RECONCILIATION:
OR
HOW TO BE SAVED
BY
REV. WILLIAMA TAYLOR.
OF THE lNDIA MISSION CONFERENCE
AUTHOR OF
SEVEN YEARS' STREET PREACHING IN SAN FRANCISCO,
" THE MODEL PREACHER,"' CAIAFORNIA LIFE ILLUSTRATED," "ADDRESS TO YOUNG AMERICA," ITO7,
I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God
unto salvation.-ST. PAUL.
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salva.
tion.-IBID.
NEW YORK:
PH ILLI PS & H UNT.
CINCINNATI:
WALDEN & STOWE.








PREFACE.
THE following pages contain simple appeals to reason and
common sense, on the most important subiect in the world,
addressed directly to any unsaved man, woman, or child in
it, who may read them.
The way of Salvation by faith is defined and illustrated
in almost every chapter, but the work is extended so as to
embrace a broad basis of Gospel doctrines, and an exnose
of a great variety of hindrances encountered by aifterent
classes of sinners-in coming to God.
During my recent visitation of the churches in Australia,
Tasmania, New Zealand, and Southern Africa the validity of
the simple Gospel method of salvation explained in these
pages was tested by more than eleven thousand souls, who
avowedly sought, and publicly professed to have obtained
" peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." These
were personally examined by ministers of the Gospel, who
satisfied themselves, so far as it is possible to learn such
facts from the testimony of the parties, of the genuineness
of the work of God in each case, and wrote down their
names and addresses, and put them under pastoral care.
Among these soldls saved were lawyers, doctors, bankers,
merchants, mechan~,cs, and persons cGf -l, grades down to
hundreds of raw heathens from- the wilds of Africa.  I do
not, therefore, send forth this little volume as a hypothetical
theory, that may be tried as an experiment, but as the
adjustment of God's truth which has been tried successfully by multitudes.  It is not a book of sermons,
and does not contain  a  tithe of all that'Las  been
proclaimed from the pulpit in connection with the work of




iV                   PREFACE.
God in Australia and Africa, but it does contain the
essential Gospel doctrines, and that practical adjustment and
application of them which God the Holy Spirit hath been
pleased to employ, and is now successfully using in those
countries. I thought at first I would not record these
facts, lest it might appear invidious or egotistical, but my
"second  sober thought" is, that  while an ostentatious
representation even of the work of God, is a thing to be
deprecated, an occasional candid statement of facts, brought
out by the testimony of so many credible witnesses, illustrating the mighty work of the Holy Spirit, will do honour
to God, and give to poor sinners, struggling in the mazes
of doubt, something definite and tangible to guide their
weary feet to their loving, waiting Saviour.  What a vague
inadequate idea we would have had of the great work of
the Spirit on that memorable Pentecostal day,'if St. Luke
had not recorded the fact,  Then they that gladly received
his word were baptized; and the same day there were
added unto them about three thousand souls."
I have no new discovery to recommend, but a simple
explanation and  application of the old essential saving
doctrines and methods of the Gospel, just such as God hath
always blessed in.the salvation of sinners, by whomsoever
proclaimed, regardless of name, time, or nation. While,
therefore, as an humble "' ambassador for Christ," I am, in
conjunction with my brethren, proclaiming these glad
tidings from the pulpit, and daily witnessing the salvation of
sinners in this city, I believe that through the prayers of
good people, which I earnestly bespeak, and the unction of
the Holy Spirit, which I am sure He is waiting to bestow,
my little book will travel in a mission of mercy quite beyond the limits of my personal ministry, and the period of
my probationary life, and result, instrumentally, in the
salvation of very many precious souls.
THE  AUTHOR.
L.n.u.io, February 25th, 1867.




CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
OVR NEED OF SALVATION.
First ground of quarrel with God: groundlessness of a qu arrel
with God: his kindness in creation, his charter of human
rights and privileges. Satan's creed. "The lying bankrupt." "Pete, ~Ad Alice." Satan's arrangements-Second
ground of quarrel with God. An examination of his moral
laws. Their utility, necessity, and perpetuity. Squaring
accounts by the law. The old man's story for the Sabbathbreaking boys. Plummet laid to the heart. The dishonoured grave. Utter deficiency of human nature. St.
Paul's photograph of it. ]iis second taking bad as the
first. No man justified by the law. Carnal forces aroused.
The soul in bondage. Workings of the law of sin. "-Oh!
wretched man that I am!" Was St. Paul the man? The
Cobra di C(apella. Summary of the sinner's state. Can
the law afford any relief?..                1-35
CHAPTER II.
GOD S PROVISION OF SALVATION.
Mysterious problem of human redemption. King Seleucus.
The great problem solved. The supreme divinity of Christ
essential to his redeeming work. God's appreciation of man,
Prince of Wales-an illustration. Glad tidings. MorJa




Vi                   CONTENTS.
agency. " The man who killed our son." Key to Bible mysteries. Christ the only Saviour. " The orchestra of heaven."
Three particulars explaining his redeeming work.  The
Holy Spirit's agency. The Holy Trinity. The messenger
of the covenant. Metaphors illustrating the character of
Christ. Rule for defining the relevant points of figures of
illustration. Teaching type of God the Father and God
the Son. Its relevant points. Irrelevant points precluded.
"The Son of Man"-not the son of any man. Doctrine of
the Holy Trinity in unity. Personality of the Holy Spirit.
Three grand departments of his work. His books. His
final settlement with mankind  -   -. 36-70
CHAPTER III.
PRELIMINARY CONDITION OF SALVATION-REPENTANCE.
The Holy Spirit's attraction. The repulsion of sin and Satan.
The tug of war. Undeniable facts. An explanation de.
mended.  But one solution.  Two logical conclusions.
Why did God allow Satan to enter the Garden of Eden?
Why not eject him  from  the world?   The young
Atheist.  How  he was convinced of the existence of
God  and of devils.  The  attracting  and  repellant
forces illustrated.  The Gadarene.  Work of God in
Mamaraneck.  Thomas Paine.  Rev. Mr. Hollis. New
York policeman. Demonstrable facts. The true Briton of
Canada. "I'll go to Jesus"   -     -          71-90
CHAPTER IV.
REPENTANCE-CONTINUED.
Considered in its legal relations. The baptism of fire. Peni
tential journey from Mount Sinai to Mount Zion. Crucified and buried with Christ. Quickened, by the Spirit.
Practical end of repentance. Time required for reaching




CONTENTS.                    VIl
it. The man in Melbourne who made restitution. The
man in Victoria who returned ~150 and made confession.
Young man in Cornwall.  Repentance, a thing of the
heart. Zaccheus. Rev. Peter Turner's testimony concerning
the IFriendly Islanders. Great revival in Ireland and
Scotland. Variety of manifestation incidontal. Various
examples of rejectors of the light. Dead trees.  Perished
souls. Beautiful ash-tree of Shane Castle, Ireland. Valley
of Hinnom.  Repentance unto life. The " Spotter."  His
prayer. His faith. His deliverance and testimony
91-121
CHfAPTER V..~E~CTIVE CONDITION OF SALVATION-FAITH.
Ground or basis of saving faith. Its reliability. God's prophetic record concerning Christ.  His historical record
concerning Christ. Wide dissemination of Gospel facts by
the witnesses who saw and heard them. Martyr witnesses.
Ample time and opportunity for a refutation of their statements if they had not been true. Testimony of Jewish and
heathen historians-Josephus, Pliny, Tacitus, Suetonius,
Lucian, Julian. Summary of various classes of evidence.
its adequacy. Dr. Freshman, a Jewish Rabbi in Canada.
His question to the Jerusalem  Rabbi-his conversion tr
God-his successful testimony to the truth.  The Germas
Jew of Montreal. How he found Messiah. Modern Intidels. Bishop Colenso. Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim.
Fallacy exposed. Facts essential to salvation easily known.
Teaching power of God's law of demand and supply. Why
mystery-mongers, from the witch of Endor down to Mr.
Davis, the spirit rapper, succeed in drawing men after
them. The sinner has to do with facts. Power of testimony. The New Jersey lawyer. Ballaarat sceptic. "A




Viii                 CONTENTS.
cloud of witnesses.  Reports of Australasian Conference.
Sceptic on New Zealand steamship.  Colonel R ——.
Deluded pilgrims. St. Peter's testimony. Spiritual ignorance inexcusable..         122-157
CHAPTER VI.
OBJECT; NATURAL FUNCTIONS, AND SPIliTUAL GIFT OF FAITH.
Object of faith. Natural functions of faith. Illustration of
the Doctor and his credentials, and the variety of patients.
Rev. Granville Moodie. Surgical Work of the Spirit. Faith
the gift of God. May be savingly used or abused. Should
we pray for faith? The pure river of water of life.
Variety of classes coming to drink, illustrated - 158-179
CHAPTER VII.
SAVING EXERCISE OF FAITH.
Variety of erroneous teaching exposed. What is a penitent
sinner to believe? The simple saving exercise of faith
explained and illustrated. Justification. The Spirit's witness. Good works. A seeker in Sydney. How a Scotchman was saved by faith. The shipmaster in Auckland.
New Zealand. Seeker in Mudgee, New South Wales, whc
said, "I can't believe."  "Is yolr scul insured."  " The
tide is receding"    -      -              -  1.80.209




RECONCI L IAT I ON;
OR,
HOW TO BE SAVED.
CHAPTER I.
OUR NEED OF SALVATION.
" BE YE- RECONCILED TO GOD."
My DEAR FRIEND, —Is it possible, that, like those;miserable old heathens in the city of Corinth, you
are maintaining a quarrel with God? What hath
our heavenly Father done to you, that you should
rebel against him, and persistently refuse to be
reconciled to him?
Your heart responds secretly, "He brought me
into this world without my consent, and now wants
to tyrannize over me!"
When the proposition, "Let us make man in
our own image, after our likeness; and let them
have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over
all the earth, and over every creeping thing that
B




2    FIRST GROUND OF QUARREL WITH GOD.
creepeth upon the earth," was entertained in;he
councils of the Holy Trinity, where were you, that
you could have been consulted?
But, my friend, such a life-charter was not designed for slaves, but for the rulers of this world,
second only to the Creator himself. But suppose
it were possible that you could be annihilated, and
that God should propose to strike you out of being;
are you ready for that?  "Verily nay!"  How
sweet is life. How tenaciously we cling to it. If
life, with all the disabilities and horrible encumbra.nces entailed upon it by sin, is so precious to
us, what must it have been without these evils,
according to the grand ideal of God's " purpose"
spanning the brief period of probation, and expanding in a continuous development of human
capabilities, in the enjoyment of exhaustless resources of blessedness through the eternal future?
Why should we fall out with God for admitting
us "to the race set before us" for such a prize,
and for endowing us with powers exactly adapted
to the struggle, and a capacity for the "far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory-" beyond?
Every loyal subject of God, in this world, shall
there be exalted to the social status and dignity of
"kings and priests unto God."'




SATAN S CREED.              3
My dear friend, allow  me respectfully to say,
that these heart-whispers about the tyranny of
God, arise from a vile slander invented by the
" father of lies," and by him deeply impressed on
the hearts of all " the children of disobedience."
The old " deceiver" commenced to practise his
arts upon us in our unsuspecting childhood, and
thoroughly indoctrinated us into his creed, the
substance of which is as follows:-"God is an
austere, hard master.  Children are lovely little
creatures, full of desires for happiness, and the
beautiful world before us is full of pleasures for
them, but God means that they shall hate themselves and hate the beautiful things they love so
much, and be kept all the time thinking about
something they do not want to think about; or be
doing something they do not want to do.
" Parents have kind hearts, but forget that they
once were children. They have an old superstitious
idea of putting old heads on the young shoulders
of their children, and of crossing all their little
plans for pleasure.  Week-days of hard work, and
hard lessons, and dry dreary Sundays for committing to memory the catechism, and reading the
Psalms of David.
"Ah, my larks, slip away on Sundays and have




4               SATAN'S CREED.
some fun, your parents will never know it. A
thousand ways of getting pleasure, just try it. Go
a-fishing, hunt for birds' nests, ramble in the woods
and flowery vales, play marbles, any thing, you
cannot miss having a jolly good time. Father and
mother did the same things when they were little,
and they have got on all right.  Every body
does it!
"God, and the Bible, and the long prayers are
all well enough for old people in affliction who
cannot enjoy the pleasures of this life, and for poor
sinners when they are going to die.
"It is hard, indeed, if young people so full of
life cannot enjoy themselves now, while they are
young.
" The Bible says' The way of transgressors is
hard,' but you see it is very easy.  It says that' Life is short,' but you see it is very long.  It
tells about all sorts of horrible things that shall
befall the wicked, but you see that they get on as
well as any body, and have a great deal more
pleasure than those people who go to meeting
every Sunday. It tells about hell in the next
world; but if there is any such a place, it is a
long way off, and you have plenty of time for the
pleasures of life in childhood, then for wealth and




I THE LYING OLD BANKRUPT.  5
honours, and if it should' ome to the worst, and
you find you are not likely to live much longer,
why you can repent, and God will forgive you, and
you will escape hell, and fare just as well as if you
had commenced the service of God in the morning
of life." An artful mixture of falsehood and truth,
full of the spirit of sedition!
The presumption of Satan is beyond all precedent.
He showed Jesus Christ " all the kingdoms of the
world, and the glory of them, and saith unto him,
All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall
down and worship me." If he had the impudence
thus to tempt Him "by whom and for whom all
things were made," what would he not engage to
give us if we will but renounce our allegiance to
God? The lying old bankrupt: he never owned a
foot of land in his life; and he never did, and
never can, convey one drop of real happiness to
any human being. The fact of the matter, my
friend, is this: God created us to be happy, and
perfectly adjusted His great law of demand and
supply to that end. Happiness, immediately or
remotely, is the object of universal pursuit, and it
is a legitimate object of desire. Every member of
the human body, every attribute of the mind,
every function of our moral nature, every instinct,




6      PROVISION OF DEMAND AND SUPPLY.
appetite and passion, essential to humanity, is, in
itself, not only a means of usefulness, but, to us, a
source of pleasure. And how perfect are all God's
provisions and adaptations of supply, for all these
demands! Among these you may reckon the
material heavens above us, and the earth, air, and
sea, with their teeming resources, animate and
inanimate, around and beneath us.
Surely this beautiful, fruitful, harmonious, wiselyadjusted world was not designed as the residence,
of slaves and rebels, but as the school-grounds for
God's own dear children.  God's arrangement for
our happiness, through all these resources, embraces
a wise symmetrical adjustment to secure to us the
greatest possible aggregate of happiness for our
whole eternity of being.  For every instinct, appetite, passion, and power of body and mind there is
a legitimate use and appropriate sphere, and time
for exercise in harmony with God's will.
Satan's arrangement is to suspend the right
exercise of the functions of our moral nature, and
as fast as possible to blind, paralyze and destroy
our spiritual receptivity; unduly excite and develope
sensual appetites and passions; circumscribe our
mental vision by the radius of " the things which
are seen and temporal;" locate the great end




SATAN'S ARRANGEMENT.           7
of our being in the present life, and lead us to a
reckless misapplication and prostitution of our
powers, and a disorganizing, abusive use of God's
bounteous provisions.
Satan claims for his arrangement the credit of
all the happiness that sinners enjoy in this life.
But the fact is, my friend, all the enjoyment any
sinner ever had through sinful indulgences, was
derived through God-given sources of pleasure.
The guilt, remorse, misery, and death involved, are
all from Satan and sin. Of his whole stock in
trade, he has nothing better to give us. "The"
very " wages of sin is death."
I venture to say, my dear friend, you have never
been really happy since you became a child of
" disobedience," and yielded yourself to the deceitful working of the evil spirit.
A mother, on leaving home for a short visit,
said to her two little children, "Now, Peter, I
want you, and your little sister Alice, to play here
in the yard till I come back. Be good children,
and don't go through that gate into the woods, and
I'll bring you something good when I return."
"Yes, mamma, we'll be good, and we won't go
out into the woods."
After they -had played in the yard awhile, Peter




8             PETER AND ALICE.
went to the gate, and began to play with the
latch, and said, "Sister Alice, I wonder why
mamma told us not to go into the woods?.[
wonder if she thought the bears would catch us?
The bears wouldn't catch us, would they, sister
Alice."'
"No, I don't think there are any bears out
there."  Somehow, in playing with the latch,
Peter lifted it, and the gate came open ajar, and
peeping out he saw a squirrel. "Oh! Alice, here's
a squirrel!" and out they both ran after the nimble little;animal, till it was hid away among the
trees; and then they rambled among sweet flowers
with new delights at every discovery, till they
came to a small lake, and Peter said, " I wonder
if mother thought we would fall into the lake?
We won't fall into the lake, will we sister Alice 2 "
"No, indeed we won't."
When they returned through the gate into the
yard, Peter said, "Now  Alice, you mustn't tell
mamma that we've been out into the woods. She'll
be grieved, and may punish us, if she knows we
have been out."
"1 won't tell her," replied Alice, "but if she
asks us, what shall we say? "
0 she'll not think of it," said Peter,' but you




PETER AND ALICE.             ~9
mustn't tell her." Poor boy, he felt a new feeling
in his little heart, and a very uncomfortable feeling it was too. Tl'he sun did not seem to shine so
brightly as before, the flowers in the garden
seemed to lose their beauty, the chirping of the
birds grated on his ear, and his toys had. lost the
charm of pleasing. Indeed, he felt so badly, that
though he had charged Alice to keep their secret,
it "would out."  When his mother was preparing him for bed, and had him kneel by her side,
and say " Our Father which art in heaven," his
voice was so tremulous he could hardly say it.
As soon as his prayer was over, he said, "Mamma, why did you tell us not to go into the woods,
did you think the bears would catch us?"
"No, my son, I didn't think anything about
the bears."
" Did you think we should fall into the lake?"
" How did you know there was a lake out there,
Peter? Have you and Alice been out in the woods.?"
"Ah, 0 yes, mamma, we went out a little piece."
"Ah, Peter, my son, you lost something."
He immediately felt in his pockets for knife, and
string, and little toys, and replied, "No, mamma,
I haven't lost anything."' Yes, my son, you've lost a great deal. Now,
just think, and see what you've lost."




10  SECOND GROUND OF QUARREL WITH GOD..Peter thought a few moments, and covered his:
face, and wept.
"What have you lost, Peter?"
"Oh! mamma, I've lost the happy out of my
heart!"
Ah! my dear friend, you- remember when you
"lost the happy" out of your heart. Alas! it is
gone, and you will never regain it till you are
converted, and "become as little children." rThen,
with a heart full of the reconciling love of God,
you may seek your happiness in obedience to his
own harmonious adjustments. Then, all the conditions of our probationary state, complicated and
painful as they have become by sin, will be laid
under contribution in His wise disciplinary "purpose" "to work together for our good."  Why
will you, my friend, refuse to "be reconciled to
God?".
The secret response of your heart is —" His laws
are too severe for poor human nature."
Well, my friend,. suppose we examine them,
and see for ourselves. We have an epitome of
God's laws in the decalogue.
The first proclaims our great Creator, as God
of love, and the only suitor worthy of our supreme
confidence, adoration, and love. What a privilege I




ARE GOD'S LAWS TOO SEVERE?       11
The second forbids our setting him aside, and
substituting some idol in his stead.  Surely that
command is right. God could not consent to
such a debasement of "his offspring."
The third prohibits the profane use of His
name. WoVuld the British people allow a man
to blaspheme the name of her Majesty Queen
Victoria?
The fourth enjoins six days of labour, and
sanctifies a seventh of time-the holy Sabbathas the proportionate necessary rest-period for
man and beast, and for purposes of collective worship. In the institution of human rights to time,
is that too much for God to reserve, and " sanctify " for those gracious purposes? The " Sabbath
was made for man."  The fundamental law of the
institution is'"good will to man;" and hence, if
the statute in any case worlks injuriously to man,
the fundamental law takes the precedence, and in
such case suspends the statute; and hence we have
a legitimate provision for works of necessity, and
works of mercy on the Sabbath. What a merciful institution is the holy Sabbath i
The next six commands are to guard the mutual relationships and rights of the human family
against abuse or injury.




1MORAL LAW EXAMINED.
The fifth command enjoins filial obedience.
Are you prepared to say that such a command is
not necessary and right?
The sixth guards human rights to life. God
thus shows his high appreciation of human life.
This law is backed by God's ancient penal safeguard —"'Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man
shall his blood be shed:" appending the sublime reason for such a penalty, "for in the image
of God made he man."  In the compensations of
Divine providence this penalty, is executed by a
variety of modes, in wars, and otherwise,
besides the legal execution of murderers. The
man who dares to outrage this gracious law forfeits his protection. "Murder will out," and God's
avenging angel will wait on him, and in due time,
rid society of the "bloody and deceitful man."
The seventh guards human rights to chastity. God
ordained the family relation in Eden, under the sanction of marriage, and guards this sacred institution
by the command, " Thou shalt not commit adultery." Could God do less, and do justice to society?
The eighth guards human rights to property. I
think, as he reserved a seventh of time, so he reserved a tenth of property for the support of His
ministers of religion, and for the relief of the poor,




MORAL LAW EXAMINED.            1
providentially leaving, also, a sufficient margin on
account of these demands for the exercise of the
largest liberality in the way of "free-will offerings."  But we have not time to enlarge on that
subject to-day.
The ninth guards our rights' to reputation, than
which, next to life and chastity, nothing is so dear
to a man. Steal my property, and with mind and
muscle left, I can accumulate; rob me of my,
health, and by proper medical treatment and careful nursing, I may rise and rally, or at worst find
an honourable grave in which to rest; but destroy
my reputation, and I am  ruined.  My children
for generations would be afraid to trace their
genealogy, lest they should run against the nuisance that would expose their shame. How kind
of God to guard this sacred interest by the command, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against
thy neighbour."
The tenth command does not, T think, represent
a distinct relationship, like the five preceding, but
is designed to cap and bind the whole, by striking
at the covetous desire of the heart, which might
lead to a violation of any of the nine, especially the.
five pertaining to our mutual relationships.
You observe, my friend, that in the five guard.




14   HAS THE MORAL LAW BEEN REPEALED?
ing human rights, the highest offence in each case
Inlv is stated; the tenth mentions the incipient
heart-conception of the sin, so that between the
highest and the lowest, every form and degree of
sin in each case is alike prohibited.  They bear
equally too upon the whole human family.  I am
not allowed to kill you, or steal your property;
and you are not allowed to kill me, or steal mine;
and so with all the rest. Can society dispense with
any of these commands?  Can it endure even a
modification of any of them?  T'o say, for example,
that a man may kill a few, but not many, and
steal, a little, in moderation?
Is it not marvellous that any sane mall can believe that the moral law was merely a local Jewish
institution, to  be  abolished  by  the  gospel?
The great Teacher says, "I came  not to
destroy the law, but to fulfil."  "Do we make
void the. law by faith?  God forbid," says St. Paul,
"nay, we establish the law."
When he speaks of believers not being " under
the law, but under grace," in so far as it relates to
the moral law, he simply teaches the fact that
they are not under the "curse of the law," having
been "justified freely," by the grace of God in
Christ, andt that their obedience now, is not from




CONSEQUENCES OF ITS REPEAL.        15
the legal heart-principle of fear, but the superior
principle of that " love " which "is the fulfilling of
the law."
Abolish the moral law, and then the majesty
and strength of human laws for the protection of
society, based on these great fundamental laws of
God, are gone.  Publish it to the world that God's
prohibition of the works of the flesh —" adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revilings and such like" —has been repealed, and these diabolical and carnal forces,
unrestrained, would utterly desolate the world.
We see, therefore, my friend, that " the law
is holy, and the commandment holy, just, and good,'"
and so essential as a legal safeguard to those
sacred interests of mankind, as to be of perpetual
necessity, and hence of perpetual obligation, "not
a jot or tittle to fail," till the material heavens
and the earth "shall pass away."  Indeed, the
great principles of the law are immutable, and
eternal.
Now, my friend, as it is clearly manifest that
God's holy laws furnish you no just grounds of conmplaint against him, allow me to inquire, whether




Io6   SQUARING ACCOUNTS BY TflE LAW.
or not, you have kept the commandments of God?
"The man which doeth these things shall live by
them."
From your infancy up, has God been the object
of your supreme confidence, adoration, and love?
Have you never set him aside, and idolized the
c.}eature, instead of worshipping the Creator?
Are you sure you never took the name of God
in vain, neither by a profane, nor foolish and
needless use of it?
Have you remembered the Sabbath day to keep
it holy? You don't remember that you ever went
out  robbing birds' nests, nor "boat-riding,"
nor skating, nor any kind of pleasure-seeking
excursions on the holy Sabbath?  You never did
any work on that day, but such as the suffering
interests of mankind rendered imperative under the
"good will to man" fundamental principle of
law, before defined? You never " posted ledgerbooks," wrote business letters, encouraged unnecessary commerce, or carrying in railways and
ships, nor even sympathised with those old speculators we read about, who said " When will the
new moon be gone that we may sell corn? and the
Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat?"'I'he mean ingratitude of Sabbath-breaking is




KIND REPROOF.            17
illustrated by the following. —An old man saw
some boys playing marbles in the street on the
Sabbath day. He did not abuse them and drive
them off homeward, but kindly addressed them,
saying, " Boys, let me tell you a story." The boys,
who are always glad to hear a story, as once
stopped their game to hearken.
Having gained their attention, the old man
said, "A certain good man had seven pounds, and
gave six of them  to a poor beggar. The beggar
shoved the money down into his pocket, and never
said' thank ye,' but watched his chance, and stole
the seventh pound from the good man.
"' Now boys, what do you think of such a fellow
as that beggar?'
The boys all said at once, "that he was the
meanest man they ever heard of."
When the old man kindly made the application,
the boys blushed, and quietly put up their marbles,
and retired to their homes.
My dear friend, have you honoured your father
and mother by cheerful obedience, and have you
developed such a character, in your relations to
God, and mankind, as to afford at once a source ofcomfort and gladness to your parents, and reflect
honour upon them?  Alas! how many mothers'
C




18           GOD S LAWS BROKEN.
hearts are broken, and how many fathers, even
before their gray hairs appear, go " down to their
graves mourning" under the withering, dishonouring blight cast upon them by their prodigal children.
"Thou shalt not kill." "Don't charge me with
that!"  I do not mean to, my friend; but if you
are entirely innocent, we can analyze the subject
all the more comfortably to ourselves. It is possible to kill without any murderous intent; that is
not murder; but malice aforethought, unexecuted,
is murder in the eye of this law.' He that hateth
his brother," though he may never have spoken
an angry word, much less lifted his hand to strike
the fatal blow, " is a murderer."
"Thou shalt not commit adultery." How many
genteel-looking men abuse the gifts of God-their
money and their talents of usefulness-by plying
their deceitful arts to decoy the unsuspecting virgin
into the fatal snare, involving her in a life of
infamy and misery, more horrible than the pain of
many deaths. The laws of God, and the laws of
her country, backed by the highest penal sanctions,
kindly extended to her their protecting shield, but
she trampled it under her feet, and gave up her
birthright to the wretch that ruined her. Now,
her place in the sacred precincts of her father's




THE DISHONOURED GRAVE.
household is vacant.  Her parents and family are
"black with astonishment."  They never mention
her name; her memory is cast out to "' rot." A
nameless head-board only, marks the spot where
her dishonoured carcase was hid away in the
grave.
Many of these, in their turn, lost to virtue and
to shame, decoy "the simple ones "-" A young
man void of understanding " —" He goeth after her
straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, car
as a fool to the correction of the stocks; till a
dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth
to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his
life."
My dear friend, I would not charge you with
these enormous crimes, but you remember the
great Teacher's comment on this law, and its
spiritual application to the heart:" He that looketb
on a woman to lust after her, is an adulterer,'
though he may never have spoken to her in his
life.
" Thou shalt not steal." Remember, any dishonest appropriation of the property of another, is
as really a violation of this law as larceny. The
Saviour himself gives it that application: "De-fraud not."




