The Way . AND THE WORD. THE WAY. — Except a man be born again, lie cannot see the kingdom of God. THE WORD.— Search the scriptures. CHICAGOs F. H. Revell, 91 Washington Stkeet, PublisTier of Evangelical Literature. I Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1877, by F. H. REVELL, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. a i } > / INTRODUCTION. My Dear Friend : In sending you this little book, I specially commend the portion on Kegeneration. It has helped me veiy much. It was written by a gentleman in England, who has thoroughly examined the question, and presents it from a clear scriptural stand-point. It is a subject worthy your careful consideration. To those desiring to become Christians, I recommend it, because it tells from God's word what man is by nature, and what God thinks of sin, and it leaves no excuse to the sinner. At the same time it clearly gives the gospel remedy for sin. " Salvation through Jesus Christ." It teaches clearly the three great Bible truths : man ruined by the fall ; redeemed by the blood ; and regenerated by the Holy Spirit. To the young convert it presents the truth of the two natures, and shows the importance of living very near to Christ, that He may keep the old nature in subjection. A careful study of it will not only enable us to give a reason for the hope that is in us, but to clearly present the plan of salvation to others. In presenting " How to Study the Bible," I would emphasize the importance of Bible study. God's word is the Christian's daily food, and while we always need it, the vigorous, active, growing Christian must have it. We need it not only as a means of growth, but as furnishing the weapons of our warfare. The Christian, grounded in God's word, has a source of strength that can be IV INTRODUCTION. found nowhere else. If Christians feed upon the word, the world will be forgotten, and lose its power over them, and we shall be prepared to work for others. If Christians neglect their Bibles, they may pray and ask God to use them, but he w 7 ill not, for there is not much in them for the Holy Spirit to work upon. Depend upon it, if you get tired of the word of God, you are out of com- munion with Him. It is the best thing the world has, and if you are filled with it, it will shine through you, and you will draw the world to Christ. We must come to God's word with a teachable spirit, humbly feeling that we know nothing, and need to learn everything. The result of a prayerful, persistent study of the Bible will be : We shall walk in the light, lt The entrance of Thy word giveth light ; it giveth understanding unto the simple." We shall overcome sin. "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee." We shall speak for Jesus. " My mouth shall speak of Thy right- eousness all the day long ; and I will declare Thy faithfulness." Having studied the Bible, it is important that we know how to use it, and nowhere is this knowledge so essential as in our personal work for Christ. In this personal w T ork we can divide those we meet into classes. They are : First, the professing Christian w T ho has no liberty, and no assurance, but is in " Doubt- ing castle." The whole of John's first epistle was written for such. Use 1 John v. 13; iii. 2, 14, and 24. The second class are backsliders. Use Jeremiah ii. 5, 13, 19, 27, and 32; iii. 12, 13, 14, and 22; Hosea xiv. 1, 2, and 4; exam- ples of backsliders reclaimed, David, Peter, Thomas and all the disciples. INTRODUCTION. V The third class are those not deeply convicted of sin. Use Romans iii. 10, 12, and 23; Isaiah i. 5 and 6; I. John i. 10; Isaiah liii. 6. Avoid speaking false peace. Don't tell a man he is converted. Let God tell him that. See Jeremiah vi. 14. The fourth class think themselves too great sinners. They are under very deep conviction. Use Isaiah i. 18; liii. 4 and 5; 1 Peter ii. 24; Isaiah xliii. 25; xliv. 22; Romans v. 6. The fifth class don't know how to come to Christ. They must receive a person, not a creed. John i. 12. They must believe. John iii. 15, 16, 18, and 36; v. 24; vi. 40 and 47. They must trust. Isaiah xxvi. 3; Psalms xxxiv. 8. They must take a gift. Revelation xxii. 17; Psalms cxvi. 13; Romans vi. 23. They must come. John vi. 37; Isaiah lv. 1. The new birth. John iii. 7. 1 John v. 1 and 4. The sixth class don't feel that they are saved. Nowhere in the Bible is feeling coupled with salvation. The seventh class go away trusting and come back doubting. They have neglected to confess Christ. Use Romans x. 9 and 10; Matthew x. 32. The eighth class are afraid they will fall. Use Jude, 24th verse; Isaiah xli. 10 and 13; 2 Timothy i. 12; Romans viii. 35 and 39; Colossians iii. 3 and 4. The ninth class say they can't believe. Use John vii. 17. The tenth class say they will try to be saved. Use Romans iv. 5. Why people are unsaved. John v. 40. Who are invited ? Luke xix. 10; Matt. ix. 12; Luke v. 32. The time to be saved. See Isaiah lv. 6; 2 Corinthians vi. 2; Hebrews iii. 7, VI INTRODUCTION. The danger of delay. See Proverbs i. 24 and 28. Warnings. See Psalms ix. 17; 2 Peter ii. 9. Contrasts in conversions. There are no two alike. Matthew; Nicodemus; the woman at the well; the thief on the cross; Lydia; the Jailer; the Eunuch; Paul; the Centurian. Use the great invitations, Revelation xxii. 17; Matthew xi. 28; Isaiah lv. 1. 1 ask the pra} r erful reading of this little book, and trust we may meet all into whose hands it may fall in the King's country, to sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb ; and let those with whom we have labored during the past eventful w T eeks, go forward in the strength of the Lord, and be able to say, " I have fought a good fight, I have finished my coarse, I have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day. And not to me only, but to all them that love His appearing. Faithful is He which calleth you, who also will do it. Your Friend, Chicago, Jan. 1, 1877. D. L. MOODY. EEGENEEATION WHAT IS IT? There are few subjects which have given rise to more difficulty and perplexity than that of regenera- tion, or the new birth. Yery many who are them- selves the subjects of this new birth are at a loss to know what it is, and are filled with doubt as to whether they have ever really experienced it. Many there are who, were they to clothe their desires in words, would say, " Oh ! that I knew for certain that I had passed from death unto life. If only I were sure that I was born again, I should be happy indeed/' Thus they are harassed with doubts and fears, from day to day, and from year to year. Sometimes they are full of hope that the great change has passed upon them; but, anon, something springs up within them which leads them to think their former hopes were a delusion. Judging from feeling and experience, rather than from the plain teaching of the word of God, they are, of necessity, plunged in uncertainty and confusion as to the whole matter. 8 regeneration: what is it? Now, I would desire to enter, in company with my reader, upon an examination, in the light of Scripture, of this most interesting subject. It is to be feared that very much of the misapprehension which prevails in reference thereto arises from the habit of teaching regeneration and its fruits instead of Christ. The effect is put before the cause, and this must always produce derangement of thought. Let us, then, proceed to consider this question. What is regeneration ? How is it produced ? What are its results ? I. And, first, WHAT IS REGENERATOR ? Very many look upon it as a change of the old nature, produced no doubt, by the influence of the Spirit of God. This change is gradual in its operation, and proceeds from stage to stage, until the old nature is completely brought under. This view of the subject involves two errors, namely, first, an error as to the real condition of our old nature ; and, secondly, as to the distinct personality of the Holy Ghost. It denies the hopeless ruin of nature, and represents the Holy Ghost more as an influence than as a Person. As to our true state by nature, the word of God pre- sents it as one of total and irrevocable ruin. Let us adduce the proofs. " And God saw that the wicked- ness of man was great in the earth, and that every im- WHAT IS REGENERATION ? 9 agination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Gen. vi. 5). The words " every" " only" and " continually" set aside every idea of a redeeming feature in man's condition before God. Again, " The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy ; there is none that doeth good, no, not one " (Ps. xiv. 2, 3). Here, again, the expressions "all" " none" " no, not one" preclude the idea of a single redeeming quality in man's condition, as judged in the presence of God. Having thus drawn a proof from Moses and one from the Psalms, let us take one or two from the prophets. " Why should ye be stricken any more ? Te will revolt more and more : the wholehesid is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it" (Isa. i. 5,6). " The voice said, Cry. And he said, what shall I cry ? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field" (Isa. xl. 6). "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked : who can know it " (Jer. xvii. 9) ? The above will suffice from the Old Testament. Let us now turn to the New. "Jesus did not commit himself, because he knew all, and needed not that any should testify of man : for he knew what was in man " (John ii. 24, 25). " That which is born of the flesh is 10 REGENERATION *. WHAT IS IT \ flesh " (John iii. 6). Read, also, Romans iii. 9-19. " Because the carnal mind is enmity against God : for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be " (Rom. viii. 7). " Having no hope, and without God in the world" (Eph. ii. 12). These quotations might be multiplied, but there is no need. Sufficient proof has been adduced to show forth the true condi- tion of nature. It is "lost," "guilty," "alienated," " without strength," "evil only," "evil continually." How, then, we may lawfully inquire, can that which is spoken of in such a way ever be changed or improved? "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots ?" " That which is crooked can- not be made straight." The fact is, the more closely we examine the word of God, the more we shall see that it is not the divine method to improve a fallen, ruined thing, but to bring in something entirely new. It is precisely thus in reference to man's natural condition. God is not seeking to improve it. The gospel does not propose as its object to better man's nature, but to give him a new one. It seeks not to put a new piece upon an old garment, but to impart a new T garment altogether. The law looked for some thing in man, but never got it. Ordinances w r ere given, but man used them to shut out God. The gospel, on the con- trary, shows us Christ magnifying the law and making- it honorable ; it shows Him dying on the cross, and nailing ordinances thereto ; it shows Him rising from "that which is born of the flesh is flesh." 