Anecdotes And Illustrations Of D. L. Moody (Illustrated)

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What a meeting that was! We tried to sing, but we broke down. The last we saw of that dying teacher was when he stood on the platform of the car, his finger pointing upward, telling that class to meet him in heaven. I didn't know what this was going to cost me. I was disqualified for business; it had become distasteful to me. I had got a taste of another world, and cared no more for making money. For some days after, the greatest struggle of my life took place. Should I give up business and give myself to Christian work, or should I not? I have never regretted my choice. Oh the luxury of leading some one out of the darkness of this world into the glorious light and liberty of the Gospel!

Stepping up to him, and placing my hand on his shoulder, I said— "Are you a Christian? I said, "I'm very sorry if I've offended you, but I thought I was asking a proper question. About three months later, on a bitter cold morning, about daybreak, some one knocked at my door. A stranger answered, and I said, "What do you want? I opened the door, and, to my astonishment, there was the man who had cursed me for talking to him as he leaned against the lamp-post. He said, "I'm very sorry. I haven't had any peace since that night. Your words have haunted and troubled me. I couldn't sleep last night, and I thought I'd come and get you to pray for me.

For Parents Whenever I speak to parents, two fathers come before me. One lived on the Mississippi River. He was a man of great wealth. One day his eldest son had been borne home unconscious. They did everything that man could do to restore him, but in vain. Time passed, and after a terrible suspense he recovered consciousness. It was true he had never prayed. He was a stranger to God. And in a little while that soul, unprayed for, passed into its dark eternity.

The father has since said that he would give all his wealth if he could call back his boy, only to offer one short prayer for him. What a contrast is the other father! He, too, had a lovely son, and one day he came home to find him at the gates of death. His wife was weeping, and she said— "Our boy is dying; he has had a change for the worse. I wish you would go in and see him. Do you really think I am dying? I would rather they carried this message to Jesus—that I had tried all their life to lead them to Him—than have all the crowns of the earth; I would rather lead them to Jesus than give them the wealth of the world.

For two nights I had been unable to get any rest, and being really worn out, on the third night I had lain down to sleep. About midnight I was called to see a wounded soldier who was very low. At first I tried to put the messenger off, but he told me that if I waited it might be too late in the morning. I went to the ward where I had been directed, and found the man who had sent for me. I shall never forget his face as I saw it that night in the dim, uncertain candle-light. I asked what I could do for him, and he said that he wanted me to "help him die.

He only shook his head and said— "He can't save me; I have sinned all my life. I repeated promise after promise, and prayed with the dying man; but nothing I said seemed to help him.

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Then I said that I wanted to read to him an account of an interview which Christ had one night while here on earth with a man who was anxious about his eternal welfare, and I read the 3rd chapter of John, how Nicodemus came to the Master. As I read on, his eyes became riveted upon me, and he seemed to drink in every syllable.

When I came to the words, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: Won't you read it again? When I finished, I saw that his eyes were closed, and the troubled expression on his face had given way to a peaceful smile. His lips moved, and I bent over him to catch what he was saying, and heard in a faint whisper, "'As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: The attendant in charge told me the young man had died peacefully, and said that after my visit he had rested quietly, repeating to himself, now and then, that glorious proclamation, "Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

The late Peter Mackenzie, the well-known Methodist preacher, was full of native humour, and a most godly man. He was once preaching from the text, "And they sang a new song," and he said— "Yes, there will be singing in heaven; and when I get there, I shall want to have David with his harp, and Paul, and Peter, and other saints, gather around for a sing.

You are in heaven, Peter; there's no straying here. Let us sing No. And they will all say— " 'Sing the new song, the song of Moses and the Lamb! Nothing to Hold on to It is related of an atheist who was dying that he appeared very uncomfortable, very unhappy and frightened. Another atheist who stood at his bedside said to him— "Don't be afraid. Hold on, man; hold on to the last! In the second century a Christian was brought before a king, who wanted him to recant and give up Christ and Christianity; but the man spurned the proposition.

The king said—"If you don't do it, I will banish you. Always Praising A man was converted some years ago, and he was brimful of praise. He was living in the light all the time. He used to preface everything he said in the meeting with "Praise God! He had cut it, and cut it badly, too. Well, I wondered how he would praise God for this; but he got up and said— "I have cut my finger; but, praise God, I didn't cut it off! A man said to me some time ago, "Moody, the doctrine you preach is most absurd: A man will not change his course by simple believing.

You say a man is not affected by what he believes, that it will not change the course of his actions? You would get out by the window, if you believed it, wouldn't you? An English clergyman was called to the deathbed of a wealthy parishioner. Kneeling beside the dying man, the pastor asked him to take his hand as he prayed for his upholding in that solemn hour; but he declined to give it.

After the end had come, and they turned down the coverlet, the rigid hands were found holding the safe-key in their death-grip. Heart and hand, to the last, clinging to his possessions; but he could not take them with him. The story is told of a boy whose parents took him to Florida to spend the winter. He returned to his city home, disgusted with the country he had been in.

It was dull, stupid, and uninteresting, he said. During the next few months, however, he was in charge of a tutor who was an enthusiastic botanist, and he kindled the boy's interest in his favourite study. The boy learned about orchids, and their strange life. His tutor took him to a conservatory, that he might see some of them growing. A man may see no beauty in it; but the Holy Spirit is ready to open the eyes of our understanding and teach us. It may be by some sermon or book which will lift a truth out of its hiding-place, and give it an application to our life it never had before.

