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7
OLD TRUTHS
NEWLY ILLUSTRATED
BY
HENRY GRAHAM, D.D.
NEW YORK: EATON & MAINS
CINCINNATI : JENNINGS & GRAHAM
^.
THE TfEW YORK
^'UH i.BRARY
A8T0R, LENOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATIONa.
1904
Copyright, 1904, by
EATON & MAINS.
17 Get. 04
PREFACE
This Is not a pretentious volume. Its principal aim
is to incorporate for public use more than three hundred
original illustrations which the writer has found useful
during a ministry of over thirty years in applying di-
vine truth to the audiences which he has been privileged
to address. His thought is that it will be especially
valuable to ministers and teachers of spiritual truth,
who are welcome to use the illustrations in their own
way.
At the same time the truths illustrated are the old
truths of the Gospel of Christ, and it is hoped that in
their present form they may be helpful to all Christians.
The illustrations are all original, unless in a few in-
stances the writer's memory has proved treacherous.
Where legends, incidents, and historical and scientific
facts are used, they are, of course, not original, but the
application of them, so far as the writer can remember,
has not been suggested by another.
CONTENTS
Afflictions Page i
" Appearances Are Often Deceiving " 2
Apostasy 5
Backsliders 7
Bad Business 8
Bible Study , 9
Blind People — What They May Do 11
Blossoms and Fruit 12
Branches Broken Off 13
Care of Converts 15
Carrying Everything to God 15
Changing Opinions 16
Children for Christ 17
Childhood Trust 18
Choosing Our Destiny 19
Christ a Universal Saviour 20
Christ's Gospel 21
Christ in Us 22
Christ's Kingdom 23
Christ Our Judge 24
Christ Our Pattern 25
Christ the Light of the World 27
Christian Fellowship 28
Christian Philanthropy 29
Church of God 31
Church of God a Light 31
Communion with God 32
Concealment 34
Conflicts of Truth 35
Consciousness of God's Presence 36
vi Contents
Courage Page 37
Criticism in the Social Meetings 38
Crosses 39
Cross-bearing 40
Death No Respecter of Persons 42
Denominations of Christians 43
Discouragement 44
Divine Guidance 46
Divine Power in the Church 47
Environment ^ 48
Every One for Himself 50
Example , 51
Experience 53
Failure in Christian Work 54
Faith and Sight 56
Faith and Works 57
Falling 58
Family Influence 59
Fellowship of Christ's Sufferings 61
Fickleness 62
' ' Follow the Rule" 63
Force Indestructible 65
Forgetting God 68
Foundations 69
Freedom of Man 71
Friendship 74
Fruit Diseased 75
Fruit in Abundance 75
' ' Fruit to Perfection" 76
' ' Fullness of God" 77
Fullness of the Spirit 79
Full Salvation 79
God First 79
God Our Father 80
God Our Portion 81
God's Care 82
Contents vii
God Sees Page 83
God's Great Sacrifice 84
God's Nearness 85
God Working through Men 86
Giving 87
' ' Give Me a Shove" 88
Grace Abundant 89
Grasping at Shadov/ s 90
Grievances 91
Habit 91
Hardship 92
Heaven 94
Helping Others 96
Heredity 99
Hoe-men loi
Home 103
Humiliation of Christ 104
Immanence of God 105
Importunity in Prayer 106
Ingratitude 107
Knocking 108
Last Words 109
Law of Love no
"Let Your Light Shine" 112
Life Eternal 114
Life More Abundant 115
Like Christ 116
Limiting God 117
Love for Christ 118
Love of Money 119
Love that Is Warm 120
Love that Saves Must Be Mutual 121
Luggage 123
Marriage 125
Men and Women in the Church 126
viii Contents
' ' Narrow Is the Way" Page 127
Nearsighted and Farsighted Christians 128
Neutrality » 130
Novel-reading 131
Obedience the Test of Love 132
Old Age Bearing Fruit 134
Omnipresence 134
Opportunities Neglected 135
Oppressing the Poor » 137
Partiality 138
Pastoral Work 140
Peace Within 142
' ' Peculiar People" 143
Personal Work 144
Pleasures that Are Base 145
Power of God 146
' ' Practice Makes Perfect" 147
Prayer for Others 148
Prayer in the Family 150
Prayer in Public 151
Prayer in Secret 153
Preparation for Great Things 154
Pride 155
Probabilities 157
Procrastination 158
Profession of Religion 159
Punishment Hereafter 159
Reading 161
Ready for Heaven 162
Red Like Crimson 163
Reformation 164
Reform Within the Church 165
Regeneration 166
Religion Brings Peace 168
Religion that Speaks for Itself 169
Religious Life 170
Contents ix
Reputation Page 172
Resisting God 174
Resurrection from the Dead 175
Riches 176
Ripening Christians 177
Risking the Soul 178
Salvation for All 179
Salvation from Sin 180
Salvation Is of God 181
Sanctification of Human Nature 182
Secret Sin 183
Seed-sowing 184
Seizing Opportunities 185
Service the Test of Greatness 186
Sick-bed Repentance 187
Sin 189
Sin and Death 190
Sin and Law 191
Sin, Its Bondage 192
Sin, Its Action and Reaction 193
Spiritual Cripples 194
Spiritual Death 195
Spiritual Geography 196
Spiritual Light 198
Spiritual Magnetism 199
Storms of Life 201
Sympathy 201
Temperance 202
Temperance Seesaw 203
Temptations 204
Testing Truth 206
Thirsting for God 206
Touching Christ 208
Types of Christian Character 208
Unity of God 210
Value op Love 211
X Contents
Waiting for Favorable Opportunities Page 212
Waiting for God 214
Waste Material 215
Watching 216
Watching Harder Work than Fighting 218
"What We Shall Be" 219
Wheat and Chaff 220
Witness of the Spirit 221
Work for Christ 222
Working with God 223
Youth 224
Youth, Manhood, Age 225
PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE
ILLUSTRATED
Gen. 2. 24 Marriage, 125.
" 16. 13 God Sees, 83.
" 49. 4. , Fickleness, 62.
Exod. 32. 26 Temperance, 202.
" 33. 16 Spiritual Geography, 196.
Lev. 19. 2 Reform Within the Church, 165.
Num. 23. 10 Last Words, 109.
" 32.23 Secret Sin, I S3.
Deut. 6. 12 Forgetting God, 68.
" 6. 20, 21 .. .Experience, 53.
Josh. I. 9 God Working through Men, 86.
" 24. 15 Choosing Our Destiny, 19.
" 24. 15 Prayer in the Family, 150.
Judg. 16. 20 Backsliders, 7.
I Sam. 16. 7 "Appearances Are Often Deceiving,
I Kings 15. 30.. . .Forc^ Indestructible, 65.
Psa. 32. 8 Divine Guidance, 46.
" 37- 24 Falling, 58.
" 42. 2 Thirsting for God, 206.
" 46. I Storms of Life, 201.
" 90. I Home, 103.
" 92. 14 Old Age, 134.
" 119. 60 Procrastination, 158.
" 119. 165 Religion Brings Peace, 168.
" 139. 8 Immanence of God, 105.
" 145. 18 God's Nearness, 85.
Prov. 4. 18 Ripening Christians, 177.
" 14. 14 Apostasy, 5.
" 14. 31 Oppressing the Poor, 137.
xii Passages of Scripture Illustrated.
Prov. 1 8. 24 Friendship, 74.
22. I Reputation, 172,
" 22. 6 Family Influence, 59.
Eccles. II. 4 Waiting for Favorable Opportunities, 212.
II. 6 "Give Me a Shove," 88.
" 12. I Youth, 224.
Isa. I. 18 Red Like Crimson, 163.
" 28. 10 Habit, 91.
" 30. 18 Waiting for God, 214.
" 41. 10 God's Care, 82.
" 65. 24 Power of God, 146.
Jer. 17. 9 Heredity, 99.
Dan. 4. 27 Reformation, 163.
Matt. I. 21 Salvation from Sin, 180.
" 4. 19 Work for Christ, 222.
" 5- 13 Conflicts of Truth, 35.
" 5. 14 Church of God a Light, 31.
5. 16 " Let Your Light Shine," 112.
" 5. 48 Fruit Diseased, 75.
" 6. 6 Prayer in Secret, 153.
6.32 God Our Father, 80.
6. 33 God First, 79.
" 7. I Criticism in the Social Meetings, 38.
" 7. 7 Knocking, 108.
" 7.14 " Narrow Is the Way," 127.
" 7. 24-27. . .Foundations, 69.
II. 28 Salvation for All, 179.
" 16. 18 Denominations of Christians, 43.
" 16. 24 Cross-bearing, 40.
19. 19 Love that Is Warm, 120.
" 21.31 Waste Material, 215.
" 22.37 Law of Love, no.
" 23. 37 Resisting God, 174.
" 24. 44 Ready for Heaven, 162,
" 25. 10 Sick-bed Repentance, 187.
" 25. 40 Christian Philanthropy, 29.
" 25. 46 Ptmishment Hereafter, 159.
" 26.39 Limiting God, 117.
" 26.41 Watching, 216.
Passages of Scripture Illustrated. xiii
Matt. 28. 19 Nearsighted and Farsighted Christians, 128.
28. 20 Omnipresence, 134.
Mark 8. 34 Christ Our Pattern, 25.
" 8. 36 Risking the Soul, 178.
" 10. 44 Service the Test of Greatness, 186.
10. 46-52. . .Blind People — What They May Do, 11.
Luke 3. 17 Wheat and Chaff, 220.
8. 14 " Fruit to Perfection," 76.
" II. 8 Importunity in Prayer, 106.
11. 13 Childhood Trust, 18.
" 13-30 Environment, 48.
" 19. 44 Seizing Opportunities, 185.
24. 49 Divine Power in the Church, 47.
John I. 9 Spiritual Light, 198.
3. 7 Regeneration, 166.
" 5-22 Christ Our Judge, 24.
5. 39 Bible Study, 9.
6.48 God Our Portion, 81.
8.12 Christ the Light of the World, 27.
" 8. 32 Testing Truth, 206.
" 10. 10 Life More Abundant, 115.
" 12. 32 Spiritual Magnetism, 199.
" 14. I Courage, 37.
" 14. 2 Heaven, 94.
" 14. 15 Love for Christ, 118.
" 14. 21 Obedience the Test of Love, 132,
" 14-23 Communion with God, 32.
" 14. 27 Peace Within, 142.
" 15. 4 Blossoms and Fruit, 12.
" 15. 5 Touching Christ, 208.
" 15. 6 Branches Broken Off, 13.
" 15. 8 Fruit in Abundance, 75.
" 16. 33 Crosses, 39.
" 17. 3 Life Eternal, 114.
" 18. 37 Christ's Kingdom, 23.
" 21.16 Value of Love, 211.
Acts 2. 17 Church of God, 31.
" 12. 5 Prayer in PtibHc, 151.
" 16. 31 " Follow the Rule," 63.
XIV Passages of Scripture Illustrated.
Acts 20. 20 Pastoral Work, 140.
20. 35 Helping Others, 96.
Rom. I. 16 Christ's Gospel, 21.
'* 5-12 Sin, 189.
•• 5. 20 Grace Abundant, 89.
" 6. 12 Sin, Its Action and Reaction, 193.
" 6. 16 Sin, Its Bondage, 192.
•' 6. 23 Probabilities, 157.
" 8. 16 Witness of the Spirit, 221.
8. 25 Preparation for Great Things, 154.
8. 32 God's Great Sacrifice, 84.
12. 2 Example, 51.
" 12. 6 Types of Christian Character, 208.
12. 9 Neutrahty, 130.
13. 14 Pleasures that Are Base, 145.
14. 12 Every One for Himself, 50.
" 15. 14 Hoe-men, loi.
1 Cor. 3. 9 Working with God, 223.
7.31 Grasping at Shadows, 90.
*' 15.35 Resiirrection, 175.
" 15. 58 Failure in Christian Work, 54.
" 16. 2 Giving, 87.
2 Cor. 4. 17 Afflictions, i.
4- 18 Faith and Sight, 56.
" 5-17 Sanctification of Human Nature, 182.
" 6. 2 Opportunities Neglected, 135.
Gal. 5. 22, 23 ... .Temperance, 202.
5-25 Religion that Speaks for Itself, 169.
" 6. 2 Care of Converts, 15.
" 6. 7 Seed-sowing, 184.
6. 9 Discouragement, 44.
Eph. 2. I Spiritual Death, 195.
2. 19 Christian Fellowship, 28.
" 3-19 Fullness of God, 77.
" 4- 32 Grievances, 91.
*' 5. 18 Fullness of the Spirit, 79.
" 6. 4 Children for Christ, 17,
'* 6. 13 Watching Harder Work than Fighting, 21I
" 6. 18 '* Practice Makes Perfect," 147.
Passages of Scripture Illustrated. xv
Phil. 2. 8 Humiliation of Christ, 104.
" 2. 12 Freedom of Man, 71.
" 4. 3 Men and Women in the Church, 126.
4. 6 Carrying Everything to God, 15.
Col. I. 24 Fellowship of Christ's Sufferings, 61.
" 1.27 Christ in Us, 22.
" 3. 12, 13 " Peculiar People," 143.
I Thess. 5. 21 Changing Opinions, 16.
5-23 Full Salvation, 79.
1 Tim. 2. 5 Unity of God, 210.
4- 8 Youth, Manhood, Age, 225.
4-13 Novel-reading, 131.
6. 10 Love of Money, 119.
2 Tim. 2. 3 Hardship, 92,
" 2. 19 Bad Business, 8.
3. 2 Ingratitude, 107.
" 4. 2 Personal Work, 144.
" 4. 13 Reading, 161.
Heb. 2. 3 Salvation Is of God. 18 r.
" 7- 25 Christ a Universal Saviour. 20.
9. 27 Death No Respecter of Persons, 42.
12. I Luggage, 123.
13. 5 Consciousness of God's Presence, 36.
James i. 2 Temptations. 204.
" I. 15 Sin and Death, 190.
" 2. 26 Faith and Works, 57.
" 3. 17 Concealment, 34.
" 3. 17 Partiality, 138.
" 4-6 Pride, 155.
" 5. I Riches, 176.
5. 16 Prayer for Others, 148.
1 Pet. 2. 9 Profession of Religion, 159.
2 Pet. I. 5-7. . . .Spiritual Cripples, 194.
" 3:18 Religious Life, 170.
I John I, 7 Sympath}', 201.
" 3. 2 Like Christ, 116.
" 3. 2 "What We Shall Be," 219.
" 3. 4 Sin and Law, 191.
4. 19 Love that Saves Must Be Mutual. 121.
OLD TRUTHS
NEWLY ILLUSTRATED
Afflictions
The perfection of seamanship is not to reduce the
tempest, or to lighten the ship by throwing the cargo
overboard, but so to strengthen the ship and manage
her that she shall carry her load and ride the heaviest
sea. If a man should build a vessel and offer it for
sale as a ship that could sail well in fine weather, he
would hardly find a buyer. If a man should seek em-
ployment as a sailor who could climb the shrouds beau-
tifully in sunshine, he would look long for an em-
ployer. But if a man should advertise for sale a ship
that could outride the fiercest gales with all her cargo
undamaged, and could prove that she really could do
so, every shipowner would want his vessel at any price ;
and if a man should seek employment, not as a sum-
mer sailor, but as a winter sailor — one who could walk
the slippery decks and climb the icy shrouds in the
teeth of the wildest tempest — every shipmaster would
want him in his employ.
It is not God's purpose to teach us to bear the ills
2 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
of life by reducing those ills, but his purpose seems to
be to pile on the burdens, and at the same time gird us
with' divine strength to bear them. It is not his pur-
pose to spare us all disaster, and loss, and sorrow, and
trouble, but to use these things for our spiritual growth
and development. He wants a tried people. Who
would not rather be a giant, though compelled to carry
heavy burdens, than to be a weakling and carry no
burdens ? God gives to his children a discipline which
is designed to make the most of them ; to show to them-
selves, to the world, and to high heaven that they are
the stuff of which heroes are made. If a man should
proclaim from the housetop that he is a fair-weather
Christian, and will be faithful while the sun shines and
flowers perfume his pathway, but will give no assur-
ance of fidelity if crosses and troubles beset him, the
churches would keep clear of him, and it is doubtful
if he would commend himself to the great Head of the
Church.
*' Appearances Are Often Deceiving:'*
One cold, blustering April day, when the broken
clouds were flying rapidly by in the sky and the sun was
struggling to break through now and then with his
light and warmth, a man looked up at the scene over-
head and remarked : "This day is trying very hard to
be decent — with only partial success." Such a day, in
which storm and fair weather are struggling for the
mastery, is very like some people who are making an
equally desperate struggle to be decent — with about
the same measure of success. We ought not to expect
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 3
too much of an April day ; and we ought not to expect
too much of some kinds of people.
In traveling through the country in the autumn time
I remember to have seen in the distance an old tumble-
down barn of very forbidding appearance. The tim-
bers were rotten, and it was leaning badly. The
shingles in many places were torn from the roof by
the wind, and those that remained were decayed and
covered with moss. The clapboards were split and
broken, and in many places entirely wanting. The
doors were off their hinges, and patched with boards
and slabs, and propped together with an old rotten rail.
The gangway had rotted and sunk far below the level
of the floor, and in every way it was a most forlorn-
looking building. It seemed ready to blow down or to
sink by its own weight. I expected to find it empty, of
course, but to my surprise, after climbing into it with
some trouble, I found it filled to the very roof with
well-cured hay and grain — a very valuable old estab-
lishment after all.
And some men are equally forbidding in external
appearance and equally well-stored within. It is the
peculiarity of some natures that they always present
the worst side to view. If they do a good deed they
do it in some uncouth or outlandish way that is apt to
blind men to the value of the deed itself. Henry Ward
Beecher said, "Many Christians are like chestnuts, very
pleasant nuts, but inclosed in very prickly burs."
Sugar refiners put into the boiling syrup some albu-
minous substance, which coagulates and forms a kind
4 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
of network that seizes upon all the impurities in the
sugar and brings them to the top in the form of a
thick black scum. Those who see only the surface of
the sugar might consider it of no value ; but this would
be a great mistake. The scum always rises to the top
of a boiling pot ; and there is something analogous to
this in the lives of some men. The evil within con-
stantly rises to the surface, and that alone is seen.
I once knew a very benevolent, kind-hearted man
who was rather proud of his roughness and rudeness
of manner. He used to slaughter a great many sheep
in the autumn, and gave many a carcass to a poor
family; but instead of carrying it into the house as he
drove along, or calling some one to come out and get
it, he would throw it down in the dirty road and with
an oath tell them to come and get it. He carried a
load of hay to a poor w^idow, and, instead of putting
it into the barn, as others would have done, he carried
it down into the cellar of the house, telling her the
preachers would steal it if he left it in sight.
Some men are so unfortunately constituted as always
to present the worst side to view. The heart is really
better than the life appears to be. God will doubtless
find good where we see only evil. The Lord of the
harvest will find wheat where we see only chaff. The
all-seeing eye can detect fruit where we find only weeds.
Man looks on the outward appearance, the Lord looks
into the heart. Faults stand out more prominently
than virtues. The weeds wave in the wind the pota-
toes are out of sight in the ground.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 5
Opposite the little village of Bingen on the Rhine
is a broad mountain side, about twelve hundred feet
high and a mile or two in extent, covered with vine-
yards from the river bank to the summit. The ascent
is very steep, and to prevent the soil from rattling down
when it is cultivated the whole mountain side has been
terraced by building a succession of stone walls above
each other, making the entire mountain side a great
flight of stairs from bottom to top. The vines are
planted on the tops of these terrace steps. Looking at
the mountain side from the low level of the river, one
can see little else than hard, forbidding stone walls
rising one above the other. The walls hide the vines.
Looking down from the top of the mountain, however,
the stone walls are hidden from view, and there is little
visible but thick green vines covered wuth rich clusters
of grapes. The vines hide the walls.
And so God, looking down into the hearts of men
from above, will see fruits growing and ripening there,
when we, from the low level of earth, can see no pros-
pect of fruit. Every character has its heavenward
side and its earthward side. God sees the heavenward
side ; we can see only the earthward side. The heaven-
ward side undoubtedly best represents the real man.
Apostasy-
Why should not the loss of religion bring unhappi-
ness? It is told of the great orators Cicero and De-
mosthenes, when they fell under the displeasure of
their countrymen and were banished from Rome and
6 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
Athens, that they never looked toward their native
country without weeping; and shall it seem strange
that a man should feel sorrow in his soul when he
looks back to the Cross and gets a glimpse of the
Saviour he has forsaken ?
The man who was once rich, but has lost all and is
compelled to pick up a living as best he can, can never
forget the days of plenty, or look back to them without
a pang. I knew a poor woman who was a pensioner
on the funds of the church, and she never received
help without pathetically reminding us of the days
w^hen she had plenty of money and was able to help
others. And the man w^ho has ever known the love of
God in his soul cannot miss it without the deepest
sorrow.
I was once riding quite a distance on a summer even-
ing when I overtook a man walking and asked him to
ride. We chatted about the weather and the crops, as
two strangers w^ould; and as we neared the village
where we must separate I thought I would say a word
about religion, and so asked him if he were a Christian.
He said: "I once was. I used to attend the prayer
meetings and enjoy thefe as well as any man; and I
knew what it was to hai^ the love of God shed abroad
in my heart, but I have got back and lost it all." And
then he added : ''I have never had a happy hour, day
or night, from that time to this." That was the sad-
dest testimony I ever heard.
Neglect is very often the cause of apostasy. A well
of water can be kept fresh and sweet only by daily use ;
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 7
and it Is equally true of the 'Svell of water springing
up into everlasting life." Neglect a plant, and it will
die ; neglect a crop, and the weeds will choke it ; neglect
a road, and it is soon out of repair; neglect a fire, and
it will go out; neglect a fence, and it is soon on the
ground ; neglect a house, and it will rot down ; neglect
a business, and it will soon run out; and if a man
neglects his religion it will be gone before he is well
aware of it.
Lying in the hospital, I learned the important lesson
that joints unused for only a few weeks become hard
and stiff and cannot be used, and it is the work of
months to limli^er them up again. My experience led
me to think that if a man should lie flat down on his
back, with limbs stretched downward, without moving
a muscle for two or three months, he would be unable
to bend a joint. And if a Christian should cease
prayer, Bible reading, communion with God, church
attendance, and should not indulge in a religious
thought or emotion for the same length of time, he
would be as helpless religiously as the other would be
physically.
Backsliders
The leaves of a tree generally drop off when they
are dead ; not so all members of the church. You may
sometimes see the dead leaves clinging to a tree all
through the desolate winter. Beech and oak trees have
this peculiarity. These dead leaves are the same size
as live ones, and the same shape, and when the wind
blows they will make far more noise; yet there is no
8 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
vital relation between those dead leaves and the tree.
While the tree is alive the leaves are dead, and they
only cling to it mechanically, to mar its beauty and
give it the appearance of death.
There are many persons clinging to Christ in the
same fashion, while there is no vital, saving relation
between them and Christ. There was once, but the
vital relation has been severed. They still belong to the
church, like real Christians, and make the same profes-
sions, only to mar the beauty of the church and give
it the appearance of death, and awaken the criticism
of the world. The new life and new leaves of the
springtime push off these dead leaves, and the tree re-
news its beauty. So a live church should have power
betimes to push off these dead members and renew its
beauty.
Bad Business
I well remember a young man who wanted to be a
Christian, but he carried bottled ale around to hotels
and saloons, and felt that his business was in the way,
yet feared that he could not support his family if he
gave it up. The result was that he halted and hesi-
tated, but finally went on with the business, and his
religious impressions disappeared.
Another young man made a desperate attempt to
reform a life of intemperance, even considering the
propriety of becoming a Christian; but he used to
fiddle for dances during the winter season, and the as-
sociations always led him astray — he always came
home intoxicated from these parties. After repeated
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 9
conversations he decided to go on with the bad busi-
ness, while sobriety and religion wxre abandoned, on
the ground that he could not support his family in any
other way.
In all such cases I have strongly advised to cut loose
from everything evil, do right, and trust God for the
result. It is well that people understand that a Chris-
tian man is out of place on a beer wagon and has no
place in a saloon, on either side of the counter.
Bible Study
Scripture is a gold mine of untold dimensions. The
gold in some places lies nearer the surface than at
others; but in every case great labor will be required
to exhaust the resources of this mine. Well-equipped
men have been digging for centuries, but there is still
enough for all. It could not be expected that a divine
revelation would yield up its treasures without the
most patient investigation.
Men devote a lifetime to a single science, or a phase
of philosophic thought, or an astronomical theory; is
it unreasonable to ask that they give equal time and
attention to the mystery of godliness? No man can
exhaust this mine, but he can dig enough to enrich
himself eternally. Bible truth must be dug out of the
mine and incorporated into the memory before it be-
comes available for practical use. Scripture commit-
ted to memory is change in the pocket which can be put
to use at a moment's notice, while Scripture uncom-
mitted is the gold still in the mine, which must be dug
10 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
out and minted before it can be used. It is very con-
venient to have plenty of change in the pocket, and it
is very useful to have plenty of Scripture in the mem-
ory. If a friend writes a letter and we leave it
unopened for months it is our own fault if we do not
know its contents.
Bible study must lead us to Christ or it is largely
useless. To ramble over the pages of the Bible with-
out finding Christ is like the tourist strolling through
the aisles and corridors of Westminster Abbey with-
out finding the famous chapel of Henry the Seventh.
It is there, somewhere within those ancient walls, a
thing of beauty — perhaps the finest piece of Gothic
architecture in the world — and the thing which the
traveler most desires to see in this celebrated abbey.
But there are many other objects of interest to draw
him aside. He may linger in the cloisters, over the
gray tombs of abbots and bishops, he may tarry long
over the moldering ashes of warlike knights and bar-
ons, or he may muse in the Poets' Corner among the
sleeping bards until the shades of evening gather, and
never penetrate to the central glory of the abbey — this
wonderful chapel.
And there are in the Bible poetry, eloquence, his-
tory, philosophy, beauty, sublimity which may engross
our attention and delay our researches until night
gathers, and we have never found the highest glory of
the Bible — the royal Christ. Better visit the chapel
first, and give what time is left to the shady aisles and
Poets' Corner. Better find Christ first, and afterward
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 11
search for the poetry and eloquence and literary beauty
of the Bible.
Bible study may fall far short of the mark. It is
the broad steps that lead up to the palace of the King.
But if we climb up to the very top step and sit down
there we are not in the palace. We are still outside,
and the hot sun of summer will beat upon our heads,
the fierce storms of winter will buffet us; we shall
freeze to death at the very threshold of comfort and
deliverance.
Bible study is Jacob's ladder, stretching from earth
to heaven. Though we may climb far up this ladder,
and stand on a round near the top, we are not yet in
heaven; and a position on a round of a ladder is a
very uncomfortable one.
It is said that a Scotchman committed the whole
Bible to memory but had no saving knowledge of its
blessed truths. Unless Bible study brings us to Christ
as a personal Saviour it misses the very mark that is
aimed at. Some of the greatest Bible scholars have
done most to discredit the Bible. The steps are neces-
sary to reach the palace, but the steps are not the palace.
Blind People— What They May Do
I saw a blind man standing at a desk on a street of
London reading from his raised-letter Bible to the
passers-by. As that busy, anxious, weary crowd swept
along the street of the world's metropolis the words
of the blessed Christ fell on their ears, in the halting
accents of the blind man : "Come unto me, all ye that
12 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto
your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light." Chance seed it was, sown at random; but
God's word does not return unto him void.
I had as a parishioner a blind man who walked half
a mile to church twice every Sunday ; and every prayer
meeting evening his voice was heard in testimony. As
he felt his way along with a walking-stick he preached
very loudly to those who looked out of their windows
and knew well where he was going.
Blossoms and Frttit
In raising fruit-bearing trees and vines the thing
aimed at is fruit, and it will not avail to stop short of
this. When an apple tree or a grapevine is covered
with blossoms in the springtime it is a charming sight,
and the fragrance is exquisite, but this is not the object
sought after. These beautiful blossoms are only a
fragrant promise, a poetic prophecy of something bet-
ter in the autumn time. If this promise is blighted,
if this prophecy is a delusion, the tree or vine is a
failure.
Some fruit trees have this peculiarity: there is a
profusion of blossoms in the springtime, but the most
of them drop off after awakening delusive hopes; or,
after the fruit has set, it blasts and falls to the ground.
Other trees have fewer blossoms; but every blossom
represents an apple in the autumn.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 13
When the blossoms drop off and become fruitless
there is always a cause for it. The processes of growth
somehow fail to gather for the issue the resources of
nature ; there is a lack of vitality to complete what was
so well commenced.
All this aptly illustrates the experiences of the Chris-
tian life. With some Christians there is an abun-
dance of blossoms, but they mostly fall off and amount
to nothing; while others, with much less of promise,
bear a full measure of fruit.
And in the Christian life there is always a cause for
the failure. As the fruitless vine fails to make use of
the resources of nature, so the fruitless Christian fails
to maintain a vital connection with Christ and use his
almighty resources.
Branches Broken Off
I saw by the roadside a large branch that had been
broken from an apple tree in the late summer by a
fierce gale. It was covered with apples, but they were
only about one third grown, and as soon as the branch
was broken off they ceased to grow and began to
shrivel to even smaller size. The leaves also had with-
ered, and every sign of life had disappeared from the
broken branch. By the time the snows of winter were
falling it would be brought to the house for fuel.
Christ says, 'Tf a man abide not in me, he is cast forth
as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them,
and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."
Broken branches disfigure the tree from which they
14 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
are broken, and disfigure the landscape, and so are put
out of sight.
The church is surrounded by withered branches,
its outskirts are hedged by them. These withered
branches were once on the tree, but they have been
broken off, and they lie about to trip people who want
to get into the church. Whoever gets in is obliged to
break through a hedge of broken branches surround-
ing the church.
Christian nurture might save many branches par-
tially broken off, but harsh treatment will surely sever
them completely from the tree. I have sometimes
saved the branches of choice flowers that were crushed
and broken, and sometimes have failed to do so. We
are apt to think that it is worth while trying to save
a broken branch.
My heart has been made to ache many times by the
harsh treatment accorded wounded Christians. A
brother gets hurt in the workings of the church, and
begins to waver. He inclines to turn away from the
church and from Christ, and some zealous Christian,
disgusted with such boyish conduct, takes hold of him,
gives him a good shaking, scolds him roundly, tells
him he isn't worth bothering with, and he is seen in
the church no more. I have found scores of broken
branches lying around the church that were completely
severed by harsh treatment, when tender nursing
might have saved them to the church and to Christ.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 15
Care of Converts
I heard of a young man who said he made a great
mistake when he joined the church, for while the re-
vival was in progress, and while he was on probation,
the members used to shake hands with him and invite
him to tea, and made a great deal of him ; but after he
had joined the church all this ceased — no more atten-
tions, and no more tea — and he wished he had re-
mained on probation.
Had he remained on probation more than six months
the young man would have discovered the attentions
falling away, for a chronic probationer soon comes to
be an old story, as well as a full member. No person
should join the church with the expectation of being
petted continually. He should be ambitious to help
the church, while receiving encouragement and help
from the church.
Church membership affords a splendid opportunity
for a young man to make the most of himself; and it
is just as easy to be somebody as to be nobody, to do
something as to do nothing. The church should afford
care and culture to its members, and each should be
proud to contribute his share for the benefit of others.
Caffym§f Everything; to God
I was calling at a house, in my pastoral work, when
a little girl came in from school. She had had trouble
with a schoolmate, and was trying to choke back the
sobs, while her cheeks were wet with tears. She hung
16 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
about the corners of the room as we talked ; and at last
her mother said, "Why don't you go out and play?"
There was no response, yet she did not go, but rather
crept slowly around the room nearer to where her
mother sat.
At length the mother said, *'What is the matter?"
Taking this as an invitation, the little one ran to her
mother and whispered all her troubles in her ear. The
mother wiped away her tears, kissed her, told her to be
brave and not mind little things; and she ran out to
play with a happy heart.
I thought it a beautiful picture of how hundreds are
going every day to the great Father in their sorrow
and trouble; and he wipes away their tears, tells them
to cheer up, and sends them away to meet the further
experiences of life.
Changing: Opinions
All men are conscious of a constant change of opin-
ion. A subject drops out of mind for ten years, and
when it comes back we find that our views upon it have
entirely changed without our being aware of it. In
life's journey, with downcast head, we have traveled
around to the other side of the mountain, and viewing
it at a different angle, under another condition of sky,
and with an older heart, it does not look like the same
peak. We will continue our journey and in after
years get back to the point of starting, and perhaps
like the first view better than any other.
Sometimes a man outgrows his opinions, as a youth
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 17
outgrows his garments; but we must not suppose, as
is quite a common notion, that a man outgrows all the
opinions he sets aside. The man may shrink, or grow
out of proportion, as old men are apt to do, so that his
intellectual garments no longer fit him; but the fault
may be with the man and not the opinions.
Children for Christ
A little girl of nine years came forward and gave
herself to Christ, with the remark, 'T have waited too
long already." I received two sisters into the church
seven and nine years of age, children of a noble Chris-
tian man. They gave intelligent answers to all my
inquiries, and their subsequent lives proved that no
mistake was made. One of them, after a few years of
consistent Christian living, went home to heaven; the
other grew to womanhood, and was for many years an
active worker in the church.
One of the most beautiful Christians I have ever
known was a little girl who died in Christian triumph
when about six years of age. Her faith was some-
thing marvelous. She comforted her sorrowing par-
ents with the assurance that only her body would be
in the ground; that her spirit would go to be with
Christ. Her sick room for several days was like
heaven itself, while words fell from her lips which
would befit a mature saint. No one who witnessed
her closing days on earth, and heard her marvelous
words, can ever doubt the reality of child piety or fail
to encourage it.
18 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
At a revival meeting when I was a small lad I heard
sinners appealed to with great earnestness, and I knew
very well what it meant. Selecting a number of young
men of my acquaintance, I wished in my heart that
they might come to Christ, and thought how sorry
they would be on the deathbed or at the judgment if
they did not come. One in particular, who was about
twenty-five years of age, said he meant to be a Chris-
tian sometime, but not then. At seventy-five he was
still unsaved. The preacher in all the services said
nothing about children coming to Christ, and so I
stayed away, although greatly moved by the truth
presented in his sermons.
A lady told me that when her little boy was twelve
years of age he wanted to take up the Christian life
publicly and join the church, but she thought him too
young, and held him back. When she told me the
story he was forty-two years old, and a very wicked
man. She expressed the deepest regret that she had
not encouraged him to come to Christ when his incli-
nations led him that way.
Childhood Trust
There is no more beautiful sight than a child rest-
ing in its father's arms. And that rest means some-
thing more than physical rest, which mere sleep might
secure. If this were all the child would better rest in
its crib, which would be much more comfortable.
There is a far deeper meaning in the longing which the
child has to creep into its father's arms and go to sleep.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 19
Even when the child has been punished, it will at once
climb into the father's arms, and with a deep sigh
cuddle dowm to rest. It is spiritual rest w^hich the child
craves, and it rests in the father's love more sweetly
than in his arms.