11 the tomb, and taking His seat as a Conqueror, at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens ; and finally, it declares that all who believe in His name are par- takers of His risen life, and are one with Him. (See, carefully, the following passages : — John xx. 31 ; Acts xiii. 39 ; Eom. vi. 4-11 ; Eph. ii. 1-6 ; iii. 13-18 ; Col. ii. 10-15.) It is of the very last importance, to be clear and sound as to this. If I am led to believe that regener- ation is a certain change in my old nature, and that this change is gradual in its operation, then, as a necessary consequence, I will be filled with continual anxiety and apprehension, doubt and fear, depression- and gloom, when I discover, as I surely will, that na ture is nature, and will be naught else but nature to the end of the chapter. No influence or operation of the Holy Ghost can ever make the flesh spiritual. and can never be aught else but " flesh ; " and " all flesh is as grass" — as withered grass. The flesh is presented in Scripture not as a thing to be improved, but as a thing which God counts as " dead," and which we are called to " mortify" — subdue and deny in all its thoughts and ways. In the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ we see the end of everything pertaining to our old nature. "They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts " (Gal. v. 24). 12 REGENERATION : WHAT IS IT ? He does not say, " they that are Christ's are improv- ing, or trying to improve the flesh." No ; but they have crucified it. It is utterly unimprovable. How can they do this ? By the energy of the Holy Ghost, acting not on the old nature, but in the new ; and enabling them to keep the old nature where the cross has put it, namely, in the place of death. God ex- pects nothing from the flesh ; neither should we. He looks upon it as dead ; so should we. He has put it out of sight, and we should keep it so. The flesh should not be allowed to show itself. God does not own it. It has no existence before Him. True, it is in us, but God gives us the precious privilege of view- ing and treating it as dead. His word to us is, " Like- wise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord " (Eom. vi. 11). This is an immense relief to the heart that has struggled for years in the hopeless business of trying to improve nature. It is an immense relief, moreover, to the conscience which has been seeking a foundation for its peace in the gradual improvement of a totally unimprovable thing. Finally, it is an immense relief to any soul that may, for years, have been earnestly breathing after holiness, but has looked upon holiness as consisting in the improvement of that which hates and loves sin. To each and all of such it is infinitely precious and important to understand the real nature IT IS A NEW BIRTH. 13 of regeneration. No one who has not experienced it can conceive the intensity of anguish, and the bitter- ness of the disappointment, which a soul feels, who, vainly expecting some improvement in nature, finds, after years of struggling, that nature is nature still. And just in proportion to the anguish and disappoint- ment will be the joy of discovering that God is not looking for any improvement in nature — that He sees it as dead, and us as alive in Christ — one with Him, and accepted in Him, forever. To be led into a clear and full apprehension of this, is divine emancipation to the conscience, and true elevation for the whole moral being. Let us, then, see clearly what regeneration is. IT IS A NEW BIRTH — the imparting of a new life — the implantation of a new nature — the formation of a new man. The old nature remains in all its distinctness ; and the new na- ture is introduced in all its distinctness. The new na- ture has its own habits, its own desires, its own ten- dencies, its own affections. All these are spiritual, heavenly, divine. Its aspirations are all upward. It is ever breathing after the heavenly source from which it has emanated. As in nature water always finds its own level, so in grace the new, the divine nature, always tends toward its own proper source. Thus regeneration is to the soul what the birth of Isaac was to the house- 14 regeneration: what is it? hold of Abraham (Gen. xxi). Ishmael remained the same Ishmael ; but Isaac was introduced. So the old nature remains the same ; but the new is introduced. "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 5 '. It par- takes of the nature of its source. A child partakes of the nature of its parents ; and the believer is made " a partaker of the divine nature " (2 Pet. i. 4). " Of his own will begat he us " (J ames i. 18). In a word, then, regeneration is God's own work, from first to last. God is the Operator, man is the happy, privileged subject. His co-operation is not sought in a work which must ever bear the impress of one almighty hand. God was alone in creation — alone in redemption — and He must be alone in the myste- rious and glorious work of regeneration. II. Having endeavored to show, from various pas- sages of scripture, that regeneration, or the new birth, is not a change of man's fallen nature, but the impart- ing of a new — a divine nature — we shall now, in de- pendence upon the blessed Spirit's teaching proceed to consider how the new birth is produced — how the new nature is communicated. This is a point of immense importance, inasmuch as it places the word of God before us as the grand instrument which the Holy Ghost uses in quickening dead souls. " By the word of the Lord were the heavens made ; " and by the word of the Lord are dead souls called into new HOW THE NEW BIRTH IS PRODUCED. 15 life. The word of the Lord is creative and regenera- ting. It called worlds into existence ; it calls sinners from death to life. The same voice which, of old, said, " Let there be light," must in every instance, say, " Let there be life." If my reader will turn to the third chapter of John's gospel, he will find, in our Lord's interview witn Nic- odemus, much precious instruction in reference to the mode in which regeneration is produced. Nicodemus held a very high place in what would be termed the religious world. He was "a man of the Pharisees" — "a ruler of the Jews " — "a master of Israel." He could hardly have occupied a more elevated or influential position. But yet, it is very evident that this highly-privileged man was ill at ease. Despite all his religious advantages, his heart felt a restless craving after something which neither his Pharisaism, nor yet the entire system of Judaism could supply. It is quite possible he might not have been able to de- fine what he wanted ; but he wanted something, else he never would have " come to Jesus by night." It was evident that the Father was drawing him, by a resistless though most gentle hand, to the Son ; and the way He took of drawing him was by producing a sense of need which nothing around him could satisfy. This is a very common cas-e. Some are drawn to Jesus by a deep sense of guilt — some by a deep sense of need. Nicodemus, obviously, belongs to the latter 16 ' REGENERATION I WHAT IS IT 'i class. His position was such as to preclude the idea of anything like gross immorality ; and hence it would not, in his case, be so much guilt on his conscience, as a void in his heart. But it comes to the same in the end. The guilty conscience and the craving heart must both be brought to Jesus, for He alone can per- fectly meet both the one and the other. He can re- move, by His precious sacrifice, every stain from the conscience ; and He can fill up, by His peerless Person, every blank in the heart. The conscience which has been purged by the blood of Jesus is perfectly clean ; and the heart which is filled with the Person of Jesus is perfectly satisfied. However, Nicodemus had, like many beside, TO UNLEARN A GREAT DEAL ere he could really grasp the knowledge of Jesus. He had to lay aside a cumbrous mass of religious machin- ery, ere he could apprehend the divine simplicity of God's plan of salvation. He had to descend from the lofty heights of Rabbinical learning and traditionary religion, and learn the alphabet of the gospel, in the school of Christ. This was very humiliating to "a man of the Pharisees 5 ' — "a ruler of the Jews" — "a master of Israel." There is nothing of which man is so tenacious as his religion and his learning ; and, in the case of JSTicodemus, it must have sounded passing strange upon his ear when u a teacher come from TO UNLEARN A GREAT DEAL. 17 God " declared to him, " Yerily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Being by birth a Jew, and as such entitled to all the privileges of a son of Abraham, it must have involved him in strange perplexity .to be told that he must be born again— that he must be the subject of a new birth in order to see the kingdom of God. This was a total setting aside of all his privi- leges and distinctions. It called him down, at once, from the very highest to the very " lowest step of the ladder." A Pharisee, a ruler, a master, was not one whit nearer to, or fitter for, this heavenly kingdom, than the most disreputable of the children of men. This was deeply humbling. If he could carry all his advantages and distinctions with him, so as to have them placed to his credit