29093
A QUEST FOR SOULS
A QUEST FOR
SOULS
Comprising all the Sermons Preached and Prayers
Offered in a Series of Gospel Meetings,
Held in Fort Worth, Texas.
BY
GEORGE W. TRUETT, D.D.
PASTOR, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, DALLAS, TEXAS
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
COPYBIGHT, 1917,
BY J. B. CRANFILL
Compiled and Edited by
3. B. CRANFILL, M.D.,LL.a
A QUEST FOR SOtELS. XHI
PBINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OP AMERICA
D-L
FOREWORD.
Ever since the appearance of the first book of sermons by
Dr. Geo. W. Truett I have been urging him to permit the
publication of other volumes, with the result that I am now
able to present to the public this new and much larger book*
His first book with the title, "We Would See Jesus, and Other
Sermons/' has passed into its twelfth edition, and is selling
now very rapidly. That volume contained sermons he had
preached in his own pulpit in Dallas, and a brief sketch of
his life and labors. The present volume is unique in that it
is made up of a series of revival sermons preached in Fort
Worth, Texas, to which are added the prayers offered by the
author of the sermons during the meeting. The setting of
each sermon shows forth in the sermon itself. These meetings
were held under the auspices of the Broadway and College
Avenue Baptist Churches, of which Drs. Forrest Smith and
C. V. Edwards are the respective and nobly useful pastors.
It is proper to say that these sermons were stenographically
reported by Mr. J. A. Lord, and that they appear practically
without revision. I have gone carefully over them every
one, but I was not willing that any substantial changes should
be made in any of them. While I have not been privileged to
examine all the sermon books extant that have been printed in
the English language, I can truthfully say that there has never
to my knowledge been a book of sermons published that carried
messages more vital and winsome than are herein found. In
their strength, their earnestness, their eloquence, their pathos,
and their compelling heart appeals, they carry a pungency and
power far beyond any other sermonic classics it has been my
privilege to read. These sermons do truly justify the title of
this book "A Quest For Souls."
yi A QUEST FOR SOULS
The great preacher whose sermons here appear is so shrink-
ing in his modesty, which of ttimes reaches the point of timidity
concerning any work of his own, that it has been a Herculean
task to secure his consent to the publication of the sermons
that are here given. The reader will rejoice, I know, when
I say that I have in hand sufficient material for several other
books of sermons by Dr. Truett, but I am having trouble all
along to secure his consent and co-operation in their publica-
tion. It is only when I have pressed upon his great heart the
insistent appeal that he allow his sermons to be published for
the good they will accomplish in "A Quest For Souls" that my
pleadings have been crowned with success.
And now it is with joy unspeakable that these sermons are
sent out to the world. That they will accomplish untold good
I have not the slightest doubt; that they will be a guide and
help to many a preacher as he projects his revival services I
am absolutely sure; that they will lead countless souls to Christ
throughout the coming years I confidently hope. As I have
perused them one by one I have been more deeply impressed
than I have ever been impressed by the reading of any sermonic
literature. It seems to me that no soul can resist the power
and tenderness of their touching appeal. May God bless these
sermons as He blessed the great preacher in their delivery,
and may His enduring grace abound to everyone who shall
read them throughout all the coming years I
J. B. CRANFILt.
Dallas, Texas.
TABLE OP CONTENTS.
Chapter Page
FOREWORD V
I UNOFFERED AND UNANSWERED PRAYER. 1
II WHAT To Do WITH LIFE'S BURDENS 15
III WHERE Is YOUR FAITH? 27
IV THE SECRET OF A GREAT LIFE 45
V A QUEST FOR SOULS 55
VI WHY Do SOULS Go AWAY FROM JESUS? 75
VII PREPARATION FOR MEETING GOD 87
VIII A RELIGION THAT is DIVINE 105
IX THE TRAGEDY OF NEGLECT_ 117
X THE CURE FOR A TROUBLED HEART 138
XI THE PERIL OF RESISTING GOD 150
XII THE DEADLY DANGER OF DRIFTING 170
XIII WHAT SHOULD WE Do WITH JESUS? 181
XIV THE SUPREME OFFERING TO CHRIST 194
XV THE DOOM OF DELAY 206
XVI A CONQUERING FAITH 226
XVII THE CONFESSION OF SIN_ 239
XVIII THE MINISTRY OF SUFFERING 260
XIX How To BE SAVED 273
XX How MAY WE KNOW JESUS BETTER? . 289
XXI WHY ARE You NOT A CHRISTIAN? 303
XXII A PROMISE FOR EVERY DAY 324
XXIII THE ONE SUFFICIENT REFUGE , 338
XXIV THE PASSING OF RELIGIOUS OPPORTUNITY 359
Vll
A QUEST FOR SOULS
OPENING SERVICE, MONDAY EVENING,
JUNE 11, 1917 *
UNOFFERED AND UNANSWERED PRAYER.
Text: "Ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because
ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." James 4:2, 3.
Before the reading of the Scriptures, I would be allowed
a moment in which to express my grateful joy for the
privilege of spending several days, the Lord willing, in
daily special meetings in this city. I am glad thus to be
the guest of the two noble churches, the Broadway and
College Avenue Churches, and to be associated with their
cherished and nobly capable pastors, Drs. Smith and Ed-
wards. Their generous words of welcome very deeply
touch my heart.
Just one concern have I in coming for this brief visit *
if I know my own heart and that is to help the people,
if I may and as I may, and so to witness for our great,
good Master as shall be pleasing in His sight. I am not
an evangelist, as these honored fellow-pastors have already
explained to you, but a busy pastor, in a modern city like
yours, dealing with the same problems as those with which
your pastors and churches are constantly dealing. Right
at the beginning of these services, I would cast myself
upon your most prayerful sympathy. I would appeal to
* All of the evening services of this series of meetings -were held in a teat
provided by the Broadway and College Avenue Baptist Churches, and all of the
noon services were held in the Auditorium of the Chamber of Commerce.
2 A QUEST FOR SOULS
you in the beseeching words of the apostle: "I beseech
you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for
the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me, in
your prayers to God for me." Together, let us continually
look to God for His guidance and blessing, in everything
that is to be said and done in these proposed meetings.
What do we here without God's light and leading? Oh,
may the Divine Spirit teach us and empower us, at every
step, as we address ourselves to these services! Aftd He
will, if only our hearts, our motives, our attitude shall
be right in God's sight if we shall be humble before
Him, and shall eschew every evil way, and shall desire
above all else to know and to do Christ's holy will.
Assembled here with one accord,
Calmly we wait thy promised grace,
The purchased of our dying Lord,
Come, Holy Ghost, and fill this place.
Let us deeply ponder these sayings : "Ye shall receive
power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and
ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of
the earth." "Not by might, nor by power, but by my
Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts." "If ye then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much
more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to
them that ask Him." Above all else, and without ceasing,
let us seek the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit,
both in the public services and in the private efforts that
are to be had, in everything pertaining to these meetings.
You are now ready, I trust, to give reverent heed to
the reading of two passages from the Holy Scriptures.
The first is from the eleventh chapter of Luke. I read
from the first to the fourteenth verse :
And it came to pass, that, as He was praying- in a certain place, when Ho
ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John
also taught his disciples. And He said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our
Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy
will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by da;jr our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that 5s indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. And He said unto
them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall gO ( unto him at jmidnight, and
say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey
is come to me and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall
answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with
me in bed ; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, though he will not rise
and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he
.will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you. Ask, anC
A SERMON ON PRAYER 3
it shall be given you; seek, and ye snail find; knock, and it snail be opened unto
you; for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth, and to him
that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is
a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him
.a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye, then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall
your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?
The second passage is from the fifth chapter of James,
from the sixteenth verse to the end of the chapter:
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may
be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much, Elias
was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it
might not rain : and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six
months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought
forth her fruit. Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth and one convert
him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his
way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
In casting about for a suitable word to speak at the
beginning of these meetings, it has seemed to me that I
could bring no more appropriate and important word than
to direct your attention to the vital subject of prayer. The
text for the message this evening is in the fourth chapter
of James, and these are its two statements : "Ye have not,
because ye ask not Ye ask and receive not, because ye
ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." The
text says two things very pungently. The first is that we
do not pray enough: "Ye have not, because ye ask not/'
The second is an explanation for unanswered prayer:
"Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye
may consume it upon your lusts/' The two sentences
challenge our attention to unoffered prayer and unan-
swered prayer. Let us for a little while consider the teach-
ing of the two sentences.
And first, we do not pray enough : "Ye have not, because
ye ask not." There is no mistaking the meaning of this
sentence. It plainly tells us: "Ye have not, because ye
ask not." We talk much about "unanswered" prayer. This
sentence reminds us of unoffered prayer. It tells us that
blessings are denied us, just because we do not ask for
them.
Let me ask you the pointed, personal question: How
much do you pray? What must your answer be? How
much have you prayed to-day? How much time and
thought do you give to prayer? How real and vital is
prayer in your daily life? Do you know what it is, like
Daniel, to have fixed times and places for prayer? Do
4 A QUEST FOR SOULS
you know what it is to live in the atmosphere of prayer,
that is, to carry out the Bible injunction to us, to "pray
without ceasing?" Is it not just at this point that we fail,
and fail more hurtfully than at any other point? I make
bold to say that just at this point, preachers are prone to
fail, as perhaps at no other point. A little while ago, I
was with a group of preachers one day, as they discussed
the perils and problems of the preacher. This man and
that suggested this peril and that, concerning which the
preacher needs ever to be on his guard. When it came
my time to question the group of fellow-preachers, this
was my question: "How much do you pray?" I may add
that every man of us in that group felt conscience-stricken,
as we searched our hearts on that question. We saw that
we were busy here and there, finding texts, making ser-
mons, arranging for funerals, for committees, for visits, for
interviews, for exacting and endless tasks, but not a man
of us had made enough of prayer. What is your answer,
oh, fellow-Christian, to the question : "How much do you
pray?" Think again and deeply of these words of Jesus:
"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and
when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which
is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall
reward thee openly." Do you have the daily habit of secret
prayer? You cannot afford to neglect such habit. Such
neglect cannot be atoned for, whatever else you may say
or do. I press the question upon every Christian before
me has "the closet with the closed door" been neglected?
That closet with the closed door is the trysting place of
power. The men and women who go in there come out
with faces that shine, with visions that inspire, and with
power that shakes the world. Keep the path worn to that
closet with the closed door, I pray you. It will give you
to know that you are not alone, but that a Divine Presence
goes before you and with you.
In view of the mighty significance o'f prayer, 'every-
where set out in the Bible, is it not indeed amazing that
we do not pray more? Like a golden thread, the efficacy ol
prayer may be seen all through God's blessed Book. God's
cry to mankind is for them to call unto Him, and He will
A T SERMON ON PRAYER 1 5
answer them, and He will show them great and mighty;
things which they do not know. Listen to this exhortation
from the Apostle James: "If any of you lack wisdom"
surely that is what we all do sorely lack "let him ask of
God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not,
and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, noth-
ing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the
sea, driven with the wind and tossed/' And listen to this
exhortation from Jesus: "And I say unto you, Ask, and
it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and
it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh,
receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that
knocketh, it shall be opened/* Then, Jesus goes on to
make an argument for prayer that is irresistibly appealing.
Note His words : "If a son shall ask bread of any of you
that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a
fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall
ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how
much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask Him?"
It is needful for us to remember that prayer is far more
than a privilege. To be sure, it is that a privilege price-
less, a privilege incomparable, one of the highest privi-
leges that shall ever be allowed us. But it is far more than
a privilege it is a bounden obligation, it is an inescapable
duty. See how Jesus puts it : "Men ought always to pray,
and not to faint." Mark that word "ought" That means
duty, that means obligation. Neglect of prayer is neglect
of duty a duty of measureless importance. Prayer brings
results. Prayer wins victories. Prayer achieves. Thus
idoes Paul put it: "Ye also helping together by prayer
for us/' A way whereby we may help everybody, and
perhaps the best way, is to pray for them. Thus may we
help people at any time and at all times. It is no wonder
therefore that Paul said : "I exhort therefore, that, first of
all, 'supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of
thanks, be made for all men/' It is, indeed, a culpable
matter if we neglect to pray for the people, for all of them,
for any of them. And therefore, are the words of the old
6 A QUEST FOR SOULS
prophet Samuel always pertinent: "Moreover, as for me,
God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing
to pray for you." Do not, I pray you, deal with this great
question of prayer as wicked men dealt with it in Job's
day. They asked contemptuously: "What profit should
we have if we pray unto Him?" If such question is yours,
face it frankly, probe it deeply ; stop not your questioning
until you are assured as to the efficacy that there is in
prayer. There is profit in prayer. It is worth while to
call on God. If some one suggests to you that prayer is
irrational, in that it suggests interference with law, it is
enough to know that God is above law, that law is His
tool, that God's reserves of wisdom and power and mercy
and love are utterly beyond our measuring. Prayer is
not only to the last degree reasonable, but our very nature
demands it. It was not strange that a very wicked man
said to me, when his child lay ill at death's door: "Oh,
man, if you know how to pray, for God's sake, pray for my
child!" Yes, prayer is reasonable and necessary, and it
is both a privilege and a duty of measureless moment in
the earthly life.
Much is heard these days on the subject of conserva-
tion. The doctrine of waste is being everywhere repro-
bated. The doctrine of conservation is being everywhere
emphasized. We are being told, and properly so, that our
waters must be preserved against the times of drouth. We
are properly exhorted to remember that not one tree or
bush should be cut down without a good reason. It is
urged that even the by-products everywhere shall be saved.
And just now the whole land rings with the doctrine of
the conservation of all foods, that the world crisis through
which we are passing may be worthily met by all the peo-
ple. Let this doctrine of conservation be applied in the
realm of prayer. "Ye have not, because ye ask not." How
different things might have been if we had prayed more!
Take this incident: A young man in a certain city com-
mitted a crime that broke his parents' hearts and will give
them sorrow to their grave. A pastor in that community
went at once to see the parents, when he knew of their
poignant sorrow. As best he could, he counselled and
A SERMON ON PRAYER 7
comforted them. At last the sorrowing mother said : "Oh,
sir, if I had prayed as I ought, this tragedy would not
have been!" The pastor begged her not thus to upbraid
herself, for her sorrow was deep enough without such
added self-reproaches. But the mother protested : "I used
to pray every morning, noon and night, for this boy, but
that was in the other years. In recent years, my feet
have been caught in the meshes of worldliness, and
the things of religion have been given no practical place
in my life. I have forsaken the church and neglected
to pray. Oh, sir, I am to blame for my boy's down-
fall! It would not have come if I had remembered to be
faithful in prayer." Will you say that she did not speak
the truth? Oh, how different things might have been if
we had prayed as we ought! "One of my keenest re-
grets," said one of our noblest preachers as he lay dying,
"is that I have not prayed more/' And when another of
our mightiest preachers was told that he had but one
remaining hour on earth to live, he said: "Let me spend
that hour in prayer." Oh, let us pray more ! Let us pray
more! "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man
availeth much." Trace that truth in the case of Elijah.
Prayer is probably the highest, creative function in a hu-
man life. Tennyson was right when he said that more
things are wrought by prayer than this world ever dreams.
Let us pray more! Prayer is the first agency we are to
employ for the promotion of any spiritual undertaking.
Prayer links us with God. "Without me, ye can do noth-
ing." "I can do all things through Christ who strengthen-
eth me." Prayer breaks down difficulties. It opens fast-
closed doors. It calls forth workers : "Pray ye, therefore,
the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers
into His harvest." It releases energies for the spread of
Christ's kingdom and truth, beyond anything any of us
can ever measure. It brings victory in hours of crisis. It
gives power to the preached gospel. All this was illus-
trated in the lives of Abraham, and Elijah, and Hezekiah,
and Samuel, and David, and Paul, and Livingstone, and
Luther, and a host of other heroes of faith, all of them
overcoming by believing prayer. Oh, let us pray more!
8 A QUEST FOR SOULS
The world is in supreme need of intercessory prayer.
Surely, that is awfully true in this hour of world crisis.
Every hour now is big with destiny. On every side the
people are trembling as they think of what shall be on
the morrow, and their hearts are failing and ready to
faint. Let us pray more! There is no voice to satisfy
but the voice of God. That noble prophet of God, Dr.
Charles E. Jefferson, spoke faithfully, a little while ago,
when he called attention to the fact that in America, "we
have suffered a heart-breaking disillusionment. We ex-
pected great things from liberty and education, and have
found they are broken reeds. Neither our wealth nor our
science has given us either peace or joy. The four wiz-
ards liberty and education and wealth and science have
performed their mightiest miracles under our flag; but
they cannot do the one thing essential; they cannot keep
the conscience quick, or the soul alive to God. Our sins
are as scarlet and our vices are red like crimson, and we
need prophets to turn the nation to the God who will
abundantly pardon." Oh, let us pray more ! Let us seek
to-day, and every day, to help all the people by prayer,
"Ye have not, because ye ask not."
Your earnest attention is now directed to the second
sentence in the text : "Ye ask and do not receive, because
ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts/*
or pleasures. In that one sentence is one clear explanation
why prayer is often unanswered. It proceeds from a wrong
motive. "Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss,
that ye may consume it upon your pleasures." The point
is plain the motive is wrong. God looks ever for the
motive, in all our thoughts and prayers and deeds. He
does not see as man sees. Man looks on the outward ap-
pearance. God looks on the heart. The motive oxygen-
izes everything in life. If the motive in prayer be wrong,
then the reason why the prayer is not answered is at once
explained. What is your motive when you ask God for
this or that? I press that question upon every life before
me.
A wrong spirit towarcl others is also an explanation for
unanswered prayer. I pause a moment, to press this point
A SERMON ON PRAYER 9
upon your every conscience. I have come to the end of
twenty-four years as a pastor, and through all these years
I have increasingly seen how men and women are hin-
dered in their religious lives, in their praying, in every
good way, by a wrong spirit toward others. In that model
prayer which Jesus gives for the guidance of His disciples,
that same point of our relations toward our fellows is mag-
nified: "Forgive us our sins, as we forgive as we have
already forgiven those who have sinned against us/ 7 Are
you wrong in your spirit toward others? Do you have
malice, ill will, resentment, unforgiveness in your heart
toward others? If so, your unanswered prayers are at
once explained. One said to me, after an extended conver-
sation: "Why cannot I get right with God?" He had once
been a joyful, victorious Christian, but now he was un-
happy, and shorn of his spiritual power, and prayer was
no longer a blessed experience with him. "Why cannot
I get right with God?" he plaintively asked. Before the
conversation was ended, he dropped one sentence that in-
dicated the depth of his ill will toward another. The
reason why he was not right with God was at once made
plain. Our lives are most intimately bound up with the
lives of our fellows. Our relations to our fellows cannot
be escaped, cannot be ignored. When we pray for our
daily bread, we are to include our fellows: "Give us this
day our daily bread," If we are wrong in our hearts to-
ward our fellows, we need not expect an answer to our
prayers. How searching are these words of Jesus: "And
when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against
any: that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive
you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will
your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
Still again, unanswered prayer may be explaine3 by a
wrong life. The psalmist said: "If I regard iniquity in
my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Indeed, He cannot
afford to answer our prayers if we willingly harbor sin
in our lives, if we regard it, if we coddle and pamper it*
That would be to compromise God. The one thing that
separates between God and us is sin. He himself so tells
us. The one thing which God hates is sin. Our attitude
10 A QUEST FOR SOULS
toward sin must be in harmony with His attitude. It is
the prayer of a righteous man not an unrighteous man
that avails much. The Bible teaches us that we may ex-
pect Him to hear and answer our prayers when we keep
His commandments and do those things that are pleasing
in His sight. Is your life right in God's sight? Are you
right before Him in the secrecy of your own heart? If
you are pampering some wrong thing in your life, although
others may not know of it, yet in such fact you have the
explanation for your unanswered prayers. Listen to these
words of the psalmist : "Delight thyself also in the Lord ;
and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart." You
will not miss the point your delight is to be in the Lord.
Listen to these words from Jesus: "If ye abide in me,
and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,
and it shall be done unto you." Face faithfully the ques-
tion asked in the simple song, "Is thy heart right with
God?" and know, if it is not, you have at hand an explana-
tion for unanswered prayer.
Lack of earnestness may be the explanation for unan-
swered prayer. If we dawdle and sleep and dream over
our prayers, certainly we may not hope that they shall be
answered. The men of the Bible who prayed acceptably
and victoriously were earnest men. Listen to Moses, the
valiant leader of Israel, as he prayed for that neglecting,
backslidden, disobedient people: "Oh, this people have
sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet
now, if thou wilt forgive their sin ; and if not, blot me,
I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written." Oh,
how terribly in earnest was Moses, as thus he prayed. He
was, indeed, a very Hercules in prayer. And take the case
of Paul. Listen to his pleadings: "I say the truth in
Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness
in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and con-
tinual sorrow in my heart, for I could wish that myself
were accursed from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen
according to the flesh." When a man feels like that, is
willing to be accursed from Christ, that the people about
him may be saved, is it any wonder that such man scaled
the heavenlies when he prayed? Listen to Jacob at the
A SERMON ON PRAYER 11
brook Jabbok, as he pleads: "I will not let thee go, ex-
cept thou bless me." It is not at all surprising that a little
later, Jacob is told: "Thy name shall be called no more
Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with
God and with men, and hast prevailed/' Listen to John
Knox, as he prays for Scotland : "Oh, God, give me Scot-
land, or I die !" Is it any wonder that hapless Queen Mary
said: "I fear the prayers of John Knox more than I fear
an army of ten thousand men." Oh, my fellow-Christians,
let us be deeply in earnest when we come to the throne
of grace to make known our requests unto God.
Once again, our prayers are often not answered, be-
cause we do not expect them to be because of a lack of
faith. Faith is just taking God at His word. Often we
do not take Him at His word. We halt and higgle over
His word, and we refuse to accept it and to act upon it.
Jesus pointedly says to us: "According to your faith, so
be it unto you." And again: "If thou canst believe, all
things are possible to him that believeth." And again : "If
two of you shall agree on earth, as touching anything that
they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Fathef
who is in heaven." What a marvelous statement that is!
How it challenges us to be united in prayer! Do we be-
lieve this great promise? Will we plead it In prayer, and
claim it?
Years ago, when I was preaching for several days in
a Southern city, I preached one morning on the text: "But
without faith, it is impossible to please Him: for he that
cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." At the close
of the service, an elderly woman I should say she was
three score and ten years of age rose up and said:
"Preacher, do you believe what you have preached to-
day?" And I replied: "Indeed, I do, for I have proclaimed
God's Word, which Word I surely believe." "Very well,"
she said, "I am so glad that you believe it. I am looking
for some one who believes it. You quoted in your sermon,
just now, that glorious promise from Jesus: 'If two of
you shall agree on earth, as touching anything that they
shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is
12 A 1 QUEST FOR SOULS
in heaven' do you believe that promise, and will you
plead it with me?" Before I answered, she spoke again:
"It is like this: My husband is, and has long been, a
captain on the boat that sails the river. He never goes
to church, and is exceedingly wicked, and now he is grow-
ing old. If you will join me in pleading that promise about
two agreeing, we will claim him for God and salvation and
heaven will you join me?" And there I stood, thinking,
wondering, searching my heart. Did I really believe that
promise? Was I willing to plead it then and there, in the
case just named? And while I stood thus thinking and
hesitating, a plainly dressed man, a blacksmith, rose up
and said: "Auntie, I will join you in pleading that prom-
ise." And there, before us all, he walked over to her and
humbly said: "Let us plead it now." They knelt in pray-
er, and he began to pray. It was as simple as a little child
talking to its mother. He reminded the good Savior of
the promise He had made, and insisted that they twain,
there kneeling, accepted that promise, claimed it, pleaded
it as they asked Him to save the aged, sinful sailor. It
was all over in a few moments. The simplicity and the
pathos of it were indescribable. The people were dis-
missed. The day passed and the people gathered for the
evening service. The preacher stood up to preach, and
there before him came the old lady just described, and
with her came a white-haired old man. At the close of
the sermon, the preacher asked those who desired to be
Christians to come to the front pews for counsel and
prayer, while the people sang. The old man was on his
feet immediately, and was coming toward the front. He
was talked with and prayed for that night, but all seemed
utter darkness to him. Over there, to the right and the
left, sat the aged wife and the middle-aged blacksmith,
with faces shining like the morning. They had a secret
the rest of us did not have. They had pleaded and were
claiming the promise of Jesus, and their hearts knew that
all was well. The night service was ended, and the people
went their ways. The old man shambled out into the darlc-
ness of the night, his soul darker even than the night. The
next morning came, and the people were gathering for tHe
r A SERMON ON PRAYER 13
service. The preacher was alone in the study, behind the
pulpit, trying to make ready for the service. There was
a knock on the outer door of the study. The door was
opened, and there stood the old man. And thus he began :
"Sir, I can't wait for your sermon this morning. Tell me
now, if you know, how I can be saved." And there in that
study, before the service, he accepted the Lord Jesus
Christ as his Savior, and at the morning service, an hour
later, gave a testimony for Christ, the sweetness and glory
of which will outlast the stars. What is there remarkable
about this? Nothing at all, when you remember that two
friends of Jesus, honestly and actually pleaded and claimed
the promise of Jesus.
Oh, why is that we halt in the acceptance of the sure
promises of our dear Savior? Why are we so fearful and
the possessors of such feeble faith? May God forgive us,
even to-night and now, for our pitiful, miserable unbelief !
This other word, I would briefly say, in explantion of
unanswered prayer and that is, our prayers are often un-
answered because they lack submission to the will of God.
"Thy will be done," must be in every acceptable, victo-
rious prayer. His will is always righteous and best, and
we are to be in harmony with that will. Above all else,
let us seek to know God's will, and ever let us pray : "Nev-
ertheless, not my will, but thine be done."
Long enough have I spoken to you. Let us take the
two thoughts of the text, and hide them in our hearts.
Let us pray more, oh, let us pray more! To the last de-
gree possible, let us be worthy intercessors, seeking thus
to help continually our needy, 'sinning, suffering world.
Let us pray more ! "Ye have not, because ye ask not." And
let us seek ever to pray in that way, and with that motive
and spirit, that shall be well pleasing in God's sight. Lord,
teach us to pray! And may all the services of this pro-
posed series of meetings be enveloped in humble, consist-
ent, believing, victorious prayer. Let me give you a prom-
ise that tells us how this meeting may be made glorious.
It is from the seventh chapter of II Chronicles: "If my
people, who are called by my name, shall humble them-
selves, and pray, an'd see my face, and turn from their
14 A QUEST FOR SOULS
wicked ways ; then will I hear from heaven, and will for*
give their sin, and will heal their land/' Again and again,
let us cry, "Lord, teach us to pray I"
THE CLOSING PRAYER
Our holy, Heavenly Father, teach us to pray. Little do we know of this
blessed, glorious privilege and duty, and poor has been our behavior with refer-
ence to prayer. Forgive us, we pray thee, for our neglect, our ignorance, and
our disobedience. Summon us to prayer, O our God, and let us refuse to be dis-
mayed, whatever our difficulties and experiences, since God delights to hear and
answer prayer. Give us much of thy grace and light, that we may know how
to pray as we should. And in all the services of these proposed meetings, go
thou with us, we humbly pray thee, and so give us thy counsel and power, that
we shall wholly do thy will in all the important days that are just before tie.
We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen*
n
NOON SERVICE, JUNE 12, 1917.
WHAT TO DO WITH LIFE'S BURDENS.
Text: "For every man shall bear his own burden." * * * "Bear ye one
another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." * * * "Cast thy burden upon
the Lord, and He shall sustain thee." Gal. 6:5; 6:2; Psa. 55:22.
Distinct pleasure is in my heart that I am allowed to
greet the busy men and women before me for this brief
midday service. As has already been announced, these
midday services are to be begun exactly at twelve o'clock,
and are to be closed at ten minutes before one o'clock. The
one design of these services is to help the busy men and
women in the heart of the city at the noonday hour by
calling their attention daily to those simple, vital things
which make for our highest good.
In coming to speak at this first midday service, it has
seemed to me that I could bring no more practical word
than to talk to you about Life's Burdens. It is the lot of
men and women everywhere to have burdens. There is an
old Spanish proverb which points a familiar lesson: "No
home is there anywhere that does not sooner or later have
its hush/' The proverb points its own lesson. You cannot
mistake it. Sooner or later all men and women have their
burdens.
Many of the burdens of men and women may be seen.
The deepest and most poignant burdens are not seen. If
we knew what fierce battles some men and women were
fighting, and what weighty burdens they were carrying, it
would teach us lessons of restraint and charity and content-
15
16 A QUEST FOR SOULS
ment beyond any that we have ever known. That very
fact should give us pause and caution, even to a marked
degree.
The Bible has three words to say about our burdens.
Notice them: "Every man shall bear his own burden."
"Bear ye one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of
Christ/' "Cast thy burd upon the Lord, and He shall
sustain thee." That isj|all that the Bible says about our
burdens, but those three sentences say all that is to be said.
Now, for a little while, let us glance at what the Bible
says in its threefold message about our burdens. First,
our burdens are non-transferable : "Every man shall bear
his own burden." Every life is isolated and separated and
segregated from every other life. To a remarkable degree
every life is lived alone. You were born into the world
alone, and when you shall leave it, no matter where or how,
you shall go into the valley of the shadow alone, and be-
tween your birth and your death, the cradle and the grave,
life is very largely lived alone. No man can perform your
duty for you. "To every man his work/' the Master teaches
us. Not "to every man a work," nor "to every man some
work," but "to every man his work." There is a program
for you to carry out. There is a niche for you to fill. There
is a task for you to face. There is a life for you to live,
separated from every other in all the world. Nobody can
repent of sin for you, nor can anybody believe on Christ
for you, nor can any one make answer at the judgment bar
of God for you. We must every one give an account of
himself to God.
And that means that nobody is to get lost in the crowd.
There is to be no hiding behind others, or behind organi-
zations. Is there any danger more outstanding, in these
modern times, than the danger that the individual shall get
lost in the crowd? God sees the individual, and the indi-
vidual must never get lost in the crowd. His eye is upon
the one, and the one is to see to it, whatever others may
or may not do, that he or she walks that path before the
face of God that shall have the favor of God. Whether
anybody else does right or not, you must. Whether any-
WHAT TO DO WITH LIFE'S BURDENS 17
body else is true or not, you must be. Did you ever read
the diary of Jonathan Edwards ? If so, you must have been
greatly impressed with his words I do not attempt to
quote them verbally where he penned these two resolu-
tions: "Resolved, first, that every man should do right,
whatever it costs. Resolved, secondly, whether any other
man does right or not, I will, so help me God." That is
the supreme business of every human being, for "every one
shall bear his own burden."
And then the Bible points a second great word for us
concerning our burdens : "Bear ye one another's burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ," which means that our bur-
dens are ofttimes community burdens, social burdens, bur-
dens to be shared with others. Others are to share their
burdens with us. "Bear ye one another's burdens, and thus
fulfill the law of Christ." It is always interesting and
proper to note words of Scripture in their setting. Many
of the fads and fancies and hurtful heresies in the world
have come because the Scriptures have been wrested from
their proper setting. We need always to look at the Scrip-
tures in their setting, and let the Scriptures say what they
meant to say, and mean what they are designed to mean.
Here in this Scripture, where we are told to bear one an-
other's burdens, immediately preceding it, a great verse
stands out for our best consideration. Note it : "Brethren,
if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye who are spiritual restore
such a one, in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself,
lest thou also be tempted." Bear ye, in this way, one an-
other's burdens, the apostle is saying, and so fulfill the law
of Christ.
The primary reference there to this great matter of
mutual burden bearing is to the fact that we should seek
to help those about us who have gone astray. And just
here is the most neglected task of all. Here are we plainly
summoned to go out and give ourselves, without stint or
reserve, to recover men and women who are going wrong.
"If any man be overtaken in a fault," help him. Criticise
him ? Denounce him ? Throw stones at him ? Talk about
him? Nay, verily, "If any man be overtaken in a fault,
18 A QUEST FOR SOULS
ye who are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit ol
meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."
Even as I call your attention to this point of mutual
burden bearing, especially with regard to those that have
got out of the right path and are going the wrong path,
your minds are now alertly busy, and you call to your re-
membrance certain men and women who once began well,
but who have been bewitched away by some influence from
the right path and are going the wrong path. Go after
those, to help them. That is what our Scripture says.
Just there, my fellow-men, is the most neglected task of
all. When men go astray and keep going astray, we are
all too willing, too content, to allow them to go on, whereas
we are summoned here, by this Scripture, and by the whole
message of the gospel of grace, to go out and seek to re-
claim, to recover, to restore, everybody that is going wrong.
I am thinking now of a young fellow gloriously con-
verted in my city some time ago, who beforehand had had
the miserable habit of swearing an inexcusable habit,
without any defense at all for any man and yet that habit
had such a hold upon him that it seemed second nature to
him to swear. By and by he was graciously converted
under the call of Christ, and then he talked with the minis-
ter, and said: "I think I had better wait for six months
or twelve, until I can prove to myself clearly whether I
can keep from swearing, before I shall join the church/*
But the minister said to him : "Not at all. The church is
not an aggregation of perfect people. No one is perfect.
We are all sinners, saved by grace. You come right on,
if you have put your trust in Christ as your personal
Savior, and take your place in the army of God, with the
rest of the soldiers, and help them, and let them help you."
And so he did, and for months there was a devotion about
him to Christ's cause that, to the last degree, cheered all
our hearts. But after some months the minister missed
him from the midweeE prayer-meeting, and even from the
Sunday services, and he said to his men: "Where is
Carles?" And they said: "Haven't you heard?" The
minister said: "Not at all. What has happened?" And
they said: "Charles was provoked a little while ago to
WHAT TO DO WITH LIFE'S BURDENS 19
anger in a controversy with one of our citizens, and the
hot words came, and the blasphemous sentences fell from
his lips, and he is all filled with shame and humiliation,
and he has not come to church any more since/' "Now/'
said the minister to the men, "find him. He must be re-
covered, nor must you cease until he is recovered." But
the weeks went by, and he was not recovered, and one day,
as the minister went down a certain street, right there
before him he saw Charles coming, and Charles saw the
minister, and turned quickly down an alley, but the
minister said: "Wait a minute, Charles; wait a min-
ute!" And he waited, quite hesitatingly, and the minister
said: "Why are you dodging me, Charles?" And with
face averted, and by this time covered with tears, he
said: "You know. They have told you. Nor is that all.
I told you I had better wait a few months before I joined
the church. I told you of my frailty, of my weakness.
But now I am in the church, and the other day the old
anger came back, and I used hot, blasphemous words. I
did not sleep at all that night. My pillow was wet with
my tears. All through the night I talked with God, and
God spoke forgiveness to me, and I went back the next
morning and asked the man to forgive me, and he cried
with me, though he is not a church man, and he forgave
me." "Now/ 7 I said, "Charles, would you come down to
the prayer-meeting and say about that much to us?" And
he said : "If you think I ought, I will/' So he was at the
prayer-meeting Wednesday night, and when the place was
made for him, he was on his feet, and timidly told about
what I have just described. You should have seen the men-
and women gather around him. You should have seen
them as they greeted him, and as they sobbed with him,
and as they said: "Charles, we will help you. We will
forgive you, and you will help us/' And he was on the
right road again ! That is what this Scripture talks about.
Whenever anybody goes astray, "you who are spiritual
restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering
thyself, lest thou also be tempted. In this way bear ye
one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."
20 A QUEST FOR SOULS
But this Scripture has a broader meaning than that.
We are not only to make it a point to do our best to recover
people who have gone wrong and are going wrong, but we
are to share burdens with people all about us, whatever
their burdens are. There are the burdens of the sorrowing.
Even as I speak, your mind is busy, and you call up somo,
family wrapped about this very midday with great sorrow,,
or you call up some man or woman about whom the shad-
ows hang with fearful weight this very hour. Go and
share such one's sorrow, without delay. Nor is that all.
All about us are people with their weighty burdens, bur-
dens terrific, heavy burdens. Go to them and share with
them these weighty burdens. There is the teacher. There
is the preacher. There is the ruler in the affairs of civil gov-
ernment. Weighty burdens are on their heads and hearts.
Do not make it hard for those in places of public trust and
responsibility to serve and to lead. Make it easy, with the
right sort of co-operation and the right sort of burden
bearing.
How may we all help people? "Bear ye one another's
burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." The most beau-
tiful portrait we have of Jesus is given here in the gospels,
in five little words : "He went about doing good." There
is the most beautiful portrait ever drawn of Jesus. How
may we all help people all about us? First of all, we may
help them by living the right kind of lives ourselves. The
highest contribution you will ever offer this community
and this world is to offer it the right kind of a life. Glad-
stone never tired of saying: "One example is worth a thou-
sand arguments." One Savonarola turned the tides of
wicked Florence. One Aristides, the just man, perceptibly
lifted Athens higher. Ten righteous men would have saved
Sodom. The people of Constantinople said about John
Chrysostom, the golden-mouthed : "It were better for the
sun to cease his shining than for John Chrysostom to cease
his preaching." The best contribution that you can ever
offer to this weary, needy world is to offer it the right kind
of a life.
How may we all help people"? We are to make it a
point constantly constantly to believe in people. Every
WHAT TO DO WITH LIFE'S BURDENS 21
one of us needs the enthusiasm of Jesus, our great Master,
for humanity. He came to a man hated by his own race,
Matthew, the tax-gatherer, sitting there at the poll tax
booth, and He said to him: "Matthew, follow me, and I
will make a good man out of you," and from that hour
Matthew followed Him. He came to another hated tax-
gatherer, Zaccheus, the little man who climbed up in the
tree, and pausing under that tree, the Master said : "Come
down out of the tree. I will go home with you to-day."
And from that hour Zaccheus followed Jesus, a faithful
friend of that great Master. Like Jesus, we are to believe
in people. I think nothing of that system of espionage
which is forever spying out people, to catch up with their
weaknesses and their faults. We are to have, like Jesus,
great passion and compassion and brotherliness and syn^
pathy for a needy world, and we are to believe in people.
A little girl who waited upon her semi-invalid mother, day
by day going across the street to get a pail of milk, was
crossing the street one day, and the passing car frightened
her, and she tripped and fell, and the milk was gone, and
a big man laughed cruelly oh, how could he have done
it! and then he said to the little child, in her dismay:
"What a great beating mother will give you when you get
home!" And that brought the little girl to self-control,
and she said: "Nothing of the sort, sir! My mamma
always believes in giving me another chance." So our
Master believes in giving men another chance, and we
are to have His temper and walk in His footsteps, always.
Nor is that all. We are to make it a point constantly
to encourage people. Oh, my brother men, it is a sin for any
man on the earth to be a miserable discourager! Discour-
agement is a sin. Men and women are fighting a big battle,
and they do not need weights put on them by discourage-
ment. They need wings put on them, that they may rise
and fly, as they grapple with the big tasks that daily con-
front them. Bobbie Burns, in the heyday of his great
power as a writer, saw a little boy following him around
in a certain community, and turning to the little boy,
Bobbie Burns said to him: "Walter, what 'do you wish?"
A.nd little Walter timidly said: "Oh, I wish that some day
22 A QUEST FOR SOULS
I might be a great writer like you, and have people talking
about me like they talk about you." And Bobbie Burns,
that great-hearted man, stopped and put his hand on the
head of little Walter, and spoke words of inspiration and
cheer, and said: "You can be a great writer some day,
Walter, and you will be." That little boy was Sir Walter
Scott, and to the day of Sir Walter's death, he could never
speak of Bobbie Burns except with a sob of gratitude, for
Burns spoke the word in season to the weary heart of a
little boy.
Yonder was a fire in the big city, and the firemen flung
their ladders together, and went up in their brave fashion
to the topmost story to rescue the people in such peril, and
one after another was rescued by the brave fire laddies.
All had been rescued, it seemed. No ! Yonder is a white
face at that upper window, and they wrapped something
about one of the fire laddies, and breasting the fierce flames,
he went again to that window, and put the robe around
the little woman and started down, but they saw him
tremble as the fire raged around him, and it seemed that
he would fall with his precious burden, but the fire chief
cried to his men : "Cheer him, boys ! Cheer him, boys 1"
And they cheered him, cheer after cheer, and heart came
back, and he came down, with the precious life saved. Oh,
you and I are to give our lives to cheering a needy world !
Ponder this beautiful sentence from Isaiah : "They helped
every one his neighbor; and every one said to his brother,
Be of good courage."
Now there is one more word to say, and it is the best
of all : "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sus-
tain thee/* If you will read this 55th Psalm, from which
that great promise is taken, you will find that the utterer
of such promise wanted to flee away. "Oh, that I had
wings like a dove/' he cried, "for then would I fly away,
and be at rest/' The burdens were so weighty, the awful
conflict was so fiery: "I will just leave it all. I will just
throw this thing down, and I will get away. I will flee.
I will run. I will give it up* I will not stay with it/*
Who has not felt that? Who has not felt "I have had
as much of this as I can bear. I will get out of it I
WHAT TO JDO WITH LIFE'S BURDENS 23
will run. I will fly. I will get away/' But that would
not win, for when you got away out there in the wilderness,
you would have your burden yet, for you have your mem-
ory, you have your personality, you have yourself. You
cannot thus get away from life's- burdens. There is the
burden of perplexity for you, no matter where you go;
and there is the burden of the consciousness of neglected
duty, no matter where you go ; and there is the burden of
some sin athwart your conscience, like some ghastly can-
cer, no matter where you go. What are you to do with
these burdens of perplexity and neglected duty and sins?
What are you to do? Where are you to go? There is
only one place. "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He
shall sustain thee/'
How will He sustain you? He will do it in one of two
ways. He may take the burden away. Sometimes He
does, blessed be His name ! You have come sometimes, as
have I, into that deep garden of Gethsemane, when that
black Friday broke all our plans, and in our dire despera-
tion we have prayed, with the Master : "If it be possible,
let this cup pass from me. If it be possible, forbid that I
should drink this bitter cup that is being put to my lips/*
And the cup was taken away, and we did not have to drink
it at all. Time and again you have prayed, as you faced
a certain great burden, that God would remove it, and He
heard, and the burden was taken away. But suppose it is
not? And sometimes it is not. Ofttimes it is not. We
pray, but there is the burden yet. Now, what if God shall
not take the burden away? Then He has promised to
come in with divine re-enforcement and help us to bear that
burden and be victor, no matter how weighty it is, nor how
fiery in its biting power in our life. Paul had re-enforce-
ment. He had a thorn in the flesh. I do not know what
it was, nor do you, but it was something very trying. If
ever there was a genuine man in the world, it was the
Apostle Paul. He was the highest product that Christian-
ity has ever produced. This same man said : "There was
given to me a thorn in the flesh." He called it the "mes-
senger of Satan/' sent to buffet him, and he said : "I went
like the Master in the garden, and thrice did I beseech the
24 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Lord that He would take that thorn away, but He did
not take it away at all. He left it, to goad me and harass
me and burn me and pain me. But He said to me : Taul,
Paul, my grace is sufficient for you' " not "shall be," but
"is." "My grace is sufficient for you/' here and now, ever-
present and never-failing. No matter where you go, nor
what shall come, "my grace is sufficient for you." And
from that time on you have no more record of Paul's
praying that that thorn might be taken away. From that
time Paul said : "Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory-
in my thorn, glory in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me/' Said Paul : "I had rather have
my thorn in the flesh, which is ever present with me, and
have God's added grace, than to be without that thorn and
miss that added grace and light and love from God/' Now,
doesn't that explain much? He will give you increased
grace, grace upon grace, if He does not take the burden
away when you call to Him to take such burden away.
Oh, my men and women, with your burdens, whatever
they are, here is the way out: "Cast thy burden upon the
Lord, and He shall sustain thee." Seek not to bear it
alone. Seek not to fight out your battle alone. Seek not
to solve that perplexity alone. Seek not to stem that flood
alone. Seek not to go through that long and bitter night
alone. Take the Master into your counsels and into your
plans, and turn yourself over to Him, with your burden,
whatever it is, and He shall sustain you. One of the great
words in the Bible is that fine word "sustain/' He shall
sustain you. No matter what your burden is I dare to
say it no matter what your burden is, you shall get sus-
taining strength from God, and your heart shall surely
know it, if you will only cast yourself honestly upon Him.
Have you Iearne3 the secret o? peace? In a world of
burden and battle and perplexity and clouds and shadows
and night and death, have you learned the secret of peace ?
You will never know it until you learn how to cast your
burden upon the Lord. I am thinking now of a strong
man yonder in the city, whose beautiful wife was taken
from him after an illness of just a few hours, and the man
was left with a little flaxen-haire'd girl, of some four or five
WHAT TO DO WITH LIFE'S BURDENS 25
summers. The body was carried out to the cemetery,
where was a simple service, and every heart was broken,
the grief was so appalling. And then when the service was
over, neighbors gathered around the big man and said to
him: "You must come, with this little baby girl, and stay
with us for several days. You must not go back to that
home now." And the broken-hearted man said: "Yes,
I must go right back to the same place where she was, to
the room from which she went away, and I must fight it
out with this baby right there," and back they went. He
told about it all the next day. The baby was late and long
going to sleep. Oh, was there ever anything more pathetic
than the cry of a bairn for the little mother that will never
come back again? Long and late the little one, in the
crib there by the bed, sobbed, because she could not go to
sleep, and the big man reached his hand over to the crib
and petted her and mothered her, as best he could, and
after awhile the little girl, out of sorrow for her father,
stopped her crying just out of sorrow for him. And in
the darkness of that quiet time the big man looked through
the darkness to God, and said: "I trust you, but, oh, it
is as dark as midnight." And then the little girl started
up her sobbing again, and the father said: "Why, papa
thought you were asleep, baby." And she said: "Papa,
I did try. I was sorry for you. I did try, but I could not
go to sleep, papa." And then she said: "Papa, did you
ever know it to be so dark? Why, papa, I cannot even
see you, it is so dark." And then, sobbing, the little thing
said: "But, papa, you love me, if it is dark, don't you?
You love me, if I don't see you, don't you, papa?" You
know what he did. He reached across with those big
hands and took the little girl out of her crib, and brought
her over on his big heart, and mothered her, until at last,
sobbing, the little thing fell to sleep, and then when she
was asleep, he took his baby's cry to him, and passed it
up to God, and said: "Father, it is as dark as midnight.
I cannot see at all. But you love me, if it is dark, don't
you? I will trust you, though you slay me. With my
baby, and my grief, and my utter desolation, I will turn my
case over to God" And then the darkness was like unto
26 A QUEST FOR SOULS
the morning! God always comes to people who trust
Him. Have you learned the secret of peace? Henry Van
Dyke points the secret in his poem on "Peace." Mark the
words :
With eager heart, and will on fire,
I sought to win my great desire.
"Peace shall be mine," I said. But life
Grew bitter in the endless strife.
My soul was weary, and my pride
Was wounded deep. To heaven I cried:
"God give me peace, or I must die."
The dumb stars glittered no reply.
Broken at last, I bowed my head,
Forgetting all myself, and said:
"Whatever comes, His will be done."
And in that moment, peace was won.
Whatever your burdens of sin, or grief, or doubt, or
disappointment, or regret, or remorse, or conscious fear
and failure dare to cast your burden, yourself, your all,
to-day and forever upon the Lord. Do it now while we
pray.
THE CLOSING PRAYER.
O thou Divine Savior and Burden Bearer, speak the word in season to
these busy, battling, sinning, burdened men and women, gathered for this brief
midday service. Let every man and woman of us, personally and faithfully face
our daily task just like it ought to be faced. And let us all consecrate ourselves
today and in all coming days, to the last noble limit of ministry, as we seek to
help other people to bear their burdens. Forbid, O God, that we shall add to
people's burdens. And then let us all come with our burdens, and they are many,
and let us cast them, with ourselves, utterly upon that great Savior, who is
pledged to turn the very ^ distemperatures of life into triumphs for us, if we will
only consent that His will may be done in our lives. Give us grace and help
that we may all yield ourselves to thy will, now and forever. And as you go
now, may the blessing of the Triune God, even of Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be granted you, all and each, to abide with you through today, and through to-
morrow, and throughout God's vast beyond, forever. Amen.
Ill
NIGHT SERVICE, JUNE 12, 1917.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
Before reading the Scriptures, I should like to make two
remarks first, a general remark, and then one quite particular
with reference to these services. The general remark is, that
Christians ought to be the very best of citizens, and in this time
of national, and international, and even world testing, Chris-
tians should be on the alert constantly to see how they can
best serve humanity's interests. I trust that daily the Chris-
tians listening to me to-night are giving themselves to prayer
about the World War. Oh, what need for constant and fervent
intercession respecting this war! My belief is that we have
entered into " this war under the highest moral compulsion.
We have not entered into it, I must believe, with any lust
for revenge, or for gain, but purely, and simply, and solely,
in the interest of humanity, at home and the world round,
for today and for every after day. Therefore, it behooves
every Christian, and every right-thinking citizen as well, who
may not be a Christian, to give the most worthy consideration
to the personal part that each of us should have with respect
to this great conflict. Without ceasing, we should make our
Appeal to God that He may lead us to do His will. And with-
out ceasing, we should seek in every high possible way, to
help our sons and brothers, who are going out from every
community to the camps to be trained for the great conflict.
!And in every way we can, every one of us, as our noble
President has said, "should do his bit," in this testing hour,
27
28 A QUEST FOR SOULS
when every human being in this country is involved, and
vitally involved, because of the war. I will venture to add
this other word, a word which I said to my own people in
Dallas a short time ago, that every man and woman in our
land, who can do so, should come with noble response to the
appeal that is daily heard, touching the Liberty Bonds. Every
man and woman who can do so should re-enforce the Govern-
ment at this practical point. It is a matter reasonable, it is a
matter righteous, and I believe that it is a matter profoundly
and urgently necessary. It is indeed a high privilege to be
the right kind of a citizen. Patriotism is a word o tremendous
significance.
Now, a very particular word touching the interests of the
meeting. I raise the question with every Christian under the
sound of my voice this night : Won't you make it a point, from
day to day, to do some definite religious visiting? All about us
there are people who are needing, more than words can say,
to be spoken to in the right way, concerning personal religion.