Let this child grow up to be a young man just enter-
ing life, just beginning to battle with the realities of
life; and you will see him now and then returning,
weary, disheartened, almost discouraged, to have a
good talk with the old gray-haired father in whose
arms he lay in infancy, and who has been along the
rugged path of life before him.
This father love is not a permanent thing, and we
learn by it to look higher, to a heavenly Father who
never grows old. Christians may look to God with
the same confidence and trust which children have for
earthly parents. They may rest in his smile and may
fly to his arms even when his chastisements fall.
Qioosingf Ouf Destiny-
Men try in various ways to dodge the terrible re-
sponsibility which God has put upon them of choosing
their own destiny. A man takes liquor and as a conse-
quence is made drunk; but he says, *'I don't choose
drunkenness; I choose the liquor," when he very well
knows that to choose the liquor means drunkenness.
A man is sick and refuses to send for a physician or
take medicine; but he says, "I don't choose to die; I
simply refuse to take the medicine." A man knows
that a precipice lies directly across his path, but he shuts
20 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
his eyes and marches straight forward; then he says,
'1 don't choose to go over a precipice ; but I am deter-
mined to go in this direction."
And the sinner knows that sin leads to death. God's
word declares it: "The wages of sin is death;" ''Sin
when it is finished bringeth forth death." But the sin-
ner says, ''I don't choose death ; I simply choose to fol-
low my own inclinations and do as I please." Men
cannot shirk their responsibility in any such way, but
must work out their own destinies.
Shakespeare says, "Our bodies are our gardens, to
the which our wills are gardeners : so that if we plant
nettles, or sow lettuce; set hyssop, or weed up thyme;
supply it with one gender of herbs, or distract it with
many, either to have it sterile with idleness, or manured
with industry — why, the power and corrigible author-
ity of this lies in our wills."
Another says, "I don't choose at all in the matter; I
simply do nothing, and let things take their course."
But we must choose to do nothing.
Christ a Universal Saviour
It has been the boast of Christians that our Saviour
with divine wisdom and tact adapts himself to all
classes and conditions of men. As he revealed himself
to his disciples little by little as they were able to bear
it, so he reveals himself to all men as they are able to
receive him. Simrock, the Rhine poet, has a brief
poem which beautifully illustrates this thought. I
have turned it into English as follows :
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 21
The legend have you never heard,
So famous in all lands,
About the image of our Lord,
That in Vienna stands?
They say it grows to be as tall
As are the tallest who adore it,
And yet it stoops to be as small
As any child who stands before it.
I know not whether there be such
An image, but believe
That Christ himself appears to each
What each can best receive.
A child with children he has been,
And so the children need not fear him;
With men he was the Prince of men,
And so the strongest gladly hear him.
Christ's Gospel
The Gospel centers around Him whose name it
bears. It is emphatically the Gospel of Christ.
The sunlight derives its peculiarities from the sun,
and is different from all other lights. It goes where
earthly lights cannot go. It penetrates the dark forest,
it flashes along the murky alleys, it creeps behind closed
shutters, it finds its way into the cellars and garrets of
earth to cheer their dismal inmates. We try to pro-
vide substitutes for it in the nighttime, but what miser-
able work we make of it. We can light up a room, or
a few rods of space about us, but darkness envelops
the earth in spite of our best endeavors. Darkness is
death, and earthly lights would not suffice to keep ani-
mals and vegetables alive for any length of time. But
the sun arises, and a world of vegetation smiles be-
22 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
neath its influence ; animals and men flourish and grow
in the blessed sunlight.
In like manner the Sun of righteousness arises on
our moral world — not an earthly light, but a heav-
enly— to scatter moral darkness, and promote spiritual
light in the hearts of men. Christ comes to do what
Plato, and Buddha, and Zoroaster, and Mohammed
could not do; and beneath the light of this heavenly
Sun the spiritual desert is made to "rejoice, and blos-
som as the rose."
Christ in Us
The fact that we find him in our souls is a proof
that God's favor rests upon us. And if he dwells there
we shall know it. Our hearts are not so large that
Christ can dwell there without making himself known.
The King with his royal train cannot enter the cotter's
hut without a revolution ; the glorious sunlight cannot
enter a darkened room without a transformation. And
when He whom the heavens cannot limit comes into
these hearts of ours it will cause such a commotion that
we shall know something has taken place.
He comes to cleanse from sin, and as well may we
be unconscious of house-cleaning as of the fact that
a divine agent is working in our souls to cleanse them
from the defilements of sin. The absence of some of
our former guests will be a sign of his presence. He
will bring with him a royal train of heavenly graces,
and these will declare his presence. New friends, new
guests, will certify the great change which his coming
has wrought.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 23
And then the indwelling Christ will speak to us,
and we shall learn to distinguish his voice from all
others. *'My sheep hear my voice." Would it not be
strange if it w^ere otherwise? I heard of a man w^ho
lived in the same house w^ith his brother, and worked
with him in the same fields, and did not speak to him
for ten years. Christ does not dwell in our hearts
after this fashion. If he dwells there at all he will
speak to us; there will be conscious and friendly
communion.
Chtist's Kingfdom
When England and Scotland were separate king-
doms they had separate thrones, and all the appliances
of distinct governments. But when the kingdom of
England absorbed that of Scotland, and the two na-
tions were consolidated into one empire, then the
throne, crown, and regalia of Scotland went to enhance
the glory of British royalty; and a magic stone on
which the kings of Scotland were crowned for centu-
ries is the seat on which English sovereigns now sit
for coronation; w^hile the poetry and philosophy of
Scotland have added largely to the glory of the em-
pire and its inhabitants have greatly strengthened the
nation.
And when Christ's kingdom shall be delivered up
to the Father it will most grandly enhance the glory of
the Sovereign of the universe. It will add the great
company of the redeemed to his loyal subjects ; it will
send out multitudes of happy spirits to rejoice in the
works of God; it will add millions of voices to the
24 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
great choir that is filling the universe with praise.
Christ did not come to earth for nothing. His mission
was a success, and he returns laden with immortal
spoils.
Christ Ouf JudgfC
Christ's qualifications for the duties of judge are
found in the fact that he is the equal of both parties in
the contest, and allied to both. He has a Godward
side and a manward side, and is in full sympathy with
both God and man. This is a very important matter,
if he is to judge between them.
A judge may be the equal of both parties in a suit,
and may be equally allied by blood to both, and yet
have no sympathy with either party ; or he may have
sympathy with one but not with the other. Where this
is the case the ends of justice can never be fully met.
A judge must be absolutely impartial. He must have
equal sympathy with both parties. If he has a preju-
dice against either that party is likely to suffer in his
decision.
An English judge would find it dif^cult to decide
impartially between an Englishman and a Russian, or
between an Englishman and an American.
In the Geneva Award arbitration and the Canadian
Fishery Commission it was noticeable that the Amer-
ican and English commissioners always voted in favor
of their own country, while the commissioners from
other countries, who were supposed to be impartial,
had to give the casting vote.
And in the celebrated Electoral Commission which
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 25
decided whether Mr. Hayes or Mr. Tilden was elected
to the Presidency it was a subject of universal regret
that on every vital point the judges, some of them
members of the Supreme Court, voted every time in
favor of their own political party. Neither side could
blame the other, for both did it. We have too many
evidences that human judges, even of the highest char-
acter and qualifications, are not always impartial.
Christ as judge gave overwhelming evidence while
on earth that he is in full sympathy with the benevolent
plans of God for the salvation of men. He and the
Father are one. They think the same thoughts and
work the same works.
On the other hand, it will need no argument to sat-
isfy us that Christ is in full sympathy with fallen hu-
manity. He took our nature that he might suffer and
die in our interests ; and left this one unanswered and
unanswerable challenge : "Greater love hath no man
than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
We may depend upon it that our Judge will be
impartial.
Christ Oat Pattern
In some of the brush factories of Lansingburg are
machines for cutting brush handles into a given shape.
In doing this there is always a pattern handle, neatly
carved to the shape required, and the others are mod-
eled after this. A rough piece of wood is placed in the
machine, and then it is pressed against the pattern,
following it through all its curves and angles, while
the saws and knives cut it into the exact shape of the
26 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
model. The success of the operation depends on accu-
rately following the outline of the pattern.
Christian discipline is intended to conform us to the
perfect divine pattern which is presented to us in the
life and character of Christ. We cannot improve on
this pattern, and we shall go astray if we vary from it.
Too many lose sight of the heavenly pattern and fol-
low some human model that looms up before them.
During our civil war a soldier marching in line
made a curve to avoid a pool of water that was in his
path, and the captain called out, ''Keep in line there."
The soldier could only answer that he was following
his file leader. We are very apt to go around the
hard places, instead of stepping exactly where Christ
stepped, and then point to some other delinquent as
an excuse.
In marked contrast was the course of another sol-
dier, a tent-mate and very dear friend. In the pres-
ence of the enemy the line was commanded to lie down
for the night with accouterments on, in the place which
had been designated. This soldier found that his place
in the line was in the middle of a puddle of water, and
in the puddle he spread his blanket and lay down;
neither backward nor forward, to the right nor to the
left, but exactly on the post of duty he took his place,
however disagreeable it might be. We can surely
afford to stand where Christ stood, and go where he
went. We shall make no mistake if we follow our
Divine Pattern.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 27
Christ the Light of the "World
In the practice of medicine in these days physicians
are more and more ordering their patients to leave the
darkness and get into the light; come out from the
shade of trees and curtained rooms into the bright sun-
shine. The sun bath is a favorite and valuable remedy
for many sick people.
In spiritual sickness there are health and joy in the
light of the Sun of righteousness.
Christ is the inner light of the soul. We are to ''put
on" Christ as our external beauty, but first we must
have Christ formed within. There is little use trying
to decorate the exterior while the soul is in darkness.
During the Centennial year people decorated their
houses very extensively, and illuminated at night. The
curtains were drawn to the full height, the blinds were
thrown back, mottoes, colored lanterns, and decora-
tions were hung in the windows, and everything was
prepared for a gorgeous display. Night came on, and
all the houses looked alike in the darkness. The deco-
rations were there, but they were invisible. Then the
gas was lit inside, and a brilliant spectacle was the
result.
In like manner the light of Christ shining in the
human soul brings into conspicuous beauty the physical
and intellectual endowments of human nature. Christ
in the soul brightens the countenance, sharpens the
intellect, refines the taste, and every way tends to make
people more brilliant and lovely.
28 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
I knew an awkward, ugly-looking, ignorant man
who admitted Christ to his soul, and forthwith he
turned up an usher in the church, bowing people to
their seats with grace and dignity, and his little talks
in prayer meetings contained more of Scripture than
did any others.
Christian Fellowship
The members of a family come to know each other
thoroughly. There is little room for concealment.
Each family has its secrets, but they are known to all
the members of the household. And the family enjoys
gathering about the fireside and talking over matters
that pertain to themselves alone. It is these close so-
cial relations that cause us to look back to childhood
as the happiest period of life.
As a member of a large family, I well recall how
brothers and sisters, when the labors of the day were
ended, used to gather close together, in the "gloam-
ing," to talk and visit as only brothers and sisters can.
And when a part of the family had grown to manhood
and womanhood, and gone forth to life's duties, we
used for many years to have a reunion once a year,
during the vacation days of summer, when, during a
few weeks, we would wander over the old farm to
live over again the happy days of childhood.
But there came a time when the family was scattered
over this great country, and for many years these re-
unions did not take place; and now the ranks are
broken and we shall never all meet again on earth.
The Church of God is a family of a larger sort and
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 29
wider experience. The members of this great family
ought to know and love each other thoroughly.
And I sometimes think that Methodist preachers
are peculiarly fortunate; for they go to a place for a
few years and form the acquaintance of the best people
in town; then they go to another place and another,
until at the end of a long ministry they have made the
acquaintance of hundreds of the choicest spirits of
earth. And when they get to heaven they will not be
strangers there ; for they will find a great number gone
on before whose friendship they formed on earth ; and
many more will follow after.
It is not a stretch of fancy that these friendships
formed on earth can be perfected and perpetuated in
the better country. The family of God will come in
from the outskirts, when life's day is done, and gather
closer about the good Father's throne. This must
mean a fuller knowledge of each other, a closer inti-
macy and fellowship; and these will inevitably lead to
better appreciation, warmer friendship, and pro-
founder love. It must be that when God's children
come to know each other fully they will appreciate and
love each other as they cannot here, w^here so many
misunderstandings arise and so many screens neces-
sarily separate them from each other.
Christian Philanthropy
Christian philanthropy has a character all its own.
A stranger comes to me in want of relief. I hear his
story and conclude that he is really needy, deciding at
30 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
the same time that I will help him because he is a fel-
low-man and needs my help. Before I have time to
announce my decision he takes from his pocket an
autograph letter from the dearest friend I have on
earth — one I love, and have confidence in, and would
do very much to please. The letter reads: "I am
acquainted with the bearer of this, and know him to
be really needy. I am interested in him, and any favor
you may show him will be regarded as a favor to your
friend."
I now have two motives for helping this man ; first,
because he is a fellow-man, and, second, because my
friend has indorsed him ; so that I can help the man and
honor my friend in the same act. Likewise the Chris-
tian helps his fellow-man because he is a fellow-man,
and also because Christ has asked him to do it, and will
accept the favor as done to himself. He both helps
his fellow and honors his Saviour in the same act.
There are many who help their fellows, but have no
thought of Christ in what they do. Their works of
charity may well be commended, but the motives are
all human. They do not look Godward in what they
do. Men have a duty to their fellows which they can-
not escape, but they have a duty to God likewise; and
doing the one duty does not perform the other. If I
owe both George Smith and John Jones, paying Smith
does not pay Jones. When our attitude toward God
and our fellows may be such that we can perform our
duties to both in the same act it would seem best to
have it so.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 31
Church of God
By the Church of God is meant not any particular
corporation that bears such a name, but the entire com-
pany of believers of every name and nation. As all the
oceans constitute but one body of water, so the children
of God of all names and climes constitute the universal
Church which is the object of God's special love.
The tide reaches all oceans, bays, and inlets along
the shores of all continents and islands; and so the
Spirit's blessed influence reaches every body of Chris-
tians and every individual Christian.
The tide rises higher in some bays than in others, to
be sure, and rushes on with a more majestic flow ; but
it is the same celestial influence which rests on Chris-
tians everywhere; there is *'one Lord, one faith, one
baptism" for the entire Church of God.
Church of God a Light
The Church is necessarily a beacon to guide men.
Multitudes are ready to follow the teachings and ex-
ample of the Church; so that it becomes either a true
light or a false. A railroad train is sweeping along
the track at the rate of fifty miles an hour. It nears a
signal station where a light is run up to indicate that
the track is clear and all right ahead. The train
sweeps past the switch, rushes over rivers and through
valleys, and reaches its distant destination in safety.
But if that light had been a false light, indicating that
all was well when all was not well, the thundering
32 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
train would have taken the wrong track and swept on
to certain destruction.
Such a signal station is a church in every commu-
nity. As the rapid tide of human society sweeps past
it is a signal light to guide in the right or the wrong
direction. If the church teaches in its doctrines and by
the example of its members the pure truths of Chris-
tianity, it is a true light, pointing the multitudes to
the path of safety; but if its teachings are misleading,
and its example vicious, it is a false light which will
lure the people to destruction.
Communion with God
What men need is some means of communication
with God that is unmistakable. They need some voice
which shall be known to be the voice of God speaking
to them, for the human cannot bear to be cut loose
from the divine. The soul of man must hear the voice
of God or it dwells in desolation.
There is a tradition among the Hindus that man
was made at first so tall that his head brushed the
heavens, and he could converse with the inhabitants
of heaven. When he fell he could still hear the
conversation of heaven, and it so distressed him
that God in mercy shortened him down to his present
stature.
But now, under the Gospel, we are growing tall
again, so that our conversation shall be in heaven as
of old, and men are listening for the voice of God
once more.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 33
Some open the pages of the sacred book and listen
there for the divine voice.
Some put their ear against the breast of nature, and
listen for the beatings of the great divine heart.
Mrs. Browning says :
"Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God ;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes."
Wordsworth develops the thought at greater
length :
"I have seen
A curious child, who dwelt upon a tract
Of upland ground, applying to his ear
The convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell,
To which, in silence hushed, his very soul
Listened intensely; and his countenance soon
Brightened with joy; for from within were heard
Murmurings, whereby the monitor expressed
Mysterious union with its native sea.
Even such a shell the universe itself
Is to the ear of faith; and there are times,
I doubt not, when to you it doth impart
Authentic tidings of invisible things:
Of ebb and flow, and ever-during power;
And central peace, subsisting at the heart
Of endless agitation. Here you stand,
Adore and worship, when you know it not;
Pious beyond the intention of your thought;
Devout above the meaning of your will."
The Christian hears the voice of God speaking from
the pages of his word; he hears it whispering or thun-
dering from the great sounding-board of nature; but,
better than all this, he may hear the still small voice
34 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
of the Spirit speaking to him, and may hold com-
munion with God in the secret depths of his own
nature.
G)ncealmcnt
The ever-varying face of a child will reveal every
thought that passes in the mind. If anger stirs there
the face will flush in a moment, and hot words will
break from the lips. Envy will leave its dark shadow
on the features. Sudden surprise brings with it the
look and attitude of astonishment. Grief and disap-
pointment sadden the features, while pleasure or joy
brightens them with the radiance of sunshine. Thus
the face of the child is an index by which we can read
the changing moods of the heart.
But the child does not live many years until it learns
that it is very inconvenient to have people read all the
thoughts and emotions that pass in the breast. And so
it begins to teach its face to tell falsehoods, or at least
to conceal the truth. The result of this kind of school-
ing varies in different individuals, but in those most
thoroughly disciplined it induces a marble expression
of countenance which is never changed by the chang-
ing emotions of the heart. Envy, hatred, joy, sorrow,
surprise, thankfulness, love, fear, hope cause not the
slightest ripple on the frozen surface.
Every minister of Christ preaches to such statues.
I preached in a strange church and a man with such a
blank face sat near the front, and during the entire
service there was not the least change of expression.
He produced a depressing effect, for I could not shut
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 35
out that blank face from my view. I was greatly sur-
prised at the close of the sermon when he came for-
ward and, with the same expressionless countenance,
told me how much he had enjoyed the sermon.
Within certain limits this self-concealment is a
proper self-control, but it must not be carried so far as
to become wicked deception. We may agree with the
shrewd remark of Bacon, that the face ought to let the
tongue do the talking. We must be honest, but need
not be transparent. A piece of ground glass is just as
honest as a window pane, but people cannot see
through it as well. The friction of life is very apt to
grind the transparency from the surface, so that people
cannot see through us at their pleasure, but no expe-
riences must be suffered to destroy thorough honesty
of soul.
G>nflicts of Truth
What keeps the ocean from becoming corrupt has
been an interesting and not easily answered question.
Science intimates that the purity of its waters is due
to the salt it contains and to the currents that flow
through it. This answer makes it necessary to raise
a further question respecting the cause of the currents
of the ocean ; for the ocean has its rivers as well as the
land. This question has not been so satisfactorily
answered.
One answer has been given which, whether correct
or not, will serve as an illustration of a great truth.
It is asserted by some that the salt is the cause of the
currents, and consequently the salt is the sole cause of
36 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
the purity of the ocean. It is asserted that evaporation
takes only pure water from the ocean and leaves all
the salt behind. As evaporation takes place much
more rapidly at the equator than elsewhere the waters
at this part of the ocean are constantly becoming more
and more salt, and consequently heavier. Being
heavier, they will sink down and leave space at the
surface which the surrounding waters will flow in to
fill. In this way there is a constant flow of heavier
waters toward the poles and a constant flow of lighter
surface waters toward the equator. Thus the ocean is
kept in continual agitation by these currents.
Whether this be a true theory or not, it is a good
illustration of the influence of Christianity in the world.
The salt of the Gospel has from the beginning pro-
duced great commotion. It has filled the world with
currents and counter-currents. Christ predicted that
families should be divided, and brother rise against
brother. It can hardly be otherwise. Truth and error
are face to face in deadly array ; and so long as there
is evil in the world, and Christianity tries to cure the
evil, there will be commotion. When commotion
ceases we may be sure that either the Church or the
world has given up the contest.
G)nsciousncss of God's Presence
I was making quite a long journey in a carriage
with one of our children when she was only a few
years old. Night came on, and I put my arm about
her, and drew her close to my side, and in that position
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 37
she went to sleep. After a while she waked up, and
the first question was, "Papa, where is your hand ?'* It
was about her as firmly as ever, but it had been there
so long that she had lost the consciousness of its pres-
ence. I gave her a squeeze with it, which restored her
consciousness, and she said no more.
I thought it an apt illustration of how we lose the
consciousness of God's protecting care. We have be-
come so accustomed to the ordinary protection of his
providence as to forget that his arm is about us all the
time. The everyday mercies of life count for nothing,
and we cry out in fear, ''Where is the divine hand?"
Then in mercy God tightens the loving arm, and we
discover that it has been about us all the time, but our
earthly senses had become so dull as no longer to feel
the pressure.
Phrenologists in reading men's characters by the
"bumps" of the head estimate their courage by two dif-
ferent standards. They will mark the courage when
passive by one figure, and the courage when aroused
by a much higher figure. Great cowards will do heroic
deeds when under a powerful impulse. Many well-
meaning men are moral cowards, who need to keep
their courage thoroughly aroused and use means to
accomplish that desirable end. It is not uncommon to
hear persons, when under religious excitement, de-
clare that they would not give up the religion of Christ
for ten thousand worlds like this ; and while under that
impulse it is probable that they would not. Yet many
38 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
such persons, in an unguarded moment, will let a
schoolmate, or a fellow-workman, or a companion
frighten them out of their religion. Such persons
ought to know their weakness, and keep themselves un-
der a religious impulse all the time.
A young Swede was converted in meetings that I
was holding, and so far as man can judge got a good
start in the religious life, which continued for some
months. But fellow-workmen taunted him day after
day, until, losing his patience, he broke forth into pro-
fane curses, and that was the end of religion for him.
No amount of persuasion could induce him to return to
his Christian duties.
Criticism in the Social Meetings
There are no circumstances where criticism is more
out of place than in the social meetings of the church.
The Indians used to compel their prisoners to run the
gauntlet. The warriors were drawn up in two lines,
facing each other, while the unarmed prisoner was
compelled to run between the lines, and as he passed
each redskin hurled his spear or tomahawk at him. If
the man came through alive it proved that he was made
of good stuff.
If a man or woman must pray and speak in the so-
cial meetings in the face of the fact that what he says
will be canvassed by the hearers on their way home,
and criticised in an unfriendly spirit, only the most he-
roic will subject themselves to such an experience.
Many persons thoughtlessly allow themselves to crit-
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 39
icise what is said in the social meetings without con-
sidering how much mischief may result from such a
course.
A brother once wanted a local preacher's license, and
asked the privilege of speaking to the people some
evening so that they might judge whether he was
worthy. One prayer meeting night the pastor was
sick, and said to the brother, 'The meeting is yours to-
night; go ahead and speak to the people." He read
a very ornate kind of a discourse, and spoiled the
meeting for everybody but himself. As he was closing
the meeting he rubbed his hands together in glee, and
said, "I hope you have all had a good meeting; I have,
for one."
He had had a good meeting because he made the
meeting himself and was in sympathy with his own
work. The rest all had a miserable meeting because
they came to watch him, and criticise him, and were
not in sympathy with him or what he was saying. If
a Christian is to enjoy the social meetings of the church
he must be in sympathy with those who sit about him
and with what is going on.
Crosses
Crosses affect different people very differently. If
a log is thrown across a narrow stream the water does
not hesitate a moment to press against it, and boil un-
der and over it with great commotion. When an ob-
stacle is thrown across the current of a man's life the
result is very much the same. He resents it, and is
40 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
likely to make much noise and commotion. Whatever
crosses his plans and purposes is counted as an enemy.
Some men never learn better, but continue to fight
whatever opposes them as long as the power to fight
remains. Others learn by experience that obstacles
which check or turn the current of their thoughts and
purposes may be the greatest blessings.
I heard a commonplace man say in prayer meeting,
*'I should hate to have my own way." I thought it at
the time a strange remark, but have come to consider
it an unusual exhibition of common sense. Most peo-
ple want nothing so much as their own way. It is only
the few who learn that their way may be the very
worst way. At any rate, when it is made clearly mani-
fest that God is crossing our plans and purposes we
ought to welcome the crosses.
Cfoss-tcaringf
In the Sunday school room of a church I had the
pleasure of studying an engraving which very aptly
illustrates cross-bearing. A variegated landscape is
presented, with a pathway leading across it ; and at the
farther end of the path, in the dim distance, is an
illumination to represent heaven. There is a pile of
crosses in the foreground ; and an angel stands by them
holding a cross in one hand and with the other points
up the path, as if to say, "There is the road to heaven,
but you must take a cross with you."
A number of persons, each carrying a cross, are
already traveling along this road ; and, true to life, the
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 41
one farthest along the road to the celestial city is a
woman. Next we see a man and a woman traveling
side by side — a beautiful sight. Just behind them is a
man down on his knees with a saw, trying to saw off
a piece of his cross. It is too heavy. Then comes a
little girl clasping a cross across her breast as if she
loved it. Then there is a man who has picked up a
cross, and he stands leaning against it, with his back
toward heaven and his face toward the world.
Another man stands by the pile of crosses with his
hand up to his head, and a look of distress on his coun-
tenance. A large cross lies before him, but he seems
to think it too heavy. In marked contrast two little
children are running up to the crosses, eager to bear
them. Just behind them a proud-looking man is walk-
ing away. The whole matter seems entirely beneath
his notice.
Another man is trying to get to the crosses, but a
woman is holding him back. Every pastor has seen
this sad sight a few times in his ministry. Still
others — young ladies and gentlemen — have looked the
crosses over, but are walking away together. It is no
uncommon thing for love affairs to keep persons from
the religious life.
This engraving may not be a work of art of great
merit, but it represents with great faithfulness what
may be seen in the history of every church.
42 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
Death No Respecter of Persons
One day, in a filthy garret of a great city, a little in-
fant died of smallpox, in squalor and misery, and was
buried in the potter's field. On the same day, of the
same disease, died the infant son of Thebaw, the Bur-
mese king. This child slept in a cradle of gold in-
crusted with diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds,
of incredible value. Vast sums were spent on the child,
and all the people living near the palace stockade were
required to buy new cooking kettles, lest the smell of
rancid oil from the old ones should ofifend his tender
little nostrils. Death called for him and the beggar's
child the same day, and by the same loathsome
messenger.
In a New York village lived side by side for forty
or fifty years a very rich man and a very poor woman.
His life was spent in raking together riches, and he
met with large success. He was not very careful about
the means employed, and some of his wealth properly
belonged to his poor neighbors. Her life was spent in
toiling early and late for the bare necessaries of life,
and sometimes her friends came to her assistance.
Once when she was especially destitute her neighbors
undertook to raise something for her, and they went to
this rich man for a little aid, but he refused.
One cold, boisterous March, when fatal diseases
were very prevalent, they both contracted the same dis-
ease and died about the same time. His last words
were, ''Give me a receipt ; I demand the money." One
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 43
sweep of death's scythe cut them both down, like a
rose and a thistle which had long been neighbors.
Denominations of Christians
The best way to put our whole broad country under
thorough cultivation is for each farmer thoroughly to
cultivate his own patch. If a farmer should say, "Fll
take broad views of the welfare of the country, and not
confine myself to one little farm," and in harmony with
this theory should cultivate everywhere in general and
nowhere in particular, he would fail as a farmer, and
probably come to want.
His broad theory of the thorough cultivation of the
whole country is a good one ; but the best way to carry
it out is to cultivate his own farm thoroughly and let
his neighbors do the same. He must not envy his
neighbors, or hate them, or quarrel with them, but let
them do their work and he do his. In this way a
wholesome rivalry among the farmers would result in
larger crops and a better cultivation of the soil. All
this applies to the various branches of the Church.
A man can best help the universal Church by
putting all his energies into some particular branch of
it, and into some local church organization. It is not
given to many men to exert an influence over the broad
universal Church. Our voices are not loud enough to
reach the ends of the earth ; our influence is not great
enough to be felt in all lands ; we must do our work
within a smaller circumference. Neighboring work-
men in the great spiritual vineyard should not envy
44 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
each other, or hate each other, or quarrel with each
other; but love each other, and incite each other to
good works.
Discouragfcmcnt
Discouragement very frequently arises from meet-
ing obstacles that were not anticipated. A traveler
sees in the distance a bold mountain peak stretching up
into the clouds of heaven, and is filled with a noble
ambition to climb it. It looks like an easy task. It
seems only a short distance, and only necessary to walk
up the green sloping side, and the task is accomplished.
He begins the ascent, but before he has proceeded far
he finds himself running into deep ravines, which lead
hither and thither. The mountain top is lost to view,
and he cannot tell whether he is going up or down.
The farther he proceeds the more tangled and rugged
the way becomes. His strength begins to fail, and a
feeling takes possession of his mind that the worst is
yet before him, and he cannot accomplish the task. He
turns away and leaves unaccomplished what recently
seemed so desirable.
It must be a perpetual humiliation to live at the base
of a mountain which one has tried in vain to climb, and
see its proud peak smile down contemptuously day
after day. Yet many men live all their lives under
the shadow of mountains which they have failed to
climb. They must continually look back to something
which they commenced but were not able to finish, be-
cause they became discouraged and ceased to make
an effort.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 45
The folly of such discouragement lies in the fact that
it very frequently leads men to give up the contest
when they are very near victory. The most and great-
est obstacles generally lie at the beginning of an enter-
prise; and men often struggle on till they are almost
through the difficulties, and then give up in despair,
when a few more efforts would have brought success.
A man tried to cross a marsh in the nighttime. He
floundered on through mud and water for a half mile
or more, and thinking he would never get across it
became discouraged, and floundered all the way back
again. The next morning he was chagrined to find
that he had got almost across the night before, and had
he gone a few rods farther he would have reached solid
ground.
Men bore for oil to great depths in the earth. The
drill makes its way down through the solid rock many
hundreds of feet. Six inches more, perhaps, will bring
it to the oil reservoir, and abundantly repay their
months of toil. But they do not know that fact, and
in discouragement move their machinery to another
field. Here they drill long and laboriously, but get
discouraged, and go to another place. Thus they con-
tinue to drill holes in the ground without accomplish-
ing any definite result or reaching any reward. Such
is the life work of many men — many things attempted
but nothing accomplished.
This is only too common a spectacle in the Chris-
tian life. Many commence well — and many commence
well more than once — but become discouraged and
46 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
make a failure of that which reasonable effort and per-
sistence might have accomplished.
Divine Guidance
I remember a strange experience while sailing on
Loch Lomond, the most beautiful of the Scottish lakes.
It is a charming sheet of water, full of small rocky
islands, while the shore is a series of points and head-
lands that run out into the lake. At no place can you
see a great expanse of water, but are led along from
one basin to another, now passing near the shore, now
almost grazing a dangerous rock, and now darting
through a narrow channel between rocky islands into
clear water again.
Many times it seemed as if we were running into an
angle of the land and must be dashed to pieces ; but at
the last moment, by a happy turn of the wheel, we
rounded some point and found a narrow channel of es-
cape. We were no sooner out of one dilemma than we
were into another ; but there was in the end a way out
of them all, and we reached our destination in safety.
The pilot knew the way out of every difficulty, though
we did not.
I thought it a beautiful picture of God's guidance
over his children. They must meet dangers and
troubles, they must be at their wit's end many times,
but God will at length find them a way out of all dan-
gers, and they will safely make the harbor by and by.
God never lets us see far ahead, but he does better; he
sees far ahead and teaches us to trust him.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 47
Divine Power in the Church
Many years ago I visited the Burden Iron Works in
South Troy and looked with wonder at a mighty
water wheel, sixty feet in diameter, which slowly and
majestically revolved on its axis and kept in motion
the entire system of machinery with the power of two
thousand horses. I tried to listen for the tumbling
waters which could drive such a vast wheel, but could
hear nothing. I went about the building several times
to find the mighty Niagara which could turn such a
water wheel. At length my attention was attracted to
a cylinder about three feet in diameter, whose moist
appearance indicated that it contained water. A guard
told me that the water which turned the wheel passed
through this cylinder.
But my wonder was only increased, for the cylinder,
instead of pointing down on to the wheel from above,
pointed up from below, the water being much lower
than the wheel. The first question to suggest itself
was. If this water drives the wheel, what power drives
the water up on to the wheel? This question was
answered when I learned that the fountain head from
which the water came was off among the distant hills,
far above the whole establishment; and I remembered
the principle of physics that water confined in tubes
has power to rise as high as its source.
All these years this great water wheel has illustrated
to me the Church of God, which is run not by human,
but by divine, power. Men and women neither gifted,
48 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
nor eloquent, nor attractive, accomplish most marvel-
ous results in saving and lifting up mankind, and it is
a common thing to ask what is the secret of their
power. Many answers are given, but there is only
one true answer ; The mighty power of God is work-
ing in them and through them. The Church is a
powxr for good in the world only so far as it com-
mands the saving power of God for sinful men.
The question of Mr. Moody's success has been
under discussion for years. There is only one answer :
He, somehow, commanded divine power for his work.
Environment
We must believe that many of the poorest and
humblest here will shine most brightly in heaven. The
circumstances of the present life do not afford them
favorable opportunities. The same principle is illus-
trated in the affairs of the world. A boy at work on
the farm was pronounced lazy and inefficient, but sent
to school he soon took first rank as a scholar and rose
to distinction in a professional career.
Our civil war showed this most plainly. A com-
pany of men w^ent from the same town, and this was
the record: Those who were considered as most tal-
ented, and leaders in civil life, often sank into insig-
nificance as soldiers ; while those of the humblest pre-
tensions at home often rose to be the best soldiers. It
likewise appears in the case of the generals of the war :
Those who, from their previous positions, stepped in-
to command of the army at the commencement of the
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 49
war very soon sank out of sight; while men quickly
rose from obscurity to stand at the head of affairs. So
inadequately do the circumstances of life afford the
proper opportunities for success that one has ventured
the remark that ''the world knows nothing of its great-
est men;" and the poet has daringly said of a humble
country churchyard:
"Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid
Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire;
Hands that the rod of empire might have swayed,
Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre.
"Some village Hampden, that, with dauntless breast,
The little tyrant of his fields withstood;
Some mute, inglorious Milton here may rest ;
Some Cromwell, guiltless of his country's blood."
If this principle is manifest in the experiences of
earth, much more when heaven is taken into the ac-
count. The difference between the circumstances of
earth and heaven may well justify the declaration of
Christ, "Behold, there are last which shall be first, and
there are first which shall be last." The circumstances
of earthly life are not such as to bring into prominence
every great man.
Some of the most telling talks I ever heard in prayer
meeting were those of a Scotsman w^hose hands were
hard and black from working in a foundry; and he
took no pains to hide them, but swung them with vigor,
while great thoughts fell from his lips. I used to get
an intellectual and spiritual uplift from that man's
talks every prayer meeting night. He had been cheated
50 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
out of all his property — as he thought — by a wealthy
and prominent business man, a member of the same
church, who said in his dying hours that he used to en-
joy religion but had lost it all. But he never brought his
grievances into prayer meeting, but rather came there
with a rich Christian experience which ranged far
higher and stretched far wider than business matters,
leaving his earthly wTongs to be righted in God's great
day of settlement.
