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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..56d884c --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #54736 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54736) diff --git a/old/54736-0.txt b/old/54736-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b1c50ca..0000000 --- a/old/54736-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,14586 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bible Characters, by -Dwight Lyman Moody and T. De Witt Talmage and Joseph Parker - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Bible Characters - Described and analyzed in the sermons and writings of the - following famous authors - -Author: Dwight Lyman Moody - T. De Witt Talmage - Joseph Parker - -Contributor: C. B. Gillette - -Release Date: May 17, 2017 [EBook #54736] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIBLE CHARACTERS *** - - - - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - -BIBLE CHARACTERS - - - - -[Illustration: THE EXPULSION FROM THE GARDEN. - -From the Painting by Gustave Dore] - - - - - BIBLE CHARACTERS - - DESCRIBED AND ANALYZED IN THE SERMONS AND - WRITINGS OF THE - FOLLOWING FAMOUS AUTHORS: - - Dwight Lyman Moody. - T. De Witt Talmage. - Joseph Parker. - - SUPPLEMENTED BY THE GREATEST POEMS IN PRINT. - - [Illustration] - - CHICAGO: - THOS. W. JACKSON PUBLISHING COMPANY. - - Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1902, by the - RHODES & McCLURE PUBLISHING COMPANY - in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C. - - All Rights Reserved. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - -BY THE REV. C. B. GILLETTE, PH. D. - - -It frequently occurs to the devout Bible student and to the earnest -Christian that, if he could have had the personal acquaintance of Jesus, -and other Bible characters, it would have helped materially in the -cultivation of a religious and spiritual life. One feels that, if he -could have been a James, or a John, a Martha, or a Mary; if he could -have stood by Jesus himself, and listened to the words falling from His -lips: observed his life, become acquainted with his thought, and felt -that silent, subtle influence emanating from his personality; such would -have been potential factors, aiding one onward and upward in the divine -pathway. - -So also, but in lesser degree, one regrets the impossibility of personal -contact with Elijah, Isaiah, John, Paul, et al. But time has drawn the -veil, and we cannot lift it. We must look at them through the varying -atmosphere of many generations, and the best we can do is to avail -ourselves of the best aids possible, and through them draw as near as -possible to these great and good characters, so closely linked with our -religious belief and our faith in the Infinite and Eternal. - -One of Brooklyn’s greatest divines once said, that he had never visited -Palestine personally, but by study he had become so thoroughly acquainted -with that country, that, should he be left at any point in Palestine at -midnight, he would be able to tell in the morning, from the surrounding -topography, where he was. - -So the editor of this volume has sought the scholars who have been -recognized by the world as the leading religious teachers of their age, -and culled from their utterances choice selections, respecting Jesus and -the “Holy men of old, who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” - -DR. TALMAGE, who, perhaps, more than any other living preacher, has -commanded the public ear. - -JOSEPH PARKER, who, from his immense intellectual store-house, well -filled, has brought out such wonderful thoughts, respecting the Bible -Characters. - -DWIGHT L. MOODY, who moved the millions, both of this country and Great -Britain. What was the source of his power? Not superior scholarship--far -from it. Not his general appearance: for that, while not mean, was -neither imposing nor inspiring. Not his eloquence; he never depended upon -that. What, then, was the source of his power? It was the power of God. -The Holy Spirit used him as a means in the conversion of souls. - -The editor of this volume then presents you, in this age, when -intelligent minds are looking for the greatest and the best, with the -best thoughts of these great men, respecting the Christ and other great -characters which adorn the pages of the Holy Writ. - - C. B. GILLETTE. - -CHICAGO, ILL., JANUARY 1, 1902. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - - DWIGHT LYMAN MOODY. - - Abel 17 - Abraham 18 - Ahab 21 - Barabbas 25 - Bartimeus and Zacchæus 27 - Belshazzar 32 - Caleb 34 - Daniel 36 - David 54 - Elijah 55 - Gideon 60 - Ittai 61 - Jacob 63 - Jacob’s Sons 67 - John the Baptist 68 - Joshua 84 - Lot 95 - Martha 103 - Mephibosheth 107 - Moses 111 - Naaman 114 - Peter 122 - Saul 136 - Simeon 141 - The Good Samaritan 144 - The Leper 149 - The Penitent Thief 152 - The Pharisee & The Publican 164 - The Widow’s Son 172 - Rock of Ages 175 - Where He Leads I Follow 176 - - T. DE WITT TALMAGE. - - Athaliah 177 - David 181 - Deborah 187 - Dorcas 188 - Ehud 198 - Esau 200 - Felix and Drusilla 201 - Gallery of Characters 204 - Gideon 206 - Hezekiah 207 - Jehoiakim 209 - Jehu 211 - Jesus at Emmaus 214 - Job 215 - Jonah 217 - Joseph 220 - Lazarus 224 - Noah 230 - Othniel 231 - Paul 234 - Pharaoh 246 - Pontius Pilate 247 - Queen of Sheba 252 - Salome 254 - Saul 257 - Solomon 259 - The Gentile Mother 263 - Zacchæus 266 - Nearer, My God, To Thee 268 - - JOSEPH PARKER. - - Abijah 269 - Ahab 282 - Ahaziah 308 - Asa 314 - Athaliah 321 - Balaam 328 - Elah 339 - Elijah 342 - Elisha 332 - Gehazi 374 - Hezekiah 384 - Jabez 401 - Jehoram 404 - Jehoram, King of Judah 414 - Jehoshaphat 421 - Jehu 430 - Job 440 - Micaiah 447 - Moses 449 - Nebuchadnezzar 457 - Queen of Sheba 459 - Rehoboam 461 - Shishak 466 - Solomon 467 - Baseless Pride 476 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - -Selected Especially for This Work - -FROM THE GREAT ART GALLERIES OF THE WORLD - - - THE EXPULSION FROM THE GARDEN. - From the Painting by Gustave Dore. Opposite Page Frontispiece - - THE TRIAL OF THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM. Genesis, xxii. Opposite Page 16 - - “THE FIRST MOURNERS.” - From the Painting by Bougereau. Opposite Page 17 - - THE ARRIVAL OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN AT THE INN. - From the Painting by Gustave Dore. Opposite Page 144 - - DAVID. - From Statue by Angelo. Opposite Page 145 - - JACOB TENDING FLOCKS OF LABAN. - From the Painting by Gustave Dore. Opposite Page 160 - - MOSES BREAKING THE TABLES OF THE LAW. - From the Painting by Gustave Dore. Opposite Page 161 - - THE PROPHET AMOS. - From the Painting by Gustave Dore. Opposite Page 288 - - THE DESPAIR OF JUDAS. - From a Photograph of the Character in the Passion Play. Opposite Page 289 - - JOSEPH INTERPRETING PHARAOH’S DREAM. Genesis, xli. - From the Painting by Gustave Dore. Opposite Page 304 - - ST. PAUL. - From the Painting by Raphael. Opposite Page 305 - - SOLOMON. - From the Painting by Gustave Dore. Opposite Page 432 - - THE JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON. - From the Painting by Gustave Dore. Opposite Page 433 - - THE CROSS. - From the Painting by Gustave Dore. Opposite Page 448 - - MOSES IN THE BULRUSHES. - From the Painting by Gustave Dore. Opposite Page 449 - -[Illustration: THE TRIAL OF THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM. Genesis, xxii.] - -[Illustration: “THE FIRST MOURNERS.”--From the Painting by Bougereau.] - - - - -BIBLE CHARACTERS - -DESCRIBED IN HIS SOUL-WINNING SERMONS BY THE WORLD-KNOWN EVANGELIST, -DWIGHT LYMAN MOODY. - - -ABEL. - -Abel was the first man who went to Heaven, and he went by way of blood. -So we find it in all the worships of God from the earliest times. - -In the story of Abel and Cain we are told: “In process of time it came to -pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the -Lord. And Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the -fat thereof, and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering; but -unto Cain and his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, -and his countenance fell.” - -Now, we find that Cain brought a bloodless sacrifice--“he brought of the -fruit of the ground”--and Abel brought a bleeding lamb. Right on the -morning of grace we see here that God had marked a way for men to come to -Him, and that way was the way that Abel took, and Cain came to God with -a sacrifice of his own, in his own way. Cain, perhaps, reasoned that he -did not see why the products of the earth--why the fruit--should not be -as acceptable to God as a bleeding lamb. He did not like a bleeding lamb, -and so he brought his fruit. - -Now, we do not know how there was any difference between those two boys. -Both must have been brought up in the same way; both came from the same -parents. Yet we find in the offerings there was a difference between them. - - -ABRAHAM. - -In the twenty-second chapter of Genesis we find the story of Abraham and -his only son, Isaac. Abraham was a follower of God, a man who loved and -feared God, and He commanded him to make a blood sacrifice. - -We read in this chapter that He commanded Abraham to make the sacrifice -of his only son. And we read that the next morning the old man saddled -his ass and started. He did not tell his wife any thing about it. If he -had, she would likely have persuaded him to remain where he was. But he -has heard the voice of God, and he obeys the command. He has heard God’s -wish, and he is going to do it. - -So, early in the morning--Abraham did not wait till 10 or 12 o’clock, but -went early in the morning--he takes two of his young men with him and his -son Isaac, and you can see him starting out on the three days’ journey. -They have the wood and the fire, for he is going to worship his God. - -As Abraham goes on, he looks at his boy and says: “It is a strange -commandment that God has given. I love this boy dearly. I do not -understand it, but I do know it is all right, for the Judge of all the -earth makes no mistakes.” An order from the Judge of Heaven is enough for -Abraham. - -The first night comes, their little camp is made, and Isaac is asleep. -But the old man does not sleep. He looks into the face of his sleeping -boy, and sadly says: “I will have no boy soon. I shall never see him on -this earth again. But I must obey God.” - -I can see Abraham marching on the next day, and you might have seen him -drying his tears as he glanced upon that only son and thought upon what -he had been called upon to do. The second night comes; tomorrow is the -day for the sacrifice. What a night that must have been to Abraham! Hear -him say: “Tomorrow I must take the life of that boy--my only son, dearer -to me than any thing on earth--dearer to me than my life.” - -The third day comes, and as they go along they see the mountain in the -distance. Then Abraham says to the young men: “You stay here with the -beasts.” He takes the wood and the fire, and along with his boy prepares -to ascend Mount Moriah, from the peak of which could be seen the spot -where, a few hundred years later, the Son of man was offered up. - -As they ascend the mountain Isaac says: “Here are the wood and the fire, -father. But where is the sacrifice?” This question shows that the boy -knew nothing of what was in store. How the question must have sunk down -into the old man’s heart! And he only answers: “The Lord will provide a -sacrifice.” It was not time to tell him, and they go on until they come -to the place appointed by God, and build the altar, and lay the wood upon -it. Every thing is ready, and I can just imagine the old man take the boy -by the hand, and, leading him to a rock, sitting down there and telling -him how God had called upon him to come out of his native land; how God -had been in communion with him for fifty years; what God had done for -him. “And now,” he says, “my boy, when I was in my bed three nights ago, -God came to me with a strange message, in which He told me to offer my -child as a sacrifice. I love you, my son, but God has told me to do this, -and I must obey Him. So let us both go down on our knees and pray to Him.” - -After they have sent up a petition to God, Abraham lays Isaac on the -altar and kisses him for the last time. He lifts the knife to drive -it into his son’s heart, when all at once he hears a voice: “Abraham! -Abraham! Spare thine only son.” - -Ah! There was no voice heard on Calvary to save the Son of Man. God -showed mercy to the son of Abraham. You fathers and mothers, just picture -to yourselves how you would suffer if you had to sacrifice your only -son. And think what it must have caused God to give up His only Son. We -are told that Abraham was glad. This manifestation of Abraham’s faith -so pleased God that He showed him the grace of Heaven and lifted the -curtain of time to let him look down into the future to see the Son of -God offered, bearing the sins of the world. - - -AHAB. - -There is a familiar saying: “Every man has his own price.” - -Ahab had his, and he sold himself for a garden; Judas sold himself for -thirty pieces of silver, and Esau for a mess of pottage. - -Ahab sold himself just to please a fallen woman. And so we might go -on--citing the men who have sold themselves. It is easy for us to condemn -these men, but let us see if there are not men and women doing the same -thing today. How many are selling themselves tonight for naught! It is -easy enough to condemn Judas, Herod and Ahab, but in doing this do we not -condemn ourselves? - -We thought that slavery was hard. We thought it hard that those poor -black people should be put upon the block, in the market, and sold to the -highest bidder; but what do you think of those men who sell themselves -today to evil? - -Ahab sold himself to evil, and what did he get? - -Elijah was the best friend that Ahab had, but he did not think so; he -thought that Elijah was his enemy. Ahab was a religious man--that is, -he thought he was. He had 850 prophets. “And what king has more? What -king does more for religion than I?” So he would have said. There is a -difference between religion and having Christ. There are a great many -people that have religion but have no Christ in it--that have not a spark -of Christianity. - -This man was very religious, but he began wrong. His marriage was his -first wrong step. He did not care about the law of God. He wanted to -strengthen his kingdom. I can imagine they said: “We have outgrown the -laws of Moses. We do not want your God; we have got something better. -Here are the nations all around us worshiping Baal, and we will worship -Baal.” - -Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, wanted the patriarchs and the prophets put to -death, and they were put to death. Obadiah had a few, but wherever they -were found they were put to death. I suppose they said of Elijah: “That -man belongs to the old Puritanical school.” He was bigoted and narrow. -The idea of only worshiping one God! Ahab was willing to turn away from -the God of Elijah, but he did not look to have Elijah reprove him, and -thus he was his enemy. Many a man who has a good, praying mother thinks -that mother is his enemy. - -Ahab thought the God of Elijah was not going to carry out His warning. I -will leave it to you if the man who warns you of danger is not the best -friend you have got. If I saw a man about to walk over a precipice and -he was blind and I did not warn him, would not the blood of that man -be required at my hands? Would not I be guilty morally? Jezebel hated -Elijah, and she disliked him for his warnings. The man who warns you is -the best friend that you have got. - -Suppose I am going home at night--at midnight--and I see a building on -fire and I pass along and say not a word about it, and the occupants -are all asleep and I go right home and go to bed, and in the morning I -find that fifteen people in that house were burned up--how you would -condemn me! And if in preaching the Gospel I do not warn you about your -danger--about your sins and God’s punishment--what will you say to me -when I meet you at the Eternal Throne? I do not want you to think that -I am trying to please the people by preaching that the just and unjust -will fare alike. You may be successful for a time. Ahab had two grand and -glorious victories upon the battle field, and he was a very popular man -for a while. He built a palace of ivory, and just here I want to speak of -one act of that man. - -When Ahab’s beautiful palace was finished, he found there was a poor man -who had a garden near it. This Ahab wanted. And Ahab came to Naboth, the -poor man, and wanted him to sell his garden. But Naboth said he could not -do so, for it was against the law of his people. Then Ahab said to him: -“I will give you a better place than this, and I will give you a better -vineyard than this.” But Naboth was firm, and would not agree to sell his -garden. - -Many men would have liked to sell to the king. Such would have said: “We -know it is against the law, but he is foolish not to sell to the king.” - -Naboth said: “God forbid that I should sell.” - -Ahab returns to his palace, where he pouts like a child. Jezebel notices -him, and begins to speak with him. She asks: “What is the matter?” Ahab -makes answer like a peevish child: “I want Naboth’s garden.” And she asks -him why he does not take it, and then he tells her. Again she asks: - -“Are you not king of Israel?” - -“Yes.” - -“Well! Then why do you not get it? I will get it for you, and it shall -not cost you any thing. I will arrange it.” - -Then Jezebel sent that infamous letter to the truculent elders. Those -elders were just as bad as Jezebel. They knew that Naboth served the -God of Heaven. The instructions of the letter were followed. The two -witnesses said they saw Naboth despise God and the king, and so he was -taken out and stoned to death. I can see him kneeling there and the -crowds taking up the stones and hurling them at him. - -Well, when Ahab goes down to take possession of that vineyard there is a -message that had come from the throne of Heaven. God has been watching -him. He notices all of us, and there is not a hellish act that has been, -or is going to be, committed but God knows about it. Elijah stood before -Ahab as the latter went down to that garden, and Ahab got out of his -chariot and met him. He knew that Elijah knew all, and he did not like to -be reproved. Ill-gotten gains do not bring peace. If you get any thing -at the cost of the truth or honor, it will be peace lost for time, and -perhaps for eternity. - -As he walked through that garden, Ahab looked up and said: “Why, is not -that Elijah?” He knew it was, and he knew what it meant. Elijah walks up -to him and asks: “Hast thou killed and taken possession?” Ahab answers: -“I wonder how he found that out. He knows all about me.” And then Elijah -said: “In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth they shall -lick thy blood.” - -Then Ahab asked the prophet: “Mine enemy, have you found me out?” - -Elijah answered: “Yes. Because you have sold yourself to evil, you will -be found out.” - -A few years before, Ahab had laughed at Elijah, but he now remembered -that every thing which Elijah’s God had promised had been done, and he -could not get these words out of his mind: “In the place where the dogs -licked the blood of Naboth they shall lick thy blood.” Sometimes just one -act, that we can do in a minute, will cost us years of trouble and pain. -Little did Ahab think that it was going to cost him his kingdom and cause -his whole family to be swept from the face of the earth when he gave the -promise to Jezebel to write that letter. - -Ahab lived three years after Elijah met him in that garden, and how many -times do you suppose those awful words of Elijah came into his mind? He -could not get them out of his mind. Jezebel tried to help him, but she -could not. He wanted to improve the garden, and no doubt he did improve -it; but whenever he walked there the words came to him which Elijah had -spoken. Then the time came for the judgment against Ahab to be carried -out, and the Bible tells how it was done. - - -BARABBAS. - -I have often thought what a night Barabbas must have spent just before -the day when Christ was crucified. - -As the sun goes down, he says to himself: “Tomorrow--only tomorrow--and I -must die upon the cross! They will hang me up before a crowd of people; -they will drive nails through my hands and feet; they will break my legs -with bars of iron; and in that awful torture I shall die before this time -tomorrow, and go up to the Judgment with all my crimes upon me.” - -Maybe, they let his mother come to see him once more before dark. Perhaps -he had a wife and children, and they came to see him for the last time. -He could not sleep at all that night. He could hear somebody hammering -in the prison yard, and knew they must be making the cross. He would -start up every now and then, thinking that he heard the footsteps of the -officers coming for him. - -At last the light of the morning looks in through the bars of his prison. - -“Today--this very day--they will open that door and lead me away to be -crucified!” - -Pretty soon he hears them coming. No mistake this time. They are -unbarring the iron door. He hears them turning the key in the rusty lock. -Then the door swings open. There are the soldiers. - -Good-by to life and hope! Death--horrible death--now! And after -death--what will there be then? - -The officer of the guard speaks to him: “Barabbas, you are free!” - -He hears the strange words, but they make very little impression on him. -He is so near dead with fear and horror that the good news does not reach -him. His ears catch the sound, but he thinks it is a foolish fancy. He is -asleep and dreaming. He stands gazing a moment at the soldiers, and then -he comes to himself. - -“Do not laugh at me! Do not make sport of me! Take me away and crucify -me, but do not tear my soul to pieces!” Again the officer speaks: “_You -are free!_ Here--the door is open! Go out--go home!” - -Now he begins to take in the truth. But it is so wonderful a thing to get -out of the clutches of the Roman law that he is afraid to believe the -good news. And so he begins to doubt, and to ask how it can be. - -They tell him that Pilate has promised the Jews the release of one -prisoner that day, and that the Jews have chosen him instead of one Jesus -of Nazareth, who was condemned to be crucified. - -Now the poor man begins to weep. This breaks his heart. He knows this -Jesus. He has seen Him perform some of His miracles. He was in the crowd, -picking pockets, when Jesus fed the five thousand hungry people. - -“What! That just man to die! And I--a thief, a highwayman, a murderer--to -go free!” - -And in the midst of his joy at his own release his heart breaks at the -thought that his life is saved at such a cost. - - -BARTIMEUS AND ZACCHÆUS. - -In the eighteenth chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke you will find Christ -was going into Jericho, and as He drew near the gates of the city there -was a poor blind man who sat by the wayside, begging people to give him a -farthing, and crying out: “Have mercy on a poor blind man!” - -This blind beggar met a man who said to him: “I have good news to tell -you, Bartimeus.” - -“What is it?” asked the beggar. - -“There is a man of Israel who can give you sight.” - -“Oh, no! There is no chance of my ever receiving my sight. I never shall -see. In fact, I never saw the mother who gave me birth. I never saw the -wife of my bosom. I never saw my own children. I never saw in this world, -but I expect to see in the world to come.” - -“Let me tell you. I have just come down from Jerusalem, and I saw that -village carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth; and I saw a man who was born blind, -who had received his sight, and I never saw a man who had better sight. -He does not even have to use glasses.” - -Then hope rises for the first time in this poor man’s heart, and he says: -“Tell me how the man got his sight.” - -“Oh,” says the other, “Jesus first spat upon the ground and made clay, -and put it on his eyes, and then He told the man to wash his eyes in -the pool of Siloam, and he would receive his sight. More than that, -Bartimeus: He does not charge you any thing. You have no fee to pay. You -just tell him what you want, and you get it--without money and without -price. It does not need dukes, lords or influence. You just call upon Him -yourself. And if He ever comes this way, do not let Him go back without -your going to see Jesus.” - -And Bartimeus said: “I will try it. There is no harm in trying it.” - -I can imagine Bartimeus being led by a child to his seat, as usual, and -that he is crying out: “Please give a blind beggar a farthing.” - -He hears the footsteps of the coming multitude, and he inquires: “Who is -passing? What does this multitude mean?” They tell him that it is Jesus -of Nazareth passing by. The moment he hears that he says: “Why, that is -the man that gave sight to the blind!” - -The moment it reached his ear that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to -cry out at the top of his voice: “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy -upon me!” - -Some of those who went before--perhaps Peter was one of them--rebuked -him, thinking the Master was going up to Jerusalem to be crowned King, -and did not want to be distracted. They never knew the Son of God when He -was here. He would hush every harp in Heaven to hear a sinner pray. No -music would delight Him so much. But the blind man still lifted up his -voice, and cried louder: “Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!” - -This prayer reached the ears of the Son of God, as prayer always will, -and they led the poor blind man to Him. Well, when Jesus heard the blind -beggar, He commanded him to be brought. So they ran to him, and said: “Be -of good cheer. The Master calls you. He has a blessing for you.” - -When Jesus saw Bartimeus He said: “What can I do for you?” - -“Lord, that I may receive sight.” - -“You shall have it.” - -And the Lord gave it to him. And now the beggar follows with the crowd, -glorifying God. I can imagine he sang as sweetly as Mr. Sankey--and no -one can sing more sweetly than he--when he shouted: “Hosanna to the Son -of David!” No one sang louder than this one who had received his sight. -Then he follows on with the crowd, which we see pressing into the -gates of the city. I can imagine, when he gets into the city, he says -to himself: “I will go down and see Mrs. Bartimeus.” Of course, after -all those years of blindness, he had some curiosity to see what his wife -looked like. - -As he is passing down the street, a man meets him, and turns around and -says: “Bartimeus, is that you?” - -“Yes; it is I.” - -“Well, I thought so, and yet I feared my eyes must deceive me. How did -you get your sight?” - -“I just met Jesus of Nazareth outside the walls of the city, and I asked -Him to have mercy on me; and He gave me sight.” - -“Jesus of Nazareth! Is he now in this part of the country?” - -“Yes; He is on His way to Jerusalem. He is now going down to the eastern -gate.” - -“I should like to see Him,” says the man. And he runs straightway down -the street. But he can not get a glimpse of Him, being small of stature, -on account of the great throng around Him. He runs to a sycamore tree, -and says to himself: “If I get up there and hide, without any one seeing -me, He can not get by without my having a good look at Him.” - -A great many rich men do not like to be seen coming to Jesus. - -Well, there he is in the sycamore tree, on a branch hanging right over -the highway, and he says to himself: “He can not get by without my having -a good look at Him.” All at once the crowd comes in sight. He looks -at John. “That is not He.” He looks at Peter. “No, that is not He.” -Then he sees One who is fairer than the sons of men. “That is He!” And -Zacchæus, just peeping out from among the branches, looks down upon that -wonderful--yes, that mighty--God-Man in amazement. - -At last the crowd comes to the tree, and it looks as if Christ is going -by; but He stops right under the tree. All at once He looks up and sees -Zacchæus, and says to him: “Zacchæus, make haste and come down.” - -I can imagine Zacchæus says to himself: “I wonder who told Him my name. I -was never introduced to Him.” But Christ knew all about him. - -Well, He said to Zacchæus: “Make haste and come down.” He may have added: -“This is the last time I shall pass this way, Zacchæus.” That is the way -He speaks to sinners. “This may be the last time I shall pass this way. -This may be your last chance of eternity.” There are some people in this -nineteenth century who do not believe in sudden conversions. I should -like them to tell me where Zacchæus was converted. He certainly was not -converted when he went up into the tree, but he certainly was converted -when he came down. He must have been converted somewhere between the -branches and the ground. - -The Lord converted him right there. People say they do not believe in -sudden conversions, and that if a man is converted suddenly he will not -hold out--he will not be genuine. I wish we had a few men converted like -Zacchæus in London. They would make no small stir. When a man begins to -make restitution it is a pretty good sign of conversion. Let men give -back money dishonestly obtained in London, and see how quickly people -will believe in conversion. Zacchæus gave half his goods to the poor. -What would be said if some of the rich men of London did that? Zacchæus -gave half his goods all at once, and he said: “If I have taken any thing -from any man falsely, I restore him fourfold.” I think that is the other -half. - -But to get Christ is worth more than all his wealth. I imagine, the next -morning, one of the servants of Zacchæus going with a check for £100, and -saying: “My master a few years ago took from you wrongfully about £25, -and this is restitution money.” - -That would give confidence in Zacchæus’s conversion. - - -BELSHAZZAR. - -In the fifth chapter of Daniel we read the history of King Belshazzar. It -is very short. Only one chapter tells us all we know about him. One short -sight of his career is all we see. He just seems to burst upon the stage -and then disappears. We are told that he gave a great feast, and at this -feast he had a thousand of his lords, and they were drinking and praising -the gods of silver, of gold, of brass, of iron and of wood, out of the -vessels which had been brought from the Temple at Jerusalem. - -As they were drinking out of these vessels of gold and silver from the -house of God--I do not know but it was at the hour of midnight--all at -once came forth the fingers of a man’s hand and began to write upon the -wall of the banquet hall. - -The king turns deathly pale, his knees shake together and he trembles -from head to foot. Perhaps if some one had told him the time was coming -when he would be put into the balance and weighed he would have laughed -at him. But he knows the vital hour has come, and that the hand has -written his doom in the words: “Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin.” - -He calls the wise men of his kingdom, and the man who can interpret -this will be made the third ruler of his realm, and shall be clothed in -scarlet and have a chain about his neck. One after another tried, but the -eyes of no uncircumcised man could make it out. Belshazzar was greatly -troubled. At last one was spoken of who had been able to interpret the -dream of his father, Nebuchadnezzar. He was told if he would send for -Daniel the latter might interpret the writing. - -So the prophet was brought in, and he looked upon the handwriting. -He told the king how his father had gone against God, and how he -(Belshazzar) had gone against the Lord of Heaven, and how his reign was -finished. And this was the meaning of the mysterious writing: - -“MENE--God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it. - -“TEKEL--Thou art weighed in the balance, and art found wanting. - -“PERES--Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” - -The trial is over, the verdict is rendered and the sentence brought out. -That very night the king was hurled from his throne. That very night the -army of Darius came tearing down the streets, and then you might have -heard the clash of arms and shouts of war, and might have seen the king’s -blood mingling with the wine in that banquet hall. - - -CALEB. - -Caleb and Joshua are great favorites of mine. They have got a ring about -them. They were not all the time looking for hindrances and obstacles in -their way. They got their eyes above them. - -You remember how those men were sent forward to spy out the land of -Canaan. They had been sent out forty days to go over that land. They went -from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, and thence unto Hebron. And when -they reached the “brook of Eshcol they secured a branch with one cluster -of grapes, and bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the -pomegranates and of the figs.” - -They were gone forty days, and the twelve men brought back what Congress -would call a majority and a minority report. Ten men reported that they -had gone unto the land to which they were sent, and that surely it flowed -with milk and honey. And so God’s word was true. They found milk and -honey. And they brought along grapes. - -But ten of them were full of unbelief. They further reported that they -saw giants there--the sons of Anak, which come of the giants. The -Hittites, Jebusites, Amalekites and Amorites dwelt there. They were -all there, and also those great giants, in whose sight they were as -grasshoppers. It was a great war city, and they asked themselves if they -looked as though they were able to war with such giants. They said: “We -are not able.” - -They undoubtedly brought back maps and charts, and said: “There is the -region. It would be monstrous for us to attempt to take it. There are -massive iron gates and a great wall, and we are not able to take it. -We are defenseless people--without any weapons. We will not be able to -overcome those people.” - -I can imagine one man said: “Why, I looked up at those giants, and I -seemed as a little grasshopper, and I felt as small as a grasshopper. We -can not hope to cope with those giants. It is a good land, but we will -not be able to go up and possess it.” - -Then they began to murmur. It does not take a very great while to get -unbelievers to murmuring. But Caleb tried to encourage them. He says to -them: “Let us go up at once and possess the land. We are well able to -overcome it.” - -Even Joshua joined in with Caleb, and they proved two with the faith. To -be sure, they were in the minority; but if the Lord is with us we are -able to prove a powerful majority over the enemy. They determined to take -it, and they wandered across all through Canaan, but the people took up -stones, and would have stoned them to death. But “the glory of the Lord -appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation, before all the children -of Israel.” - -And about three millions of people wandered in the wilderness for forty -years, until all the men laid themselves down in the desert grave and -were kept out of the Promised Land--all on account of their unbelief. And -I believe today that four-fifths of the church is wandering around in the -wilderness, far away from the cross of Calvary and the Promised Land. We -are able to have victory with God with us. - -Ten men were looking at all those obstacles that this new land presented -to them, while these two men--Caleb and Joshua--looked up yonder. And -they saw God’s face and remembered the waste in Egypt, the crossing of -the Red Sea, the destruction which was brought upon the Philistines, the -water from the flint rock, and they believed that God was able--as He -most certainly was--to give them that land He had promised. - - -DANIEL. - -I want to talk about the life of the prophet, Daniel. The word means -“God with him”--not the public with him, not his fellow men, but God. -Therefore, he had to report himself to God and hold himself responsible -to Him. - -I do not know just what time Daniel went down to Babylon. I know that in -the third year of King Jehoakim Nebuchadnezzar took ten thousand of the -chief men of Jerusalem, and carried them captive down to Babylon. I am -glad these chief men, who brought on the war, were given into the great -king’s hands. Unlike too many of the ringleaders in our great war, they -got the punishment on their own heads. - -Among the captives were four young men. They had been converted, -doubtless, under Jeremiah, the “weeping prophet” that God had sent to the -children of Israel. Many had mocked at him when he lifted up his voice -against their sins. They had laughed at his tears and told him to his -face--as many say of us--that he was getting up a false excitement. But -these four young men listened, and they had the backbone to come out for -God. - -And now, after they were come to Babylon, the king said a number of the -children should be educated, and ordered the same kind of meat and wine -set before them that were used in his palace, and that at the end of a -year they should be brought before him. Daniel and his three friends were -among these. - -Now, no young man ever comes to the city without having great temptation -cross his path as he enters it. And just at this turning point in his -life, as in Daniel’s, must lie the secret of his success. This was the -secret of young Daniel’s success: He took his stand with God right on his -entering the gate of Babylon, and cried to God to keep him steadfast. -And he needed to cry hard. A law of his and his nation’s God was that -no man must eat meat offered to idols, but now comes the king’s first -edict, that this young man should eat the same kind of meat he himself -did. I do not think that it took young Daniel long to make up his mind. -The law of God forbade it, and he would not do it. “He purposed in his -heart”--in his heart; mark this--that he would not defile himself. He did -not resolve in his head, but love in his heart prompted him. If some -Chicago Christians could have advised Daniel, they would have said to -him: “Don’t you do it; don’t set aside the meat. That would be a species -of Phariseeism.” Oh, yes; they would have insisted to the poor young -captive that he should carry out the commandments of his God when he was -in his own country, but not there where he was but a poor slave; he could -not possibly carry along his own religion down there to Babylon. - -Thank God, this young man would not eat the meat, and, ordering it -taken away, he got the eunuch to bring him pulse. And behold, when he -came before the king, the eunuch’s fears were gone, for the faces of -Daniel and the rest of the dear boys were fairer and fatter than any -that the king looked down upon. They had not noses--like too many in our -streets--as red as if they were just going to blossom. It is God’s truth, -and Daniel tested it, that cold water, with a clear conscience, is far -better than wine. - -And the king one day had a dream, and all the wise men were called before -him. But they all said: “We can not interpret it; it is too hard.” The -king, being wroth, threatened them. Still getting no answer, he made an -edict that all the wise men should be put to death. And the officers came -to Daniel, with the rest of the wise men, but Daniel was not afraid. - -I can imagine he prayed to God, falling low on his knees and with his -face to the earth, and asked Him for guidance; and then he crawled -into bed and slept like a child. We would hardly sleep well under such -circumstances. And in his sleep God told him the meaning of the dream. -There must have been joy among the wise men that one of their number had -found it, and that the king would save their lives. And he is brought -before the king, and cries out: “O king, while thou didst lie with thy -head on thy pillow, thou didst dream, and in thy dream thou sawest a -great image.” - -I can imagine, at these opening words, how the kings eyes flashed, and -how he cried out with joy: “Yes, that is it--the whole thing comes back -to me now.” - -And then Daniel, in a death-like stillness, unfolded all the -interpretation, and told the king that the golden head of the great image -represented his own government. I suppose Babylon was the biggest city -ever in the world. It was sixty miles around. Some writers put the walls -from sixty-five to eighty-five feet high and twenty-five feet wide. Four -chariots could drive abreast on top of them. A street fifteen miles long -divided the grand city, and hanging gardens in acres made the public -parks. It was like Chicago--so flat that they had to resort to artificial -mounds; and, again like Chicago, the products of vast regions flowed -right into and through it. - -This great kingdom, Daniel told the king, was his own; but he said a -destroying kingdom should come, and afterward a third and fourth kingdom, -when, at the last, the God of Heaven should set up His kingdom. - -Daniel lived to see the first kingdom overthrown, when the Medes and -Persians came in, and centuries after came Alexander, and then the Romans. - -I believe in the literal fulfillment, so far, of Daniel’s God given words -and in the sure fulfillment of the final prophecy of the “stone cut out -of the mountains without hands,” that by-and-by shall grind the kingdoms -of this world into dust, and bring in the Kingdom of Peace. Then will be -the Millennium, and Christ will sway His scepter over all the earth. - -Well, the king was very much pleased. He gave to Daniel a place near -the throne, and he became one of the chief men of the world. His three -friends were also put in high office. God had blessed them signally, and -He blessed them still more--and that was, perhaps, a harder thing--in -keeping them true to Him in their prosperity. Their faith and fortunes -waxed strong together. - -Time went on, and now we reach a crisis indeed. “Nebuchadnezzar, the -king,” we read, “made an image of gold, one hundred and ten feet high and -nine feet wide.” It was not gilded, but was solid gold. When Babylon was -pillaged the second time a single god was found in the temple that was -worth more than two million pounds sterling. The king’s monstrous image -was set up in the Plains of Dura, near to the city. I suppose he wanted -to please his kingly vanity by inaugurating a universal religion. - -When the time came for the dedication I do not suppose Daniel was there. -He was probably in Egypt, or some other province, on affairs of the -empire. Counselors, satraps, high secretaries and the princes of the -people were ordered to hasten to the dedication, and when they should -hear the sound of the cornet, flute and psaltery announce that the great -idol was consecrated they were to bow down and worship it. - -Perhaps they called the ceremony the unveiling of the monument, as we -should say. But one command was made certain. At a given signal all the -people were to fall to the earth in worship. But in the law of God there -is something against that. “Thou shalt have none other gods but Me.” -God’s law went right against the king’s. - -Would all of us have Daniel’s three friends to do the right thing at any -hazard? Would none of us, without backbone, have advised them to just bow -down a little, so that no one would notice it, or to merely bow down but -not worship it? - -The hour came, and Daniel’s friends refused to bow down. They refused -utterly to bend the knee to a god of gold. How many cry out in this city: -“Give me gold--give me money--and I will do any thing!” Such may think -that men in Nebuchadnezzar’s time should not bow down to a golden idol, -but they themselves are daily doing just that very thing. Money is their -golden image, or position, or golden ambition. - -Well, the informers came to the king, and told him that Shadrach, Meshach -and Abednego had stood with unbended knee, and straightway they were -hurried before him. The old king, speechless with rage, was gesturing his -commands. I can imagine that one last chance was given them, after the -king finally regained his voice, and that one of them, probably Meshach, -spoke up in a firm but respectful voice that they must obey God rather -than man. - -At once the raging king cried out: “What is your God that He can deliver -you out of our hands?” And in the same breath he screamed a command to -bind them hand and foot and cast them into the fiery furnace, and make -it seven times hotter than ever. The command was instantly executed, and -the flames leaped out from the door and consumed the officers who cast -them in. - -But Jesus was with His servants as the flames raged about them, and soon -word was brought to the king that four men walked about in the flames. -Yes, they walked there with Jesus--they did not run--as in a green -pasture and beside still waters. And directly the king rushed up and -cried: “Ye sons of the living God, come forth.” And behold, even the hair -of their heads was not singed. Then the king made a royal edict, that all -in his realm should reverence the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. - -Then the king had a dream, and he was greatly perturbed thereby. This -time the particulars of the dream had not gone from him. They stood out -vivid and clear in his mind, as he sent out to fetch the wise men, and -called to them to give him the interpretation. But they can not give it. - -When he had his first dream he had summoned these same soothsayers, but -they had stood silent. And now they stand silent again as the second -dream is told them. They can not interpret it. Then once again he sends -for the prophet, Daniel, whom he had named after one of his gods, -Belteshazzar. And the young prophet comes before the king, and as soon as -the king sees Daniel he feels sure that he will now get the meaning. - -Calling out from his throne, he tells how he had dreamed a dream, wherein -he saw a tree in the midst of the earth, with branches that reached to -Heaven, and the sight thereof to the ends of the earth. The beasts of -the field had shelter under it, and the fowls of the air dwelt in the -boughs thereof. The tree was very fair and had much fruit, and all flesh -was fed on it. And then, lowering his voice, he tells how, as he gazed, -he saw a watcher and a holy one come down from Heaven, who cried aloud: -“Hew down the tree.” - -“And now,” cries the king, “can you tell me the interpretation?” - -For a time Daniel stands motionless. Does his heart fail him? The record -simply says: “For one hour he was astonished.” The ready words doubtless -rush to his lips, but he dislikes to let them out. He does not want to -tell how the king’s kingdom and mind are going to depart from him, and he -is to wander forth to eat grass like a beast. The king, too, hesitates; -a dark foreboding for a time gets the better of curiosity. But soon he -nerves himself to hear the worst, and speaks very kindly: “Do not be -afraid to tell me, O Daniel! Let not the dream or its interpretation -trouble thee.” And at last Daniel speaks: “O king, thou art the man. God -has exalted thee over every king and over all the world, but thou shalt -be brought low. Thou shalt be driven out from men, and shalt eat grass -among the beasts of the field; but thy kingdom--as the great watcher -spared the stump of the tree--shall afterward return to thee. Wherefore, -O king, break off thy sins by righteousness and thine iniquities by -showing mercy to the poor, if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility.” - -And straightway the king repented in sackcloth and ashes, and God stayed -the doom. But twelve months from that time we see Nebuchadnezzar -walking in his palace and boasting: “Is not this my great Babylon that -I have built by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty!” -And behold, while he yet spake a voice came from Heaven, saying: “Thy -kingdom hath departed.” And undoubtedly God then touched his reason, and -straightway he ran madly through the gates to eat grass. - -But his kingdom had not passed from him forever, and, according to -the prophet’s word, at the end of seven years--or, possibly, seven -months--his reason came back, and he returned to his palace. All his -princes and officers gathered about him. Then he immediately sent out -a new proclamation, and its closing words show his repentance, and how -Daniel had brought this mighty king to God: - -“And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto -Heaven, and my understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most -High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth forever, whose dominion -is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to -generation. - -“At the same time my reason returned unto me, and for the glory of my -kingdom mine honor and brightness returned unto me, and my councilors and -my lords sought unto me. I was established in my kingdom, and excellent -majesty was added unto me. - -“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol the King of Heaven, all whose -works are truth and His ways judgment, and those that walk in pride He is -able to abase.” - -And then he passes from the stage. This is the last record of him, and -undoubtedly he and Daniel now walk the crystal pavement together. That -mighty monarch was led to the God of the Hebrews by the faith of this -Hebrew slave, and just because he had a religion and dared to make it -known. - -But now we lose sight of the prophet for a few years, perhaps fifteen or -twenty. The next we hear is that Belteshazzar is on the throne--possibly -as regent. He is believed to have been a grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. -One day he said he would make Daniel the third ruler of the people if -he would interpret for him the handwriting on the wall. He was probably -second himself, and Daniel would be next to him. Of this prince we have -only one glimpse. The feast scene is the first and last we have of him, -and it is enough. It was a great feast, and fully a thousand of his lords -sat down together. In those days feasts sometimes lasted six months. How -long this one lasted we do not know. The king caroused with his princes -and satraps and all the mighty men of Babylon, drinking and rioting and -praying to gods of silver and gold and brass and stubble--just what we -are doing today, if we bow the knee to the gods of this world. And the -revelers, waxing wanton, even go into the temple and lay sacrilegious -hands on the sacred vessels that had been brought away from Jerusalem, -and drank wine from them--drank toasts to idols and harlots. And, -undoubtedly, as they are drinking they scoff at the God of Israel. - -I see these revelers swearing and rioting when, suddenly, the king turns -pale and trembles from head to foot. Above the golden candlesticks, on -a bare space on the wall, he sees the writing of the God of Zion. He -distinctly sees the terrible fingers. His voice shakes with terror, but -he manages to falter out: “Bring in the wise men! Any man who can read -the handwriting I will make third ruler of the kingdom.” - -Then the wise men come trooping in, but there is no answer. Not one of -them can read it. They are skilled in Chaldean lore, but this stumps -them. At last the queen comes in and whispers: “O king, there is a man -in the kingdom who can read that writing. When your grandfather could -not interpret his dreams he sent for Daniel, the Hebrew, and he knew all -about them. Can we find him?” - -They did find him, and now we see the man of God again standing before -a king’s throne. To the king’s hurried promises of gifts and honors -Daniel replies: “You can keep your rewards.” Quietly he turns his eyes -on the writing. He reads it at the first glance, for it is his Father’s -handwriting. He says: - -“Mene--Thy kingdom hath departed from thee. - -“Tekel--Thou art weighed in the balance, and art found wanting. - -“Upharsin--Thy kingdom is divided. It is given over to the hands of the -enemy.” - -How these words of doom must have rung through the palace that night! - -And the destruction did not tarry. The king recovered himself, banished -his fears, and went on drinking in his hall. The mystery and its -interpretation were as an idle tale. He thought he was perfectly secure. -He had deemed the great walls of Babylon thoroughly safe. But there was -Darius besieging the city; the enemy was right upon him. Was that safe? -While they reveled, the river Euphrates, that flowed under the walls, -was turned into another channel. The hosts of Medes and Persians rushed -through, unobstructed, and in a few minutes more battered down the king’s -gate and broke through the palace guard into the inmost palace chamber. -And the king was slain, and his blood flowed in that banquet hall. - -We are next told Darius took the throne and set over the people 120 -rulers, and over these three presidents, of whom Daniel was first. And -so we find him in office again. I do not know how long he was in that -position. But by-and-by a conspiracy took head among his fellow officers -to get rid of him. They got jealous and said: - -“Let’s see if we can get this man removed. He has bossed us long -enough--the sanctimonious old Hebrew.” - -And then he was so impracticable, they could not do any thing with him. -There were plenty of collectors and treasurers, but he kept such a close -eye on them that they only made their salaries. There was no plundering -of the government with Daniel at the head. He was president of the -princes, and all revenue accounts passed before him. I can overhear the -plotters whispering: “If we can only put him out of the way, we can make -enough in two or three years to retire from office, have a city house in -Babylon and two or three villas in the country--have enough for all our -days. We can then go down to Egypt and see something of the world. As -things now are, we can only get our exact dues, and it will take years -to get any thing respectable. Yes, let us down this pious Jew.” - -Well, they worked things so as to get an investigating committee, hoping -to catch him in his accounts. But they found no occasion for fault -against him. If he had put any relatives in office it would have been -found out. If he had been guilty of peculation, or in any way broken the -unalterable statutes of the kingdom, it would have come to light. What a -bright light was that, standing alone in that great city for God and the -majesty of law! - -But at last they struck on one weak point, as they called it--he would -worship no one but the God of Israel. The law of his God was his only -assailable side. The conspirators reasoned in their plotting: - -“If we can only get Darius to forbid any one making a request for thirty -days except from the king himself, we shall trap him, and then we can -cast him among the lions. We will take good care to have the lions -hungry.” - -And the hundred and twenty princes took long council together. “Take -care,” they said; “you must draw up the paper which is to be signed by -the king with a deal of care and discretion. The king loves him, and -he has influence. Do not speak of the movement outside this meeting. -It might come to the ears of the king, and we must talk to the king -ourselves.” - -When the mine is all ready, the hundred and twenty princes come to -the king and open their business with flattering speech. Naturally, -we hear these men saying: “King Darius, live for ever!” They tell him -how prosperous the realm is, and how much the people think of him. And -then they tell him, in the most plausible way that ever was, that if -he would be remembered by children’s children to all ages, just to sign -this decree. It would be a memorial of his greatness and goodness for -ever. And the king replies graciously: “What is the decree you wish me to -sign?” Casting his eye over the paper, he goes on: “I see no objection to -that.” In the pleasure of granting a request he thinks nothing of Daniel, -and the princes carefully refrain from jogging his memory. And he asks -for his signet ring, and gives the royal stamp. The edict has become one -of the laws of the Medes and Persians, that alter not. It reads: “Any -man that worships any God but me for thirty days shall be cast into the -lions’ den.” - -The news spreads all through the city, and quickly gets to the ears of -Daniel. I can imagine some of them going to the prophet and advising him -about the edict, saying: “If you can only get out of the way for a little -time--if you can just quit Babylon for thirty days--it will advance your -own and the public interest together. You are the chief secretary and -treasurer; in fact, you are the chief ruler in the government. You are an -important man and can do as you please. Well, now, just you get out of -Babylon. Or, if you will stay in Babylon, do not let them catch you on -your knees. At all events, do not pray at the window toward Jerusalem. If -you must pray, close that window, pull down the curtain and put something -in the keyhole.” - -I can imagine how that old prince, Daniel, now in his gray hairs, would -view such a proposition--that he desert his God in his old age. All -the remonstrances that must have been made fell dead. He just went on -praying as usual three times a day, with his face toward Jerusalem. This -old prophet found plenty of time to pray, though secretary and treasurer -of the most important empire of the world. And besides his own business, -he had to attend, doubtless, to much belonging of right to those hundred -and twenty. But he would never have been too busy or ashamed at a prayer -meeting to stand up for God. - -Daniel had a purpose, and he dared to make that purpose known. He knew -whom he worshiped. The idea of looking back to church records of long -ago to see whether a man has professed religion is all wrong. In Babylon -they knew whom Daniel believed on. These hundred and twenty knew the very -day after the passage of the edict. He knows they are watching near his -window when the hour comes for prayer. He can see two men close at his -side, and he knows they are spies. Perhaps they may be taking down every -word he says for the papers. - -The moment comes, and Daniel falls on his knees. In tones even louder -than ever he makes his prayer to the God of Israel, Abraham, Isaac and -Jacob. He does not omit to pray for the king. It is right to pray for our -rulers. The reason they are not better, oftentimes, is just because we do -not pray for them. - -And now the spies rush to the king and say, “O Darius, live for ever! Do -you know there is a man here in your kingdom who will not obey you?” - -“Will not obey me? Who is he?” - -“Why, that man Daniel.” - -And the king says: “I know he will not bow down and worship me. I know -that Daniel worships the God of Heaven.” - -Then the king sets his heart to deliver him, all the day, from those -hundred and twenty men. But they come to him and say: “If you break your -law, your kingdom will depart. Your subjects will no longer obey you. You -must drive him to the lions’ den.” - -So Darius is compelled to yield, and at last he gives the word to have -Daniel sent away and cast into the den of lions. These men take good care -to have the den filled with the most hungry beasts of Babylon. He is -thrown headlong into the den, but the angel of God flies down, and Daniel -lights unharmed on the bottom. The lions’ mouths are stopped. They are -as harmless as lambs. The old prophet, at the wonted hour, drops on his -knees and prays, with his face toward Jerusalem, as calmly as he did in -his chamber. And when it gets later he just lays his head on one of the -lions and goes to sleep. Undoubtedly no one in all Babylon sleeps more -sweetly than does Daniel in the lions’ den. - -In the palace, the king can not sleep. He orders his chariot, and early -in the morning rattles over the pavement and jumps down at the lions’ -den. I see the king alight from his chariot in eager haste, and hear him -cry down through the mouth of the den: “O Daniel, servant of the living -God! Is thy God, whom thou reverest continually, able to deliver thee -from the lions?” - -Hark! Why, it is a resurrection voice! It is Daniel, saying: “My God is -able. He hath sent one of His angels, and hath shut the lions’ mouths.” - -I can see them now just embrace each other, and together they jump into -the chariot and away they go back to the palace to breakfast. - -I want to say something further about Daniel. I want to refer to how an -angel came to him, and, as we read in the twelfth chapter of Daniel, told -him he was a man greatly beloved. Another angel had come to him with the -same message. It is generally thought this last angel was the same one -spoken of in Revelations--first chapter and thirteenth verse--as coming -to John when banished to the Isle of Patmos. People thought he was sent -off there alone, but he was not; the angel of God was with him. - -And so with Daniel. Here, in the tenth chapter and fifth verse, he says: -“Then I lifted up mine eyes, and behold, a certain man clothed with fine -linen, and otherwise arrayed as God’s messenger, who cried: ‘O Daniel, a -man greatly beloved, understand the words which I speak unto thee, and -stand upright, for unto thee am I now sent.’” - -It was Daniel’s need that brought him from the glory land. It was the -Son of God right by his side in that strange land. And that was the -second time when the word came to him, saying he was greatly beloved. -Yes, three times a messenger came from the throne of God to tell him -this. I love to speak of that precious verse in the eleventh chapter--the -thirty-second verse: “The people that do know their God shall be strong -and do exploits.” I also love to speak of the twelfth chapter and second -and third verses: “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth -shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting -contempt; and they that be wise shall shine as the stars of the -firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever -and ever.” - -This was the angel’s comfort to Daniel, and a great comfort it was. -The fact with all of us is that we like to shine. There is no doubt -about that. Every mother likes her child to shine. If her boy shines at -school by reaching the head of his class, the proud mother tells all -the neighbors, and she has a right to do so. But it is not the great of -this world that will shine the brightest. For a few years they may shed -bright light, but they go out in darkness, without an inner brightness. -Supplying the brightness, they go out in black darkness. - -Where are the great men who did not know Daniel’s God? Did they shine -long? Why, we know of Nebuchadnezzar and the rest of them scarcely a -thing, except as they fill in the story about these humble men of God. -We are not told that statesmen shall shine; they may, for a few days or -years, but they are soon forgotten. Look at those great ones who passed -away in the days of Daniel. How wise in council they were! How mighty -and victorious over hundreds of nations! What gods upon earth they were! -Yet their names are forgotten--written only in the grave. Philosophers, -falsely so-called--do they live? Behold men of science--scientific men -they call themselves--going down into the bowels of the earth, digging -away at some carcass and trying to make it talk against the voice of God! -They shall go down to death, by-and-by, and their names shall rot. - -But the man of God shines. Yes, he it is who shall shine as the stars -for ever and ever. This Daniel has been gone for 2,500 years, but still -increasing millions read of his life and actions. And so it shall be -to the end. He will only be better known and better loved; he shall -ever shine the brighter as the world grows older. Of a truth, they that -be wise and turn many to righteousness shall shine on, like stars, to -eternity. - - -DAVID. - -You know how David fell. No man rose so high and fell so far, I think. -God took him from the sheepfold and put him upon a throne. He took him -from obscurity and made him king of Israel and Judea; gave him lands in -abundance, and would have given him more if he had wanted them. He was on -the pinnacle of glory, and honored among men. - -But one day, while looking out of a window, he saw a woman with whom he -became enamored. He yielded to the temptation, and ordered her to be -brought into the palace, and committed the terrible sin of adultery. -After that, as is the case with all men who commit a sin, he had to -commit another to cover it up, so he laid plans to kill her husband, and -ordered him to be put in a position in the ranks of his army so that he -could be killed. - -Months rolled away, and one day Nathan came into the palace of the king. -I can imagine that David was glad to see him. Nathan began to tell him -about two men who dwelt in a certain city. The one was rich, the other -poor; one had herds and flocks, and the other had only a little ewe lamb, -and he went on to tell how this rich man seized this ewe lamb, all that -the poor man had, and slew it. I can see the anger of David as it flashed -from his eye when he heard the story, and he cried: “As the Lord liveth, -the man that hath done this thing shall surely die.” He turned to Nathan, -and in tones of thunder demanded who the man was. “Thou art the man.” -This was the reply of Nathan. David had convicted himself. “The man who -did this thing shall die.” Then the Lord said: “I will raise up evil -against thee out of thine own house, because thou hast kept this thing -secret.” - -Soon after this the hand of death was put upon that house. Not -only did death enter David’s house, but it was not long before his -eldest son committed adultery with his sister, and another committed -murder--murdered his own brothers, and went off into a foreign land into -exile. Then he got up a rebellion and drove the king from the throne, and -at last died and was buried like a dog, and they heaped stones upon his -resting place. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” David -committed adultery, and so did his son; David committed murder, and his -son did the same. He was paid back in his own coin. He learned the truth -of this passage: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” - - -ELIJAH. - -Let us go to Carmel for a few minutes. - -King Ahab had forsaken the God of Israel, and all the court people and -“upper ten” had followed his example. But there was an old prophet out -in the mountains, to whom God said: “Go to Ahab, and tell him the heavens -shall be shut up and there shall be no rain.” - -Away he goes to the wicked king. He bursts in upon him like a clap of -thunder, gives his message and hurries away. - -I suppose Ahab laughed at the old prophet. “What! No more rain? Why, the -fellow must be crazy.” - -Pretty soon the weather gets very dry. The earth is parched, and begins -to crack open. The rivers have but little water in them, and the brooks -dry up altogether. The trees die; all the grass perishes, and the cattle -die, too. Famine--starvation--death! If rain does not come pretty soon, -there will not be a live man or woman left in all the kingdom. - -One day the king was talking with the prophet, Obadiah. - -You see, he did have one good man near him, along with all the prophets -of the false god. Almost anybody likes to have one good man within reach, -even if he is ever so bad. He may be wanted in a hurry some time. - -“See here, Obadiah!” says King Ahab. “You go one way and I will go -another, and we will see if we can find some water somewhere.” - -Obadiah has not gone a great way before Elijah bursts out upon him. - -“O Elijah! Is that you? Ahab has been hunting for you everywhere, and -could not find you. He has sent off into all the kingdoms about, to have -them fetch you, if you were there.” - -“Yes; I am here,” says Elijah. “You go and tell Ahab I want to see him.” - -“I dare not do that,” says Obadiah, “for just as soon as I tell him you -are here, the Spirit will catch you away and take you off somewhere else, -and then the king will be very angry, and maybe he will kill me.” - -“No,” says Elijah. “As the Lord liveth, I will meet Ahab face to face -this day.” - -So Obadiah hurries off to find Ahab, and tells him he has seen the -prophet. - -“What! Elijah?” - -“Yes.” - -“Why didn’t you bring him along?” - -“He would not come. He says he wants you to come to him.” - -Ahab was not used to have people talk that way to him, but he was anxious -to see the prophet, so he went. And when he sees Elijah he is very angry, -and asks: - -“Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” - -“Not at all,” says Elijah. “You are the man that is troubling -Israel--going off after Baal, and leading ever so many of the people -with you. Now, we have had enough of this sort of thing. Some people -are praying to God and some are praying to Baal, and we must have this -question settled. You just bring all your prophets and all the priests of -Baal up to Mount Carmel, and I also will come. We will make us each an -altar, and offer sacrifice on it; and the god that answereth by fire, let -Him be God.” - -“Agreed,” says Ahab. And away he goes to tell his priests and get ready -for the trial. - -I fancy that was a great day when this question was decided. - -All the places of business were closed, and everybody was going up to -Mount Carmel. There must have been more people on Mount Carmel than there -are today at the races.[A] A better class of people, too. - - [A] This was said on Derby Day, in Opera House, Haymarket, - London. - -There were eight hundred and fifty of the prophets and priests of Baal -altogether. I fancy I can see them all, going up in a grand procession, -with the king in his chariot at their head. - -“Fine-looking men, aren’t they?” says one man to another, as they go by. -“They will be able to do great things up there on the mountain.” - -But there Elijah marched, all alone--a rough man, clad in the skins of -beasts, with a staff in his hand. No banners, no procession, no great men -in his train! But the man who could hold the keys of Heaven for three -years and six months was not afraid to be alone. - -Now, Elijah says to the people: “How long will ye halt between two -opinions? Let the priests of Baal build them an altar and offer -sacrifice, but put no fire under, and I will do the same; and the god -that answereth by fire, let Him be God.” - -So the priests of Baal build their altar. - -I am sure that, if God had not held him back, Satan would have brought up -a little spark out of hell to set that sacrifice on fire. But God would -not let him. - -Then they begin to pray: “O Baal, hear us! O Baal, hear us!” - -Elijah might have said: “Why haven’t you prayed to Baal for water this -dry weather? You might just as well have asked him for water as for fire.” - -After a long time they begin to get hoarse. - -“You must pray louder than that, if you expect Baal to hear you,” says -the old prophet. “Maybe he is asleep. Pray louder, so as to wake him up.” - -Poor fellows! They haven’t any voice left. So they begin to pray in -blood. They now cut themselves with knives, and lift their streaming -hands and arms to Baal. But no fire comes down. - -It is getting toward sundown. - -The prophet of the Lord builds an altar. Mind you, he does not have any -thing to do with the altar of Baal. He builds an entirely different one, -on the ruins of the altar of the Lord, which had been broken down. - -“We will not have any one saying there is any trick about this thing,” -says the prophet. So they bring twelve barrels of water and pour over the -altar. I do not know how they managed to get so much water, but they did -it. - -Then Elijah prays: “O God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, let it be -known this day that Thou art God in Israel.” - -He did not have to pray very loud. God heard him at once, and down came -the fire. It burnt up the sacrifice--burnt up the wood--burnt up the -water--burnt up the very stones of the altar. Jehovah is God; nobody can -halt any longer. - -Ah, but some of you say: “I, too, would have decided for God if I had -been on Mount Carmel that day.” But Calvary is far more wonderful than -Carmel. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross is more wonderful than the -sacrifice which was burnt on that altar. - - -GIDEON. - -I believe this man Gideon was called an enthusiast in the camp of Israel. -The very idea of his going out to meet a hundred thousand men with -pitchers and lanterns! How many people would have said: “The man has gone -clean mad.” Yes, he was an enthusiast; but the Lord was with him. - -If we lean upon ourselves we will have failure, but if we lean upon the -arm of God we will see how swiftly God will give us victory. God wants -the glory, and no flesh shall glory in His stead. Look at what He said to -Gideon. - -Gideon had called in an army of thirty-two thousand men. The Lord said -to him: “You have too many men. If I give you victory, Israel will vaunt -themselves against Me, saying: ‘My own hand hath saved me.’ You can not -work with so many, because I must have the glory. Just say to all that -are fearful: ‘Depart if you want to.’” - -So Gideon proclaimed, in accordance with God’s command, saying: -“Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from -Mount Gilead.” And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand, -and there remained ten thousand. - -I can imagine that Gideon became a little scared at first. Only ten -thousand left! But the Lord came again, and said: “Gideon, you have -got too many men. If I work with them, you will take the glory.” So he -brought down the people unto the water, and the Lord said unto Gideon: -“Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, -him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon -his knees to drink.” - -Three hundred lapped and ninety-seven hundred wheeled out of line. I -can imagine they were like many Christians. What can God do with those -who are like those of Gideon’s army who were full of fears and doubts? -Look at the reduction in that great army. But three hundred men with the -Almighty! Three hundred men that side with God can be a power for God. -Three hundred like Gideon’s men will move any city. What a routing there -was before that band! They fly like chaff before the wind. Do not call -any thing small of God. - - -ITTAI. - -I will read a few verses in the fifteenth chapter of Second Samuel, -beginning at the nineteenth verse: - -“Then said the king to Ittai, the Gittite: ‘Wherefore goest thou also -with us? Return to thy place, and abide with the king; for thou art a -stranger, and also an exile. - -“‘Whereas, thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up -and down with us? Seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back -thy brethren. Mercy and truth be with thee.’ - -“And Ittai answered the king, and said: ‘As the Lord liveth, and as my -lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, -whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.’ - -“And David said to Ittai: ‘Go, and pass over.’ And Ittai, the Gittite, -passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with them. - -“And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed -over. The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the -people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.” - -What must have been the feeling of David when he got outside the city and -found this foreigner and stranger out there with six hundred men, ready -and willing to go with him! He had had three men who sat at his table, -and in the hour of trial, in the hour of trouble, they had deserted him. -It is in the time of darkness that we find out our friends. You find then -who are your friends. - -Now, David was in trouble, and here was this Ittai standing right by him. -How that must have cheered the heart of the king! He had been driven -from the throne by Absalom, and the whole kingdom seemed to be going -with Absalom. Absalom and those who were with him were planning to take -the life of David, but here we find this stranger--this man Ittai--just -following David; and when David told him to go back, see what he says. I -think it is one of the sweetest things in the whole life of David: - -“Then said the king to Ittai, the Gittite: ‘Wherefore goest thou also -with us? Return to thy place, and abide with the king; for thou art a -stranger, and also an exile. - -“‘Whereas, thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up -and down with us? Seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back -thy brethren. Mercy and truth be with thee.’” - -Here was a man who was attached to a person. That was the point I wanted -to call your attention to. We are living, I think, in the day of shams. -There are a good many people who are attached to creeds, denominations -and churches. They are attached to this and to that, instead of a person. -Creeds and churches are all right in their places, but if a man puts -them in the place of the Savior and the personal Christ, then they are -but snares. He would be willing to give up every thing but Christ in the -hour of trouble, and if he is attached to Christ he will be able to say: -“Wherever Thou goest I go.” David had nothing to offer this man. There he -was--barefooted and leaving the throne. Ittai was attached to the man. - -David was every thing to Ittai, and life was nothing. No man had better -friends than David had in his day. What we want is to be attached to the -Lord Jesus Christ as Ittai was attached to David. - - -JACOB. - -The key to all Jacob’s difficulties will be found in the twentieth -chapter of Matthew. It is the story of the laborers in the vineyard. -The thought is in the second verse. The first men hired agreed to the -bargain. The men would not go until the owner of the vineyard had made a -bargain with them. He told them that he would pay them what was right. -They got a penny. He gave them the lawful wages. They probably asked: -“And is this all you are going to give us?” - -Jacob was all the time making bargains. - -The Christians who are making bargains with the Lord do not get as much -as those who trust Him. It does not pay to make bargains with the Lord. - -Jacob is a twin brother of most of us. Where you find one Joseph or one -Daniel you will find a hundred Jacobs. We are not willing, all of us, to -take God at His word and trust Him. There is a strong contrast between -the character of Joseph and Jacob. The one trusted God implicitly, but -Jacob wanted to trust Him no farther than he could see God. There would -have been a great deal of murmuring if Jacob had been thrown into jail in -Egypt. - -No doubt Jacob got much of his weakness from his mother. There was a -division in that home. Isaac favored Esau, and Rebekah favored Jacob. -Such dissensions are just the thing to stir up the old Adam in the man. -A mother and a father have no right to take this course. Rebekah plans -continually to keep Jacob at home. The very thing that Rebekah tries to -achieve, in that she fails. By nature Esau was the better of the two. If -such a mean and contemptible nature as Jacob’s can be saved, then there -is hope for all of us. - -The Lord promised to Jacob from the bottom of the ladder what he should -have. Jacob gets up and says: “If God will be with me and keep and -clothe me, then shall the Lord be my God.” What a low and contemptible -idea he had! God had promised him all from Dan to Beersheba. - -That is the difficulty with the people at the present time. If God will -bless us in our basket and store, we shall have Him for our God. We find -Jacob after this in Haran, driving bargains all the time, and the worst -of it is he gets beat every time. He had to work seven years for his -wife, and then gets another woman in her place. He is paid back in his -own coin. We must not think that God will allow us to deceive without -punishing us for it. Jacob forgot all the vows which he made at Bethel, -but God did not forget His. Some of God’s promises are unconditional. The -promise which He made at Bethel was unconditional. - -God chose Jacob rather than Esau. Some people say that God hated Esau -before he was born. This is not the teaching of Scripture, even though -one of the minor prophets long years after mentioned it. God says to -Jacob after he had been in Haran for so many years: “I am the God of -Bethel. Arise and dwell there.” - -Jacob ought to have been proud, and should have left Haran like a prince, -but instead he steals away like a thief. He starts off, and his uncle and -father-in-law pursue. God took care of him. God was determined to keep -His vows, and there is no doubt that, had not God interfered, Jacob would -have been slain. - -We find that Jacob stays behind, like a miserable coward, after he had -sent his effects away. A man out of communication with God is a coward -always. - -There was a man who wrestled with Jacob. He was Christ. When did Jacob -prevail? When his thigh was out of joint all he could do was to hold on -and get the blessing. The man who is the lowest down is the man whom God -lifts up the highest. The man that has the greatest humility will be the -most exalted. - -A great many say that Jacob was a different man. Would to God his thigh -had been left out of joint, so that there was no more of the flesh in -him. The next thing, we find Jacob and Esau embracing, and we would -suppose that he would be filled with gratitude. But no. He goes down to -Shechem and builds an altar and calls it by a high-sounding name. Jacob -in Shechem, with this altar with a high-sounding name, was no better than -he was in Haran without an altar. He built an altar, finally, at Bethel. -He said that he would go to Bethel and build an altar to his God, as if -the Shechem altar was no altar. He called it El-Bethel. Just the moment -he came to Bethel the Lord God met him. - -The next thing we hear is the saddest episode in the career of Jacob--the -death of Rachel, his favorite wife. His sons go back to Shechem, and -hunt up the old idols. His sons bring him back news from there that his -most dearly loved son was dead. Do you see how Jacob begins to reap the -harvest of the sins of his early days? For twenty long years he mourned -that beloved boy. He deceived his own father, and his own sons, in turn, -deceived him. - -What a bitter life! What was Jacob’s dying testimony to Pharaoh? It would -take ten thousand Jacobs to get one convert like Pharaoh. “Few and evil,” -said Jacob, “have my days been.” He started with a lie in his mouth. He -died in exile. He died in Egypt--not in the land which God had promised -him. He would not let God choose for him. He was saved by fire--or, as -Job said, by the skin of his teeth. - - -JACOB’S SONS. - -Look at the sons of Jacob. Look at them when they took away their -brother, and after they had delivered him into slavery see them coming -back. How much they must have suffered with their secret during those -twenty years! What misery they must have endured as they looked, during -all those years, at their old father sorrowing for his son, Joseph! They -knew the boy had not been killed. They knew he was in slavery. - -For twenty years the sin was covered up, but at last it came back upon -them. God had, in the meantime, been doing every thing for Joseph. He had -raised him nearly to the throne of Egypt. - -A famine struck the land of the father, and the old man sent his sons -down into Egypt to purchase corn. God was at work. He was making these -men bring their own sin home to themselves. Their consciences smote them, -and they confessed, in the presence of Joseph, that their sin had found -them out. Twenty years after it was committed that sin was resurrected, -and they were brought face to face with it. “He that covereth his sin -shall not prosper.” - - -JOHN THE BAPTIST. - -I want to call your attention to John, the forerunner of Christ. On -hearing the news of the death of the king Joseph brings Jesus back to -Nazareth, and there He remained for thirty years. - -I once read of the founder of the Russian Empire going down to a Dutch -sea port as a stranger and in disguise, that he might learn how to build -ships and return home and impart this knowledge to his own subjects. -People have wondered at that. But this is a far greater wonder, that the -Prince of Glory should come down here and learn the carpenter’s trade. -He was not only the son of a carpenter, but He was a carpenter Himself. -His father was a carpenter, and He was a carpenter, too, for we read that -they brought it up against Him that He was a carpenter. We read: - -“And when He was come into His own country, He taught them in their -synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said: ‘Whence hath -this man this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s -son?’” - -Right here is one lesson that we ought to learn, and that is, when Christ -was here He was an industrious man. I have often said on this platform -that I have never known a lazy man to be converted. If one ever was -converted, he soon gave up his laziness. I tell you that laziness does -not belong to Christ’s Kingdom. I do not believe a man would have a lazy -hair in his head if he was converted to the Lord Jesus Christ. If a man -has really been born of the Spirit of Christ, he is not lazy. He wants -to find something to do, and no kind of manual labor is degrading. It -is honorable. If our Master, who is the Prince of Peace and the King -of Glory, could leave Heaven and come down here and work as a village -carpenter, let us not think that manual labor is beneath our notice. Let -us be willing to go out and work. If we can not find what we want, let us -do what we can. If we can earn only twenty-five cents a day, let us earn -that rather than do nothing. We not only want something to occupy our -hands, but also our minds. - -But this is not the point of the lecture this morning. I want to go back -to those two wonderful men. - -The thirty years have rolled away, and it is now time that this wonderful -Messiah should come unto the nation. The Scriptures have been fulfilled, -and the first sound we hear of His coming is that strange voice crying in -the wilderness. - -Those thirty years that have just expired were as nothing to the nation. -Undoubtedly, the rumors about those two children, which created a great -sensation at the time, had died out. The story of the shepherds on the -plains of Bethlehem had gone out of popular recollection--faded away. The -story of this child being brought into the Temple, and that old man and -that old woman coming in there just at the time--that wonderful scene had -faded away. Many who were in the Temple at that time had gone. Zacharias -and Elizabeth had passed away, and the Roman Empire had also died, after -sending out a decree that the country should be taxed. Herod was also -dead. - -A great change had taken place in thirty years. You just carry your minds -back through thirty years, and see how many who stood with you thirty -years ago--with whom you were acquainted--have gone, and are sleeping in -their graves. - -If the Holy Ghost had not come after Christ went to Heaven, the story of -His death and His resurrection would have been forgotten as soon as His -birth and His life. No doubt about that. It is that which has kept the -memory of Christ in the world, and His name so fresh and fragrant. The -Holy Ghost has come down here to keep in our minds the glory and beauty -of Christ. Now, we find His forerunner comes. - -Matthew says: “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the -wilderness.” - -Mark says: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness.” - -Luke says: “The word of God came unto John, the son of Zacharias, in the -wilderness.” - -John’s account is: “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.” - -The last prophet had closed up his prophecy by saying that John should -come before the Messiah, and that he should be the herald who would come -to introduce Him. Now, these four evangelists all take up their pens, and -they all notice it. - -You know, if you let any four men write up any one thing, they will -not all write about it alike. Why, when men went to the Centennial, at -Philadelphia, not any four of them wrote about it alike. Let a man come -in here, and let any four of us look at him. One will get a side view -of him, one a front view, and so on; and no two of the four will see him -alike. - -So these evangelists wrote about John, but not one of the four used the -same language. You know, it was said he was to be like Elijah. Well, he -looked like him, dressed like him, and his preaching was like him. - -He came suddenly and unexpectedly upon the world, and it was not long -before his voice rang clear through the whole nation, and the whole -nation was stirred. He stood between the two dispensations. He was the -last prophet the new dispensation was to have. They had had some mighty -prophets--wonderful men; but this man was to be the last one. - -Now, we find this man standing there, as it were, between these two -dispensations; and when he commenced to preach his preaching was very -much like that of Elijah. He was a reformer. His cry was: “Repent! -Reform!” - -But if he had stopped there his reform would have died out with him. A -great many reformations die out with the reformers because they cry out: -“Repent! Repent! Reform! Reform!” but they do not get any farther than -that. Thank God, John had something else to tell them. He did not stop -at “Repent! Repent!” He kept telling them there was One coming mightier -than himself. Undoubtedly that was what thrilled the nation. Talk about -sensation! There was never a nation moved as that one nation was moved by -John the Baptist. - -In these days, if certain persons want to stir a town or city, they need -to influence the leading men of that city to stand around them, help -them and pray for them. But there stood John the Baptist, preaching in -the wilderness, without any influence of your committee. He did not have -Mr. Sankey to sing for him to draw out the people. He stood there upon -the banks of the Jordan alone, preaching the glorious tidings that the -Messiah was coming after him, and he probably was preaching this to the -lowest beggar in the land. - -There John was in the wilderness, dressed like his predecessor, Elijah. -There he was, preaching in the wilderness; and just bear in mind, it was -not any milk-and-water preaching. He gave the message just as God gave it -to him. I suppose, if he had some of the Christians of the present day -there, they would have said: “Do not be so bold; be mild about it. Don’t -you know you must use a little moderation about this? Come, John! If you -talk against these Pharisees they will cut your head off.” - -But that did not enter his mind. It was not what they wanted. It was -what God gave him to deliver; and if any man just takes the message and -delivers it as God gives it to him, I tell you God will stand by him. -He is going to succeed--mind that. He may be unsuccessful at first; his -labor may seem to be unprofitable for a time, and people may turn away. -But the time will come when his words will cut deep down into their -hearts and lead them to salvation. - -Then the people began to tremble. They had no newspapers then to print -the sermons; they had no telegraph wires to flash them over the country. -But one man just took the matter up and passed it to the next, and so -on, and very soon it was spread over the whole country. - -“There he is,” they said, “dressed just like Elijah, with his leathern -girdle and his raiment of camel’s hair.” He comes out about 9 o’clock in -the morning, and there he stands on the banks of the Jordan, and there -he continues his talk. Day after day he is seen there, and his cry is: -“Repent! Repent!” And that was his appeal. - -Well, it is not very long before every city, town and village has heard -of this wonder. John preached the law just as it was given him, and as a -specimen of his preaching just read this. See how bold he was: - -“Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him: ‘O -generation of vipers!’” - -O generation of vipers! Pretty hard talk, wasn’t it? I don’t know as you -could get many people into this Tabernacle by such talk as that. But he -knew what he was doing. He knew they hated his Master. He knew that, -away down in their hearts, they were at enmity with God. Read a little -farther, and see what he said: - -“O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to -come? - -“Bring forth, therefore, fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to -say within yourselves: ‘We have Abraham to our father.’ For I say unto -you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” - -He knew the men pretty well. I do not know where he had been all these -thirty years. But he had found out the human heart. He had found out -human nature pretty well. And those people undoubtedly said: “We belong -to the seed of Abraham. We are the descendants of Abraham. We do not -need to be converted. We have got the law from Moses, and we obey that. -Let these poor dogs of Gentiles be converted. It is not for us.” - -And that is just the doctrine now. - -“We do not need to be converted. John a first-rate reformer? Oh, yes; -but that does not touch us. We go to church regularly. It is for these -publicans and harlots. That kind of preaching is not for us. Oh, it is -all good enough--all very good.” - -And no doubt they would put up a Tabernacle for them--for the harlots and -drunkards to go to. - -“Oh, no! That preaching is not for us. It is good enough for them, but we -do not need to go. We are the seed of Abraham. We belong to Moses, and we -are not such bad men. What do you mean by conversion? We do not need to -be born again. What do we need to be born again for? We pay our debts. We -are good men.” - -See? That same old spirit. Eighteen hundred years have rolled away, and -you find human nature the same. John knew them pretty well. - -“I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children -unto Abraham.” - -You need not flatter yourselves that you are better than the other -people. God can make children right out of these stones, and make them -the seed of Abraham. - -“And now, also, the ax is laid unto the root of the tree; every tree, -therefore, which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into -the fire. - -“And the people asked him, saying: ‘What shall we do, then?’” - -See! They had an inquiry meeting, right there on the banks of the Jordan. - -“He answereth, and saith unto them: ‘He that hath two coats, let him -impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.’ - -“Then came, also, publicans to be baptized, and said unto him: ‘Master, -what shall we do?’ - -“And he said unto them: ‘Exact no more than that which is appointed you.’ - -“And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying: ‘And what shall we -do?’ And he said unto them: ‘Do violence to no man, neither accuse any -falsely, and be content with your wages.’” - -Now, that was his preaching up to the time that Christ came. As I said -before, it was: “Repent! Repent! Reform! Reform!” And you may tell these -men they ought to do better; but if you do not tell them how, you can not -save them. Now, we find here, in this fifteenth verse, that they were -looking for something more: - -“And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts -of John, whether he were the Christ or not, John answered, saying unto -them all: ‘I, indeed, baptize you with water; but One mightier than I -cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose. He shall -baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. - -“‘Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and -will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff He will burn with -fire unquenchable.’ - -“And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.” - -Now, what a chance there was for John to have let self come in! When -people were wondering in their hearts if he was not the true Messiah--if -he was not Christ--he might have been tempted to come out and say he was -more than himself--that he was Christ. But there was this commendable -trait about John: He never preached up self. - -He was preparing the nation to receive the Lord of Glory. He had come -merely to introduce Him. He was nothing. Just as a man comes and -introduces a friend to you, he barely introduces him and steps aside. He -does not put himself forward. - -So John introduces the Son of God, and then begins to fade away, and soon -is gone. He had not come to introduce himself, but to preach Christ. - -And let me say, right here, that this is the very height of preaching. -When they begin to wonder who he is, he just comes right out and says: “I -am not Jesus. I am only just one sent to introduce Him. I have come for -that purpose. I have not come to preach up myself, but Him that is mighty -to save.” - -And then we find that while his star was just at its height, while he was -just about at the zenith of his glory, while people were flocking in from -the towns and villages to hear him, the chief rulers of Jerusalem send -down a deputation to inquire what this religion meant. They appointed -some influential men to find him out, and they said to him: “We have been -sent by the chief priest of Jerusalem to find out who you are. Are you -Christ?” And John answered: “No.” “Well, who are you? Are you this man -or that man?” “No.” “Are you this prophet or that prophet?” “No.” “Well, -who are you?” - -Did he say: “I am Jesus”? No. “Merely Mr. Nobody--merely a voice crying -in the wilderness.” - -What a message that was to send back to Jerusalem! He was not trying to -put himself forward. He was all the time trying to get out of self. In -the nineteenth verse and first chapter of John we read: - -“And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites -from Jerusalem to ask him: ‘Who art thou?’ - -“And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed: ‘I am not the Christ.’ - -“And they asked him: ‘What, then? Art thou Elias?’ And he saith: ‘I am -not.’ ‘Art thou the prophet?’ And he answered: ‘No.’ - -“Then said they unto him: ‘Who art thou? That we may give an answer to -them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?’ - -“He said: ‘I am the voice of One crying in the wilderness. Make straight -the way of the Lord, as said the prophet, Esaias.’ - -“And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. - -“And they asked him, and said unto him: ‘Why baptize thou, then, if thou -be not Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?’ - -“John answered them, saying: ‘I baptize with water; but there standeth -One among you whom ye know not. He it is who, coming after me, is -preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am unworthy to unloose.’ - -“These things were done in Bethabara, beyond Jordan, where John was -baptizing.” - -Now, this was the day, I say, when John was at the very zenith of his -glory; but see how noble he stood. He did not take any honor or glory to -himself, and in two different places he declared that he knew not this -Stranger that he was the herald of--his Messiah. - -Some are trying to make out that this was all planned by John and Jesus, -that he should say he did not know Him. But he declares in two places -that he did not know Him. They were brought up in two extremes of the -country--one in the northern part of it, Nazareth, and the other at -Hebron. - -Talk about eloquence! John was one of the most eloquent men, I suppose, -that ever lived. He was the herald of God, and when the nation was in a -terrible state of excitement, and the chief priests of Jerusalem, and -even the king himself, went to hear him. - -There he stood on the banks of the Jordan. I can see the men and women -on both sides of the river--little children, mothers with their babes -in their arms--all intensely excited and leaning forward to catch what -he says. “Now,” says John, “if you believe what I say, that if you have -broken the law given at Sinai you have sinned, to be forgiven you must -repent and come down into this Jordan, and I will baptize you in the name -of the God of Hebron.” - -The people went in by scores and hundreds, and there he baptized them. -And as he stood there baptizing them I can imagine about twenty thousand -people hanging upon his lips. There was a man came down through the -crowd. I can imagine that John was a man who looked as though he was more -like a mountain eagle, but his wings seemed to droop. That eye which -had been so keen and so severe on the Israelites when he called them a -generation of vipers became lusterless, his face fell and he shook his -head, as this Stranger came. - -I suppose, as He came walking along toward John, God revealed the fact to -him and said: “This is My Son. This is the Savior of the world. This is -the Prince of Peace.” And when John saw Him he quailed before Him, and he -said: “I have need to be baptized of Thee.” - -What excitement! How it must have thrilled the audience as John drew -back and said: “I have need to be baptized of Thee.” John knew Him. John -at once recognized Him. He knew He was the promised One of the law. -John said: “I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?” -But Jesus said unto him: “Suffer it to be so now, that the law may be -fulfilled.” Now, what excitement as these two men went down into the -river together! - -Oh, if Jordan could speak it could tell some wonderful stories! Wonderful -scenes have taken place there. Naaman had gone into that river and -washed, and had come forth clean. Elijah, going up with his mantle, -struck the water and went over dry-shod, as also did Elisha after Elijah -had ascended. But a more wonderful scene was taking place in Jordan than -ever took place before. It was of transcendent interest to all mankind. - -Our Lord was going down into Jordan to be baptized, and He was going to -come up on resurrection ground. So He goes down with John the Baptist, -and the moment He was baptized and came up out of the water the heavens -were opened unto Him, and the Spirit of God descended upon Him like a -dove, and alighted upon Him. Heaven witnessed the scene. God the Father -spoke then. He broke the silence of ages. The God of the Old Testament -was the Christ of the New. And he heard a voice from Heaven, saying: -“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” - -Some one says that was the first time God could look down on the world -since Adam fell and say that He was well pleased. In Hebrews, tenth -chapter and seventh verse, we read: - -“Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me) to do Thy -will, O God.” - -He was the Son that was born above. The heavens opened and the Holy Ghost -descended upon Him. The Spirit of the Lord came down on Him, and God owns -Him and recognizes Him. - -Now, there is another thought to which I want to call your attention. -John’s preaching changed. But he was not like many men of the present -day, who want to reform the world without Christ, who set a good example -and tell men to sign pledges and to do this or that, and to trust in -their own strength. - -The moment John got his eye on Christ he had one text: “Behold the Lamb -of God that taketh away the sins of the world.” That is how you are going -to get rid of your sins. Says John: “I bear record of this in the Son of -God.” And he told his disciples: “Now, you follow Him. Go with Him.” - -One afternoon, as he sat there with his disciples, he said: “Behold -the Lamb of God!” And they left him to follow Jesus--two of his own -disciples. I tell you that is something which you do not like to do--to -make your friends leave you; to preach them away--your own congregation. -But now this man begins to ask his disciples to leave him. “Why,” said -he, “I tell you I am not worthy to just unloose His shoes. He is more -worthy than I am. Follow Him.” He began to preach up Christ. “He must -increase; I must decrease.” - -Some of his disciples came to him one day and said: “You know that Man -you baptized over there in the Jordan? Well, more men are coming to Him -than are coming to you.” That was jealousy--envy rankling in those men’s -bosoms. But what did John say? “I told you that I was not He. Why, He -must increase, and I must decrease. That’s right, I would rather see the -crowd flocking to hear Him.” - -John, I think, was terribly abused by some one. He was cast into prison. -Then he sent two of his disciples to inquire of Christ if He was the true -Messiah, or must he look for another. I do not know, but I have an idea -that he wanted his disciples to leave him and go over to Jesus. So he -called two of his most influential disciples and told them: “Now, you go -and ask Him if He is the true Messiah.” I can not believe in John’s faith -wavering; but, if he was wavering, he took the very best way, and sent -those men to ask the Savior. - -I see his deputation arrive, and when Jesus had finished preaching these -disciples come up and say: “Our master has sent us to ask if You are the -true Messiah? Or, shall he look for another?” - -Jesus goes on healing the sick, causing the lame to leap, giving sight to -the blind, making the deaf to hear, and after He had gone on performing -these miracles He said to John’s messengers: “You go back and tell your -master what you have seen and what you have heard. Go back and tell John -that the blind see; that the deaf hear; that the lame walk, and that the -poor have the Gospel preached to them.” - -When John heard that, in prison, it settled all his doubts. His disciples -believed, and the poor had the Gospel preached to them. That was the -test, and then John’s disciples, one after another, left him. And now -we find him thrown into prison. There he is, in prison--awaiting his -appointed time. - -Just bear in mind that God had sent him. His work was done. He had only -just come to announce the Savior--only for that object. Some think that -Christ’s treatment of John was rather hard--in fact, harsh; but the -greatest tribute ever paid to any man was paid by Jesus to John. - -“But what went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they -that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. - -“But what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more -than a prophet. - -“For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send my messenger -before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.’ - -“Verily, I say unto you: ‘Among them that are born of women there has not -risen a greater than John the Baptist; notwithstanding he that is least -in the kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.’” - -There was none greater than this same John. Our Savior knew that John was -going first. He knew that He was soon to die, and that John would have -to come to Him; that they would soon be together in Glory, and then they -could talk matters over; that John must sink out of sight, and the Lord -of Glory must be the central object. - -Jesus and John were like the Sun and Moon in comparison with the stars. -All the prophets were like the stars in comparison with those two men. -There was no prophet like John. None born of woman was greater. Moses was -a mighty prophet. Elijah was the son of thunder, and a great and mighty -prophet; and so was Elisha. But they were not to be compared with John. - -What a character! He lost sight of himself entirely. Christ was -uppermost; Christ was the all-in-all with him. He was beheaded outside -the Promised Land. He was buried in Moab, somewhere near where Moses -was laid away. The first and last prophet of that nation were buried -near together, and there they lie, outside the Promised Land; but their -bodies, by-and-by, will be resurrected, and they will be the grandest and -most glorious in God’s kingdom. - - -JOSHUA. - -Joshua was a man who walked by faith, and you will find the key to his -character in three words--courage, obedience and faith. - -Courage, obedience and faith. And he dared to be in the minority. - -Now, friends, there are very few men at the present time who like to be -in the minority. They always want to be in the majority. They want to go -with the crowd. But when a man has laid hold of the Divine nature of God, -and has become a product of the Divine nature, he is willing then to go -against the crowd of the world and be numbered with the minority. - -Where Joshua met the God of Israel first we are not told. We do not catch -a glimpse of him until the man is about forty years old. The first sight -we get of Joshua is as he comes up out of Egypt. We are told that after -Moses had struck the rock in Horeb and the children of Israel had drank -the water that came out of that rock--and that rock was typical of Christ -and of God’s pure throne--Amalek came out to fight them, and after they -had got a drink of this pure water they were willing to meet him. - -We find that Joshua’s first battle was successful, and that his last one -was successful. He never knew what defeat was. He was successful because -he believed in the Lord God of Heaven--because he had perfect faith in -God. Moses went up into the mountain to pray, and while he was praying -Joshua was down fighting Amalek. And when Moses held up his hand Israel -prevailed, and when he let down his hand Amalek prevailed. - -“And Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands--the one on the one side and the -other on the other side--and his hands were steady until the going down -of the sun.” - -His hands were up until Amalek was defeated. - -There is only one thing against Joshua. He was opposed to the preaching -of Eldad and Aminidab. He did not like to see Eldad and Aminidab out -there preaching in the camp, because they did not belong to the Apostolic -body. So he says to Moses: “I wish you would rebuke Eldad and Aminidab -for preaching in the camp. I do not want them to preach there.” - -But Moses said: “No! I will not rebuke Eldad and Aminidab. That’s just -what we want. I wish to God there were more of them.” - -After Moses rebuked Joshua we never hear him complaining any more about -Eldad and Aminidab. That is the only thing on record against him. The -next thing we hear of is the matter of those twelve spies, and I will -pass over that. You remember how they came back, and Joshua and Caleb -were the only two out of the twelve that dared to bring in a minority -report. But now the forty years’ wilderness journey is over, and during -all those forty years you can not find any place where Joshua or Caleb -ever murmured or complained. They were not of that kind. - -Now, as I said, the forty years’ wilderness journey is over, and Moses is -about to leave. He went up into Mount Nebo, and “God kissed away his soul -and buried him.” - -Then Joshua was commanded to take charge of the army. The word of the -Lord came to him, saying: “Joshua, arise and go over this Jordan. Moses, -my servant, is dead.” - -There was no president, no general, no marshal about it. There was no -title at all, but just merely: “Joshua, arise and go over this Jordan.” -Now, Joshua just obeyed, and here you will find the secret of his -wonderful success. He did just what the Lord told him to do. He did not -stand, like many people would have done, and say: “I don’t know how I -am going to get these people over. Hadn’t you better wait, Lord, until -the next day? How am I to get these three million people over this angry -flood? Hadn’t we better wait until the waters recede?” - -No! Joshua did not say that. He had got his command from God: “Arise and -go.” When the Lord gave orders, that was enough. He had got His word, and -he brings these children of Israel down in sight of the swollen stream. -Faith must be tried. God will not have people whom He can not try. - -Joshua brings them there in three days, in sight of the angry flood, with -not a word of murmuring. If he had brought them there forty years before, -what murmuring there would have been! We will get trained--every one of -us. - -They had had their faith tried in those forty years in the wilderness, -and now they murmured not. There was not a word of complaint. But forty -years before they would have asked, when they had got opposite Jericho: -“What is He going to do? How are we going to get over? We’ve got to have -a bridge or a pontoon. And even if we get over, they will see us and -defeat us. They will slay us here on the bank of Jordan. Guess we had -better turn around and go back.” - -That is about what they would have said, what they would have tried, and -what they would have done forty years before. But now Joshua tells the -people that the priests are to walk out in front of them, and that the -moment the priests touched the water--the moment the soles of their feet -touched the water--the water was to be cut off. - -There was faith for you! When those seven men took up the ark God was -with them, and the moment the soles of their feet touched the water the -waters were cut off, and they passed into the middle of the stream and -put down the ark. - -That ark represented the Almighty. He was in the ark, with the ark right -there in the midst of death--for Jordan is death and judgment--right in -the middle of the stream. He held that stream in the palm of His hand. -And now the people pass beyond--three millions of them. - -You can hear their solemn tread. Not a word said on their march through -death and judgment until Joshua led them on to Resurrection Ground. After -he had got them all over, he told twelve men--one from each tribe--to -take each a stone and set them up where the priests stood, so that when -their children asked “What mean ye by these stones?” they could tell how -the Almighty brought them through dangers into the Promised Land. - -Now, after they had placed their stones, the ark was brought up out of -the Jordan, and the waters rolled off. Instead of moving right on at -once to Jericho, the children of Israel stopped to keep the Passover. -They were in no hurry. They were willing to worship God. They kept the -Passover, and after that they started for Jericho. Jericho was shut off, -undoubtedly, and surely the hearts of those people were filled with fear. -Here the children of Israel had come to their country and their God had -brought them through the Red Sea with an out-stretched arm. Surely there -was a strange God among them. Jericho had no such God as that. He had -defended them and led them, and had given them light and life after that. - -But now Joshua just takes a walk around the walls of Jericho. God had -ordered him to take it, and he must. And as he was walking around, -viewing the walls of Jericho, all at once a man stood right in front of -him with a drawn sword right over him, and God said: “No man can be able -to stand before you all the days of your life.” And Joshua steps right up -to him, and asks: “Art thou for us or for our adversaries?” The stranger -answered: “I am captain of God’s host, come to lead you to victory.” - -Then Joshua fell on his face, and God talked with him. How many men -of the present time would have laughed at Joshua if they had been in -Jericho! How much sport they would have made of him! If there had been a -Jericho Herald, what articles would have come out! The idea of taking the -city in that way! The ark was to come out, and the priests were to blow -rams’ horns. That was very absurd, wasn’t it? Rams’ horns! - -Well, the seventh day came, and they were up quite early in the morning. -Here were these seven men blowing their rams’ horns, and the people going -around for the seventh time. At the end of the seventh time Joshua says: -“Shout, for the Lord has given you the city.” They shout, and down tumble -the walls of the city. Then they went up and entered Jericho, and every -man, woman and child of that city perished. God had given the order, and -His commands were obeyed. - -Now they move on to Ai. You know, after a victory is gained over some -large town they attack and take the little outlying towns. So, in this -case, they moved right on to Ai. Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, and -they came back and told him that just a few thousand men could take Ai; -and they go up and are repulsed. Then Joshua rends his clothes and falls -on his face, and asks God what the fault was. He knew the fault was in -the camp--not God’s. - -When they went into Jericho they were told not to touch one solitary -thing. But there was Acham, who saw a nice garment--perhaps he thought -it would be a nice dress for his wife. He also saw two hundred shekels -of silver and a wedge of gold, and he coveted all these things and took -them. He hid them, but he could not conceal them. He had to confess that -he had sinned against the Lord God of Israel. Those men of Ai were so -humbled that they could not stand before the Lord. - -After leaving Ai, we read that Joshua came to Mount Ebal, and there a -wonderful thing took place. On one side, on the slope of Mount Gerizim, -were half of the children of Israel, and on the other side, on the slope -of Mount Ebal, were the other half. There were three million people -gathered there, and the whole law of Moses was read over to them. - -It was a solemn sight. Moreover, all the law of God was read--not a -part, but the whole. Joshua read the blessings and cursings. He did not -stand up there like some one reading a moral essay and say that they -must be good for they were going into the Promised Land; that there were -blessings for them, and said nothing about the curses. No; he did not do -that. He read all. - -It says here, in the eighth chapter: “And all Israel and their elders and -officers and their judges stood on this side the ark and on that side, -before the priests, the Levites, which bore the ark of the covenant of -the Lord, as well the stranger as he that was born among them; half of -them over against Mount Gerizim and half of them over against Mount Ebal, -as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded before, that they should -bless the people of Israel. And afterward he read all the words of the -law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the -book of the law.” - -Now, mark that. “He read all the words of the law, the blessings and -cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law.” If -Joshua had been like many of the present day, he would have said to -himself: “I will read the blessings, but not the cursings. I do not -believe God is going to curse a man if he does wrong, so I will read -the blessings and omit the cursings.” But, thank God, he read the whole -law--the blessings and the cursings. He did not keep back any thing. “And -there was not a word of all that Moses commanded which Joshua read not.” -Thank God for such a man! That is the kind of men we want nowadays--men -who will not cut the Bible to pieces like the king who took out his -penknife and said: “I don’t like that; cut that out. I don’t like this; -cut this out.” So they cut and slashed the Bible until very little was -left. - -The thirty-third verse of the eighth chapter says they were all -there--“as well the stranger as he that was born among them.” You see, -Joshua made no distinction. He read to the stranger as well as to those -that were of the children of Israel. It was all read. - -And now Joshua is ready to move on. The law had been read, they had -worshiped their God, and they were ready to move on. Undoubtedly the -nations throughout that land had heard how this solemn assembly had met -on the mountain side and the law had been read. Now they are ready to -move on again. They had been there about three days. - -Some one now comes to Joshua with startling news. The messenger begins -with the question: “Joshua, have you heard that there is a confederacy -formed to oppose you? Instead of meeting one man you are to meet five. -They are coming down from the mountains with great regiments of giants. -Why, the mountains are full of the sons of Anak--full of giants--and some -of them are six feet high. Why, they are so big that they would scare our -own men to death. Why, one man came out and just shook his little finger -at our men, and scared them out of their lives. There was not a man who -dared to meet them. The whole land is full of giants. Do you know that -they have formed a confederacy? Five kings are coming down against you -with hordes of these giants.” - -I see the old warrior. He does not tremble at all. He had received the -word of God: “Joshua, be of good courage. No man shall be able to stand -against you.” He moved on in his godly armor and in the name of his -God, and he routed his adversaries. The hour was growing late, and he -commanded Sun and Moon to stand still, and they obeyed him. So there were -two days in one. He found the five kings hid away in a cave, and he took -them out and hanged them. He took thirty-one kings and kingdoms. He just -took that land by faith. - -Now, some people ask: “What right had he to come over and take that -land?” If you will read the fourth verse of the ninth chapter of -Deuteronomy, you will see what right he had. “Speak not thou in thine -heart, after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out from before thee, -saying: ‘For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this -land.’ But, for the wickedness of these nations, the Lord doth drive them -out from before thee.” - -That is why He drove them out. Their cup of iniquity was filled, and God -just dashed it to pieces. When any nation’s cup of iniquity is full, God -sweeps them away. - -Now, mark the Scripture: “Not for thy righteousness or for the -uprightness of thine heart dost thou go to possess their land; but, for -the wickedness of these nations, the Lord thy God hath driven them out -from before thee, and that He may perform the word which the Lord swore -unto thy fathers--Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” “Understand, therefore, that -the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy -righteousness; for thou art a stiff-necked people.” - -They were a stiff-necked people. It was not for the righteousness of the -children of Israel that the Lord gave them this land. He hated these -nations on account of their wickedness. - -Now, Joshua has overcome them and driven them from the face of the earth, -and this brings out one noble trait in his character. When he came to -divide up the land, Joshua took the poorest treasure himself, that he -might be near the ark. And there, on Mount Ephraim, he died at the -ripe old age of one hundred and ten years. During all those years not -a man was able to stand before him. See the contrast between his dying -testimony and that of Jacob! Jacob’s self-reproach was: “Few and evil -have the days of the years of my life been.” He had a stormy voyage. - -Look and see this old warrior going to rest. He had tried God forty -years. He had heard the crack of the slave driver’s whip, down there in -Egypt. But probably he had a praying mother, who talked to him about this -King of the Hebrews, about the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob, and -he believed in that God. When Moses came down into Egypt he found this -young man just in the prime of his life. Joshua recognized in Moses that -he was an instrument of the Almighty, and that the King of the Hebrews -had sent him there to deliver His people. - -Joshua had tried God forty years in the wilderness, and when eighty -years old he was called into the Promised Land. He had tried God thirty -years in Canaan, and now, at the age of one hundred and ten, the aged -and invincible warrior is going home. But he is not going to die like an -infidel. He knows he is about to die, and he calls for all the tribes of -Israel and their elders. These come up from the tribe of Benjamin, the -tribe of Simeon, the tribe of Zebulon, and so on; and they are gathered -at Shiloh, to be there to hear the old prophet and patriarch. - -That man of God speaks, and what does he say? What is his dying -testimony? How we all linger around the couch of our dying friends! How -anxious we are to get their last words! - -Well, let us turn back. What are the last words of this man who has tried -God and proved God? These are the words: “I am going the way of all the -earth; and ye know in your hearts and in all your souls that not one -thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake -concerning you. All are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath -failed thereof.” - -Not one good thing has failed! God has kept His word. God has made His -word good. “Not one good thing hath failed.” What a dying testimony! How -glorious! In the beautiful sunset light the old warrior sank away, like -he was going to sleep. In the dusk of a beautiful Summer’s evening he -passed away. There is the old man’s dying testimony. He could tell the -people of God. He was the only one left. The rest had gone. Moses had -sunk into his desert grave, and the other leaders of the tribe of Israel -had passed away. But now he was going to die in the Promised Land. - -Truly, he was a man of courage, obedience and faith. - - -LOT. - -One reason why I take up this character is because I believe he is -a representative man, and perhaps there is no Bible character that -represents so many men of the present day as Lot of Sodom. - -Where you can find one Abraham, one Daniel or one Joshua you can find a -thousand Lots. - -Lot started out very well. He got rich, and that was the beginning of his -troubles. He and Abraham, his uncle, went down to Egypt, and they came -out of Egypt with great wealth. The next thing we hear of is strife among -their herdsmen. - -But Lot could not get up a quarrel with Abraham. Abraham said to him: -“You are my nephew, and I can not quarrel with you; but take your goods -and go to the right and I will go to the left, or I will go to the right -and you go to the left.” And they separated. - -Right here Lot made his mistake. He should have said, in reply to -Abraham: “No, uncle! I don’t want to leave you. The Lord has blessed me -with you, and I do not wish to leave you.” But, if he had been determined -to leave his uncle, he should have asked Abraham to choose for him. -Instead of that, he lifted up his eyes and saw the well watered plains of -Sodom, and that decided him. - -No doubt Lot was very ambitious; he probably wanted to become richer. -Perhaps there was a little spirit of rivalry toward his uncle. He wanted -to excel Abraham in worldly goods--to become rich faster. So he saw and -determined upon the well watered plains of Sodom. If he had asked Abraham -he would not have gone there. If he had asked God, Lot would never have -entered Sodom; no man ever goes into Sodom by God’s advice. He determined -for himself, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. I do not know how long -Lot lived upon those well watered plains, but no doubt the men of those -days said of him when he had settled down: “There is a shrewd man; he is -a smart man. Why, I can predict that in a very short time he will be a -wealthier man than his uncle, Abraham. Look at these well watered plains. -Why, he is a great deal better off than is Abraham now.” - -Lot is in a position in which he can soon become a rich man. How long he -remained on those plains I do not know, but the next thing we know is -that he got into Sodom. We are told that Sodom was very wicked. Lot lived -near it, and he went into it with his eyes open, for he knew all about -it. The wickedness of Sodom was coming up to God. He was going to destroy -it soon. Do you think, if Lot had asked Him, He would have permitted the -nephew of Abraham to enter that city? - -All the years that Lot was in Sodom we do not read that he had any family -altar. He must have known it meant ruin for his family to take them in -there. But he did not look at that. It was business that took him there. -He might have said: “Well, I’ve got a large family. I’ve got a great -many dependent upon me, and I must get rich faster; so I will go into -Sodom. Business is the first consideration, and it must be attended to.” -So he goes into Sodom, and the next thing we hear he is in trouble. Sodom -had got a war on hand, and when he went into the city he was forced to -take its side. In the war he was taken captive. It is a great mercy he -was not killed in battle. - -The first thing Abraham did when he heard of his nephew’s trouble was -to set out after him. When Lot was captured in battle he was liable to -be taken into slavery, and his children also. He might have died in -slavery if Abraham had not gone after him. But Abraham takes his servants -and sets out and overtakes the warriors who had taken Lot captive, and -brought him back, with all the property that had been taken. - -Now, you would think Lot would have kept out of Sodom. You would expect -to hear of his saying: “I have had enough of Sodom; I will not go near -it again.” You would think that men, when they get into this and that -difficulty and affliction, would keep out of Sodom; but they will not. It -is one of the greatest mysteries to me why men will remain in their Sodom -when they have continual trouble. - -So Lot went back. Probably he said: “I’ve lost a great deal, and I must -go back and try to recover it. I must go back and make it up for my -children.” And he prospered in Sodom. - -If you had gone into Sodom before these angels came down you would -probably have found that no man had got on so well. If they had a -Congress, perhaps they sent him to represent Sodom, because no man had -done better in business. That is the way of the world. Possibly they -might have made him Mayor of Sodom. If you could have seen his “turnout,” -it would have been one of the very best. Mrs. Lot must have moved in the -most select society of the city. The Misses Lot were looked upon as the -most fashionable people there. They got on well. - -Perhaps Lot was a judge and had great influence. When the angels got to -the gate they might have heard of the Honorable Judge Lot. It sounded -pretty well. He might have owned many corner lots. He might have owned -many buildings with “Lot” printed all over them, and on account of his -property he might have been a very high man in Sodom. That is the way the -world looks at it. No doubt the dispositions of those people were exactly -as they are today. Human nature has been pretty much the same always. - -But time rolls on, and Lot, while sitting at the gate one evening, saw -two strangers upon the highway. They are coming toward Sodom. Likely -these Sodomites did not know them, but twenty years before Lot had been -in the company of Abraham, and he had seen these men at his uncle’s -house--had seen them sitting at his uncle’s table. So he knew these -angels when they approached, and he bowed down and worshiped them; he -bowed down to the ground, and then invited them into his residence. But -it was a sink of iniquity, and they would not enter in. Lot pressed his -invitation upon them, and finally they accepted. - -The news was soon noised around the streets that he had two strangers -there, and it was not long before a crowd was around the door, and wanted -to know whom he had inside. - -Lot came out and endeavored to pacify them, but he was met with the -derisive query: “Who made this fellow a judge over us?” He was dragged -back into the house, and the door was shut against the mob. His influence -was gone. He had been in the city twenty years and had not made a convert. - -I suppose Lot lived in a marble front house there, and his heart was away -from God. Then these men said to Lot: “Whom have you got here beside -yourself? What is your family? Have you got any others beside yourself in -this town?” - -Well, the father and mother had to own up that they had married their -children to some of the Sodomites. That was the result of his going into -the city. You go into the world and live like the world, and see what the -result will be. How many fathers and mothers are now mourning on account -of marrying their sons and daughters to Sodomites! Marrying them to death -and ruin! - -These angels said to Lot: “If you have got any, get them out of this -place, for God is determined to burn it up. Tell them this, and if they -will not come, escape for your lives and leave them, for He will surely -destroy the city.” - -Now, all these twenty years we do not know that Lot ever had a family -altar. He could not call his children around him and pray to his God. -They had all become identified with Sodom and its people. - -Look at that scene. There are the men at the outside of the door, -groping about to find it, and the door opens and Lot starts out to tell -his son-in-law of the coming destruction. I can see the old man, head -bowed down, passing through the streets of Sodom at midnight. - -He goes to a house and knocks. No sound; all are asleep. He knocks again, -and likely shouts at the top of his voice; and the man gets up and opens -the window. He puts his head out and asks: - -“Who’s there?” - -“Lot, your father-in-law.” - -“What has brought you out of bed at this hour? What’s up?” - -“Why, two angels are at my house, who say that God is going to destroy -Sodom and every one who shall remain here.” - -“You go home and get to bed.” - -They mock Lot. He has lost his testimony. They all think he is deluded. - -I can see him now, going off to another daughter’s house. I know not how -many daughters Lot had. He might have had as many daughters as Job. He -goes to them, and they mock him, too. - -There is that old man, in that midnight hour, plodding along those -streets of Sodom to urge them to flee from the city, and they mock him. -He had been long enough with Abraham to know that every thing that came -from God could be relied upon. - -Now he starts back home. You can see him--his head bowed down, his long -white hair flowing over his bosom and tears flowing from those aged eyes! -The world calls him a successful man; but what a miserable end is his! -Look at him tonight! He had achieved his ambition, and was wealthy. He -obtained what he longed for, but with it came leanness of soul. - -Next morning the angels take him by the hand. He and his wife and two -daughters are led out of the city. And they lingered. How could they do -otherwise than linger, when they had left their sons and daughters in the -city and knew they would be destroyed? - -Yes, they linger. I do not blame them. They had, probably, a faint hope -that the threatened storm might be stayed, and they could get their -children out. But the angels took them by the hand and hastened them out -of the city. - -Poor mother! Ah, how sad when God came in judgment! I can see that mother -hesitating, but God orders her not to look back. “Flee for your life; -escape or you will be destroyed.” “No man having put his hand to the -plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” - -Mrs. Lot gets out of Sodom, but she looks back, and judgment falls upon -her. And I believe that the condition of Lot’s wife is the condition of -millions today. They have come out of Sodom, but their hearts are in the -world. They ask: “Have I to give up the world? Have I to give up all and -follow Christ?” They linger and look back, and judgment will fall upon -them. - -We are told in the Scriptures that the people were eating, drinking, -buying and selling, planning and building until the very moment Lot went -out of Sodom. Perhaps not a man in all Sodom took any account of his -going out. It might have got rumored around that he was going because he -believed the city was about to be destroyed, but no man believed it. His -sons and daughters did not believe what their father said to them, and -the Son of God says they were all destroyed--great and small, learned and -unlearned, rich and poor. All alike perished. - -Bear in mind that if you live in Sodom destruction will come upon you. -The world may call you successful, but the only way to test success is to -take a man’s whole life--not the beginning nor middle, but the whole of -it. If a man is in Sodom, he will find at last the fruits of his life to -be - - “Nothing but leaves--nothing but leaves.” - -Lot spent his life in gaining worldly goods for his children, and he lost -all and his children besides. - -How many men of the present day can only say they have the same object in -view that Lot had. They went into the city to make money. They have built -no family altar. They recognize only two things--money and business. -They say: “My sons may become gamblers and drunkards and my daughters -may go off into ungodly society and marry drunkards and make their lives -miserable; but I want money, and I will have all I wish if I get it.” - -My friends, was Lot’s life a successful one? It was a stupendous failure. -Let us not follow in the footsteps of this man Lot. Let us keep out of -Sodom. - - -MARTHA. - -There was a woman right in the midst of this darkness, when many -disciples left Him, who came forward and invited Him to her home--a woman -by the name of Martha. - -I can imagine Martha coming from Bethany, one day, and going into the -Temple, in Jerusalem, to worship. The great Galilean Prophet came in, Who -spake as never man spake, and she listened to His words. And as the words -came from His lips they fell upon Martha’s ears, and she says: “Well, I -will invite Him to my house.” - -It must have cost her something to do that. Christ was unpopular. -There was a hiss going up in Jerusalem against Him. They called Him an -impostor. All the leading men of the nation were opposed to Him. They -said He was Beelzebub, the Lord of filth. They charged that He was an -impostor and a deceiver. And yet Martha invites Him to her home. I hope -there will always be some Martha to invite Him to her home, to be her -guest. He will make that home a thousand times better than it ever was -before. - -Martha invited Him home with her. We read of His going often to Bethany. -The noblest, best and grandest thing Martha ever did was to make room in -her home for Jesus Christ. That one act will live for ever. Little did -she know, when she invited the Son of God to become her guest, who He -was; and when we receive Jesus into our hearts little do we know who He -is. It will take all eternity to find out who He is. - -There was a dark cloud then over that home in Bethany, but Martha did -not know it. Neither did Mary see that cloud. It was fast settling down -upon that home. It was soon going to burst upon that little family. The -Savior knew all about it. He saw that dark cloud coming across that -threshold. - -We read that Jesus often lodged there. But a few months after He became -their friend and guest, Lazarus sickened. The fever laid hold of him. It -might have been typhoid fever. - -You can see those two sisters watching over their brother. The family -physician is sent for to Jerusalem, and he comes out and does every -thing he can to restore Lazarus to health; but he sinks lower and lower. -Some of us know what it is when the doctor comes in and feels the pulse, -begins to look very serious and takes you into another room, away from -the patient, and tells you it is a critical case. - -Martha and Mary passed through that experience. There was no hope, and -Lazarus must die. They felt that if Jesus was only here He would rebuke -this disease. He might prevent death from taking away our only brother. -They sent a messenger a good ways off to tell Jesus His friend was sick, -and this was the message: - -“He whom Thou lovest is sick.” - -They do not ask Him to come. They knew Jesus loved Lazarus, and that He -would come if it was for their good. The messenger at last returned. -He found Christ and delivered his message. When he got back, he found -that the cloud had burst upon that little home, and Lazarus was dead and -buried. - -I see those two sisters as they gather around the messenger, eagerly -plying him with questions. They asked: “Did you find Him?” - -“Yes, I found Him.” - -“What did He say?” - -“He said the sickness was not unto death, and He would come and see him.” - -Now, for the first time, I see faith beginning to stagger. Mary asks the -messenger: - -“Are you sure you understood Him? Did He say the sickness was not unto -death?” - -“Yes.” - -“Are you quite sure?” - -“Yes.” - -“Well, that is strange. If He is a prophet He should have known that -Lazarus was dead. Sure Elijah would have known it. If He was a prophet, -He must have known it. You had not been away from the house an hour -before Lazarus died. He was dead when you met Him.” - -“Well, that is what He told me. He said He would come here and see him.” - -I see those two sisters as they kept watching for that Friend to come and -comfort them. How long those nights must have seemed, as they watched and -waited! I can imagine they did not sleep through the night, but listened -to hear a footfall. The next day they watched, and He did not come. The -second night passed, and He did not come. The third day came, and He -did not come. The fourth day comes, and the messenger returns and says: -“Martha, Jesus and His apostles are just outside the walls of the city. -He is coming on toward Bethany.” Martha runs out to meet Him, and says: -“If Thou hadst been here my brother had not died. Thou wouldst have kept -death away from our dwelling.” - -Jesus answered her: “But thy brother shall rise again.” - -“Yes, I knew that,” says Martha. “I know Lazarus will rise again, for he -was such a good brother. He will rise at the resurrection of the just.” - -Jesus had probably taught them of the resurrection. He answered Martha: -“I am the resurrection of the just. I carry the keys with Me. I have the -keys to death and the grave.” Then He asks: “Where is Mary? Go call her.” - -They ran and told Mary that Jesus was there. Mary met Jesus with the -words of Martha: - -“If Thou hadst been here my brother had not died.” - -“Thy brother shall rise again. Where have you laid him?” - -“Come and see.” - -And they led the way. Look at that company moving along toward the grave -yard. These two sisters are telling about the last words and last acts -of Lazarus. Perhaps Lazarus left a loving message for Jesus. You know -what that is. When you go to see friends who are mourning, how they will -dwell upon the last words and the last acts of the departed ones! You see -Martha and Mary weeping as they went along toward the grave, and the Son -of God wept with them. - -Jesus said to His disciples: “Take away the stone.” - -Again the faith of those sisters wavered, and they said: “Lord, by this -time he stinketh, for he has been dead four days.” They did not know who -their Friend was. When the disciples rolled away that stone Christ cried -in a loud voice to His old friend: - -“Lazarus, come forth.” - -Then Lazarus leaped out of that same sepulcher and came forth. Some old -divine has said it was a good thing that Jesus singled out Lazarus, for -there is such power in the voice of the Son of God that the dead shall -hear His voice, and if He had not called for Lazarus by name all the dead -in that grave yard would have come forth. - -Little did Martha know whom she was entertaining when she invited Christ -into her home. The world has been sneering at Martha ever since. But it -was by far the grandest, sublimest and noblest act of her life. - - -MEPHIBOSHETH. - -There is a story in the Books of Samuel--away back as far as the time of -the kings of Israel--which will help us to understand the Gospel. It is -about a man of the name of Mephibosheth. - -You remember what a hard time David had when Saul was hunting him to kill -him--just as men hunt for game. - -Well, one day David and his good friend, Jonathan, were taking a walk -together in the fields. Saul was very angry, and was bent on killing -David; but his son, Jonathan, was looking out for a chance to save him. - -The fact had been revealed to Jonathan that David was to be king after -Saul’s death, instead of himself, but this did not lessen his love for -David. That must have been a real friendship which could stand this sort -of thing. - -After they had agreed upon a sign by which David was to know whether it -was safe for him to stay around the court of the king, where he could see -his friend once in a while, or whether he must leave, and go off into the -cave of Adullam, Jonathan says to him: - -“David, it has been revealed to me that you are to be king after my -father. Now, I want you to promise me one thing. When you come to the -throne, if any of the house of Saul are alive, I want you to be good to -them, for my sake.” - -“I will do that, of course,” said David. So he made a solemn covenant to -that effect, and then he went away to the cave of Adullam, to get out of -the way of Saul, who was bound to kill him if he could. - -But God took care of David. You never can kill or harm a man if God is -taking care of him. - -About four years after that, David heard that there had been a great -battle over by Mount Gilboa, and that the Philistines had beaten back the -Israelites with great slaughter, and that Saul and Jonathan were both -dead. So he got his men together, and went out after the enemies of the -Lord and of Israel; and it was not a great while before he had turned the -tables on them, and set up his kingdom at Hebron. - -It must have been pretty near fourteen years after that before David -remembered his promise to his old friend, Jonathan. It is a great deal -easier to make promises than to keep them. How many broken vows has God -written down against you? - -But one day King David was walking in his palace at Jerusalem, where he -had removed his capital, and all at once he happened to think of that -promise. It is a good thing God does not forget His promises that way. - -“That’s too bad,” mused David. “I had forgot all about that promise. I -have been so busy fighting these Philistines and fixing things up that I -have not had time to think of any thing else.” - -So he called his servants in great haste, and asked: “Do any of you know -whether there is any of Saul’s family living?” - -One of them said there was an old servant of Saul’s by the name of Ziba, -and maybe he could tell. - -“Go and tell him I want him, right away.” - -Pretty soon Ziba appeared, and King David asked: “Do you know whether -there is anybody of the house of Saul in my kingdom?” - -Ziba said there was one he knew of--a son of Jonathan, by the name of -Mephibosheth. - -Jonathan! How that name must have smitten King David! One of the sons of -his old friend living in his kingdom for as much as fourteen years, and -he had never known it! What would Jonathan think of him for forgetting -his promise that way? - -“Go, fetch him!” says David. “Go quickly. Tell him I want him. I want to -show him the kindness of God.” - -Now, where do you suppose Mephibosheth was all this time? Why, he was -down at Lo-debar. Did you ever hear of that place? If you are a sailor, -did you ever come across that port? When you have traveled on the -railway, did any of you ever stop at that station? - -Ah, yes! That is where the whole human race are until they come to Christ -for salvation--away down at Lo-debar, which means “a place of no pasture.” - -The king is in haste to keep his promise now. I see them hurrying off. -Maybe they take the king’s own chariot, and rattle away to find this son -of Jonathan. - -When they reached the little out-of-the-way place, I fancy there was a -great commotion. - -“Where is Mephibosheth? The king wants him.” - -Poor fellow! When he heard this announcement he hung his head. He was -afraid the king wanted to kill him because he was of the house of Saul, -his old enemy. - -“Don’t be afraid,” said the servants. “The king says he wants to show -you the kindness of God. He is in a great hurry to see you, so get ready -and jump right into the chariot. Don’t you see the king has sent his own -chariot to fetch you?” - -It did begin to look as if the king meant no harm to him. - -But poor Mephibosheth had another difficulty. He was lame in both feet. -He was a little fellow when King David came to the throne, and an old -servant, who was afraid that all the house of Saul would be killed, took -him up and ran away to hide him. Somehow he managed to drop the lad, and -lamed him in both feet. - -And now I can see poor Mephibosheth looking down at his feet. Maybe his -toes turned in, or he was club-footed. And he says to himself: “I am not -fit to go to the king. I am a poor cripple. I am not fit to be seen among -the tall and handsome servants of the palace in Jerusalem.” - -“Never mind your lame feet, Mephibosheth; so long as the king sends for -you, it is all right.” - -So they take him up and put him in the chariot, and start for Jerusalem -on a run. - -As soon as the king sees him he takes him in his arms and cries out: - -“O Mephibosheth! The son of my dear old friend, Jonathan! You shall have -all that ever belonged to the house of Saul, and you shall live with me -here, in the palace.” - -Some people think that Mephibosheth, like certain low-spirited -Christians, after he went to live with the king, must have been all the -time worrying over his lame feet. But I do not think so. He could not -help it, and if David did not mind it, it was all right. So, I think that -when he dined with David in state, with the great lords and ladies all -around him, he just stuck his club feet under the table, and looked the -king right in the face. - - -MOSES. - -Moses was about to leave the children of Israel in the wilderness. He had -led them up to the borders of the Promised Land. For forty long years he -had been leading them in that wilderness, and now, as they are about to -go over, Moses takes his farewell. He said a great many wise and good -things on that memorable occasion. - -There was not a man on the face of the earth at that time who knew as -much about the world and as much about God as did Moses. Therefore, he -was a good judge. He had tasted of the pleasures of the world. In the -forty years that he was in Egypt he probably sampled every thing of that -day. He tasted of the world--of its pleasures. He knew all about it. He -was brought up in the palace of a king, a prince. Egypt then ruled the -world, as it were. - -Moses had been forty years in Horeb, where he had heard the voice of -God--where he had been taught by God--and for forty years he had been -serving God. You might say he was God’s right hand man, leading those -bondmen up out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of bondage into -the land of liberty, and this is his dying address--you might say, his -farewell address. This is the dying testimony of one who could speak with -authority and one who could speak intelligently. - -If you have not read that farewell address of Moses, you will find it -in the last few verses of Deuteronomy. I advise you to read it. You are -reading a great many printed sermons. Suppose you read that. Why, there -is as much truth in that farewell address of Moses as there is in fifteen -hundred printed sermons at the present time. Let me just give you a few -verses: - - “Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O Earth, - the words of my mouth. - - “My doctrine shall drop as the rain; my speech shall distill - as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the - showers upon the grass. - - “Because I will publish the name of the Lord. Ascribe ye - greatness unto our God. - - “He is the Rock; His work is perfect. For all His ways are - judgment; a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right - is He. - - “They have corrupted themselves; their spot is not the spot of - His children. They are a perverse and crooked generation. - - “Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? Is - not He thy Father that hath bought thee? Hath He not made thee - and established thee? - - “Remember the days of old; consider the years of many - generations. Ask thy Father, and He will show thee; thy elders, - and they will tell thee. - - “When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, - when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the - people according to the number of the children of Israel. - - “For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His - inheritance. - - “He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling - wilderness. He led him about; He instructed him; He kept him as - the apple of His eye.” - -There are two or three sermons in that last verse. - - “As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, - spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her - wings, so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange - god with him. - - “He made him ride on the high places of the Earth, that he - might eat the increase of the fields; and He made him to suck - honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock.” - -And so Moses went on and finished his sermon, and God called him off into -the mountain. He went up into Mount Nebo, and there God showed him, from -the top of Pisgah, that land which he could not possess; showed him the -land from Dan to Beersheba. - -Then “God kissed away his soul and buried him.” - - -NAAMAN. - -Naaman was a successful, valiant and noble man. But he was a leper--and -that spoiled him. - -What a blight that must have cast on his path! It must have haunted him -day and night. - -He was a leper, and there was no physician in Syria who could help him. -It was an incurable disease, and I suppose he thought he would have to go -down to the grave with that loathsome ailment. - -We read that several companies had gone down to the land of Israel and -brought back to Syria some poor captives. Among them was a little girl, -who was sent to wait on Naaman’s wife. I can imagine that little maid had -a praying mother, who had taught her to love the Lord, and when she got -down there she was not ashamed to own her religion. She was not ashamed -to acknowledge her Lord. - -One day, while waiting on her mistress, I can think of her saying: “Would -to God your husband was in Samaria. There is a prophet in that country -who would cure him.” - -“What! A man in Israel who can cure my husband? Child, you must be -dreaming. Did you ever hear of a man being cured of leprosy?” - -“No. But that is nothing. Why, the prophet in Samaria has cured many -persons worse than your husband.” - -And perhaps she told her about the poor woman who had such an increase -of oil, and how her two boys were saved from slavery by the prophet, -and also how he had raised the child of that poor woman from the dead, -adding: “If the prophet can raise anybody from the dead he can cure your -husband.” - -This girl must have had something about her to make those people listen -to her. She must have shown her religion in her life. Her life must have -been consistent with her religion to make them believe her. - -We read that Naaman had faith in her word, and he went to the king and -told him what he intended to do. And the king said: “I will tell you what -I will do. I will give you a letter to the king of Israel. Of course, if -any cure is to be effected, the king will know how to obtain it.” - -Like many men nowadays, they believed, if a thing was to be got, it was -to be got from the king, and not from his subjects. So you see this man -starting out to the king of Israel with all his letters and a very long -purse. I can not find, just now, how much it was, but it must have been -something like $500,000. The sum was a very large one, likely. He was -going to be liberal. He was not going to be small. - -Well, he got all his money and letters together and started. There was no -small stir as Naaman swept through the gates of Syria that day with his -escort. He reaches Samaria, and sends a messenger to the king, announcing -his arrival. The messenger delivers the letter to the king, and the first -thing he does is to open the letter and begin to read it. - -I can see his brow knit as he goes on. - -“What is this? What does it mean? This man means war. This Assyrian king -means to have a war with me. Who ever heard of such a thing as a man -cured of leprosy?” - -And the king rent his mantle. - -Every one knew something was wrong when the king rent his mantle, and the -news spread through the streets that they were on the eve of a war. The -air was filled with rumors of war; everybody was talking about it. No -doubt the news had gone abroad that the great general of Assyria was in -the city, and he was the cause of the rumors, and by-and-by it reached -the prophet Elisha that the king had rent his mantle, and he wanted to -know the cause. When he had heard what it was he just told the king to -send Naaman to him. - -Now you see the major-general riding up in grand style to the prophet’s -house. He probably lived in a small and obscure dwelling. Perhaps Naaman -thought he was doing Elisha a great favor by calling on him. He had an -idea that he was honoring this man, who had no influence or position. -So he rides up. A messenger is sent in to announce Major-General Naaman -of Damascus. But the prophet does not even see him. He just tells the -servant to say to his master: - -“Go and wash in Jordan seven times.” - -When the messenger comes to Naaman and tells him this, he is as mad as -any thing. He considers it a reflection upon him--as if he had not kept -his person clean. - -“Does the man mean to insinuate that I have not kept my body clean? Can’t -I wash myself in the waters of Damascus? We have much better water than -they have here. Why, if we had the Jordan in Syria we certainly would -look upon it as a ditch. The idea--wash in that contemptible river!” - -Naaman was as full of rage as he well could be, but suddenly he said: -“Behold, I thought.” - -That is the way with sinners; they always say they thought. In this -expression we can see that Naaman had thought of some plan, and had -marked out a way for the Lord to heal him. - -Keep this in mind: “My ways are not your ways, nor my thoughts your -thoughts.” If you look for the Lord to come in one direction, He -will come in another direction. “My ways are not your ways,” thought -the leper. No man gets into the kingdom of God until he gives up his -thoughts. God never saves a man until he gives up his own thoughts and -takes up God’s. - -Yes, Naaman thought the moment the prophet knew he was outside he would -come out and bow and scrape, and say he was glad to see such a great -and honorable man from Syria. Instead of that, he merely sent him the -peremptory prescription: “Go wash in Jordan seven times.” - -When we were in Glasgow we had an employer converted, and he wanted to -get a man in his employ to come to our meetings, but he would not come. -If he was going to be converted, he would not be converted by those -meetings. You know, when a Scotchman gets an idea into his head he is the -most stubborn man you can find. He was determined not to be converted by -Moody and Sankey. The employer argued and pleaded with this man, but he -could not get him to come to the meetings then being held. - -Well, we left Glasgow, and got away up to the north of Scotland--in -Inverness--and the employer sent his stubborn friend up there on -business, thinking he might be induced to go into the meetings. One night -we were singing “On the Banks of That Beautiful River,” and he happened -to be passing. He wondered where the sweet sounds were coming from. He -came into the meeting, and I happened to be preaching that evening on the -very text: “I Thought.” - -The stubborn man from Glasgow listened attentively, and soon did not know -exactly where he was. He was convicted--he was converted--and he became a -Christian. Verily, a man must yield his own way to the way of the Lord. - -Now, you can see all along that Naaman’s thoughts were altogether -different from those of God. He was going to get the grace of God by -showing favors--just as many men now believe they can buy their way into -the kingdom of God. But we can not purchase the favor of Heaven with -money. If you get a seat in Heaven, you must accept salvation as a gift. - -Naaman had another thought. He believed he could get what he wanted by -taking letters to the king--not to the prophet. The little maid told him -of the prophet, yet he was going to pass the prophet by. He was too proud -to go to the prophet. But pride, if you will allow me the expression, got -a knock on the head on this important occasion. - -It was a terrible thing for him to think of obeying by going down to the -Jordan and dipping seven times. He had got better rivers in Damascus, -in his own wisdom, and he queries: “Can’t I wash there, and be clean?” -Naaman was angry, but when he got over it he listened to his servants. - -I would rather see people get angry than see them go to sleep. I would -rather see a man get as angry as possible at any utterance of mine than -to see I had sent him to sleep. When a man is asleep there is no chance -of reaching him, but if he is angry we may get at him. It is a good thing -for a man to get angry sometimes, for when he cools off he generally -listens to reason. - -So Naaman’s servant came to him and said: “Suppose Elisha had bid thee do -some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it?” - -Probably, had Elisha told Naaman to take cod liver oil for ten years, he -would have willingly done it. If he had told Naaman he wanted as much -money as the leper brought along, that would have been all right. But the -idea of literally doing nothing--just to go down into Jordan and wash -himself! It was so far below his calculations that he thought he was -being imposed upon by some charlatan. - -But Naaman’s sensible servant said to him: “If the prophet had bid thee -do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? Hadn’t you just -better go down and wash in Jordan?” - -Possibly, Naaman answered: “If I go down into Jordan and am not cured, -what will my enemies say of me when I get back to Damascus?” - -But he was influenced by the servant, and he went. That was one good -point in Naaman’s character--he was influenced by an humble messenger. -A good many people will not accept a messenger unless he is refined and -cultured and educated. But it is the message you want--not the messenger. -It would be the message I would want. And so it was with Naaman. - -She was a little Hebrew girl who first told him to go to Samaria, and now -he was told to wash by his servant. So Naaman goes down and dips into the -waters. The first time he rose he said: “I would just like to see how -much my leprosy has gone.” He looks, but not a bit has left him. “Well, I -am not going to get rid of my leprosy in this way; this is absurd.” - -But the servant persisted. “Do just as the man of God tells you; obey -him.” - -And this is just what we are told to do in the Scriptures--to obey Him. -The first thing we have to learn is obedience. Disobedience was the pit -Adam fell into, and we must get out of it by obedience. - -Well, Naaman goes into the water a second time. If some Chicago -Christians had been there, they would certainly have asked, sneeringly: -“Well, how do you feel now?” - -He did not see that he was any better, and down he went a third time; but -when he looked himself over, he saw just as much leprosy as ever. Down he -goes a fourth, fifth and sixth time. He again looks at himself, but not a -speck of leprosy is removed. - -Naaman now chides his servant. “I told you so! Look at me! I am just the -same as ever.” - -“But,” says the servant, “you must do just what the man of God tells you -to do--go down seven times.” - -Naaman takes the seventh plunge, and comes out. He looks at himself. -Behold, his flesh is as that of a little child. He says to his servant: - -“Why, I never felt as good as I do today. I feel better than if I had won -a great battle. Look! I am cleansed! Oh, what a great day this is for me! -The leprosy has gone.” - -The waters to him had been as death and judgment, and he had come out -resurrected--his flesh as that of a little child. I suppose Naaman got -into his chariot, and away he went to the man of God. He had lost his -temper; he had lost his pride; he had lost his leprosy. - -That is the way now. If a man will only lose his pride, he will soon see -his leprosy disappear; leprosy will go away with pride. I believe the -greatest enemies of men in this world are unbelief and pride. - -Naaman drives back to the man of God, and takes his gold and silver. -He offers him money. “I do not want your money,” replies the prophet. -If Elisha had taken money, it would have spoiled the beautiful story. -Naaman had to take back every thing he brought from Damascus except his -leprosy. - - -PETER. - -The first glimpse that we catch of Peter is when Andrew brought him to -the Savior. That is John’s account. That is when he became a disciple; -but he did not leave every thing then and follow Christ. He waited until -he got another call. - -I think we all can learn a lesson right here--that it is not every one -who is called to be a disciple of Jesus that is called to leave his -occupation and become His follower entirely. I believe there are many -self-made preachers--man-made preachers--and this is the reason why so -many fail. No man who was called by God has ever failed, or has ever -broken down in the ministry; but when a man runs before he is sent, I -believe he will fail. - -Now, we are called to be His disciples--all called to follow Him--but -we are not all called on to give up our occupations and devote all our -time to the ministry. I have men come to me constantly who say they have -been raised up, and want to give up their business and their worldly -occupation and go into the work of the Lord entirely; but I never advise -a man to go into the ministry. I think I never advised a man to give up -his occupation, and to go out into the vineyard of the Lord and go to -work. It is too high a calling, it seems to me, for men to be influencing -one another to go into it. If a man will only wait until God calls -him--be sure that God sends him--then success will crown his efforts. - -Now, we find, in the fifth chapter of Luke, and also in the fourth -chapter of Matthew, where Peter got his calling. He was out with his -partners and others, fishing, when Jesus came along and told them to cast -their net, or to launch out into the deep and cast their net into the sea. - -“But,” says Peter, “we have toiled all night and caught nothing.” - -“Nevertheless,” commanded Jesus, “let down your nets.” - -At the word of God they did so, and were successful, and when they got -ashore they found Jesus had called them to be His disciples. Just open -your Bible at the fifth chapter of Luke: - -“And it came to pass that, as the people pressed upon Him to hear the -word of God, He stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships -standing by the lake; but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were -washing their nets. - -“And He entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him -that he would thrust out a little from the land. And He sat down, and -taught the people out of the ship. - -“Now, when He had left speaking, He said unto Simon: ‘Launch out into the -deep, and let down your nets for a draught.’ - -“And Simon, answering, said unto Him: ‘Master, we have toiled all the -night, and have taken nothing; nevertheless, at Thy word I will let down -the net.’ - -“And when they had done this, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes, -and their net broke. - -“And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, -that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the -ships, so that they began to sink. - -“When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying: ‘Depart -from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’ - -“For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the -fishes which they had taken. - -“And so, also, were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were -partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon: ‘Fear not. Henceforth -thou shalt catch men.’ - -“And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and -followed Him.” - -You see, it says Christ just said to them: “Follow me, and I will make -you fishers of men.” And no one was more successful in the world, in -catching men, than Peter. And if you will just follow the Lord and -believe in Him, He will make you fishers of men. Now, some may wonder why -it was that God did not call them when they had their nets empty. Why did -the Lord just give them a draught of fish and then tell them to leave it? - -Now, it seems to me that He did so because He wanted them to leave -something. There are a good many of us willing to be disciples of the -Lord if it does not cost any thing. If they can just swing their bag -across their back with the fish in it and follow Jesus, then they are -willing to follow Him, and to be His disciples. So Jesus wanted them to -give up something. They might have said: - -“We have been fishing a great while in the lake, business is pretty poor, -and we might as well give up the business and go into this.” - -But no! The Lord did not call them until after they attained success. -Now, after they scored a business success, He put the test to these men -whether they were willing to give up their nets and follow Him. - -Sometime after that, Peter says: “We have left every thing to follow -Thee.” What did Peter leave? Why, a few old broken nets! And it is just -so now. People leave a few old broken nets, and then say to the Lord: “We -have left every thing to follow Thee.” - -The next glimpse we catch of Peter is when he takes on the character -of a doubter. You will find, if you read it over, that it is our own -experience right over again. Peter got to doubting. - -In the fourteenth chapter of Matthew, beginning at the twenty-second -verse, you will find these words: - -“And straightway Jesus constrained His disciples to get into a ship, and -to go before Him unto the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. - -“And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain -apart to pray; and when the evening was come He was there alone. - -“But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves; for the -wind was contrary. - -“And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on -the sea. - -“And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, -saying: ‘It is a spirit.’ And they cried out for fear. - -“But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying: ‘Be of good cheer; it is -I; be not afraid.’ - -“And Peter answered Him and said: ‘Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto -Thee on the water.’ - -“And He said: ‘Come.’ And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he -walked on the water to go to Jesus.” - -Now, that took faith. The idea of his just letting go the boat, and -stepping down into the water! Why, that required faith. And there are a -great many men today willing to become Christians if they can only just -see how they are going to walk. They want to walk by sight. They do not -want to walk by faith. It took faith for Peter to let go of the boat and -take the first step on the water, but the Lord had bid him to do it, and -he just did it; but after he began to sink he began to doubt, and called -on the Lord to save him. - -“But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to -sink, he cried, saying: ‘Lord, save me.’” - -See! He began to sink when he took his eyes off his Master. Peter did not -trust in Him. He did not have perfect faith. - -Now, the Lord says in Isaiah, twenty-sixth chapter and third verse: - -“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, -because he trusteth in Thee.” - -Peter did not have perfect faith, because his mind was not stayed on -Christ; he did not trust in Him. If Peter had trusted in the Lord he -would not have sunk. The ship was in the midst of the sea; the wind was -blowing quite a gale, and the waves were rolling high, and Peter began to -tremble and doubt, and down he went. And a good many Christians follow -his example. When it gets dark, when the wind begins to blow, and when -the water rolls high about them, they begin to doubt--and down they go. - -Some one says if Peter had as long a preamble to his prayer as most -people, he would have been forty feet under water before he got through -praying for what he wanted. Now, just read a little farther: - -“And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said -unto him: ‘O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’” - -But I want to pass rapidly over this portion of the Word of God, and get -at something which, perhaps, may be of more help to us than any thing -here. In the sixteenth chapter of Matthew, twenty-fourth verse, we find -that Peter was willing to confess Christ as the Son of the living God. -Many men want to be disciples of Christ, but they are not willing to -confess Him. - -“Then said Jesus unto His disciples: ‘If any man will come after Me, let -him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” - -To go home and tell your friends that you want to be a disciple of the -Lord Jesus Christ requires much moral courage. But it required more then -than it does now, for the Jews said any man who should confess Christ -should be cast out of the synagogue. - -“When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, He asked His -disciples, saying: ‘Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?’ - -“And they said: ‘Some say that Thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; -and others, Jeremias or one of the prophets.’ - -“He saith unto them: ‘But whom say ye that I am?’” - -And Peter--he generally spoke first--speaks out and says: - -“‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ - -“And Jesus answered and said unto him: ‘Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona; -for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which -is in Heaven.’” - -See! Jesus blessed Peter right there, and I have yet to find the first -man and the first woman who are willing to confess Christ who will not -say that God has blessed their souls after they have confessed Him. - -Now, let me call your attention to another scene in the life of Peter. -He got to be a sort of a--well, I may say a sort of “high church” man. -He belonged to the “high church.” He was a sort of Ritualist. He had got -this idea that Christ was the same as any other saint; that He was to be -put on a level with some of the rest of the saints. He did not make any -distinction. - -In the ninth chapter of Luke we find that Jesus took His disciples and -went up into a mountain to pray. We begin at the twenty-eighth verse: - -“And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, He took Peter -and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. - -“And as He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His -raiment was white and glistering. - -“And, behold, there talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elias. - -“Who appeared in glory, and spake of His decease which He should -accomplish at Jerusalem. - -“But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep; and when -they were awake, they saw His glory, and the two men that stood with Him. - -“And it came to pass, as they departed from Him, Peter said unto -Jesus: ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three -tabernacles--one for Thee and one for Moses and one for Elias’--not -knowing what he said.” - -Peter wanted to put Jesus on a level with Moses and Elias. To be sure, -Moses was a mighty man. He went into the mountain and took the law from -the Lord God of Heaven, and Elias was a representative of the prophets -and a mighty man; but when Peter wanted to put them on a level with the -God-man--with Jesus--what took place? Why, there came a cloud which -over-shadowed them. God caught them right away. God would not have them -placing Moses and Elias on a level with His Son. He is above the angels -of Heaven; and we find over here, in the last chapter of the Bible, -and in almost the last verse in it, that John was guilty of the same -thing--of worshiping angels. It says over here, in the twenty-second -chapter and eighth verse of Revelations: - -“And I, John, saw these things and heard them. And when I had heard and -seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed -me these things. - -“Then saith he unto me: ‘See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow servant, -and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of -this book. Worship God.’” - -Now, if Jesus was not the God-man--if He was not God in the flesh--then -you and I are guilty of idolatry; we are breaking the first command: -“Thou shalt have no other God before Me.” - -But when Jesus came down here, He said: “Come unto Me, all ye that are -weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” And He never rebuked -any one for worshiping Him. But John fell down and worshiped that angel, -and the angel refused to let him; and when Peter wanted to put Elias and -Moses on a level with Christ, God the Father spoke and said: “This is my -beloved Son. Hear ye Him.” - -No matter about Elias now. No matter about Moses now. Hear Jesus. He is -the one that God wants all of us here to worship. - -Now, some one says we can not know, down here, whether we are safe or -not. Well, we have an assurance right here: - -“Then Simon Peter answered Him: ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the -words of eternal life. - -“‘And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the -living God.’” - -I will now call your attention to Peters faults. If you will just turn -over here into the twenty-second chapter of Luke, you will find there a -fault. Begin at the thirty-third verse of the twenty-second chapter of -Luke, and you will find the following: - -“And he said unto him: ‘Lord, I am ready to go with Thee, both into -prison and to death.’ - -“And He said: ‘I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow, this day, -before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest Me.’ - -“And He said unto them: ‘When I sent you without purse and scrip and -shoes, lacked ye any thing?’ And they said: ‘Nothing.’” - -Now, here we find Peter’s fault of self-confidence. That was really his -besetting sin, and when the Lord told him that the cock should not crow -twice before he had denied Him thrice, he ought to have believed the -words of Christ and cried for help; but no, he was very self-confident. -“Why,” says he, “if the rest of the disciples deny You, I will not deny -You.” - -Peter not only declared he would not deny Jesus, but he even tried to -make the other disciples worse by comparison. If you meet a man full of -conceit and self-confidence, you may look for that man’s downfall. - -Men who have stood the highest, in Scripture, have often fallen on their -strongest point. - -Moses was noted for his humility. Right there he fell. He got angry -instead of being humble, and fell through lack of humility. - -Elijah was noted for his boldness. Right there he fell. Why, he stood on -Mount Carmel and defied the whole nation. He stood there alone. He seemed -to be the boldest man in the whole nation. But after a while he got -word that Jezebel was going to take his life, and then he lost all his -boldness and got scared at the threat of a woman. - -There was Samson, who was noted for his strength. He lost his hair, -wherein his strength consisted, but he recovered it. They cut off his -hair, but they did not remove the roots, and it grew out again. - -Abraham was noted for his faith. But he got into Egypt, and denied his -wife. - -There was only one time, I am told, that Edinburgh Castle was ever taken -by the enemy, and that was done by climbing on the back rocks. The rocks -were so steep the besieged did not believe the enemy could get in that -way, but that was just where they got in. - -I used to think when I had been a Christian ten or twelve years I should -be so strong that there would be no danger of my ever being tempted, but -I find that I was blind. I have more temptations now than I ever had -before, and it takes twenty times as much grace to keep me now as at -first. Let every man take heed, lest he fall. We can not tell how quickly -we may fall if we are not kept by the grace of God. - -Peter had to learn this lesson before he went out to preach to others. -He was kept by the grace of God, if he could not keep himself. Well, I -have got right here two faults of the apostle. When the Lord told him he -should deny Him thrice, he ought to have trembled and cried: “Lord, keep -me from denying Thee!” But, no! He said: “Lord, I am not going to deny -You, if the rest do.” Just see where he stands. He stands on a slippery -place, and it will not be long before he will be down. Self-confidence -leads many men to their fall. - -We must keep very humble and keep our eyes on the Master, and see that -we do not go to sleep. If we do get asleep, then it won’t be long before -we deny Him. And so we find that when Christ was down in the garden, -sweating great drops of blood, He knew He was hastening to death on the -cross. - -Peter went to sleep. And when Jesus came back He said: “Why sleep ye? -Rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” Peter had been with the -Lord three years, but he had to sleep. - -The next that happens, for that second step down, we find that Peter -fights in the flesh. When they came to arrest Christ, Peter took out his -sword and cut off the servant’s ear. That servant was the only person who -had suffered through the followers of Christ up to that time. Peter cut -the ear off, but it did not stay off long, for it got back in just about -five minutes. - -Jesus cried out: “Peter, put up your sword. If I wanted to defend Myself, -I could call seventy thousand angels down; I could call legions of angels -down; I could defend Myself if I wanted to.” But, no; He did not do that. -He had to rebuke Peter, to put a thorn in his flesh. - -The next thing Peter did was to follow Jesus afar off; that is the next -step. When a man gets away from the Savior, then it won’t be long before -he follows Him afar off. You know Peter said, at first, he would keep -close to Him. “I will stand by You; I am willing to die with You,” he had -said. But now Peter changed his mind, and he followed Jesus afar off. - -Well, the next thing, we find that Peter is in bad company. That is -another step down. He had got, by this time, down pretty low. - -A young lady comes in, looks at Peter, and says: “This man is one of His -disciples.” - -“No, I am not; no, not I,” says Peter. - -The maid cries out at him in perfect amazement--for perhaps she had heard -him preach some time--and she says: “You _are_ one of His disciples.” - -“Oh, no; no, not I.” - -He did not know Jesus, who was right there inside, where he could see -him; and yet this man, who was so bold, did not know Him. - -Another man comes to Peter and says: “You are one of His disciples.” - -“No, Sir--not I. I don’t know Him--no Sir.” You see, he had got a good -ways off. - -The man says: “You are.” - -“No; I am not.” - -About an hour after Peter has denied Him, another man came around and -said: “You are one of His disciples.” - -“No; I am not.” - -“Oh, but you are. Your speech betrays you.” - -Peter had been with the Master three years, and he talked a different -language from those men; and you who have been with God two or three -years know that you talk better than you did before. - -This man said: “You are one of those.” And Peter began to curse and -swear, and said he never knew Him. - -How did the Lord call him back? Although Satan had been at work on him -for hours and hours, yet the Lord did call him back. The Lord asked him: -“Peter, is it true that you have forgotten Me so soon? Do you remember, -when we walked together by the sea, how I saved you? Do you remember the -time I called you again? Do you remember the wonderful sermon that I -preached on the mount? Is it true, Peter, that you do not know me?” - -He might have said these things to Peter, but He did not. He just gave -him one look--and what a look that was! It was a look of love, a look of -tenderness, a look of pity, a look of peace. - -He flashed upon Peter. - -Peter remembered what he had done to the Lord. Then the cock crew, -and Peter went out and wept bitterly. No one on Earth knows how Peter -suffered in those hours that Christ was laid in the tomb. What hours they -must have been to him! I can imagine that he did not eat any thing; that -he did not sleep; that he spent those hours praying that the Lord might -be given back to him. - -At last Sunday morning comes--that blessed morning--and the first thing -Peter hears is that Christ has risen. And He sent word to Peter--one of -the most touching things He did. Just let me read from the sixteenth -chapter of Mark and the seventh verse: - -“But go your way, tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you -into Galilee; there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you.” - -Oh, how tender! I don’t know but if He had said “Go back and tell My -disciples,” Peter would have said: “I am no disciple; I have forfeited -my right as such.” But Jesus said: “Tell My disciples and Peter.” Tell -Peter; put his name in; don’t leave him out. - -We are told that Christ had an interview with Peter, and they met alone. -No one ever told us what took place, but I can imagine how Peter felt. -Like the woman that we read about in the seventh chapter of Matthew, He -restored him to salvation and then sent him out to preach. - -But when the twelve were at meat together the Lord turned to Peter and -asked: “Lovest thou Me more than these?” - -How those words must have cut down into Peter’s heart! Jesus wanted to -see whether his conceit had been taken out. That was hard, you know. He -could not get any thing out of Peter. Peter did not say a word. Again the -Lord asked: “Peter, lovest thou Me more than these?” - -He was a broken and empty vessel, and must be filled. - -Then Jesus gave Peter his commission: “Go, feed my sheep; preach the -Gospel to all the world.” - -This is a sweet thought, that after Peter had denied the Lord, He took -him back and used him! - - -SAUL. - -I have been speaking on the Prodigal Son, but now I want to take up -another man--a much harder case than the prodigal, because he did not -believe he needed a Savior. - -You need not have talked a great while to that prodigal before you -could have convinced him that he needed a Savior. It is easy to reach a -prodigal’s heart when he reaches the end of his rope. - -The man of whom I shall now speak stood high in the estimation of the -people. He stood, as it were, at the top of the ladder, while the -prodigal was at the bottom. This man was full of self-righteousness, and -if you had tried to pick out a man in Jerusalem as a hopeless case, so -far as accepting Jesus of Nazareth as a Savior, you would have picked out -Saul. He was the most utterly hopeless case you could have found. - -I would sooner have thought of the conversion of Pilate than of this man. -When they were putting to death the martyrs to the cross he had cheered -on the murderers; but, in spite of all this, we find the Son of God -coming and knocking at his heart, and it was not long before he received -Him as his Savior. - -You can see Saul as he goes to the chief priests of Jerusalem, getting -the necessary documents that he might go to Damascus--that he might go -to the synagogue there and get all who were calling upon the Lord Jesus -Christ cast into prison. He was going to stamp out the teachers of the -New Gospel. - -One thing that made him so mad, probably, was that when the disciples -were turned out of Jerusalem, instead of stopping they went all around -and preached. - -Philip went down to Samaria, and probably there was a great revival -there, and the news had come from Damascus that the preachers had -actually reached that place. - -This man Saul was full of zeal and full of religion. He was a religious -man, and no doubt he could say a prayer as long as any one in Jerusalem. -He had kept the laws faithfully, and been an honest and upright man. The -people then would never have dreamed of him being in need of a Savior. -Many persons today would say of Saul: “He is good enough. To be sure, he -does not believe in Jesus Christ; but he is a good man.” - -And there are many people today who do not believe in Him. They feel -if they pay their debts and live a moral life they do not need to be -converted. They do not want to call upon Him; they want to get Jesus and -all His teachings out of the way, as Saul wanted to do. That is what they -have been trying to do for eighteen centuries. Saul just wanted to stamp -them out at one swoop. So he got the necessary papers, and away he went -down to Damascus. - -Suppose, as he rode out of the gate of Jerusalem on his mission, any -one had said to Saul: “You are going down to Damascus to prosecute the -preachers of Christ, but you will come back a preacher yourself.” If any -man had said this, his head would not have remained on his shoulders five -minutes. Saul would have protested: “I hate Him--I abhor Him. That is how -I feel.” - -Yes, Saul wanted to get Christ and His disciples out of the way. He was -no stranger to Christ. He knew His working, for, as Paul said to Agrippa: -“This thing was not done in a corner.” He knew all about Christ’s -death. Probably he was acquainted with Nicodemus and the members of -the Sanhedrim who were against Christ. Perhaps he was acquainted with -Christ’s disciples, and with all their good deeds. Yet he entertained a -malignant hatred for the Gospel and its propagandists, and he was going -down to Damascus to put all those Christians in prison. - -You see Saul as he rides out of Jerusalem with that brilliant escort, -and away he goes through Samaria, where Philip was. He would not speak -to a Samaritan, however. The Jews detested the Samaritans. The idea of -speaking to an adulterous Samaritan would have been repulsive to Saul. So -he rode on, proudly, through the nation, with his head raised, breathing -slaughter to the children of God. - -Damascus was about 138 miles from Jerusalem, but we are not told how long -he took for that journey. - -Little did Saul think that, nineteen hundred years after, in this -country, then wild, there would be thousands of people gathered just to -hear the story of his journey down to Damascus. - -He has arrived at the gates of the city, and is not yet cooled off, as -we say. He is still breathing revenge. See him as he stands before that -beautiful city. - -Some one has said Damascus is the most beautiful city in the world, and -we are told that when Mohammed came to it he turned his head away from -it, lest the very beauty of it would take him from his God. - -So this young man comes to Damascus, and he tells the hour of his -arrival. He never forgets the hour, for it was then that Christ met him. -He says: “I saw in the way a light from Heaven above the brightness of -the sun.” He saw the light of Heaven, and a glimpse of that light struck -him to the ground. From that light a voice called: “Saul! Saul!” Yes, the -Son of God knows his name. Sinner, God knows your name. He knows all -about you. He knows the street you live in and the number of your house, -because He told where Ananias lived when Paul went there. - -“Saul! Saul! Why persecutest thou Me?” - -How these words must have gone down into his soul! He stopped. The words -were to him. Could Saul give any reason when the question was put to him: -“Why persecutest thou Me?” Can any sinner give a reason for persecuting -Christ? - -I can imagine some of you saying: “I never persecute Christ. I have a -great many sins. I swear often--sometimes drink; but I always speak -respectfully of Christ.” Do you? Do you never speak disrespectfully of -His disciples and God’s children? - -When Christ asked Saul that question He might have added: “I lived on -Earth thirty years, and I never did you any hurt or injury; I never even -injured your friends. I came into the world to bless you. Why persecutest -thou Me?” - -When this question was put to Saul He supplemented it by saying: “It is -hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” You and I would not have had -any compassion upon Saul if we had been in Christ’s place. We would have -said the hardship is upon the poor Christians in Damascus. But the Lord -saw differently. - -In those days, when people did not drive their camels with whips, they -had a stick with a sharp piece of steel at the end, called a prick, -and with this the animal was goaded. Hence the point of the saying is -obvious. - - -SIMEON. - -The Lord was one day at Jerusalem, and a banquet was given him by Simeon. - -There was a banquet table in the house, arranged according to the fashion -of that day. Instead of chairs for the guests, the guests sat reclining -on lounges. - -Well, it was just one of these repasts that our Lord sat down to, along -with the wealthy Simeon and his many guests. But no sooner had He entered -than a certain woman followed Him into the house. She fell down at His -feet, and began to wash them with her tears. - -It was the custom in those days to wash one’s feet on entering a house. -Sandals were worn, and the practice was necessary. - -This woman had got into the house by some means, and, once inside, had -quietly stolen up to the feet of the Savior. In her hand was a box; but -her heart, too, was just as full of ointment as the box she carried. And -there was the sweetest perfume as she stole to His feet. - -Her tears started to fall down on those sacred feet--hot, scalding tears, -that gushed out like water. She said nothing while the tears fell, and -then she took down her long black hair and wiped His feet with the hair -of her head. And after that she poured out the ointment on His feet. - -At once the Pharisees began to talk together. How, all through the New -Testament, these Pharisees kept whispering and talking together! - -They said, shaking their heads: “This Man receiveth sinners. Were He a -prophet, He would know who and what manner of woman this is that touches -Him, for she is a sinner.” No prophet, they insisted, would allow that -kind of a woman near him, but would push her away from him. - -But Jesus read their thoughts, and quickly rebuked them. He said: -“Simeon, I have something to say to thee.” - -Simeon answered: “Master, say on.” - -“Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me -no water to wash my feet; but she has washed my feet with tears, and -wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this -woman, since I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with -ointment thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with -ointment.” - -Simeon was like many Pharisees nowadays, who say: “Oh, well! We will -entertain that minister if we must. We do not want to, for he is a -dreadful nuisance; but we will have to put up with him. It is our duty to -be patronizing.” - -Well, the Master said more to His entertainer, as follows: - -“There was a certain creditor which had two debtors. One owed 500 pence -and the other 50 pence, and when he had nothing to pay----” - -Mark that, sinner; the debtor had nothing to pay. There is no sinner in -the world who can pay any thing to cancel his debt to God. The great -trouble is that sinners think they can pay--some of them 75 cents on the -dollar, some even feel able to pay 99 cents on the dollar, and the one -cent that they are short they believe can be made up in some manner. -That is not the correct way; it is all wrong; you must throw all the debt -on God. Some few, very likely, will only claim to pay 25 cents on the -dollar, but they are not humble enough, either; they can not begin to -carry out their bargain. Why, sinner, you could not pay one-tenth part of -a single mill of the debt you are under to God. - -Now, it is said in this parable the debtors could not pay their creditor -any thing; they had nothing to give, and their creditor frankly forgave -them both. - -“Now, Simeon,” the Master asked, “which should love that man the more?” - -“I suppose,” was the reply, “he that was forgiven the more.” - -“You have rightly judged. This woman loves much because she has been -forgiven much.” And Jesus went on to tell Simeon all about her. I suppose -He wanted to make it plainer to Simeon, and He turned to the poor woman -and said: - -“Thy sins are forgiven; go in peace.” - -All her sins were forgiven--not simply part of them; not half them, but -every sin from the cradle up. Every impurity is blotted out for time and -eternity. - -Yes, truly, she went out in peace, for she went out in the light of -Heaven. With what brightness the light must have come down to her from -those eternal hills! With what beauty it must have flashed on her soul! - -Yes, she came to the feet of the Master for a blessing, and she received -it. - - -THE GOOD SAMARITAN. - -We are told that as Jesus stood with His disciples a man, a lawyer, stood -up and tempted Him. - -The lawyer asked Jesus this question: - -“Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” - -He asked what he could do to inherit eternal life--what he could do to -buy salvation. - -Jesus answered his question by asking another question: “What is written -in the law? How readest thou?” - -To this the lawyer answered: - -“Thou shalt love the Lord God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, -and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as -thyself.” - -“Thou hast answered right. But who is ‘thy neighbor?’” - -Then Jesus drew a vivid picture, which has been told for the last -eighteen hundred years, and I do not know any thing that brings out more -truthfully the wonderful power of the Gospel than this story. It is the -story of the man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and who fell -among thieves. - -Jerusalem was called the City of Peace. Jericho and the road leading to -it were infested with thieves. Probably it had been taken possession of -by the worst of Adam’s sons. - -[Illustration: THE ARRIVAL OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN AT THE INN - -From the Painting by Gustave Dore.] - -[Illustration: DAVID.