20    THE PLUMMET LAID TO THE HEART.
My dear friend, I hope you are not guilty of:the very common, but most contemptible sin of
infracting the laws of truth, in court, or in the
social circle, against the reputation of your neighbour.
The tenth command lays " the plummet" and
rule to the heart. It is the spirit of man that God
is educating for heaven.
Now, my dear friend, are you right sure that you
are guiltless?  If you have never broken one of
these laws in heart or life, you have no need to
seek reconciliation with God; but if you have
broken any one of them, you are obnoxious to the
death-penalty of the law. " The soul that sinneth,
it shall die."  " Cursed is everyone that continueth
not in all things which are written in the law to do
them."
One day, when Jesus was returning from a
preaching tour east of Jordan, to Jerusalem, "there
came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked
him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may
inherit eternal life?-, "Thou knowest the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not kill,
do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not,
honour thy father and mother."
The man was evidently astonished; he thought




C JESUS, BEHOLDING HIM, LOVED HIM."  21
he would tell him  to do some great thing, and
promptly replied " Master, all these have I observed
from my youth." He had not killed any body, had
never stolen anything, and indeed, had never outraged the claims of society by an outward violation
of any of the commandments.
Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him, and said
unto him, " One thing thou lackest." Alas I that
was the essential thing.  The all-seeing eye of
Jesus disclosed the awful fact, that with all his
uprightness of character, and ingenuous simplicity,
there was such a development of covetous idolatry
in his heart, that nothing short of a literal divorce
from his riches, would so detach his affections, as
to enable him to follow Jesus, love God with all
his heart, and attain eternal life, and he said, "Go
thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the
poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and
come take up thy cross and follow me."  He put
against his love of riches, the claims of God and
his neighbour; and yet, such was the strength,
and blinding effect of his heart-idolatry, that he
at once ignored the claims of both God and his
neighbour, turned his back on Jesus, and the glories
of His kingdom, and went off in the' broad way
to destruction."




22   UTTER DEFICIENCY OF HUMAN NATURE
God cannot accept an outward sham of obedience that is contradicted by the life-principles of
the heart.
The man lacked just what we all naturally lack
-the heart-principle of obedience, love to God,
and our neighbour, without which it is utterly
impossible to fulfil the law.  We are not only
destitute of this essential principle of obedience,
but we are naturally corrupt.  " The carnal mind
is enmity against God, not subject to his law,
neither indeed can be." It is not simply at enmity,
but "is enmity," —in its very nature corrupted, and
directly antagonistic to God's nature. The natural
working and fruits of the "carnal mind" are thus
clearly set forth by St. Paul-" And even as they
did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God
gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those
things which are not convenient: being filled with all
unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate,
*deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of
God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil
things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection,
implacable, unmerciful: who, knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things




PHOTOGRAPHED BY ST. PAUL.       23
are worthy of death, not only do the same, but
nave pleasure in them that do them."  But you
are ready to say with the old Pharisees: "That is
all true of the heathen, but we have Abraham for
our father; we have the oracles of God; we are
his enlightened people."  Nay, my friend, the inspired apostle has given us, through the light of
the Holy Spirit, a true photograph of human
nature, as we see from the conclusion he records,
"Therefore, thou art inexcusable, 0 man, whosoever thou art that judgest, for wherein thou
judgest another thou condemnest thyself, for thou
that judgest doest the same things."  That this
picture embraces the entire human family in their
fallen, unrenewed state, is fully proved by St.
Paul's ensuing arguments with the Jew, the conclusion from which is as follows:-'" What, then, are
we, better than they?  No, in no wise; for we
have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that
they are all under sin-as it is written, " There is
none righteous, no, not one. There is none that
understandeth: there is none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the way; they are
together become unprofitable; there is none that
doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open
sepulchre; with their tongues they have used de



24        ST. PAUL'S SECOND TAKING.
ceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose
mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their
feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and
misery are in their ways: And the way of peace
have they not known: There is no fear of God
before their eyes. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under
the law' that every mouth may be stopped, and
all the world may become guilty before God." The
Jews were unwilling-as the unsaved portions of
the Christian world still are-to admit that St.
Paul's former dark picture of human nature embraced them. Then he so adjusted his camera as
to put them in the foreground, and the result was
the picture just delineated.  Look at it.  It is not
a shade better than the other. The clearer the
light the deeper the guilt involved in its rejection.
The rejecters of gospel light in Capernaum were
immeasurably more guilty than the old heathen of
Sodom. The outward manifestation of this deep
depravity differs in different nations according to
their various modes of education, and is differenr
also in its individual fruits, but the' carnal mind,"
producing all these various forms of iniquity, is
essentially human nature in its fallen and ruined
condition.




NO MAN JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW.      25
We will not debate abstractedly the docrine of
total depravity. We have to do with palpable
demonstrable facts.  Through the covenant of
mercy in Christ, all infant children commence life
in the kingdom of Jesus, and sin is not imputed to
them till, coming to years of accountability, they
voluntarily "yield themselves servants to sin."
Then through the long or short period of their day
of grace, they are subjects of the enlightening and
awakening power of the Holy Spirit, which has a
modifying effect on their lives.  Moreover, they
may have the most useful gifts, and the most attractive attainments, in the varieties of science and art,
poetry, and music, and social virtues. We may add
to these, the instinctive parental, filial, and fraternal
affections, which we find in great strength in the
animal creation as well; but.though we gladly,
for the honour of humanity, admit these facts, when
we come to define our disjointed relationships to
God and men, by the " holy" simple standard of
justice - the "moral law" - we find ourselves
utterly deficient, and hence St. Paul's conclusion
from the foregoing argument-" Therefore by the
deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified
in his sight." No man, since the fall of Adam,
ever was, or ever can be justified by the deeds of the




26  CAN THE " ETHIOPIAN CHANGE HIS SKIN."
law, because his very nature is contraband, and he
cannot change it any more than "the Ethiopian
can change his skin, or the leopard his spots." He
may disguise it. He may honourably fulfil the
outward duties of life, growing out of all his relations to society. Under the awakening power of
God's Holy Spirit, he may do "many things," as
did the murderer of John the Baptist, and unlike
him, may become as righteous as the Pharisees,
who fasted twice a week, paid tithes of all they
possessed, and prayed at the corners of the streets
by the hour; andl thus, so conceal his heartcorruption, and modify its outward manifestation,
as not only to deceive others, but effectually
and totally deceive himself and go to hell by mistake.
The impossibility of salvation by the law is not
because the law is unduly severe, but because our
fallen nature is so bad. We have seen that human
relationships and rights cannot be maintained by a
law less stringent, and if our nature cannot be
brought up to the standard of simple justice in our
relations to God and men in this life, it surely will
not do for the purity of heaven.
What, then, is the use of the law, if we are
naturally so weak, and so corrupt as to be utterly
unable to keep it-?




THE SPIRIT S USE OP THE LAW.      27
As a divine rule of simple justice it is so essential
as a basis, for the enactment of human laws, and +t
give authority to their administration for the good
of society, that the world, as before shown, cannot
dispense with it.  It is also used by the Holy
Spirit as a moral " straight-edge," by the aplpW'tion of which he convinces us of sin.  "By the
law is the knowledge of sin." " I had not known
sin but by the law; for I had not known lust
except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet."
St. Paul's quotation of the tenth commandment —
the keystone of that grand legal arch, shows, that by
"the law" he meant the decalogue.  In his illustration of the spiritual end of the law, to make his
argument less objectionable, and more forcible, he
speaks in the first person singular.  Ile had gone
through it all twenty-six years before, in the city
of Damascus-" But sin, taking occasion by the
commandment wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead."
Drifting with the tide of carnal nature we do not
feel its force, but throw across it this legal breakwater, and "then the proud waters go over our
souls." The frozen snake that lay at our feet is
now the boa-constrictor, encircling us in his deadly
coil. "For I was alive without the law once:




28       CONDEMNATION UNTO DEATH.
but when the commandment came, sin revived,
and I died, and the commandment which was
ordained to life, I found to be unto death." The
law was not ordained to destroy people, but to
preserve the lives, and great life interests of mankind. But the penal sanctions, which give majesty
and force to law, are nevertheless dealt out against
the law-breakers. The good system of laws under
which we enjoy the protection of life and property,
isjust the system that is hanging felons every day.
The trouble with the sinner in relation to God's
laws is that he is on the wrong side. Instead of
a loyal subject entitled to the protection of law, he
finds that a judgment has been entered against him
for high treason against the King, and that he is
obnoxious to the death-penalty of the law, already
legally dead. "Wherefore the law is holy, and
the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was
then that which is good made death unto me?
God forbid.'" We never received any damage from
the law. Sin did the fatal work. ",But sin, that
it might appear sin, working death in me by that
which is good: that sin by the commandment
might become exceeding sinful.  For we know
that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold
under sin. For that which I do, I allow not: for




CARNAL FORCES AROUSED.        29
what I would, that do I not: but what I hate that
I do. If then I do that which I would not, I
consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it
is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in
me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh)
dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with
me, but how to perform that which is good I find
not. For the good that I would, I do not: but
the evil which I would not that I do. Now, if I
do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but
sin that dwelleth in me."  Here the sinner's
judgment and conscience are enlightened by the
Holy Spirit. He sees that the law is right, consents to obey it, determines, and earnestly strives
to do right, but alas, the carnal forces of his nature
are quite overwhelming in their antagonistic risings
against God and his laws. "For I delight in the
law of God after the inward man: but I see another
law in my members, warring against the law of my
mind "-God's law, which my mind approves and
accepts-" and bringing me into captivity to the
law of sin which is in my members."
You understand, my dear friend, the practical
workings of that other law —the law of sinful propensities, habits, and associations, stimulated and
plied by satanic agency.  St. Paul having thus




30    "o 0I! WRETCHED MAN THAT I AM!'"
clearly stated the case, proceeds to illustrate it..
To appreciate his illustration, you will please to
accompany him into an old Roman prison. As
you pass down its dark aisles you will hear the
groans of poor prisoners from whose hearts hope
has taken its last farewell long ago, and you will
hear the clanking of their chains till you will
shudder, but when you reach the inner prisonthe dungeon-your ears will be saluted by the
most hideous sounds that ever you heard. They
seem to come from a man strangling, and
struggling for life.  Take a light and look
through the heavy iron palisading, and oh! shocking to behold! there's a living man bound to
a dead decomposing human body, face to face,
and limb to limb; and in his fruitless struggles,
which but bring him into more intimate contact
with the nauseous, decaying mass of corruption,
he cries in utter despair, " Oh! wretched man that
I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this
death?"  Is it not horrible?  Yet this is the
figure employed by the Holy Spirit, drawn from
the custom of Eastern monarchs of thus binding
living criminals to the dead decaying bodies of
men to pine away in filth and stench till life was
gone, to illustrate the hopeless bondage of a




WAS ST. PAUL THAT MAN?,i.iprner in his sins; a justly condemned criminal
unduer the law of God, delivered over to the old
jailor, the devil, bound to a body of moral putrefaction, called-" the old man with his deeds."
To apply this figure to the personal experience of
St. Paul at the period of writing this epistle,
when he had been proclaiming liberty to the captives for twenty-six years, is monstrous.  How
can we on that theory account for the question,
"Who shall deliver me?"  Saul was delivered
from this very state of bondage and pollution
about twenty-six years before in Damascus; had
been blessed with all those wonderful revelations,
to which, in defence of his apostolical character,
he alludes in his second Epistle to the Corinthians.
He was now the author of his Epistles to the
Thessalonians, and his two Epistles to the Church
in Corinth, had seen Jesus Christ often, had been
up into the third Heaven, had received the gospel
itself directly from God, and hence says to the
Galatians, " But I certify you brethren, that the
gospel which was preached of me is not after
man. For I neither received it of man, neither was
I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ."
Though his Epistle to the Galatians was written
subsequently to his Epistle to the. Romans, his




'2  SAD PREDICAMENT FOR THE GREAT APOSTLE.
preaching the gospel, received directly from todl',
to the Galatians, was some years before. St. Paul
was now on his final farewell tour among the
churches he had organized in Asia, Macedonia,
and Achaia to commence his new mission in
Europe, beginning with. Spain, simply touching at
Rome on his way, for he says in this epistle,
"Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I
will come to you, for I trust to see you in my
journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with
your company. But now I go unto Jerusalem to
minister to the saints." Now after all this to find
St. Paul in such a predicament as he describes,
and crying, " Oh! wretched man that I am! who
shall deliver me from the body of this death?"in utter despair, and knowing not who could deliver
him? What have poor sinners to hope from such
a gospel as that?  Nay my friend, St. Paul personates the awakened sinner, and delineates to the
life his wretched condition.
The fact that the unawakened sinner does not
feel this dreadful bondage, is no evidence that it
is not true, for while he is in body and mind
awake, and conscious, he is spiritually asleep-in
a state of spiritual death-torpid like the snakes




COBRA " ILLUSTRATION.   33
in winter. I read of a traveller in India, who lost
his way and took lodgings for the night in a deserted old castle.  During the night he had a
dreadful dream, thought death in hideous forms
was advancing upon him. In his fright he awoke,
and oh! horror of horrors'! just across his bosom
lay a huge Cpobra di Capella.  He could see by
the light of the moon-beams shining through a
crack in the walls, the gleam of its fiery eyes, and
its forked tongue shooting defiance in his face.
Poor man, what a discovery! Was his condition
any worse now, than before he awoke? Nay, but
now, he saw it, and felt it.
My dear friend, if you will open your eyes to
the light of God's awakening spirit and hearken to
his voice, you will find out the facts in your case,
and in your struggle to rise you will find that you
are not only bound to the body of sin and death,
but enclosed in the tightening coil of the old
serpent of hell.  "Awake thou that sleepest,
arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee
light."
Where shall we find a remedy?  " VWho shall
deliver me from  this dead body?"  Before we
proceed to a:nswer this question, let us review;13e
situation of the sinner.  1st, Naturally corrupt.
D




S4     SUMMARY OF THE SINNER'S STATE.
"The whole head is sick, the whole heart is faint.
From the sole of the foot even unto the crown of
the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds
and bruises and putrefying sores; they have not,
been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified
with ointment." The healing ointment was available in early childhood, but rejected.
2nd. Having " yielded himself a servant to sin"
and broken the law ordained for his good, he has
become involved in the guilt of high treason against
God,
3rd. He is under the death-sentence of the law.
"The soul that sinneth it shall die."  "He that
believeth not is condemned already."
4th. He is in the most abject slavery, "taken
captive by the devil at his will," bound by chains
of sinful habit stronger than chains of steel, and
all the good men in the world and all the Angels
of heaven added, cannot break a link of those
dreadful chains, or remove one foul blot from his
conscience.  He would fain look to the law for
relief, but alas! he is himself an outlaw, obnoxious to its penalties: " the avenger of blood"
is on his track, ah I whither "shall he flee for
refi'ge e
The law can afford us no relief, my friendc.  It




THE "c WRETCHED MAN" DELIVERED.    35
cannot remove our heart-pollution; cannot impart
to us the principle of obedience-" love to God
and our neighbour " cannot compromise the principles of righteousness, and exempt us from its
penalties; cannot deliver us from the power,of
sin and Satan. Is there none to save the poor
sinmer from the deadly coil of the old Cobra of
hell?  None to deliver from this dreadful slavery
of sin?
Yes, my friend. "Thanks be unto God, through
our Lord Jesus Christ," I have found deliverance,
and you, and every sinner in the world may find
deliverance, and victoriously exclaim, in the language of St. Paul, "There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
hath made me free irom  the law oi sin and
death."




CHAPTER II.
GOD S PROVISION OF SALVATION.
MY DEAR FRIEND, Let us now consider God's
propitiatory provision for reconciliation with man,
and its application by the Holy Spirit.
"What the law could not do, in that it was
weak through the flesh" —the failure of the law
was not through any defect in itself, but from the
sinful weakness of the flesh- " God sending his
own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for
sin,"-by a sacrifice for sin-" condemned sin in
the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might
be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but
after the Spirit."  Whatever the mystery involved
in human redemption by the sacrificial offering of
God's own Son, and however difficult the accomplishment of this mighty work, the glorious facts
are clearly revealed, that the mystery was solved,
and the work done by Him " whom God hath set
forth to be a propitiation through faith in his




MYSTERIOUS PROBLEM OF REDEMPTION.  37
blood, to declare his righteousness for the remiss5on of sins that are past, through the forbearance
of God." St. John represents this mystery of
mysteries under the type of a sealed book. "And
I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud
voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to
loose the seals thereof?  And no man in heaven,
nor in earth, neither under the earth was able to
open the book, neither to look thereon. And I
wept much because no man was found worthy to
open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
And one of the elders " —an old citizen of heaven,
full of seraphic light, and cherubic love and sympathy for sinners-" saith unto me, weep not:
Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed
to open the book and to loose the seven seals
thereof. And they sang a new song, saying, Thou
art worthy to take the book and to open the seals
thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindled, and
tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made
us unto our God kings and priests."
There are no analogies in nature which will furnish us with a perfect illustration of this Divine
work of human redemption.
A. familiar historical fact in the life of one of




38             KING SELEUCUS.
the Seleucidae, Kings of Antioch, will imperfectly
illustrate the governmental necessity of an atonement for sin. The King's son, the Prince Royal,
broke a law of the realm, the penalty of which was
that the culprit's eyes should be put out. The
King's heart yearned for his son. He could not
bear to see him groping his way in total darkness,
but what could he do?  If he had said, I can't
punish my son, I must remit the penalty, and let
him go free, his subjects, from the nobles down to
the meanest slaves would have said, "Fie! Oh I
shame! If it had been a poor man, he would have
put out his eyes instantly, but he puts his guilty
son above the majesty of law, ordained to protect
the lives of millions of more loyal subjects."  But
the just King, to maintain the majesty of law, and
the righteous administration of government, and
yet exercise mercy to his rebellious son, submitted
to have one of his own eyes put out, and thus
saved one eye of his son. No doubt every subject
of his kingdom said, Ah, what a dreadful thing
is sin against the Government! What a righteous
Sovereign   What a gracious father! Our lives
and property are safe in his hands, and woe betide
the wretch that dare to irj-ure either in violation
of law I




JESUS, TO SAVE MAN, MUST BE GOD.   39
If a regiment of his subjects had volunteered to
give up their eyes to save the Prince from the
penalty of law, the King could not have accepted
such a substitute, and if he had done so, the act so
far from vindicating the honour and authority of his
laws, would have outraged every principle of justice, for society had claims on them that he could
not cancel nor ignore; but the King in his independent sovereignty could consent to the personal humiliation and pain of losing his eye, without the infraction of any principle of right, and
thus harmonize the administration of justice, and
the exercise of mercy.
If any man had been "found in heaven, or in
earth," who could have "' opened the book " —solved
the mystery of human redemption, neither he nor
any number of men or angels volunteering to die
for the sins of the world, could in justice have been
accepted, and could not thereby atone for one sin.
But God, the Eternal Word, in his uncreated independent sovereignty, could consent to " lay aside
the form of God, and take upon him the form of a
servant," " be found in fashion as a man, become
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross "
and God, the Eternal Father, could consent so to
"commend his love toward us, in that while we




40     GOD'S APPRECIATION OF MANKIND.
were yet sinners Christ might die for us."  It is
the independent sovereignty and Godhead of Jesus
that gives saving virtue to his redeeming work.
If he had been a mere creature, even' the first
and most exalted of creatures he could not have
redeemed " one sinner "' from the curse of the law."
"Without controversy, great is the mystery of
godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified
in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up
into glory."
We have not time to-day, my fiiend, to go into
an elaborate discussion of this great subject, but I
wish to: call your attention to a few practical facts
embraced in it.
First, the dignity, capacity, and immeasurable
improvability of humanity. We need no better
proof or illustration of it than is furnished by the
" story of the cross." If, for example, the Prince
of WTales, instead of entering into connubial relations with the beautiful Alexandra, had proposed
to marry some beggar girl in London, what would
you have said?  Thirty millions of stentorian
English voices would have responded in one
unanimous shout, which would have echoed from
the sunny coasts of Australia to the frozen moun



PRINCE OF WALES-ILLUSTRATION.    41
tains of Greenland,, No!"  Why not?  Is she,
not bone of his bone, and flesh of his'flesh?. "Hath
not God made of one blood all nations of men to
dwell on all the face of the earth?"  Ah! the
disparity between his royalty and her beggary, and
her utter unfitness to share his royal responsibilities
and honours, preclude the possibility of such a
union. Yet such was God's appreciation of man,
"made in his own image and after his own likeness,' that though fallen and degraded, as we have
seen, he consented to an indissoluble union of God
the eternal Son with humanity, more intimate and
perfect than any matrimonal union ever'was or
can be. When the banns of this union were published in the palace of the Great King, were there
any objections?  Nay, the enraptured angels became as " a flame of fire" in their burning zeal to
accompany the Divine Bridegroom on his mission
of mercy, as "ministering spirits to the heirs of
salvation."  " In the fulness of time " when this
union was consummated, a vast company of angels
descended to announce the glad tidings to man.
One mighty angel outflew all the rest, and as he
neared the rocky hills of Bethlehem, in the dead
of night while all the busy multitude of men were
locked in sleep, he saw " the Shepherds " abiding




42     c' GLAD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY.ii the field keeping watch over their flocks. "And,
lo! the angel of the Lord came upon them, and
the glory of the Lord shone round about them:
and they were sore afraid." No doubt they were
brave men, and could hold their own with the
wild beasts, and the Ishmaelitish robbers, but now
they were taken all aback.  "And the angel
said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you
good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people. For unto you is born this day in the city
of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."
The poor men at once saw in their fancy his ensign, royal robes, and train, but nay, "This shall
be a sign unto you: ye shall find the babe wrapped
in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." Now
the rest of these angelic heralds came sweeping
down in their earthward flight. "And suddenly
there was with the angel a multitude of the
heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to
God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
to men."
Such, therefore, is the dignity, the intellectual
and moral capacity, and immeasurable improvabiliry of man's nature, that God without compromising his own "glory," stoops to take him
into his bosom in the bonds of an eternal union.




MORAL AGENCY.              43
If man had been a mere machine, or an animal
moved only by instinct, or coercive forces. as the
horse or mule "whose mouth must be held in with
bit and bridle," all the Bible teaching about God's
moral laws, and man's accountability; his obedience or disobedience, his fall or restoration, would
be utterly out of place.  And the idea of God the
eternal Word taking upon him  the nature of
animals —horses, kangaroos, or human animals?
The very conception is blasphemous!
Nay, my friend, the being created in " the image
and after the likeness" of his Creator, is endowed
with powers of intellect, conscience, affections, and
will, exactly suited to his probationary situation
and ends-a capacity for an intelligent adjustment
and loyal maintenance of his right relations to
God and society, and an honourable graduation
friom his educational course on earth to the fruition
of eternal blessedness in heaven.
The will, in symmetrical proportion with all the
functions of our moral constitution, is nevertheless
the grand distinguishing characteristic of it. You
cannot rationally conceive the possibility of a moral
nature, or moral responsibility, virtue, or vice, nor
hence of moral excellence or enjoyment, without a
recognition of this fact. The will is the hinge on




44    "d THE MAN WHO KILLED OUR SON."
which all moral responsibility hangs. This fact is
so patent to the common sense of mankind, that
no matter what their abstract theorizing on the
subject may be, in every department of life, in all
matters involving moral responsibility, they practically acknowledge and endorse it, and can't ignore
it without a repudiation of their own consciousness
and common sense.
Alan's personal moral agency!  Why, every
system of law in Christendom is based on a recognition of the fact; every judicial process pertaining to mo ral action is conducted on a recognition of it; and( every decision of every criminal
court in the world is issued on a recognition of it.
A single example may suffice to illustrate this
great fact.
While sojourning in the house of an Hon.
M.L.C. in Tasmania, I opened a photographic
album on the centre table, and turning it over I
called the attention of the good woman of the
house to the carte de visite of an interesting-looking
face of a young man, and inquired, "Whom does
this represent?'"  She replied, "Ah! that is Mr.
--—, the young man who killed our dear son,
Henry i"  She then gave me a detailed account
of the dreadful tragedy that had cast a withering




KEY TO BIBLE MYSTERIES.        45
blight over her household, and brought her nearly
to the grave.  She showed me a letter of condolence received fiom the "slayer" of her son,
and proceeded to tell me what a fine young man
he was —the young man who killed her son.
"The man-slayer" sent his friend to his account,
and hopelessly bereaved one of the very best
families in the colony, but had not even forfeited
their confidence or friendship.  Why?  Simply
because there was no decree of his will against
the young man's life. If it had been in evidence
that his will had taken action against his life he
would have been hung by the neck and buried in
a felon's grave.
Man's moral agency! All the appeals of God
to man, his commands, his threatenings, his remonstrances, his reasonings and pleadings, his
invitations and promises, assume this as an unquestionable fact of man's consciousness.
The Bible doctrines of man's fall, his condemnation under the law, his corruption, his bondage.to
Satan as a child of disobedience, the grand work
of redemption by Christ for his recovery, his acceptance or rejection of Christ with all the consequences ensuing, all hinge on this fact. and can't
be rationally understood or explained without it.