in this new kingdom, it would be something. This would secure for him a position in the kingdom of God far above that of a harlot or a publican. But then to be told that he must be born again, left him nothing to glory in. This, I repeat, was deeply humbling to a learned, re- ligious, and influential man. But it was puzzling as well as humbling. "Nico- demus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born ?" Surely not. There would be no more gained by a second natural birth than by a first. If a natural man could enter ten 2 18 REGENERATION : WHAT IS IT i thousand times into his mother's womb and be born, he would be naught but a natural man after all ; for " that which is born of the flesh is flesh." Do what you will with flesh — with nature — yon cannot alter or improve it. Nothing could change flesh into spirit. You may exalt it to the rank of a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, a master of Israel — and you could hardly make it higher — but it w^ill be flesh, notwithstanding. If this were more generally and clearly apprehended, it would prove the saving of fruitless labor to hundreds. Flesh is of no value whatever. In itself, it is but withered grass ; and as to its most pious en- deavors, its religious advantages and attainments, its works of righteousness, they have been pronounced by the pen of inspiration to be u as filthy rags" (Isa. Ixiv. 6). But let us see the mode in which our blessed Lord REPLIES TO THE " HOW ?" of Nicodemus. It is peculiarly interesting. Jesus answered, " Yerily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh ; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth ; so is "BORN OF WATER." 19 every one that is born of the Spirit " (John iii. 5-8). Here we are distinctly taught that regeneration, or the new birth, is prodaced by " water and the Spirit." A man must be born of water and of the Spirit, ere he can see the kingdom of God, or enter into its profound and heavenly mysteries. The keenest mortal vision cannot "see" the kingdom of God, nor the most gi- gantic intellect " enter" into the deep secrets thereof, " The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto him : neither can he know them, because they are spiritual- ly discerned " (1 Cor. ii. 14). " Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the king- dom of God." It may be, however, that many are at a loss to know what is meant by being Certainly, the expression has been made the ground of very much discussion and controversy. It is only by comparing scripture with scripture that we can ascer- tain the real sense of any particular passage. It is a special mercy for the unlettered Christian — the hum- ble student of the inspired volume, that he need not travel outside the covers of that volume in order to interpret any passage contained therein. What, then, is the meaning of being "born of water?" We must reply to this question by quoting 20 REGENERATION I WHAT IS IT ? two or three passages from the word. In the opening of John's gospel, we read, " He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as re- ceived him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name : which, were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (chap. i. 11-13). From this passage we learn that every one who believes on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is born again — born of God. This is the plain sense of the passage. All who, by the power of God the Holy Ghost, believe on God the Son, are born of God the Father. The source of the testimony is divine ; the object of the testimony is divine ; the power of re- ceiving the testimony is divine ; the entire work of regeneration is divine. Hence, instead of being occu- pied with myself, and inquiring, like Mcodemus, how can I be born again, I have simply to cast myself, by faith, on Jesus ; and thus I am born again. All who put their trust in Christ have gotten a new life — are regenerated. Again, " Yerily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my vjord, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condem- nation ; but is passed from death unto life " (John v. 24). " Yerily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life " (John vi. 47). " But these are written, that ye might believe that "borjst of water." 21 Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that, believ- ing, ye might have life through his name " (John xx. 31). All these passages go to prove that the only way in which we can get this new and everlasting life is by simply receiving the record concerning Christ, All who believe that record have this new — this eter- nal life. Mark, it is not those who merely say they believe, but those who actually do believe, according to the sense of the word in the foregoing passages. There is life-giving power in the Christ whom the Word re- veals, and in the Word which reveais Him. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coining, and now is, when the dead shall heas the voice of the Son of God ; and they that hear shall live." And then, lest ignor- ance should marvel, or skepticism sneer, at the idea of dead souls hearing it is added, " Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth — they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of judgment " (John v. 25, 28, 29). The Lord Christ can make dead souls, as well as dead bodies, hear His quickening voice. It is by His mighty voice that life can be communicated to either body or soul. If the infidel or the skeptic reasons and objects, it is simply because lie makes his own vain mind the standard of what ought to be, and thus entirely shuts out God. This is the climax of folly. 22 REGENERATION I WHAT IS IT ? But the reader may feel disposed to inquire, " What has all this to do with the meaning of the word ' water,' in John iii. 5 ?" It has to do with it, inas- much as it shows that the new birth is produced, the new life communicated, by the voice of Christ — which is, really, the word of God, as we read in the first chapter of James, " of his own will begat he us with the word of truth " (v. 18). So also, in first Peter, "Being horn again, not of corruptible seed, but of in- corruptible, hy the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever " (chap. i. 23). In both these passages the word is expressly set forth as the instrument by which the new birth is produced. James declares that we are begotten " by the word of truth ;" and Peter declares that we are " born again by the word of God." If, then, our Lord speaks of being " born of water," it is obvious that He represents the Word under the significant figure of " water " — a figure which "a master of Israel'' might have understood, had he only studied aright, Ezek. xxxvi. 25-27. There is a beautiful passage in the Epistle to the Ephesians, in which the word is presented under the figure of water. " Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for it ; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the wash- ing of ivater hy the word" (chap. v. 25, 26). So also in the Epistle to Titus : " Not by works of righteous- ness which we have done, but according to his mercy, THE WORD OF GOD. 23 lie saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and re- newing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour ; that, being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (chap. iii. 5, 6, 7). From all these quotations, we learn that THE WOED OF GOD is the grand instrument of which the Holy Ghost makes use in calling dead souls into life. This truth is confirmed, in a peculiarly interesting manner, by our Lord's conversation with Jucodemus ; for, instead of replying to the repeated inquiry, "how can these things be?" lie sets this " master of Israel" down to learn the simple lesson taught by "the brazen serpent." The bitten Israelite of old was to be healed by simply looking at the serpent of brass on the pole. The dead sinner now is to get life by simply looking at Jesus on the cross, and Jesus on the throne. The Israelite was not told to look at his wound, though it was the sense of his wound that made him look. The dead sinner is not told to look at his sins, though it is the sense of his sins that will make him look. One look at the serpent healed the Israelite ; one look at Jesus quick- ens the dead sinner. The former had not to look a second time to be healed; the latter has not to look a second time to get life. It was not the way he looked, but the object he looked at, that healed the Israelite ; 24 REGENERATION : WHAT is IT \ it is not the way he looks, but the object he looks at, that saves the sinner. " Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." Such was the precious lesson which Nicodemus was called to learn — such the reply to his " how." If a man begins to reason about the new birth, he must be confounded ; but if he believes in Jesus, he is born again. Man's reason can never understand the new birth ; but the word of God produces it. Many are astray as to this. They are occupied with the process of regeneration, instead of the w r ord which regenerates. Thus are they perplexed and confounded. They are looking at self, instead of at Christ ; and as there is an inseparable connection between the object at which we look and the effect of looking at it, we can easily see what must be the effect of looking in upon one's self. What would an Israelite have gained by looking at his wound ? Nothing. What did he gain by looking at the serpent ? Health. What does a sinner gain by looking at himself? Nothing. What does he gain by looking at Jesus ? " Everlasting life." III. We come now to consider, in the third and last place, THE RESULTS OF REGENERATION — a point of the deepest interest. Who can estimate aright the glorious results of being a child of God ? Who can unfold those affections which belong to that high and hallowed relationship in which the soul is THE RESULTS OF REGENERATION. 