--From Statue by Angelo] - -I do not know how far the man got from Jerusalem toward Jericho, but the -thieves had come out and fallen upon him, and had taken all his money, -stripped him of his clothing and left him wounded. I suppose they left -him for dead. - -By-and-by, a priest came down the road from Jerusalem. We are told that -he came by chance. Perhaps he was going down to dedicate some synagogue -or preach a sermon on some important subject, and had the manuscript in -his pocket. - -As he was going along on the other side, he heard a groan. He turned -around, and saw the poor fellow, lying bleeding on the ground, and pitied -him. He went up close, took a look at him, and said: “Why, that man is a -Jew! He belongs to the seed of Abraham. If I remember aright, I saw him -in the synagogue last Sabbath. I pity him; but I have too much business, -and I can not attend to him.” - -He felt a pity for him, and looked on him, and probably wondered why God -allowed such men as were those thieves to come into the world. Then he -passed by. - -There are many men just like this priest. They stop to discuss and wonder -why sin came into the world, and look upon a wounded man, but do not stop -to pick up a poor sinner--forgetting the fact that sin is in the world -already, and must be rooted out. - -Soon another man came along, a Levite, and he also heard the groans of -the robbers’ victim. He, too, turned about and looked upon him with -pity. He felt compassion for him. He was one of those men that, if we -had him here, we would probably make an elder or a deacon. He looked at -the suffering man and said: “Poor fellow! He is all covered with blood! -He has been badly hurt; he is nearly dead; and they have taken all his -money and stripped him naked! Ah, well; I pity him.” He would like to -extend help, but he, too, has very pressing business; and so he passes by -on the other side. But he has scarcely got out of sight when another one -comes along, riding on a beast. He heard the groans of the wounded man, -and went over and took a good look at him. - -The traveler was a Samaritan. When he looked down he saw the man was a -Jew. - -Ah, how the Jews looked down upon the Samaritans. There was a great, high -partition wall between the Jews and the Samaritans. The Jews would not -allow them in the Temple; they would not have any dealings with them; -they would not associate with them. - -I can see him coming along that road, with his good, benevolent face; -and as he passes he hears a groan from the poor fellow. He draws in his -beast, and pauses to listen. “And he came to where he was.” - -This is the sweetest thing, to my mind, in the whole story. - -A good many people would like to help a poor man if he was on the -platform--if it cost them no trouble. They want him to come to them. They -are afraid to touch the wounded man; he is all over blood, and they will -get their hands soiled. - -And that was just the way with the priest and the Levite. This poor -man, perhaps, had paid half of all his means to help the service in the -Temple, and might have been a constant worshiper; but they only felt pity -for him. - -This good Samaritan “came to where he was,” and after he saw him he had -compassion on him. That word “compassion”--how sweet it sounds! The first -thing he did on hearing him cry for water--the hot sun had been pouring -down upon his head--was to go and get it from a brook. Then he goes and -gets a bag, that he had with him--what we might call a carpet-bag or a -saddle-bag in the West--and pours in oil on his wounds. Then he says to -himself: “The poor fellow is weak.” So he goes and gets a little wine. He -has been lying so long in the burning sun that he is nearly dead now--he -had been left half dead--and the wine revives him. - -The good Samaritan looks him over, and sees all the wounds that need -to be bound up. But he has nothing to do this with. I can see him now, -tearing the lining out of his coat, and with it binding up his wounds. -Then he takes him up and lays him on his bosom until he is revived, and, -when the poor fellow gets strength enough, the good Samaritan puts him on -his own beast. - -If the Jew had not been half dead he would never have allowed the -Samaritan to put his hands on him. He would have treated him with scorn. -But he is half dead, and he can not prevent the good Samaritan treating -him kindly and putting him on his beast. - -Did you ever stop to think what a strong picture it would have been if -the Samaritan had not been able himself to get the man on the beast--if -he had needed to call any assistance? - -Perhaps a man would have come along, and he would have asked him to help -him with the wounded man. - -“What are you?” - -“I am a Samaritan.” - -“You are a Samaritan, are you? I can not help you--I am a Jew.” - -There is a good deal of that spirit today--just as strong as it was -then. When we are trying to get a poor man on the right way--when we are -tugging at him to get his face toward Zion--we ask some one to help us, -but he says: “I am a Roman Catholic.” - -“Well,” you say, “I am a Protestant.” - -So they give no assistance to one another. - -The same spirit of old is present today. The Protestants will have -nothing to do with the Catholics; the Jews will have nothing to do with -the Gentiles. And there was a time--but, thank God, we are getting over -it--when a Methodist would not touch a Baptist nor a Presbyterian a -Congregationalist; and if we beheld a Methodist taking a man out of the -ditch, a Baptist was sure to ask: - -“What are you going to do with him?” - -“Take him to a Methodist church.” - -“Well, I’ll have nothing to do with him.” - -A great deal of this has gone by, and the time is certainly coming when, -if we are trying to get a man out of the ditch, and they see us tugging -at him, and we are so faint that we can not get him on the beast, they -will help him. And that is what Christ wants. - -Well, the Samaritan gets him on his beast, and says to him: - -“You are very weak, but my beast is sure-footed; he’ll take you to the -inn, and I’ll hold you.” - -He held him firmly, and God is able to hold every one He takes out of the -pit. I see them going along the road, he holding him on, and he gets him -to the inn. He gets him there, and he says to the inn keeper: - -“Here is a wounded man; the thieves have been after him; give him the -best attention you can; nothing is too good for him.” - -I can imagine the good Samaritan as stopping there all night, sitting up -with him, and attending to his every need. And the next morning he gets -up and says to the landlord: - -“I must be off; I leave a little money to pay you for what the man has -had, and if that is not enough I will pay what is necessary when I return -from my business in Jericho.” - -This good Samaritan gave this landlord twopence to pay for what he had -got, and promised to come again and repay whatever had been spent to take -care of the man, and he had given him, besides, all his sympathy and -compassion. - -Jesus tells this story in answer to the lawyer who came to tempt Him, and -showed that the Samaritan was the neighbor. - -Now, this story is brought out here to teach church-goers this thing: It -is not creed or doctrine that we need so much as compassion and sympathy. - - -THE LEPER. - -See that poor leper! Do you know what an awful thing leprosy is? A -disease so terrible that it separates its victim from all the world, and -makes him an outcast, even from his home. Every one is afraid of him. -His disease is so contagious that to touch him or even to breathe the air -near him is dangerous; and so these poor, afflicted wretches have to go -away and live in cave or desert all alone. - -They sit by the wayside afar off, calling to the passers-by for -charity--who sometimes throw them a piece of money and hurry off, lest -they also come into that terrible plight. - -Here is a poor man who finds the marks of what he thinks is this terrible -disease upon his body. According to the law, he must go to the priest and -be examined. - -Alas! The priest says it is leprosy--nothing else. - -Now the poor man, with broken heart, turns away from the Temple. He goes -to his house, to say good-by to his wife and to take his children in -his arms once more before he goes away to spend the long years in the -wilderness alone, or with other lepers like himself, until death shall -come to deliver him from his sufferings. - -What a sorry house is that! Surely, this is worse than death itself. - -He goes out of his door with no hope of ever entering it again. He walks -the street by himself, and if any one comes near he lifts up his voice in -that mournful cry: - -“Unclean! Unclean!” - -Out of the gates of the city he goes, away from all his friends and -acquaintances, carrying with him the sorrow of separation and the seeds -of death. - -One day he sees a crowd passing along the road, but he dares not go near -enough to inquire what it is. All at once he happens to think it may -be that Prophet of Nazareth whom he had heard of--that same Man that, -people said, could open the eyes of blind men, make lame men to walk, and -who had even raised the son of the widow from death, over there at Nain. -If only He were passing! At any rate, he will take the chances, and cry -out after Him; and so he shouts, at the top of his voice: - -“Have mercy upon me!” - -All the rest of the crowd are afraid of him, but Jesus, who is in the -midst, hears some one calling; and, just as He always did when any one -wanted any thing of Him, He stopped to find out what it was. - -He is not afraid of the leper; and so, while the rest of the crowd stand -apart by themselves, He calls the poor fellow up to Him, and asks him -what he wants. - -The leper, with his heart full of anxious hope, makes answer: - -“Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.” - -Jesus says: “I will; be thou clean.” - -A strange sense of health and strength comes suddenly over the man. He -looks at his hands, and finds the leprosy all gone. He begins to pour -out his heart in thanks to Jesus, who sends him away to the priests, -saying: “Go, show thyself to the priests, and offer the gift that Moses -commanded.” - -Now, I seem to see that cleansed leper, hurrying off to show himself -to the priest, to be pronounced cured, according to the law; and then -hastening to his little home, to see his wife and children once more. He -bursts into the house, weeping for joy. He stretches out his arms to -his wife and little ones, saying: “I am clean! Jesus did it--Jesus of -Nazareth.” - - -THE PENITENT THIEF. - -I am going to take for my text, this morning, “A Man”--the last one that -Jesus saved before He returned to Heaven. - -The fact that Jesus saved such a man at all ought to give every one of us -much hope and comfort. This man was a thief--a highwayman and murderer, -perhaps--and yet Christ takes him with Him when He ascends to glory; and -if Jesus is not ashamed of such a man, surely no class of sinners need to -feel that they are left out. - -It is a blessed fact that all kinds of men and women are represented -among the converts in the Gospels, and almost all of them were converted -suddenly. - -Very many people object to sudden conversions, but you may read in the -Acts of the Apostles of eight thousand people converted in two days. -That seems to me rather quick work. If all the Christians before me this -morning would only consecrate themselves to the work of Christ, they -might be the means of converting that number before the week is out. - -Let us look at Christ hanging on the cross, between two thieves--the -Scribes and Pharisees wagging their heads and jeering at Him, His -disciples gone away, and only His mother and one or two other women in -sight to cheer Him with their presence, among all this concourse of -enemies--relentless and mocking enemies. - -Hear those spiteful Pharisees calling out to Jesus: “If Thou be the Son -of God, come down from the cross, and we will believe on Thee.” And the -account says that the two thieves cast the same in His teeth. - -So, then, the first thing that we know of our man is that he is a reviler -of Christ. You might reasonably think that he ought to be doing something -else at such a time as this; but, hanging there in the midst of his -tortures, and certain to be dead in a few hours, instead of confessing -his sins and preparing to meet the God whose laws he had broken all his -life--instead of that, he is abusing God’s only Son. Surely, this man can -not sink any lower until he sinks into hell! - -The next thing we hear of him, he appears to be under conviction. Nobody -is ever converted until he is convicted. - -In the twenty-third chapter of Luke we read: - -“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on Him, saying: -‘If Thou be the Christ, save Thyself and us.’ But the other, answering, -rebuked him, saying: ‘Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same -condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our -deeds; but this man hath done nothing amiss.’” - -What, do you suppose, it was that made this great change in this man’s -feelings in these few hours? - -Christ had not preached him a sermon--had given him no exhortation. The -darkness had not yet come on; the Earth had not opened its mouth; the -business of death was going on as usual; the crowd was still there, -mocking and hissing and wagging their heads; and yet this man, who in -the morning was railing at Christ, is now confessing his sins. - -“We indeed justly.” - -No miracle had been wrought before his eyes. The Son of God had not come -down from the cross. No angel from Heaven had come to place a glittering -crown upon His head, in place of the bloody crown of thorns. - -What was it, then? - -I will tell you what I think it was. I think it was the Savior’s prayer: - -“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” - -I seem to hear this thief talking with himself in this fashion: - -“What a strange kind of man this must be! He says He is King of the Jews; -and the superscription on His cross says the same thing. But what sort -of a throne is this? He says He is the Son of God. Why does not God send -down His angels, and destroy all this great gathering of people that -are torturing His Son? If He has all power now, as He used to have when -He worked those miracles they talk about, why does He not bring out His -vengeance, and sweep all these wretches into destruction? I would do it -in a minute, if I had the power. Oh, if I could, I would open the Earth, -and swallow up these tormentors! - -“But this man prays to God to ‘forgive them.’ - -“Strange! Strange! He must be different from the rest of us. I am sorry -that I said one word against Him when they first hung us up here. What a -difference there is between Him and me! - -“Here we are, hanging on two crosses--side by side; but all the rest -of our lives we have been far enough apart. I have been robbing and -murdering, but He has been visiting the hungry, healing the sick, and -raising the dead. Now these people are railing at us both. What a strange -world is this! - -“I will not rail at Him any more. Indeed, I begin to believe He must be -the Son of God; for, surely, no son of man could forgive his enemies this -way.” - -That is what did it, my friends. - -This poor man had been scourged and beaten and nailed to the cross, and -hung up there for the world to gaze upon; and he was not sorry for his -sins one single bit--did not feel the least conviction on account of all -that misery. But when he heard the Savior praying for His murderers that -broke his heart. - -I remember to have heard a story, somewhere, of a bad boy that had run -away from home. He had given his father no end of trouble. He had refused -all the invitations that his father had sent him to come home and be -forgiven, and help to comfort his old heart. He had even gone so far as -to scoff at his father and mother. - -But one day a letter came, telling him his father was dead, and they -wanted him to come home and attend the funeral. - -At first he determined he would not go, but then he thought it would be a -shame not to pay some little show of respect to the memory of so good a -man after he was dead; and so, just as a matter of form, he took a train -and went to the old home. - -He sat through all the funeral services, saw his kind old father buried, -and came back with the rest of the friends to the house, with his heart -as cold and stony as ever. But when the old man’s will was brought out -to be read, the ungrateful son found that his father had remembered him -along with all the other members of the family in the will, and had left -him an inheritance with the others, who had not gone astray. - -This broke his heart. - -It was too much for him, that his old father, during all those years in -which he had been so wicked and so rebellious, had never ceased to love -him. - -That is just the way our Father in Heaven does with us. That is just the -way Jesus does with people who refuse to give their hearts to Him. He -loves them in spite of their sins, and it is the love which, more than -any thing else, brings hard-hearted sinners to fall upon their knees. - -Now, this thief on the cross confessed his sins. A man may be very sorry -for his sins; but, if he does not confess them, he has no promise of -being forgiven. The thief says: “We are suffering justly.” I never knew -any man to be converted until he confessed. - -Cain felt bad enough over his sins, but he did not confess. - -Saul was greatly tormented in his mind, but he went to the Witch of Endor -rather than to the Lord. - -Judas felt so bad over the betrayal of his Master that he went out and -hanged himself; but he did not confess--that is, he did not confess to -God. He came back and confessed to the priests, saying: “I have sinned in -that I have betrayed the innocent blood.” It was of no use to confess to -them; they could not forgive him. What he should have done was to confess -to God; but instead of that, he rushed out and hanged himself. - -How different is the case with the penitent thief! He confesses his sins -to Christ, and Christ has mercy on him at once. - -Just here is one of the great difficulties with many people. They do not -like to come up face to face with their sins. They do not like to own -that they are sinners. They excuse themselves in every way. They think -they are not very bad sinners; that there are a great many worse than -they are; and so they try to cover up the great fact that this penitent -thief confesses openly. My friends, you never will be saved, so long as -you try to cover up your sins. - -We have heard a great deal about the faith of Abraham and the faith of -Moses; but this man seems to me to have had more faith than any of them. -He stands at the head of his class. - -God was twenty-five years toning up the faith of Abraham; Moses was -forty years getting ready for his work; but this thief, right here in -the midst of men who rejected Him--nailed to the cross and racked with -pain in every nerve, overwhelmed with horror, and his soul in a perfect -tempest--still manages to lay hold upon Christ, and trust in Him for a -swift salvation. His heart goes out to the Savior. How glad he would be -to fall on his knees at the foot of that cross, and pour out his prayer -to Him who was hanging on it! But this he can not do. His hands and feet -are nailed fast to the wood; but they can not nail his eyes, nor his -heart. He can, at least, turn his head, and look upon the Son of God; -and his breaking heart can go out in love to the One who is dying beside -him--dying for him, and dying for you and me. - -And what did Jesus say in answer to his prayer? - -That prayer was a confession of Christ. He calls Jesus “Lord,” and begs -to be remembered in His kingdom. That must be a kingdom in Heaven--for, -surely, there was no chance of a kingdom on Earth, as matters looked at -that time. - -Christ fulfilled His promise to the thief: - -“Whoso confesseth Me before men, him will I confess before my Father and -the holy angels.” - -He looks kindly upon him, and says: - -“Today thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.” - -And now the darkness falls upon the Earth; the Sun hides itself; but, -worse than all, the Father hides His face from the Son. What else is the -meaning of that bitter cry? - -“My God! My God! Why hast Thou forsaken Me?” - -Ah! It had been written: - -“Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” - -Jesus is made a curse for us. God can not look upon sin; and now His own -Son is bearing, in His own body, the sins of the world; and so He can not -look upon Him. - -I think that was what was heaviest upon the Savior’s heart, away there in -the Garden, when He prayed: “If it be possible, let this cup pass away -from Me.” - -He could bear the unfaithfulness of His friends, the spite of His -enemies, the pain of His crucifixion and the shadow of death. He could -bear all these. But when it came to the hiding of His Father’s face, -that seemed almost too much for even the Son of God to bear. But even -this He endured for our sins; and now the face of God is turned back to -us, whose sins had turned it away, and looking upon Jesus, the sinless -One, He sees our souls in Him. - -In the midst of all His agony, how sweet it must have been to Christ to -hear that poor thief confessing Him! He likes to have men confessing Him. - -Do you remember His asking Peter: “Who do men say that I am?” - -Peter answered: “Some people say You are Moses; some people say You are -Elias, and some people say You are one of the old prophets.” - -He asked again: “But, Peter, who do you say that I am?” - -And when Peter said “Thou art the Son of God,” Jesus blessed him for that -confession. - -And now this thief confesses Him--confesses Him in the darkness. Perhaps -it is so dark he can not see Him any longer; but he feels that He is -there beside him. - -This poor thief did as much for Christ in that one act as if he had lived -and worked for Him fifty years. That is what Christ wants of us--to -confess Him; in the dark as well as in the light, and when it is hard as -well as when it is easy. For He was not ashamed of us, and carried our -sins even unto death. - -Just look for a minute at the prayer of this penitent thief. - -He calls Jesus “Lord.” That sounds like a young convert. “Lord, remember -me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.” Not a very long prayer, you see, -but a prevailing prayer. - -Some people think they must have a form of prayer--a prayer book, -perhaps--if they are going to address the Throne of Grace properly. But -what would that poor fellow do with a prayer book up there--hanging on -the cross, his hands nailed fast to the wood? Suppose it were necessary -that some minister or priest should pray for him, what is he going to -do? There is nobody there to pray for him, and he is going to die within -a few hours. He is out of reach of help from men, but God has laid help -upon One who is mighty, and that One is close at hand. - -Then look at the answer to his prayer. The supplicant received more -than he asked. He only asked to be remembered when Christ came into His -kingdom. But Christ said to him: “I will take you right up with Me into -My kingdom today.” - -The Savior wants us all to remember Him in His old kingdom--to remember -Him in the breaking of bread and in the drinking of wine--and then He -will remember us in the new kingdom. - -Just think of this, my friends. The last the world ever saw of Christ -He was on the cross. The last business of His life was the saving of a -poor penitent thief. That was a part of His triumph; that was one of the -glories attending His death. - -No doubt Satan said to himself: “I will have the soul of that thief, -pretty soon, down here in the caverns of the lost. He belongs to me; he -has belonged to me all these years.” - -[Illustration: JACOB, TENDING FLOCKS OF LABAN.--From the Painting by -Gustave Dore.] - -[Illustration: MOSES, BREAKING THE TABLES OF THE LAW - -From the Painting by Gustave Dore.] - -But Christ snapped the fetters of his soul, and set him at liberty; Satan -lost his prey. “The Lion of the tribe of Judah” conquered the lion of -hell. - -You know that in the British colonies, before the day of Wilberforce, -there used to be a great many slaves; but that good man began to agitate -the question of setting them free; and all the slaves in the colonies, -when they heard of it, were very anxious to hear how he was getting -along. They knew the bill was before Parliament, and with them it was a -question next to that of life itself. - -But in those days there were no telegraphs and no steamships. The mails -went by the slow sailing vessels. They would be from six to eight months -in making the voyage to some of the more distant of the colonies. The -slaves used to watch for the white sails of British ships, hoping to hear -good reports, and also fearing they might hear bad ones. - -There was a ship that had sailed immediately after the Emancipation -Act had been passed and signed by the king; and when she came within -hailing distance of the boats that had put off from the shore at the port -of her destination, the captain could not wait to deliver the message -officially, and have it duly promulgated by the government; but, seeing -the anxious men standing up in their boats, eager for the news, he placed -his trumpet to his mouth, and shouted with all his might: - -“Free! Free!” - -Just so the angels shouted when this poor bondman of Satan’s, almost -in the jaws of the pit, was taken in hand by the Savior Himself; -delivered from the bondage of darkness into the liberty of His dear Son! -Free--free from sin--free from the curse of the law--free, too, in a -short time, from the bonds of the flesh. - -What a contrast! In the morning he is led out a condemned criminal; in -the evening he is saved from his sins. In the morning he is cursing; -in the evening he is singing hallelujahs with a choir of angels. In -the morning he is condemned by men as not fit to live on Earth; in the -evening he is reckoned good enough for Heaven. - -Christ was not ashamed to walk arm-in-arm with him along the golden -pavements of the Eternal City. - -He had heard the Savior’s cry: “It is finished.” He had seen the spear -thrust into His side. Jesus had died before his very eyes, and hastened -before him to get a place ready for this first soul brought from the -world after He had died. - -You have heard of the child that did not like to die and go to -Heaven, because he did not know anybody there. But the thief had one -acquaintance--even the Master of the place. He calls to Gabriel, and says: - -“Prepare a chariot; make haste! There is a friend of Mine hanging upon -that cross. They are breaking his legs; he soon will be ready to come. -Make haste and bring him to Me.” - -And the angel in the chariot sweeps down the sky, takes up the soul of -the poor penitent thief, and hastens back again to glory; while the gates -of the city swing wide open, and the angels shout their welcome to this -poor sinner--“washed in the blood of the Lamb.” - -And that, my friends, is just what Christ wants to do for every sinner. -He wants to save you. That is the business on which He came down from -Heaven. That is why He died; and if He gives such great and swift -salvation to this poor thief on the cross, surely He will give you the -same deliverance, if, like the penitent thief, you will repent, confess -and trust in the Savior. - -Somebody says that this man “was saved at the eleventh hour.” I do not -know about that. Perhaps it was the first hour. It might have been the -first hour with him, I think. Perhaps he never knew Christ until he was -led out to die beside Him. This may have been the very first time he had -ever learned the way of faith in the Son of God. - -But how many of you gave your hearts to Christ the very first time He -asked them of you? Are you not farther along in the day than even that -poor thief? - -A little while ago, in one of the mining districts of England, a young -man attended one of our meetings, and refused to go from the place till -he had found peace in the Savior. The next day he went down into the pit, -and the coal fell in upon him; and when they took him out he was broken -and mangled, and had only about two or three minutes of life left in him. -His friends gathered about him, saw his lips moving, and, bending down -their ears to catch his words, this was what they heard him say: “It was -a good thing I settled it last night.” - - * * * * * - -Begin now to confess your sins, and to pray the Lord to remember you when -He cometh into His kingdom. - - -THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN. - -In this first parable we are told that men ought to pray always and -everywhere; that prayer should not be left to a few in the churches, but -all men ought to pray. - -Jesus gives us a picture, so that we may understand in what spirit we -ought to pray. - -Two men went up to the Temple--one to pray to himself and the other to -pray to God. - -I think it will be safe to divide the audience into two bodies, and put -them under these two heads. However, whether we divide the audience or -not, we come under these two heads--those who have the spirit of the -publican and those who have the spirit of the Pharisee. - -You can find that the entire community may be correctly divided into -these two classes. The spirit of the prodigal and the spirit of an elder -brother are still in the world; the spirits of Cain and Abel are still in -the world, and these two are representative men. - -One of them trusted in his own righteousness and the other did not have -any trust in it, and I say I think all men will come under these two -heads. They have either given up all their self-righteousness--renounced -it all and turned their backs upon it--or else they are clinging to their -own righteousness; and you will find that these self-righteous men that -are ever clinging to their own righteousness are continually measuring -themselves by their neighbors. - -“I thank God that I am not as other men are.” - -This was the spirit of that Pharisee, and this is the spirit today of -one class in this community, and the other class comes under the head of -this other man. - -Let us look at the man Christ pictured first. - -It is evident that he was full of egotism--full of conceit--full of -pride; and I believe, as I have said before on this platform, that is one -of the greatest enemies the Son of God has today, and I believe it keeps -more men from the kingdom of God than any thing else. - -Pride can grow on any soil, in any climate. No place is too hot for it, -and no place is too cold for its growth. How much misery it has caused in -this world! How many men here are kept from salvation by pride! - -Why, it sprung up into Heaven, and for it Lucifer was cast out; by pride -Nebuchadnezzar lost his throne. As he walked through Babylon he cried: -“Is not this a great Babylon which I have built?” And he was hurled from -his throne. - -How many men that have become drunkards, who are all broken up--will -gone, health gone--and yet are just as full of pride as the sun is of -light! It will not let them come to Christ and be saved. - -A great many live like this Pharisee--only in the form of religion; they -do not want the wheat--only the husk; they do not want the kernel--only -the shell. - -How many men are today just living on empty form! They say their prayers, -but they do not mean any thing. - -Why, this Pharisee said plenty of prayers, but how did he pray? He prayed -to himself. He might as well have prayed to a post. He did not pray to -God, who knew his heart a thousand times better than he himself did. He -thought he knew himself; he forgot that he was a sepulcher, full of dead -men’s bones; forgot that his heart was rotten, corrupt and vile; and he -comes and spreads out his hands and looks up to Heaven. - -Why, the very angels in Heaven veil their faces before God as they cry: -“Holy, holy, holy!” - -But this Pharisee comes into the Temple and spreads out his hands, and -says: - -“Lord, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are. I fast twice a week.” - -He set before God what he had done in comparison with other men, and was -striking a balance and making out God to be his debtor, as thousands are -doing today; and then he says: “I give one-tenth of all I possess.” - -I suppose if he was living in Chicago now, and we had gone to him and -asked him for a donation to help put up this Tabernacle, he would have -said: - -“Well, I think it will do good; yes, I think it will. It may reach the -vagabonds and outcasts--I do not need it, of course--but if it will reach -that class it will do good. I will give $50, especially if you can get it -in the morning papers--if you can have it announced: ‘John Jones gave $50 -to build the Tabernacle.’” - -That is the way some of the people give donations to God’s cause; they -give in a patronizing way. But in this manner God will not accept it. If -your heart does not go with your gift, God will not accept it. - -This Pharisee says: “I give one-tenth of all that I have; I keep up the -services in the Temple; I fast twice a week.” - -He fasted twice a week, although once was only called for, and he thought -because of this he was far above other men. A great many people nowadays -think because they do not eat meat on Fridays, but only fish, they -deserve great credit, although they go on sinning all the week. - -Look at this prayer! There is no confession there. He had got so bad, and -the devil had so covered up his sins, that he was above confession. - -The first thing we have to do when we come to God is to confess. If there -is any sin clustering around the heart, bear in mind we can have no -communion with God. It is because we have sin about our hearts that our -prayers do not go any higher than our head. We can not get God’s favor if -we have any iniquity in our hearts. - -People, like the Pharisee, have only been educated to pray. If they did -not pray every night their consciences would trouble them, and they would -get out of bed and say their prayers; but the moment they get off their -knees, perhaps, you may hear them swearing. - -A man may just as well get a string of beads and pray to them. It would -do him as much good. - -This Pharisee’s prayer showed no spirit of contrition; there was no -petition; he did not ask any thing from God. This is a queer kind of -prayer: - -“Lord, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are--extortionate, unjust, -adulterous--or even as the poor publican.” - -Not a petition in his prayer. It was a prayerless prayer--it was -downright mockery. But how many men have just got into that cradle and -been rocked to sleep by the devil! - -A short time ago I put this question to a man: - -“Are you a Christian?” - -“Of course I am; I say my prayers every night.” - -“But do you ever pray?” - -“Didn’t I tell you I prayed?” - -“But do you ever pray?” - -“Why, of course I do; haven’t I said so?” - -I found that he prayed, but he only went through the form, and, after a -little, I found that he had been in the habit of swearing. - -“How is this?” I asked. “Swearing and praying! Do your prayers ever go -any higher than your head?” - -“Well, I have sometimes thought that they did not.” - -My friends, if you are not in communion with God your prayers are but -forms; you are living in formalism, and your prayers will go no higher -than your head. - -How many people just go through the form! They can not rest unless they -say their prayers. How many are there with whom it is only a matter of -education? - -But this Pharisee trusted in his own righteousness; he ignored the mercy -of God and the love of Jesus. He was measuring himself by his own rule. -Now, if you want to measure yourself, do it by God’s law--by God’s -requirements. - -A great many people have a rule of their own, by which they measure -themselves, and by that rule they are perfectly ready and willing to -forgive themselves. - -So it was with this Pharisee. The idea of coming to God and asking His -forgiveness never enters his mind. - -While talking to a man--one of those Pharisees--some time ago, about God -and the need of Christ, he said to me: - -“I can do without Christ; I do not want Him. I am ready to stand before -God any time.” - -That man was trusting in his own righteousness. - -Now, take a good look at this Pharisee. You know, I have an idea that the -Bible is like an album. I go into a man’s house, and, while waiting for -him, I take up an album from a table and open it. - -I look at a picture. - -“Why, that looks like a man I know.” - -I turn over and look at another. - -“Well, I know that man.” - -By-and-by, I come upon another. - -“Why, that man looks like my brother.” - -I am getting pretty near home. I keep turning over the leaves. - -“Well, I declare! Here is a man who lives in the same street I do. Why, -he is my next-door neighbor.” - -Then I come upon another, and I see--myself. - -My friends, if you read your Bibles, you will find your own pictures -there. It will just describe you. - -Now, it may be there is some Pharisee here tonight. If there is, let -him turn to the third chapter of John, and see what Christ said to the -Pharisee: - -“Except a man be born again, he can not enter the kingdom of God.” - -Nicodemus, no doubt, was one of the fairest specimens of a man in -Jerusalem in those days, yet he had to be born again, else he could not -enter into the kingdom of God. - -“But,” you may say, “I am not a Pharisee. I am a poor and miserable -sinner--too bad to come to Him.” Well, turn to the woman of Samaria, and -see what He said to her. - -See what a difference there was between that publican and that Pharisee. -There was as great a distance between them as between the Sun and the -Moon. - -One was in the very highest station, and the other occupied the very -worst station. One had only himself and his sins to bring to God, and the -other was trying to bring in his position and his aristocracy. - -I tell you, when a man gets a true sight of himself, all his position and -station and excellences drop. - -See this prayer: - -“I thank God.” - -“I am not.” - -“I fast.” - -“I give.” - -“I possess.” - -Why, if he had delivered a long prayer, and the copy had been put into -the printers’ hands, they would have had to send out for some “I’s.” - -“I thank God,” “I,” “I,” “I.” - -When a man prays--not with himself, but to God--he does not exalt -himself; he does not pass a eulogy on himself. He falls flat down in the -dust before God. In that prayer you do not find him thanking God for what -He had done for him. It was a heartless and prayerless prayer--merely a -form. - -I hope the day will come when formal prayer will be a thing of the past. -I think the reason why we can not get more people out to the meetings is -because we have too many formal prayers in the churches. These formal -Christians get up, like this Pharisee, and thank God that they are better -than other men; but when a man gets a look at himself he comes in the -spirit of the publican. - -You see this Pharisee standing and praying with himself, but God could -not give him any thing. He was too full of egotism--too full of himself. -There was no religion in it. God could not bless him. - -Now, for a moment, take a look at that poor publican. Just give his -prayer your attention. - -There was no capital “I” there--no exalting of himself. “God be merciful -to this Pharisee; God be merciful to the other people who have injured -me; God be merciful to the church members who have not been true to their -belief.” - -Was that his prayer? - -Thank God, he got to himself. “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” It was -very short. He had got his eye upon himself; he saw that his heart was -vile; he could not lift his eyes to Heaven. But, thank God, he could lift -his heart to Heaven. - -There is not a poor publican in the audience tonight but can send up this -prayer. No matter what your past life has been--no matter if it has been -as black as hell--if you but send up the prayer it will be heard. He did -not buy his own righteousness; and God heard his appeal. - -Spurgeon, speaking of that publican, said he had the soundest theology of -any man in England. He came before God, struck his hand on his heart, and -cried: “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” - - -THE WIDOW’S SON. - -Think of that poor widow at Nain. - -She is an old woman now; and her only son, who is the staff of her life, -is sick. - -How she watches him; sits up all night to see that he has his medicine at -the right time; sits by his bedside all day, fanning him, keeping away -the flies, moistening his parched lips with water! - -Every thing he asks for she brings. - -The very best doctor in Nain is sent for; and when he comes and feels the -pulse of the young man and looks at his tongue, he shakes his head; and -then the poor woman knows there is no hope for her boy. - -What an awful thought! - -“My son--my only son--must die! What will become of me then?” - -Sure enough, the doctor is right; and in a little while the fever comes -to its crisis, and the poor boy dies, with his head upon his mother’s -bosom. - -The people come in and try to comfort the bereaved mother; but it is of -no use. Her heart is broken; and she wishes she were dead, too. - -Some of you know what it is to look your last upon the faces of those you -love. Some of you mothers have wept hot tears upon the cold faces of your -sons. - -Well, they make him ready for burial; and when the time comes, they -celebrate the funeral service, and place him on a bier to carry him away -to the grave. - -What a sad procession! - -Just as they come out of the city gates, they see a little company of -thirteen dusty-looking travelers, coming up the road. - -There is One among them who is tall and far fairer than the sons of men. - -Who can He be? - -He is moved with compassion when He sees this little funeral procession; -and it does not take Him long to find out that this woman who walks next -the bier is a poor widow, whose only son she is following in sadness to -the grave. - -He tells the bearers to put down the bier; and while the mother wonders -what is to be done, He bends tenderly over the dead man, and speaks to -him in a low and sweet voice: - -“Arise!” - -And the dead man hears Him. His body begins to move; the man that was -dead is struggling with his grave clothes; they unbind them, and now he -sits up. - -He leaps off the bier, catches sight of his mother, remembers that he was -dead and is now alive again. He takes his mother in his arms, kisses her -again and again, and then turns to look at the Stranger who has wrought -this miracle upon him. - -He is ready to do any thing for that Man--ready to follow Him to the -death. But Jesus does not ask that of him. He knows his mother needs him; -and so He does not take him away to be one of His disciples, but gives -him back to his old mother. - -I would have liked to see that young man re-entering the city of Nain, -arm-in-arm with his mother. What do you suppose he said to the people, -who looked at him with wonder? Would he not confess that Jesus of -Nazareth had raised him from the dead? Would he not go everywhere, -declaring what the Lord had done for his dead body? - -Oh, how I love to preach Christ, who can stand over all the graves, and -say to all the dead bodies: “Arise!” - - XXX - XXX - XXX - XXX - XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX - XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX - XXX - XXX - XXX - XXX - XXX - XXX - XXX - XXX - XXX - - -ROCK OF AGES. - - Rock of Ages, cleft for me, - Let me hide myself in Thee! - Let the water and the blood - From Thy riven side which flowed - Be of sin the double cure-- - Cleanse from guilt and make me pure. - - In my hand no price I bring; - Simply to Thy cross I cling. - Naked--come to Thee for dress; - Helpless--look to Thee for grace; - Foul--I to Thy fountain fly; - Cleanse me, Savior, or I die! - - Not the labors of my hands - Can fulfill Thy law’s demands. - Could my zeal no respite know-- - Could my tears for ever flow-- - All for sin could not atone; - Thou must save, and Thou alone! - - While I draw this fleeting breath, - When my eye-strings break in death, - When I soar to worlds unknown, - See Thee on Thy judgment throne-- - Rock of Ages, cleft for me, - Let me hide myself in Thee! - - -WHERE HE LEADS I’LL FOLLOW. - - Sweet are the promises, kind is the word-- - Dearer far than any message man ever heard! - Pure was the mind of Christ--sinless I see; - He the great example is, and pattern for me. - - Where He leads I’ll follow-- - Follow all the way! - Where He leads I’ll follow-- - Follow Jesus every day! - - Sweet is the tender love Jesus has shown-- - Sweeter far than any love that mortals have known! - Kind to the erring one, faithful is He; - He the great example is, and pattern for me! - - Where He leads I’ll follow-- - Follow all the way! - Where He leads I’ll follow-- - Follow Jesus every day! - - List to His loving words: “Come unto Me.” - Weary, heavy-laden, there is sweet rest for thee! - Trust in His promises--faithful and sure; - Lean upon the Savior, and thy soul is secure. - - Where He leads I’ll follow-- - Follow all the way! - Where He leads I’ll follow-- - Follow Jesus every day! - - - - -BIBLE CHARACTERS - -AS DEPICTED BY THE BRILLIANT AND NOTED PREACHER, T. DE WITT TALMAGE. - - -ATHALIAH - -Grandmothers are more lenient with their children’s children than they -were with their own. - -At forty years of age, if discipline be necessary, chastisement is used; -but at seventy, the grandmother, looking upon the misbehavior of the -grandchild, is apologetic and disposed to substitute confectionery for -whip. - -There is nothing more beautiful than this mellowing of old age toward -childhood. Grandmother takes out her pocket handkerchief and wipes -her spectacles and puts them on, and looks down into the face of her -mischievous and rebellious descendant, and says: - -“I don’t think he meant to do it; let him off this time; I’ll be -responsible for his behavior in the future.” - -My mother, with the second generation around her--a boisterous crew--said -one day: “I suppose they ought to be disciplined, but I can not do it. -Grandmothers are not fit to bring up grandchildren.” - -But here we have a grandmother of a different hue. - -I have been at Jerusalem, where the occurrence that I shall describe took -place, and the whole scene came vividly before me while I was going over -the site of the ancient Temple and climbing the towers of the king’s -palace. - -Here is old Athaliah, the queenly murderess. - -She ought to have been honorable. Her father was a king. Her husband -was a king. Her son was a king. And yet we find her plotting for the -extermination of the entire royal family, including her own grandchildren. - -The executioner’s knives are sharpened; the palace is red with the blood -of princes and princesses. On all sides are shrieks, and hands thrown up, -and struggle and death groan. No mercy! Kill! Kill! - -But while the ivory floors of the palace run with carnage and the whole -land is under the shadow of a great horror, a fleet-footed woman--a -clergyman’s wife, Jehosheba by name--stealthily approaches the imperial -nursery, seizes upon the grandchild that had, somehow, as yet escaped -massacre, wraps it up tenderly but in haste, snuggles it against her, -flies down the palace stairs--her heart in her throat, lest she be -discovered in this Christian abduction. - -Get her out of the way as quickly as you can, for she carries a precious -burden--even a young king. - -With this youthful prize she presses into the room of the ancient Temple, -the church of olden time, unwraps the young king and puts him down, sound -asleep as he is, and unconscious of the peril that has been threatened; -and there for six years he is kept secreted in that church apartment. - -Meanwhile, old Athaliah smacks her lips with satisfaction and thinks that -all the royal family are dead. - -But the six years expire, and it is now time for the young Joash to come -forth and take the throne, and to push back into disgrace and death old -Athaliah. - -The arrangements are all made for political revolution. The military come -and take full possession of the Temple, swear loyalty to the boy Joash, -and then stand around for his defense. See the sharpened swords and -burnished shields! Every thing is ready. - -Now Joash, half affrighted at the armed tramp of his defenders, scared at -the vociferation of his admirers, is brought forth in full regalia. The -scroll of authority is put into his hands, the coronet of government is -put on his brow, and the glad people clap and wave, huzza and trumpet. - -Athaliah is aroused, and asks: - -“What is that? What is that sound over there in the Temple?” - -She hurries out to see, and on the way they meet her and say: - -“Why, haven’t you heard? You thought you had slain all the royal family, -but Joash has come to light.” - -Then the queenly murderess, frantic with rage, laid hold on her mantle -and tore it to tatters, and cried out until she foamed at the mouth: - -“You have no right to crown my grandson. You have no right to take the -government from my shoulders. Treason! Treason!” - -While she stood there, making this cry, the military started for her -arrest, and she took a short cut through a back door of the Temple and -ran through the royal stables; but the battle-axes of the military fell -on her in the barn-yard, and for many a day, when the horses were being -unloosed from the chariot after drawing out young Joash, the fiery steeds -would snort and rear while passing the place, as they smelt the taint. - -The first thought which I hand you from this subject is that the -extermination of righteousness is an impossibility. - -When a woman is good she is apt to be very good, and when she is bad she -is apt to be very bad; and this Athaliah was one of the latter sort. -She would exterminate the last scion of the house of David, through -whom Jesus was to come. There was plenty of work for embalmers and -undertakers. She would clear the land of all God-fearing and God-loving -people. She would put an end to every thing that could in any wise -interfere with her imperial criminality. - -Athaliah folds her hands and says: “The work is done; it is completely -done.” - -Is it? - -In the swaddling clothes of that church apartment are wrapped the cause -of God and the cause of good government. - -That is the scion of the house of David; it is Joash, the Christian -reformer; it is Joash, the friend of God; it is Joash, the demolisher of -Baalitish idolatry. Rock him tenderly; nurse him gently. - -Athaliah, you may kill all the other children, but you can not kill him. -Eternal defenses are thrown all around him, and this clergyman’s wife, -Jehosheba, will snatch him up from the palace nursery, and will run up -and down with him into the house of the Lord, and there she will hide him -for six years, and at the end of that time he will come forth for your -dethronement and utter obliteration. - - -DAVID. - -David, the shepherd boy, is watching his father’s sheep. - -They are pasturing on the very hills where afterward a Lamb was born of -which you have heard much--“the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of -the world.” - -David, the shepherd boy, was beautiful, brave, musical and poetic. I -think he often forgot the sheep in his reveries. There in the solitude he -struck the harp-string that is thrilling through all ages. David the boy -was at work gathering the material for David the poet and for David the -man. - -Like other boys, David was fond of using his knife among the saplings, -and he had noticed the exuding of the juice of the tree; and when he -became a man he said: “The trees of the Lord are full of sap.” - -David the boy, like other boys, had been fond of hunting the birds’ -nests, and he had driven the old stork off the nest to find how many eggs -were under her; and when he became a man he said: “As for the stork, the -fir trees are her house.” - -In boyhood he had heard the terrific thunder storm that frightened the -red deer into premature sickness; and when he became a man he said: “The -voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve.” - -David the boy had lain upon his back, looking up at the stars and -examining the sky, and to his boyish imagination the sky seemed like a -piece of divine embroidery, the divine fingers working in the threads of -light and the beads of stars; and when he grew up he wrote: - -“When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers.” - -When he became an old man, thinking of the goodness of God, he seemed -to hear again the bleating of his father’s sheep across many years, and -to think of the time when he tended them on the Bethlehem hills, and he -cries out: “The Lord is my shepherd.” - -There is one scene in the life of David that you may not have pondered. - -You have seen him with a harp, playing the devil out of Saul; with a -sling, smashing the skull of Goliath; with a sword, hacking to pieces the -Philistines; with a scepter, ruling a vast realm; with a psalm, gathering -all nations into doxology. - -But now we have David playing the fool. - -He has been anointed king, yet he is in exile and is passing incognito -among the Gathites. They are beginning to suspect who he is, and they say: - -“I wonder if this is not the warrior, King David? It looks like him. Is -not this the man about whom they used to make poetry, and about whom they -composed a dance, so that the maidens of the city, reeling now on one -foot and now on the other, used to sing: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, -but David has slain his tens of thousands’? Yes, he is very much like -David; he must be David; he is David.” - -David, to escape their hands, pretends to be demented; and he said within -himself: - -“If I act crazily, then these people will not injure me. No one would be -so much of a coward as to assault a madman.” - -So, one day, while these Gathites are watching King David with increased -suspicion, they see him standing by the door, running his hands -meaninglessly up and down the panels--scrabbling on the door as though he -would climb up, his mouth wide open, drooling like an infant. - -I suppose the boys of the streets threw missiles at him, but the sober -people of the town said: - -“This is not fair. Do you not see that he has lost his reason? Do not -touch this madman. Hands off! Hands off!” - -So David escaped. But what an exhibition he made of himself before all -the ages! - -There was a majesty in King Lear’s madness after Regan and Goneril, his -daughters, had persuaded him to banish their sister, Cordelia, and all -the friends of the drama have been thrilled with that spectacle. - -The craziness of Meg Merrilies was weird and imposing, and formed the -most telling passage in Sir Walter Scott’s “Guy Mannering.” - -There was a fascination about the insanity of Alexander Cruden, who -made the best concordance of the Bible that the world ever saw--made it -between the mad houses. - -But there was nothing grand, nothing weird, nothing majestic, nothing -sublime about this simulation on the part of David. Instead of trusting -in the Lord, as he had trusted on other occasions, he gathers before -him a vast audience of all generations that were to come, and, standing -on that conspicuous stage of history, in view of all the ages, he -impersonates the slavering idiot. - -Taking the behavior of David as a suggestion, I wish to show you how -many of the wise, the brave and the regal sometimes play the fool. Those -men as badly play the fool as did David who, in any crisis of life, take -their case out of the hand of God. - -David, in this case, acted as though there were no God to lift him out of -the predicament. What a contrast between his behavior, when this brave -little man stood up in front of the giant ten feet in height, looking -into his face, and this time, when he debased himself and bedraggled his -manhood by affecting insanity in order that he might escape from the grip -of the Gathites! In the one case, he played the hero; in the other case, -he played the fool. - -There came a time when David fled from his pursuers. The world runs very -fast when it is chasing a good man. The country is trying to catch David, -and to slay him. David goes into the house of a priest, and asks him for -a sword or spear with which to defend himself. - -The priest, not being accustomed to use deadly weapons, tells David -that he can not supply him; but suddenly the priest thinks of an old -sword that had been carefully wrapped up and laid away--the very sword -that Goliath formerly used. He takes down that sword, and while he is -unwrapping the sharp, glittering and memorable blade it flashes upon -David’s mind that this is the very sword that was used against himself -when he was in the fight with Goliath, and David can hardly keep his hand -off it until the priest has unwound it. - -David stretches out his hand toward that old sword, and says: “There is -none like it; give it me.” In other words: “I want in my own hand the -sword that has been used against me, and against the cause of the Lord.” -So it was given him. - -Here passes through these streets, as in imagination I see him, a -wonderful man. Can it be that I am in the very city where lived and -reigned David--conqueror, king and poet? David--great for power and great -for grief! - -He was wrapped up in his boy, Absalom, who was a splendid boy, judged by -the rules of worldly criticism. From the crown of his head to the sole of -his foot there was not a single blemish. The Bible says that he had such -a luxuriant shock of hair that, when once a year it was shorn, what was -cut off weighed over three pounds. - -But, notwithstanding all his brilliancy of appearance, he was a bad -boy, and broke his father’s heart. He was plotting to get the throne of -Israel. He had marshaled an army to overthrow his father’s government. - -The day of battle had come; the conflict was begun. David, the father, -sat between the gates of the palace, waiting for tidings of the conflict. - -Oh, how rapidly his heart beat with emotion! Two great questions were to -be decided--the safety of his boy and the continuance of the throne of -Israel. - -After a while a servant, standing on the top of the house, looks off, -and he sees some one running. He is coming with great speed, and the man -on top of the house announces the coming of the messenger. - -David watches and waits, and as soon as the messenger from the field -of battle comes within hailing distance the father cries out. Is it a -question in regard to the establishment of his throne? Does he say: “Have -the armies of Israel been victorious? Am I to continue in my imperial -authority? Have I overthrown my enemies?” Oh, no. - -There is one question that springs from his heart to his lip, and springs -from the lip into the ear of the besweated and bedusted messenger flying -from the battle field--the question: - -“Is the young man--Absalom--safe?” - -When it was told to King David that, although his army had been -victorious, his son had been slain, the father turned his back upon the -congratulations of the nation, and went up the stairs of his palace, his -heart breaking as he went, wringing his hands sometimes, and then again -pressing them against his temples, as though he would press them in, -crying: - -“O Absalom! My son! My son! Would to God I had died for thee, O Absalom! -My son! My son!” - - * * * * * - -Stupendous grief of David, resounding through all succeeding ages! - - -DEBORAH. - -A text of five words, and four of them one and the same, is found in the -fifth chapter and twelfth verse of Judges: “Awake, awake, Deborah; awake, -awake!” - -It seems that the men of Israel had lost their courage. Trampled into the -dust by their oppressors, the cowards had not spirit to rise. - -Their vineyards destroyed, their women dishonored, their children slain, -the land was dying for a leader worthy of the cause. - -A holy woman by the name of Deborah saw the desolation, and, putting her -trust in the Lord, sounded the battle-cry, and by the help of General -Barak launched into the plain ten thousand armed men. - -The Canaanites, of course, came out with a larger force. They came out -against Israel with nine hundred iron chariots, each of these iron -chariots having attached to the sides of it long and sharp scythes, so -that when these engines of war were driven down to battle, each one of -the nine hundred was ready to cut two great swaths of death. - -But, when God gives a mission to a woman, He also gives her strength and -grace to execute it. - -The nine hundred iron chariots of the Canaanites could not save them. -They fly! They fly--horse and horseman, chariot and charioteer, officers -and troops--in one wild and terrific overthrow. Sisera, their leader, -is so frightened in the conflict that he can not wait until his team -turns around. He leaps from the chariot and starts, full run, for the -mountains. - -Then this epic of the text was composed to celebrate the grand womanly -triumph: “Awake, awake, Deborah; awake, awake!” - - -DORCAS. - -Impressed as I am with the mosque at Joppa, the first I ever saw, and -stirred as I am with the fact that this harbor once floated the great -rafts of Lebanon cedar from which the Temple at Jerusalem was builded, -Solomon’s oxen drawing the logs through this very town on the way to -Jerusalem, nothing can make me forget that this Joppa was the birthplace -of the sewing society that has blessed the poor of all succeeding ages in -all lands. - -The disasters to Joppa when Judas Maccabæus set it on fire and when -Napoleon had five hundred prisoners massacred in this neighborhood can -not make me forget that one of the most magnificent charities of the -centuries was started in this seaport by Dorcas--a woman who with her -needle embroidered her name ineffaceably into the beneficence of the -world. - -I see her sitting in the village home. In the door way and around about -the building, and even in the room where she sits, are the pale faces of -the poor. - -She listens to their plaint. - -She pities their woe. - -She makes garments for them, and she adjusts the manufactured articles to -suit the bent form of this invalid woman and to that cripple who comes -crawling upon his hands and knees. She gives a coat to this one and -sandals to that one. With the gifts she mingles prayers and tears and -Christian encouragement. - -Then she goes out to be greeted on the street corners by those whom -she has blessed, and all through the way of her walk the cry is heard: -“Dorcas is coming!” - -The sick look up gratefully in her face as she puts a hand on the burning -brow, and the lost and the abandoned start up with hope as they hear her -gentle voice, as though an angel had addressed them; and as she goes out -the lane, eyes half put out with sin think they see a halo of light about -her brow and a trail of glory in her pathway. - -That night a half-paid shipwright climbs the hill and reaches home. There -he sees his little boy well clad, and he asks: “Where did these clothes -come from?” They tell him: “Dorcas has been here.” - -In another place, a woman is trimming a lamp; Dorcas brought the oil. - -In another place, a family that had not been at table for many a week are -gathered now, for Dorcas brought them bread. - -But there is a sudden pause in that woman’s ministry. They say: “Where is -Dorcas? Why, we have not seen her for many a day. Where is Dorcas?” - -Then one of these poor people goes up and knocks at the door, and finds -the mystery solved. All through the haunts of wretchedness the news comes: - -“Dorcas is sick!” - -No bulletin flashing from the palace gate, telling the stages of a king’s -disease, is more anxiously waited for than the news from this sick -benefactress. Alas for Joppa! There is weeping and wailing. That voice -which has uttered so many cheerful words is now hushed; that hand which -had made so many garments for the poor is cold and still; that star which -had poured light into the midnight of wretchedness is dimmed by the -blinding mists that go up from the river of death. - -In every God-forsaken place in that town; wherever there is hunger and no -bread; wherever there is guilt and no commiseration; wherever there is a -broken heart and no comfort--there are despairing looks, streaming eyes -and frantic gesticulations as they cry: - -“Dorcas is dead!” - -They send for the apostle, Peter. He edges his way through the -crowd around the door, and stands in the presence of the dead. What -expostulation and grief all about him! - -Here stand some of the poor people, who show the garments which this good -woman had made for them. Their grief can not be appeased. - -Peter, the apostle, wants to perform a miracle. He will not perform -it amid the excited crowd, so he kindly orders that the whole room be -cleared. The door is shut against the populace. - -The apostle stands now with the dead. Oh, it is a serious moment, you -know, when you are alone with a lifeless body! The apostle gets down -on his knees and prays, and then he comes to the lifeless form of this -one all ready for the sepulcher, and in the strength of Him who is the -resurrection he exclaims: - -“Tabitha, arise!” - -There is a stir in the fountains of life; the heart flutters; the nerves -thrill; the cheek flushes; the eye opens; she sits up! - -We see in this subject Dorcas the disciple, Dorcas the benefactress, -Dorcas the lamented, Dorcas the resurrected. - -If I had not seen that word disciple in my text, I yet would have known -this woman was a Christian. Such music as that never came from a heart -which is not both chorded and strung by Divine grace. - -Before I show you the needle-work of this woman, I want to show you -her regenerated heart--the source of a pure life and of all Christian -charities. - -I wish that the wives and mothers and daughters and sisters of this -congregation would imitate Dorcas in her discipleship. Before you sit -with the Sabbath class, before you cross the threshold of the hospital, -before you carry a pack of tracts down the street, before you enter upon -the temptations and trials of tomorrow, I charge you, in the name of God -and by the turmoil and tumult of the Judgment Day, O women, that you -attend to the first, last and greatest duty of your life--the seeking for -God and being at peace with Him. - -Now, by the courtesies of society, you are deferred to, and he were far -less than a man who would not oblige you with kind attentions; but when -the trumpet shall sound, there will be an uproar, and a wreck of mountain -and continent, and no human arm can help you. Amidst the rising of the -dead, and amidst the boiling of the seat and amidst the live, leaping -thunders of the flying heavens, there will be no chance for these -courtesies. - -But, on that day, calm and placid will be every woman’s heart who has -put her trust in Christ; calm, notwithstanding all the tumult, as though -the fire in the heavens were only the gildings of an autumnal sunset--as -though the peal of the trumpet were only the harmony of an orchestra--as -though the awful voices of the sky were but a group of friends bursting -through a gateway at eventime with laughter, and shouting: “Dorcas the -disciple!” - -Would to God that every Mary and every Martha would this day sit down at -the feet of Jesus! - -Further, we see Dorcas the benefactress. - -History has told the story of the crown; the epic poet has sung of the -sword; the pastoral poet, with his verses full of the redolence of -clover-tops and arustle with the silk of the corn, has sung the praises -of the plow. I tell you the praises of the needle. - -From the fig-leaf robe prepared in the Garden of Eden to the last -stitch taken last night on some garment for some church fair, the -needle has wrought wonders of kindness, generosity and benefaction. It -adorned the girdle of the high priest; it fashioned the curtains in -the ancient Tabernacle; it cushioned the chariots of King Solomon; it -provided the robes of Queen Elizabeth; and in high places and in low -places, by the fire of the pioneer’s back-log and under the flash of the -chandelier--everywhere, it has clothed nakedness, it has preached the -Gospel, it has overcome hosts of penury and want with the war-cry of: -“Stitch, stitch, stitch!” The operatives have found a livelihood by it, -and through it the mansions of the employers have been constructed. - -Amidst the greatest triumphs in all ages and lands, I set down the -conquests of the needle. - -I admit its crimes; I admit its cruelties. It has had more martyrs -than the fire; it has butchered more souls than the Inquisition; it -has punctured the eye; it has pierced the side; it has struck weakness -into the lungs; it has sent madness into the brain; it has filled the -potter’s field; it has pitched whole armies of the suffering into crime, -wretchedness and woe. - -But, now that I am talking of Dorcas and her ministries to the poor, I -shall speak only of the charities of the needle. - -This woman was a representative of all those women who make garments for -the destitute, who knit socks for the barefooted, who prepare bandages -for the lacerated, who fix up boxes of clothing for Western missionaries, -who go into the asylums of the suffering and destitute bearing that -Gospel which is sight for the blind and hearing for the deaf, and which -makes the lame man leap like a hart, and brings the dead to life with -immortal health bounding in their pulses. - -What a contrast between the practical benevolence of this woman and a -great deal of the charity of this day! - -Dorcas did not spend her time planning how the poor of Joppa were to be -relieved; she took her needle and relieved them. She was not like those -persons who sympathize with imaginary sorrows, and go out in the street -and laugh at the boy who has upset his basket of cold victuals; nor was -she like that charity which makes a rousing speech on the benevolent -platform, and goes out to kick the beggar from the step, crying: “Hush -your miserable howling!” - -The sufferers of the world want not so much theory as practice; not so -much tears as dollars; not so much kind wishes as loaves of bread; not -so much smiles as shoes; not so much “God bless yous!” as jackets and -frocks. I will put one earnest Christian man, who is a hard worker, -against five thousand mere theorists on the subject of charity. - -There are a great many who have fine ideas about church architecture who -never in their lives helped to build a church. There are men who can give -you the history of Buddhism and Mohammedanism who never sent a farthing -for the evangelization of the adherents of those religions. - -There are women who talk beautifully about the suffering in the world who -never had the courage, like that of Dorcas, to take up the needle and -assault it. - -I am glad that there is not a page of the world’s history which is not a -record of feminine benevolence. God says to all lands and peoples: “Come, -now, and hear the widow’s mite rattle down into the poor-box.” - -The Princess of Conti sold all her jewels, that she might help the -famine-stricken. Queen Blanche, wife of Louis VIII. of France, hearing -that there were some persons unjustly incarcerated in the prisons, went -out and took a stick and struck the door, as a signal that all might -strike it; and down went the prison door, and out came the prisoners. -Queen Maud, the wife of Henry I., went down amidst the poor and -washed their sores, and administered to them cordials. Mrs. Retson, at -Matagorda, appeared on the battle field while the missiles of death were -flying around, and cared for the wounded. - -But why go so far back? Why go so far away? - -Is there a man or woman in this house who has forgotten the women of the -sanitary and Christian Commissions? Has any one forgotten that, before -the smoke had gone from Gettysburg and South Mountain, the women of the -North met the women of the South on the battle field, forgetting all -their animosities while they bound up the wounded and closed the eyes of -the slain? Have you forgotten Dorcas, the benefactress? - -I come now to speak of Dorcas the lamented. When death struck down that -good woman, oh, how much sorrow there was in Joppa! - -I suppose there were women living in Joppa possessing larger fortunes; -women, perhaps, with more handsome faces; but there was no grief at their -departure like this at the death of Dorcas. There was not more turmoil -and upturning in the Mediterranean Sea, dashing against the wharves of -that seaport, than there were surgings to and fro of grief in Joppa -because Dorcas was dead. - -There are a great many who go out of life and are unmissed. There may be -a very large funeral; there may be a great many carriages and a plumed -hearse; there may be high-sounding eulogiums; the bell may toll at the -cemetery gate; there may be a very fine marble shaft reared over the -resting place. But the whole thing may be a falsehood and a sham. - -By this demise the Church of God has lost nothing; the world has lost -nothing. It is only a nuisance abated; it is only a grumbler ceasing to -find fault; it is only an idler stopped yawning; it is only a dissipated -fashionable parted from his wine cellar--while, on the other hand, no -useful Christian leaves this world without being missed. The Church -of God cries out like the prophet: “Howl, fir tree, for the cedar has -fallen.” Widowhood comes and shows the garments which the departed had -made. Orphans are lifted up to look into the calm face of the sleeping -benefactress. Reclaimed vagrancy comes and kisses the cold brow of her -who charmed it away from sin, and all through the streets of Joppa there -is mourning--mourning because Dorcas is dead. - -I suppose you have read of the fact that when Josephine was carried out -to her grave there were a great many men and women of pomp and pride and -position that went out after her; but I am most affected by the story of -history that on that day there were ten thousand of the poor of France -who followed her coffin, weeping and wailing until the air rang again, -because when they lost Josephine they lost their last earthly friend. - -Oh, who would not rather have such obsequies than all the tears that were -ever poured in the lachrymals that have been exhumed from ancient cities! -There may be no mass for the dead; there may be no costly sarcophagus; -there may be no elaborate mausoleum. But in the damp cellars of the -city, and through the lonely huts of the mountain glen, there will be -mourning--mourning because Dorcas is dead. - -I speak to you of Dorcas the resurrected. The apostle came to where she -was, and said: “Arise!” And “she sat up.” In what a short compass the -great writer put that: “She sat up!” - -Oh, what a time there must have been when the apostle brought her out -among her old friends! How the tears of joy must have started! What -clapping of hands there must have been! What singing! What laughter! -Sound it all through that lane! Shout it down that dark alley! Let all -Joppa hear it! Dorcas is resurrected! - -You and I have seen the same thing many a time--not a dead body -resuscitated, but the deceased coming up again after death in the good -accomplished. If a man labors up to fifty years of age, serving God, and -then dies, we are apt to think that his earthly work is done. No! His -influence on Earth will continue till the world ceases. Services rendered -for Christ never stop. - -Here is a Christian woman. She toils for the upbuilding of a church -through many anxieties, through many self-denials, with prayers and -tears, and then she dies. It is fifteen years since she went away. Now -the Spirit of God descends upon that church; hundreds of souls stand up -and confess the faith of Christ. - -Has that Christian woman, who went away fifteen years ago, nothing to do -with these things? I see the flowering out of her noble heart. I hear the -echo of her footsteps in all these songs over sins forgiven--in all the -prosperity of the church. The good that seemed to be buried has come up -again. Dorcas is resurrected. - -After a while all these womanly friends of Christ will put down their -needles for ever. After making garments for others, some one will make a -garment for them; the last robe which we shall ever wear--the robe which -is for the grave. - -You will have heard the last cry of pain. You will have witnessed the -last orphanage. You will have come in worn out from your last round of -mercy. I do not know where you will sleep, nor what your epitaph will -be; but there will be a lamp burning at that tomb and an angel of God -guarding it, and through all the long night no rude foot will disturb the -dust. Sleep on--sleep on! Soft bed, pleasant shadows, undisturbed repose! -Sleep on! - - -EHUD. - -Ehud was a ruler in Israel. He was left-handed, and, what was peculiar -about the tribe of Benjamin, to which he belonged, there were in it seven -hundred left-handed men; and yet, so dextrous had they all become in the -use of the left hand, the Bible says they could sling stones at a hair’s -breadth and not miss. - -Well, there was a king by the name of Eglon, who was an oppressor of -Israel. He imposed upon them an outrageous tax. - -Ehud, the man of whom I first spoke, had a divine commission to destroy -that oppressor. He came, pretending that he was going to pay the tax, and -asked to see King Eglon. He was told the king was in the Summer house, -the place to which his majesty retired when the heat was too great to -sit in the palace. This Summer house was a place surrounded by flowers, -springing fountains and trees--the latter filled with warbling birds. - -Ehud entered the Summer house, and said to King Eglon that he had a -secret errand with him. Immediately all the attendants were waved out of -the royal presence. King Eglon rises up to receive the messenger. Ehud, -the left-handed man, puts his left hand to his right side, pulls out a -dagger, and thrusts Eglon through until the haft went in after the blade. -Eglon falls. - -Ehud comes forth to blow a trumpet of right amidst the mountains of -Ephraim; and a great host is marshaled, and proud Moab submits to the -conqueror, and Israel is free. - -I learn first, from this subject, the power of left-handed men. There are -men who, by physical organization, have as much strength in their left -hand as in their right hand; but there is something in the writing of the -fifteenth verse of the third chapter of Judges that implies Ehud had some -defect in his right hand, which compelled him to use the left. - -Oh, the power of left-handed men! Genius is often self-observant, -careful of itself, not given to much toil, burning incense to its own -aggrandizement; while many a man, with no natural endowments, actually -defective in physical and mental organization, has an earnestness for the -right, a patient industry, an all-consuming perseverance, which achieve -marvels for the kingdom of the Lord. Though left-handed as Ehud, they can -strike down a sin as imperial as Eglon. - -But I do not suppose that Ehud, the first time he took a sling in his -left hand, could throw a stone a hair’s breadth, and not miss. I suppose -it was practice that gave him the wonderful dexterity. - -Go forth to your spheres of duty, and do not be discouraged if, in your -first attempts, you miss the mark. Ehud missed it. - - -ESAU. - -Esau had the birthright given him. - -In the olden times this meant not only temporal but spiritual blessing. - -One day Esau took this birthright and traded it off for something to eat. -Oh, the folly! But let us not be too severe upon him, for some of us have -committed the same folly. - -After Esau had thus parted with his birthright, he wanted to get it back. -Just as though you, tomorrow morning, should take all your notes and -bonds and government securities, and should go into a restaurant, and -in a fit of restlessness and hunger throw all those securities on the -counter and ask for a plate of food, making that exchange. - -This was the exchange Esau made. - -He sold his birthright for a mess of pottage, and he was very sorry about -it afterward; but “he found no place for repentance, though he sought it -carefully with tears.” - -There are sins which, though they may be pardoned, are in some respects -irrevocable; and you can find no place for repentance, though you seek it -carefully with tears. After wasting forty years, you can not get back the -neglected advantages of boyhood and youth. - - -FELIX AND DRUSILLA. - -A city of marble was Cesarea--wharves of marble, houses of marble, -temples of marble. This being the ordinary architecture of the place, you -may well imagine something of the splendor of Governor Felix’s residence. - -In a room of that palace--floor tesselated, windows curtained, ceiling -fretted, the whole scene affluent with Tyrian purple, and statues, and -pictures, and carvings--sat a very dark-complexioned man by the name of -Felix, and beside him sat a woman of extraordinary beauty, whom he had -stolen by breaking up another’s domestic circle. - -She was only eighteen years of age, a princess by birth, and unwittingly -waiting for her doom--that of being buried alive in the ashes and scoria -of Mount Vesuvius, which in sudden eruption, one day, put an end to her -abominations. - -Well, one afternoon Drusilla, seated in the palace, weary with the -magnificent stupidities of the place, says to Felix: - -“You have a very distinguished prisoner, I believe, by the name of Paul. -Do you know he is one of my countrymen? I should very much like to see -him, and I should very much like to hear him speak, for I have heard so -much about his eloquence. - -“Besides that, the other day, when he was being tried in another room of -this palace, and the windows were open, I heard the applause that greeted -the speech of Lawyer Tertullus, as he denounced Paul. Now, I very much -wish I could hear Paul speak. Won’t you let me hear him speak?” - -“Yes,” said Felix, “I will. I will order him up now from the guard room.” - -The clank of a chain is heard coming up the marble stairway, there is a -shuffle at the door, and in comes Paul--a little old man, prematurely old -through exposure--only sixty years of age, but looking as though he were -eighty. - -Paul bows very courteously before Governor Felix and the beautiful woman -by his side. They say: - -“Paul, we have heard a great deal about your speaking. Give us, now, a -specimen of your eloquence.” - -Oh, if there ever was a chance for a man to show off, Paul had a chance -there! - -He might have harangued them about Grecian art, about the wonderful -water-works which he had seen at Corinth, about the Acropolis by -moonlight, about prison life in Philippi, about “What I Saw in -Thessalonica,” or about the old mythologies. - -But, instead, Paul said to himself: “I am now on the way to martyrdom, -and this man and woman will soon be dead; so this is my only opportunity -to talk to them about the things of eternity.” - -And, just there and then, there broke in upon the scene a peal of -thunder. It was the voice of Judgment Day speaking through the words of -the decrepit apostle. As the grand old missionary proceeded with his -remarks, the stoop begins to go out of his shoulders, and he rises up, -and his countenance is illumined with the glories of a future life, and -his shackles rattle and grind as he lifts his fettered arm, and with it -hurls upon his abashed auditors the bolts of God’s indignation. - -Felix grew very white about the lips. His heart beat unevenly. He put his -hand to his brow, as though to stop the quickness and violence of his -thoughts. He drew his robe tighter about him, as under a sudden chill. -His eyes glare and his knees shake, and, as he clutches the side of his -chair in a very paroxysm of terror, he orders the sheriff to take Paul -back to the guard room. - -“Felix trembled, and said: ‘Go thy way for this time; when I have a -convenient season, I will call for thee.’” - -I propose to give you two or three reasons why I think Felix sent Paul -back to the guard room and adjourned this whole subject of religion. - -The first reason was: He was unwilling to give up his sins. He looked -around; there was Drusilla. He knew that, when he became a Christian, he -must send her back to Azizus, her lawful husband; and he said to himself: -“I will risk the destruction of my immortal soul sooner than I will do -that.” - -Delilah sheared the locks of Samson; Salome danced Herod into the pit; -Drusilla blocked up the way to Heaven for Felix. - -Another reason why Felix sent Paul back to the guard room and adjourned -this subject was: He was so very busy. In ordinary times he found the -affairs of state absorbing, but those were extraordinary times. The whole -land was ripe for insurrection. The Sicarii, a band of assassins, were -already prowling around the palace, and I suppose he thought: “I can not -attend to religion while I am so pressed by affairs of state.” It was -business, among other things, that ruined his soul. - -Aye, with thousands of the present day, it is the annoyance of the -kitchen, and the sitting room and the parlor--the wearing economy of -trying to meet large expenses with a small income. Ten thousand voices of -“business” drown the voice of the Eternal Spirit. - - -GALLERY OF CHARACTERS. - -I see the Gallery of the Prophets and Apostles. - -Who are those mighty ones up yonder? Hosea, Jeremiah, Daniel, Isaiah, -Paul, Peter, John and James. - -There sits Noah, waiting for all the world to come into the ark. - -Moses is waiting till the last Red Sea shall divide. - -Jeremiah is waiting for the Jews to return. - -John of the Apocalypse is waiting for the swearing of the angel that Time -shall be no longer. - -Glorious spirits! Ye were howled at; ye were stoned; ye were spit upon. -They have been in this fight themselves, and they are all with us. Daniel -knows all about lions. Paul fought with beasts at Ephesus. For Joseph, a -pit; for Daniel, a wild beast den; for David, dethronement and exile; for -John the Baptist, a wilderness diet and the executioner’s ax; for Peter, -a prison; for Paul, shipwreck; for John, desolate Patmos; for Vashti, -most insulting cruelty. - -In that gallery, prophetic and apostolic, they can not keep their peace. -Daniel cries out: “Thy God will deliver thee from the mouth of the -lions!” David exclaims: “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved.” Isaiah -calls out: “Fear not! I am with thee. Be not dismayed.” Paul exclaims: -“Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” - -I see the Angelic Gallery. There they are. There is the angel that swung -the sword at the gate of Eden, the same whom Ezekiel saw upholding -the throne of God, and from which I look away, for the splendor is -insufferable. Here are the guardian angels. That one watched a patriarch; -this one protected a child. That one has been pulling a soul out of -temptation. All these are messengers of light. Those drove the Spanish -Armada on the rocks. This turned Sennacherib’s living hosts into a heap -of one hundred and eighty-five thousand corpses. Those, yonder, chanted -the Christmas carol over Bethlehem, until the chant awoke the shepherds. -These, at