Won't you thus dedicate yourself for an hour to-morrow? And
if it could not be an hour, for half an hour? And if it could
not be half an hour, for ten minutes ? And if it could not be
ten minutes, for as much as one minute, to speak to some
human soul about personal religion? I do not think much of
a meeting where its activities are limited to the public services.
I think very much of any meeting, if the people come to it,
and humbly and earnestly seek to have their spiritual strength
renewed, and light their torches, and then go out to find some-
body in need of God's guidance and help, and speak to that
somebody, and seek to guide that somebody into the right way.
That is a meeting worth while. Oh, I press it upon you!
Won't you do some of the right kind of religious visiting every
day of these special days set apart for public services? There
is a drifting Christian that you ought to see. He began weH
back yonder, and something came to bewitch him away from
the right path. Oh, how he needs the right kind of a talk!
There is somebody whose church membership is not in Fort
Worth, but his life or her life is here. The church member-
ship is back yonder in the village church or city church or
country church, but the life is here, and the church member-
ship ought to be here, and the activity ought to be here, and
PRELIMINARY REMARKS 29
the service ought to be here, and the alignment, open and
public, for Christ, ought to be here. Do you know such people ?
Say the right word to them at once. And then, above all that,
there are men and women and children all about you, who
are going their way without God, to whom you ought to
speak. My fellow-men, if the religion of Jesus Christ is worth
a straw, it is worth dying for, and, certainly, it is worth
living for. The one without Christ is not ready to die, and
what is of probably larger consequence that one is not ready
to live no, not for a day, nor for an hour. Won't you do
the right kind of religious visiting between this and the service
to-morrow night? God speed you and help you, I pray.
You are ready to listen for a moment, with reverence, I
trust, to two passages of Scripture, the first from the ninth
chapter of Mark:
And when He came to His disciples, He saw a great multitude about then*,
and the scribes questioning with. them.
Arguing with them.
And straightway all the people, when they beheld Him, were greatly amazed,
and running to Him saluted Him. And He asked the scribes, What question ye
with them? And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought
unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him,
he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away:
and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
That is what the uproar is about. Your men have failed.
Jesus answereth Tn-m, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be
with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought
him unto Him: and when He saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he
fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And Jesus asked his father, How long
is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it
hath cast^ him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him : but if thou canst
do anything, have compassion on us, and help us*
Miserable prayer, wasn't it? About like many of mine, I
am afraid. Think of saying that to God, to the Almighty
Savior: "If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us
and help us!" Jesus said, "You have the *iF in the wrong
place." Mark just what He said :
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him
that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with
tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
That is a glorious prayer. You do not wonder that Daniel
Webster wanted it carved on his gravestone: "Lord, I believe;
help thou mine unbelief/*
When. Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the
foal spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out
of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and
came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. And when
Jesus was come into the house His disciples asked Him privately, Why could ot
we cast him out?
30 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Well, sure enough, why couldn't they? When Jesus sent
forth the twelve, one of the powers He gave them was power
to cast out unclean spirits, and they succeeded. And later,
when He sent forth the seventy, one of the powers He gave
them was power against unclean spirits, and they succeeded.
When they came back from one of their tours, one of their
reports was: "Lord, even the devils are subject unto us,
through thy name." But they failed this time, utterly. So
they asked Him, when alone: "Why could not we cast him
out?" Mark His answer! Oh, what an answer it is !
And He said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer.
You observe that the word "fasting" is omitted in the
Revised Version.
Now you are ready to hear a briefer Scripture, from the
eighth chapter of Luke:
Now it came to pass on a certain day, that He went into a ship with His
disciples: and He said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake.
And they launched forth. But as they sailed He fell asleep: and there came
down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with, water, and were in
jeopardy. And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we
penshl Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and
they ceased, and there was a calm. And He said unto them, Where is your faith?
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH?
Text: "And He said unto them, Where is your faith?" Luke 8 :25.
Jesus said unto His disciples, some 1900 years ago, on the
storm-swept water, when they were all affrighted and filled
with dismay, "Where is your faith?" And Jesus says to a
great audience of men and women assembled in Fort Worth,
Tuesday evening, June 12, 1917, "Where is your faith?" This
is a question that needs to be asked very often, and it needs
to be faithfully answered when we ask it, for it is about the
most vital matter of all, even our faith.
The conquering weapon is faith. "Without faith it is
impossible to please God." His Book so tells us. "This is the
victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.* 5 We shall
not have victory without faith. Of old, God's plaintive ques-
tion to His Israel was : "How long will it be ere ye believe
me?" !Ajid that is His question to His Israel this very hour.
"O my people, how long will it be ere ye believe me?* 1 The
The undoing sin of Christians is their unfaith. We are all
along saying, and correctly, that the undoing sin of the un-
believer is his unfaith. "He that believeth not is condemned
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? 31
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God," and while he remains in that unbelief
must continue to be condemned. Rejection of Christ, unbelief
toward Christ, that is the undoing sin. Even so, the undoing
sin for Christians is their unfaith. Of old Israel could not
enter the Promised Land because of unbelief, and even to-day,
and every day, God's people are kept out of many a promised
land because of unbelief. We doubt God's ability, or we
doubt His willingness, or both His ability and willingness, to
help us, and we go our way, groping, and floundering, and fail-
ing. It is not only a pity, but it is a sin, deep and tragical, if
we are not steadily growing in faith. That was a beautiful
tribute Paul paid the church at Thessalonica, when he said:
"We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is
meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly/* It will
not only be a misfortune, but it will be a sin, if with you and
me our faith is not steadily strengthening and growing.
But now the fact confronts us, as pointed by the text, that
our faith may be misplaced. The faith of the disciples on that
storm-swept water was evidently misplaced. They were dis-
ciples of Christ. They were His friends and followers. But
their hearts failed, and their faith went down, and they fainted
in spirit. Their faith was misplaced. When is faith mis-
placed? I shall answer that it is misplaced when it is put in
human appearances; and we are all along tempted to put our
faith in mere human appearances. How we are influenced,
how we are swayed, how we are lifted up or cast down, by
mere appearances! If the weather be fair, if no lowering
clouds come to menace, if all goes merry as a wedding bell,
our hearts seem hopeful and our faith buoyant. But that is
not the test. How is it when 'the heavens are darkened with
clouds? How is it when the loved one gasps, and the sands
of life seem running to the end? How is it when crepe is on
the door? How is it when the granary seems scant and the
crops have no promise? How is it when appearances are all
against us ? Our faith is misplaced, if our faith is put in mere
human appearances. That was 'a great saying given by a
valiant leader, when he said: "Never take counsel of your
fears, or of appearances/*
32 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Our faith is misplaced, I go on to say, when we put it ia
human agency. And certainly, we are greatly tempted, and
constantly, to put our faith in human agency. But all along,
the Scriptures, by telling illustrations and by pungent pre-
cepts, would turn us away from putting our faith in mere
human agency. The Bible tells us why God makes choice,
as He does, of such remarkable instrumentalities. He has
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty,
and the reason is given us there in His Book: "That your
faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power
of God." A generation or two removed from us, God startled
the world by finding a lad yonder in the country placei in
England, not yet out of his teens, and God brought him up to
the world's greatest city, to great London, and set him right
there in its heart to preach His wonderful gospel. Before
this young man was thirty, royalty was at his feet, and the
British Parliament marvelled at his power, and the lines of his
testimony and power had gone out to the ends of the earth*
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the most victorious gospel preacher
of all his century, and perhaps of any century since the apos-
tolic times. He was a man uncolleged, and yet God said
through him to the world about us : "I want you to look iat
this man and listen to him that your faith may not stand in the
wisdom of men, but in the power of God/* Our God is sur-
prising us all along by His strange choice of human instru-
mentalities. There is the humble country boy. He has never
been to the city at all. He is following his plow. He goes
to the little country church house, in the quiet midsummer
meeting. His heart is moved, his conscience probed, his judg-
ment convinced, his will aroused, and he bows down in hum-
ble penitence before Christ, and he is saved. !And then he
follows his plow still again and strange impulses stir in his
heart, and great thoughts burn in his brain. He is thinking
about preaching the gospel. He is thinking about going out
and telling the world what a dear Savior he has found, and
how he would have every man know the same blessed Savior.
The years pass on, several of them, half a dozen, a dozen, and
yonder is that country lad in a surging city, rallying the
tempted thousands of sinning, beaten and wandering humanity,
rallying them around the flag of Christ Jesus, the Lord. Who
is he? A plain plowboy, clothed upon with the grace and
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? 33
might of the Spirit of God, and in him and through him God
is saying to the world: "See him now, and listen to him, and
remember, your faith is not to stand in the wisdom of men,
but in the power of God." Oh, how it gladdens my heart
this Tuesday night, to have the faith to believe that s'ome-
where in this broad country, out on the prairies, or out yonder
nestling amid the trees, in some little cottage, a mother folds
to her heart a tiny baby boy, and when you and I shall be
sleeping beneath the roses, and shall be perhaps forgotten,
that boy will be going up and down this country, rallying the
wavering, sinning thousands around the flag of Christ, a child
out from some home of poverty and need, and God will be
saying through him to the world : "See him, now, and listen,
that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in
the power of God.*'
But I think that most of all our faith is misplaced because
we limit God. That L a striking expression used in one of the
Psalms, where the Psalmist said, concerning Israel of old:
"They limited the Holy One of Israel." They "limited God."
Mankind can limit God, and does limit Him. At first thought,
that seems impossible. The infinite God, filling all immensity,
without beginning of days or ending of years, omnipotent,
omniscient, omnipresent, eternal at first thought it seems im-
possible that He could be limited, and yet He can be, and is,
limited. Man limits God, else man is a mere machine, without
any more volition than a tree or a stone. Man can say "No"
to God, or man can say "Yes** to God. Man can seek God*s
face, and by Divine Grace become God's friend, and go God's
road, and glorify God's great name ; or man can be rebellious,
and offer his protest against God, and turn his back upon God,
and miss the right way, and come to defeat and failure. Man
Kmits God. How does he limit Him? The ways are many.
We can limit God even in our very prayers. You have proba-
bly heard prayers which had in them a limitation upon God.
Full many a time when we pray that prayer "not my will, but
thine, be done," our hearts really mean: "Not thy will, O
God, but mine, be done/' Ofttimes we are found trying to
persuade God to come to our notion of things, and accept our
view of things, without regard to His wisdom and will. All
the while He tells us : "You leave your case to me, and trust
34 A QUEST FOR SOULS
your case to me, and submit your case to me, and I will do
the wisest and best thing possible for you/ 3 and yet full many
a time our prayers really mean: "Nevertheless, O Lord, not
thy will be done at all, but mine be done," and in that way we
limit Him.
And then we limit God by our poor lives. Every life is
either a channel or a clog, a channel through which God sends
His blessing, or a clog to hinder and obstruct such blessing. A
human life can be a non-conductor, failing to transmit to others
what God would send through that life unto others. That is
indeed a pathetic picture, where Paul writes one of the New
Testament churches, saying: "For many walk, of whom I have
told you often, and now tell you, even weeping, that they are
the enemies of the cross of Christ/' Paul was writing to a
church, and he was saying to that church: "Some of you
church members so walk as to become the enemies of the cross
of Christ." Your attention has been called to that solemn
picture in the last book of the Bible, where Jesus stands outside
a church, begging to be Admitted. Listen to Him: "Behold,
I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and
open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him,
and he with me." Jesus is there, outside a church outside!
His own people have the door closed, and have Him outside,
and there He stands on the outside, knocking, and saying:
"Won't you let me enter? for I come to do you good, and not
evil at all." "O Jesus, thou art standing, outside the fast-
dosed door !" Can you think of anything more heartbreaking
this night than to imagine yourselves keeping Jesus out, keep-
ing Jesus away from some other life, yourself a clog, obstruct-
ing? yourself a non-conductor? He wishes to send through
you a message of life and grace and hope to others, and you
are a non-conductor. Can you imagine anything more serious
than that ? We limit -God by our lives. Every Christian whose
life is wrong with God positively hinders God and limits God
by that much.
But most of all, we limit God, I dare say, by our unbelief,
our unf aith. Israel could not enter the Promised Land because
of unbelief ; and you and I are kept ou of many a promised
land because of unbelief, because of unfaith. Jesus wishes us
to believe in Him. The right sort of a man delights to be
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? 35
believed in. You cannot grieve the right sort of a man in any
other way quite so deeply as to indicate to him that you do not
take him at full face value, as he represents himself to you.
The right sort of a man wishes to be believed in, to be taken at
his word. God delights to be believed in, and the deepest grief
to Him is given Him by our unfaith, our unbelief. We are
tol'd here in the gospels that in one certain community Jesus
could do no mighty works because of the unbelief of the peo-
ple. Unbelief hindered Him. Unbelief fettered Him, even
Christ Jesus, the Lord. And so He comes to us to-night, say-
ing: "According to your faith, so be it unto you. Where is
jour faith?" He comes to us to-night saying: "If thou canst
believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Where
is your faith?"
We are all along talking about "hard cases. 5 ' Now, how
foolish and unwise and wrong is such talk, when we think of
God. He asks us : "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" That
was a mighty question Paul asked when he asked: "Why
should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God
should raise the dead ?" Granted a God who has all power in
heaven and earth, and who formed the worlds by the word of
His power, granted a Being like that, and where is there any
difficulty or mystery in such a God raising people from death
and the grave? So that our talk about "hard cases" in God's
sight, is all out of place and grievous in His holy presence.
I wonder, my fellow Christians, if in these latter days, our
faith gets much higher for mankind than for the salvation of
the children in the Sunday-school, and the plastic, responsive
young people that are all about us. Where is the faith now
that claims the hardened sinner for Christ? Where is the
faith that claims the old man with the gray about his temples,
far down in the afternoon of life where is the faith that
claims that man for God? Where is the faith that claims
the man abandoned to sinful and consuming habits? Where
is the faith that claims him for God? Where is the faith
that claims the big business man, great and strengthful,
masterful and powerful, but preoccupied, living as though this
world were all, forgetting that out there a few steps ahead is
the judgment and eternity? Where is the faith that claims
him, from all that preoccupation, for Christ Jesus and His
36 A QUEST FOR SOULS
great salvation ? Where is the faith that claims the very dif-
ficult case for the Lord Christ? Oh, how we limit God, that
we do not go out and claim men, no matter what their hin-
drances and their limitations and their sins ! How we grieve
God, if we do not go out and claim them in the name of Christ,
even the most difficult cases, for the wonders of His grace
and His great forgiveness !
May I tell you the most wonderful conversion that I ever
witnessed in all my life? Out in the Middle West, where it
has been my delight to go many a time, in the out door camp-
meetings, some years ago I went and found in that particular
community some very difficult religious conditions. There
were more aged people in that community, unsaved, than I
have ever witnessed anywhere in all my life, before or since.
The religious conditions of the community were hard and dif-
ficult. There had been all sorts of pesky religious debates
how miserable they all are, and how inexcusable! and the
people were set and gritty and hard in their relations toward
one another. What a tragedy when that is so ! I was there
some two or three days, and more and more it dawned upon
me how difficult all the conditions were. They told me daily
about those white-haired men and women, who went groping
life's way, without God and without hope. iAiter some days,
they told me about Big Jim, the most difficult sinner, they
said, west of Fort Worth, even as far west as El Paso. They
so described him physically that I could not miss him if he
came to the meeting, and they said: "He will come one time
to hear you, and then he will swear at you, and rail at you,
and curse out the whole meeting, and the preachers and the
churches and everybody, and then he will wait a year and come
back a year from now to go over the same performance again."
That was their report of him. I stood up to preach one even-
ing and in came Big Jim. I could not miss him, from their
description. Yonder he sat, far down the aisle before me, at the
rear of the great arbor, nor did he take his eye, it seemed, one
time from the minister, while his message was being given. At
the dose of the message, I made the call for men and women
who would then and there humbly and honestly make surrender
of their poor, undone and sinful lives to the forgiving mercy and
hdp of the Divine Savior, and down every aisle white-haired
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? 37
men and women came. It was one of those memorable nights,
never to be forgotten. Big Jim kept his seat, nor did he seem
to move. After awhile, the meeting ended, and the people gath-
ered about me, or gathered in little groups to discuss the won-
ders that their eyes had witnessed that night. One after
another was named who had "come over the line" and made
the great surrender that night to Jesus. And then, ever and
anon, these talkers would make a passing remark about the
presence of Big Jim, and they speculated about his presence,
and about the possibility of his coming any more. One said:
"No; he will not be back. He will swear at our preacher, and
at all the Christian people, nor will he return until next year."
But another said : "Yes ; he had a different look on him to-night
from what I have ever seen before, I look for him to come
again. Never did I see him look as he looked to-night." And
so they talked pro and con. Presently the preacher slipped
away from the crowd, for it was late, and wended his way
around the hillside to the little cottage, far removed from
the camping throngs, where he might have quiet and rest,
and as he went around that little mountain side he heard
somebody talking. Oh, it was so earnest ! The preacher did
not mean to be an eavesdropper, and yet he seemed chained
in his very tracks. And when he stopped and listened to that
strange talk, he discovered in a moment what it was, and that
there were two of them, and that they were praying, for one,
who spoke for the two, said: "We two, O Christ, agree we
want Big Jim saved, that the mouths of gainsayers may be
stopped in this country. They are saying, O Christ, that Big
Jim is too much for God, that even God cannot stop him. They
are saying that, and we want the mouths of gainsayers stopped,
and the whole land to know that Christ is able to save even the
chief of sinners ; and we two, here on the mountain side, late in
the night, give thee Big Jim, believing thy great promise:
'If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that
they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is
in heaven/ For the glory of Christ, simply and only, we pray
you, save Big Jim."
I went quietly on my way. I 3o not know who they were,
who thus were praying. I never knew, I found my cottage,
38 A QUEST FOR SOULS
and the night passed, and the next day came and wore to night-
fall, and I was again under the arbor, facing the mass of
people. I stood tip to preach and looked everywhere, but Big
Jim was not present. But just as I began to speak, in he came,
at the same place as on the previous night, and then my mes-
sage seemed to fly away, and I said: "We will pause and
ask God to give the preacher what he ought to say. He does
not know. He would speak God's message, whatever it is,
to-night, and this man will lead us in prayer that the preacher
may speak what, and as, Christ would have His preacher to-
night to speak." And the prayer was finished, and then the
preacher began again, and told simply and only that story of
the prodigal son, the easily influenced, impulsive youth, restless,
dissatisfied, who went away from home against the protests of
wisdom and love, and took his part of the inheritance, and
went down the toboggan slide at a rapid pace, and wasted all
his substance in riotous living. And when his substance was
gone, his friends were gone. The hail-fellows-well-met of the
other days had fled, and he was down yonder in the swine
fields, this lad, feeding the swine, himself eating of the husks
wherewith he fed the swine. One day, as the Scriptures tell
the story, the young fellow "came to himself," He saw himself
as he was. Memory was alert, and the months and the years
of his separation from home, came trooping back to his recol-
lection, and the young man said : "I have sinned. I have missed
it. This is the way of defeat and death. I will go back to
father, and I will confess in his sight and in God's sight how
I have missed it, and how I have sinned." And then he put
that kindling desire into effect, that sublime resolution into
action, and he betook himself back the homeward way, and as
he came toward the old home, the father saw him, even from
afar; the father was waiting, longing to see him; and down the
road the father came, and put his arms about the boy, as the
boy began his confession, and the father called to a servant :
"Bring the best robe for this boy," and to another: "Kill the
fatted calf," and to another: "Bring the ring to put on this
boy's finger," emblem of the love that never dies. And there
was music, and there was rejoicing, and there was victory.
That was all I said, except that I added: "This story of the
prodigal son is simply a picture of the love of God, going out:
after any soul on earth that has wandered away from God,
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? 39
which soul God wishes to forgive and recover and save, and
will so save, if such soul will come to Him." And then I said:
"Will the audience remain seated? Without any singing at all,
is there some man here tonight, a prodigal, far from heaven and
God, who says : 'I want God's mercy, and I will honestly yield
myself to God to get it,' let him come and take my hand."
Would you believe it? Big Jim started. Oh, the sight, the
sight, the sight ! And presently the men saw him coming, and
hundreds of sobbing men stood to their feet, and sobbed aloud,
and as he came down the aisle slowly, for it was with difficulty
he walked, hundreds of men joined him, and came down with
him. And when at last he got to me and took my hand, he said :
"Sir, I put you on your sacred honor, will the Great Master
save me, if I will give up to Him?" And I said : "Sir, on my
sacred honor, I declare that He will, if you will just honestly
surrender your case to Him." And the men put in with voices,
scores and scores : "It is so, Jim. We made the surrender and
He saved us. You make it, and you will find out for yourself."
Ajtid then again, waiting a moment, he looked at me, still hold-
ing my hand, and said: "I want you to remember, sir, that you
are speaking to the worst man out of perdition. Would the
Master save a man like that, if he would give up to Him?" I
said: "Sir, on my Master's own statement, I declare to you
that He will save you, even if you are the chief sinner out of
perdition, if you will honestly surrender to Him." And they
punctuated my remark with a chorus : "It is so, Jim. Try it
and you will find out." Once again he looked at me and then
he said, finally : "Sir, when would the Great Master save me,
if I should give up to Him right now?" And I said: "Sir, on
His own word, which many of us have proved, our Great
Master will save you, and your heart shall know that your
sins are forgiven, right now, if right now you will honestly
surrender to Him." And then he turned that big bronzed face
upward, as if looking for the Master himself, and he gasped
out his prayer, just this: "Lord Jesus, the worst man in the
world gives up to you right now."
Oh, I cannot tell the rest ! I do not think the angels could
tell the rest. I think if the archangel himself should come down
from those starry heights, that the words of that angel would
be inadequate to tell you the rest. God unloosed Big Jim's
40 A QUEST FOK SOULS
tongue, and he began to talk, and then the old men kissed him,
and the old women kissed him, and the young men kissed him,
and the young women kissed him, for the chief of sinners had
been saved.
What is there wonderful about such a story? Not a thing
on the face of the earth, if you will grant that Jesus Christ is
divine, and that He came in the flesh to save sinners, and that
His divine grace is mightier than any human sin, however
long-continued and however heinous. O men and women, you
and I limit God because of our unfaith with respect to aged
and hardened and difficult and preoccupied cases that are all
around us.
But there is another word for me to bring you. How may
we strengthen our faith? That is what you and I wish to know.
How may you and I strengthen our faith? I have two or three
simple suggestions. First, if we would strengthen our faith,
we need to make it a matter of prayer. I read you the passage
of Scripture telling of a group of men who failed in their faith,
and when they got Jesus alone they said: "Why was it we
failed?" Mark His answer: "This kind can come forth by
nothing, but by prayer." If you are not a man of prayer, you
are not a man of faith. If you are not a woman of prayer, you
are not a woman of faith. The men and women who do not
tread the secret path of prayer aie men and women spiritless
and broken and without faith. If you and I would have
conquering faith, then you and I must make it a matter of
constant prayer. Once when Jesus gave His disciples a
great task to accomplish, they cried back unto Him : "Lord,
if you expect that of us, increase our faith." And so you and
I are to come to Him, saying: "If you expect this, or that,
or the other great achievement, even the achievement of
winning some poor soul, bedarkened and blinded by sin,
away from such dreadful path, to God, then increase our
faith."
How may our faith be increased? If it is to be increased,
then let us plead the promises of God. Oh, how great a
privilege to plead the promises of God ! Of old, one had a way
of talking to God like this: "Do as thou hast said." And
when you and I come to pray, we need to fill our mouths
with arguments to God, and those 'arguments are His own
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? 41
promises. "Lord Jesus, here is what thou hast said, and we
plead that We fill our mouth with thine own argument,
and we plead that before thy face. Do as thou hast said,
Do as thou hast said." What if hundreds and hundreds of
these men and women before me, should go apart in groups
of two, and should say: "Lord Jesus, here is a case, O,
so difficult, speaking after the fashion of men, so difficult,
so hopeless, but not at all difficult and hopeless if God will
take charge of the case, and, therefore, we two take up thy
promise, where thou sayest: If two of you shall agree on
earth, as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done
for them of nay Father in heaven/ Do as thou hast said. We
plead this promise, and rest on it Do as thou hast said."
How are we to strengthen our faith? I have still another
word. If we are to strengthen our faith, then we are to seek
the guidance and power of God's Divine Spirit. In this divinest
^vork of all, the work of winning souls to Christ, all along wt
are to seek the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. Oh,
how wonderful is His guidance, and how marvelous is His
power! He does guide His people. There is such a thing as
being led of the Spirit of God, and in this divinest work of all,
the work of winning souls, we shall miss it utterly and be
marplots, if we are not guided and empowered by the Spirit
of God. The Spirit of God does teach, guide and empower the
servants of Jesus, in this holiest task of all, this work of win-
ning souls to Christ "When He is come," Jesus has promised
it, "He will guide you into all truth." "Ye shall receive power,
after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you : and ye shall be
witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." O brothers
mine, you and I, with all humility and earnestness, want to ask
God to guide us in this work we are in, and to give us His
own wisdom and power at every step that we take.
Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly dove,
With all thy quickening powers;
Come, shed abroad a Savior's love,
Aad that shall kindle ours.
iYbu an'd I wan? the guidance and the power of Hie (Divine
Spirit in this heavenly task to which we are these days, please
God, to put our hands.
42 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Wonderful, how wonderful, is God's leadership by His
Spirit and His power, when we yield ourselves to Him ! How
wonderful it is ! A few years ago, I was in Minneapolis, that
beautiful city of the Northwest, at one of the Bible conferences
for the Northwestern states, speaking there daily for some
two weeks, and it was my privilege, while there, to have daily
fellowship with that nobly gifted preacher, Wayland Hoyt,
one of the first preachers of his generation. I had heard of
an incident in his life, and I asked him about it, and he
confirmed it. This was the incident : Dr. Hoyt had prepared
with unusual care in the other years a special sermon, hoping
to reach one of the first citizens in his city on a certain Sunday
night, with that same sermon. This citizen was an outstand-
ing citizen, but not a Christian, and rarely came to church. The
wife was a devoted Christian and church member. So at the
Sunday morning service Mr. Hoyt signalled quietly to the wife,
and sent by her a message to the distinguished husband : "Tell
him that I ask specially that he will come to-night. I have pre-
pared a sermon, hoping earnestly to help him. Tell him I ask
him to come, I wish him to come." The wife gave the mes-
sage when she reached home, and the husband went to the tele-
phone he was a gentleman in every instinct and habit of his
life and took down the receiver and called the minister and
gave the minister his grateful thanks for his cordial invitation,
saying: "Certainly, I will be there to-night. How kindly,
how considerate of you to be so interested in me. Certainly, I
will be there to hear you." But before the nightfall came a
blinding storm filled the heavens, and the floods poured out of
the clouds, and the people could not gather. Only a little hand-
ful hard by the church could gather at all. The minister made
his way to the church and spoke to the little handful, but the
one citizen he had thought about and specially prepared for
was not there. The minister went home with his heart heavy,
and he sat there late and long in his library that Sunday night,
and he fell to musing like this : **What a poor out I am making
reaching that man !" And then something said to him : "Why
don't you imitate your Master and go to the man and preach
your sermon to just one man, as Jesus after nightfall preached
His sermon on the new birth to Nicodemus, that fine citizen of
old? Why don't you walk in the steps of your Master and
preach your best sermon to one man?" Knd that suggestion
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? 48
fairly boomed like a cannon in his ears and heart. He looked
at his watch. It was midnight. He said : "Why, I could not
go this late at night." And he sat, still thinking further, and
something seemed to say to him, did say to him : "If you knew
that that man's house was in danger, or that his family were in
danger, you would brave any sort of weather, to help them.
Though the storm beat down the avenue, you would breast it,
to go and apprise him of the danger. Why won't you be con-
sistent about the biggest, most important thing of all?" And
then Dr. Hoyt said he found himself putting on his raincoat.
He opened the door and breasted the great storm that still
swept down the avenue. Block after block he trudged his way
through the blinding storm. He said he found himself talking
to himself, saying to himself : "Maybe, the man will say I am
crazy. Maybe I am, but God knows I am trying to do the
consistent thing/' Presently he came to the right house, and
as he came toward it there was a light in one of the lower
rooms, and he came up softly to the door, and knocked gently,
not caring to disturb the household at one o'clock in the morn-
ing, and in a moment the door opened, and there standing
was the citizen, who had not been in bed at all, and out into the
storm and the night the big citizen thrust his arms and drew
Wayland Hoyt out of the night and out of the storm, and drew
him to his heart, and sobbed over him as a mother would sob
over her children, saying to him: "Thank God, Mr. Hoyt, He
sent you here to teach me how to be saved. I have been there
in my library, reading the Bible and trying to pray. That word
you sent me waked me up and stirred my heart The storm
kept me from going to church, but I could not sleep. I have
been there reading the Bible and trying to pray, but it is all
dark to me. Jesus sent you to teach me/* And Wayland
Hoyt told me that in five minutes his interested citizen was
rejoicing in Christ Jesus the Lord. What if Wayland Hoyt
had not gone ? God pity me and you maybe, as time and again
your heart ached with a longing inexpressible for some lost
soul, but you said : "I am unworthy. I am incompetent. I am
unfit/* 5\nd you deadened your impression, and you went your
way, and such soul went his way, and maybe has gone into
eternity ere this Tuesday night. Oh, seek the guidance of
God's Spirit for this task, and then follow Him!
44 A QUEST FOR SOULS
We are going in a moment, for my message is done. 1
have a question to ask you, and you will answer it candidly.
This is the question: Is there somebody in Fort Worth that
you wish to be saved? Is there somebody in Fort Worth that
you wish to be saved during these meetings, in which our appeal
shall be made to men's judgments and men's consciences? I
have no respect for any other kind of appeal in the name of
Christ's holy religion. Bethink you now is there somebody
that you wish to see saved during these midsummer days,
set aside for some special meetings to help the people in the
highest matters of all? Every Christian present who says:
"Yes ; there is one, or there are some, that I wish to see saved,
and by my standing I voice my wish, and ask you and ask
others present who pray, to join me in prayer for these name-
less ones that my heart thinks about, in these closing moments
of this service/' stand to your feet. Is there some person or
persons whom you would see saved during these meetings, for
whom you would have us to unite our prayers this night, and
from day to day, that light and leading from God may be
vouchsafed unto them that they may be saved? Does my call
apply to others? Every man and woman who says: "That
represents my heart's earnest desire," stand to your feet. Many
have risen. Many persons are evidently now in your thoughts.
The Lord teach us to pray for them as we ought !
THE CLOSING PRAYER,
We go now, our Father, at the close of this service, appealing to tkee that
thy truth, by the power of thy Spirit, may be written in our deepest con-
sciences. O, forgive us for our little faith, for our miserable unfaith. This night
we would draw nigh to God. We would pay the price for power with God and
for Him, wherever that would lead us, and whatever that would cost us. Whether
by death or by life, we would do God's wilL Behold the men and women who
have risen to their feet to say that they are thinking of one, or thinking of more
than one, whom they long to see saved during these midsummer days, in the
special daily meetings, O God, fit us to speak as we ought to the people all
about us concerning Jesus. Would it please the for those now praying to pour
forth their personal appeal to some soul thought about and prayed for right now?
Then let the right person go to such soul and speak God's Word, however tim-
idly. And even though with confession, first of all, for waywardness personal,
and inconsistency of life, and incongruity of temper, yet may the soul who loves
Christ and loves the soul of the one thought about and prayed for right now, go
to such soul and speak as Christ would have the word spoken, to guide such
soul out of the darkness and into the light. Holy Spirit Divine, them Great
Hevealer of Jesus, come thpu and teach us and lead us, and enable us hour by
her, in our talk, in our visits, by the use of the *phone, by the letter, and in
the secret places, when we bare our very souls before God in prayer, to behave
ourselves in such a fashion that Christ with smiling face shall look on us, and
with blessed lips shall say to us: "I am well pleased*"
And now, as the people go, may the blessing of God, even of Father, Son
and Holy Spirit, whom we worship as one God, be granted you all and each* t<r
bide with you forevermore. Amen.
IV?
NOON SERVICE, JUNE 13, 1917.
THE THREEFOLD SECRET OF A GREAT LIFE.
Teart: "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing
I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching: forth unto those
things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high callinar
of God in Christ Jesus." PhiL 3:13, 14.
Somebody has well said that "the proper study of mankind
is man." The study of biography, therefore, is always a most
fascinating and helpful study. Everybody who is normal is
interested keenly in the lives of people who have succeeded.
We would know all that we may about them, about their
beginnings, their struggles, their habits, about their viewpoint
in life. This morning I would direct your attention for a little
while to the most remarkable Christian of the centuries, namely,
the Apostle Paul. He was, and is, the greatest single credential
that Christ's gospel has ever produced. One day, in writing to
his favorite church, the Philippian church, in a burst of confi-
dence, it would seem, he lets us into the secret of his marvelous
life, and we are to study that threefold secret for a little while
this morning. Mark his words :
This one thing I do, forgetting those tilings which are behind, and reaching
forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
In those words, this greatest of all Christians states the
three-fold secret of his incomparable life, and we will do well
to look at that threefold secret today. The first element in it
is the element of whole-hearted concentration. "This one
thing I do" not a dozen things, not even two things, but "this
one thing I do." No life can be very great, or very happy, or
very useful, without this element of concentration. Every one
45
46 A QUEST FOR SOULS
should have a work to do, and know what it is, and do it with
all his might. Decision is energy, and energy is power, and
power is confidence, and confidence to a remarkable degree
contributes to success. Many a man in life has failed, not
from lack of ability, but from lack of this element of con-
centration. The whole world is witness to its power. Turn to
any realm that you will, and the vital meaning of concentration
stands out in all human life, after the most striking fashion.
Take the business world, and the element of concentration
there is of prime importance, if success is to be achieved. The
very watchwords in the business world magnify this element of
concentration. They talk to us about specialization and con-
solidation, and incorporation, and on and on, giving emphasis
in all such words to the meaningful quality of concentration.
A short time ago one of the world's most successful business
men was waited upon by a group of young men, who sought
his counsel about how to succeed, and he gave them this laconic
advice : "Young gentlemen, get all your eggs into one basket,
and then watch that basket." It was his way of giving emphasis
to the tremendous value of concentration. The day for the
jack-of-all-trades has passed. A man must do one thing and
do it with all his might. The professional man understands
that. The lawyer who is minded to reach the topmost rung of
his high calling sets himself with all diligence and devotedness
to that calling, and does not dissipate his energies on a half
dozen other callings, as in the other days men sometimes did.
The physician understands that The day of the specialist has
come. The teacher understands that. In all the world about
us men understand that this winning element, stated by Paul
as the first element, humanly speaking, of his marvelous career,
is indispensable to success, namely, the power of concentration
"this one thing I do/'
Knd when we turn to the world of science, and look at the
notable scientists, that truth of concentration seems to be
written in their lives as with letters of living fire. Edison with
all devotedness concentrates his energies in the realm of elec-
tricity, and is constantly surprising the world by his marvelous
discoveries. And the Wright brothers, with all their devoted-
ness, gave themselves to the mastery of the secrets of the air,
and constantly surprised us by their revelations.
THE SECRET OF A GREAT LIFE 47
When we come to the highest realm of all the realm relig-
ious this element of concentration there holds sway just as in
these other realms. No man can serve two masters. One must
be our Master, and Jesus stands above all mankind and says:
"If you would be my disciple, then I tell you I must come first.
I must come before father or mother, or the dearest loved one
of your life. I must come before your own business, or your
own property. I must come before your own Kf e. I must be
Lord of all, or I will not be Lord at all/'
Now, you would not trust your soul's eternal welfare to a
proffered Savior who would ask or allow anything less than
that He should be first. "Ye shall seek me and find me, when
ye search for me with your whole heart/ 5 I care not what may
be a man's difficulties or doubts in the world religious, if only
such man, with definiteness of purpose, with whole-heartedness
of aim, shall set himself to seek God's light and leading, I know
that he will find Him. "In the day that thou seekest me with
thy whole heart, I will be found of thee/* Many a Christian
man follows Christ afar off, and limps and grovels in the
Christian life, because he is seeking to adjust himself in life
to giving Christ some secondary place, and Christ will not have
it Concentration is a prime requisite in the victorious life
anywhere.
In the second place the great Christian leads us to the con-
sideration of a second secret explanatory of his marvelous
career, and that is that he cultivated a wise f orgetf ulness of the
past. It rings like a trumpet blast in this Bible that we are to
remember certain things that we ought to remember. That word
"remember" rings out like a bugle blast, again and again in the
Bible. But along with the factor of wisely remembering there
is to go that other important factor of wisely forgetting. Many
a man goes hobbled and crippled through life and never does
come to the highest and best, because he cannot forget certain
things that ought to be forgotten by him.
&nd what are some of the things that we ought every one
to forget? Let me run over a brief list. We ought every one
to learn how practically to forget our blunders. What blun-
derers we all are, and how many blunders we all make ! Every
man must learn how to forget his own blunders, or he will go
manacled and crippled to his grave. The old saying comes in
48 A QUEST FOR SOULS
point right clearly, that "the best of men are but men at the
best." We are to learn, therefore, how to forget our blunders.
Ebenezer was a field of defeat before it rang with the songs of
victory. We are to learn how to take our very blunders and
make them bridges over which we shall span the chasms and
go to better days.
And what else are we to learn how to forget? We are to
learn how to forget our losses. In human life losses of all
kinds come more or less in our experiences. We are to learn
how to get past them, and practically to forget them. I have
observed no more painfully tragical sight than a strong, alert
man, down in spirit, singing his dirges and chanting his jere-
miads because he had lost some property. I am thinking now
of a man whose property burned up a day or two after the
insurance had expired, and all was a total loss, and there he
was without property at all, in the gray of that early morning,
and with his face in his hands he kept chanting the pitiful cry:
"I have lost all 1" , Presently his tiny little girl, of four or five
summers, came to him, all puzzled, and said : "Why, no, papa,
you have not lost all. You have me and mamma left 1" And
it took that to summon him and to hearten him and to bring
him back to sobriety and to right-thinking. No man is to
whine and mope and go down because losses come here and
there and yonder. But, he is to learn how to get past them and
to forget them.
What else are we to forget? We are to learn how to forget
life's injuries. It would seem that in this world of ours with
its rivalries and competitions and frictions and alienations, it is
difficult to get past the injuries that come in human life. And
yet I tell you, my brother men, if for any cause you are cherish-
ing hate in your heart, then you have lost the highest perspec-
tive of life, and cannot have the highest perspective of life as
long as the poison of hate is allowed in your heart and in your
life. A man is terribly hindered and has around him a ball and
a chain, if in his heart he cherishes something that says: "I
will lie awake at nights, and I will turn many a corner, and I
will await my day, to get even with some man for some cruel
dart that he throws at me." Big men do not hate. Big men
do not cherish resentments. Big men put them down and out,
and go their way, and refuse to harbor them. They refuse to
THE SECRET OF A GREAT LIFE 40
let them rankle like poisons in the heart, thus to vitiate every
high thing that the spirit should hold most dear.
What else are we to forget? We are to learn how to
forget our successes. More men have been spoiled by suc-
cess than you and I can begin to measure. There is danger in
success, anywhere, for any man. If a man can bear success,
he can bear anything. Easier far can the human spirit bear
adversity than it can bear prosperity. It is better any day
to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting,
for in the house of feasting the human spirit is lifted up, and
pride always goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit
always goes before a falL When Uzziah of old came to his
day of remarkable prosperity, then it was that the Bible tells
us his heart was lifted up to destruction. The history of the
rich American family stands out like a mountain range, that
every third generation of such family goes to defeat and failure
and poverty. The first generation wins success, the second
generation spends it, and the third generation goes the down-
ward way to poverty and failure. We are to learn how to
forget our successes. If a man does not learn what success is
for any kind of success, financial success, political success,
social success, intellectual success, any kind of success if he
does not learn what it is for, the day comes for his undoing and
his downfall and his defeat.
What else are we to forget ? We are to learn how to forget
our sorrows and sooner or later these sorrows come to us,
each and all. We are to learn how to forget them. When the
sorrows come, we are to learn how to take these sorrows to the
great, refining, overruling Master, and ask Him so to dispose,
so to rule and overrule in them and with them that we may
come out of them all refined and disciplined, the better educated
and more useful, because of such sorrows. They tell us that
when you break the oyster's shell at a certain place it will go
somewhere into the deep and find a pearl and mend that broken
place in its shell with a beautiful pearl. Even so, when your
sorrow in life comes, you are to learn how to take that sorrow,
and so have it woven into the warp and woof of your life that
you shall not be weaker and worse for the sorrow, but shall
be richer and stronger and better, because of such sorrow.
Read every now and then the polished essay of Emerson on
50 A QUEST FOR SOULS
"Compensation." Running all through this world is that clear
principle of compensation. The Bible recognizes it : 'Tor our
light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a
far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." We are to
lay to heart that sublimest truth that "all things work together
for good to them that love God." Yonder in the asylum for
the deaf and dumb a visitor went one day, and the superin-
tendent of the asylum said: "Let me show you how bright
these little children are, even though they are deaf and dumb.
IA.sk any question you will," said the superintendent to the
visitor. "Write your question there on the board, and see the
answers that these little mutes will give to your question." He
asked question after question, did this visitor. After awhile
he asked a cruel question. I wonder how he could have done
it. He wrote this cruel question there on the board: "If
God loved you, why did He make you deaf and dumb?" Then
the little things bowed their shoulders and sobbed for a mo-
ment with almost uncontrollable emotion, and presently a little
tiny girl came from out her seat there, and went to the black-
board, and wrote under that question these wonderful words
of Jesus: "Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy
sight." Wasn't it glorious? You and I are to take our sor-
rows, our black Fridays, our lone and long nights, and we are
to come to Him and say: "Manage thou these, thou won-
drous Friend, who canst turn the very night into morning;
manage these for me." And we are to sing with Whittier,
when he sang:
"I know not where His islands lift
Their fronded palms in air;
But this I know, I cannot drift
Beyond His love and care."
What else are we to forget ? We are to learn how to forget
our sins. If Paul had not learned how to forget his sins he
would have been crippled utterly dear to his death. Paul con-
sented to the death of Stephen. Paul persecuted the church.
Paul was a ring-leader in sin. Paul seemed to run the whole
gamut of sin. He called himself "the chief of sinners/' and
perhaps he was. If Paul had not learned how to forget those
awful sins that mastered him back yonder, if he had not learned
how to get past them, then he would have gone with accusing
conscience and broken spirit dear to his grave. We shall have
about us a ball and a chain, and shall go grovding and despair-
THE SECRET OF A GREAT LIFE 51
ing and defeated, if we do not learn how to forget our sins.
When we look at the debit side of our life, do our hearts faint
within us? Mine faints within me. But then the Master of
life summons me and says : "Come over here and look at the
credit side, and the credit side will outfigure all that debit
side." And when I come over there I say to Him: "What
dost thou mean, oh, thou gracious Friend?" Listen to Him,
and He tells us : "Where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound." Listen to Him again : "As far as the east is from
the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us."
And listen to Him yet again: "I have put your sins behind
my back. I have drowned them in the depths of the sea. I
will remember them against you no more forever/* Oh, isn't
that wonderful ? Listen to Him again and He tells us : "The
blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin/'
When Satan comes with his accusing cry, reminding me of
my weakness and my frailty and my transgressions and my
proneness to sin and all that, he can make out his case, I grant
it, but I come back and say to him: "But, sir, where sin
abounded, grace has much more abounded, and in Christ,
whose name is Jesus, I have victory, even over my sins."
"Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people
from their sins." We have a real Savior from sin in Christ
Jesus, and when we trust Him, no more are we to go hobbled,
with ball and chain, because of sin, because Christ becomes our
personal Savior from both the penalty and power of sin.
Years ago, in South Texas, there was a little home in the
country burned down, and before the neighbors could rescue
the family all were burned to death save one little girl, some
nine or ten years of age, and she was badly burned on one
side of her face and little body. The rest were all burned to
death. The neighbors, after a few days, when they had con-
sulted, sent little Mary to the far-famed Buckner Orphans
Home. They advised the noble head of that home when little
Mary would come, on what train, and there good Dr. Buckner
was waiting for her, of course. When she got off the train,
her little eyes were red from weeping, and she seemed intuitive-
ly to know that he was her protector henceforth, and she
started toward him saying: "Is this Mr. Buckner?" He said:
"Yes, and is this little Mary?" And then she came and laid
52 A QUEST FOR SOULS
her littla head up against his knee, and sobbed with indiscriba-
ble emotion, and looked up at last with that little burned face
and said : **You will have to be my papa and mamma bath."
He said : "I will, the best I can, Mary." And then she went into
the Home, and was looked after along with those hundreds of
children. I have been there time and again and preached to
them, and I have seen them come out to greet him when he
would return to them, after an absence. The little tots come
down the avenue, and vie with one another as they swing
around him, each wishing to kiss him first. Along in that group
one day came the little burned-faced Mary, and the little chil-
dren kissed him as was their wont, but little Mary stood off,
several feet away, and looked across her shoulder, watching
the whole affair, sobbing like her heart would break. And
when these little ones had kissed the good man, he looked
across to her and said : "Mary, why don't you come and kiss
me?" That was entirely too much for her and she sobbed
aloud, and then he went over and touched her little chin and
lifted it up and said: I do not quite understand you, Mary.
Why didn't you come to kiss me?" And the little thing had
difficulty in speaking, and when she did speak she said: "O
Papa Buckner, I could not ask you to kiss me, I am so ugly.
Softer I got burned I am so ugly I could not ask you to kiss
me, but if you will just love me like you love the other chil-
dren and tell me you love me, then you need not kiss me at all."
You know what he did. He pushed all those beautiful children
away, and took up little Mary in his arms, and kissed the little
burned cheek again and again and said : "Mary, you are just
as beautiful to Papa Buckner as are any of the rest."
Ah, me ! I was that burned child once, and sin did it all ! I
came to Jesus and said : "I am sorry. My heart is sick about it.
Oh, I have repented of it all." And He said : "I will receive
you, and I will give you the kiss of reconciliation, the kiss of
pardon, the kiss of forgiveness," and I was saved when I came
like that. Now no more will I go fettered and bound because
of sin, because Christ has made me free by His mighty grace,
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe,
Sin had left its crimson stain,
\\ He washed it white as snow.
Let me detain you for the third word. Paul had a right:
anticipation. "Forgetting those things which are behind and
THE SECRET OF A GREAT LIFE 53
^caching forth unto those things which are before, I press
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus." Paul had a right forward look. My men and
women, at this busy noonday hour, I come to ask you, one by
one, have you the right aim in your life? What are you living
for? What is that hand for? What is the eye for? What is
human life for? What is your life for? How are you using
your life? How are you investing your life? What is the aim
of your life? Does somebody say : "Why, I am taking it one
world at a time?" That is not bright That is not clever. If
a man does not include two worlds at a time, then he commits
suicide for both. A man is to be a citizen of two worlds, and a
man who lives simply for this world, no matter how success-
fully, how victoriously, how notoriously, if a man lives simply
for this present world, he commits suicide in it and suicide for
the world endless that awaits us just out there. Oh, include
two worlds in your plan !
Let me tell you about three men. One said : "One world
at a time for me," and from early morning until dewy eve, he
invested all his powers to win success, and he won it, but he
died without hope, and without God, taking a leap into the
dark with a wail, the memory of which must forever give
agony to the hearts that heard it. The second one made pro-
fession of religion, but he followed Christ afar off. He put
his religion into a little tiny corner of his life. He gave Jesus
the small places, and when he came to the last end, with his
family and minister around him, the minister was saddened by
his awful story: "Sir, I trust I shall get to heaven, but my
works are burned up, because I have done little or nothing for
Christ. Oh, if I could retrace my life and be the right kind
of a man 1" And then there was the third man. From life's
young morning he dedicated his life to Jesus. He went his
way a great business man, but with it all he was the faithful
friend of Jesus. He chose Christ as his chief partner, his
guide in all things. And when he came down to die, there was
a halo of light about his face, and there was victory in his heart,
and in his words, and all the men that knew him said : "If ever
a Christian has lived, this man is he." Which one of these
three men would you rather be? Listen to the words of a
modern poet:
54 A QUEST FOR SOULS
I had walked life's way with an easy tread,
Sad followed where comforts and pleasures led,
Until one day in a quiet place
1 met the Master face to face.
With station and rank and wealtk for my goal,
Much thought for my body, but none for my soul,
I had entered to win in life's mad race,
When I met the Master face to face.
I had built my castles and reared them high,
With their towers had^pierced the blue of the sky,
I had sworn to rule with an iron mace,
When I met the Master face to face.
I met Him and knew Him and blushed to see
That His eyes, full of sorrow, were fixed on me;
And I faltered and fell at His feet that day,
While my castles melted and vanished away.
Melted and vanished and in their place
Naught else did I see but the Master's face.
And I cried aloud, "Oh, make me meet
To follow the steps of Thy wounded feet."
My thought is now for the souls of men,
I have lost my life to find it again,
E'er since one day in a quiet place
I met the Master face to lace.
O my men and women, you are not ready to die, you are
not ready to live, you are not ready for any duty, even for five
seconds, if you are putting the wisdom and love and power of
Christ out of your life. Be wise, I summon you, and give
heed to the supreme things, even in the day when you ought.
That day is to-day.
THE BENEDICTION.
And now, as we go, may God vouchsafe unto us every one, His own searcK-
ing truth, applied by its Divine Author, even by the Holy Spirit Himself, so that
we shall from this day forward, put first things first, in the remaining life allowed
us in the flesh. Oh, we beseech thee, our Father, that these busy men and
women at this noontide hour, may go away with the heart inflexibly fixed to
give Christ, the one Savior, the rightful Master of mankind, absolute supremacy
in our every heart, and in every life, and in every life plan that we are to hare
from this day forward.
And as you go now, may the blessing of God, bright like the light when the
morning dawneth, and gracious as the dew when the eventide cometh, be granted
you all and each, to abide with you today and tomorrow, and throughout God's
YMt beyond, forcrcr. Atiea.