46        ANTAGONISM WO SIN TO GOD.
This very fact unlocks the mysterious questions
why God's perfected provisions of mercy in Jesus,
administered by the Holy Spirit:, have not resulted
in the salvation of the whole world long ago? and
why the great majority of adult mankind are in
rebellion against God to-day.
The redemption of the world by Christ, the
adequate and available "fountain opened for sin
and uncleanness," the offices of the Holy Spirit,
and the human agencies employed, are all adjusted
to the functions and laws of man's mental and
moral constitution.
It is no part of Christ's mission to men to
destroy or suspend those functions and laws.
They will stand the ordeal of the final judgment, and its eternal issues for heaven or hell.
The second fact I would respectfully submit for
your consideration, my friend, is the dreadful antagonism of sin to God's nature and government.
If any man in heaven or on earth could have
made an adequate sacrificial offering for sin, and
provision for man's recovery, surely the eternal
Son of God would not have stooped to do the
work of a mere man.
If, having undertaken the work, he could have
negotiated any arrangement adequate to these




THE REDEEMER.              47
ends without laying "aside the form of God, annd
taking upon him the form of a servant, and becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross," surely he would not have taken such pains
unnecessarily.  It is very evident that nothing
short of all he did in the work of human redemption would have accomplished it, and on the other
hand, that he did everything necessary on his part
for its accomplishment.
The Holy Scriptures, all the way through, are
explicit in ascribing the meritorious work of our
redemption to the passion and death of Christ:
and the triumphant hosts of his redeemed ones in
glory, who no longer "see through a glass darkly,"
but see the King in his beauty, thus address him
in a song that wakes all the melody of heaven",Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open
the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every
kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and
hast made us unto our God kings and priests." A
kind of divine telescope was put into the hands of
St. John, in Patmos, and he took, through the
vista of time, the range of the heavenly hills, and
put his eye to it,-and " beheld and heard," tlhe
grand orchestra of glory singing "the new song of




48          ORCHESTRA OF HEAVEN.
rsdemption." He t6ought he would number them
Iby squares of ten thousand each, and commenced
as they came up within the radius of his field of
vision, and says, "the number of them was ten
thousand times ten thousand."  But after this
stupendous calculation, amounting to one hundred
millions, finding it was "amultitude which no man
could number," he gave it up, by simply adding-.iand thousands of thousands: saying with a loud
voice,'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength,
and honour, and glory, and blessing;'" and then
their swelling melody swept over the battlements
of heaven, and — the rising millions of the dead in
Christ catch the theme, "' and every creature which
is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the
earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are
in them, heard I saying, Blessingr, and honour,
and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and
ever.
But while the fact is so patent in earth and
heaven, that "' without shedding of blood is no remission " of sin, and that we "are redeemed with
the precious blood of Christ," to speculate on the
relative value of his life in this great transaction,




AGGREGATION OF CHRIST S REDEEMING ACTS. 4Y
or of his resurrection and mediation before the
throne of God, is not wise. "Verily he took Pot
upon him the nature of angels, but he took on
him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all
things it behoved him to be made like unto his
brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to
make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
For in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted,
he is able to succour them that are tempted." iHe
"was delivered for our offences,:and was raised
again for our justification. Wherefore he is able
to save to the uttermost all that come unto God
by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession
for them." His life, death, resurrection, ascension,
and intercessions, are therefore all so many departments of his one grand work.  "What God
hath joined together let not man put asunder."
It is not wise either to trouble ourselves about
the mystery involved in all this.  If "the angels
desire to look into these things; " and if no "man
in heaven or earth was found who could open or
read the book of this mystery," why should we be
perplexed if we can't work out the problem.  It is
enough for us to know the fact, that Jesus Christ
undlertook to solve the mystery, and accomplish the
U




50 WHAT CHRIST DID, AND WHAT HE DID NOT DO.
work, and that he succeeded, and cried in his agony
on the cross,' It is finished.'"'Ihe third general remark I wish to make on this
subject, my friend, is that while " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a
curse for us," he did not abolish the law, nor suspend
its claims on our obedience. Nor did he pay our debt
in any sense that will exempt us from the necessity
of seeking by " repentance towards God, and faith
in our Lord Jesus Christ," righteousness and true
holiness of heart and life. Christ hath prepared
no robes of his own righteousness with which to
cover up our iniquity, but "gave himself for us
that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify
unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good
works."  "By a sacrifice for sin," he "condemned
sin in the flesh "-made provision for its entire
separation from us "as far as the east is from the
west," and hence passed the death-sentence upon it,
that it should be destroyed out of our hearts while
here in the flesh, and "that the righteousness of the
law might be fulfilled in us." Now, whatever may
be the grounds of discussion about this righteousness, which we have here no occasion to state, the
following facts are clear:1. That it is obtained alone through what God




HOW REDEMPTION IS APPLIED.       b1
hatbb dlone by "sending his own Son in the likeness
of sinful flesh," and by the "sacrifice for sin" which
he offered, and the condemnation of sin in our flesh,
and the quickening purifying gifts of the Holy
Spirit procured by Christ.
2. That it is not an outward robe covering, yet
not destroying our sins, but a saving power imparted
to us, and a purifying work of the Spirit " fulfilled
in us."
3, That it is obtained only by those " who walk
after the Spirit, and not after the flesh." When
under the Spirit's awakening influence we "repent and believe the Gospel," we are "justified
freely by his grace."  God, through the merits and
mediation of Jesus, pronounces the word of pardon.
The Holy Spirit conmunicates this glorious fact to
the spirit of the believing penitent, removes the
burden of guilt from his soul, erases the deathsentence of the law from his conscience, delivers
him " from the power of darkness, and translates
him into the kingdom of God's dear Son," and
"sheds the love of God abroad in his heart." Such
a one is "sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
which is the earnest of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession," the final
consummation of his great, salvation-the resurrec



A DIVINE CERTIFICATE.
tion of the body, and glorification of the soul and
body in heaven.
The Spirit's seal is a divine certificate of the fact
written upon "the fleshy tables of the heart," that
the death penalty of the' law against him is cancelled, that his sins are all forgiven, that he is
brought into righteous and harmonious relations
with the moral government of God.
And the love of God, thus shed abroad in his
heart, constitutes the principle of obedience, which
enables him cheerfully to keep the law-not as the
ground of his acceptance with God, but the fruit of
the new life he has received by faith in Jesus. By
faith he is engrafted "into the true vine, and by
faith he abides in him," but the divine sap he thus
continually receives manifests itself appropriately
in the fruits of righteousness.
" Now, if any man have not the spirit of Christ
he is none of his."  "If ye love me," saith Jesus,
"' keep my commandments." St. John gives us the
clearest possible teaching on this subject, in exact
corroboration of the gospel revealed directly to St.
Paul.  "Behold what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed on us that we should be called the
sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not
because it knew him not. Beloved, now-are we




" HE CANNOT SIN BECAUSE HE IS BORN OF GOD." 53
the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what
we shall be; but we know that when He shall
appear we shall be like him; for we shall see him
as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him
purifieth himself even as He is pure. Whosoever
committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin
is the transgression of the law. And ye know
that he was manifested to take away our sins; and
in Him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in Bim
sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him,
neither known Him. Little children, let no man
deceive you: he that doeth  righteousness is
righteous, even as he is righteous.  He that
committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil
sinneth from the beginning.  For this purpose
the Son of God was manifested that he might
destroy the works of the devil" out of every
believer's heart. " Whosoever is born of God doth
not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in himrn;
and he cannot sin because he is born of God." Sin
is directly antagonistic to and entirely inconsistent
with the divine "seed " of righteousness-the
spiritual' life imparted to and retained in the believer's soul by abiding faith, and hence to commit
sin is utterly inadmissible.  "In this the children
of God are manifest, and the children of the devil;




A?4         GOD REVEALED TO MAN.
whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God,
-neither he that loveth not his brother,'  By this
practical personal test, any honest man may find out
to which party he belongs. But, my dear friend,
we are getting on too fast I fear for your experience.
And now, if you please, let us go back and see if
we can find out clearly the part the Holy Spirit is
to perform in this work.
Who is the Holy Spirit?  "The heavens declare
the glory of God" and the star-spangled " firmament
showeth his handiwork."  "Day unto day uttereth
speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge"
concerning his power and providence in all animate
and inanimate creation throughout the world,
for "there is no speech nor language where their
voice is not heard;" but when we undertake to lay
lines on the being and character of God, and define
and explain his attributes, we labour under an embarrassment somewhat like that of a ground mole or
Norway rat trying to give a geography of the earth.
The little animals know enough of the earth for
their practical ends of life.  So we, from what
God hath revealed, may know all that we need to
know about Him, for all practical purposes 6f life
and godliness, and will have an eternity beyond for
further inquiries.
I would not underrate human powers of research.




C WE CAN'T BALE OUT THE OCEAN."   55
Though man in the body is but in his cocoon state,
or at best but a crawling silk-maker, his powers
of mind in relation to all things legitimately within
his sphere of observation and action are wonderful,
and but indicate what they will be when he throws
off his "mortal coil," and soars aloft to " meet the
Lord in the air."  But great as are his powers,
when he tries to comprehend and define the Being
of God, he is like a man trying to bale out the
Atlantic Ocean with a bucket.  Some learned men
have greatly damaged God's cause by speculations
on this subject. We can't bale out the ocean, but
we can have the free use of it for all the useful
purposes to which it is so admirably adapted. Though
we can't comprehend the Being, and explain the
attributes of God, we may clearly apprehend the
great facts God hath revealed concerning himself,
his interest in us, and our duty to him.
The unity of design and execution in all God's
visible creation, and all his teachings in the Holy
Scriptures, proclaim "one God."
The mysterious Trinity of his Being was gradually manifested to the patriarchs and prophets of
old, but clearly revealed in "the fulness of time."
The angel of the covenant -demonstrated his
Divine nature to the patriarchs, and yet the fact that
he was a messenger sent by God was an insolvable




56   "a THE MESSENGER OF THE COVENANT."
mystery. Jacob wrestled with him all night, and
begged to know his name. "By his strength he had
power with God: yea, he had power over the angel,
and prevailed: he wept and made supplication unto
him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake
with us, even the Lord God of Hosts: the Lord is
his memorial."
In this struggle Jacob obtained deliverance from
his sins, a new nature and a new name which God
only can grant. He found this angel to be God,
"the Lord God of -Hosts," but his "name," his
mysterious personality, distinct from God whose
messenger he was, he could not comprehend.
This Divine "Messenger of the Covenant,"'
who was subsequently known as "God manifest inr
the flesh," is by St. John called the "Word," but:
more frequently the "Son of God." " In the beginning was the Word," the uncreated eternal Word,
for he was before created things began. "And the
Word was with God"-a clear personal distinction —" and the Word was God "-a perfect unity
of Being. "The same was in the beginning with
God."  "All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made."
The distinguishing titles of God the Father, and
God the Son are not to indicate priority or superiority of the first person to the second.




TIE FATHER AND THE. SON.        57
To understand the figures employed in the Holy
Scriptures, to convey or illustrate intangible spirit
facts, we must ascertain the fact, or particular phase
of the subject to be illustrated, and then employ
the relevant points, or such portions of the figure
as are suited to the purpose of conveying, or illustrating the true meaning of the author or teacher.
For example, Christ is called a " lion," a "lamb,"
a "door," a "way," a "vine," a'shepherd," a
"bridegroom."  By neglecting the rule I have
just stated, how easily any or all these may'be
rendered ridiculous and even blasphemous, but in
their true relation they are all beautifully appropriate and instructive. Even words are but signs
of ideas, and must be interpreted by the subject
they are employed to represent. I do not mean to
say that the titles Father and Son, as applied to
the first and second persons of the Holy Trinity
are figurative appellations, for I believe the Divine
relation thus expressed is essential, and hence eternal, but the human relation of father and son becomes, analogically, the teaching figure to our minds.
You may see God's type dimly foreshadowing
the manifestation of these two distinct persons of
God, "the Father and the Son," on Mount Moriah.
Toiling up the mountain you behold a charminglooking young man with a load of wood on his




58  GOD'S TEACHING TYPE ON MOUNT MORIAH.
shoulders; by his side a stern-looking man with a
brand of fire.and a knife in his hands. You draw
near, and hear the young man say, " My Father?"
and the other replies, "Here am  I, my Son."
And he said, "Behold the fire and the wood: but
where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" And the
father answers, " My son, God will provide himself
a lamb for a burnt offering." You see at once
that there exists between them the strongest
possible mutual confidence and love. You follow
them to the summit, and see them together build
the altar and arrange the wood; a short conversation ensues in an under tone. You can only catch
parts of a sentence now and then, but you soon
gather, to your utter astonishment, that the son
himself is to be the sacrifice. You see his father's
tearful eyes, as he explains to him the will and
command of God.
The young man listens and cheerfully assents
to it all. He was full twenty-five years old, and
could have resisted, or fled away, but without a
murmur he consents to be slain and burnt on that
altar.
You see them embrace and kiss each other, and
can't resist the feeling, when you learn that he is
his only son, the embodiment of his own life and




MORAL GRANDEUR OF THE TRAGIC SCENE. 59
love. tbat the father's is the harder lot.  As you
see the son yield himself entirely to his father's
will, and see the father bind him and lay him on
the wood, and draw the knife to slay his son-for
a moment the stern moral principle manifested
almost absorbs you-All this, simply because
God said, " Abraham, take now thy son, thine only
son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the
land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt
offering upon one of the mountains which I will
tell thee of."  Now, turn again to the tragic scene,
and see in the firmness of the father, and the
sweet obedience of the son, the proofs of their
perfect loyalty to God; and you know not which
most to admire.  Compared with each other they
are in every respect peers; compared with all the
rest of mankind peerless.
High on that mountain, above the ordinary
walks of life, rapt in the- moral grandeur of this
foreshadowing of the sacrificial offering of Christ
on Calvary, possibly on the very same spot, the
low earthy ideas belonging to the human relations
of father and son have no place in your mind.
Is not this sublime spectacle,.just as you see it,
God's own teaching-type of that wonderful gospel
revelation of two distinct Persons of the One




60      RELEVANT POINTS OF THE TYPE.
Eternal God, under the title of Father and Son?
The relevant points between the type and the
antitype, I apprehend are-first, perfect oneness
of nature; and hence, second, perfect oneness of
principle and purpose to offer the great sacrifice
necessary to the end requiring it; third, the love
of the Father in giving his Son, equalled only by
the love of the Son in laying down his own life.
"God so loved the world that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life."  The
Son, "for the joy that was set before him" of redeeming  the fallen race, voluntarily took the
subordinate position of the Holy anointed One,
though he was " in the form of God," and " thought
it not robbery to be equal with God "-he certainly
understood his relation to God. If he was not
God's equal, how could he claim to be equal?
" But" he " made himself of no reputation, and took
upon him the form of a servant, and was made in
the likeness of men: and being found in fashion
as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
We see also the great Shepherd's own statement
of this fact —" As the father knoweth me, even so
know I the Father: and I lay down my life for




ISlTINE PERSON OF CHRIST.       61
the sheep."  " Therefore doth my Father love me,
because I lay down my life that I might take it
again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it
down of myself. I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." We
see that while everything he did was an expression
of the Father's will, the subordinate position
assumed by him as " Our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ," was as purely the expression of his own
will. All acts of worship paid to Christ the
crucified, are accepted by the Father as directly
addressed to him; for God hath proclaimed,
" That at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and
things under the earth; and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father." The term " only begotten Son of God" is illustrated by that part of
the type which shows the extraordinary love between
the Father and the Son-" Take now thy son, thine
only son Isaac, whom  thou lovest."  This expression, "Thine only son," even in the type was
used in a higher, holier sense than that of natural
generation, for in that sense he was not his only
son. When the relation of Christ to his Church is




.(72   IRRELEVANT POINTS PRECLUDED.
illustrated by the matrimonial figure of the Bridge.
groom, we of course understand that the relevant
points are mutual fidelity, mutual confidence, and
mutual love. To carry the analogy further is to
render it ridiculous and blasphemous.  So with
the type on Mount Moriah, we must confine ourselves to the relevant points. A son by natural
generation is not only in the likeness and of the
same nature of his-father, but has also a separate
organization of being.  But natural generation
and its concomitants-as beginning of days with
both Father and Son, the separate organization and
priority of existence of the father, to say nothing of
maternal relationship, are all, in this grand type, as
irrelevant and ridiculous, as the idea of a mane and
tail to the " Lion of the tribe of Judah." I do not
intend to open the old debate about the "Eternal
Sonship."   I at first adopted, and have always
maintained, and still maintain, Mr. Watson's side
of the question, but if the illustration of the subject
I have just drawn from the Scriptures be correct,
it precludes, as irrelevant, most or the points which
have constituted the principal grounds of difficulty
in the discussion of this subject.  God's essential
being is indivisible, and hence incommunicable.
The title " Son of God," applied to the Messiah,




" THE SON OF GOD " — THE SON OF MAN.  63
clearly represents to us his distinct personaiity but
perfect oneness with God. The Jews to whom he
preached-so understood it, and "sought the more
to kill him, because he said also that God was his
father, making himself equal with God."  In the
reply of Jesus he said, "As the Father raiseth up
the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son
quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth
no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the
Son; that all men should honour the Son,- even as
they honour the Father.  He that honoureth not
the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent
him,"
The title, "Son of Man," which he so often
applied to himself, was also used in an accommodated sense. He was not the son of any man
in the sense of natural generation. He was "the
Son of Man" in a higher sense; he had taken
upon him the nature of man —that "blood" of
which "God hath made all nations of men to
dwell on all the face of the earth."  Now, if this
idea of generation was not even pertinent in his
human relation, why intrude it into the Sonship,
which is to teach us that he is a distinct person,
and yet that he utters a grand truth in the highest
sense when he says: "I and my Father are one."




64 MYSTERIOUS PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
The distinct personality of the Holy Spirits coequal with the Father and the Son, in the indivisible incommunicable Being of the God-head,
and his perfect oneness with the Father and the
Son in the projection and execution of the great
work of human redemption, and the part that He,
as a distinct Person, " proceeding from the Father,"
was to take in this great work, were all clearly
revealed by " God manifest in the flesh," and by
the Holy Spirit himself, through the apostles.' There are three that bear record in heaven:
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and
these three are one.' The mystery is too high,
too deep, for the grasp of the human mind; but
why stumble at that?  Every fact in nature involves a mystery that no philosopher can explain
or fathom.  How the attributes'of the human
intellect and the tunctions of his moral nature can
be so perfectly joined to a corporeal body, "fearfully and wonderfully made," and constitute a
man, is a mystery that we can no more comprehend, than the mystery of the three distinct persons in the essential being of the one Supreme
Eternal God. In regard to all material things, we
receive facts on the faith of adequate evidence, and
let the mystery go. We ask no more for the facts




TEE HOLY TRINITY.         65
of Divine revelation.  The fact of the "4Holy
Trinity in Unity" is clearly revealed in the Bible,
and is distinctly discerned by many intelligent
Christians, who personally "know God, and Jesus
Christ whom he hath sent, " and who know the
Holy Ghost who dwelleth witfh them."
At the baptismal initiation of Jesus of Nazareth
into his priestly office, the distinctive personality of
"these three" is clearly manifested. The Sacrament of Baptism was administered alike in the
name of the Holy Three.
The apostolic benediction was pronounced alike
in the name of the "Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost."
The teachings of Jesus, concerning the character and mission of the Holy Ghost, are explicit.
He said to his disciples, "If ye love me, keep my
commandments. And I will pray the Father, and
he shall give you another Comforter;" He was
then their Comforter, but was going away. It
would be no comfort to send one inferior to himself-" that he may abide with you" —not a few
years simply, as he had done, but "that he may
abide with you for ever." And who is he? " Even
the Spirit of truth; whom the world  cannot
receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth
F




66   PERSONALITY AND WORK OF THE SPIRIT.
him." God in disguise, God in our midst, to.whom
his children have access, and with whom they'have
fellowship, as the disciples had with their incarnate
Saviour. The carnal world don't know him, "but
ye know him," saith Jesus to all believers, "for he
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."  Why
should'we not know him if he dwells with us?
Again, he said, "These things have I spoken
unto you, being -yet present with you. But the
Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom  the
Father will send in my name, he shall teach you
all things" pertaining to the object of his mission,
"and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."  You observe, my
friend, that this divine Teacher and -Comforter is
not a mere influence, but as really a distinct person
as the Son of God.  "He," the personal Holy
Spirit, " shall teach you all things," impart all the
light and power necessary to salvation. and usefulness, "and'bring to your remembrance all things
whatsoever I have said unto you."  The Holy
Scriptures are.the Spirit's standard of truth, by
-which we are to -discern and test his personal
teachings, and "try the spirits whether they be of
God."- He is, too, our interpreter, to "open our
understanding that we may understand-the Scrip



THE SPIRIT, OUR TEACHER.        67
tures."'.I fear his teaching office is not adequately
appreciated even by a large proportion of Christians. When they want light on a mysterious,
yet practically important passage in the teachings
of:Jesus, they will rummage through a whole
library of books to find out the opinions of learned
men on the subject, when the Holy Teacher, sent
by God the Father for that very purpose, is present
to give them the very light they need. We mav
go to the learned biblical critics and commentators
to.learn geographical, chronological, and historical
facts to put us in possession of the local basis-of
the illustrations of Scripture-places, times, and
customs with which the people to whom the lessons
of divine truth were first addressed were well
acquainted. But whatever may be our reference
to text books and collateral sources of information,
let us never turn our backs upon our'reacher,-but
submit all our researches to him, and get his mind
on — the whole thing. There is no appeal fiom Him
and his clear interpretations of his revealed standard-the Holy Scriptures.
Again, the Saviour said, "Now I go my way to
hoAn that sent me, and none of you asketh me,
wlIheir goest thou?  But because I have said
these:thiizgs unto you, sorrow  hath filled your




68     TEACHING OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT.
hearts. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is
expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not
away, the Comforter will not come unto you. But
if I depart, I will send him unto you.
In all these teachings of Jesus, the Three distinct persons of the One Supreme God are clearly
distinguished from each other.  We hence learn,
too, that God the Holy Spirit succeeded the incarnate Son of God as the immediate head of his
militant church, and the executor of his will for
the salvation of the world.  The three grand
departments of his work, beginning with the world
lying in the wicked one, and ending with his final
account with mankind in the judgment, are clearly
indicated thus: "And when he is come, he will
reprove the world of'sin, and of righteousness, and
of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on
me " —the highest offence only is mentioned, but
every subordinate sin is included. " Of righteousness, because I go to my Father and ye see me no
more"-his ascension to heaven as our " Advocate
with the Father," only mentioned, but embracing all the provisions of his redeeming acts.  " O
judgment, because the\ prince of this world is
judged."  The final judgment is -only mentioned,
but the whole administration of justice from first to




THREE DEPARTMENTS OF HIS WORK.    69
last of the gospel dispensation is comprehended,
beginning with the prince of this world, and enlbracing all other subjects of government.
Iln the first of these three departments of the
Holy Spirit's work, he is the "spirit of bondage to
fear," not binding any sinner, but revealing to him
his bondage by sin, and so exciting his fears as to
induce him to seek refuge in Christ.
In the second, he is the Spirit of Adoption, the
renewing witnessing  Spirit, the Comforter, the
Sanctifier, the guide of his people through life and
death to their heavenly home.
In the third department of his work, as in the
first, the Holy Spirit applies the law to the sinner's
heart. If he " flee for refuge to lay hold of the
hope set before him," well; if not, he will continue to repeat his calls and impart his gracious
influences to persuade the sinner to "be reconciled
to God," till, by his persistence in "grieving the
Holy Spirit of God," his spiritual receptivity is
destroyed, and then the Spirit adjudges him a
perished soul-a moral nuisance fit only for
"Gehenna," "where the worm  dieth not, and the
fire is not quenched." Ever since the investiture
of the Holy Spirit as the immediate Head of the
Gospel dispensation, every sin committed is a sin




70'C TIHE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST.'
against the Holy Ghost; but the- culmination' of
the sinner's career of rebellion, resulting in the
self-destruction ofhis'spiritual susceptibilities, is
"the sin against the Holy Ghost," for which there
is no forgiveness, because he has destroyed his
capability of repentance. Nothing remains now
but a "certain fearful looking for of judgment,
aud fiery -indignation which shall devour the adversaries."  We see an example of his judicial administration in: the case of Ananias. and Sapphira-.
His judicial account with every; sinner from  the
day that he " proceeded from the Father" on his
gr.eat:gospel mission, to the end of the world, will
constitute one of the books that will be opened,
out of which. the dead small and great shall be
judged "' according to -their works;" and that other
" book, which is the book of life;" is but the Holy
Spirit's roll-book, containing the names of all who
walked after him, and accepted through'him the
free "gift of -God, which is eternal life, through
Jesus Christ our Lord."




CHAPTER III.
PRELIMINARY CONDITION OF SALVATIONREPENTANCE.
MY DEAR FRIEND.-The grace of repentance
is Divine, the exercise of it human; when the
spirit of "bondage to fear," brings his awakening
power to bear upon the conscience of a sinner, revealing to him  his relations to the law, his guilt,
his heart-corruption, his bondage to Satan, then
comes "the tug of war."  The Light that reveals
his depravity excites- its opposition. Under the
curbing restraints of tlie law it "' works all manner
of concupiscence."  The:voice of: the  Spirit
within, that arouses the sinner to a sense of his
danger, wakes up "the strong man armed," who
holds him in bondage. Then ensues the struggle
before described'from  St. Paul's letter to the
Romans, on; the final issue of which depends the
sinner's salvation or eternal ruin.