Creation, stood in the balcony of Heaven, and serenaded the -new-born world wrapped in swaddling clothes of light. - -And there, holier and mightier than all, is Michael, the archangel. -To command an earthly host gives dignity; but this one is leader of -the twenty thousand chariots of God, and of the ten thousand times ten -thousand angels. - -I think God gives command to the archangel, and the archangel to the -seraphim, and the seraphim to the cherubim, until all the lower orders of -Heaven hear the command and go forth on the high behest. - - -GIDEON. - -The seventh chapter of the Book of Judges contains a detailed report of -the strangest battle ever fought. - -God had told Gideon to go down and thrash the Midianites, but his army -is too large; for the glory must be given to God, and not to man. And so -proclamation is made that all those of the troops who are cowardly, and -want to go home, may go; and twenty-two thousand of them scampered away, -leaving only ten thousand men. - -But God says the army is too large yet; and so He orders these ten -thousand remaining to march down through a stream, and commands Gideon -to notice in what manner these men drink of the water as they pass -through it. If they get down on all-fours and drink, then they are to -be pronounced lazy and incompetent for the campaign; but if, in passing -through the stream, they scoop up the water in the palm of the hand and -drink, and pass on, they are to be the men selected for the battle. - -Well, the ten thousand men march down into the stream, and the most of -them come down on all-fours, and plunge their mouths, like a horse or -an ox, into the water and drink; but there are three hundred men who, -instead of stooping, just dip the palm of their hands in the water and -bring it to their lips--“lapping as the dog lappeth.” - -Those three hundred brisk, rapid and enthusiastic men are chosen for the -campaign. They are each to take a trumpet in the right hand and a pitcher -in the left hand, and a lamp inside the pitcher; and then at a given -signal they are to blow the trumpets, throw down the pitchers and hold up -the lamps. So it was done. - -It is night. I see a great host of Midianites, sound asleep in the valley -of Jezreel. - -Gideon comes up with his three hundred picked men, and when every thing -is ready the signal is given, and they blow the trumpets, throw down the -pitchers and hold up the lamps. - -The great host of Midianites, waking out of a sound sleep, take the -crash of the crockery and the glare of the lamps for the coming on of an -overwhelming foe; and they run, and cut themselves to pieces, and most -horribly perish. - -The lessons of this subject are very spirited and impressive. This -seemingly valueless lump of quartz has the pure gold in it. The smallest -dewdrop on the meadow at night has a star sleeping in its bosom, and the -most insignificant passage of Scripture has in it a shining truth. God’s -mint coins no small change. - - -HEZEKIAH. - -Luxurious living is not healthy. The second generation of kings and -queens and of lords and princes is apt to be brainless and invalid. - -The second crop of grass is almost always short. - -Royal blood is generally scrofulous. You will not be surprised, then, to -hear that King Hezekiah had disorders which broke out in a carbuncle, -virulent and deathful. The Lord told him he must die. - -But Hezekiah did not want to die. He turned his face to the wall, so that -his prayer would not be interrupted, and cried to God for his life. - -God heard the prayer and answered it, saying: “Behold, I will heal thee.” -But there was human instrumentality to be employed. - -This carbuncle needed a cataplasm. That is a tough word that we use to -show how much we know. If in the pulpit we always used words the people -understood, we never should have any reputation for learning. - -Well, this carbuncle needed a cataplasm, which is a poultice. Your old -mother, who doctored her own children in the time when physicians were -not as plentiful as they are now, will tell you that the very best -poultice is a fig, and that was what was used upon the carbuncle of King -Hezekiah. The power of God, accompanied by this human instrumentality, -cured the king. - -In this age of discovery, when men know so much it kills them, and write -so wisely it almost kills us, it has been found out that prayer to God is -a dead failure. All things are arranged according to inexorable law. - -Ah, my friends, have we been so mistaken? Does God hear and answer -prayer, or does He not? Why come out with a challenge in this day, and an -experiment, when we have here the very experiment? - -Hezekiah was sick unto death; he prayed for his life; God heard him, and -added fifteen years to that lifetime. The prayer saved him, the lump of -figs applied being merely the God-appointed human instrumentality. - - -JEHOIAKIM. - -We look in upon a room in Jerusalem. Two men are there. - -At the table sits Baruch, the scribe, with a roll of parchment and an -iron pen in his hand. The other man is walking the floor, as if strangely -agitated. - -There is an unearthly appearance about his countenance, and his whole -frame quakes as if pressed upon by something unseen and supernal. - -This is Jeremiah, in the spirit of prophecy. Being too much excited to -write with his own hands the words that the Almighty pours upon his mind -about the coming destruction of Jerusalem, he dictates to Baruch, the -scribe. It is a seething, scalding, burning denunciation of Jehoiakim, -the king, and a prophecy of approaching disasters. - -Of course, King Jehoiakim hears of the occurrence, and he sends Jehudi to -obtain the parchment and read its contents. - -It is winter. Jehoiakim is sitting in his comfortable winter house, by -a fire that glows upon the hearth and lights up the faces of the lords, -princes and senators who have gathered to hear the reading of the strange -document. - -Silence is ordered. The royal circle bend forward to listen. Every eye is -fixed. - -Jehudi unrolls the book gleaming with the words of God, and as he reads -Jehoiakim frowns; his eye kindles; his cheek burns; his foot comes down -with thundering indignation. - -King Jehoiakim snatches the book from Jehudi’s hand, feels for his knife, -crumples up the book, and goes to work cutting it up with his penknife. -Thus God’s book was permanently destroyed, and the king escaped. - -Was it destroyed? - -Did Jehoiakim escape? - -In a little while King Jehoiakim’s dead body is hurled forth to blacken -in the sun, and the only epitaph that he ever had was that which Jeremiah -wrote: - -“Buried with the burial of an ass.” - -To restore the book which was destroyed, Baruch again takes his seat at -the table, while Jeremiah walks the floor and again dictates the terrible -prophecy. - -It would take more penknives than cutler ever sharpened to hew into -permanent destruction the Word of God. He who shoots at this eternal rock -will feel the bullet rebound into his own torn and lacerated bosom. - -When the Almighty goes forth armed with the thunderbolts of His power, I -pity any Jehoiakim who attempts to fight Him with a penknife. - -That Oriental scene has vanished, but it has often been repeated. There -are thousands of Jehoiakims yet alive who cut the Word of God with their -penknives. - -King Jehoiakim showed as much indignity toward the scroll when he cut one -way as when he cut the other. You might as well behead Moses as to behead -Jonah. Yes, Sir, I shall take all of the Bible or none. Men laugh at us -as if we were the most gullible people in the world for believing in the -genuineness of the Scriptures; but there can be no doubt that the Bible, -as we have it, is the same--no more, no less--as God wrote it. - -As to the books of the New Testament, the great writers of the different -centuries give complete catalogs of their contents. Polycarp, Ignatius -and Clemens Romanus, in the first century, give a catalog of the New -Testament books; Tertullian and Justin Martyr, in the second century; -Cyprian and Origen, in the third century; Augustine, Jerome and Eusebius, -in the fourth century. Their catalogs of the different books of the New -Testament silence the suggestion that any new books could have been -stealthily put in. - -As to the books of the Old Testament, Christ sanctioned them by -recommending them to the Jews. If any part of the Old Testament had -been uninspired, Christ would have said: “Search the Scriptures--all -except that Book of Jonah,” or “Search the Scriptures, except the Book -of Esther.” When Christ commends to all the canon of the Old Testament -Scriptures, He affirms its genuineness. - -There never could have been any interpolations in the Bible, for the Jews -were constantly watching, and there were men whose lifetime business it -was to attend to the keeping of the Scriptures unadulterated. - - -JEHU. - -Joram, wounded in battle, lies in a hospital at Jezreel. The watchman, -standing in the tower, looks off and sees against the sky horsemen and -chariots. - -A messenger is sent out to find who is coming, but he does not return. -Another messenger is sent, but with the same result. - -The watchman, standing in the tower, looks off upon the advancing troop, -and gets more and more excited, wondering who are coming. But long before -the cavalcade comes up, the matter is decided. - -The watchman can not descry the features of the fast approaching man, but -he exclaims: - -“I have found out who he is. The driving is like the driving of Jehu, the -son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.” - -By the flash of that one sentence we discover Jehu’s character. He came -with such speed not merely because he had an errand to do, but because -he was urged on by a headlong disposition, which had won him the name of -a reckless driver, even among the watchmen. The chariot plunges until -you almost expect the wheels to crash under it, or some of the princely -party to be thrown out, or the horses to become utterly unmanageable. But -he always goes so; and he becomes a type of that class of persons to be -found in all communities, who in worldly and in religious affairs may be -styled reckless drivers. - -To this same class belong all those who conduct their worldly affairs -in a headlong way, without any regard to prudence or righteousness. The -minister of Christ does not do his whole duty who does not plainly and -unmistakably bring the Gospel face to face with every style of business -transaction. We have a right, in a Christian manner, to point out those -who, year by year, are jeopardizing not only their welfare, but the -interests of many others, by reckless driving. - -As a hackman, having lost control of a flying span, is apt to crash -into other vehicles, until the property and lives of a whole street are -endangered, so a man driving his worldly calling with such loose reins -that, after a while, it will not answer his voice or hand, puts in peril -the commercial interests of scores or hundreds. - -There are today in our midst many of our best citizens who have come down -from affluence into straitened circumstances, because there was a partner -in their firm, or a cashier in their bank, or an agent representing their -house, or one of their largest creditors, who, like Jehu, the son of -Nimshi, was a furious driver. - -When I see in the community men with large incomes, but larger outgoes, -rushing into wildest undertakings, their pockets filled with circulars -about gold to be found in Canada and lead in Missouri and fortunes of -all sorts everywhere, launching out in expenditures to be met with the -thousands they expect to make, and with derision dashing across the path -of sober men depending upon their industry and honor for success, I say: -“Here he comes, the son of Nimshi, driving furiously.” - -When I see a young man, not content gradually to come to a competency, -careless as to how often he goes upon credit, spending in one night’s -carousal a month’s salary, taking the few hundred dollars given him for -getting a start in the purchase of a regal wardrobe, lazy or ashamed to -work, anxious only for display, regardless of his father’s counsel and -the example of the thousands who, in a short while, have wrecked body, -mind and soul in scheming or dissipation, I say: “Here he comes, the son -of Nimshi, driving furiously.” - -When this world gets full power over a man, he might as well be dead. He -is dead! When Sisera came into the house of Jael, she gave him something -to drink, and got him asleep on the floor. Then she took a peg from the -side of her tent, and with a mallet she drove the peg through the brain -of Sisera into the floor. So the world feeds and flatters a man, and when -it has him sound asleep it strikes his life out. - - -JESUS AT EMMAUS. - -Two villagers, having concluded their errand in Jerusalem, have started -out at the city gate, and are on their way to Emmaus, the place of their -residence. - -They go with a sad heart. Jesus, who had been their admiration and their -joy, had been basely massacred and entombed. - -As with sad face and broken heart they pass on their way, a stranger -accosts them. They tell him their anxieties and bitterness of soul. He, -in turn, talks to them, mightily expounding the Scriptures. He throws -over them the fascination of intelligent conversation. They forget the -time, and notice not the objects they pass, and, before they are aware, -have come up in front of their house. - -They pause before the entrance, and attempt to persuade the stranger -to tarry with them. They press upon him their hospitalities. Night is -coming on, and he may meet a prowling wild beast, or be obliged to lie -unsheltered from the dew. He can not go much farther now. Why not stop -there, and continue their pleasant conversation? They take him by the -arm, and they insist on his coming in, addressing him in the words: -“Abide with us; for it is toward evening.” - -The candles are lighted. The tables are spread. Pleasant sociabilities -are enkindled. They rejoice in the presence of the stranger guest. He -asks a blessing upon the bread they eat, and he hands a piece of it to -each. - -Suddenly, and with overwhelming power, the thought flashes upon the -astonished people: “He is the Lord!” And as they sat in breathless -wonder, looking upon the resurrected body of Jesus, He vanished. The -interview was ended. He was gone. - -The journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus will soon be ended. Our Bible, our -common sense and our observation reiterate this fact in tones that we can -not mistake, and which we ought not to disregard. - - -JOB. - -Job had it hard. What with boils and bereavements and bankruptcy, and a -fool of a wife, he wished he was dead; and I do not blame him. - -His flesh was gone, and his bones were dry. His teeth wasted away until -nothing but the enamel seemed left. He cried out: “I am escaped with the -skin of my teeth.” - -There has been some difference of opinion about this passage. St. Jerome -and Schultens and Doctors Good, Poole and Barnes have all tried their -forceps on Job’s teeth. You deny my interpretation, and ask: “What did -Job know about the enamel of the teeth?” - -He knew every thing about it. Dental surgery is almost as old as the -Earth. The mummies of Egypt, thousands of years old, are found today with -gold filling in their teeth. Ovid, Horace, Solomon and Moses wrote about -these important factors of the body. - -To other provoking complaints, I think Job had added an exasperating -toothache, and, putting his hand against the inflamed face, he said: “I -am escaped with the skin of my teeth.” - -A very narrow escape, you say, for Job’s body and soul; but there are -thousands of men who make just as narrow escape for their soul. There was -a time when the partition between them and ruin was no thicker than a -tooth’s enamel; but, as Job finally escaped, so, thank God, have they. - -Paul expresses the same idea by a different figure when he says that some -people are “saved as by fire.” - -A vessel at sea is in flames. You go to the stern of the vessel. The -boats have shoved off. The flames advance; you can no longer endure the -heat on your face. You slide down on the side of the vessel, and hold on -with your fingers, until the forked tongue of the fire begins to lick -the back of your hand, and you feel that you must fall, when one of the -life-boats comes back, and the passengers say they think they have room -for one more. The boat swings under you--you drop into it--you are saved. - -So some men are pursued by temptation until they are partially consumed, -but, after all, get off--“saved as by fire.” - -But I like the figure of Job a little better than that of Paul. With -God’s help, some men do make narrow escape for their souls, and are saved -as “with the skin of their teeth.” - - -JONAH. - -God told Jonah to go to Nineveh on an unpleasant errand. He would not go. -He thought to get away from his duty by putting to sea. - -With pack under his arm, I find him on his way to Joppa, a seaport. He -goes down among the shipping, and says to the men lying around on the -docks: “Which of these vessels sails today?” - -A sailor answers: “Yonder is a vessel going to Tarshish. I think, if you -hurry, you may get on board her.” - -Jonah steps on board the rough craft, asks how much the fare is, and -pays it. Anchor is weighed, sails are hoisted, and the rigging begins to -rattle in the strong breeze of the Mediterranean. - -Joppa is an exposed harbor, and it does not take long for a vessel to -get out on the broad sea. The sailors like what they call a “spanking -breeze,” and the plunge of the vessel from the crest of a tall wave is -exhilarating to those who are at home on the deep. - -But the strong breeze becomes a gale--the gale a hurricane. The -affrighted passengers ask the captain if he ever saw any thing like this -before. He answers: - -“Oh, yes. This is nothing.” - -Mariners are slow to admit danger to landsmen. - -But, after a while, “crash!” goes the mast, and the vessel pitches so far -“a-beam’s-end” that there is a fear she will not be righted. The captain -answers few questions, but orders the throwing out of boxes and bundles -and so much of the cargo as they can get at. - -At last, the captain confesses there is but little hope, and he tells -the passengers they had better begin praying. It is seldom that a sea -captain is an Atheist. He knows there is a God, for he has seen Him at -every point of latitude and longitude between Sandy Hook and Queenstown. -Captain Moody, commanding the Cuba, of the Cunard line, at Sunday service -led the music and sang like a Methodist. - -The captain of this Mediterranean craft, having set the passengers to -praying, goes around the vessel, examining it at every point. He descends -into the cabin to see whether, in the strong wrestling of the waves, the -vessel has sprung a leak, and he finds Jonah asleep. - -Jonah had had a wearisome tramp, and had spent many sleepless nights -about questions of duty, and he is so sound asleep that all the thunder -of the storm and all the screaming of the passengers disturb him not. - -The captain lays hold of him, and begins to shake him out of his -unconsciousness with the cry: “Don’t you see that we are all going to the -bottom? Wake up and go to praying, if you have any God to go to. What -meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God--if so be that God -will think upon us--that we perish not.” - -The remainder of the story I will not rehearse, for you know it well. To -appease the sea, they threw Jonah overboard. - -The devil takes a man’s money, and then sets him down in a poor landing -place. The Bible says Jonah paid his fare to Tarshish. But see him get -out. The sailors bring him to the side of the ship, lift him over “the -guards,” and let him drop with a loud splash into the waves. He paid his -fare all the way to Tarshish, but he did not get the worth of his money. -Neither does any one who turns his back on his duty and does that which -is not right. - -The worst sinner on shipboard, considering the light he had, was Jonah. -He was a member of the Church, while they were heathen. The sailors -were engaged in their lawful calling--following the sea. The merchants -on board, I suppose, were going down to Tarshish to barter. But Jonah, -notwithstanding his Christian profession, was flying from duty. He was -sound asleep in the cabin. Oh, how could the sinner sleep? - -If Jonah had been told, one year before, that any heathen sea captain -would ever waken him to a sense of danger, he would have scoffed at the -idea; but here it is done. So now--men in strangest ways are aroused from -spiritual stupor. - -If, instead of sleeping, Jonah had been on his knees confessing his sins -from the time when he went on board the craft, I think God would have -saved him from being thrown overboard. But he woke up too late. The -tempest is in full blast, the sea is lashing itself into convulsions, -and nothing will stop it now but the overthrow of Jonah. So Jonah was -cast overboard. - - -JOSEPH. - -The Egyptian capital was the focus of the world’s wealth. In ships and -barges, there had been brought to it: From India, frankincense, cinnamon, -ivory and diamonds; from the North, marble and iron; from Syria, purple -and silk; from Greece, some of the finest horses of the world and some -of the most brilliant chariots; and from all the Earth, that which could -best please the eye, charm the ear and gratify the taste. - -There were temples aflame with red sandstone, entered by gateways that -were guarded by pillars bewildering with hieroglyphics, wound with brazen -serpents and adorned with winged creatures--their eyes, beaks and pinions -glittering with precious stones. - -There were marble columns blooming into white flower buds; there were -stone pillars, at the top bursting into the shape of the lotus when in -full bloom. - -Along the avenues--lined with sphinx, fane and obelisk--there were -princes who came in gorgeously upholstered palanquin, carried by servants -in scarlet, or else were drawn by vehicles, the snow-white horses, -golden-bitted and six abreast, dashing at full run. - -There were fountains from stone-wreathed vases climbing the ladders of -the light. You would hear a bolt shove, and a door of brass would open -like a flash of the sun. The surrounding gardens were saturated with -odors that mounted the terrace, dripped from the arbors and burned their -incense in the Egyptian noon. - -On the floors of mosaic the glories of Pharaoh were spelled out in -letters of porphyry, beryl and flame. There were ornaments twisted from -the wood of the tamarisk, embossed with silver breaking into foam. There -were footstools made out of a single precious stone. There were beds -fashioned out of a crouched lion in bronze. There were chairs spotted -with the sleek hide of the leopard. There were sofas footed with the -claws of wild beasts, and armed with the beaks of birds. - -As you stand on the level beach of the sea on a Summer day, and look each -way, there are miles of breakers, white with the ocean foam, dashing -shoreward; so it seemed as if the sea of the world’s pomp and wealth -in the Egyptian capital for miles and miles flung itself up into white -breakers of marble temple, mausoleum and obelisk. - -This was the place where Joseph, the shepherd boy, was called to stand -next to Pharaoh in honor. - -What a contrast between this scene and his humble starting--between this -scene and the pit into which his brothers threw him! Yet Joseph was not -forgetful of his early home; he was not ashamed of where he came from. - -The bishop of Mentz, descended from a wheelwright, covered his house -with spokes, hammers and wheels; and the king of Sicily, in honor of -his father, who was a potter, refused to drink out of any thing but an -earthen vessel. - -So Joseph was not ashamed of his early surroundings, or of his -old-time father, or of his brothers. When the latter came up from the -famine-stricken land to get corn from the Egyptian king’s corn crib, -Joseph, instead of chiding them for the way they had maltreated and -abused him, sent them back with wagons, which King Pharaoh furnished, -laden with corn; and old Jacob, the father, was brought back in the -very same wagons, that Joseph, the son, might see him and give him a -comfortable home all the rest of his days. - -Well, I hear the wagons, the king’s wagons, rumbling down in front of the -palace. On the outside of the palace, to see the wagons depart, stands -Pharaoh in royal robes; and beside him stands Prime Minister Joseph, -with a chain of gold around his neck, and on his hand a ring given by -Pharaoh to him, so that any time he wanted to stamp the royal seal upon a -document he could do so conveniently. - -Wagon after wagon rolls on down from the palace, laden with corn, meat, -changes of raiment and every thing that could aid a famine-stricken -people. - -I see aged Jacob, one day, seated in the front of his house. He is -probably thinking of his absent boys (for sons, however old they get, are -never to a father any more than boys); and while he is seated there, he -sees dust arising, and he hears wagons rumbling, and he wonders what is -coming now, for the whole land had been smitten with the famine, and was -in silence. - -But after a while the wagons have come near enough, and he sees his sons -on the wagons, and before they come quite up, they shout: - -“Joseph is yet alive!” - -The old man faints dead away. I do not wonder at it. The boys now tell -the story how that the boy, the long-absent Joseph, has got to be the -first man in the Egyptian palace. - -While they unload the wagons, the wan and wasted creatures in the -neighborhood come up and ask for a handful of corn, and they are -satisfied. - -One day the wagons are brought up, for Jacob, the old father, is about to -go to see Joseph in the Egyptian palace. - -You know, it is not a very easy thing to transplant an old tree; and -Jacob has hard work to get away from the place where he has lived so -long. He finally bids good-by to the old place, and leaves his blessing -with the neighbors; and then his sons steady him, while he, still -determined to help himself, gets into the wagon--stiff, old and decrepit. - -Yonder they go--Jacob and his sons, his sons’ wives and their children, -eighty-two in all--followed by herds and flocks, which the herdsmen drive -along. They are going out from famine to luxuriance; they are going from -a plain country home to the finest palace under the sun. Joseph, the -prime minister, gets into his chariot and is driven down to meet the -old man. Joseph’s charioteer holds up the horses on the one side; the -dust-covered wagons of the emigrants stop on the other. - -Joseph, instead of waiting for his father to come, leaps out of the -chariot and jumps into the emigrants’ wagon, throws his arms around the -old man, and weeps aloud for past memories and present joy. - -The father, Jacob, can hardly think it is his boy. Why, the smooth brow -of childhood has now become a wrinkled brow--wrinkled with the cares -of state--and the garb of the shepherd boy has become a robe royally -bedizened! - -But as the old man finally realizes that it is actually Joseph, I see the -thin lip quiver against the toothless gum, as he cries out: “Now let me -die, since I have seen thy face; behold, Joseph is yet alive!” - - -LAZARUS. - -We stand in one of the finest private houses of the olden time. Every -room is luxurious. The floor--made of stones, gypsum, coal and chalk, -pounded together--is hard and beautiful. From the roof, surrounded by a -balustrade, you take in all the beauty of the landscape. - -The porch is cool and refreshing, where sit the people who have come in -to look at the building, and are waiting for the usher. In this place you -hear the crystal plash of the fountains. - -The windows, reaching to the floor and adorned, are quiet places to -lounge in; and we sit here, listening to the stamp of the horses in the -princely stables. - -Venison and partridge, delicate morsels of fatted calf, and honey, figs, -dates, pomegranates and fish that only two hours ago glided in the -lake, and bowls of fine sherbet from Egypt--these make up the feast, -accompanied with riddles and jests that evoke roaring laughter, with -occasional outbursts of music, in which harps thrum and cymbals clap and -shepherd’s pipe whistles. - -What a place to sit in! - -The lord of the place, in dress that changes with every whim, lies on a -lounge, stupid from stuffed digestion. His linen is so fine, I wonder who -washed it and who ironed it. His jewels are the brightest, his purple the -rarest. - -Let him lie perfectly quiet a moment, until we take his photograph. Here -we have it: - -“A certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and -fared sumptuously every day.” - -How accurate the picture! You can see every pleat in the linen and every -wrinkle in the shirt. What more could that man have? My lord, be happy! - -After a while he leans over the balustrade, and says to a friend in -shining apparel: - -“Look at that fellow--lying at my gate! I wonder why the porter allows -him to lie there. How disgusting! But our dogs will be let out of the -kennel very soon, and will clear him out.” - -Yes, they bound toward him. “Take hold of him!” cries the rich man from -the balustrade. - -The dogs go at the beggar with terrible bark; then take lower growling; -then stop to yawn; and at the coaxing tone of the poor wretch, they frisk -about him, and put their soft, healing tongues to his ulcers, driving off -the flies and relieving the insufferable itch and sting of wounds which -could not afford salve or bandage. - -Lazarus has friends at last. They will for a while keep off the insults -of the street, and will defend their patient. That man is far from -friendless who has a good dog to stand by him. Dogs are often not so mean -as are their masters. They will not be allowed to enter into Heaven, but -may they not be allowed to lie down at the gate? John says of the door of -Heaven: “Without are dogs.” - -But what is the matter with that beggar? He lies over, now, with his face -exposed to the sun. Lazarus, get up! He responds not. Poor fellow, he is -dead! - -Two men appointed by the town come to carry him out to the fields. They -dig a hole, drop him in and cover him up. People say: “One more nuisance -got rid of.” - -Aha! That is not Lazarus whom they buried; they buried only his sores. -Yonder goes Lazarus--an angel on his right hand, an angel on his left, -carrying him up the steep of Heaven--talking, praising, rejoicing. Good -old Abraham stands at the gate, and throws his arms around the new comer. - -Now Lazarus has his own fine house, and his own robes, and his own -banquet, and his own chariot; and that poor and sickly carcass of his, -that the overseers of the town dumped in the potter’s field, will come -up at the call of the archangel--straight, pure and healthy--corruption -having become incorruption. - -Now, we will go back a minute to the fine Oriental house that we spoke -of. The lord of the place has been receiving visitors today, as the -doorkeeper introduced them. - -After a while there is a visitor who waits not for the porter to open -the gate, nor for the doorkeeper to introduce him. Who is it coming? Stop -him there at the door! How dare he come in unheralded? - -He walks into the room, and the lord cries out, with terror-stricken face: - -“This is Death! Away with him!” - -There is a hard thump on the floor. Is it a pitcher that has fallen? An -ottoman upset? No. Dives has fallen. Dives is dead. - -The excitement in town is great. The grooms rush from the barns to see. -All the great folk of the neighborhood, who used to sit at his dinners, -come in. The grocer from whom he got his spices, the butcher from whom he -got his meats and the clothier from whom he got his garments come to find -out all about it. - -The day of burial has arrived. Dives is carried down out of his splendid -room, and through the porch into the street. The undertaker will -make a big job of it, for there is plenty to pay. There will be high -eulogies of him pronounced, although the Bible represents him as chiefly -distinguished for his enormous appetite and his fine shirt. - -The long procession moves on, amid the accustomed weeping and howling -of Oriental obsequies. The sepulcher is reached. Six persons, carrying -the body, go carefully down the steps leading to the door of the dead. -The weight of the body on those ahead is heavy, and they hold back. The -relics are left in the sepulcher, and the people return. - -But Dives is not buried there. - -That which they buried is only the shell in which he lived. Dives is -down yonder in a deeper grave. He who had all the wine he could drink -asks for a plainer beverage. He wants water. He does not ask for a -cupful, nor even for a teaspoonful, but “just one drop,” and he can not -get it. - -He looks up and sees Lazarus, the very man whom he set his dogs on, and -wants him to put his finger into water and let him lick it off. - -Once Lazarus wanted just the crumbs from Dives’ feast; now Dives wants -just a drop from Lazarus’ banquet. Poor as poor can be! He has eaten his -last quail’s wing. He has broken the rind of his last pomegranate. Dives -the lord has become Dives the pauper. The dogs of remorse and despair -come not with healing tongue to lick, but with relentless muzzle to tear. -Now Dives sits at the gate in everlasting beggary, while Lazarus, amid -the festivities of Heaven, fares sumptuously every day. - -You see that this parable takes in the distant future, and speaks as -though the resurrection were passed and the body of Lazarus had already -joined his spirit, and so I treat it. - -Well, you see a man may be beggared for this life, but be a prince -in eternity. A cluster of old rags was the entire property of -Lazarus. His bare feet and his ulcered legs were an invitation to -the brutes; his food the broken victuals that were pitched out by -the house-keeper--half-chewed crusts, rinds, peelings, bones and -gristle--about the last creature out of which to make a prince--yet for -eighteen hundred years he has been one of the millionaires of Heaven. No -more waiting for crumbs. He sits at the same table with the kings of -eternity, himself one of them. What were the forty years of his poverty -compared with the long ages of his royalty? - -Let all the Christian poor be comforted. Your good days will be after a -while. Stand it a little longer, and you will be all right. God has a -place for you among the principalities. Do not be afraid of the dogs of -distress, for they will not bite; they will help to heal. Your poverty -may sometimes have led you to doubt whether you will have a decent -funeral. You shall have grander obsequies than many a man who is carried -out by a procession of governors and senators. The pall-bearers will be -the angels that carried Lazarus into Abraham’s bosom. The surveyors have -been busy. Your eternal possessions have been already laid out by God’s -surveyors, and the stake that bounds the property on this side is driven -into the top of your grave, and all beyond is yours. - -You can afford to wear poor clothes now, when for you in the upper -wardrobes is folded up the royal purple. You can afford to have coarse -food here, when your bread is to be made from the finest wheat of the -eternal harvests. Cheer up! Weeping may endure for a night, but joy -cometh in the morning. - -See, also, that a man may have every comfort and luxury here, and yet -come to a wretched future. It is no sin to be rich. It is a sin not to -be rich, if we can be rich honestly. I wish I had five hundred thousand -dollars--I suppose I might as well make it a million. I see so much -suffering and trial every day that I say, again and again, I wish I had -the money to relieve it. - -But alas for the man who has nothing but money! Dives’ house had a front -door and a back door, and they both opened into eternity. Sixty seconds -after Dives was gone, of what use were his horses? He could not ride -them. Of what use were his rich viands? He could not open his clenched -teeth to eat them. Of what use were his fine linen shirts, when he could -not wear them? - -The poorest man who stood along the road, watching the funeral procession -of Dives, owned more of this world than did the dead gormandizer. The -future world was all the darker because of the brightness of this. - -That wife of a drunken husband, if she does wrong and loses her soul, -will not find it so intolerable in hell as others, for she has been in -hell ever since she was married, and is partially used to it. - -But this rich man, Dives, had every thing once--now nothing. He once had -the best wine; now he can not get water. He had, like other affluent -persons of the East, slaves to fan him when he was hot; now he is being -consumed. He can afford no covering so good as the old patches that once -fluttered about Lazarus as he went walking in the wind. - -Who among my hearers will take Dives’ fine house, costly plate, dazzling -equipage and kennel of blooded dogs, if his eternity must be thrown in -with it? - - -NOAH. - -Noah did the best and the worst thing for the world. He built an ark -against the deluge of water, but he also introduced a deluge against -which the human race has ever since been trying to build an ark--the -deluge of drunkenness. - -In the opening chapters of the Bible we can hear his staggering steps. - -Shem and Japhet tried to cover up the disgrace, but there is Noah--drunk -on wine at a time in the history of the world when, to say the least, -there was no lack of water. - -Inebriation, having flooded the world, has never receded. - -Abigail, the fair and heroic wife who saved the flocks of Nabal, her -husband, from confiscation by invaders, goes home at night and finds him -so intoxicated she can not tell him the story of his narrow escape. - -Uriah came to see David, and David got him drunk, and paved the way for -the despoliation of his household. - -Even the church bishops needed to be charged to be sober and not given to -too much wine; and so familiar were the people of Bible times with the -staggering and falling motions of the inebriate, that Isaiah, when he -comes to describe the final dislocation of worlds, says: “The Earth shall -reel to and fro like a drunkard.” - - -OTHNIEL. - -The city of Debir was the Boston of antiquity--a great place for brains -and books. - -Caleb wanted it, and he offered his daughter Achsah as a prize to any -one who would besiege or storm and capture that city. - -It was a strange thing for Caleb to do; and yet the man who could take -the city would have, at any rate, two elements of manhood--bravery and -patriotism. - -Besides, I do not think that Caleb was as foolish in offering his -daughter to the conqueror of Debir as thousands in this day who seek -alliances for their children with those who have large means, without any -reference to moral or mental acquirements. - -Of the two evils, I would rather measure happiness by the length of the -sword than by the length of the pocket-book. In one case there is sure to -be one good element of character; in the other, there may be none at all. - -With Caleb’s daughter as a prize to fight for, General Othniel rode into -the battle. The gates of Debir were thundered into the dust, and the city -of books lay at the feet of the conquerors. - -The work done, Othniel comes back to claim his bride. Having conquered -the city, it is no great job for him to conquer the girl’s heart; for, -however faint-hearted a woman herself may be, she always loves courage in -a man. I never saw an exception to that. - -The wedding festivity having gone by, Othniel and Achsah are about to go -to their new home. However loudly the cymbals may clash and the laughter -ring, the parents are always sad when a fondly cherished daughter goes -away to stay; and Achsah, the daughter of Caleb, knows that now is the -time to ask almost any thing she wants of her father. - -It seems that Caleb, the good old man, had given as a wedding present to -his daughter a piece of land that was mountainous, and, sloping southward -toward the deserts of Arabia, it was swept by some very hot winds. It was -called “a south land.” - -But Achsah wants an addition of property; she desires a piece of land -that is well watered and fertile. - -Now, it is no wonder that Caleb, standing amid the bridal party, his eyes -so full of tears because his daughter was going away that he could hardly -see her at all, gives her more than she asks. She said to him: “Thou hast -given me a south land; give me also springs of water.” And he gave her -the upper springs and the nether springs. - -That passage occurs in the fifteenth chapter of the Book of Joshua, -nineteenth verse, but I never saw it till a little while ago; and as I -came upon it I said: “If God will give me grace, I shall preach a sermon -on that before long.” - -The fact is that, as Caleb, the father, gave Achsah, the daughter, a -south land, so God gives to us His world. I am very thankful that He has -given it to us. - -But I am like Achsah in the fact that I am not satisfied with the -portion. Trees, flowers, grasses and blue skies are very well in their -places; but he who has naught except this world for a portion has no -portion at all. It is a mountainous land, sloping off toward the desert -of sorrow, swept by fiery siroccos. It is “a south land”--a poor portion -for any man who tries to put trust in it. - - -PAUL. - -The Damascus of Bible times still stands, with a population of 135,000 -people. It was a gay city of white and glistering architecture, its -minarets and crescents and domes playing with the light of the morning -sun; embowered in groves of olive, citron, orange and pomegranate; a -famous river plunging its brightness into the scene--a city by the -ancients styled “a pearl surrounded by emeralds.” - -A group of horsemen are advancing upon that city. Let the Christians of -the place hide, for that cavalcade coming over the hills is made up of -persecutors. - -Their leader is small of stature and unattractive in some respects, -as leaders sometimes are insignificant in person--witness the Duke of -Wellington and Dr. Archibald Alexander. But there is something very -intent in the eye of the man at the head of this troop, and the horse -he rides is lathered with the foam of a long and a quick travel of 135 -miles. He cries “Go ’long” to his steed, for those Christians must be -captured and must be silenced, and that religion of the cross must be -annihilated. - -Suddenly the horses shy off, and plunge until their riders are -precipitated. Freed from their riders, the horses bound snorting away. - -You know that dumb animals, at the sight of an eclipse or an earthquake, -or any thing like a supernatural appearance, sometimes become very -uncontrollable. - -A new sun had been kindled in the heavens, putting out the glare of the -ordinary sun. Christ, with the glories of Heaven wrapped about Him, -looked out from a cloud and the splendor was insufferable, and no wonder -the horses sprang and the equestrians dropped. - -Dust-covered and bruised, Saul attempts to get up, shading his eyes with -his hand from the severe luster of the heavens, but unsuccessfully, for -he is struck stone blind as he cries out: “Who art Thou, Lord?” - -Jesus answered him: - -“I am the One you have been chasing. He that whips and scourges those -Damascine Christians whips and scourges Me. It is not their back that is -bleeding; it is Mine. It is not their heart that is breaking; it is Mine. -I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest.” - -From that wild, exciting and overwhelming scene there rises up the -greatest preacher of all ages--Paul; in whose behalf prisons were rocked -down, before whom soldiers turned pale, into whose hand Mediterranean sea -captains put control of their shipwrecking craft, and whose epistles are -the advance courier of the Resurrection Day. - -I learn, first, from this scene that a worldly fall may precede a -spiritual uplifting. A man does not get much sympathy by falling off a -horse. People say he ought not to have got into the saddle if he could -not ride. Those of us who were brought up in the country remember well -how the workmen laughed when, on our way back from the brook, we suddenly -lost our ride. At the close of the great Civil War, when the army passed -in review at Washington, if a general had toppled from the stirrups it -would have been a national merriment. - -Here is Paul on horseback--a proud man, riding on with government -documents in his pocket, a graduate of a most famous school in which the -celebrated Dr. Gamaliel had been a professor, perhaps having already -attained two of the three titles of the school: Rab, the first; Rabbi, -the second; and was on his way to Rabbak, the third and highest title. - -I know from Paul’s temperament that his horse was ahead of the other -horses. But without time to think of what posture he should take, or -without any consideration for his dignity, he is tumbled into the dust. -And yet that was the best ride Paul ever took. Out of that violent fall -he arose into the apostleship. So it has been in all the ages, and so it -is now. - -You will never be worth any thing for God and the Church until you lose -fifty thousand dollars, or have your reputation upset, or in some way, -somehow, are thrown and humiliated. You must go down before you go up. - -Joseph finds his path to the Egyptian court through the pit into which -his brothers threw him. - -Daniel would never have walked amid the bronze lions that adorned the -Babylonish throne if he had not first walked amid the real lions of the -cave. - -Paul marshals all the generations of Christendom by falling flat on his -face on the road to Damascus. - -Men who have been always prosperous may be efficient servants of the -world, but will be of no advantage to Christ. You may ride majestically -seated on your charger, rein in hand, foot in stirrup, but you will never -be worth any thing spiritually until you fall off. They who graduate from -the School of Christ with the highest honors have on their diploma the -seal of a lion’s muddy paw, or the plash of an angry wave, or the drop -of a stray tear, or the brown scorch of a persecuting fire. - -In nine hundred and ninety-nine cases out of the thousand there is no -moral or spiritual elevation until there has been a thorough worldly -upsetting. - -Again, I learn from the subject that the religion of Christ is not a -pusillanimous thing. People of this day try to make us believe that -Christianity is something for men of small caliber, for women with no -capacity to reason, for children in the infant class, under six years of -age, but not for stalwart men. - -Look at this man who is mentioned in the ninth chapter of the Acts of the -Apostles. Do you not think that the religion that could capture such a -man as that must have some power in it? - -Paul was a logician; he was a metaphysician; he was an all-conquering -orator; he was a poet of the highest type. He had a nature that could -swamp the leading men of his own day, and, hurled against the Sanhedrim, -he made it tremble. - -Paul learned all he could get in the school of his immediate vicinity; -then he went to a higher school, and there mastered the Greek and the -Hebrew, and also perfected himself in belles-lettres, until in after -years he astonished the Cretans, the Corinthians and the Athenians by -quotations from their own authors. - -I have never found any thing in Carlyle or Goethe or Herbert Spencer -that could compare in strength or in beauty with Paul’s Epistles. I do -not think there is any thing in the writings of Sir William Hamilton -that shows such mental discipline as you find in Paul’s argument about -justification and the resurrection. I have not found any thing in Milton -finer in the way of imagination than I can find in Paul’s illustrations -drawn from the amphitheater. - -There was nothing in Robert Emmet pleading for his life, or in Edmund -Burke arraigning Warren Hastings in Westminster Hall, that compared with -the scene in the court room when, before robed officials, Paul bowed and -began his speech, saying: “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because I -shall answer for myself this day.” - -I repeat the assertion that a religion that can capture such a man as -that must have some power in it. It is time people stopped talking as -though all the brains of the world were opposed to Christianity. Where -Paul leads we can afford to follow. - -I am glad to know that Christ has in the different ages of the world -had in His discipleship a Mozart and a Handel in music; a Raphael and a -Reynolds in painting; an Angelo and a Canova in sculpture; a Rush and -a Harvey in medicine; a Grotius and a Washington in statesmanship; a -Blackstone, a Marshall and a Kent in law. - -The time will come when the religion of Christ will conquer all the -observatories and universities, and then, through her telescope -Philosophy will behold the morning star of Jesus, and in her laboratory -see that “all things work together for good,” and with her geological -hammer discover the “Rock of Ages.” - -Instead of cowering and shivering when the skeptic stands before you and -talks of religion as though it were a pusillanimous thing, take your New -Testament from your pocket and show him the picture of the intellectual -giant of all the ages, prostrated on the road to Damascus, while his -horse is flying wildly away. Then ask the skeptic what it was that -frightened the one and threw the other. - -Oh, no! It is no weak Gospel. It is a most glorious Gospel. It is an -all-conquering Gospel. It is an omnipotent Gospel. It is the power of God -and the wisdom of God unto salvation. - -Jesus and Paul were boys at the same time in different villages, and -Paul’s antipathy to Christ was increasing. He hated every thing about -Christ. He was going down then with writs in his pockets to have Christ’s -disciples arrested. He was not going as a sheriff goes--to arrest a -man against whom he has no spite--but Paul was going down to arrest -those people because he was glad to arrest them. The Bible says: “He -breathed out slaughter.” He wanted them captured, and he also wanted them -butchered. - -It was particularly outrageous that Saul should have gone to Damascus on -that errand. Jesus Christ had been dead only three years, and the story -of His kindness, generosity and love filled all the air. It was not an -old story, as it is now. It was a new story. Jesus had only three Summers -ago been in these very places, and Saul every day in Jerusalem must have -met people who knew Christ, people with good eyesight whom Jesus had -cured of blindness, people who were dead and had been resurrected by -the Savior, and people who could tell Paul all the particulars of the -crucifixion--just how Jesus looked to the last hour--just how the heavens -grew black in the face at the torture. He heard that recited every day -by people who were acquainted with all the circumstances, and yet in the -fresh memory of that scene he goes out to persecute Christ’s disciples, -impatient at the time it takes to feed the horses at the inn, not pulling -at the snaffle, but riding with loose rein--faster and faster. - -Truly, Paul was the chief of sinners. No outbreak of modesty when he said -that. He was a murderer. He stood by when Stephen died, and helped in -the execution of that good man. When the rabble wanted to be unimpeded -in their work of destroying Stephen, and wanted to take off their coats -but did not dare to lay them down lest they be stolen, Paul said: “I will -take care of the coats.” So they put their coats down at the feet of -Paul, and he watched them, and he watched the horrid mangling of glorious -Stephen. - -Is it not a wonder that when Paul fell from the horse he did not break -his neck--that his foot did not catch somewhere in the trappings of -the saddle, and he was not dragged and kicked to death? He deserved -to die--miserably, wretchedly and for ever--notwithstanding all his -metaphysics, eloquence and logic. - -It seems to me as if I can see Paul today, rising up from the highway to -Damascus, brushing off the dust from his cloak and wiping the sweat of -excitement from his brow, as he turns to us and all the ages, saying: - -“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ -Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” - -If it had been a mere optical illusion on the road to Damascus, was -not Paul just the man to find it out? If it had been a sham and -pretense, would he not have pricked the bubble? He was a man of facts -and arguments, of the most gigantic intellectual nature, and not a man -of hallucinations; and when I see him fall from the saddle, blinded and -overwhelmed, I say there must have been something in it. - -I have been reading this morning, in my New Testament, of a Mediterranean -voyage in an Alexandrian ship. It was in the month of November. - -On board that vessel were two distinguished passengers--one, Josephus, -the historian, as we have strong reasons to believe; the other, a -convict, one Paul by name, who was going to prison for upsetting -things--or, as they termed it, “turning the world upside down.” - -This convict had gained the confidence of the captain. Indeed, I think -that Paul knew almost as much about the sea as did the captain. He had -been shipwrecked three times already, and had dwelt much of his life amid -capstans, yardarms, cables and storms, and he knew what he was talking -about. - -Seeing the equinoctial storm was coming, and perhaps noticing something -unseaworthy in the vessel, he advised the captain to stay in the harbor. -But I heard the captain and the first mate talking together. They say, in -effect: - -“We can not afford to take the advice of this landsman, and he a -minister. He may be able to preach very well, but I do not believe he -knows a marlinespike from a luff tackle. All aboard! Cast off! Shift the -helm for headway. Who fears the Mediterranean?” - -They had gone only a little way out when a whirlwind, called Euroclydon, -made the torn sail its turban, shook the mast as you would brandish a -spear, and tossed the hulk into the heavens. Overboard with the cargo! It -is all washed with salt water and worthless now, and there are no marine -insurance companies. All hands, ahoy, and out with the anchors! - -Great consternation comes on crew and passengers. The sea monsters snort -in the foam, and the billows clap their hands in glee of destruction. -In the lull of the storm I hear a chain clank. It is the chain of the -great apostle as he walks the deck or holds fast to the rigging amid the -lurching of the ship. The spray drips from his long beard as Paul cries -out to the crew, in tones of confidence: - -“Now, I exhort you to be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any -man’s life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night -the angel of God--whose I am and whom I serve--saying: ‘Fear not, Paul. -Thou must be brought before Cæsar; and lo, God hath given thee all them -that sail with thee.’” - -Fourteen days have passed, and there is no abatement of the storm. It is -midnight. Standing on the lookout, the man peers into the darkness, and, -by a flash of lightning, sees the long white line of breakers, and knows -they must be coming near to some country, and fears that in a few moments -the vessel will be shivered on the rocks. - -The ship flies like chaff in the tornado. They drop the sounding line, -and by the light of the lantern they see it is twenty fathoms. Speeding -along a little farther, they drop the line again, and by the light of -the lantern they see it is fifteen fathoms. Two hundred and seventy-six -souls within a few feet of awful shipwreck! - -The managers of the vessel, pretending they want to look over the side of -the ship and undergird it, get into the small boat, expecting in it to -escape; but Paul sees through the sham, and he tells them that if they go -off in the boat it will be the death of them. - -The vessel strikes! The planks spring! The timbers crack! The vessel -parts in the thundering surge! Oh, what struggling for life! Here they -leap from plank to plank. There they go under as if they would never -rise, but, catching hold of a timber, they come floating and panting on -it to the beach. - -Here strong swimmers spread their arms through the waves until their -chins plow the sand, and they rise up, and ring out their wet locks -on the beach. When the roll of the ship is called, two hundred and -seventy-six people answer to their names. - -Paul was the most illustrious merely human being the world has ever -known. He walked the streets of Athens and preached from yonder pile of -rocks, Mars Hill. - -Though more classic associations are connected with Athens than with -any other city under the sun--because here Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, -Demosthenes, Pericles, Herodotus, Pythagoras, Xenophon and Praxiteles -wrote, chiseled, taught, thundered or sung--yet, in my mind, all those -men and their teachings were eclipsed by Paul and the Gospel he preached -there and in the near-by city of Corinth. Standing yesterday on the old -fortress at Corinth, the Acro-Corinthus, out from the ruin at its base -arose in my imagination the old city--just as Paul saw it. - -I have been told that, for splendor, the world beholds no such wonder -today as that ancient Corinth, standing on an isthmus washed by two -seas--the one sea bringing the commerce of Europe, the other sea bringing -the commerce of Asia. - -From her wharves, in the construction of which entire kingdoms had been -absorbed, war galleys with three banks of oars pushed out and confounded -the navy yards of all the world. - -Huge handed machinery, such as modern invention can not equal, lifted -ships from the sea on one side and transported them on trucks across the -isthmus and sat them down in the sea on the other side. - -The revenue officers of the city went down through the olive groves that -lined the beach to collect a tariff from all nations. The youth of all -peoples sported in her isthmian games and the beauty of all lands sat -in her theaters, walked her porticos and threw itself upon the altar of -her stupendous dissipations. Column, statue and temple bewildered the -beholder. There were white marble fountains into which, from apertures -at the side, there gushed waters everywhere known for health-giving -qualities. Around these basins, twisted into wreaths of stone, there -were all the beauties of sculpture and architecture; while standing, as -if to guard the costly display, was a statue of Hercules of burnished -Corinthian brass. Vases of terra cotta adorned the cemeteries of the -dead--vases so costly that Julius Cæsar was not satisfied till he had -captured them for Rome. Armed officials paced up and down to see that no -statue was defaced, pedestal overthrown or bas-relief touched. - -From the edge of the city the hill held its magnificent burden of columns -and towers and temples (one thousand slaves waiting at one shrine), and -a citadel so thoroughly impregnable that Gibraltar is a heap of sand -compared with it. Amid all that strength and magnificence Corinth stood -and defied the world. - -Oh, it was not to rustics who had never seen any thing grand that Paul -preached in Corinth. They had heard the best music that had come from the -best instruments in all the world; they had heard songs floating from -morning porticos and melting in evening groves; they had passed their -whole lives among pictures and sculpture and architecture and Corinthian -brass, which had been molded and shaped until there was no chariot wheel -in which it had not sped, and no tower in which it had not glittered, and -no gateway that it had not helped to adorn. - -Ah, it was a bold act for Paul to stand there amid all that and say: - -“All this is nothing. These sounds that come from the Temple of Neptune -are not music, compared with the harmonies of which I speak. These waters -rushing in the basin of Pyrene are not pure. These statues of Bacchus and -Mercury are not exquisite. Your citadel of Acro-Corinthus is not strong, -compared with that which I offer to the poorest slave who puts down his -burden at that brazen gate. You Corinthians think this is a splendid -city; you think you have heard all sweet sounds and seen all beautiful -sights. But, I tell you, eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have -entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for -them that love Him.” Following up Paul’s line of thought, we may say -the Bible, now, is the scaffolding to the rising Temple, but when the -building is done there will be no further use for the scaffolding. - - -PHARAOH. - -One of the most intensely interesting things I saw in Egypt was Pharaoh -of olden times--the very Pharaoh who oppressed the Israelites. The -inscription on his sarcophagus and the writing on his mummy bandages -prove beyond controversy that he was the Pharaoh of Bible times. All the -Egyptologists and the explorations agree that it is the old scoundrel -himself. - -Visible are the very teeth with which he gnashed against the Israelitish -brick makers. There are the sockets of the merciless eyes with which -he looked upon the over-burdened people of God. There is the hair that -floated in the breeze off the Red Sea. There are the very lips with which -he commanded the children of Israel to make bricks without straw. - -Thousands of years afterward, when the wrappings of the mummy were -unrolled, old Pharaoh lifted up his arm as if in imploration; but his -skinny bones can not again clutch his shattered scepter. He is a dead -lion. - - -PONTIUS PILATE. - -At about seven o’clock in the morning, up the marble stairs of a palace -and across the floors of richest mosaic and under ceilings dyed with all -the splendors of color and between snowbanks of white and glistening -sculpture, passes a poor, pale and sick young man of thirty-three years, -already condemned to death, on his way to be condemned again. Jesus of -Nazareth is His name. - -Coming out to meet him on this tesselated pavement is an unscrupulous, -compromising, time-serving and cowardly man, with a few traces of -sympathy and fair dealing left in his composition--Governor Pontius -Pilate. - -Did ever such opposites meet? Luxury and pain, selfishness and -generosity, arrogance and humility, sin and holiness, midnight and -midnoon. - -The bloated-lipped governor takes the cushioned seat, but the prisoner -stands, his wrists manacled. In a semicircle around the prisoner are the -Sanhedrists, with eyes flashing and fists brandished, prosecuting this -case in the name of their religion. - -The most bitter persecutions have been religious persecutions, and when -Satan takes hold of a good man he makes up by intensity for brevity of -occupation. If you have never seen an ecclesiastical court trying a man, -then you have no idea of the foaming infernalism of those old religious -Sanhedrists. - -Governor Pilate cross-questions the prisoner, and he finds right away -that he is innocent; so he wants to let him go. His caution is also -increased by some one who comes to the governor and whispers in his -ear. The governor puts his hand behind his ear, so as to catch the words -almost inaudible. - -These whispered words are a message from Claudia Procula, his wife, who -has had a dream about the innocence of this prisoner and about the danger -of executing him, and she awakens from this morning dream in time to send -the message to her husband, who was at that hour on the judicial bench. - -And what with the protest of his wife, the voice of his own conscience -and the entire failure of the Sanhedrists to make out their case Governor -Pilate resolves to discharge the prisoner from custody. - -But the intimation of such a thing brings upon the governor an -equinoctial storm of indignation. They will report him to the emperor -at Rome. They will have him recalled. They will send him up home, and -he will be hanged for treason, for the emperor has already a suspicion -in regard to Pilate, and that suspicion does not cease until Pilate is -banished and commits suicide. - -So Governor Pontius Pilate compromises the matter, and proposes that -Christ be whipped instead of assassinated. So the prisoner is fastened to -a low pillar, and on his bent and bared back come the thongs of leather, -with pieces of lead and bone intertwisted, so that every stroke shall be -the more awful. - -Christ lifts Himself from the scourging with flushed cheek and torn and -quivering and mangled flesh, presenting a spectacle of suffering in which -Rubens, the painter, found the theme for his greatest masterpiece. - -But the Sanhedrists are not yet satisfied. They have had some of the -prisoner’s nerves lacerated; but they want them all lacerated. They -have had some of his blood; now they want all of it, down to the last -corpuscle. - -So Governor Pontius Pilate, after all this merciful hesitation, -surrenders to the demoniacal cry: - -“Crucify him! Crucify him!” - -But the governor sends for something. He sends a slave out to get -something. Although the constables are in haste to take the prisoner to -execution, and the mob outside are impatient to glare upon their victim, -a pause is necessitated. - -Yonder it comes--a wash basin. Some pure, bright water is poured into -it, and then Governor Pilate puts his white and delicate hands into the -water and rubs them together, and then lifts them dripping, for the towel -fastened at the slave’s girdle, while he practically says: - -“I wash my hands of this whole homicidal transaction. I wash my hands of -this entire responsibility. You will have to bear it.” - -Behold in this that ceremony amounts to nothing, if there are not -contained in it correspondences of heart and life. - -It is a good thing to wash the hands. God created three-fourths of the -world water, and in that act commanded cleanliness; and when the ancients -did not take the hint, He plunged the whole world under water, and kept -it there for some time. - -Hand washing was a religious ceremony among the Jews. The Jewish Mishna -gave particular directions how that the hands must be thrust three times -up to the wrist in water, and the palm of the hand must then be rubbed -with the closed fist of the other. - -All that was well enough for a symbol, but here is a man in the case -under consideration who proposes to wash away the guilt of a sin which he -does not quit and of which he does not make any repentance. Pilate’s wash -basin was a dead failure. - -Ceremonies, however beautiful and appropriate, may be no more than this -hypocritical ablution. In infancy we may be sprinkled from the baptismal -font, and in manhood we may wade into deep immersion, and yet never -come to moral purification. We may kneel without prayer and bow without -reverence, and sing without any acceptance. All your creeds, liturgies, -sacraments, genuflections and religious convocations amount to nothing -unless your heart-life go into them. - -When that bronzed slave took from the presence of Pilate that wash basin -he carried away none of Pilate’s cruelty, wickedness or guilt. - -Nothing against creeds; we all have them--either written or implied. -Nothing against ceremonies; they are of infinite importance. Nothing -against sacraments; they are divinely commanded. Nothing against rosary, -if there be as many heartfelt prayers as beads counted. Nothing against -incense floating up from censer amid Gothic arches, if the prayers be as -genuine as the ceremony is sweet. Nothing against Epiphany, Lent, Ash -Wednesday, Easter, Good Friday, Whitsuntide or Palm Sunday, if these -symbols have behind them genuine repentance, holy reminiscence and -Christian consecration. - -But ceremony is only the sheath to the sword; it is only the shell to -the kernel; it is only the lamp to the flame; it is only the body to the -spirit. The outward must be symbolical of the inward. Wash the hands, by -all means; but, more than all, wash the heart. - -Behold, also, as you see Governor Pontius Pilate thrust his hands into -his wash basin, the power of conscience. He had an idea there was blood -on his hands--the blood of an innocent person, whom he might have -acquitted if he only had the courage. - -Poor Pilate! His conscience was after him, and he knew the stain would -never be washed from the right hand or the left hand; that, until the day -of his death, though he might wash in all the lavers of the Roman Empire, -there would be still eight fingers and two thumbs red at the tips. - -Alas for this Governor Pontius Pilate! That night, after the court had -adjourned and the Sanhedrists had gone home and nothing was heard outside -the room but the step of the sentinel, I see Pontius Pilate arise from -his tapestried and sleepless couch and go to the laver and begin to wash -his hands, crying: “Out! Out, crimson spot! Tellest thou to me and to God -and to the night my crime? Is there no alkali to remove these dreadful -stains? Is there no chemistry to dissolve this carnage? Must I to the day -of my death carry the blood of this innocent man on my heart and hand? -Out, thou crimson spot!” - -Against the disappointing and insufficient laver of Pilate’s vice, -cowardice and sin I place the brazen sea of a Savior’s pardoning mercy! - - -QUEEN OF SHEBA. - -What is that long procession approaching Jerusalem? I think, from the -pomp of it, there must be royalty in the train. I smell the breath of -the spices which are brought as presents, and I hear the shout of the -drivers, and I see the dust-covered caravan, showing that they come from -far away. Cry the news up to the palace: - -“The Queen of Sheba advances.” - -Let all the people come out to see. Let the mighty men of the land come -out on the palace corridors. Let King Solomon come down the stairs of -the palace before the Queen has alighted. Shake out the cinnamon and the -saffron, the calamus and the frankincense, and pass it into the treasure -house. Take up the diamonds until they glitter in the sun! - -The Queen of Sheba alights. - -She enters the palace. - -She washes at the bath. - -She sits down at the banquet. - -The cup bearers bow. The meat smokes. The music trembles in the dash of -the waters from the modern sea. Then she rises from the banquet, walks -through the conservatories, gazes on the architectural marvels, and asks -Solomon many strange questions. Thus she learns about the religion of the -Hebrews, and then and there she becomes a servant of Jehovah. - -The Queen of Sheba is overwhelmed. She begins to think that all the -spices that she brought, and all the precious woods which are intended to -be turned into harps and psalteries and into railings for the causeway -between the Temple and the palace and the $1,800,000 in money--she begins -to think that all these presents amount to nothing in such a palace; and -she is almost ashamed that she has brought them, and she says within -herself: - -“I heard a great deal about this place and about this wonderful religion -of the Hebrews, but I find it far beyond my highest anticipations. I must -add more than 50 per cent to what has been related. It exceeds every -thing that could have been expected. The half was not told me.” - -What a beautiful thing it is when social position and wealth surrender -themselves to God! When religion comes to a neighborhood, the first -to receive it are the women. Some men say it is because they are weak -minded. I say it is because they have quicker perception of what is -right, more ardent affection and capacity for sublimer emotion. - -After the women have received the Gospel, then all the distressed and the -poor of both sexes--those who have no friend except Jesus. Last of all -come the greatly prospered. Alas, that it is so! - -Do you know where Sheba was? Some say it was in Abyssinia; others say it -was in the southern part of Arabia Felix. In either case it was a great -way off from Jerusalem. To get from there to Jerusalem the Queen of Sheba -had to cross a country infested with bandits and go across blistering -deserts. - -Why did not the Queen of Sheba stay at home and send a committee to -inquire about this new religion, and have the delegates report in regard -to that religion and wealth of King Solomon? She wanted to see for -herself and hear for herself. She could not do this by work of committee. -She felt that she had a soul worth ten thousand kingdoms like Sheba, and -she wanted a robe richer than any woven by Oriental shuttles, and she -wanted a crown set with the jewels of eternity. - -Bring out the camels. Put on the spices. Gather up the jewels of the -throne and put them on the caravan. Start now--no time is to be lost. -Goad on the camels. When I see that caravan--dust-covered, weary and -exhausted--trudging on across the desert and among the banditti until it -reaches Jerusalem, I say: “There is an earnest seeker after truth.” - - -SALOME. - -This is the anniversary of Herod’s birthday. The palace is lighted. The -highways leading thereto are all ablaze with the pomp of invited guests. -Lords, captains, merchant princes, and all the mighty men of the land are -coming to mingle in the festivities. - -The table is spread with all the luxuries that royal purveyors can -gather. The guests, white robed and anointed and perfumed, come and sit -at the table. - -Music! The jests evoke roars of laughter. Riddles are propounded. -Repartee is indulged. Toasts are drank. The brain is befogged. The wit -rolls on into uproar and blasphemy. They are not satisfied yet. Turn on -more light. Pour out more wine. Music! Sound all the trumpets. Clear -the floor for a dance. Bring in Salome, the beautiful and accomplished -princess. The door opens, and in bounds the dancer. The lords are -enchanted. Stand back and make room for the brilliant gyrations. These -men never saw such “poetry of motion.” Their souls whirl in the reel and -bound with the bounding feet. - -Herod forgets crown and throne and every thing but the fascinations of -Salome. All the magnificence of his realm is as nothing compared with -the splendor that whirls on tiptoe before him. His body sways from side -to side, corresponding with the motions of the enchantress. His soul is -filled with the pulsations of the feet and bewitched with the taking -postures and attitudes more and more amazing. - -After a while Herod sits in enchanted silence, looking at the flashing, -leaping, bouncing beauty, and as the dance closes and the tinkling -cymbals cease to clap and the thunders of applause that shook the palace -begin to abate, the enchanted monarch swears to the princely performer: - -“Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me I will give it thee, to the half of my -kingdom.” - -Now, there was in the prison at that time a minister of the Gospel by -the name of John the Baptist, and he had been making a great deal of -trouble by preaching some very plain sermons. He had denounced the sins -of the king and brought down upon him the wrath of the women of the royal -household. - -At the instigation of her mother, Salome takes advantage of the -extravagant promise of the king, and says: “Bring me the head of John -the Baptist on a dinner plate.” - -Hark to the sound of feet outside the door and the clatter of swords! The -executioners are returning from their awful errand. Open the door. They -enter and present the platter to Salome. - -What is on this platter? - -A new glass of wine to continue the uproarious merriment? No. Something -redder and far more costly--the ghastly, bleeding head of John the -Baptist. The death glare is still in the eyes; the locks are all dabbled -with gore; the features are still distressed with the last agony. - -Salome, this enchantress who had whirled so gracefully in the dance, -bends over the awful burden without a shudder. She gloats over the blood, -and with as much indifference as a waiting maid might take a tray of -empty glassware out of the room after an entertainment Salome carries the -dissevered head of John the Baptist, while all the banqueters shout with -laughter. They regarded it as a capital joke that in so easy and quick a -way they have got rid of an earnest and outspoken minister of the true -Gospel. - -Well, there is no harm in a birthday festival. All the kings from -Pharaoh’s time had celebrated such occasions, and why not Herod? No harm -in kindling the lights. No harm in spreading the banquet. No harm in -arousing music. But from the riot and wassail that closed the scene of -that day every pure nature revolts. - - -SAUL. - -The Amalekites thought they had conquered God, and that He would not -carry into execution His threats against them. - -They had murdered the Israelites in battle and out of battle, and had -left no outrage untried. For four hundred years this had been going on, -and they said: “God either dare not punish us, or He has forgotten to do -so.” - -Let us see. - -Samuel, God’s prophet, tells Saul to go down and slay all the Amalekites, -not leaving one of them alive; also to destroy all the beasts in their -possession--sheep, ox, camel and ass. - -Hark! I hear the tread of two hundred and ten thousand men, with -monstrous Saul at their head, ablaze with armor, his shield dangling at -his side, holding in his hand a spear, at the waving of which the great -host marched or halted. - -The sound of their feet, shaking the Earth, seems like the tread of the -great God, as, marching in vengeance, He tramples nations into the dust. - -I see smoke curling against the sky. Now there is a thick cloud of it, -and now I see the whole city rising in a chariot of smoke, behind steeds -of fire. - -Saul has set the city ablaze. - -The Amalekites and Israelites meet; the trumpets of battle blow peal on -peal, and there is a death hush. - -Then there is a signal waved; swords cut and hack; javelins ring on -shields; arms fall from trunks and heads roll into the dust. Gash after -gash, the frenzied yell, the gurgling of throttled throats, the cry of -pain, the laugh of revenge, the curse hissed between clenched teeth--an -army’s death groan. Stacks of dead on all sides, with eyes unshut and -mouths yet grinning vengeance. - -Huzza for the Israelites! Two hundred and ten thousand men wave their -plumes and clap their shields, for the Lord God has given them the -victory. - -Yet the victorious warriors of Israel are conquered by sheep and oxen. - -God, through His prophet, Samuel, told Saul to slay all the Amalekites, -and to slay all the beasts in their possession; but Saul, thinking that -he knows more than God, spares Agag, the Amalekitish king, and five -droves of sheep and a herd of oxen that he can not bear to kill. - -Saul drives the sheep and oxen down toward home. He has no idea that -Samuel, the prophet, will discover that he has saved these sheep and oxen -for himself. - -But Samuel comes and asks Saul the news from the battle. Saul puts on -a solemn face--for there is no one who can look more solemn than your -genuine hypocrite--and he says: “I have fulfilled the commandment of the -Lord.” - -Samuel listens, and he hears the drove of sheep a little way off. Saul -had no idea the prophet’s ear would be so acute. - -Samuel says to Saul: “If you have done as God told you, and have slain -all the Amalekites and all the beasts in their possession, what meaneth -the bleating of the sheep in mine ears and the lowing of the oxen, that I -hear?” - -Ah! One would have thought that blushes would have consumed the cheeks -of Saul. No, no! He says the army--not himself, of course, but the -army--saved the sheep and oxen for sacrifice; and then they thought it -would be too bad, anyhow, to kill Agag, the Amalekitish king. - -Samuel takes the sword, and he slashes King Agag to pieces; and then he -takes the skirt of his coat, in true Oriental style, and rends it in -twain--as much as to say: - -“You, Saul, just like that, shall be torn away from your empire, and torn -away from your throne.” - -In other words, let all the nations of Earth hear the story that Saul, by -disobeying God, won a flock of sheep but lost a kingdom. - -A hypocrite is one who pretends to be what he is not, or to do what he -does not. Saul was only a type of a class. When the fox prays, look to -your chickens. - -Do not be hypocritical in any thing; you are never safe if you are. At -the most inopportune moment, the sheep will bleat and the oxen will -bellow. - - -SOLOMON. - -What is that building out yonder, glittering in the sunshine? Have you -not heard? - -It is the House of the Forest of Lebanon. King Solomon has just taken -to it his bride, the princess of Egypt. You see the pillars of the -portico and a great tower, adorned with a thousand shields of gold, hung -on the outside of the tower. Five hundred of the shields of gold were -manufactured at Solomon’s order, and five hundred were captured by David, -his father, in battle. See how they blaze in the noonday sun! - -Solomon goes up to the ivory stairs of his throne between twelve lions in -statuary, and sits down on the back of the golden bull, the head of the -bronze beast turned toward the people. - -The family and attendants of the king are so many that the caterers of -the place have to provide every day one hundred sheep and thirteen oxen, -besides the birds and the venison. I hear the stamping and pawing of four -thousand horses in the royal stables. - -They were important officials who had charge of the work of gathering the -straw and the barley for all these horses. - -King Solomon was an early riser, tradition says, and used to take a ride -out at daybreak; and when in his white apparel, behind the swiftest -horses of all the kingdom and followed by mounted archers in purple, as -the cavalcade dashed through the streets of Jerusalem I suppose it was -something worth getting up at five o’clock in the morning to look at. - -Solomon was not like some of the kings of the present day--crowned -imbecility. All the splendor of his palace and retinue was eclipsed by -his intellectual powers. Why, he seemed to know every thing. He was the -first great naturalist the world ever saw. Peacocks from India strutted -the basaltic walks, and apes chattered in the trees and deer stalked -the parks, and there were aquariums with foreign fish and aviaries with -foreign birds; and tradition says these birds were so well tamed that -Solomon might walk clear across the city under the shadow of their wings -as they hovered and flitted about him. - -King Solomon had a great reputation for the conundrums and riddles that -he made and guessed. He and King Hiram, his neighbor, used to sit by the -hour and ask riddles, each one paying in money if he could not answer or -guess the riddle. - -The Solomonic navy visited all the world, and the sailors, of course, -talked about the wealth of their king, and about the riddles and enigmas -that he made and solved. - -Solomon had at his command gold to the value of £680,000,000, and he had -silver to the value of £1,029,000,377. The Queen of Sheba made him a nice -little present of £720,000, and King Hiram made him a present of the same -amount. - -If Solomon had lost the value of a whole realm out of his pocket, it -would hardly have been worth his while to stoop down and pick it up. - -He wrote one thousand and five songs. He wrote three thousand proverbs. -He wrote about almost every thing. The Bible says distinctly he wrote -about plants, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of -the wall, and about birds and beasts and fishes. - -No doubt he put off his royal robes, and put on the hunter’s trappings, -and went out with his arrows to bring down the rarest specimens of birds; -and then with his fishing apparatus he went down to the streams to bring -up the denizens of the deep, and plunged into the forest and found the -rarest specimens of flowers. He then came back to his study and wrote -books about zoology, the science of animals; about ichthyology, the -science of fishes; about ornithology, the science of birds; about botany, -the science of plants. - -Did any other city ever behold so wonderful a man? - -His fame spread abroad, and Queen Balkis, away to the south, heard of -it. She sent messengers with a few riddles that she would like to have -Solomon solve and a few puzzles which she would like to have him find out. - -She sent to King Solomon, among other things, a diamond with a hole so -small that a needle would not penetrate it, asking him to thread that -diamond. Solomon took a worm and put it at the opening in the diamond, -and the worm crawled through, leaving the thread in the diamond. - -This queen also sent a goblet to Solomon, asking him to fill it with -water that did not pour from the sky, and that did not rush out from the -earth. Immediately the wise man put a slave on the back of a swift horse -and galloped him around and around the park until the horse was nigh -exhausted, and from the perspiration of the horse the goblet was filled. - -She also sent King Solomon five hundred boys in girls’ dress and five -hundred girls in boys’ dress, wondering if he would be acute enough to -find out the deception. Immediately Solomon, when he saw them wash their -faces, knew from the way they applied the water it was all a cheat. - -Queen Balkis was so pleased with the acuteness of Solomon that she said: -“I will just go and see him.” - -Yonder it comes--the cavalcade--horses and dromedaries, chariots and -charioteers, jingling harness and clattering hoofs, and blazing shields, -and flying ensigns, and clapping cymbals. - -The place is saturated with perfumes. She brings cinnamon, saffron, -calamus, frankincense and all manner of sweet spices. As the retinue -sweeps through the gate the armed guards inhale the aroma. “Halt!” cry -the charioteers, as the wheels grind the gravel in front of the pillared -portico of the king. Queen Balkis alights in an atmosphere bewitching -with perfume. As the dromedaries are driven up to the king’s storehouses -and the bundles of camphor are unloaded, and the cinnamon sacks and the -boxes of spices are opened, the purveyors of the palace discovered, so -the Bible relates: “Of spices, great abundance; neither was there any -such spices as the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.” - -Well, my friends, you know that all theologians agree in making Solomon -a type of Christ and making the Queen of Sheba a type of every truth -seeker, and I take the responsibility of saying that all the spikenard, -cassia and frankincense which the Queen of Sheba brought to King Solomon -are mightily suggestive of the sweet spice of our holy religion. - - -THE GENTILE MOTHER. - -It was a Sabbath afternoon in the Belleville parsonage. I had been trying -for two years to preach, but to me the Christian life had been nothing -but a struggle. I sat down at the table, took up my Bible, and asked for -divine illumination; and it poured like sunlight upon my soul through the -story of the Syro-Phenician woman. - -This woman was a mother, and she had an afflicted daughter. The child had -a virulent, exasperating and convulsive disease, called the possession of -the devil. - -The mother was just like other mothers; she had no peace as long as -her child was sick. She was a Gentile, and the Jews had such a perfect -contempt for the Gentiles that they called them dogs. Nevertheless, she -comes to Christ, and asks Him to help her in her family troubles. Christ -makes no answer. The people become afraid there is going to be a “scene” -enacted, and they try to get the woman out of Christ’s presence; but He -forbids her expulsion. Then she falls down and repeats her request. - -Christ, to rally her earnestness, and to make His mercy finally more -conspicuous, addresses her, saying: “It is not meet to take the -children’s bread [that is, the salvation appointed for the Jews] and cast -it to dogs”--the Gentiles. Christ did not mean to characterize that woman -as a dog. That would have been most unlike Him, who from the cross said: -“Behold thy mother.” - -His whole life was so gentle and so loving, He could not have given it -out as His opinion that that was what she ought to be called; but He -was only employing the ordinary parlance of the Jews in regard to the -Gentiles. Yet that mother was not to be put off, pleading as she was for -the life of her daughter. She was not to be rebuffed; she was not to be -discouraged. She says: - -“Yea, Lord, I acknowledge I am a Gentile dog; but I remember that even -the dogs have some privileges, and when the door is open they slink in -and crawl under the table. When the bread or the meat sifts through the -cracks of the table or falls off the edge of it, they pick it up, and -the master of the house is not angry with them. I do not ask for a big -loaf; I do not ask even for a big slice; I only ask for that which drops -down through the chinks of the table--the dogs’ portion. I ask only the -crumbs.” - -Christ felt the wit and the earnestness and the stratagem and the faith -of that woman. He turns upon her and says: - -“You have conquered Me. Your daughter is well now. Go home, mother; but -before you get there she will come down, skipping out to meet you.” - -There I see the mother going. She feels full twenty years younger now. -She is getting on in life, but she goes with a half run. Amid an outburst -of hysterical laughter and tears they meet. The mother breaks down every -time she tries to tell it. The daughter is before her, with cheeks as -rosy as before she fell in the first fit. The doctors of the village -prophesy that the cure will not last, because it was not according to -their prescription. But I read in the oldest medical journal in the -world: “The daughter was made whole from that very hour.” - -This story shows you Jesus with His back turned. That woman came to Him -and said: “Lord, spare the life of my child; it will not cost You any -thing.” Jesus turned His back. He threw positive discouragement on her -petition. Jesus stood with His face to blind Bartimeus, to the foaming -demoniac, to the limping paralytic, to the sea when He hushed it, and to -the grave when He broke it; but now He turns His back. - -I asked an artist if he ever saw a representation of Jesus Christ with -His back turned. He said no. And it is a fact that you may go through all -the picture galleries of London, Dresden, Rome, Florence and Naples, and -you will find Christ with full face and profile, but never with His back -turned. Yet here, in this passage, He turned away from the woman. - - -ZACCHÆUS. - -Zacchæus was a politician and a tax gatherer. He had an honest calling, -but the opportunity for “stealings” was so large that the temptation was -too much for him. - -The Bible says that Zacchæus was “a sinner”--that is, in the public -sense. How many fine men have been ruined by official position! It is -an awful thing for any man to seek office under government unless his -principles of integrity are deeply fixed. Many a man, upright in an -insignificant position, has made shipwreck in a great one. So far as I -can tell, in the city of Jericho this Zacchæus belonged to what might be -called the “ring.” - -They had things their own way, successfully avoiding exposure--if by no -other way, perhaps by hiring somebody to break in and steal the vouchers. - -Notwithstanding his bad reputation, there were some streaks of good about -Zacchæus--as there are about almost every man. Gold is found in quartz, -and sometimes in a very small percentage. - -Jesus was coming to town. The people all turned out to see Him. Here He -comes--the Lord of Glory--on foot, dust-covered and road-weary, limping -along the way, carrying the griefs and woes of the world. Christ looks to -be sixty years of age, when He is only about thirty. - -Zacchæus was a short man, and could not see over the people’s heads while -standing on the ground; so he got up into a sycamore tree that swung its -arm clear over the road. - -Jesus advanced amid the wild excitement of the surging crowd. The most -honorable and popular men of the city are looking on, and are trying to -gain His attention. But Jesus, instead of regarding them, looks up at the -little man in the tree, and says: - -“Zacchæus, come down. I am going home with you.” - -All regretted to see such choice of company. - -Zacchæus had mounted the sycamore tree out of mere curiosity. He wanted -to see how this stranger looked--the color of his eyes, the length of his -hair, the contour of his features, the height of his stature. - -I see Christ entering the front door of the house of Zacchæus. The King -of Heaven and Earth sits down; and as He looks around on the place and -the family, He pronounces the benediction: “This day is salvation come to -this house.” - - -NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE. - - Nearer, my God, to Thee-- - Nearer to Thee! - E’en though a cross it be - That raiseth me, - Still all my song shall be: - Nearer, my God, to Thee-- - Nearer to Thee! - - Though, like a wanderer, - The sun gone down, - Darkness be over me, - My rest a stone, - Yet in my dreams I’d be - Nearer, my God, to Thee - Nearer to Thee! - - There let the way appear - Steps unto Heaven; - All that Thou sendest me - In mercy given! - Angels to beckon me - Nearer, my God, to Thee-- - Nearer to Thee! - - Then, with my waking thoughts - Bright with Thy praise, - Out of my stony griefs - Bethel I’ll raise; - So, by my woes, to be - Nearer, my God, to Thee-- - Nearer to Thee! - - Or if, on joyful wing - Cleaving the sky-- - Sun, Moon and stars forgot-- - Upward I fly, - Still all my song shall be: - Nearer, my God, to Thee-- - Nearer to Thee! - - - - -BIBLE CHARACTERS - -DISCUSSED AND ANALYZED BY THE SCHOLARLY DIVINE, JOSEPH PARKER, D. D. - - -ABIJAH. - -We forget Abijah’s character in his eloquence. He carries a spell with -him. Judging from his speech, one would suppose him faultless--entirely -noble in every aspiration and impulse and sublimely religious and -unselfish. - -The whole Abijah is not here. This is but the ideal Abijah. Who ever -shows himself wholly upon any one occasion? Who does not sometimes go -forth in his best clothing? - -We must read the account of Abijah which is given in the Book of Kings -before we can correctly estimate the Abijah who talks in the Book of -Chronicles. - -It is, perhaps, encouraging that while men are upon the Earth they should -not be so dazzlingly good as to blind their fellow men. Yet it is pitiful -to observe how men can be religious for the occasion. Nearly all men are -religious at a funeral; but few men are religious at a wedding. - -Abijah has a great cause to serve, and he addresses himself to it not -only with the skill of a rhetorician but with the piety of a mind that -never tenanted a worldly thought. God knows the whole character--how -bright we are in points, how dark in many places; how lofty, how -low. Knowing all, He judges correctly, and His mercy is His delight. -Neither God nor man is to be judged by one aspect, or one attribute, or -one quality. We must comprehend, so far as we may be able, the whole -circuit of character and purpose before we can come to a