WHAT TO DO WITH LIFE'S BURDENS 23
will run. I will fly. I will get away." But that would
not win, for when you got away out there in the wilderness,
you would have your burden yet, for you have your mem-
ory, you have your personality, you have yourself. You
cannot thus get away from life's burdens. There is the
burden of perplexity for you, no matter where you go;
and there is the burden of the consciousness of neglected
duty, no matter where you go ; and there is the burden of
some sin athwart your conscience, like some ghastly can-
cer, no matter where you go. What are you to do with
these burdens of perplexity and neglected duty and sins?
What are you to do? Where are you to go? There is
only one place, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He
shall sustain thee."
How will He sustain you? He will do it in one of two
ways. He may take the burden away. Sometimes He
does, blessed be His name ! You have come sometimes, as
have I, into that deep garden of Gethsemane, when that
black Friday broke all our plans, and in our dire despera-
tion we have prayed, with the Master : "If it be possible,
let this cup pass from me. If it be possible, forbid that I
should drink this bitter cup that is being put to my lips/'
And the cup was taken away, and we did not have to drink
it at all. Time and again you have prayed, as you faced
a certain great burden, that God would remove it, and He
heard, and the burden was taken away. But suppose it is
not? And sometimes it is not. Ofttimes it is not. We
pray, but there is the burden yet. Now, what if God shall
not take the burden away? Then He has promised to
come in with divine re-enforcement and help us to bear that
burden and be victor, no matter how weighty it is, nor how
fiery in its biting power in our life. Paul had re-enforce-
ment. He had a thorn in the flesh. I do not know what
it was, nor do you, but it was something very trying. If
ever there was a genuine man in the world, it was the
Apostle Paul. He was the highest product that Christian-
ity has ever produced. This same man said : "There was
given to me a thorn in the flesh." He called it the "mes-
senger of Satan," sent to buffet him, and he said : "I went
Kke the Master in the garden, and thrice did I beseech the
24 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Lord that He would take that thorn away, but He did
not take it away at all. He left it, to goad me and harass
me and burn me and pain me. But He said to me : 'Paul,
Paul, my grace is sufficient for you' " not "shall be/' but
"is/' "My grace is sufficient for you/' here and now, ever-
present and never-failing. No matter where you go, nor
what shall come, "my grace is sufficient for you." And
from that time on you have no more record of Paul's
praying that that thorn might be taken away. From that
time Paul said: "Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory-
in my thorn, glory in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me/' Said Paul : "I had rather have
my thorn in the flesh, which is ever present with me, and
have God's added grace, than to be without that thorn and
miss that added grace and light and love from God." Now,
doesn't that explain much? He will give you increased
grace, grace upon grace, if He does not take the burden
away when you call to Him to take such burden away.
Oh, my men and women, with your burdens, whatever
they are, here is the way out : "Cast thy burden upon the
Lord, and He shall sustain thee." Seek not to bear it
alone. Seek not to fight out your battle alone. Seek not
to solve that perplexity alone. Seek not to stem that flood
alone. Seek not to go through that long and bitter night
alone. Take the Master into your counsels and into your
plans, and turn yourself over to Him, with your burden,
whatever it is, and He shall sustain you. One of the great
words in the Bible is that fine word "sustain." He shall
sustain you. No matter what your burden is I dare to
say it no matter what your burden is, you shall get sus-
taining strength from God, and your heart shall surely
know it, if you will only cast yourself honestly upon Him*
Have you learned the secret of peace? In a world of
burden and battle and perplexity and clouds and shadows
and night and death, have you learned the secret of peace?
You will never know it until you learn how to cast your
burden upon the Lord. I am thinking now of a .strong
man yonder in the city, whose beautiful wife was taken
from him after an illness of just a few hours, and the man
was left with a little flaxen-haired girl, of some four or five
WHAT TO DO WITH LIFE'S BURDENS 25
summers. The body was carried out to the cemetery,
where was a simple service, and every heart was broken,
the grief was so appalling. And then when the service was
over, neighbors gathered around the big man and said to
him: "You must come, with this little baby girl, and stay
with us for several days. You must not go back to that
home now/' And the broken-hearted man said: "Yes,
I must go right back to the same place where she was, to
the room from which she went away, and I must fight it
out with this baby right there/' and back they went. He
told about it all the next day. The baby was late and long
going to sleep. Oh, was there ever anything more pathetic
than the cry of a bairn for the little mother that will never
come back again? Long and late the little one, in the
crib there by the bed, sobbed, because she could not go to
sleep, and the big man reached his hand over to the crib
and petted her and mothered her, as best he could, and
after awhile the little girl, out of sorrow for her father,
stopped her crying just out of sorrow for him. And in
the darkness of that quiet time the big man looked through
the darkness to God, and said: "I trust you, but, oh, it
is as dark as midnight/' And then the little girl started
up her sobbing again, and the father said: "Why, papa
thought you were asleep, baby/' And she said: "Papa,
I did try. I was sorry for you. I did try, but I could not
go to sleep, papa/' And then she said: "Papa, did you
ever know it to be so dark? Why, papa, I cannot even
see you, it is so dark/' And then, sobbing, the little thing
said: "But, papa, you love me, if it is dark, don't you?
You love me, if I don't see you, don't you, papa?" You
know what he did. He reached across with those big
hands and took the little girl out of her crib, and brought
her over on his big heart, and mothered her, until at last,
sobbing, the little thing fell to sleep, and then when she
was asleep, he took his baby's cry to him, and passed it
up to God, and said: "Father, it is as dark as midnight.
I cannot see at all. But you love me, if it is dark, don't
you? I will trust you, though you slay me. With my
baby, and my grief, and my utter desolation, I will turn my
case over to God/* And then the darkness was like unto
26 A QUEST FOR SOULS
the morning! God always comes to people who trust
Him. Have you learned the secret of peace? Henry Van
Dyke points the secret in his poem on "Peace/* Mark the
words :
With eager heart, and will on fire,
I sought to win my great desire.
"Peace shall be mine," I said. But life
Grew bitter in the endless strife.
My sotd was weary, and my pride
Was wounded deep. To heaven I cried:
"God give me peace, or I must die."
The dumb stars glittered no reply.
Broken at last, I bowed my head,
Forgetting all myself, and said:
"Whatever conies, His will be done.*'
And in that moment, peace was won.
Whatever your burdens of sin, or grief, or doubt, or
disappointment, or regret, or remorse, or conscious fear
and failure dare to cast your burden, yourself, your all,
to-day and forever upon the Lord. Do it now while we
pray.
THE CLOSING PRAYER.
O thou Divine Savior and Burden Bearer, speak the word in season to
these busy, battling, sinning, burdened men and women, gathered for this brief
midday service. Let every man and woman of us, personally and faithfully face
our daily task just like it ought to be faced. And let us aU consecrate ourselves
today and in all coming days* to the last noble limit of ministry, as we seek to
help other people to bear their burdens. Forbid, O God, that we shall add to
people's burdens. And then let us all come with our burdens, and they are many,
and let us cast them, with ourselves, utterly upon that great Savior, who is
pledged to turn the very distemperatures of life into triumphs for us, it we wifl
only consent that His will may be done in our lives. Give us grace and help
that we may all yield ourselves to thy will, now and forever. And as you go
now, may the blessing of the Triune God, even of Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be granted you, all and each, to abide with you through today, and through to-
aorrow, and throughout God's vast beyond, forever. Amen.
Ill
NIGHT SERVICE, JUNE 12, 1917.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
Before reading the Scriptures, I should like to make two
remarks first, a general remark, and then one quite particular
with reference to these services. The general remark is, that
Christians ought to be the very best of citizens, and in this time
of national, and international, and even world testing, Chris-
tians should be on the alert constantly to see how they can
best serve humanity's interests. I trust that daily the Chris-
tians listening to me to-night are giving themselves to prayer
about the World War. Oh, what need for constant and fervent
intercession respecting this war! My belief is that we have
entered into this war under the highest moral compulsion.
We have not entered into it, I must believe, with any lust
for revenge, or for gain, but purely, and simply, and solely,
in the interest of humanity, at home and the world round,
for today and for every after day. Therefore, it behooves
every Christian, $nd every right-thinking citizen as well, who
may not be a Christian, to give the most worthy consideration
to the personal part that each of us should have with respect
to this great conflict. Without ceasing, we should make our
appeal to God that He may lead us to do His will. And with-
out ceasing, we should seek in every high possible way, to
help our sons and brothers, who are going out from every
community to the camps to be trained for the great conflict.
!And in every way we can, every one of us, as our noble
President has said, "should do his bit," in this testing hour,
27
28 A QUEST FOR SOULS
when every human being in this country is involved, and
vitally involved, because of the war. I will venture to add
this other word, a word which I said to my own people in
Dallas a short time ago, that every man and woman in our
land, who can do so, should come with noble response to the
appeal that is daily heard, touching the Liberty Bonds. Every
man and woman who can do so should re-enforce the Govern-
ment at this practical point. It is a matter reasonable, it is a
matter righteous, and I believe that it is a matter profoundly
and urgently necessary. It is indeed a high privilege to be
the right kind of a citizen. Patriotism is a word of tremendous
significance.
Now, a very particular word touching the interests of the
meeting. I raise the question with every Christian under the
sound of my voice this night : Won't you make it a point, from
day to day, to do some definite religious visiting? All about us
there are people who are needing, more than words can say,
to be spoken to in the right way, concerning personal religion.
Won't you thus dedicate yourself for an hour to-morrow? And
if it could not be an hour, for half an hour? And if it could
not be half an hour, for ten minutes ? And if it could not be
ten minutes, for as much aa one minute, to speak to some
human soul about personal religion? I do not think much of
a meeting where its activities are limited to the public services.
I think very much of any meeting, if the people come to it,
and humbly and earnestly seek to have their spiritual strength
renewed, and light their torches, and then go out to find some-
body in need of God's guidance and help, and speak to that
somebody, and seek to guide that somebody into the right way.
That is a meeting worth while. Oh, I press it upon you!
Won't you do some of the right kind of religious visiting every
day of these special days set apart for public services? There
is a drifting Christian that you ought to see. He began well
back yonder, and something came to bewitch him away from
the right path. Oh, how he needs the right kind of a talk!
There is somebody whose church membership is not in Fort
Worth, but his life or her life is here. The church member-
ship is back yonder in the village church or city church or
country church, but the life is here, and the church member-
ship ought to be here, and the activity ought to be here, and
PRELIMINARY REMARKS 29
the service ought to be here, and the alignment, open and
public, for Christ, ought to be here. Do you know such people?
Say the right word to them at once. And then, above all that,
there are men and women and children all about you, who
are going their way without God, to whom you ought to
speak. My fellow-men, if the religion of Jesus Christ is worth
a straw, it is worth dying for, and, certainly, it is worth
living for. The one without Christ is not ready to die, and
what is of probably larger consequence that one is not ready
to live no, not for a day, nor for an hour. Won't you do
the right kind of religious visiting between this and the service
to-morrow night? God speed you and help you, I pray.
You are ready to listen for a moment, with reverence, I
trust, to two passages of Scripture, the first from the ninth
chapter of Mark :
And when He came to His disciples, He saw a great multitude about them,
and the scribes questioning with. them.
Arguing with them.
And straightway all the people, when they beheld Him, were greatly amazed,
and running to Him saluted Him. And He asked the sciibes, What question ye
with them? And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought
unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him,
he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away:
and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
That is what the uproar is about. Your men have failed.
Jesus answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be
with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto- me. And they brought
him unto Him: and when He saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he
fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And Jesus asked his father, How long
is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it
hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst
do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.
Miserable prayer, wasn't it? About like many of mine, I
am afraid. Think of saying that to God, to the Almighty
Savior: "If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us
and help us!" Jesus said, "You have the *if in the wrong
place/* Mark just what He said:
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to ft**".
that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with
tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
That is a glorious prayer. You do not wonder that Daniel
Webster wanted it carved on his gravestone : "Lord, I believe ;
help thou mine unbelief."
When Jesus saw that the people came naming together, He rebuked the
foid spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out
of Turn, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and
came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. And when
Jesus was come into the house His disciplea asked Him privately, Why could ot
we cast him out?
SO A QUEST FOR SOULS
Well, sure enough, why couldn't they? When Jesus sent
forth the twelve, one of the powers He gave them was power
to cast out unclean spirits, and they succeeded. And later,
when He sent forth the seventy, one of the powers He gave
them was power against unclean spirits, and they succeeded.
When they came back from one of their tours, one of their
reports was: "Lord, even the devils are subject unto us,
through thy name/' But they failed this time, utterly. So
they asked Him, when alone: "Why could not we cast him
out?" Mark His answer! Oh, what an answer it is !
And He said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer*
You observe that the word "fasting" is omitted in the
Revised Version.
Now you are ready to hear a briefer Scripture, from the
eighth chapter of Luke:
Now it came to pass on a certain day, that He went into a ship with His
disciples: and He said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake,.
And they launched forth. But as they sailed He fell asleep: and there came
down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in
jeopardy. And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we
pensht Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and
they ceased, and there was a calm. And He said unto them, Where is your faith?
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH?
Text: "And He said unto them, Where is your faith?" Luke 8 :25.
Jesus said unto His disciples, some 1900 years ago, on the
storm-swept water, when they were all affrighted and filled
with dismay, "Where is your faith?" And Jesus says to a
great audience of men and women assembled in Fort Worth,
Tuesday evening, June 12, 1917, "Where is your faith?" This
is a question that needs to be asked very often, and it needs
to be faithfully answered when we ask it, for it is about the
most vital matter of all, even our faith.
The conquering weapon is faith. "Without faith it is
impossible to please God." His Book so tells us. "This is the
victory that overcometh the world, even our faith/* We shall
not have victory without faith. Of old, God's plaintive ques-
tion to His Israel was: "How long will it be ere ye believe
me?" And that is His question to His Israel this very hour.
"O my people, how long will it be ere ye believe me?" The
The undoing sin of Christians is their unfaith. We are all
along saying, and correctly, that the undoing sin of the un-
believer is his unfaith. "He that believeth not is condemned
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? 31
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God," and while he remains in that unbelief
must continue to be condemned. Rejection of Christ, unbelief
toward Christ, that is the undoing sin. Even so, the undoing
sin for Christians is their unfaith. Of old Israel could not
enter the Promised Land because of unbelief, and even to-day,
and every day, God's people are kept out of many a promised
land because of unbelief. We doubt God's ability, or we
doubt His willingness, or both His ability and willingness, to
help us, and we go our way, groping, and floundering, and fail-
ing. It is not only a pity, but it is a sin, deep and tragical, if
we are not steadily growing in faith. That was a beautiful
tribute Paul paid the church at Thessalonica, when he said:
"We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is
meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly/* It will
not only be a misfortune, but it will be a sin, if witH you and
me our faith is not steadily strengthening and growing.
But now the fact confronts us, as pointed by the text, that
our faith may be misplaced. The faith of the disciples on that
storm-swept water was evidently misplaced. They were dis-
ciples of Christ. They were His friends and followers. But
their hearts failed, and their faith went down, and they fainted
in spirit. Their faith was misplaced. When is faith mis-
placed? I shall answer that it is misplaced when it is put in
human appearances ; and we are all along tempted to put our
faith in mere human appearances. How we are influenced,
how we are swayed, how we are lifted up or cast down, by
mere appearances! If the weather be fair, if no lowering
clouds come to menace, if all goes merry as a wedding bell,
our hearts seem hopeful and our faith buoyant. But that is
not the test. How is it when Hie heavens are darkened with
clouds? How is it when the loved one gasps, and the sands
of life seem running to the end? How is it when crepe is on
the door? How is it when the granary seems scant and the
crops have no promise? How is it when appearances are all
against us? Our faith is misplaced, if our faith is put in mere
human appearances. That was a great saying given by a
valiant leader, when he said: "Never take counsel of your
fears, or of appearances/'
82 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Our faith is misplaced, I go on to say, when we put it in
human agency. And certainly, we are greatly tempted, and
constantly, to put our faith in human agency. But all along,
the Scriptures, by telling illustrations and by pungent pre-
cepts, would turn us away from putting our faith in mere
human agency. The Bible tells us why God makes choice,
as He does, of such remarkable instrumentalities. He has
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty,
and the reason is given us there in His Book: "That your
faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power
of God." A generation or two removed from us, God startled
the world by finding a lad yonder in the country placei in
England, not yet out of his teens, and God brought him up to
the world's greatest city, to great London, and set him right
there in its heart to preach His wonderful gospel. Before
this young man was thirty, royalty was at his feet, and the
British Parliament marvelled at his power, and the lines of his
testimony and power had gone out to the ends of the earth >
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the most victorious gospel preacher
of all his century, and perhaps of any century since the apos-
tolic times. He was a man uncolleged, and yet God said
through him to the world about us : "I want you to look at
this man and listen to him that your faith may not stand in the
wisdom of men, but in the power of God." Our God is sur-
prising us all along by His strange choice of human instru-
mentalities. There is the humble country boy. He has never
been to the city at all. He is following his plow. He goes
to the little country church house, in the quiet midsummer
meeting. His heart is moved, his conscience probed, his judg-
ment convinced, his will aroused, and he bows down in hum-
ble penitence before Christ, and he is saved. And then he '
follows his plow still again and strange impulses stir in his
heart, and great thoughts burn in his brain. He is thinking
about preaching the gospel. He is thinking about going out
and telling the world what a dear Savior he has found, and
how he would have every man know the same blessed Savior.
The years pass on, several of them, half a dozen, a dozen, and
yonder is that country lad in a surging city, rallying the
tempted thousands of sinning, beaten and wandering humanity,
rallying them around the flag of Christ Jesus, the Lord, Who
is he? A plain plowboy, dothed upon with the grace and
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? 33
might of the Spirit of God, and in him and through him God
is saying to the world: "See him now, and listen to him, and
remember, your faith is not to stand in the wisdom of men,
but in the power of God." Oh, how it gladdens my heart
this Tuesday night, to have the faith to believe that some-
where in this broad country, out on the prairies, or out yonder
nestling amid the trees, in some little cottage, a mother folds
to her heart a tiny baby boy, and when you and I shall be
sleeping beneath the roses, and shall be perhaps forgotten,
that boy will be going up and down this country, rallying the
wavering, sinning thousands around the flag of Christ, a child
out from some home of poverty and need, and God will be
saying through him to the world: "See him, now, and listen,
that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in
the power of God."
But I think that most of all our faith is misplaced because
we limit God. That L> a striking expression used in one of the
Psalms, where the Psalmist said, concerning Israel of old:
"They limited the Holy One of Israel." They "limited God."
Mankind can limit God, and does limit Him. At first thought,
that seems impossible. The infinite God, filling all immensity,
without beginning of days or ending of years, omnipotent,
omniscient, omnipresent, eternal at first thought it seems im-
possible that He could be limited, and yet He can be, and is,
limited. Man limits God, else man is a mere machine, without
any more volition than a tree or a stone. Man can say "No 5 *
to God, or man can say "Yes" to God. Man can seek God's
face, and by Divine Grace become God's friend, and go God's
road, and glorify God's great name ; or man can be rebellious,
and offer his protest against God, and turn his back upon God,
and miss the right way, and come to defeat and failure. Man
limits God. How does he limit Him? The ways are many.
We can limit God even in our very prayers. You have proba-
bly heard prayers which had in them a limitation upon God.
Full many a time when we pray that prayer "not my will, but
thine, be done," our hearts really mean: "Not thy will, O
God, but mine, be done." Ofttimes we are found trying to
persuade God to come to our notion of things, and accept our
view of things, without regard to His wisdom and will. All
the while He tells us : "You leave your case to me, and trust
34 A QUEST FOR SOULS
your case to me, and submit your case to me, and I will do
the wisest and best thing possible for you," and yet full many
a time our prayers really mean: "Nevertheless, O Lord, not
thy will be done at all, but mine be done," and in that way we
limit Him.
And then we limit God by our poor lives. Every life is
either a channel or a clog, a channel through which God sends
His blessing, or a clog to hinder and obstruct such blessing. A
human life can be a non-conductor, failing to transmit to others
what God would send through that life unto others. That is
indeed a pathetic picture, where Paul writes one of the New
Testament churches, saying: "For many walk, of whom I have
told you often, and now tell you, even weeping, that they are
the enemies of the cross of Christ" Paul was writing to a
church, and he was saying to that church: "Some of you
church members so walk as to become the enemies of the cross
of Christ." Your attention has been called to that solemn
picture in the last book of the Bible, where Jesus stands outside
a church, begging to be Admitted. Listen to Him : "Behold,
I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and
open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him,
and he with me." Jesus is there, outside a church outside!
His own people have the door dosed, and have Him outside,
and there He stands on the outside, knocking, and saying:
"Won't you let me enter? for I come to do you good, and not
evil at all." "O Jesus, thou art standing, outside the fast-
dosed door !" Can you think of anything more heartbreaking
this night than to imagine yourselves keeping Jesus out, keep-
ing Jesus away from some other life, yourself a clog, obstruct-
ing, yourself a non-conductor? He wishes to send through
you a message of life and grace and hope to others, and you
are a non-conductor. Can you imagine anything more serious
than that ? We limit God by our lives. Every Christian whose
life is wrong with God positively hinders God and limits God
by that much.
But most of all, we limit God, I dare say, by our unbelief,
our unfaith. Israel could not enter the Promised Land because
of unbelief; and you and I are kept out of many a promised
land because of unbelief, because of unfaith. Jesus wishes us
to believe in Him. The right sort of a man delights to be
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? 35
believed in. You cannot grieve the right sort of a man in any
other way quite so deeply as to indicate to him that you do not
take liim at full face value, as he represents himself to you.
The right sort of a man wishes to.be believed in, to be taken at
his word. God delights to be believed in, and the deepest grief
to Him is given Him by our unfaith, our unbelief. We are
told here in the gospels that in one certain community Jesus
could do no mighty works because of the unbelief of the peo-
ple. Unbelief hindered Him. Unbelief fettered Him, even
Christ Jesus, the Lord. And so He conies to us to-night, say-
ing: "According to your faith, so be it unto you. Where is
your faith?" He comes to us to-night saying: "If thou canst
believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Where
is your faith?"
We are all along talking about "hard cases/* Now, how
foolish and unwise and wrong is such talk, when we think of
God. He asks us : "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" That
was a mighty question Paul asked when he asked: "Why
should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God
should raise the dead?" Granted a God who has all power in
heaven and earth, and who formed the worlds by the word of
His power, granted a Being like that, and where is there any
difficulty or mystery in such a God raising people from death
and the grave? So that our talk about "hard cases" in God's
sight, is all out of place and grievous in His holy presence.
I wonder, my fellow Christians, if in these latter days, our
faith gets much higher for mankind than for the salvation of
the children in the Sunday-school, and the plastic, responsive
young people that are all about us. Where is the faith now
that claims the hardened sinner for Christ? Where is the
faith that claims the old man with the gray about his temples,
far down in the afternoon of life where is the faith that
claims that man for God? Where is the faith that claims
the man abandoned to sinful and consuming habits ? Where
is the faith that claims him for God? Where is the faith
that claims the big business man, great and strengthful,
masterful and powerful, but preoccupied, living as though this
world were all, forgetting that out there a few steps ahead is
the judgment and eternity? Where is the faith that claims
him, from all that preoccupation, for Christ Jesus and His
36 A QUEST FOR SOULS
great salvation? Where is the faith that claims the very dif-
ficult case for the Lord Christ? Oh, how we limit God, that
we do not go out and claim men, no matter what their hin-
drances and their limitations and their sins ! How we grieve
God, if we do not go out and daim them in the name of Christ,
even the most difficult cases, for the wonders of His grace
and His great forgiveness !
May I tell you the most wonderful conversion that I ever
witnessed in all my life? Out in the Middle West, where it
has been my delight to go many a time, in the out door camp-
meetings, some years ago I went and found in that particular
community some very difficult religious conditions. There
were more aged people in that community, unsaved, than I
have ever witnessed anywhere in all my life, before or since.
The religious conditions of the community were hard and dif-
ficult. There had been all sorts of pesky religious debates
how miserable they all are, and how inexcusable! and the
people were set and gritty and hard in their relations toward
one another. What a tragedy when that is so ! I was there
some two or three days, and more and more it dawned upon
me how difficult all the conditions were. They told me daily
about those white-haired men and women, who went groping
life's way, without God and without hope. After some days,
they told me about Big Jim, the most difficult sinner, they
said, west of Fort Worth, even as far west as El Paso. They
so described him physically that I could not miss him if he
came to the meeting, and they said : "He will come one time
to hear you, and then he will swear at you, and rail at you,
and curse out the whole meeting, and the preachers and the
churches and everybody, and then he will wait a year and come
back a year from now to go over the same performance again."
That was their report of him. I stood up to preach one even-*
ing and in came Big Jim. I could not miss him, from their
description. Yonder he sat, far down the aisle before me, at the
rear of the great arbor, nor did he take his eye, it seemed, one
time from the minister, while his message was being given. At
the dose of the message, I made the call for men and women
who would then and there humbly and honestly make surrender
of their poor, undone and sinful lives to the forgiving mercy and
hdp of the Divine Savior, and down every aisle white-haired
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? 37
men and women came. It was one of those memorable nights,
never to be forgotten. Big Jim kept his seat, nor did he seem
to move. After awhile, the meeting ended, and the people gath-
ered about me, or gathered in little groups to discuss the won-
ders that their eyes had witnessed that night. One after
another was named who had "come over the line" and made
the great surrender that night to Jesus. And then, ever and
anon, these talkers would make a passing remark about the
presence of Big Jim, and they speculated about his presence,
and about the possibility of his coming any more. One said :
"No ; he will not be back. He will swear at our preacher, and
at all the Christian people, nor will he return until next year."
But another said : "Yes ; he had a different look on him to-night
from what I have ever seen before. I look for him to come
again. Never did I see him look as he looked to-night/' And
so they talked pro and con. Presently the preacher slipped
away from the crowd, for it was late, and wended his way
around the hillside to the little cottage, far removed from
the camping throngs, where he might have quiet and rest,
and as he went around that little mountain side he heard
somebody talking. Oh, it was so earnest ! The preacher did
not mean to be an eavesdropper, and yet he seemed chained
in his very tracks. And when he stopped and listened to that
strange talk, he discovered in a moment what it was, and that
there were two of them, and that they were praying, for one,
who spoke for the two, said: "We two, O Christ, agree we
want Big Jim saved, that the mouths of gainsayers may be
stopped in this country. They are saying, O Christ, that Big
Jim is too much for God, that even God cannot stop him. They
are saying that, and we want the mouths of gainsayers stopped,
and the whole land to know that Christ is able to save even the
chief of sinners ; and we two, here on the mountain side, late in
the night, give thee Big Jim, believing thy great promise:
'If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that
they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is
in heaven/ For the glory of Christ, simply and only, we pray
you, save Big Jim."
I went quietly on my way. I do not know who they were,
who thus were praying. I never knew. I found my cottage,
38 A QUEST FOR SOULS
and the night passed, and the next day came and wore to night-
fall, and I was again under the arbor, facing the mass of
people. I stood up to preach and looked everywhere, but Big
Jim was not present. But just as I began to speak, in he came,
at the same place as on the previous night, and then my mes-
sage seemed to fly away, and I said: "We will pause and
ask God to give the preacher what he ought to say. He does
not know. He would speak God's message, whatever it is,
to-night, and this man will lead us in prayer that the preacher
may speak what, and as, Christ would have His preacher to-
night to speak." And the prayer was finished, and then the
preacher began again, and told simply and only that story of
the prodigal son, the easily influenced, impulsive youth, restless,
dissatisfied, who went away from home against the protests of
wisdom and love, and took his part of the inheritance, and
went down the toboggan slide at a rapid pace, and wasted all
his substance in riotous living. And when his substance was
gone, his friends were gone. The hail-fellows-well-met of the
other days had fled, and he was down yonder in the swine
fields, this lad, feeding the swine, himself eating of the husks
wherewith he fed the swine. One day, as the Scriptures tell
the story, the young fellow "came to himself/* He saw himself
as he was. Memory was alert, and the months and the years
of his separation from home, came trooping back to his recol-
lection, and the young man said : "I have sinned. I have missed
it. This is the way of defeat and death. I will go back to
father, and I will confess in his sight and in God's sight how
I have missed it, and how I have sinned/' And then he put
that kindling desire into effect, that sublime resolution into
action, and he betook himself back the homeward way, and as
he came toward the old home, the father saw him, even from
afar; the father was waiting, longing to see him; and down the
road the father came, and put his arms about the boy, as the
boy began his confession, and the father called to a servant:
"Bring the best robe for this boy/' and to another: "Kill the
fatted calf/' and to another: "Bring the ring to put on this
boy's finger/' emblem of the love that never dies. !And there
was music, and there was rejoicing, and there was victory.
That was all I said, except that I added: "This story of the
prodigal son is simply a picture of the love of God, going ou?
after any soul on earth that has wandered away from God,
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? 39
which soul God wishes to forgive and recover and save, and
will so save, if such soul will come to Him/' And then I said:
"Will the audience remain seated? Without any singing at all,
is there some man here tonight, a prodigal, far from heaven and
God, who says : 'I want God's mercy, and I will honestly yield
myself to God to get it/ let him come and take my hand."
Would you believe it? Big Jim started. Oh, the sight, the
sight, the sight ! And presently the men saw him coming, and
hundreds of sobbing men stood to their feet, and sobbed aloud,
and as he came down the aisle slowly, for it was with difficulty
he walked, hundreds of men joined him, and came down with
him. And when at last he got to me and took my hand, he said :
"Sir, I put you on your sacred honor, will the Great Master
save me, if I will give up to Him?" And I said : "Sir, on my
sacred honor, I declare that He will, if you will just honestly
surrender your case to Him." And tie men put in with voices,
scores and scores : "It is so, Jim. We made the surrender and
He saved us. You make it, and you will find out for yourself /'
5\nd then again, waiting a moment, he looked at me, still hold-
ing my hand, and said : "I want you to remember, sir, that you
are speaking to the worst man out of perdition. Would the
Master save a man like thjat, if he would give up to Him?" I
said: "Sir, on my Master's own statement, I declare to you
that He will save you, even if you are the chief sinner out of
perdition, if you will honestly surrender to Him/' And they
punctuated my remark with a chorus : "It is so, Jim. Try it
and you will find out." Once again he looked at me and then
he said, finally: "Sir, when would the Great Master save me,
if I should give up to Him right now?" And I said: "Sir, on
His own word, which many of us have proved, our Great
Master will save you, and your heart shall know that your
sins are forgiven, right now, if right now you wiH honestly
surrender to Him." And then he turned that big bronzed face
upward, as if looking for the Master himself, and he gasped
out his prayer, just this : "Lord Jesus, the worst man in the
world gives up to you right now/*
Oh, I cannot tell the rest! I do not think the angels could
tell the rest. I think if the archangel himself should come down
from those starry heights, that the words of that angel would
be inadequate to tell you the rest God unloosed Big Jim's
40 A QUEST FOR SOULS
tongue, and he began to talk, and then the old men kissed him,
and the old women kissed him, and the young men kissed him,
and the young women kissed him, for the chief of sinners had
been saved.
What is there wonderful about such a story? Not a thing
on the face of the earth, if you will grant that Jesus Christ is
divine, and that He came in the flesh to save sinners, and that
His divine grace is mightier than any human sin, however
long-continued and however heinous. O men and women, you
and I limit God because of our unfaith with respect to aged
and hardened and difficult and preoccupied cases that are all
around us.
But there is another word for me to bring you. How may
we strengthen our faith ? That is what you and I wish to know*
How may you and I strengthen our faith ? I have two or three
simple suggestions. First, if we would strengthen our faith,
we need to make it a matter of prayer. I read you the passage
of Scripture telling of a group of men who failed in their faith,
and when they got Jesus alone they said: "Why was it we
failed?" Mark His answer: "This kind can come forth by
nothing, but by prayer/' If you are not a man of prayer, you
are not a man of faith. If you are not a woman of prayer, you
are not a woman of faith. The men and women who do not
tread the secret path of prayer ai e men and women spiritless
and broken and without faith. If you and I would have
conquering faith, then you and I must make it a matter of
constant prayer. Once when Jesus gave His disciples a
great task to accomplish, they cried back unto Him : "Lord,
if you expect that of us, increase our faith." And so you and
I are to come to Him, saying: "If you expect this, or that,
or the other great achievement, even the achievement of
winning some poor soul, bedarkened and blinded by sin,
away from such dreadful path, to God, then increase our
faith."
How may our faith be increased? If it is to be increased,
then let us plead the promises of God. Oh, how great a
privilege to plead the promises of God ! Of old, one had a way
of talking to God like this: "Do as thou hast said/' And
when you and I come to pray, we need to fill our mouths
with arguments to God, and those arguments are His own
.WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? 41
promises, "Lord Jesus, here is what thou hast said, and we
plead that. We fill our mouth with thine own argument,
and we plead that before thy face. Do as thou hast said.
Do as thou hast said." What if hundreds and hundreds of
these men and women before me, should go apart in groups
of two, and should say: "Lord Jesus, here is a case, O,
so difficult, speaking after the fashion of men, so difficult,
so hopeless, but not at all difficult and hopeless if God will
take charge of the case, and, therefore, we two take up thy
promise, where thou sayest: 'If two of you shall agree on
earth, as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done
for them of my Father in heaven/ Do as thou hast said. We
plead this promise, and rest on it. Do as thou hast said."
How are we to strengthen our faith? I have still another
word. If we are to strengthen our faith, then we are to seek
the guidance arid power of God's Divine Spirit. In this divinest
work of all, the work of winning souls to Christ, all along we
are to seek the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit Oh,
how wonderful is His guidance, and how marvelous is His
power! He does guide His people. There is such a thing as
being led of the Spirit of God, and in this divinest work of all,
the work of winning souls, we shall miss it utterly and be
marplots, if we are not guided and empowered by the Spirit
of God. The Spirit of God does teach, guide and empower the
servants of Jesus, in this holiest task of all, this work of win-
ning souls to Christ. "When He is come/' Jesus has promised
it, "He will guide you into all truth/ 5 "Ye shall receive power,
after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be
witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." O brothers
mine, you and I, with all humility and earnestness, want to ask
God to guide us in this work we are in, and to give us His
own wisdom and power at every step that we take.
Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly dove,
With all thy quickening powers;
Come, shed abroad a Savior's love,
And that shall kindle ours.
You and I want the guidance and the power of the Divine
Spirit in this heavenly task to which we are these days, please
God, to put our hands.
42 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Wonderful, how wonderful, is God's leadership by His
Spirit and His power, when we yield ourselves to Him ! How
wonderful it is ! A few years ago, I was in Minneapolis, that
beautiful city of the Northwest, at one of the Bible conferences
for the Northwestern states, speaking there daily for some
two weeks, and it was my privilege, while there, to have daily
fellowship with that nobly gifted preacher, Wayland Hoyt,
one of the first preachers of his generation. I had heard of
an incident in his life, and I asked him about it, and he
confirmed it. This was the incident : Dr. Hoyt had prepared
with unusual care in the other years a special sermon, hoping
to reach one of the first citizens in his city on a certain Sunday
night, with that same sermon. This citizen was an outstand-
ing citizen, but not a Christian, and rarely came to church. The
wife was a devoted Christian and church member. So at the
Sunday morning service Mr. Hoyt signalled quietly to the wife,
and sent by her a message to the distinguished husband: "Tell
him that I ask specially that he will come to-night. I have pre-
pared a sermon, hoping earnestly to help him. Tell him I ask
him to come, I wish him to come." The wife gave the mes-
sage when she reached home, and the husband went to the tele-
phone he was a gentleman in every instinct and habit of his
life and took down the receiver and called the minister and
gave the minister his grateful thanks for his cordial invitation,
saying: "Certainly, I will be there to-night. How kindly,
how considerate of you to be so interested in me. Certainly, I
will be there to hear you." But before the nightfall came a
blinding storm filled the heavens, and the floods poured out of
the clouds, and the people could not gather. Only a little hand-
ful hard by the church could gather at all. The minister made
his way to the church and spoke to the little handful, but the
one citizen he had thought about and specially prepared for
was not there. The minister went home with his heart heavy,
and he sat there late and long in his library that Sunday night,
and he fell to musing like this : "What a poor out I am making
reaching that man !" And then something said to him : "Why
don't you imitate your Master and go to the man and preach
your sermon to just one man, as Jesus after nightfall preached
His sermon on the new birth to Nicodemus, that fine citizen of
old? Why don't you walk in the steps of your Master and
preach your best sermon to one man?" And that suggestion
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? 4S
fairly boomed like a cannon in his ears and heart. He looked
at his watch. It was midnight. He said: "Why, I could not
go this late at night." And he sat, still thinking further, and
something seemed to say to him, did say to him : "If you knew
that that man's house was in danger, or that his family were in
danger, you would brave any sort of weather, to help them.
Though the storm beat down the avenue, you would breast it,
to go and apprise him of the danger. Why won't you be con-
sistent about the biggest, most important thing of all?" And
then Dr. Hoyt said he found himself putting on his raincoat.
He opened the door and breasted the great storm that still
swept down the avenue. Block after block he trudged his way
through the blinding storm. He said he found himself talking
to himself, saying to himself : "Maybe, the man will say I am
crazy. Maybe I am, but God knows I am trying to do the
consistent thing." Presently he came to the right house, and
as he came toward it there was a light in one of the lower
rooms, and he came up softly to the door, and knocked gently,
not caring to disturb the household at one o'clock in the morn-
ing, and in a moment the door opened, and there standing
was the citizen, who had not been in bed at all, and out into the
storm and the night the big citizen thrust his arms and drew
Wayland Hoyt out of the night and out of the storm, and drew
him to his heart, and sobbed over him as a mother would sob
over her children, saying to him : "Thank God, Mr. Hoyt, He
sent you here to teach me how to be saved. I have been there
in my library, reading the Bible and trying to pray. That word
you sent me waked me up and stirred my heart The storm
kept me from going to church, but I could not sleep. I have
been there reading the Bible and trying to pray, but it is all
dark to me. Jesus sent you to teach me." And Wayland
Hoyt told me that in five minutes his interested citizen was
rejoicing in Christ Jesus the Lord. What if Wayland Hoyt
had not gone ? God pity me and you maybe, as time and again
your heart ached with a longing inexpressible for some lost
soul, but you said: "I am unworthy. I am incompetent I am
unfit" And you deadened your impression, and you went your
way, and such soul went his way, and maybe has gone into
eternity ere this Tuesday night Oh, seek the guidance of
God's Spirit for this task, and then follow Him!
44 A QUEST FOR SOULS
We are going in a moment, for my message is done. I
have a question to ask you, and you will answer it candidly.
This is the question: Is there somebody in Fort Worth that
you wish to be saved? Is there somebody in Fort Worth that
you wish to be saved during these meetings, in which our appeal
shall be made to men's judgments and men's consciences? I
have no respect for any other kind of appeal in the name of
Christ's holy religion. Bethink you now is there somebody
that you wish to see saved during these midsummer days,
set aside for some special meetings to help the people in the
highest matters of all? Every Christian present who says:
"Yes ; there is one, or there are some, that I wish to see saved,
and by my standing I voice my wish, and ask you and ask
others present who pray, to join me in prayer for these name-
less ones that my heart thinks about, in these closing moments
of this service," stand to your feet. Is there some person or
persons whom 'you would see saved during these meetings, for
whom you would have us to unite our prayers this night, and
from day to day, that light and leading from God may be
vouchsafed unto them that they may be saved? Does my call
apply to others? Every man and woman who says: "That
represents my heart's earnest desire,'* stand to your feet. Many
have risen. Many persons are evidently now in your thoughts.
The Lord teach us to pray for them as we ought!
THE CLOSING PRAYER.
We go now, our Father, at the close of this service, appealing to thee that
thy truth, by the power of thy Spirit, may be written in our deepest con-
sciences. O, forgive us for our little faith, for our miserable unfaith. This night
we would draw nigh to God. We would pay the price for power with God and
for Him, wherever that would lead us, and whatever that would cost us. Whether
by death or by life, we would do God's will. Behold the men and women who
have risen to their feet to say that they are thinking of one, or thinking of more
than one, whom they long to see saved during these midsummer days, in the
special daily meetings. O God, fit^us to speak as we ought to the people all
about us concerning Jesus. Would it please the for those now praying to pour
forth their personal appeal to some soul thought about and prayed for right now?
Then let the right person go to such soul and speak God*s Word, however tim-
idly. And even though with confession, first of all, for waywardness personal,
and inconsistency of life, and incongruity of temper, yet may the soul who love?
Christ and loves the soul of the one thought about and prayed for right now, go
te such soul and speak as Christ would have the word spoken, to guide such
soul out of the darkness and into the light. Holy Spirit Divine, thou Great
Revealer of Jesus, come thou and teach us and lead us, and enable us hour by
ho* 1 *! in our talk, in our visits, by the use of the 'phone, by the letter, and in
the secret places, when we bare our very souls before God in prayer, to behave
ourselves in such a fashion that Christ with smiling face shall look on us, and
with blessed lips shall say to us: "I am well pleased."
And now, as the people go, may the blessing of God, even of Father, Son
and Holy Spirit, whom we worship as one God, be granted you all and each* to
abide with you forevermore. Amen.
iv:
NOON SERVICE, JUNE 13, 1917.
THE THREEFOLD SECRET OP A GREAT LIFE.
Text: "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing
I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those
things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus." PhiL 3;13, 14.
Somebody has well said that "the proper study of mankind
is man." The study of biography, therefore, is always a most
fascinating and helpful study. Everybody who is normal is
interested keenly in the lives of people who have succeeded.
We would know all that we may about them, about their
beginnings, their struggles, their habits, about their viewpoint
in life. This morning I would direct your attention for a little
while to the most remarkable Christian of the centuries, namely,
the Apostle Paul. He was, and is, the greatest single credential
that Christ's gospel has ever produced. One day, in writing to
his favorite church, the Philippian church, in a burst of confi-
dence, it would seem, he lets us into the secret of his marvelous
life, and we are to study that threefold secret for a little while
this morning. Mark his words :
This one thing I do, forgetting those things which, are behind, and reaching
forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in. Christ Jesus.
In those words, this greatest of all Christians states the
three-fold secret of his incomparable life, and we will do well
to look at that threefold secret today. The first element in it
is the element of whole-hearted concentration. "This one
thing I do" not a dozen things, not even two things, but "this
one thing I do." No life can be very great, or very happy, or
very useful, without this element of concentration. Every one
45
46 A QUEST FOR SOULS
should have a work to do, and know what it is, and do it with
all his might. Decision is energy, and energy is power, and
power is confidence, and confidence to a remarkable degree
contributes to success. Many a man in life has failed, not
from lack of ability, but from lack of this element of con-
centration. The whole world is witness to its power. Turn to
any realm that you will, and the vital meaning of concentration
stands out in all human life, after the most striking fashion.
Take the business world, and the element of concentration
there is of prime importance, if success is to be achieved. The
very watchwords in the business world magnify this element of
concentration. They talk to us about specialization and con-
solidation, and incorporation, and on and on, giving emphasis
in all such words to the meaningful quality of concentration.
A short time ago one of the world's most successful business
men was waited upon by a group of young men, who sought
his counsel about how to succeed, and he gave them this laconic
advice: "Young gentlemen, get all your eggs into one basket,
and then watch that basket." It was his way of giving emphasis
to the tremendous value of concentration. The day for the
jack-of-all-trades has passed. A man must do one thing and
do it with all his might. The professional man understands
that. The lawyer who is minded to reach the topmost rung of
his high calling sets himself with all diligence and devotedness
to that calling, and does not dissipate his energies on a half
dozen other callings, as in the other days men sometimes did.
The physician understands that. The day of the specialist has
come. The teacher understands that In all the world about
us men understand that this winning element, stated by Paul
as the first element, humanly speaking, of his marvelous career,
is indispensable to success, namely, the power of concentration
"this one thing I do."
And when we turn to the world of science, and look at the
notable scientists, that truth of concentration seems to be
written in their lives as with letters of living fire. Edison with
all devotedness concentrates his energies in the realm of elec-
tricity, and is constantly surprising the world by his marvelous
discoveries. And the Wright brothers, with all their devoted-
ness, gave themselves to the mastery of the secrets of the air,
and constantly surprised us by their revelations.
THE SECRET OF A GREAT LIFE 47
When we come to the highest realm of all the realm relig-
ious this element of concentration there holds sway just as in
these other realms. No man can serve two masters. One must
be our Master, and Jesus stands above all mankind and says:
"If you would be my disciple, then I tell you I must come first.
I must come before father or mother, or the dearest loved one
of your life. I must come before your own business, or your
own property. I must come before your own life. I must be
Lord of all, or I will not be Lord at all."
Now, you would not trust your soul's eternal welfare to a
proffered Savior who would ask or allow anything less than
that He should be first. "Ye shall seek me and find me, when
ye search for me with your whole heart." I care not what may
be a man's difficulties or doubts in the world religious, if only
such man, with definiteness of purpose, with whole-heartedness
of aim, shall set himself to seek God's light and leading, I know
that he will find Him. "In the day that thou seekest me with
thy whole heart, I will be found of thee." Many a Christian
man follows Christ afar off, and limps and grovels in the
Christian life, because he is seeking to adjust himself in life
to giving Christ some secondary place, and Christ will not have
it. Concentration is a prime requisite in the victorious life
anywhere.
In the second place the great Christian leads us to the con-
sideration of a second secret explanatory of his marvelous
career, and that is that he cultivated a wise f orgetf ulness of the
past. It rings like a trumpet blast in this Bible that we are to
remember certain things that we ought to remember. That word
"remember" rings out like a bugle blast, again and again in the
Bible. But along with the factor of wisely remembering there
is to go that other important factor of wisely forgetting. Many
a man goes hobbled and crippled through life and never does
come to the highest and best, because he cannot forget certain
things that ought to be forgotten by him.
And what are some of the things that we ought every one
to forget? Let me run over a brief list. We ought every one
to learn how practically to forget our blunders. What blun-
derers we all are, and how many blunders we all make ! Every
man must learn how to forget his own blunders, or he will go
manacled and crippled to his grave. The old saying comes in
48 A QUEST FOR SOULS
point right clearly, that "the best of men are but men at the
best." We are to learn, therefore, how to forget our blunders.
Ebenezer was a field of defeat before it rang with the songs of
victory. We are to learn how to take our very blunders and
make them bridges over which we shall span the chasms and
go to better days.
And what else are we to learn how to forget? We are to
learn how to forget our losses. In human life losses of all
kinds come more or less in our experiences. We are to learn
how to get past them, and practically to forget them. I have
observed no more painfully tragical sight than a strong, alert
man, down in spirit, singing his dirges and chanting his jere-
miads because he had lost some property. I am thinking now
of a man whose property burned up a day or two after the
insurance had expired, and all was a total loss, and there he
was without property at all, in the gray of that early morning,
and with his face in his hands he kept chanting the pitiful cry:
"I have lost all I" Presently his tiny little girl, of four or five
summers, came to him, all puzzled, and said : "Why, no, papa,
you have not lost all. You have me and mamma left!" And
it took that to summon him and to hearten him and to bring
him back to sobriety and to right-thinking. No man is to
whine and mope and go down because losses come here and
there and yonden But, he is to learn how to get past them and
to forget them.
What else are we to forget? We are to learn how to forget
life's injuries. It would seem that in this world of ours with
its rivalries and competitions and frictions and alienations, it is
difficult to get past the injuries that come in human life. And
yet I tell you, my brother men, if for any cause you are cherish-
ing hate in your heart, then you have lost the highest perspec-
tive of life, and cannot have the highest perspective of life as
long as the poison of hate is allowed in your heart and in your
life. A man is terribly hindered and has around him a ball and
a chain, if in his heart he cherishes something that says : "I
will lie awake at nights, and I will turn many a corner, and I
will await my day, to get even with some man for some cruel
dart that he throws at me/ 5 Big men do not hate. Big men
do not cherish resentments. Big men put them down and out,
and go their way, and refuse to harbor them. They refuse to
THE SECRET OF A GREAT LIFE 49'
let them ranHe like poisons in the heart, thus to vitiate every
high thing that the spirit should hold most dear.
What else are we to forget? We are to leani how to
forget our successes. More men have been spoiled by suc-
cess than you and I can begin to measure. There is danger in
success, anywhere, for any man. If a man can bear success,
he can bear anything. Easier far can the human spirit bear
adversity than it can bear prosperity. It is better any day
to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting,
for in the house of feasting the human spirit is lifted up, and
pride always goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit
always goes before a fall. When Uzziah of old came to his
day of remarkable prosperity, then it was that the Bible tells
us his heart was lifted up to destruction. The history of the
rich American family stands out like a mountain range, that
every third generation of such family goes to defeat and failure
and poverty. The first generation wins success, the second
generation spends it, and the third generation goes the down-
ward way to poverty and failure. We are to learn how to
forget our successes. If a man does not learn what success is
for any kind of success, financial success, political success,
social success, intellectual success, any kind of success if he"
does not learn what it is for, the day comes for his undoing and
his downfall and his defeat.
What else are we to forget? We are to learn how to forget
otir sorrows and sooner or later these sorrows come to us,
each and all. We are to learn how to forget them. When the
sorrows come, we are to learn how to take these sorrows to the
great, refining, overruling Master, and ask Him so to dispose,
so to rule and overrule in them and with them that we may
come out of them all refined and disciplined, the better educated
and more useful, because of such sorrows. They tell us that
when you break the oyster's shell at a certain place it will go
somewhere into the deep and find a pearl and mend that broken
place in its shell with a beautiful pearl. Even so, when your
sorrow in life comes, you are to learn how to take that sorrow,
and so have it woven into the warp and woof of your life that
you shall not be weaker and worse for the sorrow, but shall
be richer and stronger and better, because of such sorrow.
Read every now and then the polished essay of Emerson on
50 A QUEST FOR SOULS
"Compensation." Running all through this world is that dear
principle of compensation. The Bible recognizes it : "For our
light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a
far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." We are to
lay to heart that sublimest truth that "all things work together
for good to them that love God." Yonder in the asylum for
the deaf and dumb a visitor went one day, and the superin-
tendent of the asylum said: "Let me show you how bright
these little children are, even though they are deaf and dumb.
