODY AND SAN KEY IN AMERICA.
among thorns, is it any sign that God is not able to keep what has
been committed to Him? He is able to grant all our wants and
to aid us under all circumstances. You may tremble when you
look into your own heart, but you can't tremble when you look
towards God. The Bank of England is protected by soldiers,
who march around it all night long ; so the moment your eyes are
closed in sleep, God's angels are guarding you. Now, what I par-
ticularly want to say to young converts is to become united to
some church. If you have got your arm around the cross, don't
go to sleep there, forgetful of all others, but while clinging with
one hand, reach with the other down into the water and help to
save some one else who is struggling in the waves. One danger
which young converts always meet is found in spiritual pride,
which the devil instils into their hearts. Another danger is the
possibility of becoming lukewarm and losing all pride in the work
of God. Let ' Word and Work ' be our watchword. If you
neglect either the one or the other you \von't be successful. But
he who holds the word in one hand and works with the other
must advance nearer and nearer to the Throne." In closing, he
said : *' I hate to say farewell. I hate to leave you. The hardest
part of .our work is when we have to say farewell to those we have
prayed with and wept with. Let us pray th^g God may lift us
higher and higher. May God bless you ; may God keep you.
Keep close to the Saviour ; try to follow Him closer and closer
every day. I don't like the word farewell. I'll bid you good-
night, and by the grace of God I want to meet you in the morn-
ing where night can never come and farewells are never needed."
As Mr. Moody ceased, Mr. Sankey touched a few familiar notes
on the organ, and in the next moment began in a trembling voice
a farewell hymn set to the tune of " Home, Sweet Home." The
scene was an affecting one, and many were the glistening eyes
among the thousands who seemed to have forgotten that the
evangelists were ever to depart. A few moments were next
spent in silent prayer, after which the congregation and choir
sang in unison " The Sweet Bye and Bye," filling the vast audi-
torium with floods" of musical sound. The benediction was then
pronounced, and the audience gradually dispersed.
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