Every One for Himself
Strange as it may seem, there are persons in the
world who expect to be saved because they have pious
wives, or parents. Probably every minister has met
such people. It is not uncommon to see a fruitless and
a fruit-bearing tree growing so close together that the
trunks look almost like one, and the branches are so
interlocked that the fruit seems to be growing on both.
I remember carefully studying two such trees by the
roadside. As well might that fruitless tree expect to
be spared by the ax because it was growing so near
a fruitful tree. Its nearness was no advantage to
either itself or the fruit-bearing tree. The Saviour
says, "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is
hewn down and cast into the fire."
The papers reported that a man had lost everything
by a financial failure except his religion, and one who
knew him remarked, ''Yes, and that is in his wife's
name."
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 51
Example
Both animals and men possess an instinct of imita-
tion, and do many things for no better reason than that
others of their species are doing them. Small animals
wear a narrow path because they yield to the impulse
to go where others have gone. Deer, and other large
animals of the forest, have runways which are formed
by following each other year after year. A man breaks
a way through the forest. He may do no more than
stir up the dead leaves a little, and break off a twig
here and there in his first passage ; but another, bound
for the same destination, finds it easier to walk in his
footsteps; and one continues to follow another until
the bushes are worn away and the path beaten hard,
so that it is very easy to follow. This footpath may
develop into a bridle path, and finally into a carriage
road — each one following this particular way because
many others have taken it before him.
This road may not be in the best place ; it may not be
the shortest or least rugged that could be found
through the forest, yet each finds it much easier to fol-
low it than to break a new and better road for him-
self. In like manner, one breaking a path through the
tangled forest of error does the world a positive serv-
ice, because others bound in the same direction will
find it easier to walk in his footsteps. This is true of
every effort made in the right direction, however
feeble. Every blow struck in the cause of truth ; every
effort made to resist evil ; every word spoken for
52 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
the advancement of morals and religion, helps to
strengthen the current of right doing, and beat harder
and make more easy the narrow path that leads to
everlasting life.
The examples men look at and are influenced by
may be good or bad. Tyranny of fashion is based on
this imitative instinct ; and this thing men call fashion
marches with conquering tread over national bounda-
ries and establishes its dominion throughout the whole
civilized globe. It is not altogether to be condemned,
yet men and women often do the most absurd things,
which no one would seriously undertake to defend,
simply because it is the fashion — that is, because every-
body is doing so.
National customs and peculiarities have the same
origin. The members of the same race or nation do
things in a certain w^ay because their fathers did so
before them; and the tyranny of national custom is
almost absolute. Many of these customs are the most
foolish and inconvenient that it is possible to conceive ;
but it is next to impossible to change them. In fact,
easy-going human nature has invented a proverb to
meet the case. It says, ^'When in Rome do as the
Romans do." There are some conveniences in such a
course; but if the customs of the Romans involve
wrong they ought not to be followed.
We may hope that the day will not be forever de-
layed when Christians will not be compelled to fight
against prevailing example — when it will be in fashion
to be good, and true, and pious ; when the customs of
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 53
all nations will enjoin honesty, and purity, and tem-
perance, and Christlike character.
Experience
Too many regard their religious experience as a pro-
found secret which they must sedulously keep to them-
selves. An aged Baptist minister told me he had
praying parents, but they were not forward in talking
to him of the religion which they professed, and so
failed to lead him to Christ. By some outside instru-
mentality he at length found his Saviour when he had
almost reached manhood. With the characteristic
zeal of a young convert he sat down by his mother's
side and told her the story. She wept over the simple
narrative, for it carried her back to the days when she
gave her own heart to God; and then, unlocking her
long-hidden secret, she told him, in turn, for the first
time, the story of her own conversion — a simple, beau-
tiful, touching story, and gave quite a lengthened ac-
count of her inner religious life. The boy listened
with delight, and, when she had finished the story,
said, "O mother, why didn't you tell me this before?"
I can remember as a boy that I I'^arned more of the
religious experience of my parein ^'^^'Vom chance re-
marks which they dropped to othn^^:han from any-
thing they ever said directly to my^^if. They talked
enough about religious things in a general way, but
seldom or never talked about their own religious expe-
rience ; and I well remember that when any word was
dropped I valued it more than any general religious
54 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
instruction. Though both my parents were Chris-
tians I never heard the story of their conversion, nor
any account of the struggles they met with in the reli-
gious life. I longed to hear it, but did not dare ask
questions, and the impression left on my mind was that
religious experience was a secret which should not be
inquired after nor revealed. Religious experience is
no doubt a sacred thing, but it may be choked, like a
spring, for want of outflow, and can be a means of
refreshment to others if properly used.
Failure in Christian "Work
History scarcely furnishes us another instance of
such utter failure, judged by human standards, as that
of the prophet Jeremiah. He was not able to persuade
the people to do anything that God wanted them to do.
Shall we pronounce Jeremiah a failure? If so, Noah
goes into the same class. Pronounce no man either a
success or a failure until God has been heard from.
Jeremiah was not the only man who offended man in
obeying God.
The lighthouse on a dangerous coast which is kept
burning at its best every night, from dark till day-
light, is not a faih^re though every careless sea captain
runs his vessel oie ':he rocks. God counts that man a
success who goes at his bidding, whether or not men
are willing to listen to his voice.
Yet Christians are very apt to become disheartened
in doing the humdrum duties of the Christian life. I
heard a faithful Christian woman say in prayer meet-
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 55
ing one evening that she had often felt that her testi-
mony did not amount to anything. Year after year
she had witnessed for Christ, but had seen no results ;
and she had been tempted to let it drop out as some-
thing that would not be missed. And I heard a weary
class leader say that he felt like giving up his class
unless he could see something more than a routine of
songs and prayers and testimonies week after week.
What is the value of these routine Christian duties ?
Soldiers at the tap of the drum are brought out early
every morning to roll call. Just a roll call — nothing
more. No fighting is required of them at such times;
they do not even wear their arms and accouterments.
No other duties are laid upon them; they just stand up
straight in line, clothes clean, shoulder to shoulder, and
answer to their names; that is all.
Just a roll call. The names are called one by one,
and each man answers, ''Present."
What if a soldier should say, 'T am tired of the
monotony of this roll call every morning; nothing
comes of it; I shall not be missed; I will stay away."
Why, they would send an officer at once to his tent
to see if he were sick or dead. It would be an unheard-
of proceeding; an utter violation of military disci-
pline. Everything depends on his answering "Present"
every morning. It is only thus that the general knows
whether he has an army or not. All he can depend on
are those who are present at roll call every morning.
Those in the hospital, or on furlough, or absent with-
out leave do not count in the army.
56 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
'Tresent"—'Tresent"— "Present" morning after
morning means everything.
'Tresent" for service when service is required.
Ready for any emergency that may arise; and emer-
gencies arise without warning in the army.
"Present" for battle when the day of battle comes.
Arms bright, cartridge box full, gun loaded, ready for
defense or advance whenever the order is given.
And if it should fall to the lot of a soldier, as it
may, although it seldom does, to do little else than
answer "Present" every morning, year after year, he
has done his duty — all that his country required — and
his faithful attendance at roll call will not fail of its
reward.
And the man who has stood in his place in the
church year after year to answer, "Here am I," will
never know how much good he has accomplished until
God's books are opened. Then it will appear that
there is no such thing as failure to the man who has
done his duty. Duty done leaves an impress on the
soul which is its own reward, though no effects may be
produced on others.
Faith and Sight
Not every Christian is ready to believe that an in-
visible Holy Spirit is better than a visible Shekinah.
I remember hearing a disciple weak in the faith ex-
press a wish that we might have some such visible
guide in these days. A man with two good eyes may
stumble and fall in broad daylight, and when night
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 57
comes on, and the ground is uneven, he hardly dares
venture out at all.
Now, if a man v^ere made without eyes and placed
in a world whose surface was a dead level, with no
hills, or valleys, or rocks, or trees to stumble him, and
nothing whatever to harm him, he could travel about
in perfect safety. Such is the state of the Christian
within the bounds of the broad realm of divine Provi-
dence. He cannot see, he has no eyes to see, for God's
ways are hidden from his view. But he has no need
to see, for God does the seeing, and has cleared all
obstacles out of his path. All he need do is to march
resolutely forward under the matchless promise, "All
things work together for good to them that love God."
We should avoid two mistakes: having faith that all
will be well when we do not love God, and not having
faith when we do love him.
Faith and Works
Some things were never meant to subsist alone.
Faith and works are not two things that can live apart,
like a house and a tree ; they are rather like a tree and
its leaves, which are necessary to each other. Faith
cannot exist without its works ; and the works of faith
cannot exist without the faith to produce them. Works
show whether faith exists. How do we know that
spring has come? We see the springing grasses, the
early flowers — daisies, crocuses, mayflowers — shoot-
ing up through the dead leaves ; we feel the soft breath
of the south wind; we hear the birds singing among
58 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
the trees. And worldly wisdom has gone so far as
to declare that one swallow does not make a summer ;
we need many evidences that spring has come. The
almanacs proclaim on the first of March that spring
has come, but nobody believes them.
And when a man proclaims himself a man of faith
we begin to look about for the fruits of faith, the
works of faith, and, failing to see these, we justly
doubt the existence of the faith.
The famous Siamese twins were grown together
in a vital part, so that the life of one was necessary to
the life of the other. They thus lived together till old
age, but no surgeon dared to cut them apart. English
surgeons were appealed to to attempt the operation
but refused to undertake it; and finally, when one of
the twins died, the other lived only two hours. So
faith and works may live, and grow, and bear fruit
when united ; but no spiritual surgeon has been able to
separate them so skillfully but that both have died in
the operation; and whenever one has died the other
died immediately after.
Falling
I met a good brother one winter day on the slippery
hillsides of Albany, coming down the ice on a sliding
run, and as we passed he called out, "It's easy going
downhill." I called back, ''Yes, and it's dangerous
too."
A fall then might be a serious matter. I have known
a man slide a whole block on the icy sidewalk of a
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 59
Hudson River city by trying to run down the steep
hill, and find himself in a dilapidated condition at the
first crosswalk.
It is not so easy going up a slippery hill, but it is
much safer. Though a man may fall it is with his
face uphill, and he gets up and goes on again. It
makes all the difference in the world which way a man
is headed when he falls. When a Christian goes down
in this slippery world he is facing uphill, and he gets
up again and goes the w^ay he was going before. And
why should he not ? Should he lie in the dirt forever
because he has fallen ?
I was once walking along a country highway and,
without knowing it, came to some ice that was covered
by a thin coating of snow, and in an instant, without
any warning, I was flat on my back. There w^as only
one thing to do — get up, brush off the snow, and go
on the way I was going before the fall.
Yet some Christians when they fall say, "I've fallen
before, and if I get up and try to w^alk in this slippery
world I will only fall down again; so I will lie here
the rest of my life." The attitude of the Church to-
ward the fallen should be that of forgiveness and help,
even to "seventy times seven times."
Family Influence
Example in the family is a most deadly influence
when it is given for evil. A Christian woman mourned
for years over a godless husband, and her testimony
was, "God only knows what I have suffered." He was
60 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
a kind man and good neighbor ; would drive with her
to church on Sabbath, and spend the hour in chatting
with friends in the village tavern while she was wor-
shiping God. A beautiful Sabbath in summer he took
his wife to the little church as usual, and went himself
to the tavern, not to drink, but to chat with compan-
ions as careless as himself. The next Sabbath he was
lying in his grave, and she was mourning over an un-
saved husband. The son followed in the footsteps of
his father, and went much farther in the path of evil.
A family that I knew left their young daughter to
burn up with a fever until her flesh was livid and
Death had already set his seal upon her — then sent for
a physician. The physician looked on with horror;
called in the neighbors to see the ghastly spectacle;
branded them as murderers; and in a few hours the
fair girl was dead. The neighbors shuddered when
they passed the door of that house, and regarded those
parents with loathing.
Yet parents can let their children rot and die with
moral and spiritual leprosy, and no one looks on with
any horror. They will teach them by their own ex-
ample a course of life that leads to spiritual and eternal
death, and those who look on are not greatly shocked
at the sight.
A young man on the gallows, just about to be
launched into eternity, raised his hand to heaven and
cursed his aged mother as the means of bringing him
there. It sent a thrill of horror through me to read
his words. And what he charged her with was noth-
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 61
ing more than sinners in general are doing — a friv-
olous life, a life of sin, and a neglect to warn him of
the dangers of sin.
Fellowship of Christ's Sufferingfs
I have seen a Christian minister sit by a dying
man — sent for at midnight — a man so sick that it was
agony to be in the room with him ; and the sick man
clung to him for days together, and looked to him for
salvation; while the servant of Christ, with burdened
soul and trembling frame, tried to point him to ''the
Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world."
And as the minister with shaking nerves and reeling
brain left that sick chamber he felt that he had given
a part of his life to that dying man.
On another occasion he spent an entire afternoon
pleading with a young woman to give herself to
Christ; and as the long, intense interview ended in
profound nervous exhaustion he had the depressing
feeling that he had done all he could for her but that
all was not sufficient. Thirty years after she is still
unsaved.
I knew a layman who, when in feeble health, sat by
a man for an hour and pleaded with him to come to
Christ, pointing out the way of repentance and faith,
throwing his soul under the sinner's burden, until,
when the work was accomplished and the soul saved,
this Christian man was so weak that he could hardly
walk.
A man was saved from intemperance, and joined a
62 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
church; but one Saturday night he fell, and Sunday
morning in a state of wild intoxication he got a livery
team and started out for a spree, racing up and down
the street like a madman. A well-dressed, well-to-do
Christian man, on his way to church, caught sight of
him, and hailed him, and before the drunken man was
really aware, and against his will, was in the buggy
beside him.
And this Christian man stuck to him for some hours,
in spite of threats and persuasions, on the public streets
of the city, until at last he got him home, sobered, and
started again on a career of sobriety and piety.
And I have known this same Christian man to fol-
low his workmen, during the small hours of the night,
from saloon to saloon through the dark, dirty, and
dangerous streets of the city, that he might save them
from intemperance. If any persons think there is no
suffering connected with this kind of work, they need
only try it for themselves to be thoroughly undeceived.
Fickleness
I have in mind a man who had stumbled many times
already, and should have learned the lesson of his own
weakness; but when he made a fresh start he was as
confident as ever, and even boastful; so much so that
I quoted the words of Peter, 'Though all should for-
sake thee, yet will not I," and added some words of
warning. Within four months he was following his
old ways.
Sudden lapses and sudden recovery mark the reli-
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 63
gious history of many persons. In the Atlantic
Monthly there appeared many years ago (1869) a
quaint story called 'The Brick Moon," which repre-
sented some persons as building an immense globe of
bricks, which, by some accident, was projected into
space, with several persons upon it, and, commencing
a revolution around the earth, became a second moon
in our system.
These persons at length were enabled to signal to
their friends on earth; and among other things sent
this message : "When we want to change climate we
can walk in less than a minute from midsummer to the
depth of winter." This was on account of the small-
ness of the globe on which they lived.
I noted it at the time as an illustration of the reli-
gious experiences of many persons. It requires only a
short time to go from midsummer to midwinter; and
they are back again as soon. Persons of this tempera-
ment exhibit great fluctuations and strange irregulari-
ties in their religious experience; and the best thing
about them is that they generally get up again, no mat-
ter how often they fall.
'^ Follow the Rtjlc^
Every science has its rules by which its problems are
solved and its results reached. Chemistry has its
formulas by w^hich elementary substances are com-
bined and certain valuable compounds secured; and
unless the rule is carefully followed a deadly poison
may be the result instead of a healing medicine.
64 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
Arithmetic has its rules by which its problems are
solved, and by carefully following these rules the cor-
rect result will be reached.
Some persons require much more time than others
to solve a problem in arithmetic, but, whether slowly
or rapidly, if the rule be followed the correct result will
be obtained. I well remember working a whole winter
on one example, but in the end secured the correct
result.
It is not necessary to understand all the reasons why
following the rule will give the right answer. A child
can solve a difficult problem by following the rule long
before it can explain the reasons for the transaction.
Mistakes in the operation vitiate this result, and then
the schoolboy is sent back to do the work over again.
Many times over the careless boy has been obliged to
work the same example before reaching the correct
answer.
And the student will know when he has reached the
correct result. There are methods of proving the work
to make sure of its accuracy.
God has given us in the Bible certain rules for the
salvation of sinful men; and the conditions which at-
tach to the solution of a problem in arithmetic will also
attend the solution of the great problem of salvation.
The jailer asked, "What must I do to be saved?'*
and the answer was, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved/' In another place the con-
ditions of salvation are given in fuller form, as "Re-
pentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 65
Christ." Let those who honestly ask the question of
the jailer apply this rule patiently and thoroughly and
they will get the correct result.
Some may be longer in solving the problem than
others.
It is not necessary to understand all the whys and
wherefores of the plan of salvation in order to apply
the rule.
Mistakes will vitiate the result, and in such a case
it is necessary to try again.
And every person will know when he has reached
the correct result. There is an unmistakable witness
to the fact of salvation.
Force Indestructible
Some scientific truths may illustrate some spiritual
truths.
A scientist has described an experiment which shows
the power of little things. If a block of iron and a pith
ball are hung from the ceiling by cords a short dis-
tance apart, and the pith ball be drawn back and let
fall on the block of iron over and over again, the iron
will soon begin to sway backward and forward, moved
by nothing more powerful than a little pith ball, which
a child's breath might blow aside.
The child that strikes a blow with a hammer in its
sport has exerted a force that will never cease to oper-
ate in the universe, unless God shall change the present
order of things. We sometimes think we do not
amount to anything, when the fact is that we do not
66 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
lift a foot or finger without in some degree affecting
the universe of God.
A man of science declares that not a word could be
spoken, or whisper breathed, that did not leave an im-
press on the solid rocks. And another has ventured
the opinion that if one atom of matter were blotted out
of existence it would unsettle the balance of things,
and the universe would rush to chaos.
The universe is bound into one bundle by common
laws. The slightest change in our relation to the sun
would destroy the order of the seasons, and make the
earth uninhabitable. Disturbances on the surface of
the sun are immediately felt on the surface of the earth.
The volcanic eruption of Krakatoa sent oceanic
waves to desolate shores for hundreds of miles around ;
produced a volume of sound that was heard in opposite
directions nearly two thirds around the globe; started
an atmospheric wave that encircled the earth and re-
turned to the place of starting ; and carried volumes of
dust twenty miles into the sky, which produced most
brilliant sunsets for more than a year all over the globe.
And we surely know that earth is bound together in
one bundle. The American civil war produced distress
all over the world. The Franco-German war caused
a fall of American securities on the Continent of Eu-
rope. The mere rumor of a Turkish war caused a rise
in the grain market in Chicago. The failure of one
heavy business firm may occasion a financial panic all
over the land.
This law of interdependence and indestructibility is
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 67
not less obvious in morals and religion. Our sins are
affecting our friends, and neighbors, and the commu-
nity where we live ; and some men have been so power-
ful for evil as to contaminate whole nations, and even
the entire world.
Every sin is like a thistle seed. The first year it
springs up as a single stalk, with a beautiful blossom
on its top — a picture of the pleasures of sin — ^but with
many a sharp thorn beneath, a picture of sin's penal-
ties. In the autumn time this stalk dies and is buried
and we think we have seen the last of it ; but the seeds
have ripened and been scattered in every direction by
the changing winds. When spring comes these seeds
grow up for miles around; and a few years suffice to
spread such a pestiferous weed all over the land. I
remember when a boy the first white daisies that ap-
peared on my father's farm ; and in ten years' time the
fields were white with them.
Every sin is a spiritual force let loose in the uni-
verse, which is as indestructible as a physical force. It
may disappear where it was first committed, but it
breaks out again in distant ages and countries. The
man who lives a life of sin may die and be buried out
of sight, but his example and influence have been in-
corporated into the streams of human life to make the
current stronger in the wrong direction.
When a wicked man sees his children and his neigh-
bors' children running into sin, and the whole com-
munity following evil ways, he may justly say to him-
self, "This is in some measure my doings ; this crop of
68 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
evil has sprung in part from my sowing." Can any
sane man doubt it ? One day a parent dropped a care-
less word, the next day his little girl was repeating it.
Some one is watching us, repeating our remarks, doing
our deeds over again, following our footsteps, deter-
mined to live as we live and share our destiny.
Fofgettingf God
The Bible pronounces it a great sin to forget God.
It says of the \vicked man that God is not in all his
thoughts; he thinks of everything rather than God.
The things we think about are the things we desire
most and love most. A man's thoughts are the best
test of his character. If we can find out what a man
thinks about when he is alone, we will have the best
possible estimate of the man.
The psalmist says that he remembered God upon his
bed, and meditated upon him in the night watches.
There are many men who do not follow his example.
Forget God! What a strange procedure. The
greatest slight we can put upon a man is to forget him ;
it proves that we do not think much about him, or care
much for him. If we have a social gathering, and in
making up the list of invited guests leave off a name,
and then go to the person and say, "I would have in-
vited you, but I forgot all about you," you give him
at once your estimate of him. It would be better to
make no excuse at all.
In making up such a list we put down first those we
think most of, and so think most about — those we
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 69
could not forget if we tried to do so. Then we add
the names of those we think less of ; and the man who
is forgotten is the one who is not much in our thoughts.
And the fact that we forget him reveals precisely our
state of feeling toward him.
And when we forget God it proves that w^e think
nothing about him, and care nothing for him, and have
nothing in common with him. We could not offend
him more grievously than to forget him.
Though unseen, he lives and operates everywhere,
and will never forget us. We ought to cultivate the
pow'er to think about the unseen and spiritual. Men
want object lessons to help them think. This is a pop-
ular way of teaching children, but men ought to get
beyond it. The man who can think about nothing but
what he sees and handles is low down in the scale of
being; and the proverb, *'Out of sight, out of mind,"
expresses his thought.
Abstract thought is regarded as the highest test of
mental power. The man who can think about un-
seen things; commune with God, commune with
his own heart; consider truth, duty, love, heaven, has
mounted above the common level, and proved his kin-
ship with his divine Maker.
Foundations
In laying the foundations of the new Capitol build-
ing at Albany, since they could not find solid rock on
which to place it, they made a foundation as nearly like
rock as possible. They dug down to a very great
70 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
depth, and laid a uniform substratum of broken rock
and cement; and upon this they laid immense flat
stones ten or twelve feet in length, upon which the
heavy walls of the structure were placed. Even this
was not equal to a foundation of solid rock, for it is
reported that they did not dare erect the lofty tower
which was to crown the structure.
In erecting a large cathedral they found not the solid
rock, but treacherous quicksand underneath, and were
obliged to drive hundreds of piles down deep below
the quicksand on which the walls might rest.
I passed one summer through a section of country
where a wild tornado had swept. Some barns were
turned entirely about on their foundations; the loose
stone foundations of others had given way, and the
buildings were crushed in a shapeless mass on the
ground. The old barn in which I played in childhood
rested on an insecure foundation, and it went down
into a heap of rubbish. The most of the buildings in
the region, however, rested on secure foundations, and
withstood the full fury of the blast.
Christ has pointed out the advantages of a rock
foundation over one of sand. It is the winds and
storms of life that are to test our religious structure.
Men seem to get along very well without religion in
pleasant weather; but when the storms of life come
their "refuge of lies" goes to fragments. We must
have a religious experience that will stand the test of
losses, and crosses, and troubles ; of long and wearing
sickness ; of open graves and the dying hour. Houses
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 71
tumble down in fierce hurricanes ; and religious struc-
tures go to pieces when the tempests of life over-
whelm us.
I was once called to the dying bed of a man who had
all his life scouted at Christianity, and with oaths de-
nounced a profession of religion. He was sure that all
were going to be saved. God was too good to punish
anybody. When it became certain that he was going
to die his religious views vanished like a pufY of smoke.
He cried to God for mercy; sent for the superintend-
ent of the Sunday school and myself before breakfast,
and would not permit us to leave his bedside so long as
consciousness remained. He tired us out praying for
him and singing with him. He had never wanted min-
isters or Christians about him before; he could take
care of himself ; his theory served him very well until
death came, and then the house built on the sand went
to pieces.
All I know is that he continued renouncing his
former views, and pleading for mercy, until the dark
shadow of unconsciousness passed over him, a short
time before his death.
Freedom of Man
Let a scene from our civil war illustrate it. A com-
pany of men gathered from the surrounding country
are listening to an orator. A recruiting ofidce has been
opened. The men are not to be drafted, but are asked
to volunteer — to choose for themselves. The orator
commences by gaining their assent to the fact that Fort
72 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
Sumter has been fired on. He tells them it is rebellion,
and their intellects assent to it. He tells them that
rebellion must be put down, or our country will go to
pieces. He makes an argument in favor of the war,
and carries his audience with him — their intellects as-
sent to all he says ; and if they do not he cannot influ-
ence them.
Then, after having gained the assent of their intel-
lects, he makes an appeal to their feelings. He tells
them how noble a thing it is to defend one's country,
and a feeling of patriotism is awakened. He tells tales
of heroism and suffering on the field, and melts his
audience to tears. He has satisfied their intellects and
stirred their feelings, and that in spite of themselves;
they could not help assenting and feeling.
But what next ? Does he enlist for them ? No ; they
must do the rest. He simply asks them, *'Will you
enlist?" They must choose for themselves. If they
all shake their heads and go home, we say their tears
and hurrahs are very cheap. Why ? Because their in-
tellects were satisfied and their feelings stirred with-
out any choice on their part. But they could say
whether they would enlist or not, and at that point
their merit or demerit commenced.
This may give us the right view of religion. It is
not religion to think right ; to have grand thoughts of
God, and heaven, and human duty; to reason nobly
respecting systems of theology; for our thoughts are
not under our control. It is no virtue of ours to have
great thoughts, or fault of ours to lack them. God
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 73
controls this department of the human mind, and gives
us such power of thinking as he deems best. Nor is it
religion to feel well; to have good desires and noble
longings ; to have the emotions stirred by glowing pic-
tures and pathetic tales; to weep, or sigh, or laugh,
or shout, or groan, or yield to any of the impulses or
emotions of the mind ; for these things are governed by
laws which we do not control. God may give us large
capacity for thinking and feeling, or small capacity —
we have no responsibility in the matter. Some of the
worst of men have had the largest power of thought
and feeling, and some of the best men the smallest ; it
was neither a virtue nor a vice.
True religion is a thing of the will. It is not to
think right, or to feel right, but to will right, to choose
right, to act right. Right thoughts and feelings are
good if they lead to right willing and doing, but they
have no merit in themselves. And God gives us right
thoughts and right feelings in order that we may be
induced to will right and do right. While God oper-
ates normally on intellect and feelings, we have power
to choose right and do right. God moves upon those
faculties of mind which he has kept under his own
control, so as to prompt us and help us to exercise
wisely the one faculty which he has placed in our
power, and we are responsible for the right use of it.
The fingers of the Almighty may sweep the strings
of intellect and emotion, awakening a blissful mel-
ody of right thoughts and right feelings, but the
strings of the will must forever remain silent until they
74 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
are touched by human fingers ; and these human fingers
if they will may stir sweet music there, in full har-
mony with the lofty melody which God's own fingers
awaken in the soul of man. The proper melody of the
human soul is a duet ; God plays his part, and we must
play our part in harmony with him.
Friendship
Whoever undertakes to maintain a fire of shavings
will need to give his whole mind to it or it will be out
before he is aware. A fire of hard wood must not be
long forgotten or it will burn itself out. A fire of com-
pact coal may burn all day without attention, but the
next morning it must be renewed or it will also go out.
Friendships are subject to much the same conditions.
Temperaments have as great extremes as coal and
shavings. Some must be fed with continual kindness
and attention, or the friendship will die. A friend of
this kind is really a great burden; and the only re-
deeming feature is that if shavings go out sud-
denly they can be kindled again without much trouble.
Others, like the fire of wood, must be looked after
often, but do not require constant attention. Still
others, like a coal fire, may be for some time neglected,
and the warmth of the friendship will not sensibly
diminish; but if they are neglected too long, and the
fire suffered to go out, or nearly out, it is a serious
matter to kindle them again. Friendships among all
temperaments will die out without the interchange of
attentions more or less frequent. All fires will burn
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 75
out in time if more fuel is not added. "He that hath
friends must show himself friendly."
Fruit Diseased
A physician claims to have discovered with a micro-
scope the germs of diphtheria on apples, pears, lem-
ons, and oranges. Some dangerous element, that is
no part of the fruit, may attach itself to it, in this
world of blight, mildew, and death.
Whether it be true or not that the germs of deadly
disease attach themselves to fruit, it is certainly true
that it is often covered with moss and mold, and eaten
by worms, and thereby rendered very uninviting.
There is a lesson here for the Christian. His best
fruits, w^hich grow on the divine vine, may be so over-
laid by human error, infirmity, or folly as to be dis-
tasteful to right-thinking people. Many a man, whose
piety could not be questioned, has been largely dis-
counted in the community by some weakness or folly
that has attached to his life and obscured the luster
and richness of his spiritual fruit. The Christian
should aim not only to make himself acceptable to
God, but also to all right-minded people.
Fruit in Abundance
The papers announce the discovery of the largest
tree in the world on the Pacific coast. It is said to be
one hundred and three feet in circumference at the
ground, and ninety-six feet in circumference four feet
above the ground. It stretches up into the sky nearly
76 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
one hundred and seventy-five feet, and is surmounted
by an immense top. It is a cone-bearing tree, and the
number of cones upon it is almost beyond the ordinary-
processes of computation.
One point has especial interest. It is reported that
a little twig, at the extremity of one of the farthest
branches, had on it nearly one hundred cones. The
entire tree must have upon it thousands upon thou-
sands of these cones. Each cone has in it from twenty-
five to fifty seeds; and when they ripen and fall the
winds must scatter many millions of seeds for a long
distance around. Here is a picture of the true Church
of God. Each branch, vitally connected with the true
vine, brings forth fruit and scatters the seeds of truth
far and wide. It is the glory of a tree that its branches
bear fruit. The branches bear the fruit, but they de-
rive their life from the tree. * 'Herein is my Father
glorified, that ye bear much fruit."
**Ftuit to Perfection **
In the parable of the sower Christ says that those
who are choked with the cares, riches, and pleasures
of this life ''bring no fruit to perfection." The ma-
chines which thrash and clean wheat contain fine wire
sieves w^hich no grain above a certain size can get
through, while all below that size falls through and is
thus separated from the valuable grain. If we look at
the grain which has passed successfully over the sieve
we will not find the kernels all of the same size, but we
still call it all valuable wheat.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 77
If, on the other hand, we look at that which has
fallen through the sieve we find that much of it has
the same shape as good wheat, but it is stunted, and
shriveled, and if ground in the mill the result will be
all bran and no flour. Christ intimates that many
Christian fruits are largely valueless because they have
not attained a reasonable standard of perfection. Very
likely many of the current graces of religion are so
small and shriveled as to fall through the sieve. When
a rich man gives twenty-five or fifty cents to the mis-
sionary cause, and then quotes the story of the widow's
mite, his gift will fall through the sieve. God is not
a hard master, and we may be sure that whatever falls
through his sieve is worthless.
** Fullness of God'^
God's fullness has been compared to an ocean — able
to fill everything else and in no danger of emptying
itself in so doing. When there is such an ocean of
Deity encircling the universe, pressing itself into every
bay, and sound, and harbor, and inlet, calmly and
majestically filling every channel that is open to it —
when there is such an ocean of divine love, and joy,
and power — why should not our poor empty hearts be
filled ? Why should they remain empty ? Why should
they remain half full? Why should we be content
with a little spray which only the highest waves can
dash over us now and then, when this majestic ocean-
tide might surge through our souls, cleansing, and fill-
ing them with God? It can only be because we have
78 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
erected barriers before our hearts which this ocean will
not break down.
There may be found along the ocean's shore rocky
ledges or sand banks so high that the waves are not
able to surmount them. Just back of these barriers
may be found ground much lower, full of stagnant
water. It is a strange thing that the ocean's shore is
lined with stagnant pools and salt marshes. On the
one side of these barriers are stagnation and pollution,
on the other side the pure waters of the ocean are
dashing. Perhaps in their sublimest surgings they
hurl a little spray over the ledge to mingle with the
stagnant waters, but not enough to redeem them from
corruption. If we break down these barriers and let
the ocean tide through, these stagnant pools are washed
out, and filled to the brim with pure water, and kept
full and kept pure, and made little appendages of the
great ocean.
Such is our relation to God. He is ready with the
vast ocean of his fullness to cleanse and fill the stag-
nant pools of our hearts, but we erect barriers to keep
him out. If we will break down these barriers, and let
the tide of Deity surge through our souls, we are
brought into vital relation with God, and every move-
ment of the great divine Spirit is felt in our spirits. It
is a thought of untold significance that we are able to
erect barriers and keep God out of our hearts. That
God, who, like the ocean, presses naturally, necessarily,
against every shore line, is shut out of human hearts by
the human will, while he beats ceaselessly against the
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 79
barrier as the ocean beats against the coast. It is no
doubt well that we can shut God out, but it is not well
that we do shut him out.
FtjIIness of the Spirit
Fullness of the Spirit does not imply that we are
capable of holding the entire Spirit of God, in all his
attributes and perfections. It only means that we are
to hold what we can. A tin cup cannot hold the ocean,
but it can be filled to overflowing with ocean water;
and we are to be filled with the Spirit of God, and let
the divine presence and power overflow on every side.
What is needed is an abounding salvation ; and this is
just what God desires. He is able to make all grace
abound unto his children.
Full Salvation
A very ordinary man said in prayer meeting : *'God
has saved all there is of me." It is a very happy ex-
pression. If God saves all there is of us, be it more or
less, that is full salvation for us. There may not be as
much of us as there was of Paul, or Luther, or Wesley,
or Spurgeon, or Simpson, or Moody, but if all there is
of us is given to God, and used by him, that is the full
measure of salvation for us.
God First
O that men could understand how grandly It pays —
pays here, pays hereafter — to make God and his king-
dom overwhelmingly first.
80 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
It is certainly not doing this to make the world first
till we are seventy-five years old, or sixty, or fifty, and
then, when the world begins to slip away in spite of us,
to turn to God for rescue from the general wreck of
all earthly things.
Too often the altars of life are fed night and day
all through youth and vigorous manhood to Mammon,
which is the God of this world; and then, when the
offerings begin to fail, and the fires to burn low, the
old polluted altars are rededicated to the worship of
God; just as some old heathen temples were converted
into Christian churches; just as some old buildings in
these days that have been used for base purposes are
sometimes cleaned up a little and devoted to God's
work. It is not the honorable thing to devote the best
part of life to money-making, and honor-chasing, and
pleasure-seeking, and then ask God to be content with
rheumatic joints, and shaking nerves, and failing eye-
sight, and a treacherous memory, and wasted powers
of body and mind.