An Arab proverb runs thus: A lady in Wales told me this story: An English friend of hers, a. At first they considered there was no danger, until one day the doctor came in and said that the symptoms were very unfavourable. He took the mother out of the room, and told her that the child could not live. The news came like a thunderbolt. After the doctor had gone, the mother went into the room where the child lay and began to talk to the child, and tried to divert its mind.

You will hear a sweeter song than you have ever heard on earth. You will hear them sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. You are very fond of music. Won't it be sweet, darling? You will see the seraphim and cherubim, and the streets all paved with gold"; and she went on picturing heaven as it is described in Revelation. The little tired child again turned its head away, and said.

And the little sick one whispered— "O mamma, that is what I want. If Jesus will only take me in His arms and let me rest! Are you not weary of the turmoil of life? You can find rest on the bosom of the Son of God. Some years ago I saw what is called a sensitive plant. I happened to breathe on it, and suddenly it folded its leaves; I touched it, and it drooped. Humility is as sensitive as that; it cannot safely be brought out on exhibition. A man who is flattering himself that he is humble, and is walking close to the Master, is self-deceived. It consists not in thinking meanly of ourselves, but in not thinking of ourselves at all.

Moses wist not that his face shone. If humility speaks of itself, it is gone. A man got up in one of our meetings in New York some years ago, who had been pretty far down; but a wonderful change had taken place, and he said he hardly knew himself. He said the fact was, he was a new man in his old clothes. That was just it. Not a man in new clothes, but a new man in old clothes. I saw an advertisement which read like this: Why, a leper might put on good clothes, but he would be a leper still! Mere profession does not transform a man.

It is the new nature spoken of in 2 Corinthians v. I do not believe there is any false religion in the world that men are not proud of. The only religion of which I have ever heard, that men were ashamed of, is the religion of Jesus Christ. When I came within forty miles of Salt Lake City, the engineer came into the car and wanted to know if I wouldn't like to ride on the engine.

I went with him, and in that forty-mile ride he talked Mormonism to me the whole time, and tried to convert me so that I would not preach against the Mormons. I never met an unconverted Chinaman who wasn't proud of being a disciple of Confucius, and I never met a Mohammedan who wasn't proud of the fact that he was a follower of Mohammed; but how many, many times I have found men ashamed of the religion of Jesus Christ, the only religion that gives men the power over their affections and lusts and sins.

If there were some back-door by which men could slip into heaven, there would be a great many who would want to enter it; but they don't like to make public confession. This is Our Hope A bright young girl of fifteen was suddenly cast upon a bed of suffering, completely paralysed on one side, and nearly blind.

She heard the family doctor say to her parents as they stood by the bedside— "She has seen her best days, poor child! We shall not sink into annihilation. Christ rose from the dead to give us a pledge of our own rising. The resurrection is the great antidote for fear of death. Nothing else can take its place. Riches, genius, worldly pleasures or pursuits—none can bring us consolation in the dying hour. Compare with these the last words of one of the early disciples, "I am weary. I will now go to sleep. The Blind Man and the Lantern I remember reading of a blind man who was found sitting at the corner of a street in a great city with a lantern beside him.

Some one went up to him and asked what he had the lantern there for, seeing that he was blind, and the light was the same to him as the darkness. The blind man replied— "I have it so that no one may stumble over me. Where one man reads the Bible, a hundred read you and me. That is what Paul meant when he said we were to be "living epistles of Christ, known and read of all men. If we do not commend the Gospel to people by our holy walk and conversation, we shall not win them to Christ. How Prophecy is Fulfilled Dr. Cyrus Hamlin tells the following story.

While he was in Constantinople, soon after the Crimean War, a colonel in the Turkish army called to see him, and said— "I want to ask you one question. What proof can you give me that the Bible is what you claim it to be—the Word of God? Hamlin evaded the question, and drew him into conversation, during which he learned that his visitor had travelled a great deal, especially in the East, in the region of the Euphrates. I am very fond of sport, and having heard that the ruins of Babylon abound in game, I determined to go there for a week's shooting. Knowing that it was not considered safe for a man to be there except in the company of several others, and money being no object to me, I engaged a sheik with his followers to accompany me for a large sum.

We reached Babylon and pitched our tents.

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A little before sundown I took my gun and strolled out to have a look round. The holes and caverns among the mounds which cover the ruins are infested with game, which, however, is rarely seen except at night. I caught sight of one or two animals in the distance, and then turned my steps toward our encampment, intending to begin my sport as soon as the sun had set. What was my surprise to find the men striking the tents! I went to the skeik and protested most strongly. I had engaged him for a week, and was paying him handsomely, and here he was starting off before our contract had scarcely begun.

Nothing I could say, however, would induce him to remain. In the dark, ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and all sort of things come out of the holes and caverns, and whoever is found here is taken off by them and becomes one of themselves. No Arab has ever seen the sun go down on Babylon. But I want to do what is right by you.

We'll go off to a place about an hour distant and come back at daybreak. And my sport had to be given up. Hamlin, "I took my Bible and read from it the 13th chapter of Isaiah: It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.

And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: Come, you're an educated man.