72        UNDENIABLE FRUITS OF SIN.
He is now conscious of the working of two
mighty forces within him-the attraction of the
Holy Spirit drawing him  to the Saviour, and the
repulsion of carnal enmity and Satanic agency repelling him.  "For the flesh lusteth against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, and these
are contrary the one to the other."  We have a
striking illustration of this collision of the forces
of light and darkness in the case of the Gadarene
who was possessed of a legion of devils.
Ah, but some persons do not believe in the
existence of devils.
Yes, and such persons usually deny the depravity of the human heart as well.
If you please, we will examine this subject for a
few moments.
There are certain facts in regard to the existence of which we all agree: there is a great deal
in this world that is not right-a vast amount of
that hateful thing called sin.  You may call it by
any other name, but the soul-destroying thing remains the same. Daily papers, periodicals, and
books are heavily freighted with its dark details,
and yet not a tithe has ever been told. The history of our race is black with deep stains of sin
which disgrace humanity and curse the world.  I




HOW ACCOUNT FOR THEM?          73
need not stop to give examples. You are quite
familiar with them. Jews, Christians, Mohammedans and Buddhists all agree that these facts
exist.
Whence do they proceeca  Such effects must
have an adequate cause. Let any man who thinks
himself competent produce a theory that will
adequately account for these facts.
If you deny the existence of devils, or their
commerce with men, then you have to set down
this dreadful catalogue of sins to man's account
alone, untempted, unstimulated by any foreign
influence whatever. You make main to be as bad
purely on his own account as we are accustomed
to regard him with all his disabilities, and these
satanic agencies added. If that is so, then for
the execution of any dark purpose that could be
invented in the infernal regions we don't need
any other devils; just call mnan the devil, and we
have devils by the millin, in tho body and out of
the body.
So, my friend, you see that theory won't fit the
facts.
If you admit the existence of devils, but deny
the depravity of human nature, then the question
arises-would God abandon his holy, loyal, un



74           BIBLE THEORY OF SIN.
offending subjects to the power of devils, as we
find "the world lying in the wicked one?"  You
know he: would not. So that won't work.
There is but one theory that will account for
these facts. Though devils and bad men have
been trying for six thousand years to explain away
these facts, or account for them on some other
than the true theory, they can't to this day produce a theory that will stand the test of unprejudiced common sense for five minutes. There
is but one theory that will adequately account
for these facts, and that is the theory of the
Bible, viz:
1st. That human nature is fallen and corrupted
by sin; and
2nd. Devils exist: and have access to unrenewed hearts, and influence over the feelings and
conduct- of:all who are not saved' by Jesus Christ.
There is one: "prince of the power',of the: air,"
emphatically. denominated " the'devil,"' but he
commands millions of unclean spirits, also called
devils.
But you say, Why did God permit Satan to
enter the garden of Eden, and why allow him
access to our unhappy world?
Our business is to ascertain facts, and adjust




WHY ADMIT SATAN INTO. THE WORLD?    75
ourselves'to them,. rather than to push our inquiries into the" whys and wherefores" of God's
administration.  Nevertheless, it is pertinent to
remarkThat as man was placed i'n Eden on a probationary. trial, and as the smallest measure of personal practical holiness necessary to prepare him
for his glorified state would enable him to resist
all the devils in the universe, it was a matter of
but little consequence whether he be tried by devils
or some other agency. The same is true of mankind now.
The presence of "the old serpent" in the
garden should have operated as a timely gracious
warning against the dreadful nature and consequences of sin.
"The angels that kept not their first: estate"
possibly had nothing to warn them of the datlger
of sin but the word cf God, but our first Iparents
had not only: the word of God, but an example.
When the serpent impertinently ohtruaded:himself
into:the company of the woman,  and:-dared: to
contradict God's facts, her suspiciori  should have
been excited: at once, and'her wonderful'perceptive
power would. have enaled  hr: not orlly-'to detect
his diabolical business with' her, buit also' to peer




76       SATAN'S MISSION AMONG MEN.
into his nature and define his person. On such a
discovery she should have called for the good
man of the garden, and said, "Adam, my dear,
look at that monster of corruption.  That is
Lucifer, but he kept not his first estate, and oh!
what a wreck! Our gracious Father hath allowed
him to come into the garden that we might see in
him the dreadful effects of sin. We'll take the
timely warning, and never, never sin against God."
That should have been the effect then, and that
should be the effect now.  St. Jude uses this
argument, associating the fallen angels and the
destruction of the Sodomites, "set forth for an
example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."
The old fallen spirit with his wily hosts worketh
at all God's children, and their battles with him
are good for the development of their minds and
their essential graces, but he "worketh- in the
children of disobedience" only.   le can take
possession of no souls till they " yield themselves
servants to sin." Then he " takes them captive
at his will," and no power on earth can deliver
them. Very likely the cruel tyranny of Satan is
a means of driving more souls to seek deliveranee
by Christ than could be aroused from  aD -Au
disturbed carnal sleep without him.




SATAN'S CAPTIVES.           77
But you say, "I can't object to the argument
as to the existence of devils and their power over
sinners, but I don't feel his bondage; I have
never seen him, nor had anything to do with
him."
Not many subjects have the honour of seeing their
sovereign. Government is administered through
a great variety of subordinate agencies.  So Satan
rules by a direct " working in the children of disobledience," and also by a great variety of agencies
-bad men, bad women, bad boys and girls, bad
books, and legions of unclean spirits.
You think you have "nothing to do with him,"
but if you examine, you will find that he has a
great deal to do with you. If you are indeed free,
stand  up in  the dignity of your loyal holy
humanity, and say, "l'm  free, and I'll demonstrate it to the world by perfect obedience to
God's holy will and commandments. I'll never
sin again."
Try your hand, my friend, and you will soon
find your master.
I once read of a young man who professed to
be an atheist, who said he " did not believe'in the
existence of God or devils."  This young man
attended a religious service, and two or three




78           THE YOUNG ATHEIST.
Christians agreed together privately to pray for
him. Soon the " Spirit of Truth" shone into his
dark mind, and he became. convinced that there
was a God,, and he said, "If there is a God who
made me, he must feel an interest in me, and I'll
call upon his name, and see if he will communicate anything to me.  I went away alone, and
kneeled down to pray' to God, and there, upon my
knees, for the first time in my life, I was convinced that there is a devil."
If you doubt it, my friend, try it.
It is a dreadful thing to be " taken captive by
the devil at his will." What is to be done? How
can the sinner be emancipated?
Let us turn again to the case of'the Gadarene,
and" we shall,not only see the clear illustration of
the workinlg of these two antagonistic forces, but
see. also how deliverance may.be obtained. Behold him in an old graveyard overlooking the sea,
groping among the tombs.  See the scars of the
"chains and fetters" with which he had been
bound, and which he had "plucked asunder."
Hear his hideous howlings of despair! Oh! look
at the blood! He is trying to kill himself.  He
has no knife, but he's. "cutting himself with
stones." Poor man, we can- do nothing for him.




LEGION OF DEVILS..IN -ONE MAN.    79
We,dare not approach him. Lo! there comes
Jesus of Nazareth.* He's in the boat: he'll be
ashore in a few minutes.
Ho! you man in the tombs there! Look to
the sea. There comes Jesus, the man that casts
out devils. He's looking! The blood is streaming from the bruises and cuts of the sharp
":stones."  See his tears. The gracious attraction-desire, faith, and hope —begins to kindle in
his'bosom.
Hear him exclaiming," Oh! that's the man that
casts out devils!  He'll deliver me from these
tormentors.  I'll go to Jesus."
Here he comes as fast he can run! Clear the
track! Down at the feet of Jesus he goes, " and
worships him "-cries piteously for help.
Dear me, how he screams:!  What's that he's
saying -.
"What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of
the Most High God? I adjure thee by God that
thou torment me not."
Do you call that a penitent?  You say the man
must be drunk, or furiously mad.
Nay; he is just coming to himself. Jesus fully
appreciated his case.
What the poor Gadarene expressed so forcibly is




80       ATTRACTION AND REPULSION.
what every sinner, in his approaches to Christ. to a
greater or less extent, feels.'Here's an important
lesson for sinners to learn. Many persons truly
awakened by the Spirit, not understanding this
complex experience, allow themselves to be duped
by the devil, who persuades them that it will never
do for them to go to Jesus while their minds are so
dark and their hearts are so hard. They must wait
till they feel differently.
If the poor man in the tombs had reasoned thus.
would he have gone to Jesus? He couldn't get rid
of the devils himself.  He couldn't get their consent to go to Jesus. The only way for him —and
the only way for any poor sinner-was to take himself up under the attraction of God's Spirit, with
all his hardness, darkness, and devils, and run to
Jesus. The Spirit does not give deliverance away
from Christ, but gives the poor sinner the desire,
and leads him to Christ.
Under this gracious attraction the Gadarene
hearkened, looked, reflected, resolved, ran to Jesus,
submitted his case-all desperate as it was-to
Jesus and worshipped him. Then the devils came
upon him like hounds of hell. They run up every
avenue of his heart, try to hold the citadel of his
soul. get possession of his feelings and his powers




THE LEGION OF DEVILS CAST OUT.    81
of speech, and cry-out against Jesus. But, thank
the Lord, they were too late. The poor man had
surrendered his soul and his body to his Almighty
Deliverer, who, by a word, ejected every devil from
his heart.
Whether there were numerically a legion of
devils in the man-ten regiments —or devil power
equivalent to that much man-power, as we speak of
an engine of so many horse-power, it matters not.
In either case we see how utterly helpless and
hopeless the man was- one defenceless man in the
hands of an armed legion-and we see how utterly
futile the efforts of any man are to get the devils out
of his heart by any performances of his own. All the
righteousness of all the Pharisees would not eject a
devil, but a word from Jesus will clear out a legion
the very moment any poor sinner surrenders himself
as did the man in the tombs. See what a sudden
and glorious change has been wrought in him! See
his beaming countenance. "Joy unspeakable and
full of glory" fills his soul. The disciples no doubt
having taken him to their boat, and washed him, and
given him some clothes, we now see him "sitting
clothed and in his right mind."
When Jesus embarked for Capernaum, the poor
fellow followed him to the ship, and begged to go
G




82        ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES.
along with him. " Howbeit, Jesus suffered him not,
but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell
them how great things the Lord hath done for thee."
Though left alone amid his old associations, the
devils could not get possession of him again unless
he again rebelled against God by "yielding himself
a servant to sin."  The next thing we see of him
he is going from town to town in his own country
preaching Jesus to the people, "and all men did
marvel."
Thousands of examples of this collision of the
forces of light and darkness in the penitential
struggle of sinners have come under my own observation.
One or two illustrative cases here may suffice.
I was labouring in a series of religious services a
few years ago, in Mhamaraneck, a suburban town of
lNew York city. Thomas Paine spent a number of
years, and finally died, in the neighbourhood of that
town. The old people there, to this day, tell of the
horrible end of that enemy of God and his Bible.
But during his life there he sowed a crop of infidelity that unhappilydid not die with him. It had
taken such deep root as almost effectually to baffle
the efforts of Christian churches there, for nearly
half a century, up to the time to which I refer, when




WORK OF GOD IN MAMARANECK.       83
I joined hands with the Rev. Mr. Hollis, the superintendent of that circuit, and we laid siege to the
citadel of infidelity and sin. God gave us the victory, and the vales leading to Paine's grave echoed
with the shouts of many scores of new-born souls.
During that work of God I called one day to see
an ex-policeman from New York city-a hardened
sinner about seventy years old. Approaching his
house, I saw him standing at the gate, and thought
him one of the most repulsive looking old men I had
ever seen. But for the fact that I had encountered
many hard cases before, and had a good brother with
me, I should havre been intimidated, I fear, and
passed on. But I braced up my courage, and prayed
that God the Holy Spirit would give me access to
his heart. We spoke kindly to him, and he invited
us into his house. I approached his heart cautiously,
but as directly as I thought I could in safety. As
I was conversing with him about the work of God
among his neigllbn~wtt.:tiw  him feeling in his
pocket for a handkerchief to wipe away his tears, and
I said to myself, "Thank God, he's a better case
than I feared."
At length he said, "I have not been to hear
preaching for years till last night, and I've been
thinking I am like that wicked old captain you




84       OLD POLICEMAN OF NEW YORK.
mentioned in your sermon, only I think I am a great
deal worse than he. was."
He granted us permission to pray with him, and
we left him weeping in sorrow for sin.
At the next service I saw the old man in my
audience, and during the prayer-meeting, after
preaching, I spoke to him, saying, " Father R-,
have you any objections to be reconciled to
God  "
"No, I can't say that I have; but I can't go
forward to that altar."
" Going forward to the altar of prayer won't save
you; but as you have been a public sinner against
God, it is quite appropriate that you should publicly confess and renounce your sins; and in thus
avowing your purpose to seek God, you put yourself in the way of receiving instruction, and of enlisting on your behalf the sympathies and prayers
of God's people."
" Well, it may be all right, but I never can go
there feeling as I do. I feel wicked. I can scarcely
restrain my feelings of anger and contempt at this
whole proceeding. I never had any special dislike
for the Methodists before, and I can't account for
this extraordinary bitterness and hatred I feel against
them."




HIS REPULSIVE DIFFICULTIES.     85
"And yet you feel a strong desire to give your
heart to God, and be saved from your sins? "
" 0 yes, I would give the world, if I had it, to
have my sins forgiven."
I then explained to him the nature of this terrible
repulsive force that was driving him almost to desperation, and assured him that if he would yield to
the attraction of grace, and walk after the Spirit,
he would lead him to Jesus, whe would cast the
devils out and renew his heart.
" Do you think so? " inquired he in surprise.
"Yes, Father R ——, I know it. I know it
from my own experience, and the testimony of
hundreds of persons whom I have seen thus come
to Jesus."
" I don't see any use in going there with a heart
full of bitterness and cursing: it would be but
mockery and not worship. I can't pray, and it's
no use to try."
"I don't see any use in your allowing Satan to
lead you away from Christ down to hell, when he
has sent his Holy Spirit to your heart to show you
your guilt and bondage, and lead you to Him who
alone can save you. If you can't come to Jesus
now, what have you to hope for if you'do despite
to the Spirit of God, and persist in sin "'




86            HIS DELIVERANCE.
" You seem very confident, but I don't see any'possibility of relief, feeling as I do."
"You are not expected to understand how God is
to do his saving work. It is enough for you to
know the fact that if you will' come to him' he'will give you rest.'"
" Well, I know I shall perish if I remain in this
state, and though it is against my feelings, and I
can't see that it will do me any good, I'll take your
word for it, and try to do the best I can."  He
knelt at the altar of prayer, and tried to repent
of his sins, and "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ."
But more than half his time there was spent in
talking about his hardness of heart, and the impossibility of relief. At the close of the service he was
still dark, but felt encouraged to persevere.  Next
night he was forward again, and in his struggles
Satan seemed sometimes almost to " tear him " with
rage against Christ. The third night he came forward he was " delivered from-the power of darkness,
and translated into the kingdom " of Jesus, and publicly told the people what God had done for his soul.
He led a new life in the sweetest liberty of the
ihildren of God.
I was preaching on this subject one day, at a
camp meeting in Canada West, and having ex



THE BRITON OF CANADA.         87
plained the bondage of the sinner, and Christ's
offer to rescue enslaved souls, I said, "These are
demonstrable facts. God's Gospel delineations of
human guilt and bondage have their demonstration
in your experience, and God's saving facts aire demonstrable by every one that will accept his terms
of mercy. He does not put any sinner upon a train
of metaphysical argumentation to find out the
truth, but says —' Prove me and see;'' Taste and
see that the Lord is good;''Come' and eat,' for
all things are now ready.'
"Who in this vast assembly will honestly confess his sins, and prove the truth of God's invitation
and promise?"
A tall fine-looking man arose and responded "I
will."   He came forward at once and knelt
down and engaged in prayer.
In reply to my enquiries personally, he said, "I
have but very little emotional feeling on the subject, but my judgment is convinced, -and I have
accepted the challenge of the minister to prove the
truth for myself, and have made up my mind to'seek till I find' mercy."
He did not obtain peace with God at that service.
At the evening prayer-meeting of the same day
he came promptly forward again, as a seeker, and




88        THIE BRITON'S TESTIMONY.
after the struggle of about an hour, with head up,
and countenance radiant with light, he exclaimed,
" Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and all that is within
me bless his holy name!"  He had believed and
was saved.
Next morning, in presence of a large audience
he arose and said, " Friends, I wish in all humility
to tell you, for the praise of God, what he has done
for my soul. I have always boasted that I was a
Briton, a free Briton, but yesterday I found out
that I was a poor slave-a slave to that worst of
all masters, the devil.  Last night, glory be to
God, I was emancipated from the slavery of sin
and Satan, and this morning I am a free man-a
free man in Christ Jesus my Lord; none the less
a Briton, but also a fellow-citizen with the saints
and of the household of faith. Glory to Jesus! "
Three months afterwards I spent a night in the
house of the same man. Found him to be a wellto-do magistrate. He told me that he had been
happy in God every day since his conversion at the
camp-meeting, except one day he "was in great
heaviness through manifold temptations," but cried
to God for help, and got a " brighter evidence of
God's favour than ever before."
I may just remark further, my friend, that the




SAVING RESOLVE.                 89
gracious influence of the Holy Spirit is adjusted to
the laws of our intellectual and moral constitution.
He sheds light into our understanding, and imparts awakening power, to the conscience, but
leaves us free to "walk after the flesh" with its
repellant forces, or to "walk after the Spirit,"
under his attractive drawiigs.
As a -matter of emotional consciousness the repulsive forces may seem much stronger than the
attractive, but God is in that apparently feeble
desire in the penitent's heart.  If you feel it, my
friend, don't quench it; let the language of your
heart be"I'll go to Jesus, though my sins
Like mountains round me close,
I know his courts, I'll enter in
Whatever may oppose.
" Prostrate I'll lie before his throne
And there my sins confess;
I'll tell him I'm a wretch undone
Without his sovereign grace.
" I can but perish if I go,
I am resolved to try,
For if I stay away, I know
I shall for ever die."
As you approach the mercy seat this heaven



90            ACCEPTING CHRIST.
wrought desire will well up in your heart stronger
and still stronger, till you are enabled to surrender
to God, and embrace Christ as your Saviour. The
repulsion also will'be increasingly stirred in its
bitter enmity to God, till Satan is ejected. and sin
subdued, by the mighty Jesus you embrace by
faith.




CHAPTER IV.
REPENTANCE: CONTINUED,
MY DEAR FRIEND-Having explained the penitential struggle of the sinner in its relation to carnal
and satanic forces, I will now, if you please, try to
show you its relation to the law. If you consent
to walk after the Spirit, he will lead you first to
Mount Sinai. There in the wild wastes of desolation you'll stand till its thunders fill you with awe
and terror. Its legal lightnings will play upon
your conscience till all your beautiful self-wrought
robes of righteousness are utterly consumed.
He will then lead you to the garden of Gethsemane. There you behold the God-man making
up his reckoning with the law; you hear him exclaim, " Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup
from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be
done."  Lo! an angel appears before him-to
remove the cup? Nay, he can't touch it, but he




92           LEGAL COMPLICATIONS.
is "strengthening him " to endure the heavy curse
of the law he hath assumed on our behalf.  Now
his agonizing cries pierce your inmost soul, while
" his sweat as great drops of blood" falls to the
ground.  There you see the "exceeding sinfulness
of sin," and learn to IGct'1e h6.
The Spirit next leads you to Calvary, and you
hear one say-' See the Lord of glory dying,
See him gasping, hear him crying,
See his burdened bosom heave!
Look ye sinner, ye that hung him,
Look how deep your sins have stung him,
DyiLg sinner, look and live!"
You there hear of life, but you see nothing but
death.  You learn that " Christ hath redeemed us
from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us."  You feel the dreadful curse of the law, for
your own sins close in upon you like the pall of
death, and you wonder if yon can have life through
Him  who died fort you-when, lo! the legal fire
that consumed his sacrificial offering to the,death,
now blows upon your soul till its carnal cohesion
to the world is dissolved, and now "the Spirit's
two-edged sword" "pierces even to the dividing
asunder of the soul and spirit, and of the joints




BAPTISMAL FIRE OF JUSTICE.       93
and marrow," and instead of relief from Calvary,
you are thus "crucified with Christ."  Now you
begin to understand the preaching of John the
Baptist, when he says, " and now the axe is laid
unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree
that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down,
and cast into the fire "-"He- that cometh after
me shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and
with fire." You learn that the application of the
law of justice, whether to nations or individual
sinners, is part of the Spirit's work, " whose fan is
in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his
floor, and gather his wheat into the garner, but he
will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
The words of Jesus then fall on your ears with
terrible effect —" Ye shall indeed drink of the cup
that I drink of, and be baptized with the baptism
that I am baptized with."  As the cup could not
pass away from Jesus, neither can it pass from us
except we drink it.  If he had not borne the curse
of the law for us, this legal fire would consume us
for ever. The baptismal fire of justice which consumed the sacrificial offering.of our Great High
Priest on the cross, consumes us till " our old man
is crucified with hint, that the body of sin might
be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve




94     CRUCIFIXION OF CARNAL NATURE.
sin."  "Therefore we are buried with Christ by
baptism unto death."
Christ's death was not to exempt us from our
appropriate measure of this fiery baptism with
which he was baptized, but to render it a " godly
sorrow working repentance to salvation," instead
of an "unquenchable fire," consuming the guilty
soul for ever; that " sin in the flesh," on which the
suffering Christ passed sentence of death, should
be destroyed, and the sinner saved, and "that like
as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory
of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."  Hence St. Paul says again, " I am
crucified; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me and gave himself for me."
This crucifixion, death, and burial with Christ
does not impair the keen consciousness and vigour
of the immortal mind of man. It will rise unimpaired above the mortal wreck of the body, and if
unsaved, will endure the "second death" for ever
unextinguished.and inextinguishable.
When a sinner is thus crucified under the law,
" and buried with Christ by baptism into death,"
his tearful eyes are upturned to Mount Zion: and




"BURIED WITH CHRIST."           95
lo! he beholds his risen Jesus in his mediatorial
robes on "his holy hill of Zion."  Now he hears
the voice of the Holy Spirit in his heart, saying,
"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved."  In the fact of the resurrection of Jesus
he has the demonstrative proof that God hatl accepted his "sacrifice of himself " on behalf of
sinners; and the great mission of his life and
death, both as it relates to the removal of legal
difficulties, and the provision of salvation, free and
full, for the world, was accomplished. Now the
risen Jesus hath become the mediator between
God and man, the ever-living Almighty Saviour
of all who come unto God by him, "who was
delivered for our offences, and was raised again for
our justification." While the poor sinner, il utter
self-despair, is thus looking to Jesus, "believing in
the Lord Jesus Christ," "the Spirit of him that
raised up Jesus from  the dead," and who will
ultimately "quicken the mortal bodies of his
saints," suddenly quickens his dead soul, he is
"saved;" "reconciled to God" through faith in
the crucified and risen Jesus.  "Therefore, we are
buried with him by baptism into death; that like




96          BAPTISM OF THE SPIRIT.
as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory
of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life."
This "baptism  of the Spirit and of fire" embraces, in practical effect, the baptismal vows of
that Sacramental ordinance; but to appropriate
all this- as merely a type of the outward application of water is as great a mistake as that the
symbols of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
embody the "real body, blood, and divinity of
Christ." The Sacrament of Baptism should not
be neglected, but should never be substituted for
the essential inward work of the Spirit, in the
crucifixion of " the old man with his deeds, and the
putting on the new man," of which it is an outward
sign or symbol.
Some teachers ignore the doctrine of repentance; but the grace of repentance is one specific
end of Christ's mission.   " It behoved him. to
suffer and to rise again, that repentance and remission of sins should be granted to Israel:" and
the duty of repentance was the first great burden
of the preaching of John the Baptist, of Jesus,
and his Apostles.   "Jesus came into Galilee
preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and
saying-The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of




THE PREACHING OF REPENTANCE.       97
God is at hand; repent ye and believe the Gospel."
In St. Paul's farewell address to the elders of
Ephesus, at Miletus, he said, in reference to his
ministrations among them, "by the space of three
years, I kept back nothing that was profitable
unto you, but have showed you, and have taught
you publicly, and from house to house, testifying
both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord
Jesus Christ."
But, my dear friend, I would have you to understand, distinctly, that in all this fiery ordeal of
repentance we have described, there is nothing
meritorious on our part.  "Though I give all my
goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body
to be burned, and have not charity," or the renewing love of God in  my heart, which I obtain
through faith in Jesus, "it profiteth me nothing."
There is but " one sacrifice for sins."
The practical end or object of repentance is
simply unreserved submission to God's will, a consent that he take out of our hearts everything opposed to his will, though as dear to our carnal
nature as a "right eye or right hand," and freely
accept his will as the rule of our lives. His will
is perfectly right, and perfectly consistent with our
HI




98      PRACTICAL END OF REPENTANCE.
best interests here and hereafter for ever, embracing every legitimate relation, duty, and privilege
of life. He does not require any soul to give up
something for nothing, but to renounce all sin,
because it is rubbish and death, to make room for
the "gift of God, which is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord."  If "for the kingdom
of God " a soul is called upon to make a sacrifice
of that which is legitimate in itself and dear to
him, God provides the most munificent indemnification, " even an hundred-fold in the present time,
and in the world to come everlasting life."
It is a great shame to humanity that the Holy
Spirit finds it necessary to lead us through the
baptism of fire before we will submit to God's
will; but such is the fact. Just at that point of
submission-whether with many tears, or no tears
at all-whether by ten years' or ten minutes' repentance, it matters not as to time —the sooner the
better —the sinner may "' believe," and be " saved."
Saul of Tarsus endured this crucifixion on his
way to Damascus, and was buried by this baptism
into death for three days, till his prejudice, pride,
self-righteousness, and all things in which he
gloried were consumed, and from the depths of
utter self-despair, under the teaching of Ananias,




TIME REQUIRED FOR REACHING IT.      99
he accepted in Jesus Christ " the power of God
unto salvation."  Upwards of thirty years afterwards, St. Paul, referring to this momentous
period of his life, speaking of the things whereof
he gloried before, said-" But what things were
gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.  Yea,
doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all
things, and do count them  but dung, that I may
win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine
own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."  The three thousand souls saved on the very day the Holy Spirit
descended and commenced his great work of saving the world, reached this essential-point of submission under the preaching of a single sermon.
"When they heard tlis" —the gospel of Jesus —
"they were pricked in their heart, and said unto
Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and
brethren, what shall we do?" Wonderful as was
this power. of the Holy Spirit, it was not coercive,
but perfectly adjusted to the laws of their intellectual and moral constitution. They were enlightened
and awakened, and cried out in the bitterness of




100       ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES.
penitential sorrow, "Men and brethren, what shall
we do?"  Suitable instructions were.addressed to
their understanding and heart, and three thousand
of them "gladly received the Word" which was
the basis and medium of their faith; thus repenting, they believed; and receiving the Holy Spirit
in his regenerating power, were baptized, and thus
publicly admitted into the visible church of Christ,
and all in the space of a few hours.  So under St.
Paul's first sermon in Antioch in Pisidia, " when
the congregation was broken up, many of the
Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and
Barnabas; who speaking to them persuaded them
to continue in the grace of God." They must have
received the grace of God, or they could not be
persuaded to continue in it.
"And it came to pass in Iconium, that they
went both together into the synagogue of the
Jews, and so spake that a great multitude both of
Jews and also of the Greeks believed."
So also in Philippi multitudes were saved in a
very short time. There was Lydia, "whose heart
the Lord opened, that.she attended unto the
things which were spoken of Paul."  She not only
heard them, but "attended unto the things"yielded prompt obedience, and the result was she




EFFECT OF ST. PAUL'S PREACHING.    101
was saved and baptized that day, and took the
preachers home with her to abide.
So the jailor, when by a combination of providential circumstances, the Holy Spirit "reproved
him of sin," and revealed to him his bondage and
condemnation, he cried out, " Sirs, what must I do
to be saved?"  Did St. Paul tell him to learn to
read the Scriptures, treat the prisoners better, and
lead a new life? Nay, he knew his heart was
corrupt, and that he never could improve his state,
nor could he by any means remove the death sentence of the law from himself, but he saw that he
had reached this essential point of submission, and
hence said to him, "'believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
He did believe, "and was baptized, he and all his,
straightway."
So also under St. Paul's sermon on "'Mars'
Hill certain men clave unto him, and believed:
among whom was Dionysius the Areopagite-one
of the judges of that celebrated court-and a
woman named Damaris, and others with them."
And so in Corinth, and wherever they went " the
Word of the Lord had  firee course and was
glorified " in the salvation of sinners.
When God's ministers and people seek the pro