25 placed by being born again ? Who can folly explain that precious fellowship which the child of God is privileged to enjoy with his heavenly Father ? u Be- hold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God : therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God ; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure" (1 John iii. 1-3). " For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear ; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God : and if children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together" (Rom. viii. 14-17). It is most important to understand the distinction between life and peace. The former is the result of being linked with Christ's Person ; the latter is the result of His work. " He that hath the Son hath life v (1 John v. 12). But " being justified by faith, we have peace" (Rom. v. 1). "Having made peace through the blood of his cross" (Col. i. 20). The very moment a man receives into his heart the simple truth 26 REGENERATION! WHAT IS IT ? of the gospel, he becomes a child of God. The truth which he receives is the "incorruptible seed" of "the divine nature" (1 Pet. i. 23 ; 2 Pet. i. 4). Many are not aware of all that is involved in thus simply receiv- ing the truth of the gospel. As in nature the child of a nobleman may not know the varied results of the relationship, so is it, likewise, in grace. I may be ignorant both as to the relationship and its results ; but I am in it, notwithstanding; and being in it, I have the affections which belong to it, and I ought to cultivate them, and allow them to entwine themselves artlessly around their proper object, even Him who has begotten me by the w r ord of truth (James i. 18). It is my privilege to enjoy the full flow of paternal affection emanating from the bosom of God, and to reciprocate that affection, through the power of the indwelling Spirit. " Now are we the sons of God." He has .made us such. He has attached this rare and marvelous privilege to the simple belief of the truth (John i. 12). We do not reach this position " by works of righteousness which we have done," or could do ; but simply " according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost ; which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. That, being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life " (Tit. iii. 5-7). We are " called sons," and " made heirs ;" and all this simply by the belief of THE VERY VILEST SINNER. 27 the truth of the gospel, which is God's " incorruptible seed." Take the case of THE VERY VILEST SE5TNER who, up to this moment, has been living a life of gross wickedness. Let that person receive into his heart the pure gospel of God ; let him heartily believe " that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures ; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures ;" and he there, then, and thus, becomes a child of God, a thoroughly saved, perfectly justified, and divinely accepted person, In receiving into his heart the simple record concern- ing Christ, he has received new life. Christ is the truth and the life, and when we receive the truth we receive Christ ; and when we receive Christ we receive life. " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life " (John iii. 36). When does he get this life \ The very moment he believes. "Believing, ye might hare life through his name " (John xx. 31). The truth con- cerning Christ is the seed of eternal life, and when that truth is believed, life is communicated. Observe, this is what the Word of God declares. It is a matter of divine testimony, not merely a human feeling. We do not get life b} 7 feeling something in ourselves, but by believing something about Christ ; and that something we have on the authority of God's 28 REGENERATION : WHAT IS IT ? eternal Word — " the holy Scriptures." It is well to understand this. Many are looking m, for evidences of the new life, instead of looking out at the object which imparts the life. It is quite true that " he that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in him- self" (1 John v. 10) ; but, be it remembered, it is " the witness" of a life which is received by ''believing on the Son of God," not by looking in upon one's self; and the more undividedly I am occupied with Christ, the more distinct and satisfactory will be "the wit- ness" in myself. If I make the witness my object, I shall be plunged in doubt and uncertainty ; but if I make Christ my object, I have the witness in all its divine integrity and power. There is special need of clearness as to this, because of the strong tendency of our hearts to make something within the ground of our peace and contentment, instead of building, abso- lutely and exclusively, upon Christ. The more simply we cling to Christ, apart from all beside, the more peaceful and happy we shall be ; but directly we take the eye off Him, we become unhinged and unhappy. In a word, then, my reader should seek to under- stand, with Scriptural accuracy, the distinction be- tween life and peace. The former is the result of the connection with Christ's Person / the latter is the re- sult of believing in His finished tvork. We very frequently meet with quickened souls who are in sad trouble and disquietude as to their acceptance with THE VERY VILEST 3INNER. 29 God. They really do believe on the name of the Son of God, and, believing, they have life; but fiom not seeing the fullness of the work of Christ as to their sins, they are troubled in conscience — they have no mental repose. Take an illustration. If you place a hundred-weight upon the bosom of a dead man, he does not feel it. Place another, and another, and an- other, he is wholly unconscious. Why ? Because there is no life. Let us suppose, for a moment, the entrance in of life, and what will be the result ? A most distressing sensation, occasioned by the terrible weight upon the bosom. What, then, will be needful, in order to the full enjoyment of the life which has been imparted ? Clearly, the removal of the burden. It is somewhat thus with the sinner who receives life by believing on the Person of the Son of God. So long as he was in a state of spiritual death, he had no spiritual sensations ; he was unconscious of any weight pressing upon him. But the entrance in of spiritual life has imparted spiritual sensibilities, and he now feels a burden pressing upon his heart and conscience, which he knows not exactly how to get rid of. He sees not, as yet, all that is involved in believing on the name of the only-begotten Son of God. He does not see that Christ is, at once, his righteousness and his life. He needs a simple view of the finished atone- ment of Christ, whereby all his sins were plunged in thfc waters of eternal oblivion, and he himself intro- 30 REGENERATION : WHAT IS IT ? cluced into the full favor of God. It is this, and this alone, that can remove the heavy burden oif the heart, and impart that profound mental repose which nothing can ever disturb. If I think of God as a Judge, and myself as a sinner, I need , THE BLOOD OF THE CROSS to bring me into His presence, in the way of right- eousness. I must fully understand that every claim which God, the righteous Judge, had upon me, a guilty sinner, has been divinely answered, and eter- nally settled by " the precious blood of Christ." This gives my soul peace. I see that, through that blood, God can be "just and the justifier of him which be- lieveth in Jesus " (Rom. iii. 26). I learn that, in the cross, God has been glorified about my sins ; yea, that the whole question of sin was fully gone into and perfectly settled between God and Christ, amid the deep and awful solitudes of Calvary. Thus my load is taken oif; my weight removed ; my guilt canceled ; I can breathe freely ; I have perfect peace ; there is literally nothing against me ; I am as free as the blood of Christ can make me. The Judge has de- clared himself satisfied as to sin, by raising the sinner's Surety from the dead, and placing him at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens. But, then, there comes another thing of immense value. I not only see myself, as a guilty sinner, pro- THE BLOOD OF THE CROSS. 31 vided with a way of access to God, as a righteous Judge, but I see God, in pursuance of his eternal counsels of electing love, begetting me through the word of truth, making me His child, adopting me into His family, and setting me before Him in such a way as that I can enjoy communion with Him as my Father, in the midst of all the tender endearments of the divine family circle. This is, obviously, another phase of the believer's position and character. It is no longer a question of his coming to God in the full and settled consciousness that every just claim has been met. This, in itself, is ineffably precious to every sin-burdened heart. But there is far more than this. God is my father, and I am His child. He has a Father's heart, and I can count on the tender affec- tions of that heart in the midst of all my feebleness and need. He loves me, not because of what I am enabled to do, but because I am His child. Look at yonder tottering babe, the object of cease- less care and solicitude, wholly unable to promote his father's interests in any one way, yet so loved by the father that he would not exchange him for ten thou- sand worlds; and if it be thus with an earthly father, what must it be with our heavenly Father \ He loves us, not for aught that we are able to do, but because we are His children. He has begotten us, of His own will, by the word of truth (James i. 18). We could no more earn a place in the heart of the Father than 32 REGENERATION I WHAT 16 IT ? we could satisfy the claims of the righteous Judge. All is of free grace. The Father has begotten us, and the Judge has found a ransom (Job xxxiii. 