This is better than nothing, to be sure ; but it is much
better still to give God the strength, vigor, ardor, and
enthusiasm of youth and young manhood.
God Our Father
Sometimes earthly fathers have not the ability to
support their children. Continual sickness d'isables
them, or they cannot procure employment. There is
no sadder sight in all earth^s complicated relations than
an honest, hard-working father who loves his family
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 81
but is not able to provide for them. Society sympa-
thizes with such a father, and is ready to lend a helping
hand.
Nearly all parents, however, are able to support
their families ; and the most of earth's busy operations
are carried on for this very purpose. Parents rise early
and sit up late, they toil long and dreary hours, they
go into the forest in the cold winter, they descend to
the damp and dangerous mines, they live on the tumul-
tuous ocean, they labor in mill, factory, and furnace,
they delve and coax the barren soil, they toil on year
after year, grimy, sweaty, dusty, weary, yet willing
and happy, that they may support their children and
give them proper education.
What marvelous power this sublime picture of hu-
man struggle gives to the words of our Saviour: "If
ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children, how much more will your Father which
is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"
God Ottf Portion
Man can never find complete satisfaction in any-
thing but God. A thing can never satisfy the wants of
a spirit. Flesh may feed on flesh, but spirit must feed
on spirit. You can never satisfy the wants of an im-
mortal spirit with that which is a mere thing. The
soul cries out after God.
Give the entire world to man, and compel him to live
on it alone, and he will be miserable beyond the power
of expression. Select the brightest star in the firma-
82 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
ment, and give it to a man to be all his own, and he
will find no happiness until he has brought some other
spirit to view and enjoy his possessions.
When Adam stood alone on the earth God said, "It
is not good for man to be alone." When a man has a
house all to himself he is never satisfied till he has
taken a wife to share his joys. Here is the basis of all
the loves and friendships of earth — spirit must find
its joy in spirit.
And this thought only reaches its highest, fullest
meaning when we understand that our spirits can never
find complete joy and satisfaction except in the great
divine Spirit.
Faith is the appropriate process by which one spirit
can feed on another and find its joy in another. We
believe in Christ, not merely believe him. I may be-
lieve the veriest rascal, when he happens to tell the
truth, without believing in him. When we believe in
God we rest in him, and he becomes our portion.
God's Care
I can well remember as a child having a great dread
of the darkness, but I always felt secure from ghosts
or robbers when my strong father slept on the front
side of the bed. Advancing knowledge taught me
more and more that my earthly father, strong though
he was, had not power to defend me from all dangers ;
but it has also brought the higher thought that the
heavenly Father can defend us from all those who
would rise up against us, for "he doeth according to
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 83
his will in the army of heaven and among the inhab-
itants of the earth."
"The Lord our God is clothed with might,
The winds obey his will ;
He speaks, and in his heavenly height
The rolling sun stands still.
"Ye winds of night, your force combine;
Without his high behest
Ye shall not, in the mountain pine,
Disturb the sparrow's nest."
God Sees
The island of Arran, on the west coast of Scotland,
is very mountainous. Near the center of the island is
Goatfell, which is much higher than the other moun-
tains. I remember rambling for many hours among
the wild, desolate valleys of this island, and I observ^ed
that wherever I went the top of Goatfell was visible
above the intervening mountains. Many times during
the day I turned to gaze at the scenery, and was always
surprised to see a small section of that blue summit
looking calmly down upon me. The impression grew,
and at length, turning suddenly in forgetfulness of the
fact, I was startled once more ; and the thought flashed
through my mind, 'That mountain top is watching all
you do." I at once inquired, ''Have I thought or done
anything which I would not wish to be seen?" And
then came the higher thought that the eye of God is
far above every mountain top, and no valley is so deep
as to screen us from his gaze.
84 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
God's Great Sacrifice
Can anyone who has studied the death of Christ
doubt for one moment that it is a most am.azing exhi-
bition of God's love for sinful men? He ''so loved the
world that he gave his only begotten Son."
There are some persons who are in a condition to
give some kind of an estimate of the terrible demands
of this sacrifice. Parents watch night and day by the
bedside of a sick child, beholding its agonies but utterly
unable to relieve them, until it seems that their hearts
will break. They take the little sufferer into their
arms, while the scalding tears fall in silence, the ago-
nizing prayer goes up to heaven, and the spirit is torn
with anguish that is unsupportable. How gladly
would they take all the agonies of the little one upon
themselves if it were possible to do so.
Parents bear such anguish of heart because they
must; but what if parents were called upon to submit
a child to such agonies, of their own free choice, in or-
der to save some other person, and that not a saint, but
a sinner ! There is probably not a parent on the broad
earth who would make such a sacrifice.
And yet God submitted his Son to death for sinful
men. He looked on while wicked men spit upon him,
smote him with their hands, called him vile names,
dragged him to Golgotha, and nailed him to the cruel
cross. He heard the pleading cry, "Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me;" he listened to that
last cry of agony, "My God, my God, why hast thou
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 85
forsaken me?" and he restrained himself, he held him-
self back. It was his only begotten Son ; and who can
tell the anguish that rent the Father's heart as he
looked on this awful scene! '*He spared not his own
Son, but delivered him up for us all;" he ''gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Who will doubt that the death of Christ is a marvel-
ous display of God's love, and ample grounds for the
salvation of the world? And is it any wonder that
when a penitent sinner comes to God in the name of
Christ he is forgiven and saved?
God's Nearness
When our two girls were little more than babies
their mother used to put them to bed, turn out the light,
and leave them to go to sleep alone, telling them that
she would be in the room below to answer any call.
And regularly, every night, several times, before they
got to sleep, they would call down the stairway,
"Mamma, are you there?" and the answer would go
back, "Yes, I am here; go to sleep." They did not
really think that mamma would be untrue to her word,
and go away, but it was such a comfort to hear the
familiar voice saying once and again, "Yes, I am
here," until they were lost in sleep.
We are all children in spiritual things. We know
there is a Father in heaven ; we know that he loves us,
and hears our every cry, and is not far from any one
of us; yet when troubles come, when darkness and
86 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
storms overtake us, it is a great comfort to call up
through the darkness, ''Father, are you there?" and to
hear the answer come back, "Fear not, for I am with
thee ; be not dismayed, for I am thy God."
God's nearness may become very real to us. He has
said that if we draw nigh to him he will draw nigh to
us. I was called upon to minister to a man thirty-five
years old, or so, who had never thought much about
God ; the world had occupied his attention. But he fell
into a decline, and had leisure to turn his thoughts
Godward. The good Father responded to his ap-
proaches, and the man was astonished at the result.
He said over and over, as I talked with him, *T didn't
know God could come so near."
God Working thfou§:h Men
The men who have done most for God and been
most for God have not necessarily been the greatest
scholars, or men of greatest intellectual power, but the
men who have had the most intimate acquaintance
with the Spirit, and the fullest endowment of his
power. The great achievements in soul-saving have
not been man's work, but the work of God operating
through man.
The Romans built a number of vast aqueducts to
supply their cities with water. These were simply
large canals, extending in some cases fifty or sixty
miles over hill and valley to carry the water of clear
streams or fountains to distant thirsty cities. They did
not seem to understand the principle of physics that
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 87
water confined in tubes will rise as high as its source ;
consequently they built open aqueducts, and were
obliged to bore through hills, and fill up valleys, or
raise the aqueduct on a series of arches one above an-
other, to furnish a level bed, or a gentle decline down
which the w^ater might flow.
We have learned that we can carry water in strong
iron pipes, over hill and through valley, without any
leveling, so long as the fountain head is higher than
any point of the course. This leveling up was man's
work ; driving the water uphill and down through the
iron tube is God's work. Man's part is simply to at-
tach his iron tube to God's law.
And this is the correct principle of Christian life and
work. It simply requires that a human instrument —
great or small, learned or unlearned — should make
connections with the Spirit of God, and large results
are sure to follow. Water can run through a crooked
tube if the fountain is only high enough; and even
feeble agencies can bring great things to pass when
God is behind them and working through them.
Givin§f
There is one short, just rule for giving in the Bible:
"As God hath prospered him." Unfortunately Chris-
tians are left to apply this rule for themselves, and they
sometimes make strange work of it. In one pastorate
a poor woman, who supported her family with the
needle, gave regularly each year five dollars to the mis-
sionary cause. The richest man in the church at that
88 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
time, reputed to be worth about one hundred thousand
dollars, refused at first to give anything; but I spent
two hours with him one afternoon, arguing, pleading,
and finally retired, exhausted, disgusted, unstrung,
with five dollars for the cause of missions. The effort
and nervous tax were so great that I concluded it
would be cheaper to give an extra five dollars myself.
Here were two members of the church applying this
simple Scripture rule with such unequal results.
''Give Me a Shove''
The comparative value of personal effort and spe-
cial revival services has often been discussed. Every
pastor has led many to make the supreme decision by
direct personal appeal; but he has found that many
who could not be reached in this way have yielded to
the impulse of revival services. An unusual impact
from some source was needed. The boy sliding down-
hill says to his companion, ''Give me a shove ;" and so
the inertia of a dead level is overcome, and he speeds
on his way. Many persons declare that it was a little
*'push" at the critical moment that led them to take up
the Christian life. Christians ought to stand ready to
give this "push" wherever it is needed. It will call for
great intelligence to know just when to give the push
in each case; and much courage will be required to
break in upon the life of another and influence his
decisions.
One of the noblest Christian men I ever knew told
me it was a personal invitation and grasp of the hand
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 89
in a revival meeting that led him to make the start, and
he said he would probably have held back without that
little ''shove."
Grace Abundant
There can be no question that God has provided
grace sufficient for all the needs of human salvation.
Some men need much more than others, but there is
an abundance for all. There is no condition or emer-
gency which divine grace cannot meet ; it can save the
greatest sinner and the least, the oldest and the
youngest.
And if it ever fails the fault is on the human side;
there is a failure to connect the power of God with the
need of man. And it may be feared that there is more
or less of this failure in all our Christian experience.
We had a pump in our kitchen which connected with
a filtered cistern which was full of good water. But
the pump leaked, and did not work well. It had to be
primed, and there was nothing but polluted river water
from the faucet to do it with. After a time it was
necessary to prime it two or three times and pump
furiously in order to get water. And at last it entirely
refused to work.
There w^as plenty of good water in the cistern, but
w^e could not get it. A plumber came and fixed the
pump, and then it was an easy matter to get all the
water we needed.
And, if w^e fail to get the grace necessary to meet
the emergencies of life, be sure there is trouble with
the human machinery. There is a leak somewhere.
90 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
And under such circumstances increased human exer-
tions will not supply the lack ; we must make the neces-
sary connection with the great reservoir of divine
grace, and we shall find that sufficient.
Graspm§f at Shadows
Grasping at shadows, over and over again, yet
never learning that there is no substance behind them
— such is the result of worldly ambitions. When one
of our children was a baby we held a hand glass before
her for the first time. She took hold of it with her
left hand, drew it toward her, and with her right hand
tried to grasp the image in the glass. Many times she
clutched behind the glass with her little hand, and at
last turned the glass around, and looked behind it to
see why she could not get hold of something. A look
of utter astonishment came over her face when she
discovered that there was nothing to clutch.
It seemed like a fine illustration of how men are
clutching after the world and getting only emptiness.
They get a vision of earthly happiness. It seems real.
They chase it and clutch it, and are astonished that
they get nothing. They get a glimpse of worldly
honor. It is a charming halo. It floats just before
them. They reach out after it, and get nothing. They
reach again and get nothing. They grasp exactly
where the halo was, but there is nothing there, and
late in life they discover that they have been chasing
shadows.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 91
Grievances
If a man is wounded he puts a bandage over the
wound and keeps it out of sight till it heals. If he
takes the bandage off and shows it to everyone he
meets it will never heal. And people do not like to
have old sores shown to them. It is a disgusting
spectacle. Not more so than to have persons uncover
their old grievances and rehearse them to all they
meet. Injuries ten, twenty years old are kept fresh
and sore by this process, and people are disgusted by
the recital of them.
Habit
Rivers are very useful things when they always
run in the same channels. The proud steamboat floats
along them, a thing of use and a thing of beauty. The
bulky products of States and nations are readily trans-
ported from place to place. Farmhouses, towns,
cities spring up along their banks, and the glimmering
water adds a peculiar charm to the landscape. But if
a river overpowers its banks, and forsakes its ancient
bed, it ceases to have either use or beauty — it becomes
an instrument of terror. An ordinary freshet strews
its shores with desolation, and we can readily imagine
what would be the condition of our country if its riv-
ers should choose to run here and there at random
instead of confining themselves to their usual courses.
The Missouri River in time of high water sometimes
plows its way through farms, and transfers territory
from one State to another. The Hoang-Ho changed
92 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
its channel in time of freshet, and estimates placed the
loss of life somewhere from one to seven millions.
All this serves to illustrate a principle common to
human life. Men incline to run in grooves. As soon
as a man chooses his lifework he begins to wear a
channel for himself, and the more thoroughly he con-
fines himself to that channel the larger will be his
attainments in his chosen pursuit. The ablest law-
yers were only lawyers — they aimed to be nothing
else. The ablest preachers were only preachers. The
ablest physicians were only physicians. The most
noted scientists devoted themselves exclusively to sci-
ence. In a certain Northern city was a colored man
who was lawyer, preacher, whitewasher, and man of
all work. He failed at everything.
The power of acquiring habits is inherent in man's
nature; but, like all the blessings of the Creator, it
may be turned to a curse. Habit has made and un-
made men. If habit is our servant it is a most valu-
able assistant ; if it is allowed to become our master it
may grind us in the most abject slavery.
Hardship
Human history has fully proved that hardship is
not a popular, but a very thorough and useful, school-
master. The experiences of our civil war w^ere re-
markably successful in developing strong men out of
commonplace boys. Strange as it may seem, it was
there demonstrated many times that going w-ithout
food and water, sleeping on the frosty ground, march-
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 93
ing under a heavy knapsack through mud and snow,
dragging a boat along a Southern bayou up to the
middle in mud, riding on horseback one hundred
miles a day, and going under the deadly cloud of the
battlefield, would make a man out of poorer material
than almost any other experience.
The great advantage of a soldier's discipline was
that it was useless to complain; and any whining
would only subject to laughter and ridicule. If such
slashing discipline would not cure men of softness,
self-conceit, and always having ague just at the time
of battle, there was little hope that such soldiers would
ever become men.
Parents often shield their children from all hard-
ships, greatly to the detriment of the children. If
parents wish their children to make a mark in life they
will do well to throw them on their own resources, and
let them understand that they must pursue some other
business in life than hanging around home waiting for
their parents to die.
I was passing through a forest one day and saw a
young sapling growing out of the root of an old tree.
There was plenty of good, rich soil all about, but that
foolish sapling insisted on drawing its support from
the parent stalk. I believe that trees never flourish
which grow in that way.
And that young man will flourish most and produce
most fruit who drops like seed into a fresh soil, strikes
down roots for himelf, shoots out branches for him-
self, and draws his nourishment from nature, rather
94 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
than to grow as a sucker at the root of the paren-
tal tree.
We have sometimes — not always — been able to see
how the hardships of life have developed us and made
the most of us. I raised some tomato plants in the
house one spring and kept them carefully under cover
till all the frosts and cold winds were past. In trans-
planting them into pots there was not room for some
of the poorest and smallest, so I set them in the
ground out of doors in the cold, while the choice ones
I kept carefully in the house.
There were several frosts, and many fierce winds
swept over the outdoor plants before warm weather
came. I covered them up a little on very cold nights,
hardly expecting they would live, and not caring
whether they did or not. They looked purple and
pinched for a time, but in the end they were the best
plants I had. While the others were growing up thin
and tall in the house, these were striking their roots
down deep into the soil ; and when the warm weather
finally came they were ready to grow, while the others
were not.
The children of hardship and struggle generally
outstrip the children of ease and luxury.
Heaven
The poet sings :
"Then shall I see, and hear, and know
All I desired or wished below."
Is that true? Of what measure of expansion will
our intellects be capable? The circumference is very
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 95
near the center here; we reach darkness very near
home here — how far shall we stretch out there? Will
mysteries dissolve like mists before the morning sun,
when the light of eternity breaks upon us ; or will they
hang about us as thick and impenetrable as they do in
our earthly history?
Will all doubts be resolved? Will all problems un-
fold their solution to our minds? Will all our igno-
rance be chased away ? Shall we be protected from all
mistakes and errors there; or shall we grope along
slowly, laboriously, unsatisfactorily, in the pursuit of
knowledge as we do here?
Our eyes see the stars in the heavens as little specks
of light. Our telescopes reveal the planets merely as
large shining silver coins — ^with the stamp of God up-
on them, to be sure — but so far away that we cannot
distinctly read the lettering. God undoubtedly sees a
star a thousand million miles away as though it were
present. Will we be invested with some such power?
Will space be annihilated, or partially annihilated, in
the other world, and distant and present come nearer
together? Shall we approach nearer to omnipresence
than we do now, or shall we be limited and hedged in
as we are here ? The great-minded Dr. Samuel John-
son indulged the thought that life is an endless pro-
gression ; and this is undoubtedly the grandest concep-
tion of heaven.
And what expansion may we look for in our affec-
tional natures? What laws will govern our sympa-
thies and loves: the same as now? or shall we be
96 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
under the control of a new code? Shall we love the
same persons as here, and for the same reasons, or
must we start anew, and form new friendships under
the guidance of different principles?
In this world persons thrown together come to like
or dislike each other as the result of association. A
law, whose operation we cannot explain, draws some
together and repels others. Thus likes and dislikes
are generated; thus loves and hates spring up. Un-
der the operation of this law friendships are formed,
the marriage relation is established, the family is per-
petuated, kindred cling together, while neighbors,
clans, tribes, often hate and fight each other. Will
these same principles be in operation in the other
world; or shall we have to begin all over again in
adjusting our relations to our neighbors?
The flesh has something to do with earthly friend-
ships and loves; will our celestial bodies interfere
with the relations of our spirits, as our terrestrial
bodies do?
If it were as easy to answer these questions as to
ask them much of the mist that hangs over the great
hereafter would have been cleared up many centu-
ries ago.
Helping: Others
A sick man was brought into the city from the
country for treatment in the hospital. When the sur-
geons had done all they could for him he was dis-
charged from the hospital, and it was necessary to get
him back to his home, which was eight miles away.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 97
The cars did not run there, he was too weak to ride
in a carriage, and so eight strong men came with a
stretcher — with mattress and pillow and awning over-
head, for it was a very hot summer day — and they
laid the invalid on the stretcher. Four men took hold
of the handles and carried him, while the other four
rode in a two-seated wagon behind. When these had
carried till they were tired they changed places with
the men in the wagon, and so all day long they alter-
nated, and carried the sick man to his home, eight
miles away.
They passed by my door early in the morning, and
set the stretcher down to rest a moment. I went out
to the gate, and looked on a scene that made a deep
impression on my mind. My first feeling was one of
sympathy for the eight men. It was intensely hot
weather, and they were already mopping the perspira-
tion from their foreheads, though it was early in the
mornmg. I said to myself, though not to them, for I
did not wish to discourage them : "You have under-
taken to do a great deal for one of your fellows who
needs help. Your arms will be longer to-night than
they are now; your muscles will be sore; your tem-
pers will be ruffled, and you may be sorry for this
before the sun sets."
This was the surface view — the view we are apt to
take when we see some of our fellows doing so much
for others — wearing out their lives to save others —
giving till their friends say, *'You will catch cold and
die before your time; or you will impoverish your-
98 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
selves and end your days in the poorhouse.'* There
are such people in every community.
I told this story in a sermon at a church where I
had formerly been a pastor, and at the close of the
service one of the leading men said to me: ''You
described my daughter this morning. She has been
running the streets in all kinds of weather, looking
after all sorts of people, until she took cold, and had
to go to bed and couldn't come to hear you this
morning." He said this with an emphasis and impa-
tience which clearly indicated that he thought she was
going beyond all reason in such work. I was quite
inclined to take the same view when I looked on these
eight men.
But there came a second thought, not quite so ob-
vious, but a much truer and better thought. I said
to myself again, "I wonder if any one of these men
would be willing to change places with the poor man
on the stretcher, and become one who needs help
rather than one who is able to help others?" I did not
hesitate a moment to answer : "No ; you could not per-
suade any one of these strong men to become one who
is ministered unto rather than one who is able to min-
ister to others. They are proud of the fact that they
have strength to do just such work as this, hard work
though it is, and they find the highest joy of life in
doing it."
Then I remembered that Christ, '*for the joy that
was set before him, endured the cross, despising the
shame;" and taught us the high lesson that if we are
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 99
determined to save our life we shall lose it, but if we
are willing to lose our life in doing his work we shall
find it. The noblest joy we ever know is the joy of
helping and blessing and saving others.
Heredity
I sat working in my study in the early autumn, and
often my meditations were disturbed by the dropping
of unripe pears from the trees in a garden just out-
side the window. At very brief intervals the stillness
would be broken by a heavy thud as a pear fell to the
ground. They were falling before their time; they
were diseased, worm-eaten. A fly had laid its egg in
the blossom, and from the very beginning the worm
was hatched in the core of the fruit; and this prema-
ture fall was the completion of that deadly work.
Here is an illustration of the progress of evil in
human nature. It grows with the growth of the
soul — festers in the very center of life, born there with
the birth of the child, until at last spiritual death is
the result; and often the sinner suddenly and prema-
turely goes down to the grave with a fall that startles
the community in which he lives.
It is a peculiarity of a bean vine that it never grows
in a straight line, but will grow round and round a
pole which is set for it to run upon. Probably not one
person in ten can tell, without looking, which way the
bean vine twists about the pole, whether to the right
or left.
The secret of this twist in the bean vine can be
^RQBvQ
100 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
traced back to the nature of the bean. It has been
asserted that the little germ lying in the heart of the
bean is already curved, and ready as soon as it grows
to follow a curved line. I will not be responsible for
the truth of this assertion. A person can soak a bean
in water for a few hours, and open it, and determine
for himself. At any rate, the secret of the twist in
the bean vine lies in the very heart of the bean, and in
other beans before it.
And if you search for the secret of a bad life you
will find it in a bad heart. If you wonder why some
families so persistently run into certain vices — one to
drunkenness, another to dishonesty, another to licen-
tiousness— ^you will find the explanation in certain
biases which they inherited from their ancestors.
There was a twist in the very germ of life within them
when they were born.
Some one will say, at once, that the twist in a bean
vine cannot be cured; it is in the very nature of the
plant. You may try to wind it the other way around
the pole as often as you like, and it will quietly slip
down again, and begin to go up its own way. I have
tried it more than once.
Certainly ! Man cannot take the twist out of a bean
vine. But God has never tried to do it. Let him who
made it but put his hand upon it, and he could easily
make it go the other way around the pole.
And it is God who undertakes to take the twist out
of crooked human nature. It is the peculiarity of the
Gospel method of salvation that God does the work;
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 101
and if that be the case no amount of depravity or
crookedness can vitiate it.
Hoe-mcn
Their mission is to cut up weeds, and the process
keeps them bright and sharp. We may oppose them,
as the stone or baked earth opposes the progress of the
hoe, but they will cut up weeds in spite of all opposi-
tion. Hoe-men are great benefactors of the race. In
defiance of unpopularity they continue to uproot er-
ror and mellow the soil about truth. That they are
often, perhaps always, unpopular is proof of their
great utility. Men will often defend their vices much
more courageously than they will their virtues. I am
not sure that any of us enjoy seeing other people slash
around in our gardens, even though they profess to be
cutting down weeds. We prefer to do it ourselves;
but the trouble is we often neglect it.
This process of hoeing only mellows the soil, to be
sure, and weeds will spring up again with renewed
vigor; but we are likely to get hoed again by some
one, if we are not wise enough to do it ourselves. In
the meantime, also, the plants are getting a good start.
Our best and most frequent hoeings come in youth.
Almost anyone is willing to give us attention at this
period of our existence. And we probably need it
most at this period. The plants are small and tender,
while the weeds are hardy and vigorous. As the sum-
mer of life advances our gardeners get weary, or, it
may be, conceive a great respect for us, and so do not
102 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
quite dare to do their duty. This often happens. It
is very unfortunate for a man to be habitually wrong
and not know it himself, while he is so hedged about
by a kind of false dignity that no one dares tell him
of his faults. It is well for ''that boy," and "that girl,"
that people do not hesitate to make a little more free
with their misdoings.
Another reason why we are neglected later in life
is because our gardeners see that the corn, and pota-
toes, and onions have got a good start, and they think
themselves sure of a crop without further trouble.
The difficulty of getting at the weeds at this season
of the year also has some weight. The vegetables
have become large and hide them. At first they looked
for plants among the weeds, now they look for weeds
among the plants. In this way many weeds are suf-
fered to grow, and as summer passes on to autumn
these weeds become tall and rank, and the vegetables
are once more hidden from view. In fact, such a gar-
den looks like one that has not been hoed at all. A
casual observer might fail to see the difference. But
there is a vast difference. If a garden has been thor-
oughly hoed during the early part of the summer it
will bear some neglect during the latter part. And if
the boy has been faithfully trained the man will not
need so much attention.
In an unhoed garden there may be as many plants
as in one thoroughly hoed, but they are tall, pale, and
fruitless, hardly distinguishable from weeds, and prac-
tically no better than weeds. On the other hand, the
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 103
garden that has been hoed in early summer, although
apparently full of weeds, is likewise full of fruits.
Down among the weeds, if we will only look for it,
there is a rich, ripe harvest. I once saw a man dig-
ging some potatoes by the roadside, and he first with
a scythe mowed down a rank crop of weeds that was
growing above the potatoes.
It often happens that old men's minds are very
weedy ; suffered to become so late in life, after the
plants were well matured. Offensive habits become
fastened on them; wrong views of life cut them off
from all sympathy with the present; forbidding tem-
pers repel all who approach, and they are looked upon
as gardens containing nothing but weeds. If, how-
ever, we will take the trouble to enter fully into their
acquaintance and history, if we will w^ork our way in
among the weeds, though we may get pricked by
thistles, and covered with burs, we shall find an abun-
dant harvest of good works.
Home
The true home is always a place of love ; the atmos-
phere of love pervades the farthest corners of the
house. There is not merely love in the family room,
where the inmates gather together; but there is love
at the table; there is love in the kitchen; and all
through the hours of the night in every chamber the
inmates are breathing the air of love. If a child
awakens in the darkness it feels safe, for it is at home;
father and mother are near by, brothers and sisters are
104 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
all around. If a cry of distress comes from the far-
thest room, of the highest story, at the midnight hour,
the whole house is aroused in a moment. One makes
a light, another quickens the fire, another goes for a
physician, and everything is done that love and anx-
iety can suggest. And though the call of distress may
come from the servants' rooms there are still the same
tender solicitude and kind ministration.
So it is in the great home of God's children. Love
pervades it. The good Father loves us more tenderly
than words can express. And though we may have
attained no dearer relation than that of servant,
though we may sleep in the farthest attic of the uni-
verse, yet every cry of suffering catches the Father's
ear and brings to our need his kindest ministrations.
He has said, 'Tike as a father pitieth his children, so
the Lord pitieth them that fear him."
Humiliation of Christ
It was a spectacle of infinite love and self-sacrifice
when the Son of God came down to save sinful men.
The lower, more sinful, more degraded the person
we love, the more that love will cost us of humilia-
tion and self-sacrifice. And so we are accustomed to
choose our friends from among the virtuous and re-
spectable, lest we should suffer too much on account
of our love. We steer clear of those whose acquaint-
ance and friendship will cost us very much of money,
pride, or social standing. We hold the vile and de-
graded at a safe distance, because a love for such will
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 105
be a great load upon us. We will not let ourselves
know the needs and sufferings of those about us for
fear it will prove too great a tax on our purses and
sympathies.
It is hard work so to love the degraded and sinful
as to lift them up and save them. The most of men
never do enough of this intense loving to get hardened
to it. It is like straining muscles that are not accus-
tomed to work.
Once in a great while we let our love fasten on
some poor creature, and the result is that our feelings
are deeply stirred, our sympathies are put on the rack,
our purses are bled, and the chances are that we get
tired of it before the task is finished, and would gladly
turn it over to some one else. And when one such ex-
perience is ended we take a long rest before we enter
upon another.
We need not be told how absolutely unlike all this
was the voluntary humiliation and self-sacrifice of
Christ. He came with help and salvation to all the
sinful, sorrowing millions of earth; and he did not
stop among the respectable classes of society, but
stooped down to lift up the lowest and vilest; stooped
down to such, when doing so turned the more respect-
able classes against him.
Immanence of God
The universe takes its dimensions from that God
who fills it. It could not be less than boundless, or it
would not contain God. God fills it, and fills it with
106 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
such a volume and intensity of presence that there is
room in it for no other being like himself. There is
room in it, however, for subordinate beings like our-
selves, who live in God as a dwelling place, according
to the daring illustration of the Bible. A vessel filled
with large stones will hold no more stones, but there
is yet room in it for water, or air, or fine seed. A
building filled full with the atmosphere wnll yet find
room for the sunlight.
In like manner, the universe has no room for two
such beings as the Christian's God; but there is room
for one such being, and subordinate beings like our-
selves who live in him and by him.
The same is true of all material things. God per-
vades them, and upholds them, and is necessary to
their existence. He finds rooms in the universe for
the various forms of matter, which are distinct from
him yet dependent on him. And it is most likely that
all attempts to prove the unreality of material things
will result in failure. Jealousy for the honor of God
does not make it necessary to deny the actual exist-
ence of everything else in the universe.
Importunity in Ptaycr
Our children have sometimes asked me for some-
thing, and I did not respond at once, but kept the
thing in mind, and the next day have said, *'What was
it you asked for yesterday?" They had forgotten all
about it. Such wants are not very pressing.
If God should ask many of us, ''What was it you
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 107
asked for yesterday?" or "last week?" it might trouble
us to remember.
Once, however, the little girl broke her doll car-
riage, and brought it to me with tears in her eyes, to
know if I could fix it. I looked it over and told her I
thought I could. Then she wanted to know if I would
fix it. I did not reply at once; so she clung to me,
pleaded, and gave me no peace, until I finally said that
I could not fix it at once, but would do so when I
had time.
This satisfied her; but at short intervals she would
say, "Papa, are you going to fix my carriage to-day?"
"Papa, here is a letter for you ; you didn't fix my car-
riage yet," until I had to fix it in self-defense. I
found out that she wanted it fixed ; and God may de-
sire to find out if we really want anything.
Ingratitude
I once took some little trouble to open a gate and
release a small dog that had been accidentally shut up
in a narrow inclosure, and the animal was no sooner
outside the gate than it turned and barked at me spite-
fully and furiously. Such ingratitude in a dog may
be overlooked; but in respectable human beings grati-
tude is regarded as a natural and necessary virtue, and
ingratitude has justly been called the basest of
crimes. In the relations of men it is no uncommon
thing for favors to be rewarded with ill will and
injury, until many persons get discouraged in trying
to do good.
108 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
The most widespread ingratitude, however, is, no
doubt, on the part of men toward God. Multitudes
receive his favors year after year and requite them
with indifference, neglect, and often positive dislike.
Men receive from God riches, honor, health, and hap-
piness, and then willfully and persistently do what
they know will displease the divine Giver. And in such
a course they comfort themselves with the thought that
God never gets discouraged in doing good to sinful
men.
Knocking;
Christ says, ''Knock, and it shall be opened unto
you." Bunyan represents Mercy as knocking at the
wicket gate which leads to the way of life, and the
only response for a time was the barking of a
fierce dog within the gate, which greatly frightened
her. This dog represents the obstacles that stand
in our way when knocking at the gate of every
blessing.
An incident of personal experience has fixed this
fact in my mind as perhaps nothing else could. One
beautiful summer morning I planned to climb Mount
Skiddaw, in the north of England, and see the sun-
rise. It was necessary to start up the mountain about
two o'clock in the morning — long before daylight —
as the distance was great. I was a young man then,
with a proud contempt of guides, and so went out
of the village the night before toward the mountain,
that I might learn the w^ay so thoroughly as to be able
to follow it in the darkness of the morning. About
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 109
two o'clock in the morning I started, but soon lost my
way in the darkness. It was either come back or go
straight up the mountain side without reference to
paths. I decided to do the latter.
I soon came to the gate of a private castle, which
I had seen the night before well up the side of the
mountain, and determined to knock at the keeper's
lodge for information. No sooner did the vigorous
thumping on the gate break the stillness of night than
a huge watch dog presented his head over the high
wall and set up a vigorous and savage growling. I at
once decided that I could do without information, and
made my way up the mountain side as best I could,
but did not reach the top till long after sunrise. I con-
fess that all these years I have felt half ashamed of
my retreat, but I had heard bad stories about English
bulldogs.
Bunyan has truly represented the case. No sooner
does the sinner knock at the gate of mercy than the
devil begins to bark and frighten him away. Like the
famous pilgrims, we must knock "more than once or
twice," and at length the dog will cease to bark, and
the gate will be opened to us.
Last Words
If a man is ever going to see things in their right
light it is when he stands on the border of two worlds,
one of which he is leaving and the other entering. He
can look back over this life, and have the benefit that
experience gives; while it seems to be a fact that a
110 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
clearer light shines on him from the other life while
he occupies that position. It is this fact that leads
men to listen when a dying man speaks.
A Christian man was stricken down by paralysis,
and as I talked with him at his bedside he said to me,
with great energy : 'It's all right. I am learning some
lessons here that I need to know before I can get my
diploma." In a few weeks he finished his schooling
on earth. Many a theologian has failed, through
labored pages, to say it as well.
A faithful Christian woman was stricken by the
same dread malady; and she had, in her helplessness,
preeminently one sorrow and one joy. She enjoyed
beyond measure the social meetings of the church, and
her favorite hymn, which she often started, was,
''Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine." As I talked with
her she wept in deep sorrow because she could not
go to the prayer meeting any more ; and in connection
with that sorrow she said: "It is a great joy and com-
fort to me now that I did go when I could." It means
a great deal to be able to say that in the dying hour.
Law of Love
It is true that we cannot make ourselves love Christ
by an effort of the will, for love must seek its object
in harmony with the laws of mind; but we can be-
come acquainted with him, and the laws of mind will
do the rest.
It is one of the laws of our being that persons
thrown together come to love each other — unless there
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 111
is some radical and persistent incompatibility, which
is a rare exception.
It is because of this law that persons are responsible
for the love which so often leads to ill-assorted mar-
riages. Persons should not associate with those whom
they ought not to marr}^ ; it is hazardous business.
And it is this law which often saves loveless mar-
riages from total wreck. Most persons come to love
each other when they live together for a length of
time.
There is a baby in the orphanage a year old. You
do not love that baby. You care nothing about it;
you know nothing about it. You cannot make your-
self love that baby. But there is something you can
do. You can adopt it as your own child, take it to
your home, feed it, care for it, sleep with it, and at
the end of six months you will love it so that you
could not be induced to let it go out of your house.
I knew a poor man who took a little baby to keep
for pay. He needed the money, and agreed to keep
this little child for so much per week. After a few
months the pay ceased; and this poor family fed,
clothed, reared this child to manhood for nothing,
though financially not able to do so, because they had
learned to love it, and could not bear to let it go.