102           ST. PAUL'S THEORY.
p)hetic unction of the Holy Spirit and clearly witness to " the truth as it is in Jesus," St. Paul tells
us plainly the effect upon sinners. "If all prophesy,
and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
and thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest:
and so falling down on his face he will worship God,
and report that God is in you of a truth." Here is
the case of "one unlearned "- a poor heathen who
never heard the gospel before, " or one that believeth
not" —though he had heard it, he didn't believe
it, —under the teaching power of the combined testimony of Jesus' witnesses, convinced of the truth of
their statements, and as a consequence " is judged"
through the application of the law by the reproving
Spirit of God, " and so falling down on his face "then and there, " he worships God," and finds salvation, so as to be able as a personal witness "' to
report that God is in you of a truth."  This is not
given as an isolated case, but as an illustrative
example of a rule that is applicable under the conditions specified by St. Paul, to every age and nation
"till every knee shall bow and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord' to the glory of God the
Father."
But, my dear Friend, however long or short the




YOUNG MAN IN MELBOURNE.        10t
penitential struggle of the sinner, this point of
submission must be reached before he can in the
gospel saving sense, "believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ."
Jesus did not come to save us in our sins, but from
our sins; not against our will, but with our fiee
consent; to receive him, therefore, as a Saviour fromn
sin, implies in the nature of the case our hearty consent to a divorce from sin. Yet such is our carnal
capriciousness, blindness, stubbornness and' pride
that we will not submit to this simple principle
of righteousness till we are slain by the Spirit's
legal sword.
A -man in Melbourne was seeking pardon for
days, but could get no relief. Many of his friends
wondered why, and they seemed almost disposed
to charge God with "slackness concerning his
promise.
Finally he called on me privately and said," I
know the difficulty in my case. Some years ago
my wages were not equal to my imaginary wants,
and I ventured occasionally to take a shilling from
my master's money. A great deal of cash passed
through my hands, and I knew he never would
know it, and thought'it a small matter. I took in
all about twenty pounds. When I heard you preach




104             - RESTITUTION.
the other night about restitution I saw at once that
I never could be saved till I'gave again that I had
robbed.' I will make restitution; I am thankful to
say I am  able to do it, and will pay back thirty
pounds for the twenty I have taken, but -I want to
know if I will have to confess the theft to my
master. I am still employed by the same man, and
he has entire confidence in me, and I can return the
money as I took it, without his knowing anything:
about it."  He then explained to me some peculiar
facts in regard to his family and business relationships.
I replied that under ordinary circumstances, and
in all cases when the injured party had knowledge
of the fact, a confession was an essential part of
the business, but I believed there were cases in
which a confession of that sort might do serious
damage, and when no principle of justice required
it, I believed the restitution without the confession
would meet the demands of righteousness.  I
thought under all the circumstances of his case the
restitution without the confession would be suffi-'cient.  He did accordingly, and found peace with
God that day.
But another man in Victoria who had dishonestly
appropriated one hundred and fifty pounds of his




YOUNG MAN. IN CORNWALL.       105neighbour's money, and slandered and abused him
besides, could find no relief at our altars of prayer,
till he had not onlyarranged the matterof restitution,
but made confession, and, so far as he could, repaired
the damage he had done to the reputation of his
neighbour. He wrote him a letter, asking his pardon,
and requesting the injured man, who forgave him
freely, to make any use of it he thought proper for
the reparation of the injury he had received by
"false witness."
A young man in Cornwall came out avowedly
as a seeker of salvation, and wept and prayed aloud
for hours, but could get no comfort.
A friend of mine, knowing something of his home
relationships, said to him, " Christopher, is it all
right with you at honme; are you on good terms with
your mother? "
"No, I haven't spoken to her for three
months!'"
"Now, Christopher, you must' leave thy gift at
the altar, first go and be reconciled to thy mother,
and then come and offer thy gift.' If it was possible for you to weep your eyes out, you could not find
peace with God while you cherish an unforgiving
spirit to your mother. Jesus says'Forgive if ye
have aught against any, that your Father also which




106      RECONCILED TO HIS MOTHER.
is in heaven may forgive you; for if ye do not in
your hearts forgive men their trespasses, neither
will your Father which is in heaven forgive you
your trespasses.' If you will go and be reconciled
to your mother, I will go with you if you wish."
Christopher consented, and when they got to the
young man's home, which was near the chapel, the
father met them at the door, and my friend said
to him, " Here's Christopher; he has been seeking
salvation at the meeting, and can't find it till he is
first reconciled to his mother, and he has come for
that purpose."
" Come in, my son," said the father,'come in."'
The mother was called; the mother and soh  embraced each other and wept, and he asked her
pardon, he then dropped on l;is knees, submitted,
believed in Jesus, and found peace with God
straightway.
I mention these cases simply as illustrative
examples of a vast variety of hindrances which
often prevent sinners from submitting themselves
to God.
Any dislodged idol in the heart, any cherished
bosom sin, any mental reservations whatever, will
preclude the fact of your submission, and hence
preclude the possibility of believing unto salvation.




REPENTANCE A THING OF THE HEART.   107
Seeking merely as an experiment will not (1do
either.
There must be an honest confession, and renunciation of sin, and an unreserved consecration of
heart and life to God for time and for eternity.
But you say, "How  do you reconcile all this
doing, especially in the matter of restitution, with
the doctrine of present salvation by faith?"
God is very kind, and will do every thing consistent with the law of righteousness to meet the
peculiarities of every case. Sill is a thing of the
heart; repentance, believing, and holiness are things
of the heart. This baptismal ordeal we have described has mainly to do with the heart.  To be
effective it must lead the sinner to give up all
unrighteous heart-principles, and adopt right ones.
Where this is the case it will manifest itself in
outward "fruits meet for repentance."  In tlie
matter of restitution, for example, the moment the
sinner submits, and believes, he will obtain pardon;
but the overt act of restitution may be delayed till
he is able to fulfil it; and if he has not the ability,
and cannot acquire it, his inability will not vitiate
the righteous principles of his heart, or work a forfeiture of the saving mercy of God. For example,
there was the case of the little publican Zaccheus.
Concealed in the boughs of a " sycamore tree " on




108         THE LITTLE PUBLICAN.
the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. He thought
to get a good look at the great Teacher without
being observed; but as Jesus came underneath,
and the curious publican was straining his eyes
to discern some wonderful attractions in his person,
he stopped —ah! a rare opportunity for seeing him
-and looking up, said "Zaccheus! " —dear me,
didn't it strike him —" Oh! this is the all-seeing,
all-knowing One. He knows my name, my heart,
he is Messiah! " —" Zaccheus, make haste and come
down, for I must abide at thy house."  And he
made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully, and in the exuberance of his penitential
honesty he " stood and said unto the Lord-Behold,
Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor "restitution to God on behalf of his poor.-" and
if I have taken any thing from any man, by false
accusation," making false tax returns and pocketing
the difference-" I restore him fourfold."' And
Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to
this house; for the Son of Man is come to seek and
to save that which was lost."  Zaccheus had not as
yet paid a farthing, but Jesus knew his heart, and
gave him salvation on his prompt heart obedience
and faith. This baptism of fire, as before stated, not,only dissolves the carnal cohesive power oi sin, but




CONVERSION OF FRIENDLY ISLANDERS.  109
utterly consumes the filthy rags of self-righteousness. The immortal spirit of man, which will stand
the ordeal of death and the issues of the judgment,
is unimpaired by this crucifixion; but stripped of
every other hope, it clings alone to the risen Jesus,
-and is raised with hint into a new life, and the new
relation of a "fellow-citizen with the saihts and of
the household of God." Sometimes, to be sure, this
ordeal in a measure suspends the action- of the
animal functions, and the subject. lies apparently
dead for hours. I have seen a number of cases of
this sort.
The Rev. Peter Turner says it was very common among the Friendly Islanders. In a letter I
recently received from him, he states, "I have
seen as many as two hundred penitents lying at
one time apparently dead.  Their recovery was
usually indicated first by the motion of their lips,
and by expressions of joy and praise, such as
"Precious Jesus!" "My Saviour!" "Glory to
Jesus, he's pardoned my sins!"  "Why did you
bring me back to life? I dont want to come back to
this bad world. I want to go and live with Jesus!"
Many such cases occurred in the great awakening in the north of Ireland and Scotland, principally among the Presbyterians, a few years ago.




110      VARIETY OF MANIFESTATION.
But usually persons with some mental discipline,
who have been accustomed to see and hear these
things, are not the subjects of despair so deep, or
emotion so strong. There is, in the experience of
such, an intelligent, deliberate surrender to God,
and a grateful acceptance of Jesus Christ as their
Saviour on the faith of God's record concerning
him; as quietly, as we may suppose, Lydia was
saved.
The variety of outward manifestation, both of
" godly sorrow for sin," and the joys of sins forgiven, is owing mainly to a variety of causes in
the constitution, tempers, and habits of the individual subjects.  They are incidental and not
essential. The essential thing as I have shown,
is the effective thing —" submitting," "'believing,"
"receiving the end of' our faith, even the salvation
of our souls."
Allow me, my dear friend, to advertise you of
the fact that, from this rugged route along which
the Spirit leads the awakened sinner from Sinai to
Gethsemane, Calvary, and Mount Zion, there are
many by-paths that lead to the Dead Sea of utter
destruction.  "Gehenna, itself, where the worm
dieth not and the fire is not quenched," is just at
the lower extremity of Mount Zion. Unless we
stick to our guide-book —the Bible-and walk




DANGER OF REJECTING LIGIT.       11.1
steadily after our heavenly guide-the Holy Spirit
-we are sure to get lost and " stumble on the darkl
mountains."   Hence the admonition of Jesus,
"' Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come
upon you; for he that walketh in  darkness
knoweth not whither he goeth." " While ye
have the light, believe in the light, that ye
may be the children of light."  To refuse to
walk after the Spirit as did Felix and King
Agrippa, or wantonly compromise with sin as
did Herod Antipas, or blindly wander off in the
paths of self-righteousness, so clearly defined by
St. Paul, as did the Pharisees of old, and as do
millions of formalists now, is not only to lose the
light, and walk in darkness, but sadly to injure, and
finally destroy their spiritual power of vision. The
enlightenment of the world does not depend simply
on an exhaustless source of light, but also on the
power of vision to receive it.. A man in Sydney
had diseased eyes, and could not endure much
light. One nigbt, while some kind of an application was' being made to his eyes, he said, "Light
the candle; it has gone out."  "No, the candle
is burning."  "It must be out, it is all darkness."
Alas! his eyes were out; his power of visioin was
gone. "- If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them
that are lost "-by refusing or neglecting to walk




112            THE FATAL "IVY."'
after the Spirit —" In whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who
is the image of God, should shine unto them."  I
do not believe that God arbitrarily or vindictively
withdraws his Spirit from  anybody.   It -is when
the sinner persists in unbelief and rebellion, till his
spiritual receptivity is destroyed, and he is hopelessly "joined to his idols" that God says to his
Spirit, " Let him  alone."'Except ye repent ye
shall all likewise perish" is the solemn warning of
Jesus; but the dreadful consequences of refusing
to repent, to accept the only remedy, and Saviour
of sinners, represented by the word " perish," are
inherent and self-entailed; relating to the moral
condition of the perished sinner, rather than to
God's administrative act of cutting off such a soul.
The dreadful leprosy of sin in the soul is continually eating out its spiritual susceptibilities, till
finally they are dead-the soul perished. The
poison of the fiery serpent has diffused itself
through all the life currents, and the soul is now
" past feeling, having given itself over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness."
Rambling through the park lands at Shane




DEAD TREES-PERISHED SOULS.        113
Castle in Ireland, I stood at the root of a beautiful ash tree, and looked at it till I trembled, and
said " Alas! poor sinner, he's gone." In the early
life of that tree, a little ivy crawled out from beneath
its roots, and insidiously entwined itself around the
body of the sapling; for years they grew together,
-and the stately tree seemed to luxuriate in the
green foliage of the ivy.  But in the course of
time the ivy drew so largely on the vital resources
of the tree, from earth and -water, and so tightened
its tenacious coil, as to obstruct the sap vessels.
The noble tree declined, lingered long, but got no
relief, and finally died. When I was there it was
quite dead,,:nd only remained to be plucked up
by the roots.  All the skill of all the gardeners,
with all the fertilizers of the earth, and dews and
rains of heaven, would fail to make that tree
grow.
The fatal ivy of sin is in your soul, my friend;
you can look within and read the sad story better
than I can tell it. It must be destroyed by God's
only remedy or it will destroy you.
When a soul thus perishes, what can the
righteous God do with it?  Such a soul could not
endure the presence of God, and the purity ofheaven.  It cannot in justice to society be allowed
I




~l1 t      THE VALLEY OF HINNOM.
to remain on earth. "God is long suffering to
usward, not willing that any should perish, but
that all should come to repentance;" and hence
spares the sinner to the great detriment of society,
as long as there is any hope in his case; but when
he finally perishes. in justice aud mercy to society,
the moral nuisance must be removed.' This view
of the subject is clearly sustained by the Saviour's
standing type of hell, the Valley of'linnom, or
"Gehenna," the receptacle of all the filth of the
city of Jerusalem. What was cast into the Valley
of Hinnom as food for the worms and consuming
fires?  Nothing that could be turned to any useful
account. If a horse should die in the city it
would not do to leave him in the streets to diffuse
effluvia and breed a pestilence. It is no use now
to talk about the former beauty and value of the
animal. He's dead. You can't even keep a dead
man in your house, though the dearest friend you
had on earth. The city authorities must in justice
protect society.  The dead horse is therefore
dragged off by the scavengers to Hinnono. A dead
soul in the commonwealth of God, unfit for heaven,
no longer fit for a residence among men. The
righteous ruler of the world dissolves his dishonoured connection with time, and delivers him
over to? the scavenger of the mloral universe —the




WHY PERISHED SOULS GO TO C' GEHENNA.  115
devil-who drags him  down "to hell, where the
worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
No soul is sent to hell until it has first perished
by its own suicidal rebellion, and it is sent to hell
because it has perished, and is hence unfit for any
other place. In the literal valley, which was the
type, the worms have died, and the fires have been
quenched for centuries.  When I was in the
Valley of Hinnom  it was covered with barley in
the head, interspersed with olive and fig trees. It
is in the real "I Gehenna," the antitype, where the
worms never die, and the fire is unquenchable.
If the soul was annihilated, it would be nonsense
to threaten it with eternal fire. So you see, my
friend, the alternative of walking "' after the Spirit,"
is to "walk after the flesh and die."  "As Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so"
hath "the Son of Man" been "lifted up; that
whosoever believeth on him should not perish,
but have everlasting life."
Repentance in the ordinary use of the term, reulting in unreserved submission to God's will, is
the essential preliminary to believing; but in its
broad comprehensive sense, as the "godly sorrow
that worketh repentance to salvation," it embraces
believing.
Believing, also, in its broad saving sense as the




116            THE cc SPOTTER."
one grand condition of salvation, embraces, of
course, the essential preliminary condition of itrepentance. As these subjects are so intimately
connected with each other, I will, if you please,
my friend, before we proceed to consider more at
large the subject of faith, give you one simple
illustration of believing, showing what a penitent
sinner is to believe, and how. While I was
labouring in a special series of religious services in
New York, a few years ago, a policeman came
into our meeting one night. Hie was a " detective"
-they are called "spotters" there.  During the
preaching that night the "detective" was detected, and "' reproved of sin" by God's awakening
Spirit.
At the close of the prayer meeting that night
he came and spoke to me, saying, "Excuse me,
sir, but I would like to have a little conversation
with you, if you please."
" Very good, sir, I am at your service. What
is your pleasure, sir?"'" I want to know," said he, " whether the characteristics of Jesus Christ as revealed in the New
Testament are Divine? I have read in the- Testament of his sympathy for the suffering, his compassion for mankind, his love for his enemies, his




HIS PERTINENT QUESTION.       117
patience with man's waywardness and persistent
wickedness, his yearning desire to save sinners. I
want to know whether these characteristics are
divine, or whether they belong simply to his human
nature? "
I was struck with the man's appearance, with
his ciever common sense, and especially with such
a question coming from a wicked policeman-as
he had confessed himself to be-right off the
streets of New  York; and I answered thus:
"Jesus Christ was' God manifest in the flesh,' and
he manifested his Divine nature in accordance
with the laws of the human intellect and heart, and
hence his essential characteristics as God bore a
striking resemblance to corresponding characteristics in humanity. But you will find in those
characteristics-in his sympathy, his love for his
enemies, his patience, his yearning desire to alleviate the woes of the world, and save sinnersan unfathomable depth that you can't find in
humanity."
Through this and other short practical arguments
and illustrations just to the point, we agreed in the
conclusion" that those characteristics were Divine;
if Divine, essential; if essential, immutable; and
hence the same now as then;" " Jesus Christ the




118      THE " SPOTTER'S" PENITENCE.
same yesterday, to-day, and for ever," as the
inspired St. Paul asserts-His heart of sympathy,
and love the same now, exactly as when manifest
in the flesh; as really the Saviour of-sinners
now as then, and hence as accessible now as
then; not to the natural eye, but to the intelligent
faith of the penitent."
" I see it! I see it!" said he; "I never knew
that before."
After a little advice as to how he should
submit himself to God, believe God's testimony
concerning Jesus, and on the faith of it accept
Christ as his present Saviour, he bade me good
night and retired.
The next night I saw him in my audience,
and observed that he paid strict attention to the
preaching of the gospel. At the commencement
of the prayer meeting, when I invited all persons
convinced of sin, who desired to enlist on their
behalf, personally, the sympathy and prayers of
God's people, and to converse with us, and receive
personal advice to assist them in seeking their
salvation, to indicate their desire by meeting us at
the altar of prayer that we might have access to
them. with characteristic promptness as a good
policeman, he was the first man on his feet. From




HIS PRAYER.             119
the rear part of the audience he walked deliberately up the aisle, and kneeled down. With hands
clasped, eyes closed, and head up, his countenance
manifesting, in the clear gas light of the splendidly
illuminated church, the deepest agony of soul,
combined with hope and firmness if purpose, he
introduced, in solemn, earnest, yet subdued tones,
a conversation with God. Without his knowledge
I drew  near and listened, and learned of him
whom  I had taught.  His prayer made such
a deep impression on my memory that I can give
it almost verbatim.
He said, "0  God, thou knowest what a wretched
sinner I am! Thou knowest how I have polluted
the very streets of the city with my horrible
profanity! 0 God, thou knowest that I deserve
nothing better than to be sent to hell! But,
0 God, I never knew till last night that the
characteristics of Jesus, as revealed in the Testament, are divine. I see now  that Jesus, the
sinner's friend, has been loving me -all the time.
All through my guilty years of rebellion against
thee, he has been loving me, and has been
wanting  all the time to save me; but I, a
poor ignorant sinner, didn't know it. I just went
blundering on blindly in the way to hell, and did




120        TIHE -' SPOTTER'S" FAITH.
not know that Jesus was my friend.  I always
hated these Methodi.kts, and never would go among
them. But, 0 God, I thank thee, that in thy
good providence thou didst bring me here last
night, and that I have learned that the characteristics of Jesus are Divine. 0 God, I believe it. I
have read the Testament through, and I never
read anywhere that Jesus ever turned any poor
sinner away that came to him, and gave his
case into his hands, and I don't believe he will
turn me away, if I submit myself to his will.
0 God, thou hast helped me by thy good Spirit,
I do submit my helpless, guilty soul to thee.
I do believe all thou hast said about Jesus,
I know he will not turn me away. Thou wilt
receive me, and fieely pardon my sins and save
my soul for his sake.  I do accept him  as my
Saviour."
I listened and silently prayed for his struggling soul, till I saw by his brightening countenance and the believing tone of his prayers,
that he was accepting Christ as his all-sufficient
present Saviour.' hen I said, "0 Lord, I will
praise thee: though thou wast angry with me,
thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest
me."




HIS SALVATION.             121
It seemed to startle him, he was having audience
with God, and seemed forgetful of his surroundings,
and he inquired, " What did you say, sir? " When
I repeated it, he said earnestly, "Is that in
the Bible? "  He was ready to believe anything
in the Bible, but nothingr out of it pertaining
to the great question at issue.' Yes, that is in the twelfth chapter of Isaiah."
"Well, that's it. Thank God I feel that!" "0
Lord," said he, "I will praise thee: though thou
wast angry with me, thine angel is turned away,
and thou comfortest me."
Soon after he arose and. faced the audience, and
testified clearly to the fact that God for Christ's
sake had pardoned his sins, and filled his soul with
unspeakable joy.   He went home that night
happy in God, called his wife and two little children
together, and told them what Jesus had done
for his soul, set up his family altar, and henceforth
manitested in word and deed the fruits of a new
life.




CHAPTER, V.
EFFECTIVE CONDITION OF SALVATION-FAITiH.
MY DEAR FRIEND-As faith is the one grand
condition of salvation we ought to understand it.
Whatever else we learn, or fail to learn; do, or
fail to do-we ought to learn and do that thing
on which hangs our eternal life or death. Faith,
or believing-" which is faith in exercise," as the
sole condition of salvation, embraces the practical
end of repentance-submission to God's will-as
an essential condition of its saving exercise.
Jesus Christ, as before stated, hath not come to
save us in our sins, nor against our will. To receive him therefore, as a Saviour, implies, in the
nature of the case, a willing renunciation of sin.
That we may have an intelligible practical view
of this subject, I propose to describe as briefly
as practicable,-The ground, or basis of saving
faith: Its object: Its natural functions: Its gra



GROUNDS OF FAITH.           123
cious vitality: Its end: And its demonstrative
fruits.
The founzdation of our faith is the gracious
"purpose" of God to save mankind through the
atoning merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, as
revealed in the Scriptures, interpreted and applied
by- God the Holy Spirit. St. John, speaking of
the divine works and teachings of Christ, says,
"These things are written that ye might believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that
believing ye might have life through his name."
There is no instrument among men, no covenant,
contract, deed, treaty of commerce or peace half
so reliable, as a basis of faith, as the record of
God concerning his Son, commencing with his promise to our fallen first parents, and verbally closing
with his revelation to St. John on the Island of
Patmos.  "If we receive the witness of men, the
witness of God is greater, for this is the witness of
God which he hath testified of his Son." -  And
this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." God's first
promise "that the seed of the woman  should
bruise the Serpent's head," to the manifestation of
Messiah, extended through a period of four thousand years. Surely in that time he would reveal




1-24   GOD S PROPHETIC RECORD OF CHRIST.
an  adequate foundation  for faith:  Not very
voluminous, —for then the busy multitudes of
mankind could not read it, and we would have to
employ lawyers to search God's records for us,:and
they might give us more of their own learned
counsel, than of God's saving truth,-but brief,
simple, and explicit. Many of its subjects are in
their nature to the human mind incomprehensible,
but its facts are so plain that a " wayfaring man
though a fool need not err therein," yet so
spiritual that the "natural man receiveth them
not, neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned," utterly baffling the wisdom
of men, but "revealed to babes," and all who with
honesty of purpose seek the light of God in the
paths of obedience.
We have first God's prophetic record concerning his Son. Through a period of over fifteen
hundred years, "holy men of old spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost," clearly delineating human powers and responsibility, the deep depravity of human nature, and hence the necessity
of a Saviour; and all the leading facts defining his
person, character, and mission. God thus advertised the world, hundreds of years in advance,
when and where Messiah should be manifested;




HISTORICAL RECORD OF CHRIST.    125
the peculiar fact that his human nature should be
born of a virgin, his unattractive person, having'no beauty that we should desire' him," his humiliation, manner of life, "' rejection of men," his teachings, his death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and
mediation on his holy Hill of Zion.   These prophetic facts were detailed with the definite distinctiveness of a history, and yet interwoven with the
history of ancient cities, kingdoms, and nations,
which were overthrown hundreds of years before
Christ, according to the predictions of those very
prophets. so that their remote antiquity is proved
beyond successful contradiction.
We have, second, the historical record of God
concerning his Son.
These foretold facts as they transpired in the
person and ministry of Christ were recorded at the
time of theiroccurrence, and during the lifetime
of the masses of men and women who witnessed
them. The men inspired by the' Holy Ghost to
record these facts, and the conditions on which
"men's sins should be forgiven or retained," were
divinely accredited by miraculous " signs and wonders."  The men, their mission, their gospel facts,
and those attesting signs from God, were all
subjects of immediate record, which was published




:1 ~:6       UNDENIABLE FACTS.
far and wide among their enemies. The great
central miracle and saving fact-the resurrection
of Christ, for example-was at once proclaimed
by the living witnesses of it, when their testimony
would have been challenged, and their statements, if not true. refuted. Their testimony implicated the Jewish people in the murder of their
long-looked for Messiah. Peter thus charged it
home upon them  right there, where but a few
weeks before they had executed Him. "The God
of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God
of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus, whom
ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of
Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and
desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and
killed the Prince of Life, whom God hath raised
from the dead; whereof we are witnesses." And
there, before their eyes, was attesting proof of
these facts in the miraculous healing of the lame
man who was "leaping and praising God in Solomon's porch." If these things had not been so
the Jewish people would have refuted them at
once, and being so numerous and widely scattered
throughout the Roman world their refutation
would have been circulated more rapidly and
widely than the Gospels could have been. The




MARTYR WITNESSES.           127
Jewish people are present in all parts of the world
now, and just as eager as ever to find a refutation
of these facts; and yet they have never been able
to produce a better one than the attempted refuting testimony of the bribed soldiers —" His disciples came and stole him away while we slept."
What court would receive the testimony of witnesses to what they affirmed as having occurred
while they were asleep?  Nay, so far from being
able to refute these gospel facts, tens of thousands
of Jews during the lifetime of these witnesses
believed and were saved.
These facts with their divine attestations were
submitted to the all-conquering Romans and
learned Greeks who would have refuted them,
and published  the  refutation  throughout the
world if they had not been true. After St.
Paul, in all the principal cities in Syria, Asia'Minor, Macedonia, and Achaia, had been proclaiming a crucified and risen Christ for at least
twenty-five years, in  writing from the city of
Ephesus to the church in Corinth, records this
great fact:-" For IL delivered unto you first of
all that which I also received, how that Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures: And
that he was bluried, and that he rose again the third
day according to the Scriptures: And that he was




128          MARTYR WITNESSES.
seen of Cephas, then of the twelve; After that he
was seen of above five hundred brethren at once;
of whom the greater part remain unto this present,
but some are fallen asleep.  After that he was
seen of James; then of all the apostles.  And last
of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of
due time." Here were "about five hundred men,"
all concurring in their testimony to the same great
facts, which they had seen with their eyes, and
proclaimed in the very teeth of their enemies?
through a period of over a quarter of a century,
almost to  the utmost limits of the  Roman
world.
Not one of them  could have had the least
motive for asserting these things if they had not
been true, for their testimony exposed them to the
loss of everything in this world, even life itself, for
the mass of them finally sealed their testimony
with their own blood. In view of the bloody persecutions they endured for Christ, they could truly
say with their fellow martyr, St. Paul, " If in this
life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men
most miserable."
There was ample time, we see, for challenging
these witnesses, and refuting their testimony if it
had been possible.