24). We are debtors to grace for both the one and the other. But, be it remembered, while we are wholly unable to earn, by our works, a place in the Father's heart, or to satisfy the claims of the righteous Judge, we are, nevertheless, responsible to " believe the record which God has given of His Son " (1 John v. 9-11). I say this lest, by any means, my reader should be one of those who entrench themselves behind the dogmas of a one-sided theology, while refusing to believe the plain testimony of God. Many there are — intelligent people, too — who, when the gospel of the grace of God is pressed upon their acceptance, are ready to reply, " I cannot believe unless God gives me power to do so ; nor shall I ever be endowed with that power unless I am one of the elect. If I belong to the favored number, I must be saved ; if not, I carftP This is a thoroughly one-sided theology ; and not only so, but its one side is turned the wrong way; yea, it is so turned as to wear the form of an absurd but most dangerous fatalism, which completely destroys man's responsibility, and casts dishonor upon God's moral administration. It sends man forth upon a wild career of reckless folly, and makes God the author of the sinner's unbelief. This is, in good truth, to add insult to injury. It is, first, TO MAKE GOD A LiAR. 33 TO MAKE GOD A LIAR, and then charge Him with being the cause of it. It is to reject His proffered love, and blame Him for the rejection. This is, in reality, the most daring wicked- ness, though based, as I have said, upon a one-sided theology. Now, does any one imagine that an argument so flimsy will hold good for a single moment in the pres- ence of the king of terrors, or before the judgment seat of Christ .? Is there a soul throughout the gloomy regions of the lost that would ever think of charging God with being the author of its eternal perdition ? Ah ! no ; it is only on earth that people argue thus. Such arguments are never breathed in hell. When men get to hell, they blame themselves. In heaven, they praise the Lamb. All who are lost will have to thank self ; all who are saved will have to thank God. It is when the impenitent soul has passed through the narrow archway of time into the boundless ocean of eternity, that it will enter into the full depth and power of those solemn words, " I would, but ye would notP In truth, human responsibility is as distinctly taught in the Word of God as is divine sovereignty. Man finds it impossible to frame a system of divinity which will give each truth its proper place ; but he is not called upon to frame systems, but to believe a plain record, and be saved thereby. 34 REGENERATION I WHAT IS IT ? Having said thus much, by way of caution, to any who may be in danger of falling under the power of the above line of argument, I shall proceed to unfold a little further the results of regeneration, as seen in the matter of the discipline of the Father's house. we are admitted to all the privileges of His house, and, in ppint of fact, the discipline of the house is as much a privilege as anything else. It is on the ground of the relationship in which God has set us, that He acts in discipline toward us. A father disciplines his child- ren because they are his. If I see a strange child doing wrong, I am not called upon to chasten him. I am not in relationship of a father to him, and, as a consequence, I neither know the affections nor the responsibilities of that relationship. I must be in a relationship in order to know the affections which be- long to it. Now, as our Father, God, in His great grace and faithfulness, looks after us in all our ways, He will not suffer aught upon us, or about us, which would be unworthy of Him, and subversive of our" real peace and blessedness. " Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh*, which corrected us, and we gave them reverence : shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live ? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure ; but he for our profit, that we might be par- AS TIIE CHILDREN OF GOD, 35 takers of his holiness" (Heb. xii. 9, 10). Thus the discipline is a positive privilege, inasmuch as it is a proof of our Father's care, and has for its object our participation in the divine holiness. But, then, we must ever bear in mind that the dis- cipline of our Father's hand is to be interpreted in the light of our Father's countenance, and the deep mys- teries of His moral government to be contemplated through the medium of His tender love. If we lose sight of this, we shall be sure to get into a spirit of bondage as respects ourselves, and a spirit of judgment as respects others, both of which are in direct opposi- tion to the spirit of Christ. All our Father's dealings with us are in perfect love. When he furnishes us with bread, it is in love ; and when He takes down the rod, it is in love also. "God is love" It may fre- quently happen that we are at a loss to know the why and the wherefore of some special dispensation of our Father's hand. It seems dark and inexplicable. The mist which enwraps our spirits is so thick and heavy as to prevent our catching the bright and cheering beams from our Father's countenance. This is a try- ing moment — a solemn crisis in the soul's history. We are in great danger of losing the sense of divine love, through inability to understand the profound se- crets of divine government. Satan, too, is sure to be busy at such a time. He will ply his fiery darts, and throw in his dark and diabolical suggestions. Thus, 36 REGENERATION t WHAT IS IT ? between the filthy reasonings which spring up within and the horrible suggestions which come from without, the soul is in danger of losing its balance, and of get- ting away from the precious attitude of artless repose in divine love, let the divine government be what it may. Thus much with reference to our own souls, while under any special visitation of the hand of God. The effect as to others is equally bad. How often may we have detected ourselves in the habit of cherishing a spirit of judgment, in reference to a child of God whom we found in circumstances of trial^ either of "mind, body, or estate." This should be carefully guarded against. "We ought not to imagine that every visitation of the hand of God must necessarily be on account of some special sin in the person. This would be an entirely false principle. The dealings of God are preventive as well as corrective. Take a case in point. My child may be in the room with me, enjoying all the sweet intimacies which be- long to our relationship. A person enters who I know will utter things which I do not wish my child to hear. I, therefore, without assigning any reason, tell my child to go to his room. Now, if he has not the full- est confidence in my love, he may entertain all manner of false notions about my act. He may reason about the why and wherefore to such a degree as almost to question my affection. However, directly the visitor AS THE CHILDREN OF GOD. 37 takes his leave, I call the child into my presence and explain the whole matter to him ; and, in the renewed experience of a father's love, he gets rid of the un- happy suspicions of a few dark moments. Thus it is often with our poor hearts, in the matter of the divine dealings, both with ourselves and others. We reason when we ought to repose ; we doubt when we ought to depend. Confidence in our Father's love is the true corrective in all things. We should ever hold fast the assurance of that changeless, infinite, and everlasting love which has taken Ui up in our low and lost estate, made us " sons of God," and will never fail us, never let us go, until we enter upon the unbroken and eternal communion of our Father's house above. May that love dwell more abundantly in our hearts, that so we may enter more fully into the meaning and power of regeneration — what it is — how it is produced — and what are its re- sults. God grant it, for Christ's sake ! Amen. HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. "And aU the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water-gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel, and Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the street that was before the water-gate from the morning unto midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were atten- tive unto the book of the law."— Nehemiah viii. 1-3. The children of Israel had been in captivity for seventy years, and now they had come back into their own land ; and the description given in these verses is what we should call a Bible reading, just getting the people together and reading the Word of the Lord to them. And perhaps it would be a good thing if we could have more meetings where the Word of God is read and explained. It is better to hear God rather than man, and I believe we are living in a day when the Bible is neglected, although we are living* in a land of Bibles. 40 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. The children of Israel had been in a strange land, and God wished them to understand his law. It says that they were attentive to the law ; that is to say, they were just leaning forward and drinking in the words that w^ere read to them. You have sometimes seen a nest of birds, and the mother comes with a little worm to feed them, and in an instant every mouth is wide open ; and in like manner every one of us ought to have our ears wide open to catch the meaning of the Word of God when it is read to us ; and if there is anything we don't understand, we ought to go to the minister and have an inquiry-meeting with him, and ask him to ex- plain it to us. We read in the 9th verse, " For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sw^eet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing- is prepared : for this day is holy unto the Lord : neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.'' What we want, nowadays, brethren, is a joyful church. If we are in Babylon, with our harps hanging on the willow trees and our heads bowed down, we are not likely to succeed in winning souls to Christ. No ; it is when we are back again on the resurrection ground that we may hope to succeed in that. A backslidden church is a nuisance in the world. It is just a stum- bling-block, and nothing more. In the 17th verse we read, "And all the congregation of them that were WORD OF GOD IN OUR HEARTS. 