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You know that the Old Testament was translated into Greek about three hundred years before Christ. Hamlin said, "Do so, and come back when you're ready and give me your answer. One day the master went duck-shooting with his slave, and turning on him suddenly, he said— "How is it, uncle, that the devil never tempts me, and always worries you? Why should he tempt a Christian more than an infidel? He then directed the slave to make haste to secure the wounded birds first, and let those that were dead wait till last.

When the slave returned to his master he had found his answer— "You see, massa, I reckon it is this way about the devil. He thinks I'm only a poor, wounded soul that he wants to make sure of first; but you are surely his, and so you can wait. When a man is truly born of God, it seems as if every influence of evil is arrayed against him, and unless the work is genuine he will not stand. I know of a certain temperance lecturer who was once a poor, wretched drunkard. A short time after his conversion he was asked to speak in his native town, and when he came on the stage it was found that liquor had been sprinkled about the floor in order that its fumes might tempt him to drink again.

Our God is a great King, and He delights to give gifts to us: That Ladder a Dream A man dreamed that he built a ladder from earth to heaven; and when he did a good deed, up went his ladder a few feet. When he did a very good deed, his ladder went higher; and when he gave away large sums of money to the poor, up it went further still.

By and by it went out of sight; and as years rolled on, it went up, he thought, past the clouds, clear into heaven. When he died he thought he would step off his ladder into heaven; but he heard a voice roll out from paradise— "He that climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. He saw that if he wanted to get salvation, he must get it in another way than by good deeds; and he took the other way, which is by Jesus Christ.

The Arrow Hit the Mark A society was some years ago established to distribute tracts by mail in the higher circles. One of these tracts, entitled, "Prepare to meet thy God," was enclosed in an envelope, and sent by post to a gentleman well known for his ungodly life and his reckless impiety. He was in his study when he read this letter among others.

I'll send it to my friend B; it will be a good joke to hear what he'll say about it. B was a man of his own stamp, and received the tract, as his friend had done, with an oath at "the Methodist humbug "; and his first impulse was to tear it in pieces. The arrow of conviction entered his heart as he read, and he was converted. Almost his first thought was for his ungodly associates. Wonderful to say, the little arrow hit the mark. He also was converted; and both are now walking as the Lord's redeemed ones. Is there Anything to Cultivate? We hear nowadays so much about "culture.

If I should plant a watch, I shouldn't get any little watches, would I? Because the seed of life is not there. But let me plant some peas or potatoes, and I shall get a crop. Don't let any man or woman rest short of being born of the Spirit of God. First make sure that you have that Divine nature, then cultivate it.

Your Walk Tells "That man must have been in the army, or in a military school," I said to a friend once. Living on Crumbs I once heard Rev. William Arnot say that he was the guest of a friend who had a favourite dog. The animal would come into the room where the family were sitting at the dinner table, and would stand looking at his master.

If the master threw him a crumb, the dog would seize it before it got to the floor. But if he put the joint of meat down on the floor, the dog would look at it and leave it alone, as if it were too good for him. Arnot, "there are many Christians who are satisfied to live on crumbs, when God wants to give them the whole joint. There is an abundance for all. It Took Two A Scotchman was once asked how many it took to convert him. Getting too Personal My wife was once teaching my little boy a Sabbath-school lesson; she was telling him to notice how sin grows till it becomes a habit.

The little fellow thought it was coming too close to him, so he coloured up and finally said— "Mamma, I think you are getting a good way from the subject. He took a silver watch from his pocket and offered it to the eldest boy in the class. He thought he was joking. The teacher offered it to the next boy, and said— "Take that watch: In the same way the teacher went nearly round the class; but not one of them would accept the proffered gift. At length he came to the smallest boy. When the watch was offered to the little fellow, he took it and put it in his pocket.

All the class laughed at him. The watch is yours. Take good care of it. Wind it up every night. You don't mean that he hasn't to give it back to you? It is his own now. Both Afraid I remember a man in New York who used to come and pray with me. He had his cross. He was afraid to confess Christ. It seemed that down at the bottom of his trunk he had a Bible. He wanted to get it out and read it to a companion with whom he lived, but he was ashamed to do it. For a whole week that was his cross; and after he had carried the burden the whole of that time, with a terrible struggle, he made up his mind.

He said, "I will take my Bible out to-night and read it. His first impulse was to put it away again; but then he thought he would not—he would face his companion with it. His mate came in, and, seeing him at his Bible, said— "John, are you interested in these things? I was converted on the same night, and I, too, was ashamed to take my Bible out. Awakened Recollections Several years ago, a minister in a town much resorted to by invalids was requested to see a gentleman reported to be very ill.

The patient was a man between fifty and sixty, and had been a successful merchant in the metropolis. He had been ordered to this health resort, but, as it proved, only to die there. The minister soon saw that it was no earnest desire for spiritual benefit that had prompted the request. On the contrary, he felt there was little or no sense of the gravity of the case, and no sympathy with his own concern for the sufferer. He felt as if, on the part of the relatives at least, there was almost suppressed ridicule of his efforts to guide the dying man to the truth.

Altogether the case was about as hopeless a one as my friend had ever dealt with. I cannot remember whether it was during the first visit, or upon a second call, that it occurred to him, seeing the sufferer was a Scotchman, to take advantage of a line in the metrical version of the Psalms used in Scotland, to convey the saving truth he was trying to state. I do not know the psalm, or the rest of the verse; but here are the words, and the whole gospel is in them— 'None perish that Him trust.