Ask any question you will," said the superintendent to the
visitor. "Write your question there on the board, and see the
answers that these little mutes will give to your question." He
asked question after question, did this visitor. After awhile
he asked a cruel question.- I wonder how he could have done
it. He wrote this cruel question there on the board: "If
God loved you, why did He make you deaf and dumb ?" Then
the little things bowed their shoulders and sobbed for a mo-
ment with almost uncontrollable emotion, and presently a little
tiny girl came from out her seat there, and went to the black-
board, and wrote under that question these wonderful words
of Jesus: "Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy
sight." Wasn't it glorious? You a.nd I are to take our sor-
rows, our black Fridays, our lone and long nights, and we are
to come to Him and say: "Manage thou these, thou won-
drous Friend, who canst turn the very night into morning;
manage these for me." And we are to sing with Whittier,
when he sang:
"I know not where Hts islands lift
Their fronded palms in air;
But this I know, I cannot drift
Beyond His love and care."
What else are we to forget ? We are to learn how to forget
our sins. If Paul had not learned how to forget his sins he
would have been crippled utterly dear to his death. Paul con-
sented to the death of Stephen. Paul persecuted the church.
Paul was a ring-leader in sin. Paul seemed to run the whole
gamut of sin. He called himself "the chief of sinners," and
perhaps he was. If Paul had not learned how to forget those
awful sins that mastered him back yonder, if he had not learned
how to get past them, then he would have gone with accusing
conscience and broken spirit clear to his grave. We shall have
about us a ball and a chain, and shall go groveling and despair-
THE SECRET OF A GREAT LIFE 51
ing and defeated, if we do not learn how to forget our sins.
When we look at the debit side of our life, do our hearts faint
within us ? Mine faints within me. But then the Master of
life summons me and says : "Come over here and look at the
credit side, and the credit side will outfigure all that debit
side." And when I come over there I say to Him: "What
dost thou mean, oh, thou gracious Friend?" Listen to Him,
and He tells us : "Where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound." Listen to Him again : "As far as the east is from
the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us/*
And listen to Him yet again: "I have put your sinsT>ehind
my back. I have drowned them in the depths of the sea. I
will remember them against you no more forever." Oh, isn't
that wonderful ? Listen to Him again and He tells us : "The
blood of Jesus Christ His Son deanseth us from all sin/*'
When Satan comes with his accusing cry, reminding me of
my weakness and my frailty and my transgressions and my
proneness to sin and all that, he can make out his case, I grant
it, but I come back and say to him: "But, sir, where sin
abounded, grace has much more abounded, and in Christ,
whose name is Jesus, I have victory, even over my sins/'
"Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people
from their sins." We have a real Savior from sin in Christ
Jesus, and when we trust Him, no more are we to go hobbled,
with ball and chain, because of sin, because Christ becomes our
personal Savior from both the penalty and power of situ
Years ago, in South Texas, there was a little home in the
country burned down, and before the neighbors could rescue
the family all were burned to death save one little girl, some
nine or ten years of age, and she was badly burned on one
side of her face and little body. The rest were all burned to
death. The neighbors, after a few days, when they had con-
sulted, sent little Mary to the far-famed Buckner Orphans
Home. They advised the noble head of that home when little
Mary would come, on what train, and there good Dr. Buckner
was waiting for her, of course. When she got off the train,
her little eyes were red from weeping, and she seemed intuitive-
ly to know that he was her protector henceforth, and she
started toward him saying: "Is this Mr. Buckner?" He said:
"Yes, and is this little Mary?" And then she came and laid
32 A QUEST FOR SOULS
her littlft head up against his knee, and sobbed with indiscriba-
ble emotion, and looked up at last with that little burned face
and said: "You will have to be my papa and mamma bach."
He said : "I will, the best I can, Mary." And then she went into
the Home, and was looked after along with those hundreds of
children. I have been there time and again and preached to
them, and I have seen them come out to greet him when he
would return to them, after an absence. The little tots come
down the avenue, and vie with one another as they swing
around him, each wishing to kiss him first. Along in that group
one day came the little burned- faced Mary, and the little chil-
dren kissed him as was their wont, but little Mary stood off,
several feet away, and looked across her shoulder, watching
the whole affair, sobbing like her heart would break. And
when these little ones had kissed the good man, he looked
across to her and said : "Mary, why don't you come and kiss
me?" That was entirely too much for her and she sobbed
aloud, and then he went over and touched her little chin and
lifted it up and said: I do not quite understand you, Mary.
Why didn't you come to kiss me?" And the little thing had
difficulty in speaking, and when she did speak she said: "O
Papa Buckner, I could not ask you to kiss me, I am so ugly.
'After I got burned I am so ugly I could not ask you to kiss
me, but if you will just love me like you love the other chil-
dren and tell me you love me, then you need not kiss me at all."
You know what he did. He pushed all those beautiful children
away, and took up little Mary in his arms, and kissed the little
burned cheek again and again and said: "Mary, you are just
as beautiful to Papa Buckner as are any of the rest/'
Ah, me ! I was that burned child once, and sin did it all ! I
came to Jesus and said : "I am sorry. My heart is sick about it.
Oh, I have repented of it all/' And He said : "I will receive
you, and I will give you the kiss of reconciliation, the kiss of
pardon, the kiss of forgiveness," and I was saved when I came
like that. Now no more will I go fettered and bound because
of sin, because Christ has made me free by His mighty grace,
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe,
Sin had left its crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
Let me detain you for the third word. Paul had a right
anticipation. "Forgetting those things which are behind and
THE SECRET OF A GREAT LIFE 53
^caching forth unto those things which are before, I press
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus." Paul had a right forward look. My men and
women, at this busy noonday hour, I come to ask you, one by
one, have you the right aim in your life? What are you living
for? What is that hand for? What is the eye for? What is
human life for? What is your life for? How are you using
your life? How are you investing your life? What is the aim
of your life? Does somebody say: "Why, I am taking it one
world at a time?" That is not bright. That is not clever. If
a man does not include two worlds at a time, then he commits
suicide for both. A man is to be a citizen of two worlds, and a
man who lives simply for this world, no matter how success-
fully, how victoriously, how notoriously, if a man lives simply
for this present world, he commits suicide in it and suicide for
the world endless that awaits us just out there. Oh, include
two worlds in your plan !
Let me tell you about three men. One said: "One world
at a time for me," and from early morning until dewy eve, he
invested all his powers to win success, and he won it, but he
died without hope, and without God, taking a leap into the
dark with a wail, the memory of which must forever give
agony to the hearts that heard it. The second one made pro-
fession of religion, but he followed Christ afar off. He put
his religion into a little tiny corner of his life. He gave Jesus
the small places, and when he came to the last end, with his
family and minister around him, the minister was saddened by
his awful story: "Sir, I trust I shall get to heaven, but my
works are burned up, because I have done little or nothing for
Christ. Oh, if I could retrace my life and be the right kind
of a man 1" And then there was the third man. From life's
young morning he dedicated his life to Jesus. He went his
way a great business man, but with it all he was the faithful
friend of Jesus. He chose Christ as his chief partner, his
guide in all things. And when he came down to die, there was
a halo of light about his face, and there was victory in his heart,
and in his words, and all the men that knew him said: "If ever
a Christian has lived, this man is he/* Which one of these
three men would you rather be? Listen to the words of a
modern poet:
54 A QUEST FOR SOULS
I had walked life's way with an easy tread,
Had followed where comforts and pleasure* led,
Until one day in a quiet place
I met the Master face to face.
With station and rank and wealtk for my goal,
Much thought for my body, but none for my soul,
I had entered to win in life's mad race,
When I met the Master face to face.
I had built my castles and reared them high,
With their towers had pierced the blue of the sSy
I had sworn to rule with an iron mace,
When I met the Master face to face.
I met Him and knew Him and blushed to see
That His eyes, full of sorrow, were fixed on me;
And I faltered and fell at His feet that day,
While my castles melted and vanished away.
Melted and vanished and in their place
'Naught else did I see but the Master's face.
And I cried aloud, "Oh, make me meet
To follow the steps of Thy wounded feet."
My thought is now for the souls of men,
I have lost my life to find it again,
E'er since one day in a quiet place
I met the Master face to face.
O my men and women, you are not ready to die, you arc
not ready to live, you are not ready for any duty, even for five
seconds, if you are putting the wisdom and love and power of
Christ out of your life. Be wise, I summon you, and give
heed to the supreme things, even in the day when you ought.
That day is to-day.
THE BENEDICTION.
And now, as we go, may God vouchsafe unto us every one, His own search-
ing' truth, applied by its Divine Author, even by the Holy Spirit Himself, so that
we shall from this day forward, put first things first, in the remaining life allowed
us in the flesh. Oh, we beseech thee, our Father, that these busy men and
women at this noontide hour, may go away with the heart inflexibly fixed to
give Christ, the one Savior, the rightful Master of mankind, absolute supremacy
in our every heart, and in every life, and in every life plan that we are to have
from this day forward,
And as you go now, may the blessing of God, bright like the light when the
morning dawneth, and gracious as the dew when the eventide cometh, be granted
you all and each, to abide with you today and tomorrow, and throughout God's
vatf beyond, forever. Aniu
V
'NIGHT SERVICE, JUNE 13, 1917.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
At the beginning of the service last evening I raised
the question with the Christians who were present if they
would not set themselves apart definitely to do some
earnest personal religious visiting every day during these
meetings. Now, I am wondering how many of those
Christians who heard that request have to-day heeded it,
and to-day have sought to help somebody touching per-
sonal religion. All about us there are people who are
neglecting the highest things, and yet these people have
their heart-hungers and their longings, because eternity
hath been set in every heart, and therefore nothing other
than the eternal can satisfy the human heart. Oh, I am
so anxious, my fellow Christians, that we shall give our-
selves during these midsummer days, in this brief meeting,
like we ought, to the right kind of religious visiting. I
believe I wonder if you people believe it with me that
every night we come here every Christian listening to me
now, can by the right sort of effort bring at least one with
you to every night service, who is not a Christian. What
if you were to do that? Remember: "Faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God." What if every
Christian listening to me now highly resolved in his or
her heart : "As for me, I will do my best to bring at least
one with me, every night, who is not a Christian!" Oh,
I pray you, pass nobody by. Go after the tallest man in
55
06 A QUEST FOR SOULS
this fair city. Jesus needs him, and surely that man's
supreme need is Jesus. Go after the most gifted woman
socially in all the city. .Sofo the Master needs her, and
how she needs Him ! Go after the poorest and wretchedest.
Jesus would have you pass nobody by. Now, I raise the
question with you again, my fellow Christian. Will you
not give yourself for an hour to-morrow, to the right kind
of religious visiting? There is some duty-neglecting
Christian you ought to see. There is some back-slidden
Christian that you ought to confer with. And, above all,
there is somebody that you ought to talk with who is not
a Christian at all. Oh, what an incongruity for a Christian
to go his way dumb in the presence of those not Chris-
tians! Couldn't you give an hour to-morrow, to this
greatest quest of all? And if it could not be an hour,
couldn't it be half an hqur? And if it could not be half
an hour, couldn't it be five minutes? And if it could not
be five minutes, couldn't you take one minute to ask some
person face to face: "Is it well with your soul?" Be not
afraid. Do your best, and God will be with you.
You are ready now, I trust, quietly and reverently, to
listen for some moments to the reading of the Holy Scrip-
tures. I am reading from John's Gospel, in the first chap-
ter:
"Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking
upon Jesus as He walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two
disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
Just one sentence, and that led them to follow Jesus,
and you can speak that sentence.
Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What
seek ye?
What are you men up to? Oh, how candid is the good
Master, Jesus! He never misleads. He never deceives.
How candid is Jesus ! What seek ye? What are you men
up to? Why do you follow me?
They said unto Him, Rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, Master),
where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see.
That is what He always says. That is Christ's standing
challenge to mankind come and see !
They came and saw where He dwelt, and abode with Him that day: for it
was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed
Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother,
Simon, and saith tmto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being inter*
preted, the Christ And he brought him to Jesus.
A QUEST FOR SOULS 57
A QUEST FOR SOULS.
Text: "And he brought him to Jesus." John 1 :42.
The bringing of a soul to Jesus is the highest achieve-
ment possible to a human life. Some one asked Lymau
Beecher, probably the greatest of all the Beechers, this ques-
tion : "Mr. Beecher, you know a great many things. What
do you count the greatest thing that a human being can
be or do?" And without any hesitation the famous pul-
piteer replied: "The greatest thing is, not that one shall
be a scientist, important as that is; nor that one shall be
a statesman, vastly important as that is; nor even that
one shall be a theologian, immeasurably important as that
is ; but the greatest thing of all/* he said, "is for one human
being to bring another to Christ Jesus the Savior."
Surely, he spoke wisely and well. The supreme ambi-
tion for every church and for every individual Christian
should be to bring somebody to Christ. The supreme
method for bringing people to Christ is indicated here in
the story of Andrew, who brought his brother Simon to
Jesus. The supreme method for winning the world to
Christ is the personal method, the bringing of people to
Christ one by one. That is Christ's plan. When you turn
to the Holy Scriptures, they are as clear as light, that God
expects every friend He has to go out and see if he cannot
win other friends to the same great side and service of
Jesus.
"Ye shall be witnesses unto me," said Jesus, "both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the
uttermost parts of the earth/' The early church went out
and in one short generation shook the Roman empire to
its very foundation. It was a pagan, selfish, sodden, rotten
empire, and yet in one short generation, that early church
had shaken that Roman empire from center to circumfer-
ence, and kindled a gospel light in every part of the vast
domain. And they did it by the personal method. The
men and the women and the children who loved Christ,
went out everywhere, and talked for Christ, in the hearing
of those who knew Him not, and the hearers became inter-
ested, and followed on, and found out for themselves the
58 A QUEST FOR SOULS
saving truth that there is in Christ's gospel. Every Chris-
tian, no matter how humble, can win somebody else to
Christ. You would not challenge that, would you? Let
me say it again. Every Christian, however humble, can
win somebody to Christ.
That is a most interesting and instructive story told
of the nobly gifted Boston preacher, Dr. O. P. Gifford,
who preached one morning to his congregation, making
the insistence that it is the business, primary and funda-
mental, of Christ's people to go out constantly and win
others to the knowledge of the Savior. And as he brought
to bear his message upon his waiting auditors, with words
that breathed and thoughts that burned, the minister came
on to say : "Every Christian can win somebody to Christ."
When the sermon was done and the people were sent away,
there tarried behind one of his humblest auditors prob-
ably the humblest, with reference to this world's goods,
for she was a poor seamstress. She tarried behind to make
her plea to the preacher that his sermon was over-stressed.
Greatly moved she was, the preacher stated, as looking him
in the face she said: "Pastor, this is the first time that I
ever heard you when you seemed to be unfair." "Pray,
wherein was I unfair?" he asked. Then she said: "You
kept crowding the truth down upon us that every Christian
could win somebody to Christ. Now, you did not make
any exceptions, and surely I am an exception. Pray, tell
me what could I do? I am but a poor seamstress, and I
sew early and late to get enough to keep the wolf from
the door for my fatherless children, and I have no educa-
tion and no opportunity, and yet your statement was so
sweeping that even I was included, and in that/ 5 she said,
"I think you were unfair the first time I ever knew you
to be so." And then, when she had finished her vehement
protest, he looked down at her in all her agitation, and
said to her: "Does anybody ever come to your house?"
She said: - "Why, certainly, a few people come there. 5 *
And then, tvaiting a moment, he said: "Does the milb^
man ever come?" "To be sure," she said; "every morning
he comes." "Does the bread-man come?" "Every day he
comes." "Does the meat-man come?" "Every day he
A QUEST FOR SOULS 59
comes to my cottage/' Then, waiting a moment for his
questions to have their due effect, looking down earnestly
at her, he said: "A word to the wise is sufficient," and
he turned upon his heel, abruptly leaving her. She went
her way, and the nightfall came and she went to her bed
to ponder late and long the searching message she had
heard that morning. Why, she had not even tried to win
anybody to Christ. She had never made the effort. She
claimed to be Christ's friend, and yet had never opened
her lips for Him at all. She will try, and she will
begin with her first opportunity to-morrow, even with the
coming of the milk-man. Accordingly she was up before
the daylight came, there waiting, if haply she might speak
to him some word concerning personal religion. When he
greeted her, he made the remark that he had never seen
her up quite so early before, and she stammered out some
embarrassing reply, not saying what she came to say, and
now he had left her, and the gate clicked behind him as he
left. Then she summoned her strength and called him
back. "Wait a minute," she pleaded, "I did have some-
thing to say to you." And when he tarried to hear it, she
poured out her heart to him in the query: "Do you know
Christ? Are you a Christian? Are you the friend and
follower of that glorious Savior who came down from
heaven and died, that you might not forever die?" And
fairly dropping his milk pails, he looked into her face with
anguish in his own, as he said to her: "Little woman,
what on earth provoked you to talk to me like this? Here
for two nights, madam, I have been unable to sleep, and
the burden of it all is that I am not a Christian, and I am
in the darkness. If you know how to find the light, you
are the one that I need, and you should tell me." And there,
in a few brief minutes of conversation, she told him how
she had found the light, and he walked in that simple path
that she indicated for him. And Dr. Gifford goes on to
tell us that before that year was out, that same little seam-
stress had won seven adults to Christ, not only to the open
confession of Christ as their Savior, but to take their places
promptly in His church. You can win somebody to Christ*
80 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Have you tried? Will you try? Won't you try, looking
to God to guide and help you?
The text tells of a man who won somebody to Christ.
The case of an ordinary man is this, and therefore he is
chosen, for we are just ordinary people. This man Andrew
is not Paul, the outstanding Christian of the centuries. He
is not Apollos, that eloquent, winsome man, who could
compel people to listen to him, his words were so en-
trancing. He is just an ordinary, every-day, commonplace
man. The Bible makes only three or four passing refer-
ences to him. This man is the illustration we are to have
tonight of the one person going out to win some other
person to Christ. Let us fix our eyes upon him to-night,
and learn from the story something to help us.
Andrew here stands forth as one who has just found
the Savior. How will he act? Two things stand out in
response to that question how will he act? First of all,
Andrew is immediately interested that somebody else may
be saved. Don't you like that? Isn't that a wonderful
example for us? Immediately, this man Andrew is con-
cerned that somebody else may be saved. Oh, there are
different evidences, my friends, indicated in these Holy
Scriptures, whereby we may pass upon this eternally con-
sequential question, whether or not we have been born
again. It may be that at one of these services we will
group these Scriptural evidences, and focus them upon
this question: "Have I been born again, and what are the
Scriptural evidences that I have been born again?" Cer-
tainly we might not be able to have a more interesting or
profitable study. But whether we shall give ourselves or
not to such service, here stands out for us one shining fact,
like a mountain peak: If one is born again, that one is
concerned that somebody else may be saved. "If any man
have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of His." And the
spirit of Christ is the spirit of compassionate anxiety that
lost people may be saved. Now, Andrew evinces his con-
cern, straighway after he finds the Messiah, that somebody
else may find that same blessed, forgiving Savior. Years
agone, I was preaching in a series of daily meetings like
these, and one Sunday morning, when I made the call for
A QUEST FOR SOULS 61
those who would confess Christ to come forward and
remain, there came a group down the aisles, and a number
waited to be received into the church. When I came to
question them about their coming into the church, I came
presently to an humble German girl, a servant in one of
the families. She was not long from the -old country, and
her English was barely intelligible, as we listened to it,
and I said to her: "My child, why do you wish to join the
church?" In her broken English, she made her reply to
my question, and her English was so bad that it was well-
nigh impossible for us to understand just what she was
saying. Then I said to her: "My child, if you won't mind,
I will ask you to wait a week, and let us talk with you
quietly and carefully, as is the custom with all the young
people that come into the church. We would be careful
about this great step. The church is for those who have
found Christ as their Savior, who know the way, and too
much care can hardly be exercised at that point, and I will
Just ask, if you don't mind, that you will wait and let us
talk it over, that no mistake may be made." She readily
assented to my proposal, and I passed to the next case,
and when I was questioning him presently the child broke
out in a sob audible to those in the rear of the large audito-
rium. All of us were immediately embarrassed. Evident-
ly I had grieved her, and I turned back to her frankly, and
said: "Why, my child, I did not mean to grieve you by
asking that you wait. That is not anything unusual. The
church is doing that sort of thing here constantly. We
are asking that the young people talk with the pastor, and
talk with the parents carefully, before they come into the
church. Coming into the church is one of the greatest
'steps for a human soul, and it ought to be taken with much
deliberation and wisdom. It was for your good, my child,
and it is not anything unusual that you are asked to wait/
She said, with better English now: "Oh, sir, it is not that
that makes me cry ! I forgot. I cried because my brother
here in this city is such a wild boy, and he is lost, and
my heart is breaking. I am so concerned that he shall
be saved. Won't you ask everybody here to-day to join
me in one prayer that my poor, lost, sinful brother may be
62 A QUEST FOR SOULS
saved? That is what made me cry." And the dear old
senior deacon spoke up, and said : "Pastor, we had better
take her into the church now. She knows the way, and we
need not wait another week." She did know the way, and
there was the outflashing in that conversation, in that last
moment, of her deep knowledge of a forgiving Savior, and
all that audience was swept with her tremulous appeal.
They knew, every Christian there, that this woman knew
the Lord, because of her heart's longing for others to be
saved.
There was another point about this man Andrew, strik-
ingly suggested, when he found the Savior, and that point
is that he went straight home to get his first work in for
his Savior. Now, don't you like that? He went straight-
way to get in his first work for the great Savior whom he
had just found, in his own home. He went after a difficult
case, let me tell you. He went after his own brother
Simon. Rash and headstrong and impulsive was that man
Simon, and yet plain Andrew, a weakling compared with
Simon, went after that big, strong brother, nor did he
cease until he had brought him to Christ.
Oh, if the limits of this hour allowed, I should like,
my brothers, to pout out my heart in a plea for home
religion. There is an old saying that comes to mind
just here: "The shoemaker's wife is the worst shod
person in the village." Oh, if I might pour out my
heart for a moment in a plea that our homes be or-
dered like they ought to be in the realm of religion! If
there be one place, let me say it to the parents, where you
should put your best foot forward for Christ, it should be
in your families. I tell you, that is an indictment against
a father if his own boy does not believe in his religion. I
tell you that is an indictment against a mother if her own
girl does not believe: "My mother is the best Christian
in all the world." Oh, that our religion in our homes shall
be outshining and congruous and consistent, even after the
highest and most heavenly fashion! The accent, in my
humble judgment, that most of all needs to be pronounced
this night, throughout this whole country, from border to
border, is an accent on the religion of our homes. As goes
A QUEST FOR SOULS 63
the home, so shall go everything in the social order* The
citadel, both for church and for state, is the home. If we
shall have the right kind of homes, then shall everything
in the social order be conserved and saved, but if our homes
shall be beaten down and unraveled and frazzled out by;
every superficial and foolish thing God save the mark!
the nation is doomed and the land shall be lost. I wonder
what your answer would be, as I look into the faces of
Christian parents now, and ask you this simple question:
Do you have family prayer at your house? Why don't
you have it? You might have measured off to you one
round thousand years in which to get up your reasons
why a Christian parent should not have family prayer in
his house, and when the thousand years had passed, you
would come back without the semblance of even one rea-
son. Oh, men and women who love Christ, with your chil-
dren growing about you, or already fairly grown, is it
possible that human life, invested as it is with such sacred
meanings and opportunities and responsibilities, shall go
passing away, and the chiefest place of all to get in ycur
witness for Christ, even under your own roof, shall be
overlooked and lost ! One of the most menacing signs that
you can find in any community, if you are able to find it
there, is the decay of family prayer in such community.
I am thinking now of two homes. To the first was I
summoned one morning to the burial of their only child.
She was a beautiful girl of some fifteen summers. They
were not members of my congregation, but of another;
but their minister was absent, and, therefore, was I' sum-
moned to conduct the funeral. I came to the splendid-
looking home, and a vast concourse of people were in and
about the house. I asked that I might see the family, and
I was taken down the long hall and into the quiet room
where the broken-hearted parents sat, and as tactfully as
I could, I began to find my way to an apprehension of the
situation, that I might the better speak in the funeral serv-
ice to be had a few moments later. I found in response
to questioning, presently, that both of these parents were
professed Christians, and then I ventured to tell them that
earth had no sorrow that heaven cannot heal, and that thej
64 A QUEST FOR SOULS
must refuse to turn aside into the abyss of despair and
broken-heartedness, because they had a Savior, and they;
were His friends. By this time the mother was on her
feet, and said : "Sir, I have something to tell you that has
utterly broken our hearts." I waited to hear what it was,
and then she said: "That beautiful girl yonder in her
casket, our only child, has been here in our home these
fifteen years, and yet in all these years, though her mother
is a Christian, and her father is a Christian in all these
years that child never heard either one of us pray one
time, sir." And then she waited a moment more, and said :
"Sir, our horrible fear is that it was not well with the child,
and that her blood will be on our garments." Will you
say that it was not? Oh, cruelty of cruelties, inconsistency
of inconsistencies, that a child should be in a Christian
home fifteen years, and never hear the voice of a parent
one time lifted in prayer!
There was another home of which I would speak. I
pleaded with the people one morning in the other years,
begging them that they put first things first, and that the
men who were Christians would pause at the breakfast table
for 3. little season of prayer with the loved ones around
them, or in the evening time, when the day was done, that
they would gather the circle about them, and speak with
the great King and Savior in grateful acknowledgment and
in continual plea for His mercies to be granted them. Num-
bers that morning said that they would change their ways.
One outstanding business man, whose voice was often
heard in the city, searched me out and said: "Oh, I have
lived miserably far from what is consistent and right. I
will turn over a new leaf tonight. Family prayer shall be
at my house to-night, and every night henceforth." I fol-
low it just a moment more. The next morning, as I crossed
the city, I saw his only son about fifteen or sixteen years
o age, and as I was traveling rapidly along, the son sum-
moned me, and when he reached me, I saw in his face that
there was a deep battle of some sort going on, and I said :
"What is it, my boy, that I can do for you?" And then he
looked down with face averted, and then loolEe'd up with his
face covered with tears, an<i said: "You ought to have
A QUEST FOR SOULS 65
been at our house last night" **What happened at your
house, my boy? I should like to know." He said: "Oh,
you should have been there. Papa prayed last night!
Papa had sister and me called into the room, and papa
sobbed as he told us he had not lived like a Christian
father ought, and papa asked sister and me to forgive him.
Neither of us could talk. We did not know what to say.
Both of us cried. Papa asked mother to open the Bible
for him, and he tried to read it, but he could not, and then
papa knelt down and prayed, mostly about himself, and
then he said when he got up : 'Children, papa is going to
live a different life from this time on/ " And the boy said :
"I went to my room and I could not sleep/* I said : "Why
couldn't you sleep, my boy?" And then, as he leaned over
on my shoulder, he said: "I found out last night that I
am a sinner, and that I am lost. You do not know how
I wanted to see you, that you might tell me what to do.*
We turned into a little store house, vacant, and there, in
a few words, I told the lad how it is that Jesus saves a
sinner, and the lad made his simple, honest surrender, and
was saved that very Monday morning. You should have
heard him the next Sunday morning, when the pastor said :
"Tell us, my boy, what started you in this upward way?"
He looked across at his father, on the other side of the
house, and said : "Papa's prayer last Sunday night started
me in the upward way."
Oh, I know it is difficult to have family prayers, my
anen and women ! I know it is difficult, but listen to this :
Everything on this earth worth while costs, and you and
I must not, dare not, thrust back into some little inconse-
quential corner in our lives the thing chiefest and com-
manding that God has appointed for the winning of the
world to God.
There is another point for our consideration in the case
of this man Andrew. Andrew's act magnifies the place and
the power of personal work in the winning of lost people
to Christ the place and power of j^er^Qnal work and just
there are several suggestions for our consideration. There
can be no substitutes for personal work. Jesus is depend-
ing on His friends to get His gospel made known to a gain*
66 A QUEST FOR SOULS
saying and unbelieving world. He is dependent on His
friends. That is His own divinely appointed method.
There can be no substitutes for personal work! Life must
make its impact upon life. Now, everybody seems to un-
derstand that, I have sometimes thought, better than the
.church of God understands it. The business men under-
stand the power of personal work. They send out their
drummers up and down the land, to look into the faces of
their customers, real or prospective, and explain their
wares. And certainly the politicians understand the power
of personal work. You let a great issue be on, city or state
or national, with two virile parties each contending for
supremacy, and you will observe that the champions of
these parties send their spokesmen, their representatives,
to look their fellow-men in the face and argue and plead
and explain, if haply they may win their votes. Oh, will
the church of God fail to lay to heart that the chief instru-
mentality human for the winning of the world to Christ is
the power of personal work? There can be no substitute
for personal work, none at all. Elisha may send his serv-
ant Gehazi, with the prophet's own staff back yonder to the
chamber where the dead boy lies, saying to his servant:
"Put my staff on that boy and see if it won't bring him to
life," and the instructions may be carried out, but the boy
will remain in the cold grip of death. Elisha, the prophet,
himself must go, and stretch his own body, warm and puls-
ing, on the cold body of that dead boy. Elisha himself
must make the impact of life upon that dead body. The
Divine Master of life himself gave an emphasis to personal
work beyond anything that I can describe in my simple
discourse this evening. Jesus preached His chiefest sermon
on the new birth to just one man. My fellow-men, if Jesus
thought it worth while to have just one for His congrega-
tion, and there do His best work, surely the servant shall
not be greater than his Master. And when Jesus came
to preach His sermon on eternal life, He preached it yonder
to a woman at the well of Samaria a poor drab of a
woman, about whose character the less said the better, and
yet she had a soul that was to live forever, and when she
came to that well to draw water therefrom, Jesus had His
A QUEST FOR SOULS 67
opportunity, and with words tactful and honest and faith-
ful, He found His way to that woman's conscience, and
at the right time revealed himself the forgiving Savior
to hen Jesus gave His best service for one soul.
Listen to Him yonder as He tells the story of the shep-
herd leaving his ninety and nine sheep safely housed in
the sheep-cote. Ninety and nine of them were safe, but
one was missing, and he left the ninety and nine safely
housed in the sheep-cote, and went out after that missing
sheep, over the hills and mountains, with his feet pierced
by stones and thorns, searching, looking for that one miss-
ing sheep. Nor did he give up his quest, until that sheep
was found, and the shepherd brought it back and put it in
the sheep-cote with the others. What is Jesus saying in
this pungent parable? "Oh, my church/* the compassion-
ate Savior says, "go out and seek earnestly until that lost
sheep is found I 39 He is saying just that.
Now, all experience and all observation confirm the
point that I am seeking to make, that there can be no sub-
stitutes for personal work. How shall we save our
churches? My fellow Christians, there is one sure way,
and that is that our churches be great life-saving stations
to point lost sinners to Christ. The supreme indictment
that you can bring against a church, if you are able in
truth to bring it, is that such church lacks in passion and
compassion for human souls. A church is nothing better
than an ethical club if its sympathies for lost souls do not
overflow, and if it does not go out to seek to point lost
souls to the knowledge of Jesus.
But now I come to a practical question. How may you
and I win sinners to Christ, as did Andrew of old? That
is entirely practical, and this Wednesday evening let us
focus our thoughts for a moment on the practical question,
how may you and I, like Andrew, win people to Christ?
There are several suggestions to be given in response to
that question. First of all, let us magnify the Word of
God and its Author, the Divine Spirit himself. We are to
magnify both the Word of God and the Author of such
Word, namely the Holy Spirit himself. The one is our
sword, and the other is our power. We are to take this
68 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Word of God and we are to deliver to the lost world about
us the message of this Word of God concerning Jesus and
the relation of humanity to Him. Our message is made
out for us, fortunately: "Preach the preaching that I bid
thee." "Preach the Word/' The Word of God is to be
proclaimed. The Word of God is to be avowed. The
Word of God is to be declared. The Word of God is not
bound. The Word of God will take care of itself, if only
it be faithfully proclaimed. You and I are to come with
this Word of God, and without mincing or reservation, are
to tell men everywhere that outside of Jesus Christ they
are lost, and shall never meet God in peace, if they are not
forgiven by this Divine Savior. We are to declare that,
and the Lord, in the power of His Spirit, shall apply and
shall bring to pass such results as in His wisdom and mercy
He deemeth best.
Nor is that all. As we give ourselves to the task of
winning souls to Christ, we are with all diligence and
devotedness to seek the guidance and- power of the Divine
Spirit himself at every step. He would guide and help us.
You do not have to see the man to-morrow by yourself
that difficult man. The talk you are to have with him is
not to be in your own strength alone. Beside you shall
stand the omnific Savior, and going with you shall be the
counsel and power of His Spirit. You do not have to see
that woman in your own poor, unaided wisdom. You are
to do the best you can, leaning on the Arm Everlasting,
and God's wisdom and God's power clothed upon from IBs
Spirit shall accompany your simple, honest effort
Again, if you and I are to win people to Christ, tfceti
we are to use, like Andrew did, the power of personal testi-
mony. When Andrew found his Savior, he said : "Broth-
er, listen! I have found the Messiah. Let me tell you
about Him." And then, with words that thrilled and
burned, Andrew told his brother what he had tasted and
seen and felt of Jesus, the long looked for Messiah. My
fellow Christians, there is nothing else human quite so
powerful as the power of an earnest personal testimony
concerning Jesus' experience in your own life, as you tell
somebody else what Jesus has been and consciously is to
A QUEST FOR SOULS 69
you yourself. You let some man in this audience come
down this aisle and stand up and tell us: "This very day
I have had definite dealings with God, and know it," and
every ear is alert to catch what he says. There is no
power like the power of personal testimony. You can tell
that neighbor or friend how you heard Christ's voice, and
how you responded, and what He said to you, and what
He did, and what you have seen and experienced of His
grace and love in your own little life. Tell that experience
to somebody without delay.
But that is not all. There is no power human like the
power of personal love, as we go out to win people to Christ.
Oh, do we care for the people round us who are lost? Do
we really care? Of old there issued from the lips of one
sorely pressed, this plaintive cry: "No man cared for my
soul/' Are there men and women in Fort Worth who, i
we could get at what they think, would say this to us:
**They have their churches and their preachers and their
Christians numbering many, but nobody ever cared for my
soul?" Is there somebody in this community, lost and grop-
ing like a blind man for the wall, not ready to die, not
ready to live, who in truth could say to us : "I have lived
these long years, but nobody ever said that he cared for
my soul?" Make that impossible as these days pass. Go
with your word of witnessing and pleading and love, and
go without delay. There is nothing so powerful in all this
world as the power of love. Everybody ought to know
the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians by heart, and in
its gracious spirit every one of us ought to live every day:
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and
have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling
cymbal." Do we love lost sinners? Do we care for the
young men about us who are coasting the downward road?
Do we care for the people whose toil is rigorous and whose
lot in life is hard? Do we care for business men and pro-
fessional men, who are side-stepping with reference to the
supreme things, namely, the things of God and the soul
an3 eternity? Do we love these people well enough to go
to them and earnestly and alone say to them: "Is it well
with your soul?" There is no power in human life Sfei
70 A QUEST FOR SOULS
the power of love. The prayer that the psalmist of old
prayed is the prayer that you and I ought to pray: "En-
large my heart." He did not pray that his head might be
enlarged. "Enlarge my heart/' for out of the heart are the
issues of life.
One of the most heart-moving conversions that I have
ever known, I witnessed years ago in my city, during the
holiday period in mid-winter. There reached me the mes-
sage that a little Sunday school boy in one of our mission
Sunday schools had been accidentally shot by his little
neighbor friend, and I hurried to the humble home as fast
as I could go, and I found the unconscious little fellow in
the hands of two skillful doctors, as they sought to diagnose
the case. After awhile, when they had finished their diag-
nosis and treatment, I asked them what of the case, and they
said : "He will not live. The shot is unto death." I asked
them if he would recover consciousness, and they answered
that he might that he might live two or three days, or he
might not live until morning. I went back the next day,
for this first day the boy's father was in the stupor of a
terrible drunk. A great-hearted and kindly father he was,
too, when he was sober. Oh, the tragedy that many of
these big-hearted, capable men allow their lives thus to* be
cajoled and cheated and destroyed by some evil habit! I
went back the next day, and the father was sobering up.
He was a fine workman in a harness and saddlery estab-
lishment. He was sobering up, and the agony of his case
was something pitiful to behold. He would walk the floor,
and then he would pause, as the tears fell from his face,
while he looked on that little suffering boy, nine or ten
years of age. I sat down beside the boy and waited for
awhile, and presently the child opened his eyes, and the
little fellow was conscious. His eyes were intelligent. His
lips moved as he spoke my name, for he had frequently
heard me speak in the mission where he went to the Sun-
day school. I bent over him, and the father came and
sobbed and laughed as he observed the consciousness that
had come to his little boy. And the father stroked the
little fellow's face, and kissed him with all the affection of
a mother, and said, as he laughed and cried: "My little
A QUEST FOR SOULS 71
man is better, and he will soon be well." The little face
was clouded as he feebly whispered, saying: "No, papa;
I will not get well." And then the father protested, as
he said: "You will get well, and I will be a good man,
and I will change my ways/* The little fellow's face was
clouded, and he kept trying to say something, and I reached
for the man to bend over to catch it, and this is what we
did catch, after awhile: "When I am gone, papa, I want
you to remember that I loved you, even if you did get
drunk." That sentence broke the father's heart He left
the room, unable to tarry any longer. A few minutes later,
I found him lying prone upon his face, there upon the
ground, behind the little cottage, sobbing with brokenness
of heart. I got down by him and sought to comfort and
help him. And he said: "Sir, after my child loves me like
that, oughtn't I to straighten up and be the right kind of
a man?" I said : "I have a story ten thousand times sweet-
er than that to tell you. God's only begotten Son loved
you well enough to come down from heaven and die for
you, himself the just, for you the unjust, that He might
bring you to God. Won't you yield your wasting, sinful
life to Him, utterly and honestly, and let Him save you
His own divine way?" And then and there he made the
great surrender. You should slip into one of our prayer-
meetings some night, when the men and women talk about
what Christ has done for them, and one of the most ap-
pealing and powerful testimonies you would ever hear is
the testimony of this harness workman, as he stands up,
always with tears on his face, to tell you that love brought
him home when everything else had failed. They criti-
cised him because he drank. They scolded him because
he drank. They railed at him because he drank They
pelted him with harsh words because he drank. But a little
boy said: "Papa, I love you even if you do get drunk/*
and love won the day when everything else had failed. Oh,
my fellow-men, when everything else shall fail, "love never
faileth." Do you love these lost men and women of Fort:
Worth ? Then, I pray you, in the great Master's name, go
and tell them that you care for them, and tell it before an-
other sun shall sink" to rest in the far west to-morroiw
evening.
72 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Long enough have I talked, but I gather up as best I
can all I should say for a final moment of appeal. Here it
is: Oh, my fellow Christians, let us see to it that you
and I, like Andrew, do our best to win people to Christ i
What argument shall I marshal to get us to do that thing
right now, and to get us to do that thing as we never did
it before, and to get us to do that thing these passing days,
linking our lives with God with a devotion, and giving our-
selves with a humility and a personal appeal, such as we
never knew before? What arguments shall I marshal to
get us to do that right now? Shall I talk about duty? Then
this is our first duty. And what a great word that word
duty is ! Robert E. Lee was right, that matchless man of
the South, when he wrote to his son, saying: "Son, the
great word is duty/* Shall I talk about duty? My fellow
Christians, your duty and mine, primal, fundamental, pre-
eminent, supreme, tremendously urgent, is that we shall
tell these around us that we want them saved.
Shall I talk about happiness? Oh, was there ever an-
other happiness on this earth comparable to this the hear-
ing from the lips of some soul the glad confession that you
had said the word to win such soul to Christ? There is
no happiness on this earth comparable to that.
Shall I talk about responsibility? What shall I say
'about responsibility? Your responsibility and mine for
these souls about us lost, is a responsibility big enough to
stagger God's archangel. You are your brother's keeper.
What if you neglect him, and he shall die in his sins? H
you shall neglect him, and he shall die in his sins, wheri
you might have won him, then it shall turn out that you
are your brother's spiritual murderer. Men can be killed
by neglect. Women can be killed by neglect. A while ago
there was condemned to death in England a notorious
criminal, one of the hardest in all the records of crime,
Minister after minister sought to get into his cell before
the man's execution, to talk to such man about God and
the hereafter, but he steadfastly refused to see any minister
Presently one somehow got into the cell, and began to talK
with him, and the poor man, condemned to be executed
to-morrow, realized that he was talking at last with a min-
A QUEST FOR SOULS 73
ister of the gospel, and the minister brought to bear his
mightiest appeal to that man to turn to God, even in those
last waiting hours. The man was stolid and was utterly
indifferent, and presently the minister said to the man:
"Don't you realize that in a few hours more your life shall
be taken and you shall be in another world?" He said:
"Quite well, sir, do I realize that my life will be taken, but
whether there is another world or not, I do not know, and
I have not any concern about that." And then the minister
urged and remonstrated and pleaded, and at last the con-
demned man rose up and said to him: "Sir, if I believed
like you say, that a man dying without Christ is lost, and
shall be lost forever if I believed that and had your chance,
I would crawl on my knees to tell the men of England,
before it is too late, to repent of their sins and turn to God/'
Oh, do we believe it, that these men and women about
us, and the dear young people under our own roofs, and
the devoted husbands, beside whom walk gentle, Christian
wives do we believe that these men are lost, and that these
young people are lost? Do we believe it? Then, I pray
you, even as I summon myself, let us go to them in the
right spirit, pleading with God to teach us, to empower
us, to enable us to plead that now, before the day is gone,
they may repent of sin and be saved forever.
My message is done when I shall have asked one ques-
tion. Mark it : Do these Christian men and women listen-
ing to me to-night, down in their hearts really wish tfcat
sinners shall be saved during these days of special meetings?
Probably hundreds here present answer me back: "Sir, that
is our deep wish, that sinners may be saved?" But I am
going to make it stronger than that. Do these Christian
men and women listening to me this Wednesday night say :
"Sir, I promise you, yea, sir, I promise God, and in the pres-
ence of God and of angels and men, I declare my promise,
not only do I desire to see sinners saved in these special
meetings, but I will try myself, frail as I am and weak as
I am I will try myself, like Andrew, to win somebody to
Christ?" Do you say: "That is my wish, sir, and that
74 A QUEST FOR SOULS
is my purpose, God helping me?" Everyone who says
stand to your feet.
(A great number stood.)
THE CLOSING PRAYER.
Give us thy counsel and comfort, our Father, this hour, when our hearts have
been searched by thy Word of truth, and in these last moments, ere we separate,
we make our appeal to thee, that we may translate into life, into power, into ac-
tion, this message from thy Book this night. How we rejoice that many in this
presence stand, quietly and humbly, but courageously, to say that they not only
desire to see sinners saved, but, what is of far more meaning, they purpose, look-
ing to thee, O God, to help them, to strive personally to win others to Christ, in
the hours and days just before us. O Divine Spirit, rest thou upon every head
and heart, and be on every tongue, and send us to the right persons, and give us
to speak what and as we ought to speak to them concerning their personal salva-
tion. Go thou before us, and prepare the heart, that we shall speak to, and open
the understanding, and make the soul to be concerned by thine own life-giv-
ing touch, thine own spiritual illumination. Our gracious Father, let these
days be days when preachers and laymen, when parents and children, when
Christians of every age and name, shall personally dedicate their very best to
win the people to Christ. Let this be the time when the people all about us,
of all conditions and classes and needs shall have^ brought home to them the all
important truth that to live without God is to live vainly, is to miss the true
end of being. Let the truth, terrible and sure, be written like fire in every
conscience, that to live contrary to the will of God is to come to defeat and
death. And let this be a time when, on the right hand and on the left, men and
women and children shall come with honest, earnest and complete surrender of
their lives to Christ.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Am*n.
VI
NOON SERVICE, JUNE 14, 1917.
WHY DO SOULS GO AWAY FROM JESUS?
Text: "Then said Jesus unto tlie twelve: "Will ye also go away? Then
Simon Peter answered Him. Lord to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of
eternal life." John 6:67, 68.
In a very frank way, and with a deep desire to help you, I
should like to ask you, one by one, the personal question, What
are your relations to Jesus, the Savior and Master? Every one
must have personal relations with Him. We must be His
friends or His foes. We must be for Him or against Him.
What are your personal relations to the Lord Jesus Christ?
'Are you for Him or against Him?
Once when He was here among men in the flesh, and the
multitudes were following Him, and He was teaching them
pungently what following Him meant, the crowds were deplet-
ed, and grew less and less before His searching teaching, and
finally He turned to the twelve apostles, who were following
Him, and put to them this plaintive question : "Will ye also go
away?" Then Simon Peter answered Him, 'TLord, to whom
shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life/*
Our text this morning is that searching question Jesus asked
the twelve: "Will ye also go away?" The text suggests two
burning questions for us this morning. Why do people go
away from Jesus? Where do they go? God give us to face
faithfully for a little while at this midday service these two
^eighty questions.
Why do people go away from Jesus? The fundamental
reason is want of grace in the heart, the lack of true faith,
the absence of vital Godliness. The Apostle John tells us:
15
76 A QUEST FOR SOULS
"They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they
had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us :
but they went out from us that they might be made manifest
that they were not all of us." But we are back to that search-
ing question, Why do people go away from Jesus ? Many do
go away from Him. Why? Now, the outward reasons for
their going reveal what is in their hearts, and we may glance
this morning at some of these outward reasons why people go
away from Jesus.
Here, on the occasion of our text, they went away from
Him because they objected to His teaching. Through the long
centuries, again and again, many have manifestly gone away
from Jesus because they objected to His teaching. Read the
context here in the sixth chapter of John's Gospel, and you
will hear the multitudes as they cry out under His teaching:
"This is a hard saying; who can hear it?" And so they turned
away from Him because they objected to His teaching. The
gospel of Jesus Christ, my friends, is very humbling to poor
human nature. Pride revolts at the gospel of Christ. And yet
such gospel is not designed to please man, but rather to save
him. Jesus comes in His appeal to men, and puts before them
the dear demand : "If you would have me for your Savior, I
must come first, before father or mother or children or dearest
loved ones, or your own property or your own life. I must
come first." That is not easy. That is death to self. That is
self-crucifixion. And yet you would not have it any other way.
Let us make religion easy and we will play it out. Let us make
religion hard, even with the hardness of the terms of disciple-
ship laid down by Jesus, and it will be triumphant anywhere
in the world.
Why do people go away from Jesus? Full many a time
they go away from Him because of the fear of man. That is
indeed a biting saying in the Bible, where it is declared : "The
fear of man bringeth a snare." Pilate was not the only man
who betrayed Jesus, and in that same act betrayed himself
through the fear of man. All about us the fear of man plays
the most desperate havoc in human life. All through the social
order, in the world intellectual, and the world of business, and
the world political, and the world social, the highest interests
are betrayed, and the supreme call of Christ set aside, through
DO SOULS GO AWAY PROM JESUS? 77
the fear of men. There comes in the tragic power and peril of
influence. What can some men mean, and women, by the
tragical misuse, the desperate waste, of their highest influence?
One waits for another, and one acts because of another, or one
does not act because another does not, and all through the
social order the fear of man is one of the ravaging wastes of
the highest influence that comes to human life. They tell us
that in the capital city of one of the older States, in the long
ago, a marvelous meeting was led by that eminent American
evangelist, Charles G. Finney, probably the ablest evangelist
that America ever saw. He preached there some three months,
and thousands came to Christ. When he was preaching there
one night, the story goes that there slipped into the great audi-
ence to hear him the Chief Justice of the highest court of
New York State. The learned Justice came out of sheer
curiosity to hear a plain, pungent, powerful speaker. It was
not his custom to go to church. Not for years had he been
at any public service religious, and yet this evening the preach-
er brought his message to bear on the conscience of this man,
taking for his text: "No man liveth to himself," and when
the minister had finished his message, he said : "Now, I ask,
appealing to your judgment and your conscience" that is
Christ's appeal always to men's judgments and to men's con-
sciences His religion does not need any other kind of
appeal when the minister had finished his appeal, he said:
"Now, is some man's judgment convinced, and is his con-
science searched by the truth spoken to-night, and will he, for
his own sake, and for the sake of everybody else whom he
may influence, make his public surrender to Christ?" And
down the long aisle came the Chief Justice, to make his con-
fession of Christ. When he took the minister's hand, the
Justice said: "If you will allow me, I should like even now
to turn and speak some words to this waiting audience/* And
facing them, the dignified Justice said: "If I have any in-
fluence over anybody, I beg him to do as I have done, to yield
life and all, utterly and now, to Christ." And he called for
God's forgiving mercy, that he himself had so long delayed
to make that great surrender. It is said that many lawyers at
the bar, there assembled in that vast audience, came down
every aisle, and stood around the great minister and Chief
Justice, and said to the Judge: "O sir, because you have
78 A QUEST FOR SOULS
come, and because of your appeal, we, too, will make our
surrender to Christ." What if the great Judge had not come?
O my soul, I know the man, and you know him, who has not
come, and yet, because he has not, there shelter behind him
others, who perhaps will continue thus to hide behind him
as long as he shall stay away from Christ.
Why do people go away from Jesus? Full many a time
they go away from Him, through captious doubts and ques-
tions concerning religion. Many people ask, What if this and
that be not so ? What if the Bible be not trustworthy? What
if Christ be not divine? What if there be no immortality for
the soul? What if there be no heaven for Christ's friend,
and no hell for those who will not have Christ? What if
those things be not so? And with question marks like that,
they turn away from the vital verities of faith, and miss
the way of life. Do I speak this midday hour to some man
or woman who is in the grip of some serious religious doubt?
Then I call to you, do not trifle with that doubt. Probe that
doubt, I pray you, to its very depth. Superficial dealing with
doubts in the realm of religion is utterly inexcusable. Well
has some one said that "doubt is the agony of some earnest
soul, or the trifling of some superficial fool/* Do not trifle
with your doubts. You have too much at stake, if you have
doubts, in this lofty realm of religion, to go along carelessly
with such doubts. Doubt is caused in various ways and
comes from various sources. There is the doubt of the head.
Nathanael had such doubt. "Can there any good thing come
out of Nazareth?" he asked, and the answer was given him:
"Come and see," and he came and saw.