41 come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths : for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness." And there always will be great gladness when a backsliding people come back to God. When the Israelites were going to Babylon, trodden down by their oppressors and led away into a foreign land, we read in Jeremiah xx. 9, " Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in his name : but his Word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bo^es, and I was weary with for- bearing, and I could not stay." Yes, it is a good thing to have the WORD OF GOD IN OUR HEARTS, so that it burns within us, and we cannot hold our peace. The psalmist said it was hidden in his heart. Some one has remarked that it was a good thing in a good place for a good purpose. We want the Word to burn right down into our souls ; then a man cannot restrain himself, it begins to burn so that it would actu- ally burn him up if he held his peace and did not speak out. " Is not my Word like as a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces ?" The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit, and if you young converts want to be used of God, you must feed on His Word. Your experience may be very good and very profitable at the outset, and you may help others 42 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. by telling it to them ; but if you keep on doing nothing else but telling your experience, it will soon become stale and unprofitable, and people will weary of hear- ing the same thing over and over again. When you have told how you have been converted, the next thing is to feed on the Word. We are not fountains our- selves, but the Word of God is the fountain. And if we feed on the Word, it will be very easy then to speak to others ; and not only that, but we shall be growing all the while in grace, and others will take notice of our walk and conversation. Now, I never saw a useful Christian who was not a student of the Bible. We must have the Word itself, which is sharper than any two-edged sword. Now, if you read the sermon spoken by Moses before he left the children of Israel, you will find it was just a re- hearsal of what God had done for them, and of their deliverance from the cruel hands of Pharaoh ; of the destruction of their enemies in the Red Sea, and their safe conduct through the wilderness ; and yet I do not suppose there was a boy in the camp who could not have told it all over. And you will find that Joshua did the same, and when Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of the Lord was in him, and he went on quoting Scripture to the people, and that was the arrow that went down into their souls. Then, again, what did the devout and martyred Stephen do but just rehearse and expound the Scriptures from the time of Abraham downwards ? CHRIST OVERCAME SATAN BY THE WORD. 43 People are constantly saying, We want son&thing new, some new doctrine, some new idea. Depend upon it, my Mends, if you get tired of the Word of God, and it becomes wearisome to you, you are out of communion with Him. What you want is some one who will unfold and expound the Scriptures to you. We cannot overcome Satan with our feelings. The reason why some people have such a hitter experience is, they try to overcome the devil by their feelings and experiences. CHRIST OVERCAME SATAN BY THE WORD. He simply said : " It is written ; " and a second time, " It is written ; " and Satan came and tried to misquote the Scripture, but Christ said again, "It is written;" and that was the arrow that shot right into him and drove him away. The devil does not care a bit about our feelings. He can play on our feelings just as a man can on a harp. He can make our feelings good or bad ; he can take us up on the mountain, or down into the valley ; and we can only vanquish him by the Word, which is the sword of the Spirit. And then bear in mind there is no situation in life for which you cannot find some word of consolation in Scripture. If you are in affliction, there is a promise for you ; if you are in adversity and trial, there is a promise for you ; in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in poverty or in riches, in every condition 44 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. in life} God lias a promise stored up in His Word for you. I can imagine some person asking, How can I get to be in love with the Bible ? Well, if you will only rouse yourselves to the study of it, and ask God's as- sistance, He will assuredly help you. I think there are THREE BOOKS EVERY CHRISTIAN OUGHT TO POSSESS. The first, of course, is the Bible. 1 believe in getting a good Bible, with a good plain print. I have not much love for those little Bibles you have to hold right up under your nose to read the print; and if the church happens to be a little dark you cannot see the print, but it becomes a mere jumble of words. Yes ; but some of you say you cannot carry a big Bible in your pocket. Very well, then, carry it under your arm ; and if you have to walk five miles, you will just be preaching a sermon five miles long. I have known a man convicted by seeing another carrying his Bible under his arm. You are not ashamed to carry hymn- books and prayer-books, and the Bible is worth all the hymn-books and prayer-books in the world put to- gether. And if you get a good Bible you are likely to take better care of it. Suppose you pay five or ten dollars for a good Bible, the older you grow the more precious it will become to you. But be sure you don*t get one so good that you will be afraid to mark it. Then next I would advise you to get Cruderts Con- STUDY TOPICALLY 45 cordance, and a " Scripture Text-book" — not a " Birth- day Text-book." These books will help you to study the Word of God with profit. If you have not got them, get them, for every Christian ought to have them. Then I find one of the best ways to study the Scriptures is to STUDY TOPICALLY. I used at one time to read so many chapters a day ; and if I did not, I thought I was getting cold and backsliding ; but mind you, if a man had asked me two hours afterwards what I had read I could not tell him. I had forgotten it nearly all. When I was a boy, I used, among other things, to have to hoe tur- nips on a farm, and I used to hoe them so badly, to get over so much ground, that at night I had to put down a stick in the ground so as to know next morn- ing where I had left off. That was somewhat in the same fashion as running through so many chapters every day. A man will say : " Wife, did I read that chapter?" "Well," says she, "I don't remember," and neither of them can recollect ; and perhaps he reads the same chapter over and over again, and they call that studying the Bible. I don't think there is a book in the world we neglect so much as the Bible. Merely reading the Bible is no use at all without we study it thoroughly, and hunt it through for some great truth. Suppose a friend were to see me search- 46 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. ing about this building, and were to come up and say : " Moody, what are you looking for ? Have you lost something ?" and I were to say : " No, I haven't lost anything ; I'm not looking for anything particular," why, he would let me go on by myself, and think me very foolish. But if I were to say, " Yes, I have lost my pocket-book," why, then I might expect him to help me find it. Read the Bible, my friends, as if you were seeking for something of value. It is a good deal better to take a single chapter and spend a month on it than to go on READING THE BIBLE AT RANDOM for a month. I find some people now and then who boast that they have read the Bible through in so many months. Others read the Bible chapter by chapter, and get through it in a year ; but I think it would be almost better to spend a year over one chapter. If I were going into a court of justice, and wanted to carry the jury with me, I would get every witness I could to testify to the one point on which I wanted to convince the jury. I w^ould not get them to testify on every- thing, but just on that one thing ; and so it should be with the Scriptures. I took up the word "love," and I don't know how many weeks I spent in studying the passages in which it occurs, till at last I couldnH help loving people. I had been feeding so long on love ASSURANCE. 47 that I was anxious to do everybody good that I came in contact with. Take up grace ; take up faith ; take up ASSURANCE. Some people say, I don't believe in assurance. I never knew anybody who read their Bible but believed in assurance. It teaches nothing else. Paul says : " I know in whom I have believed." Job says : " I know that my Redeemer liveth." It is not, "I hope," " I trust." The best book on assurance was written by one called " John," at the back part of the Bible. He wrote an epistle on assurance. Sometimes you get a word that will be a sort of key to the epistle, and which unfolds it. Now if you turn to John xx. 31, you will find it says : " These are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that believing, ye might have life through his name." Then, if you turn to 1 John v. 13, you will read thus: "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." That whole epistle is written on assurance. I have no doubt John had found some people who had doubts about assurance, and doubted whether they were saved or not, and he takes up his pen and says, " I will settle that question ;" and he writes that 13th verse in the 5th chapter of his firgt epistle, I have 48 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. heard some people say it was not their privilege to know that they were saved ; they had heard the min- ister say that no one could know whether they were saved or not, and so they took what the minister said instead of what the Word of God said. Others read the Bible to make it fit in and prove their favorite creed or notions, and if it did not do that they would not read it. It has been well said that we must not read the Bible by the blue light of Presbyterianism, nor the red light of Methodism, nor the violet light of Episcopalism, but by the light of the Spirit of God. Now, if you will just take up your Bible and study as- surance for a week, you will soon find it is your privi- lege to know that you are a child of God. Then take another thing — THE PROMISES OF GOD. Let a man feed for a month on the promises of God, and he will not be talking about how poor he is. There are said to be truly one thousand of them in the Bible. You hear people say — " Oh, my leanness ! how lean I am 1" My friends, it is not their leanness, it is their laziness. If you would only go from Gene- sis to Revelation, and see all the promises made by God to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to the Jews and the Gentiles, and to all his people eve^where ; if you were to spend a month feeding on the precious promises of God, you wouldn't be going about with "prayer." 