Apply this philosophy of human nature and human
life to the Saviour, who has declared that he would
draw all men unto him, and a love for Christ will be
the inevitable result. I heard a young convert say in
a love feast, "If any man does not love Jesus it is be-
112 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
cause he does not know him." That was a very wise
remark. There is something so beautiful and lovable
about Christ that if we will only know him he will
take care of the rest.
*'Lct Your Light Shine'*
I lived in a certain village where, in the absence of
street lamps, the people used to put lamps in their
front windows at night to light the passers-by. It
was a beautiful custom, and illustrates a great spirit-
ual truth.
As Christians we should not forget that our light
is only borrowed light, and the light we shed on
others is only reflected light. Christ is the sun, we
are the moon, deriving our light from him.
The moon only shines because the sun shines upon
it, and the sun's light is reflected by the moon, as a
hand mirror will throw the light of the sun about in
any direction. A dark corner, which the sun could
not reach directly, can be lighted up by a reflector;
but it is the sunlight that lights up the dark corner by
means of the reflector.
A woman had been sick for a few days, and, when
well enough to be about the room, saw her son playing
in the street in front of the house. She wished to call
him, but thought it imprudent to open a window or
go to the door, and so took a hand mirror, which she
held obliquely toward the sun, as it was shining
directly in at the window. The hand glass threw the
rays of the sun into the boy's face, and he looked up
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 113
to see where the light came from. By this means his
mother was able to beckon to him to come into the
house.
In like manner we may reflect the light of Christ
upon others, and perchance may arrest their attention
and beckon them to a higher and better life.
Now, there are two ways by which the light of the
moon can be obscured for us ; either when something
gets between the sun and moon, or when something
gets between us and the moon. An eclipse of the
moon represents the former, and a cloud passing over
the face of the moon represents the latter.
A hand mirror will represent the same interesting
fact. The light of the sun falls on the mirror and is
reflected to a dark corner which the sun cannot reach.
The sunlight may be cut off from the dark corner in
two ways: an object may be interposed between the
mirror and the sun, or between the mirror and the
dark corner. In either case the sunlight will be shut
away from the dark corner.
All this illustrates the spiritual light which Chris-
tians may shed on their fellow-men. Whenever any-
thing comes between the Christian and Christ the
heavenly light is in a moment obscured, not only for
himself, but for his fellow-men upon whom he may
shine. He cannot shine upon others while Christ does
not shine upon him. Again, the Christian's light is
obscured for a fellow-man whenever anything comes
between him and that fellow-man. Differences, mis-
understandings, disputes may produce this result.
114 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
Peculiarities of temperament in a Christian may kill
his influence with others, while yet the light of Christ
falls on his own soul. It is necessary to keep the
channel open both Godward and manward.
Life Eternal
What a joy it will be to get matters into just the
right condition, and have them remain so. It will be
a new experience, for such is not the case in this
world.
A man grows to maturity; his physical and mental
powers are at their best ; he has a prosperous business,
ample means, a comfortable home, and a pleasant fam-
ily about him, and he says to himself, "Now I have
got things where I want them, and all I ask is that
they remain where they are." But that is not a ra-
tional expectation in this world.
In a few years his bodily powers begin to decline;
his hand trembles so that he cannot carry a glass of
water to his lips without being reminded that he is
growing old ; his step falters ; his eyes grow dim, and
he must disfigure his face with glasses; gray hairs
appear; the mind is hampered by the declining body;
the memory fails; protracted mental exertion becomes
impossible, and he is compelled to admit that he is
not what he once was.
In the meantime his family has grown up and gone
from him. Some of them perhaps are lying in the
grave; and his steps awaken dismal echoes in the old
house which was once the scene of gladness. It may
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 115
be that in addition to all these changes his prop-
erty has become impaired and he feels the pinch
of poverty. But a wreck remains of all that was
once so satisfactory.
How our hearts long for an experience that will
abide! The glory of the other life is that it is eternal.
We shall get things just as w^e want them, and just
as God wants them, and they will stay so forever.
Life More Abundant
It is quite evident that the measure of vitality is
not the same in any two persons. All are alive, but
all have not the same fullness of life. The pulse is
quicker and stronger in some than in others.
That the new birth does not endows all Christians
with the same amount of spiritual life is likewise a
matter of common observation. A brother minister
used an illustration of this difference for which I
gladly give him credit.
In the springtime two lambs make their appear-
ance on the green earth, and one week after birth one
of them is bounding over the pasture, kicking its heels
into the air, so full of life that it can hardly contain
itself; while the other is under the kitchen stove in a
basket, wrapped up in cotton, just breathing, and little
more. Both lambs are alive, but there is a vast differ-
ence in the amount of life they possess.
Christians exhibit the same variations in spiritual
vitality. It will avail very little to ask the reasons
why. It is more to the purpose to consider that the
116 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
lamb under the stove may recover from its feebleness
and become as full of life as the other ; and so may the
weakest Christian grow to be strong, robust, and full
of spiritual life.
Like Christ
It doesn't say that we shall be equal to Christ, but
like him. We shall not be as great, not as exalted, not
as wise, not as glorious as the matchless Christ, but
like him; possessing the same elements of character
in our humble measure that he possesses without
measure.
The humblest man or woman may have as much
character as an angel; and character is the supreme
test. A small diamond may flash the sunlight as bril-
liantly as a large one ; and a humble saint may reflect
the Christ-likeness as perfectly as Paul or Luther or
Wesley.
A gas jet looks like the sun. It is small indeed, and
the sun is immense, but it has the true sun-likeness ; is
of the same essence as the sun; gives forth the same
light and heat; and confers identically the same bless-
ings on mankind in small measure as the sun does in
superabundant measure. It resembles the sun as much
as does a burning world. And the humblest saint
may have the Christ-likeness as perfectly brought out
as a prophet or an apostle.
And there are first that shall be last, and the last
first. How trivial are the differences in earthly great-
ness ! In comparing earthly fires with the sun it matters
little whether we use a candle or a burning mountain ;
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 117
both sink into insignificance, but they may equally
have the sun-likeness.
And judged by the standard of Christ's likeness, in
the great day, many apostles, and prophets, and mar-
tyrs, and great men of earth may fall to the rear;
while some humble, unknown ones ma> come to the
front as the most perfect types of Christians. Here is
a kind of greatness that the humblest may strive for.
And it will be honor enough — glory enough — to be
like Christ; think his thoughts; feel as he feels; and
shine with the same beauty of character that has made
him the admiration of the world. It will be heaven
enough to be in our measure what Christ is in his.
Limiting; God
Dr. Patrick Fairbairn, the celebrated Scotch divine,
in a lecture before his class in the Free Church Col-
lege, Glasgow, which I heard, told of a minister who
was thrown into great perplexity respecting his duty
in a certain matter, but after long praying and wait-
ing could get no light. Finally he became impatient,
and fixed a test to decide the matter. In going to a
certain place he determined, if he found matters so
and so, to decide one way, but if he found matters
otherwise to decide the other way. When he reached
his destination he found things entirely different from
any of his forecasts, and was more puzzled than ever.
Dr. Fairbairn thought it wrong to make such tests,
and advised patient waiting for providential guidance,
however long it might require.
118 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
Love for Christ
Love for Christ is the first grace planted in the soul
at conversion, and it is often very intense at the very
outset. The Saviour comes to our cold, dark natures
to renovate them, and the first thing he does is to make
a fire; and this fire serves to give light and warmth
while other things are put to rights.
A company of pioneers go into a dense forest to
clear the land and make for themselves a home. All
is cold and gloomy and desolate about them. The
first thing they do is to build a rousing fire in the
midst of the desolation, to dispel the gloom, frighten
away the wild beasts, and give light and warmth to
those who are shivering in the cold.
It may be months, even years, before these trees will
all be felled, the beasts destroyed, houses erected, and
the land put under thorough cultivation ; but they may
have a cheerful fire from the ver}^ first, and this fire
will be of great service in all their subsequent
struggles.
In like manner, it will require many years to de-
velop complete Christian characters, destroy all our
spiritual enemies, and bring to perfection the graces
of the soul; but in the meantime there may be a fire
in the camp, the love of Christ may be burning
brightly in our hearts from the hour of conversion
until the hour of final triumph — a light to guide and
a fire to warm us. This fire is a positive necessity.
The affairs of life cannot be carried on without a fire;
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 119
no more can the processes of the Christian life go for-
ward without the love of Christ burning in the soul.
It is an assurance of salvation, a fitness for Christian
work, a comfort in trouble, and a defense against the
enemies of the Christian life.
Love of Money
I knew a mechanic, a member of a Christian church,
who was a faithful Christian while he was working
for wages and living in a humble way. But he de-
veloped a love for money and an ability to get it. He
used to buy old houses in the outskirts of the city and
repair them for sale or rental. In this way he made
large profits; but as money increased religion de-
creased. A mean, miserly spirit grew upon him.
Stormy days he spent straightening crooked nails in
the old buildings he had under repair; and after he
became a rich man I have seen him riding through the
streets of the city sitting on a board thrown across the
top of a dilapidated one-horse wagon, with an old
shabby coat on his back, and a tall, battered, ancient
silk hat on his head, which dated back to the days of
his piety and respectability.
He ceased to give to the cause of Christ, took no in-
terest in the affairs of religion, and lost all hope of a
blessed hereafter. When he drew near the end of
life — a miserly, miserable, old rich man — he said that
if he could be induced to give away all his money he
might save his soul, but as it was he felt that he was
going to perdition. He did not give away his money,
120 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
but died as he had lived during the latter years of
his life.
The Bible says that the love of money is a "root
of all evil." In fruit raising they take some hardy
variety that will live in all climates, and bud into it
any number of different varieties, so that one tree will
bear many kinds of fruit. I have seen a pear tree
whose every limb was a different variety. Such a
hardy plant is this love of money. It will survive all
circumstances, and live in all climates, and upon it
may be grafted every species of evil. Almost every
conceivable sin has been committed through love of
money.
Love that Is Warm
There is no dearth of love, but it too often requires
some great occasion to call it into exercise. We may
strike fire with a flint, but it is a laborious way of
making a fire. .We may kindle a fire by rubbing two
sticks together, but it is a long, tedious process. The
ordinary experiences of life do not arouse us to action.
We pass men by every day without a word of kind-
ness; but if some great calamity falls upon them we
pour out our sympathies in overabundance. We must
see men on the brink of destruction before we will
run to the rescue.
A wretched murderer in New Jersey was in prison
awaiting his execution, and, as is usual, he was over-
run by ministers and Christians urging him to repent
and believe on Christ ; but he put them fiercely away,
saying he knew and cared nothing about Christ. And
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 121
then he made this terrible remark : 'If I had received
one tenth part of this attention twenty years ago I
would never have been here." We wait too long, and
then overdo the matter. We should take fire more
easily. The love within us should be near the surface,
where men can warm themselves by it in the daily
intercourse of life.
Love that Saves Must Be Mutual
The love of God is the basis of human salvation;
but the love must be returned if that object is accom-
plished. Mutual love is salvation.
This great truth respecting the relations of God and
men is most beautifully illustrated by human relations.
The law seems to be universal that love must be mu-
tual if happiness is to flow from it. Love is a joyous
thing when it is mutual, but if it exists on one side
only the result is miser}^
The Roman poet said many centuries ago:
"Yes, loving is a painful thrill,
And not to love more painful still;
But O, it is the worst of pain
To love and not be loved again."
If in the relation of husband and wife one loves but
not the other there can be happiness to neither. Such
a relation can be attended by nothing but pain and
heartache.
And if parents love their children but the children
do not return the love, or if children try to love cruel
122 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
and unloving parents, such a household will be the
center of strife and misery.
The same great principle holds in the household
of God — ^mutual love is the foundation of eternal
happiness.
Surely there is no failure on God's part; he loves
us with an infinite tenderness. As children of God we
have this matchless consolation — God loves us. In
all our toils, and sorrows, and sufferings; in pain, and
sickness, and mourning, and death; in turmoil, and
conflict, and defeat ; in struggle, and failure, and loss ;
in hatreds, and jealousies, and strifes; in shortcom-
ings, and wanderings, and sins, we have the supreme
consolation that God loves us, whoever else does not.
What if it were otherwise? What if he hated us,
as some earthly parents do their children? What if
he were indifferent to our welfare? It would be the
easiest thing in the world for him to plague, and
thwart, and torment us, if his heart were cold toward
his earthly children. We should be but babies in his
hands.
But God loves us. The one great, blessed truth
that is blazoned on nature and revelation is that *'God
is love." And this sublime truth shall survive "the
wreck of matter and the crush of worlds." But, alas !
this is not enough. A one-sided love even here is bar-
ren of salvation and joy. The love must be mutual if
eternal happiness is to result from it. We must love
God in return.
If it were possible for us to love God while he did
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 123
not love us ; if he were a being that hated and despised
us, and we in our helplessness should try to stretch up
toward him with love and tenderness, our love would
bring no happiness to him, while it would bring only
anguish and despair to ourselves.
And God's great love for us only causes him to
grieve and mourn over us, as a father does over a
wayward son, so long as we do not return that love.
This great thought may be powerless to move us, but
we ought to be moved by the solemn and sad thought
that God's unspeakable love cannot bring joy and sal-
vation to us so long as we do not return that love.
The ground of eternal happiness is a mutual love be-
tween God and his children.
Logfgfagfe
The athletes on the race course never thought of
carrying luggage with them, and they even stripped
themselves of clothing just as far as possible. This
rendered their limbs free for rapid action. The same
principle applies in all races. When horses are put
on the track the harness and wagon are made as light
as possible, and a driver of light weight secured. If
horses have an advantage from age, or other circum-
stances, this is overcome by putting a weight upon
them.
The great drawback to travel is luggage. All en-
joyment is destroyed by worry over trunks, boxes,
and bundles. And if anything is lost we are at once
depressed in spirits. When a young man I traveled
124 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
all over Europe with no more luggage than I could
carry in a valise in one hand, independent of cabs and
porters ; but I have never been so wise since.
Soldiers on the rapid march leave everything be-
hind that can possibly be spared ; and in setting out on
a campaign knapsacks and tents are all packed up and
put under guard, while they advance with just so
much as is absolutely necessary and no more. In
advancing on Port Hudson during the civil war all
these things were left behind, and we never saw them
again. And I have seen soldiers in the rapid charge,
who could not keep up with the advancing line, throw
away their last blanket. Keep up they must, though
they strip themselves to barely clothing and arms.
The line of march is always marked by luggage
thrown away — especially if it is a forced march.
People start out with far more than they have any
need for.
Christians forget that they are running a race, or
making a march, or a journey, or fighting a battle —
all Scripture illustrations of the religious life — and
that earthly luggage is the greatest hindrance to their
progress. The path toward heaven is marked by lug-
gage thrown away. Some are wise enough to do this,
while others hold on to the luggage and thus make
no progress. Much of this luggage cannot be carried
to the better country ; it must be left behind. Some of
it may be sent on before, and we shall find it there on
our arrival.
We can express our baggage ahead to a foreign
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 12S
country, and find it when we arrive. Or we may for-
ward money to a foreign bank, and draw on it when
we reach that country. This seems to be the only way
to get money to heaven. We cannot carry it wnth us.
And most people know how to send money on ahead
to the better country.
Trying to drag earth heavenward is fruitless busi-
ness. It must either be sent on ahead or left behind.
"The bird let loose in Eastern skies,
When hastening fondly home,
Ne'er stoops to earth her wings, nor flies
Where idle warblers roam ;
But high she shoots through air and light,
Above all low delay,
Wliere nothing earthly bounds her flight,
Nor shadow dims her way.
"So grant me, God, from every care
And stain of passion free,
Aloft, through virtue's purer air,
To hold my course to thee !
No sin to cloud, no lure to stay
My soul as home she springs;
Thy sunshine on her joyful way,
Thy freedom in her wings."
MafHagfe
Men instinctively and wisely seek wives quite the
opposite of themselves in their leading characteristics.
Strong, positive, self-willed men very generally get
wives who are gentle and yielding; and ''strong-
minded" women are generally mated with men of
"easy-going" disposition. It would not be safe to as-
126 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
sert that persons choose companions the opposite of
themselves because they are not admirers of them-
selves. Humility is not at the bottom of this choice,
but a God-given wisdom, for which men can claim no
credit. '*God is wiser than man," and his method
seems to work well.
A vine and a tree can grow together in perfect har-
mony— the only danger being that the vine with its
overtenderness may choke the tree to death. The vine
may be either the man or the woman. But two great,
strong trees growing too near together chafe and fret
each other. In fact, it is on record that two such trees
in a high wind chafed their branches together until
they set each other on fire. Such results are not
utterly unknown in human relations.
Men and "Women in the Church
It is stated that in the Congregational Church there
are twice as many women as men. In all the churches
I have served the proportion is even larger. In
two churches there were nearly three times as many
women as men, and in another nearly four times as
many. I looked carefully over the membership of
four churches of which I was pastor and found
twenty-five men whose wives were not Christians,
and two hundred and thirty-nine wives whose hus-
bands were not Christians. These figures tell their
own story.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 127
** Narrow Is the Way ^
Our soldiers confined in the famous Libby Prison
in Richmond succeeded in digging a small tunnel out
under the prison wall, a tunnel so narrow that only
by the most abject crawling could men get themselves
through it; so narrow that knapsacks, blankets, can-
teens, and haversacks had to be all left behind; and
if a man were unusually large it was necessary to strip
off coat and overcoat in order to get through. It is
not recorded that any of them complained because
they were obliged to leave these things behind; they
were glad on any terms to escape from a loathsome
prison to the land of home and freedom.
The spiritual way is so narrow that men must strip
off all their sins, and when they have done this they
will not need so much room. The sinner needs a
broad road, the Christian finds a narrow way suffi-
cient. The narrow way was wide enough for Qirist,
and the disciple is not above his Lord.
The sinner's march along the broad way is like the
progress of the days from summer to w^inter — each
day a little shorter and darker, each night a little
longer and more dismal, until storms and frost hem
us round; while the Christian's march to heaven in the
narrow way is like the progress of the days from win-
ter to summer — each day longer, warmer, and more
sunny than the last, until the snows begin to melt, and
the streams to rush along; until the birds begin to
sing, the grasses to spring from the earth, the flowers
128 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
to bloom, the trees to take on their beautiful foliage,
and we break at last into the fragrance, melody, and
glory of summer. The broad way grows narrower
and darker; while the narrow way grows broader and
brighter till it ends in the freedom and blessedness of
heaven. It "shineth more and more unto the perfect
day."
Nearsighted and Farsighted Christians
Some persons are nearsighted. They can see only
things near at hand. The glories of the heavens
above are shut out from their view; the beauties of a
distant mountain landscape are not for them. It is a
great misfortune.
Other persons are farsighted. For them the poet
expressed a great truth when he said :
" *Tis distance lends enchantment to the view,
And robes the mountain in its azure hue."
Things near at hand are unobserved, or obscure,
while things far away have a peculiar charm.
Ancient and not modern history is their favorite
study. iEsop in one of his fables tells of an astron-
omer who, while w^alking along one night gazing at
the heavens, fell into a well. A neighbor helped him
out, but in so doing advised him when studying the
stars to keep one eye on the earth.
Both nearsightedness and farsightedness are dis-
eases of the eye, and are great misfortunes. The per-
fect eye sees objects both near at hand and afar off
with distinctness.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 129
Some Christians are nearsighted in spiritual things.
They can see the wants of those immediately about
them, but are blind to the needs of those across the
great water. They have warm hearts for the woes of
those living in their own country, but are frigid to-
ward all enterprises in foreign lands. They are
ardent advocates of home missions, but will bluntly
say that they have no interest in foreign missions.
Other Christians are farsighted. They let people
starve on the same street with them, while their eyes
stretch across all oceans, and they pray and plan for
the salvation of the heathen. Struggling enterprises
in their own country appeal to deaf ears, while their
hearts melt at every cry for help from across the
water.
Both of these conditions are defects of spiritual
vision. The perfect Christian sees the needs of men
at home and abroad, and subscribes to the greatest
sentence that John Wesley uttered — "The world is my
parish" — which is only a free translation of Christ's
declaration, "The field is the world." Every intelli-
gent Christian ought to aim to be broad enough and
large enough every way to take Christ's view of the
salvation of men.
Christ's view is the only true view. It has been
said that some daring spirit is projecting a flying ma-
chine which shall shoot several miles up into the
heavens, so as to survey the earth on a large scale in
the interests of the weather bureau. We must mount
up to heaven in order to get a correct view of earth —
130 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
Christ's view. And when we have secured Christ's
view we need look no farther, but proceed to carn^
out his comprehensive plan for the salvation of the
world.
Neutrality
In the Atlantic Ocean a conflict is continually going
on between opposing streams of warm and cold water.
Warm streams flow northward through the ocean car-
rying warmth and fruits and flowers to all the coasts ;
while there are counter currents from the north, in
the ocean, which bring icebergs and fogs in their
tracks.
In human life there are two great currents of thought
continually opposing each other; one bringing warmth
and life to men, the other desolation and death.
Those who think they see some advantage in the
advocacy of evil, and those who are sure that right
is right, and ought to prevail and will prevail, are
contending for the mastery. It is a deadly and an
uncompromising conflict. No truce, no armistice, no
adjustment, no peace till the right triumphs!
It becomes us to inquire to which great current of
thought we contribute our little of influence and
power. Are we contributing to lower the moral tem-
perature of the world, or to elevate it? Is our influ-
ence arctic or tropical? Is the product of our lives
fogs and icebergs, or flowers and fruits?
Who wants to be neutral in such a conflict? He
unmans himself who entertains such a wish. A man
cannot honorably maintain himself on the fence. It
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 131
is not meant to be a permanent place of abode. There
is no house on the fence to live in ; no chair to sit on ;
no bed to sleep in. It is not a place of comfort or
safety ; for there is constant danger of falling off. We
can only honorably stay on a fence long enough to
climb over from one side to the other — which we have
a right to do. And we ought to get over quickly —
for it is a suspicious attitude to maintain.
And if we are on the fence we are not neutral, after
all, for that very attitude gives aid to the side of evil
by withholding our influence from the side of right.
Christ knocked all respectability and merit out of neu-
trality when he said, "He that is not with me is
against me."
Let governments proclaim neutrality, if they will,
when a strong nation is squeezing the life out of a
weak one; but let men take sides in the great conflict
that is going on in the world between right and
wrong.
Novcl-fcadingf
A friend told me that she called at a farmhouse one
summer day between four and five o'clock, and found
the broom in the middle of the floor, with the dinner
dishes on the table still unwashed, while the mistress
of the house, in a slatternly dress, was sitting on the
floor in a corner, reading a yellow-covered novel. I
wish to confess that when about seventeen years old I
read the Neu^ York Ledger, a famous stor}^ paper, one
entire winter, and the time was worse than wasted. I
lived an unreal life, in an unreal atmosphere, among
132 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
unreal characters; while I was weary of real life and
sadly neglected its duties. I have great reason to be
ashamed of that winter.
If a great character and a great life structure are to
be erected, the period of youth must be given to some-
thing more solid than the ordinary novels that fill up
our libraries. I saw in the morning sunlight a grand
iceberg floating in mid-ocean. It was a hundred feet
high, or more, and seemed like a huge crystal palace.
It appeared to be light and airy, and seemed to rest
gracefully on the surface of the water ; but those who
knew best estimated that fully three quarters of the
mass of ice was under water, out of sight. It required
three fourths, or more, of the whole to be buried out
of sight as a foundation on which the other fourth
might mount in beauty up into the sky.
It is thus with all grand and massive structures.
They seem light and graceful, but they rest on broad
and deep foundations. If youth is spent over solid
studies, which serve as a substructure, out of sight, we
may expect to see arise from such a foundation a noble
character and a useful life.
OBedience the Test of Love
It is a very severe test. Whoever pledges absolute
obedience will be called upon to do many things that
seem to him unreasonable and unnecessar}^
Soldiers in the army are routed up to march, with-
out food, in the broiling sun for miles, simply to march
back again, for no purpose that is visible to them.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 133
They are placed in the most uncomfortable positions,
and left there for hours and days, with apparently no
purpose in view. It is do and undo, march up the
hill and march down. But obedience is the first duty
of a soldier, even though ''some one has blundered;'*
and an army would be a mob without this obedience.
The schoolboy concludes that there are many regula-
tions which seem to him to have no meaning but to
give him trouble and curtail his enjoyments.
But obedience is a necessary test in any relation
where love is the bond that binds persons together. In
the relation of friendship there must be compliance,
which is only a softened term for obedience. If two
persons are friends they must comply with each
other's wishes, so far as is at all possible, or the
friendship will soon die. Let two friends adopt the
practice of saying no to every request, and it is safe
to say that they w^ill not long be friends. Nothing
but a higher law of right and wrong, or an im-
possibility, or some overwhelming reason must run
athwart this law^ of compliance, or friendship will
soon fade aw^ay.
This is equally true in the marriage relation. Let
husband and wife refuse to yield to each other's pref-
erences, and exhibit a willful, contrary disposition,
and a coldness will inevitably grow up between
them. A true and happy conjugal love can thrive
only on mutual compliance, and regard for each
other's wishes.
This law will apply even more in the relation of
134 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
parents and children. No parents will long retain the
love of their children who say no to all their requests,
as some parents do. On the other hand, children must
not suppose that they are maintaining a proper rela-
tion to their parents unless they render them perfect
obedience.
Christ directly applies this principle to the love
which exists between Saviour and saved. *'Ye are
my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."
Old Age Bearing Ftisit
A Turkish officer eighty years of age was urged, in
the recent war with Greece, to dismount, so as not to
draw the enemy's fire upon himself. He replied, *'I
never dismounted in the Russian war, why should I
do so now?" and he rode on to his death. It is not
wise for aged Christians to superannuate too soon.
The Christian life may be one of progress to the very
end. A deeper insight into the things of God, broader
knowledge, mightier love, firmer faith, richer benev-
olence— these are the waymarks that indicate progress
in spiritual things.
Omnipresence
A company of soldiers must march up in line to
receive their rations one by one. A troop of children
will make an attack on a father, climb to his knees,
twine their arms about his neck, and all at once rap-
idly and loudly tell him what they want, until, con-
fused and deafened, he is obliged to say, "Don't all
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 135
talk at once, then I can hear what you say." One of
our little boys, when told that Solomon had six hun-
dred wives, said that he would not know half of them
if he met them on the street. Our love and care can
extend to only a few and have any meaning. If we
attempt too much it breaks utterly down.
It is one of the wonders of the divine mind that it
can distinguish all the millions of earth, of all races
and conditions, and not lose sight of the wants of the
humblest. God never says to the myriads of his chil-
dren, "Don't all talk at once," but rather he says to
them, *Tray without ceasing;" and in response to the
invitation a confused volume of prayer is ever going
up to heaven, which would be only a meaningless jar-
gon in human ears. But to the mind of God each
prayer is distinct, and full of significance, and brings
an unfailing response.
Opportunities Ncgflcctcd
I heard a man near fifty years of age say that he
had lived all his life within twenty miles of Niagara
Falls and had never seen them. His only reason was,
*'0, I live so near I can go any time, and don't need
to make a special trip." Thus he had lived a lifetime
within a few miles of this great natural curiosity v;ith-
out seeing it, while thousands are crossing oceans and
continents to look on this mighty waterfall. Likewise
many persons live within less than twenty miles of the
kingdom of God and have never entered it. And
their only excuse is that they are so near they can
136 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
go any time. Every opportunity is thrown aside
until the habit of neglect becomes a part of the
character.
There is a strange legend respecting the far-famed
philosopher's stone which was supposed to have the
power to change to gold whatever it touched. This
stone was much sought after, as we may well sup-
pose, and the story runs that a certain man received
superhuman intelligence that this stone lay somewhere
along the seashore within certain limits. Accordingly,
he began his journey along the shore, picking up
every pebble that seemed to answer the descrip-
tion. He soon found the real stone, he thought, and
his heart rose up in his throat, for he possessed the
long-sought treasure. He held it up and looked at it,
and soon became satisfied that he had made a mistake.
With a feeling of petulance he gave the pebble a sling
out into the water. And so he went on picking up
pebbles along the shore, and when he saw they were
not what he was searching for he threw them out into
the water, until the habit gre^v so strong upon him
that every stone he took up was impulsively thrown
out into the ocean. At last, so the story goes, he act-
ually found the true philosopher's stone — had it in his
hand and looked at it — ^but from mere force of habit
he gave it a sling with the rest, and it was buried in
the depths of the sea, never more to be found.
So men cast aside one opportunity after another
until the habit becomes confirmed, and the pearl of
great price is thrown away with the rest.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 137
Oppressing; the Poor
I know a minister who raised some money for the
poor of his church and left an order of several dol-
lars with a groceryman, telling him to send the very
best articles to their homes. The groceryman filled
the order with refuse articles that other customers had
sent back. This business man failed in his business
afterward; but it is a fact that not all men who do
such things fail in business, wherever else they may
fail.
There is a systematic oppression of the poor in busi-
ness matters. Business men generally charge more
for an article if the customer takes only a little than if
he takes a large quantity. The poor man who buys
his coal by the pailful pays nearly twice as much for
it as the man who buys it by the ton, or the hundred
tons. The man who buys his potatoes and apples by
the half peck or peck pays nearly twice as much as the
man who buys them by the barrel. The man who is
least able to pay the highest price is the very man who
is compelled to do so by our business methods; and
the man who is abundantly able to pay the highest
price is not asked to do so.
"And the Lord saw it, and it displeased him." One
of the things that God especially dislikes is the very
thing that is universally done in business. "He that
oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that
giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.'*
138 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
Partiality
I heard a faithful Christian juryman say that he sat
in the box with eleven fellow- jurymen in the county
court and listened to a certain case on the calendar. A
rather mean-looking and meanly-acting man was the
plaintiff in a civil suit. He was plainly in the right,
and proved his case most clearly; yet, when the jury
retired, this juryman found the other eleven unan-
imously agreed to bring in a verdict against the plain-
tiff in spite of both law and evidence. Greatly sur-
prised, he began to make inquiries, and found that the
plaintiff was a neighbor of these eleven jurymen ; that
he was held to be a mean creature ; that he had cheated
them and all the rest of his neighbors out of various
sums as he had opportunity, and they were determined
to pay him off when they had an opportunity. He
was in their power, and, right or wrong, they were
going to punish him.
This Christian man appealed to their sense of jus-
tice, and won them all over to his way of thinking
until they rose above their prejudices and unan-
imously brought in a verdict in favor of their enemy,
because, in that particular case at least, he was clearly
in the right.
Yet how few men — even Christian men — do rise
entirely above prejudice, and judge righteously be-
tween man and man. A thing looks far worse in an
enemy than in a friend, and the same evidence will
serve to convict the one but not the other. The rea-
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 139
sons which lead jurymen to render their verdicts
would sometimes disgrace them if made public, and
justify the biting words of Pope:
"The hungry judges soon the sentence sign,
And wretches hang that jurymen may dine."
But Christian men — in fact, all honest men —
should rise above all such considerations, and respect
neither high nor low, rich nor poor, and spare no
pains to render a just verdict when civil duties are put
upon them.
One of the most notorious exhibitions of invidious
and cruel discrimination is in the case of fallen wom-
en. It is almost impossible to induce Christian people
to do anything for them; in fact, it is almost impos-
sible to keep Christian people from coldly turning
their backs upon them. In an extensive revival in a
church of which I was pastor one of the first to take
up the Christian life was a woman of ill repute, the
fallen daughter of a Methodist local preacher. She
was thoroughly saved, as I judged, and exhibited the
fact by closing out her place of business and returning
to her father's home.
During the meetings she used to sit always in the
same seat at the very front in the center of the church.
One Sunday morning, after the church had been well
filled, a man came in with his wife and son, all three
being among the converts. They walked up the aisle
in the presence of the congregation straight toward
the seat where this woman was sitting, but when they
140 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
halted at the end of the seat and saw who was there
they deliberately turned away and found a seat else-
where. Sitting in the pulpit, I observed the transac-
tion, and, sick at heart, I thought there was little
encouragement for a pastor to welcome to the cross
and to the church the worst of sinners when the mem-
bers of the church will treat them after that fashion.
Pastoral Work
Pastoral work has its amusing side, as w^ell as its
serious side. In some cases the minister must first
prove that he is not a tramp, and the most difficult
part of the w^hole transaction is to gain admittance to
the houses. He often knocks and rings, again and
again, but there is no response. The people are not
at home, or they are in the back part of the house and
cannot hear, or the only one at home is hard of hear-
ing, or they are not presentable, or they have moved
away, or they have been fooled so many times that
they will frankly confess they do not respond to the
door bell. Occasionally he discovers that they really
are at home by some slight noise within, or a gentle
movement of the window curtain, but for some reason
they do not wish to open the door. The minister,
standing on the doorstep in the hot sun of summer, or
biting wind of winter, has discovered all this, and it
does not tend to elevate pastoral w^ork in his estima-
tion; but he at least learns the meaning of his Mas-
ter's words, ^'Behold, I stand at the door and knock."
Sometimes the inmates, in response to his ring, call
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 141
through the door, "Who is there?" and he is obliged
to explain himself, not only to those within, but to all
passers-by as well. Sometimes when he rings the bell
a head is thrust out of an upper window, and he must
reveal his identity before he is admitted. And during
the whole transaction sometimes the house dog inside
the door is demanding to know who it is ; or the house
dog outside the door is snapping at his heels, and all
the neighboring dogs from neighboring doorsteps are
challenging his entrance.
And then, after spending as much time as he had
to spare in getting into the house, he is often obliged
to sit fifteen minutes in the parlor waiting for the lady
to make an elaborate toilet. If there is ever a time
when a pastor does not appreciate fine clothes it is
under such circumstances. It is not wonderful that
some ministers of peculiar temperament and preca-
rious health decline to do any pastoral work. Let no
one suppose that this is a fancy sketch; it is drawn
from life.
Nevertheless it is a most profitable kind of work,
both for the pastor and his people. Every true pastor
has led many to Christ in this way, and has learned
how to preach to the common people as he could learn
in no other way. To get under everybody's burden
will sometimes almost crush him to the earth; but it
is the kind of work his Master did while on earth, and
what was good enough for him is good enough for
his ministers to-day. "The disciple is not above his
Master."
142 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
Peace Within
Though the storms may lash the surface of the
ocean to fury there are depths beneath the surface
where the storms are never felt and the waters lie in
the profoundest calm. The little nautilus ventures
up to the surface of the ocean in pleasant weather,
pushes up its tiny membranous sail, and the gentle
breezes bear it over the deep blue waters. I have seen
it floating on the long undulating waves, reflecting the
colors of the rainbow from its little sail, too frail, too
puny a thing, it would seem, to voyage over the track-
less ocean.
But when a storm arises, and the winds begin to
howl over the watery waste, it folds up its little sail,
we are told, and sinks down to the calm depths of the
ocean, where the power of the storm is never felt and
all is quiet.