There is the doubt of the heart. Some disappointment
comes, beating us into the dust. Some poignant sorrow comes
to blind us and to smite us and to check us. John the Bap-
tist had such doubt. Those fine plans and hopes that swept
through his mind and heart seemed all crushed as he lay there
in the jail, and he sent some of his men to ask the pitiful
question of Jesus : "Art thou He that should cotne, or do we
look for another?" Be patient with somebody in doubt, when
the dark and cloudy day is on, when the blade Friday presses
down upon the spirit with its fearful pressure. But I have
come to believe, my fellow-men, that doubt is caused by a
WHY DO SOULS GO AWAY FROM JESUS? 79
wrong life more than by anything else in all the world. Time
and again when I have come into close quarters with the man
who spoke out his doubts and paraded them and defended
them, I have found on careful inquiry, full many a time, that
underneath and behind that doubt, and evidently occasioning
that doubt, was some wrong life. If a man will come with
right attitude in the sight of God, he shall be delivered from
every doubt, which leads me to call your attention to that
great challenge Jesus has given. Notice it: "If any man
willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether
it is of God." That is as broad as the race. That is as com-
prehensive as humanity. "If any man willeth to do the will
of God, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God."
Let any human being, no matter what the question, what the
fear, what the doubt, what the difficulty, assume a perfectly
honest attitude toward God, saying: "I want light, and if thou
wilt give it, no matter how, I will follow it," such person
surely shall be brought into the light Time and again you
have seen, as I have seen, that challenge of Jesus frankly ac-
cepted and frankly proved, and men have been brought out
of the darkness into the glorious liberty and light of the chil-
dren of God. fc
I was in an Eastern city, some years ago, for some two
weeks in a daily mission, and every evening when I would
finish my message, I said, as was their custom: "If there are
interested men and women, who would tarry behind for per-
sonal dealings touching personal religion, they will pass
through this door into the smaller auditorium, and the rest
may go while we are singing the last hymn." I stood there
at the door, to greet the people as they passed into the
smaller auditorium for more careful and for doser personal
dealings, and along with the men who came this particular
evening, there came an attractive looking man some thirty-six
or thirty-eight years of age, and he tarried at the door to
speak with me, fairly trembling as he did so, and yet putting
on a brave face. He said to me as he tarried there at the
door: "Well, sir, I do not believe a word you said to-night/*
I replied: "Then, pray, why do you tarry? My invitation
was for serious people. My invitation was for men and wo-
men in earnest, for those with a desire deep and true to find
80 A QUEST FOR SOULS
light and to get help. Why do you tarry?" "Oh," he said,
"I thought I would like to see you at close range, and to hear
what you said to these men in this room, and therefore I
have come along." I felt that I could see underneath all
that brave exterior an interest deeper than he was willing at
all for me to know, and I said: "You tarry, and when the
others are gone, then I should like to have some words with
you alone/' And so he did, and when the other service was
finished, I had him alone, and as I sat beside him I asked him :
"What brought you into this place? What gave you these
doubts? Whence came all this uncertainty in your spirit
concerning religion ?" He told me a story that I have neither
the time nor the inclination here to repeat. He was the son
of a minister in old Virginia. He was reared like a boy ought
to be reared, and yet he had got far away from all that
rearing, having been absent from home some fifteen years.
Then I said to him: "If these things I preach- to you tonight
are true, wouldn't you like to know the truth of it all?" He
made quick response: "Certainly, I should like to know the
truth of it all." Then I said: "You can know it. Here is
the challenge of Jesus: 'If any man willeth to do His will,
he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God.' " I said:
"Now as I bow my head, I will speak to your father's God
and to my God, and I will ask Him just to lead you on, and
to fill you with desire and purpose to follow His leading."
And when I had finished the prayer I said, as we were bowed
there at out chairs : "Let us remain bowed, and you try for a
moment to pray." He started back and said: "Why, man,
I would not know how to begin. I have not tried even in a
dozen years." Think of a man's going a dozen years without
calling on God! It seems impossible. "I would not know
how to begin," he said. I answered: "Then I will frame a
sentence for you* like I would frame it for my little child,
and you say it after me," And so I did, and he repeated
it, and I framed a second sentence, and he repeated that, and
a third sentence, and he repeated that, and then I paused and
said: "Prayer, sir, is the sanest thing in the world. Prayer is
the outcry of a little, needy, finite, mortal being, to a great in-
finite, omniscient, omnipotent, all powerful, all merciful Being*
Tell Him what you would like. Tell Him like you would tell a
man something you should hasten to tell him, without any
WHY DO SOULS GO AWAY FROM JESUS? 81
reserve." And then, timidly and tremblingly and haltingly he
began his prayer. In a moment or two his words came faster.
In a moment or two his sentences rushed like a torrent He
was confessing his sins. He was bewailing his dreadful de-
cline, and memory was burning like fire^ and it blazed and
burned, as he recalled the old home, with the family prayer,
and the father as a preacher, and the mother singing the sim-
ple songs of faith. And then he went on and said: "I re-
member, Lord, the last sermon I heard good father preach.
He preached from that text, the cry of the publican: 'God, be
merciful to me, a sinner/ " He said : "That is my prayer.
Be merciful to me, a sinner. I give up to thee. Help thou
a helpless sinner!" And then he was still, and then in a
moment more he was on his feet, and I looked up at him
and waited for him to make his pronouncement, and then he
looked down earnestly at me, with his outstretched hand, and
said: "I have found the light!" Of course he had found the
light. Any man on the earth who will assume the right atti-
tude toward Jesus shall be brought into the light.
My indictment against the skeptic who prates against the
things of God is that he will not be candid about it and go
deep enough. Any man in the world, doubter, skeptic, atheist,
materialist, whoever he is, who will assume a perfectly candid
and obedient attitude toward God, shall surely be brought into
the light.
Why do people go away from Jesus? Full many a time
they go away from Him through the power of sensual enjoy-
ments. There are two Scriptures that set forth that truth.
Here they are: "The pleasures of sin for a season," and this
other : "Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." Through
the power of sensual enjoyment, full many a time men and
women miss the upward way and go the downward way to
doom and death. And yet this world has in it nothing that
can really satisfy the ache of the human heart. That bril-
liant Frenchman, Sabatier, was right, when he said: "Man is
incurably religious." !And then the Bible comes on, with its
revealing statement, telling us that God hath set eternity in the
Human heart, and therefore nothing less than the eternal can
satisfy the human heart Temporal things, no matter how
many, cannot satisfy the hmnan heart
82 'A QUEST FOR SOULS
This world can never give
The bliss for which men sigh,
'Tis not the whole of life to live,
Nor all of death to die.
Beyond this vale o tears
There is a life above,
Unmeasured by the flight of years,
And all that life is love.
Nothing short of the infinite and the eternal can satisfy
any human heart.
Why do people go away from Christ? Full many a time
they go away from Him through the simple, fearful, fateful
power of procrastination. They tell us that procrastination
is the thief o time, and so it is, but, oh, it is so much more
than that. Procrastination is the thief of souls ! All about us
are men and women who intend somewhere, sometime, to
focus their thoughts on the things of God, and to say "yes"
to the call of Christ, and yet through the power of procrasti-
nation they are hurried on and daily lulled the more deeply to
sleep, and the conscience is deadened, and the days go by and
the highest things are lost. All about us there are men and
women who, when we approach them concerning personal
religion, will tell us that they intend to say yes to Christ, that
they desire to be saved, that they fully expect this important
matter of personal salvation to be settled a little later. But
it is a little later that they say. It is to-morrow. It is by and
by. Down yonder on the Mexican border, where I have often
and joyfully preached to the cattlemen through the passing
years, I have heard one cry escape the Mexicans' lips which is
revelatory to a remarkable degree of the Mexican character.
It would explain why Mexico is so belated in the development
of her civilization. That little word that the Mexican uses
so frequently is this: "Manana?' "To-morrow!" You may
crowd upon him this duty, or that, or the other, and he will
consent to what you are saying, but in an undertone he will
say: "Manana! Manana! Manana!" To-morrow To-morrow !
To-morrow ! And so it is Satan's supreme cry to the human
soul concerning religion ff Manana! Manana!" To-morrow!
To-morrow ! And as he cries it, men and women are beguiled
and cajoled and deceived, and thus the battle is forever lost
for the human soul. May God now arouse this audience from
the awful peril of procrastination, that you may turn to God
and be saved!
WHY DO SOULS GO AWAY FROM JESUS? 83
I am coming to our second question briefly. I have asked
you, Why do people go away from Jesus? Now to the second
question more briefly, Where do they go? Echo answers,
Where? Where do they go? Well, if they are Christians and
go away from Jesus, as many of them, alas, do, they go into
backslidings. Oh, what stories could be told in this fair city
about us, and in any other, of drifting Christians, if only hearts
were revealed, and we could read all that in them is. Back-
slidden Christians! David went away from his Lord, and,
oh, the hurt of it! Samson went away from his Lord. Oh,
the hurt of it ! Simon Peter denied the Lord. Oh, the shame
of it and the hurt of it! And through the long years the
friends of Jesus have listened to siren voices and have gone
away from the right path into backsliding. How they have
harmed religion! How they have harmed souls for whom
the Savior died! How they have harmed themselves! How
they have grieved Jesus ! Do I speak to somebody here today
who is a backslidden Christian? Oh, I exhort you, I summon
you, I beseech you, for your own sake and for the sake of
everybody else, hasten back to Christ !
I ask you this other question : WHere do people go when
they go away from Jesus, those that are not saved at all, those
that are not born again, where do they go when they go away
from Jesus? Jesus tells us in language unmistakable. "Ye
shall die in your sins," He said to some who cavilled at His
teachings, "and whither I go ye cannot come." You ask me
if I believe in the fact of hell. I believe in the fact of hell as
much as I believe in the fact of heaven, and I believe in the
fact of the one for the same reason that I believe in the fact
of the other. The one dear teacher concerning destiny, con-
cerning the hereafter, was Christ Jesus the Lord, and He
teaches that every man dying "shall go to his own place."
Moral gravity is as real in the world of morals as physical
gravity is real in the world natural and physical about us.
Every man shall go to his own place when he leaves this world.
If a man says to Jesus: "I will go on without you," where
Jesus is, such man shall not come. If a man says to Jesus:
"I disdain all else, frail as I am and sinful, and I believe on
Christ, I can do nothing else, God help tne," when such man
goes hence, he will go to be with Christ.
84 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Now, if you go away from Christ, pray look at what you
give up. If you go away from Jesus you must give up this
Book. Christ and the Bible are indissolubly linked together.
If you can get rid of the Bible, you can get rid of Christ.
If you can get rid of Christ, you can get rid of the Bible. The
one is the complement and counterpart of the other. Christ
and the Bible are the binomial word of God. If you get rid
of Christ you get rid of the Bible, and if you propose to get
rid of the Bible, sing no more by the open grave that shep-
herd's psalm, the twenty-third. Sing no more by the open
grave, when you hide your loved ones from your sight, the
glorious fourteenth chapter of John : "Let not your heart be
troubled/' You are done with Christ, if you are done with
the Bible, and if done with Christ, you are done with the Bible.
What else do you get rid of when you get rid of Christ?
You discredit the testimony of every friend that Jesus has
ever had in all the world, and He has had friends many, both
great and small. Many of the world's most capable minds
have been the devoutest friends and followers of Jesus. Glad-
stone said he knew sixty of the greatest minds of his century,
and that fifty-four of them scientists, statesmen, mighty men
in all callings were the devoutest friends of Jesus that he
ever saw. Oh, this gospel that we preach, my men and women,
is not a collection of cunningly devised fables for people silly
and thoughtless. The sanest thing on the face of the earth
this Thursday morning is for a man or woman to be pro-
nouncedly the friend of Christ that is the sanest thing of all.
Jesus is the needed Savior for the great as well as the weak.
Will you look over the world's great names? In the list you
will find many friends and followers of Jesus. Look yonder
at the list of scientists, and in that list you will see Miller
and Agassiz and Proctor, bowing obediently at the feet of
Jesus. Look at the world's astronomers, and you will see
Copernicus and Kepler and Newton showing their devotion to
Jesus. Look at the world's first statesmen, and you will see
Washington and Gladstone and others like them, showing their
devotion to Jesus. And so through the centuries you will see
the earth's first minds devotedly following Christ
But I would bring the truth nearer you than Hia?. Tfiere
in the little circles where you and I live, are some whose names
WHY DO SOULS GO AWAY FROM JESUS? 85
never get into the newspapers at all, but you and I believe
in them as we believe in nobody else in the world, and they
tell us that they have tried Jesus and found Him true. Yonder
in the United States Senate some time ago, when a group of
senators were at a dinner, as the story was told me by one
who knew, one senator looked across to the chlefest senator
at that time in the Senate, and said to him : "Senator, do you
believe in that old doctrine that a man must be born again to
get to heaven?" The senator after a moment's pause made
serious reply: "I certainly do. I am grieved to have to tell
you that I am not a Christian myself, but I believe in the
doctrine of the new birth as preached by Christ/* Then the
first senator, wincing under the remarkable answer, said to
the second, after a moment more: "Pray tell me why you
believe in that old exploded doctrine of the new birth?" The
senator waited a moment, and his face was serious and a tear
was in his eye, as he said : "My mother and my wife have both
told me that they surrendered to Christ, and have been born
again, and they both live like it is so." You cannot answer
that!
I detain you for a final word. If you go away from Jesus
you are left baffled and broken in the presence of the three
greatest mysteries of all, and I name them, and then we will
go. If you go away from Jesus you are left broken and baffled
in the presence of sin. You have no Savior if you reject Jesus.
He is the only Savior. And the most terrible and obtruding
fact on the earth this Thursday morning is the fact of sin in
human life. li you get rid of Jesus you have no Savior from
sin.
Knd if you get rid of Jesus you are left beaten and broken,
with all the sorrow that is regnant in human life. Pause
anywhere and you will hear the undertone of sorrow any-
where. If you get rid of Jesus you have no delivering friend
from the thralldom of sorrow.
Knd stiH more, and most of all, if you get rid of Jesus
you are left in the presence of death, without light and without
hope and without life, broken in the presence of death. When
you come to the grave you will need a Savior. Plato and
Socrates merely speculated as they looked into the open grave.
So did Caesar when he stood tip in the Roman Senate. Job
86 A QUEST FOR SOULS
asked the question: "If a man die, shall he live again?" Only
one person has answered that question. Only one can answer
it, and His name is Jesus. He came and bowed His head to
death, and went into the dark chambers of the grave, and on
the third day after they laid Him in Joseph's tomb, He pushed
the grave door open and came out, saying: "Because I live
all who trust me shall live forever." Oh, you must not dare to
live or die without Jesus !
*Tis religion that can give
Sweetest pleasures while we live.
*Tis religion must supply m
Solid comfort when we die.
After death its joys will be
Lasting as eternity.
Be the living God my friend,
Then my joys will never end.
Tell me, are you for Jesus? I would be for Him, were I
to your place today, if I had to go through flame and flood
to follow Him. Be for Him before it is too late! Does He
call you today? Follow Him, trust Him, yield yourself to
Him whatever your condition or case may be, and His word
for you is sure: "Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise
cast out/'
THE CLOSING PRAYER.
How deep is our joy, O, our Father, that we have such a Savior, even the
Lord Jesus Christ, to- forgive us and guide us and keep us forever. As we stand
here to-day may we promise one another, and above all may we promise Christ
to cleave to Him and to cleave to Him forever. And if one is here to-day in the
grip of doubt or sin or difficulty of any kind, lead such to be candid and whole-
hearted, as such one seeks the way of life, and may such one soon tell us that
he or she has found that blessed way and is going with us as we follow Christ
And as you go now, may the- grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love oS
God the Father, and the communion and blessing of the Holy Spirit, be graated
yow all and each, to abide with you to-day and forever. Amen.
VII
NIGHT SERVICE, JUNE 14, 1917.
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT.
It would be very interesting if we might know the ex*
periences that God's people have had to-day in this com-
munity, as here and there they have had conversations with
others about personal religion. I am constrained to ask
how many Christians gathered in this large assemblage
to-night have made it a point to speak an earnest word
with somebody to-day about personal religion? Did you
do your best? Were you faithful? Then you may gladly
leave the result with God.
And now I come to ask if every Christian listening to
me will not make it a point a point of conscience will
not put it upon high principle, to speak to somebody, even
to as many as you may and ought, about personal religion,
before we come here to this tent again to-morrow night?
Can't you give an hour to that weightiest of all matters,
the effort to help others in the right care of the soul? And
if it could not be an hour, couldn't it be half an hour? And
if it could not be half an hour, couldn't it be half a dozen
minutes? Tell me, is there any Christian here who, for
any cause, should allow to-morrow to pass without speak-
ing to some soul about being right with God? I beseech
you, my fellow-Christians, do your best now to help those
who need you in the realm of religion. The Lord be your
constant inspiration and help in this heavenly work of
shepherding souls!
87
88 A QUEST FOR SOULS
PREPARATION FOR MEETING GOD".
Text: "Prepare to meet thy God." Amos 4:12.
For quite awhile now there has been a word thrust into
prominence, through the press and from the platform, all
over this land and in other lands. That word is "prepar-
edness." Its meaning is at once evident. In recent times
its meaning has been associated with the realm military,
and in such realm its meaning is entirely plain. The word
is an equally suggestive one in the realm of education. Oh,
what a summons there is to-day to the young people all
over the land to get ready for life's work to be worthily
prepared. And this word "preparedness" is an equally
worthy word in the important realm of business. And cer-
tainly, in the highest realm of all, the realm of religion,
this word "preparedness" has an immeasurably important
meaning. Our text points the lesson for us in five little
words, quite familiar, but to the last degree suggestive:
"Prepare to meet thy God."
I shall not now stop to discuss these five words in their
setting, but shall begin my message by asking you, one
by one, this all-important question: Are you prepared for
your meeting with God? Meet Him you must. Your re-
lations to Him are inescapable: "We must all appear
before the judgment seat of .. Christ." It is more serious
than that: "So then every one of us shall give account of
himself to God." Are you prepared for your inevitable
meeting with God?
These five little words suggest for us three infinitely
important questions. Let us together ask them and an-
swer them as faithfully as we may this Thursday evening.
"Prepare to meet thy God" why? "Prepare to meet thy
God" how? "Prepare to meet thy God" when? I have
asked these questions as simply as it is possible for me to
ask them, so that these boys and girls about me, of young
and tender years, may Know the points that I am seeking
to enforce, for it behooves Christ's preacher ever so to
preach, not simply that Ihe people may understand him,
tmt so that they must so that as they go their ways and
speak one to another about what they have heard, or pon-
PREPARATION FOR MEETING <5OD 89
der it in their hearts, their hearts shall say: "One thing
is certain, and that is, we know what the man was driving
at." God help us to-night to speak and to hear like we
ought. Above all else, we now would pray for the leading
of the Holy Spirit throughout this responsible hour!
Let us consider the first question suggested by the text :
"Prepare to meet thy God' 7 why? It would be enough to
say that God commands it. Running like an unbroken
thread all through His Book is His command to the chil-
dren of men to make preparation for their meeting with
Him. We could rest our case right there. God commands
it* When we know the mind of God about anything, it
is the part of the highest wisdom for us to relate ourselves
obediently to that command. This is God's command. And
shall the poor little creature turn in defiance away from
the great and holy Creator? Shall the human, whose life
is utterly contingent upon the divine will, turn away from
such will and seek to ignore Him? This is God's com-
mand : "Oh, ye children of men, prepare ye to meet me I"
And when we have His command about anything, then it
is the part of the highest wisdom for us to follow that com-
mand without reserve and with all devotion.
But the reason for such preparation is reveaied to us
still further by the revelation God makes in His Book to
us. Our condition demands that we shall make such prep-
aration. And what of our conditon? There has come to
us in our very natures a moral sickness, the name of which
is sin, which has turned us all away from God. Sin is a
moral sickness in human life, as real as the hand or the
eye is a part of our physical life, and because of that moral
sickness, calling for a helper, and because a helper has been
vouchsafed, we are to turn to that helper and seek to have
healing and recovery from our moral sickness. One littles
word describes it all, and that word trembled on the lips of
Jesus when He was here: "The Son of man is come to
seek and to save that which was lost/' Oh, what a world
of meaning, of horrible meaning, is condensed into that one
little word, "lost I" And outside of Christ, that is the con-
dition of mankind. If that could only be realized, how
different would be our attitude towards sin and towards
90 A QUEST FOR SOULS
God, who would deliver us from sin's enthralling power.
Oh, if that could be realized! One prayer, my fellow
Christians, I adjure you to pray, as we gather here from
evening to evening, and yonder at noonday in the Chamber
of Commerce auditorium one prayer: "Lord, open the
eyes of men and women, that they may see, touch their
hearts, that they may feel, their absolute need of God 1"
When I was a child with awful vividness do I remember
it there went throughout the land a shuddering story that
a little boy had been kidnaped away from his parents, had
been stolen away from his home, had been lost to his loved
ones. Not to my dying day can I forget the thrill of hor-
ror that day by day went through my childish heart as I
heard them discuss it in our home, and heard the neighbors
discuss it when they would gather, that a little boy had
been lost to his parents. Somebody had stolen him away,
and parents were resorting to every possible means to find
out about that little fellow, that he might be recovered and
restored to his loved ones. When the older people in the
country home where I lived would come in from the farms,
they would look for the latest paper, if haply they might
find some word about that lost little boy Charlie Ross.
And mothers drew their little fellows nearer to them and
watched them more closely, as they pondered the direful
meaning of the losing from the home of a precious child.
Oh, if that truth could only be passed on and up, like
it ought to be, to the realm of religion, and we could lay
to heart like we ought what it means for the soul, for the
self, for the personality, for the life, to be lost in the sight
of God ! When we turn to the Scriptures, they are as clear
as the light on this momentous point. I quote them now:
"God looked down from heaven upon the children of men,
to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek
God. Every one of them is gone back ; they are altogether
become filthy ; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
I quote again : "There is not a just man upon earth, that
doeth good, and sinneth not." I quote again: "All we
like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to
his own way." I am quoting again: "Marvel not that I
said trato thee" moral man though Nicodemus may have
PREPARATION FOR MEETING GOD 91
been, splendid in his position, cultured in his life "marvel
not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again except
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God/'
I am quoting again : "Except ye repent, ye shall all like-
wise perish." I am quoting again: "There is no differ-
ence, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God." I am quoting again: "He that believeth the Son
hath everlasting life ; and he that believeth not the Son"
he may have joined the church, he may have been baptized,
he may sit with others at the Lord's table, to partake of the
emblems of Jesus* broken body and poured out blood never
mind, nevertheless, "he that believeth not the Son shall not
see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
Salvation is by a person. It is not by a church. It is
not by an ordinance, nor by a sacrament, nor by a creed,
nor by a ceremony, nor by a form, however beautiful ; nor
by a man, however clever arid pretentious. Salvation is
by a person, and that person is none other than the Divine
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Whoever receives Him to
be His Savior is saved by Him. Whoever turns away from
Him does not have spiritual life, but spiritual death.
Note further what is lost. What does it mean to be
lost? When Jesus was here in the flesh, He asked the
question, one of the most pungent that ever fell from His
lips, indeed, if not the most pungent, and this was His
question : "What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the
whole world and lose his own soul?" Whom was He talk-
ing about? He was talking about you. "What shall it
profit a man if he shall gain the whole world" not simply
this prosperous Tarrant county, not simply this progressive,
fast-growing city of Fort Worth, not simply this imperial
and powerful commonwealth, so dear to all our hearts; not
simply this nation, first of all in the galaxy of nations ; not
simply this wide-spreading continent, with its measureless
resources "what shall it profit a man" any man "it he
shall gain the WHOLE WORLD and lose his own soul, or
what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
What did Jesus mean when He talked about losing the
soul? Well, I will tell you, first of all, one thing He did
not mean. He did not mean, as Is sometimes falsely al-
92 A QUEST FOR SOULS
leged, that the soul of the wicked at death would go down
into darkness and annihilation, to be heard of no more. He
did not mean that. Jesus as thoroughly taught the immor-
tality of the soul of the wicked as He taught the immor-
tality of the soul of the believer in Christ. Immortality is
never conditioned on character never. If you shall die
in your sins, going down into the grave and to eternity,
without Christ, you shall consciously exist in the realm
of waste and loss in another world forever, as really as
the soul that trusts Christ and stakes all on Him shall go
to live at His right hand, and be like Him and with Him
forevermore. That man who teaches the doctrine of the
annihilation of the wicked is an enemy both to God and
to men. Jesus as distinctly teaches the conscious immor-
tality of the soul of the wicked in another world after this,
as He teaches the conscious and blissful immortality of
the righteous in the heavenly land, which He has gone to
prepare for His friends. Oh, if death ends all, it is not
such a serious thing to die! If death ends all, then this
little life of ours is an awful bundle of contradictions.
Would you say that the game is worth the candle, if we
must suffer and be pained and have the soul swept with
ten thousand vexations and disappointments and horrors,
and then drop into the grave at the end of fifty or sixty or
seventy years, or more or less, to be heard of no more for-
ever? If that be all, is life's game worth the candle? Oh,
my fellow-men, that is not all !
There is a death whose pang
Outlasts this fleeting breath.
Oh, what eternal horrors hang
Around one's second death 1
One of the old Confederate soldiers told me of a young
lad who went out from his community to the war of the
Ws. The lad was barely grown. He would go to the
war, and the mother pressed into his hands a copy of the
New Testament, as on his forehead she pressed her lips,
and tears and prayers were mingled as she bade him good-
bye, urging him as he went to war, to read that little book
every day, and follow its precepts, and whether he should
come back or fall on the field of battle, if he would follow
the light of that little book, all would be well. And the old
PREPARATION FOR MEETING GOD 93
soldier told how the lad went into the war, and went into
battle after battle, never reading the little book at all.
They were getting ready to go into one of the most awful
battles of that fearful struggle, and the commanding of-
ficer was advising his men how to behave, and was saying:
"You will play the men now. Many of you will not come
back, but you will stand with your faces to duty." And
this young fellow was seen with face pale like death, while
some of the older men twitted him about his being afraid.
They said: "They will about get you, this time, lad, and
you are afraid to die, are you? You are chicken-hearted,
are you? You are afraid now, are you?" And drawing
the little Testament from his pocket where he had carried
it, from the inner pocket, he said: "When I went away
from home, mother urged me to read this, and I meant to
do it, and promised her I would, but I have never opened
it. She said if I would follow its light and counsel all
would be well, but I do not know what its light and coun-
sel are, for I have not read it. Now I am going into this
battle with the awful apprehension that I may not come
back again. No, men, I am not specially afraid to die,"
but then he added, with an awful ejaculation, "My God, I
am afraid of what is coming after death, for I have made
no preparation for it!" Well might he fear. Well might
he start back, There can be no sanity at all, there can
be no reasonableness at all, in our coming to the end of
the earthly life, and taking a leap into the dark all neg-
lectful and unready and unprepared.
What did Jesus mean when He talked about the soul
being lost? He meant the soul's separation from God
just that. "Every man shall go to his own place" when
he leaves this world. The law of moral gravity is just as
inexorable as the law of physical gravity. Every law of
science and philosophy would utterly be disannulled if a
man should not reap as he sowed. And if a man turns
indifferently and neglectfully away from the claims and
calls of God and goes the downward way, his portion must
be of the kind of his own sowing. Jesus taught it. You
are not willing to defy Him, are you? I am not. Where
will you spend eternity? You will spend it just as is your
94 A QUEST FOR SOULS
relation to Christ Jesus while you are here in the flesh,
on earth, in time. Surely, preparation for meeting God is
a matter of transcendent concern. Teach us, oh, teach us,
thou Friend Divine, the infinite importance of such prepa-
ration to-day!
But I pass to the second question suggested by the text;
"Prepare to meet thy God" how? In answer to that
question, I may say that I know the day when you will
be saved, if, indeed, you ever are to be saved. I know the
day, because God reveals it here in His Holy Word. Listen
to Him : "In the day that thou seekest me with thy whole
heart, I will be found of thee." Listen to Him again : "Ye
shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me
with all your heart/' Oh, if this Thursday night the man,
the woman, the child, is here who is wrong with God, who
rises up with high hopes, saying: "This very Thursday
night with my whole heart I will seek God/' then this
Thursday night you shall meet Him and be saved.
There were two plain truths sounded out by Jesus and
His apostles, the record of which is kept here for us in His
Holy Word, and those two truths are set forth in the two
pithy sayings: "Repentance toward God," and "Faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ/* Here we are, with our moral sick-
ness, with our lapse and defeat and loss and moral failure.
Here we are, hostile and disobedient in the sight of God.
Here we are, having violated God's law and transgressed
His precepts. And He calls to us, saying: "Will you not
repent of that evil way? Will you not turn from it? Will
you not forsake it? Will you not renounce that evil way
and leave it utterly behind? Not only will you be sor-
rowful for such evil course, but will you not translate that
sorrow into action, and forsake the evil way and leave it
behind?" That is, by repentance, to turn to God. And
then, will you not by faith lean wholly and only upon
Christ, the atoning Savior for those who have sinned in the
sight of God? Will you not commit yourself to that di-
vinely given Friend, who came, himself the just, to make
atonement for us, the unjust, that by His own atoning 1
sacrifice He might make us right with God? Will you not
thus definitely by faith take Christ as your Savior? Who-
PREPARATION FOR MEETING GOD 35
ever comes, turning definitely away from the wrong course
and he may make such turning in one moment and
turning with absolute surrender to Jesus, the Divine Savior
whoever comes like that to Christ, shall in that selfsame
hour be forgiven and saved. Oh, that it might be to-night,
for every soul here present who is wrong with God ! You
set your heart to seek other things, and properly so. You
set your heart to seek success in business, and properly so.
You set your heart to mount the rung of the ladder of
achievement, and properly so. You set your heart to reach
a certain goal out there, noble and worthy, and properly
so. Oh, I summon you, set your heart, by high resolve,
that the greatest matter of all shall not be ignored and
passed by and forfeited by you! Set your heart to seek
God before it is too late*
But we have another question suggested by this simple
text: "Prepare to meet thy God" when? I have asked
you two questions: Why prepare to meet thy God? And
then, next: How prepare to meet Him? And now I am
coming with this third question: "Prepare to meet thy
God" when? Oh, solemn truth, there are limits that you
must not pass, for if you pass them you do it to your own
deadly and eternal undoing. "Prepare to meet thy God"
when? There are limits beyond which if you go, the
battle for the soul is lost forever. The Bible is clear at
that point. The Bible is all along reminding us of the
eternal value of this probationary period called time, in
the which period the highest things of the soul are to be
seen to and to be determined upon forevermore. Oh, the
tragedy of being lost just by waiting too long to make
proper preparation for meeting God !
Were you ever yonder above Niagara? If you have*
been, some hundreds of yards above that roaring, plung-
ing Niagara, you have seen a strange sign, flung out on
either side of the river, as the river rushes to take that
last awful plunge. You recall it as I speak of it. A plank
with three ominous words is flung out on either side of
the river, and you are arrested as your eye sees those
words just three: "PAST REDEMPTION POINT."
The meaning of the words is ominous and evident. Oh
96 A QUEST FOR SOULS
boatman, plying your little boat on the surface of that
river, do not get below that sign ! Oh, canoeman, floating
idly and leisurely on the bosom of that river, do not get
below that sign! For a little below the sign the river-bed
falls, and the river rushes with the speed almost of the
arrow let fly from the bow to take its fearful plunge over
the awful precipice. Do not get below that sign. Some-
where in the journeying of a human soul there is that
awful sign flung out: "Past Redemption Point/' Soul,
do not get below that sign ! Do not get into that current
below that sign!
When ought you to prepare to meet God ? What does
your best judgment say about it? When ought you to
make this preparation for meeting with God? What does
He, who was and is the incarnation of infinite wisdom,
cay to us in response to that question, When ought this
preparation for meeting God to be made? He has just
one message in answer to that question : "Boast not thy-
self of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may
bring forth." Since I came to this platform this evening,
one passed up to me a tragic note saying : "Have a prayer
for stricken parents, whose son was torn into shreds by
a passing train, on the outskirts of this city, a few minutes
ago/* We breathe our most earnest prayer up into the
ears of our gracious Lord, that He will comfort and heal
the parental hearts torn by such a sorrow. The tragedy
itself points simply the truth that I am now emphasizing
that in the unexpected hour, the blow falls; in the unex-
pected hour, the end comes. Therefore, God tells us:
"Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not
what a day may bring forth/'
When ought this preparation to He made? I come t<3
affirm, on the authority of God's teaching, confirmed by
all human experience, that to-day and now, every man and
woman and boy and girl under the sound of my voice, who>
is wrong with God ought to see about preparation for
meeting God to-day and now. And why so? Let me'
give you two or three reasons. Judge ye yourselves wheth-
er these reasons are worthy the consideration of your best
judgment.
PREPARATION FOR MEETING GOD 97
You should make your preparations for meeting God
to-day and now because you need that your life here and
now should be saved. Did you think that I would say, in
order that you might be prepared to die? I will say that,
but not yet, for that does not come yet. That does not
come first. Oh, men and women, there is not a human
being before me or anywhere else competent to live life
like it ought to be lived for one short second, if such being
is in hostile array against God. You are not ready for
any duty or any day or any experience, to meet it like you
ought, if you are in wrong relations to God, if you are not
positionized openly and honestly as the friend of God. So
I am coming to say that you should prepare to meet God
now, in order that your life, your busy, responsible life,
here and now may be saved your life saved. If I knew
that twenty-five years from this Thursday night, I would
come back to this growing city, and be right on this same
'spot, and under a tent like unto this, and this vast con-
course of people would be back, and nobody would be
missing, and we would all have our wits about us and be
in our right minds on that far-off night, twenty-five years
from to-night ; if I knew that on that night, f ar-off , when
I made the call for you to decide for Jesus and surrender
to Him, everyone of you would come then and surrender
to Christ and be saved, yet would I pour out my heart
to you this Thursday night, and say, come now, that these
twenty-five years may not be lost ! Come now, that these
twenty-five years may not be given to Satan. Come now,
that your influence may not be positionized against heaven
and Christ and all that is dearest and highest and best.
Come now, that your life may be saved to the right side.
Come now, that your influence may be positionized where
it ought to be. You can no more be separated from your
influence over others than you can separate yourself from
your shadow as you walk in the glowing sun- Come now,
that your influence may be saved ! Oh, what do some men
and women mean, whose influence is all against heaven
and God and the highest life? What do they mean?
Years agone, a man was converted under my ministry in
tny city, after he had reached the age of some sixty-eight
98 A QUEST FOR SOULS
years, and then for the year or two afterward that he was
spared, his devotion to Jesus was something to the last
degree inspiring. Some months after his conversion, I
noticed him at a morning service, profoundly agitated, and
when I dismissed the people he tarried at his pew, and
continued to sob like a heart-broken child, and I went
around quietly to him, when the people had gone, and
asked him to explain his strange and seemingly uncon-
trollable emotion, and he said: "Why, man, it was your
sermon, your sermon I" And then I remembered my text :
"No man liveth to himself." No man can live to him-
self. We are taking people up or down with us every
day. We are making it easier or harder for people to
get to heaven every day we live. "It was your sermon,
sir," he said, and then he said: "I am the sad proof of
the tragedy of a wasted influence. I came at sixty-eight
to Christ, and as I came to this church house this morn-
ing, I came by the home of my three sons, and I begged
each one of these sons to come to church with me, and
they all shrugged their shoulders and faintly essayed to
smile, and said: *We guess, father, that we will start to
going to church when we get to be about sixty-eight/
Then I tried their sons, some of them coming into young
manhood, my dear grandchildren, and they looked at one
another with a wink, and said: 'Grandpa, we guess we
will start to going to church when we are about sixty-
eight or seventy/ " The old man said : "I came on with-
out child or grandchild. I am myself, sir, the awful proof
of the tragedy of a wasted influence." Then he rose up
and looked at me with a pathos I can never forget, and
stretched out his strong arm and said: "I would have
that arm severed from my shoulder If I could turn time
backward and live my life over again if I could undo my
wasted influence." And then, with a sob never to be for-
gotten, he said: "Sir, I would be willing to have my head
severed from my body, if I could go back and teach my
little boys by example how a Christian father ought to
live." Oh, the tragedy of wasted influence!
A little boy slept with his father after the mother had
idled, and one night the little fellow awakened his father
PREPARATION FOR MEETING GOD 99
by his pitiful sobbing this little six-year-eld son and the
father said: "Why, my boy, why do you sob?" And the
little fellow did not wish to tell him, but the father urged
him to tell him, and presently the little fellow said: "It
was a bad dream, papa." And then the father said: "Tell
me what it was/* And the little boy said: "I would rather
not, papa. It is about you/* The father, of course, was
curious now, and said: "Tell me, my boy, what it was/*
The little fellow said: "It is about what you have done
to me. I do not think I can tell you/' Then the father
coaxed him and mothered him, and said : "Tell papa about
it" And the little fellow said: "Papa, I dreamed that
you, my own papa, had your hand to my throat, and were
choking me to death/* God pity us, that is not a dream 1
I know parents who are doing that with the souls of their
children. Sometimes it is a strong father, and he would
lay down his life for the welfare of his child, and yet he has
the grip of his parent's influence around the throat of that
child's soul, and the child is missing the upward way.
Sometimes it is a mother. Oh, God, and can it be? The
highest dignity allowed to a human being is the dignity
of motherhood, and can it be that a mother, on whose heart
God lays a precious child for the mother to love and to
guide can it be that the mother goes her way, forgetful
of the highest, and in those plastic days influences her
children so that they go the downward road rather than
the upward? I am pleading to you to-night for your life.
You will not face life like you ought to face it; you will
spoil it, you will mar it, you will debauch it, you will
prostitute it, you will defile it, if you dare to go your way;
Without God.
Now I am going to say that second word. You should
make your preparation for meeting God now in order that
you may be ready for life's end, when such end shall come*
And when shall that end come? No angel above us knows
when that end shall come. It may come before midnight
to-night. It may come before the Lord's day shall dawn.
It may come with the gladsome ringing of the Christmas
bells at the next holiday time. When shall I take that
journey down into the valley of the shadow? Only God
100 A QUEST FOR SOULS
knows. Not all of us will be here when the chimes of the
Christmastide shall' sound so sweetly in expectant ears. I
am coming to say, my fellow-men, that there is no wisdom
in our going our way to that inevitable end, and then taking
a leap into the dark without preparedness, without readi-
ness. There is no wisdom in that. Be ready for the time
of your departure from earth. Be ready.
Give heed, I pray you, to this other word : Every day
you delay making your return to God, by that much do
you add to your difficulty about ever coming. Therefore,
should our interest be keyed to the highest for the young
people. Oh, how I covet these boys and girls in their teens,
and just beginning their teens! How I covet every one
of them for God! Wisdom has fled from God's people if
they do not put forth their best efforts to save the people
while they are young. It is God's time. Listen to Him:
''Remember now thy Creator, in the days of thy youth,
while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh,
when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them." The
voice of God's Book, confirmed by all experience, is that
in the morning of life, this biggest question of all right
adjustment to God should have proper settlement in the
morning of life. Remember it, my fellow-men ; remember
it, my young people every day that you delay your coming
to God do you add to your difficulties about ever coming
at all. Every day that you delay, you increase and strength-
en your difficulties. If a man will not do a thing for awhile,
then by a law psychological, and physiological as well, after
awhile he cannot do it. If through some freakish fancy I
should have this arm tied to my body for a dozen years,
refusing to use it, and at the end of those years I should
say: "Cut the cord and watch me lift the ax and bring
down the trees in the forest, as I used to do when a boy,"
it would be found that I could not lift the ax at all. I would
be helpless and impotent to lift that ax at all. I would
not lift it I refused to use it, now I cannot. If through
some fancy I should have my eyes bandaged and keep them
in the dark for a dozen years, and then say to my friends :
"Remove the bandages now, and watch me read as once
I read from the book or the paper/' you might give me
PREPARATION FOR MEETING GOD 101
the book or the paper, but I could not read at all. So long
was I determinedly and positively in the darkness that
light fled away. Every day that a human soul trifles with
God's light and turns the back on God, does such soul add
to its danger and difficulty and make its probability of sal-
vation less and less and less.
In my city, years ago, as I rode to a funeral with one
of our well-known citizens, not a Christian, a man for
whose salvation I had yearned, God knows, with a yearning
inexpressible, he said to me, as we came back from the
funeral, for he was quite reminiscent we had buried his
dear friend he said: "A strange thing has happened to
me, and I do not know how to explain it." Then he added :
"When you came to Dallas years ago, I heard you often
on Sunday morning, and many a time I went away so
stirred that I did not enjoy a mouthful of my midday meal
Sunday. But I went my way, saying: 'This matter of
religion will get my attention by and by, but T am pre-
occupied; I am too busy now/ And I have heard you
on and on, but less and less, as the years passed. I heard
your words awhile ago," he said, "as you stood by the bier
of my dear friend, and there was no emotion at all, that
I could find in my heart. I have reached a strange place,
and that place is that I have no feeling at all, none at all.
I do not know what has happened."
I did not tell him what had happened to him, and yet
I think I know. The Scriptures are clear as the light that
a human soul can trifle with light, and can resist God, and
can refuse, and can protest, and can defer, and can wait,
until after awhile the human conscience is seared as with
a hot iron, and no more is there feeling for such duty-
neglecting and light-forgetting soul no more. There
comes in a solemn song that our parents used to sing, when
some of us were little tots about their knees. Maybe I can
quote that solemn song. Oh, the depth of its meaning!
There is a time, I know not when,
A place, I know not where,
Which marks the destiny of mea.
To glory or despair.
There is a line by tts tinseen,
Which crosses every path,
The hidden boundary between
God's patience and God's wrath.
102 A QUEST FOR SOULS
To cross that limit is to die,
To die as if by stealth.
It may not pale the beaming eye,
Nor quench the glowing health.
The conscience may be still at ease,
The spirits light and gay.
Tliat which is pleasing still may pleat e,
And care be thrust away.
But on that forehead God hath set
Indelibly a mark
By man unseen, for man as yet
Is blind and in the dark.
And still that doomed man's path below
May bloom like Eden bloomed.
He did not, does not, will not, know,
Nor feel that he is doomed.
He feels, he says, that all is well,
His every fear is calmed.
He lives, he dies, he wakes in hell,
Not only doomed, but damned.
Oh, where is that mysterious bourn,
By which each path is crossed,
Beyond which God himself hath sworn,
That he who goes is lost?
How long may men go on in sin?
How long will God forbear?
Where does hope end, and where begin,
The confines of despair?
One answer from those skies is sent:
"Ye who from God depart,
While it is called, To-day, repent,
And harden not your heart."
My message is done. I have a question to ask yoti
before I go. How many of you men and women have made
preparation for meeting God? And by that I mean simply
this, that turning away from yourself you have turned to
Christ, and are trusting in Him only and utterly as your
Savior. How many of this large throng of people can
personally say: "Sir, I have made that preparation. I have
heard Christ's call. I have yielded myself to Him. I am
trusting alone in Him as my Savior/' Every man and
woman and child in this press of people that can say: "I
have made that preparation, sir, already/' lift high your
hand just now. [A sea of hands went up.] Oh, isn't it
a sight to move our hearts ! It looked to me as if almost
every hand was lifted. Blessed be God ! And yet I must
ask another question. Are there men and women in this
gathering to-night who could not in conscience lift their
hands, thus witnessing that they are on Christ's side? Are
there men and women listening to me who say: "Oh, sir,
I am wrong with God and know it. I could not lift my
PREPARATION FOR MEETING GOD 103
hand. I am wrong with God and know it." In the church
maybe, or out a professor of religion once, or maybe never
such but your heart says this: "I am wrong with God
and know it. I could not lift my hand a minute ago, but I
would lift it on this, that I am wrong with God and know
it, and I wish to be right with God, in His own time and
way/' We will offer our most fervent prayer for you in
a moment, ere we go. Do you say: "I lift my hand on
that. I am wrong with God and know it, and I wish to
be right with Him, and I wish you and all these who pray
to offer a prayer for me that I may be right with God, in
His own time and way. I would lift my hand on that/*
As I look this audience over for a minute, do you lift your
hand? There where I am pointing, I see you, my brother,
and you, dear lady. As I am pointing there to the left,
does the hand lift, saying: "That includes me?" Where
I am looking yonder, does the hand lift, saying: "That
includes me?" I see you, sir. Oh, sirs, breathe a prayer
to God to bless these men and women. I see you, lady,
and still another, and still another over there. Back to
the rear, does the hand lift there, clear to my right? I see
you, gentlemen, numbers of your hands.
Oh, that to-night you would end your 3elayl Listen
to Jesus : "Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast
out/* Listen again : "Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for
thou fcnowest not what a day may bring forth/* And
again: "To-day, if ye hear His voice, harden not your
heart/'
THE CLOSING PRAYER.
Take the service, we pray thee, our Heavenly Father, into thine own gracious
keeping, and turn it even as thou wilt. Oh, we cry unto thee, our Father, in the
dear Savior's name, in behalf of these interested men and women and children,
who this night have said to us : **We are consciously wrong with God, but wish to
be right." How we covet them and long for them, that without delay they shall
just surrender, simply and honestly, to Christ, that He may be their* Savior and
Master. Teach them by thy Spirit that waiting has in it nothing but periL Teach
them that by every worthy motive that can move serious people to a great step,
now, without delay, they should decide for Christ. May thy Word be bound upon
their hearts, where thou sayest: "Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast
out;" and where thou sayest: **Whosoever will, let frtm take the water of life
freely;'* and where thou sayest: "Commit thy way unto the Lord. Trust ajso in
Him, and He shall bring it to pass." Oh, may these men and women and children,
wrong with God, but wishing to be right, know, because God shall teach them, that
it is Christ's business to save, but it is theirs to surrender to Him, entirely to Him,
that He may save in His own way. May they make that surrender even this very
night, before they sleep. And if in this throng there were others, who did not
witness to their interest about being saved, and yet who are interested, we pray
that their interest may be deepened, until speedily they shall find Christ. B And if
in this place there is one whose heart is not touched with any sepse of interest
104 A QUEST FOR SOULS
touching personal religion, oh, may the Divine Spirit take of the things of Christ
and convict such soul of the supreme and urgent need of Christ's forgiving grace.
Take the whole audience now into thine own gracious care, and lead us as thou
wilt. How we bless thee that such a vast number of the people present are able
to make the great confession that Christ is their Savior even now. May each one
go who loves Christ, and speak the word to whom and as Christ would have the
word spoken, that oQiers may be helped by us in the hours and days just before us,
and helped in the highest and best way. Take this family, stricken with sorrow
this very evening, and bind up their hearts with God's own healing comfort and
grace.
And now, as you go, may the blessed Holy Spirit brood over you all, and may
the love of the Father, and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be granted you all
and each, to abide with you forever. Amen.
vni
NOON SERVICE, JUNE 15, 1917.
THE OPENING PRAYER.
Holy Father^ deep is our gratitude to thee for thy goodness to us and ours.
How wonderful it all seems ! Yea, how wonderful it really is 1 We bless thee
for it. And now as we come apart at this midday hour for a brief service, we
pray that we may have the touch of thy hand upon us, all and each. We would
wait here in thy presence now just like we ought We would be humble before
thee. We would be repentant on account of every ercil way, and we would be
cleansed from all unrighteousness. We would put our trust unreservedly in
Ged. We would turn absolutely from every wrong course. We would have
thee speak to us what thou wouldst have us to hear. We would know thy
will, and then we would do it, by thy guidance and help, whatever it costs,
wherever it leads. Let there be in the service something that shall help us
every ^one, and that shall make for the glory of thy name. And to-day, and in the
days just before us, may we make it our concern, as never before, to put first
things first, to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, before all else.
We ask this in the Master's name. Amen.
A RELIGION THAT IS DIVINE.
Text: "Christ the power of God." I Cor. 1:24.
A religion without a Divine Savior is a religion incom-
petent and insufficient for a needy, sinning, suffering, dying
humanity. No man has moral sources within himself suf-
ficient to live the life that he ought to live. Systems of
ethics and of morals, however beautiful and worthy, will
not, and cannot, transform men and women who have
the sense of sin in their lives the sense of moral loss and
lapse and failure. A little while ago it was my privilege
to speak some ten days to the students of one of the coun-
try's largest universities. One day I was waited upon by
a group of Japanese students, who desired an interview
concerning the relative claims of their country's religion
and of our religion. I shall never forget the interview.
These Japanese were Cupper class men in the university.
They ranged themselves, some thirty men, in a semi-circle
105
106 A QUEST FOR SOULS
about me, and then they began their questions. How
bright, how sharp, how searching, were their questions I
And presently they reached the question that they came to
ask. They said: "We follow Buddha, and you follow
Christ. Wherein does Christ excel Buddha? Buddha
teaches this and that," they said, "and Christ, whom you
preach, teaches this and that. Wherein do the teachings
of Christ excel the teachings of Buddha?" Now, you can
see that the issue was sharply joined. You know what I
said, I take it. I said: "My fellow-men, Buddha does
teach so and so, and standards that he sets up in many
cases are beautiful. Christ teaches so and so. But Christ
does more. Christ proposes to put a power divine into the
life that will yield itself to Him. For illustration: Here
are two trains of cars, and at the head of each is an engine.
Christ puts His power into that Christian engine, so that
it can pull any train of cars, no matter how weighty.
Buddha does not talk about putting power into human life.
Buddha does not talk about a strength superhuman and
unrivaled and divine, which he will put into his followers.
He simply holds up a standard out there. Christ holds up
a standard and says: 'Come to me, with all your weak-
ness and ignorance and sin; let me save and guide you,
and I will help you in your life to realize that standard/
Christianity is the religion of a person, and that person
is Christ, and Christ not only points us the way wherein
we ought to walk, but He comes to us in our moral weak-
ness and lapse and failure, and says to us: 'If you will
honestly commit yourself to me, that I may guide you and
master you, I will help you to live the life you ought to
live.' And, therefore, Christianity outdistances all systems
of human religion, by as much as God outdistances a man/'
It was good to see the response made by the students from
afar to such appeal.
Five little words this morning make our text : "Christ
the power of God." They are found in the first chapter of
Paul's first letter to the Corinthians.