49 your heads hanging down like bulrushes, complaining how poor you are ; but you would lift up your heads with confidence, and proclaim the riches of His grace, because you couldn't help it. After the Chicago fire, a man came up to me, and said in a sympathizing tone, "I understand you lost everything, Moody, in the Chicago fire." " Well, then," said I, " some one has misinformed you." " Indeed ! Why, I was cer- tainly told that you had lost all." "No; it's a mis- take," I said ; " quite a mistake." " Have you got much left then ?" asked my friend. " Yes," I replied ; " I have got much more left than I lost, though I can- not tell how much I have lost." " Well, I am glad of it, Moody ; I did not know you were that rich before the fire." " Yes," said I, " I am a good deal richer than you could conceive ; and here is my title- deed — ' He that overcometh shall inherit all things/ They say the Rothschilds cannot tell how much they are worth, and that's just my case. All things in the world are mine ; I am joint-heir with Jesus the Son of God." Then suppose you spend a month on " PRAYER," run through the Scriptures on prayer ; why, the Bible will become a new book to you. Then take up hope, and faith, and grace, and feed on them. I remember the first time I studied grace I got so full of it that I 50 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. stopped every man and woman I met, and told them how God loved them. When Christ came with his message of grace to the Jews, their bottles would not hold it ; it burst the bottles, and began to flow on to the Gentiles all around. And then they got angry with him and sought to put him to death. You may pray for the blessing, but if you neglect your Bible you won't get it. Then another way is to STUDY ONE BOOK AT A TIME. If you take Genesis, it is the seed-plant of the whole Bible ; it tells us of life, death, and resurrection ; it in- volves all the rest of the Bible. Or take just one word that runs through a book. Some time ago I was wonderfully blessed by taking the seven blessings of the Revelation. If God did not wish us to under- stand the Revelation he would not have given it us at all. A good many say it is so dark and mysterious common readers cannot understand it. Let us only keep digging away at it and it will unfold itself by- and-by. Some one says it is the only book in the whole Bible that tells about the devil being chained ; and as the devil knows that, he goes up and down Christendom, and says, " There is no use in your reading the Revelation; you cannot understand the book ; it's too hard for you." The fact is, he doesn't want you to understand about his own defeat. Just LOOK AT THE BLESSINGS. 51 LOOK AT THE BLESSINGS it contains. In chapter i. 3. " Blessed is he that read- eth the word of this prophecy ; " xxii. 14, " Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city ; " chapter xvi. 15, " Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth His garments ; " chapter xxii. 7, " Blessed is he that keepeth the saying of the prophecy of this book." Then there is a blessing on them that are kept from the world. We do not belong to the world, but belong to the new creation. God has taken us out of the old and put us in the new, and therefore we keep ourselves from the world ; xiv. IS, " Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord ; for they shall rest from their labors;" xx. 6, "Blessed are they that have part in the first resurrection ; for on such the second death hath no power ; and they shall live and reign with Christ a thousand years ; " xix. 9, " Blessed are they that are called to the marriage sup- per of the Lamb." Or you may take the eight over- comes of Revelation, and you will get wonderfully blessed with them. They take you right up to heaven ; you climb by them right up to the throne of God. Rev. ii. 7, " To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life." Rev. ii. 11, " He that over- cometh shall not be hurt of the second death." Rev. ii. 17, " To him that overcometh will I give to eat of 52 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. the hidden manna." Rev. ii. 26, "To him that over- cometh will I give power over the nations." Rev. iii. 5, "He that overcometh the same shall be clothed in white raiment." Rev. iii. 12, " Him that over- cometh I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out." Rev. iii. 21, " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me on my throne." Rev. xxi. 7, " He that overcometh shall in- herit all things." In considering the good things God gives us I have found much satisfaction in thinking over the SEVEN PRECIOUS THINGS we have in Peter. There are : 1 Peter ii. 4. Precious Lord. 1 Peter ii. 1. Precious Corner-Stone. 1 Pe- ter ii. 7. Precious to believers. 1 Peter i. 19. Pre- cious Blood. 2 Peter i. 1. Precious Faith. 1 Peter i. 7. Precious Trial of Faith. 2 Peter i. 4. Pre- cious Promise. There are the seven points in Galatians — What we are in Christ. Gal. i. 6. Called. Gal. iii. 13. Re- deemed. Gal. ii. 16. Justified. Gal. iii. 27. Bap- tized. Gal. ii. 20. Crucified. Gal. v. 2. Made free. Gal. iv. 7. Heirs of God. Then there is THAT WORD " KNOW," it occurs six times in 1 John iii. In the 5th verse it says : " And ye know that he was manifest to take 53 away our sins ; and in him is no sin." The next is in the 19th verse : " Hereby we know that we are of the truth." Some people tell us that it doesn't make any difference ; that a lie is as good as the truth if we are only sincere. Why, no doubt those false prophets on Mount Carmel were sincere ; but John says, " Hereby we know that we are of the truth" Then, in the 14th r6rse: "We Jcnow that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." There's as- surance for you. Then, in the 15th verse : " He that hateth his brother is a murderer ; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." The Christian is not full of jealousy, envy, hatred, and malice ; but he is full of " love, joy, peace, long-suffer- ing, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temper- ance." These are the fruits I shall bear if I have Christ in me. Yes, that 5th chapter of Galatians will soon tell us if we have the right kind of fruit. Make the tree right, and you will soon have the right fruit. Then, in the 24th verse : " He that keepeth his com- mandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the spirit He hath given us." Then, in the 2d verse, which is to me the most precious of all : " Beloved, now are we. the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him ; for we shall see Him as He is." There's assurance for you again ! In that one chapter 54 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. there are six assurances. Every truth I get, seems to make me lighter and lighter, till I expect to fly away by-and-by. I once heard Rev. Mr. Aitken tell about a boy who had some gas-bags fastened round him, and they were so light that when he came to a fence or a ditch he had only just to touch the bags and away they carried him right over. And it is just the same when we read the Bible, it makes us lighter and lighter, and we leap over the obstacles in our way. The truth makes us free. A brother in the Lord gave me some key-notes recently. He said Peter wrote about hope. The key-note of Paul's writing appeared to be faith ; and John's theme was love. " Faith hope, and charity ; " these were the three characteristics of the three men — the key-note to the whole of their teach- ings. A Scotch woman complimented on her faith, replied, her " faith was very weak but it was in a very strong God." So when Christians are feeling discour- aged they have only to think of the God in whom they trust. You take WHAT OUR GOD IS ABLE TO DO. Dan. iii. 17. Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace. Matt. iii. 9. God is able of these stones to raise up children. Rom. iv. 21. What he had promised he was able to perform. Rom. xiv. 4. God is able to make him stand. 2 Cor. ix. 8, God is able to make all grace SEVEN WALKS IN EPHESIANS. 55 abound. Eph. iii. 20. Able to do exceeding abund- antly above all that we can ask or think. 