WITNESSES FROM THE OPPOSITION.   129'hey constituted no small faction, unworthv of
the attention of the great and learned of those
days, for their movement shook the foundation of
empires, and "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers took counsel together against
the Lord, and against his anointed."  Yet such
was the incontestable character of these facts,
though directly opposed to the carnal nature of
men, and the popular institutions of those days,
the learned Greeks and the masses of the Roman
world gradually succumbed to the power of gospel
truth, and notwithstanding the degenerating tendencies of human nature, the Asiatic and European
countries that received the gospel from these personal witnesses of the resurrection of Christ, are
in the main, at least, nominally Christian countries
to this day.
Moreover, we have the testimony of Jewish and
heathen historians, the avowed enemies of the
Gospel, corroborating its leading facts. Josephus,
who was an active leader in those wars which
resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem  about
A.D. 70, speaks of John the Baptist as a good man
and a preacher of righteousness, and of Herod's sin
in putting him to death. He also mentions Pilate
as having been the Roman Governor of Judea
about that time.                    K




130      PIIINY, TACITUS, SUETONIUS.
The younger Pliny, who was a Roman Govr.rnor
in Bithynia about the year A.D. 107, writes to the
Emperor Trajan inquiring how he should deal with
the Christians, who, in great numbers, were accused
at his tribunal of their " superstition." He admits
that the only charge against them was that they
were worshippers of Christ, and assembled together
to sing hymns to him. The Emperor replied that
he "had better not seek them out, but that if
brought before him, they must be capitally punished unless they will renounce their superstition."
This was but a continuance of the persecutions
that raged  during  the  ministrations of the
Apostles.
Tacitus, the historian, who wrote about the year
110, says, " Nero brought forward, as accused persons, to be subjected to the most exquisite punishments, those who were commonly called Christians.
The author of this sect, Christ, was capitally punished by the procurator, Pontius Pilate, while Tiberius was Emperor."
Suetonius, a contemporary Roman historian with
Tacitus, says:-" The Christians, followers of a
new. superstition, were punished." He also. in
writing of the reign of Claudius, says, that "that
Emperor expelled all the Jews from Rome, because




LUCIAN AND JULIAN.          131
they raised continual tumults at the instigation of
Christ."  He no doubt heard Christ spoken of as
we do now in the present tense, and supposed him
to be then the ringleader of the sect bearing
his name. This is doubtless the banishment of
Jews from Rome that St. Paul mentions, which
drove "Aquila and Priscilla from  Rome" to
Corinth.
Lucian also, another Heathen writer of the
second century, says of the Christians, "They still
worship that great man who was crucified in Palestine, because he introduced into the world this new
religion."
The Emperor Julian speaks of " Jesus, the
Nazarene:" " Jesus whom you celebrate was one
of Caesar's subjects;" and tauntingly addressing
Christians says:-  You are so very unhappy as to
leave the immortal gods, and go over to the dead man
of the Jews." Speaking of the time, he says, " These
things happened in the days of Tiberius and
Claudius." In Nero's day, says Tacitus, "a vast
multitude were apprehended, and their sufferings
were aggravated by insult and mockery; some
were disguised in skills of wild beasts and worried
to death by dogs. others crucified; others wrapped
in pitchy sheets, and set on fire in the night to




132   SCRIPTURE EVIDENCES CONCLUSIVE.
serve as an illumination." Nero illuminated his
gardens with them. It should be observed that,
though these authors penned these facts in the
beginning  of the second century, the authors
themselves, in the main, Lived through the latter
half of the first century, contemporaneously with
many of those personal witnesses of Christ's resurrection.
Without going into the details of the argument
to support the inspiration and divine authority of
the Holy Scriptures from the various classes of
evidence, external, internal, collateral, and demonstrative, which our space will not allow, suffice it
to say that they are so clear and conclusive as to
challenge any honest man, Jew, Mohammedan,
Boodhist, infidel, or sceptic, to an investigation
and personal test of their divine origin and saving
power.
Dr. Freshman, a learned Jewish rabbi in
Canada, was attending the meeting of an assembly
of learned Jews in the city of Montreal.  The
president of that assembly, or council, was a learned
rabbi from Jerusalem.
During the progress of their deliberations, Dr.
Freshman asked the Chairman this question: "If
our ancient prophets did foretell all the great




DR. FRESHMAN.             133
leading, events that should occur in the world's
history —aDd we believe they did-how did it come
to pass that they entirely overlooked and gave us
no notice of that most remarkable of all eventsthe advent of Jesus of Nazareth and the Christian
Dispensation?"
The learned doctor in the chair, after some hesitation and evident embarrassment, replied, " When
I return to Jerusalem, I will examine the records
and let you know."
Whether he instituted an examination of the
Jewish records in Jerusalem, or not, was never
known to Dr. Freshman. He received no answer
to his question, and it led him to search the sacred
records for himself. The result was " he believed"
and was saved, and has been for a number of
years a successful Wesleyan minister of the
Canada Conference.  He has, for the last three
or four years, been establishing a German Wesleyan church in the city of Hamilton. I have the
pleasure of a personal acquaintance with the
doctor and his family, and can testify to his intelligent zeal and usefulness as a brother beloved
in Christ.
So any man, willing to know and obey the
truth will certainly find it by searching the




134         JEWISH BANKER'S SON.
Scriptures and yielding obedience to their instructions.
I became acquainted with a very intelligent
Jew in the city of Montreal. His father, I was
informed, was a wealthy banker in Germany. I
beard this Jew relate his Christian experience in
a fellowship meeting, the substance of which was,
in his broken English, this-"-'The Spirit of de
Lord take hold of my heart in my fader's house,
in Germany. He make me feel so bad I could
not eat my food or take my rest.
" My fader say to me,' Why you no be happy?
You mope round, just so miserable as can be.
Plenty of money, why you no be happy?'
"' I say' Fader, I find no place for my soul.
De money wont buy'a place for my soul.  I lie
down and die one day, and den what good de money
to me, and where go my poor soul?'' By-and-by I reads in a paper about one, Dr.
Freshman, a Jewish rabbi in Canada dat find
Messiah. I says to myself,'I go to Canada to
find dat rabbi dat find  Messiah.'  When I
come to Canada, I ask de first thing,'Where is
Dr. Freshman?' and dey tell me dat he live in de
city Hamilton. When I go to de city of Hamilton he not at home. I no find' him for two weeks.




HE FINDS DR. FRESHMAN.       135
Then one man show him to me at a public meeting,
and I look at him till de meeting was out, and as
he come, I say to him,' You Dr. Freshman?'
"'Yes.'
"' You Jewish rabbi?'
"' Yes.'
"' You find Messiah?'
6"' Yes.'
"' Well, you give me two lessons, and I pay
you.
" Dr. Freshman say,' Come to my house,
and I give you many lessons, and not charge anyting.'
" But I say,' 0 no, Dr. Freshman, I no want
you to teach me for notting.'
"Den I go to Dr. Freshman, and he talk to
me, and talk to me, and talk to me; but I no
find Messiah,
" Den I go to de Catolic church, and talk to de
priest to find Messiah.
"De priest, he tell me about de baptism and de
holy water; and I say,' Go away wid your water.
I wants to find a place for my soul.'
"Den I go back to Dr. Freshman, and he say,'You Hebrew scholar.  Now, take your Hebrew
Bible and read what our ancient prophets say about




136      SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES.
Messiah. Take your pen and write down de exact
description dey give of him, especially the fiftythird chapter of Isaiah; and when you get de
prophetic directions how to find Messiah, take your
Greek Testament and search, and you will find, as
face answers face in a glass, so de New Testament
answers to de Old, and dat everything de old prophets say about Messiah was fulfilled exactly in de
person of Jesus of Nazaret. When your judgment be convinced, den bow down on your knees
and pray to Got in the name of Jesus, and you
find Messiah in your heart. He save you from all
your sins.'
" So I follow de instructions dat Dr. Freshman he
did give me, and my judgment he get convinced,
and I bow down on my knees and I cry,' O Got
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Got of my faders,
I pray to dee in the name of dy dear suffering Son
Jesus Christ. I be convinced from dy holy books
of the Old and New Testaments dat tie be
Messiah which dow has sent into de world to save
sinners. Dow knows what a great sinner I am;
but Jesus'comes to save de chief of sinners.'
I trust my soul to him. I believe be can save
me. O Got have mercy on my poor soul, and
save me from my sins, for Jesus' sake. I believe




" I FINDS MESSIAHII.       137
all dow has say about Jesus, and 1 take him as my
Saviour.'
"While I pray I feel more and more bad, and I
tot my poor soul he must go to hell! Den, I say,
if Jesus Christ bore my sins in his own body, and
redeemed my soul with his own blood, my soul he
no need to go to hell. Den I give my soul to
Jesus. I believe in Jesus, and just so quick as
lightning 1 finds Messiah! He save me from my
sins, he fill my soul wid unspeakable joy! My soul
he find a home in Jesus! He abide in Jesus now
for tree years, and I know him more and more,
and love him wid all my heart." He proceeded to
tell of some remarkable answers to prayer he had
experienced, and such was the artless simplicity of
his story, and the light and unction of the Holy
Spirit shining through his broken utterances, that
between laughing and weeping for joy, when he sat
down there were but few dry eyes in that large
assembly. He was at that time employed as a
colporteur and Bible-reader to his people of different
languages in the city of Montreal.
The oracles of God, my friend, as a basis for
saving faith, are entirely adequate for Jew and
Gentile.  Some learned men, to be sure, have
written against the Scriptures, but their powers




138           INFIDEL WRITERS.
were employed, not to find out the truth, but to
find difficulties and objections to it. When men
go into an exploration of God's works or teachings
for the purpose of finding difficulties and objections,
they can always be accommodated.
Some infidel writers were really battling against
corrupt forms of Christianity, a fruitful source of
infidelity, and knew but little about the Bible,
and nothing of the Holy Spirit's power attending it.
Those of them who should have known better,
were among the " wise and prudent," who practically ignore the personal presence of the Holy
Spirit, and His teaching and saving offices, and so
"lean to their own understanding " that "these
things are hid from their eyes."  Their blindness is
such, that they either refute their own arguments,
or fall into egregious blunders that expose their
ignorance of spiritual things, and in bitterest remorse and despair they pass away, " but the word
of the Lord endureth for ever."
Bishop Colenso's fallacious dodge is to locate his
premises so remotely in geography, chronology,
and history, that the masses of the people have no
immediate opportunity of ascertaining the character
of the pretended facts embraced in his assump



BISHOP COLENSO.           139
tions. The learned prelate states them in such a
bold confident way that many forget to inquire
whether or not "'the things are so." Admitting
his premises, they cannot escape his logical conclusions. But as attention is called to the grounds of
his arguments, the world finds out that the bishop
is guilty of what logicians call " begging the question "-assuming as the basis of his arguments, not
admitted facts, or well defined defensible grounds of
truth, but bold, unproved, unadmitted statements
of his own.
For example, we read in the 27th and 28th
chapters of Deuteronomy the command of Moses
for the assembling of the tribes of Israel in the
valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim,
and that the blessings of the law should be proclaimed by six heralds, representing six tribes,
from Mount Gerizim, and the curses of the law
in like manner from Mount Ebal, and on each
announcement the people should saTy "Amen."
We read in the 8th chapter of Joshua that the
whole thing occurred, " as Moses the servant of the
Lord had commanded before, according to all that
was written in the book of the law."
But Bishop Colenso, from  his stand-point in
Africa, insinuates, in accordance with his wily mode




140       MOUNT GERIZIM, AND EBAL.
or assuming the premises of his arguments, that it
never occurred; that, the thing is in itself a physical impossibility, for the people of Israel could
not find standing room between those mountains;
and even if they could, the heralds could not be
heard from the two opposite mountains, and therefore the Bible narrative is not true.
Now what are the facts?  In exploring those
" old paths " I sent a young Arab to ascend Mount.Ebal, about fifty feet above the level of the valley,
while I, meantime, ascended the more precipitous
steeps of Mount Gerizim, to about the same elevation. We stood then at a distance from each other,
as I ascertained approximately by stepping it, of
about four hundred yards.
I proclaimed several passages of Scripture, one
of which was, " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come
ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come
ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price."  I then sang
the " Beautiful World," a song he had never heard
in the world before, yet he was able to tell me
every passage I quoted, and repeat the chorus
of the hymn I sang.
That afternoon was not a favourable time for such
an experiment because of a strong breeze from the




COLENSO S PREMISES EXAMINED.    141
north-west drawing directly across the line of sound
between us, but notwithstanding that, he heard my
utterances, and I heard his responses.
Moreover, there were embarrassments with us
that did not exist in the great event itself. The
said young man, a native of Shechem, was not
familiar with my voice nor with my language.
Though he had been for some time in Bishop
Gobat's high school on Mount Zion, his knowledge
of the English colloquial was very imperfect. He
could not anticipate any of my utterances, for I
had not even hinted to him in advance what I
would say.
The Jewish people, on the other hand, were perfectly acquainted with the voices of their heralds,
their language, and the subject matter of their announcements. The mass of the people had no doubt
known from memory the blessings and curses of the
law of Moses from the time they were little boys
and girls, and there by the altar of God on Mount
Ebal, "on great stones set up," were written " all
the words of this law very plainly." They assembled
to bear these proclaimed in their order, and even if
those on the outskirts could not have heard distinctly, they knew what was proclaimed, and could
join in the universal response "Amen!"  So we




142       COLENSO'S FALLACY EXPOSED.
find that the physical impossibility raised by Dr.
Colenso as a fulcrum for his sceptical lever by
which to overthrow the temple of God's imperishable truth, is not an impossibility at all, but entirely
practicable.
The fact is, sound in that- country travels with a
facility that a man in Africa would not be likely to
appreciate.
As it regards the other horn of this difficulty,
the incapacity of the valley, I may simply remark
that if we could be heard four hundred yards across
the valley, we could be heard the same distance
right and left. That will give us an area four by
eight hundred yards, with any amount of elbow
room, the valley being over a league in length.
But the space above defined will give us two
millions eight hundred and eighty thousand square
feet.
Learned men agree that the whole nation of the
Israelites at that time did not exceed two millions.
A command for a general assembly of the tribes
for the purposes of worship, or war, necessarily
exempted the sick, and all who were required to
take care of the sick and to "stay with the stuff,"
-their immense herds and household effects.  In
a country like that, so subject to Bedouin ma



BIBLE TRUTH DEMONSTRATED.    143
rauders, with two and a half of the tribes living
east of Jordan, probably one half of the population would necessarily be exempt on this religious
occasion. Such a necessary exemption was so palpable, that in the greatest emergencies of war there
was a law, that they who stayed with the stuff
should share equally in the spoils of war with those
who " went up to the battle."  The people on this
great occasion were all represented by their
"elders, officers, and judges, who stood on this
side of the ark and on that side, before the priests
and Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant
of the Lord," and "all Israel" not exempt by
necessities providedfor by law, altogether numbering possibly a million, or at most a million and a
half, for whom standing closely we have within our
defined lines nearly three millions square feet.
Many of the small women and children would not
occupy over a square foot each. So this impossibility, like its fellow, turns out to be entirely
practicable, and if the number of the Israelites
was so small as Dr. Colenso would make it appear
in another line of his fallacious argumentation, we
could slip them in half the space.
B3ut, my dear friend, I would specially remind
yeu of the fact, that it is not essential to the sal



144         FACTS KNOWN TO ALL.
vation of a sinner that he acquire a knowledge of
all the variety and extent of God's testimony concerning his Son, nor the various classes of evidence
employed to support and defend it against the
assaults of infidelity; nor the mysteries involved in
the subjects embraced in it; nor the difficult,
knotty questions the learned metaphysicians and
sceptics may raise. The sinner, under the enlightening quickening power of the Holy Spirit,
should seek the Lord, " if haply they might feel
after him, and find him;" for " he is not far from
every one of us," through the teaching medium of
palpable facts.
First, the fact of his own being. How came he
into existence, and for what purpose'
Second, the existence of the universe, as manifested to his senses; and hence its Creator, " For
the invisible things of him from the creation of
the world are clearly seen, being understood by
the things that are made, even his eternaf
power and godhead, so that they are without excuse."
Third, a recognition of God's great law  of
demand and supply, so unvarying in its manifestation, that to find a real demand, is to be assured
of an ample and available supply. He consciously
possesses a threefold nature:



LAWS OF DEMAND AND SUPPLY.    145
1st. A corporeal body with its demands, and a
supply for these demands —food, water, air, light,
and all the rest.
2nd. An intellectual nature, and the most ample
and compensative field for its exercise.
3rd. A spiritual nature adapted to moral relationships and to moral law pertaining to this life,
and to his Creator, and the invisible world; hence
his aspirations to rise above the mists of time to
an unclouded vision of eternity; to hold intercourse with the invisible and spiritual.
This demand is so potent, and so prominent in
the experience of mankind, that any new mysterious thing that holds out any hope of a supply, is
sure to attract a mass of anxious inquiries, and
hence the success of all the mystery-mengers,
from the witch of Endor down to Mr. Davis the' spirit rapper."
In the department of man's spiritual nature
there is his "' religiousness" disposing him to be a
worshipper, while he may clearly see that there is
nothing in this world worthy of his worship.  It
is readily excited by the power of poetry and
iong.
A leading function of his spiritual nature is his
ronscience-a teacher, a lawgiver, a witness, a reL




146  TRYING TO SETTLE WITH CONSCIENCE.
corder, a judge, an executioner; hence the'universal struggle of mankind to square accounts
with conscience: Hence the ancient heathen
temples, and hecatombs of slain beasts, and all
the varieties of modern expedients among Heathen,
Mohammedans, Jews, and formal Christians.
Though some men may in word deny the existence
of their spiritual nature, and its conscious demands,
yet they can't ignore nor conceal the fact, and any
man may intelligently learn that the supply for
these spiritual demands of his being does not exist
in visible or material things: hence the clear presumption, that the God who made him, and endowed him with these various powers, and provided
so amply for the inferior demands of his being,
pertaining to this life, would reveal an available
supply, for the superior demands of his being, pertaining to " things unseen and eternal."
We have just such a revelation in the Bible,
another palpable fact. Let the infidel account for
its existence.  Whatever mysteries and difficulties
it may furnish for the speculative critic, the seeking sinner has simply to do with its facts.  Its
delineatory facts of human responsibility, guilt,
corruption, condemnation, and bondage, have their
counterpart and demonstration in his own expe



SAVING FACTS DEMONSTRABLE.    147
rience. Its saving facts have a demonstration in
the experience and lives of Christians, who have
proved them by experience, and bear a clear testimony to them.
He also consciously feels the awakening influence of the Spirit, whose personal presence, and
interest in him, he may not at all appreciate, but
he knows that the influ l,:-e he feels is foreign to
himself, and tends to l,-ad him from sin to God,
and must hence proceed from God, and is proof
of God's desire to save him.  All these facts combine to induce him  to come directly to the God
who made him, in the name of his Son Jesus
Christ, and personally test the truth of his gospel,
and demonstrate its saving power in'his own experience.  He may not know  a letter of the
alphabet, but feels these facts, and hears these
gospel truths proclaimed from the pulpit, or from
the lips of a child, yields obedience, and experiences salvation through faith in Jesus. The testimony of living witnesses has a great deal to do in
this work of leading souls to Christ.
A worldly unbelieving man in the state of
Indiana who was awakened by the Spirit, sought
and found peace with God, Soon after another
infidel neighbbur, who had confidence in his vera



148         WITNESSES TO FACTS.
city, waited onhim, and said, "You know, sir,
that I am an unbeliever of the Bible as a revelation from God, and have always looked upon
churches as organized forms of superstition, but I
learn that you profess to have found access to
God, and have received a pardon from Him for
all your sins. This is all strange to me; but I
believe vou to be a man of truth, and if you candidly tell me that sach are the facts in your experience, I cannot doubt your testimony.  And if
you will tell me how I too may gain access to
God, and have my sins forgiven, I will take your
advice and do anything to attain such a result."
The other assured him, on the honour of a man
and a Christian, that such were the facts in his
experience, and succeeded within a few days in
leading his infidel friend to Jesus, and heard him
testify to the saving facts of the Gospel as he had
also experienced them.
A young lawyer in New Jersey, an avowed;nfidel, went to a fellowship meeting of Christians
" to write down their experiences to furnish sport
for his friends in the office."  You will rarely find
a good lawyer an infidel, and never when they
bring their trained powers of analysis to an honest
investigation of the evidences of Christianity. The




NEW JERSEY LAWYER.           149
said young lawyer, being personally acquainted
with the names and general character of most of
the Christians present, entered their names in his
note-book, and wrote out their facts as they delivered them, till he had recorded, in the most
business-like way, the testimony of eighteen witnesses, when he suddenly waked up to the subject,
and said to himself, " These are credible witnesses
-men and women who would not lie. I would
not want any better witnesses in court to substantiate any matter of fact within their knowledge.
They have not testified to what they think, or
hope, or believe simply, but to facts in their experience, which they say they know. To ignore
such testimony is to ignore the laws of evidencea thing I dare not attempt." With that he arose,
and confessed all these facts in his case, and
begged the good people to pray for him, that he
might be enabled to believe and be saved. He
was soon after converted to God, and became
himself a witness for Jesus.
When I was labouring in Ballaarat two years
ago, where a multitude of souls were saved, a
sceptic about fifty years old, or upwards, was
brought to a saving knowledge of the truth. In
his own peculiar, blunt, but clever mode of expres



150         BALLAARAT SCEPTIC.
sing himself, he subsequently said, in a fellowship
meeting, and in a letter to me personally, " Friends,
I want to preface my experience with a confession.
I would like to confess to all these Methodists, and
to all the Methodists in the world, if I could, how I
have hated and abused them. I didn't believe in
Christianity at all, bui I especially hated the
Methodists.  I thought they were the greatest
humbugs in the world, and tried as far as I could
to make everybody else think so.  I came to these
meetings through the persuasion of a friend. I
can't say that I had any curiosity to hear the
stranger. I had heard a great many preachers,
and cared nothing for any of them; but to gratify
my friend I came.  My attention was at once
arrested, my prejudices allayed, and when I heard
the Gospel presented as a practical common sense
thing, and that any sinner may test its truth, and
demonstrate its saving power in his own heart, I
said to myself,' That's a proposition that commends
itself to my conscience —a subject involving my
eternity of being for happiness or misery brought
within the demonstrable range of my own experience, and testing power! I can't ignore such a
proposition without doing violence to my own
common sense and conscience. I have a turn for




HIS TESTIMONY.            151
demonstration, and I'll prove this thing, I have
had many a discussion with ministers and others,
and they have given me solne terrible twistings,
but they never shook a pin of my infidelity; but
now I'll test this thing, and prove that it is either
true or false. From these considerations my mind
was set at once to try it, and without any special
emotional feeling, I went and bowed down at that
altar.  When I kneeled there and looked the
Lord Almighty in the face for about an hour, ah
then I saw and felt that God's revealed facts about
my dreadful heart-wickedness, my bondage to sin
and Satan, my exposure to penalty, were true.
If true so far, why not true all the way through?
So I just followed the instructions of my teacher
with the simplicity of a child, and worked it outa clear demonstration of consciousness in less than
twenty-four hours. Before, I was worse than a
heathen; now I'know that I have passed from
death unto life.'  I know that I have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and I'm happy
in God every day." I received a letter from him
the next morning after he had gone forward to
the altar of prayer; but before I had time to reply,
or see him, he surrendered his soul to God, believed
God's "record concerning His Son," and on the




152   OVER FIVE THOUSAND  WITNESSES.
faith of it accepted Jesus, and was saved. Nine
months afterwards, returning to Ballaarat I found
this man steadfast in faith, " and increasing in the
knowledge and love of God." I learned from some
of his neighbours that he had up to that time been
instrumental in leading seven persons to Christ.
I saw him again but a few months ago, and heard
last week that he is making good progress in
spiritual life. Another much older man, I remember at the same meeting, "believed on the
Lord Jesus Christ," and amid his shouts of praise
to God for saving him, I heard him exclaim, " I
have been a faithful servant of the Devil for sixtyeight years." That man has passed through extraordinary trials and sufferings since, but is firmly
anchored in Christ.  I merely mention these
as specimen illustrations of the demonstrative
character of Gospel truth and saving- power in
Jesus.
The Australasian Conference at its last session.
(1865) reported an increase for that Conference
year, in members and probationers, numbering
five thousand six hundred and thirty-six persons,
nearly all of whom had borne a testimony to the
pardoning mercy of God in their own experience.
I encountered an infidel on a New  Zealand




NEW ZEALAND INFIDEL AND COLONEL R. 153
steamship, some time since, and having gone
through the different classes of evidence, proving
the divine authority of the Bible, I gave him many
examples of persons whose testimony could not
be disputed, and told him also my own experience
on the subject. "; Well," said he, " I am only
thirty-two years old, and I don't know but I will
come round to your side yet."
With that Colonel R., who had heard but a
little of the discussion on the last point, said, " I
am a Christian, but I can't admit the argument
from experience, for Mahomedans and Boodhists
profess the same thing."
" Nay, Colonel R.," I replied, "that is begging
the question. I don't grant your premises. Jesus
says to all poor sinners,' Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of
me, for I am meek and lowly of heart'-kind,
sympathising, approachable,' and ye shall find
rest for your souls.' Penitent sinners accept this
call, come to Jesus by faith, find rest for their
souls; and in life and in death bear a distinct testimony to the fact, Now, that is just what the
heathen and Mahomedans, and all classes of merely
formal Christians, do not find; and hence the muli.