Let me come at once to the heart of what I wish to
say, by asking the question : How is Christ the power of
God? I answer, first of all, He is the power of God in Hts
A RELIGION THAT IS DIVINE 1071
own person. Christianity stands or falls with the person
of Christ. What Hougoutnont was to Waterloo, Christ's
person is to Christianity. There have been only three
views about the person of Christ one that He was bad,
another that He was mad, and the other that He was what
He everywhere represented himself to be, namely, that
He was God come in the flesh. When He was here there
were those who affirmed that He was bad. They affirmed
that He was in league with Beelzebub, the prince of de-
mons. They said: "He hath an evil spirit, and is not to
be trusted/* And then there were those who affirmed that
He was made. They said : "He is beside himself." They
said : "He is crazy/' And then there stands out the third
estimate of Him that He was not bad, and that He was
not mad, but that He was and is what He everywhere rep-
resented himself to be God come in the flesh.
When Jesus became a man, He said in effect to men,
wherever He went: "I am God manifest in the flesh. I
am God uncovered; I am God foreshortened, so that a
man with all his limitations by reason of ignorance and
weakness and sin can find God/* The cry of the race
through the ages has been : "We would see Jesus. Show
us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Jesus came among
men and everywhere represented himself as the possessor
of the attributes and the perfections of Deity. That Jesus
was and is in His own person the power of God is attested
by what He said, and by what He did, and by what He
was and is. I am compelled intellectually to believe that
Christ was more than any mere man, no matter from what
tingle I look at Him.
Will you look at His words? They attest His deity,
^Never man spake like this man." I do not wonder that
when Daniel Webster had finished the reading of the Ser-
tnon on the Mount, he rose up with pale face and trembling
words, and said: "More than any mere man has spoken
these words/ 5 Never man spake like this man. Christ's
teachings concerning the great matters that pertain to life!
and conduct and man and sm and character and destiny
ftre utterly revolutionary and transforming.
108 A QUEST FOR SOULS
I am also compelled to believe that Jesus is more than
any mere man when I look at His works, and one of His
appeals to men is: "Believe me, that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me; or else believe me for the works'
sake/* From the cradle to the grave there was in the life
of Jesus the outflashings of His divine nature and power.
When a little child yonder on His mother's heart the shep-
herds came to worship Him, and the magi came with their
rich gifts to lay before Him. When He was a child of a
dozen years, yonder He was in the temple, and the ques-
tions that He both asked and answered broke to pieces the
superlative wisdom of those learned doctors and teachers
assembled in that temple. And when He began His public
ministry, the winds and the waves obeyed Him, and sick-
nesses obeyed Him, and demons obeyed Him, and death
obeyed Him. Jean Paul Richter was right when He said
that Jesus with His pierced hand had lifted empires off
their hinges, and had turned the stream of centuries back-
wards in its channel. And Lecky, the astute philosopher,
was right when he said that the three short years of Jesus'
public ministry had done more to soften and regenerate
mankind than all the disquisitions of all the philosophers,
and all the exhortations of all the moralists since the world
began.
I am also compelled to believe in Christ, that His own
nature was divine, and that in Him was the infinite power
of God, when I look at His character. The standing chal-
lenge of Jesus to mankind is: 'Which of you convicteth
me of sin?" And the universal response to that challenge
Is stated in the language of Pilate: "I find no fault in
Him/* Horace Bushnell was right when he said that the
character of Jesus forbids all possible classification of Him
with any and all other men.
Behold Jesus, this Friday morning, not a Son of man,
but the Son of man, for all humanity was summed up in
Him. In all other men, goodness is but fragmentary and
pitifully imperfect. In the character of Jesus, goodness is
perfect and complete, and wanting nothing. If you would
look for the highest example of meekness, you would not
look to Moses, but to Jesus, who was unapproachably meek
A RELIGION THAT IS DIVINE 109
and lowly in heart. If you would look for the highest
example of patience, you would not look to Job, but to
Jesus, who when He was reviled, reviled not again. If
you would look for the highest example of wisdom, you
would not look to Solomon, but to Jesus, who spake as
never man spake. If you would look for the highest ex-
ample of zeal, you would not look to Paul, but to Jesus,
about whom it has been written : "The zeal of thine house
hath eaten me up." If you would look for the highest
example of love, you would not look to John, who leaned
on Jesus* bosom, but you would look to Jesus, who while
we were yet sinners so loved us as to die for us. Goodness
in men, however wise and pure their character, is frag-
mentary and imperfect and incomplete. Goodness and
perfection stand out in their entirety in the person of Jesus.
Men sometimes say to me that they cannot believe in
miracles, and in every such case I ask them: <r What will
you do with Jesus of Nazareth?" He is the miracle of the
ages. Jesus of Nazareth what will you do with Him?
He is the outstanding miracle of all the centuries. What
will you do with Jesus?
Forever God, forever man,
My Jesus shall endure,
And fixed on Him my hope remains
Eternally secure.
It was said of Mozart that he brought angels down,
and of Beethoven that he lifted mortals up. Jesus of Naza-
reth does both, and more. Jesus is God's way to man*
Jesus is man's way to God. Jesus is the only true Jacob's
ladder, by which a sinning man or woman, if he or she will
leave sin behind, may mount up to be with God and to be
like Him forever. Yes, Christ is the power of God in His
own person. I marvel that intellectually every man in the
world is not compelled to bow before the person of Christ.
Nor is that all. Christ is the power of God in history.
The standing marvel of the ages is Christ himself, the Rock
of Ages. An humble prophet of Nazareth has gone up and
down the earth, and has more influence, more sway, than
all the teachers that earth ever saw combined.
Hushed be the noise and the strife of the schools,
Volume and pamphlet, sermon and speech*
The lips of the wise and the prattle of fooli,
IjCt the Son of man teach.
110 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Who has the key to the future but He?
Who can unravel the knots of the skein?
We have groaned and have travailed and sought to be free.
We have travailed in vain.
Bewildered, dejected and prone to despair,
To Him, as at first, do we turn and beseech.
Our ears are all open, give heed to our prayer,
O Son of man, teach.
He is the incomparable teacher of all the ages, and be-
side Him earth's greatest teachers are as a tapering candle
beside a great sun. Christ is the miracle of the centuries,
and the church is His monument. The most glorious in-*
stitution in all the earth is Christ's monument His church.
It is the fairest among ten thousand, and an institution su-
premely lovely and worthy. And Christ's gospel is the su*
preme instrument of human civilization. There is not and can-
not be any lasting civilization which excludes the teaching
of Christ. You may have your systems of government, no
matter how compact and militaristic and colossal ; you may
have your schemes of education, no matter how subtle and
clever and adroit and scientific ; but all systems human are
doomed ultimately to go into the ditch, if the standards
and teachings of Christ are flouted and disregarded. The
Pan-European war is the demonstration of what I am say-
ing on the most colossal scale in all human history.
And now I am coming to say the most important word
of all to you, my brother men, my gentle sisters. Christ
is the power of God in human experience. That is the vital
word of all. Christianity employs always the scientific
method of demonstration, that is, the method by experi-
ment. Somebody once asked Mr. Coleridge if a man could
prove the truth of Christianity, and Mr. Coleridge made
the simple but complete reply: "Why, certainly. Let him
try it." Christ comes to mankind and confidently says
to them: "Come and see. Come and try me. Come and
test me. Put me to the extremest test Come and test
me and see for yourself, if I do not give you to know that
I am the power of God in human life. Come and test me,
and you shall sing thereafter, when your fellows ask you
what has happened: Whereas I was blind, now I see."
Come and try me."
I am thinking now of a young woman, unusually traine3
and cultured, bedarkened in her spiritual nature by the
A RELIGION THAT IS DIVINE 111
direst kind of skepticism. She sought interview after in-
terview with the preacher, and one day she said to him:
"Sir, intellectually, I just cannot accept your preaching that
Christ rose from the dead on the third day, as your Scrip-
tures allege." Presently, the preacher said to her : "Well,
what do you think about Christ waiving for a moment
the fact of His resurrection what do you think of Him?"
She said: "He is the fairest among ten thousand. He is
the one altogether lovely. I cannot find any fault with
Him. Everything about His words and about His works
and about His character to the last degree appeals to me/'
Then the minister went on to say: "If He be the Son
of God himself, the power of God in His own personality,
if that be so, do you wish to know it?" After a moment's
pause, she said: "Assuredly, I do." Then the minister
said : "You go alone and tell Him that you are vexed by
doubt and held back by questions, but that you wish light,
and that you will yield yourself to Him, who has already
won your most admiring appreciation; that you will yield
yourself to Him, that He may teach you and help you and
lead you in any way that He would have you go just
honestly yield yourself to Him. Try Him in that experi-
mental way." She came back the next day with her face
radiant like the morning, and said to the preacher: "I
cannot prove by outside proof, that Jesus rose from the
dead, but my heart knows He is alive, for He has made me
alive."
He is to be experimentally tested, my fellow-men. He
is to be tested. Let me tell you, I see enough in one week,
as do these honored brother ministers of mine about me, to
shut us up to the conviction that Christ is the power of
GodL We see enough in one week in our dealings with
men to be shut up to that unhesitating conviction. To
illustrate: One day there came to me the news that one
of my fellow-workers had gone down in the awful mael-
strom of business failure. Fine fellow, rising, battling
nobly, but the tides had turned, and down he went, and
I went out to his home with my heart in my throat, dread-
ing to see him and his wife. As he met me at the door,
he looked years older, but there was no trace of bitterness
112 A QUEST FOR SOULS
on his face or in his eye. He said: "We are glad to see
you. You have heard about it?" I said: "Yes, I have
heard, and I have come out to kneel beside you, and to-
gether we will talk to Him who is able to turn the very
shadow of death into morning. No man is to despair or to
worry or to mope because all his property is swept away
in a brief day." He said, speaking quickly : "Oh, no ; we
are not bitter about it at all. We did not sleep any last
night We got up several times in the night, and like two
little children we knelt beside our bed, and we promised
new devotion to the service of Christ. Oh, no, we have not
a bitter thought at all/* And from that day to this, and
that was years ago, never have I heard a note of bitterness
or reproach escape their lips, and time and again they have
said to me : "But for Christ consciously in our hearts we
should have been submerged when that black Friday came."
And then, on another day, I was summoned when one
of our citizens lay a-dying, one of the most gifted scientists
I have known, and also one of the noblest Christians. The
sun sank to the west, and the sands of his life were gallop-
ing to the close, and I sat there by him, in response to his
invitation that I come for a final conference, and he said
various and sundry things to me, as I held his hand. I
never shall forget one thing he said. It was this: "Oh,
pastor, go on and preach Christ to men, and nothing else,
for nothing else, sir, will suffice men who are in the grip
of moral loss and failure and defeat. Men do not have
moral resources within themselves to rise and climb. Sir,
preach a divine Savior to a lost world. Preach that only
till the day of your death." That last conversation we
had I can never forget. And then, when he quit talking
like that to me, he said: "I should like to speak to the
children," and the children were brought in, and he had
his word, beautiful and blessed, for every child. And then,
as his wife held that thin hand and bent over him and kissed
the noble forehead, he said to her, with his whispers, as
life's sands hastened to the end: "Mary, dear, you will
know where to look for comfort and strength when I am
gone." She said: "Indeed, I will." Then he said: "Mary,
dear, four different times you and I have marched behind
A RELIGION THAT IS DIVIDE 113
the hearse to the cemetery, to put away out there, under
the flowers, one child, two children, three children, four
children, and we came back, and every turn of the carriage
wheels whispered to us that the grace of God was suffi-
cient. Now, Mary, dear, when I shall go away, as I shall
to-night, you will remember the Shepherd Psalm, and you
will remember the fourteenth chapter of John, and you will
remember always to call on Christ and be not afraid/* And
she kissed him, and said: "I will remember. I know whom
I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep
that which I have committed unto Him against that day/'
And then he quietly began the recitation of that Twenty-
third Psalm, and when he reached that heavenly sentence :
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me/' he whis-
pered, and we caught it: "See, Mary, He is with me now,"
and then he was gone to the yonderland. You should
have seen her and the children bear their grief without
any murmur. God's grace was sufficient for them, and all
the people knew it.
And then, on still another morning, my phone rang and
one of our young business men said to me : "Be ready. I
will be at the door for you with a cab in a dozen minutes.
I need you much just now/* I was there at the door wait-
ing when the cab drove up, and he jumped out of the cab,
his face covered with tears and his agitation something
pitiful, and I took his hand and said: "What on earth is
it?" He said to me, with a plaintive sob, even with gasps
of sobbing: "If you know how to pray, you must pray
now, for our flaxen-haired little girl is at death's door, and
the doctors give us no hope at all. Sir, if you know how
to pray, you will ask God to spare her now/' I said : "My
friend, I will pray for her, but not the way you suggest
I would not pray the way you suggest even about my own
little children. I will ask God, if it can comport with His
will, to spare your little girl, but if that be not His will,
that He will fortify you and the little mother, and give
you grace and strength to face it all/ 5 And then he turned
upon me wildly and said : "I suppose I could bear it if the
little girl shall be taken, but the little girl's mother is an
114 A QUEST FOR SOULS
invalid, and it will kill her if the little girl is taken/' I
said: "No, no, my friend; your wife is a joyful Christian.
She has a secret you do not know anything about. She
has a secret that will bear her up and fortify her in the
cloudiest day that ever comes." By this time we had
reached the home, and we went in. The gentle wife was
beside the crib, stroking the little forehead with its flaxen
curls about it, talking to the child as the sands of its life
hurried to the close, and then talking to God. And as we
stood by her, the young father looked at me with a gasp
and said: "Isn't my baby dying right now?" I said:
"Yes, my friend; she is dying right now." And then he
left the room, unable to face the rest. In a few moments
more the little life was gone, and then after a few moments
more the wife said to me: "Where is my husband?" I
said: "I will find him/* and I went out behind the cot-
tage, and found him wild in his grief, and when he heard
my footfall he turned to me and said : "It is all over, isn't
it?" I said: "It is all over." And then, with a wail never
to be forgotten, he said: "You will see it will finish my
poor little invalid wife." I said: "Not at all, my friend.
She has a secret you do not know anything about. She
has a power within her above the flesh, superhuman, God's
own power. You come now and see." And we came on
back, and at the door we paused, because she was kneeling
by that baby again, and it seemed sacrilege to enter, as
we heard her praying. She was thanking God for the
little girl, even though she had had her only three or four
years. She was telling the Master that she would always
be a better woman, because He had given her the child.
She was saying that it was "better to have loved and lost
than never to have loved at all." And then she paused,
and I said: **We will go in now, my friend," And as we
entered, she came, the invalid that she was, toward us, and
her face was radiant. There were tears upon it, but there
were smiles deeper than the tears. She put her frail arms
about the big shoulders of her husband, and said : "Poor,
broken-hearted husband, mother is so sorry for you ! Moth-
er knows it is all right Mother's heart is swept with
peace. Little bits of heaven have come down, my husband,
A RELIGION THAT IS DIVINE 115
to me. Mother is so sorry for you." Then the big fellow
turned to me with the cry: "If Jesus Christ can do that
for my frail wife, let me kneel beside my dead baby, and
you tell Christ for me that I will give up to Him right
now." Of course, Christ saved him then and there.
Jesus Christ can do that He does do it Hundreds
here will so testify. He is the power of God in human life.
Is He your power? God help you, if He is not! Oh,
men, my brothers ; oh, gentle women, my sisters, is Jesus
Christ the power of your life? Is He your personal Savior?
Is He your Master, by your own glad assent and consent?
Let Him be! I speak to you the sober truth this Friday
morning, when I tell you that you may go and drink from
every spring on the face of the earth, and you may try
the aroma of every flower that earth can give, and you
will come back desolate and dispirited and broken, without
Christ Earth cannot heal your malady. Earth cannot
cure your hurt. Byron tried it, that brilliant, gifted Byron,
and he penned this as the result :
My days are in the yellow leaf;
The flowers and fruits of love are gone;
The worm, the canker, and the grief
Are mine alone 1
I read the confession the other day of one of the most
prominent actresses to-day on the world's stage. Admir-
ers found her after a brilliant performance, after her ap-
pearances had been often encored, and roars of applause
had shaken the building after it was all over, they found
her sobbing like a broken-hearted child, and they said to
her: "Why woman, you ought to be happy, unspeakably
happy, even the happiest of women, because of such ap-
plause as your every appearance calls forth." But she
answered : "Oh, my heart is broken. My heart longs for
something better and surer than this." And it does, be-
cause God hath set eternity in the human heart, and the
things temporal, therefore, cannot meet the cry of the
eternal.
Oh, where shall rest be found,
Rest for a weary soul?
*Twere vain the ocean's depths to tottno,
Or pierce to either pole.
Beyond this vale of tears
There is a life above,
Unmeasured by the flight of years,
And all that life is love.
116 A QUEST FOR SOULS
There is a death whose pang
Outlasts this fleeting breath.
Oh, what eternal horrors hang
Around one's second death I
Lord God of truth and grace,
Teach us that death to shun.
Lest we be banished from God's face
And evermore undone 1
Are you willing for Christ to teach you ? Are you will-
ing for Him to be your Savior? Are you willing for Christ
to be your Savior His way? He will never be otherwise.
Are you willing for Him to be your Savior His way, and
that He may master your life according to His will, which
is infinite in wisdom and goodness ? If you are, and will
thus yield your life to Him, you shall know that Christ is
the power of God in your own experience. Do you say,
**Yes, to-day and now, I answer to Christ's call, yielding
myself without reserve to Him, that He may have His way
with me from this hour forward forever?" How we re-
joice with you in your destiny-determining decision, and
we leave you with Him, who will never leave nor forsake
the soul that trusts Him.
THE CLOSING PRAYEK.
And noWj as the people go, O Divine Savior, let us every one go, songful in
praises, definitely fixed in heart, inflexibly resolved in purpose, that we will cleave
to Christ and cleave to Him only and forever. Let us see that we shall feed
our souls on ashes if we feed on any other food in this universe apart from Christ.
He is the bread which comes down from heaven, which if a soul shall eat, such
soul shall live, and live victoriously forevermore. Lord, at this noonday service
we would t gather up every life here present in our prayers, and by ^humble, united
and submissive prayer, we would bind one another, and by grace divine be bound,
about the feet of Christ forever. The Lord keep you all and each, until the day
is done, and beyond, forever. Am*a
IX
NIGHT SERVICE, JUNE 15, 1917.
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT.
Before coming to the message of the evening, I would
take a moment to urge again, with all iny heart, upon the
Christians who hear me, all and each, to give yourselves
as faithfully as possible, during these passing days, to the
right kind of religious visiting. Remember, I pray you,
my fellow Christians, that there can be no substitutes for
the right kind of personal conversation concerning the
Christian religion. All about us people are dying from the
lack of personal attention. In sight of our church houses
there are such people, and they cross our paths from day
to day, and numbers of them, it may be, live under the
very same roof with us. Oh, I beseech you, give yourselves
these passing days to the right kind of religious visiting.
If need be, I beseech you, do the unusual thing to help
somebody who needs you religiously.
Some years ago I was preaching* in an outdoor meeting
in the black lands belt, to multitudes of farmers, and one
evening one of those honest, earnest, Christian farmers
paused after the service was done to say to me: "If I
am not here in the morning and to-morrow afternoon, then
you may know that I have gone to my next-door neighbor,
who is not a Christian, and have proffered to plow for him,
that he may come. He is behind with his work. He has
had sickness in his family, and if I go to ask him to come
to the services, I know the excuses he will give ; so I am
117
i!8 A QUEST FOR SOULS
going in the morning to offer to plow for him, to do that
neighborly act for him. I am going to urge it upon him,
and if I am not present, you may know that he is present."
And the next day I looked for my Christian farmer, and he
was not present, and I preached that day to the man he
had sent, for whom he plowed, that such man might come
to the Savior, and when the service was done down the
aisle came the second farmer, with his face covered with
tears, to make his public confession of personal surrender
to Christ. A simple thing it was for the first man to do,
but wasn't the outcome glorious?
A mother said to me : "If you miss me to-morrow, then
you may know that I am sending another little mother,
who is not a Christian, for I shall proffer to stay at home
and mind her baby, and insist that she come, and if you
miss me, know that you have one woman there who needs
to hear about Christ/' And sure enough, at the close of
that service down the aisle came the second little mother,
and she said: "When that Christian mother proffered to
stay to mind my baby, that I might go to God's house to
hear about Christ, my heart went out, and I can no longer
hold out against Christ/* These are simple things, but
see to what tremendous results they lead.
If necessary, I pray you, do the unusual thing, the
sacrificial thing, to win somebody to Christ. Make it
impossible, I pray you, my fellow Christians make it im-
possible for anybody around you to say : "They have their
churches, and they have their preachers, and now and then
they have their special meetings, but nobody really cares
for my soul," Make that impossible. Some time ago a
stranger came down the aisle in the church where I am
glad to minister, to make his public confession of Christ
as his Savior, and to take his place that Sunday morning
in the church. He is the most widely traveled man that
I have personally known with any intimacy. For some
twenty years he has gone around the world writing articles
and gathering important information for one of the fore-
most journals of the East. Twelve different times he has
been around the globe. He is a man who knows how to
talk as well as write, and T said to him : "Mr. So-and-so,
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT 119
won't you stand up and give yottr testimony about Christ
to the people, without my asking you any questions?" And
he gave a testimony that morning that we will never for-
get. But there was one thing in it that probed our very
hearts, and made us stand aghast, almost with horror,
and it was this : He said to us that morning : "Though I
have been around the world these twelve times in these
twenty years, and have touched tens of thousands of lives
at close range, in all realms and in all lands, only two
people in all these twenty years have asked me if it was
well with my soul !" Why the very thought is staggering!
And when he had followed Christ that night in beautiful
baptism, he said to me, as we came out of the baptismal
waters: "I am going to my hotel now to write the most
grateful word that I can write to those two men who
thought enough of my soul to ask me if I was right with
God."
Oh, my fellow Christians, with an earnestness which
God would have you feel, and with a faithfulness and
with a humility and with a sanity, and with that blessed
reasonableness that goes along with the religion of Christ,
I pray you now, day by day, on the right hand and on the
left, give yourselves like you ought, to the right kind of
religious visiting. We will pause now for a moment and
pray God to help us,
THE OPENING PRAYER.
We make our appeal to thee, O thou Friend Divine, thou Gracious Father I
Forgive us, that, though we have been Christians, many of us, for many years, we
have been timid, and worse than that, we have been recreant to duty with respect
to this most vital matter of all, the matter of speaking the right word to peoole,
concerning Jesus and His great salvation. We beseech thee that every Christian
in this large throng this Friday evening may be personally dedicated from this
moment for the days just before us, even as never before, to that highest, holiest
business of all, the effort personal to point people in the heavenward way. Go
thou with us, to teach and help us in every effort, O thou Spirit Divine. Clothe
us with wisdom and patience and let our work be such as Christ will honor, and
whatever the result may be* give us to do our best and gladly leave the result
with Christ.
We pray for this goodly city, which "by leaps and bounds is making its material
expansion and progress. L,et its spiritual progress be the city*s crowning pros-
perity. Lord, hear our prayer for every house in all this city. Hear our prayer
for the great army of laboring men and business men and professional men, who
from early morn till dewy eve give themselves earnestly and diligently to the
demands of the big "battle of life. Hear our fervent prayer for those who rule
and minister in the city's affairs. Clothe them with heavenly wisdom and grace
gat they may rule for the highest good of the people arid for the glory of God.
Hear our prayer for parents, charged with the solemn trust of rearing their chil-
dren for present and eternal blessedness. Hear our prayer for every friend Christ
has in this city, of every name. May the mercy of God and His grace be abun
uantly meted out to every such friend of God, and, oh, may we be better friends
for Him and better workers for Him with every passing hour.
120 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Hear our prayer for this Friday evening's service. May our hearts be divinely
opened by the good Spirit Divine to attend unto that which Christ would have
as heed and hear. May the right word be said. Thou knowest, Lord, what such
word should be. None of us know, but thou knowest. Guide us, that the right
word shall be said, and said in the right temper, and wing it home, we pray thee,
to every waiting heart. And may we do to-night with Christ's truth just what
we ought to do, and what we will wish we had done when we stand in that day
oi days to give our personal account to Christ. And we pray it all in His all
prevailing name. Amen!
THE TRAGEDY OF NEGLECT.
Text: "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" Heb. 2:3,
The Bible calls our attention always to the big ques-
tions of life, to the immense questions, to the eternally
important questions. For example: "If a man die, shall
he live again?" Millions are asking that question afresh
in this time of world war and world crisis. Or take this
question: "Is thine heart right?" Or take this question:
"What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world
and lose his own soul?" Or take this question: "What is
your life?" The Bible asks the big questions, the tran-
scendently momentous questions. Let us take one of these
big questions out of the Bible to-night for our text, a ques-
tion intensely personal for us all and each: "How shall
we escape, if we neglect so great salvation? 5 ' There is
one word in the text that points the reason why men and
women are finally lost, and you have guessed that word,
as I quoted the text, or you will guess it now, when I
quote it again : "How shall we escape, if we neglect so
great salvation?" Now you know the word that points
the reason why men and women are finally lost. In this
Christian land of ours men and women are finally lost, not
because they intend it. Do you suppose anybody really
intends, deliberately intends, to be lost, deliberately in-
tends to miss heaven, with all that it has and shall ever
be? Do you suppose that any human being deliberately
plans, definitely plans, to miss the upward way? Why,
then, do the^- miss it? One little word in our text points
the answer : "Neglect. 5 * "How shall we escape, if we neg-
lect so great salvation?**
The whole world is a tattle-field covere3 over with the
wrecks occasioned by neglect. You may behold such
wrecks constantly in the world temporal all about you*
THE TRAGEDY OF NEGLECT 121
How many a time is the sight vouchsafed unto us of
young people, with prospect and promise, who in life's
morning neglect proper habits, proper training, proper dis-
cipline, and go out unprepared for the big battle of life.
Oh, if in life's morning, the time for preparation, the time
for discipline and the forming of right habits, they would
only study and give themselves to those habits that belong
so properly and so vitally to youth, how different their
life story and battle would be ! Often when it is too late,
the remorseful memory of neglect burns like some coal of
fire!
Or look into the realm of health. The kindly doctor
is summoned some day to the loved one under our roof,
and he makes his careful diagnosis, and his face is serious,
and he makes the suggestion, tactfully but earnestly: "This
case calls for a complete change, a change in climate. Con-
ditions here are alarming* Make the change without de-
lay." The skillful scientist advises, but we presume, and
the suffering patient presumes. We hope against hope.
We wonder if the doctor is not mistaken. And the weeks
drag on, and the case suddenly plunges downward for the
worse, and the doctor is summoned again, and again makes
his careful diagnosis, and his face is now terribly be-
clouded. Full-fledged tuberculosis holds the patient in its
grasp! Oh, neglect, neglect, what mischiefs thou dost
work in the realm of health!
And now, when we pass the subject up to the higher
realm, the supreme realm, the realm of religion, how trag-
ically and how terribly true it is that neglect there, in that
highest realm, gets in its most undoing work. Even we
Christians must all along bewail ourselves that our neglect
has been so serious. I daresay there is not a Christian lis-
tening to me, certainly not one of any extended experi-
ence, but whose heart is touched with a twinge of deepest
sorrow as you give yourself for a little while to memory,
to recollection, and have come trooping back to you the
memories of duties neglected, of opportunities forfeited,
of privileges that have been allowed to slip away unim-
proved, which privileges are gone now and shall be re-
turnless forever. Even we Christians must all along be-
122 A QUEST FOR SOULS
wail ourselves that in this manner and that and the other
we have so sadly neglected in the great matters of religion.
We have neglected people. We have forgotten people. We
have overlooked people. We have passed by people. We
have given attention to the smaller things, the slighter
things, the Jess consequential things; and the vast things,
the supremely worthful things, have often gotten by us,
and through neglect they have gone, and gone to come
back no more.
Have you ever had a religious census taken of this city?
I daresay you have had such from time to time, even as I
have seen such from time to time in my own city. Dur-
ing the last one had in my city there came back into my
hands some six thousand cards. Oh, what revelations
were on those cards! Hundreds of names were on those
cards of men and women who elsewhere had been members
of the church, but who had turned away from their home
back yonder in some other community, the city or the
village or the country place ; who had come up to the city
and had got caught in the ctlrrents and had drifted with
the tide, and through neglect they had not positionized
themselves with the church at all. Just through neglect
they had gone with the tide and were far away from the
church and religious habits. Here was one who was once
a Sunday school worker, devoted back yonder, but now
that a change of residence is made, he has drifted with
the tide, and no deep religious habits hold him at all. Here
was one who was an officer yonder in the church in an-
other place, but he came to the city, and he was not known,
and others did not specially take hold of him, and he sadly
wandered, and his religious habits were broken. Oh, the
tragedy that has come to many a man just in that way !
Now, I wonder if this Friday evening I am speaking
to Christian men and women who in the other days walked
closely beside the great Master, who came up gladly and
with regularity to the house of God at the time appointed
for public worship, who followed the Christian habits de-
votedly and conscientiously; and yet you have come to
this city, and the changes have been marked from what
they were where before you lived, and your habits religious
THE TRAGEDY OF NEGLECT 123
have been broken, and your duties religious have been
neglected. Oh, I would lift up my voice, and I would send
out to you the most brotherly pleading I can change that
course, and change it without delay! Take your place, I
pray you, with God's people. Come back again, I pray
you, to the church, which since you have resided here you
may have neglected. Take up again, I pray you, the habits
that go along with the vital Christian life, and let those
habits be again regnant in your life. See to it that in
your own house and in your own life such ideals and prece-
dents and standards are lifted up as shall give increasing
gladness to your own heart, and as shall be a blessing to
all about you. And if you Christian men and women who
listen to me, who are positionized in the church with
Christ's people, know of such people who are drifting with
the tide, duty-neglecting Christians, with their church
membership elsewhere, with their church letters in their
trunks, with their memberships lapsed, oh, I pray you, give
yourselves at that point, in the hours before you, to helping
such men and women, who need your counsel and good
cheer, and who need your re-enforcement. Every Chris-
tian in this community, not positively identified with the
people of God, every secret disciple of Jesus in this com-
munity, or going his way with his light hidden under a
bushel, makes it harder for Christ's people to do Christ's
work in this city, and makes it more difficult for sinners
about you to be saved. Oh, friend of Jesus, whoever and
wherever you are, friend of Jesus, come now and cease
your neglect, I pray you, and take your place positively;
be positionized conscientiously and consistently, I pray
you, with the people of God.
But now I turn away from the appeal to duty-neglect-
ing Christians to address my word to the one here who is
not a Christian at all. The tragedy of neglect in your
case is a tragedy indeed appalling. How shall you escape,
if you just neglect, if you simply neglect, if you merely
neglecf, so great salvation? Men do not have to blaspheme
God to be finally lost Men do not have to lift up their
little fists clinched in the face of the holy and omnipotent
Almighty, to be lost. Men have only to go on down the
124 A QUEST FOR SOULS
tide, floating, drifting, neglecting, to be finally lost. Neg-
lect is the tragedy of all tragedies in the deadly undoing
of human souls.
And now note, I pray you, what is involved in this
matter of your neglect. Your salvation is involved. "How
shall we escape/' our text asks us, "if we neglect so great
salvation ?" Your salvation is involved. Your salvation!
Oh, what can compare with that? Christ Jesus came down
from heaven, and He comes yet, in the power of His gos-
pel, to give us His great salvation. Christ comes to save
us in our totality. He would save not only our souls, our
spirits Christ would save our lives. Christ would save
our bodies. He would save our brains. He would save
our influence. He would save our personality. He would
save us completely, entirely, leaving nothing out. Christ
came to save us from sin unto righteousness, from selfish-
ness unto magnanimity and largeness and nobleness. Christ
came to save us from littleness unto greatness. Christ
came to save us from the small to the large. Christ came
to save us from defeat to triumph. Christ came to save
us from night unto day. Christ came to save us from hell
unto heaven. Christ came to save us in our whole life,
in our service, in our business, in our daily task, completely.
Christ came thus to save us. Surely, His is a great sal-
vation.
Oh, my friend, getting to heaven is a very, very impor-
tant matter, but Christ means a great deal more than that
by His great salvation. Christ comes to fit you to live
here and now, to fit you for your task, whatever your task
is. Are you a toiler at this or that, a man of business,
in the professional world a man of leadership? Christ
comes and proffers you His own grace and forgiveness
and mercy and divine re-enforcement, that, whatever your
sphere, your lot, your post, your task, life may be con-
served and saved. Tell me, what is a human life for?
What is that hand for? What is the eye for? What is
human life for? Christ would save your life to all that
is highest and truest and noblest and best. Christ comes
to give a completed life. Christ does not come to crib and
coffin and confine you in some little, ignoble, superficial,
THE TRAGEDY OF NEGLECT 125
unworthy life. Christ comes proffering to take out of your
life not a solitary thing except that which poisons and
maims and kills. The sanest thing on the face of this
earth is to be a friend of Jesus Christ. He came to give
His great salvation ; and no matter how much a man may
rise, how high he may climb, how great may be his achieve-
ments, man's life is vitiated and the true end of life is
defeated and lost, if a man lives counter to the will of
Christ Jesus, the one rightful Master of mankind.
Napoleon came with his soldiers to cross the desert on
one of his long marches, and in that early morning when
they started across the desert, the historian tells us that
the hot sun came down on the white sands, and the light
and heat reflected made the men pant for water, as they
marched across that terrible desert. In their fierce thirst,
they looked everywhere for water, but the wells were dry,
and no water could be found. Then they looked out there
a little distance ahead and saw a beautiful lake of water,
right out in the desert before them, and they lifted up a
shout of joy, and started in a run toward the water, but
as they ran toward that lake, the lake ran. As they got
nearer, the lake receded and got farther away. It was not
a lake of water at all. It was a mirage of the desert, such
as you and I have seen many a time in this great West.
It was a cheat. It was a delusion. It was a snare. Oh,
my fellow-man, traveling with me through time to an eter-
nity endless, that picture of the mirage in the desert is
the picture of human life at its best, without God. With-
out God, life is defeated, and its true aim vitiated and
missed and lost without God. Awful expression is that
in the Bible: "Having no hope, and without God in the
world."
Jesus comes with His great salvation to save us from
our past. Oh, that would be wonderful, wonderful, won-
derful ! If some power could come into my life and take my
life, with its chapters that I regret to think about, with its
remorseful memories, with its evil hours, with its mistaken
words and deeds, wonderful would be that power, to come
Into my life and say: "I will forgive it all, and I will blot
out every evil thing- in your past, every one, so that the
126 A QUEST FOR SOULS
record shall be white like the snow." What a wonderful
power that would be ! Christ is that power. This is His
promise : "I will blot out your sins, and put them as far
from you as the East is from the West, oh, sinner, if you
will come and honestly surrender to me."
But that is not all. Christ saves us in our stressful,
eventful, important present. Christ saves us and would
save us in the big battle that we are fighting here and now,
at the daily task, with the responsibilities thick and many
that come to confront us. Christ is man's supreme need
now. More than he needs human support, more than he
needs bread and meat, more than he needs good health,
more than he needs fame, more than he needs money, a
human being needs Christ to be the guide and re-enforce-
ment of his daily earthly life. Christ offers to be that for
those that will be His friends.
Nor is that all. Christ comes to the one who will hon-
estly be His friend and says to Him: "You need not be
afraid of what is coming next. You need not be afraid
of the evil tidings that you shall hear. You need not be
afraid of some black Friday in the future. You need not
be afraid of that grim sarcasm of human life, which you
shall face at the close, the name of which is Death. You
need not be afraid of what is coming after death. You
need not be afraid to face Christ at His judgment bar.
You need not be afraid of what is coming during God's
great beyond forever. You need not be afraid of anything
at all, now or hereafter, if you will only be the friend of
Christ. Oh, my brother men, isn't that a salvation worth
having? Can you afford for any consideration to leave it
out, and pass it by, and do without it?
Now I am coming, in view of all that is involved, to
ask you who are neglecting your own highest welfare, your
soul's welfare, if you won't cease your neglect, and cease
it from this hour? What arguments shall I marshal to
help you, to persuade you, to encourage you, if I may, to
cease your neglect of your own highest welfare? What
arguments shall I summon?
Let me name three. There are many to be named,
but at this time let me briefly name three, with a passing
THE TRAGEDY OF NEGLECT 127
word of amplification in each case. First of all, I am com-
ing to say that you should give up your neglect of your
own salvation because such neglect is unreasonable. Now,
when the preacher cornes and make his appeal to reason,
what a great appeal it is ! That is Christ's first appeal to
the children of men. He makes the appeal to reason.
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord/'
Come now, oh, men and women, and let us reason together.
Sharpen your wits now and enter into a controversy with
God. Come now and let us reason together. So, then, the
first appeal to you to cease your neglect is that your neg 1 -
lect of your spiritual welfare is utterly unreasonable. When
the preacher makes the appeal to reason, every sentient,
reasonable man ought to open wide the avenue to his mind
and say: "I will listen to that appeal." Your neglect of
your soul is unreasonable. Can it be reasonable for a
human being to neglect God, who made him? Can that
be reasonable? Can it be reasonable for me, the creature
of a day, with my life utterly contingent on the will of
God can it be reasonable for me to turn my back and
turn my heart away from God? Can that be reasonable?
Do I not owe to my Maker certain inescapable obligations,
and can it be reasonable for me to ignore them and forget
them?
And more, can it be reasonable for me, a creature who
must face the future, to ignore that future, and fail to make
provision for that inescapable future can that be reason-
able? Why, that little squirrel there in the autumn time
would teach us. You can see it gathering the nuts and
gathering the corn, and storing them away in the hollow
tree, so that it shall have provision when the winter day
comes and the day of need shall call. The little squirrel
teaches us. And the little ant, which we trample all un-
knowingly beneath our feet, if we would pause and look
carefully, we should see it carrying its provisions out there
to a common storehouse, that it may have supplies when
the day of need and rigorous demand shall call for supplies.
And shall a creature made in the image of God shall a
human being, upon whom God hath set the eternal stamp,
shall a creature made to live when those stars by night.
128 A QUEST FOR SOULS
and the sun by day shall be blotted out forever, and when
we live on in a world to come, eternal in its duration
can there be any reason for such a being failing to provide
for that great and endless future?
Then I ask your consideration to another argument
why you should cease your neglect of yourself, and cease
it now, and that is that your neglect of your soul's wel-
fare is not right. Now, when the preacher makes the
appeal to right, what a challenging appeal he makes ! Oh,
what a great word is that word "right!" "Right" is the
word that makes history. "Right" is the word that thrills
through the ages. This is ever the big question of all:
Is this thing right? When the preacher comes and makes
the appeal to right, what a commanding appeal he makes
to the children of men! I am coming, then, to say that
your neglect of your soul's salvation is not right to any
creature in God's vast universe. It is not right toward
anybody. First of all, I have already hinted at it, it is
not right toward God. Surely, you will not contend that
it can be right for the creature to ignore and to neglect
his Creator. You will not say that that can be right.
Some obligations to God are inexorable and inescapable.
You will not say that they may be mocked, and that to
mock them would be right. Surely, gratitude what a
praiseworthy quality that is in human life! gratitude
should spur every right-thinking man in the world to turn
to God, from whom comes every blessing, and say to God :
^What wouldst thou have at my hands? After thy mercy
and grace and benediction and goodness, gratitude inspires
me to respond to whatever thou askest."
There is another argument. Your neglect is not right
to yourself* Men owe some duties to themselves. Men
owe it to themselves to make the most and the best of them-
selves. No human being should fling life away, and de-
bauch it, and prostitute it, and trifle with it. Every human
being owes an inescapable obligation to himself to make
the most and the best of himself. Then would you tell me
that a man has the right to-night, while we are worshiping
here quietly, such man yonder in the city somewhere,
wearied out by sin, or disappointed, no matter what the
THE TRAGEDY OF NEGLECT 129
occasion, to put the deadly gun to his temple and end his
mortal life? No, no! It cannot be right. Suicide cannot
be justified, and by as much as the human soul outranks
the human body in worth, is suicide of soul utterly inde-
fensible and unjustifiable. Every soul rational that shall
miss the upward way and go the downward way shall be
a spiritual suicide. God is never at fault and never will
be, that a rational soul misses the upward way.
But that is not all the argument about being and doing
right. I have said that your neglect of your soul is not
right toward God, and that it is not right toward yourself.
Now I am coming to add this other word: Your neglect
of your soul is not right toward anybody else on the face
of this earth. We have inescapable relations to one an-
other, and these relations should not be broken and ig-
nored. Our lives are bound up with one another, and we
will help or hurt one another every day we live. I tell you,
gentlemen, that is an argument to take deep hold upon
every normal man and upon every sensitive conscience.
You and I are daily helping people upward by our personal
influence, or daily we are dragging them downward by our
same personal influence. And I speak to you the sober
truth when I declare that no human being has the moral
right to occupy a position anywhere, in the occupancy of
which position he may hurt somebody else. No human
being has that right.
In a city where I preached in other years, two young
lawyers often were seen in the congregation. They had
come from some smaller community to the larger city,
there to build their business and to live their lives. Inter-
esting young men they were, partners in the high realm
of law. One of earth's most honorable callings is that of
the worthy lawyer! I became interested in the young men
profoundly. They came time and again to the series of
meetings such as these. Night after night I spoke to the
people, and those two young lawyers, inseparable young
fellows, came night after night to the services. One morn-
ing I called upon them at their office to confer with them
about personal religion. Happily, I found them alone, and
as carefully as I could I felt my way into their lives, and
130 A QUEST FOR SOULS
they were talking after a moment or two rather freely, and
when at last I asked them : "Why are you not openly and
positively on the side of Christ?" they said: "We will give
you a reason. Perhaps you won't think it a good one." I
said: "I should certainly like to know it, whatever it is,
because I am deeply interested in you." Then they pointed
me to Judge So-and-so, one of the most successful lawyers
of the community, and they said : "He is not a Christian.
He is not a church man, and we have taken him for our
model/' I said : "You have indeed chosen a splendid man,
but no man in the world should be any man's modeL He
is one of the most interesting men I know. I delight to
call him my personal friend. They said : "Well, he rarely
goes to church, he is a first-class lawyer and a very useful
citizen, and we have concluded that if he can afford to
pass personal religion by, with his intellectuality and suc-
cess and standing, so can we pass it by. That/' they
said, "is about all the plea we can give for not being pub-
licly for Christ." I told them other things which were in my
mind, which I need not relate here, but my own mind was
made up as to what I should do, as I left them, and I went
straight to the Judge's office, and fortunately found him
alone. He greeted me cordially, for he was everything
that goes to -make the superb gentleman. I said: "I need
not sit down, Judge. You are busy, and so am I. I have
come to ask you a question in ethics." His eyes twinkled
with merriment, as he said: "This is a question for you
preachers and teachers this question in ethics." I said:
"Yes, and a question it is for the lawyer and the doctor
and the farmer and the merchant and the banker and the
editor, and everybody else/* "All right," he said, "what
is your question in ethics?" I said: "Would you say
that a man had the moral right to occupy some position,
in the occupancy of which position he will hurt somebody
else? Does he have that moral right?" And he turned
upon me, with his strong, dear eyes and manly face, and
with conviction surpassing in his voice, said: "No, no!
No man has the moral right to occupy any position in the
occupancy of which he will hurt somebody else. What
is the application of your question in ethics?" And then
THE TRAGEDY OF NEGLECT 131
I told my story to him of my visit to the two young men,
and what they said to me, and how they were even then
sheltering behind him. I can never forget his agitation.
He went over to the window in the large building, and
lifted it on that wintry day, and looked out on the crowds
that surged in the streets below. Then he came back, and
said: "I cannot answer that question, can I? 7 * I said:
"Only in one way, sir. You might be given a thousand
years to find the way to answer that question, but there
is just one right way to answer it" After a moment or
two more of conversation, he said : "I will be at the services
to-night," and I bade him good-morning- without another
word. Day wore to nightfall, and I stood up to preach. I
looked everywhere, and yonder were the two young men.
I looked carefully again, and there was the Judge coming
in, and the young usher gave him a chair to my left. That
evening I preached to one man, for if I may win him
there is no telling what may be the result upon others.
When the sermon was ended, I asked: "Who, for his own
sake, first of all, and then for the sake of somebody else
who may be sheltering behind him, perhaps all unknown
to himself, will make his surrender to Christ? Who will
come down the aisle and say: 'That is my case, and that
is my decision?'" Down the long aisle came the noble
Judge and took my hand, with a seriousness one would
never forget, and as he held my hand and talked for a
moment, he said: "That question in ethics got me this
morning. You had not reached the street, this morning,
until I shut the door and locked it, and fell on my knees,
and said: 'Great God, has it come to this, that I am
staying out of the kingdom of God myself, and by the
power of my personal influence, taking others in the down-
ward way? Help me, that my influence may be saved,
as well as my soul/" He had just finished saying all
this when I said: "Look, Judge, behind you," and turn-
ing, he saw behind him the two young lawyers, waiting
until he had finished, to take my hand and to take his,
and with a sob in each one of their throats they said:
"When we saw you start, Judge, the thing- was decided
with us."
132 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Oh, my men, my brother men ! My brother men ! You
for your own sake should take the step supreme for your
soul. But the issue is infinitely bigger than that. You should
take the step for the sake of everybody else. A man's uncon-
scious influence has the largest power of all a man's un-
conscious influence the influence he does not know any-
thing about. It goes out from every man like the fra-
grance from the flower, and it goes wider and deeper and
farther than any human being can even comprehend. It
is that unconscious influence that often gets in its deadliest
and most undoing work over others. You are position-
ized. The measure of every one of us is taken in our
community. People discuss us, and they think about us.
And in that deepest, highest realm of all, in the realm of
religion, they take our measure, all of us, in the communi-
ties where we live. Our unconscious influence is the most
serious of all.
The papers told us awhile ago of a brave little wife
who waited through the weeks on her sick husband. She
would be awakened by the clock in the night, to get tip and
give him his medicine. At last she was worn almost to des-
peration, and scarcely knew what she did, as she got up,
hour after hour to give him the medicine. At last, the hour
came when, half-awake, she reached up for the vial and
poured out the medicine, and put it to his mouth, and no
sooner had he swallowed it than he made an outcry to her:
"Oh, Mary, dear, you have killed your John! You have
given the wrong medicine." And then, as he saw her agony,
he said: "Oh, I know, dear, that you did not mean to
do it, but this is all. I am finished." And he was fin-
ished, before another hour had passed.
My men and women, I am pleading to-night not 'sim-
ply for your soul. I am pleading that that life, that
influence, that personality, that manhood, that woman-
hood, that example, that self, your whole earthly lifetime
lorty or sixty or seventy years, or more or less that your
all shall be put on the side where you will not hurt your
fellow-men, but where you will help them every day.
THE TRAGEDY OF NEGLECT 133
But I have still another argument to which I* would
summon your attention, to constrain you thereby to give
up your neglect, I have already said two things. I have
said your neglect is not reasonable, from any viewpoint,
and I have said your neglect is not right not right toward
God, nor toward yourself, nor toward anybody else. I
would now say, from my deepest heart, this other word:
Your neglect is not safe. Oh, my heart is heavy here
your neglect is not safe! And why is your neglect not
safe? I have already said that you cannot live like life
ought to be lived, if you live it neglecting God. It is im-
possible. Life is maimed and crippled, no matter whose
the life, if you presume to live it without God. Your neg-
lect, therefore, is not safe. Moreover, your neglect is not
safe because this life is not all. Your neglect is not safe
because this little earthly life must have an end. Your
neglect is not safe because you must die. Oh, if I could
say that so that you would believe it! YOU must diet
You MUST die! You must DIE! Will you believe it?
And will you address yourself to proper preparation for
that solemn event? There are a thousand gates to death,
and the easiest thing on this earth is for death to snap the
cord of life and send us into the great beyond.
May I tell you the saddest memory out of my young
manhood ? It comes to me now, on the wings of recollec-
tion. It has come to me a thousand times. I had just
found Christ, as I was turning into young manhood. I
knew very little about Him. About all that I knew was
that I had decided for Him. I did not know how to talk
to anybody else. The earnest, faithful preacher, genuine
to the depths of his heart, sincere as the sunlight, true as
truth itself, as every preacher ought to be, spoke to the
boys in the school, and groups of them made their decision
for Christ. Next to the last night of the meeting had
come. I sat beside my desk-mate. He had not yet decided
for Christ. I could not any longer be silent, and so I bent
over beside Jim and said : "Jim, you go. All is at stake,
Jim. You make your surrender. I don't know how to talk
to you, Jim, only I would have you go" He looked earn-
estly into my face and said: "Let me off to-night, George,
134 A QUEST FOR SOULS
and if you will let me off to-night, I promise you that, if
I feel like this to-morrow night, I will certainly go. Let
me off for to-night." I said : "Jim, your issue is not with
me, nor is your issue with that preacher who is preaching.
Your issue is with Christ, who died for you. He has
spoken to you. He has made you serious. He calls you.
Make your surrender to Him, and make it now, while you
can." He put his face down in his hands, and was moved
with deepest emotion, and I bent over him again, and made
a second effort. I said : "Jim, if you will make your sur-
render to Christ, and go down the aisle to that minister,
I will walk with you. I will take your arm, if you like,
or you can take mine. Won't you do it to-night?" And
then resolutely he summoned himself and looked into my
face, with purpose in his eye and in his words, and said:
"Not to-night. If I feel like this to-morrow night, I will
go, but I will not go to-night."
Oh, I wish I could leave the rest untold, but the siory
would not be done. When the next night came he was
not there. The next day in school he was not there. We
asked about him, but nobody seemed to know where he
was. And then the meeting ended, and the second day
came, and the school, but he was not there. Nobody knew
why. And the third day, and nobody knew why, and the
fourth day; and I said: "I will go by his home to find
out why." The mother met me at the door and said:
"Why, didn't you know? He came home from the meeting
the other night, and before the night was gone, he
was stricken with dreadful pneumonia. Oh, he is sick,
sir; too sick to see you. He cannot see anybody but the
doctor and the nurse and his mother and father/' I went
around the fifth day, and he was worse. I went around the
sixth day, and the mother's eyes were red from weeping, and
she said : "We have little hope, sir." I went around the sev-
enth day, and I said : "Let me stay. Maybe I have not done
ray duty. I have just been a Christian myself a few weeks.
Maybe I have not done my duty. Let me stay with him.