2 Tim. i. 12. Able to keep that which I have committed unto him. Heb. ii. 18. Able to succor them that are- tempted. Heb. vii. 25. Able to save to the uttermost. Jude 24. Able to keep you from falling. And there is the terrible warning to those who re- ject Christ in Matt. x. 28. Able to destroy both soul and body in hell. A study of the SEVEN WALKS IN EPHESIANS will be helpful in deciding questions that perplex some Christians. Eph. ii. 1. Walk of obedience. Eph. v. 2. Walk in love. Eph. iv. 1. Walk worthy of the vocation. Eph. v. 15. Walk circumspectly. Eph. v. 8. Walk as children of light. Eph. ii. 10. Walk in good works. Eph. iv. 17. Walk not as other Gen- tiles walk. Then, again, I have been greatly blessed by going through As I said before, he wrote his gospel that we might believe. All through it is " believe, believe, believe." If you want to persuade a man that Christ is the Son of God, John is the gospel for him. Take him right into and through the gospel of John. Matthew was a Jew, and he writes of Christ as a Jew — as the son 56 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. of David coming to take his throne. He commences with Abraham, and he treats of the kingdom all the way down to Christ. Mark begins with Malachi. He begins where the Old Testament left off, and speaks of Christ as a servant coming to do the will of God. Luke begins with Zacharias. He takes up the human side and speaks of him as a physician, healing the sick, making the lame to walk, and giving sight to the blind. But John brings him out of the bosom of the Father. He goes beyond Malachi, beyond Abraham, beyond Adam — away beyond the morning stars, and brings Him out of the Father's bosom, and with one stroke of the pen settles the question of Unitarianism forever. John was no Unitarian ; every word he wrote was against it. He says the Son of God was manifest in the flesh. Go through John's gospel, and study the " believes," the "verilys," the "I ams," and go through the Bible in that way, and it will become a new book to you. Some one has said that when God sent Moses down into Egypt, he gave him a blank check to be filled out with anything that he wanted. When he stood before Pharaoh he had only to say, The I am that I am has sent me, and the water was turned into blood ; the frogs came, and finally death fell upon the first born in all the land, from Pharaoh that sat upon his throne, unto the maid-servant that is behind the mill. In the wilderness he wanted water, and God gave it. And bread was sent from heaven at Moses' call. THE "i AMS." 57 of John's gospel give us our food, show us our way, and carry us right up to where our risen Lord is. John vi. 35, " I am the Bread of Life." John viii. 12, " I am the Light of the world." John viii. 58, " Before Abraham was I Am." John x. 7, " I am the Door." John x. 11, " 1 am the good Shepherd." John xi. 25, "I am the Resurrection and the Life." John xiv. 6, "I am the Way." John xvii. 24, " Be with me where I am." I have recently gotten seven points in Christian at- tainment : Psalms- xxiii. 2, " Lying down" — at rest. Luke xiv. 39, "Sitting" — to lean. Eph. vi. 13, 14, " Standing" — on the defensive. Isaiah xl. 31, " Walking " — on God's errand. Heb. ii. 1, " Running " — eager to do God's will. Psalms xviii. 21, " Leaping " — overcome difficulties. Isaiah xl. 31, " Mounting up on wings" — rising above the world. Another plan, and a good one too, is when a preach- er gives out a text, just take and mark it, and as he goes on preaching, MAKE MARGINAL NOTES, a few words in the margin, key-words that shall bring back the whole sermon again. By this plan of mak- 58 HOW TO STUDY THE iilBLE. ing a few marginal notes, I can remember sermons I heard years and years ago. Every man ought to take down some of the preacher's words and ideas, and then go into some lane or alley and preach them out again to others. We ought to have four ears, two for our- selves and two for other people. Then, if you are in a new town, and have nothing else to say, jump up and say, " I heard some one say so-and-so ; " they will always be glad to hear you if you give them heavenly food. The w T orld is perishing for lack of it. Some eight years ago, I heard an Englishman in Chicago preach from a curious text (Proverbs xxx. 24): " There be FOUR THINGS which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise." "Well," I said to myself, "what w r ill you make of these little things ? I have seen them a good many times." Then he went on reading, "The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." He said God's people were like the ants. " Well," I -said, " I have seen a good many of them, but I never saw one like me." They were like the ants, he said, because they were laying up treasure in heaven, and preparing for the future ; but the world rushed madly on, and forgot all about God's command to lay up for ourselves incorruptible treasures. " The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks/' He said the conies were very weak FOUR THINGS. 59 things ; if you were to throw a stick at one of them you woiild kill it ; but they were very wise, for they built their houses in the rocks, and where they are out of harm's way. And God's people are very wise, al- though very feeble, for they built on the Rock of Ages, and that Eock was Christ. "Well," I said, "I am certainly like the conies." Then came the next verse : " The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them in bands; " and I wondered what he was going to make of that. Now God's people, he said, had no king down here; the world said, "Caesar is our king;" but he was not our king, our king was the Lord of hosts. The locusts went out by bands, so did God's people ; here was a Presbyterian band, here an Episcopalian band, here a Methodist band, and so on ; but by-and-by the great King would come and catch up all those separate bands, and they would all be one, having one fold and one Shepherd. And when I heard that explanation I said, " I want to be like the locusts.'* I have got so sick, my friends, of this miserable denom- inationalism, I wish it could all be swept away. Well, he went on again. " The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in the kings' palaces." Well, when he got to the spider, I said, "I don't like that at all, and don't like the idea of being compared to a spider." But, he said, if you went into a king's palace, there you might see the spider hanging on his gossamer web, and looking down with scorn and contempt on 60 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. the gilded saloon ; he was laying hold of things above. And so every child of God ought to be like a spider, and lay hold of the unseen things of God. "And so,"- he said, " you see, my brethren, we who are God's peo- ple are like the ants, the conies, the locusts, and the spider, little things, but exceedingly wise." I just put that down, and the recollection of it does me as much good now as when I first heard it. I have carried this Bible w T ith me a good many years. It is worth more to me than all the Bibles in this place, and I will tell you why ; because I have so many passages marked in it, and if I am called upon to speak at any time I am ready. I have these little words in the margin, and they are a sermon to me.,. Whether I speak about faith, hope, charity, assurance, or any subject whatever, it all comes back to me; and however unexpectedly I am called upon to preach, I am always ready. Every child of God ought to be like a soldier, and always hold himself in readiness, but we can't be ready if we don't study the Bible. So whenever you hear a good thing, just put it down, because if it's good for you it will be good for some- body else ; and we should pass the coin of heaven round just as you do the current money of the land. In 1872 an Englishman said to me, " Moody, did you ever notice this, that JOB IS THE KEY TO THE WHOLE BIBLE ; if you understand Job you will understand the entire JOB IS THE KEY TO THE WHOLE BIBLE. 61 Bible?" "No," I said, "I don't understand that. Job the key to the whole Bible ! How do you make that out ?" He said, " I divide Job into seven heads. You know ministers generally have a great many heads to their sermons. The first head is : A perfect man untried. That's what God said about Job ; that's Adam in Eden. He was perfect w^hen God put him there. The second head is : Tried by adversity ; and Job fell as Adam fell in Eden. The third head is : The wisdom of the tvorld. The world tries to re- store Job ; the three wise men came to help Job. That w r as the wisdom of the world centred in those three men. You cannot," said he, "find any such eloquent language or wisdom anywhere in any part of Clhe world as these three men had ; but they did not know anything about grace, and could not therefore help Job." And that's just what men are trying to do now, and the result is they fail. Take the scien- tific men of our day who talk against the Bible. Have they made the world any better ? the wisdom of man never made man any better. These three men did not help Job, but they made him worse. Some one has said the first man took him and gave him a good pull, and then the second and the third did the same, and the three of them had three good pulls at Job, ^and then flat down they fell. A good many men fall when they get into an argument. Very unprofitable things these arguments are. Job could stand any- 62 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. thing better than those three men ; he could even have stood a scolding wife better than his three friends. " Then in the fourth place,'' said he, "in comes the days-man, that is Christ. Then in the fifth place, God speaks, and in the sixth Job learns his les- son. ' I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear ; but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes,' and down he w r ent in the dust ; he had learnt his lesson. And the seventh head is this, that God restores him." Thank God, my friends, it is so with us, and OUR LAST STATE IS BETTER THAN OUR FIRST. I would rather be a resurrected man with Christ than be Adam in Eden without Christ. Adam might have been in Eden ten thousand years, and then the devil might have come in and he might have fallen. But now Satan cannot get at us, so that we are better off than Adam was in Eden. God came down and gave man an earthly kingdom, and Satan came and said, "I will mar the work of God and destroy it." But God came down again and said, " I will lift up Adam and all his sons higher, even unto the heavens, and will break the power of Satan ;" and God kept his promise, when He gave His Son to die for us. A friend of mine said to me, " Look here, Moody, God gave to Job double of everything. He would not even admit that Job had lost his children, He had OUR LAST STATE IS BETTER THAN OUR FIRST. 63 taken them all to heaven, and He gave him ten more. ,, So Job had ten in heaven and ten on earth — a goodly family. So when our children are taken from us they are not lost to us, but merely gone be- fore. In conclusion I would advise all young converts to keep in the company as much as they can of more experienced Christians. I like to keep in the society of those who know more than I do, and I never lose a chance of getting all I can out of them. Study the Bible carefully and prayerfully, ask of others what this passage means and what that passage means, and when you have become practically acquainted with the great truths it contains, you will have less to fear from the world, the flesh, ar d the devil. D. L. MOODY. ■54(1