And so the Christian must live in a world of strife
and storm ; must meet the hostility of men on the sur-
face of human life; but there are calm depths to which
he may sink betimes where the power of earth's storms
are never felt and the very peace of God rests on the
soul. The Christian lives two lives — the one a sur-
face life, such as other men live; but he lives another
life, his real life, below the surface, shut in with God,
where "the peace of God that passeth all understand-
ing" quiets his troubled spirit.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 143
** Peculiar People'*
The hedgehog is covered with sharp quills pointing
outward in every direction, and woe be to the living
thing that runs against those quills. The quills are
for its enemies. Some men are hedgehogs with their
quills turned inward. Busy society, bustling men and
women, worldly perplexities, and strange providences
brush past them and over them, and they are continu-
ally pricked and wounded by their own weapons —
stung and annoyed by their own peculiarities. They
go through life in a condition of mind which causes
them to be jostled, fretted, and made angry by
all the experiences they meet. Their quills are for
themselves.
I knew many years ago a young foreigner who
came to this country with certain national and indi-
vidual peculiarities not at all in harmony with the
manners and customs of the American people. Our
ways, habits, and manners of thought and action
chafed and nettled him, and ran counter to all his
ideas of propriety. Being quite intimate with him, I
suggested in a friendly way that if he could recover
himself from some of his peculiarities, and get into
harmony with our ways and customs, he would get on
much more smoothly, and have a pleasanter time
among us.
No, no, he said ; if people wanted to get on smoothly
with him they must conform themselves to his ways
and customs.
144 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
I mildly asked whether it would be more reasonable
for him to change a few of his peculiarities in order
to be in harmony with the people among whom he
chose to live, or to require this entire nation of many
millions of people to change their manners and cus-
toms for his convenience and pleasure.
It made no difference, he said; he proposed to be
just what he was; the American people were all
wrong and must come to his terms. He completely
changed his mind in after years, and in some respects
outdid the Americans themselves.
Personal "Work
I shall not soon forget a little experience. Walk-
ing along the dusty highway of a foreign country, I
came up with a w^agoner who w^as cursing and bela-
boring his tired horse. The thought came into my
mind, "This is a good time to reprove his profanity
and point him to Christ." We were all alone, and
there was no danger of interruption. We were going
in the same direction and I could walk by his side. I
had long before made the resolve to speak a word for
Christ whenever opportunity offered, and had many
times acted upon that resolve. But I was tired and in
no mood to speak to anybody about anything. I was
a stranger and a foreigner, and did not understand the
ways of the people, and for these reasons excused my-
self and went on. A feeling of condemnation settled
upon my mind which was relieved only by repentance
and another resolve to do my duty.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 145
Whenever we are brought face to face with a duty
and an opportunity we must not fail. Unsaved men
expect Christians to speak to them on the subject of
religion, and are disappointed if they do not. I well
remember hearing an unconverted man complain bit-
terly that he had lived by the side of a Christian for
ten years, but not one word had ever been spoken to
him about his soul's salvation. No worse reproach
can fall upon a Christian man.
Pleasures that Are Base
The pleasure god may be high or low, refined
or vulgar. It may be an idol decked with jewels, or
an ugly image cut from a log of wood. The pleasures
which attract may be entirely respectable; but multi-
tudes devote themselves to the pursuit of those which
are low and base. Two men were putting some coal
into a church one summer day, and one remarked to
the other, "If I could be sure of always having all
the tobacco and whisky I want all the rest of my life
I should be supremely happy." What an amazing
spectacle — an immortal soul, created in the image of
God, and hastening on to an eternal destiny, living for
the pleasures of tobacco and whisky !
But these fires will burn out by and by, and leave
nothing but a charred and degraded material body. I
saw once an old burned-out iron furnace left to rot
down, and thought it a picture of many men with
passions burned out, and energies exhausted in the
practice of the lowest vices.
146 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
Power of God
A man can attend to only one thing at a time and
do it well ; and not more than two or three things and
do them very imperfectly. The business in the Pen-
sion Office at Washington is all the time two or three
years behindhand. In the Court of Equity in New
York State some years ago it was reported that the
business was several years behindhand. A man pre-
sents his case to such a court and must wait years for
a hearing. He might sicken and die and be beyond
the reach of help before it would come.
After some of the great battles in the civil war the
wounded were huddled together under tents or trees
while the surgeons toiled night and day to dress their
gaping wounds and save them from death. They
aimed to attend to the most needy first; but many a
brave fellow had to wait for hours, and even days,
while the blood was unstanched and the fever eating
up his life, and at last, with his mother's name upon
his lips, and perhaps the name of his Saviour, to die
without aid, because his physician could attend to only
one at a time.
God is not limited, as man is, in his power to render
aid to those who are covered with the ''wounds and
bruises and putrefying sores" of sin. Even an angel,
though his wing were the lightning, would be help-
less in the presence of such an appalling task, but we
have a God who is everywhere present to help and
save all the millions of his creatures, and is so little
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 147
hurried by the stupendous task that he can say,
^'Before they call I will answer; while they are yet
speaking I will hear."
** Practice Makes Perfect ^
Exceptionally fine results can be attained only as
the outcome of long training. As I was riding on the
New York Central Railroad one day I saw the brake-
man light all the five lamps in the car with one match.
He had to open the glass case overhead, light four
jets, shut the case, go to the next lamp and do the
same, shading the match with his hand as he went,
and so to the entire five — and all with one match. But
he made no false motions; every movement was just
right. A man unaccustomed to the business would
have used at least five matches. My immediate reflec-
tion was, "He has done that before; there is the result
of training."
The stone that killed Goliath was not the first one
that David had hurled. Constant and persistent prac-
tice is the price of skill and rapidity in work; and
there is almost no limit to the marvelous results that
may be attained.
When Bishop Newman first applied to a Quarterly
Conference for license to preach it is said that his
oratory was so crude that his application was rejected;
but by patient, laborious, painstaking, persistent prac-
tice he becam.e one of the greatest and most attractive
orators of his generation. And in this experience he
was only repeating the toils and protracted discipline
148 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
to which Demosthenes subjected himself that he might
be the greatest orator of the human race.
It is related that when Edward A. Freeman, the
great English historian, was a student in the univer-
sity he Avrote an essay on the Norman Conquest in a
prize contest. It was a subject that he had studied a
great deal, but another took the prize.
Forty years after he considered it very fortunate
that he failed. He said : ''Had I got it I might have
been tempted to think that I knew all about the mat-
ter. As it was, I went on and learned something
about it."
A few failures at the beginning may teach us the
lesson that life's greatest prizes are won as a result of
patient toil and long practice. Failures thus have
their uses and may be the making of men. They work
both ways, however : depressing and discouraging the
weak, but inspiring and spurring the strong to those
persistent efforts which are the price of great achieve-
ments. And small men have accomplished marvelous
things by knowing this secret of success. A man can
drill a hole into the granite rock with a basswood drill
if he only drills long enough in one place.
Prayer for Others
A little girl four years of age had been instructed
by her mother to pray for different persons in the fam-
ily by name. One day she omitted the name of the
servant in the kitchen, and when inquired of made
answer that she didn't love her, and didn't want God
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 149
to bless her. Her mother told her such a spirit was
not right, and persuaded her to include the girl in her
prayer. At last she said, ^'Well, I have asked God to
bless her, but I didn't want him to." It may be feared
that prayer for others is too often of this sort. The
prayer pulls one way and the wish another. I have
seen foolish men hitch two teams of horses to opposite
ends of a strong chain to see which team was the
stronger. Nothing could come of such a test. At
most one team could do no more than drag the other
a few feet. It is often the case that men's prayers and
their lives pull in opposite directions; and in such a
case the lives will pull the prayers.
Praying for persons by name is hazardous business.
A good sister once prayed very earnestly for a young
man at family worship, and he said to her afterward,
in a laughing way, that he thought it taking an undue
advantage of a man to dress him down where he
couldn't say a w^ord for himself.
A member of my official board in a certain church
had had some difficulty with a man, and he brought
the matter up in the board, asking the advice of the
brethren, and promising to do whatever they decided
that he ought to do. They talked the matter over, and
decided that he should go and pray with the man.
Accordingly, he invited me, as his pastor, to accom-
pany him, and we drove out to the man's house. When
we were seated in the parlor the brother who was to
do penance told his antagonist in a sentence or two
that the official board had sent him out to pray with
150 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
him, and dropping on his knees he told the Lord every
mean thing this man had ever done, in the plainest
terms, and asked that he might be led to see the error
of his ways, and brought to a better life. I thought
it was, indeed, taking an undue advantage of a man
when he could not defend himself. It impressed me
as one of the wickedest things I had ever seen done.
Instead of adjusting their quarrel, such a proceeding
would tend to make it permanent. Such prayer for
others cannot bring blessing to them or ourselves, or
be pleasing to God. I have seen so much blundering,
or worse, in such prayers that I fall into an agony of
apprehension whenever I hear anybody praying for
people by name.
Prayer in the Family
A man may conceal his defects and failures from
the world to a great extent, but his family will surely
find them out. No shams can deceive very long in the
intimacy of the family circle. The honest opinion of
a man's family respecting his religious character is
the very highest testimony. This honest opinion is
very seldom expressed, however. A kind of loyalty
to the head of the family restrains expressions of crit-
icism. The opinion exists, nevertheless, and is making
its influence felt on the family. A man's religion is
often greatly at a discount among his own children.
And family worship is one of the sharpest tests of a
religious life. If parents shrink from this duty, or
leave it undone through hurry, or indifference, the
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 151
children note the fact, and draw their own conclu-
sions. And how common is the neglect of family
worship.
I have passed the night many, many times in Chris-
tian families, as have doubtless all pastors, where no
family worship was held — when I was not asked to
conduct prayer. And I sat at the table of one of my
members at dinner when he began serving the food
without saying grace himself, or asking me to do so.
To the credit of the clergy I ought to say that, while
I have spent very many nights in the families of min-
isters, only in two or three cases did they fail to have
family prayers.
This subject has seemed to me of greater impor-
tance, perhaps, from the fact that my father always
had family worship immediately after breakfast. And
he took plenty of time to make it a leisurely exercise,
quite often reading a chapter and explaining it at con-
siderable length. In the hurrying season of summer
on the farm he used to call in several laborers, and
occupy from a half to a full hour in reading and ex-
plaining the Bible, and in prayer. These men might
have been at work in the hayfield; but I am sure he
lost nothing, while both he and they were better for
the time spent in religious exercises.
Prayer in Public
While prayer should undoubtedly be addressed to
God alone, it is yet true that public prayer may be
properly modified to suit the audience for whom or
152 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
with whom the prayer is offered. But many grave
errors may be ruled out at once. It is out of taste to
preach sermons, or make orations, or lectures, or ex-
hortations, on our knees with our eyes shut. At the
dedication of a church within the bounds of Troy
Conference the man who made the dedicatory prayer
occupied a half hour in imparting a vast deal of infor-
mation to somebody. At the ordination of a minister
of a certain denomination, when half a dozen men or
more were standing in a very cramped position, with
their hands on the head of the candidate, the minister
who made the prayer kept them standing three quar-
ters of an hour, while he gave somebody a history of
ordinations from apostolic times down to date.
A man called at his neighbor's house one morning,
and found that he was having family worship, so he
remained quietly outside, listening to the prayer. Go-
ing in afterward he complimented his neighbor on the
excellent prayer he had made. The man replied, "O,
I would have prayed far better than that if I had
known you were listening."
While the practice of hunting up beautiful phrases
for public prayer cannot be commended, yet there is
a kind of preparation which ought not to be omitted.
Public prayer should follow private meditation and
communion with God. We need to get into the mood
of prayer before opening our lips in public. We have
often heard persons pray in public when five minutes
or more were consumed in g'etting started. Some
pumps need priming before they will work properly.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 153
The second pailful can be secured in much less time
than the first. It is well to pump the first pailful in
private meditation, and let the public have the second.
Prayer in Secret
Prayers in public may reasonably be short, but in
secret much time may well be taken before God. It
ought not to be a hurried exercise when ample time
can possibly be taken. A man calls at his neighbor's
door, and says, ''I can't stop; Fm in a great hurry;
I only called to say that my wife is sick, and would
like you to come over if you can." How like this are
many of our secret prayers. If we were as polite to
God as to our neighbor, and as frank, we would say,
''O Lord, Fm in a great hurry ; I can't stop ; I've only
time to say, Take care of me to-day, and keep me
from evil, and help me to do right" — and away we
go to bed, or to breakfast, or to business.
Our houses ought to be so arranged as to make
private prayer a convenience. It cannot be a hurried,
interrupted exercise. Time is needed to compose the
mind and get it into a praying frame. The harp is
out of tune, and must be put in order before it will
discourse music that will be grateful to the ear of
heaven.
One of the hallowed memories of my childhood is
that of having often, by mere accident, found my
sainted mother, who died when I was a child, on her
knees in the secret place before God; and it was her
practice at such times to put her arm around me and
154 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
draw me down by her side. She always had a bonnet
on her head — heeding the direction of the apostle that
a woman should not pray uncovered. This is my
most vivid and impressive recollection of a sainted
mother.
In these secret devotions we may tell to God what
we would shrink from revealing to our nearest earthly
friends. A young man, who had been a Christian
only a few months, said in prayer meeting: "I have
learned to carry everything to God. I have asked him
for some strange things since I came to Christ, and
he has answered me every time."
I once heard a Presbyterian minister, in a sermon
of wonderful power on the meaning of afflictions,
advise his people, when they could not be reconciled
to their sorrows, to tell God frankly just how they
felt about it. And for himself he said he had told
God many things which might have caused the As-
sembly to reject him, and the Session to ask him to
resign, if they had been known.
Preparation for Great Things
We must get ready for large results. They are
most likely to come to those who are ready for them.
The great inventors were generally looking for the
things they found. Those who discover new planets
and comets are they who sit long nights at the little
end of the telescope.
We have not forgotten the long years that were
employed in getting ready for the great explosion that
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 155
deepened the channel of the East River at New York.
General Newton stored explosives in caverns at the
bottom of the river, year after year, until the people
almost forgot that he was at work there. But when
all was ready his little girl with her tiny finger could
press the button and blow the river bottom into frag-
ments. He was simply storing up divine power for
great results, and when all was ready the results
followed.
We have plenty of small explosions. The Fourth
of July is made boisterous by them. Cannon are fired
and rocks are blasted ever}^ day. But here was some-
thing immense. This was the great explosion of the
century; and it followed long years of preparation.
May we not prepare ourselves to do God*s greatest
work, and see what will come of it? God chooses
competent men for his great work; and the most
available competency is a thorough preparation. The
man who is ready generally gets the job.
Pride
Riding one day with two bright boys through a sec-
tion of country where an extensive crop of rye was
ripening, one of the boys remarked that the rye was
very poor that year and not well filled. The other
boy asked how he knew it was not well filled. ''O,"
he said, "you can tell that by the heads standing up
so straight." I looked, and, sure enough, fully three
fourths of the heads pointed proudly up to the sky
and waved majestically in the wind. They presented
156 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
a much finer appearance for standing up so straight —
but they were empty.
In looking over a harvest field of men and women
perhaps we can detect the empty heads in the same
way. A man or woman who sweeps grandly along
with an expression of supercilious contempt, disdain-
ing to glance at the toiling throng, is not a person of
very great consequence. A person too proud to notice
or speak to the humblest of God's children is greatly
lacking in brains and sense. The greatest men of
earth have generally had the least pride. I knew a
young man who wanted to change places with his class
leader before he had been converted a year.
Mount Sklddaw, in the north of England, is sur-
rounded by most charming scenery. There are beau-
tiful lakes, rolling hills, quiet villages, and neat cot-
tages as far as the eye can reach. As I ascended the
base of the mountain all these spread themselves out
before me and the rising sun shed a glory over them.
It was a scene never to be forgotten. Going up still
higher, I soon came among the dark clouds that
were sweeping across the mountain top. Vegetation
ceased, and there was only a verdureless waste of
broken rocks ; darkness closed around and the golden
sunlight and golden valley were shut out from view;
cold, damp, driving mists almost blinded the eyes,
and it was only possible to grope along amid rubbish
and desolation. I put a stone on the cairn, as others
had done, and had merely the satisfaction of having
reached the summit.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 157
This was the mountain top, and I thought it a pic-
ture of the cold, desolate heights to which ambitious
pride has lifted men to freeze and perish in their iso-
lation. All this time the valley was resting beneath
in the sunlight with its grains and fruits and flowers,
a picture of the valley of humility, where the Chris-
tian finds sunlight and warmth and fruitfulness.
Probabilities
The following was given as a true story by the
journals of the time. At Buffalo, New York, one
beautiful day in the fall of 1871 the weather observer
got orders from Washington to run up the danger
signal. The warning caused a smile on the faces of
many, for it was a most charming day, with no wind
and not a cloud in the sky, except a very small one
over on the Canada shore. The lake captains gener-
ally thought that "Old Probs" had missed it this time;
but the greater part of them were prudent men, and
did not venture out on the lake that night. A few,
however, felt sure there could be no storm after such
a charming day, and they put out from the harbor.
During the night one of the most terrible storms on
record swept over the Great Lakes, and every vessel
that went out was wrecked, and all their crews
drowned.
The Bible has hoisted a danger signal. It has given
us not only the ''probabilities," but the certainties, of
a course of si^^. But the sky is so clear, the sun shines
so brightly, sin is so pleasant, its paths are so flowery,
158 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
that men disregard the warnings, and only find out
when it is too late that the Bible has told them the
solemn truth.
Procrastination
I was sent for to see a man who was fatally sick.
He and his wife were not members of the church, but
an adopted daughter was. They had a seat in church
and attended quite regularly. He was in church the
Sunday before he died. When I saw him he was in
a stupor ; and by the physician's orders they were try-
ing to keep him awake. They had succeeded in par-
tially arousing him, and his wife said, "The minister
has come to see you." This seemed to arouse him
fully, and he said : ''So you think I am going to die.
After the life I have lived I don't think it is right to
send for a minister at the last hour." These were his
last words. He extended his hand, which I took, and
he soon relapsed into unconsciousness. He was con-
sidered by all who knew him as an estimable man, but
made no profession of religion, considering that it
was not necessary. It is not easy to decide whether
his last remark indicated that he had lived a correct
life and did not need the services of a minister in his
dying hour, or was an admission that his life had not
been right but that it was too late to mend matters. In
either case it was too late to make any change.
A woman forty years of age, to whom I preached
for several years, when she came to church, which was
not often, deliberately said that **she didn't want to be
pious any longer than she was obliged to; she wanted
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 159
to be comfortably wicked as long as she could, and
then fix it up at last." She was taken with a fatal ill-
ness when about fifty years old, and how far she
"fixed it up" she gave her friends no means of
knowing.
Profession of Religion
A profession of religion lifts a man up before the
public, and draws attention to him. He may have
been comparatively unobserved before, but now people
begin to look at him, watch him, criticise him, and see
if he measures up in his life to the profession he
makes. A profession of religion quadruples a man's
influence for either good or evil. If a man puts out
a sign as a lawyer, or a physician, people expect more
of him than of ordinary men. He must make good his
claim to know something of law or medicine. And
if a man puts up a sign as a Christian, people expect
him to be a Christian. He must be better than he was
before, and better than other men who have not put
up such a sign.
Punishment Hereafter
The papers are filled with accounts that stir the soul
to cry aloud for justice. One newspaper heading was
"A Monster Unhanged;" and this was the story: A
brutal father sent out his five-year-old boy to steal
wood, and, because he could not find any, dragged
him from his bed and whipped him unmercifully. The
next day he tied his hands behind his back; the fol-
lowing he tied him hand and foot and left him lying
160 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
under a table ; the third day he tumbled him into a gar-
ret to lie all night in the cold on the floor. The next
day he gave the child another whipping, until his body
was a mass of bruises, the skin in places torn from the
flesh, and he unable to stand erect. On his trial,
when asked if he were not sorry he had treated the boy
so, the cruel monster replied, ''No; he has the spirit
of his mother in him, and I'll take it out." Does any-
one think that six months in a comfortable county jail
is adequate punishment for such a wretch as this?
In a city where I preached the Gospel for several
years a man whose wife was dying of consumption
deliberately attempted to starve her to death, and as
the event dragged on too slowly to please him he
kicked, thrashed, and abused her, declaring he should
feed her no longer — she had cost him enough already.
Human law could merely step in and put him under
bonds to abuse her no more and give her a comfort-
able support.
In one of our large cities a young man of large
wealth and high social position ruined a poor girl, and
when she came back with her child to his door in a
starving condition he spurned her away, and returned
to banquet with his friends, while she wandered out
of the city into the woods with her little one to perish
with cold and hunger. They found them there,
mother and child, locked in each other's arms, and
cold in death ; and then they thought of him in his fine
mansion, drinking wine with the fashionable people
of the city. There were some who considered how
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 161
little our laws can do to right such a wrong as this,
and they raised their hands to heaven and asked, "Is
there a God anywhere who sees all this, and will do
justice by and by — sometime, if not now?" If there is
no punishment hereafter the moral government of the
world is a farce.
Readings
Take two men of business. The one is a student.
He has been occupied with business cares all the day.
When night comes he sits down in his comfortable
home, takes a book from his library, and spends the
evening in the pursuit of knowledge. Perhaps the his-
torian guides his footsteps down through the ages of
the past, and he cons the lessons of God's guiding
providence in the history of nations ; or he may range
the fields of poetry and gather the rarest flowers of
human thought to beautify his own life; or it may be
that the devout astronomer carries him among the
stars reverently to read the evidences of God's cre-
ative power; better still, he may give the evening to
that grandest of books, the Bible, where he may ac-
quaint himself with God's revealed will; his family
may join him in these studies, and the household re-
tires to rest refreshed in spirit by the hours spent
in study.
The other man is not a student. He goes with his
family to the theater. Until late in the evening they
are entertained and excited by unreal exhibitions of
human passion, possibly of human goodness, but far
more likely of human folly and crime; the mind
162 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
receiving a dangerous stimulant, rather than natural
food. Can anyone question which man has received
the higher rational enjoyment and profit?
If no others but the evening hours can be given to
reading, though the days must be devoted to the stern
task of breadwinning, yet a vast amount of solid sat-
isfaction and a vast store of knowledge will be the
result.
Ready for Heaven
An aged saint of God was told that he had an affec-
tion of the heart that might carry him away from
earth at any moment, and he replied, "Thank the
Lord, my trunk is packed." It is told of the noble
old Roman, Cato, that when he was far advanced in
years, almost on the edge of the grave, he began the
study of the Greek language. Some one asked him
why at such an advanced age he should undertake
to learn so complicated and difficult a language. His
reply was: "I understand that the Greek language is
very rich and copious, and w^ell adapted to the uses
of conversation; and furthermore I understand that
it is the language in which the gods converse, and
when I go into the other world I wish to be able to
converse with the gods in their own language."
It is well to reflect that heaven has its language, and
if we make ourselves understood there we must learn
that language. Whether the Greek, or the Hebrew,
or the English language be used there is a matter of
little consequence; but we are sure it is the language
of love and worship, the language of prayer and
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 163
praise, a language full of Christ and his atoning
work, and we must learn that language before we
get there.
Red Like Cnmson
The heavenly Alchemist is not limited in his skill,
but though our spirits be stained to the utmost he
can bleach them to heaven's own whiteness. No stain
is deeper and more permanent than crimson, no white-
ness is purer and more perfect than that of the crystal-
line snow. The blackest sinner may become the
whitest saint. The history of the Church has shown
more than once that the result does not at all depend
on the degree of pollution.
The housewife lays out a washing. Some of the
garments are very much soiled, others not so badly,
and still others seem hardly soiled at all ; but her keen
eye detects that all need washing; and if the work be
thoroughly done you cannot tell, as you look at the
shining garments, which were most soiled in the
beginning.
And when God has cleansed a number of human
souls they are all alike pure and white, and it will
never be asked, ''Which was originally the worst sin-
ner?" Paul claimed preeminence as a sinner, but he
also attained preeminence as a saint.
Refonnation
Reformation is but an external thing, while the
real difficulty with man is internal. To try to reform
the life while the heart is unchanged is like turning
164 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
the hands of your watch every day to make it conform
to the true time, while the works within are deranged.
It is not impossible to lop off one sin after another,
but a sad experience has taught us that it avails very
little.
If one stalk of a geranium plant has grown too
long for the others you can cut it off, and reduce the
plant to a proper shape, and flatter yourself that it
will remain so. But in a little time two or three new
stalks will start out around the blackened stump, and
they will grow faster and longer than before.
Reform may be illustrated by a plant that has been
taken out of the ground. It very soon wilts, and the
leaves and branches hang helplessly downward. But
you may prop up the branches of this drooping plant
— put a stick under each one and make them stand
up straight. You may even sprinkle water upon it,
and give it a temporary freshness, but it will die in
spite of all your efforts. This is salvation by human
effort.
You can take the same plant and set it back into
the ground again, let its roots take hold of the strength
of the soil and the sap course up through its fibers,
and nature will renew the life of the drooping plant.
This is God's method of salvation. The one is help
from without, the other from within.
When our little girl was nearly four years old she
had been very naughty, and had given her mother a
great deal of trouble one day. When she was going
to bed at night her mother prayed with her, and asked
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 165
God to give her a new heart — a good heart — so that
she could do right and be a good girl. When the
prayer was ended she faced her mother with a deter-
mined attitude, and said, "Vm going to be good all
day to-morrow, and with a naughty heart too ; I don't
want a new heart; I'm going to be good with a
naughty heart;" and pointing with her finger at her
mother she added, "Now you see if I don't." It is
needless to say that she got into as much mischief as
usual the next day.
Alas! this is not confined to childhood. Men are
everywhere saying, '^l don't want a new heart; I'm
going to be good with the heart I have," and, like
the child, they are failing. They attempt to reform
the life while the heart is unchanged. They try to
regenerate society while the men who make up so-
ciety are unchanged. By theories of government, by
education, a science of morals, temperance reform
and anti-swearing societies they try to save men from
their sins, while the moral nature, the fountain of evil
within, remains unchanged. They are trying to kill
a deadly plant by picking a leaf off here and there,
when it needs to be dug up root and branch.
Reform Within the Chtifch
The Church of God has not only carried on a fierce
contest with the world, but it has been obliged to con-
tend with evils at home. It has been rent with civil
war, and has been obliged to put down rebels within
its own borders. And there can be no doubt that the
166 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
Church is all the better for these struggles. Like the
chrysalis of the caterpillar, the Church has burst the
trammels of error only to rise to a higher life and put
on more beautiful garments. Naturalists tell us that
the transition from chrysalis to butterfly is one of
great labor and pain. The caterpillar, a thing that
crawls on the ground, can only become winged, and
clothed with power to rise up into the air of heaven,
by passing through the most painful struggles for a
period of time.
Transition states in the Church have likewise been
accompanied with great labor and commotion. Re-
forms are not generally effected in the midst of exter-
nal quiet. There are agitation and pain. But pain is
not the worst thing. It merely indicates that we are
not wholly given over to disease. When the body is
in pain we know that something is wrong, and that
nature is struggling to right that wrong. The same
is true in spiritual things. The absence of pain may
be a most dangerous sympton. It may indicate that
the Church has given up the contest with evil, and
made peace with the enemies of truth and righteous-
ness. When the Church consents to be a corrupt in-
stitution the salt has lost its savor and must be
cast out.
Regeneration
Reformation is not the name for it. The strug-
glings of the enslaved will against the enemies of the
soul are but the beatings of a bird against the bars
of its cage ; we cannot escape from our bondage.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 167
I knew a drunkard who came to the penitents' altar
with the conviction that he was strong enough to over-
come his besetting sin. He commenced the religious
life under the impression that he was to deliver him-
self from sin; and in a few weeks he was walking in
his old ways.
If a cask is full of water and we want it full of air
we must turn the faucet and draw off the water and
the air will come in and fill the cask. x\nd so many
persons think they must draw off their sins and then
God will come in and fill their souls. But if a cask
is full of air and we want to fill it with water it isn't
necessary to turn the faucet and draw off the air,
and it cannot be done ; we may pour in the water, and
the water will drive out the air; water is denser
than air and will make room for itself. This is the
divine method of salvation. Just let God come sweep-
ing into human nature, and he will drive out our sins
and make room for himself. Sin never leaves our
souls any faster than God comes in to 'drive it out
and take its place.
This divine regeneration is the very essence of Gos-
pel salvation. It is a necessity. ''Ye must be born
again.'' I heard of a man who went into the forest
to chop wood, and when he got to the tree he wished
to cut down he looked about and found that he had
left his ax at home — the very and only thing he
needed. And we may safely conclude that many a
m.an will knock at heaven's gate and find that he has
left the really essential thing behind him.
168 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
And if God does the work of salvation we need not
split hairs over the more or less of sin. It matters
little how desperate is the condition of the human
soul. If a man takes a broken-down machine to a
mechanic for repairs he may say, "I can make a new
one, but I can't mend this; it's too far gone." God
never says this. He has made saints out of the worst
of sinners.
Religion Bringfs Peace
People seem to expect that a Christian will be a
man of peace. A young man of petulant disposition
took up the Christian life, and almost the first remark
he made to me was, "My wife will have a pleasanter
time after this." Another man, who had quarreled
with his neighbors, and cheated them, was soundly
converted to Christ, and he spent several days going
about among them paying his debts and settling his
quarrels. The result was a Christian that everybody
believed in. While a very wicked man before, he be-
came an earnest, useful Christian man, whose praise
was on every tongue. And I have authentic informa-
tion respecting another man, who, after his conver-
sion, traveled to the far West for the purpose of hunt-
ing up a man with whom he had quarreled, that he
might be reconciled. Such acts speak louder than any
verbal testimonies. There can be no doubt that if the
Gospel of Christ can be allowed to produce its nat-
ural results in the hearts of men it will bring ''peace
on earth," as the angels announced at the birth of
Christ.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 169
If a man who professes to be a Christian is sour-
hearted and quarrelsome, the most charitable thing
that can be said about him is that Gospel grace has
been allowed to do only a part of the gracious work
which it was designed and is abundantly able to do.
He stands in need of a further work as speedily as
possible.
Relig^ion that Speaks for Itself
A young man was converted, and his mother said
to me, *'I knew that a change had taken place from his
n:-v.mer, before he said a word about it/' That is a
choice variety of religious experience which tells its
own story in a better temper, cleaner phraseology, and
more careful living. The world will have little confi-
dence in a man's piety when no one but himself finds
out that he has any. More than once people have
asked me if such and such a man was a member of
my church. They had lived beside him for years and
seen no evidence of piety, but had heard that he was
a member of a Christian church, and wished to have
the matter settled.
The Methodist Episcopal Church believes in a call
to preach; and the church must hear the call as well
as the candidate. If a man thinks he has a call to
preach, and the church sees no evidence of his fitness,
it will judge that the man was mistaken, and refuse
him a license. There must be two witnesses, one to
the candidate and another to the church.
In theory this same rule applies to laymen who
apply for admission to the church. As the candidate
170 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
for admission stands before the altar, the whole church
is asked to say whether there is any good reason why
the man should not be received into Christ's church.
I have never known, however, an objection to be
raised even when many have been received who gave
no evidence of spiritual life. Practically this arrange-
ment amounts to very little, for people would shrink
from rising in the church to make objections, even if
they knew of valid objections; and no doubt all pas-
tors, after receiving a large number into the church,
have heard things about some of them which would
have debarred them if made known before their rec
tion. A double witness should be insisted on for every
candidate who applies for admission to the church.
Religious Life
A man's religious life may be compared to the
course of a great river. It has a small beginning, in
some little spring or marshy tract at the foot of a
mountain. The stream is very feeble, winding about
in every direction, as though it hardly knew where to
go; easily turned from its course by every stone or
log that lies in its way; its waters often very muddy
and turbulent, taking a hue and flavor from the earth
through which it flows; now creeping lazily through
some low meadow lands, apparently making no prog-
ress, and again dashing down some decline, and over
ledges of rocks with rush and roar, and then suddenly
losing itself in some dark forest of tangled vines and
bushes, from which it emerges with a darker color,
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 171
but a stronger and steadier flow ; anon it is reinforced
by other streams that flow into it, and it begins to
wear a deeper, wider channel in the earth; it is not
easily turned from its course now, but sweeps over
obstacles with ease, plows its w^ay through the hardest
soil, even cutting through solid rock that it may pur-
sue its course; its channel becomes straighter, its flow
stronger and steadier, its volume of water resistless,
until at length it sweeps grandly out into the mighty
ocean.
Thus the great Mississippi takes its rise in a little
lake in the wooded regions of northern Minnesota,
twisting and turning a thousand times, until, fed by
numberless tributaries, it sweeps out into the Gulf
of Mexico.
Thus the Congo, which Stanley traced through its
long course, has its beginnings on the lofty plateau of
Central Africa, and after compassing nearly the whole
Dark Continent in its windings, with a most aston-
ishing volume of water, plunges down the western
slopes into the broad Atlantic.
The Amazon has but a feeble beginning on the
sloping sides of the Andes Mountains, but after a
winding course of four thousand miles, it straightens
itself in its broad channel, and sweeps into the ocean
through a mouth nearly one hundred miles wide.
And a man's religious life is usually a thing of
small beginnings and slow growth. At the outset he
comes trembling and halting to the foot of the cross.
He hardly knows whether Christ can save or not.
172 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
And when the light at length breaks upon him it is
often faint and uncertain. He goes sometimes faster,
sometimes slower, often turned aside, and making
many windings; but as he proceeds each year tends
to wear the channel deeper and broader; the current
of his life sets more strongly Godward and heaven-
ward; doubts are dispelled, and certainties accumu-
late; the channel of his life straightens; there is less
of halting and wandering; the flow becomes even,
steady, and majestic; obstacles are overborne, obstruc-
tions are worn away, and, in the face of all the
hindrances that tend to check his progress, he sweeps
grandly on to his eternal destiny.
Luther had his time of weakness and uncertainty
at the beginning of his career, but he grew strong and
firm "and steady as he knew more of Christ's power
to save. Wesley had his period of doubt and vacilla-
tion, but he left it far behind, and preached a full
salvation, in full assurance of faith, and preached
from the depths of his own experience.
There is no grander sight than an aged Christian
who has passed the period of doubt and uncertainty
and is ready, with full assurance, to sweep into eternity
as a great river sweeps into the sea.
Reputation
One has said that a man's reputation is a shadow,
which sometimes precedes him, sometimes follows
him, is sometimes longer and sometimes shorter than
he is. The shadow may be longer than the man at
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 173
morning and evening, and shorter at midday, but
taking the whole day together the man and his repu-
tation do each other no great injustice.
I knew a man who earned the reputation of being
the meanest man in town. In court his neighbors,
under oath, gave that as their opinion of him. This
was his reputation. I asked a man once, about another
whose services I needed: ''Can he be depended upon?
Will he certainly do what he undertakes?" "O yes,"
he said; ''if he promises to be there you need give
yourself no further trouble; he will attend to it with-
out fail." This was the man's reputation; and I had
heard as much before.
A member of a Christian church used to complain
in prayer meeting that his neighbors thought him dis-
honest, and refused to trust him. It came to light
afterward that he was dishonest. His reputation did
him no injustice.