Maybe he will know me. Let me be near him. Maybe hcf
will be conscious and know me." She let me stay, and the
doctors stayed, and the nurse stayed, and the parents stayed,
THE TRAGEDY OF NEGLECT 135
and I stayed. Oh, that long drawn out and never to be for-
gotten night! Midnight came, and he stirred uneasily
there in his bed, and pulled nervously at the coverings
that wrapped his bed. Then he began to talk, and we all
bent our ears to catch what he said. With his hoarse
whispers, and staring wildly, this is what he said: "Not
to-night, George! Let me off to-night. I promise if you
will let me off to-night I will settle this to-morrow night.
I will settle it to-morrow night, if you will let me off to-
night, but not to-night. I am not going to-night. I am
not going to-night, and you needn't talk further. I will
settle it to-morrow night, if I feel like this, but I am not
going to-night/ 7 In another hour or two the spirit took
its flight. Oh, the tragedy, the tragedy, of a man's dying
like that! My brother men, I tell you, men ought not to
die like that!
What is the issue to which I am summoning your im-
mediate and best consideration? It is a choice between
two masters. One is your friend, and the other is your
foe. Which should it be? It is a choice between one of
two lives. One is a life of ever-increasing usefulness, and
the other is a life of ever-increasing waste and hurt. It
is a choice between two deaths, the one unafraid and in
peace, and the other without preparation and without God.
It is a choice between one of two worlds in the great
beyond the world of peace and bliss and hope and life
forever, or the world of waste and loss and defeat forever.
Which should your choice be? Oh, I beg yon to remem-
ber, it is your soul that is at stake, and it is your soul that
I am pleading for. If, as I came to-night to the tent, I
had passed on the outskirts of this fair city some little
woman driving a vegetable wagon, and she had driven It
off into some deep ravine, and could not extricate her team
there in the deep ditch below, if I had come and stood on
this platform and said: "Out yonder at a certain place
a little helpless woman, selling her vegetables to support
her fatherless children, has had trouble with her team, and
the team is at the bottom of the ditch, and she cannot get
the team tip ; y> and if I had said : "Aren't there men here
who will hurry to that little woman, and give her re-
136 A QUEST FOR SOULS
lief?" men, chivalrous and many, would have been on
their feet as soon as I had stated the case. And yet to-
night I am talking about your soul, your soul, that will
soon be in an eternal world your soul. Give it a chance !
Give it a chance, before it is forever too late !
We are going to pray in a moment, but before we pray
I would ask: Are there men and women here who say:
"Sir, we are wrong with God and know it and confess it
to-night, and wish you to pray for us?" In the church or
out, once in the church, or never, once professing re-
ligion and drifting, or never having made any profession
of religion at all, are there those who say : "We are wrong
with God to-night and know it? We would have you and
these men and women who pray, to pray that we may be
right with God before it is too late?" Do you say: "Yes,
I would lift my hand on such call?" Quietly and without
any singing now, you will let us see, by your uplifted
hands, if you are interested, if God has spoken to you to-
night, if you wish to be saved. I am looking now and see-
ing, and so are these hundreds of Christians around you.
Gladly now will we pray for you.
THE CLOSING PRAYER
We make our appeal, O God, to thee. Great is our joy that so many in *fr?
place are for Christ. We would serve Him better henceforth, far better, than we
have served Him heretofore. But now we join in one prayer. It is for the men
and women about us, who say to us: "We wish you to pray for us, that we may
be savei." Lord, as best we can we bring them nght now to thee. Oh, teach thou
each seeking one that Christ does the forgiving, that He does the saving, but that
the soul is to give up to Him, that He may save in His own divine and
gracious way. Let that blessed invitation, when thou sayest: "Him that cometh
to me, I will in no wise cast out," now take deep hold of every one, and let each
one say: *'I will not wait, I will not presume, I will not delay, I will not
further neglect to yield myself to Christ." Whatever the doubts, whatever the
difficulties, whatever the sins, whatever the fears, whatever the questions, whatever
the temptations in the life, teach thou each interested soul, O Christ, that thou
wilt surely forgive and save, if only such soul will surrender to Thee. We pray
that that surrender may be made now, because now is God's time, the wise time,
the safe time, and because now might be the only time. Grant, O gracious Lord,
that those whom thou hast called to-night, saying "Come unto me," may now by
thy grace be given to say : "We will come to-day, even as God bids us come to-day
and accept Christ as our Savior forever." We pray it in the great Master's name.
Amen.
THE EXHORTATION CONTINUED.
Now we are going to sing that simple invitation hymn,
two or three stanzas of it, No. 175:
Why do you wait, dear brother,
Oh, why do you tarry so long?
Before we sing I have a question to ask. Here it is:
THE TRAGEDY OF NEGLECT 137
Does some man or woman or child here to-night say: "I
am a duty-neglecting, backslidden Christian, but God help
me, I am definitely resolved right now to end such neglect
and to renew my vows with Christ?" Come forward, then,
before all the people, as we sing. Do you say: "That is
not my case, but it is this my case is that I am not and
have never been a Christian at all. But to-night, seeing
my need, realizing my duty, and wishing that this greatest
question of all shall "be settled, I take my stand for Christ.
I yield myself to Him, that He may save me as He wills.
I give my surrender to Christ. I have given it I gave
it last night, or before, but I have not made it known, or
I will now give it and make it known. Come then and take
my hand, as we wait these two or three moments and sing
this simple song. Who comes as we sing it?
"(Three stanzas were sung, during which several men
and women made public confession of Christ, and others
came as backsliders to declare the renewal of their vows
with Christ.)
THE BENEDICTION.
And now, as we go, onr Father, deepen tliou the work of grace in onr every
heart. Deepen it by the searching- might of thy truth, applied by thy Divine
Spirit. Deepen it hour by hour, so _ that we. all and each, may now and
always give heed as we ought to the highest and the best, even to thy counsels
and calls. Strengthen- thou all these who came forward to confess their acceptance
of Christ as their Savior and Lord. Add unto the company many. And grant
that all through this city, during the days Just before us, such
made by the friends of Christ to those who are not now His frie
many days shall have passed, many not now His friends may be
with us the praises of His saving grace. Oh, how we bless thee
grace! Guide thou and keep all these who put their trust in thee.
And now as the people go, may the blessing of the triune God be granted JOB
aU and each, to abide with you forever*
NOON SERVICE, June 16, 1917,
THE OPENING PRAYER.
Because we need thee, O them gracious Friend Divine, we would again call
upon thee for thy guidance and favor. Without any hesitation we make con-
fession of our weaknesses, of our faults, of our sins and sinfulness, of our ig-
norance, of the many limitations that are upon us, and we plead for thy^ strength,
and for thy forgiveness, and for thy righteousness. O thou Divine Savior, speak
to us, we pray thee, at this midday service, life by life, and heart by heart. May
we have the word in season, each one of us, this hour, from thyself. Give us,
O Father, the consolation and counsel of thy Spirit. Whatever the hurts in otrr
poor little lives, whatever the blunders, whatever the sad chapters, whatever OUT
frailties, whatever our sins, whatever our needs, whatever eur burdens, whatever
the experiences that are to be for us in the future, certain it is that in them
all we need a help above ourselves, and, therefore, do we make our appeal to God.
Speak to us this morning, O Holy Father, and may we hear what thou wouldst
speak, and may we Jay faithfully to heart thine own truth, and may we follow
gladly, even from this hour forward, the Lord Jesus Christ, whithersoever He.
would lead us, knowing that all shall be well, now and forever, for those who
trust and follow Him. And we make these requests in the blessed Redeemer**
THE CURE FOR A TROUBLED HEART.
Text: "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also
me." John 14:1.
If you were asked this morning to name the most com-
forting- passage in the Bible, what would you say? It would
be interesting to know what your answer would be. Many
in this presence, perhaps, would name the Twenty-third
Psalm, the great Shepherd Psalm, as the most comfort-
ing passage in the Bible. Others would mention that oft-
quoted verse in the eighth chapter of Romans : "We know
that all things work together for good to them that love
God, to them who are the called according to His purpose/*
But probably more of you would select the fourteenth
chapter of John as the most comforting passage to be
138
THE CURE FOR A TROUBLED HEART 139
found in all the Bible* Every one of us ought to know that
chapter by heart, even as we ought to know many other
Scriptures by heart, because some day we may be blind
and be unable to read at all, and then if we had hidden
away in our hearts many Scriptures, we could read them
even though our sight should be gone.
Listen to the opening sentences of this heavenly chap-
ter:
t/et not your Heart be troubled: ye beliere in God, believe also in me^ In
my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place, for you, I will
come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know, Thomas saith unto him, Lord,
we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesns saith
onto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh onto the Father,
bat by me*
Memorize that fourteenth chapter of John's gospel, all
of it. You will need it.
Probably our deepest troubles in this world are occa-
sioned by separation from our loved ones. Jesus had just
said to that little group of men about Him: "I am going
away. Presently we are to be separated. I am going to
die." And the announcement stupefied them, dazed them,
horrified them. "Isn't there some mistake? He has just
said He is going away, and, more, He has just said that
He must die. Isn't there some mistake?** Thej are stupe-
fied. They are horrified. The separations from our loved
ones wring our hearts to the deepest depths.
Just a few days ago, I was called to say some words
at the grave of a dear, faithful mother, and the grief of
her * children was so terrible that it seems to me I can never
forget it. The oldest daughter did her best to quiet and
comfort the several younger children, with no success, and
presently she tried a new turn on them. She went up and
down the line of children, all bewildered and heart-broken,
and said: "Stop your crying, children. Maybe it is all
a dream* Maybe we are all at home. Maybe we are in
our beds asleep, and will wake up in the morning and
find it is just a bad dream, and mother will be with us/*
And for a moment she thus quieted them.
Oh, the deep wrenchings of heart when our Iove3 ones
go away ! Jesus had just spoken some words that pierced
like arrows the hearts of the twelve men, when He told
140 A QUEST FOR SOULS
them: "I am going away." Then He proceeded to com*
fort them, to point them to the way of light and life, and
then it was He spoke this fourteenth chapter of John,
Its opening sentence is the text for this morning: "Let
not your heart be troubled."
Jesus proceeded in these words to point the cure for a
troubled heart. How may a troubled heart be cured? That
is an old question. It is as old as the human heart. How
may a troubled heart be cured? It is the question of all
humanity, of all the ages, of all conditions and classes:
How may a troubled heart be cured?
All along there have been given various answers to
that question. There is the answer of despair. When
trouble came upon Job, wave upon wave, and all was swept
from him first his property, and later his children, and
later his health, and later his friends finally his wife said
to the husband: "Curse God and die." That is the an-
swer of despair, and the answer of despair is not a cure
for a broken, troubled heart. The poor suicide takes that
course the course of despair.
Different causes make for the Hespair of the human
spirit. Sometimes it is business reverses, and the man's
spirit is broken, and down he goes, and he cannot recover
himself any more, and despair grips at the throat of his
soul. Sometimes despair is occasioned by a shattered con-
fidence. Oh, how terrible a thing it is to have our confi-
dence in somebody fundamentally shattered! Sometimes
one's despair comes because of ill health. What weakness
men's poor spirits feel when their bodies are in the grip
of disease! What allowances we ought to make for those
who are sick! What pity and patience and forbearance
we ought to exercise towards people racked with pain!
Just here is an exhortation every one of us should earnestly
heed.
But full many a time ffie answer of despair follows the
course of sin. I was in a Southern city a little while ago,
speaking for a half-dozen days, and my host drove me by
two beautiful residences two of the fairest in the city*
and told me that in one home had been a mother and in
the other had been a father, and these two, because of
THE CURE FOR A^TROUBLED HEART
sin which had made itself known, and was making itself
known throughout the city, to the shame of both homes,
had entered into a death pact, that they would each at a
certain hour take the suicide's course. And they carried
out such death pact. Oh, how terrible is the course of
despair for a human heart when such heart has grievously
sinned!
There is another answer proposed as the cure for a
troubled heart, and that is the answer of stoicism. And
what is the doctrine of the stoic? The doctrine of the stoic
is, to steel your heart against all feeling. The doctrine
of the stoic is to put your tears all away and refuse to cry.
The doctrine of the stoic is to deaden your feelings, and
make your heart like a rock. The doctrine of the stoic is
to be sublimely indifferent, no matter what comes. With
rigid face, like a stone, go on, steeled against it, indifferent
to it, with your heart shutting it all out. That is the doc-
trine of the stoic, but that doctrine won't cure a broken
heart.
If you have read carefully the stories of Darwin and
Huxley, those world-famed scientists, you will find the
confession, in the latter end of the life of both those notable
men, of sorrow that they had so steadfastly steeled their
hearts against that which was tender, against that which
was gentle, against that which warms the heart, against
that which provokes tears, against that which kindles the
flames on the altars of emotion and sentiment and the finer
feelings. Both of them bewailed the fact that they had
pursued that course. The doctrine of the stoic is not the
doctrine to cure a troubled heart. Sooner or later the
heart will find it out, sometimes in the gathering shadows
of old age.
Then, again, Epicureanism is proposed as the cure for
a troubled heart, and the doctrine of Epicureanism is:
^Forget all your trouble. Plunge into the realm of pleas-
tire. Sound all the depths of pleasure. Go the whole
gamut of pleasure. Forget, forget all your troubles. Leap
out into the deepest depths of pleasure, and there revel
and swim in those depths, and put out of your sight and
out of your mind all thought of sorrow. Drown it all in
142 A QUEST FOR SOULS
the realm of pleasure." But that won't cure a broken
heart.
When I was preaching awhile ago in another community
one day there came to the service a young widow, robed
in black, and the minister whispered to me: "That is an
unusually sorrowful case. Her husband was assassinated
here a few months ago, all unexpectedly and wickedly,
and she carries a broken heart She is a woman of culture
and of a noble family, and much appreciation is cherished
for her here in this city, but she gropes in the darkness with
her broken heart." And then he went on to tell me that
her friends took her, when the awful tragedy fell and smote
her heart into the dust, and carried her away to Florida,
in that midwinter time, and they said to her: **We will
take you down there to one of the beautiful hotels, in the
midst of the orange groves. We will take you there where
music shall be heard, and where all that is gay and beau-
tiful shall echo and re-echo in your ears, and you will forget
all this sorrow in a little while. Come with us and you
will forget it all." And the poor, bruised, broken-hearted
woman went with them, but she came back months later
with that same broken heart You cannot cure the heart
in any such fashion.
There has been proposed still another answer as a cure
lor a troubled heart, and that is the answer of denial*
There is a fundamentally false philosophy abroad in the
land, which proposes to cure a broken heart by denying
that there is any brokenness of heart that there i$
any trouble at all. Now, that busy, noisy and funda-
mentally false philosophy simply denies the facts, and
proposes to get past the difficulty by denying the facts*
It denies the fact of sorrow, the fact of suffering, the fact
of sin, the fact of death. It denies them all. But you
cannot cure a troubled heart by simply denying that there
is any trouble. The facts are here. All about us is the
solemn fact of sin, and the fact of suffering, and the fact
!>f tears, and the fact that a black Friday comes ever and
anon, and the fact of the long and lonely and sleepless
nights, and the fact of bewildenhent and confusion, and
the fact that all unexpectedly we are again and agaiti
THE CURE FOR A TROUBLED HEART 143
beaten down into the dust by the flail of disappointment.
We cannot cure the trouble by denying the facts.
Where can we get our trouble cured? Just one way,
at just one place, from just one source, and it is stated for
us here in the glorious fourteenth chapter of John: "Let
not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also
in me." Jesus here states the cure for a troubled heart.
Jesus is himself the physician for a troubled heart. Nor
is there any other anchorage and re-enforcement and heal-
ing and recovery and peace sufficient for any troubled
heart, if you reject Jesus and put His counsel and comfort
far aside. "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man
cometh unto the Father but by me." "Put your case in
my hands/* says Jesus. "Come, with your sorrows and
your vexation and your disappointment and your surprise,
and your reverses, and your consuming grief, and the pain
of your spirit which never ceases ; come to me, and I will
cure your troubled heart, and I will unfailingly re-enforce
you, if you will come to me/* Christ is humanity's cure
for a troubled heart.
Have you a troubled heart? Is there in your life one
experience and another and another, every thought of
which brings a stab to your heart, or the deathly pallor
to your cheeks? Hare you a troubled heart? No matter
what the occasion, there is one source to get it healed,
and that source is Jesus* He is the one mediator between
God and us. He is the daysman unto whom we may come,
and unto whom we may confide our all, without any hesi-
tation or reserve. Christ is the cure for a troubled heart
Now, my fellow-men, why should you and I thus stake
oar all on Christ? If you ask me if I have, I answer you
modestly: "I have staked my all on Christ." Living and
dying, and in God's vast beyond forever, God help me, I
can do no other. I have staked my all on Christ. Now,
why? Why should we stake our all on Christ? He tells
us: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man com-
eth unto the Father but by me." Why should we come
to the Father by Christ? Why should we accept Christ
as otir daysman* our umpire, our arbitrator, our mediator?
144 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Why should we take Christ as our physician, our leadeij
to be our friend supreme, and stake our all upon Him?
First, because Christ in His own personality is entirely
worthy. Christ has vindicated His claims to our absolute
confidence. Christ in Himself attests His own worthiness
to our absolute confidence. Can you find any fault in any-
thing which Jesus ever said? Pray, tell me what it is.
Did there ever fall from His lips any word thai you can
gainsay and condemn? You can condemn the sayings of
any other from whose lips words have ever fallen. Can
you gainsay any word that ever fell from those gracious
lips? Can you gainsay any work that Jesus ever did? Did
He do anything when He was here in the flesh, and in
these nineteen centuries since He went back to His Father
has He done anything for the world that you can gainsay
and complain of and condemn? Is there anything in the
person of Jesus, in the character of Jesus, in the life of
Jesus, that you can gainsay and condemn and set aside?
Jesus in His own personality is the attestation, the au-
thorization, the corroboration, the demonstration of His
claim to human trust and human confidence, without any
hesitation or reserve. Christ in His own personality au-
thenticates His absolute right to human trust, without any
reserve, from every human life.
And, more. If Jesus shall go away, and we shall set
aside His counsel and leading, we are left bewildered
utterly and broken in the world in which we live. What
that sun is to the vast physical world this midday hour,
lighting up the world's darkness everywhere, Jesus is that,
and more, in our world of morals, in the needy world of
humanity. When He says for himself: "I am the light
of the world/' He makes no pretentious and vainglorious
claim. Jesus is the light of the world. Will you take the
world's big questions and answer them? You are utterly
bewildered and in the darkness if you take Jesus away, and
if you fail to take His answer. Take the three questions
that this hour most baffle and perplex poor humanity, and
Jesus gives the only satisfying answer for each of them and
all three of them. There is the question of sin, and the
question of sorrow, and the question of death. If you take
THE CURE FOR A TROUBLED HEART 140
Jesus Christ away and disregard Him, you are left utterly
bewildered and baffled and broken in the presence of those
blinding and burdensome mysteries sin, sorrow and
death.
What will you do about sin, if Jesus be disregarded
and taken away? What will you do about sin? Oh, my
fellow-men, the one tragedy in all the world this hour is
the tragedy of sin. The one unbearable yoke that is on
humanity everywhere is the yoke of sin. The most terrible
and obtruding fact this Saturday morning in all the world
is the fact of sin. Now, what will you and I do with the
fact of sin, if Jesus be disregarded and taken away? No
man within himself has moral resources sufficient to meet
life like it ought to be met, to live life like It ought to be
lived, and to die at last like one ought to die, and to make
personal answer to God as each must make such answer
in the after world. No man has moral resources within
himself sufficient to overcome and be the master of sin.
Jesus comes in, the great physician, saying: "I did not
come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. If
you will commit yourself to me, I will make you a new
man." Jesus alone can save us from sin.
Speaking awhile ago in one of our larger American
cities, one day friends brought to the service where I was
speaking at midday to the busy citizens, an ex-registrar
of one of America's largest universities. He had gone into
the depths of poverty and failure and shame because of
drink. Oh, how I pitied him, and how my heart yearned
after him! You do not throw stones at such men, do you?
That is not the way to win them. That is not the way
to win anybody. Oh, go down to them, and with a broth-
er's hand, and a brother's heart, and a brother's pity, and
a brother's patience, and a brother's re-enforcement, seek
to win them, not by driving, but by the winning con-
straints of love. So they brought this man to the service,
and when the service was done they tarried behind in a
little room, and I was introduced to him, and I could see
in a moment how wretchedly he had fallen, and though
he was terribly shattered by the down-dragging power of
drink, I could see yet the traces of the strong man that
146 A QUEST FOR SOULS
he had been, and glimpses of the wonderful man that he
could be. There we sat conversing, and he said to me:
"Sir, I seem done for. I seem to have lost the battle. I
seem unable to extricate myself from the dominant passion
of drink in my life/' Does it surprise you to hear that he
was the son of the chief justice of one of our highest courts
in one of our American states? Superb had been his op-
portunities. Quite honorable was his record in the uni-
versity from which he had been graduated. But now he
had fallen to the depths. I will tell you what I told him
at last. I told him the story that Henry Drummond tells,
who won the same sort of a man once, from the depths
to the heights, to Christ Jesus. Drummond was resting in
a quiet home in the hills of Scotland, after an extended
meeting that he had been holding in one of the Scotch uni-
versities. When he had been some three or four days in
the quiet of that home in the hills, he said to his host
and hostess: "I must go now and get the next train for
my next engagement/' They said: "We are not going
with you to the station" a journey of three or four miles
from the house "we are going to let you go alone with
our driver. Drink has brought our driver to the depths.
He is an unusual scholar/' they told Mr. Drummond. "He
is a rare gentleman/ 5 they told Mr. Drummond, "and we
are going to leave him with you. He is in the clutches of
helplessness because of drink, so he tells us. He is in the
grip of despair about himself, so he will avow to you.'
Maybe you can help him, and so we will leave you with
him/* Drummond climbed out of the carriage, up on the
seat with the driver, just like he should have done, and
then, in his own winsome, gentle, gracious way, Drum-
mond made his way to that defeated fellow's conscience
and heart. Presently that driver was confessing his weak-
ness, and failure, and lapse, and sin, and downfall, and de-
feat, and when Drummond had heard it, all Drummond
said to him was this : **What if I, who drive beside you,
were the finest horseman that ever drove a team of horses ;
what if I could control the wildest span of horses that ever
pulled a carriage, no matter how strong, no matter how
restive; what if these horses driven by yoti were such a
THE CURE FOR A TROUBLED HEART
span, and they rushed around this mountain road, and you
could not restrain them, you could not control them, you
were helpless, and I said to you: 'Man, give me the reins
and I ,will control them/ what would you do?" The man
saw the point in one moment, and turning to his new-
found friend, he said: "Oh, Mr. Drummond, is that what
Jesus Christ proposes to do for a man defeated and down?
Does He just wish me to give Him the reins to my life?"
"That is it," said Drummond. "Let Christ have the reins;
though your sins be as scarlet, He will make them as
white as snow. Though your heart and its weakness be
poured out like water, He will fortify you with a power
which is above men, and you will go your way, clad with
a strength which is superhuman/* From that hour that
defeated fellow walked in the conscious strength of his
Savior, and a little later was at the head of one of the chief
places of trust and usefulness in all fair Scotland's borders.
Christ was his deliverer from sin, "Thou shalt call His
name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins/*
If you are without Jesus, you are left baffled and helpless
in the presence of sorrow. You can hear the undertone
of sorrow everywhere. You can feel and see the awful
reign of sorrow on every side. The other day, one of otir
yoang carpenters in my city had me go with him to Oak-
land, where we put away our dead. He had lived just a
little while with his beautiful wife, and they had recently
brought to completion a lovely little home, and prospects
like some rosy morning gleamed before them, because they
were well and industrious, and their hearts were filled with
love and hope. In one brief night she sickened and died.
He said to me, as we turned away from the freshly-made
mound: "Oh, man, I had just got ready to live, and all
this has come!" What was I to say to him? What would
you have said to him? What should I say to you, if that
were your position this morning, and I stood beside you
as your friend? "There is one who can turn the very
shadow of death into morning. There is one who can take
life's tears and attune them to the sweetest music, and
His name is Jesus/*
148 A QUEST FOR SOULS
At another time, there in the big hospital, a dear mother
died, and I was with the husband and several children.
Oh, the grief was heart-breaking! It seems always to be
so when a mother dies. And then that little oldest one,
twelve years old, mothered all the rest, and went to her
utterly broken-hearted father, and put her arms around
him and said: "Papa, I will help you. Papa, we must
do better than this. Papa, you and I love Jesus. Papa, I
will help you take care of these children/ 7 The family
was taken home, and the next morning we got ready for
the funeral, and that little twelve-year-old girl, the most
motherly child for her years I ever saw, mothered all those
five little ones through it all. Then we went to Oakland,
and the funeral service was had, and the kindly men came
to let down the body gently into the grave, and I felt
somebody pulling at my coat. I looked, and there was
the little motherless twelve-year-old girl, and she said to
me, with an agony that would break your heart: "Oh,
Mr. Truett, if Jesus loves us, how could He have allowed
this?" What could I say? I said: "Little woman, I can-
not explain it, but let me tell you, my child, some day
when you get to the Father's House above, and you shall
sit down by Jesus, He will explain it all to you, and when
He explains it, you will know it is all for the best, for He
tells you, 'What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt
know hereafter/ " You take Jesus away and we are help-
less to comfort or be comforted in the day of broken hearts.
There is one more mystery to baffle you, and it is the
chiefest mystery of all. What shall you and I do when
we walk down into the valley of the shadow of death, if
Christ be taken away? Caesar stood up in the Roman
Senate and said: "If there be anything beyond death, I
do not know. If there be anything beyond the grave, I
cannot tell/* Jesus went down into tie grave and ex-
plored its every chamber, and then on the third day He
came back from the grave with the keys of death and
the world invisible swinging at His girdle, and He says
to you and to me: "You cleave to me, and you need not
be afraid of death and what death can do to you/* The
other day I saw a man, not a believer in Christ, bid bis
THE CURE FOR A TROUBLED HEART 149
little curly-haired girl of six years good-bye, and as he
kissed her little face and fingered the curls about her
ears for a moment, he turned away with seemingly utter
desperation, saying: "Good-bye, little tot, forever!" And
then, in a moment more, came the frail little mother, and
she stroked the forehead and kissed the little girl's face
again and again, and blessed God for the little girl, even
though for only a few years. Life was richer and sweeter
and better every way because of that child, she kept grate-
fully declaring. Then she kissed her, and said: "Good-
bye, for just a little while, little tot. Mother will see you
right soon, and be with you beyond the sunset and the
night." She could say it because of Jesus.
Men and women, Christ is the Light of the world. Let
us follow Him! Oh, let us follow Him! Let us follow
to-day and forever! Let us sing with the poet:
So, X go on not knowing,
I would not know if I might.
I would rather walk with Christ in the dark
Than to walk alone in the light.
I would rather walk with Him by faitk
Than to walk by myself with sight.
Settle it now as we pray that Christ shall be your light,
your Savior and Master, from this hour until death, and
beyond forever.
THE CLOSING PRAYER.
And now, Holy Father, as the busy men and women- go, may every one be
\ earthly life is soon ended, and then we pass into a land 'that shall never r end.
O Jesus, we would follow thee faithfully all the days, and then when we coxae to
the valley of the shadow, we would have thee with us, and thy rod and thy staff
to comfort us, and when the mists from off the sea of death come up into our
faces, and we hear the echo of the breakers of that sea, O thon loving Savior, be
thoti the Pilot for ns all, and bring us safely to the Father's house above, to the
home of many mansions, where we shall be with Jesus, and be like Him forever.
How we bless thee for answering prayer, and for saving souls, and for keeping
us in the love of God!
And as yott go now, may the blessing of the triune God go with yon to be
your defense and inspiration, now and forever. Axnen,
XI
NIGHT SERVICE, SUNDAY, JUNE 17, 1917.
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT.
Just one design is in my mind concerning these serv-
ices, and that is to help the people, if and as I may, and to
glorify the matchless name of Christ. We would do the
people good, and not evil at all, in these services, and to
such end, we ask that God's people shall not only seek
to make the public services what they ought to be by
their attendance, and by bringing others here, and by
prayer for the preacher and for the people, but also that
they will seek, personally, all through this fair city, every
day during the week, and in every way that they can, to
help the people religiously. There are people whom you
know, to whom you ought to talk concerning personal re-
Jigion. There are drifting Christians, going down with
the currents, and they need your earnest, brotherly en-
treaty, that they may stop before their further loss and
waste of happiness and usefulness. And there are people
who know nothing at all, experimentally, of the forgiving
grace of God in the human heart. Jesus came to save
them, and you and I need now to speak to them the best
we can, as lovingly as we can, as faithfully as we can,
that we may help them now. Very grateful, indeed, is the
preacher that the large audiences, these several evenings,
have co-operated so heartily. We have had well-nigh per-
fect order, in this large outdoor meeting. When a mother
150
THE PERIL OF RESISTING GOD 151
needs to withdraw with the child that frets and disturbs,
or if some one is ill and needs to withdraw, by just a little
thoughtfulness upon the part of those going, and espe-
cially upon the part of the rest of us who tarry, all of us
making it a point not to be diverted, not to look about
by just a little thoughtfulness even in a large outdoor
throng like this, we can have well-nigh perfect order.
And now as I come to speak to you for the evening, I
should like to direct your undivided attention to the text :
THE PERIL OP RESISTING GOD.
Text: "Who hath hardened himself against FTTH, and hath prospered?" Jofc 9:4.
That is a question from the book of Job, in the ninth
chapter. If you shall forget all else that I say this Sab-
bath evening, I pray God that you may not forget this
text. Mark it again : "Who hath hardened himself against
Him, and hath prospered?" The very suggestion in the
text is surprising, startling, even amazing. The suggestion
is that human beings may harden themselves against God,
and do so to their present and eternal hurt. The very sug-
gestion, I say, is exceedingly startling. "Who hath hard-
ened himself against God?" Against God! He is our
Maker. Can there be any wisdom in one's hardening him-
self against his Maker? Does one need any other proof
of the deadening and undoing power of sin than that sin
could come into a human life and harden such life against
its Maker? He is our best friend, and yet men and women,
through the power of sin, through its deceitfulness, are
hardened against God, their best friend.
The wonder grows when we remember that we whose
lives are utterly contingent on God's holy will, are hard-
ening ourselves against a Being of infinite power. If
God should withdraw His moral support for just one min-
ute from the strongest man that listens now to my voice,
such man, sitting or standing, would gasp and in one mo-
ment be in the embrace of death. And yet men and women
harden themselves against that Being of infinite power.
He is a Being o? infinite wis'dom. He knows us alto-
gether. There is not a secret in a single heart In all this
vast throng- this Sunday night, but that such secret is
152 A QUEST FOR SOULS
thoroughly known to the omniscient God. Oh, i such
fact could only be real to us for just a moment, surely it
would give us pause, and give us as best we may to cease
from our every evil way.
In the war of the 60's, one of the officers of the South-
ern armies was taken a prisoner, and kept for quite awhile
in a federal prison. In his memoirs he recounts his prison
experiences. He tells us that he was guarded day and
night, and that he could not look up, neither to the right,
nor to the left, night or day, but that eyes were watching
his every movement. He tells us that if he started in his
dreams and was rudely awakened from his sleep, standing
over him and watching him were eyes that never ceased
to observe his every movement. He tells us that of all
the experiences, torturing and terrible, through which he
passed in that fearful, fratricidal war, that one experience
of eyes watching him all the time was the most torturing
experience of all.
Oh, my brother men, if the truth could only come home
to us properly, this very hour, that God sees us and knows
us altogether, and that for everything in our life, whether
public or secret, He will bring us into judgment at last,
what a difference such fact would make in our conduct
before Him!
And how the wonder grows yet more, when we remem-
ber that men and women harden their hearts against a
Being of infinite goodness! I could understand how men
would make a straight fight with Satan, seeking to resist
him and put his devices all away, when they remember
that Satan is man's persistent and never-ceasing enemy,
and that Satan means mischief, and mischief only, and not
good at all to any and every human being. When men
and women find out the awful power of Satan to hurt a
human life, for to-day and for to-morrow and for the eter-
nal beyond, I could understand how men and women would
rise up with a fixed resolve, and say: "Satan shall Hot
have our service. He shall not have our allegiance. He
shall not have us. We will break with him and put him
away/ 7 And yet, wonder of wonders, men do not break
like that with Satan, but tnen break with God. that Being
THE PERIL OF RESISTING GOD 153
of infinite goodness. He holds our lives in the holiow of
His hand. Every mercy that comes to us in life, from
the largest down to the very smallest, He is its giver and
sender. He means good, and good only, and not evil at
all, to us every one. Oh, how can men and women harden
themselves against a Being like that, infinite in kindness
and patience and goodness and forbearance toward us?
That is, indeed, a pathetic picture in the earthly life of
Jesus. One day He had preached to the people His won-
drous words of light and hope and wisdom and love, and
as the day wore towards evening, they gnashed upon Him
in their rage, and they took up stones wherewith to stone
Him, and Jesus turned to the crowd that sought to stone
Him, and spoke to them these plaintive words: "Many
good works have I shewed you from my Father ; for which
of these works do ye stone me?" That is to say: "Do
you stone me because I am telling you the right way to
live? Do you stone me because I am counselling you to
break with every wrong thing, because wrong brings
nothing but hurt, and cannot do good at all? Do you
stone me because I point the way of hope and love and
life to people groping in the dark? Do you stone me be-
cause I speak the words of cheer to people downhearted
and fearful? Do you stone me because I open the gates
of promise and of hope to people who need a constant and
all-helpful friend? For which of the works that I have
done do you stone me?" That is the question that the
Master asks to-night of this vast concourse of people, as-
sembled in Fort Worth. "Oh, man or woman, not on
my side, but on Satan's side, what have I done that pro-
vokes you to be against me, your best friend?" What does
your heart answer to such question?
How "do people harden themselves against God? The
ways are many. I may indicate just a few of those ways
that are commonest, and you will think of others that I
may not, because of the limits of this hour, mention at
all. How do men harden themselves against God? Full
many a time do they do so, because of the power of sin
that strengthens in the life the longer that such sin is in-
dulged. Human life is not stationary. Men go up or down.
154 A QUEST FOR SOULS
Men are constantly climbing or descending in human life.
Therefore, God's admonition is given that people shall be
saved while they are yet young: "Remember now thy
Creator, in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come
not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have
no pleasure in them/' The longer that sin is indulged,
the mightier, the more strengthful, the more binding does
it become in a human life. You may take any sin, no
matter what, and the longer that sin is given rein and al-
lowed to run riot like it wishes, the more that sin grows
and strengthens. Take the sin of drink, and I do not men-
tion that because I think it is the worst. Heaven knows
that it is bad enough, and yet there may be other sins far
worse. But take the sin of drink, for illustration. Do I
speak to some man here who drinks, perhaps to excess?
Let him not be afraid that I shall speak one cruel word
concerning him. I shall not. The rather would I come
to him, and stretch out to him a brother's hand, and say
to him: "May I not help you?" I would help him if I
could. But do I speak to some man here who drinks to
excess? Let him retrace his past days, even back to the
first day when he began that ill-fated habit. He was
probably well-reared. He was warned against the subtle
power of the habit of drink. A dear mother, when he went
away, pressed her kisses through her tears upon his face,
and besought him to steer clear of that undoing habit
drink. And other voices, father's and teacher's, and still
other voices, warned him against the deadly peril that
there is in the habit of drink. Doesn't he recall it all?
And then there came a time when he was away from home,
and when he was urged to take his first drink. He re-
members even now, as I speak of it, how his hand trembled
as he put that cup to his lips, and he thrust his eye to the
right and to the left, if haply some face out of the past:
would come forth to forbid his taking that ill-fated step,)
And then he had taken his first drink. Oh, that was thd
beginning of the down-dragging of his life! The first
drink is the drink that makes the 'drunkard not the last.
And the years came on and the habit strengthened. Do
I speak to such one here to-night?
THE PERIL OF RESISTING GOD 155
There came to my home, a little while ago, one of our
citizens for whom I have long felt the deepest religious
interest It was two o'clock in the morning when my door-
bell rang, and when I answered, I said to the man : "What
on earth brings you here at this hour of the night?" He
came into the hall at my invitation, and said: "You can
see, can't you?" And I could see. I did see. He was
then in the clutches of drink. His fearful habit had its
terrible hold upon him at that same hour. Then he said
to me : "I have come because I want to hold your hands,
and get down at your knees, and have you swear me in
the sight of God that I will break such habit, for I must
break it ere it shall utterly break me." Then he said: *T
have just come from home. I went home a little while
ago, late in the night, and my little wife had one talk with
me that broke my heart, and breaks it when I call it to
mind. She said to me: 'Husband, you have broken my
heart. If you do not desist soon, I shall be gone, for I am
completely crushed, even in health, by your course/ And
while she was talking," he said, "my old mother heard
us, and came from her room across the hall, frail and aged,
and put her arms about my shoulders, and sobbed her
broken heart out on my neck, and said: 'Son, if you do
not quit soon, mother will go to her grave believing that
her son is doomed for a drunkard's death/ And no sooner
had she talked like that than my little daughter came, in
the grip of typhoid fever, where she had been for weeks
unable to sit up, and yet she had heard the conversation,
and was so moved that the child, just beginning her teens,
somehow got to me, ere I knew it, and was clutching at
my coat, a little skeleton from her sickness, and she said:
'Papa, you are breaking the hearts of us all, and killing us
all. If you do not quit soon, we will all be dead." And
the big fellow sobbed aloud and said: "I cannot quit. I
am helpless. I am so driven and beaten and weak, I can-
not quit." Now, sin does that You let It loose, you give
it the reins, and it will vitiate, it will pull down, and it
will deaden and destroy. I repeat again, I do not name
that sin because I think it is the worst There are others,
perhaps more deadly, more undoing than that I take that
156 A QUEST FOR SOULS
to illustrate the point that the longer sin is indulged, the
more terrible does it become in its power to deaden and
harden the heart.
How do men and women harden themselves against
God? Full many a time they do it through the power of
public opinion. The longer I live and study men and
women, and see their conduct, the more am I convinced
of the truth of that solemn saying in the Bible : "ThjSLfear
of man bringeth a snare." Oh, what power there is in
public opinion ! One waits for another. One acts because
of another. One is silent because another is silent. Just
there comes in the awful peril and power of influence. The
man who does not care about his influence over somebody
else surely must be a fool or a monster, or both. We must
be forever careful about our influence over others, for by
our silent influence, day in and out, we are taking people
up with us or we are taking them down. We are making
it easier or making it harder every day we live for other
people to live, as is our influence over them. You do not
wonder that when George Whitfield was converted, he
prayed as his first prayer: "Oh, God, forgive me for my
wasted influence over other people!" George Whitfield
had been a ring-leader in sin. He had led many people
astray, but when he had found Christ for himself, he fell
down before Him and cried out: "Oh, God, forgive me
for my misused influence over other men!" Surely, he
could not have prayed a saner prayer than that. And you
do not wonder that still another man, a little while ago,
when they told him that he was dying, that his last hour
had come, gathered the covering about him and sought to
hide his face, and said to the people, out of the pitiable-
ness of his condition: **Yes, and when I am gone, as the
doctor says I soon shall be, be certain to gather up my in-
fluence and bury it in the grave with me/* But that is the
very thing that cannot be done. Your influence is going
on now, and will go on and on, when you shall sleep be-
neath the flowers. Oh, the power of influence! That
ought to give pause to every serious man and woman in
the world.
I would rather be nailecl up in my coffin, strong an3
THE PERIL OF RESISTING GOD 157
well as I am this Sunday night, and buried alive, than to
live a life that would damn somebody else. Human influ-
ence is that serious and that terrible.
I was preaching in a series of meetings in one of our
cities some time ago, and I noticed a young fellow, for
three of four consecutive evenings, far down the hall be-
fore me, a lad, I should say, of some sixteen years. When
I asked: "Are there people to-night interested in being
saved? Will they lift the hand or stand?" This lad for
three or four evenings made response without any delay.
Then another evening came, and there he was, but he made
no response, and indeed seemed indifferent. Then the
next meeting came, and I looked for him, and I found him
at last, but far to the rear of the hall evidently indifferent,
deliberately indifferent. I could read it in his face. And
when the service was concluded that night I hurried
around, if haply I might find the young fellow, to have a
word with him, and fortunately I found him, and took him
aside, so that I could have a word alone. I said to him:
"I have seen you in the audience, and my heart has been
strangely drawn to you. For two or three evenings, you
indicated that you wished to be a Christian, and now for
these past two evenings you have said by your face and
conduct that you are indifferent to such matter. Pray
tell me what has happened/' Then he looked up into
my face, and plaintively said: *T think I had rather not
tell you. I was interested/* he went on to say. "I was
deeply concerned by what you said. I did tell you that I
desired to be a Christian, and I meant it, but I have reached
a 'different conclusion. I think I had rather not tell you
why." I said : "My lad, I should not like to take any advan-
tage of you at all. I would not for my right arm wittingly
take an advantage of any man or woman who comes to'
hear me preach. I would not like to be impertinent, but
I should like to know what has come to turn you away
from facing that open gate to the heavenly world and to
the better life. Something has come. I should like to
Enow what it is, that I may help you/' Then he said:
^Very well, I will tell you. My father is Dr. So-and-so.
My father never goes to church. I never knew of his being
156 A QUEST FOR SOULS
at church in all my life. I have decided to follow my father,
and not follow you at all. My father is to me the most
splendid man in the world" just what a boy ought to
think about his father, if possible. "My father/' said the
boy, "is my model man. He is the cleverest man I know,
and the strongest man I know, and I have made my choice,
and I am going to follow my father, and I am not going
to follow you. Father says by his example that the Chris-
tian religion is not worth while. I am going to say it, too,
as long as my father says it That has changed my course/*
said the handsome lad.
Oh, wasn't it pitiable, even heart-breaking? I said some
other things to him, and among them I said: "Come on
to the services, and I will do my best to help you yet,
and I will do my best to help your honored father, and I
want to think about it through the night." My sleep was
troubled, the whole night through, about that unusual case,
but when the morning came my mind was made up: "I
shall go to see the father and introduce myself to him, and
cast myself upon God for wisdom to have some words
with that father, about what is involved/* And when the
morning came I made my way to his office, and fortunately
found him alone. I was the first to arrive. When I in-
troduced myself to him and found that he was the man I
was seeking, he turned upon me with beaming, searching
face, and said: "Certainly, you have not come for your-
self. You are evidently not a sick man." I said: "I have
not come for myself at alL I have come to have a word
with you about your own boy/* And then he was all
alert in his attention, and he said: "Do you know my
boy?** I said: "Slightly.** Then he said: "Isn't he a fine
boy?" I said: "I should say that I never saw a finer one.
My heart is drawn out to him profoundly, and I have come
just to have a frank word with you about your boy.** He
said: "In what way? To what end?** Then I said: "I
am preaching for a few days in your city/* "Oh/* he said,
"I see. I have noticed something of it in the daily papers."
I said: "Your boy has been hearing me, Doctor, for sev-
eral nights, and your boy seemed deeply serious for three
or four nights, and indicated his seriousness, and then he
THE PERIL OF RESISTING GOD 159
deliberately put such, matter away. His deliberate purpose
was written in his very face and voiced in his conduct,
and I sought him out last night and had a word with him.
He was exceedingly reticent, and he was grandly loyal
to you, but when I asked him why he had deliberately
determined to turn away from the call of Christ and the
Christian religion, he made answer that you, his father,
were his model, his beau ideal, his pattern, and he had
decided to follow you, and not follow me, nor follow
anybody else. I have come just to tell you that, and
to ask if you do not have too much involved to let the
matter stand like it is ?" His face was colorless almost in
a moment, and then he walked the room under terrific
pressure for another moment, and then he turned to me
and said : "That is the heaviest blow, sir, I ever received/'
And then I said to him : "Doctor, what do you think you
ought to say about it?" He waited a moment, and said:
"When is your next service?" I said: "At ten o'clock,
this morning," He said: "I cannot go at ten, because of
an engagement for a needed operation at the hospital.
( When is your next service?" "This evening, at eight
o'clock." Then he looked at me with strength of purpose,
and said: "I will be in your service to-night, and I will
give this matter immediate attention. I think I know
what to do, sir. I will see you to-night." I bade him
good-morning without another word. I had said all I
ought to have said, it seemed, on that first visit. The day
wore to nightfall, and I stood up to preach, and my eyes
isearched the press of people everywhere. Is that father
present? Yonder he is. He is just coming in now, and
the usher is giving him a chair, far to the rear. That even-
ing I preached to one man. Oh, if we can get him, we are
likely to get his fine boy, and we may get many because
of the two! When I had finished my sermon, I simply
raised this question : "Is the man here who, on high prin-
ciple, for his own sake first, and then for the sake of some-
body sheltering behind him, will now and here take his
step Christward, and give his heart's surrender to the call
of Christ? Is he here? Let him come down the aisle and
take my hand in token of such surrender to Christ" And
160 A QUEST FOR SOULS
the father was on his feet, and down the aisle he came,.
and there went through the audience something like an
electric thrill, for everybody there seemed to know him and
profoundly respect him. Now he had reached me here at
the front, and he took my hand ,and the first word he said
was : "My boy got me. What you told me about my boy
this morning got me/' And then he went on and said:
"When you left me, I shut the door and locked it, and I
knelt down in my room and I tried to pray, as I have not
done in years, and I said : "Oh, God, forgive me, for not
only am I staying out of the kingdom of God myself, but
I am keeping my own boy out. Has it come to that? For-
give me, and not another hour will I wait to make my
surrender, to turn my case over to Christ, the Great Physi-
cian, that He may forgive me and save me His own way/'
I said to him: "Look, Doctor, behind you!" And there,
standing behind him, following him down the long aisle,
was that handsome boy, and the boy put his arm around
his father's neck, as a little child fondles its mother, and,
sobbing, said : "Oh, papa, I am glad you came, and I have
come, too. I wanted to come, and I waited for you/*
What if that father had not come? God save the marie!
I know fathers who have not come, and the boys have not
come, either, and now and then I know a mother oh,
can it be? A mother! Sweetest name of all, next to the
name of Jesus! A mother! A mother! now and then I
know a mother who does not come, and her best friend,
Jesus, is set aside. By the power of her influence, how-
ever silent, she says to the children of her own being:
"This great matter of personal religion is not great at all P*
Oh, influence, how many thou art destroying! How
many thou art turning away from God ! If I am speaking
to-night to parents, father or mother, who are not Chris-
tians; if I speak to-night to citizens, whoever they may
be, not Christians; if I speak to-night to young men ot
middle-aged, or to one with the gray about his temples",
not Christians, oh, my friends, my friends, my friends, f
send my voice out after you, do not misuse your influence,
and cause it to hurt with eternal hurt the lives of people
around you !
THE PERIL OF RESISTING GOD 161
How do people harden themselves against God? Full
many a time they do it by raising captious doubts and
speculative questions about religion. They do it by asking
questions about religion, and asking them superficially,
and then not staying to answer them. They say, for ex-
ample, What if this be not so? And then they do not
delve into the matter, to probe it to see if it is so. They
say, What if there be no God? They say, What if Jesus
Christ be not trustworthy? They say, What if the Bible
be not God's guide-book for men, to lead them homeward
and heavenward? They say, What if there be no heaven
for the people who will not have Jesus? They say, What
if these much talked of matters be not so at all ? And then,
Kke an ostrich, they hide their heads down in the sand, and
they do not see, and will not face the facts. I wonder if
I speak to-night to some skeptic, no matter how dark and
deep his skepticism; to some doubter, to some disbeliever,
concerning the things of Christ's holy religion? If I do,
I call to him as his brother man, oh, my friend, you can
know the facts about Christianity you can know the facts.
If a man be a doubter, a skeptic, an atheist, a materialist,
an agnostic, who flings all religious belief to the winds
if his case be that darksome and that terrible, I come to
him to-night to say that he can get light and will get it,
if he will just be candid with God. Professor Bushnell got
it that famous teacher in Yale. In the days when he was
a most popular teacher there, and also an outstanding dis-
believer concerning religion, a young preacher went to
Yale, to preach two weeks. For days and days there seemed
to be no response to his preaching. The young fellows
heard him, but there was no response heavenward, so far
as the minister could tell. A little later he had diagnosed
the situation. The young men were hiding behind Pro-
fessor Bushnell, the most popular teacher in Yale, and
the minister sought out Professor Bushnell and said:
"Professor Bushnell, if these things that I am preaching
are so, wouldn't you like to know it? If Christ be praise-
worthy, wouldn't you like to know it? If Christ does
change men who trust Him, and forgive them, and put ?
power super-human in their lives, wouldn't you like to
162 A QUEST FOR SOULS
know it?" And Bushnell, after a thoughtful pause, said:
"Certainly, I would like to know it, if the thing be reliable
and praiseworthy/' Then said the minister: "You can
know it, if you will just be candid." "How?" said Pro-
fessor Bushnell. "Take Christ's own challenge," said the
minister, "and here is that challenge : 'If any man willeth
to do the will of God, he shall know of the teaching, wheth-
er it is of God.'" "But," said Bushnell, "I do not know
how to start. I do not know that there is any God at all.
How could I start?" Said the minister: "Start like this:
'Oh, God, if there be such a Being, give me light on this
matter of religion. If thou hast any interest in my getting
light, and if thou wilt give me light, no matter how it
comes, I will follow such light wherever it leads!' Take
that clue, and you will find God." Professor Bushnell said :
"I will take it." Three days afterwards, Bushnell came
back and stood on the rostrum of the old chapel and said
to his students: "My men, I have a wonderful thing to
tell you. I laughed to scorn all that this man preached,
and all the rest of them, and the churches. I have found
out that I was in the darkness and they were in the light.
Oh," said Bushnell to his students, "I have put God to the
test, and I know that He is the Savior, and I am henceforth
His disciple and friend forever."
Men can know, my fellow-men, whether Christ and His
gospel are true. I see this challenge of Jesus put to the
test and gloriously found out, week after week. It was
my privilege a few weeks ago to speak for five days to the
students of our State University at Austin a really great
university, which should have the loyal support of every
citizen in our State. While there, I was not only speaking
publicly I was dealing privately with those scores and
hundreds of young men and women. There sought me
out one day one of the seniors in the law class, and he
said to me : "All that you are preaching and all that re-
ligion proclaims is as dark to me as the darkest midnight."