154         COLONEL R.'S RETREAT.
tiplication of their shrines, penances, and pilgrimages, just as the old Athenian heathens multiplied
their gods. They go to one altar and find no rest,
then to another, and another, seeking rest and
finding none, except the satisfaction that a dying
man has in the reflection that he spared no pains to
try to save himself from death.  Millions of souls,
keenly conscious of their burden of sin and misery,
spend weary years in'going about to establish
their own righteousness,' till they drop into the
grave, or in utter desperation try to expiate their
guilt and find rest for their souls by swinging on
hooks fastened into their flesh, and all manner of
torture down to the crushing of the wheels of
Juggernaut; and though many became stoics in
patient suffering, yet in all this vale of woe and
death, not one scintillation of light is seen, or one
word of testimony heard, to assure us that they
foand'rest for their souls.' "  As I was going on
with my facts, the Colonel said, "Excuss me, Sir,
I must go on deck," and suddenly departed.
Nay, my  friend, the  testimony  of living
Christians to facts is not to be invalidated by the
negative testimony of mere formalists and heathens.
There are millions of men who can testify that
though they have travelled a great deal, they




PALESTINE PILGRIMS.         155
never saw California; but that weighs nothing
against my statement of fact that I have spent
years there.  Or, if they say, "O yes, we found
California in Africa," any schoolboy can see that
they were mistaken.
The blind leaders of these blind millions who
are trying to work their passage to heaven, well
know that their prescriptions will not give rest to
their souls, and hence are always prepared to meet
their disappointment by reminding them of some
one of a thousand things they have failed to do,
and excite their hopes in a future saving work to
be performed, and keep them going. In the. Holy
Land, for example, there is a shrine for nearly
every prophet that ever lived. Even the tomb of
Moses is visited and worshipped in the mountains
west of Jordan, between the Dead Sea, and "Santa
Saba."  At that great Greek fortress-the "Convent of Santa Saba" —-in the mountains between
the Dead Sea and Bethlehem, a hundred skulls of
monks, said to have been murdered by the Persians
many years ago, are shown through the grating of
a sacred crypt, but three of themn are left within
reach of pious pilgrims, who have kissed those
skulls till they glisten with the wear of the lips of
successive generations of weary and heavy laden




156   WHAT BELIEVERS CERTAINLY KNOW.
souls, seeking rest and finding it not, because they
came not to Jesus. This is but an illustration of
the various modes of millions of Jews and Gentiles
at the present day, who are trying in vain to meet
the conscious demands of their spiritual nature
apart from God's only provision. But the experience of true believers, as summed up by St. Peter,
is a different thing altogether. " Whom having
not seen, ye love (says he); in whom, though now
ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy
unspeakable, and full of glory, receiving the end of
your faith " —the very thing they sought by faith"even the salvation of your souls;" and all that,
too according to God's prophetic advertisement of
" the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should
follow."
So you see, my friend, the demonstrative argument of the truth of the Bible, and the saving
power of Jesus, based on the experience, and embodied in the testimony of millions of credible wit-.
nesses, is unanswerable. "We know," says St.
John, of all true believers, "that we have passed
from death unto life."  What we know, all mankind may know. Our experience demonstrates what
is the privilege of every sinner. Hence, every
unbeliever who ever heard the Gospel will be left




LEFT WITHOUT EXCUSE.         157
utterly without excuse;' and when he stands at the
bar of God, he wil not say to his judge, " I read
some infidel books, and could not answer their
objections, and I could not solve the mysteries of
the gospel record." Such excuses would not touch
the point at all. He did know that he was a
poor sinner. He did know that the gospel proclaimed an Almighty Saviour of sinners. He did
know that he was invited times without number
to come to him and " find rest for his soul."  And
worse than all, he knew that he wilfully and persistently refused to " come to him that he might
have life."  He will stand "speechless" before
God, and the King shall say to his executioners,
"Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and
cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."




CHAPTER VIL
OBJECT: NATURAL FUNCTIONS, AND SPIRITUAL
GTFT OF FAITH.
THE object of faith, my dear friend, is not any
particular creed, or theological system, or peculiar
form of biblical criticism, but the living Saviour
himself. Whatever a man's particular creed may
be, however mixed up with damaging speculative
dogmas or traditional practical errors, however
much or little he may know about the grounds of
evidence, in the Holy Scriptures, in regard to
Christ, or to the testimony of living witnesses, if
he is led by the awakening Spirit of God to realize
his guilt, condemnation under the law, pollution,
bondage, and helplessness, and will confess his sins,
consent to renounce them, surrender his helpless
soul to God, and on the faith of what he may have
read or heard of Jesus, accept him as his Saviour,




OBJECT OF FAITH.            159
that moment he will receive salvation in Christ.
It is not a matter of indifference whether he know
much or little on the subject. It is a great advantage to gain all the knowledge possible on the subject; but simple saving faith requires essentially
no more than the knowledge of the experimental
facts of the sinner's wretchedness and need, and
such knowledge of the only Saviour of sinners as
will lead him to abandon all hope in everything
else, and cling to Jesus as did sinking Peter, or as
a drowning man to the last spar.
As before shown, there cannot be the exercise of
saving faith without "repentance towards God."
1" He shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his
people from  their sins;" not in their sins, nor
against their will.  To receive Christ, therefore,
as a Saviour from sin, implies, in the nature of the
case, a hearty consent to a divorce from all sin.
The point of unreserved submission to God's will
-to give up everything opposed to his will, and
accept his will as the rule of heart and life-is the
end to be attained by repentance. It is a matter
of no moment how long, or how short, the penitential struggle, if it bring the sinner to that
essential point. It is an utter impossibility —a
self contradiction-for him savingly to accept




160     NATURAL FUNCTIONS OF FAITH.
Christ till be does reach this positiocn of unreserved
submission to the will of God, but the sooner he
reach it the better; and having reached it, whether
by ten years' or ten minutes' repentance, let him
just there and then "believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ," and he will certainly be saved.
Tlhe natural functions of faith embrace all those
powers of mind, heart, and will, essential to natural faith in all mutual human relationships. It
comprises —first, the exercise of perception, conception, reason, and judgment; second, the conscience with its various exercises; thirdly, the will
with its various forms of manifestation, combining
the complex exercise of the intellectual and moral
nature, assenting, consenting, appropriating, in accordance with the natural laws of credence and acceptance. " Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by
the Word of God." The demand calling it into exercise is the consciousness of need; the supply is
revealed in the Gospel. The sinner reads or hears
that God hath provided a ransom, a remedy-an
almighty, available Saviour.  He assents to the
facts, consents to the terms, accepts Christ in
accordance with the most simple common sense
laws of natural faith. Any measure of faith short
of the appropriating act embracing Christ as a




THE DOCTOR AND HIS CREDENTIALS.   161
present Saviour, falls short of saving faith.  Say,
tor illustration, that a town is visited by some
dreadful disease. The lists of mortality are swelling daily with fearful rapidity, and no remedy
seems in the least to check its death-dealing progress, when suddenly a celebrated physician arrives,
who is said to be perfectly acquainted with the
horrible disease and its treatment, and never lost a
ease.  The attention of the public is arrested, and
the first inquiry is to know if a man with-such
professions of skill has indeed arrived; and
secondly, on what he founds his pretensions.  He
promptly submits his papers for inspection.  It
turns out that he has a diploma from  the best
medical college in Europe, and the written and
verbal testimony of many living witnesses who have
been cured through his skill-an adequate basis fox
faith in the said doctor.
Some read his papers all over, consider them
well, and say l)ut little, but can't question their
genuineness.  Others read but a portion of them,
and assent to them as everything that could be
desired.  Others cannot read, or have no time for
a personal- examination, but from the testimony of
those who have investigated the matter, and especially of those who have been cured by him, they
M




162   ILLUSTRATIVE CASES OF SICK MEN.
are fully convinced of the unquestionable skill of
the physician. All that is merely the faith of the
head-an essential thing so far as it goes, but of
itself saves nobody. That is the character of the
faith of millions of nominal Christians. They have
thoroughly examined "the record of God concerning his Son," and assent to the whole of it, yet
remain in their sins.
Now let us see the practical operation of the
various degrees and qualities of faith in these sick
men.
One poor fellow says:-" I'm very sick. I can't
tell how it may go with me. I must get relief or
die. I. have heard a great deal about that wondelful doctor, and I daresay it is all truth; but
there's our old family physician under whose treatment my father died; I don't like to cast him off.
I had rather trust my case in his hands than risk
a stranger."
Another says: —" Dear me, if I don't get relief
soon, I know not what will become of me.  I have
a great mind to send for that celebrated physician,
but I have some medicine in the house that is said
to be very good, and it's all paid for; I will try it
and see if I can get relief without sending for that
doctor."
Another says:-" I'm in a bad way. Go and see




BELIEVING, BUT NOT SAVED.       163
that great doctor, and tell him how I am, and ask
him if he will undertake to cure me, and allow me
to continue the daily use of pickles, preserves,
tobacco, and rum, and take such portions of his
medicine as I like.  I have great faith in that
doctor; and if he will undertake to cure me on
those conditions, I'll employ him at once."
One says, " I'm very ill! Send for that doctor."
The doctor is promptly at his side. " Doctor,7
says the dying man, "what about those credentials
of yours? I am very sick, and I am afraid you
cannot cure me." The doctor kindly gives him the
best grounds of evidence, and tries to stimulate
his hope and faith. The man replies, "that all
looks very well, and I cannot question the truth of
what you say, but somehow I cannot believe in
you; we hear of so many deceivers in the world,
and"    exit doctor, and away on his mission of
mercy among those who believe in him.
Another says: " Oh! I feel so cold, and bad, an4
lifeless. Oh! I must try and get some relief; and
then I'll send for that doctor."
There is another who is piteously crying —   O
Doctor, do come and save me! DG, save me!" but
will not give his case into the hands of the physician, or submit to treatment.
But here's a common-sense man, who cries out




164       THE SAVING ACT OF FAITH.
" I'm a dying man! Send for that doctor as soon
as you can. Tell him to come to me as quickly as
possible!"  "0 Doctor, I'm  in a dreadful state.
If I don't get relief I must certainly die. I have
tried all sorts of available remedies, and am getting worse and worse.  I have no faith in -any of
them,but I have faith in you, Doctor.  I satisfied
my mind as to your skill before I sent for you.  I
give my case unreservedly into your hands. I
consent to your treatment.  Do with me just as
you like, but save me if you can. I have faith,
Doctor, to believe that you can save me; and I
know you will do your best. Save me, if you can.
I trust my life in your hands."
Now I need scarcely add that all those cases,
except the last, which represent so many different
classes of sinners, would die a miserable death.
The said doctor did not destroy any of them, but
in their neglect, or refusal to employ him, they are
destroyed by the common plague, fatal to so many
thousands in the town; but all who fully commit
themselves to the care, and cheerfully submit to
the treatment of the great physician, are saved.
Sometimes painful operations are necessary,
requiring a little time, great decision, and patience;
but steadfast practical faith. will triumph, not by




ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES.        165
any intrinsic power of its own, but by its simple
confidence in the physician's skill, and hearty acquiescence in the doctor's own application of it.
I heard the Rev. Granville Moody, late Colonel
of the Ohio 74th, say: " When a youth in Baltimore city, my. mother, laying her hand on my
shoulder, said,' My son, what lump is this on your
shoulder-blade?'' I do not know mother; I'have
felt something there for some time."'"  Dr. Smith,
a celebrated surgeon, was sent for, and pronounced
it a very dangerous " exostosis."  Some remedies
were applied, but it steadily increased in size.
The doctor then said it would require the " scalpel
and the saw."
Young Moody hesitated, but a lady sent for
him, and examining it, said, " Oh! it is that dreadful
thing that killed my dear husband. I begged him
to submit to an operation, but could not get his
courage up to bear the pain, and it grew on, and
killed him. 0 Mr. Moody, you are a young
man, and ought to submit to any thing that would
save your precious life. 0 do, I beseech you, for
your own sake, and for the sake of your dear
parents, do let Dr. Smith operate on it. It will
be but a few hours of dreadful agony, and, then,
perhaps, a long life of usefulness."




166       RhEV. GRANVILLE MOODY.
"Her tears and eloquence of persuasion nerved
ne up," said Granville, and I said to her, "' I'll
do it!' "
"On the day appointed," continued Moody,
"the doctor came, in company with a number of
young medical students.  His surgical instruments
were spread out on my mother's large tea-board.
My parents and all the family were asked to retire.
I was left alone in the hands of the doctor and his
attendants. At his command I bared my back
and sat down. The first stroke of his knife laid
bare the length of my shoulder-blade, the next
measured its breadth; then he dexterously cleft
the flesh off the bone on each side, and getting a.leverage under it raised it out of its. place, and by
the application of the saw took off several inches
of the bone. It seemed like the cutting of red-hot
instruments; but now I thought it was all over,
and I stood it bravely.
"But after a little consultation the  doctor
said,' Mr. Moody, you have extraordinary nerves.
You stood that like a man; but I am sorry
to tell you that, while I took off the protuberance
entirely, I find that the disease has penetrated the
bone much higher than I could have supposed,
and it will be necessary in order to effect a perma.




SURGICAL WORK OF THE SPIRIT.    ] 67
nent cure, to take off the bone as near to the
shoulder as possible.'
"Thinking the worst was over my nerves had
relaxed, and it cost me," said Moody, "a fearful
struggle to get my courage up to the work; but I
succeeded, and he cut away all the diseased bone.
I became perfectly well, and as strong in that arm
as in the other."  "The word of God is quick and
powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
The sinner must have such a desire to be, saved,
and such confidence in the Great Physician whom
God hath sent to save the world, and hath so fully
attested, and advertised. in his Gospel, as to lay
himself down on the surgical table of the Holy
Spirit, and let him cut out right eye sins, and
stand to it, and as certainly as the Lord liveth, he
will be saved. This Great Physician never lost a
case thus entrusted to his will.
But is this practical saving faith the result of
the exercise of merely natural functions of faith?
Not by any means. It is the Spirit that giveth
life. The eye can as readily see without a gleam
of light as can natural faith apprehend and embrace




168       SPIRITUAL POWER OF FAITH.
Jesus, apart from the direct revealing of the Iloly
Spirit. But the Holy Spirit adjusts his light and
quickening influence to the laws of the human mind
and moral constitution, and works through these
natural powers in perfect harrmony with the laws and
processes of natural faith. As " the spirit of bondage
to fear," he reveals to the sinner his lost condition
and helplessness. Then comes the collision of the
forces of light and darkness before described, and
a variety of methods to obtain relief, till the flesh
with its plans and hopes is crucified; meantime,
the good Spirit teaches the seeking soul all things
necessary from the Gospel, to which he assents,
and sublnitting  to God's will, he accepts Jesus
Christ on the faith of God's testimony concerning
him. The moment the Holy Spirit sees that a
penitent thus submits, and in his heart believesat the instance of God the Father, who justifieth in
consideration of the merits and mediationof Jesushe removes the burden of sin from his conscience,
sheds the love of God abroad in his heart, and
clearly attests the fact to his inner consciousness
that his sins are all forgiven.  "'Being justified by
faith he has peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ."'.' He now  realizes the end  and
demonstrative fruit of believing, as thus stated by




PROOFS OF FAITH.           169
St. Peter to St. Paul's churches in Asia Minor;
referring to their "'heaviness through manifold
temptation, that the trial of your faith," says he,' being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto
praise, and honour, and glory at the appearing of
Jesus Christ, whom having not seen ye love; in
whom though now ye see him not, yet believing,
ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory."
Why? "Receiving the end of your faith "-the
very thing'for which ye believe-" even the salvation of your souls."  Believing, then, is the act of
receiving Christ on the faith of his Gospel credentials; and the demonstrative proof of the genuine
character of my faith, and the effective degree of
its exercise, is that I receive salvation, enabling
me to rejoice with unspeakable joy. It is a ridiculous contradiction for a man to assume that he
has saving faith, and remain in sin. The proof of
the effectiveness of anything is in what it does. If
a man is not saved from his sins, whatever else he
may have, he has not saving faith, and the demonstration of it is in the fact that he is not
saved.
But is not faith the gift of God?
Certainly. " By grace ye are saved " —not hope




170         FAITH THE GIFT OF GOD.
to be saved-" through faith, and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God.  Not of works,
lest any man should boast." The basis of faith, as
before shown, is the gift of God; so with the
object of faith-Jesus Christ; so with the natural
functions; so of the quickening light and power
of the Holy Spirit; so also the salvation we thus
receive. We have no ground of boasting. These
essential conditions to believing are all the gifts of
God, but the exercise of faith is our act; as St.
Paul says to his Gentile believers in the city of
Ephesus, who had been gathered unto Christ, "In
whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom
also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with
that Holy Spirit of promise."
Faith is not the gift of God in a sense that will
preclude the necessity of proving ourselves whether
we be in the faith, nor of searching the Scriptures
to learn what we are to believe, and in accordance
with the legitimate exercise of our natural functions of faith under the leading influence of the
Holy Spirit, assent to God's facts, consent to his
terms, and embrace Christ as a present Saviour,
Nor is it a gift of God that will secure salvation
without such an act of believing in the simple




GIFT OF FAITH USED OR ABUSED.    ] 71:
natural mode: nor, hence, is it the impartation of
any new attribute of mind or heart, but an adjustment of gracious light and influence to our'natural
powers of mind and heart, and adequately exercised
on our part; but in no sense coercively, so as to suspend the voluntary action of the soul in accepting
or rejecting Christ. " He that believeth not is condemned already." Why? Because God did not
give him faith, or all the essential conditions to
believing?  Nay! but "because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God." Would God condemn any person for not
doing what it was impossible for such a person to
do?  The very ground of condemnation is in the
fact that God gave him every power essential to
believing, and he refused to yield obedience, and
exercise it.  "This is the condemnation," the
ground of condemnation, not that men have been
sinners simply, "but that light is come into the
world, and men love darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil;" and hence walked
after, the flesh, and not after the Spirit. To the
one, "-faith is imputed to him for righteousness "the only credit he has to his account in the matter
is that, as a poor bankrupt ruined soul," he accepted the free gift of God, which is eternal life




172      FAITH NOT A WORK OF MERIT.
through Jesus Christ."  Nothing meritorious in
that. The condemnation of the other is on the
ground of his refusal to accept this gift " of eternal
life." The condemnation is not so much an arbitrary punishment for the sin of rejecting Christ,
though that is embraced, as in the fact of rejecting
the only Saviour of sinners, and must, therefore,
inevitably perish in default, and that without
remedy.  Hence, for a penitent to neglect the
intelligent exercise of the natural functions requisite to believing, and the gracious ability imparted
by the awakening spirit, and spend his time praying that God would give him faith, is not according to the Gospel, nor the philosophy of the facts
in the case. St. Paul did not tell the Philippianl
jailer to pray for faith, but commanded him to
" believe on the Lord- Jesus Christ," to exercise
the power of faith, natural and spiritual, that God
had given to him, and which he gives to every
sinner in Christendom.  To pray "Lord increase
our faith," is legitimate, for it is in harmony with
one of God's great laws, that the right use of
power tends to its increase. When the poor
snake-bitten Israelites cried for help, " The Lord
said unto Moses: Make thee a fiery serpent, and
set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that




REFUSING TO BELIEVE A FORFEITURE.  173
every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it
shall live."  When the heralds ran through that
vast encampment of probably two millions of
souls, proclaiming. God's remedy, and' the condition on which the application depended, to refuse
obedience on any pretext was fatal, to pray that
God would give -tbem eyes, would have been disobedience, with an insulting reflection on God,
in commanding them to look in the absence of
vision. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so" "the Son of Man" was
"lifted up, that whosoever believeth in  Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life."
The very command implies the certainty of God's
adequate and available provision of all that is
necessary to obedience.
But says one, " I try to believe and cannot; and
must I not then pray that God would give me faith
to believe?"
Nay; instead of assuming that the fault is with
God in withholding the gifts necessary to obedience,
admit the fact ir Lhe case, that the fault is with
yourself, and honestly search for it, and ask God
to give you increasing light-as he will, when you
deal honestly with him-to see, and strength to
remove the hindrances in yourself. This exercise




:174   EASY TO DRINK, HARD TO TELL HOW.
Of saving faith is so simple that it is very difficult
to explain it to a seeker by abstract definitions.,
Any child understands what is meant by taking a
drink: of cold water, because it is a matter of experience; but if a man could be found who had
no experience in such matters, and you should
undertake to explain the simple prpcess —the
nature of thirst, the properties of water, the condition necessary to the application, the variety of
mental, nervous, and muscular action employed in
taking a drink of water-most likely the teacher
and his pupil would be lost in a labyrinth of difficulties. Hence the necessity, in a matter involving your eternal life or death, of sticking to facts,
and great principles, essential to right action. The
Gospel supper is abundant, and free, and the invitation has gone forth to a starving world, " Come,
for all things are now ready."  "Whosoever will
let him  take the water of life freely."  "A pure
river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding
out of the throne of God and the lamb," wat ring
and refreshing all heaven, and extending to the
uttermost bounds of the earth.
"Its streams the whole creation reach,
So plenteous is the store;
Enough for all, enough for each,
Enough for evermore."




.THE RIVER OF LIFE.          175
Repentance toward God, resulting in unreserved
submission to his will, brings any poor sinner to
the edge of this " river of water of life."  Now,
let us see how a plain thing is mystified by the
traditions of men, that we may remove hindrances,
and assist you in an intelligent acceptance of
Christ as your Saviour.
Some teachers proclaim, "Repentance is not
necessary; only believe and you will be saved."
That is equivalent to saying to a famishing man,
half a mile away from the river's brink, no need
to go to the river, just drink where you are.
Others say to the thirsting, dying multitude,
" Struggle on, pray on, you'll get relief when you
die. If you drink of the river of water of life you
can never know the fact, nor feel any certain
relief for your burning  thirst till your dying
day."
Here comes a famishing sinner. Now he is at
the brink of the river. but he- is blind, and wants
some kind friend to help him to get his burning
lips to its cooling surface. Up comes a learned
doctor, and says to the poor fellow, " My friend,
which way did you come."
" I can hardly tell," replies the poor soul.  " I
had an awful time in getting here. I could -not




I    ct ~ " WHOSOEVER WILL, LET HIM DRINK."
s.I  my way; but I believe I came right ovcr
fences, hedges, and ditches.  I thought if I could.
only get here it would be all right, no matter by
which route I came; for I could hear the roar of
the river, and a kind voice, saying,'Come and
take freely.'"
The doctor replies gravely, "My dear friend,
you did not come by the right path. You must
go back," and then went on to say, C" at such a
cross-road turn to the right, further along turn to
the left, then at a certain point turn to the right
again." The directions were so complicated that
they could not be remembered.  But the poor
soul was sent back, to find the way as best he
could. Poor fellow, after the struggle of years
he may blunder back to the river, but is more
likely to famish and die in the- desert of unbelief.
Here comes another, with groaning and tears,
covered with dust and perspiration, crying, " Men
and brethren, what shall I do?"
A grave-looking man approaches him, saying,' Excuse me, stranger, but I want to warn you
against presumption."  "0 sir, I'm  dying with
thirst, can't I get down to this river and drink?"."YAu should remember that you have been a
hardened rebel for many years."




COMING TO THE RIVER.         177
"0 yes, I confess it all.  I have consented to
give up all my wicked ways, but need strength for
the new life I want to lead."
"Yes, but after so many years of sin, it is too
much for you to expect to be allowed to drink as
much as you want at once. You should keel)
back, and fast and pray, and show to the world
the sincerity of your repentance, and the soundness of your reformation, and then  Gcu may find a
place at which you may drink."
" 0 my dear sir, I have been fasting, and praying, and struggling to get to the river; I can do
nothing myself, unless I get strength by drinking
the water of lite. 0 lead me down to the brink,
that I may drink and live."
"You must not be in haste in this grave mattei,
sir. Impatience is a great sin. You must twait
God's own time."
There stands a. Door man shivering on the
brink.
" My dear fiiend, get down on your knees there,
like Gideon's humble warriors, and drink."
O 0, I'm not at the right place."
"You are on the river's edge. and vou have
only to get down and drink."
"But, 0. dear sir, I am such a dreadful sinner,
N




178       SHIVERING ON THE BRINK.
I an. sot worthy to put my polluted lips to the
waters of life."
"'True, but this'fountain was opened for sin
and uncleanness;' and all sinners are invited to
come and drink freely."
"' Oh! dear me, I do feel so badly. I wish I
could get relief."
" Drink, and you will get relief in a moment."
"0  I am in an awful state; will God ever have
mercy on such a sinner?"
"' Why, my dear sir, he has had mercy on you.
He provided the river for all such as you. He
sent his Spirit into the desert after you, and hath
led you now to this exhaustless supply, and invites you to take freely. Now drink, or you will
perish. There is no possibility of relief except by
drinking."
".Oh i I cannot drink. 0 that God would give
me power to drink."
" I beseech you, if you value your soul, don't
try to ignore God's great facts, brought within
demonstrable range of your own experience.
Honestly admit God's facts, revealing- your need,
and this abundant supply.  Thankfully accept
God's offer. God would not command you to
drink, and withhold the power to do so.'You




"DRINK OR PERISH."           179
do not know what you can do till truthfully you
say,'I will acc pt his offers now,
From every sin depart.'
and drink till your burning thirst is alleviated, and
your soul is healed. The only possible bar is your
refusal to drink; the only limit, that of your capacity. You might as well try to drink the Amazon
or St. Lawrence dry, as this river of life. All the
world may drink, and nbot cause the ebb of one
figure below the grand higlh-water gauge of God's
immutable purpose to save the world." The poor
fellow drinks, and is saved, and blushes in astonishment that, through the most unreasonable and
God-dishonouring unbelief, he had shivered on the
brink so longr,




CHAPTER VII.
SAVING EXERCISE OF FAITH.
Now, my dear friend, to pass from this hypothetical mode of illustrating this important subject, I
will give you in more direct forms some of the
popular modes of instruction to seeking sinners,
and then explain and illustrate what I conceive to
be the more excellent way.
I have often heard persons say to a penitent,
"Believe that you have pardon, and you will have
it." That involves a double absurdity: to beiieve
what the sinner knows is not true- a falsehoodand then receive what he assumed to be in possession of before he believed.
I heard a man of repute for intelligence and
piety, say to a seeker of pardon: "God pardoned
you; my dear sir, before you were born, and you
must believe that fact and praise him."
If he meant God's provision of pardon for-him




UNSAFE ADVISERS.            181
and for the world, he 3hould have said so; but the
fact of his personal forgiveness was conditioned
on his own act of believing, and could not precede it.
I heard another say, " If you can only believe
that Jesus died for sinners, and that you are a
sinner, you are saved."
I consider that an injudicious jumbling of truth,
that may in some cases help, but is more likely to
hinder the seeking soul.
Some say, "Believe that God receives you now,
and he will."
But suppose he does not, in fact, receive the
said sinner at that moment, then he is asked to
believe what is not true. If a soul is actually
embracing Christ by faith, such advice might help
him, as the true light sometimes shines through
erroneous forms of truth, but it does not define
what a penitent is to believe.
The exercise of saving faith is a rational, intelligible thing, and it is a great pity that it should be
the subject of so much loose definition aind random
application. It is not, to be sure, a mere exercise
of reason, but like all God's perceivable arrangements commends itself to reason, and though much
higher in its sphere and ends, is not opposed to
reason.




182       INQUIRING INTO THE CASE.
When I undertake to work together with the
Holy Spirit in leading a soul to Christ —and it has
been my daily business for upwards of twenty-five
years of my life-I enquire first into the spiritual
condition of the seeker by such questions as these:
"Have you ever known the Lord in the pardon
of your sins? Have you been seeking him a long,
or short period?  Hath the good Spirit so given
you to see the'exceeding sinfulness of sin,' not
only in its consequences to yourself, but its heinousness in the sight of God, as to lead you to abhor
and renounce it?  You not only desire to give up
sin, but have you developed that desire into a fact?
"Do you now consent to a divorce from all sinsins of the heart and of the life-right eye and right
hand sins-not to save yourself, you cannot-but
consent that God destroy all your idols, and'separate your sins from you, as far as the east is from
the west,' and accept his will as the rule of your
heart and life? If you seek a: a mnere experiment
you will not succeed. There must be an honest
confession of your sins, and your helplessness, and
an unreserved consecration of your whole being to
God, for time and for eternity. If you now consent thus to submit yourself to God's will you have
but to believe, and you will be saved."