None perish that Him trust. Where did you learn that psalm? She used to go to Dr. Alexander's church at Edinburgh. Attentively he listened to what more it was thought proper to add. He requested a repetition of the visit. How often afterwards the minister saw him I do not recollect; but from that hour there was a marked change, and an evident growing interest as the way of salvation was explained. The last time my friend was sent for, he went without delay; but it was too late, or seemed to be too late, for the dying man to receive aught from human lips. He was already far down the valley, alone, and friends could only look after him as he descended.

As they gazed in silence, they saw his lips moving. My friend bent down to catch the faint whispers that followed each other in slow succession; they were— "None—perish—that—Him—trust. Thank God for the Resurrection! At the battle of Inkerman a soldier was just able to crawl to his tent after he was struck down. When found, he was lying upon his face, his open Bible before him, his hand glued fast to the page by his life-blood which covered it.

It is said that when his hand was lifted, the letters of the printed page were clearly traced upon it, and with the ever-living promise in and on his hand, they laid him in a soldier's grave. The words were— "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Oh, what gloom and darkness would settle upon this world if it were not for the glorious doctrine of the resurrection!

Thank God, the glorious morning will soon break. For a little while God asks us to be on the watch-tower, faithful to Him and waiting for the summons. Soon our Lord will come to receive His own, whether they be living or dead. Too Generous A coloured preacher once said that a good many of his congregation would be lost because they were too generous.

He saw that the people looked rather surprised; so he said— "Perhaps you think I have made a mistake, and that I ought to have said you will be lost because you are not generous enough. That is not so; I meant just what I said. You give away too many sermons. You hear them, as it were, for other people. We All Need Christ I read of a minister travelling in the South who obtained permission to preach in the local jail. A son of his host went with him. On the way back, the young man, who was not a Christian, said to the minister— "I hope some of the convicts were impressed.

Such a sermon as that ought to do them good. The minister shook his head, and said, "I preached Christ, and you need Him as much as they. Keep Your Light Shining I remember hearing of two men who had charge of a revolving light in a lighthouse on a storm-bound and rocky coast. Somehow the machinery went wrongs and the light did not revolve. They were so afraid that those at sea should mistake it for some other light, that they worked all the night through to keep the light moving round.

Let us keep our light in the proper place, so that the world may see that the religion of Christ is not a sham, but a reality.

His Best Illustrations: The Life and Work of D.L. Moody

They did not Believe Him A story is told of a man who was converted several years ago, and he liked the Gospel so well, he thought he should go and preach it. He started out, and great crowds came to hear him just out of curiosity. The next night there were not so many there, and the third night the man had scarcely a hearer. But he was anxious to preach the Gospel; and so he prepared some great placards, and posted them all over the town, declaring that if any man in that town that was in debt would come to his office before twelve o'clock on a certain day, with the proof of indebtedness, he would pay the debt.

This news spread all over the town, but the people did not believe him. One man said to his neighbour, "John, do you believe this man will pay our debts? Now it is a wonder there is not a great rush of men into the kingdom of God to have their debts paid, when a man can be saved for nothing. About ten o'clock a man was walking in front of the office. He looked this way and that to see if anybody was looking, and by and by, satisfied that there was no one looking, he slipped in and said— "I saw a notice about town that if any one would call here at a certain hour you would pay their debts; is there any truth in it?

Did you bring the necessary papers with you? Before twelve o'clock had passed two more came in and had their debts paid. At twelve o'clock he let them all out. Some other men were standing around the door. Twelve o'clock had passed. To every one of you who is a bankrupt sinner—and you never saw an unsaved sinner that was not a bankrupt sinner—Christ comes and He says, "I will pay your debts. It was in the spring of the year, and the water was not clear.

You know that the cry of a wounded man is, "Water! I remember taking a glass of the muddy water to one of these men. Although he was very thirsty, he only drank a little. He handed the glass back, and as he did so, he said— "Oh, for a draught of water from my father's well! Come and drink of the fountain opened in Christ!

Your longing will be satisfied, and you will never thirst again. My wife told me one day that she had just come from a friend's house where one of the children, a little boy, had been cutting something with a knife, and it had slipped upward and put out his eye, and his mother was afraid of his losing the other.

Of course, after that my wife was careful that our little boy, two years old, shouldn't get the scissors, or anything by which he could harm himself. But prohibit a child from having any particular thing, and he's sure to have it; so one day our little fellow got hold of the scissors. His sister seeing what he had, and knowing the law, tried to take the scissors from him; but the more she tried the more he clung to them. All at once she remembered that he liked oranges, and that there was one in the next room. Away she went and back she came— "Willie, would you like an orange? God sometimes takes away the scissors, but He gives us an orange.

Get both your feet into the narrow way; it leads to life and joy; its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace. It is the way of victory, of peace; no gloom there; all light. He Honoured the Emperor It is said that Alexander the Great had a favourite general to whom he had given permission to draw upon the royal treasury for any amount.

On one occasion this general had made a draft for such an enormous sum that the treasurer refused to honour it until he consulted the emperor.

So he went into his presence and told him what the general had done. His treasurer said that he was afraid of offending him if he had paid the amount. Faith in the Wrong Person How often we hear a man say, "There is a member of the church who cheated me out of five dollars, and I am not going to have anything more to do with people who call themselves Christians. What we want is to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

If a man has that, he has something he can anchor to, and the anchor will hold; and when the hour of temptation comes to him, and the hour of trial, the man will stand firm. If we are only converted to man, and our faith is in man, we shall certainly be disappointed. I know nothing about medicine; but I call in the doctor, and put that boy's life and everything into his hands. I do not fail to believe in him; and I do not interfere at all. Do you call that trusting in the dark? I used my best judgment, and I put that boy's life into the hands of a good physician.