If a man is honest and true he will not need to de-
fend his reputation; his character will take care of
his reputation. It does not pay to throw stones at
every dog that barks at you. You will probably lame
your shoulder and not hit the dog after all. For three
whole years I threw stones at dogs that annoyed me
and destroyed my flower beds, and in all that time I
hit only one dog, and that was so small an animal
that I was ashamed of myself for doing it, while
I missed many huge mastiffs which trotted away
without harm.
174 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
Resistingf God
Men resist God's gracious influences, and the longer
they resist the greater their power of resistance be-
comes. And they can resist all the influences which
God ever employs. God might compel men, to be
sure; but he does not choose to compel them.
I have seen a man take hold of the handles of a
small galvanic batter^', and the first passage of the
electric current made him twist and writhe like
a wounded snake. He was almost ready to cry,
^'Enough." But he was a man of resolute will and
steady nerve; and he held on while the current was
increased little by little, until at length he could with-
stand the full power of the machine, and smile at those
of us who cried, ''Enough.''
So men resist God, and grow strong by resisting,
until they can withstand all the influences he ever
brings to bear on intellect and feelings. They take
hold of God by these two handles, the intellect and
sensibility, and down through these channels he pours
all of heaven's saving influences upon them, and they
resist them all and go on in the w^ays of sin. It is a
dreadful fact for the human mind to contemplate, that
we are able to resist God and defeat all his benevolent
purposes concerning us.
I have known two men w^ho boasted of the number
of revival meetings they had passed through without
yielding to God. When the disciples of Christ were
exhorting and urging them to become Christians they
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 175
smiled in their faces, and said, *'WeVe seen it hotter
than this/' One of the men who said this lived about
twenty years after, and then died without Christ.
The other I have not been able to keep account of.
Resurrection from the Dead
There are some things in nature which prepare us
for this doctrine. The tree shoots out its leaves in
the springtime; they grow to full size, then turn yel-
low, wither, and fall off in the autumn. If we had not
seen it take place we should never dream that the tree
would leaf out again.
A bulb placed in the earth shoots out leaves and a
blossom in the spring. We admire its beauty, but
soon the flower fades. We comfort ourselves with the
reflection, "The blossom is gone, to be sure, but the
leaves yet remain ; the plant is still alive." But before
midsummer the leaves too have disappeared, and noth-
ing of the once beautiful flower is visible; there is no
sign of life for many months. Did we not know its
history we should conclude that the charming plant
had run its career, and disappeared from the realm
of life.
Who that for the first time saw the sun sink in the
west, and the darkness of night come on, would ever
divine that there could be a sunrise and a glorious
morning ?
If a being from another sphere, who had never met
our experiences, nor anything like them, should come
to earth in midsummer, and see the days little by little
176 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
grow shorter and the nights longer, the heat grad-
ually decline and the cold increase, he would inevit-
ably conclude that the future had nothing in store but
eternal darkness and frost.
A celestial being, who for countless ages has ob-
serv^ed the larger operations of God's universe, may
look for the resurrection day with no more anxiety
than a child of earth watches for the morning, or the
coming of spring.
Riches
I knew a prominent judge who, when a young man,
deliberately said that he preferred riches to Christ. I
knew him when he was nearly eighty years of age.
He had riches and honors, and enjoyed the respect of
his fellow-citizens, but he had no Christ. I gathered
these facts respecting his early choice from a source
which was considered trustworthy.
A very rich man used occasionally to attend the
church of which I was pastor. In a conversation he
frankly explained to me why he did not come oftener.
He said it was perfect slavery for him to sit cooped
up in a seat for an hour, and he became so restless that
he could hardly endure it. He wanted to move about,
and it suited him much better to go out into his stables
and pat his fine horses, and hitch up a fast team for
a drive.
I tried to tell him that if his heart was renewed by
divine grace it would produce such a change that he
would prefer the church to his stables on Sunday ; but
apparently no impression was made, for twenty years
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 177
later his riches had largely increased, but the church
was abandoned altogether.
Ripening Christians
It takes a whole season to ripen fruit. There is
first the blossom, which may be compared to conver-
sion. It is very beautiful, but it is not fruit. Then
the blossom blows off; the first flush of enthusiasm is
gone, and the careless observer says, 'There goes
another Christian."
But there is something left — the little beginning of
the fruit. It grows very slowly, and at midsummer
we look again, and say, "Sure enough, there is fruit,
after all." We taste it, perhaps, but it is flat, and
sour, and bitter. We are tempted to curl up the face,
dash the fruit on a stone, and call it worthless; but
that would be a great mistake. Let it alone; God has
his purpose in it. Let the sunlight fall upon it a while
longer; let the breezes kiss it for a few more weeks;
there is luscious fruit there if we will only wait and
be patient.
And you have no doubt observed that it is the last
few weeks, when the rich haze of autumn begins to
come, that put the delicate blush on the peach, and
give the exquisite flavor to the apple.
And who has not seen Christians ripen after just
this fashion? A little sour, and flat for many long
years — disappointing the hopes of those who were
looking for perfect fruit — and ripening very rapidly
as the haze of the other world gathered about them.
178 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
Risking; the Soul
A soldier was stationed as sentinel on a fortifica-
tion at the most important point, at the midnight
hour. This fortification was the key to his country.
An attack was expected; the enemy was known to be
not far away; in an important sense everything de-
pended on his vigilance — his own life, the safety of
the fortification, and the safety of his country. For a
time he paced up and down with a watchful eye, doing
a soldier's full duty. It was a warm summer night,
and after a time he began to be thirsty. There was a
spring of cold water not far away in the rear and he
was tempted to leave his post long enough to get a
drink. He knew it was dangerous to leave his post
for even a moment, so he banished the thought.
But the thirst increased, the temptation grew
strong, and at length he began to reason with himself :
'The spring is only a short distance away; I shall be
gone only a moment; the chances are not one in ten
thousand that the enemy will come at just the instant
I am gone; I'll run the risk, and relieve my thirst."
Just then he heard a noise in the distance, and he hesi-
tated, peering into the darkness and listening intently
for any further sound. There was nothing but pro-
found stillness, and with the thought, 'I'll be back in
a moment," he hurried away to the spring.
Strange as it may seem, the enemy did come at just
that moment; the fortification was captured, and he
fell pierced with bayonets. As the lifeblood was flow-
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 179
ing from his many wounds he reflected: "How
strange that they should come at just the moment I
was gone! This is the result of one moment's care-
lessness; I've lost my life by taking one risk in ten
thousand."
Many a man has trifled his soul away in just this
manner. We are dealing with an enemy who watches
for our moments of weakness, and takes advantage of
every risk we run.
An oriental legend reads:
"A thousand years a poor man watched
Before the gate of Paradise;
But while one little nap he snatched,
It oped and shut. Ah! was he wise?"
Salvation for All
During our civil war a sergeant opened a recruiting
station, and it soon became apparent that, while few
of the citizens of standing enlisted, the ranks were fill-
ing up w^ith the worst men in town. Some entire regi-
ments w^ere made up of this class of persons. It would
not be fair to say that the sergeant chose these per-
sons and preferred them for army service. They
came, and he was glad enough to receive them. If
they were bad men it was his purpose to transform
them into good soldiers.
So Christ offered salvation to all men; the publi-
cans and harlots came in large numbers; much was
forgiven, they loved much, and became his substan-
tial followers. He likewise offered his salvation to
180 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
the most respectable and moral, but large numbers of
this class in all ages have chosen rather to reject it. It
has come to pass that more time has been needed to
convince many men that they are sinners than to per-
suade them to accept of Christ.
Salvation from Sin
The greatest question is not how to till the soil, or
carry on manufactures; the greatest question is not
tariff, or commerce, or money-making; the greatest
question is not the construction of constitutions and
laws for states and governments; the greatest ques-
tion is not how to gather vast stores of knowledge,
how to rob the earth of its treasures, how to compel
the stars to give up their secrets, how to fathom the
deep depths of philosophy.
O how helpless is human philosophy in the presence
of the ravages of evil ! It is but a barricade of rushes
to keep out the roaring lion seeking whom he may
devour; it is but a dike of straw to stop the ocean's
resistless tide.
The autobiography of Solomon Maimon, a Polish
Jew, who lived in the middle of the eighteenth cen-
tury, has been translated and published in this coun-
try. He mastered the whole range of ancient and
modern philosophy, wrote a large number of philo-
sophical works, and was one of the most leanied men
of his age. But he neglected and failed to provide for
his family, and pursued his studies in the midst of
poverty, filth, and quarreling. At length he forsook
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 181
his family altogether, was legally separated from his
wife, and became a veritable philosophical tramp.
What little money came into his hands was spent in
beastly drunkenness and filth, and at last he died, in
the year 1800, in extreme poverty and wretchedness,
a most glaring illustration of the utter helplessness of
human learning as a cure for the moral ailments of
human nature. In this man the lofty speculations of
philosophy and the lowest depths of moral depravity
dwelt side by side.
The greatest problem of human history is the sal-
vation from sin which the Bible tells so much about.
And the Gospel of Christ undertakes to solve this
problem as no other gospel has done or can do.
Salvation Is of God
The delicate and complicated human spirit was
made by a heavenly artist, and there is not a machinist
on earth who can repair it when it gets out of order;
it must be taken back to its divine Maker for repair.
Human skill is very great. These are days of mar-
velous invention. Men can repair old houses and
make them look as well as new ; they can repair wag-
ons, sleighs, and mowing machines; they can mend
the most intricate machinery in our mills and facto-
ries; they can even make anew a crushed and broken
human body. The operations of modern surgery are
simply marvelous. The blind are made to see, and the
deaf to hear; missing bones are supplied, and crooked
ones straightened; diseased brains and intestines are
182 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
removed, and no part of the body seems beyond the
reach of human skill.
But man has discovered no surgery for the diseased
human spirit. He may control physics, but not meta-
physics. There is not a machine shop on earth to
repair a seared conscience, or a demoralized will, or
a polluted imagination. Does anybody know of any
manufacturing establishment on earth that makes new
wills for those who have ruined the ones God gave
them, or new consciences for those who have polluted
the ones they originally possessed? This is God's
work, and not man's.
Sanctification of Human Nature
We cannot say just what effect sin produced on the
human spirit; just what the disorder consists of;
nor can we tell just what it is necessary for God to
do in order to make a fallen spirit right again.
If a wagon breaks down we can look at it and see
what the matter is; and we can say to the mechanic:
"This wheel needs making over," "This axle needs
straightening," or "This tire needs setting."
But the spirit of man is an invisible thing; and our
knowledge of mental science is not sufficient to enable
us to say just how sin has affected its powers and
faculties, and just where the great Creator must put
his hand to restore it to soundness again. Very likely
all attempts to unearth the philosophy of regeneration
will meet with failure; and all theories respecting the
mode of sanctification will only surround the problem
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 183
with darkness. Perhaps it is nothing short of pre-
sumption for sinful men to undertake to tell the
Almighty just how he shall save a sinful soul. It is
very likely that he knows more about it than we do.
All we can safely do is to take the teaching of Scrip-
ture, that sin has deranged human nature, that it has
filled the human mind with evil thoughts, with low
and base motives, with wicked purposes and desires,
which find their expression in equally wicked actions;
and that God who made the human spirit in the be-
ginning can restore man to spiritual soundness again.
And Christian experience attests the fact that when
God has done this great work the evil thoughts fly
away like a flock of frightened birds; the desires be-
come pure and benevolent; the motives which are the
very springs of action are made holy; all bitterness,
and hatred, and selfishness, and meanness are driven
from the heart; and the renewed man realizes the
apostle's statement, "If any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new."
Secret Sin
When a man supposes his wicked acts are all under
cover he views them with the utmost composure. In-
dulging the thought that his evil desires, plans, and
purposes are all unknown, with smiling face he will
fold his hands over a breast as black as midnight and
as loathsome as a dungeon. Many a man has lived in
luxury and composure for years together on the fruits
184 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
of his stealing, without a thought of repentance or
restitution while it was all unknown; but when dis-
covery came, when the light was turned on, he has
broken down in anguish and shame, and ended his
days by suicide.
We can hardly doubt that if the secret sins of any
community were exposed to the broad sunlight, some
fine morning, many persons would kill themselves be-
fore night, and many more w^ould leave town by the
first train, never to return. It is no doubt a wise
arrangement that our fellow-men cannot know all the
secret sins of our lives.
Two things, however, are certain: We know them
ourselves — and the remembrance often makes us hang
our heads with shame — and God knows them. We
stand face to face with One who can tell us all things
that ever we did.
I preached to a man for three years who looked me
unflinchingly in the face every Sunday, while I talked
about defaulters and dishonest practices, and it after-
ward came to light that he was stealing all these years.
Sccd-sowingf
In the autumn time we may see stalks of grain still
standing, from the heads of which the grain has fallen
out, and a little green patch about the stalks will show
that the kernels have again sprouted for another crop.
Such stalks are emblems of Christians who have
grown old in the service, and live to see a good crop
springing up from their own sowing. It is the joy
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 185
of their old age that they can see their children and
neighbors continuing the good work that they have
loved.
Thistles likewise ripen early, and the winds carry
their seeds far and wide, which spring up for a new
crop while the old stalks still wave defiantly in the
wind. Such are old worn-out sinners who live to see
others following their example and doing evil because
they have done evil. An old man of my acquaintance
was a notorious drunkard all his mature years, and he
lived to stand with three of his sons before the bar of
a county tavern so drunk that they held on to each
other to keep from falling.
Seizing Opportunities
The newspapers give an incident which has a lesson
for men in spiritual things.
The Duke of Marlborough, with his prospective
American bride and some friends, was strolling at
Newport past the tent of a photographer, and the duke
asked him if he thought he could take the group. The
photographer replied that he took groups only at his
rooms, some distance away. He had his little rule in
this matter and did not wish to vary from it, so the
party walked on. Many people tie themselves up
by foolish rules, and cannot take advantage of
opportunities.
A moment later a friend said to him, ''You missed
a splendid opportunity; that was the Duke of Marl-
borough." The photographer discovered when it was
186 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
too late that he had missed an opportunity that might
have been a small fortune to him.
In higher, spiritual matters men fall into the habit
of letting opportunities go by until at last there are no
more opportunities. Some one has wisely and wit-
tily said, 'The people most in danger of going to hell
are those who expect to start for heaven to-morrow."
I once heard a layman say in a public meeting, 'Ter-
haps some of you are planning to do something by
and by; but the future is greatly overworked already."
We are planning to do many things by and by that
will never be done, because we let all opportunities slip
by. When Christ knocks let us hasten to the door.
Service the Test of Greatness
The sun does not draw in light and heat to itself
from the surrounding universe. It stands uncovered
in the heavens and ceaselessly gives out floods of light
and warmth for millions of miles around; and so
many volumes of poetry have been written in praise
of the sun.
Let me give two illustrations which came under my
own observation. A wealthy and very generous
Christian man died in a certain city, and as his body
was borne to its last resting place the streets were
lined with poor people who came from the alleys and
workshops to do him honor. Dirty handkerchiefs
wiped many a tear from dirty faces, as one after an-
other said, '1 have lost a friend."
I was compelled to attend the funeral of another
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 187
wealthy man, a member of a Qiristian church in a
neighboring city, and was mortified to hear on every
hand the expression, ''He was the smallest, meanest
man in the city;" and they brought facts to prove it.
Both men had had the same opportunity to show
what they would do with wealth; the one was voted
great and good, the other small and mean.
Sick-bed Repentance
As a pastor I have had a very discouraging expe-
rience with sick-bed repentance.
A young man of Christian parents was brought to
the very verge of death by a severe accident, and fear-
ing he might die he made a profession of religion,
was baptized, and received into the church on proba-
tion. Slowly he recovered, and as slowly his reli-
gious experience faded away and his promises were
forgotten.
I visited another under very similar circumstances.
A dangerous wound brought him near to death, and
after repeated conversations he professed to believe on
Christ, and was anxious to get well that he might
come to church and make a public profession of his
faith. But he never came. It was all forgotten when
health returned.
Still another young man I was called to visit in
dangerous sickness. Greatly alarmed about himself,
he spent his time in earnest prayer, planned a complete
revolution of his life, was even going into the minis-
try, and consulted me respecting a course of study for
188 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
that purpose. But when he was restored to health no
amount of urging could get him to church, his con-
victions faded away, and he drifted into skepticism.
These instances resulted in recovery; in other cases
death ensued, and the outcome is with God. I have
stood by the deathbed of many who left their prepara-
tion for eternity to the last moment ; and I have heard
them cry in agony, "I don't know how to believe on
Christ ; tell me how to believe on him.''
I was called to the dying bed of a young man who
would not have a minister so long as there was any
hope of his recovery. When I first called his friends
warned me to be very careful and not say too much
about religion; but as death approached he became
eager and anxious to converse on the subject. He
sent for me two or three times a day to pray with him,
and seemed somehow to think that the minister could
save him. With panting breath he tried to join in the
prayers offered and the hymns sung, while an expres-
sion of great anxiety and fear rested on his coun-
tenance. He was trying to find God, but did little
more than cling to the minister.
I was sent for by a mother to see her daughter who
was going into consumption ; but the young lady has-
tened out of the back door as she saw me coming in.
Later, however, she sent for me, when she found that
death was fast approaching, and was ready to talk
about the concerns of her immortal soul.
Many times I have been sent for to visit unsaved
men in the dying hour after the dark pall of uncon-
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 189
sciousness had fallen upon them, and they could hear
nothing that was said. It is a cruel inconsistency to
place a minister of Christ in such a position. If peo-
ple wait so long it would be just as well to wait longer.
Sin
Sin is like the unequal distribution of heat in nature
which keeps the ocean in continual agitation and fills
the air with gales and storms. Sin is an element of
unrest everywhere. God has said that the wricked are
like the troubled sea when it cannot rest. Sin has pro-
duced all the wars, and strifes, and turmoils, and
hatreds of earth. There is no peace for men until they
are beyond the dominion of sin.
Sin is out of place in human nature. It is a defile-
ment upon that which should have been clean and
beautiful. I went into my garden one beautiful Sun-
day morning in summer. The sun was shining in
glory; the dew was sparkling on the grass; and the
flowers were smiling in beauty on every side. It was
a scene of exquisite loveliness.
But a snake had been seen in that beautiful garden.
Could it be that so vile a reptile was in such a place
of beauty? I searched about for a long time among
the blooming flowers. There was nothing in their
fragrance or beauty to indicate that a snake had ever
been there. It seemed like the last place in the world
where one could find a serpent.
But at last I found him, coiled up on top of a bunch
of beautiful white lilies in the bright sunshine. I took
190 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
a hoe, and, softly approaching the reptile, with one
vigorous blow laid him lifeless at my feet.
That snake coiled up among the white lily blossoms
is a picture of sin in human nature; a stain, a blotch
upon the fairest work of God, and entirely out of
place.
Sin and Death
Sin leads to death. The railroad track leads to
New York. If a man boards the train and follows
the track he will reach the city. The train may stop
at this station and stop at that; it may back up some-
times, and go faster or slower, but it will reach its
destination by and by.
If a man should undertake to walk every foot of
the way he would eventually reach his destination if
he followed the track. It would require many days,
but the great city would by and by come in sight
without fail.
A snail may creep along by the side of the track,
and the result is just as certain. It may pass two win-
ters before the journey is completed, but if it persist-
ently follows the track it will reach New York.
And if a man follows sin he will reach death by
and by. He may halt and back up; run onto side
tracks for a time; go faster, go slower; but if he per-
sistently practices sin he will reach death in the end.
Some go faster than others, but all go.
And under the present constitution of things a man
ought not to expect that he can follow a course of sin
and reach any other destination. A man ought not to
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 191
suppose that he can live In sin all his life and then fare
as well as the man who has taken the trouble to obey
God's laws.
Sin and Law
We live under an administration of law ; and we do
not complain of this, but think it a wise arrangement.
Natural law touches us in every experience of life.
It is a law of nature that fire burns. If a man
thrusts his hand into the fire he expects it to be burned ;
and we do not complain of this, we simply try to keep
our hands out of the fire.
It is a law of nature that water will drown us. We
do not quarrel with this arrangement, but we try to
keep out of the water.
We are ceaselessly operating under the law of
gravitation, by which an unsupported body is drawn
toward the center of the earth. If a man walks off the
edge of a precipice he goes down to destruction. We
accept this as a wise law, and try to keep away from
the edge of the precipice.
And so relentless are these laws in their operation
that, though a child innocently and ignorantly violates
them, he must surely pay the penalty. And we do not
complain of even this. We think it better to have a
uniform system of law, with all its hardships, than
to be without law.
Our mental operations are also regulated by law.
We think by law, and feel by law ; and if we violate
the laws of mind we must pay the penalty. We do
not complain that God has so ordered it that if a man
192 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
does not cultivate his mental faculties they will dete-
riorate, we rather try to become acquainted with the
laws of our being and live in harmony with them.
God has given us laws in the moral and spiritual
realm also; and the Bible says that **Sin is the trans-
gression of the law." These higher laws have their
penalty as well as the lower. A man ought not to
think that he can live a life of sin and not suffer the
inevitable consequences. It is not reasonable. Con-
sequently men ought to become familiar with God's
moral and spiritual laws and obey them as they obey
the laws of matter and mind.
Sin, Its Bondagfe
A poor drunkard told me he had resolved over and
over again to conquer his appetite; had begged of
friends to help him; had put himself under the best
of influences; had taxed the arts of physicians, and
put under contribution every agency, but had repeat-
edly fallen, until he had lost all heart, and was crushed
under the power of this base appetite — humbled, mor-
tified, in the most cruel and disgusting slavery, with
no power to break the galling yoke. What an abject
slavery is this! How men abhor themselves when
they behold their helplessness !
Another poor slave to intoxicating drink, after re-
peated efforts and repeated failures, came to my house
late one Sunday evening and wanted to take the
pledge. I wrote a strong pledge, and, after reading it
to him, he signed it, and went his way. In a few
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 193
weeks he came back and wanted another pledge. The
old one was broken and lost. As I was writing it he
said, with pitiful tone and expression: *Tut some-
thing into it that will make me keep it." He had lost
all confidence in himself.
He asked what man cannot give, but I tried to show
him that God could put something into him that would
make it possible for him to keep his pledge.
Sin^ Its Action and Reaction
Every sin is a power for evil let loose in human
society, and the amount of harm done by it will depend
on the influence of the sinner or the circumstances
attending his sin. An earthquake in mid-Pacific sent
a tidal wave sweeping for hundreds of miles to sub-
merge and destroy thirty thousand people on the coast
of Japan. A little pebble dropped into the ocean has
likewise power to send a little ripple in widening
circles to the farthest extent of the ocean. And God
will hold us responsible for what influence we have,
and not for what we have not. If we have the intel-
lectual power to send a resistless wave of influence
sweeping down the ages God will hold us responsible
for the character of that influence; but if we have
power to send only a ripple of influence across the
surface of human society we shall be held responsible
for that ripple.
A Christian woman told me that when she com-
menced the Christian life she watched the wives of
the official members of the Church, determined to live
194 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
as they lived. She soon found that she was losing
ground in religious things, and was obliged to look
to a higher ideal. When we little think it our ex-
ample for evil is helping some one to travel in the
wrong road.
And every sin which gives a wrong impulse to
others likewise reacts to make the sinner worse and
confirm him in his evil course. In the civil war some
Federal batteries were planted behind earthworks at
Port Hudson very close to the rebel fortifications.
When shells were fired into the enemy's breastworks
they frequently exploded in the ground, and the pieces
would fly back to kill or wound the very men who had
fired the shells. And every man who hurls an evil
thought or deed out into human life lets loose a force
for evil which not only harms others, but returns with
baleful power upon his own head.
Spifittial Cripples
A tree with one limb stretching out in proper pro-
portion and the other limbs stunted or dead is not a
beautiful tree. A man with one vigorous, natural
arm and the other withered and helpless by his side is
not a pleasant sight. If a sculptor should undertake
to chisel the human form from a block of marble, and
should make one arm too long and the other too short,
leaving out one eye altogether, it would not redeem
his work from failure that the nose was of proper
shape and the shoulders well rounded. And when we
see a man with some excellences of character, but with
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 195
many weaknesses and defects, we can only regard
him as a moral and religious cripple. Men compla-
cently excuse themselves by saying, *'0, every one has
his faults." That is no doubt true; but it does not
cure faults to excuse them. Probably a cripple is bet-
ter than no man at all, and a spiritual cripple better
than no Christian at all.
Spiritual Death
You have seen a dead tree standing in a pasture.
What a desolate thing it is ! Once it was alive. For
years it shot out leaves and branches every spring, put
forth its beautiful blossoms, and every autumn was
loaded with rich fruit. The cattle lay in its shade pro-
tected from the heat of the sun ; insects sported in the
coolness it afforded; birds sang and built their nests
among its branches ; children played in its shadow and
enjoyed its delicious fruit. But one year its leaves
were smaller than usual, the blossoms few in number,
and the fruit stunted. The next year there were fewer
leaves and blossoms, and the next no blossoms at all —
only a few sickly leaves. The next spring, when other
trees were putting on their beautiful foliage, it re-
mained naked. It was dead. It still stands in its
accustomed place, towering up into the sky; but no
sap courses up through its roots and trunk to nourish
the distant branches. No green leaves appear to
clothe its nakedness; no beautiful blossoms adorn it;
when autumn comes there is no fruit; the children
play there no more; the cattle find shelter elsewhere;
196 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
the birds have forsaken its branches, no nests are built,
no songs are heard ; the bark is dropping from it, and
the branches are falling one by one. The tree is dead,
and stands in desolation crumbling back to earth
again.
Like such dead trees are the Christian characters of
some who were once warm and active and zealous in
the service of Christ. They were clothed in the beau-
tiful garments of salvation; they were fruit-bearing
Christians; the wayfarer found shelter beneath their
shadow ; they were liberal ; they ministered to the sick
and succored the tempted; they comforted the weak
and revived the faint; their voices were everywhere
heard in honor of Christ, and they were foremost in
all good works. But a change came over them ; a chill
passed over the ardor of their love; their zeal waned;
their good works grew less and less; the warm flush
of spiritual health faded away, and the pale hue of
death took its place. They may stand in the same
place in the church, as the tree stands in its place in
the pasture, its dismal branches stretching up into the
heavens, but, like the tree, they are dead; having the
form of godliness but not the power of it. A sadder
sight than a dead tree is a dead Christian.
Spiritual Geography
The devirs territory' and ImmanueFs ground lie
side by side in this world, and the two lands are much
alike on the border. The soils are quite similar, and
the surfaces much the same. The adversary has fixed
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 197
up his grounds so that they look almost as well on the
border as the fields of the pleasant land. He comes in
the garb of an angel of light to deceive the very elect,
and often succeeds in doing so.
This line between the devil's territory and Imman-
uel's ground is like the line between day and night on
the surface of the earth ; the light and darkness shade
into each other. But these two countries, which look
so alike on the border, change entirely in appearance
as we go back into the interior. The one grows
brighter and brighter until it reaches the glory of
eternal day; while the other grows continually darker
and darker until it ends in eternal night.
This border land seems to be densely populated.
Many sinners have come up toward the border, and
many saints have come down toward the border, and
there they stand in crowds parleying across the line
as if to effect a compromise, so mixed in appearance
and manner that ordinary eyes cannot distinguish be-
tween them. If Christians will persist in living on the
border, if they will try to be just as near the dividing
line as possible without actually crossing it, is it any
wonder if they get things mixed and are actually over
the line without knowing it?
Dr. Holland speaks of "worldly people with tender
consciences and Christian people w^th tough con-
sciences;" and such a condition furnishes the exact
materials necessary for a mingling of the church and
the world. What is imperatively needed to-day is
a church that is unlike the world — a great host of
198 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
Christian men and women who are readily distin-
guishable from all other men and women by the holi-
ness of their lives. The church of God needs to leave
this border land, and move back into the interior.
Spifitual Ligfht
All the spiritual light there is in the world radiates
from the lives of Christians. The individual soul is
the wick of the candle or lamp, the oil is divine grace,
and the wick is ignited by a spark of heavenly fire. It
is in the wick that the light is visible. There is no
light in systems of theology. Divine truth becomes
luminous only in the lives of Christian men and
women.
Formerly churches were lighted with candles — a
large number of them for a large church. Now a few
great electric lights accomplish the purpose. The for-
mer method better represents the spiritual light of the
church. No one great man does the shining for the
whole church. Every member is a little candle, and
the aggregate of all the candles constitutes the light
of the church. Let a candle represent one member;
then if all are lit we have a three-hundred, five-hun-
dred, seven-hundred candle-power church. But if
three fourths of the candles are not lit the church can-
not shine at its best. But let all be lit, all trimmed, all
carefully and often snuffed, all thieves taken away
from the wicks, and you have a magnificent spiritual
light. The loss of one candle reduces the aggregate
of the light.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 199
It is much better to have every member contribute
something to the aggregate light of the church than
to have a few members do all the shining, for if any-
thing happens to these few the light of the church
goes out.
I preached in one church which was lighted by two
large electric lights, and the result was as disastrous
as to have a church run by two great men. These two
great electric lights used to hiss and sputter contin-
ually, burning very low and then flaring up at inter-
vals, until one evening, after the usual unpleasant
demonstrations, they went out altogether. The more
recent and better method is to have a large number of
small electric lights. And this much better represents
the spiritual light of the church, which is the aggre-
gate of all the lights which the members shed on the
community.
Spxfittial Magnetism
The saved man receives new elements into his life;
he comes under celestial Influences; the power of an
endless life rests upon him ; and he is ceaselessly drawn
Godward and heavenward.
The needle in the compass trembles and sways from
side to side, yet always settles toward the north. It
looks like any other piece of steel, but a mysterious
power has come upon it ; it is chained to the pole, and
gladly obeys the influence that controls it.
So perfect is this submission to a higher power that
the hunter takes it into the dense forest, and in the
darkest day, or blackest night, it will point to the
200 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
north and guide his footsteps aright. The mariner
takes it out onto the trackless ocean, and it remains
true to the pole. When the sun is shining in the heav-
ens, or the stars sparkling above him, he hardly needs
his compass, but the needle points, nevertheless, to the
north. When storms arise, however; when thick
clouds shut out the friendly stars, and midnight dark-
ness settles over the howling waste of waters, he has
no other guide — he stands over his compass as his
only friend. And it guides him aright. He can sail
into the very teeth of the storm, through the thickest
pall of darkness, toward a port that is thousands of
miles away.
And the Christian is a magnetized man. A myste-
rious heavenly influence has come upon him, and he is
chained Godward and heavenward in his course. He
looks like other men, but he is very different from any
other man who has not this divine power resting upon
him. Outside attractions may cause the needle to
sway backward and forward somewhat, but in all its
oscillations it yet points in the direction of its eternal
destiny. If a man is a Christian the whole drift of his
life is toward God and heaven.
"Rivers to the ocean run,
Nor stay in all their course;
Fire ascending seeks the sun ;
Both speed them to their source:
So a soul that's born of God,
Pants to view his glorious face;
Upward tends to his abode,
To rest in his embrace,"
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 201
Storms of Life
It is said that wind and storm never make any dif-
ference with the thermometer. It is no colder when
a fierce wind is blowing than when it is still; in fact,
the coldest days are generally still days. But storms
and winds make a great difference with these poor
sickly bodies of ours.
In like manner the winds and storms and troubles
of life have a very depressing effect on our poor sensi-
tive spirits, but they do not affect the temperature of
God's love. He loves us just as much when fierce
winds are buffeting us and tempests of trouble are
breaking upon our heads. But men find it very diffi-
cult to divest themselves of the old heathen notion that
prosperity is the sunshine of God's favor and afflic-
tion a sign of his wrath. When trouble and sorrow
fall upon them they begin to look about and ask,
''What have I done to merit all this?"
Sympathy
Sympathy is a noble word. It is the life current of
the church. Some scientists claim that there is a mag-
netic current passing around the earth from north to
south, and that if we lie down to sleep at night with
the head to the north this current will flow along the
nerves of the body and soothe us to rest, but if we lie
across the current it will fret us and disturb our
slumbers.
We need not concern ourselves about the correct-
202 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
ness of this theory; but there surely is a current of
sympathy flowing through the church of God. To be
in this current is to find rest in the church ; to be out
of this current, or across it, is to find the church a very
uncomfortable place.
Temperance
We have on the surface of the earth what is called
the temperate zone, the broad belt lying between the
tropic and polar circles — lying between extreme heat
and extreme cold. Its climate is temperate, moderate,
mild — neither too hot nor too cold. It is free from
the burning sun, the poisonous reptiles, the deadly
miasms of the tropics; and also from the enfeebling
cold and perpetual ice fields of the polar regions. The
temperate zone has ever been the most desirable part
of earth. Here civilization has spread, here Chris-
tianity has flourished, and here the great and heroic
deeds of history were performed. Strike out the tem-
perate zone, with its great achievements, and earth
with its history would largely disappear. And it is
the moderation of its climate which has made it what
it is, while the extremes of the tropic and polar re-
gions account for their unfavorable conditions.
In like manner temperance in its broadest sense is
the temperate zone of human life. Within this happy
mean have flourished health, joy, peace, friendship,
and piety; while intemperance has led to a large part
of the ills that afflict human life.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 203
Temperance Seesaw
Schoolboys in the country play a game of teetering.
A long board or plank is balanced over a rail in the
fence, one person sits on one end of the plank and the
other on the other end, while they teeter up and down.
As one goes up the other goes down; as the other
goes up the one goes down; neither gets any advan-
tage, and not much comes of it.
This has seemed to me a fair illustration of the
contest that has been long going on between the liquor
men and the radical temperance men. It is up and
down, up and dow^n, sometimes the one having the
advantage and sometimes the other. Neither has
gained a victory, and the question is still unsettled.
In this game of teetering a third person sometimes
took his seat on the plank just over the center of grav-
ity, where the motion of the plank affected him very
little, and where he had little or no influence over the
motion of the plank. This third person was called
the candlestick — probably because he shed the light of
his countenance equally on both contestants. Some-
times half a dozen boys sat on the fence just over the
middle of the plank and watched the game, while ex-
erting no influence upon it. If these boys on the
fence, however, moved over to one side or the other,
the opposite boy was hoisted high into the air and
held there, and there was nothing left him but to climb
down the plank to the side of the majority.
There is a great middle class in the temperance
204 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
issue who are merely spectators of the temperance
contest. They are over the center of gravity, and are
exerting very little influence on one side or the other.
And while they occupy this position the teetering goes
on between the liquor men and the radical temperance
men without much result.
If this great middle class would throw their weight
on the right side in this contest there can be no doubt
that the advocates of liquor would be worsted. And
why should they not? No man can quite afford to
stand over the center of gravity in a great moral issue.
Temptations
Temptations afford vigorous exercise to harden the
Spiritual muscles. Temptations are the heavy ham-
mer of the smith, the ringing ax of the woodman, the
dumb-bells of the gymnast, which tighten the tendons,
solidify the muscles, and invigorate the entire frame.
Temptations are the fiery sun of summer, the biting
frost of winter, which give color, hardiness, and endur-
ance to the physical system. Temptations are the
storms that sweep the ocean of life to give courage,
skill, and patience to the sailors who tread the
deck. Storms make sailors, and temptations make
Christians.