" WHAT ARE YOU TO BELIEVE'i"     183
What are you to believe?
Not that you are pardoned, for you know you
are not.
Not that you can do some saving penitential
work to commend you to God's favour.  If you
could shed a river of tears, "give all your goods
to feed the poor, and your body to be burned," you
could not atone for one sin. There is but one
"sacrifice for sins." The end, or object, of your
repentance is unreserved submission to God's will.
Not that you are to obtain relief first, from your
dreadful hardness and darkness, and the repeliant
forces of sin and Sat'an, and then believe; nay,
relief can only be had by the saving power of
Jesus, and believing is the condition. If you
were suffering an attack of cholera, you would not
say, "As soon as I can get relief from these dreadful pains and cramps, then I will give my case into
the hands of a physician." So. you must give vour
case into the hands of your great Physician just as
you are.  Come with all your hardness, and darkness; your guilt and bondage, wretched and ruined
by sin; utterly helpless, and hopeless in yourself.
trusting to nothing you have done, or can do, or
that anybody else can do for you; just as you are,
give your case into the hands of Jesus, and believe,




184        ASSENTING TO THE FACTS.
Believe what? I"Believe the Gospel." " Believe
the record of God concerning his Son." God hath
found a ransom, provided a remedy, proclaimed an
almighty Saviour, and bath told us in his gospel
all that is necessary to command our faith in him;
and you must believe what he says.  A Saviour
that God hath provided, accepted, and proclaimed,
is every way worthy of our confidence.
What, simply assent to these facts?
Nay, the devils do that much; but assenting,
you must accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour, on
the faith of those facts.  "It is a faithful saying,
and worthy to be accepted" by all, " that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners," even
the "chief of sinners."  That is the declared ob-,
ject of his great mission.  Is he not competent?
Now, on the faith of God's facts and recommendations, you must repose confidence in Jesus, and
accept him as your Saviour-confidence in his
blood-shedding on the cross as an adequate sacri.
fice for the sins of the whole world, and hence for
your sins, constituting the meritorious ground for the
removal of all the legal difficulties involved in
your antagonism to the immutable principles of
righteousness in God's moral government, and the
procuring ground of "pardon, holiness, and hea



CONFIDENCE IN JESUS.         185
ven;" confidence in his prayers as-your great
Higvh Priest, "who was delivered for our offences,
and raised again for our justification."  "Who
will have all men to be saved, and to come unto
the knowledge of the truth; For there is one God,
and one mediator between God and man, the man
Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, to
be testified in due time." God testified his acceptance of the ransom in that " he raised him from
the dead, and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places; " and Jesus in his mediation testifies
to the adequacy of his redeeming acts.  Can you
not entrust your cause in the hands ot such an advocate with the Father in heaven's court?  Confidence in his invitations and promises. "Come
unto -me, all ye that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and
lowly of heart; and ye shall find rest unto your
souls." He is meek and lowly of heart, more kind,
sympathising, and approachable than any human
friend in the world. Can't you trust him?' Confidence in his ability to save you. The Jewish
priests were weak as reeds shaken with the wind,
and "were not suffered to continue by reason
of death; but this man,'ecause he continueth




186          CONFIDENCE IN JESUS.
ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by him "-save effectively from
the uttermost depths of degradation: save all ol
every clime and nation that come unto God by
him; save to the uttermost limit of time till
he shall deliver up his mediatorial kingdom, and
sit in judgment upon the world —" seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for- them."  Can you
doubt his ability to save you now.  Confidence in
his willingness to save you. "Christ hath loved
us, and hath given himself for us, an offering and
a sacrifice to God" —"hath poured out his soul
unto death" for us. He is the on ly friend you
have, who loves you enough to die for you. He
loves you more than your mother ever did, or
ever could. His great heart of sympathy, remember, is the same now, precisely, as when he poured
on his heart's blood on Calvary to redeem you.
There is "no variableness or shadow of turning,"
in him. No " yea and nay " in him, " for all the
promises of God in him, are yea, and in him
amen."'Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and
to-day, and for ever." What a mercy that we have
such a friend in heaven's court! Oh! thankfully
and gladly entrust all your interests of soul and
body for time and for eternity in his care. Remem



"CTHE WORD IS NIGH THEE.       187
ber, too, my dear friend, that he is just as available
flow as he was to the poor lepers and blind men
who came to him when manifest in the flesh. " Say
not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven?
that is, to bring Christ down from above.- Or, who
shall descend into the deep? that is to bring
Christ again from the dead. But what saith it? "
What saith God's immutable oracle on the subject? " The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth,
and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith which
we preach "-" The record of God concerning his
Son"-the basis of your faith in Christ —is so
impressed on your heart, and so defined in speakable terms to your mouth, by the Holy Spirit, as
to enforce upon you the responsibility of a decision now. You must confess and accept Christ
as your Saviour now, or deny and-Teject him.
You cannot improve your own state by delay;
you cannot substitute something else for God's
only Saviour of men; you cannot subsidize his
atoning provision. It is all complete, perfect,
and available now, and all in the person of the
risen living Jesus, who is now " knocking at the
door;" neither is there salvation in any other:
"for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved."  "To
him give all the prophets witness, that through his




"188          ACCEPTING CHRIST.
name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sin." A postponement of your believing now, is a refusal. 0 my dear friend, do accept the glorious alternative just now.
The moment you thus submit to God's will,
and thus in your heart intelligently believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ-and accept him  as your
Saviour —that moment "God who justifieth" at
the instance of your Mediator, will say, " Your
sins are forgiven you for his name's sake;" and
God the Holy Ghost will fulfil in your heart " the
righteousness of the law; " —certify by the stamp
of his royal seal upon your heart that the deathpenalty of the law against you is cancelled, your
sins forgiven, your right relation to God and his
laws secured, and the love of God-the essential
principle of obedience-shed abroad in your heart
by the Holy Ghost thus given unto you; and all
attested by the Spirit's direct witness, corroborated by the testimony of your own spirit, based
on the conscious work and fruits of God's Holy
Spirit in your experience..'"Hereby know we
that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he
hath given us of his Spirit."  "After that ye believed, ye were sealed with *the Holy Spirit of
promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance."




" WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT."      189
"The spirit of bondage to fear " hath now become
"the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba,
Father.  The Spirit itself beareth witness with
our spirits that we are the children of God. And,
if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint
heirs with Christ: if so be that we suffer-with
him, that we may also be glorified together."
"Being justified by faith, we have peace with
God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." The peace
follows the pardon, and the pardon follows the
believing; God's act of pardoning a believing
penitent is called justification, no doubt because it is essentially a judicial act-an act of
divine clemency, but in strict accordance with' the
highest principles of immutable justice, through
the compensative provision of redemption.
By a decision of heaven's court, changing my
relation from a condemned criminal to an adopted
child, my relationship to God and his laws, which
had been so sadly disjointed by sin, is adjusted.
The justification by works, of which St. James
speaks, is the maintenance of this right adjustment
of our relationships to God and his laws, by a continuous, living, developing faith, working by love,
purifying the heart, and manifesting itself appropriately in word and deed. By faith we are en



190       JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS.
grafted into the true vine, by faith we abide in the
true vine, but we thus daily derive the divine sap
through. the purifying life of the Holy Spirit,
which manifests itself in the fruits of holiness.
Every principle and fact essential to this glorious adjustment, called justification, in the first
place, must be maintained, developed, and suitably
manifested, otherwise disjointment and death, instead of justification, will follow. " Shall we sin
because we are not under the law, but under
grace?  God forbid.  Know ye not that to whom
ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants
ye are to whom ye obey " —or yield obedience"whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto
righteousness."
Observe, those warning words were addressed to
believers. The poor soul who presumes that,
having obtained pardon, he may now tamper with
unrighteousness in heart or life, and hold God to
an unconditional covenant to maintain his heirship,
outrages the instincts of common sense, the plain
teachings of the whole Bible on the subject, and
becomes a servant of sin unto death.  "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his
seed remaineth in him " —this new life imparted
or planted in his heart by the Holy Spirit-"I and




AGREEMENT OF PAUL WITH JAMES.    191
he cannot sin because he is born of God."  St.
John does not teach the impossibility, for in the
same letter he admits the possibility, and.the fact
and all through solemnly warns believers of the
danger of their falling into sin, but teaches emphatically, what all the other apostles taught, that sin
was of the devil, and hence entirely incongruous
with their new life, and relations, as children of
God, and hence utterly inadmissible-they cannot remain children of God and commit sin.  So
when St. Paul was expatiating on our glorious
heirship with Jesus Christ, he was careful to add
this essential condition, that which runs on till- we
the crown obtain-" If so be that we suffer with
him that we may be also glorified together."  The
doctrine  of St. Paul  and  St.  James,  on
justification by faith as the ground or condition, and by works as legitimate fruit and
demonstration of faith, is clearly stated by St. Paul,
thus:-"For we ourselves also were sometimes
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts
and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and
hating one another.  But after that the kindness
and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy he saved us, by the




i92     GOOD WORKS, A FRUIT OF FAITH.
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holt
Grhost, which he shed on us abundantly through
Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by
his grace, we should be made heirs according to
the hope of eternal life. This is a iaithful saying, and these things I will that thou "-Titus,
and all ministers of the Gospel —" affirm  constantly that they which have believed in God
might be careful to maintain good works. These
are good and profitable -unto men."  The assumption that the apostles taught a contradictory doctrine is full of the insidious poison of infidelity.
If such is the fact, then they were not inspired,
and hence their teachings are not. authoritative, or
if. inspired, then God contradicted himself. and
hence we have no reliable basis of faith in him.
But it is clearly in evidence, that the assumption
is false, and that God's oracles, all in beautiful
harmony, teach the same great doctrines, and the
more closely we investigate the subject under the
Holy Spirit's teaching light the more clearlywe
see this fact.
Now, my dear friend, having defined briefly
some of the legitimate fruits, and relative bearings
of faith, we will return to the leading thread of ourdiscourse. and explain and illustrate a little more




ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES.          1 3
fully this essential condition of salvation-believing.
"Suppose," says one of my friends, "after I submit to God's will, assent to God's facts, and on the
faith of those facts accept Jesus Christ as my
Saviour, I do not receive the regenerating work,and witness of the Spirit."
My dear friend, that is not a supposable case.
All God's provisions are immutable verities.  The
renewing work and witness of the Spirit in the
hearts of all believers are as much a matter of!:r.:vision as the blood-shedding itself' and as immutably reliable. As well may a man talk about
drinking from  the flowing river without wetting
his lips, or feeling the cooling, refreshing effect.
Some, to be sure, acquire such a habit of doubting
God's facts, that when they do submit, and in
the desperation of despair cling to Jesus, they will
not credit the Spirit's work and testimony within
their own hearts, and hence for a time linger in
darkness, and emerge into the light so gradually
that they cannot tell the precise hour nor day
when they obtained "remission of sins:"' and
others go on doubting to their dying day. But
neither of these is according to God's purpose and
provision.
0




194         A GOOD-MA: MISTAKEN.
It is, however, not uncommon for oersons to
say, "I do submit, and I do believe, but f can't get
any relief."  Such persons simply mistake theer
own assumptions for facts.
At a meeting in Sidney one night of a series of
services, where some hundreds of souls believed
and were saved, a brother said to me, "That lady,
has had a hard struggle, but she has come through
all right.  She is believing, and I think she is
happy."
Approaching her gently, I said, " My sister,
have you surrendered yourself unreservedly to
God?"
"'O yes, I do give up everything —to be or to do
whatever is his will."
"'Are you believing in Jesus?"  I had before
explained to her the way of salvation by faith.
"0O yes; I do believe in Jesus.  I do accept
hirs As my Saviour."
"Do you realize peace with God through believing?"
"'No, sir, I am sorry to say I experience no
comfort whatever."
"Now, my dear sister, allow me to say, 1
cannot see your heart, and you may not see it yet
as you ought; but God the Holy Spirit, who is




A SEEKER IN SYDNEY.         -195
leading you to seek Jesus, sees it julst as it is;
and I tell you, that the very moment he sees that
from your heart you do submit fully to God's will,
and do in your heart accept Jesus Christ as
your Saviour, that very moment he will remove
the burden of guilt from your conscience, shed the
sweet forgiving love of God abroad in your heart,
and assure you of the fact that being justified by
faith you have peace with God. There is either a
defect in your submission, or in your believing, or
in both, Now, honestly search your heart, and I
will meantime pray the gool Spirit to give you
increasing light, and you will soon find out the
hindrance; and if you consent to its removal,
you will believe,' and receive the end of vour
faith, even the salvation of your soul.'"  She evidently went into a  close  heart examination.
For a few- moments she wept as though her heartstrings were breaking, and, in fact, "repented
and believed the Gospel," and was filled "with
joy unspeakable and full of glory" in less than ten
minutes from the commencement of the interview
just given.:rhe Holy Spirit alone is competent
to decide when a poor sinner submits and beiieves; and the proof of the actual fact of such
surrender and believing is in the "demonstration




196        "I'M A SCOTCHMAN, SIR."
of the Spirit," through his regenerating and witnessing work in the heart; which, to be sure,
must be subsequent to the act of believing, but
is, nevertheless, the demonstrated fact that the
penitent is believing."
"The traditions of men," and the ingenious
negatives of Satan in the form of "ifs, buts, and
cant's," constitute a serious embarrassment to
seekers.
Passing round among the seekers in Yorkstreet, Sydney, one night, I approached a seeker
and explained to him  in simplicity how to be
saved by faith in Jesus.
After listening attentively till I had done, he
promptly replied, " I am a Scotchman, sir. I can't
get into it by any such short method as that.  It
will take me a longD time to work my way in."'
" Yes, sir, if it depended on your works, you
might struggle on till the day of your death, and
would never get into the kingdom at all. But if
you must be saved, " not by works of righteousness
but by the mercy of God," in virtue of the perfected atonement and gracious provision of Jesus,
why not now?  God can save a Scotchman as
quickly  as he can save an Irishman, or any
other name or form of man in the world.  Hie




THE SCOTCHMAN S STRUGGLE.      197
will save no man while he refuses to yield obedience, and rejects Christ, but will save any and
every man the very moment they do submit ania
believe."
T'hen he commenced to pray again with increasing earnestness, pleading that God would come
and have mercy on him. I saw that he was still
in the dark on the-essential duty of believing, ald
got his attention again by saying, "Now, my
dear brother, I believe, as you say, that under the
Spirit's awakening you do consent to a divorce
from all sin, and to accept' God's will as the rule of
your life; but you are looking for God to do some
wonderful thing for you, and then accept you.
while God is looking for you to recognize and
thankfully appreciate the wonderful thing he hath
done for you, and for every poor sinner, through
the atonement of Christ, and accept him. The
Spirit's renewing work, which will certainly follow,
is a part of his immutable purpose and provision.
and you need give yourself no trouble on that
subject. The Spirit of adoption will attend to
that. Your duty is to'repent and believe the
Gospel,' and to do it now."  lie received some
light, but was not saved till the next night.
Some months afterwards, in a fellowship meeting,




1 98       HIS TESTIMONY FOR JESUS.
referring to the night he found peace with God. I
heard him  say, "I felt sin a grievous burden
pressing upon my soul. The Spirit of God said to
my heart,'Bow down at that altar of prayer;
confess your sins, and accept Christ now.'  Satan
said to my heart,' Go home, and read your Bible,
and meditate and pray alone.' Thank God, I was
enabled to detect the subtle snare of Satan, and
resisted him.  I bowed down there, surrendered
my wicked heart to God, believed in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and found salvation. I have been
happy in the enjoyment of the precious love of
Jesus in my heart ever since."
Satan's most destructive weapons are often concealed under the most plausible forms of truth and
pious performances.  To " go home and meditate,
read the Bible, and pray," were certainly all appropriate enough in their place, but when the good
Spirit has led a soul to the very edge of the river
of life, and commands him now " to take the
water of life freely;" to believe now " in the Lord
Jesus Christ "-then to substitute anything whatsoever for a present acceptance of a present Saviour,
is a deceitful snare of Satan leading to that most
dreadful sin which peoples hell-unbelief.
At the close of a meeting one night in Auckland,




SHIPMASTER IN NEW ZEALAND.       199
New Zealand, a shipmaster came forward, an4i
expressing his desire for a short interview, said to
me,?  I heard you preach in Hobart Town last year.
and I have felt very miserable ever since. I have
been attending )your preaching here, and have made
up my mind, by the help of God, to lead a different
life.'
I: questioned him closely, and found him to be
tander the awakening power of the Spirit to a
degree that would lead him to a.surrender to God,
and If said to him, "Captain, I am very glad that
God hath sent his Spirit to show you your sinful
state and -danger.  God is very kind.  He hath''nourished and brought you up,' and though you
have rebelled against him so long and so grievously,
he hath borne patiently with you.  Jesus hath
continued to intercede for you, and bath now sent
his good Spirit to call you, and lead you to him,
that you may find rest for your soul. The very
fact that you thus feel the influence of his convincing Spirit is proof that he loves you, and is.very
desirous to save you. But, Captain, allow me to
tell you that Satan has laid a fatal snare for you,
and you are proposing to yourself to go right into
it by your plausible plan for a reformation. Yeu
say you are determined to lead a new life, but how




200    HE WAS ON " THE WRONG TACK."
can you lead a new life without a new heart;' The
Ethiopian cannot change his skin, nor the leopard
his spots.' Your very nature, as you feel and confess, is corrupt, and full of enmity against God;
you are a prisoner of the Divine law, under sentence of death, and it will be time for you to talk
about fulfilling the duties of citizenship in'the
commonwealth of Israel' when you are released
from the death-sentence, and become a'fellowcitizen with the saints, and of the household of
God.' Moreover you are in the most abject bondage to sin and Satan, as is proven in. your own
experience by the thousands of good resolutions
you have broken before.  Your only hope of
deliverance is to confess all these facts to God,
surrender your helpless soul to him, and accept
Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent to seek and to
save the lost.  If you cannot submit now under
the gracious influences which you feel, what can
you hope to do when you get back into the old slippery paths of business and worldly associations? Do
you not see that you would relapse into the same
dead state; nay be more dead even than before,
by having grieved the Holy Spirit in rejecting
his offers of salvation.  If you'now confess and
forsake your sins,' and accept God's perfected




"' I MUST LEARN TO PRAY."      201
remedy in Christ, you will obtain pardon to-night.
T'he Spirit of adoption will give you a new heart,
and then under his leading you will live the life
for God you are proposing to yourself."
" 0,' said he, "I am in a dreadful state, but I
am not ready to receive pardon to-night."
"But, my dear sir, you will never make yourself any better. Do you now consent that God
shall remove all your idols and sins, and utterly
consume them, and conform your heart and life to
his own will?"
"' 0 yes, I am very anxious, but I must learn to
pray."
"Now, my dear brother, that is just another
form of the same old thing.  Satan will lead you
to reject Christ, and get you to substitute some
plan of your owin, if you let him.'Learn to
pray!' How long did it require the poor p)ublican,
when he felt the crushing weight of his sins, upon
him, as you do to-night, to learn to cry,' God be
merciful to me a sinner?'  Prayer is telling God
the burden and desire of your heart, as you have
told me.''The spirit of bondage to fear' is
working in you now to' will and to do,' and your
heart is full of the subject matter for prayer, and
you have only to open your mouth, and God will




202 SEEKER IN MUDGEE, NEW SOUTH WALLS
graciously help you to pray.  Submit and believe,
and believing, you will receive the end of your
faith, even the salvation of your soul."
With that, he dropped on his knees, and cried
earnestly to God for mercy, and in less than a
quarter of an hour he accepted Jesus as his present
Saviour, and was filled with joy and gladness, and
went to his ship praising God for salvation by faith:'When I was labouring in Mudgee, NewSouth
Wales, a manl who had been forward as a seeker
several times, was crying out, "I can't believe!.
Oh! I can't believe!"
Said 1, " My fiiend, you must believe, or you
will perish." I had previously satisfied myself as
to the sincerity and depth of his repentance.
"But," replied he, " I can't believe. I've tried
again and again, and I can't, I know  I can't
believe."
"' aThat is the essence of unbelief-the very plaguespot of perdition.  It is a wicked reflection on
God to say you cannot do what God commands.
Would God require you, under the penalty of
eternal death, to do what he had not put within
your power? you should be very careful how you.
charge God with such an outrageous procedure as
all that:  God hath given you all the natural




"I CAN'T BELIEVE!"         203
functions necessary to believing —hath furnished in
the Bible the most reliable basis of faith in the
world, hath sent his quickening Spirit to impart
all the Divine stimulus necessary to believing, and
is waiting to reveal Jesus Christ the almighty
Saviour of sinners to your heart, the very moment
you consent to his terms."
"But," said he, " I must tell the' truth.  What
is the use of my saying I can believe when I feel I
can't? What shall I say?."
" Well, sir, instead of telling God that you have
no confidence in what he says, and cannot accept
his provision of mercy, approach him in simplicity,
as- did the poor lepers and blind men we read
about in the Gospel, and say,' 0 God, thou seest
me. Thou knowest what a polluted sinner-I am,
Thou knowest the hardness of my-heart, the blindness of my mind, and my utter inability to make
myself any better. Thou knowest that I am under
the death sentence of thy law, and in bondage to
sin and Satan, and in myself utterly helpless, and
hopeless, and all the good men and angels in
the universe, combined, could not save me from
my sins and their consequences. But, Q God, I
have read in thy book that thou hast found a
ransom, provided a remedy, proclaimed an almighty




204       C DON'T CONTRADICT GOD."
Saviour'able to save to the uttermost all that
come unto God by him.' 0 God, I dare not contradict thy statements. Thy servant, St. John, hath
said,'He that believeth on the Son of God bath
the witness in himself; he that believeth not God
bath made him a liar, because be believeth not the
record that God gave of his Son, and this is the
record' -the substance and end of it-' that God
hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his
Son.' This free gift of God-salvation from sin
and eternal life-is not in any work of our own,
past or future, not in any detached portion of
Christ's redeeming work, not even in the blood of
the cross, but all the saving virtue of the whole
work of redemption, and the divine power for its
application, are embodied in the person of the risen
Jesus.' He that hath the Son hath life, and he
that hath not the Son hath not life.' If, my dear
brother, on the faith of God's most reliable record,
vou accept Christ as your Saviour, in him you
will find pardon and life. But instead of that you
are telling God you cannot believe what he says
about Jesus, and hence, cannot accept him as your
Saviour. My dear sir, do not in addition to your
life of rebellion against God, now that he hath
kindly sent his Spirit to lead you to Jesus, call




cc I WILL NEVER SAY IT AGAIN."    205
him a liar, and reject his Son, but tell hiln that
you cannot doubt the truth of his record concerning his Son, and that you will give your poor soul
into his hands."
"0 God, have mercy on me, and forgive my
wicked unbelief," cried he.  "I never will again
say, I can't believe; I will try."
Leaving him to his reflections for a season, I
afterwards returned and said-" Well, my brother,
how do you get on?"
" Oh! I cannot believe! What made me say
that, I did not mean to say that any more.
"Ah, Satan, is playing on your old habits of
unbelief, and helping you in that matter, but you
must at once and for ever strike the words'I
can't believe' out of your spiritual vocabulary."
" If the Lord will help me, and I believe he will,"
said he, "I will never say it again."  The meeting
for that night was at, that juncture brought to
a close, and he retired without salvation, but was
"looking to Jesus." Early next morning he came
o tell me that he had accepted Jesus, and in him
had found life and salvation. He was weeping
tears of joy, and praising God; frequently expressing meantime, his great astonishment, that, during
four years of earnest seeking, he had groped in the




206        REVIEW OF THE SUBJECT.
darkness of such  God-dishonouring  unbelief.
Many months afterwards I learned that he was
living " by faith," and walking "in the light."
Now my friend, I have sufficiently illustrated
the grounds of faith.  Its OBJECT.  Its natural
functions.  Its spiritual vitality.  Its simple exercise, and its experimental demonstrative fruits.
Tble illustrative examples I have given you are by
no means peculiar or exceptional, unless it be in
mere verbal expression, but they arce simply specimen examples of the common experience of
millions of believers, in exact accordance with the
plain teachings of the Bible.
God is reconciled to the whole world on the
conditions of the gospel treaty, and all the resources and agencies of the gospel are employed'
to persuade a world of perishing rebels to be reconciled to God,  "All things" —necessary to our
salvation-" are of God, who  hath  reconciled
us" —all believers-" to himself by Jesus Christ,
and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.
To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them." —Not reconciling himself to the world,
he is reconciled to the world conditionally, and as
soon as any of them sign the treaty-" set to their




-a DELAY IS OUT OF TIIE QUESTION."   207
seal that God is true," then they become, effectively,
parties to the covenant of mercy, recipients of its
pardon, and heirs to all its glorious provisions.-'And hath committed unto us"-the ambassadors.
of - Christ, and his Church, embracing all true
believers-" the word of reconciliation."  " Now
then we are ambassadors for Christ as: thoulzhGod did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's
stead, be ye reconciled to God."  What a pity,
that after all, so many sinners persistently refuse
to "acquaint themselves with God, and be at
peace," and receive the offered gift of eternal life.
My friend, "do ye now believe?"  When the
facts of the case are brought clearly before you,delay is out of the question.
Some months ago, in company with a party of
dear firiends, I was going to cross the Auckland
Bay to visit "the lake."  Mr. S —-, a gentleman of fortune, came to see us off.  I said to him,'" Come with us, brother S ——, we have plenty
of room for you, and shall be glad to have the
pleasure of your company."
"Thank you,"' replied he, "I would be. happy to
accompany you, but I have an engagement that
demands my attenttion to-uay."
" Surely a gentleman of leisure, who has retired




208         " IS YOUR SOUL INSURED?
from business, can spare a'few hours on recreation
and health account."
"No; to tell you the truth about it, my insurance policy ran out to-day, and I must go at
once, and have it renewed before the office closes."
I then played on the unreasonable procrastinating habits of sinners, by assuming to beg him to
risk his property till to-morrow, and seek his
pastime pleasure to-day, but he broke it off
abruptly, saying, "Excuse me, I must hasten
before the office closes."
" Who among us shall dwell with the devouring
fire?  Who among us shall dwell with everlasting
burnings?"  My  friend, is  your  soul insured
against those everlasting burnings?  If not, don't
risk it till to-morrow.
" God hath prepared thee a home,
Sinner, canst thou believe it?
He now invites thee come,
Sinner, wilt thou receive it?
O come, sinner, come,
For the tide is receding,
And Jesus will soon
And for ever cease pleadings'?
THE END.