large and true -conclusion. - -But as we have to do with the ideal Abijah, let us hear what he has to -say in his ideal capacity. We will forget his faults while we listen to -the music of his religious eloquence. - -Abijah comes before us like a man who has a good cause to plead. He fixes -his feet upon a mountain as upon a natural throne, and from its summit -he addresses a king and a nation, and he addresses his auditors in the -sacred name of “the Lord God of Israel.” He will not begin the argument -at a superficial point, or take it as starting from yesterday’s new raw -history--history hardly settled into form. He will go back, and with -great sweep of historical reference he will establish his claim to be -heard. In II. Chronicles, thirteenth chapter and fifth verse, Abijah asks: - -“Ought ye not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom over -Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of -salt?” - -The binding covenant--the covenant that even pagans would not break. -If you have eaten salt with a man you can never speak evil of him with -an honest heart. You must forget your criticism in the remembrance of -the salt. You are at liberty to decline intercourse and fellowship and -confidence; you are perfectly at liberty to say: “I will have nothing -to do with thee in any association whatsoever.” But you can not be both -friend and enemy. You can not eat salt with a man and smite him in the -face, or wound him in the heel, or hurt him in any way, at any time, in -any line or point. - -That was pagan morality. - -We are fallen a long way behind it in many cases, for what Christian is -there who could not eat all the salt a man has, and then go out and speak -about him with bitterness, plunder him, frustrate his plans, anticipate -him in some business venture, and laugh at him over his misplaced -confidence? - -Abijah recognized the perpetuity of the covenant. The kingdom was given -to David for ever--if not in words, yet in spirit; if chapter and verse -can not be quoted, yet the whole spirit of the divine communion with -David meant eternity of election and honor. It is right to hold up the -ideal covenant; it is right that even men who themselves have broken -covenants should insist that covenants are right. We must never forget -the ideal. Our prayers must express our better selves. A dying thief may -pray. Again and again we have to fall back upon the holy doctrine that a -man is not to be judged in his character by the prayers which he offers, -inasmuch as his prayers represent what he would be if he could. - -Abijah, having to deal with a perpetual covenant, charges Jeroboam with -breaking it: - -“Yet Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon, the son of -David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against his Lord.” - -All rebellion is wrong, unless it arises from a sense of injustice, -untruthfulness or dishonesty. No man has a right to dissent from the -national Church unless his dissent be founded upon conscience, a right -conception of the nature of the Kingdom of Christ upon the Earth, which -leads him to say to certain men: “Stand off.” - -No part of the empire has a right to arise against the central authority, -of which itself constitutes a part, merely for the sake of expressing -political prejudice or selfish design. Every rebellion must be put down -that can not justify itself by the very spirit and genius of justice. -Separation becomes schism when it but expresses a whim, an aversion, of -a superficial or technical kind; and every rebellion is wickedness, is -born of the spirit of the pit, that can not justify itself by appeals to -justice, nobleness, liberty and God. - -Yet our rebellions have made our history. - -We should have been in slavery but for rebellion. The rebels are the -heretics that have created orthodoxy. We owe nothing to the indifferent, -the languid, the selfish, the calculating, the let-alone people who -simply want to eat and drink and sleep and die. That they were ever born -is either an affront to nature or is the supreme mystery of human life. - -Abijah, therefore, is perfectly right when he insists upon mere rebellion -being put down; but when rebellion expresses the spirit of justice -and the spirit of progress--the new revelation, the new day--all the -Abijahs that ever addressed the world can only keep back the issue for a -measurable period. - -The accusation of Abijah was that Jeroboam had “gathered unto him -vain men, the children of Belial.” For “vain men” read “sons of -worthlessness”--empty fellows, who will join any mob that pays best; men -who will cheer any speaker for a half-crown an hour, and put out anybody -on any plea on any side for extra remuneration. - -Where do these men come from? Whose language do they speak? Whose image -and superscription do they bear? - -They are in every country; they worship in the sanctuary of mischief -and bow down at the altar of selfishness. They know not what they -do. They will make a cross for a day’s wages. Evil company follows -evil men. Worthless fellows are soon dissatisfied with the company of -righteousness; the intercourse becomes monotonous and suffocating. A bad -man could not live in Heaven. It is not in the power of mercy to save men -from hell, for they carry hell with them; they are perdition. - -Who can wonder if desecration followed in the steps of worthlessness? -Abijah asks: - -“Have ye not cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron and the -Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of -other lands, so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young -bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no -gods?” - -Let them bring the offering, and then they may become priests and do what -they please at altars that have no foundations, the incense of which is -a cloud that Heaven will not absorb. William Rufus declared that church -bread was sweet bread. How many men have eaten church bread who ought -to have died of hunger! What responsibility attaches to some people in -this matter! Church bread ought never to be given away--ought never to be -dishonored with the name of a “living.” No man should be in the Church -who could not make five times the money out of it that he ever made -in it. It should be felt that if he put forth all his power--both his -hands, his whole mind and strength--he could be the greatest man in the -commonwealth. - -Jeroboam would admit any one to the altar; he would make room if there -was none; he would cast out a priest of the Lord to make room for a -priest of Belial. This is the accusation which Abijah brings against -Jeroboam and his company of rebels. - -Now Abijah turns to state his own case. He tells us what he and his -people are: - -“But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; -and the priests, which minister unto the Lord, are the sons of Aaron, -and the Levites wait upon their business. And they burn unto the Lord -every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense; -the shew-bread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the -candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening; for -we keep the charge of the Lord our God; but ye have forsaken Him.” - -What a character Abijah gives himself! - -Let us remember that we are dealing with an ideal man, and not with the -real personality. - -Take this, however, as an ideal representation, and how perfect it is in -every line! “The Lord is our God.” We have a sound and vital theology; we -have a clear upward look, and no cloud conceals the face divine; no idols -have we--no images of wood, no pillars, no groves, no high places where -idolatry may be performed as an entertainment. - -The man reasons well. He insists upon having corner stones in any edifice -or argument he puts up. When he accuses, he goes back to the covenant of -salt; when he claims a right position, he claims that it is a theological -one. He holds the right God. Losing the right theology, we lose all the -detail with it. When the conception of God is wrong, no other conception -can be right. It is only bold because it is true to say that if a man has -not the right desire after the right God he can not keep correct weights -and scales. The custom house, the inland revenue, the excise--call it -what you please--may to some extent keep him up to the right mark, but -in his soul he takes in every customer that comes near him; if he does -not, he loses sleep. This applies to the so-called heathen as well as to -the Christian. It is not necessary that a man should have a clear and -perfect revelation of God, but that in his heart he feels that he is a -creature, not a creator; a subject, not a sovereign; that he is under -responsibility, and not above it. In that proportion only can he deal -righteously and nobly with his fellow men. - -“And the priests, which minister unto the Lord, are the sons of Aaron, -and the Levites wait upon their business.” - -Here is apostolic succession before the time of the invention of the -term. Here is an excellent pedigree, a most complete genealogy. Our -priests are in the Aaronic line, and the Levites know their business and -keep to it; every thing is in order in our Church. - -That is beautiful, and that is right. We need not shrink from adding, -that is necessary. We must have nothing to do with men who are not in -the Aaronic and apostolic succession; they must not occupy our pulpits, -nor be allowed to make pulpits of their own; no man must sell them wood -or stone with which to construct a pulpit; they must be forbidden by the -genius of law from ever preaching or attempting to preach. - -When we let go the doctrine of apostolic succession we let go a vital -treasure and blessing. - -We may differ as to our definition of “apostolic succession,” but surely -there can be no difference among frank and enlightened hearts and minds -as to what apostolic succession is. No man is in the apostolic succession -who is not in the apostolic spirit, and no man is out of the apostolic -succession who is animated by the spirit of the apostles. That is not a -spirit which is conferred by the tips of any fingers; that is the gift of -God. - -Do you see your calling, brethren? God has chosen you. What a Church -is God’s! Not a Church of wax-works, all made at one factory, and all -charged for in one invoice; but living men, characterized by innumerable -individualities--some broad as the firmament, others beautiful and tender -as little flowers that can only grow in the fullest sun-warmth; some -military in argument and in discipline, others persuasive in pathos, -sympathy and tenderness. - -There is no monotony in God. One star differeth from another in glory; -no two blades of grass are microscopically identical. There is a common -likeness in the worlds and in the sub-economies of Nature, but the more -penetrating our vision is made by mechanical and scientific aids the more -wondrous in difference are discovered to be the very things which are -supposed to be identical. - -We must never allow the apostolic succession to be handed about without -its being accompanied by the apostolic spirit. Every man is in the -apostolic succession who believes in the apostles, who follows them as -they followed Christ, and who would know nothing among men but Jesus -Christ and Him crucified. - -“And they burn unto the Lord every morning and every evening burnt -sacrifices and sweet incense; the shew-bread also set they in order upon -the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to -burn every evening.” - -At that time piety was mechanical. It could not be otherwise. God never -forces history. The days come, each with its own burden and its own -blessing, its own dawn and its own apocalypse. We can not have today what -is due tomorrow. God’s seasons move in measured revolution, and come -to us in orderly and timely procession; and no man can hasten them by -lighting his camp fire, or striking his matches, or kindling his little -inflammable powder. - -We can not imitate the Sun. - -Some have tried to mimic the stars; but where is the image of the Sun -that the Sun has not obliterated by one mid-day look? - -The time came when all these ordinances were set aside. There was to -be no more burning; there was to be no morning sacrifice and evening -sacrifice and sweet incense, or shew-bread and candlestick of gold and -lamps thereof for evening burning. - -“Ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned -with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound -of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard -intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more; but ye are -come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly -Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general -assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in Heaven, and -to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, -and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of -sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” - -So we may misuse history by going back and making that necessary which -has already been abrogated. We may thus ill-treat the day of rest, by -measuring it and weighing it in Jewish scales. We may cast a cloud over -the day of jubilee that comes every week, by measuring its beginning and -its ending by Jewish arithmetic; we may make the whole week sabbatic by -Christian consecration. There will always be ordinances, because while -man is in the body he needs external helps, collateral assistances and -auxiliaries. He is not always equally awake; he is not always equally -spiritual. He needs the communion of saints, the coming together in holy -fellowship, all the associations of a sacred time and a sacred place, and -through the active yet subtle ministry of these he comes to feel that he -is in touch with God. “Here in the body pent” we need such aids as can -penetrate our prison and minister to the liberty of the soul. - -Now Abijah says, as a kind of climax: - -“And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and His priests -with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, -fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers; for ye shall not -prosper.” - -How steadfastly Abijah abides by the altar! He can not be tempted -one step from the throne of God. His appeal is sublime because it is -religious. It is historically religious. “The Lord God of your fathers.” -It would seem to be a solemn thing to cut off oneself from all the -currents of history--to bury our fathers over again in a deeper grave; -yea, to bury them at night-time, so that when the morning came we could -not tell where they were interred. - -Abijah will have a historic line. He maintains the doctrine of -philosophic and personal heredity and organic unity. He will insist upon -it that the men of his day represented the men of dead generations, and -were to do what they would have done had they then lived. Not only was it -historically religious, but it was religion accentuated by motives, such -as act most powerfully upon human conduct--“for ye shall not prosper.” -That appeal they could understand. - -The double appeal constitutes God’s address to men. He is bound to point -out consequences, though He would not have life built upon them. There -is no other way of getting at certain people than by telling them that -if they believe not they shall be damned. They are so curiously and -fearfully made that only hell can excite their attention. The preacher -does not declare this doctrine of fire, or mere penalty, for the sake of -revealing God and acting upon human thought and conduct. He knows it is -an appeal more or less tinctured with possible selfishness. He can not -but despise the man who asks for Heaven simply because he has smelt the -fire of hell. - -But the Christian preacher will begin where he can. He has to do with -all classes and conditions of men. All men do not occupy the highest -point of thought--do not approach the Kingdom of Heaven from the noblest -considerations--and he is the wise pastor, he has the great shepherd -heart, who receives men by night, by day, through the gate of fear, -through the portals of love; who keeps the door ajar for men, not knowing -when they may come home. - -He is but a poor preacher, and he knows it, who bids people come to God -that they may get to Heaven; but he is aware that some people can only -understand through the medium of such terms, if ever; and he really hopes -for them that by experience they may eventually rise to a nobler level, -and desire God for God’s own sake. He only is in the Spirit of Christ who -would pray as much, give as much, suffer as much, if he knew he had to -die this night, and be blotted out for ever, as he would do and give if -he knew he were this night going into everlasting glory. - -To be good in order to buy Heaven is not to be good. To be religious in -order to escape hell is not to be religious. - -Yet we must always so judge human nature as to provide for people who -can only act through fear, and through love and hope of reward. Their -education will be continued and completed, and some day they will look -back upon their infantile beginning and pity themselves. - -The great thing, however, is to begin. If we are afraid of hell, let us -ask great questions. If we are in hope of Heaven, let us begin to do -great services. Hell and Heaven have nothing to do with it in reality, -but they have to do a great deal with it initially, instrumentally and -educationally. - -What was the upshot of the war? Who needs to inquire? When Omnipotence -goes forth to war, what can be the issue of the battle? God takes out His -glittering sword, and His hand lays heavy in judgment; can grasshoppers -stand before Him? Oppose a wooden fence to a boundless conflagration, and -you may act almost rationally--most rationally--as compared with those -who set a grasshopper to oppose the march of God. - -The writer in the Book of Kings takes a much worse view of Abijah’s -character than we find in the Book of Chronicles. From the first Book of -Kings we learn that Abijah endeavored to recover the kingdom of the Ten -Tribes, and made war on Jeroboam. No details are given, but we are also -informed that he walked in all the sins of Rehoboam--idolatry and its -attendant immoralities--and that his heart “was not perfect before God, -as the heart of David, his father.” - -In the second Book of Chronicles Abijah’s war upon Jeroboam is more -minutely described, and he makes a speech to the men of Israel, -reproaching them for breaking their allegiance to the house of David, -for worshiping the golden calves, and substituting unauthorized priests -for the sons of Aaron and the Levites. He was successful in the battle -against Jeroboam, and took the cities of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephraim, -with their dependent villages. Nothing is said by the writer in -Chronicles of the sins of Abijah, but we are told that after his victory -he “waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives”--whence we may well infer -that he was elated with prosperity, and like Solomon, his grandfather, -fell during the last two years of his life into wickedness, as described -in Kings. Both records inform us that he reigned only for the period of -three years. - - -AHAB. - -God is the time-keeper. He says: “Now.” We wonder we can not go just when -it is convenient to ourselves. We think we see the exact juncture when it -would be right to go, but if we went just then a serpent would bite us on -the road. - -We want to go to Heaven, but God says: “Not yet.” - -We want to begin the battle, but God says: “Wait.” - -In the eighteenth chapter of the first Book of Kings we read: - -“And it came to pass, after many days, that the word of the Lord came to -Elijah in the third year, saying: ‘Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will -send rain upon the Earth.’ And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab. And -there was a sore famine in Samaria.” - -Think of waiting “many days” and doing nothing! But what if waiting be -the best working? What if we can best do every thing by simply doing -nothing? There is a time to stand still and see the salvation of God. - -Mark another thing in these verses. The Lord said “Go,” and Elijah went. -Not Elijah “objected,” Elijah “reasoned,” or Elijah “pointed out the -difficulties,” but simply Elijah “went.” - -That is the true ideal of life. - -Always be ready. - -Contrast with this the case of Jonah. Elijah had no fear of Ahab. He -who fears God can not fear man. If you go up to your duties in your own -strength, you will find them difficult; if you come down upon them from -high communion with God, you will find them easy. - -The governor of the house of Ahab was called Obadiah. The word Obadiah -means “servant of Jehovah,” and it would seem to have been a true -description of the man, for we read that “Obadiah feared [or reverenced] -the Lord greatly.” - -It is possible for a man to be very bad in one direction and very -tolerant in another. It was so in the case of Ahab. He was the worst of -the kings of Israel, yet he kept a governor over his house who feared -the Lord greatly. - -The Lord causes the most wicked men to pay His religion the homage -which is due to its excellence. A bad king employs a good governor. He -who himself disobeys Jehovah yet engages a servant who fears the Lord -greatly. The thief likes an honest man for steward. The blasphemer -likes a godly teacher for his child. The great speculator prefers an -unspeculative man for book-keeper. It is thus that virtue has many -unconscious votaries. - -He who is the slave of idolatry becomes an easy prey to the power of -cruel tempters. We do not know that Ahab was a cruel man, but we do -know that Jezebel was a cruel woman, and Ahab was greatly influenced by -his passionate and sanguinary wife. Ahab’s provocation of the Lord may -have been in the direction of idolatry alone; but to be wrong in your -conception of worship is to expose yourself to every possible attack of -the enemy. To pray in the wrong direction is to be weak in every other. - -Ahab was a speculative idolater; Jezebel was a practical persecutor. Ahab -showed that speculative error is consistent with social toleration. You -must distinguish between Ahab and Elijah in this matter. It was Jezebel -who slew the prophets of the Lord, and Ahab knew that his servant, -Obadiah, had hidden fifty of these prophets in a cave; and yet Ahab kept -Obadiah in his service. But redeeming points do not restore the whole -character. “One swallow does not make a Summer.” - -In the same character may be met great faith and great doubt. Obadiah -risked his life to save fifty of the prophets of the Lord, yet dare not -risk it, without first receiving an oath, for the greatest prophet of -all! This mixture we find in every human character. “How abject, how -august, is man!” - -In Ahab, Obadiah, Elijah and Jezebel we see a fourfold type of human -society. There is the speculator, the godly servant, the far-seeing -prophet and the cruel persecutor. - -Society has got no farther than this today. The Ahabs of the age are -leading us away into speculation that ends in idolatry and in infinite -provocation of the Lord; the Obadiahs of the age are still praying, and -serving God, and saving even the worst households from the wrath of -Heaven; the Elijahs of the age are still hurling their divine thunders -through the corrupt and stagnant air, and piercing with lightning shafts -the gloomy and threatening future; and the Jezebels of the age are still -narrow, bitter, indignant, vengeful and sanguinary. - -O wondrous combination! So checked, so controlled, by invisible but -benignant power! Speculative error has its counterpart in actual cruelty, -and patient worship has its counterpart in daring service. - -We sometimes hear that Ahab was a covetous man. Are we quite sure that -the charge is just and that it can be substantiated? - -This charge is based on the affair of Naboth’s vineyard. How could Ahab -be covetous? He proposed terms, saying: - -“Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because -it is near unto my house, and I will give thee a better vineyard than it; -or, if it seems good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.” - -The terms do not, upon the face of them, appear to be unreasonable or -inapplicable. Surely this is not mere covetousness, if covetousness at -all. The vineyard was close to the palace, and that fact was assigned -as a reason for wishing to open negotiations concerning its transfer. -But do we not sometimes too narrowly interpret the word covetousness? It -is generally, at least, limited to money. When a man is fond of money, -wishes to add to it, and is not scrupulous as to the means by which he -seeks to enhance his fortune, we describe him as covetous. The term is -perfectly applicable in such a case. - -But the term “covetous” may apply to a much larger set of circumstances, -and describe quite another set of impulses and desires. - -We may even be covetous of personal appearance; we may be covetous of -popular fame, such as is enjoyed by other men; we may be covetous in -every direction which implies the gratification of our own wishes; and -yet, with regard to the mere matter of money, we may be almost liberal. - -This is an astounding state of affairs. - -A man may be liberal with money, and yet covetous in many other -directions. Sometimes, when covetousness takes this other turn, we -describe it by the narrower word, “envy.” We say we envy the personal -appearance of some; we envy the greatness and the public standing of -others. - -But under all this envy is covetousness. - -Envy is in a sense but a symptom; covetousness is the vital and devouring -disease. Under this interpretation of the term, therefore, it is not -unfit or unjust to describe Ahab as a covetous man. - -Look at his dissatisfaction with circumstances. He wishes to have “a -garden of herbs.” That is all. He is king of Israel in Samaria; but there -is one little thing of which he has not yet possessed himself, and until -he gets that in his hand he can not rest well. There is a dream that -troubles him; there is a nightmare which makes him afraid to lie down to -sleep. - -Look at what he has. Who can measure it? Who can run through the -enumeration of his possessions? Who can take an exhaustive inventory of -all the riches of the king of Israel? - -But there is one little corner that is not his, and he wants it, and -until he can get it all the rest goes for nothing. - -The great Alexander could not rest in his palace at Babylon because -he could not get ivy to grow in his garden. What was Babylon, or all -Assyria, in view of the fact that this childish king could not cause ivy -to grow in the palace gardens? - -Ahab lived in circumstances; he lived in the very narrowest kind of -circumstances. As a little man, he lived in little things, and because -those things were not all to his mind it was impossible for him to be -restful or noble or really good. - -Once let the mind become dissatisfied with some trifling circumstance, -and that fly spoils the whole pot of ointment. Once get the notion that -the house is too small, and then morning, noon and night you never see -a picture that is in it, or acknowledge the comfort of one corner in -all the little habitation. The one thing that is present in the mind -throughout all the weary hours is that the house is too small. - -Once get the idea that the business is undignified, and you go to it late -in the morning and leave it early in the afternoon, neglecting it between -times; you are also ashamed to speak of it, and will not throw your whole -heart and soul during business hours into its execution. - -Once get the notion that the neighborhood is unfashionable, and it goes -for nothing that the rooms are large and airy, that the garden is one of -the best you ever had, that there is ample scope for a rich library, that -all the neighbors are men of peculiar intelligence and goodness. All go -for nothing, because the tempter has said: “This neighborhood is not a -fashionable quarter of the town, and when people come to know that you -are living here they will lose confidence in you and respect for you.” - -If we live in circumstances, we shall be the sport of events; we shall -be without dignity, without calmness, without reality and solidity of -character. Let us, therefore, betake ourselves into inner thoughts, into -spirituality of life, into the soul’s true character, into the very -sanctuary of God. There we shall have truth and light and peace; there -the stormy wind can not disturb us, and the great darkness is but an -outside circumstance, for within there is the shining of the light of God. - -Then notice in Ahab a childish servility to circumstances. - -[Illustration: THE PROPHET AMOS. - -From the Painting by Gustave Dore.] - -[Illustration: THE DESPAIR OF JUDAS. - -From a Photograph of the Character in the Passion Play.] - -“Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased … and he laid him down -upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.” - -Yet he was the king of Israel in Samaria! He actually had subjects under -him. He was in reality a man who could give law, whose very look was a -commandment, and the uplifting of his hand could move an army. Now we see -him surely at his least. So we do, but not at his worst. - -All this must have an explanation. We can not imagine that the man is so -simply childish and foolish as this incident alone would describe him. -Behind all this childishness there is an explanation. What is it? - -We find it in the twenty-fifth verse: - -“But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work -wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel, his wife, stirred up.” - -That explains the whole mystery. The man had sold himself to the devil. -And men are doing that self-same thing every day. - -If it were a transaction in the market place--if the auctioneer were -visibly interested in this affair, if he could call out in audible tones -“So much is the price, and the man is about to take it,” people would -shrink from the villainous transaction. - -But this is an affair which does not take place in the open market or in -the open daylight. It is not conducted in words. If the men involved in -such transactions could speak the words, the very speech of the words -might break the spell and destroy the horrible infatuation. But the -compact is made in darkness, in silence, in out-of-the-way places. It is -an understanding unwritten, rather than an agreement in detail signed -in the presence of witnesses. It is a mystery which the heart alone can -understand, which even the preacher can not explain in terms, but he can -only throw himself upon his own consciousness, and throw others upon -their consciousness, and call for a united testimony to the fact that it -is possible to sell one’s very soul to evil. - -Now we understand King Ahab better. We thought him but little, frivolous -of mind, childish and petty, without a man’s worthy ambition; but now we -see that all this was only symptomatic, an outward sign, pointing, when -rightly followed, to an inward and mortal corruption. - -Now, let us look at the case of Naboth and the position which he occupied -in this matter. - -Naboth possessed the vineyard which Ahab is said to have coveted. Naboth -said: “The Lord forbid.” He made a religious question of it. Why did he -invoke the Eternal Name and stand back, as if an offense had been offered -to his faith? The terms were commercial; the terms were not unreasonable; -the approach was courteous, and the ground given for the approach was not -an unnatural ground. Why did Naboth stand back as if his religion had -been shocked? - -The answer is in the Book of Numbers, thirty-sixth chapter and seventh -verse: - -“So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe -to tribe; for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to -the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.” - -So Naboth stood upon the law. - -In Ezekiel we read: - -“Moreover, the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance by -oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give -his sons inheritance out of his own possession, that My people be not -scattered every man from his possession.” - -So Naboth was not answering haughtily or resentfully. He was answering -both solemnly and religiously. When money was offered for his fathers’ -inheritance, he spurned the offer. There are some things, blessed be God, -we can not pay for. - -When Ahab said “I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it” he -knew not of what he was speaking. There can be no better vineyard than -the vineyard of the fathers; there can be no vineyard equal to the -vineyard that is sown with history, planted with associations, solemnized -and endeared by a thousand precious memories. There ought to be some -things which we can not barter. Surely there ought to be some things -which we should never try to sell. - -Verily, when we hear propositions made to us that money shall be given -in exchange for certain things, our whole soul should rise in horror and -indignation, and repel the approach of a barter which itself expresses an -infinite, because a most spiritual, injustice. So Naboth’s position was -strong, and he had the courage to answer the king in these terms. - -Kings must submit to law. Kings ought to be the subjects of their own -people. Ahab was taught that there was a man in Samaria who valued the -inheritance which had been handed down to him. Have we no inheritance -handed down to us--no book of revelation, no day of rest, no flag of -liberty, no password of common trust? Do we inherit nothing? Did we make -the age as it is, and is civilization a creature of our own fashioning? -And are we not bound to hand on to others what was handed to us intact -and unpolluted? - -Let us live in a sacred past, and regard ourselves as trustees of many -possessions, and only trustees, and as bound to vindicate our trust and -have an ample acquittal at the last. - -So Ahab lay down upon his bed, turned away his face, and would eat no -bread. But there is a way of accomplishing mean desires. There is a way -of obtaining what we want. Take heart! There is a way of possessing -oneself of almost whatever one desires. There is always some Merlin who -will bring every Uther-Pendragon what he longs to have; there is always -some Lady Macbeth who will show the thane how to become king. There -is always a way to be bad. The gate of hell stands wide open; or, if -apparently half closed, a touch will make it fly back, and the road is -broad that leads to destruction. - -Jezebel said she would find the garden or vineyard for her husband. She -taunted him. “Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise and eat -bread, and let thine heart be merry. I will give thee the vineyard of -Naboth, the Jezreelite.” Jezebel threw into the word “govern” a subtle -and significant emphasis. - -How will she proceed? She will be ceremoniously religious; she will -proclaim a fast. O thou sweet, white, pure religion, thou hast been -forced into strange uses! “Proclaim a fast;” lengthen your faces; mimic -solemnity; promise your hunger an early satisfaction, but look as if you -were fasting. - -It is a sure sign of mischief when certain men become serious. The moment -they appear to be religious the devil is just adding the last touch to -the building which he has been putting up within their souls. When they -talk long words--when they speak about responsibility, obligation, duty, -conscience, compulsion of conviction--they are walking over tesselated -pavement into the very jaws of hell. - -They do not mean their words; they do but use them. “The heart is -deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” - -First of all, then, be ceremoniously religious, Jezebel; then trample -down truth. “Set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness -against him, saying: ‘Thou didst blaspheme God and the king.’” Falsehood -is always ready. A great black lie is always willing to be loosed and to -be set going in the minds of men to pervert them and mislead them. It is -always open to the bad heart to speak the untrue word. Nor is the untrue -word always frankly and broadly spoken. If so, it could be answered in -some cases. - -The false word is hardly spoken at all; it is uttered in a whisper. -Falsehood is made to use signs and gestures; even silence is made to bear -witness to falsehood. Truly, again we may say: “The heart is deceitful -above all things, and desperately wicked.” Tell a lie big enough about -any man, and it will be difficult, if not impossible, to do away with -the consequences of the false accusation. People will always be found -to say: “There must be something in it; it may not be just as rumor has -it, but surely a statement of that kind never could have been invented. -Allowing a good deal for exaggeration, there must be something in it.” - -Nor is it always possible to get even righteous men to purge their minds -of that damnable sophism. Men who ought to stand up and say “There is -nothing in it” hang down their heads, and with a coward’s gesture let the -lie pass on. - -This is how men insult the Son of God, and crucify the Man of truth. They -will not be thorough, bold and fearless, and make the enemy ashamed of -himself for either having invented or repeated a falsehood. Nor may the -man escape because he says he heard the lie. Tell him he may have heard -it, but he is yet responsible for repeating it. He may have no control -over the hearing, but the moment he repeats it he adopts it, and renders -himself amenable to the Eternal Righteousness. - -Make the very law an instrument of injustice! First charge this man with -blasphemy and treason, and then take him out and stone him, that he may -die! Do not give him time to speak; do not ask for his defense; do not -give him an opportunity of interrogating the witnesses. But who would -cross-examine two “sons of Belial?” Better almost to die than to taint -the hands and eyes with the touch and look of such children of blackness! - -“Then they carried him [Naboth] forth out of the city, and stoned him -with stones, that he died.” It is all over! Jezebel did this. Jezebel--a -woman, a king’s wife--did this. High position goes for nothing when the -heart is wrong. Great influence means great mischief when the soul is not -in harmony with the spirit of righteousness. - -Is Naboth quite dead? Yes, he is dead. Take the vineyard--take possession -of it instantly. Now grow herbs, and grow them plentifully. The vineyard -is now at liberty--take it. “Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of -Naboth, the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.” But who is that looms -in the distance? Is it Naboth? No. - -How comes this man to be here just now--aye, just now? How the end -is marked off into points, and how does providence reveal itself at -unexpected times and in ways unforeseen! Who is this? He looks stern. He -has an eye of fire. His lips are shut as if they could never be opened. -He does but look. - -Who is he? “Elijah, the Tishbite.” He has a message: - -“Thus saith the Lord: ‘Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?’ … -Thus saith the Lord: ‘In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth -shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.’” - -A sad walk! - -Ahab went down to take possession of a vineyard, and a death warrant was -read to him! After all, it is safe to live in this universe; there is law -in it, there is a genius of righteousness, there is a Force that moves on -toward noble issues. - -“And Ahab said to Elijah: ‘Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?’ And -he answered: ‘I have found thee; because thou hast sold thyself -to work evil in the sight of the Lord.’” Ahab went out to take -possession of a garden of herbs, and there he stands face to face with -righteousness--face to face with honor--face to face with judgment. - -Now take the vineyard. He can not! An hour since the Sun shone upon it, -and now it is black as if it were part of the midnight which has gathered -in judgment. - -There is a success which is failure. We can not take some prizes. Elijah -will not allow us. When we see him we would that a way might open under -our feet that we might flee and escape the judgment of his silent look. - -In the Septuagint version the twentieth chapter of the first Book of -Kings immediately precedes the twenty-second. The three years without war -is a period which is reckoned from the peace which was so rashly made by -Ahab with Ben-hadad. - -It is clear that Ben-hadad has recovered his independence, and is -probably in a position of superiority. It is certain that he has not -restored Ramoth-gilead, as he had promised to do, and his reconstructed -army now seems to him to be sufficient to encounter successfully the -united hosts of Israel and Judah. In the forty-second verse of the same -chapter we have seen how Ahab was rebuked for allowing the enemy to -escape. - -It has been supposed that this conduct on the part of Ahab may have been -due partly to compassion and partly to weakness. The judgment of the Lord -was, however, expressed in the severest terms: - -“Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to -utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy -people for his people.” - -In the third verse we see these words signally fulfilled. The king of -Israel seems to have a good cause when he said to his servants: “Know ye -that Ramoth, in Gilead, is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of -the hand of the king of Syria?” On this occasion Ahab entered into an -alliance with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, for the purpose of taking back -the city which belonged to Israel. Jehoshaphat made a deferential as well -as a friendly reply, but insisted upon the fulfillment of a religious -condition. Jehoshaphat would make inquiry at the word of the Lord. - -Thereupon four hundred prophets were gathered together, and with one -consent they advised that the attack should be made upon Ramoth-gilead. -Surely this was enough to satisfy the judgment and the conscience of the -most religious man, yet Jehoshaphat was not content with the unanimous -reply which four hundred prophets had returned. - -“There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth -them understanding.” - -All external unanimity goes for nothing when the conscience itself -dissents from the judgment which has been pronounced. There is a -verifying faculty which operates upon its own responsibility, and which -can not be overpowered by the clamor of multitudes who eagerly rush down -paths that are forbidden. Even when imagination assents to the voice -of the majority, and when ambition is delighted with the verdict of -the prophets, there yet remains the terrible but gracious authority of -conscience. Through all the clamor that authority makes its way, and -calmly distinguishes between right and wrong, and solemnly insists that -right shall be done at all hazards and in view of all consequences. - -A vital lesson rises here to all who are anxious to know the right way -under difficult circumstances. It is not enough to have great numbers of -authorities on our side; so long as the conscience remains unsatisfied -all other authorities are “trifles light as air.” - -Jehoshaphat was uneasy, therefore, notwithstanding the prophets had said: -“Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.” He -inquired: “Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might -inquire of him?” The word which Jehoshaphat used was the great word, -Jehovah. It was not enough for him to use a religious or sacred term. He -must have the prophecy identified with the awful name, Jehovah; then it -would come with final authority. - -The king of Israel knew that there was another man whose very name -signified “Who is like Jehovah?” Ahab frankly admitted that he hated -Micaiah because he never prophesied good concerning him, but always evil. - -Observe the madness of Ahab’s policy, and note how often it is the policy -which we ourselves are tempted to pursue. We suppose that if we do not -consult the Bible we may take license to do what seems good in our own -eyes, and we imagine that by ignoring the Bible we have divested it of -authority. We flatter ourselves that if we do not listen to an exposition -of the divine word we shall be judged according to the light we have, -forgetting the solemn law that it is not according to the light we have -that we are to be judged, but according to the light we might have if we -put ourselves in right relations to the opportunities created for us by -divine providence. - -We know that if we go to hear a certain preacher he will insist upon -“righteousness, temperance and judgment to come;” and, supposing that -we already know every thing that he will say, we turn away from him and -listen to men who do not profoundly treat vital subjects, or press home -upon the conscience the terrible judgments of God. - -What is this but closing our eyes to light, and supposing that darkness -is safety? What is this ostrich policy but one that ought to be condemned -by our sense as well as shrunk from by our piety? - -Our duty under all critical circumstances is to go to the truth-teller, -and to get at the reality of things at all costs. Where the truth-teller -disturbs our peace and disappoints our ambition, we ought surely -to learn that it is precisely at that point that we have to become -self-rectifying. The truth-teller is only powerful in proportion as he -tells the truth. Officially, he is nothing; his power is simply the -measure of his righteousness. - -But do not men love to be flattered, even in courses of evil? Is it -not pleasant to go to forbidden war amid the huzzas of thoughtless and -irresponsible multitudes? - -Jehoshaphat, however, was a just man, and as such he protested against -the sin of the king of Israel, saying: “Let not the king say so.” -Jehoshaphat being so bent upon a complete judgment of the case, Micaiah -was sent for. The king of Israel wished to overawe the despised prophet -by the pomp and circumstance under which he was introduced to the royal -presence. “The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, sat -each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the -entrance of the gate of Samaria,” and, to increase the impressiveness of -the occasion, all the prophets prophesied before the kings. - -A singular addition was made to the surroundings of the occasion which -was intended to impress the imagination and stagger the courage of the -despised Micaiah. A man bearing the name of Zedekiah (“righteousness of -Jehovah”) made him horns of iron. The use of symbolical acts is quite -common in biblical history. We have already seen Abijah engaged in acts -of this kind. He “caught the new garment that was on him and rent it in -twelve pieces, and said to Jeroboam: ‘Take thee ten pieces.’” - -The enthusiasm of Zedekiah inflamed all the other prophets to the highest -point of excitement, and they shouted as with one voice: - -“Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper; for the Lord shall deliver it into -the king’s hand.” - -In this instance the prophets, overborne by the enthusiasm of Zedekiah, -actually ventured to use the name of Jehovah, which had not been used in -the first instance. The excitement had passed the point of worship and -had become more nearly resembling the frantic cry that was heard on Mount -Carmel: “O Baal, hear us.” - -Is it possible that there can be found any solitary man who dare oppose -such unanimous testimony and complete enthusiasm? - -The messenger who was sent to call Micaiah was evidently a man of -considerate feeling and who wished the prophet well. Seeing that the -words of the prophets had all declared good unto the king with one mouth, -the messenger wished that Micaiah should for once agree with the other -prophets, and please the king by leaving undisturbed their emphatic and -unanimous counsel. - -Thus the voice of persuasion was brought to bear on Micaiah, and that -voice is always the most difficult to resist. The temptation thus -addressed to Micaiah was thus double in force. On the one hand, there -were the pomp and the terror of the king who had sold himself to do evil, -and who would shrink from the infliction of no cruelty that would express -his unreasoning and unlimited anger; on the other hand, there was the -good will of the messenger, who wished Micaiah to escape all danger and -penalty, and for once to take the popular side. Micaiah’s reply is simply -sublime: “As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I -speak.” - -The humility of this answer is as conspicuous as its firmness. Its -profound religiousness saves it from the charge of being defiant. Micaiah -recognizes himself merely in the position of a servant or medium, who has -nothing of his own to say; who is not called upon to invent an answer or -to play the clever man in the presence of the kings. He was simply as a -trumpet through which God could blow His own blast, or a pillar on which -God would inscribe his own message, or a voice which God would use for -the declaration of His own will. It is unjust to attribute obstinacy or -any form of self-will or self-worship to Micaiah. If he had consulted his -natural inclination alone, he would have sought favor with the king, and -the logical effect of his subsequent position would have been that Ahab -would have endeavored for ever to silence him by constituting him the -prince and leader of the four hundred prophets. Micaiah said, in effect, -what was said centuries afterward: “We have this treasure in earthen -vessels.” - -Micaiah lived in God, for God, and had nothing of his own to calculate -or consider. Until preachers realize this same spiritual independence, -they will be attempting to accommodate themselves to the spirit of the -times, and even the strongest of them may be betrayed into connivances -and compromises fatal to personal integrity and to the claims of truth. - -Now came the critical moment. Now it was to be seen whether Micaiah was -to be promoted to honor, or thrust away in contempt and wrath. It is -easy to read of the recurrence of such moments, but difficult to realize -them in their agony. Yet these are the moments which make history in its -sublimest lines. - -It is not too much to say that there have been points of time at which -if certain men had given way the whole economy of the world have been -wrecked. - -The king addressed himself to the prophet, saying: “Shall we go against -Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear?” The answer of Micaiah must -have been a surprise to all who heard it, for he said: “Go, and prosper; -for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.” - -This is an answer which can not be understood in print. It was evident, -however, that Ahab was in no doubt as to its meaning, for the tone of -the prophet was a tone of almost contemptuous irony. If King Ahab had -taken Micaiah’s literal answer, he would have gone forth to the battle -comforting himself with the thought that he was carrying out the will of -Heaven; but he knew in his own soul that Micaiah was not uttering that -which expressed the reality of the case. With anger the king said unto -him: “How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but -that which is true in the name of the Lord?” - -Then Micaiah replied in symbolic language, the full meaning of which was -vividly clear to the mind of Ahab; for, turning to Jehoshaphat, he said: -“Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but -evil?” - -Thereupon Micaiah charged the whole band of prophets with being under -the inspiration of a lying spirit, and thus he put a stigma upon their -judgment and extracted from it every particle of dignity and authority. - -But this was not to be borne, for Zedekiah went near and smote Micaiah on -the cheek and taunted him as being the only prophet in Israel. Micaiah -had to bear the sarcasm conveyed in the inquiry: “Which way went the -Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?” - -Micaiah, like a true prophet, leaves his judgment to the decision of -time. He will not stoop to argue, or to exchange words either of anger or -of controversy; he simply says that Zedekiah will one day see the meaning -of the whole prophecy, and until that day controversy would be useless. - -Micaiah had to pay for his intrepidity. He was carried unto Amon, the -governor of the city, and to Joash, the king’s son, and was to be put -in prison and fed with the bread of affliction and with the water of -affliction until Ahab returned in peace. - -Micaiah thus disappears from history. Of his fate we know nothing; but -there can be no difficulty in forecasting it a cruel death. Micaiah knew -well the meaning of the king’s message. It may be difficult for the -commentator to explain the expression, “bread of affliction and water of -affliction,” but Micaiah knew the full meaning of the terms, and yet, -while their cruel sound was in his ears, he looked at the king and said: -“If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me.” - -Micaiah also made his appeal to the people, and thus committed himself to -the verdict of history, saying: “Hearken, O people, every one of you.” - -See whether it is not a moment to be proud of when Micaiah turns away -in the custody of his persecutors, having delivered his soul with a -fearlessness that did not cower or blanche, even at the sight of death -in its most ghastly form. Surely, it is due to history to recognize the -fact that there have been men who have not counted their lives dear unto -themselves when they were called upon to testify for truth and goodness. - -The martyrs must never be forgotten. - -[Illustration: JOSEPH INTERPRETING PHARAOH’S DREAM. Genesis, xli.] - -[Illustration: St. Paul. - -From the Painting by Raphael.] - -Dark will be the day in the history of any nation when the men who shed -their blood that truth might be told and honor might be vindicated are -no longer held in remembrance. In vain do we bring forth from our hidden -treasure the coins of ancient times, the robes worn in high antiquity by -kings and priests, the rusty armor of warriors, if there is no longer in -our heart the most tender recollection of the men who wandered about -clad in sheep-skins and goat-skins--being destitute, afflicted and -tormented--that they might save the torch of truth from extinction and -the standard of honor from overthrow. - -Away the kings have gone, and instead of relying upon the word of the -Lord, or taking refuge in the sanctuary of great principles, they invent -little tricks for the surprise and dismay of the enemy. - -The king of Israel disguised himself, and Jehoshaphat made himself as the -king of Israel; but all their inventions came to nothing. A certain man -drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints -of the harness. The poor king was fatally struck. He “was stayed up his -chariot against the Syrians, and died at even; and the blood ran out of -the wound into the midst of the chariot.… And one washed the chariot in -the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed -his armor; according unto the word of the Lord which He spake.” - -So will perish all the enemies of the Lord. - -Differences of merely accidental detail there will ever be, but no honor -can mark the death of those who have gone contrary to the will of Heaven, -and taken counsel of their own imagination. How long shall the lessons of -history be wasted upon us? How long will men delude themselves with the -mad infatuation that they can fight against God and prosper? Horsemen and -chariots are nothing; gold and silver are valueless; all the resources of -civilization are but an elaborate display of cobwebs. Nothing can stand -in the final conflict but truth, right and purity. These are the eternal -bulwarks, and unto these are assured complete and unchangeable victory. -If God be for us, who can be against us? And if God be against us, it -will matter not what kings are for us; they shall be blown away by the -wind as if contemptuously, and cast out as refuse which is of no value. - -My soul, be thou faithful to the voice of history, nor tell lies to -thyself, nor operate merely through imagination, ambition or selfish -calculation; for the end of this course is death--not heroic death, not -death over which coming men and women will weep, but death that shall be -associated with dishonor, a thing to be forgotten, an event never to be -named without bitterness and shame. - -The first and second Book of Kings constitute a section of Jewish -history, and originally formed only one book in the sacred writings. It -was customary with the Jews to name the sacred books from the word or -words with which they commenced; and, while this practice may have given -rise to the designation, “Kings,” it is right to observe that the title -is well fitted to indicate the character of these historic compositions. - -The annals given in these sacred registers are necessarily brief; but -they extend from the close of David’s reign till the commonwealth was -dissolved, a period of 427 years. Succinct as is the history contained -in these books, there are some peculiarities in them which should not -be overlooked, and from which not a little may be learned. There is not -here a simple biography of the various kings that occupied the thrones -of Judah and Israel, nor is there a mere detail of national movements -and events, nor even a tabular register of ecclesiastical affairs. The -throne, the state and the church are all exhibited in their mutual -relations and bearings upon each other. Kings and people are held up to -view as existing and acting under the immediate government of God; and -hence the character of the ruler is always tested by the mode in which he -adheres to the laws of the Most High and develops the moral excellences -of the people. The notice of his accession to royal office is generally -accompanied with an estimate of his conduct, and the standard to which -he is likened or with which he is contrasted is either the character of -David, of his own father or of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, “who made -Israel to sin.” - -All the political events which are recorded have been brought forward -chiefly to exhibit the influence of religion on national prosperity, and -in this way to show how the divine King of Israel observed the conduct -of his subjects, and rewarded their fidelity or avenged their wickedness -with expressions of righteous indignation. And the affairs of the Church -are all portrayed with the evident design of giving prominence to the -same important truth. - -Idolatry in Israel was treason against their King; religious defection -was open revolt, and every act of overt wickedness was an act of -rebellion. Hence there is a constant comparing or contrasting of -religious state and feeling with those of former times, and especially -are the oracles of truth continually elevated as the perfect standard to -which the thoughts and actions of all should be conformed. - -The Mosaic promises and warnings are strikingly verified in the Books of -Kings. For this object they were written, and to the manifestation of -this the author has made his whole narrative conduce. - -Much variety of opinion exists with reference to the author of these -records and the period of their composition. Jewish tradition ascribes -the authorship of the treatise to Jeremiah, the prophet--a supposition -which is greatly strengthened by the similarity of style and idiom which -is traceable between the language of the Books of Kings and that of -Jeremiah. - - -AHAZIAH. - -Ahaziah was the son of Ahab and Jezebel. He was badly born. Some -allowance must be made for this fact in estimating his character. - -Again and again we have had occasion, and shall indeed often have, to -remark upon the disadvantages of children born of wicked parents. It is -not for us to lay down any final doctrine of responsibility; we must -leave that in the hands of a just and gracious God. - -A terrible spectacle, however, it is to see a man whose father sold -himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, who bound himself as -for a price to show rebellion on the very floor of Heaven. - -Ahaziah was a prince of evil--a man who said he would defile the -sanctuary and commit his supreme sin within the shadow of the altar, -and whose mother laid the plans for the murder of Naboth, and who all -but personally superintended their execution. What can we expect from -such a child of darkness? Who can gather grapes of thorns, or figs of -thistles? Was he responsible for his own actions? Society is often hard -on such men--not unreasonably or unnaturally. Yet society is often very -gracious to such men, saying with an instinctive piety and sense of -justice: “After all, such men are not to be personally blamed for their -antecedents; they may indeed be open to some measure of suspicion, but -even they must have their opportunity in life.” - -Let us consider the case of Ahaziah and see how matters stand for our own -instruction. - -To understand the matter thoroughly, we must go to the twenty-second -chapter of the first Book of Kings: “Then said Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, -unto Jehoshaphat: ‘Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships.’ -But Jehoshaphat would not.” - -Jehoshaphat was right when he acted upon his instinct. By-and-by he came -to act upon a basis of calculation, and then a compact was entered into. -But who dare set aside the voice of instinct--the very first voice that -rises in the soul to make judgment and to give direction? - -Jehoshaphat, on hearing the proposal of the son of Ahab, said: “No. I -have known thy father too well. I am too familiarly acquainted with thy -family history. Thou shalt not send thy servants with mine.” - -It would be well for us if we could sometimes act more promptly upon our -instincts. It would have been well for Jehoshaphat if he had acted upon -his instinct. - -Ahaziah fell through the lattice, and in his helplessness he became -religious. Man must have some God. Even Atheism is a kind of religion. -When a man recoils openly from what may be termed the public faith of -his country, he seeks to apologize for his recoil, and to make up for -his church absence by creating high obligations of another class. He -plays the patriot; he plays the disciplinarian; he will be a Spartan in -personal training and drill--in some way he will try to make up for or -defend the recoil of his soul from the old altar of his country. - -It is in their helplessness that we really know what men are. Do not -listen to the frivolous and irresponsible chatter of men who, being in -robust health, really know nothing about the aching, the sorrow, the -pain, the need and the agony of this awful human life. - -What does our helplessness suggest? Instantly we go out of ourselves to -seek friendship, assistance and sympathy. “Oh, would some gentle hand -but touch my weariness!” Thus cries the helpless one. All that, being -fairly and duly interpreted, has a religious signification. The cry for -friendship is but a subdued cry for God. - -Sometimes men will invent Gods of their own. This is what was done, -practically, by Ahaziah. Men will go out after novel deities. This is -what is being done every day--not under that name, but the mere name -makes no difference in the purpose of the spirit. Say new enjoyments, new -entertainments, new programs, new customs--these, being interpreted as to -the heart of them, mean new altars, new helpers, new gods. - -It is said of Shakespeare that he first exhausted worlds, and then -invented new. That was right. It was but of the liberty of a poet to -do so. But it is no part of the liberty of the soul. Necessity forbids -it, because the true God cannot be exhausted. He is like His own nature, -so far as we know it in the great creation; He is all things in one, -gleaming and dazzling as noon-tide, soft and gentle as the balmy wind, -strong as the great mountains and rocks, beauteous as the tiny fragrant -flowers, musical as the birds that make the air melodious, awful as the -gathered thunder which hovers above the Earth as if in threatening. - -Who can exhaust nature? - -Who can exhaust nature’s God? - -Still, the imagination of man is evil continually. He will invent new -ways of enjoying himself. He will degrade religion into a mere form of -interrogation. This is what Ahaziah did in this instance: “Go, inquire of -Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this disease.” -All that we sometimes want of God is that He should be the great fortune -teller. - -How true it is that Ahaziah represents us all in making his religion -into a mere form of question asking--in other words, into a form of -selfishness! - -The messengers have now come. They have taken their speech from their -king, and they are on the road to consult Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron. -But who is this who meets them, and who asks: - -“Is it not because there is not a God in Israel that ye go to inquire of -Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?” - -The men had said nothing about their errand. Who is it that reads the -heart night and day, to whom the darkness and the light are both alike, -and from the fire of whose eye nothing is hid? How do we get the -impression that when we have perfected our lie it is in some sense public -property? We are sure the man whom we meet knows it. He looks as if he -did. - -Elijah is an abrupt speaker. The “hairy man” and “girt with a girdle of -leather” did not study the scanning of his sentences. He struck with a -battering ram; his interrogations were spears that quivered in the heart; -his looks were judgments. What an effect he produced upon these men! Why -did they not go past him and say: “Keep thy speeches to thyself, thou -hairy man, nor interfere with the king’s messengers”? - -We can not do that. We know that some men are not to be turned away so. -We may attempt to deceive, evade or disappoint them, but they have a -magnetic and most marvelous influence upon us. Though they do not speak -in the imperative mood, they speak with imperative force. - -The men turned back like whipped children to tell the king what they had -heard, and Ahaziah was surprised at their early return. He can not sleep. -He asks that the book of the chronicles may be brought, that he may look -up events and see where the loop slipped, where the wrong entry was made, -or where the minutes were not carried out in detail. - -All this means that Elijah lives in some form or other and will meet us -and confront us and have it out with us. - -Look at the conflict between Ahaziah and Elijah, the Tishbite. Ahaziah is -the king and Elijah is only the prophet, and the king ought to have every -thing his own way ex-officio. Now we shall see what metal Elijah is made -of. He handled kings as if they were little children. He took them up and -set them down behind him and said: “Wait there until I return, and stir -at your peril.” - -The prophet should always be the uppermost man. Kings are nothing -compared to teachers and seers--men who hold the judgments of God on -commission. The great men of the nation are the prophets, the teachers, -the educators of thought, the inspirers of noble sacrificial enthusiasm. -See how Elijah tramps among the kings. He has no favor to ask. If he were -driven to ask for one morsel of bread, he would be Elijah no more. - -Ahaziah sends to Elijah and says: “Come down.” These words sound very -commanding and imperative. Elijah answered: “If I be a man of God, then -let fire come down from Heaven and consume thee and thy fifty. And there -came down fire from Heaven and consumed him and his fifty.” - -Look at the conflict and its parties. On the one hand, petulance; on the -other, dignity. On the one side, anger--fretful, fuming, petty; on the -other, judgment--calm, sublime, comprehensive, final. - -Ekron was one of the royal cities of the Philistines. Its situation is -pointed out with considerable minuteness in Scripture. It is described as -lying on the northern border of Philistia and of the territory allotted -to Judah. It stood on the plain between Bethshemesh and Jabneel. Jerome -locates it on the east of the road leading from Azotus (Ashdod) to Jamnia -(Jabneel). From these notices we have no difficulty in identifying it -with the modern village of Akir. Akir stands on the southern slope of -a low and bleak ridge or swell which separates the Plain of Philistia -from Sharon. It contains about fifty mud houses, and has not a vestige of -antiquity except two large and deep wells and some stone water troughs. -Ekron means “wasteness.” The houses are built on the accumulated rubbish -of past ages, and, like their predecessors, if left desolate for a few -years they would crumble to dust. The most interesting event in its -history was the sending of the ark to Bethshemesh. A new cart was made -and two milch kine yoked to it, and then left to choose their own path; -“and they took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh,” the position -of which can be seen in a gorge of the distant mountains eastward. The -deity worshiped at Ekron was called Baal-zebub, and we may conclude from -the story of Ahaziah that this oracle had a great reputation, even among -the degenerate Israelites. Ekron was a large village in the days of -Jerome, and also in the age of the crusades. - - -ASA. - -Asa was a good king of Judah. He “did that which was good and right in -the eyes of the Lord, his God.” Not only “good and right,” because these -might be variable terms. There are persons who set themselves to the -presumptuous and impious task of settling for themselves what is “right” -and what is “good.” - -In the case of Asa, he did not invent a righteousness, nor did he invent -a goodness which he could adapt to his own tempers, ambitions and -conveniences. He was right and good and “did that which was good and -right in the eyes of the Lord, his God.” - -While the land had peace, Asa set to work and built walls, towers and -fences, and did all that he could for the good of his country. - -Zerah, an Ethiopian warrior, did not understand silence. He mistook -quietness for languor. He made the vulgar mistake of supposing that -quietness was indifference. He did not know that repose is the very -highest expression of power. - -Zerah brought against Asa, king of Judah, no fewer than a million -soldiers--to us a large number, but to the Orientals quite a common -array. Zerah’s host was the largest collected army of which we read in -Scripture, but it does not exceed the known numbers of other Oriental -armies in ancient times. Darius Codomannus brought into the field at -Arbela a force of 1,040,000. Xerxes crossed into Greece with certainly -above a million combatants. Artaxerxes Mnemon collected 1,260,000 men to -meet the attack of the younger Cyrus. - -What was to be done? Asa did not shrink from war, though he never courted -it. He must meet the foe in battle. Before doing so he must pray. - -“Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many or with them -that have no power. Help us, O Lord, our God, for we rest on Thee; and in -Thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not -man prevail against Thee.” - -Having risen from their knees, they launched themselves against the -Ethiopians, and were mighty as men who answer straw with steel. They -fought in God’s name and for God’s cause, and the thousand thousand of -the Ethiopians were as nothing before the precise and terrific stroke of -men who had studied war in the school of God. - -The defeat of Zerah is one of the most remarkable events in the history -of the Jews. On no other occasion did they meet in the field and overcome -the forces of either of the two great monarchies between which they were -placed. It was seldom that they ventured to resist, unless behind walls. -Shishak, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander and Ptolemy -I. were either unopposed or only opposed in this way. On the other -occasion on which they took the field--which was under Josiah against -Necho--their boldness issued in a most disastrous defeat. - -Asa, then, began upon a good foundation; he established himself upon a -great principle. That is what all, young people especially, should take -to heart right seriously. Do not make an accident of your lives--a thing -without center, purpose, certitude or holiness. Be right in your great -foundation lines, and you will build up a superstructure strong, after -the nature and quality of the foundation upon which you build. Do not -snatch at life. Do not take out an odd motto here and there and say: -“This will do for the occasion.” Life should be deeply laid in its bases, -strongly cemented together in its principles, noble in its convictions; -then it can be charitable in its concessions and recognitions. - -“And Asa took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the -land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken -from Mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the Lord.” - -Let us not trifle with the occasion by suggesting that we have no -idolatries to uproot, no heathen groves to examine, to purify or to -destroy. That would indeed be making light of history and ignoring the -broadest and saddest facts of our present circumstances. The world is -full of little gods, man-made idols, groves planted by human hands, -oppositions and antagonisms to the tried Theism of the universe. - -We are apt to think that the idols are a long way off--far beyond seas; -or that they existed long centuries ago and spoke languages now obsolete -or forgotten. - -Nothing of the kind. They live here; they build today. Our gods -are a million strong. We do not call them gods, but we worship -them none the less. Luck, Accident, Fortune, Fashion, Popularity, -Self-Indulgence--these are the base progeny of idols that did once -represent some ideal thought and even some transcendental religion. -Idolatry has retrograded; polytheism has gone quickly backward. - -Asa said, in effect: “We must be right about our gods before we can be -right with one another.” That is true teaching. With a wrong theology we -never can have a thoroughly sound and healthy economic system. - -This was the corner-stone upon which Asa built his great and gracious -policy. What was the effect of it upon other people? We find that the -effect then was what it must always be: - -“They fell to him out of Israel in abundance when they saw that the Lord, -his God, was with him.” - -Such is the influence of a great leadership. If Asa had been halting, -the people would have halted, too. Asa was positive; and positiveness, -sustained by such beneficence, begets courage in other people. “They fell -to him out of Israel in abundance”--that is, they came over to him and -were on his side. They ranked themselves with Asa; they looked for his -banner and called it theirs, “when they saw that the Lord, his God, was -with him.” - -Nations perish for want of great leaders. Social reforms are dependent to -a large extent upon the spirit of the leadership which has adopted them. -The Church is always looking around for some bolder man, some more heroic -and dauntless spirit, who will utter the new truth, if any truth can be -new--say, rather, the next truth; for truth has always a next self, a -larger and immediately impending self, and the hero, who is also martyr, -must reveal that next phase of truth and die on Golgotha for his pains. - -Can we not, in some small sense, be leaders in our little circles--in our -business relations, in our family life, in our institutional existence? -Many people can follow a tune who can not begin one. That is the -philosophy we would unfold and enforce. - -Regard all leaders with prayerful hopefulness in so far as they want to -do good and to be good. Sympathize with them; say to Asa, even the king: -“What thou hast done thou hast well done; in God’s name we bless thee -for the purification of the land and for the encouragement of all noble -things.” - -Asa showed the limits of human forbearance and human philosophy. He -broke down in the very act of doing that which was right because he went -too far. He made a covenant, and the people made it along with him. - -Solemn renewals of the original covenant which God made with their -fathers in the wilderness occur from time to time in the history of the -Jews, following upon intervals of apostacy. This renewal in the reign of -Asa is the first on record. The next falls three hundred years later, in -the reign of Josiah. There is a third in the time of Nehemiah. On such -occasions the people bound themselves by a solemn oath to observe all -the directions of the Law, and called down God’s curse upon them if they -forsook it. - -“And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers -with all their heart and all their soul; that whosoever would not seek -the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, -whether man or woman.” - -That is the danger. You can not make men religious by killing them, by -threatening them, by inflicting upon them any degree of penalty. Do not -force a child to church. Lead it; lure it; make the church so bright and -homelike and beautiful that the child will eagerly long for the time to -come when the door will be opened. - -Asa was impartial. There was a touch of real grandeur about the man. He -would not even allow his mother to keep an idol. The queen had an idol of -her own “in a grove.” - -“And also concerning Maachah, the mother of Asa, the king, he removed her -from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa cut -down her idol, and stamped it and burnt it at the brook Kidron.” - -Thus ruthlessly Asa disestablished that little royal church. See how -burningly in earnest the man was, and what a man will do when his -earnestness is fervent! He knows nothing about fathers, mothers, -partialities or concessions. He says: “Light is the foe of darkness, and -you can not have any little dark corner of your own. This light must find -you out, chase away every shadow and purify every secret place in human -life and thought.” - -Some have supposed that Maachah, the mother of Abijah, and Maachah, the -“mother” of Asa, were different persons, the former being the daughter -of Absalom, the latter the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. There are really -no grounds for this. Maachah, the mother of Abijah, enjoyed the rank of -queen mother not only during his short reign of three years, but also -during that of her grandson, Asa, until deposed by him on account of her -idolatry. - -The original word for “idol” appears to signify a “horrible abomination” -of some monstrous kind; and instead of “in a grove” we should read “for -an asherah,” the wooden emblem of the Canaanitish deity. - -There seems little doubt that some obscene emblem is meant, of the kind -so often connected with worship of the productive powers of nature in -ancient religions--substituted, as a still greater abomination, for the -ordinary asherah. Clearly, the act of Maachah was one of so flagrant a -kind that Asa took the unusual step, on which the historian here lays -great stress, of degrading her in her old age from her high dignity, -besides hewing down her idol and burning it publicly under the walls of -Jerusalem. - -“Now,” said Asa, in effect, “what is good for the public is good for the -individual; what is good for the subject is good for the queen.” - - -ATHALIAH. - -Athaliah was a king’s daughter and a king’s wife. She had a son whose -name was Ahaziah, but, as he was an invalid, he did not occupy the throne -longer than about twelve months. - -As soon as his mother saw that he was dead a fierce and most murderous -passion seized her heart. She then resolved to be queen herself. - -In order to carry out this nefarious purpose, she slew all the seed -royal, so that, there being no successor to the throne, she ascended it -and reigned as queen. - -It is very wonderful that some of the most cruel and startling things in -the world have been done by women. One called Laodice poisoned her six -sons one by one, that she might be empress of Constantinople. Another, -ironically named Irene, took the eyes out of her own boy, that he might -be incapable of empire, and that she might reign alone. - -These things were done in the ancient time. Is any of the cruelty of -heart left still? The accident may be changed--what about the passion and -purpose of the heart? Let every one answer the question individually. - -Athaliah made her heap of corpses and laughed in her mad heart, saying -that now she was queen. But always some Fleance escapes the murderer’s -clutch. In that heap of corpses there was an infant boy, hardly twelve -months old; he was spared. The sword had not taken his little life, but -the queen knew not that the child Joash had escaped. He was taken and -with his nurse was hidden in the Temple, and there he was trained by the -good priest, Jehoiada, for some six years. All the while the queen was -reigning and doing evil. - -The little boy was saved by his aunt, Jehosheba, and when six years had -passed and the boy was seven years of age, being twelve months old when -he was snatched from impending ruin, Jehoiada called the rulers together -and all the chief and mighty men of Israel. He then revealed the secret -to them. - -Having disposed these dignitaries in military order and with military -precision around the person of the young king, Jehoiada brought the -crown and put it upon his head, and he gave him the testimony or Book -of Leviticus; and, having gone through all this ceremonial process, the -young king stood upright by the pillar of inauguration in the Temple, and -all that great throng then clapped their hands and shouted: “God save the -king!” Louder the shout rang till the queen heard it in her own house, -which was not far off. - -“The nearer the church, the farther from God,” has been wittily said. - -Athaliah hastened to the sacred place to know the reason of this -hilarious tumult, and when the case was made clear to her she shrieked -and cried: - -“Treason! Treason!” - -But her voice found no echo in the hearts of men. Not a soul -fluttered--not a heart started up in the royal defense. The woman--the -evil daughter of an evil mother--was taken out by the way along which the -horses came into the king’s house, and the sword which she had thrust -into the throats of others drank her own blood. - -In an event of this kind there must be some great lessons for all time. -These are not merely momentary ebullitions of wrath or malice. They have -history in them; they are red with the common blood of the whole race. - -Very few men stand out in ancient history with so fair and honorable -a fame as good Jehoshaphat. It is like a tonic, intellectual and -spiritual, to read his vivid history. He was a grand king--long-headed, -good-hearted, honest and healthy in purpose of doing wondrous things for -his kingdom and for the chosen of God. - -But is there not a weak point in every man? Does not the strongest man -stoop? Does not great Homer sometimes nod? - -Jehoshaphat had this weakness, that he hankered after some kind of -connection with the wicked house of Ahab. He had a son, whose name was -Jehoram (or Joram), and he wanted his son married. He must look around -for royal blood. Explain it as we may--no man has explained it fully -yet--Jehoshaphat wanted to be connected with the evil house of Ahab. To -that house he looked for a wife for his son, Jehoram. His son married -Athaliah, and she brought into the kingdom all the idolatry of Ahab -and the fierce blood-thirstiness of Jezebel. That was the root of the -mischief. Some roots lie a long time before they begin to germinate. -There may be roots in our lives which will take ten years or forty years -to develop, but the root will bring forth according to its kind. Let us -take care what roots we plant in our lives--what connections we form. - -Jehoram, the son of good Jehoshaphat, walked in the evil ways of the -kings of Israel, and he wrought that which was evil in the sight of -the Lord. Mark the reason given by the inspired historian: “He had the -daughter of Ahab to wife.” - -What secrets were indicated by that one reason! What a whole volume of -tragedy is wrapped up in that brief sentence! - -The responsibility seems to a large extent transferred from Jehoram and -placed upon his wife, who was a more subtle thinker, a more desperate -character, with a larger brain and a firmer will, with more accent and -force of personality. Jehoram played the evil trick, repeated the foul -habit, went in the wrong direction, bowed down to forbidden altars, -for--“he had the daughter of Ahab to wife.” She lured him; the seduction -was hers; she won the conquest. When he would have bowed the knee to the -God of Heaven, she laughed at him and mocked him into Baal worship. He -fell as a victim into her industrious and cruel hands. - -“Be not unequally yoked together.” Do not look upon marriage lightly; -do not suppose that it is a game for the passing day, a flash and -gone, a hilarious excitement, a wine-bibbing, a passing around of -kind salutations, then dying away like a trembling echo. Beware what -connections you form, and do not suppose that the laws of God can be set -aside with impunity. Get out of your heads the infinite mistake that -you can do as you like and escape the operation of divine law. Deliver -yourselves from the cruel delusion that you can sow tares and reap wheat. -Be not deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows that shall he -also reap. - -Our family life explains our public attitude and influence. What we are -at home we are really abroad. - -Wives, do not destroy your husbands. When they would do good, help them. -When they propose to give to the cause of charity, suggest that the -donation be doubled, not divided. When they would help in any good and -noble work, give them sympathy, prayer and blessing. We never knew a -man yet of any enduring public power that was not made by his wife, and -we never knew a public man yet that fully appreciated the value of that -ministry. It is secret; it is at home; it does not show. It is chalked on -a black-board, and not gilded on a high ceiling; it is silent, but vital. - -We have seen a man go down in his church life, and we have wondered why. -It was his wife--the daughter of Ahab--who was degrading him, narrowing -him and dwarfing him in his thinking and sympathy. - -We have seen a man go up in his public influence, and we have found that -it was his wife who was encouraging him, helping him, telling him that he -was on the right way, and wishing him good luck in the name of the Lord. - -See to it that your home is right. Have a beautiful home--morally and -religiously; a sacred house, a sanctuary where joy is the singing angel. -And then, when you come abroad into the market-place, into the pulpit, -into parliament, into trade and commerce or into any of the social -relations of life, you will bring with you all the inspiration which -comes from a home that blooms like a garden or glows like a Summer sun. - -Do not suppose that the divine purpose can be set aside by Athaliahs, -Irenes, Laodices or any false, furious or desperate characters of any -kind. - -The Lord promised David that he should always have a candle in Jerusalem. -The light was very low sometimes--it was reduced to a spark in young -Joash; but it was God’s candle, and Athaliah’s wild breath could not blow -out that light. The word of the Lord abideth for ever. - -Observe a very strong peculiarity in human nature, as shown in the -conduct of Athaliah. She went into the Temple and saw the young Joash -with a crown upon his head, and she shrieked out: “Treason! Treason!” - -Poor innocent Athaliah! Who would not pity so gentle a dove, with a -breast of feathers and a cruel dart rankling in it? Sweet woman--gentle -and loving creature--injured queen! Her hands were perfectly clean; she -was the victim of a cruel stratagem. She was outwitted by heads longer -than hers. She, poor unsuspecting soul, had been brought into this -condition, and all she could do was to cry in injured helplessness: - -“Treason! Treason!” - -How moral we become under some circumstances! How very righteous we may -stand up to be under certain provocations! Who could but pity poor -Athaliah, who had nursed her grandchildren with a wolf’s care? We do this -very self-same thing very often in our own lives. Where is the man who -does not suppose that he has a right to do wrong? But let other people do -wrong, and then hear him! - -Given a religious sect of any name whatsoever, that has the domination -of any neighborhood, and the probability is that that religious sect -will use its supremacy somewhat mischievously in certain circumstances. -It will not let anybody who opposes its tenets have an acre of ground -in that neighborhood, nor will it allow any sect that opposes its -principles to build a church there. No! It takes a righteous view of the -circumstances; it will not trifle with its responsibilities; it can allow -no encroachment. It is charged with the spirit of stewardship, and must -be faithful to its sacred obligations. - -So it cants and whines, whatever its name be. If it be the name we bear -religiously, so much the worse. We speak of no particular sect, but of -any sect that may be placed in such peculiar circumstances as to claim -the domination and supremacy in any neighborhood. - -Now, let any member of that sect leave that particular locality and go -to live under a wholly different set of circumstances, and apply for a -furlong of ground, or for a house that he may occupy as tenant. Then let -it be found that his religious convictions are a bar to his enjoyment -of local properties and liberties. He will cry out: “Persecution! -Persecution!” How well it befits his lips! The very man who in one -district persecuted to the death those who opposed him removes to -another locality, where a screw is applied to his own joints, and he -raises the cry of persecution. It is Athaliah’s old trick, and will have -Athaliah’s poor reward. - -See how the cry of the wicked is unheeded. Athaliah was a woman, and by -so much had a claim upon the sympathy of the strong. Yet no man’s heart -went out to her in loyal reverence. - -Jehoash (or Joash, as the name was shortened) was trained in the Temple, -under the good Jehoiada. He was blessed in his aunt--for it was his -aunt who took him, the daughter of Ahab, but not by the mother of -Athaliah--and Joash did good all the days of Jehoiada, the priest. See -the influence of a noble life. See how religion may help royalty, and -how that which is morally true lifts up patriotism to a higher level. -No country is sound at heart--through and through good and likely to -endure--that draws not the inspiration of its patriotism from the -loftiness and purity of its religion. - -All these tragedies are making the Earth reek with abomination today. -Athaliah lives in a vigorous progeny. - - -BALAAM. - -Balaam comes into the narrative most suddenly--but he will never go out -of it again. Other men have come into the Bible story quite as suddenly, -but they have only remained for a time. Balaam will never disappear; we -shall read of him when we come to the Book of the Revelation of John the -Divine. - -There are some historical presences that you can never get rid of. It is -useless to quibble and question. The same mystery occurs in our own life. -Some persons, having been once seen, are seen for ever. You can not get -away from the image or the influence, or forget the magical touch of hand -or mind or ear; they turn up in the last chapter of your life Bible. You -can not tell whence they come. Their origin is as great a mystery as is -the origin of Melchisedek; they come into your lifelines as quickly and -abruptly as came Elijah, the Tishbite; and they take up their residence -with you--subtly coloring every thought, secretly and mightily turning -speech into new accents and unsuspected expressions full of significance -and revealing that significance in ever-surprising ways and tones. - -Why sit down and look at the story of Balaam as though it were something -that occurred once for all? It occurs every day. God teaches by surprise. -He sets the stranger in our life, and while we are wondering He turns our -wonder into a mystery more sublime. - -Who would have a life four-square, in the sense of limitation, visible -boundary, tangible beginning and ending? Who would not rather be in the -world as if he had been in some other world, and as if he were moving -on to some larger world? We lose power when we lose mystery. Let us not -chaffer about words. If the spirit of mystery is in a man, the spirit of -worship is in him; and if the spirit of worship is in him, it may detail -itself into beliefs, actions and services which are accounted right, and -whose rightness will be proved by their beneficence. Balaam comes as -suddenly as Melchisedek, as unexpectedly as Elijah; but we shall find -him at the very last an instructive historical character. - -He is called Balaam, the son of Beor, and he is domiciled at Pethor, on -the River Euphrates. At that time the king of Moab was called Balak, and -when Balak saw how Israel had destroyed the Amorites he said: - -“Fighting is out of the question. If we have to come to battle, we may as -well surrender before we begin; the numbers are overwhelming. Now shall -this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up -the grass of the field.” - -You can hear the lick and the crunch, and be present at the destruction. -It was a day of fear and much sorrow in Moab. - -What, then, was to be done? - -Herein came the wisdom of Balak. He also lives to the end of life’s -chapter, for to the end of that chapter we shall find the touch of -superstition in the human mind. Balak would have recourse to supernatural -help. He had heard of Balaam, the soothsayer of Pethor--a man of -divination, a person who had power to bless and to curse--the Simon Magus -of his day. So he took advantage of his superstition, and thought to sow -the air with curses which would work where his little sword could not -reach. - -That is not a mean thought. Call it perversion or superstition--you do -not touch the inner and vital mystery of the case. The great agonies of -life are not to be explained by calling them perversions, or labeling -them superstitions, or denouncing them as nightmares or dreams; they -are there. Man must obey voices which are not always articulate and -reportable as to words and tones. It may be more superstitious to deny -the supernatural than to affirm it. Never forget the cant that is talked -against cant. - -Do not believe that they are the heavenly, pure and brilliant souls who -have no church, no religion, no altar; who live under the dome of their -own hats and walk on the marble of their own