You have a soul diseased. Put it into the hand of the Great Physician! Trust Him, and He will take care of it. He has had some of the most hopeless cases. He was able to heal all that came to Him while on earth. He is the same to-day. Suppose you have one thousand pounds, and there are forty thieves who want to rob you of it. I tell you that there is a bank here, and that I will introduce you to the manager so that you can deposit the money, You do not know anything of the bank, save by repute; you know nothing about how the books are kept; but you take my word, and you believe my testimony, that if you deposit the money it will be safe; and you go in and place the thousand pounds there.

We must trust God in time of trouble, in time of bereavement. You can trust Him with your soul until your dying day, if you will. Will you not do it? Don't Trust this Plank Don't be watching your feelings. There is not one verse from Genesis to Revelation about being saved by feeling. When the devil sees a poor soul in agony in the waves of sin, and getting close to the Rock of Ages, he just holds out the plank of "feeling" to him, and says, "There, get on that; you feel more comfortable now, don't you?

Accept no refuge but the Rock of Ages—the Everlasting Strength. When I was there a year ago I heard such a speech as I shall never forget. Duff made a speech that set me all on fire. I shall never forget the hour I spent in that meeting. Duff had been out in India as a missionary; he had spent twenty-five years there preaching the Gospel and establishing schools.

He came back with a broken-down constitution. He was permitted to address the General Assembly, in order to make an appeal for men to go into the mission field. After he had spoken for a considerable time, he became exhausted and fainted away. They carried him out of the hall into another room. The doctors carefully attended him for some time, and at last he began to recover. When he realised where he was, he roused himself and said— "I did not finish my speech; carry me back and let me finish it.

Said he— "I will do it if I die. My friend said it was one of the most solemn scenes he ever witnessed in his life. They brought the white-haired man into the Assembly Hall, and as he appeared at the door every person sprang to his feet; the tears flowed freely as they looked upon the grand old veteran. With a trembling voice he said— "Fathers and mothers of Scotland, is it true that you have no more sons to send to India to work for the Lord.

The call for help is growing louder and louder, but there are few coming forward to answer it. You have the money put away in the bank, but where are the labourers who shall go into the field? When the Sovereign wants men to volunteer for his army in India, you freely give your sons. You do not talk about their losing their health, and about the trying climate. But when the Lord Jesus is calling for labourers, Scotland is saying, 'We have no more sons to give.

Moderator, if it is true that Scotland has no more sons to give to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ in India, although I have lost my health in that land and come home to die, if there are none who will go and tell those heathen of Christ, then I will be off to-morrow, to let them know that there is one old Scotchman who is ready to die for them. I will go back to the shores of the Ganges, and there lay down my life as a witness for the Son of God. We want men to-day who are willing, if need be, to lay down their lives for the Son of God. Then we shall be able to make an impression upon the world.

When they see that we are in earnest their hearts will be touched, and we shall be able to lead them to the Lord Jesus Christ. Only the Sick Ones would Follow A friend, who was travelling in the East, heard that there was a shepherd who still kept up the custom of calling his sheep by name.

He went to the man, and said— "Let me put on your clothes, and take your crook, and I will call them, and see if they will come to me. Then he said to the shepherd— "Will none of them follow me when I call them? Paul's Persuasion A man was dying during the war.

He was asked of what persuasion he was. They all claim Paul. They claim Paul, too. How to Warm up the Church I was once preaching in Scotland, and when I got to the church, it was so cold that I could see my breath three feet away. I said to the "beadle," as they call him— "Aren't you going to have any heat in this building? It Seemed a Small Thing I remember hearing of a man at sea who was very sea-sick. If there is a time when a man feels that he cannot do any work for the Lord it is then—in my opinion.

While this man was sick he heard that a man had fallen overboard. He was wondering if he could do anything to help to save him. He laid hold of a light, and held it up to the port-hole. The drowning man was saved. When this man got over his attack of sickness he was up on deck one day, and was talking to the man who was rescued. The saved man gave this testimony.

He said he had gone down the second time, and was just going down again for the last time, when he put out his hand. Just then, he said, some one held a light at the port-hole, and the light fell on his hand. A man caught him by the hand and pulled him into the lifeboat. It seemed a small thing to do to hold up the light; yet it saved the man's life.

If you cannot do some great thing, you can hold the light for some poor, perishing drunkard, who may be won to Christ and delivered from destruction. Let us take the torch of salvation and go into these dark homes, and hold up Christ to the people as the Saviour of the world.

The Jealous Eagle There is a fable of an eagle which could outfly another, and the other didn't like it. The latter saw a sportsman one day, and said to him— "I wish you would bring down that eagle. So the eagle pulled one out of his wing. The arrow was shot, but didn't quite reach the rival eagle; it was flying too high.

The envious eagle pulled out more feathers, and kept pulling them out until he lost so many that he couldn't fly, and then the sportsman turned round and killed him.

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My friend, if you are jealous, the only man you can hurt is yourself. Faith When I was a boy, in the spring of the year, when the snow had melted away on the New England hills where I lived, I used to take a certain kind of glass and hold it up to the warm rays of the sun. These would strike on it, and I would set the woods on fire.