If the storms would surely crush and bury the ves-
sel in the boiling ocean our courage, vigor, and hardi-
ness would be purchased at too great a cost. If these
experiences are too strong for human nature they can-
not develop a spiritual life; and poor struggling souls
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 205
often declare that the divine discipline is too heroic
to do us any good. But God declares that he has an
eye on the training of his children, and will not suffer
them to be tempted beyond what they are able to bear ;
and we can well believe that God knows how much
discipline we need, and how great trials we can bear,
much better than we ourselves can know.
''Blessed is the man that endureth temptation."
Better a storm that blows us toward heaven than a
calm that delays our journey, or a gentle breeze that
blows us the other way; better a storm, so long as
Christ walks on the water to control the winds and
waves. Human experience seems to confirm the
teaching of God's word that the storms all blow heav-
enward. We must sail away from the better country
by beating against the storms. Christians make rapid
speed toward heaven when storms fill the sails. Six
months of trouble will often do more to culture a
Christian than six years of prosperity. The disciples
when crossing the Sea of Galilee thought the storm
a calamity, but it accomplished two purposes which
they did not anticipate — it brought Christ to them, and
it carried them just where they wanted to go.
"If, on a quiet sea,
Toward heaven we calmly sail,
With grateful hearts, O God, to thee,
We'll own the favoring gale.
But should the surges rise,
And rest delay to come.
Blest be the tempest, kind the storm,
Which drives us nearer home."
206 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
Testingf Truth
These are times of unusual intellectual restlessness
and questioning. Truth will be subjected to many
unreasonable tests, but we have no cause to fear the
ultimate result. Winnowing never injures wheat. It
is often necessary to run it through the fanning mill
two or three times to get it reasonably pure. And if
a person in mere wantonness should insist on running
it through a dozen fanning mills of as many different
kinds, it will be found that, in the face of the strong-
est blast, the heavy, full-sized wheat will come down
unharmed; while nothing but chaff, or dead insects,
or imperfect kernels will be blown away.
And God's undying truth will outlive all the tests
to which it may be subjected. Any amount of win-
nowing can only eject the chaff and half-filled kernels,
while the genuine truth will come back again to its
old place in the hearts and consciences of men.
Thirsting for God
We were going with our little girl a short distance
on the cars one hot summer day, when she was just
beginning to talk. We forgot before entering the
cars to give her a drink of water. The train had no
sooner started than she became thirsty, and began to
ask for water. I looked through the car and found
there was no water on it. That little cry became im-
portunate, and I searched the whole length of the
train, and inquired of brakeman and conductor; I
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 207
stopped at every station and looked for water, but
found none.
Then we tried to amuse her and divert her thoughts
from the burning thirst within; just as the world tries
to lead the human soul to forget its spiritual thirst.
We talked to her about her playthings and picture
books, but nothing could still that plaintive cry for
water. We told her about her relatives and little
playmates, but she answered us with the one word
*'Water,'' repeated over and over. We told her sto-
ries about animals she had learned to know by name,
and resorted to every expedient to divert her atten-
tion, but all to no purpose. She did not cry in anger,
but above our voices, and above the rattling of the
train, that little pitiful voice was ceaselessly heard
crying, ''Water, water, water," until the train reached
its destination.
This wonderful exhibition of persistent thirst led
me to think that if we thirsted after God in this fash-
ion; if we cried out for the living God as ceaselessly
and longingly, our spiritual thirst would somehow be
satiated, for God can do what earthly parents cannot.
And if we answered all the allurements and pleasures
and enticements of the world with the one persistent
cry, "My God, my God, my God, give me more of
thyself," we might have less of the world, perhaps,
but we should have the fullness of God's presence in
our souls.
Searching through that train, and resorting to every
expedient to get water for that child, brought to mind
208 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
the beautiful words of our Saviour, *lf ye, then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children,
how much more shall your Father which is in heaven
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him." We may
say with the psalmist, ''My heart and my flesh crieth
out for the living God;" and God will satisfy the
longings of our souls.
Toucbingf Christ
It is entirely legitimate to win people to ourselves,
that through ourselves we may cause them to touch
Christ. If persons join hands in a circle it is neces-
sary for only two of them to take hold of the handles
of a battery and all alike feel the shock. I am smitten
with the electric current, not because I took hold of
my neighbor's hand, but because I somehow — any-
how—-came under the power of the battery. And a
man is vivified by the power of the Gospel, not because
he has touched Paul, or Wesley, or some favorite
preacher, or fellow-Christian, but because through any
of these means he has come under the power of Christ.
If we occupy such a relation that the sap from the
main vine finds its way through other branches to us,
we are in the spiritual current, and will live, blossom,
and bear fruit.
Types of Christian Character
We must recognize the fact that, on account of the
infirmities of human nature, there are a great many
types of Christian character — some more and some
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 209
less excellent and beautiful. With God the same,
Christ the same, the Spirit the same, and the truth the
same, it yet comes to pass that there is almost an end-
less variety of Christian character.
The difference is in the persons — just as different
kinds of glass transmit the same sunlight with vary-
ing colors and effects. Every flaw in a window pane
modifies the sunlight which passes through it.
The white sunlight is not a simple light, but is made
up of rays of different colors, which blend to form the
white. There are red rays, yellow rays, blue rays,
and the different colors of objects result from their
power to reflect this or that kind of ray most per-
fectly. An object which appears red reflects the red
rays and absorbs the rest; a yellow object reflects the
yellow rays and absorbs the others; while a black
object reflects no rays whatever but absorbs them all,
and a white object reflects all and absorbs none. Thus
it is that the same sunlight gives us objects of differ-
ent colors and beauty. Different colored glasses can
separate these rays, hindering or entirely suppressing
some, while permitting others to pass. And it is re-
served for the prism to separate these rays entirely
and throw all the colors on a screen in a beautiful
halo of light.
In like manner different types of persons, in receiv-
ing heaven's blessed light upon them, transmit it with
vastly differing effects and beauty.
Some can transmit only one attribute of God — his
love — while all the rest are stopped and absorbed in
210 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
passing through them. They are charming persons,
but no just reflection of the many-sided God we
worship.
Others can reflect only his justice, while the love is
absorbed. They are upright, just, stern, severe, un-
lovable Christians.
The various denominations of Christians each seem
to single out one attribute of God to make a hobby
of, and put special emphasis upon, while the others
are given less consideration. One has magnified
God's omnipotence until they make him an almighty
machine that relentlessly does everything he is able
to do without reference to the wisdom of what he
does. The divine foreknowledge has been broadened
by many until it trenches upon the prerogatives of
omnipotence. Another great body of Christians has
emphasized divine holiness beyond anything else;
while another puts almost the sole emphasis on God's
love, making him a being too weak and tender-hearted
to do what really ought to be done.
Christians should be prisms — reflecting all the light
of God that falls upon them, in just proportion and
beauty, not hindering or modifying the divine light
in any way.
Unity of God
There is need of the divine unity in the government
of the universe. There must be one head, and only one.
The religion of the Parsees — perhaps the noblest of
the ethnic religions — enthroned two principles, good
and evil, with equal power and authority — the one to
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 211
undo the work of the other. Two gods, ruling alter-
nately or ruling as rivals, would thoroughly upset
each other's plans. There must be a single authority.
The House of Representatives passes a law, and the
Senate rejects it; or, both houses pass it, and the
President vetoes it ; or, it passes both houses, with the
President's signature, and the Supreme Court pro-
nounces it unconstitutional. The co-ordinate kings of
Sparta were in continued rivalry. Homer represents
the gods as taking different sides in the Trojan war —
a part fighting on the side of the Greeks, and a part
for the beleaguered city.
"For mortal men celestial powers engage,
And gods on gods exert eternal rage."
No plan of salvation could stand on such a basis.
The terms might be changed at any time and the whole
plan vitiated.
Value of Love
There are no words so pleasant to human ears as
the words, "I love you." These three short words
bring the highest earthly joy to the timid maiden's
heart. These three words fire the soul of the young
man, and make him ready to do and dare for the one
who utters them. These simple words cheer the bur-
dened wife in the midst of her household cares and
inspire the husband and father in his labors for the
family. Children grow up in gentleness, virtue, and
piety under the influence of loving words ; and parents
212 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
are comforted in their cares and anxieties by loving
words from their children.
I knew a little boy who used to go to his mother
twenty times a day, and, twining his arms about her
neck, say, ''Mamma, I love you." He was naughty
sometimes, and disobedient, and made some trouble,
but this atoned for it all. There is hope for the boy
who continues to love his mother.
How it warms our hearts toward a person to be
told that he loves us. We may have been indifferent
to him; we may have had a poor opinion of him; he
may have grave weaknesses and faults; but it raises
him wonderfully in our estimation to know that he
loves us. His faults hide away, and his virtues come
to the front at once, and we think he is quite a man
after all.
And it is one of the most precious thoughts in all
the wide range of Christianity that God so values hu-
man love as to ask for it, bid for it, plead for it, and
miss it if it is not given.
Waiting for Favorable Opportunities
Three haymakers had a large field of clover to cut —
so large that it would require two days to do it suc-
cessfully, as the grass was heavy and would not dry
in one day. Clover must be cut at the right time or
it suffers a rapid deterioration. They delayed as long
as possible for weather so favorable that they could
be reasonably assured of two good days in succession.
A week was thus spent in waiting, and the grass was
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 213
more than ripe, when it was resolved to cut it on the
following Monday.
But Monday morning was dark and lowery, and
they thought it would rain before noon, so the work
was postponed till Tuesday. The weather cleared,
however, after a few hours, but it was too late for
that day. Tuesday morning was darker than ever, and
bringing all their wisdom to bear on the weather, they
decided that it must rain within two hours, so the
work was postponed till Wednesday, But before
noon on Tuesday the sun was shining bright and hot
and it proved an excellent hay day. Thus it con-
tinued day after day, the morning dark and threat-
ening, and the latter part of the day fair. A whole
week was thus spent in irresolution, and in the
meantime the grass had become so ripe as to be
almost worthless.
The second Monday morning looked darker than
ever, if possible, and two of the men were in favor of
waiting still longer for fair weather, but the third
said, *'No; it is time we attended to our clover and
stopped gazing at the clouds." The clover was cut,
and by Tuesday night was safely in the barn ; and so
it might have been just one week before. *'He that
observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that re-
gardeth the clouds shall not reap." The best rule
for the farmer is to sow when seedtime comes, and
reap when the grain is ripe, with little attention to
weather signs.
The same rule has been found to apply to spiritual
214 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
sowing and reaping. Whoever watches and waits for
entirely favorable opportunities will never accomplish
much. The man w^ho does most is the one who keeps
in mind the rule, "In season, out of season."
"Waiting for God
The man who cannot wait cannot accomplish great
things. The history of the world furnishes many
illustrations of this truth.
The Cologne cathedral was six hundred years and
over in building. I climbed up to the top of one of
the seven mountains of the Rhine and saw the quarry
from which the stone was dug, and they were still
at work there. I looked upon the unfinished building ;
saw men cutting stone in the rear under sheds ; looked
upon the immense scaffolding by which they raised
stones to the towers yet incomplete, while the stones
on the old part were crumbling away with age. A
long time to wait for a cathedral! But at last the
scaffolds were taken down for the first time in six
hundred years. But we could afford to wait, for we
have in the end one of the grandest structures in the
world.
Lincoln and Douglas had a joint political debate
in Illinois to determine which should be United States
senator. I remember reading it when a boy. Lin-
coln uttered sentiments the country was not quite
ready for, but which were bound to triumph by and by.
Douglas became a senator, but that debate made Lin-
coln President in the great crisis of our civil war. We
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 215
can afford to take our stand on the right, and wait
until the world comes around to it.
The man who gets in a hurry in studying God's
operations in nature and providence is in great dan-
ger of becoming a skeptic.
God's ancient people grew very restless in Baby-
lonian captivity, when they read in their prophets that
this cruel city was to be wiped out of existence. Time
seemed to drag at a snail's pace; but the papers an-
nounce that the site of buried Babylon is now owned
by two Jews.
For many years the cry of the enslaved went up to
heaven from our own land, and many cried out, "How
long, O Lord, how long?" Some were even led to
question the justice and judgment of God; and they
shut their Bibles and threw them aside because God
was so slow. But God's time came at last, and he did
what the nation had refused to do.
And if we see wrongs unrighted to-day let us not
doubt or be discouraged, but wait, wait, wait for God.
His eye is on things, and his purpose never falters.
Waste Material
In the great locomotive works at Schenectady the
best iron that is used in the construction of an engine
is made from refuse iron bought from the railroads
for a trifle. This scrap iron is cut up into small pieces,
and a certain weight of these pieces is wired to a
board, which is put into a furnace. By the time the
board is burned up the pieces of iron are fused to-
216 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
gether, and the mass is then hammered into a bolt.
The bolts thus made are nearly of the same size, and
as they are needed for different parts of the engine
they are heated again and again and hammered into
shape. Thus the best iron is made, for the most im-
portant parts of a wonderful machine which must be
as perfect as possible, from material that is usually
thrown away.
So can God make something very useful and very
perfect out of what is considered the very poorest
human material. Though called scraps, these waste
pieces of iron are nevertheless just as good as any
iron. They only need a little more working over. So
the waste scraps of humanity, which are too often
neglected and despised, sometimes contain the very
best material, and may be made fit for the highest uses.
"Watchmgf
Whoever has stood by the side of a pilot on a Miss-
issippi River steamboat must know something about
watching. The Mississippi is a very crooked river,
winding about in every direction, full of snags and
rocks, islands and sandbars, and shallow places. There
are short corners to be turned, and constant danger of
running over something that will endanger the vessel,
its cargo, and the lives of the passengers. While
making a trip during the civil war from Port
Hudson to Cairo our vessel struck another vessel
in a fog, and ran over a snag which damaged one
of the wheels.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 217
It is no sleepy man's task to carry a vessel success-
fully along such a river; and the pilot is not a sleepy
man. You speak to him, and he will answer your
questions; but his hands are never taken from the
wheel, which moves backward and forward to keep
the vessel in its proper course. He will chat with his
friends, and join the social laugh, and one not seeing
him might think him engaged in nothing else but so-
cial intercourse ; but all this time his eye is never taken
from the channel of the river, and he has not for a
moment forgotten that he is a pilot. He will discuss
with you politics and religion, and talk over the news
of the day; but he is at the same time constantly look-
ing out for snags and sand bars, turning his vessel
here and there that he may avoid danger and find deep
water.
If night comes on, or a fog settles, his eye grows
sharper, he peers more intently into the distance, and
grasps the wheel more firmly. He may fail to hear
what you say, or to answer your questions ; he may ask
you not to talk to him any more, so fully is his mind
occupied with watching, that he may keep the vessel
in her course. The fact that his own life, a valuable
cargo, and the lives of many passengers all depend on
his vigilance is a heavy responsibility. He dare not
forget that he is a pilot.
In some such way must the Christian watch. He
has life's duties to perform. He must engage in busi-
ness, politics, science, art, literature ; he must talk with
friends, and meet the claims of social life; but none
218 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
of these things must so engross his attention that he
will for a moment forget that he is trying to steei*
successfully through a world of snares and dangers to
the port of eternal life. He must not be interested in
anything so fully as to forget that he is first of all a
Christian. He must live in the world and yet be on his
guard against it. And when dangers thicken, when
the way grows dark and mists gather around, he must
neglect earthly things, if necessary, and keep his eye
on the main purpose of life.
"Watching Harder Work than Fightingf
A soldier in the Northern army during the civil
war went for the first time on picket post in the ene-
my's country. It was midnight. He was entirely
alone, and half a mile from any other sentinel. The
country swarmed with those who would gladly have
taken his life, and he felt it necessary to be constantly
on the alert. For this purpose he took his station
under the thick branches of a tree and began his watch.
For the first hour he did nothing but peer out into the
darkness watching every shadow which his own fancy
had conjured up, and straining forward to catch every
sound that broke the stillness. Only those who have
tried it can know how fearfully wearying such a proc-
ess is. Soon his head began to ache ; soon it began to
reel; his nerves grew restless, and he started at every
sound. The strain became terrible ; and by the end of
the hour he thought he could endure it no longer.
Setting his gun down, he muttered, "If there are any
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 219
rebels here they are welcome to the first shot, for I
can stand this no longer;" and leaning back against
the fence he was soon asleep. If the rebels did not
kill him it was only because there were none in
the neighborhood at that time. He put himself
entirely in the power of any who might wish to
injure him.
Christians in like manner often grow tired of watch-
ing, and put themselves in the power of the enemy.
This soldier made two mistakes. He watched with
unreasonable intentness the first hour, and so paved the
way for a nervous reaction which resulted in abso-
lute carelessness. The Christian should use common
sense in the practice of religion. The exercises of the
Christian life are not meant to be slavery. Assured of
divine help, he should exercise his own powers in a
rational way. It is possible to establish a standard of
watching which can be maintained unbroken year after
year without reaction.
^What Wc Shall Be **
It is not what we shall have or enjoy, but what we
shall be. When we are considering merely enjoy-
ment— happiness, toys, possessions — we are on a very
low plane of thought ; and when we attempt to measure
heaven by what we shall have and enjoy there, we have
altogether missed the mark.
As the kingdom of God is within us here, so will it
be there. The term "kingdom of God" is a broad one,
covering the Christian's experience both here and here-
220 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
after; so that, as far as the Christian has come to be
right here, he has heaven already set up in his soul.
The future glory is only the perfection of our present
state and experience.
We have the bud here. We see little touches of
brilliant color, and catch a faint whiff of delicious
odor; but it is impossible to read in the bud the full
fragrance and glory of the rose.
But, while this is the case, we must remember that
the bud is of the same nature as the rose.
Wheat and Chaff
If you look at a head of wheat you can count the
chaff bulbs along the stalk, inside each of which is sup-
posed to be a kernel of wheat; but if you rub it in
your hand and extract the kernels there will not be as
many as there are bulbs of chaff — some of them were
empty.
The chaff is the profession; the kernel is the real
Christian life within. An inspection of the records of
any earthly church will reveal more names than actual
Christian characters. Some of the professions are
empty. Winnowing does not hurt wheat, but it is
bad for chaff. All forms, all professions, all externals
that are only empty chaff must be burned up ; nothing
will stand the test but the solid kernel of real piety.
And this will stand the test. There is no process in all
the government of God by which the wheat can be
burned up.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 221
Witness of the Spirit
Surely it is not an unreasonable doctrine that God
can speak to men, and so speak that they shall know
it is God who is speaking. Men can understand each
other; even foreigners can make each other under-
stand many things. Animals have means of communi-
cating with each other; men can understand animals
and animals can understand men. Would it not be
strange if God could not so speak as to make himself
understood by those spirits which he has created?
It may be necessary to listen for God's voice; it is
a ''still small voice." It may be necessary to hush our
spirits in the midst of the whirl and bustle of life, in
order to distinguish God's voice from all others.
An ancient philosopher taught the doctrine of the
music of the spheres. He said that the heavenly bodies
in their ceaseless revolutions give forth a delightful
melody which only the practiced ear has ever heard.
The bustle of earth is so loud and distracting as to
drown this heavenly music, but the old philosopher, in
the stillness of meditation, had somehow caught its
delicious strains. And at the midnight hour of a sum-
mer's night, when earth is at its stillest; when the
voices of men are hushed in slumber, and the bustle
of business has ceased; when the animal kingdom is
stilled in repose; when we hush our spirits and turn
the ear toward the blue heavens and listen, we fancy
we feel the throbbings of nature's pulse, and catch
some faint murmur of this heavenly music. In such
222 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
moments we can almost believe that this dream of the
old philosopher is a reality.
However this may be, we know that a music far
sweeter and more definite finds its way from heaven
to the soul of man — the voice of God, which speaks to
his children in assurance and love. While we are in
the midst of earth's noise and confusion it may be
necessary to turn aside for a time, enter our closets,
shut out the world, hush our hearts, and listen for the
voice of God which assures us of pardon and divine
favor.
Work for Christ
Work for Christ seems to have a wonderfully stimu-
lating influence on the life and character. Those who
begin it early in life generally go on to an active and
useful career; those who decline it, too often stagnate
and die. I call to mind a bright young man, occupying
a good position in business circles, who scarcely ever
spoke in a prayer meeting without expressing an ear-
i>c#' desire to do something for Christ. This was a
marked feature of his remarks. A leader was needed
for a young people's class, and I asked him to take
the place. His reply was, "O, I can't do that; I'm
not fitted for it; some one else can do it much'better."
I said to him, 'Then we mustn't hear any more in
prayer meeting about how much you want to do for
the Lord, when you refuse to do the first duty that
presents itself." I then asked him to lay the matter
before God in prayer, and see if he dared shirk such a
duty. After a few days he told me that he would
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 223
undertake it. He made one of the best class leaders
I ever knew, and showed such marked ability and
quickening of religious life, that he was soon elected
superintendent of the Sunday school, occupying the
position for many years with great success. From a
position of very little influence he rose in a year's time
to be the most influential man in the church.
Another young man, about twenty-one years of age,
had graduated from the Sunday school, as too many
do at about that age. He had not attended for some
time. One Monday morning I met him on the street,
and, laying my hand on his shoulder, said, "Young
man, we need you in the Sunday school," and went on
to other duties. He said to himself, 'They need me
in the Sunday school, do they ? I must go around and
see about that." The next Sunday he was in Sunday
school, and he remained an active worker for thirty
years or more, doing the most eflicient service for
Christ.
I wish I could say that all whom I have invited to
work for the Master have responded to the invitation.
Many others said "No," and persisted in the refusal,
dragging along in a serviceless religious life to the
very end.
Workingf with God
In the work of human salvation, and in Christian
work, God does something and man does something.
Men are slow to comprehend this fact and work fully
and cordially with God. Some think God will do it
all, and they content themselves with asking him to do
224 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
so. Others think man can do it all, and so they leave
God out of the account.
In mechanics the most difficult thing is to make a
splice. The joint is the weak part of every structure.
And this line of connection between God's work and
man's work seems to be the weakest part of a Chris-
tian experience. Men are slow to learn just how to
take hold of God, and work with him for themselves
and others. Faith is the bond of connection, but to
many persons faith is a very shadowy thing. There is
probably a profounder meaning in the emphasis
that Christ put upon faith than the church has yet
discovered.
Youth
If a person wishes to get an education, or learn a
trade, or enter on a profession, or master the details of
a business, or subdue a farm, he must do it early in
life or it will generally not be done at all. It is sad
to see an old man trying to clear land and establish a
home in a new country. I knew an old man who was
compelled by adverse circumstances to go West and
break up a new farm. After a few years he revisited
his old home in the East, wandering about the neigh-
borhood in the most desolate and heartbroken fashion.
He had undertaken something when it was too late to
make a success of it. It is equally sad to see an old
man trying to break up the fallow ground of his sinful
heart after energy and enthusiasm and persistence are
worn out in wrongdoing. The time to begin the Chris-
tian life is in youth.
Old Truths Newly Illustrated 225
Youths Manhood, AgfC
The little round of earthly life may be compared to
the changing shadows of a summer's day. In the
morning the shadows all point toward evening; at
noon there is little or no shadow ; at evening the shad-
ows point back again toward morning.
In youth the shadow points to manhood and age.
The hopes, desires, impulses, aspirations, are all for the
future. "Distance lends enchantment to the view."
The future is full of brightness and glory. This is so
of necessity, for youth cannot look back! It has no
past ; it has very little present ; it has only a future.
In manhood, when the sun of life has reached its
meridian, the man and shadow are identical; the
shadow is under his feet. He is wholly devoted to the
interests of the present; he neither looks backward
nor forward; desires neither departed youth nor pro-
spective age ; the present engrosses and satisfies all his
desires ; he washes things would forever remain as they
are. He is satisfied with himself, not as he was, not
as he will be, but just as he is.
In old age the shadow on the dial of existence points
back again to the brightness of its rising. The old
pilgrim turns his eyes wistfully back to manhood and
youth. His heart stretches in yearning over the in-
tervening years to the enchantment of life's dis-
tant morning. The old man would fain be young
again. Youth as a far-away, half-faded vision seems
far brighter than youth as a present experience. When
226 Old Truths Newly Illustrated
the future grows dark he turns to the past for light.
The old man turns his back to the future and faces
the past.
Such is the picture of a merely earthly life. The
only remedy for this desolate experience is a broader
vision, which takes in eternity as well as time; which
measures this life as it is related to a higher, better,
eternal life. The Christian youth does not confine his
outlook to manhood and age: but away beyond them
he sees a vision of eternal glory and achievement. The
Christian man is not absorbed in the present; he only
uses it as a means to a glorious end which is not real-
ized in this world. He lays up his treasures in heaven,
not on earth. He stores his mind with what will be
needed there as well as here.
And the Christian old man does not turn back to
the past. He resolutely faces the future. There is
something still before him far brighter than the en-
chantment of youth, or the achievements of manhood.
There is no old age in the Christian life; something
higher and better is always beckoning us onward.
TOPICAL INDEX
Accepted Time, The, 135, 185.
Affliction: Uses of, 1, 39, 92, 204 ; Cour-
age in, 58; Comfort in, 85, 201;
Meaning of, 154.
Alms, 87.
Altruism, 15, 96, 186.
Ambition, Worldly, 90.
Ambitious Pride, 157.
Apostasv, 6, 13, 195.
Assurance, 110, 116, 172, 219, 221.
Atonement, 85, 89.
Avarice, 42, 119.
Backsliders, 5, 7, 13, 58, 62, 68, 119, 195.
Base Pleasures, 14.5.
Bible, The, 120, 157, 181.
Bondage to Sin, 193.
Border Lands, 109, 196.
Broad Way, The, 127.
Burden: The Pastor's, 14 ; Of Friend-
ship, 74.
Call to Work, The, 86, 222.
Care: The Church's, 13; God's Pro-
tecting, 36.
Catholicity, 21, 143.
Changelessness, Eternal, 114.
Change of Heart, 183; Of View, 16.
Character, 71, 220.
Children, Training of, 17, 53, 91.
Choosing: Christ, 19; Companions,
125 ; The World, 176.
Christ: Finding, 10; Adapts Himself
to Men, 20; In Our Hearts, 22;
Human and Divine, 24 ; One With
the Father, 25 ; The Light, 27 ; In
Touch With, 42; Our Example, 104;
Power of, 108, 170 ; Love for, 118 ;
Freedom in, 219.
Christian Life, The, 7, 13, 17, 31, 48,
51, 195, 208, 218.
Church: Members of the, 7, 195; Duty
of the, 15 ; Defined, 31 ; A Light, 31 ;
Fellow- workers, 43; Divine Power
in the, 47; Afflicted, 165 ; Sympathy,
201.
Cleansing and Filling, God's Love, ?7.
Confidence, 18.
Conflict with Evil, 130.
Conscience, 50, 112, 184.
Criticism, Thoughtless, 38.
Crosses, 26, 40.
Cross, The Death on the, 84.
"Count it All Joy," 204.
Danger Signals, The Bible, 157.
Darkness and Light, 27.
Death: Comes to All, 42 ; Of the Sin-
ner, 71; Comfort in, 109 ; Preparing
for, 120, 158, 162, 187 ; The Road to,
190.
Death of Christ, The, 84.
Decision, 123.
Devil's Territorv, The, 196.
Diligence, 44, 54,'144, 194.
Discipline, 2, 26, 92.
Duty, 26, 29, 54, 61, 129, 140, 145.
Dying Moments, 109.
Earthly Life, The Merely, 225.
Empty Hearts. 77.
Enemy Watchful, The, 178, 219.
Eternal Life, 94, 114.
Evil, The Power of, 130.
Example, 51, 194.
Extremes, Danger in, 202.
Experience, Personal, 53.
Face an Index, The, 34.
Failure, 54, 148.
Faith, 56, 57, 83, 86, 224.
Familv Happiness, 125; Influence,
59 ; Worship, 1.50.
Fatherhood of God, 18, 36, 80.
Faults to Overcome, 194.
Fellowship, 15.
Finding One's Life, 99.
Forgetting God, 68.
Forgiveness, 91.
Foundations, 69, 132.
Friendship, 29, 74.
Fruit of the Spirit, 75, 169, 195, 202, 208.
Full Salvation, 77, 79.
Future Life, The, 94, 114.
Gifts, God's Great, 80, 84.
Giving, Systematic, 87.
God: Purpose in Afflictions, 1, 39, 58,
85, 92, 154, 201, 204; Knows the
Heart, 2 ; Love of, 17, 103, 121, 201 ;
Power, 21, 47, 216; Family of, 29;
Guides, 46, 117; Sees, 57, 183; Attri-
butes, 68, 146 ; Kingdom of, 79, 219 ;
Our Father, 80, 82, 104 ; Present, 83,
85, 105 ; Helper, 89 ; The Peace of,
142; Resisting, 174; The Restorer,
182 ; Makes Free, 193 ; Longing for,
206 ; One, 210 ; Long-suffering, 214 ;
The Voice of, 221 ; Works with
Men, 224.
Godliness, 226.
Good Women, 126.
Good Works, 29.
Gospel, The, 21.
228
Topical Index
Grace: Abounding, 79 ; The Need of,
89 ; The Work of, 169, 176 ; Growth
in, 177.
Growth under Affliction, 1.
Habits, Our Bad, 101.
Hardship, Uses of, 92.
Heart, A Bad, 99, 163.
Heavenly Joys, 219.
Help from God, 15, 181.
Heredity, 99.
Heroism, 37.
History, Lessons of, 161.
Holiness, 76, 79, 123, 130, 169, 183.
Holy Spirit, The, 198.
Home, Happiness in the, 125, 133.
Honesty, 172.
Household of God, 28.
Humility, 116, 155; Of Christ, 104.
Hypocrisy, 34, 58.
Imitation, 51.
Immortality Suggested, 175.
Impulsion Needed, 88.
Inadequate Punishment, 159.
Individual Responsibility, 50.
Industry, 212.
Influence: Our, 130, 203; Religious
Profession, 159 ; Wide-spreading,
193.
Ingratitude, 68, 107, 121.
Iniquity Cleansed, 163.
Instability, 62.
Intemperance, 145.
In Touch with Christ, 208.
Judgment, The Final, 24, .50, 56, 184.
Kindness, Mutual, 91.
Kingdom, Christ's, 23.
Knocking, 108.
Know and Love, 111.
Knowing, 94.
Knowledge of God, 170.
Labor for Others, 96.
Laws, Moral and Spiritual, 191.
Leader, Our, 26.
Life of God, The, 195.
Life's Day, 225.
Light: Borrowed, 112; Obscured,
113; Of theGospel, 21; Of theWorld,
27, 198; The True, 31.
Listening for God, 221.
Living to Oneself, 18G.
Longing for God, 206.
Looking Forward, 226.
Losing One's Life, 99.
Love: A Father's, 18,84; In God's
Household, 29; And Faith, 57 ; To
Man and Christ, 61, 74, 118, 120;
God's, 77 ; Of Christ, 104 ; Law of,
110; As a Bond, 133; God Wants
Man's, 211.
Merciful Man, The, 137.
Minister's Duty, The, 61.
Mission, Christ's, 23, 104.
Missions, The Need for, 129.
Moderation, 202.
Money, Love of, 119.
Narrow Way, The, 127.
Nearness of God, 85.
Neglected Opportunity, 121, 135, 144.
Neglect Hurtful, 6.
Neutrality Impossible, 131.
New Creature, A, 183.
Obedience, 132.
Occupations, Immoral, 8.
Ocean of God's Love, 77.
Ocean's Purity, The, 35.
Old Age, 134, 224.
Opportunity: Used, 88; Neglected,
121, 135, 144 ; Waited for, 212.
Parents and Children, 17, 53, 60.
Patient Toil for Great Results, 148,
1.54, 214.
Peace of the Christian, The, 168.
Perseverance, 12, 15, 37, 44, 54, 58, 147,
170, 177, 208, 218.
Personal Effort, The, 88.
Piety and Profession, 77, 159, 206, 220.
Pleasures that Degrade, 145.
Poor, Oppressing the, 137.
Prayer: Answers to, 85; Importunity
in, 106, 108; In Public, 149, 151;
Private, 153.
Prejudice, 1.38.
Preparing for Death, 71, 158, 162.
Professing Religion, 1.59.
Progress, Spiritual, 134.
Proofs of Faith, 57.
Pruning, 13.
Punishment Hereafter, 159.
Reading, LSI.
Reaping, 184.
Recreation, 161.
Regeneration, 27, 100, 115, 166, 182.
Remedy for Care, 15.
Remembering God, 68.
Repentance, 187.
Resisting God, 120, 174.
Responsibility, Our, 50, 130, 192, 208.
Results, Preparing for, 148, 154.
Resurrection, 175.
Righteous, The, 195, 220.
Rivers and Channels, 91.
Rock, Christ the, 69.
Salt of the Gospel, The, .35.
Salvation : God's Work, 47, 100, 163,
166, 181, 183; God's Rule for, 63;
Full, 79 ; Cost, 85 ; Christ's Views
of, 129 ; The Day of, 135, 180 ; Man's
Work in, 223.
Topical Index
229
Satan's Wiles, 196.
Saved, The, 50.
Second Coming, The, 116, 219.
Seekers, 108.
Self-denial, 25, 97, 145.
Self-esteem, 15.
Self-knowledge, 184.
Separation from Evil, 196.
Sight and Faith, 56.
Sin : Unrepented, 120 ; Bible Warn-
ings, 157; Forgiven, 163 ; In Bond-
age to, 166, 192 ; Nature of, 182, 183,
190; And the Sinner, 193; Freed,
193.
Sincerity, 8.
Sowing, 183.
Spirit, Influence of the, 31.
Spiritual 'Death, 99 ; Life, 115 ; Wis-
dom, 128, 147, 170; Progress, 134;
Exercise, 204.
Stability, 54.
Storms for Strength, 1, 94, 204.
Study, Recreation in, 161.
Success, 54.
" Suffer Little Children," 17.
Sun of Righteousness, The, 21.
Taking Sides, 130.
Temperance, 202.
Temptation, 65, 119, 204.
Testimonv, 11, 48.
Thankfulness, 11.
Training, Early, 101.
Trials, Uses of, 2.
True Religion, 52, 57, 72, 73, 75, 79, 159.
208, 219.
Trusting God, 9.
Truth, 173, 206.
Union with Christ, 13, 42, 208.
Universe Full of God, The, 105.
Unquenchable Fire, 220.
Unrest, Sin is, 189.
Use of Life, Our, 12, 186.
Using the World, 90.
Vice, The Effects of, 145.
Vine, Christ the, 208.
Voice of God, The, 32, 222.
Waiting for Help, 146 ; For Results,
214.
War's Discipline, 92.
Watchfulness, 178, 216, 218; The
Enemy's, 219.
Weeds, Our, 101.
Will, The Part of the, 73.
Winnowing the Wheat, 206, 220.
Wisdom, Spiritual, 128, 147.
Witness of the Spirit, The, 65.
Word of God, How to Use the, 9.
Work: For the Church, 140; For
Christ, 163 ; Of Christ, 163.
Works, 12, 57, 75, 208.
Worldliness, 76, 178.
Worldly Care, 15.
World's Ways, The, 51.
Worth, Hidden, 215.
Youth : Given to God, 79 ; Care for,
101 ; And Age, 224.
Zeal, 45, 61, 140, 196.
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