boots. Whose prophets, pray, -are they? They must be accounted for, as well as the Melchisedeks, the -Balaams and Elijahs of old time. What is their history? Where have they -made their mark? What marvels of beneficence have they performed? Or do -they only live in the very doubtful region of sneering at other people’s -piety? - -Balak’s was a great thought. We do not adopt its form, but we should -perhaps do unwisely to reject its spirit and intent. Balak said: “Numbers -are against us. If it is to be a mere contention of army against army, -Moab will be destroyed at once. The thing to be done--if it can be -done--is to enlist the service and the action of the supernatural.” Quite -right. We say so now. If that can be done, any other thing that can be -done is contemptible in comparison. - -So Balak sent for Balaam, who made answer that he would not come. -By-and-by Balak sent other princes more honorable still, with offers of -promotion and honor and abundant wages. Balaam said he would ask God. He -asked God, and angered Him by so doing. Some second prayers are worse -than superstitions. - -So God said: “If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; -yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.” But God’s -anger was kindled against Balaam. - -“And God’s anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of the Lord -stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now, he was riding upon -his ass, and his two servants were with him. And the ass saw the angel -of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand; and -the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field; and Balaam -smote the ass, to turn her into the way. But the angel of the Lord stood -in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side and a wall on that -side.” - -When Balak heard of Balaam’s arrival he was glad. Gold went for nothing, -now the soothsayer had come. Riches were as water poured forth. In those -days the supernatural went for something in the market-place. It is the -cheapest of all things now. Ideas are without value; religious thoughts -are mere breath. But Balaam remembered that he was only to speak what God -told him; so he began to play the priest. He would have altars put up. - -He took up his parable, and said: “Balak, the king of Moab, hath brought -me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying: ‘Come, curse me -Jacob,’ and ‘Come, defy Israel.’” - -Balaam would have altars put up and sacrifices rendered. But the answer -was: “No. Israel can not be cursed.” - -So Balak took him to another point of view, where perhaps, the multitude -looked greater or did not look so great. “And he took up his parable, and -said: ‘Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor.’” -And again the people were to rise like a lion, and lift up themselves as -a young lion; and the people were not to lie down until they had eaten of -the prey and drunk of the blood of the slain. - -“Well, then,” said Balak, “if that be the case, this thou must do for me: -Neutralize thyself; be nothing; act as if thou hadst not come at all. -Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.” - -But Balaam said: “No. You can not treat God’s messengers in that way. As -a matter of fact, they are here; you have to account for them being here, -and to reckon with them while they are here.” - -We can not quiet things by ignoring them. Simply by writing “Unknowable” -across the heavens we really do not exclude supernatural or immeasurable -forces. The ribbon is too narrow to shut out the whole Heaven. It is but -a little strip, and looks contemptible against the infinite arch. We do -not exclude God by denying Him, nor by saying that we do not know Him, or -that He can not be known. We can not neutralize God, so as to make Him -neither the one thing nor the other. - -So Balaam was the greatest mystery that Balak had to deal with. It is -just the same with the Bible--God’s supernatural Book. It will not lie -where we want it to lie. It has a way of getting up through the dust -that gathers upon it and shaking itself, and making its pages felt. It -will open at the wrong place. Would it open at some catalogue of names -it might be tolerated, but it opens at hot places, where white thrones -are and severe judgments, and where scales are tried and measuring wands -tested. It will speak to the soul about the wrong doing that never came -to any thing, and the wicked thought that would have burned the heavens -and scattered dishonor upon the throne of God. - -Balak said, in effect: “Would to Heaven I could get rid of this man.” He -took Balaam to another point of view, and Balaam “set his face toward the -wilderness, and took up his parable.” He sang a sweet and noble song: -“How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob! And thy tabernacles, O Israel! As -the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as -the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees -beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his -seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, -and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brought him forth out of Egypt; he -hath, as it were, the strength of an unicorn; he shall eat up the nations -his enemies, and shall break their bones and pierce them through with his -arrows. He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion; who shall -stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that -curseth thee.” - -Balak made a bad bargain that day. He added unto his troubles, instead of -diminishing them. - -Balak would gladly have parted with Balaam, but he could not get rid of -him; and Balak was wroth. It became a king to become angry. And Balak’s -anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together and -said unto Balaam: “I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou -hast altogether blessed them these three times. Therefore, now flee thou -to thy place. I thought to promote thee unto great honor, but lo, the -Lord hath kept thee back from honor.” - -Balaam then made a great speech to Balak. He said: “Is this not precisely -what I said to the king’s messengers? Did I not say: ‘If Balak would give -me his house full of silver and gold, I can not go beyond the commandment -of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord -saith, that will I speak’? Now, I will tell that which I see.” - -And then came the parable of the man whose eyes are open: - -And he took up his parable, and said: “Balaam, the son of Beor, hath -said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said, he hath said which heard -the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the Most High, which saw the -vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open; -I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh; there -shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, -and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of -Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession -for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come -he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the -city.” - -Then the parable is continued, Balaam looking Balak full in the face; -and last of all “Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place, and -Balak also went his way.” - -You can not carve your God into any shape that will please your fancy. -You can not send for any true faith and bribe it to speak your blessings -or your cursings. Balaam was a man of noble sentiments. Look at some of -his words: “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be -like his.” And again: “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the -son of man, that he should repent.” And again: “I shall see him, but not -now; I shall behold him, but not nigh.” - -Then take the grand words which he spoke to Balak, as reported in the -prophecies of Micah. Never did man preach a nobler sermon than this: “He -hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of -thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy -God.” - -Who can amend that speech? Who can refine that gold? Who dares touch that -lily with his mean paint? Who taught Balaam that great speech? - -We sometimes say we find, scattered up and down in ancient literature, -morals as beautiful as any we find in the Bible. Possibly so. Who wrote -them? Whence did they come? Is God the God of one corner of the creation? -Is God a parochial Deity? - -Is there not a spirit in man--universal man--and does not the Spirit of -the Most High give him understanding? Wherever there is a line of beauty, -God wrote it; wherever there is a sentiment which is charged with the -spirit of beneficence, that may be claimed as a good gift of God. - -Apostle Paul never uttered a nobler sentiment than is uttered by Balaam, -as reported in the prophecies of Micah. This is the Sermon upon the -Mount in anticipation. That is the vicious Church, built on the wrong -foundation, aiming at the wrong Heaven, which does not recognize in every -literature and in every nation all that is good, noble, wise, prophetic. - -Balaam’s convictions and wishes disagreed sometimes. Therein he was most -human. He knew he ought not to go to Balak, and yet he wished to go. He -would ask the second time; he would doubt his own convictions, or he -would adjust them according to the shape and temper of circumstances. -Wherever he came from, he claims herein to be quite a near neighbor of -ours. Doubt may exist as to the exact relation of Pethor to the river -upon which it was built, but there can be no doubt whatever of the blood -relationship between Balaam and our own age. Speaking impulsively from -the center of his convictions, he said: “No. Nothing shall tempt me to -go. You speak of gold and silver. Were Balak to give me his house full of -gold and silver, I would not go. I am the Lord’s servant, and the Lord’s -work alone will I do.” - -Then the thought occurred to him--a second message coming, borne by more -honorable princes: “Perhaps I might go and obtain this wealth and honor, -and still do my duty.” - -He is on the downward road now. A man who thinks to do forbidden things -and spend the bounty for the advantage of the Church is lost; there is no -power in him that can overcome the gravitation that sucks him downward. -He says: “I will bring back all Balak’s gold and silver, and add a -transept to the church or another course of marble to the altar.” - -He will never return. God will not have His house so patched and -bungled; nor does He want Balak’s gold for the finishing of His -sanctuary. A nobler spirit was Abram, who said no to the king of Sodom, -“lest thou shouldest say: ‘I have made Abram rich.’” - -The whole story of Balaam is intensely Oriental and primeval. The first -deputation is dismissed in obedience to a divine warning; but, so far -as we know, “the wages of unrighteousness,” which Balaam loved, are -carefully retained. A second embassy of nobler messengers, carrying -richer gifts, succeeds. He does not at once dismiss them, as God had -required, but presses for permission to go with them, which at last is -granted. - -Balaam would earn the fame and honor apparently within his grasp, yet he -knows that when the prophetic afflatus comes on him he can only utter -what it prompts. With a feigned religiousness, he protests that if Balak -were to give him his house full of silver and gold he could not go beyond -the word of Jehovah, his God, to do less or more; but he also bids them -wait overnight to see if he may not, after all, be allowed to go with -them. If his ignoble wish to be allowed to curse an unoffending nation be -gratified, he has the wealth he craves; if it be refused, he can appeal -to his words as proof of his being only the mouth-piece of God. - -That Balaam should have been allowed to go with Balak’s messengers was -only the permission given every man to act as a free agent, and in no -way altered the divine command, that he should bless, and not curse. Yet -he goes as if at liberty to do either, and lets Balak deceive himself by -false hopes, when the will of God has been already decisively made known. - -Balaam’s was a maneuvering life--very truthful, and yet very false; very -godly, and yet very worldly--a most composite and self-contradictory -life, and still a most human life. Balaam never breaks away from the -brotherhood of the race in any of his inconsistencies. When he is very -good, there are men living today who are just as good as Balaam was; -when he is very bad, it would not be difficult to confront him with men -who are quite his equals in wrong doing. When he is both good and bad -almost at the same moment, he does not separate himself from the common -experience of the race. He was always arranging, adjusting, endeavoring -to meet one thing by another, and to set off one thing over against -another. It was a kind of gamester life--full of subtle calculation, -touched with a sort of wonder which becomes almost religious, and steeped -in a superstition which reduces many of the actions of life to a state of -moral mystery wholly beyond ordinary comprehension. - - -ELAH. - -There was once a king in Israel named Elah. He reigned over Israel, in -Tirzah, two years. He had a servant called Zimri, who was a captain of -his chariots. - -Zimri was a born traitor. Treachery was in his very blood. In the case of -Elah, Zimri had a marked advantage, for Elah was a drunken fool. He was -in the habit of visiting the house of another of his servants, a steward -called Arza. There he had what drink he asked for, and he asked for a -great deal--so much that he was often drunk in his servant’s house. On -one of these occasions Zimri went in and killed him, and reigned in his -stead. - -These are the facts with which we have to deal. Are they very ancient, or -are they happening about us every day? Is Elah dead? Is Zimri clean gone -for ever? And is the house of the servant Arza closed, so that the master -can drink no more with the steward? - -Elah lives in every man who has great chances or opportunities in life, -but allows them to slip away from him through one leak in the character. -Elah was a king and was the son of a king, so his openings in life were -wide and splendid; but he loved strong drink, and thus through that leak -in his character all that might have made him a man oozed away, and left -him a king in nothing but the barren name. - -Strong drink will ruin any man. It is the supreme curse of England. I -will say nothing now of the old, but to the young I may speak a word. -I care not, young man, how many and how brilliant in life your chances -are, if you drink wine in the morning, as many young men in London do, -you are as good as damned already. You think not, but that only shows the -infinite deceitfulness of the enemy. He tells you: - -“Nothing of the kind. This is parson’s twaddle. Take your wine when you -want it, and let it alone when you do not care for it.” - -There is suppressed mockery in that high challenge. There is no soundness -of health in it. Every drink but leaves you weaker. Every emptied glass -is another link added to the strong chain thrown upon your limbs. - -Zimri still lives in all persons who take advantage of the weaknesses of -others. Zimri knew that Elah was a drunkard, and he further knew through -Elah’s habit of drunkenness alone could he be reached. On every other -side of his character Elah may have been a strong man--acute, shrewd and -far-sighted--but when in drink he was, of course, weak and foolish. Zimri -played his game accordingly. He said: - -“Elah goes to Arza’s house after sundown. In half an hour after going, he -will begin to fall under the effects of wine; then the worst wine will -be brought out, and he will go mad under its poison and become drowsy. I -must get Arza out of the way. The fool will go on any errand I name, on -promise of another horse; that is it.” - -The Bible says: “And Zimri went in and smote him and killed him.” He took -advantage of his master’s weakness, and his progeny is numerous on the -Earth. - -Some people trade on the weaknesses of others. They study them. They -adapt themselves to them. They watch for striking time, and seldom miss -the mark. How else could the net be always ready for the bird? How else -could the pit be always prepared for the unsuspecting and bewildered -traveler? There is an infernal science in these things--a devil’s black -art! - -And does not Arza still live in those who find the means whereby men may -conceal their evil habits and indulge their unholy desires? They seem to -say: “In my house you may do what you please. I shall not look at you. -Come when you please; go when you like; I am nobody, if you like to call -me so.” - -Tirzah, whose name means pleasantness and which was Elah’s capital, -was an ancient royal city of the Canaanites, captured by Joshua. After -its conquest it is not again mentioned in history till the time of -Jeroboam, who appears to have chosen it as his principal residence. -The geographical position of Tirzah has not been given by any ancient -geographer. Zimri reigned only seven days in Tirzah. Omri, captain of -the host, was made king over Israel in the camp. He besieged Tirzah and -took it. Zimri, seeing that the city was taken, went into the king’s -palace, set it on fire and perished in it. The last mention of Tirzah in -Scripture history is in connection with Menahem, who went from Tirzah to -Samaria, “and smote Shallum, and reigned in his stead.” Solomon made the -comparison: “Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah.” - - -ELIJAH. - -Elijah means “Jehovah is my God.” There is often much in a name. It is -a history, sometimes--the summing up of generations; it is sometimes an -inspiration, recalling memories that stir the soul to high daring. - -There are two places called Tishbi--one in Gilead and the other -in Galilee. Elijah belonged to the former. Sometimes character is -mysteriously and very deeply affected by country. Gilead was a wild and -mountainous district, bordering on Arabia, and consequently half Arab in -its customs. There was a wonderful similarity between the man and the -region; stern, bleak, grand, majestic and awful were they both. John -the Baptist seemed to bring the wilderness with him when he came into -the city. Children born in luxury are apt to be themselves luxurious. -Children born in slavery will hardly ever be free, though slavery has -been abolished. To the end of life we carry the color which first -impressed itself on our vision. - -All revelations seem to us to be sudden. Look at the suddenness of the -appearance of Ahijah to Jeroboam, and look at the instance before us: -“Elijah, the Tishbite, said unto Ahab.” The total apostasy of the Ten -Tribes (Israel) was now almost accomplished, and yet a faithful prophet -of the Lord stands up in the degenerate land and declares that Jehovah is -his God, and in sacred solitariness protests against the abominations of -Israel and her king. - -No mild man would have been equal to the occasion. God adapts His -ministry to circumstances. He sends a nurse to the sick room and a -soldier to the battle field. The son of consolation and the son of -thunder can not change places. You are right when you say that the dew -and the light and the soft breeze are God’s; but you may not, therefore, -suppose that the thunder and the hurricane and the flood belong to a -meaner lord. - -Imagine the two men standing face to face--Ahab, the dissolute king, -and Elijah, the faithful prophet. Probably there is no finer picture -in ancient history. Terrible indeed is the national crisis when king -and prophet come into collision. There is not a combat between two men. -Mark that very closely. It is Right against Wrong, Faithfulness against -Treachery, Purity against Corruption. Look at them--Ahab and Elijah--as -they face one another! Consider the boldness of the prophet. Religion is -never to be ashamed of its own testimony. - -As we look at the scene, not wanting in the elements of the highest -tragedy, we see the value of one noble witness in the midst of public -corruption and decay, and the grandeur as well as necessity of a distinct -personal profession of godliness. It is not enough to be godly; we must -avow it in open conduct and articulate confession. - -Let us now observe how Elijah proceeds to deal with Ahab. “There shall -not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.” Here is -physical punishment for moral transgression. So it is; and that is just -what a parent does when he uses the rod upon his child for falsehood. -You can only punish people according to their nature. The garroter -can submit to any number of censures and lectures, but he dreads the -cat-o’-nine-tails. - -Physical punishment for moral transgression is the law of society. So the -liar is thrown out of his situation; the ill-tempered child is whipped; -the dishonorable man is expelled from social confidence. - -With regard to the particular punishment denounced against Ahab, it is to -be remembered that drought is one of the punishments threatened by the -law if Israel forsook Jehovah and turned after other gods. - -This, then, was the brief communication which the prophet addressed to -the king. God’s threatenings are terrible in their conciseness. He leaves -no room in a multitude of works for ambiguity and verbal wriggling. The -soul that sinneth shall die. “The wages of sin is death.” “There is no -peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.” - -And as He can be concise in threatening, so He can be concise in promise: -“I will give you rest.” “I will give you living water.” “He that -believeth shall be saved.” “Ask, and it shall be given you.” - -Thus great things can be said in few words: “God is light.” “God is -love.” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” “Ye -must be born again.” - -At the bidding of the word of the Lord, Elijah turned eastward and hid -himself by the brook Cherith, a place nowhere else mentioned in the -Bible, and “no place like it has as yet been discovered in Palestine.” It -was a torrent-course facing the Jordan, “but whether it was one of those -which seam Mount Ephraim or of those on the opposite side of Jordan, in -the prophet’s own country, is uncertain.” - -But what is the meaning of the extraordinary expression: “I have -commanded the ravens to feed thee”? By omitting the points, which are -generally allowed to have no authority, the Hebrew letters may signify -Arabians. Then the passage would read: “I have commanded the Arabians -to feed thee.” Or, if we retain the present pointing, the word may be -translated “merchants,” according to “The Speaker’s Commentary.” But it -is better to allow the word “ravens” to stand. It implies a miracle; but -the whole Bible is a miracle, and so is our own daily life, could we -but see the inner movement and look beyond all symbols to the spiritual -reality. - -But Elijah’s brook dried up. Prophets may be overtaken by the operation -of their own prophecies. The great laws are impartial, yet wonderful is -the scope within which exceptions may be established. This incident gives -an instance in point. - -“Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there. -Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.” This place -is called Sarepta in the New Testament. It lay upon the great public -road which connected the two towns. A little village called Sarafend now -occupies the situation. - -But how did it come about that Elijah was sent to a place so near the -city of Jezebel’s father? It has been suggested that it would be the last -place that he would be suspected of having chosen as a retreat. When -Elijah came to the gate of the city the widow woman was there gathering -sticks, and he asked her for a little water in a vessel, that he might -drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he asked her to bring also a -morsel of bread in her hand. But she had no bread--not so much as a -cake--only a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse. - -She was just going to dress this little food for herself and her son, -“that we may eat it and die.” But Elijah claimed it in the name of the -Lord, and gave to her in return the gracious promise: “The barrel of meal -shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that -the Lord sendeth rain upon the Earth.” - -We may here admire and imitate one of the finest instances of ancient -faith. The woman was asked for all she had, and she gave it. But mark, -she was put in possession of a promise. This is God’s law. He gives the -promise first, and then asks for the faith of man. It was so in the ease -of Abraham. It is so with ourselves today. - -“And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail.” -This is the continual miracle of nature; this is the security of life. We -are puzzled by it, but what of that? Are possibilities to be determined -by our weakness or by God’s strength? We could have increased the flour -had we sown the seed, reaped the grain and called in the aid of the -miller. Now let us venture on the supposition that Almighty God is able -to do just a little more than we can do, and the whole difficulty is -gone. The air wastes not, nor the light, nor the force of nature; what if -God can touch points which happen to lie beyond the range of our short -fingers? We must allow something for Deity. - -And now sorrow fell upon the poor woman’s house. Her only child died, -and her heart was lacerated even to torment and agony. But the Lord was -merciful. Elijah took the dead child away into a loft--the upper chamber, -which was often the best part of an Eastern house--and cried unto the -Lord, and stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried again -and again unto the Lord, and the child’s life returned. Then the glad -mother hailed Elijah as a man, and one in whose mouth was the word of the -Lord. - -Elijah had put himself beyond the reach of Ahab--not because he feared -him or distrusted the power of God in critical circumstances--but because -God’s providence or government is a great scheme with innumerable sides, -and requires time for its full disclosure and accomplishment. We are not -to hasten the march of God. To every thing there is a season. Everywhere -we see this idea of time observed and honored. Though there is famine in -the land, we can not urge the seasons forward. The child, too, must have -years of growth, though his father be disabled and there be none to earn -the household bread but himself. - -So in the case before us. Ahab must be wearied out with searching for -Elijah. He must be made to see how fruitless may be the efforts even of a -king. And at last, when success does come, it must come not from his side -at all. - -We have said that Ahab was a speculative idolater rather than a cruel -persecutor. Jezebel acted the part of cruelty; Ahab acted the part -of unbeliever and spiritual rebel generally. A proof of the probable -correctness of this view is found in the incident before us, for when -Ahab met Elijah he did not show a spirit of cruelty. He said unto the -prophet: “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” He did not threaten Elijah -with the sword; he did not demand his immediate surrender and arrest. He -seems rather to have looked upon Elijah with wonder--perhaps not unmixed -with admiration of a figure so independent and audacious. - -The tone of the king’s mind may be inferred from the kind of challenge -which he accepted. It exactly suited his speculative genius. Elijah -proposed a trial between himself and the idolatrous prophets, 850 in -number--proposing that the god who answered by fire should be God. The -idea instantly commended itself to Ahab as excellent. He liked the high -and practical speculation. He was fond of intellectual combat, and he -warmed at the notion of a holy fray. The man who could accept a notion -of this kind was not cruel, wild or fond of human blood. Ahab was even -wickedly religious; the more altars and groves the better--yea, altar -upon altar, until the pile reached to Heaven; and grove after grove, -until the line met itself again and formed a cordon around the world. If -he had started from a right center, Ahab had been the foremost evangelist -in the ancient Church. - -Let us now look at the controversy itself. - -This plan was proposed by the prophet of the Lord, and not by the -servants of Baal. Truth addresses a perpetual challenge to all false -religions and all wicked and incompetent workers. Its challenges have -heightened and broadened in tone from the first ages until now. - -Moses challenged the necromancers of Egypt; Elijah challenged the priests -of Baal; Christ challenges the world. - -At first the challenge was more strictly physical; but now it is -intensely spiritual. What religion produces the highest and finest type -of character? That is the challenging question. - -That sane men should prefer a display of physical power or skill to a -spiritual contest is an illustration of the infancy and rudeness of -their minds, and not a proof of the best form of competition. Where, -in Christian or in pagan lands, have we the finest men, the purest -character, the most sensitive honor? Where are schools, hospitals, -asylums and charities of every kind most abundant? - -That Christian countries are disgraced by some of the foulest crimes -possible in human life, may but show that their very foulness and -atrocity never could have been so vividly seen and so cruelly felt but -for the enlightenment and culture furnished by Christianity. In any other -countries they would have been matters of course; but in Christian lands -their abomination is seen by the help of Christian light. - -The appeal or challenge was forced upon the prophets of Baal; it was not -spontaneously accepted by them. This should be made very clear, as it is -a point apt to be overlooked. - -Perhaps the common impression is that Elijah challenged the prophets -directly, standing face to face with them, without any medium of -communication. - -Nothing of the kind. Elijah first challenged King Ahab, who snatched -eagerly at the sensational chance, little knowing what he was snatching -at. Having spoken first to the king, Elijah spoke next to the people, and -demanded why they hesitated between two opinions, insisting that they -should make a choice between Jehovah and Baal. Then Elijah made his grand -appeal to the people of Israel, and they answered and said: “It is well -spoken.” Having secured the approval of the king and the people, Elijah -called upon the prophets to proceed to trial. - -Today Christianity appeals not to a few sectarian prophets, nor to a -few bewildered speculators, nor to a few scientists who are wild with -boy-like joy because they have found a bird’s nest, though they have -never seen the bird that built it; but Christianity makes its appeal to -the great and broad heart of human nature, to the common sufferings of -the race, to the indestructible sentiments of mankind. In Elijah’s day -the people said: “It is well spoken.” Of Christ it is said: “The common -people heard him gladly.” - -Every assault upon truth must bring mockery and death upon the -assailants. Elijah mocked the prophets on Carmel and slew them at Kishon. - -Elijah was a prophet of truth, but of sternness and terror. He lived in a -tempestuous atmosphere. Lightning seemed to play around his temples, and -his voice was as thunder. - -Van de Velde gives a vivid delineation of the precise locality of the -Carmel contest. He was, it is believed, the first traveler who identified -the site of the “Burning.” The rock shoots up in an almost perpendicular -wall, more than two hundred feet in height on the side of the vale of -Esdrelon. This wall made the burning visible over the whole plain and -from all the surrounding heights, so that even those left behind and who -had not ascended Carmel would still have been able to witness, at no -great distance, the fire from Heaven that descended on the altar. Here -the place must have been, for it is the only point of all Carmel where -Elijah could have been so close to the brook Kishon as to take thither -the priests of Baal and slay them, return again to the mountain and pray -for rain, all in the short space of the same afternoon. Down 250 feet -beneath the altar plateau is a vaulted and very abundant fountain. While -all other fountains were dried up, one can well understand that there -might have been found here that superabundance of water which Elijah -poured so profusely over the altar. - - -ELISHA. - -When Elijah supposed that his work was done he was ordered by Jehovah to -go up and return on his way to the wilderness of Damascus; and he who -supposed that his ministry was concluded had yet to anoint Hazael to be -king over Syria and Jehu, the son of Nimshi, to be king over Israel. - -But the anointing of these kings was a comparatively insignificant -circumstance. The great point of the commission is contained in this -sentence: - -“And Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel-mehola, shalt thou anoint to be -prophet in thy room.” - -Probably it had not occurred to Elijah that he could have a successor. A -very subtle indication is thus given of his approaching end. The Lord, -instead of telling Elijah that he had many a year left to spend in holy -service, gave him to understand that even he, mighty prophet though he -was, could be dispensed with, and a man of almost unknown name would be -qualified by divine inspiration to take his room. We can not imagine -Elijah’s feelings under these circumstances. If a great demonstration -of regard had been made, on the part of the Lord God of Israel, because -Elijah was weary, the prophet might have supposed himself to be of vital -consequence to the divine economy; but to be told that Elisha, a man -who was plowing the twelfth plow in the field while his eleven servants -were plowing beside him, would succeed to the high dignity was really to -inflict in the most gracious way a very solemn humiliation upon a man -who had become so self-conscious as practically to ignore the resources -of the living God. - -Elisha was a man in what we should now term comfortable circumstances. As -he was plowing in his field of Abel-mehola (“the meadow dance”) Elijah -drew near and threw over the plowman his prophetic sheep-skin mantle, and -passed on in silence, leaving Elisha himself to interpret the graphic -symbol. Elisha instantly comprehended the purpose, and, running after -Elijah, he begged to be allowed to kiss his father and mother, after -which he promised to follow the senior prophet. - -It is noteworthy that at this time Elisha must have been quite a young -man--an inference which may be fairly drawn from the fact that sixty -years after this event he was still in the exercise of his prophetic -office. - -It is a noticeable circumstance, which repeats itself even in our own -day, that Elisha was in many respects the exact counterpart of Elijah. - -By choosing all kinds of character and capacity to represent the divine -kingdom, God shows His infinite wisdom in a way which even the dullest -understanding can hardly fail to appreciate. He is not dependent upon -one particular aspect of genius, or one particular aspect of eloquence; -but He calls whom He will to the prophetic office and the ministerial -function, and it should be our part to accept His vocations, however -much we may be surprised at the course which they take and at the social -consequences which they involve. - -At the time in which Elijah and Elisha exercised their functions religion -and morals had gone down to the lowest possible point in Israel. The very -schools of the prophets had themselves felt the corrupting influence of -the times. Ahab was able to gather four hundred false prophets at a time, -the remarkable circumstance being that they were not prophets of Baal, -but false prophets of the Lord himself. - -It can hardly be a matter of surprise, therefore, that a man of burning -spirit, arising under such circumstances, should begin his ministry with -displays of power which can hardly escape the charge of being stern or -even violent. - -The second chapter of the second Book of Kings introduces us to the -beginning of Elisha’s ministry. He had just seen Elijah ascend, and he -felt that he was left alone to carry on the great work which had been so -wondrously conducted by a master hand. - -In the twelfth verse we see how Elisha estimated the character and -service of Elijah. He exclaims: “My father! My father!” He thus indicates -the most serious loss which can befall human life. This is not altogether -a cry of reverence, but it is also a cry of orphanhood. In their brief -intercourse, one with the other, Elijah had naturally taken the paternal -place, and Elisha, as a very young man, had felt the comforting influence -exercised upon him by the mighty prophet. - -This is a cry of young sensibility. The almost child feels himself to be -quite alone. He who an hour ago supposed that, after all, he might be -able to continue the work of Elijah now felt how terrible was the void -that was created by Elijah’s absence. - -We do not know the bulk and value of some ministries until they are -removed from us. We become quite familiar with them, and attach no -particular significance to their exercise; we come to think we have some -right in them, and that by some means or other they will be present with -us always. When, however, the great removal does take place and we look -around for the familiar face and expect to be touched by the familiar -hand, but find our expectations disappointed, the natural cry is: “My -father! My father!” - -These words, too, may fairly be construed as suggesting an aspect of -Elijah’s character which is generally overlooked. Probably it has hardly -occurred to us to regard Elijah as a man of special tenderness. We think -of him as a great comet, or as a flash of lightning, or as a mighty -whirlwind, or under any figure that suggests grandeur, majesty and force; -but we have never associated with Elijah the notion of graciousness, -tenderness, love and that easy familiarity which constitutes the very -soul of friendship. - -Now, however, by the ascription of his name we do seem to know somewhat -of the genial intercourse which passed between father and son--the senior -prophet and the young apostle of God; and it is delightful to infer that -such intercourse had been conducted on the one side paternally and on the -other side filially. - -We do not know altogether what men are when we only see them in public -life. The great parliamentary orator may be the simplest of all men -when he is in the domestic circle. The great commander of armies, whose -courage never quails, may have the heart of a woman when he stands in the -presence of suffering childhood. It is important for all who attempt to -delineate the characters of public men to remember that they see only -one aspect of those characters, and are not qualified to pronounce upon -the whole man. - -The next expression of Elisha is: “The chariot of Israel, and the -horsemen thereof.” - -This is an apparently incoherent exclamation. When properly understood, -however, it conveys a further tribute to the ministry which was exercised -by the ascending prophet. The real meaning is: “My father--so much better -than all chariots and horses; in thy absence the chariot of Israel and -the horsemen thereof are useless. They were used by thee, and under thy -conduct could be turned to good account; but, now that thou art gone, -they do but mock our loneliness and make us feel still more bitterly our -helpless condition.” - -A greater question than “Where is Elijah?” now occurred to the desolate -young man. Instantly he seizes the reality of the occasion, and by -exclaiming “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” he shows that he is not -called to a merely official position, but that he is elected to represent -the divine majesty upon Earth. - -The young man thus begins well. There is nothing frivolous in his inquiry -or in his interpretation of events. The very depth of his feeling gives -us an index to the capacity of his mind. Rely upon it, that he who can -feel as Elisha did must have a mind equal in its proportions to the fine -emotions which enlarge and ennoble his heart. Had the young man deported -himself in a way which suggested self-sufficiency, his prophetic office -would have been destroyed well-nigh before it was created. - -It is when we stand back in humility and in almost despair, and cry out -in our desolateness “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” that we begin our -work in the right spirit, and only then. - -In this whole ministry of righteousness and redemption there is no place -for self-sufficiency. Apostle Paul said: “Our sufficiency is of God.” -The great inquiry “Who is sufficient for these things?” keeps down -human ambition and vanity, and prepares the heart for the utterance of -prevailing prayer. The question which was thus propounded by Elisha is -full of suggestion to ourselves. When we come to read the Bible we should -not inquire so much where inspiration is, but where is wisdom which can -be applied to our own circumstances and be made unto us as the very staff -of life. - -We need not exclaim, in considering the Christian ministry of our own -day: “Where are the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles?” -Our inquiry should be: “Where are the healed men, the comforted hearts, -the forgiven souls, the rejoicing spirits?” - -Who care to inquire into the mechanism of the organ when he can hear its -music and be bowed down by its most solemn appeals? - -“And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, -they said: ‘The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.’ And they came to -meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.” - -There was no mistaking that spirit. Who can mistake the presence and -influence of fire? Better that our spirit should be discovered than that -our credentials should be examined. - -Of what avail is it that a man can produce a whole portfolio of -testimonials, if nobody has discovered in him the presence and effect of -the divine Spirit? - -This tribute is also to the credit of the sons of the prophets, for their -judgment was vital, and was not accidental. There are men who will only -regard providence as operating in one way, or as operating in one form. -These sons of the prophets did not belong to such an inferior class of -judges. - -It is remarkable, too, that the organic unity of the prophetic office -is hereby recognized. The sons of the prophets do not treat Elisha as a -novelty, a new sensation, or as representing a new point of departure. -They unite the old with the new; though the man has changed, the spirit -remains the same. - -This is what must be always regarded in reading Christian history and in -watching the course of the Christian ministry. Old ministers depart, but -when new men come they come with the old spirit and with the old truth, -or if they come with any other spirit or any other doctrine, they should, -in the degree of the change, be suspected of being other than genuine -successors of the prophets. - -Elisha begins his ministry by doing good--that is to say, by healing -the water that was diseased. This appeal to the prophet to do something -for the city of Jericho was itself a tribute to the genuineness of the -prophetic office as exercised by him. It is always beautiful to notice -how great power is associated with the doing of good. What is it to -be a prophet of any age, if the age is not practically benefited by -the exercise of the office? The age does not want ornamental prophets, -nominal prophets, official prophets. The age is crying out for men who -can give it bread, who can heal its water, who can mitigate its sorrows, -who can destroy its oppressions. - -By this sign must all prophets live or die. It would have been a poor -thing on the part of Elisha to have shown the mantle of his predecessor -if he could not also show his power. We are only in the apostolic -succession as we are in the apostolic spirit. - -We may have all the relics which the apostles left behind--the cloak -that was left at Troas, the parchment, the staff and the vessels out of -which they ate and drank--we may even have the scrolls which they used in -reading the Holy Scriptures; but all these things will constitute only a -burden if we have not, along with all other possessions, the mighty and -eternal Spirit of the living God, without whose energy even the apostles -themselves were but common men. - -Elisha, having cured the water, went up from the depressed plain of -Jericho to the top of the highland of Jordan, to the height of three -thousand feet, that he might come unto Beth-el--which, alas, became the -chief stronghold of the calf worship. The popular sentiment was debased -to the lowest possible point; even the little children were tainted with -the awful disease of contempt for the greatest names and the greatest -thoughts in all Israel. - -“And he went up from thence to Beth-el; and as he was going up by the -way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, -and said unto him: ‘Go up, thou bald head! Go up, thou bald head!’ And -he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the -Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty -and two children of them. And he went from thence to Mount Carmel, and -from thence he returned to Samaria.” - -This miracle has occasioned no little difficulty to those who read it -only in the letter. It is not a narrow incident which can be regarded -as a mere anecdote and treated, as it were, within the limits of its -own four corners. We must understand the spirit of the age in which -the incident occurred. We must realize that the whole air was full of -idolatry and blasphemy. We must also remember that the very Church of -Israel itself was deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, with -hardly one spot of health on all the altar from the crown of the head to -the sole of the foot. We must keep steadily before our minds the fact -that the places which are mentioned in this incident had become as Sodom -and Gomorrah--not, perhaps, in the physical and carnal sense, but in the -still worse sense of spiritual alienation and spiritual contempt for -every thing associated with the name of the living God. - -When Elisha, therefore, wrought this deed of violence--this miracle of -destruction--his action must be regarded typically and as strictly in -keeping with the necessities of the occasion. Only this kind of miracle -could have been understood by the people among whom it was worked and -who had an opportunity of feeling its effects, either directly or -incidentally. How often it happens that the first miracle is one which is -marked peculiarly by a destructive energy! - -This would seem to be the miracle which our own first zealous impulses -would work, had they the power to express themselves in such a form. When -the soul is alive with the purity of God, when the heart glows and burns -with love, when the whole being is in vital sympathy with the purposes of -the cross of Christ, the first and all but uncontrollable impulse is to -destroy evil--not to reason with it, or make truce with it, or give it -further treatment of any kind, but instantly and violently to crush it -out of existence. - -This impulse will be trained unto other uses in the School of Christ. - -We see, in the opening of the sixth chapter of the second Book of Kings, -some of the simple and happy relations which existed between the elder -and the younger prophets. - -Is it not possible to revive some of these relations? Look at the case: - -“And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha: ‘Behold, now, the place -where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.’” - -Put into modern language, the statement amounts to this: “Our college is -getting too small, and we want more room. Let us, therefore, consider -this practical question, and see what can be done.” - -Elisha did not live with the young men. That, perhaps, was rather a happy -than an unhappy circumstance--though a very beautiful picture could be -drawn concerning domestic collegiate life. A college or a school with the -teachers and the students all living together must, one would surely say, -be a little Heaven on Earth. What can be, ideally, more perfect than the -old prophet surrounded by all the younger prophets, eating and living -together, having a common room, a common hostelry--a common home? What -can be, imaginatively, more taking, pathetic and satisfactory? - -Without pronouncing a judgment upon that inquiry, it is enough to be -so far just to the text to say that Elisha did not adopt that system -of collegiate life. He went around from place to place; he visited the -schools of the prophets in the various localities, and when he came to -this place the young men said: “We have not room enough; we must consider -our circumstances, and endeavor to enlarge our accommodation.” - -What did they propose? - -It is well now and again to hear what young men have to suggest. It is -useful to listen to young politicians in national crises, that we may -hear how they would treat the patient. It is most desirable that young -voices should mingle with old voices in the common council. - -Now it is the turn of the young men to speak. What will they propose to -Elisha? - -The answer is given in the second verse: “Let us go, we pray thee, unto -Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make a place there -where we may dwell.” - -The city was not situated exactly upon the Jordan, but upon a stream a -little way from it, which flowed into that great river; and now the young -men proposed to get a little nearer to the main stream, for the district -of it was called The Valley of Palms. - -Palestine was notably destitute of trees, but in this particular locality -timber was to be got. So the young men made the proposition to Elisha. -What does the proposition amount to? It amounts to something which in -this day might horrify a good many of the successors of Elisha. - -The young men said: “Let us go and cut down our timber, and enlarge our -college with our own hands.” Did they propose that the question should be -“reported upon”--that it should be brought first under the attention of -the general committee, then be referred to a sub-committee being bound to -make a report to the general committee, and the general committee being -unable to attend, or to constitute a quorum, and so go on to forget the -whole business? The young men said: - -“We want room; let us make it. We want a larger college; let us build it.” - -Why not adopt the same principle today? There is nothing so easy as to -send around an appeal for a contribution and never get any reply to it. - -We, wanting to be missionaries, should go by the next boat; wanting to -preach the Gospel to the heathen, we should ask: “When does the ship -start?” Being unable to pay the fare, we should work our passage. If -people should ask us what we are doing, and whether we have lost our -senses, we should say: “Yes; if we be beside ourselves, it is unto God.” - -Then an impression might be made upon those who look on. They would say: -“Surely, these men are in earnest; be they right or be they wrong, be -they fanatical or sober-minded, their earnestness burns in them like a -fire, and such men can neither be put back nor be kept down.” - -However, without wishing to modernize the details of this incident, -which, owing to our civilization, would be impossible, it is enough to -remember that, in the early days of collegiate and school life, the -scholars were prepared to do something toward helping themselves. They -did not send for builders from Jerusalem, or even from the city of -Jericho; they undertook the work at their own impulse and at their own -charges. - -There is a line of beauty even in the proposition of the young men. They -desired Elisha’s permission. They said, in effect: “Father, may we go?” -They were enthusiastic, but they were under discipline; they had fire -enough, but they responded to the touch of the master. And one said to -Elisha: “Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants.” They were -stronger when the elder man was with them. - -Sometimes the eye is the best master. It often happens that the man who -is standing in the harvest field, resting upon his rake, a picture of -dignity and ease, is doing more than if he were sweltering himself by -cutting down corn with his own sickle. His eye is doing the work, and his -presence is exerting an immeasurable and happy influence upon the whole -field. - -Elisha was not asked to go and fell the timber, but to be with the young -men while they did the hard work; and, becoming young again himself, as -old men do become young when associated with young life, he replied: - -“I will go. The work is a common work. It belongs to me as well as to -you; it belongs to all Israel, in so far as all Israel is true to the -living God. Come, let us go in one band; union is strength.” - -Now, they went--the old and the young together. Why would they not go -alone? Perhaps they were all reminded of what happened when once they -did go alone. Elisha ordered that food should be prepared, and when the -seething pot was on, one of the young men went out and gathered something -and threw it into the pot, and nearly poisoned the whole college. Small -wonder if one of them, remembering this, said: - -“No more going out alone, if you please. We once took the case into our -own hands, and I remember how many of us fell sick, and how we cried -to Elisha: ‘Master, there is death in the pot!’ And he kindly took -up a handful of meal, sprinkled it into the vessel and restored its -healthfulness. The pot was relieved of all the disease which it had -contained, and the meal most happily proceeded.” - -We should remember our blunders, and learn from them. We are always safer -in the company of the old and wise than when we are in our own society. -Happy is the man who takes counsel with his elder neighbors, and who can -sometimes renounce himself and say unto wise men: “Such and such are my -circumstances; now, what would you advise me to do?” - -Elisha and the young men have now gone down to the Jordan. Elisha felled -no tree but he did his own particular kind of work. - -The Syrian king could not rest. In his heart he hated or feared the king -and the hosts of Israel. There was chronic war between Israel and Syria. -The king of Syria said: “I will fix my camp in such and such a place.” Of -this the sacred record says: “And the man of God sent unto the king of -Israel, saying: ‘Beware that thou pass not such a place, for thither the -Syrians are come down.’” - -There is a ministry of warning. Men may not go themselves to battle, -and yet they may be controlling the fortunes of war. We need statesmen, -spiritual interpreters, religious teachers, men of thought and men of -prayer; and they may be doing more practical work than is being done -by those who are engaged in the physical work of leading armies and -commanding military hosts. - -This is what Elisha did. - -He felled no tree; he wielded no sword. Yet, alike in the building of the -college and in the direction of the war, his was the supreme mind. The -prophet saved the king. This must always be the case. - -The great man of the nation is the man who can think most profoundly -and most comprehensively. The architect is a greater man than the -builder. The prophet is a greater man than the king. He reads more; he -sees farther; he grasps a larger field. He is master of metaphysical -principles, which alone endure. They wear the clothes of the present -time; they adopt the form of the passing generation, but they go on from -age to age--themselves always the same, their adaptations being addressed -to the immediate and pressing necessities of the people. - -We have been told that “Justice is not an intermittent apparition.” -That is perfectly true in one sense; but justice is often a deferred -creditor, and sometimes that may be done tomorrow which can not be justly -done today. The prophet sees all this. He looks ahead; he has a larger -horizon than is accessible to the vision of other men. - -So let it stand, an eternal lesson, that the greatest men in any nation -are the men who can think most, pray best, feel most deeply and penetrate -the metaphysics and the inmost reality of politics and of civilization. - -Spiritual power is not only useful in one direction; it is alarming in -another. When the king of Syria felt himself baffled, all his plans -thrown into uncontrollable bewilderment, his heart was sorely troubled. -It is the Immeasurable that frightens men. It is the Unknown Quantity -that troubles all their calculations and causes them to feel that after -they have completed their arithmetic their conclusion is a lie. - -What was in the air? Whose was this ghostly presence that was upsetting -Ben-hadad’s well laid schemes? What was it, or who, that always went -before him, and that made his proposals abortive and turned all his -policies into mocking nothings? - -Had there been any man who was visible and measurable, that man could -have been dealt with. There is always a quantity equal to any quantity -that is known. What is wanting in one way can be made up in another--as, -for example, what is wanting in number may be made up in quality. As one -great leader said in ancient history, when his soldiers were saying they -were too few for the battle: “How many do you count me for?” That touched -the fire of the army, and inspired the soldiers with confidence. - -Now, the matter was revealed to the king, and he took means to remove the -spectral influence. He made this arrangement: “Go and spy where he is, -that I may send and fetch him.” When he knew that Elisha was in Dothan -the king sent “thither horses and chariots and a great host.” - -What unconscious tributes bad men pay to good influences! Men do not know -wholly what they are doing. Why, this was but a poor prophet, wearing a -hairy robe that had descended to him; he was no king; he had no sword or -horse; he was but a man of prayer. How did Ben-hadad propose to capture -him? - -The king sent “horses and chariots and a great host” to take a man whose -sword was the word of God, whose helmet was the defense of the Most High, -whose breastplate was Righteousness! - -Here are three arms of the Syrian service--footmen, horsemen and -chariots; and remember that these were all employed to bring one poor man -to the king’s presence. Well might Elisha have said, before Antigonus -uttered it: “How many do you count _me_ for?” Elisha might have taunted -the king of Syria, saying: “Why all this ado? Would not one soldier have -been enough to take one prophet? He might have come on foot; a horse was -not necessary, and certainly not a sword. One soldier might surely have -arrested me.” - -But bad men unconsciously pay tribute to good men. They say, in effect: -“Elisha is only one, but a stubborn one; only one tree, but his roots -seem to have spread themselves through the Earth, and to have taken hold -of the entire scheme of things; he is only one, yet, what is strange, he -is many in one.” - -And this, indeed, was the interpretation given by Elisha, for he said: -“They that be with us are more than they that be with them.” - -Who can tell how many angels are round about the praying man? How is it -that when the arresting hand is laid upon some men it becomes softened, -the muscles relax and have no more pith in them, and the men come back -to say: “Never man spake like this man; arrest him we can not”? This is -a tribute paid to the Christian religion. Men have passed parliamentary -statutes against it, but the religion of the cross has outlived the -statutes--has seen them grow into yellow letters, has observed them being -canceled or otherwise passing into obsoleteness. - -We are now brought to a very striking point in the incident. The servant -of Elisha came back, saying: “Alas, my master, how shall we do? I have -been up early, and behold, a host compasses the city--both with horses -and chariots.” - -Then Elisha said: “Lord, open his eyes; let this young man see. At -present he can only look upon appearances, which are not realities. The -universe is within the universe. The Bible is within the Bible. The man -is within the man. This servant of mine sees only the outer circle--the -rim or rind of things. Lord, show him the reality; let him see, and then -he will be at peace.” - -There is a view of sight; there is a view of faith. The worldly man goes -by what his bodily eyes notice or discern; the spiritually minded man -walks by faith, not by sight. - -The telescope does not create the stars; the telescope only reveals them, -or enables the eye to see them. If, then, a telescope can do this, shall -we deny to that spiritual power within us called Faith the power which we -ascribe to a mechanical instrument which our own hands have fashioned? - -Look upon a given object--say, you take a piece of glass two inches -square; look upon it and ask: “Is there any thing on that glass?” Looking -with the naked eye, the sharpest man would say: “That glass is perfectly -free from blot, stain, flaw or inscription of any kind whatsoever.” - -Now, put that same two-inch square of glass under a microscope, and look -through the microscope. What is upon it? The Lord’s Prayer, upon a speck -not discernible by the naked eye. - -If, then, we ascribe such wonderful powers to a glass which we ourselves -have determined as to its size and its relation to other glasses, shall -we deny to a certain spiritual faculty the power of seeing that which can -not be discriminated by unaided reason? - -By all the pressure of analogy, by all the reasoning of inference, we -insist that, if such wonderful things can be done mechanically, things at -least equally wonderful can be done by forces that are spiritual. - -The Sun does not make the landscape; the Sun only shows it. A man may -stand upon a high hill on a dull-gray day and say: “I can imagine what -this would be when the Sun was shining.” But no man can imagine light. It -stands as a sacred mystery in our life that the Sun never comes within -the lines of imagination. The Sun light is a continual surprise, even to -the eyes that have most reverently and lovingly studied it. - -When the Sun looks upon the landscape there are new colors, new -distances, new forms; a whole work is wrought upon the landscape which -can only be described by the word “wizardry.” - -So it is with the Bible, the great work of the living God. Look at it -with the natural vision, and you may discover in it particular beauties. -You may say: “The poetry is noble; the English is pure; and the moral -sentiment of the book is not without a certain elevation.” - -But the Bible wants no such reluctant or impoverished compliments. Let -the soul be touched by the Spirit that wrote the book; let the eyes be -anointed by the living God; and then the Bible is like a landscape shone -upon by the noonday’s cloudless Sun. - -Elisha took his own way with the Syrian army, and here occurs a point -worthy of special note. When the Lord smote the people with blindness, -according to the word of Elisha, the latter said unto them: “This is not -the way, neither is this the city; follow me, and I will bring you to the -man whom ye seek.” But he led them to Samaria. - -What! Then did the man of God resort to a false strategy? This is a very -serious case, indeed, and has occasioned much difficulty. Nor need we -wonder, for in “The Speaker’s Commentary” we find such words as these: - -“Untruth has been held by all moralists to be justifiable toward a public -enemy. Where we have a right to kill, much more have we a right to -deceive by stratagem.” - -When words like these occur in a Christian commentary, no wonder that -infidelity should seize upon the annotation as a prize, or use it as a -weapon. No such comment can we adopt in perusing this portion of sacred -Scripture. It can not be justifiable to treat a public enemy by untruth -or deception. We have no right to kill, and therefore we have no right to -deceive by stratagem. This is not the way to recommend the word of the -living God. - -The incident must be taken in its totality. The reader must not arrest -the progress of the narrative by stopping here or there to ask a -question. He must see the incident in its completeness, and, seeing it, -he will have reason further to glorify God for the pure morality of the -book and the noble spirit of the record. - -Elisha might well so far follow his illustrious predecessor as to use the -weapon of irony or taunting in dealing with the Lord’s enemies. - -Elijah said to the prophets of Baal: “Cry aloud; for he is a god.” As -well might we stop there, and say: “By Elijah’s own testimony deity was -ascribed to Baal.” We forget the irony of the tone; we forget that Elijah -was mocking the debased prophets. - -So Elisha might say: “This is not the way, neither is this the city; -follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek.” - -There was a taunt in the tone; there was sarcasm in the emphasis. Nor is -the verse to be read in its unity. It is to be read as part and parcel of -a whole narrative. - -Now, what became of all this so-called deception and stratagem? - -When the people were come into Samaria, Elisha said: “Lord, open the -eyes of these men, that they may see.” - -He prayed, first, that their sight might be taken away. That seemed to be -cruel. Now he prays that their sight may be given to them again. - -“And, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel -said unto Elisha, when he saw them: ‘My father!’” As if he had become -a convert. The son of Ahab and Jezebel said to Elisha: “My father!” A -reluctant and hypocritical compliment, for Jehoram could be neither -reverent or true. - -But, said he, observing the prize that was before him: “Shall I smite -them? Shall I smite them?” This was a Hebraism equal to: “Smiting, shall -I smite?” So Jehoram said: “Shall I, smiting, smite them?” - -Elisha answered: “No.” - -Now, let us hear what this man can say who has been judged guilty of -untruth and of stratagem. - -Elisha said to Jehoram: “Thou shalt not smite them. Wouldst thou smite -those whom thou hast taken captive without thy sword and without thy -bow?” This is the same as saying: “If you yourself have won the victory, -then you can smite; but you did not take these men, and therefore you -shall not smite them. What you have taken by your own sword and spear may -be your lawful prize in war; but here is a capture with which you have -had nothing to do.” - -What, then, is to be done? Hear Elisha: “Set bread and water before them, -that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” - -And so great provision was prepared, “and when they had eaten and drunk, -he sent them away, and they went to their master.” - -We might even excuse a strategic act in order to secure such a conclusion. - -Elisha was supposed to be about a hundred years of age when he died. We -have seen that he was a domestic rather than a public prophet. He was -unlike his great predecessor and father. The awful Elijah dwelt alone. -He came upon society now and then--came down like a flood from the -threatening clouds; shot out like a fire, and burned the men whom he -approached. - -Elisha was exactly the contrary. He worked his miracles in the house. -He often called upon people; he was quiet, serene, most sympathetic and -tender-hearted. Now and then he could stand bolt upright and send away -proud men from his door with a disdain that they could never forget; but -in the usual process of his life he was a mother-man in Israel. He went -into people’s houses and asked how they were. He consented to increase -their oil and their flour, and to bless their family life with prophetic -benedictions. - - -GEHAZI. - -The name Gehazi means “valley of vision,” and is appropriate enough if we -think of what Gehazi saw as to the nature of wickedness when the prophet -opened his eyes. - -Let us note what points there are in this case which illustrate human -life as we now know it. In this way we shall test the moral accuracy of -the story--and that is all we are now principally concerned about. - -Gehazi was “the servant of Elisha, the man of God.” Surely, then, he -would be a good man? Can a good man have a bad servant? Can the man of -prayer, whose life is a continual breathing unto God of supreme desires -after holiness, have a man in his company, looking on and watching him, -and studying his character, who denies his very altar and blasphemes -against his God? Is it possible to live in a Christian house and yet not -be a Christian? Can we come so near as that, and yet be at an infinite -distance from all that is pure and beautiful and true? - -If so, then we must look at appearances more carefully than we have been -wont to do, for they may have been deceiving us all the time. - -Surely, every good man’s children must be good, for they have had great -spiritual advantages. They have, indeed, had some hereditary benefits -denied to many others. Their house has been a home, their home has been a -church, and surely they must show by their whole spirit and tone of life -that they are as their father as to all spiritual aspiration and positive -excellence. - -Is it not so? - -If facts contradict that theory, then we must look at the theory again -more carefully, or we must examine the facts more closely, because -the whole science of Cause and Effect would seem to be upset by such -contradictions. There is a metaphysical question here, as well as a -question of fact. A good tree must bring forth good fruit; good men must -have good children; good masters must have good servants. Association in -life must go for something. - -So we would say--emphatically, because we think reasonably. - -But facts are against such a fancy. - -What is possible in this human life? It is possible that a man may spend -his days in building a church, and yet denying God. Does not the very -touch of the stones help him to pray? No. He touches them roughly; he -lays them mechanically, and he desecrates each of them with an oath. - -Is it possible that a man can be a builder of churches and yet be a -destroyer of Christian doctrine and teaching generally? Yes. - -Let us come closer still, for the question is intensely interesting and -may touch many. - -It is possible for a man to print the Bible and yet not believe a word -of it. On first hearing this shocking statement we revolt from it. We -say it is possible for a man to handle type that is meant to represent -the greatest revelation ever made to the human mind without feeling that -the very handling of the type is itself a kind of religious exercise. -Yet men can debauch themselves in the act of printing the Bible; can use -profane language while putting the Lord’s Prayer in type; can set up the -whole Gospel of John without knowing that they are putting into visible -representation the highest metaphysics, the finest spiritual thinking, -the most tender religious instruction. - -Let us come even closer. A man can preach the Gospel and be a servant of -the devil. Who, then, can be saved? It is well to ask the question. It is -a burning inquiry; it is a spear-like interrogation. We would put it away -from us if we dare. - -Now, let this stand as our first lesson in the study of this remarkable -incident, that Gehazi was the servant of Elisha, the man of God, and was -at the same time the servant of the devil. He was receiving wages from -both masters. He was a living contradiction; and in being such he was -most broadly human. He was not a monster; he was not a natural curiosity; -he is not to be accounted for by quietly saying that he was an eccentric -person. He represents the human heart, and by so much he brings against -ourselves an infinite impeachment. - -It is in vain that we shake our skirts as if throwing off this man and -all association with him and responsibility for him; this can not be -done. He anticipated ourselves; we repeat his wickedness. The iniquity -is not in the accident, in the mere circumstances, or in the particular -form; the iniquity is in the heart--yea, in the very heart itself. Marvel -not that Christ said: “Ye must be born again.” - -Gehazi did not understand the spirit of his master. He did not know what -his master was doing. How is it that men can be so far separated from one -another? How is it that a man can not be understood in his own house, but -be thought fanciful, fanatical, eccentric and phenomenally peculiar? How -is it that a man may be living among men, and yet not be of them; may be -in the world and yet above the world; may be speaking the very language -of the time, and yet charging it with the meaning of eternity? See here -the differences that still exist, and must ever exist, as between one man -and another: - -Elisha--living the great spiritual life, the grand prayer-life and -faith-life. - -Gehazi--grubbing in the Earth and seeking his contentment in the dust. - -These contrasts exist through all time, and are full of instruction. -Blessed is he who observes the wise man, and copies him; who looks upon -the fool, and turns away from him, if not with hatred yet with a desire -not to know his spirit. - -Gehazi had a method in his reasoning. Said he, in effect: - -“To spare a stranger, a man who may never be seen again; to spare a -beneficiary, a man who has taken away benefits in the right hand and -in the left; to spare a wealthy visitor, a man who could have given -much without feeling he had given any thing; to spare a willing giver, -a man who actually offered to give something and who was surprised, if -not offended, because his gift was declined! There is no reason in my -master’s policy.” - -It never occurred to Gehazi that a man could have bread to eat that the -world knew not of. It never occurs to some men that others can live by -faith, and can work miracles of faith by the grace of God. - -Are there not minds that never had a noble thought? It is almost -impossible to conceive of the existence of such minds, but there they -are. They never went beyond their own limited location; they never knew -what suffering was on the other side of the wall of their own dwelling -place. They were never eyes to the blind, or ears to the deaf, or feet -to the lame; they never surprised themselves by some noble thought of -generosity. How, then, can they understand the prophets of the times? - -Yet how noble a thing it is to have among us men who love the upper life, -and who look upon the whole world from the very sanctuary of God, and who -say: - -“A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he -possesseth, but a man’s life consists of his faith, love and charity.” - -We can not tell how much the prophets are doing to refine their age, to -give a new view to all human duty, to inspire those who otherwise would -fail for the lack of courage. - -We can not tell where the answers to prayer fall, or how those answers -are given, but we feel that there is at work in society a mystic -influence, a strange, ghostly, spectral action, which keeps things -together, and now and again puts Sabbath day right in the midst of the -vulgar time. - -There are facts of a high and special kind, as well as what we commonly -call facts, which are often but appearances and dramatic illusions. What -about the secret ministry, the unnamable spiritual action, the holy, -elevating and restraining influence? What is that hand which will write -upon palace walls words of judgment and keep the world from plunging into -darkness infinite? - -Surely, God is in this place, and I knew it not. This--wherever it be, -garden or wilderness--is none other than the house of God and the gate of -Heaven. - -Gehazi prostituted an inventive and energetic mind. He had his plan: “My -master hath sent me, saying: ‘Behold, even now there be come to me from -Mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Give them, I -pray thee, a talent of silver and two changes of garments.” - -The case was admirably stated. It was stated, too, with just that urgency -which increases the likelihood of that which is declared. - -Elisha spent his time among the sons of the prophets. They all looked to -him as a father, as he had once looked to Elijah. He was the young man’s -friend--the young minister’s asylum. They all knew the gracious, gentle, -Christ-like Elisha--the ante-type of the Messiah; and what was more -likely than that two of them, in the course of their journeying, should -have called on Elisha unexpectedly? - -It was a free and gracious life that the old ministers lived. They seemed -to have rights in one another. If any one of them had a loaf, that -loaf belonged to the whole fraternity. If one of them, better off than -another, had a house or part of a house, any of the sons of the prophets -passing by could go and lodge there. - -It was a gracious masonry--a true brotherhood. - -Gehazi was no model man in a moral sense. His invention was a lie; his -cleverness was but an aspect of depravity; his very genius but made him -memorable for wickedness. - -But Gehazi was successful. He took the two talents of silver in the two -bags, with the two changes of garments. He brought them to the tower, and -bestowed them in the house. Then he sat down--a successful man! Now all -is well; lust is satisfied, wealth is laid up. Now the fitness of things -has been consulted, and harmony has been established between debtor and -creditor, and Justice nods because Justice has been appeased. - -Were the test to end with the twenty-fourth verse of the fifth chapter of -the second Book of Kings, we should describe Gehazi as a man who had set -an example to all coming after him who wished to turn life into a success. - -Who had been wronged? - -Naaman pursues his journey all the more happy for thinking he has done -something in return for the great benefit which has been conferred on -him. He is certainly more pleased than otherwise. The man of God has at -last been turned, he thinks, into directions indicated by common sense. - -All this has come about in the way of business; for nothing that is not -customary has been done. - -Gehazi is satisfied, and Elisha knows nothing about it. The servant -should have something, even if the master would take nothing. It is -the trick of our own day. The servant is always at the door with his -rheumatic hand, ready to take any thing that may be put into it. We leave -nothing with the master; it would be an insult to him. - -So far the case looks simple, natural and complete; and we have said -Elisha knows nothing about it. - -Why will men trifle with prophets? - -Why will men play with fire? - -When will men know that what is done in secret will be published on the -house tops? - -When will men know that there can be nothing confidential that is wicked? - -Observe Gehazi going in to his master as usual, and look at his face; -not a sign upon it of any thing having been done that is wrong. Look at -his hands--large, white, innocent-looking hands that never doubled their -fingers on things that did not belong to them. - -Look at Elisha. Fixing his eyes calmly upon Gehazi, he asks: - -“Whence comest thou, Gehazi?” - -“Thy servant went no whither.” - -Gehazi meant it to be understood that he had been on the premises all the -time; always within call; the lifting up of a finger would have brought -him. - -Then came the speech of judgment, delivered in a low tone, but every word -was heard--the beginning of the word and the end of the word--and the -last word was like a sting of righteousness. - -“Went not mine heart with thee?” - -Oh, that heart! The good man knows when wickedness has been done. Christ -knows when He enters into the congregation whether there is a man in it -with a withered hand. - -“Went not mine heart with thee?” Was I not present at the interview? Did -I not hear every syllable that was said on the one side and on the other? -Did I not look at thee when thou didst tell the black, flat and daring -lie? - -Then came the infliction of the judgment: - -“The leprosy, therefore, of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy -seed for ever.” - -Thou, Gehazi, hast touched the silver, not knowing that it was contagious -and held the leprosy; thou didst bring in the two changes of garments, -not knowing that the germs of the disease were folded up with the cloth. -Put on the coat; it will scorch thee. - -“He went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.” - -A splendid conception is this silent departure. Not a word was said, -not a protest uttered. The judgment was felt to be just. “Cast ye the -unprofitable servant into outer darkness.” “These shall go away into -everlasting punishment.” - -Oh, the hush--the solemn silence! The judgment seemed to begin with the -sound of trumpets and the rending of things that apparently could not -be shaken; at the end there is simply a going away, a silent motion, a -conviction that the sentence is right. - -See Gehazi as he goes out of Elisha’s presence, and regard him as a -specimen of those who, having been judged, on the last day will depart. - -Men should consider the price which they really pay for their success. - -The grateful Syrian would gladly have pressed upon Elisha gifts of high -value, but the holy man resolutely refused to take any thing, lest the -glory redounding unto God from this great act should in any degree be -obscured. But his servant, Gehazi, was less scrupulous, and hastened with -a lie in his mouth to ask, in his master’s name, for a portion of that -which Elisha had refused. - -The illustrious Syrian no sooner saw the man running after his chariot -than he alighted to meet him, and being glad to relieve himself in some -degree under the sense of overwhelming obligation, he sent him back with -more than he ventured to ask. - -Nothing more is known of Naaman. - -We afterward find Gehazi recounting to King Joram the great deeds of -Elisha, and in the providence of God it so happened that when he was -relating the restoration to life of the Shunnammite’s son, the very woman -with her son appeared before the king to claim her house and lands, which -had been usurped while she had been absent abroad during the recent -famine. Struck by the coincidence, the king immediately granted her -application. - -As lepers were compelled to live apart outside the towns, and were not -allowed to come too near to uninfected persons, some difficulty has -arisen with respect to Gehazi’s interview with the king. Several answers -occur. The interview may have taken place outside the town, in a garden -or garden house, and the king may have kept Gehazi at a distance, with -the usual precautions which custom dictated. Some even suppose that the -incident is misplaced, and actually occurred before Gehazi was smitten -with leprosy. Others hasten to the opposite conclusion, and allege the -probability that the leper had then repented of his crime, and had been -restored to health by his master. - - -HEZEKIAH. - -So far in our Bible studies we have had many weary wanderings among bad -men. The fear was that, to some extent, familiarity with them might -blunt our own moral sensibility. - -Man after man has passed before us out of whose very countenance -the image of God had faded. How pleasant it is, and how spiritually -exhilarating, to come upon a case in which we read of a different pattern -of man! Of Hezekiah it is recorded in the eighteenth chapter of the -second Book of Kings: - -“And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to -all that David, his father, did.” - -After a long journey underground we seem to have come suddenly upon a -sweet garden, and the sight of it is as Heaven. The charm is always in -the contrast. If things are not quite so good as we supposed them to -be, they are all the better by reason of circumstances through which we -have passed, which have made us ill at ease and have impoverished or -disheartened us; then very little of the other kind goes a long way. - -A man comes up out of the underground railway and says, when he emerges -into the light: - -“How fresh the air is here! What a healthy locality! How well to live in -this neighborhood!” - -Why does he speak so kindly of his surroundings? Not because of those -surroundings intrinsically, but because of the contrast which they -present to the circumstances through which he has just passed. - -Hezekiah was no perfect man. - -We shall see how noble he was, and how rich in many high qualities, yet -how now and again we see the crutch of the cripple under the purple of -the king. - -It is well for us that he was occasionally and temporarily weak, or he -would have been like a star which we can not touch, and at which we can -not light our own torch. - -Even Hezekiah was a man like ourselves in many particulars, and therefore -what was good and sound in him is all the more attractive and is all the -more possible to us. - -Who can mistake an honest man? - -If all men were upright, where would be the peculiarity of any individual -man’s integrity? But, given a corrupt state of society, when the -honest man appears we say: “The wind has changed. It blows balmily and -healthfully. It comes from a fine origin, and brings with it many a -blessing.” - -Who can mistake the atmosphere of the sea? How it blows away all the city -dullness! How it quickens the blood! How it throws off increasing years, -and makes the voyager feel almost young again! - -It is so with honesty, nobleness, charity and goodness of character when -the surrounding air is charged with some kind of poison or pestilence. - -So it is that we come upon Hezekiah. - -Perhaps it is well for him that we approach his case after such an -experience. He thus gets advantages that otherwise might not have been -accorded to him. He looks the higher for the dwarfs that are round about -him, the whiter because of the black population amid which he stands--at -once a contrast and a rebuke. - -But from Hezekiah’s point of view the case was different. Behind him -were traditions of the most corrupt sort. He was as a speckled bird -in the line of his own family. It is hard to be good amid so much -that is really bad. All attempts at goodness are accounted examples of -affectation, conceit, vanity and pharisaism; and under such circumstances -sometimes a man’s foes may be the people of his own household. They wish -he was more pliable, less sabbatarian, less devoted to his Bible, less -constant in his attendance at church. He might go once a day, and give -himself one end of the rope not tethered to the altar; but he will not. - -Has that man an easy time of it? - -No hard word may be spoken to him--certainly no bitter word--and yet -all the while he may be made to feel that perhaps, after all, he may be -affecting somewhat of piety and purity, and that those who are looking on -may be better critics of him than he is of himself. - -At all events, there come to him periods of trial, and sometimes he says -within himself: - -“Shall I today be as constant as I have been, or may I not break away -now? Have I not built up a character, and may I not retire upon my moral -competence, and live henceforth the life of a latitudinarian? After a -long spell of many years, surely I might intermit just a little.” - -Who shall say that the temptation is not subtle and strong? Some men -have to force their way to church through innumerable and unnamable -difficulties. This ought to be reckoned. Some credit must be due to -men who are thus constant to their sense of public duty and religious -obligation. Men are not always at church with the entire consent of those -who are round about them. - -What, then, must be done? - -One of two things. Either yield to the temptation or resist it. You can -not trifle with it. You can not compromise, and then recur to firmness, -and again connive, and again balance, consider and hesitate. Virtue is -not an intermittent grace. We must stand, or we must fall. - -Hezekiah had a wicked father. How will that wickedness come out in the -son? Not, perhaps, as wickedness, but as infirmity, weakness, and want of -constancy in some directions, though there may be no want of firmness in -others. - -Can a man wholly escape the bad blood inherited of his father? - -We must not forget that Hezekiah’s mother’s name was Abi, the daughter of -Zachariah. How she came to marry a wicked husband must remain a mystery. -But the mother will come up in the son. - -She was the daughter of Zachariah, and Zachariah was a prophet, or -seer--a man with double sight--one of those strange men who can see -beyond the merely visible and palpable, and can read things that lie -behind. - -Zachariah came up again in his daughter, and the mother came up again in -the son, and so there was a mysterious play of inheritance, transfer, -transition, reappearance, somewhat of resurrection--a great tragic -mystery of transformation and representation. - -We speak about a man as if he were self-contained--just standing upon -so much ground, without relation behind or before, on the right hand or -on the left. But no man is thus insularly placed; no man is an absolute -solitary. - -Every man has in him the blood of the past and the life of the future. - -Can a son of a good mother be altogether bad? Most surely not. You must -have mistaken the case if you thought so. Your very thinking so may -constitute an element of hopefulness in your case. Take comfort from that -suggestion. - -So long as you can think of yourself seriously and of the past and of -your advantages, and can compare what you are with what you might have -been, there is hope of you. - -But can there be in all history such an irony as this, that a man should -have had a praying mother and himself be a prayerless man? - -No! It can not be. Somewhere--at some time and in some way--the better -nature will assert itself, and out of a good seed surely there will come -a good harvest. - -But the lesson does not lie upon one side only. Here is encouragement to -the praying fathers and to praying mothers. - -Zachariah, read on; read between the lines of things; interpret events -symbolically; read the apocalyptic sense of what is happening--and out of -all this mental elevation and spiritual conduct there will come results -in your daughter or your son. - -Abi, pray on. Be just to your father’s memory, and say: “He was a holy -man. I must prove it by being a holy woman. He can not live upon a -written character; he must live in my life. I will prove that such a -child must have had a good father.” - -So the vital lessons fall--on the right hand, on the left, and -around about us. Shame be to us if, amid this shower of monition and -encouragement and stimulus, we be deaf and dumb and blind, unfeeling, -unresponsive. - -Hezekiah will now go to work and prove himself to be an energetic -reformer. - -“He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the -groves, and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made; for -unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it; and he -called it Nehustan.” - -He must have been a strong man. He had no colleague, no ally; no one to -say to him: “Be brave, be true.” He went straight against the hardest -wall that ever was built by the stubbornness and perversity of man. - -It is not easy to begin life by a destructive process of reformation. -Who would not rather plant a tree than throw down a wall? Who would not -rather plant flowers and enjoy their beauty and fragrance than give -himself the severe toil and the incessant trouble of destroying corrupt -and evil institutions? - -Whoever attempts this kind of destructive work, or even a constructive -work which involves preliminary destructiveness, will have a hard time of -it. Criticism will be very sharp, and selfishness will be developed in an -extraordinary degree. - -If a man be more than politician--if he be a real born statesman, looking -at whole empires at once and not at mere parishes, and if in his thought -and purpose he should base his whole policy upon fundamental right--he -will not have an easy life of it, even in a Christian country. In -proportion as he bases his whole policy on righteousness, temperance and -judgment to come, he will be pelted with hard names and struck at with -unfriendly hands. - -This holds good in all departments of life, in all great reformations, in -all assaults made upon ignorance, selfishness, tyranny and wrong of every -name. - -The children of Israel always seemed to live a foolish life. They were -the veriest children--so, at least, we would say but for fear of branding -sweet children with an evil stigma. - -They were infantile, weak, treacherous to themselves, uncertain at every -point--and so, having kept the brazen serpent, they burned incense to -it. They liked a visible God. When the calf appealed to their religious -feelings they danced around it as if at last they had found a deity. - -But who can worship a spirit--invisible, impalpable, far away, near at -hand, without a name, without a shape which we can verify and say: “It -comes to thus much, and this is the weight and this is the value of it?” - -It requires a mind of some mental strength to stand up, take hold of the -brazen serpent and call it “Nehushtan”--a contemptuous term, meaning a -piece of brass; dead brass, useless and worthless brass, a relic but not -a God. - -Let us give credit to the men who have been bold--religiously -intrepid--in the midst of circumstances of a most discouraging and -overbearing kind. They are the men to whom we owe our present privileges. -We have the Bible in our mother tongue because they were valiant. Not a -church would have been built today in which men could assemble with a -sense of freedom--sweet, joyous liberty--but for the Hezekiahs and others -who went forth and, at great cost and great peril, destroyed things evil -and black, by the power of God’s almightiness--overthrew them, and set up -a better kingdom. - -What was the root of Hezekiah’s character? At present we have seen -phenomena of a gracious kind; we like what we have seen of this man. - -“He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like -him among all the kings of Judah nor any that were before him. For he -clave to the Lord, and departed not from following Him, but kept His -commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses.” - -At length a man arose who said: “I will do God’s will, God helping me. I -will not only read the commandments, but I will incarnate them. I will -not only speak religious words, but live a religious life.” - -Tender and yet emphatic are the words: “He trusted,” “he clave,” “he -kept.” - -He “trusted”--that is to say, he had no other trust. His religion was -not a convenience, one thing among many things, an occasional exercise -in piety; but it was a perpetual confidence, the one trust, the -all-centralizing and all-ruling fact. - -Then he “clave”--he kept close to. He would not allow any thing to come -between his hand and the God he seized. The hand could do nothing except -cleave to God and what was possible through that cleaving; and much is -possible of a helpful and beneficent kind. - -He “kept the commandments”--counted them one by one; examined himself -in them; took himself daily to task about the whole ten. We live an -off-hand life. - -Religion is now as easy as a wave of the hand, a salutation across a -thoroughfare; it is something that can be taken up, laid down, forgotten -and resumed. - -What wonder if the Rab-shakehs of the age come and taunt us, mock our -piety and blow back our prayers before they get to the skies? - -We want more trust, more cleaving piety, more keeping of the -commandments, living in them and having no other life that is not -consonant with them. - -Now came, as we have often seen, the inevitable temptation. We pass -instantly to the visit of Rab-shakeh. This Rab-shakeh was an eloquent -man. He had the gift of mockery; he could gibe well. He was not without a -certain logical qualification. - -He made a long and offensive speech to the people under Hezekiah’s rule, -and he thought he had them at both ends of the argument. - -Having mocked their piety, laughed it down, challenged it, spat upon it, -he said: - -“Perhaps you will say: ‘We trust in the Lord, our God,’ but you forget -that this very man, Hezekiah, has thrown down His altars, has taken away -His groves, has rooted up the house of your God by the foundations.” - -Rab-shakeh did not understand the destructive reformation wrought out by -Hezekiah. He heard of the groves being cut down and the holy places being -removed, and he said: - -“This is so much to our advantage. The king of Assyria shall hear of -this, and we shall make good commerce of it.” - -Rab-shakeh did not distinguish between idolatry and piety--between a -reform essential to health and a mere accident in history. That which was -good in Hezekiah seemed to be wickedness to Rab-shakeh. - -Rab-shakeh assaulted the people, trampled on them, leaped over their -bodies, mocked their refuges and their trust, and thrust his fist into -the face of Egypt and said: - -“Come away from Hezekiah. Trust him not; he is blind; he is incapable. -Leave him, and I will tell you what the king of Assyria will do for you.” - -And he held this out to them: - -“I will come and take you away to a land like your own land--a land of -corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil and of -honey--that ye may live, and not die; and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when -he persuadeth you, saying: ‘The Lord will deliver us.’” - -It is but an empty saying: “Come, and I will give you a great Canaan!” - -Sometimes it does seem as if the enemy had the best of it. Every thing -lies so handily to him. He says: - -“I will get you through this difficulty. I know a lie that would deceive -a king. I can instruct you in a policy that would blind a judge. I could -get the money for you; you need have no difficulty about that. Why, I -say, in confidence, I can let you have it now!” - -What can the preacher do in the presence of such a Rab-shakeh? - -Or, he may not offer temptation in that direction, but in another. He may -say: - -“All these arguments I could answer, if I cared to do so. Who wrote -the Bible? Who has seen the original manuscripts? Who has ever seen -God? It is utterly impossible to know the infinite. Come, and I will -make you rich at once in real, solid, practical things. I can give you -work instantly, and wages immediately the work is begun. I can give you -something in advance. Leave the preacher, the altar, the Bible and the -church. Come and work in the open streets, and be doing something that -you can handle and about which there is no manner of doubt.” - -People begin then to wonder. - -They should adopt the policy which was imposed on the children of -Hezekiah: - -“But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word, for the -king’s commandment was: ‘Answer him not.’” - -Nothing is to be got out of wordy controversy. Live the Christian life; -grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. While the -controversialist is contemning you, taunting you and smiting you, show -to him that you are growing broader, more massive in character, more -tender in disposition, more benevolent in every aspiration and desire and -purpose, and thus by well-doing “Put to silence the ignorance of foolish -men.” - -Defend your Christianity by the eloquence of your life. - -The servants of Hezekiah said to him: “What Rab-shakeh has said may come -to pass. Let us go to Isaiah and tell him all.” - -Hezekiah himself thought that perhaps there might be something in it, -after all. There he and his servants fell into a state of incertitude. - -“So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.” They came to the right -man. Standing up like a king, he said: - -“Thus shall ye say to your master: Thus saith the Lord: ‘Be not afraid of -the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of -Assyria have blasphemed Me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he -shall hear a rumor, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause -him to fall by the sword in his own land.’” - -He would make no violent attack on the men. He would summon no legion of -angels to overwhelm this great Oriental potentate. He would simply “send -a blast.” He would change the wind; he would scatter something upon it -and bid it blow across the brain of the king of Assyria, and the king -would not know his right hand from his left, nor the morning from the -night; he would be calling everybody by the wrong name, and be asking for -things that he did not wish to possess, and be, generally, thrown into a -state of unbalanced and wandering mind. - -“I will send a whisperer to him. He shall simply go to the ear of the -king of Assyria and say something, and the king will take fright and fly -away in a panic. O Hezekiah, continue thy prayer, repeat thy morning -sacrifice and thine evening oblation; and, as for the king of Assyria, I -will send a blast and a rumor. I will answer Rab-shakeh.” - -Let the contempt of the enemy be answered by the contempt of Heaven. - -Rab-shakeh, having found that the king of Assyria was warring against -Libnah, returned; and when he heard that Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, was -come up to war, he once more addressed Hezekiah in terms of exultation -and contempt. - -Rab-shakeh was pretendedly anxious that Hezekiah should not be deceived -by the Lord, his God, and then he taunts him with many a history in which -Assyria had been conqueror over opposing nations. He completes his taunt -by asking: - -“Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the -city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?” - -This message came to Hezekiah in the form of a letter, or letters, and he -instantly “went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the -Lord.” - -There is no need to regard this as in any sense involving a heathenish -custom. The meaning simply is that Hezekiah consulted the Lord on the -whole matter, and declined to take any thing into his own counsel or -power. He acknowledges the dignity of God by the expression: “O Lord God -of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims.” - -Then he pointed to the letter which more immediately concerned himself, -thus showing his consciousness that the majesty of the Lord did not -separate Him from taking an interest in earthly things. We are not to -stop at the point of majesty, but are to reason that, because God is so -majestic and august, He will pay attention to the prayers and desires of -the beings whom He has created in His own image and likeness. The divine -majesty is not a rebuke to human approach, but is an encouragement to -human prayer. When Hezekiah says “Thou art the God,” the emphasis is to -be laid on the pronoun. Thou art the true God, and Thou alone. When he -desires God to bow down His ear, and hear, the reference is not so much -to listen to Hezekiah’s prayer as to the words of Sennacherib. - -The meaning of the whole petition may be: - -“Interpose immediately and energetically between me and mine enemy. Let -Thine ears hear, let Thine eyes see, and let Thine arm be extended.” - -Hezekiah acknowledges that the kings of Assyria had destroyed the nations -and their lands, and had cast the gods of the nations into the fire. By -so much he gives the Assyrians credit for having spoken the truth, and -for having thus founded their project against Israel upon the success -which they had already attained. - -Hezekiah acknowledges, indeed, that the gods of the nations were no gods. -At the same time he feels that to the minds of the Assyrians they may -have been as real deities, and their overthrow may have encouraged the -Assyrians to believe that Jehovah was like unto them. - -Thus the prayer of Hezekiah was argued and ordered in logical and -historical form, and was intended to excite, as it were, the very -jealousy of the Lord God of Israel. - -We now turn to the reply which was made to Hezekiah through the lips of -Isaiah, the son of Amos. The reply was manifestly given in a contemptuous -tone: - -“The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to -scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.” - -This is a poetic personification of place, Zion being regarded as mother -of the people dwelling there. While the term “virgin” may denote the -inviolable security of the citadel of Jehovah, it may also intimate that -a woman--even a solitary woman--was enough, when under the inspiration -and protection of God, to repel the assault of the most boastful and -audacious king. - -The expression, “hath shaken her head at thee,” has been literally -rendered: “Hath nodded behind thee.” It signifies an act of security--as, -for example, in the Twenty-second Psalm: “All they that see me laugh -me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying: ‘He -trusted on the Lord that He would deliver him. Let Him deliver him, -seeing He delighted him.’” - -The people of Jerusalem are represented by this expression as nodding -their heads in contempt at the retiring envoys of Sennacherib. - -The answer of Isaiah to Hezekiah was a religious revelation to the king -of Assyria. - -The twenty-second verse puts into interrogative form a reproach against -the ignorance of the king: - -“Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? And against whom hast thou -exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high?” - -The meaning evidently is that the king did not know the real nature of -the God of Israel and Judah, and that he was making an infinite mistake -in confounding that nature with what he had already seen of the idols of -the nations. - -Humiliation is promised to the king of Assyria. A hook is to be thrust -into his nose, a bridle is to be put on his lips, and he is to be turned -back by the way which he came. - -While the king of Assyria is humiliated, the remnant that escaped of the -house of Judah is promised again to take root downward and bear fruit -upward--literally, shall add root to root, shall take firmer root than -ever, as a tree often does after a storm; the ravaged land was to be -newly stocked by the remnant that was to be saved out of Jerusalem. - -All these statements are supported by the declaration: “The zeal of the -Lord of Hosts shall do this.” - -Thus the promise is not made in any human name or guaranteed by the -conquests of human history. It is immediately connected with the very -purpose and power of the Most High. Nor is this the only instance in -which divine strength is promised on behalf of Judah and of Israel. We -read: “For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and -for my servant David’s sake.” - -We must always be careful to notice that the race is not to the swift, -nor the battle to the strong, and that no occasion is ever given -for man to glory in man, but that everywhere from the beginning of -religious history, as given in the Bible, it is God who is King, Ruler -and Protector, and to Him all the glory of deliverance and conquest -undividedly belongs. - -And that night “the angel of the Lord went out and smote in the camp of -the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand; and when they arose -early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.” - -Again and again we say: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of -the living God.” - -Let Rab-shakeh talk--let him deliver his burning messages--and when he -has ceased his mockery it is not necessary for us to answer. God will -defend His own cause. - -Here we stand. We think all history is on the Christian side. But let -us not forget that the finest argument in favor of Christianity is a -Christian life. - - -JABEZ. - -The ninth verse of the fourth chapter of the first Book of Chronicles -contains a reference to Jabez. The whole history is brief: - -“And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren; and his mother called -his name Jabez, saying: ‘Because I bear him with sorrow.’ And Jabez -called on the God of Israel, saying: ‘Oh, that Thou wouldst bless me -indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and -that Thou wouldst keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!’ And God -granted him that which he requested.” - -Nothing more is known of this Jabez or of his brethren. “The Speaker’s -Commentary” regards the fact as remarkable that Jabez should be -introduced without description or patronymic, as if a well-known -personage, and supposes that he was known to those for whom the Book of -Chronicles was written, either by tradition or by writings which have -perished. - -The word Jabez signifies sorrowful. - -Jabez was distinguished in some way above his brethren. By this -distinction we are not to infer the exercise of an undue partiality in -the spirit of his parents. Account for it as we may, some men appear to -be born with what may be called a larger religiousness of nature than -other men. It is easy for them to pray; it is a delight to them to peruse -all sacred writings; it is a positive pain to them to be deprived of -religious privileges. - -We must leave this mystery as insoluble. It is a very pleasant mystery to -those who are gifted with religious intuition; but, on the other hand, -it is a most appalling mystery to those who seem to be what we can not -better describe than by calling them natural Atheists. - -The name which Jabez bore was a memorial of his mother’s sorrow--not -a prophecy of his own. Yet Jabez was animated by that inexplicable -superstition which discovers in names and circumstances omens and -predictions which the imagination can never treat with disregard. - -Jabez might intellectually know that his name did but represent what his -mother had endured, yet a subtle feeling took possession of him, as if he -himself would in some way be involved in the same sorrow. Nor was this an -irrational conclusion. - -As a matter of fact, some men are born to more sorrow than others--as -certainly as by constitution some men are more religious than others. - -Here, again, is a dark and painful mystery. We see the operation of this -mystery even in the same family, where one of the children may be full of -sunlight, hope and music, and another may be doomed to walk in darkness -throughout a lifetime--unable to discern between Summer and Winter, -loaded with trouble and oppressed with undefinable apprehensions. - -Jabez is known to history as pre-eminently a man of prayer. Although it -has been considered that the prayer of Jabez was uttered in view of some -imminent battle or other dreaded experience, yet by common consent Jabez -has been regarded by Christian students as a typical man of prayer. - -Judging the case within the narrow limits of the history given in verses -nine and ten, it would seem as if Jabez started life in an act of prayer. -The image is at once graphic and beautiful. Think of a young man standing -at the door of his house, looking abroad at the unknown and unmeasured -world, listening to the conflicting voices which troubled his native air, -and then turning his eyes to Heaven and asking divine direction before he -would take a single step from the threshold of his home. - -Nothing of the nature of mere romance attaches itself to this picture. - -This, indeed, is what every young man ought to do before going out to -battle or labor. It would appear, from instances which have come under -our view, that God condescends to receive from men promises of religious -life on certain providential conditions. We can not understand this now, -but it is perfectly clear, from such instances as Jacob and Jabez, that -God was willing to respond to propositions of obedience founded upon the -realization of specified blessings. - -The prayer of Jabez must be judged to be good, for the sufficient reason -that it was answered--“and God granted him that which he requested.” - -Is the conduct of life, then, open to regulation upon such high and -sacred lines? May a young man come before the Almighty, speak out all his -heart and receive promises of continual guidance and defense from the -Living One? - -If we could realize the certainty of this holy commerce as between Earth -and Heaven, our whole life would be lifted to a noble level, our spirit -would be released from the dominion of fear, and instead of laboring -in toilsome prayer, we should be filled with the spirit of triumphant -thankfulness and praise. - -What privileges are open to the young! It lies within their power to -give a whole life-time to God. Those who have advanced considerably in -life can now but give a fraction of their days, but the young soul can -give God the brightness of the morning, the glory of noonday and the -tranquility of evening. - -Let the young think of this, and give themselves diligently to the study -of such instances as that of Jabez, knowing that if they remember their -Creator in the days of their youth increasing age will mean increasing -joy. - - -JEHORAM. - -Jehoram undertakes an expedition against King Mesha, but in doing so he -pays a tribute to the power of the king of Moab by allying with himself -Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and also the king of Edom. A remarkable -character is given of Jehoram. He was not an imitator of the evil of his -father as to its precise form, but he had his own method of serving the -devil. - -We should have thought that Ahab and Jezebel had exhausted all the arts -of wickedness, but it turns out that Jehoram had found a way of his own -of living an evil life. - -Warned by the untimely fate of his brother, which had fallen upon him -expressly on account of his Baal worship, Jehoram began his reign by an -ostentatious abolition of the Phenician state religion, which his father -had introduced. - -Jehoram went back to the olden times, and re-established the worship of -the calf, after the pattern which Jeroboam, its founder, had patronized. -His doing so, however, he found to be quite compatible with a secret -allowance that the people should practice their own form of worship. - -There is room in wickedness for the exercise of genius of a certain -limited kind. The limitation is imposed by wickedness itself--for, after -all, wickedness is made up of but few elements. - -Many persons suppose that if they do not sin according to the prevailing -fashion they are not sinning at all. They imagine that by varying the -form of the evil they have mitigated the evil itself. - -A good deal of virtue is supposed to consist in reprobating certain forms -of vice. A man may be no drunkard, according to the usual acceptation of -the term, and yet he may be in a continual state of intoxication. It is -possible to shudder at what is usually known as persecution, and yet all -the while to be beheading enemies and burning martyrs. - -Jehoram made a kind of trick of wickedness. He knew how to give a twist -to old forms, or a turn to old ways, so as to escape part of their -vulgarity and yet to retain all their iniquity. - -A most alarming thought it is to the really spiritual mind that men may -become adepts in wickedness--experts in evil doing--and may be able so -to manage their corrupt designs as to deceive many observers by a mere -change of surface or appearance. - -We do not amend the idolatry by altering the shape of the altar. We do -not destroy the mischievous power of unbelief by throwing our skepticism -into metaphysical phrases, and thus making verbal mysteries where we -might have spiritual illumination. We are deceived by things simply -because we ourselves live a superficial life and read only the history of -appearances. - -What is the cure for all this manipulation of evil, this changing of -complexion and of form, and this consequent imagining that the age is -improving because certain phenomena which used to be so patent are no -longer discernible on the face of things? - -We come back to the sublime doctrine of regeneration, as the answer to -the great inquiry: “What is the cure for this heart disease?” - -“Marvel not that I said unto thee: ‘Ye must be born again.’” - -We may change either the language or the manners of wickedness, or the -times and seasons for doing wicked things, and we may decorate our -wickedness with many beautiful colors, but so long as the heart itself -is unchanged decoration is useless--yea, worse than useless; for it is a -vain attempt to make that look true which is false--an endeavor even to -deceive Omniscience itself. - -“And Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king -of Israel an hundred thousand lambs and an hundred thousand rams, with -the wool. But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab -rebelled against the king of Israel.” - -Enduring masteries are not of a physical kind. Ahab held Mesha simply by -a strong arm, and the consequence was that, as soon as Ahab was dead, -Mesha refused to render the tribute. - -This historical circumstance, limited so far as the mere letter is -concerned, is full of significance to the Christian Church and to all -Christian countries. - -Let us not call ourselves masters of positions or of men, simply because -we happen to have the stronger arm. The dominion which is acquired by -mere strength and held by superior force is an illusion wherever it is -found. - -The men whom we may so hold may be hypocrites enough to assume an -acquiescent attitude, or even to display a complacent demeanor; they may -even go so far as to appear to be grateful for the rule which they can -not set aside. But all such appearances are of necessity without reason, -and therefore without continuance. They are always to be suspected. - -This would be so in the case of the Christian faith, had we the power of -imposing even its nominal belief upon any nation. Suppose we say that -any man not professing the Christian faith shall certainly be fined, -imprisoned or otherwise punished. It is easy to see that such a threat -might in many instances bring about an appearance of acquiescence. But it -must be, by the very necessity of the case, appearance only. - -Faith is a question of the individual judgment and of the individual -heart, and can not be controlled in any degree by external authority. - -Suppose we create a law making it penal to open places of business on -the Sabbath day. Looking upon all commercial houses whose business was -suspended for a particular time, we might say: “See how unanimously and -happily the Sabbath day is observed in this country!” - -But such would be an altogether superficial and mistaken judgment. The -Sabbath day can not be kept by law. If the Sabbath is not kept by the -reason, and is not hailed with thankful delight by the very heart, it can -never be kept at all. - -All shops may be closed, all places of amusement may suspend their -entertainments, all toys may be put away from the nursery, all out-door -enjoyments and avocations may be withdrawn for the time, but the people -who have retired in apparent acceptance of these conditions, but not in -heartfelt acquiescence with them, are breaking the Sabbath every moment -they breathe. - -Here is a great law for the house, the church and the nation. The head of -the family who rules by mere dread or tyranny is not training an obedient -household, but he is preparing an outburst of sedition, which sooner or -later must transpire, and when it occurs his ruin is certain. - -The same law applies in the matter of capital and labor. The man who only -works that he may receive his wages never truly serves or makes his labor -into a delight. The man who can threaten the laborer by withdrawment of -pecuniary recognition never elicits from that laborer a response to duty, -though he may insist on a formal compliance with law. - -What a blessed mastery is that of Jesus Christ in this respect. - -For Christ reasons with men, and addresses the very highest form and -quality of mind; He sets before men the alternative courses of life, -and beseeches them to accept the straight and narrow way leading to -repentance. Certainly he threatens, He denounces, He declares an awful -issue for the wicked man, but it is not mere threatening or mere -denunciation; it is the solemn disclosure of a sequence which even -Almighty God could not suspend and yet retain the integrity of His throne -and the security of the universe. We must never accuse Jesus Christ of -what is termed “threatening.” His denunciations are revelations, and not -the expressions of merely angry feelings. - -The way of the approach having been settled, the kings proceeded to fetch -a compass of seven days’ journey around by the south end of the Dead Sea. -They little knew the difficulty that would arise in their way. We do not -read that they made any religious inquiry at the outset of their journey, -and therefore no responsibility could be charged upon God for the -misadventure which occurred. The three kings seem to have consulted only -with themselves, and to have resolved in their own counsel and strength -upon their expedition against Mesha. - -What was the misadventure which occurred? It is related: “And there was -no water for the host and for the cattle that followed them.” - -Even kings are dependent upon nature. Think of three kings, who supposed -themselves at least to be very mighty, and all their people, stopped in -their career simply for want of water! - -A very pitiable and yet very instructive picture is this of three kings -and their armies standing still merely for want of water. The so-called -little things of life are often turned into not only things that are -great, but into things that are vital. - -Blessed indeed would be the man who sees even in natural arrangements and -daily providences a call to him to lift up his head toward the heavens -and ask great questions about being and duty and destiny. - -So we have the usual religious appeal: “Is there not here a prophet of -the Lord, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?” - -Elisha now assumes a new attitude, and one certainly not destitute of -spiritual grandeur. Turning to the king of Israel, he said: - -“‘What have I to do with thee? Get thee to the prophets of thy father, -and to the prophets of thy mother.’ And the king of Israel said unto him: -‘Nay; for the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver -them into the hand of Moab.’” - -Observe that this address was made to the very king of Israel. It simply -means that the God of Israel had nothing to do with the king of Israel, -and yet Israel was understood to be a theocracy. The form was theocratic, -but not the power. - -Think of a man bearing the name of God, and yet being godless! A temple -deserted of its deity is surely a melancholy sight, but what shall be -said of the man from whose heart the Spirit of the living God has utterly -departed? - -Elisha seems to have inherited the taunting spirit of his great -predecessor: “Get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets -of thy mother.” - -Who can say with how bitter a taunt the word “mother” was pronounced in -this connection? - -The evil that men do goes on for many a day--not only to the end of their -life-time, but it lives after them. - -This is a taunt that is founded on reason. If men have been serving a god -for seven years past, surely it can not be unreasonable to refer them to -that god in the time of their extremity. What is faith if it can not be -tested? What is the value of an altar if you can not go to it and find -lying upon it direct answers to your prayer? - -Is there any thing meaner in all the history of cowardice than that a man -should ignore the living God all his life, and then whiningly repent upon -his death-bed? Why does he not go to the trusts to which he has committed -himself, and say he will die in them as he has lived in them? Surely, the -cowardice of men should teach those who observe it something regarding -the nature and uses of religious faith. - -The appeal of Elisha was perfectly fair. - -If the gods of Jehoram were worth any thing, they could find water for -him in the time of his necessity. Let them do it. If they will do it, -then they will establish their claim to be regarded with reverence, and -indeed be honored and worshiped. - -We must insist upon making the same appeal in our own day. Men must be -made to feel their irreligion. - -Jehoram did feel his in this instance, for he protested against the -decision of Elisha. Throughout the course of Scripture men are referred -to their gods, and are made to test the value of their religion. - -Possibly many a Jehoram may be acting under influences which he himself -can not explain--so much that he becomes a puzzle to his own mind, -wondering how it is that he takes one road when he has decided upon -another, and that he mistakes substances for shadows and shadows for -substances, so that his whole life is turned into a mocking bewilderment. - -The answer is given in Scripture: “I also will choose their delusions, -and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did -answer; when I spake, they did not hear; but they did evil before Mine -eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.” - -Now we come to a better phase of this history--namely, to the saving -element--which appears and reappears in the course of our changeful life. - -Elisha was not to be placated by the king of Israel. In his eyes a vile -person was contemned. The king of Israel was but a poor, frail thing -in the presence of a man who lived with God and was commissioned to -denounce the judgments of Heaven against evil. But the world is not made -up of Jehorams. Blessed be God, there are men of another type, whose very -presence saves society from judicial ruin. - -“And Elisha said: ‘As the Lord of Hosts liveth, before whom I stand, -surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat, the king -of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.’” - -Now we know that the spirit of Elijah rested upon Elisha. We seem to hear -the very tones of the old master in the new disciple. Is it not always so -in life--that it is one man who saves many; that the ten righteous men -save the city, and that Paul saves all those who sail with him in the -midst of the tempestuous sea? - -Your house is saved because of your little child. Your whole estate is -protected from ruin because your wife is a praying woman. Your life would -be cut off tomorrow in shame and disgrace were it not that you have -entered upon an inheritance of prayers laid up for you by those who went -before. - -Life thus becomes very sacred and very tender, and we know not to whom we -are under the deepest obligations. Enough to know that, somewhere, there -is a presence that saves us, there is an influence that guards our life, -and that we owe absolutely nothing in the way of security or honor to bad -kings or bad men of any name. - -The remainder of the chapter is occupied with a prophecy of Elisha and by -a statement of the overthrow of the king of Moab. - -Nothing now could save Mesha. A strong delusion was sent upon him to -believe a lie. When water came down by way of Edom, and the whole country -was filled with it, the Moabites rose up early in the morning, and as the -Sun shone on the water the Moabites saw the water on the other side as -red as blood. - -It looked so like blood that they declared it to be blood; and, believing -that the kings were slain who had come up against them, the Moabites -advanced to the spoil. Alas, they advanced to their ruin. - -The king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him. In his despair -he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through -even unto the king of Edom, but through the iron wall he could not force -his way. In his madness he took his eldest son, who should have reigned -in his stead, and flung him for a burnt offering upon the wall. - -But the Lord will not be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten -thousand rivers of oil, nor will He accept the first-born for a man’s -transgression or the fruit of his body for the sin of his soul. - - -JEHORAM, KING OF JUDAH. - -Verses sixteen to twenty-nine, inclusive, of the eighth chapter of the -second Book of Kings should be compared with the twenty-first chapter of -the second Book of Chronicles. The name Joram is an obvious contraction -of Jehoram. Joram and Jehoram were practically interchangeable terms. -The king of Israel is called Joram, and the king of Judah Jehoram. In -another place Joram is the name of the king of Judah. In two other places -both kings are called Jehoram. - -Jehoram “walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of -Ahab”--in other words, as the house of Ahab acted. Jehoram, as son-in-law -of Ahab and Jezebel, gave his patronage to the worship of the Tyrian Baal. - -Jehoram had examples enough before him of the fate which had befallen -idolatrous worship, and yet, turning his eye backward upon all the ruins -which had been created by divine anger, he pursued his evil way as if -the Lord had approved the house of Ahab and its idolatry rather than -manifested His judgments upon them. - -Rational men may well ask themselves how it is that history is lost on -some minds. They look backward and see that from the beginning sin has -always been followed by punishment, and punishment has in many cases been -carried as far as death itself. Yet in view of all the suffering, and in -full sight of the innumerable graves dug by the hand of justice, they -continue the same policy without one particle of alteration. - -One would have supposed that, looking at the history of the kings of -Israel, Jehoram would have said: - -“I see now exactly what to avoid; and to see what to avoid is to begin -to see what to cultivate and establish. It is perfectly evident that the -worship of Baal is doomed, or that wherever it is set up divine anger -instantly and severely attests the displeasure of God. It must be my -care, therefore, to destroy every trace of idolatry, and build up faith -in the true God.” - -This would have been called reflective and philosophical on the part -of the king, and indeed any thing that stood opposed to this course of -reasoning would seem to be marked by incredible fatuity. - -The contrary, however, is the exact fact. With all the evidences of -divine displeasure around him Jehoram continued in the worship of Baal, -or in some other form of idolatry which might appeal to the popular -imagination or gratify the desires of his own corrupt fancy. - -It is easy for moralists to condemn this neglect of history, and to point -out to those who, having neglected it, come into suffering and loss, that -they ought to have been wise before the event; but the very same thing is -done even by the moralists who criticize the course of Jehoram and his -predecessors. - -This is the sin of every age, and it should be looked at clearly and -acknowledged frankly, because until we do bring ourselves into vital -relation to it our reasoning will be founded on false bases and will -hasten itself to false conclusions. - -All history is teaching us that the wages of sin is death; that the way -of transgressors is hard; that, though hand join in hand, the wicked -shall not go unpunished; that the face of the Lord is as a flint against -evil doers. Yet, with this plainest of all lessons written on the very -face of history, men are doing today as their predecessors did centuries -ago, and will probably continue to repeat the folly and the wickedness -until the end of time. - -Surely, this is as curious a puzzle as any that occurs in all the annals -of human history. It would seem, indeed, to be more than a puzzle; to -be, in fact, indicative of a suicidal disposition on the part of the -actor. It would not be tolerated in any other department of life. - -If a man had known that a hundred of his ancestors were killed by -drinking a certain liquid, and he thus knowingly put that liquid to his -lips, the iniquity of his suicide would be aggravated by the knowledge of -what had occurred in the records of his family. - -How many murders, then, may he be said to accomplish who murders himself -as to his moral nature and spiritual cultivation? He does not do it in -ignorance. All history is surrounding him with its evidence, and is doing -its utmost to secure his attention, and he himself is not unwilling to -acknowledge that the testimony of history is uniform and absolute. Yet -some immeasurable force within him drives him with infinite fury to the -repetition of every sin and the defiance of every judgment. - -What was the reason of all this patronage and support of idolatry? - -Jehoram had an excellent father, and if any thing was to be expected from -the operation of the law of hereditary dispositions, it would be that -Jehoram would be of the same quality as Jehoshaphat. - -Some curious and energetic influence must have been at work to throw -back all hereditary quality and convert the man into a totally different -nature. What was that influence? An expression in the eighteenth verse -explains its nature and its scope: “For the daughter of Ahab was his -wife.” - -Wherever we find the name of Ahab we also find the presence of evil. -Ahab lived again in his daughter, though Jehoshaphat did not repeat -himself in his son. “The evil that men do lives after them.” Jehoram was -under home influence; and is not home influence most potent of all? It is -a daily influence; it begins with the early morning and continues all the -day through. It does not assume aggressive attitudes or excite suspicion -by tumult and defiance of temper. It is noisy or quiet, persistent or -reluctant, energetic or languid, according to the peculiar circumstances -of the family history. At this moment a word too energetically spoken -might defeat its own object; at another moment a languid reference might -be more than a vehement appeal; and on still other occasions anger, -fury and clamor may bring to a point a long process of suggestion and -education. - -This is the mystery of home life. - -The plotter waits for opportunities, creates them, puts them in the way -of his victim, measures distances, regulates the methods of approaches. -He studies his prey, watches him with an evil eye, remembers all his -words, weighs them, calculates all their unspoken meanings, and at the -right moment interposes his own influence. Wicked men in this respect are -often models to good men. - -The enemy of souls never rests. - -“Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom -he may devour.” - -Nor is he always a lion. Sometimes he is as a serpent, and sometimes -even as an angel of light. But his evil policy never hesitates. When -he blesses, it is that he may curse; when he leads his victim into the -light, it is that he may have the greater influence over him to persuade -him into the darkness. - -Is it of no consequence with whom we live our daily life? Is the married -relation one that expresses mere taste or momentary pleasure? Are not the -companionships of life its true sources of tuition and inspiration? - -A man who is in happy fellowship at home may over-get some of the worst -hereditary infirmities and disabilities, and may be encouraged into -attainments of correct self-discipline and virtue which under other -circumstances would be simply impossible. - -The conversion of the world, it would seem, must begin at home. We -must have happier married relations, fuller domestic confidence, riper -household trust and sympathy. - -Out of all this daily education, under happy influences, there may come a -kind of character rich in its own quality and beneficent in its influence -on society. - -Jehoram had provoked the Lord, yet so pitiful is the God of Heaven that -He spared Judah for the sake of David, His servant, as He promised to -give David always a light. But Jehoram was, nevertheless, severely -punished for his wickedness. - -In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king -over themselves. Libnah also revolted at the same time. Thus the peace of -the kingdom was broken up, and Jehoram was made indirectly to suffer for -the sin of idolatry. - -How quietly the twenty-third verse reads! It says: “And the rest of the -acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of -the chronicles of the kings of Judah?” It would seem as if the bad king -had simply fallen asleep like a tired child. - -But in the second Book of Chronicles we read that Jehoram died of sore -diseases, and that “the people made no burning for him”--that is, the -usual honors of a sovereign were withheld in this particular case. - -Jehoram died in contempt and neglect. He departed without being desired; -in other words, he departed without regret--died unregretted. He was not -refused burial in the city of David, but his body was not laid in the -sepulchers of the kings. - -Thus, sooner or later, wickedness finds out a man, and brands him with -dishonor. If, under other conditions, wickedness is carried to the grave -amid great pomp and circumstance, it is only that the dishonor may be -found in some other quarter--in the hatred of good men and in the bitter -recriminations of those who have been wronged. - -Set it down as a sure doctrine that, whenever a bad man is buried, -dishonor attaches to his whole name, and contempt withers every flower -that may be planted over his grave. - -The words “but not in the sepulchers of the kings” may receive a larger -interpretation than the technical one which belongs to this immediate -circumstance. Men are buried in the sepulchers of the kings when their -lives are full of beneficence, when their names are the symbols of -noble charity, large-minded justice, heroic fortitude, tender sympathy -for others. Their burying place is not a merely topographical point. -Their relation to the hearts that knew them, their place in the memory -of those who lived with them, the tears which are shed over the -recollection of their good deeds, the void which has been created by -their removal--all these constitute the royalty of their interment. - -The end of Jehoram, king of Judah--who would choose it? - - -JEHOSHAPHAT. - -In succeeding to the throne of Judah Jehoshaphat simply followed the -course of a law, but in strengthening himself against Israel he indicated -a personal policy. - -How definitely the statement reads! - -“And Jehoshaphat, his son, reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself -against Israel.” - -There is no doubt or hesitation in the mind of Jehoshaphat as to the -course which ought to be pursued. He did not simply think that he would -strengthen himself against Israel; he had not a merely momentary vision -of a possible fortification against the enemy; but he carried out his -purpose, and thus challenged northern Israel. On the other hand, how -peaceful is the declaration that is here made! There is not an aggressive -tone in all the statement. - -Innocent Jehoshaphat simply “strengthened himself against Israel”--that -is to say, he put himself into a highly defensive position, so that if -the enemy should pour down from the north Jehoshaphat would be secured -against his assaults. - -Every thing, therefore, depends on the point of view which we take of -this policy. But the thing which history has made clear is that a man -often lays down a policy before awaiting the issue of events which would -determine its scope and tone. - -All this was done by Jehoshaphat before he connected himself by marriage -with the northern dynasty. - -A marriage may upset a policy; a domestic event may alter the course of -a king’s thinking, and may readjust the lines of a nation’s relation to -other kingdoms. - -The wise man holds himself open to the suggestion and inspiration of -events. No man is as wise today as he will be tomorrow--provided, he pay -attention to the literature of providence which is being daily written -before his eyes. Our dogmatics, whether in theology or in state policy, -should be modified by the recollection that we do not now know all -things, and that further light may show what we do know in a totally -different aspect. Our policy, like our bread, should in a sense be from -day to day. - -When men are omniscient they may lay down a theological program from -which departure would be blasphemy; but until they are omniscient they -had better write with modesty and subscribe even their best constructed -creeds with reservations which will leave room for providence. - -“And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways -of his father, David, and sought not unto Baalim.” - -The Lord was not with Jehoshaphat because he strengthened himself against -Israel, nor because he had placed forces in all the fenced cities of -Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah and within the streets of -Ephraim. Not one of these little triumphs is referred to as affording God -a basis for the complaisant treatment of the new king. - -As ever, the Lord’s relation to Jehoshaphat was determined by -Jehoshaphat’s own moral condition. A very beautiful expression is this: -“He walked in the first ways of his father, David.” That is to say, in -the former or earlier ways of David, as contrasted with David’s later -conduct. - -Some have found here a tacit allusion to David’s greatest sin, which he -committed when he was advanced in life. A somewhat mournful thing it -is that a man’s first ways should be better than his last. The other -relation would seem to be the one which reason would approve and God -would specially honor--namely, that a man’s old age should be the ripest -and best part of his conduct--rich with wisdom, strong with experience, -and chastened by many a pensive recollection. - -Sad when you have to go back to a man’s youth to find his virtues or his -most conspicuous excellences; but most beautiful when a man’s earlier -mistakes are lost in the richness and wisdom of his later conduct. - -Jehoshaphat’s conduct in this matter is the more notable because of the -constant observation of mankind that it is easier to follow the evil than -to imitate the good. When imitation enters into a man’s life he is apt to -copy that which is inferior, and to leave without reproduction that which -is lofty and disciplinary. - -In this instance Jehoshaphat sets an example to the world. His conduct, -too, is represented negatively as well as positively--“and sought not -unto Baalim.” The word “Baalim” is in the plural number, and the literal -reading might be: “Jehoshaphat sought not the Baals.” The Baals were -different local aspects or phases of the Sun god. - -It is to be specially noted that the term Baal includes an aspect even of -Jehovah--that is to say, Israel had degenerated so far as to suppose that -in worshiping Baal they were worshiping at least one phase of the true -God. - -It is often difficult to abandon a popular custom. More people might be -in favor of Jehoshaphat strengthening himself against Israel than in -returning to the first ways of David and abandoning the altar of the -Baals. - -History and religion are always considered in their separate distribution. - -There are politicians who would vote for a war who would on no account -surrender a superstition. On the other hand, there are men who pride -themselves on being free of the influence of superstition, yet who would -enter willingly into the most sanguinary wars for the extension of empire -or the glory of some particular throne. - -In Jehoshaphat we seem to come into contact with a complete character--in -other words, a man who in every point was equally strong, a man of -foresight, a man of reverence, a man of an honest heart, a man who felt -that idolatry and true worship could not co-exist in the same breast. - -“But sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in His -commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.” - -We must be prepared for singularity if we are genuinely prepared to be -good. Let a man settle it with himself in prayerful solitude whether he -means to walk with God or to identify himself with the spirit and customs -of his age. - -Jehoshaphat laid down a clear program for himself, and he followed it -out with patient and faithful industry. “The Lord God of his father” was -not a mere term in a crowd; it was the object of daily search and quest. -Jehoshaphat inquired for Him, and operated constantly upon the doctrine: -“Ask, and it shall be given you; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” - -Nor was Jehoshaphat’s religion merely speculative--that is to say, an -intellectual quest after an intellectual God. Whatever was speculative -in the mind and service of Jehoshaphat was sustained and ennobled by a -solid moral element. He read the Decalogue; he studied the Word of God; -he would take no action--personal, regal or social--that was not first -examined and approved in the light of the divine statutes. - -All this might have been comparatively easy if Jehoshaphat had started at -an independent point; but at such a point no man can start, for he must -take up the age as he finds it, and must first disembarrass himself from -all the stipulations and claims of custom, usage and popular superstition. - -Jehoshaphat sought not after the doings of Israel. He set himself up in -this respect against the kingdom. He was not afraid of peculiarity; in a -word, Jehoshaphat’s religion was characteristic; it had lines, points and -colors of its own, about which there could be no reasonable mistake. - -What is our religion? - -Do we intellectually assent to the existence and sovereignty of one -God, and then degenerate into self-worship? Do we admit that there must -be an ultimate morality, a philosophy of conduct founded on eternal -metaphysics; and then do we measure our own behavior by the canon of -custom? - -These are questions that search the heart, and no man can answer them for -his brother. - -What became of all this noble conduct arising out of this high religious -conception? We shall see in the following verse: - -“Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all -Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents, and he had riches and honor in -abundance.” - -Whatever was doubtful about the ascent of Jehoshaphat to the throne was -removed, and the king was enabled to realize his power. When he closed -his hand on the royal scepter he found that he was not grasping a shadow -but a reality. - -There are times when men become fully conscious of their influence and -of their proper social position; happy are they if in this consciousness -they detect a prevailing religious element, which constrains them to -acknowledge that honor and wealth, power and dignity are the gifts of -God. Is not this an anticipation of the Savior’s great doctrine: “Seek -ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things -shall be added unto you”? - -Jehoshaphat did not seek riches and honor. But he sought to the Lord God -of his father and walked in the divine commandments, and as a result -he enjoyed all that kings delight in as indicating strength, renown and -influence. - -“And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord; moreover, he took -away the high places and the groves out of Judah.” - -The expression “his heart was lifted up” is an awkward one. The lifting -up of the heart signifies increase of pride, a sensation of vanity, a -desire to gratify personal ambition, and to make an idol of his will. In -this instance the marginal reading is to be preferred--“was encouraged;” -or otherwise, “his courage rose high.” It has also been rendered: -“Jehoshaphat grew bold”--that is to say, he was not a timid reformer or -a timid worshiper, nor a trimmer or time server in any sense. He was a -heroic worshiper of the living God. When he saw that reform was necessary -he went forward with a steady step and an energetic hand. - -We should call Jehoshaphat a man of conviction and a man who had the -courage of his convictions. Altogether, this is the outline of a noble -personage--a born king, a man who has a right to the purple and the -scepter. When such men ascend thrones nations should be glad and rejoice -with a great joy, for their character is grander than their office and -their spirit is the best guarantee of the elevation and utility of their -regal policy. - -Becoming conscious of his power, knowing that his kingdom was established -from on high, Jehoshaphat not only did not seek the Baals himself, but he -took away the high places and groves out of Judah. - -Jehoshaphat was not content with a merely personal religion. He could -not convert the hearts of his people, but he could destroy all the -symbols of unholy worship. - -Men are only required to do that which lies in their power. A proprietor -may not be able to make people sober, but he can forbid the introduction -of temptations to drunkenness. A parent may not be able to subdue -the spirit of pride, but he can in many instances limit the means of -gratifying it. - -There are reforms which are open to us all--in personal custom, in social -habit, and it may be even in imperial ways. Let each Jehoshaphat seize -his opportunity and magnify it. - -All this would have been comparatively in vain but for another step -which Jehoshaphat took. In the third year of his reign he sent to his -princes--that is to say, he sent his princes--and he sent Levites, all -of whose names are given; and he sent also two priests, Elishama and -Jehoram, and their business was purely educational. - -“And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the Lord with -them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the -people.” - -This was a mixed commission--partly civil, partly ecclesiastical. The men -here mentioned are otherwise unknown. We identify them as educational -reformers, or reformers who operated through the medium of education. -They were not warriors, destroyers, revolutionists, but men who addressed -the mind and understanding and conscience, and caused men to know that -the true law was from above and not from beneath. - -The book which the commission had in hand was the Pentateuch, or the law -of Moses. This was known to be the law which alone could touch all the -vital necessities of the commonwealth. Again and again we are constrained -to admit that there is a law beyond man, above man, in a sense apart from -man. Men are not driven within themselves to find a law, an instinct, -or a reason. They have a written statute, an authoritative declaration, -a book which Christian teachers do not hesitate to describe as a -revelation, and to that they call the attention of men. - -If the teacher were teaching out of his own consciousness he would be -but an equal, often exposing himself to the destructive criticism of his -more advanced and penetrating scholars; but the teacher takes his stand -on a book--on _the_ Book, the Bible--a revelation which he believes to be -divine and final. - -Say what we will, the effect of Bible teaching must be judged by its -fruits. - -Where are the nations that are most distinguished for wide and varied -intelligence, for large and exhaustive sympathy, for missionary -enterprise, for philanthropic institutions and for all the elements which -give grace and beauty to social existence? - -The question should admit of definite reply. - -The facts are before men; let them judge fearlessly and honestly, and we -need have no apprehension concerning their verdict. - -Wherever the word of the Lord has had free course superstition has -been chased away, human slavery has been abolished, every instance -of intolerance, injustice, unkindness has felt the influence of holy -thought. In all these matters discussion should be limited strictly to -facts. Thus kings can help nations, not by forcing education, not by -attempting to rule opinion, not by setting up standards of orthodoxy to -fall short of which is to incur penalty; but by spreading education, by -extending light, by cultivating a spirit of inquiry, and by a generous -multiplication of all the instrumentalities needed for the destruction of -ignorance. What may come of this we are not supposed at this moment to -know. - -Meanwhile, let us be thankful that we are face to face with a man who has -conviction, courage, independence, high patriotism and generous impulse, -and let us hope that his end may be as beautiful as his beginning was -promising. - - -JEHU. - -While Jehoram was lying ill of his wounds Elisha had called one of -the children of the prophets and sent him on a special mission to -Ramoth-gilead. - -It has been conjectured that this messenger was the Jonah who is -mentioned in the twenty-fifth verse of the fourteenth chapter of the -second Book of Kings. - -Jehu was left in supreme command of the forces at Jehoram’s departure. -Nothing is known of Jehu’s origin. From the first, however, it is evident -that he was called to special functions. He was one of the men who had -been foreseen by Elijah, the prophet, under the divine inspiration. - -Elijah was ordered to return unto the wilderness of Damascus, and in the -course of his progress he was to anoint Jehu, the son of Nimshi, to be -king over Israel. Whether any communication had been made to Jehu we know -not. Yet it is not improbable that this had been done, as we may infer -from the way in which he made answer to the appeal when it was addressed -to him by the messenger of Elisha. - -All the circumstances of the communication are full of dramatic color and -impressiveness. - -The young man was to take a vial of oil and pour it on Jehu’s head, and -say: “Thus saith the Lord: ‘I have anointed thee king over Israel.’” -Instantly he was to open the door and flee from the presence of the new -monarch. A tremendous charge was delivered to Jehu by the young man: - -“And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab, thy master, that I may avenge -the blood of My servants, the prophets, and the blood of all the servants -of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall -perish; … and I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam, -the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah; and -the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be -none to bury her.” - -Having delivered this message, the young man then “opened the door and -fled,” as if pursued by fire. We know not whether to pity Jehu under -the delivery of this charge. The Lord must have many servants in His -household, and some of them are entrusted with hard work. If we could -choose our places in the divine economy, who would not elect to be a -minister of sympathy, consolation and tenderness to broken hearts? Who -would be willing to go forth to fight the battle and endure the trial and -hardship of military service? Above all, who would be willing to accept -the ministry of shedding blood and cleansing the world of evil by putting -to death all evil doers? - -We must recognize the diversity of function in the Christian Church, and -in every department of human life. Few men could do what Jehu did, but -where the special qualification is given the special service is also -demanded. - -It is pitiful criticism that stands back and shudders at the career of -Jehu; it is wanting in large-mindedness and in completeness of view. - -The Lord’s work is many-sided, and all kinds of men as to intellectual -energy and moral daring, and even as to physical capability, are required -to complete the ministry of God. - -Today one man is gifted with the power of intercession, another with the -talent of controversy, another with the genius of exposition, another -with the supreme gift of consolation; one minister must tarry at home -and work close to the fireside at which he was brought up; in another is -the spirit of travel and adventure, and he must brave all the dangers of -enterprise and hasten to the ends of the Earth, that he may tell others -what he knows of the Gospel of Christ. - -We must recognize this diversity, and the unity that it constitutes; -otherwise we shall take but a partial view of the many-sided ministry -which Jesus Christ came to establish, and to which He has promised His -continual inspiration. - -[Illustration: SOLOMON] - -[Illustration: THE JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON. I Kings, iii.] - -When Jehu came forth he was taunted by the servants of his Lord; they -called the young man “mad.” From their manner, Jehu began to wonder -whether the whole affair had not been planned by themselves with a view -to befooling him by the excitement of his ambition. He said to them, in -effect: - -“Ye know the man, and his communication in this matter is one of your own -arranging. Ye think to make a fool of me, and through the intoxication of -my vanity to lead me to my ruin.” - -But they denied the impeachment, and their tone so changed that Jehu -reposed confidence in them, and told them what the man had said. - -Instantly, on hearing the message, they hasted, took every man his -garment or coat, and put it under Jehu on the top of the stairs, which -they constituted a kind of temporary throne, and then amid loud blasts of -the trumpet they cried: “Jehu is king!” - -Thus Jehu was suddenly called to royalty and all its responsibilities. - -Men should be prepared for the sudden calls of providence. “What I say -unto you I say unto all: Watch.” - -One is struck by the obedience of Jehu to the heavenly call. There was -no hesitation. Men but show themselves to be yet under bondage when they -hesitate regarding the calls which God addresses to them. - -Jehu was determined to make complete work of his mission. Not one was to -escape or go forth out of the city to tell what he was about to do to -those who were in Jezreel. - -Springing into his chariot and calling for a detachment of cavalry, -Jehu set out on his journey of sixty or seventy miles. You can see him -almost flying down from Ramoth, which was about three thousand feet above -the sea level. Swiftly he crosses the Jordan, and then, turning to the -north, he fled over the spurs of Ephraim; then he darted up the Valley of -Trembling, made famous in the day of Gideon, and finally he came to the -Plain of Esdraelon, where was Jezreel. - -Jehoram was unaware of the approach of Jehu. One messenger after another -was sent out to make inquiry, but the messengers were ordered behind, and -Jehu came forward until he and the king met at the vineyard of Naboth. - -The king asked what news was being brought--news of peace or of war. - -The question was answered with another question: “What peace can there -be so long as the idolatrous whoredoms of thy mother, Jezebel, and her -witchcrafts are so many?” - -Jehu thus referred to fundamental wrongs. Instead of trifling with -details he went straight to the fountainhead, and by the delivery of a -profoundly religious message he excited the alarm of those who heard him. - -Jehoram was weak and feeble and sought to flee, but Jehu drew a bow with -his full strength and smote between his arms, and the arrow went out at -the king’s heart, and he sank down in his chariot. - -Then Jehu ordered his captain, or squire, to take up Jehoram and cast him -into the portion of the field of Naboth, the Jezreelite, that the word of -the Lord might be fulfilled. - -And when Ahaziah, the king of Judah, saw this he sought to flee, but -Jehu followed him, saying: “Smite him also in the chariot.” After a hot -pursuit Ahaziah was struck at the declivity of Gur, where his chariot was -forced to slacken its speed. - -Then came the most tragical of all the acts. - -No sooner was Jehu come to Jezreel than Jezebel, now old and withered, -heard of it, and her blood tingled at the news. She was not one who was -easily deterred. - -According to the custom of Oriental ladies, Jezebel painted her eyebrows -and lashes with a pigment composed of antimony and zinc. The intention of -the dark border was to throw the eye into relief and make it look larger. -She adorned her head with a tire, or a headdress, and after donning her -royal dress she looked out at a window, designing to impress Jehu. - -As Jehu looked up to the window he exclaimed: “Who is on my side?” He -ordered the two or three eunuchs who looked out to throw down the painted -woman. Jehu knew that the cruel queen was intensely hated by the palace -officials. - -The two or three eunuchs who had been accustomed to crouch before her in -servile dread now saw that Jehu was in the ascendant, and in obedience to -the demand of the regicide they threw her out of the window. - -Such has ever been the policy of sycophants--the rats of court--who only -linger there with a view of seeing how much they can appropriate or -destroy. - -No sooner was Jezebel thrown down than some of her blood was sprinkled on -the wall and on the horses, and she was trodden under foot. - -Here, again, we see the end of wickedness. For a time there is escape, -but in the long run there is ruin. - -Look at Jezebel, and learn the fate of the wicked. No such fate, in -a merely physical sense, may await the iniquitous now; but all those -intermediate punishments simply point to the last great penalty: “The -wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment.” - -One can pity Jezebel as her flesh was eaten by the dogs and her carcass -was made as dung on the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, and -we almost shudder with horror as we think that she was to be so torn to -pieces that none should be able to say: “This is Queen Jezebel.” - -But all this is wasted sentiment, unless we reason from it toward -spiritual conclusions. - -We are so much the victims of our senses that we can pity with great -compassion those who are smitten with bodily disease, or are torn limb -from limb in consequence of some wicked deed; but it seems impossible for -us to rise to the conception of the terrible penalty which is to fall -upon the soul for violating God’s commandments and defying God’s power. - -Instead of being appeased by the fate of Jezebel, Jehu sends out a decree -that the whole family of Ahab shall be massacred--that the kinsmen of -Ahaziah and the Baal worshipers shall be extirpated from the face of the -Earth. He takes a new point of departure when he challenges the sons of -Ahab, saying: - -“Look even out the best and meetest of your master’s sons, and set him on -his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.” - -All this was a declaration of warlike intention on the part of Jehu. But -Jehu’s character as a soldier was too well known to permit the rulers of -Jezreel and the elders to entertain the thought of encountering him in -open battle. So they made this answer: - -“We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not -make any king. Do thou that which is good in thine eyes.” - -Then Jehu set up a test of their obedience. He did impose on them hard -work. He said: - -“If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads -of the men your master’s sons, and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this -time.” - -The word was enough. The heads of seventy men were put into baskets and -sent to Jehu at Jezreel. Jehu pronounced the men who had beheaded the -sons of Ahab guiltless in respect of their deaths, because what they did -had been done judicially, under royal command. - -Some think that Jehu wished to make them guilty of the massacre of the -princes, while he had slain but one king. On the whole, however, it is -better to consider that Jehu exculpates the men who had only executed his -command. - -The slaughter of the priests is one of the most dramatic incidents in all -this portion of biblical history. Jehu proceeded by way of strategy. It -is impossible to justify the spirit of the policy of Jehu in this matter. -He said he would serve Baal “much.” - -It has been thought that he was thinking of his intended holocaust of -human victims; but, whatever his thoughts, it is impossible to deny that -the impression he produced was that Jehu was about to become a worshiper -of Baal. This reading is imported into the narrative in these words: -“But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the -worshipers of Baal.” - -Now a solemn assembly for Baal was proclaimed. From all Israel the -devotees of Baal came, so that there was not left a man that came not. -The house of Baal was full from one end to the other. And they were all -clothed with appropriate vestments. - -Jehu was careful that not one worshiper of Jehovah should be in the -assembly, but those of Baal only. - -When the worshipers went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings Jehu -stationed fourscore men without, and said: “If any of the men whom I have -brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be -for the life of him.” - -Then came the moment of massacre. - -“And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the -captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.” - -Jehu’s guards, having completed their bloody work in the court of the -temple, hastened up the steps into the sanctuary itself, which, like the -Temple of Solomon, was made after the pattern of a fortress. - -The images of Baal were brought forth out of the house of Baal and -burned. The image of Baal was broken down, and his house was broken down, -and the whole scene was utterly dishonored and desecrated. - -“Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.” - -But the way was wrong. Perhaps, for the period within which the -destruction took place, it was the only ministry that was possible. The -incident, however, must stand in historical isolation, being utterly -useless as a lesson or guide for our imitation. - -We are called upon to destroy Baal out of Israel, but not with sword or -staff or implement of war. - -“The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but are mighty, through God, -to the pulling down of strongholds of Satan.” - -Jehu did his rough-and-ready work--a work, as we have said, adapted -to the barbaric conditions under which he reigned. But there must be -no Jehu in the Christian Church, except in point of energy, decision, -obedience and single-mindedness of purpose. A Christian persecution is a -contradiction in terms. - -When Christians see evil, they are not to assail it with weapons of war; -they are to preach against it, to argue against it, to pray about it, -to bring all possible moral force to bear upon it, but in no case is -physical persecution to accompany the propagation of Christianity. Not -only so. Any destruction that is accomplished by physical means is a -merely temporary destruction. There is in reality nothing in it. - -When progress of a Christian kind is reported it must not be tainted by -the presence of physical severity. We can not silence evil speakers by -merely closing their mouths. So long as we can hold those mouths there -may indeed be silence, but not until the spirit has been changed--not -until the very heart has been converted and born again--can the evil-doer -be silenced and his mouth be dispossessed of wicked speech and filled -with words of honesty and pureness. Jehu himself was not a good man. -“From the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, -Jehu departed not from after them.” - -For reasons of state policy, Jehu maintained the worship of Bethel and -Dan. - -“But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with -all his heart; for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made -Israel to sin.” - -Jehu had done homage to Jehovah by extirpating the foreign Baal worship, -but he patronized and actively supported the irregular mode of worshiping -Jehovah established by Jeroboam as the state religion of the northern -kingdom. He attempted to serve God and Mammon. Religion was to him but a -political instrument. - -Jehu did the particular kind of work which had been assigned to him--a -work of destruction and blood. Perhaps he alone of all the people of his -time could have accomplished this task. But Jehu must stand in history as -a warning rather than as an example. - - -JOB. - -Sometimes I have most clearly seen the whole tragedy of Job in a waking -dream, the whole passing before me in twilight shadows, losing itself -in thick darkness, reappearing in light like the dawn--always changing, -always solemn, always instructive; a thing that surely happened, because -a thing now happening in all the substance of its eternal meaning. - -Is it a pillar grand in height, and finished all over with the dainty -care of an artist whose life has been spent in learning and applying the -art of color? - -How stately! How Heaven seeking because Heaven worthy! While I admire, I -wonder religiously. - -I see the hosts of darkness gathering around the erstwhile flashing -capital, and resting over it like midnight sevenfold in blackness; then -the lightning gleams from the center of the gloom, then the fire-bolt -flies forth and smites the coronal once so glorious, and dashes it in hot -dust to the Earth, and the tall stalk--so upright, so delicate, so like a -well-trained life--reels, totters and falls in an infinite crash! - -Is it true? - -Every word of it. True now--may be true in thee and me, O man, so assured -of stability and immovableness. There is danger in high places. Is -there a Spirit which hates all noble-mindedness and seeks to level the -spiritual pile with mean things? Evil Spirit! The very Devil--hating all -goodness because hating God! - -But stop. - -After all, who smote the pillar? Whose lightning was used to overthrow -the fair masonry? - -O God of gods, the devil’s Creator and Master, without whom Satan could -not be, nor hell, nor trees forbidden, nor blast of death--O Mystery of -Being--what can our souls say in their groaning? And how, through anguish -so intolerable, can they pray? - -I am afraid to build, because the higher the tower the more deadly the -fall. Dost Thou watch our rising towers and delight to rain Thy fires on -them, lest our pride should abound and our damnation be aggravated by -our vanity? - -And God’s own Book it is that tells the good man’s pains, and that -revels in swelling rhetoric over the rottenness and despair of the man -who feared God and eschewed evil! And what unguided hands--if hands -unguided--set the tale of wrong and woe and sorrow next to the very -Psalter? Is not the irony immoral, because cruel? Or is there meaning in -all this? - -Is it Life’s story down to the very letter and jot of reality? How better -to come out of the valley than to the harping and song of musicians who -have known the way of the Almighty and tasted the counsels of Heaven? - -Cheer thee, O poor soul! Thou art today miserable as Job, but tomorrow -thou mayest dance to the music of David. Tomorrow thou mayest have a harp -of thine own. - -A tree of the Lord’s right hand planting arises loftily and broadly in -the warm air. Birds twitter and sing as they flit through its warp and -woof of light and shade. It is a tree whose leaves might heal the nations. - -What sudden wind makes it writhe? What Spirit torments every branch and -leaf? What Demon yells in triumph as the firm trunk splits and falls in -twain? Was it grown for such a fate as this? - -Better if the seed had been crushed and thrown into the fire than that it -should have been thus reared and perfected and then put to shame among -the trees of the field. - -Who can give speech to this flood as it plunges from rock to rock in the -black night time? Hush! There is a man’s voice in the infinite storm: -“Let the day perish in which I was born! Let it be darkness; let that -night be joyless, let no song enter into it; let them who curse the day -stigmatize it who are ready to stir up the leviathan. Why died I not -from the womb? Then had I lain down and been quiet; I had slept; … there -the wicked cease from troubling, and there the wearied mighty rest; -the prisoners sweetly repose together, they hear not the voice of the -exactor, and the slave is free from his lord.” - -These are human words, but are they not too strong, too rhetorical, to be -true? - -No! For who can mechanize the rhetoric of woe? - -“Why is life given to the miserable, and to one who would be blithe to -find a grave? I have no quiet, no repose, for trouble on trouble came, -and my sighs gush out like waters long dammed back.” - -No doubt the rhetoric is lofty, yet with a strange familiarity it touches -with happy expressiveness all that is most vivid in our remembrance of -woe. - -“I loathe my life. I will give loose to my complaint. I will speak in the -bitterness of my soul. To God I will say: ‘Condemn me not. Show me why -Thou contendest with me. As the clay Thou hast fashioned me, and to dust -Thou causest me to return. Thou hast poured me as milk and compacted me -as cheese. As a fierce lion Thou huntest me; then Thou turnest again and -showest Thyself marvelous.’” - -Job has found fit words for all mourning souls. So they borrow of him -when their own words fail like a stream which the Sun has dried up. What -woe the poor little heart can feel! Herein is its greatness. It is, in -its own way, as the heart of God. - -“Truly, now, He hath worn me out. Thou hast made all my household -desolate, and Thou hast shriveled me up. God giveth me up to the ungodly, -and flingeth me over into the hands of the wicked. He seized me by the -throat and shook me. He breacheth me with breach on breach. He rusheth on -me like a man of war.” - -In what good man’s sick chamber is not Job welcome? Welcome because he -can utter the whole gamut of human woe. He can find words for the heart -that is ill at ease, and prayers for lips which have been chilled and -silenced by unbelief. His woe belongs to the whole world. All other woe -is as the dripping of an icicle compared with the rush of stormy waters. - -In the case of Job the internal is proved to be greater than the -external. When the trials came one after another like shocks of thunder, -“in all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” - -But did he speak? That is the point. If he did not, perhaps he was dazed. -He felt a tremendous blow on the forehead, and he reeled, and was not in -a condition to bear witness about the matter. If he said any thing, let -us know what he did say. Could he speak in that tremendous crisis? - -Yes, he spoke. His words are before us. Like a wise man, he went back to -first principles. He said: - -“Circumstances are nothing; they are temporary arrangements. The man -is not what he has, but what he is. I do not hold my life in my hands, -saying ‘It weighs so much,’ and count up to a high number.” - -Job went back to first principles--back to elementary truths. He said: - -“Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither -[that is, as I began]. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away [as He -had a right to do; I had nothing of my own]. Blessed be the name of the -Lord.” - -Could Job look over the ages that have been healed and comforted by his -example--stimulated to bear the ills of this life by the grateful memory -of his invincible patience--surely, even now, in Heaven, he would be -taking the reward of his long-continued and noble endurance of the divine -visitation. - -It may be so with you, poor man or woman. You do not get all the sweet -now. This shall be a memory to you in Heaven, long ages hence. The -wrestling you have now may minister to you high delight, keen enjoyment -and rapture pure and abiding. Who can tell when God’s rewards end? Who -will venture to say: “This is the measure of His benediction?” - -God is able to give and to do abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. -Should any one inquire of you as to your compensation, say: “It is given -by instalments--today and tomorrow, in death; in the resurrection, all -through the ages of eternity. Ask me thousands of ages hence, and I will -reply to your question concerning compensation.” - -Life is not limited by the cradle and the tomb, and it is not between -these two mean and near points that great questions are to be discussed -or determined. - -Job has been read by countless readers. His was, of course, a public -trial--a tragedy that was wrought out for the benefit of multitudes in -all generations. Nevertheless, it is literally and pathetically true that -every man, even the most obscure, has his readers--fewer in number, it -may be, but equally earnest in attention. - -Think you that your children are not taking notice of you--seeing how you -bear your temptations, difficulties and anxieties? - -Think you not that your eldest boy is kept away from the table of the -Lord because you are as atheistic in sorrow as ever Voltaire was? - -Do you know that your daughter hates the church because her pious father -is only pious in the three Summer months of the year? He curls under the -cold and biting wind as much as any Atheist ever did. Therefore, the -girl says: “He is a sham and a hypocrite--my father in the flesh, but no -relative of mine in the spirit.” - -You have your readers. The little Bible of your life is read in your -kitchen, in your parlor, in your shop and in your warehouse; and if you -do not bear your trials, anxieties and difficulties with a Christian -chivalry and heroism, what is there but mockery on Earth and gloating in -hell? - -May God give us grace to bear chastisement nobly and serenely; bless us -with the peace which passeth understanding--with the quietness kindred to -the calm of God; help us when death is in the house, when poverty is on -the hearth-stone. - -When there is a storm blinding the only poor little window we have, let -us say: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. If I perish I will -pray, and perish only here.” That is Christianity--not some clever -chatter and able controversy about metaphysical points; but noble temper, -high behavior, faultless constancy and an invincible fortitude in the -hour of trial and in the agony of pain. - - -MICAIAH. - -Micaiah was the son of Imlah, a prophet of Samaria, who, in the last year -of the reign of Ahab, king of Israel, predicted his defeat and death, B. -C. 897. This was three years after the great battle with Ben-hadad, king -of Syria, in which the extraordinary number of 100,000 Syrian soldiers -is said to have been slain, without reckoning the 27,000 who, it is -asserted, were killed by the falling of the wall at Aphek. - -Ahab had proposed to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, that they should jointly -go up to battle against Ramoth-gilead, which Ben-hadad was bound by -treaty to restore to Ahab. - -Jehoshaphat assented in cordial words to the proposal, but he suggested -that they should first “inquire at the word of Jehovah.” Accordingly, -Ahab assembled four hundred prophets, while in an open space at the gate -of the city of Samaria he and Jehoshaphat sat in royal robes to meet and -consult them. - -The prophets gave a unanimously favorable response. Among them was -Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah. He made horns of iron as a symbol, and -announced, as from Jehovah, that with those horns Ahab would push the -Syrians till he consumed them. For some reason which is unexplained, and -can now only be conjectured, King Jehoshaphat was dissatisfied with the -answer, and asked if there was no other prophet of Jehovah at Samaria. - -Ahab replied that there was yet one--Micaiah, the son of Imlah; but in -words which obviously call to mind a passage in the “Iliad” (i. 106), -he added: “I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but -evil.” - -Nevertheless, Micaiah was sent for; and after a vain attempt had been -made to tamper with him, he first expressed an ironical concurrence with -the four hundred prophets, and then boldly foretold the defeat of Ahab’s -army and the death of Ahab. - -In contradiction of the false four hundred, Micaiah said he had seen -Jehovah sitting on His throne, and all the host of Heaven standing by -Him--on His right hand and on His left. He said Jehovah asked: “Who -shall persuade Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?” A Spirit came -forth and volunteered to do so. On being asked “Wherewithal?” the Spirit -answered that he would go forth and be a lying Spirit in the mouth of all -the prophets. - -Irritated by the account of this vision, Zedekiah struck Micaiah on the -cheek. - -Then Ahab ordered that Micaiah be taken to prison, and be fed on bread -and water till his return to Samaria. But Ahab was killed, and Micaiah’s -fate is unknown. - -This incident is found in both the first Book of Kings and in the second -Book of Chronicles. - -[Illustration: The Cross From the Painting by Gustave Dore.] - -[Illustration: MOSES IN THE BULRUSHES.