Faith is the glass that brings the fire of God out of heaven. It was faith that drew the fire down on Carmel and burned up Elijah's offering. We have the same God to-day, and the same faith. Some people seem to think that faith is getting old, and that the Bible is wearing out. But the Lord will revive His work now; and we shall be able to set the world on fire if each believer has a strong and simple faith.

Eleven hundred convicts were brought into the chapel, and all sat in front of me. After I had finished preaching, the chaplain said to me— "Mr. Moody, I want to tell you of a scene which occurred in this room. A few years ago, our commissioners went to the Governor of the State, and got him to promise that he would pardon five men for good behaviour. The Governor consented, with this understanding—that the record was to be kept secret, and that at the end of six months the five men highest on the roll should receive a pardon, regardless of who or what they were. At the end of six months the prisoners were all brought into the chapel.

The commissioners came; the president stood on the platform, and putting his hand in his pocket, brought out some papers, and said— " 'I hold in my hand pardons for five men. Every man was as still as death. Many were deadly pale. The suspense was awful; it seemed as if every heart had ceased to beat. The commissioner went on to tell them how they had got the pardon; but the chaplain interrupted him. This suspense is awful. He said to the warden, "Are all the prisoners here?

Then he said again, "Reuben Johnson will come and get his pardon. It is signed and sealed by the Governor. He is a free man. The chaplain looked right down where Reuben was. He was well known; he had been nineteen years there, and many were looking round to see him spring to his feet. But he himself was looking round to see the fortunate man who had got his pardon. Finally the chaplain had caught his eye, and said— "Reuben, you are the man. The chaplain said the second time, "Reuben, you are the man"; and the second time he looked round, thinking it must be some other Reuben.

He had to say three times, "Reuben, come and get your pardon.

He got up, came along down the hall, trembling from head to foot, and when he got the pardon he looked at it, and went back to his seat, buried his face in his hands and wept. When the prisoners got into the ranks to go back to their cells, Reuben got into the ranks, too, and the chaplain had to call him— "Reuben, get out of the ranks; you are a free man, you are no longer a prisoner.

That is the way men make out pardons; they make them out for good character or good behaviour; but God makes out pardons for men who have not got any character. He offers a pardon to every sinner on earth if he will take it. I do not care who he is, or what he is like. He may be the greatest libertine that ever walked the streets, or the greatest blackguard who ever lived, or the greatest drunkard, or thief, or vagabond.

Christ commissioned His disciples to preach the gospel to every creature. Clogged by Sand A number of years ago the mouth of the Mississippi River became so clogged that no vessels could pass through the channel. Much anxiety was felt, for the farmers along its banks depended upon the river for the transportation of their products. There were no great overhanging rocks to fall into the stream and block the way of the vessels.

No volcanic upheaval had changed its bed. The trouble was simply the deposit of sediment—washings from the muddy banks and bottom of the river, so fine that a filter would hardly free the water from its impurity. And yet these tiny specks, massed together, hindered the great river's flow to the ocean; and for a time threatened the industries of the south-western States.

It does not need some great sin to block the channel of blessing. Small sins will block the stream. Human ingenuity at last found a way to keep the Mississippi channel open; but only Divine power can free our hearts from sin. The Difference A man said to me some time ago, "How do you account for the fact that Mohammed began his work six hundred years after Christ, and yet he has now more disciples than Christ?

He can live in the darkest, blackest, foulest sin; but if any man will be a disciple of Jesus Christ, he must come out from the world, he must take up his cross daily and follow Jesus. Spurgeon once made a parable. He said, "There was once a tyrant who summoned one of his subjects into his presence, and ordered him to make a chain. The poor blacksmith—that was his occupation—had to go to work and forge the chain. When it was done, he brought it into the presence of the tyrant, and was ordered to take it away and make it twice the length.

He brought it again to the tyrant, and again he was ordered to double it. Back he came when he had obeyed the order, and the tyrant looked at it, and then commanded the servants to bind the man hand and foot with the chain he had made and cast him into prison. But, thank God, we can tell them of a Deliverer. The Son of God has power to break every one of their fetters, if they will only come to Him.

Those Five Bottles of Wine A lady in the north of England said that every time she got down before God to pray, five bottles of wine came up before her mind. She had taken them wrongfully one time when she was a housekeeper, and had not been able to pray since. She was advised to make restitution.

My reputation is at stake. The only thing is to make restitution. He said he didn't want the money, but she finally persuaded him to take it, and came back with a joy and peace that made her face radiant. She became a magnificent worker for souls, and led many into the light. My dear friends, get these stumbling-stones out of the way. God does not want a man to shout "Hallelujah" who doesn't pay his debts. Many of our prayer-meetings are killed by men trying to pray who cannot pray because their lives are not right. Sin builds up a great wall between us and God.

A man may stand high in the community, and may be a member of some church "in good standing," but the question is, How does he stand in the sight of God? If there is anything wrong in your life, make it right. Covering a Sundial Bishop Phillips Brooks told a story of some savages to whom was given a sundial. So desirous were they to honour and keep it sacred, that they housed it in and built a roof over it. Is your belief in God so reverent that you put it to one side carefully, as being too sacred for daily use? Learn to use it. Let God in on your life. Let your faith inspire you to good works.