I said to him : "If there be reality and truth in the religion
of Christ, wouldn't you like to know it?" He said: "In-
deed, I would. I would like to know the truth, whatever
it is.* Then I said: "I will give you a clue. Tell God,
THE PERIL OF RESISTING GOD 163
if there be one, that you want light, if He has any concern
for you to have it, and tell Him that if He will give it,
no matter what it costs, nor where it leads, you will follov?
that light, and you will find it" It was not long until he
came back from his quest, his face shining like the morn-
ing, with this public confession: "I have found out in my
heart that God is, and what is better, I have found out
that God has forgiven me and saved me." Yes, yes, men
can find the way of light if they will only be candid. If
you are in trouble about questions religious, come with
absolute candor, and say: "Lord God, here I am, an eter-
nity-bound being, and I want light from God, in God's way,
and if He will give it, I will walk in it," and you will get
light
How do people harden themselves against God? They
do it through the theory that they will save themselves.
The thought of their own self-salvation leads many, it is
to be feared, to harden their hearts. And what shall I say
at that point? Can any man save himself ? Can any woman
save herself? Can a soul wrong with God save himself?
Such soul can cross the storm-swept ocean from one shore
to the other on a straw for a boat as easily as you can
save yourself without the grace and mercy of God. Oh,
soul, if a sinner could have saved himself, then Jesus, the
Son of God, would not have come down from heaven and
died on a cross, the most horrible death that earth hath
ever known. If a sinner could have saved himself, that
cross is a work of supererogation, that cross is a mistake
and a crime. Because sinners cannot save themselves,
therefore did Jesus come. And when He comes He tells
us : "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh
unto the Father but by me." He tells us: "Marvel not
that I tell you, unless you are born again, you cannot even
see the kingdom of God." He tells us: "Except you re-
pent, you shall all likewise perish." He tells us: "Neither
is there salvation in any other: for there is none other
name under heaven given among men, whereby, we must
be saved," Oh, soul, never, never, can you save yourself!
Do not be hardened in heart at that vital point
How do men and women harden themselves against
164 A QUEST FOR SOULS
God? Full many a time they do it on this wise: They do
it by looking around them, and pointing their finger at
alleged poor Christians and hypocrites, that they can find
all about them, on the right hand and on the left, and
in that way they harden themselves against God* And
what shall I say at that point? Are these who are unbe-
Uevers able to put their finger down on poor Christians
all about them? Are these who are unbelievers able tb
put their finger down now and then on some hypocrite in
the church ? Are they able to do it? God pity us, yes, they
are! And are there poor Christians in the churches, and
is there now and then some pretender in the churches?
God save the mark, yes, yes! But what of that? Oh,
come now, I pray you, be consistent. Will you throw all
the money away, because there are counterfeiters in the
land molding false money? Will you throw the good
money away, because counterfeit money is sometimes in
circulation? Come now, will you throw all the fruit away
because you discover some decaying fruit there in the
basket or the barrel of fruit that you purchase? Pass it
on up higher. Come now, will you fling your soul out
into the night which will never have any morning, because
somebody around you is not living the Christian life like
that Christian life ought to be lived? I call your attention
yet a moment more to this serious point. God calls your
attention to it in this solemn language. Listen to Him.
I quote it now: "Therefore thou art inexcusable, oh, man,
whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest
another, thou condemnest thyself/* Are you able to put
your finger down on some faulty, defective Christian, or
some arrant pretender? What of that? Jesus looks down
upon you and says: "After I died for you, and offer to
save you with mine everlasting salvation, will you discard
me and destroy yourself, because somebody around you
does not live up to the proper standard of the Christian
life?*' Oh, soul, be done with such trifling!
How do people harden themselves against God? Moat
of all, I think, just at this point, namely, at the point of
procrastination. They tell us truly that procrastination is
the thief of time. Ah, me ! it is so much worse than that
THE PERIL OF RESISTING GOD 165
Procrastination is the thief of human souls. Procrastination
steals human souls away from hope and life and eternal
peace. All about us there are men and women wrong with
God, and when they are approached, they will confess it;
they will grant their duty and their need; they will ex-
press their desire; they will confess frankly that they
desire to be saved; they will tell you promptly: "I mean
some day, and not far off, to give my soul its proper atten-
tion." But they drift with the tide, and through the power
of procrastination not only is time stolen, but their souls
are stolen, and thus are they finally lost. Oh, the tragedy;
of it the tragedy unspeakable of such procrastination !
When that ill-fated ship went down long years ago,
the Royal Charter a ship in its time corresponding to the
Titanic, that was wrecked a little while ago in mid-ocean
when the Royal Charter was burned, that strong ship had
toured the waters of the world, and had on board a dis-
tinguished company of passengers, and they were to land
finally on their return voyage at Liverpool, and great prep-
arations were being made in Liverpool to welcome them
home. Many of the passengers were Liverpool citizens,
and homes were being put in order, and, indeed, the whole
city was being put in order to welcome the returning and
cherished passengers. And yet on that last night, just a
few hours before they reached Liverpool, the ship caught
fire, and despite all the efforts to save it, the ship sank to
the depths of the sea, nearly all of the passengers drowning
with the sinking ship. Only a few escaped to tell the
terrible story. The morning came, and all Liverpool was
agog with interest to welcome the people, not knowing
of the sinking of the ship, and then the few survivors came
ashore, and told the awful story to the people. Then the
story had to be carried to the homes in Liverpool. Dr.
W, M. Taylor, one of the first ministers of his generation,
tells us that he was commissioned to carry the story of
the sinking ship to one of his families, and to tell the
little wife that her devoted husband and the father of ,her
children would come back to his earthly home never again.
The minister said he went on such journey with his heart
in his throat, and when he reached the home and jarigr tfcue
166 A QUEST FOR SOULS
fcell, a little flaxen-haired girl came and welcomed him
laughingly, and merrily said: "Dr. Taylor, papa is to be
here, and mamma is getting him a fine breakfast, and you
will stay, and I will run and tell mamma/' And she
scampered away to tell her mother, and then the mother
came in and gladly bade him welcome, and said: "Oh,
you have come at the right time! Husband is to be here
in a few minutes." And then she started back. She said:
"What on earth is it, Dr. Taylor? What has happened?
Do not keep me in suspense. Why do you look like you
look?" And he took her hand in his and said: "Little
woman, I am the bearer of evil tidings. The ship has gone
down, just a little distance from the shore, down to the
depths of the sea, and your husband is drowned there
with the rest." She looked at him a moment, he said, and
her face turned pale with the whiteness almost of the
snow, and rigid like a stone, and then she uttered one
piercing cry and fell unconscious at his feet. This was
her cry: "Oh, God, he got so near home, and yet will
never come!"
That is the parable, and that is the picture of men and
women in this gospel land of ours, who hear, and who feel,
and who know, and yet who, through procrastination, will
miss the upward way. Oh, soul, do not longer procrasti-
nate! Do not longer delay, with this eternally important
matter of your personal salvation.
I have a moment more to ask your attention before we
shall go, and you will give it the best attention you can,
despite the passing, ringing fire bells a moment more,
and you will give your earnest attention, for the text is
not quite done. What shall I say? Listen to the text
again: 'Who hath hardened himself against God, and
hath ever prospered?" Do you know one who hath hard-
ened himself against God and hath ever prospered? Do
you know one? Oh, that word "prosperity" is a charmed
word! That word "prosperity" is a hypnotic word. For
prosperity men rise early and toil late. For prosperity men
sail- the rolling seas, men tunnel the mountains, men seek
to make every sort of discovery, in order that they may wm
prosperity. What is prosperity? What a charmed word
THE PERIL OF RESISTING GOD 167
it is! There can be no real and abiding prosperity if we
set ourselves to neglect God and His proffered salvation
of our needy souls. "Who hath hardened himself against
God, an4 hath ever prospered?" Do you know one? Do
you know one who hath set himself against God and stayed
so set, and yet has really prospered? Do you know one?
Did Cain prosper, who took his brother's life? See him
as he went a pariah into the forests! Did King Saul of
old prosper? Did Balaam prosper? Did Ananias and
Sapphira prosper? Did Judas, who sold Jesus for thirty
pieces of silver? Do you know one of your acquaintances
who has hardened himself utterly against God, and has
really prospered?
Let me tell you how one of the chiefest business men
of the West died a little while ago. He had his son to
sit beside him, and said to the rest: "I have some words
with my son," and holding that son's hand in his own
frail, dying hand, he said to his son: "Son, you are hold-
ing the hand of the greatest failure of any man of the
West" And the son said: "No, no, father; your name on
the wires would make the business world quiver through-
out the great West." He said: "Very true, my son, but
I have lived as though time and the world were all, and
I am dying now with unpreparedness, and all is dark. I
am the greatest failure of all, for I have lived simply for
earth and for time."
One of the best known citizens of Texas, who gave his
heart to Christ when he was nearly eighty years old, said
to me the last time I saw him, just before his departure
and his name is a household word in Texas: "Oh, sir,
my life was almost totally lost I did not come to Christ
till right in the fag end of life. I did not come until the
sun was going down in the west Yes," he said "Christ
has saved me, but, oh, to think, sir, that I have given
nearly all my life to the wrong side!" Doesn't the picture
make your heart shudder?
What is the conclusion of this wfiole matter'? I sum it
up in some final sentences. There can be no real and abid-
ing prosperity for a human soul that is set against God, no
matter how much he claims, no matter how wide his swath
168 A QUEST FOR SOULS
of power may seem to be, no matter who he is. There
can be no real and abiding prosperity, if the human heart
be set with disobedience against God. At last it comes
down to ashes, and it cries with one of old: "My sottl
feedeth on ashes/' And mark you this, my men and wom-
en; mark you this: When the battle of the soul is finally
lost, all is lost. There are some battles that can be re-
gained, but not the battle of the soul finally lost There-
fore Jesus' arresting question: <r What shall it profit a
man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own
soul ?" Some losses have compensations, but the loss final
of the soul has no compensation. When Francis the First
lost the battle of Pavia, he got his broken, scattered men
together, and sobbed like a child with them, and said:
"Men, we have lost all but honor f but having honor left,
they could go to the battle again. Some losses have com-
pensations, but not the final loss of the soul. Some losses
can be repaired, but not this loss. If you shall take your
way down into death and into eternity, without making a
surrender true and honest to Christ, the battle is lost,
Christ himself so tells us: "Ye shall die in your sins:'
whither I go, ye cannot come/'
What arguments shall I marshal this night to summon
this audience to give the right attention to the call of
Christ for the salvation of the human soul? What argu-
ments shall I marshal? Shall I talk about duty? Here
is your first duty to see after the safety and welfare of
your soul. Shall I talk about need? He is your chief est
need. More than you need money and position and friends
and health, and even physical life, do you need to be a
Christian. Shall I talk about influence? Your position
for Christ shall help others upward, and your position
against Him shall take others downward. Shall I talk
about happiness? Here is your supreme happiness. Shall
I talk about usefulness? Oh, what can compare with
living a life so as to be useful in the broadest and deepest
and most constructive way?
Oh, my friends, my friends, harden not your hearfe
against Christ ! Before I let you go away very soon I am.
coming now to ask: Has this vast audience made peace
THE PERIL OF RESISTING GOD 169
with Christ? Have the men and women before me, who
have heard with such patience and attention to-night, for
which I thank you so gratefully, made their peace with
God? Are the men and women under the sound of nqr
voice at peace with God, through Christ?
Now this night, before you sleep, even here and now,
as you stand to manifest your desire to be saved, as the
Lord liveth, if you will honestly surrender your case to
Christ, you shall here and now be born again. No matter
what your fears, your sins, your weaknesses, your doubts,
your temptations no matter what was your yesterday,
no matter what your to-day, no matter what shall be your
to-morrow, you shall be saved, forgiven, born again, as the
Lord liveth, if you will honestly surrender your case to
Christ. End once and forever the great matter by your
personal acceptance of Christ as your Savior, just now,
while we pray.
THE CLOSING PRAYER,
And now, O Lord, ere the crowd disperses,we would gather up every life,
and as best we can present it to God, and p/ay Him in Christ's name to put His
hand of mercy and forgiveness and salvation on every needy life in tt-jig vast
throngf. Here, all about us, are men and women who say to us: "We are wrong
with God and know it, and we wish to be ri^ht with Him.'* O God, teach them
now that it is Christ who makes the case right. Teach them that no man can
work the great change which a sinner in God's sight must have, in order to meet
God in safety and peace. Teach them now that salvation is of the Lord. Grant
that now all these interested men and women may turn to Christ, and before
they put their heads upon their pillows to sleep to-night, say simply : "Here, Lord,
we give ourselves to thee, 'tis all that we can do." Thank God, it is all Christ
asks, but He asks that. He asks for honest, absolute surrender. May every seek-
ing soul answer Him back: "Then I give it. ^ With my doubts and fears and
sins and difficulties all, I will surrender to Hun. Living or dying, no matter
what may come, I will surrender my case forever to Christ, the appointed
righteousness and Savior for needy, helpless sinners." Lord, let these men and
women, a multitude about us, thus surrender to thee to-night. And if in this
presence there were those too hesitant and timid to express their desire to be
saved, but whose hearts do wish to be right with God, O, draw them, too, and
save them, too. And if in this presence there is one man or woman or chfld in-
different to Christ's call, indifferent to Christ's death, indifferent to the inevitable
day of personal death, indifferent to human influence, indifferent to the testing
that is coming at God's judgment bar, indifferent to the life to be lived here and
to the death that shall follow such life, indifferent to eternity O, our Father, if
there be one to-nisrht in the great press about us who is indifferent to these higfc
calls of heaven and of God, by the power of thy Spirit teach and lead such one
to-night to be profoundly concerned to find the true way to live and to serve
God. And may this mfsfity throng be bound as one life about the heart of God*
so that it shall be well with every one, Imnsr, dying, and beyond forever. Deepen
this work in all our hearts. Time flies. Sin is busy, and death works all about
us. Remind us profoundly, O Lord God, that to-day is the day of salvation, that
to-day is the day of grace, that to-day is the day of spiritual opportunity. God
give us to seize to-day, and to use it like we ought, to use it even while we can.
And now, as the people go, may the blessing of God, even of Father, Son, an$
Holy Spirit, be granted you all and each, to abide with you forever. Amen,
NOON SERVICE, JUNE 18, 1917,
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT.
My heart has been warmed and cheered from day to day,
by the large number of busy men and women who have felt
inclined to come to this midday service. It is deeply signifi-
cant that such throngs have it in their hearts to come to this
noonday meeting. I would daily propose to the Christian
men and women before me that we give ourselves unstintedly
to helping the people religiously, throughout all the week before
us. I pray you to forget it not that there can be no substitutes
for personal work in behalf of people who need God. I pray
you to remember it, that all about us are men and women who
are drifting away from the right, because of the lack of the
right kind of personal appeal from the friends of God. The
highest title that Jesus gives His people is the title of "Friend."
I am speaking to many friends of God at this Monday meeting.
O ye friends of God, do your best to win other friends for
Him these passing days ! Bring them to the midday meetings.
Bring them to the night meetings. Have the right kind of
conversations with them. And above all, beseech God for the
light and leading of His Holy Spirit in this work that we are
jail trying to do, both publicly and privately.
THE DEADLY DANGER OF DRIFTING.
Text: "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that
- heard, lest haply we drift away from them." Heb. 2:1. (JL V.)
!&nd now to the morning message. If you were asked the
chief danger to us all, what would your answer be? It would
be interesting to know your answer. What is the chief danger
170
THE DEADLY DANGER OF DRIFTING 171
fo us all? The Bible tells us. It is the danger of drifting
$way from the path of duty and of right and of safety. That
is the chief danger for us all, and there is a Scripture which
points that for us, which I quote you :
"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the
things which we have heard, lest haply we drift away from
them/'
There is your revealing word, that word "drift/* "There-
fore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things
which we have heard, lest haply we drift away from them/'
The chief danger for us every one is indicated there in that
little word "drift/* It is the danger of drifting away from
the path of duty and of right and of safety simply the danger
of drifting. That is the chief danger of us all. There are
many expressive figures in the Bible touching human life. In
one place we are asked the question: "What is your life? 1 '
and the answer is given us in the very next sentence: "It is
even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then van-
isheth away/' It is like a morning doud dissolved in the
sun. In another place the Bible compares life to the swift
ships of the sea. In another place human life is represented
as the grass that groweth up in the morning, but on the even-
ing of that same day the grass is cut down and withereth.
Again, it compares life to the eagle that hasteth to its prey*
There is no more impressive and expressive figure for us, for
human life, than this figure here of drifting. You can see it.
The life boat goes down the stream. The current bears it on,
and that is the faithful picture of human life. And because
of the ease and the danger of drifting, therefore we are warned
here by the Word of God to take heed to the things we have
heard, lest haply we drift away from them.
This warning is for us all. Not one of us may lie absolved
from it Not one of us but that urgently needs this warning
concerning the peril of drifting. It is a warning for Christian
people, I should say, first of all. Every Christian needs to
heed this warning here given against the awful peril of drift-
ing. The Bible is filled with admonitions to us right at that
point. "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation/'
How often the Bible rings with that bugle call ! "Wherefore,
Idfc him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he f all/' Hero?
172 A QUEST FOR SOULS
that truth is emphasized in the Bible! How we are warned
against the snare of pride, and how the fearful consequences
of pride are set out before us in the Bible! What foes we
are reminded of in the Bible that lie in wait to entrap us, and
to deceive us, and to sidetrack us from the right path ! There
is our own flesh, and we are never to lose sight of the fact
that though the spirit is born again, when we believe on Christ
as our Savior, yet the flesh is unregenerated and will be un-
regenerated until it shall be raised from the dead. These
redeemed spirits live in houses that are not yet regenerated,
and we are never to lose sight of the fact that we must reckon
with our flesh as we go along in the Christian life. And then
there is the world about us, with its amusements and its spirit
against God. And then in addition to that there is a great
evil personality in the world, whose name is Satan, bedark-
ening and deceiving and misleading, and seeking in every way
he can to seduce us from the right path. Here is this great
triple alliance, the flesh and the world and Satan, and we are
to watch all the time, or we shall, by these influences which
this triple alliance shall suggest, drift away from the right
path. We are exhorted to war a good warfare. We are
exhorted in the Bible to fight the good fight of faith. We are
exhorted in the Bible to put on the whole armor of God that
we may be able to stand, and, having done all, to stand.
Now, we are not to lose sight of the fact, my fellow Chris-
tians, that the Christian life can be lived shabbily or it can be
lived gloriously. We are not to lose sight of that fact. We
can follow Christ afar off, or we can walk beside Him, and be
His conscious friends and comrades and fellow-workers. We
are not to lose sight of that solemn truth the Christian life
vjcan be lived shabbily or it can be lived gloriously. Oh, the
*supremest tragedy, I think, in all the world is that so often
saved people, people born again, people who shall at last reach
heaven the tragedy is untenable and incomparable, I think*
that even saved people live the Christian life shabbily. Kll
about us, what revelations there would be if men's hearts were
uncovered, and we were to trace the stories of their declen-
sions, their departures from Christ, even after He saves them!
All about tis there are pictures of men and women who began
the Christian life well oh, how hopeful was their promise!
THE DEADLY DANGER OF DRIFTING 173
* and yet they were bewitched away from that blessed course,
and they have gone drifting and floating. They have floated
;with the tide, and have neglected to stem it And the great
apostle here summons us, challenges us, to watch, that we do
not go down the currents with that easy flowing tide.
Why do Christians go away from Christ? The reasons
are all about us. If a Christian neglects the vital duties and
habits that go along with the Christian life, then he will go
drifting down that stream. Let a Christian neglect church
attendance, and he will soon be into trouble. "Not forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together," is an injunction ringing
in the Bible like some mighty trumpet. Let any Christian be
careless on that point of constant, habitual, high-principled
church attendance, and he will soon be in trouble. Let any
Christian neglect the vital matter of secret prayer, and he will
soon be in trouble. There can be no substitutes for secret
prayer. Let a Christian neglect the vital habit of daily turn-
ing to the Word of God to get therefrom God's counsel and
comfort, and such Christian will soon be in trouble. The
Christian life has its reasonable and vital habits, just as the
physical life. Let the physical life be ignored and maltreated,
and the physical life shall be preyed upon, and shall be vic-
timized with declining health. And the Christian life in just
the same fashion shall be beaten upon and undermined, if the
habits that go with it are ignored and forgotten.
How do Christians get away from the right path and go
drifting down the stream? Sometimes it is because of busi-
ness reverses. I have lived long enough in a modern city
twenty years in one pastorate to see how men are often
crippled and thrown into the deep currents because of busi-
ness reverses. Full many a time men's hands hang down and
their hearts faint *when business reverses come, and they seem
shattered and broken and oftentimes fearfully crippled in
their faith, when business reverses come. Business men need
God's wisdom and help, every day and hour, in their daily
business*
End then sometimes it is a sorrow that comes into life, a
blinding, bedarkening sorrow, a crushing sorrow, that causes
people to drift away from Christ. Sorrow has one of two
effects in a life. Sorrow embitters, sorrow sours, sorrow takes
174 A QUEST FOR SOULS
life's sweetness ut; or sorrow makes the beaten one draw
nearer to the Lord and cling the more closely to Him. Full
many a time when a sorrow comes this or that or the other
sorrow the soul turns away from the source of healing and
comfort, and goes drifting down the stream, missing God's
proffered help for any soul that will wait upon Him.
And then full many a time drifting away from God comes
on because the soul is wrong in its relations toward some other
human being. I have lived long enough to find out that the
wounds and the hurts and the frictions that come to the
human heart, out of wrong relations between man and man,
make up one of the saddest chapters in human life. Let a
man be wrong in his heart toward another human being, and
such man is crippled dreadfully in the sight of God. There
is no place in the human heart for hate, if a man is going to
get on well with God. A man loses the sense of perspective,
a man's vision is blurred, a man's life is all poisoned, if he
gives place in his heart for hate toward any human being.
I have lived long enough to see that life's frictions and rival-
ries and competitions and contacts and collisions often turn
human beings away from God. I know two brothers who
have not spoken to each other in years and years. Both of
them are nominally church members. I asked each of them,
at separate times, just a little while ago : "How are you getting
along in the Christian life?" and each one answered in effect:
"Oh, sir, bad enough. It has been years since I have had any
peace or power as I have tried to pray and tried to serve God."
It could not be otherwise. The brothers quarreled over their
father's will, and they parted asunder, with anger each toward
the other, and they have gone on in such fearful course
through the passing years. Oh, my brother men, human life
is too big for that, too worthftil for that, too important for
that, God's favor is too valuable for that. Our holy religion
is too precious for that. We are to come like old Abraham
came and spoke to his nephew, Lot, when the herdmen of
Lot and the herdmen of Abraham were quarreling and were
divided, and Abraham said to his nephew: "Lot, my boy,
there must be none of this. Let there be no strife between
your herdmen and mine, between you and me. We be bretK-
rea. You go your way and I wiH go mine. iSTou take your
THE DEADLY DANGER OF DRIFTING 175
pastures and I will take mine. We will not have any strife/ 5
The human heart that would serve God must come to the place
where it will not be sidetracked from the path of happiness
and duty in the Christian life by collision with or animosities
toward some other human life. Full many a time drifting
comes just at that point. There come some experiences into
the human life which shatter confidence, and which make the
soul stand back aghast, and which raise a score of questions
about religion, and down the stream the life goes, and church
attendance is given up, and church habits are broken, and on
and on and on with the tide such poor life goes floating down*
Oh, it is pitiable and it is terrible !
And sometimes the Christian life gets all wrong with God
and goes drifting down the stream because of admission into
it of some wrong thing of some secret sin. I am thinking
now of a well known man whose case puzzled numbers of us,
and when we looked into it at last we found he had accus-
tomed himself in the secret place, without even the knowledge
of his wife, to an ill-fated drug, that bedarkened and dead-
ened and turned him away from the right path. Let a man
admit into his life any evil thing, and coddle it, and pamper
it, and keep it there, and he is all sidetracked from the right
course, and down that stream he will go drifting. Some
secret sin will shrivel and wither his peace in the sight of GodL
"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."'
Oh, how pitiable and how terrible it all is! At last such-
Christian, all broken and drifting, and to the largest degree
useless, shall come up empty-handed in the sight of God. It
is an awful thing to be saved just by the skin of one's teeth.
It is an awful thing to think of meeting Christ empty-handed,
with the works of our life all burned up, but they shall be,
if they are not in harmony with the will of God.
Do I speak today to drifting Christians? I pass my eye
and hand down every pew before me, and would pause at the
door of every heart. Do I speak to drifting Christians? Turn
your boat up-stream, whatever it costs, whatever the price.
Oh, my drifting fellow Christians, turn your boat up-stream!
You have too much at stake to go on like that. Whatever the
price, whatever the cost, turn that boat up-stream. Set your-
self with a resolution deathless: "I am going to recover my
176 A QUEST FOR SOULS
feet. I am going to retrace my wrong steps. I am coming
home. I am coming back to my Father's house. I will burn
the bridges/* Turn your boat up-stream, oh, drifting Chris-
tian!
But I have a word more for the one who is not a Chris-
tian. There, is to be sure, a great peril to the Christian that
he shall drift, but I have a serious word to the one not a
Christian. There are currents to make you drift, and they are
terrible. There are currents in this stream on which your
boat floats to beat you down and to keep you away from
heaven and away from God. What are those currents?
There is the daily atmosphere that is about you, the atmos-
phere impregnated with worldliness and with materialism,'
with all their down-dragging pressure and tendency. There
is the subtle atmosphere about you to keep you away from'
God. How difficult in some atmospheres it is to pray ! How
difficult in some atmospheres to think seriously! All about
us is the down-dragging atmosphere, to make us forget sin
and death and the judgment and the world to come, and our
personal accountability to God. The atmosphere about you
may easily cause you to drift Such atmosphere tells us:
"When in Rome do as the Roman does." The very atmos-
phere about you constantly inclines your boat to go down
the stream.
What other current is there to cause your boat to go down
the stream? There is the daily task. We are preoccupied.
We have our hands full, our heads full, our hearts full, our
lives full. There is the daily task. Over there in Luke's gos-
pel Jesus gives a faithful picture of human life. He spoke a
parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man
brought forth plentifully, and he thought within himself, say-
ing, What shall I do, because I have no room where to be-
stow my fruits and my goods ? And he said, This will I do^;
I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there will I
bestow all my fruits and my goods, and I will say to my soul,
Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take
thine ease. Eat, drink and be merry." Wasn't it fine? Oh,
no, it was not fine. This man forgot that his soul could not be
fed on corn. This man forgot that he was doomed to die.
This man forgot that he must answer God. This man said:
THE DEADLY DANGER OF DRIFTING 177
"I will say to my soul, Thou hast much goods laid up for many
years. Take thine ease. Eat, drink and be merry. No mat-
ter if the drouth comes, no matter if no crops are made, I
have enough for years. I will not worry. Take thine ease.
Eat, drink and be merry." But God, who is the unseen but
real factor in every human life, said to him: "Thou fool,
thou fool, this night shall thy life be required of thee. Then
whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? So
is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich to-
ward God/' A man's daily business, profitable and proper
business, a man's daily tasks, profitable and proper, if he does
not watch, shall make him lock God and light and heaven out
of his life and miss all that is highest and best, and bring
him to doom and death.
What other current is there to make you drift? There is
the deadening that comes from familiarity with religious
things, to make men drift. I said to a sexton in one of our
cemeteries: "Doesn't this daily digging of graves depress
you?" And he said: "Not now, sir, not now. When I first
began to dig these graves out here, I was blue from night ttntil
morning and from morning till night. I went to my bed at
the end of the day's work, to dream through the night about
digging graves, and I dreamed about seeing the big caskets,
and the tiny caskets, and all, but now, sir, I have got past all
that. I could lie down in the midst of these graves now and
sleep without any disturbance. I have been in it so long, I
have touched it so much, I have become so familiar with it,
it makes no impression upon me at all."
Oh, that deadening power, if we resist light from God!
That is a fearful Scripture which says that the gospel is the
savor of life unto life, or of death unto death. A man
hears the gospel and resists it He is weaker and worse off
than ever before. The gospel is the savor of life unto life,
or of death unto death. There is the undoing power, the
deadening power, the corroding power, the wasting power of
familiarity with religious things.
Knd along with that is the 3ea3ening power lhal comes
with time. A business man, who has made good in the world's
big affairs, a splendid man in many ways, said to me a little
while back, when I talked to him about religion and the higher
178 A QUEST FOR SOULS
call, after we had talked perhaps two hours : "Sir, you think
I lave won in life." I said: "Yes, in a way, you have/*
"Well," he said, "the world would say I have won in life, with
all this business success," and then he turned upon me with
his care-worn face and said: "I would give every dollar I
have if I could cry about personal religion like I used to
.when I was a sixteen year old boy. But," he said, "I have
given myself, I have given my life, I have given my hands, I
have given my brain, I have given my blood, I have given my
manhood, I have neglected my family, I have given my all,
to win, and I do not seem to have any feeling any more at
all." And he is not yet quite fifty years of age. Yes, yes,
the currents are all about you to beat you down.
There is another serious word to be said, and that is that
we can go drifting down the stream and not know it. Many
a Christian is terribly backslidden in his heart and does not
realize it. You remember the story about Samson. Samson
wist not that his strength had departed from him, and when
he went out to grapple with his task he was utterly paralyzed.
His strength was gone, and he wist it not. You remember
that description of Israel of old gray hairs were upon his
head, but he did not know that he had gray hairs. A 4 man
can drift and be far down the stream, almost to the rapids,
almost to the frightful plunge over the precipice, and not
know it at all.
Oh, soul, wrong with God, I am coming in this last moment
to beg you to turn your boat up-stream. Is there anything in
your life wrong in the sight of God? Do you wince when you
think of bringing your life to the gaze of Heaven to the in-
spection of God? Do you wince? Then I pray you, be candid,
and I pray you, be serious, and I pray you, be purposeful, and
I pray you, be determined, and I pray you, be highly resolved.
I pray you, turn that boat up-stream. You have too much at
stake to go longer and further down the stream. Act up to the
light you have. X noted woman, in the darkness, terrible dark-
ness religious, said to one: "What on earth shall I do? Every-
thing about religion is dark as night to me? What shall I
do?" And that one whom she questioned gave her back this
wise answer: "Oh, lady, act as if God were, and you shall
come to know that He is." And in just a few hours she came
THE DEADLY DANGER OF DRIFTING 179
back, His surrendered, trusting child. My fellow-men, my
gentle women, act up to the light you have.
Have you drifted? Are you drifting? Is there some-
thing in your life wrong in the sight of God. Is your boat
going down the stream? I pray you, I challenge you, I be-
seech you, I summon you, I call to you turn your boat up-
stream and turn it without delay, and turn it before it is too
fete.
K young fellow heard a preacher in the other days, and
was greatly moved, and the preacher said: <r When you have a
religious impression, the time to act upon it is right then.
The time when you hear God's call, in the which you ought to
respond is right then." And the young fellow walked down
the aisle and publicly made his surrender to Christ, saying:
"It shall be right now that I take Christ as my Savior," and
he went back to the saw-mill in the mountains where he work-
ed, and the boys said that next morning he sang all the morn-
ing. Religion in the heart makes men sing. The boys said
that he sang all the morning, as they moved the great logs to
the saw-mill, and as he went singing all that morning the
first morning that he had ever known what it was to be
Christ's trusting disciple and follower about noon his body
was caught somehow in the machinery and crushed and man-
gled, so that a little while thereafter he went away into dusty
death. When they got him out he faintly said: "Send for the
preacher, that preacher in the church house at the foot of the
mountains last night/* The preacher fortunately was soon
found and hurried up the mountain to the mill, and he bent
down by the side of the dying fellow, and took his hand and
said: "Charley, I have come. What would you like to say?"
And with a smile on his face that was never on land or sea,
he faintly pressed the minister's hand and said: "Wasn't it a
glorious thing that I settled it in time?" Oh, my men and
women, my men and women, I beseech you, in the great
Savior's name, turn your boat up-stream before it is too late !
"Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation."
Let it be your time your day. Lord, save thou the people
and they shall be saved I
THE CLOSING PRAYER.
And now, Holy Father, as the people go out from thts imdday service, may
go to practice the truth they have heard. May they go to put into lite
180 A QUEST FOR SOULS
the summons, the challenge, the exhortation, the entreaty of God's Book, which
has been brought us this hour. May the drifting Christian say: "As for me,
whatever others may or may not do, God help me, I am going to turn my steps
in the right way to-day." May such one say with Joshua; "As fpr^me and my
house, we will serve the Lord.** O, we pray that the drifting Christian, no mat-
ter what caused the drifting, nor how and where it began, may such Christian
this day come back and walk humbly with Christ, and be saved from those
burning memories, and those accusations of conscience, which ever follow waste
and drifting in the Christian life. And still more do we pray, Lord Jesus, that
the soul in this place that is going down life's stream, without hope and without
God, not saved, not ready to live, not ready to die, not ready for any world* aH
wrong with God, ^ wrong with the moral universe, wrong with time, wrong with
eternity, wrong with earth, wrong with heaven, wrong in every right respect, be-
cause wrong in the chiefest way may such man or woman now be helped of God's
grace to say: "As for me, this day, God help me, my life is going to be linked
with the will of Christ." May every soul in this presence wrong with God, now
say: "As for me, this day I will seek the Lord, and I will follow Him wherever
His light and leading shall point the way." Deepen this work of grace profoundly
in the hearts of this multitude this midday hour, O thou life-giving Lord, and afl
through ibis fair city, may God, by His Divine Spirit, make many a visit to-day,
summoning the people in the upward wa/.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all and each as now you go,
to abide with you forever.
XIII
NIGHT SERVICE, JUNE 18, 1917.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
Again nd again does the duty and the privilege need
to be urged upon all of the great Master's friends that we
shall give ourselves, one by one and from day to day, the
best we can, to the right kind of religious visiting. *Tis
a glorious thing. *Tis nobly constructive. 3 Tis the right
kind of thing in a meeting, when God's people not only
make it a point to come to the public services, but make
it a point to go away from the public services and as best
they can speak to the people about Christ and His great
salvation. You recall that cordial and beautiful invitation
that Moses gave to Hobab, his kinsman : "Come thou with
its, and we will do thee good." That invitation ought
to be given by Christians day by day: "Come thou with
us, and we will do thee good/* They are all about us,
those who need such personal appeal. They are our neigh-
bors. Some of them are our own loved ones, living under
our own roofs. They are our fellow-citizens. They are
our friends. They are strangers within our gates. They
are the poor and the rich, the high and the low. Day in
and out, the right kind of religious visiting, by which is
meant the right kind of conversation concerning personal
religion, ought to be had by Christ's friends. Do it, I pray
you, my fellow Christians, to the last limit of your power.
Speak the word in season to others, from day to day, who
need to hear from your lips the right appeal concerning
personal religion.
181
182 A QUEST FOR SOULS
It is a deeply interesting study to glance at the faces
of people assembled in an audience like this, from evening
to evening. I have found myself searching the audience,
as I do every audience, and my heart is moved by the di-
versity of faces, for what is quite so interesting as a human
face? It has been specially interesting to note that all
ages are coming to the services ; the older people, with their
white hairs and their stooped shoulders, and the strong,
middle-aged men and women, now grappling with the big
battle of life, and the young men and women, beginning
to know something of the seriousness of life, and then the
happy boys and girls. How blessed it has been to see the
boys and girls in these several evening services, and still
more blessed to mark how they listen! I look ' about me
and note in the audience this evening many boys and girls,
and find my heart lifting up a prayer for every boy and
every girl, and find my heart lifting up a prayer for every
young man and woman. Oh, how I covet the young people
for Christ ! It is God's time for them to come, while they
are young, for Jesus not only wishes to receive us into
heaven when we shall die and leave this world, but He
wishes us also to live like we ought while we are in this
world. He desires not only to save our souls, but He
would save our lives here and now. And, therefore, how
reasonable, how wise, that we should be inexpressibly con-
cerned for the boys and girls, for the young men and
women.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH JESUS?
Text: "What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?" Matt 27:22.
I would take a text this evening that I would have
every boy carefully to hear, and every girl, and every
young man, and every young woman, and the older men
and women, because the text is a personal question, from
which there is no getting away, an old question, a question
asked by Pilate. This is that old question: 'What shall
I do then with Jesus?"
Pilate had to face that question, an3 he fri"ffe3 witH it,
and he made shipwreck of himself because he trifled with
that question. And everybody that trifles with that ques-
WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH JESUS? 183
tion shall make shipwreck of himself or herself for time
and for eternity. "What shall I do then with Jesus?" That
question is yours and mine, just the same as it was Pilate's,
and we must answer that question, jijst as surely as he
was called upon to answer it long ago. Now I am coming
to ask these young people and these older people, to-night,
and all of us, and each one of us, how shall we answer
this question: "What shall I do then with Jesus?" How
shall we answer it?
Sometimes the best way to answer a question is to ask
other questions, and that is the way I am going to do
to-night with this question. I am going to ask you some
other questions, so that by asking these other questions
we will be led up to see what we ought to do with this
question we have to-night for our text: "What shall I
do then with Jesus?"
And this is the first question I would ask: What can
I do with Jesus ? Do something with Him I must. I can-
not evade that question. I cannot avoid it. I cannot es-
cape it. Do something with Jesus I must. Neutrality
respecting that question is impossible. Now, what can
I do with Jesus? I can accept Him as my Savior, or I
can reject Him and turn away from Him, just as this man
Pilate did. I can crown Him as my Savior, or I can cru-
cify Him morally in my heart I can put Him away and
have nothing to do with Him. I must do one of those
two things. There are not three things to be done about
Jesus, but one of two things. I shall either be His friend
or His foe. I shall either accept Him as my Savior or
reject Him. I shall either follow after Him or turn away
from Him. I shall either say "Yes" to Him, or "No" to
Him. I shall either be for Him or against Him. Now, I
must do one of those two things.
That brings us to the second question I would ask:
Who is to decide the question for me "What shall I do
then with Jesus?" Who is to decide that question for me?
There is but one somebody in all the world to decide that
question for me. Who is that somebody? Certainly not
my foes, if I have any, are to decide that question for me
and I trust that I have none. Certainly not my friends
184 A QUEST FOR SOULS
and I trust I have friends but however many, or how*
ever few, or however true they may be, no friend that I
have in this world can decide that question for me, but
I myself must decide it. Nor will I be forced to decide
it. I will not be coerced to decide it. I will not be com-
pelled by force to decide this question. Jesus comes and
stands before us and asks: "What will you do with me?
Do something with me you must. What is it going 1 to
be?" Nobody will compel me. Nobody will coerce me.
Nobody will drive me. Nobody will force me. I myself
must face that question, and I must answer it. Now there
comes in the highest dignity of human life, and there comes
in the greatest danger to human life. The highest dignity,
of human life is that a human being can say "Yes" or say
"No" to God. A little human being, fashioned by the
great Maker, can say "Yes" or say "No" to God, and will
say one of those two things when God makes His call.
That is the highest dignity allowed a human being and at
the same time that is the greatest danger that ever comes
to a human life. No danger can compare with that. I can
take this awful power of choice that God has given me-*
and the highest prerogative of human life is the preroga-
tive of choice I can take that and I can ruin myself with
it. I can ruin my life ; I can ruin my soul ; I can ruin all
pertaining to me, by flinging choice down into the ditch
and making the wrong use of choice. Certainly, God is
never at fault that a soul makes the wrong choice. God
is never at fault that a soul misses the upward way.
Listen to God as He talks about it. He takes a great
oath by himself, saying: "As I live, saith the Lord God,
I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that
the wicked turn from his way and live;" "Turn ye, turn
ye, from your evil ways; for why will ye die, oh, house
of Israel?" Certainly Jesus is never at fault that a soul
misses the upward way. Look at Jesus yonder, weeping
over the city of Jerusalem, and as He weeps, He utters
that plaintive cry: "Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often
would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen
gathereth her brood under her wings, and ye would not I
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." JesuS ia
WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH JESUS? 185
never at fault that a soul misses the upward way. If I
shall miss the heavenly way, if this boy shall, or that girl,
or that young man or woman, or the middle-aged man or
woman, or the oldest man or woman here to-night; if any
of us shall miss that upward way, which I pray God to
forbid yet if any of us shall miss the upward way, the
fault will not be God's fault, but it will be our fault
And now that brings me to another question: What
does it matter what I do with Jesus? Does it matter at
all? I have already said: Do something with Him I must.
Do something with Him I will. I will be for Him or
against Him. As certainly as I live and breathe, do some^
thing with Jesus I must, I must. Now, what does it matter
what I do with Him? Does it matter at all? And if it
matters, how does it matter? Wherein does it matter
what I do with Jesus? I am coming to say that it matters
yitally in three great respects. Let us see what they are.
First of all, it matters vitally to you personally, in
your own life, what you do with Jesus. Jesus comes offer-
ing to forgive your sins, if you will surely trust Him.
Jesus comes offering to give you a new heart, if you will
trust Him as your Savior*. Jesus comes offering to change
you with a change that must be within you, if you would
meet God in peace. Jesus does all that. If you come and
give yourself up to Jesus as your Savior, then in His own
way, He will change you and forgive your sins, and put
His power within you, and give you His great salvation.
Surely, that is a matter of unspeakable concern to you.
What you do with Jesus determines whether you shall be
saved. If you do the right thing with Jesus, you will be
saved. If you do the wrong thing with Jesus, you will
miss the upward way and be forever lost. Surely, that
is a matter of supreme moment for you, what you shall
do with Jesus for your own self.
But that is not all. What you 3o with Jesus vitally
matters about your relations to everybody else. What
you do with Jesus vitally affects the life you are to live
and the influence you are to wield down here in this world.
Jesus came, as I said a moment ago, not only to save our
souls and to bring us home to heaven when this life 4ousra
186 A QUEST FOR SOULS
here is done, but Jesus wants to save our lives, wants to
save our influence, wants to save us, and have us on the
right side here in this world here and now. And what
you do with Jesus not only matters for yourself, but it
matters in your influence over everybody else. If I should
ask these young- people to-night this question: "Do you
desire to be useful? Do you wish to live the life most
useful?" your answer would be given without a moment's
hesitation, and with uplifted hand you would say: "Sir,
I desire to live the useful life, to live the most useful life
that it is possible for me to live while I live in this
world/* Well, the most useful life is utterly impossible if
you do not do the right thing with Jesus. If you do not
take Jesus to be your Savior and Master, the most useful
life is utterly impossible. Jesus comes wanting to save
our life, our influence, have us on the right side > so that
our powers may not be misplaced, and be misused, and be
wasted. Jesus wants to save us in the life that we live
here and now, in its relations towards other people.
An old man was saved when he was just eighty years
old. Not many people live to be that old. Perhaps very few
of us in this company will live to be eighty. Three score
and ten is man's allotted life. But this old man that I am
thinking of lived to be eighty, and at eighty he was glo^
riously converted to Christ. Like a little child, he said
"Yes" to Jesus when Jesus called him, and then he lived
four years more. He lived to be eighty-four years old, and
you might ask him when he was eighty-four years old how
old he was, and he would tell you that he was "four years
old." His great-grandchildren would sometimes get around
him, and they would say: "Grandpa, how old are you?"
And the dear old man, with his voice trembling, would
say : "My children, grandpa is four years old." And they
would laugh and nudge one another, and would say : "Why,
grandpa, you are eighty-four." "No," he would say, "I am
four years old." And they would laugh again and say:
"Why, grandpa, you are eighty-four/' And then he would
stop and explain to them, every time: "No. my children,
grandpa lived eighty years without God. Grandpa Hve3
eighty years without being the friend of Jesus. Grandpa
WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH JESUS? 187,
lived eighty years going the wrong road, putting his life
on the wrong side, on the side of sin and Satan, and he has
lived just four years on the right side, just four years on
Jesus* side, and, therefore, grandpa insists that he is just
four years old" Now, there was deep truth in what he
said. He was making the point that I am making to-
night that Jesus wants to save our lives, and our lives
are not saved to the highest if they are against Jesus, if
they refuse Jesus, if they reject Jesus, if they turn away
and fail to follow Jesus.
But more is yet to be said. What does it matter what
we do with Jesus? It matters something else, very im-
portant. I have said it matters for our own salvation what
we do with Jesus. And then I have said it matters for
the life that we live in this world what we do with Jesus.
Now I make bold to say this other word: Where we are
going to spend eternity is dependent upon what we do
with Jesus. Now, isn't that a momentous matter? Where
shall I spend eternity? Eternity, oh, thou great eternity!
Where shall I spend eternity? I will spend eternity ac-
cording to what I do with Christ, and according to what I
do with Christ here in this world, before I go into eternity
at all. Now, isn't that a stupendous matter? And isn't
that a matter to take hold of the hearts of these young
people, and these middle-aged, older people? Where shall
I spend eternity? I will spend eternity according to what
I do with Christ here in the world, here in time, here in
the flesh, here on this earth.
If you have ever been to the Jerry McCauley Mission,
yonder in New York City, you will recall that as you en-
tered it, your attention was arrested by a striking motto,
there in plain view before you, and this is the question of
that motto: "If I should die to-night, where would I go?"
Every man and woman that comes in sees the placard
there on the wall : "If I should die to-night, where would
I go?" I ask this audience, this Monday night, to ask
themselves, one by one: "If I should die to-night, where
would I go?*
You would go into eternity according to your relations
here to Christ. Christ said to some people who caviled
188 A QUEST FOR SOULS
at His teaching when He was here : "Ye shall die in you?
sins; whither I go, ye cannot come," Christ distinctly
teaches us that our relation in eternity will be determined
by our relation here in time to Christ. How serious, how
momentous, how tremendous, is that thought! If I am
to spend eternity in blessedness and peace, then that mat-
ter will be determined here in time by what I do with
Christ. And if here in time, I reject Christ, forget Christ,
leave Him alone, do not come to Him, do not say "Yes"
to Him, do not surrender to Him, and die in that state of
mind and heart, where He goes I cannot come. It is the
clear and unspeakably solemn pronouncement of the Scrip-
tures, whenever the question of destiny is touched upon
in the Scriptures. "As the tree falls, so shall it lie/* "He
that is unjust," says the Bible, "let him be unjust still.**
"He that is filthy, let him be filthy still." "He that is right-
eous, let him be righteous still." "He that is holy, let him
be holy still." What I do with Christ here in time, on
earth, this side of the grave, will determine where shall
be my eternity.
I have asked you three questions, and I have just one
more to ask. I have asked you three questions, trying to
help you answer this question of our text: "What shall
I do then with Jesus?" First, what can you do with Je-
sus? You can accept Him or reject Him. You can say
"Yes" to Him or "No" to Him. Second, what does it
matter what you do with Jesus? It matters vitally for
yourself. It matters vitally for the life you are to live in
this world. And it determines where you will spend your
eternity in the world after this. Who is to answer this
question for us ? We have looked at that question also. No-
body in the world can answer that question for us, but
each one for himself, for herself, must answer it. Now,
I am coming to ask one more question in the discussion
of this pungent question. Here it is: When should I de-
cide this question, "What shall I do with Jesus?* Your
question and my question, the inescapable question, the
inexorable question when should this question, "What
shall I do with Jesus?" be decided? Shall it be decided yes-
day? It cannot be now. Yesterday is gone, and shall
WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH JESUS? 189
never come back again. Shall it be decided to-morrow?
We do not know anything about to-morrow. We have
no promise of to-morrow. The Bible distinctly prohibits
our building on to-morrow. "Boast not thyself of to-mor-
row; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."
When, then, should this question be decided? There is
only one time. The Bible tells us that time. "To-day is
the day of salvation." "Now is the accepted time." "To-
day, if ye hear His voice, harden not your heart." The
time wherein this question of what I am to do with Jesus
is to be settled, the time for its right settlement is to-day,
is here and now, because that is God's time. When we
know what is God's time, we should address ourselves to
it without any delay.
Why should we settle this question of what we are to
do with Jesus to-day to-day and now? I have already
said because it is God's time. Whenever we know God's
time, we should adjust ourselves to it, obediently and
promptly. This is God's time. He knows the best. He
tells us: "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in
his youth/' He tells us: "Remember now thy Creator
in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nof
the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleas-
ure in them." This is God's time, and, therefore, my con-
cern grows deeper every hour that the young people all
over the land may come to Jesus while yet they are young;
Oh, as surely as we live, wisdom has fled from our
churches, if we do not sound out, as we sound out no other
note in the world, that the time in which people are to be
saved is in life's morning, and not in life's evening, and not
in life's middle time. The time is in life's morning. "Re-
member now thy Creator, in the days of thy youth." Why?
He tells us : "While the evil days come not, nor the years
draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in
them/' The time for us to come to Christ, oh, my young
people, happy boys and girls, happy, hopeful young men
and women, the time for us to come is in life's morning,
because that it is the habit-fonning time in life. Our habits
shall be crystallized soon. I have seen many people when
were converted to Christ and confessed Him publicly
190 A QUEST FOR SOULS
before the people, and yet just a few have I ever seen
who came to Christ when the white hair was about their
temples just a few. I spoke a little while ago to some
1200 Christian men, a few over 1200 by actual count
just Christian men a special message I was asked to give
for Christian men and I asked that group of a little over
1200 Christian men: "How many of you came to Christ
after you were forty-five years of age?" How many do
you suppose stood up? Only three .after they were forty-
five. "How many of you came after you were forty?'*
Thirteen. "How many of you came after you were thirty
years of age?" Less than fifty. "How many of you came
to Christ before you were twenty-one?" And over 1100
stood to their feet, saying: "We came to Christ before
we were twenty-one."
Oh, it is God's counsel for us to gather into His fold
the happy young people in the morning of life ! It is God's
time. It is the habit-forming time. They are forming their
habits quickly now. Life is plastic now. Life is renascent
now, responsive no.w, malleable now. After awhile it will
be set in its ways. The adagfc comes in just there which
says : "As the twig is bent the tree is inclined." You can
go and bend down the little bushes and swing them this
way and that, but in after years you may go back, and
there are the strong, stalwart trees, which will bend neith-
er this way nor that. They are set at last, fixed at last,
by the fearful power of hab