They could not understand a word he uttered, but they recognised the universal language of love through which he appealed to them. It had been many years since that Christian hero had passed their way, but the very remembrance of his presence among them would kindle a friendly smile. It is this very selfsame universal language of love—Christlike love—that we must have if we are going to be used of God.

The world does not understand theology or dogma; but it understands love and sympathy. A loving act may be more powerful and far-reaching than the most eloquent sermon. When a Christian Grows Dr. Bonar once remarked that he could tell when a Christian was growing. In proportion to his growth in grace he would elevate his Master, talk less of what he was doing, and become smaller and smaller in his own esteem, until, like the morning star, he faded away before the rising sun.

Jonathan was willing to decrease, that David might increase; and John the Baptist showed the same spirit of humility. This visitor had a wealthy lady friend, who constantly looked on the dark side of things, and was always cast down, although she was a professed Christian. She thought it would do this lady good to see the bedridden saint, so she took her down to the house. She lived up in the garret, five storeys up, and when they had got to the first storey the lady drew up her dress, and said— "How dark and filthy it is! They got to the next storey, and it was no better; the lady complained again, but her friend replied— "It's better higher up.

And there they found this bedridden saint—one of those saints whom God is polishing for His own temple—just beaming with joy. The lady said to her, "It must be very hard for you to lie here. And if things go against us, my friends, let us remember that "it's better higher up. She Wanted Him to be Graceful A Christian mother said she wanted her son to go to a dancing-school, because he was so awkward—she wanted him to be more graceful. Wanted him to get grace in his heels, you see, instead of his heart.

After six weeks he had made such poor progress she took him out in disgust and chided him. You see, it's one of the things I can't pray over. A Most Extraordinary Well! I heard of a well that was said to be very good, except that it had two faults; it would freeze up in the winter, and it would dry up in the summer.

A most extraordinary well, but I am afraid there are many wells like it! There are many people who are good at certain times; as some one has expressed it, they seem to be good "in spots. People talk about striking while the iron is hot. Cromwell said that he would rather strike the iron and make it hot. Two Ways of Being United There are two ways of being united—one is by being frozen together, and the other is by being melted together. What Christians need is to be united in brotherly love, and then they may expect to have power.

Looking Downward I once heard of a man who dreamed that he was swept into heaven, and oh, he was so delighted to think that he had at last got there. All at once one came and said— "Come, I want to show you something. He awoke from his sleep, and later he said— "I have never wished myself dead since.

A Well-Deserved Rebuff When I first held meetings in Glasgow, my committee without my knowledge sent to a large livery establishment to engage a cab to drive me to my meetings on the Sabbath. The proprietor was a godly man, and sent me this message— "Tell Mr.

Moody he will do as much good by walking to his meetings as by driving three or four miles through the Fourth Commandment. Whichever Way the Wind Blows Mr. Spurgeon went down into the country to visit a friend who had built a new barn, and on the barn was a cupola upon which they had put a weather-vane with this text of Scripture on it: Spurgeon said to the man— "What do you mean by putting that text of Scripture on the weather-vane? Do you mean that God's love is as changeable as the wind?

Different Ideas about Prayer There is a new kind of philosophy nowadays which teaches that it is a very healthy exercise to pray, because it teaches us submission. God doesn't change in His plans for us; we won't get anything more by asking, but then just ask—it is healthy exercise! A mother in New York has lost track of her boy. She is wandering around the streets seeking for him.

You know that the boy is dead, but still you tell her to keep on seeking—it is healthy exercise. What downright mockery it is for any one to talk such stuff as that! Suppose that in the dead of winter, when the thermometer is down at zero, a man who has been stuck for twenty-four hours in a drift manages to get to my house at midnight, and rings the bell.

I go to the window, and say— "Who is there? I have been in a snow-bank twenty-four hours, and I am dying. Won't you help me? I remember laboring with a man in Chicago. It was past midnight before he got down on his knees, but down he went, and was converted. The devil will come to you to-morrow morning and say it was all feeling; that you only imagined you were accepted by God. When he does, don't fight him with your own opinions, but fight him with John vi. When he was on his way home the devil assailed him. He used this text, but the devil put this thought into his mind: Perhaps the translators made a mistake.

He was in trouble till about two in the morning. At last he came to this conclusion. A few years ago, at the mouth of Cleveland harbor, there were two lights, one at each side of the bay, called the upper and lower lights; and to enter the harbor safely by night, vessels must sight both of the lights. These western lakes are sometimes more dangerous than the great ocean. One wild, stormy night, a steamer was trying to make her way into the harbor. The captain and pilot were anxiously watching for the lights. By and by the pilot was heard to say, "Do you see the lower light?

We have passed the lower lights, and have lost our chance of getting into the harbor. They looked back, and saw the dim outline of the lower lighthouse against the sky. She wont answer to her helm. They tried again to make for the harbor, but they went crash against the rocks, and sank to the bottom. Very few escaped; the great majority found a watery grave.

Simply because the lower lights had gone out. Now with us the upper light is. Christ himself is the upper light, and we are the lower lights, and the cry to us is, Keep the lower lights burning; that is what we have to do. I have no sympathy with the idea that our children have to grow up before they are converted.

Once I saw a lady with three daughters at her side, and I stepped up to her and asked her if she was a Christian. The chin began to quiver, and the tears came into her eyes, and she said: One daughter was fourteen years old, one twelve, and the other ten, but they were not old enough to be talked to about religion! Let them drift into the world and plunge into worldly amusements, and then see how hard it is to reach them.

Many a mother is mourning to-day because her boy has gone beyond her reach, and will not allow her to pray with him. She may pray for him, but he will not let her pray or talk with him. In those early days when his mind was tender and young, she might have led him to Christ. May God let the arrow go down into your soul! Make up your mind that, God helping you, you will get the children converted.

God's order is to the father first, but if he isn't true to his duty, then the mother should be true, and save the children from the wreck. Now is the time to do it while you have them under your roof. Exert your parental influence over them. Some years ago at a convention, an old judge was telling about the mighty power Christians summon to their aid in this petition for Christ's sake;" "in Jesus' name;" and he told a story that made a great impression on me. When the war came on, he said, his only son left for the army, and he became suddenly interested in soldiers.

Every soldier that passed by brought his son to remembrance; he could see his son in him. He went to work for soldiers. When a sick soldier came there to Columbus one day, so weak he couldn't walk, the judge took him in a carriage, and. Soon he became president of the Soldiers' Home in Columbus, and used to go down every day and spend hours in looking after those soldiers, and seeing that they had every comfort. He spent on them a great deal of time and a great deal of money. One day he said to his wife; "I'm giving too much time to these soldiers. I've got to stop it. There's an important case coming on in court, and I've got to attend to my own business.

He went to his desk, and then to writing.

Pretty soon the door opened, and he saw a soldier hobble slowly in. He started at sight of him. The man was fumbling at something in his breast, and pretty soon he got out an old soiled paper. The father saw it was his own son's writing. He has lost his leg and his health in defense of his country, and he is going home to his mother to die.

If he calls on you, treat him kindly, "For Charlie's Sake. He sent for a carriage, lifted the maimed soldier in, drove home, put him into Charlie's room, sent for the family physician, kept him in the family and treated him for his own son. When the young soldier got well enough to go to the train to go home to his mother, he took him to the railway station, put him in the nicest, most comfortable place in the carriage, and sent him on his way.

Do and ask everything in the name of Him "who loved us and gave Himself for us. There is a beautiful tradition connected with the site on which the temple of Solomon was erected. It is said to have been occupied in common by two brothers, one of whom had a family, the other had none. On this spot was sown a field of wheat. On the evening succeeding the harvest - the wheat having been gathered in separate shocks - the elder brother said to his wife: The younger brother being actuated by the same benevolent motives, said within himself;.

I will arise, take of my shocks and place with his. Judge of their mutual astonishment, when, on the following day, they found their respective shocks undiminished. This transpired for several nights, when each resolved in his own mind to stand guard and solve the mystery. They did so; and on the following night they met each other half-way between their respective shocks with their arms full. Upon ground hallowed by such associations as this was the temple of Solomon erected - of the world! During the Indian mutiny, the English were besieged in the city of Lucknow, and were in momentary expectation of perishing at the hands of the fiends that surrounded them.

A little Scotch lassie was in this fort, and, while lying on the ground, she suddenly shouted, her face aglow with joy: It was the bagpipes of her native Scotland she heard. It was a native air she heard that was being played by a regiment of her countrymen marching to the relief of those captives, and these deliverers made them free. Oh, friend, don't you hear the voice of Jesus Christ calling to you now? An interesting story is told of Professor Drummond. He was staying with a lady whose coachman had signed the pledge, but afterward gave way to drink. This lady said to the professor, "Now this man will drive you to the station; say a word to him if you can.

He is a good man and really wants to reform; but he is weak. Suddenly the horses were frightened and tried to run away. The driver held on to the reins and managed them well. The carriage swayed about, and the professor expected every moment to be upset, but after a little the man got the better of the team, and as he drew them up at the station, streaming with perspiration, he exclaimed: Our trap might have been smashed into matchwood, and you wouldn't have given any more addresses.

Here's my train coming. I hear you have been signing the pledge and breaking out again. Now I want to give you a bit of advice. Throw the reins of your life to Jesus Christ. The driver saw in a flash where he had made the mistake, and from that day ceased to try to live in his own strength. Some years ago a remarkable picture was exhibited in London, As you looked at it from a distance, you seemed to see a monk engaged in prayer, his hands clasped, his head bowed. As you came nearer, however, and examined the painting more closely, you saw that in reality he was squeezing a lemon into a punch bowl.

What a picture that is of the human heart! Superficially examined, it is thought to be the seat of all that is good and noble and pleasing in a man; whereas in reality, until regenerated by the Holy Ghost, it is the seat of all corruption. A fearful storm was raging, when the cry was heard, "Man overboard!

Above the shriek of the storm and the roar of the waters rose his rending cry. It was an 'agonizing moment. With bated breath and blanched cheek, every eye was strained to the struggling man. Manfully did the brave rowers strain every nerve in this race of mercy; but all their efforts were in vain. One wild shriek of despair, and the victim went down. A piercing cry, "Save him, save him! He whose strong cry broke the stillness of the crowd was captain of the ship from whence the drowned man fell, and was his brother.

This is the feeling we should have in the various ranks of those bearing commission under the great Captain of our salvation, "Save him! When the people see that we are in earnest in all that we undertake for God, they will begin to tremble; men and women will be inquiring the way to Zion. There is a preacher in Edinburgh, but I never think of him as a preacher, although he is one of the finest preachers in Scotland.

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