--Exodus, ii.] - - -MOSES. - -Moses loses nothing by diffuseness. Even in days that were made long -by intolerable monotony--in which men lived centuries because of -weariness--Moses did not shrink from a condensation unparalleled in human -literature. - -Considered as embracing the history of one month only, the third Book -of Moses may claim to be the most remarkable book in the Old Testament. -Containing twenty-seven chapters, ranging its contents under sixteen -different categories, and requiring to be actively represented within the -space of twenty-eight days--it may, in its own degree, claim an energy -not inferior to the Book of Genesis. - -The same fearlessness of treatment is distinctive of both books. -The reverent audacity which represented creation as the work of six -days--whatever the measure of a day may be--did not shrink from -focalizing into one month the whole discipline of life. - -Moses’ words could hardly have been fewer if he had lived in our time of -feverish haste and tumult. To put up the Heavens and the Earth in one -chapter was a miracle in authorship. Yet, well pondered, it was the only -thing to be done. Any poet could have built them in endless stanzas, and -any philosopher could have begun the infinite story in a book too large -for the world to hold. - -Moses chose the more excellent way, creating creation with a swiftness -that has dazed a literal criticism ever since--literal criticism that -has but one season in its dreary year, a year that knows nothing of -snow-blossom or wedded light and song. But this very haste was part of -the man. - -The Moses of Poetry required fifty-one days for the revolution of his -“Iliad”; the Moses of Revelation only took a week for the settlement of -the Heavens and the Earth, and in that week he found one whole day of -rest for the Creator. - -This action was entirely characteristic of Moses, for he was the most -wrathful man as well as the meekest--killing, smiting, destroying and -burning with anger, as well as praying like the father-priest of his -people. - -In a sense obvious enough he was the protoplastic Christ--for was not -he who described himself as “meek and lowly in heart” the scourger of -trespassers, and did he not burn the religious actors of his day? - -Moses and Christ both did things with most startling rapidity. In their -very soul they were akin. They were “straitened” until their work was -“accomplished.” The Pentateuch and the Gospels have action enough in them -to fill innumerable volumes, yet there is an infinite calm in both--the -haste being in the temporary framework, the calm being in the eternal -purpose. - -Think of these twenty-seven chapters constituting the discipline of one -month! The reflections started by this circumstance culminate in a sense -of pain, for who can bear this grievous toil or endure this sting of -accusation? There is no respite. - -Egyptian burdens were for the body, but these wilderness exactions -tormented the soul, and by so doing made Egyptian memories bright. The -trial of muscle is nothing to the trial of patience. Men may sleep -after labor, but an unquiet conscience keeps the eyes wide open. This -discipline afflicted both the body and the soul, and thus drained the -entire strength of the people. - -This conscious toil must have been accompanied by unconscious -inspiration--a reciprocal action impossible in theory but well understood -in spiritual experience. - -We resume our burdens in the very act of dreading them. We pray the next -prayer in the very process of waiting for answers to a thousand prayers -to which God has paid no known heed. Yesterday’s sacrifice has nothing to -do with this day’s sin, except to remind us that today must provide its -own sacrifice. - -This was so with the Jews; this is precisely so with ourselves. Yet we -boast our liberty, and suppose that in leaping one inch from the Earth we -have broken the tether of gravitation. - -As put before us in this manual called Leviticus, the discipline of the -month seems to be more than we could endure; and this we say in ignorance -of the fact that our own manual imposes a more severe discipline. Our -pity for the Jews arises out of the apparently ineradicable sophism that -spiritual service is easier than bodily exercise. A most deadly sophism -is this, and prevalent yet, notwithstanding the rebuke and condemnation -of universal history. - -In no spiritual sense is Leviticus an obsolete book. Moses is not dead. -The inventors of the alphabet have some rights even in “Paradise Lost,” -and quite a large property in “Euclid.” It is not grateful on our part to -forget the primers through which we passed to the encyclopedias, though -their authors were but our intellectual nurses. In no mere dream was -Moses present when Christ communed with Him concerning the Exodus that -was to be accomplished at Jerusalem, and in no dramatic sense did Elijah -watch the consummation of prophecy. - -The wonder is that Christians should be so willing to regard the -Pentateuch as obsolete. This is practically a foregone conclusion--to -such an extent, certainly, that the Pentateuch is tolerated rather than -studied for edification by the rank and file of Christians. - -Without the Pentateuch, Christ as revealed in the Gospels would have been -impossible; and without Christ the Pentateuch would have been impossible. - -I venture upon this proposition because I find no great-event in the -Pentateuch that is not for some purpose of argument or illustration used -by Christ or by His disciples and apostles in the interests of what is -known as evangelical truth. - -It lies within easy proof that Christ is the text of the Old Testament -and that the Old Testament is the text of Christ. What use is made in -the New Testament of the creation of the universe, the faith of Abraham, -the rain of manna, the lifting up of the serpent and the tabernacle of -witness! The sublime apology of Stephen epitomizes the Old Testament, and -the Epistle to the Hebrews could not have been written but for the ritual -of Exodus and Leviticus. In its purely moral tone the Old Testament is of -kindred quality with the New. - -Take an instance from Leviticus. Three forms of evil are recognized in -one of its most ardent chapters--namely, Violence, Deceit and Perjury. -This is a succession amounting to a development, and, unwittingly it -may or may not be, confirming that law of evolution which is as happily -illustrated in morals as in physics. - -Men begin with acts of violence, then go on to silent deceit and -calculation, and close with a profanation of the holiest terms. The early -sinners robbed gardens and killed brothers; the later sinners “agreed -together” to “lie unto God.” It is something, therefore, to find in so -ancient a book as Leviticus recognition of an order which is true to -philosophy and to history. - -But the proof that Moses and Christ are identical in moral tone is to -be found in the process which offenders were commanded to adopt. By -no sacerdotal jugglery was the foul blot to be removed; by no sigh of -selfishness could the inward corruption be permitted to evaporate; by no -investment of cheap tears could thieves compound for felony. - -First, there must be restoration; second, there must be an addition of -a fifth part of the whole; third, the priest must be faced as the very -representative of God and a trespass offering be laid on the altar. After -atonement forgiveness would come--a white angel from Heaven--and dwell -in the reclaimed and sanctified heart. All the past would be driven -away as a black cloud and all the present filled with a light above the -brightness of the Sun. - -What is this but an outline or forecast of what Christ said when He -drove the hostile and vindictive man from the altar, bidding him first -be reconciled with his brother and at peace with society? Christianity -is not a substitute for morality; it is morality inspired, glorified -and crowned. Say that the ritual was sanitary rather than doctrinal or -theological. What then? All divine things are first sanitary, but not -necessarily bounded by that term. - -It will be found that the practice of genuine cleanness, chemical as well -as mechanical, will be followed by a philosophy, and that the morality of -cleanness will be followed by a theology. - -Accustom a man to look out for bullocks and rams and lambs “without -blemish,” and he will find that he can not stop at that point. He has -begun an education which can only culminate in the prayer: “Create in me -a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Yet no word of -that holy thought was named in the original instructions. - -Leviticus is the gospel of the Pentateuch--glistening with purity, -turning law into music and spreading a banquet in the wilderness. But its -ritual is dead. This is hard to believe--hard because religious vanity is -fond of ritualism, which makes no demand on the conscience. Yet ritualism -had a divinely appointed function in the education of the awakening mind, -and was the only influence which could hold the attention of a people to -whom freedom was a new experience. - -Spectacular religion is alphabetic religion; therefore, to revert to it -is to ignore every characteristic and impulse of manhood and progress. -But they who say so be prepared to complete the philosophy which that -contention initiates. - -It is not enough to dismiss ritualism on the ground that it has been -displaced by spiritual worship. Admit that such is the case, and other -and broader admissions are involved in the plea, and can only be shirked -at the expense of consistency. - -It is generally admitted, for example, that the Old Testament law has -been displaced by a New Testament principle. So Ritualism and Law, in -their ancient forms, have passed away. But let us be careful. When we say -Ritualism and Law, we mean in reality the letter, and it is evident that -if any one letter can be displaced every other letter may be outlived and -completed. And what is “the letter” but a symbol of flesh--visibleness, -objectivity, historic fact and bulk? - -Apostle Paul went so far as to say that even Christ was no longer known -“after the flesh”--yea, though He had been known after the flesh, that -kind of knowledge was for ever done away, and another knowledge had -permanently taken its place. - -The Church has never adopted the whole meaning of that teaching. Willing -enough to consign Leviticus to the shades, the Church still clings to -some sort of bodily Christ--the figure of a man--a bulk to be at least -imaginatively touched. This is easily accounted for without suggesting -superstition, and yet it might be done away with without imperiling -faith. We are held in bondage by a mistaken conception of personality. -When we think of that term we think of ourselves. - -But even admitting the necessity of this, we may by a correct definition -of personality acquire a higher conception of our own being. Instead of -saying personality is this or that, after the manner of a geometrical -figure, binding it to four points and otherwise limiting it, say that -personality is the unit of being, and instantly every conception is -enlarged and illuminated--the meaning being that personality is the -starting point of conscious existence; not the fullness, but the outline; -not the maximum, but the minimum; the very smallest conception which the -mind can lay hold of--the Euclidic point, to be carried on into ratios -and dimensions which originate a new vocabulary. - -We do not, then, define “God” when we describe Him as a “Person,” but -we merely begin to define Him; in other words, we say that God can not -be less than a Person. What more He is, we must gradually and adoringly -discover. - -So far as Christ is concerned, there is one enlargement of His -personality which no school of thinkers will dispute. This is -rhetorically expressed by M. Renan, when he says of Jesus: - -“A thousand times more living, a thousand times more loved, since Thy -death than during the days of Thy pilgrimage here below, Thou wilt become -to such a degree the Corner-Stone of humanity that to tear Thy name from -this world would be to shake it to its foundations.” - -If ritualism has been displaced by spirituality, and if law has been -suspended by a principle--in other words, if the local has made way for -the universal--why shrink from the admission that limited Personality has -been exchanged for unlimited Influence? - -How would Moses regard nineteenth century worship--say, of a Low Church -and Evangelical type, as the true evolution of Leviticus? Where is the -resemblance? The eye that can see the similitude is surely looking -through an adapted medium. Yet the mystery would be dissolved if the Book -of Leviticus were not open to reference. - -The man is the completion of the child, but the child is no longer in -existence. - -The fruit is the fulfillment of the blossom, but the blossom is no longer -available for comparison and for contrast. - -Christianity is the consummation of Leviticus, but Leviticus -remains--unlike the child and the blossom--and offers a series of -dissonances or dissimilarities of the most positive quality. - -Yet if Moses were living now he would be unchurched if he refused to -identify the meaning of Leviticus in the service of the Christian -sanctuary--the Papist nearest in gorgeousness, the Protestant claiming to -be nearest in doctrine. - -The Nonconformist Moses, in the absence of inspiration, would in this -matter be the arch-heretic of the century. - - -NEBUCHADNEZZAR. - -The moral character of Nebuchadnezzar is not such as entitles him to -our approval. Besides the overweening pride which brought on him such -terrible chastisement, we note a violence and fury common enough in -Oriental monarchs of the weaker kind, but from which the greatest of -them have usually been free; while at the same time we observe a cold -and relentless cruelty that is particularly revolting. The blinding -of Zedekiah may possibly be justified as an ordinary Eastern practice, -though it is the earliest case of the kind on record; but the refinement -of cruelty by which he was made to witness his sons’ execution before his -eyes were put out was more worthy of a Dionysius or a Domitian than of a -really great king. - -Again, the detention of Jehoiachin in prison thirty-six years for an -offence committed at the age of eighteen is a severity surpassing -Oriental harshness. - -Against these grave faults we have nothing to set, unless it be a -feeble trait of magnanimity in the pardon of Shadrach, Meshach and -Abednego--when he found that he was without power to punish them. - -It has been thought remarkable that to a man of this character God should -have vouchsafed a revelation of the future by means of visions. But the -circumstance, however it may disturb our preconceived notions, is not -really at variance with the general laws of God’s providence, as revealed -to us in Scripture. - -As with His natural gifts, so with His supernatural gifts--they are not -confined to the worthy. Even under Christianity, miraculous powers were -sometimes possessed by those who made an ill use of them. And God, it -is plain, did not leave the old heathen world without some supernatural -aid, but made His presence felt from time to time in visions, through -prophets, or even by a voice from Heaven. - -It is only necessary to refer to the histories of Pharaoh, Abimelech, Job -and Balaam in order to establish the parity of Nebuchadnezzar’s visions -with other facts recorded in the Bible. He was warned, and the nations -over which he ruled were warned through him, God leaving not Himself -“without witness” even in those dark times. - -Abydenus, a heathen writer who generally drew his inspiration from -Berosus, ascribes to Nebuchadnezzar a miraculous speech just before his -death, announcing to the Babylonians the speedy coming of “a Persian -mule,” who, with the aid of the Medes, would enslave Babylon. - - -QUEEN OF SHEBA. - -The Queen of Sheba is a model to all inquirers. It was not enough for -her to have heard of the fame of Solomon and to have admired him at a -distance as a unique genius. Her admiration excited her interest and -suspicion, and, being a woman of penetrating mind, she desired to put -riddles and enigmas whereby she could test the proverbial wisdom of -Solomon. - -When she arrived at his court she did not put flippant questions to King -Solomon. She rather sought out the most difficult inquiries which she -could possibly make. - -It is recorded that Solomon told the queen all her questions, and there -was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not. She was astounded by -what she heard and what she saw. She declared that the half had not been -told her. - -The visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, though not strictly -commercial, arose out of commercial intercourse. The territory of -Sheba, according to Strabo, reached so far north as to meet that of the -Nabathæans, although its proper seat was at the southernmost angle of -Arabia. - -The very rich presents made by the queen show the extreme value of her -commerce with the Hebrew monarch. This early interchange of hospitality -derives a peculiar interest from the fact that in much later ages--those -of the Maccabees and downward--the intercourse of the Jews with Sheba -became so intimate and their influence and power so great. Jewish -circumcision took root there, and princes held sway there who were called -Jewish. - -The language of Sheba is believed to have been very different from -the literate Arabic; yet, like the Ethiopic, it belonged to the great -Syro-Arabian family, and was not alien to the Hebrew in the same sense -that the Egyptian language was. - -The great ease with which the pure monotheism of the Maccabees spread -itself in Sheba gives plausibility to the opinion that even at the time -of Solomon the people of Sheba had much religious superiority over the -Arabs and Syrians in general. If so, it becomes clear how the curiosity -of the southern queen would be worked on by seeing the riches of the -distant monarch, whose purer creed must have been carried everywhere with -them by his sailors and servants. - - -REHOBOAM. - -“So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spake to Rehoboam, saying: ‘Thy -father made our yoke grievous. Now, therefore, ease thou somewhat the -grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, -and we will serve thee.’” - -A cause so stated must succeed. There will be difficulty, but the end is -assured. - -The reasonable always triumphs, due time being given for the elucidation -of its purposes and the manifestation of its real spirit. Violence can -have but a short day; the tempest cries itself to rest. - -The speech of this man was a speech strong in reason. “Ease thou somewhat -the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon -us, and we will serve thee.” They wanted ease for service--for loyalty. -Where there is no ease how can there be homage, thankfulness, devotion or -any of the high qualities of patriotism? - -Men who are not disquieted are prone to tell others to bear their burdens -uncomplainingly. We ought to hear what they have to say who feel the -iron. Our inquiry should be: “How does it suit you? What is the effect -of the piercing iron on the soul? How does manhood bear the heel of -oppression?” - -The sufferers should sometimes be admitted to the witness-box. - -There is a danger lest our personal comfortableness should disqualify us -for judging the case of down-trodden men. - -Wherever there is weakness the Christian Church should be found. Wherever -there is reasonableness the Christian sanctuary should offer hospitality. -The Christian sanctuary ceases to be the Tabernacle of God among men when -it shuts its door on the cries of reason, the petitions of weakness, the -humble requests of those who ask for nothing exaggerated, but simply ask -to have their misery mitigated somewhat, that their loyalty may be of a -larger and better quality. The names are ancient, but the circumstances -may be painfully modern. - -It is the peculiarity of the Bible that it is always getting in our -way. It has a word on every subject. Is there any thing more detestable -than that a man who has his own way seven days a week, whose footsteps -are marked by prosperity, whose very breathing is a commercial success, -should stand up and tell men who are bleeding at every pore to be quiet -and contented, and not create disturbance in the body politic? - -If Jeroboam had come with a petition conceived in another tone it ought -to have been rejected. It would have been irrational, violent and -contemptuous; but the reasonableness of the request will insure its -victory in the long run. - -How easy it is to think of Rehoboam as the foolish son of a wise father! -But are we not unjust to the son in so regarding him? Was Solomon the -wise man he is often made out to be? The answer would be: “Yes--No.” -There was no greater fool than Solomon; and he attained his supremacy in -folly because there was no man so wise. “If the light that is in thee be -darkness, how great is that darkness!” “How art thou fallen from Heaven, -O Lucifer, son of the morning!” If he had not been son of the morning -some shallow pit might have held him; but, being son of the morning and -detaching himself from the gravitation of God, the pit into which he -falls is bottomless. - -Pliny says no man can be always wise. That is true philosophically and -experimentally; for all men have vulnerable heels, or are exposed to -temptations to lightness of mind, amounting in some instances almost to -frivolity. They are also the subjects of a most singular rebound, which -makes them appear the more frivolous because when we last saw them they -were absorbed in the solemnity of prayer. - -Solomon was not wise in this matter of government. The history shows -that the people were appealing, not against Rehoboam, who had yet had no -opportunity of proving his quality as a king, but against his father. -“Thy father made our yoke grievous.” We are prone to copy the defects of -our ancestors and our idols rather than their excellences. - -Folly has often more charms for us than wisdom. When Diogenes discoursed -of philosophy his auditors turned away from him, but when he began to -play frivolous music or to sing frivolous songs the crowds thronged about -him, and he said: “Ye gods! How much more popular is folly than wisdom!” -Even there he spoke as a philosopher. - -Rehoboam made a cautious reply, and therein he began well. He said to the -petitioners: “Come again unto me after three days.” This looked hopeful. - -King Rehoboam utilized the interval by taking counsel with “the old men -who had stood before Solomon, his father, while he yet lived, saying: -‘What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?’ And they spake -unto him, saying: ‘If thou be kind to this people and please them, and -speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever.’” - -Rich is the king whose old men talk in such a strain. They were patriots -and philanthropists and philosophers; they were Christians before the -time. - -Marvelous is the power of kindness. They will do most in life who are -most considerate. They may be charged with sentimentalism by those who do -not understand the power of human feeling, but they will be given credit -for philosophy by men who understand the genius of sympathy. - -What a message would this have been to return to the complaining people! -If, when the people returned after three days, Rehoboam had spoken so, -the welkin would have rung with the resonant cheers of a delighted and -thankful people. Kindness is not weakness. - -But Rehoboam forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took -counsel with the young men who had been brought up with him and who stood -before him. He asked them the same question he had asked the old men. -Their answer was: - -“Say unto them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s -loins. For, whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will put more -to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you -with scorpions.’” - -Woe to the nation whose young men talked so! A young oppressor is an -infant devil. Young men talking so will ruin any occasion. - -Are there such things in history as retorts, reprisals, rebounds and -consequences? Let it be known and laid down as the basic principle of all -action--social, ecclesiastical and imperial--that there is no right of -tyranny. - -It might be supposed that the king had taken a most patriotic course in -consulting the young and the old. He had done nothing of the kind. He had -omitted to consult Him who had called his house to the royalty. - -Rehoboam should have consulted the King Maker whose throne is on the -circle of the Earth, whose scepter touches the horizon and whose will is -the law of both monarchy and commonwealth. - -The greater the man, the nearer should he stand to God; yea, he should -be within whisper-reach of the Lord of lords, asking Him in every crisis -of national history what Israel ought to do--what the country ought to -answer--what is the will of Heaven. - -Rehoboam answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old -men. “So the king hearkened not unto the people.” - -The Gospel never gives liberty to oppression. Employers may adopt this -course if they please, but they will find it end in ruin. We must -recognize the difference between employing cattle and employing men. -A parent may adopt this course of Rehoboam, if he so chooses, but his -children will chastise him and sting him with many a disappointment; or, -if he does not live to see the wreck of their manhood, they will execrate -his unfragrant memory. - -Rehoboam will be punished; have no fear of that. “With what measure ye -mete, it shall be measured to you again.” You can make your whips thongs -of scorpions, but on your own back shall the lacerating lash be laid; you -can play the fantastic trick before high Heaven and make the angels weep, -but the bitterness shall be yours. The triumphing of such a policy is -short, and the end is everlasting punishment. - - -SHISHAK. - -Shishak was a king of Egypt contemporary with Jeroboam, to whom he gave -an asylum when he fled from Solomon. This was indicative of his politic -disposition to encourage the weakening of the neighboring kingdom, the -growth of which under David and Solomon was probably regarded by the -kings of Egypt with some alarm. - -After Jeroboam had become king of Israel, and probably at his suggestion, -Shishak invaded the kingdom of Judah (B. C. 971) at the head of an -immense army, and after having taken the fortified places advanced -against Jerusalem. - -Satisfied with the submission of Rehoboam and with the immense spoils -of the Temple, the king of Egypt withdrew without imposing any onerous -conditions on the humbled grandson of David. - -Shishak has been identified as the first king of the twenty-second or -Diospolitan dynasty, the Sesonchis of profane history. His name has been -found on the Egyptian monuments in the form of Sheshonk. He is said to -have been of Ethiopian origin, and it is thought that, with the aid of -the military caste, he dethroned the Pharaoh who gave his daughter to -Solomon. - - -SOLOMON. - -The first prominent scene in the reign of Solomon is one which presents -his character in its noblest aspect. There were two holy places which -divided the reverence of the people--the ark and its provisional -tabernacle at Jerusalem and the original Tabernacle of the Congregation, -which, after many wanderings, was then pitched at Gibeon. - -It was thought right that the new king should offer solemn sacrifices at -both. - -After those at Gibeon there came that vision of the night which has in -all ages borne its noble witness to the hearts of rulers. - -Not for riches, long life or victory over enemies did the son of -David--then, at least, true to his high calling, feeling himself as “a -little child” in comparison with the vastness of his work--offer his -supplications, but for a “wise and understanding heart,” that he might -judge the people. - -The “speech pleased the Lord.” - -There came in answer the promise of a wisdom “like which there had been -none before--like which there should be none after.” So far all was -well. The prayer was a right and noble one. Yet there is also a contrast -between it and the prayers of David which accounts for many other -contrasts. - -The desire of David’s heart is not chiefly for wisdom, but for holiness. -He is conscious of an oppressing evil, and seeks to be delivered from it. -He repents and falls, and repents again. - -Solomon asks only for wisdom. He has a lofty ideal before him, and seeks -to accomplish it, but he is as yet haunted by no deeper yearnings, and -speaks as one who has no need of repentance. - -Then began Solomon’s marvelous development as a builder and statesman. - -He was not content to build the house of the Lord alone. This is a -remarkable circumstance, as illustrating the spirit which is created and -sustained by all truly religious exercises. It would have been ambition -enough for any man religiously uninspired to have erected such an edifice -as the Temple. Most men are contented to do one thing, and to rest their -fame on its peculiar excellence. - -Having completed the house of the Lord and his own house, Solomon began -to build the cities which Huram had restored to him, and to cause the -children of Israel to dwell there. - -A religion that ends only in ceremony building is little better than -a superstition. No man can be zealously affected in the interests of -the Church without having his whole philanthropic spirit enlarged and -ennobled, so that he may become a builder of cities as well as a builder -of churches. It must be remembered, on the other hand, that he who builds -a synagogue really helps to build the town in which it is located. A -synagogue, temple or church is not to be looked on in its singularity, -as if it were so many walls, with so many doors and so many windows. A -church is a representative institution, through which should flow rivers -that will fertilize all the districts of the city--rivers of knowledge, -rivers of charity, rivers of brotherhood, rivers of co-operation--so that -men should turn to the Church, assured that every rational and healthy -expectation would be satisfied by its provisions. - -Having completed for the time being the measure of building on which his -mind was set, Solomon went forth to war. - -It would seem as if, in ancient days, kings could not be satisfied to -dwell at peace. Even Solomon, whose very name signifies peace, had in -him the military spirit which was characteristic of his race and time; -it was in him, indeed, as the word of the living God. Solomon did not go -forth to war for the sake of war; he believed he was obeying a divinely -implanted instinct, or carrying out to the letter some divinely written -law. - -Having passed through another military period, King Solomon began once -more to build. He built Tadmor, and all the store cities; he built -Beth-horon the Upper and Beth-horon the Lower, and fenced cities with -walls, gates and bars. - -A busy time it was in the reign of Solomon. But even all this building is -not without its suggestion of a corresponding evil. - -Why were the cities fenced? Why the gates? Why the bars? We have -instances of the same kind in our own civilization--silent witnesses -against the honesty of the society in which we live. Every bolt on the -door is a moral accusation; every time we turn the lock we mean that -there is an enemy outside who may endeavor to violate the sanctity of the -house. - -We sometimes forget the moral suggestiveness even of our commonest -institutions and plans of procedure. Every precaution that is taken for -our preservation implies the presence of hostile elements in the society -that is round about us. - -Solomon may be taken in this instance as representing the great doctrine -that men should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and -afterward attend to minor matters, or even leave those minor matters to -the adjustment of providence. - -Solomon is represented as first most anxious about the Temple, giving -himself wholly to its erection, occupying his thoughts night and day, -turning every thing to account in its relation to the Temple. Having -finished that marvelous structure, he was prepared to descend to other -levels and do the commoner work which lay to his hand. - -Many persons leave the temple half finished. What wonder if they go out -to the war and return wounded and disabled? Our religious purposes are -broken off. What wonder if our political ends pierce us and sting us by -way of retribution? - -“But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work; -but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his -chariots and horsemen.” - -The statesmanship of Solomon is as distinctly proved by this arrangement -as by any thing we have yet seen in his whole policy. Solomon knew that -one man was not as good as another, however much democratic philosophy -may have endeavored to prove the contrary. One man is a genius, but -another man is a slave--an imitator, a hewer of wood; very serviceable, -and in fact indispensable, but not adorned with the very highest -excellence and dignity of mind. - -Solomon made a distribution of classes, saying in effect that some men -can do the drudgery, some men can dig and build, some can pull down and -take away and make ready for the exertions of others; the higher class -of men can think and direct, for they are inspired with the genius of -administration, and are men of powerful mind, of fertile resources in -government and in war. So Solomon made the best use of the material at -his disposal--not getting great men to do small work or setting small men -to fail in great work. - -Adaptation is the secret of success. For want of knowing this, many men -fail in life. - -There are employers who are making themselves but little better than -toilers, when they might by an expenditure of money apparently distinctly -not economical very greatly assist the progress and solidity of their -fortunes. A man may be industrious in a way which involves the absolute -frittering and humiliation of his energies. - -We are to be careful not only to be industrious, but industrious about -the right things and in the right proportion. A man might slave himself -to death cutting down wood or in throwing away stones, but if some other -man of inferior mental faculty could be employed to do that work the -superior man should turn his attention to other and nobler pursuits, and -thus with smaller expenditure of strength he might be doing immeasurably -greater good. - -If the thinker is not to degrade himself to the level of a drudge, -neither is the drudge to attempt to force his way to positions for which -he is not qualified. Nothing is mean that is not meanly done. - -The Canaanites might be as useful as the Israelites in their own way. -With the eye of a statesman and with the inspiration of a genius, Solomon -saw that he must distribute and classify men, and set each man to do that -for which he was best fitted. Even Solomon could not do all the work -alone. - -“And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David -unto the house that he had built for her; for he said: ‘My wife shall not -dwell in the house of David, king of Israel, because the places are holy -whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come.’” - -This may be taken as an instance of punctilious morality. We are not -able to understand all that was involved in the incident. Evidently -we are in the presence of conscience working under some eccentric law -or suggestion. Yet here is a conscience, and by so much the action of -Solomon is to be respected. He will not have any place or institution -even ceremonially defiled. He will go back to precedents; he will consult -the genius of history; he will preserve the consistency of the royal -policy. Solomon felt that the ark of the Lord had sanctified every -locality into which it had come, and that a broad distinction must always -be maintained between heathenism and Judaism--between the idols of pagan -lands and the Spirit of the living God. - -In these matters Solomon’s wisdom was displayed as certainly as in the -greater concerns of State and Church. We are to remember that at the -beginning Solomon was endowed with the spirit of wisdom and of a sound -mind. The Lord quickened his sagacity and gave him that marvelous insight -which enabled him to penetrate into the interiors and cores which were -hidden from the scrutiny of other men. - -We are, therefore, to give Solomon credit for being at once wise and -conscientious; we are to see in his action the working of a tender -conscience. Even though he may be appeasing his conscience by some trick -or ceremony, yet he is showing us the working of the moral nature within -the kingly breast. - -Yet there is a point to be noted here which is common to human -experience. Why should Solomon have married the daughter of Pharaoh? -Why should he, in the first instance, have placed himself in so vital a -relation to heathenism? Are there not men who first plunge into great -mistakes, and then seek to rectify their position by zealous care about -comparatively trifling details? Do not men make money by base means, and -then most zealously betake themselves to bookkeeping, as if they would -not spend money except in approved directions? - -There is nothing more misleading than a conscience that does not rest -on a basis of reason. We are to beware of the creation of a false -conscience, or a partial conscience, or a conscience that operates only -in given directions, but which makes up for sins of a larger kind by -ostentatious devotion at the altar of detail and ceremony and petty -ritual. - -“Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the Lord on the altar of -the Lord, which he had built before the porch, even after a certain -rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses--on the -Sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times -in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of -weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.” - -Solomon was great in burnt offerings. Do not men sometimes make up -in burnt offerings what they lack in moral consistency? Is not an -ostentatious religion the best proof of internal decay? It ought not to -be so. - -The hand and the heart should be one; the outward and the inward should -correspond; the action should be the incarnation of the thought. We are -not always to look on the ceremonial action of the Church as indicative -of its real spirituality. - -Solomon did not live to a very great age, since he was not more than -twenty years old when he ascended the throne. Whether Solomon turned to -the Lord again with all his heart--a question widely discussed by the -older commentators--can not be ascertained from the Scriptures. - -If the Preacher (Koheleth) is traceable to Solomon so far as the leading -thoughts are concerned, we should find in this fact an evidence of his -conversion, or at least a proof that at the close of his life Solomon -discovered the vanity of all earthly possessions and aims, and even -declared the fear of God to be the only abiding good with which a man can -stand before the judgment of God. - -The Temple of Solomon was, according to our ideas of size, a small -building. It was less than one hundred and twenty feet long, and less -than thirty-five feet broad; in other words, it was not so large as -one of the ordinary parish churches of our own land. Much less did it -approach to the size of the colossal buildings in Babylon or Egypt. -But in Jewish eyes, at the time that it was built, it may have been -“great”--that is to say, it may have exceeded the dimensions of any -single separate building existing in Palestine up to the time of its -erection. It may even have been larger than the buildings which the -neighboring nations had erected to their respective gods. - -Ancient worship was mainly in the open air, and the temples were viewed -as shrines for the Deity and for His priests--not as buildings in which -worshipers were to congregate. Hence their comparatively small size. - -“And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of -David, his father; and Rehoboam, his son, reigned in his stead.” - -This seems to be a lame and impotent conclusion. Yet it distinctly sets -forth the common humanity of this most extraordinary and brilliant king. -Literally, the passage means that Solomon lay down with his fathers. He -might hardly be recognized from the humblest of them. The Sun dies at -evening with scarcely a reminder of the glory which shone from him at -mid-day. - - -BASELESS PRIDE. - -(This pride-humbling survey of man and his destiny was written by William -Knox, a Scotchman.) - - Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud? - Like a swift fleeting meteor, a fast flying cloud, - A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave, - Man passes from life to his rest in the grave. - - The leaves of the oak and the willow shall fade, - Be scattered around, and together be laid; - And the young and the old and the low and the high - Shall molder to dust, and together shall lie. - - The infant a mother attended and loved, - The mother that infant’s affection who proved, - The husband that mother and infant who blessed-- - Each and all are away to their dwellings of rest. - - The maid on whose cheek, on whose brow, in whose eye, - Shone beauty and pleasure--her triumphs are by; - And the memory of those who loved her and praised - Is alike from the minds of the living erased. - - The hand of the king that the scepter has borne, - The brow of the priest that the miter has worn, - The eye of the sage and the heart of the brave - Are hidden and lost in the depths of the grave. - - The peasant whose lot was to sow and to reap, - The herdsman who climbed with his goats up the steep, - The beggar who wandered in search of his bread, - Have faded away like the grass that we tread. - - The saint who enjoyed the communion of Heaven, - The sinner who dared to remain unforgiven, - The wise and the foolish, the guilty and just, - Have quietly mingled their bones in the dust. - - So the multitude goes--like the flower or the weed - That withers away to let others succeed; - So the multitude comes--even those we behold-- - To repeat every tale that has often been told. - - For we are the same our fathers have been; - We see the same sights our fathers have seen; - We drink the same stream, we view the same Sun, - And run the same course our fathers have run. - - The thoughts we are thinking our fathers would think; - From the death we are shrinking our fathers would shrink; - To the life we are clinging they also would cling-- - But it speeds from us all like a bird on the wing. - - They loved--but the story we can not unfold; - They scorned--but the heart of the haughty is cold; - They grieved--but no wail from their slumber will come; - They joyed--but the tongue of their gladness is dumb. - - They died--aye, they died--and we things that are now, - That walk on the turf that lies o’er their brow - And make in their dwellings a transient abode, - Meet the things that they met on their pilgrimage road. - - Yea, hope and despondency, pleasure and pain, - Are mingled together in sunshine and rain; - And the smile and the tear, the song and the dirge, - Still follow each other, like surge upon surge. - - ’Tis the wink of an eye--’tis the draught of a breath-- - From the blossom of health to the paleness of death, - From the gilded saloon to the bier and the shroud! - Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud? - - - - -BOOKS PUBLISHED BY THOS. 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De Witt Talmage and Joseph Parker - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Bible Characters - Described and analyzed in the sermons and writings of the - following famous authors - -Author: Dwight Lyman Moody - T. De Witt Talmage - Joseph Parker - -Contributor: C. B. Gillette - -Release Date: May 17, 2017 [EBook #54736] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIBLE CHARACTERS *** - - - - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<p><span class="pagenum">[1-9]</span></p> - -<h1>BIBLE CHARACTERS</h1> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;" id="illus1"> -<img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="425" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Expulsion From The Garden.</span></p> -<p class="caption">From the Painting by Gustave Dore</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center larger">BIBLE CHARACTERS</p> - -<p class="titlepage">DESCRIBED AND ANALYZED IN THE SERMONS AND<br /> -WRITINGS OF THE<br /> -<br /> -<span class="larger">FOLLOWING FAMOUS AUTHORS:</span></p> - -<p class="titlepage larger">Dwight Lyman Moody.<br /> -T. De Witt Talmage.<br /> -Joseph Parker.</p> - -<p class="titlepage">SUPPLEMENTED BY THE GREATEST POEMS IN PRINT.</p> - -<div class="figcenter titlepage" style="width: 250px;"> -<img src="images/titlepage.jpg" width="250" height="180" alt="A drawing of a Bible propped open on top of another Bible." /> -</div> - -<p class="titlepage smaller">CHICAGO:<br /> -THOS. W. JACKSON PUBLISHING COMPANY.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller">Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1902, by the<br /> -RHODES & McCLURE PUBLISHING COMPANY<br /> -in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C.</p> - -<p class="center smaller">All Rights Reserved.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span></p> - -<h2>INTRODUCTION.<br /> -<span class="smaller">BY THE REV. C. B. GILLETTE, PH. D.</span></h2> - -<p>It frequently occurs to the devout Bible student and -to the earnest Christian that, if he could have had the personal -acquaintance of Jesus, and other Bible characters, it -would have helped materially in the cultivation of a religious -and spiritual life. One feels that, if he could have been a -James, or a John, a Martha, or a Mary; if he could have -stood by Jesus himself, and listened to the words falling -from His lips: observed his life, become acquainted with -his thought, and felt that silent, subtle influence emanating -from his personality; such would have been potential factors, -aiding one onward and upward in the divine pathway.</p> - -<p>So also, but in lesser degree, one regrets the impossibility -of personal contact with Elijah, Isaiah, John, Paul, et al. But -time has drawn the veil, and we cannot lift it. We must -look at them through the varying atmosphere of many generations, -and the best we can do is to avail ourselves of the -best aids possible, and through them draw as near as possible -to these great and good characters, so closely linked with -our religious belief and our faith in the Infinite and Eternal.</p> - -<p>One of Brooklyn’s greatest divines once said, that he -had never visited Palestine personally, but by study he had -become so thoroughly acquainted with that country, that,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> -should he be left at any point in Palestine at midnight, he -would be able to tell in the morning, from the surrounding -topography, where he was.</p> - -<p>So the editor of this volume has sought the scholars who -have been recognized by the world as the leading religious -teachers of their age, and culled from their utterances choice -selections, respecting Jesus and the “Holy men of old, who -spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dr. Talmage</span>, who, perhaps, more than any other living -preacher, has commanded the public ear.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Joseph Parker</span>, who, from his immense intellectual -store-house, well filled, has brought out such wonderful -thoughts, respecting the Bible Characters.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dwight L. Moody</span>, who moved the millions, both of this -country and Great Britain. What was the source of his -power? Not superior scholarship—far from it. Not his -general appearance: for that, while not mean, was neither -imposing nor inspiring. Not his eloquence; he never depended -upon that. What, then, was the source of his power? -It was the power of God. The Holy Spirit used him as a -means in the conversion of souls.</p> - -<p>The editor of this volume then presents you, in this age, -when intelligent minds are looking for the greatest and the -best, with the best thoughts of these great men, respecting -the Christ and other great characters which adorn the pages -of the Holy Writ.</p> - -<p class="right">C. B. GILLETTE.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Chicago, Ill., January 1, 1902.</span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr smaller">PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#MOODY">DWIGHT LYMAN MOODY.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Abel</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Abraham</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Ahab</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Barabbas</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Bartimeus and Zacchæus</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Belshazzar</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Caleb</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_34">34</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Daniel</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>David</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Elijah</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Gideon</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Ittai</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Jacob</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Jacob’s Sons</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_67">67</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>John the Baptist</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Joshua</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Lot</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Martha</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Mephibosheth</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_107">107</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Moses</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_111">111</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Naaman</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Peter</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Saul</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Simeon</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The Good Samaritan</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The Leper</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The Penitent Thief</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The Pharisee & The Publican</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_164">164</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The Widow’s Son</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_172">172</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="poem">Rock of Ages</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_175">175</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="poem">Where He Leads I Follow</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_176">176</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><a href="#TALMAGE">T. DE WITT TALMAGE.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Athaliah</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_177">177</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>David</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_181">181</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Deborah</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_187">187</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Dorcas</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_188">188</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Ehud</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_198">198</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Esau</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_200">200</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Felix and Drusilla</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Gallery of Characters</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Gideon</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_206">206</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Hezekiah</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_207">207</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Jehoiakim</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_209">209</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Jehu</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_211">211</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Jesus at Emmaus</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_214">214</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Job</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Jonah</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_217">217</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Joseph</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_220">220</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Lazarus</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_224">224</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Noah</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_230">230</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Othniel</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_231">231</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Paul</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_234">234</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Pharaoh</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_246">246</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Pontius Pilate</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_247">247</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Queen of Sheba</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_252">252</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Salome</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_254">254</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Saul</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_257">257</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Solomon</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_259">259</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The Gentile Mother</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_263">263</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Zacchæus</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_266">266</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="poem">Nearer, My God, To Thee</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_268">268</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span><a href="#PARKER">JOSEPH PARKER.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Abijah</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_269">269</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Ahab</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_282">282</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Ahaziah</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_308">308</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Asa</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_314">314</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Athaliah</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_321">321</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Balaam</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_328">328</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Elah</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_339">339</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Elijah</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_342">342</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Elisha</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_332">332</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Gehazi</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_374">374</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Hezekiah</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_384">384</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Jabez</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_401">401</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Jehoram</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_404">404</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Jehoram, King of Judah</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_414">414</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Jehoshaphat</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_421">421</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Jehu</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_430">430</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Job</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_440">440</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Micaiah</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_447">447</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Moses</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_449">449</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Nebuchadnezzar</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_457">457</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Queen of Sheba</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_459">459</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Rehoboam</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_461">461</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Shishak</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_466">466</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Solomon</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_467">467</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="poem">Baseless Pride</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_476">476</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p> - -<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS<br /> -<span class="smaller">Selected Especially for This Work<br /> -FROM THE GREAT ART GALLERIES OF THE WORLD</span></h2> - -<table summary="List of llustrations"> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">The Expulsion From The Garden.</span><br /> - From the Painting by Gustave Dore.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#illus1">Opposite Page Frontispiece</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">The Trial of the Faith of Abraham.</span> Genesis, xxii.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#illus2">Opposite Page 16</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">“The First Mourners.”</span><br /> - From the Painting by Bougereau.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#illus3">Opposite Page 17</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">The Arrival of The Good Samaritan at The Inn.</span><br /> - From the Painting by Gustave Dore.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#illus4">Opposite Page 144</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">David.</span><br /> - From Statue by Angelo.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#illus5">Opposite Page 145</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">Jacob Tending Flocks of Laban.</span><br /> - From the Painting by Gustave Dore.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#illus6">Opposite Page 160</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">Moses Breaking The Tables of The Law.</span><br /> - From the Painting by Gustave Dore.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#illus7">Opposite Page 161</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">The Prophet Amos.</span><br /> - From the Painting by Gustave Dore.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#illus8">Opposite Page 288</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">The Despair of Judas.</span><br /> - From a Photograph of the Character in the Passion Play.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#illus9">Opposite Page 289</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">Joseph Interpreting Pharaoh’s Dream.</span> Genesis, xli.<br /> - From the Painting by Gustave Dore.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#illus10">Opposite Page 304</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">St. Paul.</span><br /> - From the Painting by Raphael.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#illus11">Opposite Page 305</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">Solomon.</span><br /> - From the Painting by Gustave Dore.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#illus12">Opposite Page 432</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">The Judgment of Solomon.</span><br /> - From the Painting by Gustave Dore.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#illus13">Opposite Page 433</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">The Cross.</span><br /> - From the Painting by Gustave Dore.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#illus14">Opposite Page 448</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">Moses in The Bulrushes.</span><br /> - From the Painting by Gustave Dore.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#illus15">Opposite Page 449</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;" id="illus2"> -<img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="425" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Trial of the Faith of Abraham.</span> Genesis, xxii.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus3"> -<img src="images/illus3.jpg" width="650" height="425" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">The First Mourners.</span>”—From the Painting by Bougereau.</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="MOODY">BIBLE CHARACTERS<br /> -<span class="smaller">DESCRIBED IN HIS SOUL-WINNING SERMONS BY THE WORLD-KNOWN EVANGELIST,</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">Dwight Lyman Moody</span>.</h2> - -<h3>ABEL.</h3> - -<p>Abel was the first man who went to Heaven, and he -went by way of blood. So we find it in all the worships -of God from the earliest times.</p> - -<p>In the story of Abel and Cain we are told: “In -process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the -fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel -also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat -thereof, and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his -offering; but unto Cain and his offering He had not -respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance -fell.”</p> - -<p>Now, we find that Cain brought a bloodless sacrifice—“he -brought of the fruit of the ground”—and Abel -brought a bleeding lamb. Right on the morning of grace -we see here that God had marked a way for men to come -to Him, and that way was the way that Abel took, and -Cain came to God with a sacrifice of his own, in his own -way. Cain, perhaps, reasoned that he did not see why<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> -the products of the earth—why the fruit—should not be -as acceptable to God as a bleeding lamb. He did not -like a bleeding lamb, and so he brought his fruit.</p> - -<p>Now, we do not know how there was any difference -between those two boys. Both must have been brought -up in the same way; both came from the same parents. -Yet we find in the offerings there was a difference between -them.</p> - -<h3>ABRAHAM.</h3> - -<p>In the twenty-second chapter of Genesis we find the -story of Abraham and his only son, Isaac. Abraham was -a follower of God, a man who loved and feared God, and -He commanded him to make a blood sacrifice.</p> - -<p>We read in this chapter that He commanded Abraham -to make the sacrifice of his only son. And we read -that the next morning the old man saddled his ass and -started. He did not tell his wife any thing about it. If -he had, she would likely have persuaded him to remain -where he was. But he has heard the voice of God, and -he obeys the command. He has heard God’s wish, and -he is going to do it.</p> - -<p>So, early in the morning—Abraham did not wait till -10 or 12 o’clock, but went early in the morning—he -takes two of his young men with him and his son Isaac, -and you can see him starting out on the three days’ journey. -They have the wood and the fire, for he is going -to worship his God.</p> - -<p>As Abraham goes on, he looks at his boy and says:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> -“It is a strange commandment that God has given. I -love this boy dearly. I do not understand it, but I do -know it is all right, for the Judge of all the earth makes -no mistakes.” An order from the Judge of Heaven is -enough for Abraham.</p> - -<p>The first night comes, their little camp is made, and -Isaac is asleep. But the old man does not sleep. He -looks into the face of his sleeping boy, and sadly says: -“I will have no boy soon. I shall never see him on this -earth again. But I must obey God.”</p> - -<p>I can see Abraham marching on the next day, and -you might have seen him drying his tears as he glanced -upon that only son and thought upon what he had been -called upon to do. The second night comes; tomorrow -is the day for the sacrifice. What a night that must have -been to Abraham! Hear him say: “Tomorrow I must -take the life of that boy—my only son, dearer to me -than any thing on earth—dearer to me than my life.”</p> - -<p>The third day comes, and as they go along they see -the mountain in the distance. Then Abraham says to -the young men: “You stay here with the beasts.” He -takes the wood and the fire, and along with his boy prepares -to ascend Mount Moriah, from the peak of which -could be seen the spot where, a few hundred years later, -the Son of man was offered up.</p> - -<p>As they ascend the mountain Isaac says: “Here are -the wood and the fire, father. But where is the sacrifice?” -This question shows that the boy knew nothing -of what was in store. How the question must have sunk -down into the old man’s heart! And he only answers: -“The Lord will provide a sacrifice.” It was not time to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -tell him, and they go on until they come to the place -appointed by God, and build the altar, and lay the wood -upon it. Every thing is ready, and I can just imagine -the old man take the boy by the hand, and, leading him -to a rock, sitting down there and telling him how God -had called upon him to come out of his native land; how -God had been in communion with him for fifty years; -what God had done for him. “And now,” he says, -“my boy, when I was in my bed three nights ago, God -came to me with a strange message, in which He told me -to offer my child as a sacrifice. I love you, my son, but -God has told me to do this, and I must obey Him. So -let us both go down on our knees and pray to Him.”</p> - -<p>After they have sent up a petition to God, Abraham -lays Isaac on the altar and kisses him for the last time. -He lifts the knife to drive it into his son’s heart, when -all at once he hears a voice: “Abraham! Abraham! -Spare thine only son.”</p> - -<p>Ah! There was no voice heard on Calvary to save -the Son of Man. God showed mercy to the son of Abraham. -You fathers and mothers, just picture to yourselves -how you would suffer if you had to sacrifice your -only son. And think what it must have caused God to -give up His only Son. We are told that Abraham was -glad. This manifestation of Abraham’s faith so pleased -God that He showed him the grace of Heaven and lifted -the curtain of time to let him look down into the future -to see the Son of God offered, bearing the sins of the -world.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p> - -<h3>AHAB.</h3> - -<p>There is a familiar saying: “Every man has his -own price.”</p> - -<p>Ahab had his, and he sold himself for a garden; -Judas sold himself for thirty pieces of silver, and Esau -for a mess of pottage.</p> - -<p>Ahab sold himself just to please a fallen woman. -And so we might go on—citing the men who have sold -themselves. It is easy for us to condemn these men, -but let us see if there are not men and women doing the -same thing today. How many are selling themselves -tonight for naught! It is easy enough to condemn Judas, -Herod and Ahab, but in doing this do we not condemn -ourselves?</p> - -<p>We thought that slavery was hard. We thought it -hard that those poor black people should be put upon -the block, in the market, and sold to the highest bidder; -but what do you think of those men who sell themselves -today to evil?</p> - -<p>Ahab sold himself to evil, and what did he get?</p> - -<p>Elijah was the best friend that Ahab had, but he did -not think so; he thought that Elijah was his enemy. -Ahab was a religious man—that is, he thought he was. -He had 850 prophets. “And what king has more? -What king does more for religion than I?” So he would -have said. There is a difference between religion and -having Christ. There are a great many people that have -religion but have no Christ in it—that have not a spark -of Christianity.</p> - -<p>This man was very religious, but he began wrong.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> -His marriage was his first wrong step. He did not care -about the law of God. He wanted to strengthen his -kingdom. I can imagine they said: “We have outgrown -the laws of Moses. We do not want your God; -we have got something better. Here are the nations all -around us worshiping Baal, and we will worship Baal.”</p> - -<p>Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, wanted the patriarchs and the -prophets put to death, and they were put to death. -Obadiah had a few, but wherever they were found they -were put to death. I suppose they said of Elijah: “That -man belongs to the old Puritanical school.” He was -bigoted and narrow. The idea of only worshiping one -God! Ahab was willing to turn away from the God of -Elijah, but he did not look to have Elijah reprove him, -and thus he was his enemy. Many a man who has a -good, praying mother thinks that mother is his enemy.</p> - -<p>Ahab thought the God of Elijah was not going to -carry out His warning. I will leave it to you if the man -who warns you of danger is not the best friend you have -got. If I saw a man about to walk over a precipice and -he was blind and I did not warn him, would not the -blood of that man be required at my hands? Would not -I be guilty morally? Jezebel hated Elijah, and she disliked -him for his warnings. The man who warns you is -the best friend that you have got.</p> - -<p>Suppose I am going home at night—at midnight—and -I see a building on fire and I pass along and say not -a word about it, and the occupants are all asleep and I -go right home and go to bed, and in the morning I find -that fifteen people in that house were burned up—how -you would condemn me! And if in preaching the Gospel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -I do not warn you about your danger—about your -sins and God’s punishment—what will you say to me -when I meet you at the Eternal Throne? I do not want -you to think that I am trying to please the people by -preaching that the just and unjust will fare alike. You -may be successful for a time. Ahab had two grand and -glorious victories upon the battle field, and he was a very -popular man for a while. He built a palace of ivory, -and just here I want to speak of one act of that man.</p> - -<p>When Ahab’s beautiful palace was finished, he found -there was a poor man who had a garden near it. This -Ahab wanted. And Ahab came to Naboth, the poor -man, and wanted him to sell his garden. But Naboth -said he could not do so, for it was against the law of his -people. Then Ahab said to him: “I will give you a -better place than this, and I will give you a better vineyard -than this.” But Naboth was firm, and would not -agree to sell his garden.</p> - -<p>Many men would have liked to sell to the king. Such -would have said: “We know it is against the law, but -he is foolish not to sell to the king.”</p> - -<p>Naboth said: “God forbid that I should sell.”</p> - -<p>Ahab returns to his palace, where he pouts like a -child. Jezebel notices him, and begins to speak with -him. She asks: “What is the matter?” Ahab makes -answer like a peevish child: “I want Naboth’s garden.” -And she asks him why he does not take it, and then he -tells her. Again she asks:</p> - -<p>“Are you not king of Israel?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Well! Then why do you not get it? I will get<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> -it for you, and it shall not cost you any thing. I will -arrange it.”</p> - -<p>Then Jezebel sent that infamous letter to the truculent -elders. Those elders were just as bad as Jezebel. -They knew that Naboth served the God of Heaven. The -instructions of the letter were followed. The two witnesses -said they saw Naboth despise God and the king, -and so he was taken out and stoned to death. I can see -him kneeling there and the crowds taking up the stones -and hurling them at him.</p> - -<p>Well, when Ahab goes down to take possession of -that vineyard there is a message that had come from the -throne of Heaven. God has been watching him. He -notices all of us, and there is not a hellish act that has -been, or is going to be, committed but God knows about -it. Elijah stood before Ahab as the latter went down to -that garden, and Ahab got out of his chariot and met -him. He knew that Elijah knew all, and he did not like -to be reproved. Ill-gotten gains do not bring peace. If -you get any thing at the cost of the truth or honor, it -will be peace lost for time, and perhaps for eternity.</p> - -<p>As he walked through that garden, Ahab looked up -and said: “Why, is not that Elijah?” He knew it -was, and he knew what it meant. Elijah walks up to -him and asks: “Hast thou killed and taken possession?” -Ahab answers: “I wonder how he found that -out. He knows all about me.” And then Elijah said: -“In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth -they shall lick thy blood.”</p> - -<p>Then Ahab asked the prophet: “Mine enemy, have -you found me out?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p> - -<p>Elijah answered: “Yes. Because you have sold -yourself to evil, you will be found out.”</p> - -<p>A few years before, Ahab had laughed at Elijah, but -he now remembered that every thing which Elijah’s God -had promised had been done, and he could not get these -words out of his mind: “In the place where the dogs -licked the blood of Naboth they shall lick thy blood.” -Sometimes just one act, that we can do in a minute, will -cost us years of trouble and pain. Little did Ahab think -that it was going to cost him his kingdom and cause his -whole family to be swept from the face of the earth -when he gave the promise to Jezebel to write that letter.</p> - -<p>Ahab lived three years after Elijah met him in that -garden, and how many times do you suppose those awful -words of Elijah came into his mind? He could not get -them out of his mind. Jezebel tried to help him, but -she could not. He wanted to improve the garden, and -no doubt he did improve it; but whenever he walked -there the words came to him which Elijah had spoken. -Then the time came for the judgment against Ahab to -be carried out, and the Bible tells how it was done.</p> - -<h3>BARABBAS.</h3> - -<p>I have often thought what a night Barabbas must -have spent just before the day when Christ was crucified.</p> - -<p>As the sun goes down, he says to himself: “Tomorrow—only -tomorrow—and I must die upon the cross! -They will hang me up before a crowd of people; they -will drive nails through my hands and feet; they will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> -break my legs with bars of iron; and in that awful torture -I shall die before this time tomorrow, and go up to -the Judgment with all my crimes upon me.”</p> - -<p>Maybe, they let his mother come to see him once -more before dark. Perhaps he had a wife and children, -and they came to see him for the last time. He could -not sleep at all that night. He could hear somebody -hammering in the prison yard, and knew they must be -making the cross. He would start up every now and -then, thinking that he heard the footsteps of the officers -coming for him.</p> - -<p>At last the light of the morning looks in through the -bars of his prison.</p> - -<p>“Today—this very day—they will open that door -and lead me away to be crucified!”</p> - -<p>Pretty soon he hears them coming. No mistake this -time. They are unbarring the iron door. He hears -them turning the key in the rusty lock. Then the door -swings open. There are the soldiers.</p> - -<p>Good-by to life and hope! Death—horrible death—now! -And after death—what will there be then?</p> - -<p>The officer of the guard speaks to him: “Barabbas, -you are free!”</p> - -<p>He hears the strange words, but they make very little -impression on him. He is so near dead with fear and -horror that the good news does not reach him. His ears -catch the sound, but he thinks it is a foolish fancy. He -is asleep and dreaming. He stands gazing a moment at -the soldiers, and then he comes to himself.</p> - -<p>“Do not laugh at me! Do not make sport of me! -Take me away and crucify me, but do not tear my soul<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> -to pieces!” Again the officer speaks: “<em>You are free!</em> -Here—the door is open! Go out—go home!”</p> - -<p>Now he begins to take in the truth. But it is so wonderful -a thing to get out of the clutches of the Roman -law that he is afraid to believe the good news. And so -he begins to doubt, and to ask how it can be.</p> - -<p>They tell him that Pilate has promised the Jews the -release of one prisoner that day, and that the Jews have -chosen him instead of one Jesus of Nazareth, who was -condemned to be crucified.</p> - -<p>Now the poor man begins to weep. This breaks his -heart. He knows this Jesus. He has seen Him perform -some of His miracles. He was in the crowd, picking -pockets, when Jesus fed the five thousand hungry people.</p> - -<p>“What! That just man to die! And I—a thief, a -highwayman, a murderer—to go free!”</p> - -<p>And in the midst of his joy at his own release his -heart breaks at the thought that his life is saved at such -a cost.</p> - -<h3>BARTIMEUS AND ZACCHÆUS.</h3> - -<p>In the eighteenth chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke -you will find Christ was going into Jericho, and as He -drew near the gates of the city there was a poor blind -man who sat by the wayside, begging people to give him -a farthing, and crying out: “Have mercy on a poor -blind man!”</p> - -<p>This blind beggar met a man who said to him: “I -have good news to tell you, Bartimeus.”</p> - -<p>“What is it?” asked the beggar.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span></p> - -<p>“There is a man of Israel who can give you sight.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no! There is no chance of my ever receiving -my sight. I never shall see. In fact, I never saw the -mother who gave me birth. I never saw the wife of my -bosom. I never saw my own children. I never saw in -this world, but I expect to see in the world to come.”</p> - -<p>“Let me tell you. I have just come down from -Jerusalem, and I saw that village carpenter, Jesus of -Nazareth; and I saw a man who was born blind, who -had received his sight, and I never saw a man who had -better sight. He does not even have to use glasses.”</p> - -<p>Then hope rises for the first time in this poor man’s -heart, and he says: “Tell me how the man got his -sight.”</p> - -<p>“Oh,” says the other, “Jesus first spat upon the -ground and made clay, and put it on his eyes, and then -He told the man to wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam, -and he would receive his sight. More than that, Bartimeus: -He does not charge you any thing. You have -no fee to pay. You just tell him what you want, and -you get it—without money and without price. It does -not need dukes, lords or influence. You just call upon -Him yourself. And if He ever comes this way, do not -let Him go back without your going to see Jesus.”</p> - -<p>And Bartimeus said: “I will try it. There is no -harm in trying it.”</p> - -<p>I can imagine Bartimeus being led by a child to his -seat, as usual, and that he is crying out: “Please give -a blind beggar a farthing.”</p> - -<p>He hears the footsteps of the coming multitude, and -he inquires: “Who is passing? What does this multitude<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> -mean?” They tell him that it is Jesus of Nazareth -passing by. The moment he hears that he says: -“Why, that is the man that gave sight to the blind!”</p> - -<p>The moment it reached his ear that it was Jesus of -Nazareth, he began to cry out at the top of his voice: -“Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy upon me!”</p> - -<p>Some of those who went before—perhaps Peter was -one of them—rebuked him, thinking the Master was going -up to Jerusalem to be crowned King, and did not -want to be distracted. They never knew the Son of -God when He was here. He would hush every harp in -Heaven to hear a sinner pray. No music would delight -Him so much. But the blind man still lifted up his -voice, and cried louder: “Thou Son of David, have -mercy on me!”</p> - -<p>This prayer reached the ears of the Son of God, as -prayer always will, and they led the poor blind man to -Him. Well, when Jesus heard the blind beggar, He -commanded him to be brought. So they ran to him, -and said: “Be of good cheer. The Master calls you. -He has a blessing for you.”</p> - -<p>When Jesus saw Bartimeus He said: “What can I -do for you?”</p> - -<p>“Lord, that I may receive sight.”</p> - -<p>“You shall have it.”</p> - -<p>And the Lord gave it to him. And now the beggar -follows with the crowd, glorifying God. I can imagine -he sang as sweetly as Mr. Sankey—and no one can sing -more sweetly than he—when he shouted: “Hosanna -to the Son of David!” No one sang louder than this one -who had received his sight. Then he follows on with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -crowd, which we see pressing into the gates of the city. -I can imagine, when he gets into the city, he says to -himself: “I will go down and see Mrs. Bartimeus.” Of -course, after all those years of blindness, he had some -curiosity to see what his wife looked like.</p> - -<p>As he is passing down the street, a man meets him, -and turns around and says: “Bartimeus, is that you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; it is I.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I thought so, and yet I feared my eyes must -deceive me. How did you get your sight?”</p> - -<p>“I just met Jesus of Nazareth outside the walls of -the city, and I asked Him to have mercy on me; and He -gave me sight.”</p> - -<p>“Jesus of Nazareth! Is he now in this part of the -country?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; He is on His way to Jerusalem. He is now -going down to the eastern gate.”</p> - -<p>“I should like to see Him,” says the man. And he -runs straightway down the street. But he can not get a -glimpse of Him, being small of stature, on account of -the great throng around Him. He runs to a sycamore -tree, and says to himself: “If I get up there and hide, -without any one seeing me, He can not get by without -my having a good look at Him.”</p> - -<p>A great many rich men do not like to be seen coming -to Jesus.</p> - -<p>Well, there he is in the sycamore tree, on a branch -hanging right over the highway, and he says to himself: -“He can not get by without my having a good look at -Him.” All at once the crowd comes in sight. He looks -at John. “That is not He.” He looks at Peter. “No,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> -that is not He.” Then he sees One who is fairer than -the sons of men. “That is He!” And Zacchæus, just -peeping out from among the branches, looks down upon -that wonderful—yes, that mighty—God-Man in amazement.</p> - -<p>At last the crowd comes to the tree, and it looks as -if Christ is going by; but He stops right under the tree. -All at once He looks up and sees Zacchæus, and says to -him: “Zacchæus, make haste and come down.”</p> - -<p>I can imagine Zacchæus says to himself: “I wonder -who told Him my name. I was never introduced to -Him.” But Christ knew all about him.</p> - -<p>Well, He said to Zacchæus: “Make haste and come -down.” He may have added: “This is the last time I -shall pass this way, Zacchæus.” That is the way He -speaks to sinners. “This may be the last time I shall -pass this way. This may be your last chance of eternity.” -There are some people in this nineteenth century -who do not believe in sudden conversions. I should like -them to tell me where Zacchæus was converted. He -certainly was not converted when he went up into the -tree, but he certainly was converted when he came down. -He must have been converted somewhere between the -branches and the ground.</p> - -<p>The Lord converted him right there. People say -they do not believe in sudden conversions, and that if a -man is converted suddenly he will not hold out—he will -not be genuine. I wish we had a few men converted -like Zacchæus in London. They would make no small -stir. When a man begins to make restitution it is a -pretty good sign of conversion. Let men give back<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -money dishonestly obtained in London, and see how -quickly people will believe in conversion. Zacchæus gave -half his goods to the poor. What would be said if some -of the rich men of London did that? Zacchæus gave -half his goods all at once, and he said: “If I have -taken any thing from any man falsely, I restore him fourfold.” -I think that is the other half.</p> - -<p>But to get Christ is worth more than all his wealth. -I imagine, the next morning, one of the servants of Zacchæus -going with a check for £100, and saying: “My -master a few years ago took from you wrongfully about -£25, and this is restitution money.”</p> - -<p>That would give confidence in Zacchæus’s conversion.</p> - -<h3>BELSHAZZAR.</h3> - -<p>In the fifth chapter of Daniel we read the history of -King Belshazzar. It is very short. Only one chapter -tells us all we know about him. One short sight of his -career is all we see. He just seems to burst upon the -stage and then disappears. We are told that he gave a -great feast, and at this feast he had a thousand of his -lords, and they were drinking and praising the gods of -silver, of gold, of brass, of iron and of wood, out of the -vessels which had been brought from the Temple at Jerusalem.</p> - -<p>As they were drinking out of these vessels of gold and -silver from the house of God—I do not know but it was -at the hour of midnight—all at once came forth the fingers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> -of a man’s hand and began to write upon the wall -of the banquet hall.</p> - -<p>The king turns deathly pale, his knees shake together -and he trembles from head to foot. Perhaps if some one -had told him the time was coming when he would be put -into the balance and weighed he would have laughed at -him. But he knows the vital hour has come, and that -the hand has written his doom in the words: “Mene, -mene, tekel, upharsin.”</p> - -<p>He calls the wise men of his kingdom, and the man -who can interpret this will be made the third ruler of his -realm, and shall be clothed in scarlet and have a chain -about his neck. One after another tried, but the eyes of -no uncircumcised man could make it out. Belshazzar -was greatly troubled. At last one was spoken of who -had been able to interpret the dream of his father, Nebuchadnezzar. -He was told if he would send for Daniel -the latter might interpret the writing.</p> - -<p>So the prophet was brought in, and he looked upon -the handwriting. He told the king how his father had -gone against God, and how he (Belshazzar) had gone -against the Lord of Heaven, and how his reign was finished. -And this was the meaning of the mysterious -writing:</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Mene</span>—God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished -it.</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Tekel</span>—Thou art weighed in the balance, and art -found wanting.</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Peres</span>—Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the -Medes and Persians.”</p> - -<p>The trial is over, the verdict is rendered and the sentence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -brought out. That very night the king was hurled -from his throne. That very night the army of Darius -came tearing down the streets, and then you might have -heard the clash of arms and shouts of war, and might -have seen the king’s blood mingling with the wine in that -banquet hall.</p> - -<h3>CALEB.</h3> - -<p>Caleb and Joshua are great favorites of mine. They -have got a ring about them. They were not all the time -looking for hindrances and obstacles in their way. They -got their eyes above them.</p> - -<p>You remember how those men were sent forward to -spy out the land of Canaan. They had been sent out -forty days to go over that land. They went from the -wilderness of Zin to Rehob, and thence unto Hebron. -And when they reached the “brook of Eshcol they -secured a branch with one cluster of grapes, and bare it -between two upon a staff; and they brought of the -pomegranates and of the figs.”</p> - -<p>They were gone forty days, and the twelve men -brought back what Congress would call a majority and a -minority report. Ten men reported that they had gone -unto the land to which they were sent, and that surely -it flowed with milk and honey. And so God’s word was -true. They found milk and honey. And they brought -along grapes.</p> - -<p>But ten of them were full of unbelief. They further -reported that they saw giants there—the sons of Anak, -which come of the giants. The Hittites, Jebusites,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> -Amalekites and Amorites dwelt there. They were all -there, and also those great giants, in whose sight they -were as grasshoppers. It was a great war city, and they -asked themselves if they looked as though they were -able to war with such giants. They said: “We are -not able.”</p> - -<p>They undoubtedly brought back maps and charts, and -said: “There is the region. It would be monstrous for -us to attempt to take it. There are massive iron gates -and a great wall, and we are not able to take it. We -are defenseless people—without any weapons. We will -not be able to overcome those people.”</p> - -<p>I can imagine one man said: “Why, I looked up -at those giants, and I seemed as a little grasshopper, and -I felt as small as a grasshopper. We can not hope to -cope with those giants. It is a good land, but we will -not be able to go up and possess it.”</p> - -<p>Then they began to murmur. It does not take a very -great while to get unbelievers to murmuring. But Caleb -tried to encourage them. He says to them: “Let us -go up at once and possess the land. We are well able -to overcome it.”</p> - -<p>Even Joshua joined in with Caleb, and they proved -two with the faith. To be sure, they were in the minority; -but if the Lord is with us we are able to prove a -powerful majority over the enemy. They determined to -take it, and they wandered across all through Canaan, -but the people took up stones, and would have stoned -them to death. But “the glory of the Lord appeared -in the tabernacle of the congregation, before all the children -of Israel.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span></p> - -<p>And about three millions of people wandered in the -wilderness for forty years, until all the men laid themselves -down in the desert grave and were kept out of the -Promised Land—all on account of their unbelief. And -I believe today that four-fifths of the church is wandering -around in the wilderness, far away from the cross of -Calvary and the Promised Land. We are able to have -victory with God with us.</p> - -<p>Ten men were looking at all those obstacles that this -new land presented to them, while these two men—Caleb -and Joshua—looked up yonder. And they saw -God’s face and remembered the waste in Egypt, the -crossing of the Red Sea, the destruction which was -brought upon the Philistines, the water from the flint -rock, and they believed that God was able—as He most -certainly was—to give them that land He had promised.</p> - -<h3>DANIEL.</h3> - -<p>I want to talk about the life of the prophet, Daniel. -The word means “God with him”—not the public with -him, not his fellow men, but God. Therefore, he had -to report himself to God and hold himself responsible to -Him.</p> - -<p>I do not know just what time Daniel went down to -Babylon. I know that in the third year of King Jehoakim -Nebuchadnezzar took ten thousand of the chief men -of Jerusalem, and carried them captive down to Babylon. -I am glad these chief men, who brought on the -war, were given into the great king’s hands. Unlike too<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -many of the ringleaders in our great war, they got the -punishment on their own heads.</p> - -<p>Among the captives were four young men. They had -been converted, doubtless, under Jeremiah, the “weeping -prophet” that God had sent to the children of Israel. -Many had mocked at him when he lifted up his voice -against their sins. They had laughed at his tears and -told him to his face—as many say of us—that he was -getting up a false excitement. But these four young men -listened, and they had the backbone to come out for God.</p> - -<p>And now, after they were come to Babylon, the king -said a number of the children should be educated, and -ordered the same kind of meat and wine set before them -that were used in his palace, and that at the end of a -year they should be brought before him. Daniel and his -three friends were among these.</p> - -<p>Now, no young man ever comes to the city without -having great temptation cross his path as he enters it. -And just at this turning point in his life, as in Daniel’s, -must lie the secret of his success. This was the secret -of young Daniel’s success: He took his stand with God -right on his entering the gate of Babylon, and cried to -God to keep him steadfast. And he needed to cry hard. -A law of his and his nation’s God was that no man must -eat meat offered to idols, but now comes the king’s first -edict, that this young man should eat the same kind of -meat he himself did. I do not think that it took young -Daniel long to make up his mind. The law of God forbade -it, and he would not do it. “He purposed in his -heart”—in his heart; mark this—that he would not -defile himself. He did not resolve in his head, but love<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -in his heart prompted him. If some Chicago Christians -could have advised Daniel, they would have said to him: -“Don’t you do it; don’t set aside the meat. That -would be a species of Phariseeism.” Oh, yes; they -would have insisted to the poor young captive that he -should carry out the commandments of his God when he -was in his own country, but not there where he was but -a poor slave; he could not possibly carry along his own -religion down there to Babylon.</p> - -<p>Thank God, this young man would not eat the meat, -and, ordering it taken away, he got the eunuch to bring -him pulse. And behold, when he came before the king, -the eunuch’s fears were gone, for the faces of Daniel and -the rest of the dear boys were fairer and fatter than any -that the king looked down upon. They had not noses—like -too many in our streets—as red as if they were just -going to blossom. It is God’s truth, and Daniel tested -it, that cold water, with a clear conscience, is far better -than wine.</p> - -<p>And the king one day had a dream, and all the wise -men were called before him. But they all said: “We -can not interpret it; it is too hard.” The king, being -wroth, threatened them. Still getting no answer, he -made an edict that all the wise men should be put to -death. And the officers came to Daniel, with the rest -of the wise men, but Daniel was not afraid.</p> - -<p>I can imagine he prayed to God, falling low on his -knees and with his face to the earth, and asked Him for -guidance; and then he crawled into bed and slept like a -child. We would hardly sleep well under such circumstances. -And in his sleep God told him the meaning of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -the dream. There must have been joy among the wise -men that one of their number had found it, and that the -king would save their lives. And he is brought before -the king, and cries out: “O king, while thou didst lie -with thy head on thy pillow, thou didst dream, and in -thy dream thou sawest a great image.”</p> - -<p>I can imagine, at these opening words, how the -kings eyes flashed, and how he cried out with joy: -“Yes, that is it—the whole thing comes back to me -now.”</p> - -<p>And then Daniel, in a death-like stillness, unfolded -all the interpretation, and told the king that the golden -head of the great image represented his own government. -I suppose Babylon was the biggest city ever in -the world. It was sixty miles around. Some writers -put the walls from sixty-five to eighty-five feet high and -twenty-five feet wide. Four chariots could drive abreast -on top of them. A street fifteen miles long divided the -grand city, and hanging gardens in acres made the public -parks. It was like Chicago—so flat that they had to -resort to artificial mounds; and, again like Chicago, the -products of vast regions flowed right into and through it.</p> - -<p>This great kingdom, Daniel told the king, was his -own; but he said a destroying kingdom should come, -and afterward a third and fourth kingdom, when, at the -last, the God of Heaven should set up His kingdom.</p> - -<p>Daniel lived to see the first kingdom overthrown, -when the Medes and Persians came in, and centuries -after came Alexander, and then the Romans.</p> - -<p>I believe in the literal fulfillment, so far, of Daniel’s -God given words and in the sure fulfillment of the final<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> -prophecy of the “stone cut out of the mountains without -hands,” that by-and-by shall grind the kingdoms of -this world into dust, and bring in the Kingdom of Peace. -Then will be the Millennium, and Christ will sway His -scepter over all the earth.</p> - -<p>Well, the king was very much pleased. He gave to -Daniel a place near the throne, and he became one of -the chief men of the world. His three friends were also -put in high office. God had blessed them signally, and -He blessed them still more—and that was, perhaps, a -harder thing—in keeping them true to Him in their prosperity. -Their faith and fortunes waxed strong together.</p> - -<p>Time went on, and now we reach a crisis indeed. -“Nebuchadnezzar, the king,” we read, “made an image -of gold, one hundred and ten feet high and nine feet -wide.” It was not gilded, but was solid gold. When -Babylon was pillaged the second time a single god was -found in the temple that was worth more than two million -pounds sterling. The king’s monstrous image was -set up in the Plains of Dura, near to the city. I suppose -he wanted to please his kingly vanity by inaugurating a -universal religion.</p> - -<p>When the time came for the dedication I do not suppose -Daniel was there. He was probably in Egypt, or -some other province, on affairs of the empire. Counselors, -satraps, high secretaries and the princes of the -people were ordered to hasten to the dedication, and -when they should hear the sound of the cornet, flute and -psaltery announce that the great idol was consecrated -they were to bow down and worship it.</p> - -<p>Perhaps they called the ceremony the unveiling of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> -monument, as we should say. But one command was -made certain. At a given signal all the people were to -fall to the earth in worship. But in the law of God -there is something against that. “Thou shalt have none -other gods but Me.” God’s law went right against the -king’s.</p> - -<p>Would all of us have Daniel’s three friends to do the -right thing at any hazard? Would none of us, without -backbone, have advised them to just bow down a little, -so that no one would notice it, or to merely bow down -but not worship it?</p> - -<p>The hour came, and Daniel’s friends refused to bow -down. They refused utterly to bend the knee to a god -of gold. How many cry out in this city: “Give me -gold—give me money—and I will do any thing!” Such -may think that men in Nebuchadnezzar’s time should not -bow down to a golden idol, but they themselves are daily -doing just that very thing. Money is their golden image, -or position, or golden ambition.</p> - -<p>Well, the informers came to the king, and told him -that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had stood with -unbended knee, and straightway they were hurried before -him. The old king, speechless with rage, was gesturing -his commands. I can imagine that one last chance was -given them, after the king finally regained his voice, and -that one of them, probably Meshach, spoke up in a firm -but respectful voice that they must obey God rather than -man.</p> - -<p>At once the raging king cried out: “What is your -God that He can deliver you out of our hands?” And -in the same breath he screamed a command to bind them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -hand and foot and cast them into the fiery furnace, and -make it seven times hotter than ever. The command -was instantly executed, and the flames leaped out from -the door and consumed the officers who cast them in.</p> - -<p>But Jesus was with His servants as the flames raged -about them, and soon word was brought to the king that -four men walked about in the flames. Yes, they walked -there with Jesus—they did not run—as in a green pasture -and beside still waters. And directly the king rushed -up and cried: “Ye sons of the living God, come forth.” -And behold, even the hair of their heads was not singed. -Then the king made a royal edict, that all in his realm -should reverence the God of Shadrach, Meshach and -Abednego.</p> - -<p>Then the king had a dream, and he was greatly perturbed -thereby. This time the particulars of the dream -had not gone from him. They stood out vivid and clear -in his mind, as he sent out to fetch the wise men, and -called to them to give him the interpretation. But they -can not give it.</p> - -<p>When he had his first dream he had summoned these -same soothsayers, but they had stood silent. And now -they stand silent again as the second dream is told them. -They can not interpret it. Then once again he sends for -the prophet, Daniel, whom he had named after one of -his gods, Belteshazzar. And the young prophet comes -before the king, and as soon as the king sees Daniel he -feels sure that he will now get the meaning.</p> - -<p>Calling out from his throne, he tells how he had -dreamed a dream, wherein he saw a tree in the midst of -the earth, with branches that reached to Heaven, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -the sight thereof to the ends of the earth. The beasts -of the field had shelter under it, and the fowls of the air -dwelt in the boughs thereof. The tree was very fair and -had much fruit, and all flesh was fed on it. And then, -lowering his voice, he tells how, as he gazed, he saw a -watcher and a holy one come down from Heaven, who -cried aloud: “Hew down the tree.”</p> - -<p>“And now,” cries the king, “can you tell me the -interpretation?”</p> - -<p>For a time Daniel stands motionless. Does his heart -fail him? The record simply says: “For one hour he -was astonished.” The ready words doubtless rush to his -lips, but he dislikes to let them out. He does not want -to tell how the king’s kingdom and mind are going to -depart from him, and he is to wander forth to eat grass -like a beast. The king, too, hesitates; a dark foreboding -for a time gets the better of curiosity. But soon he -nerves himself to hear the worst, and speaks very kindly: -“Do not be afraid to tell me, O Daniel! Let not the -dream or its interpretation trouble thee.” And at last -Daniel speaks: “O king, thou art the man. God has -exalted thee over every king and over all the world, but -thou shalt be brought low. Thou shalt be driven out -from men, and shalt eat grass among the beasts of the -field; but thy kingdom—as the great watcher spared the -stump of the tree—shall afterward return to thee. -Wherefore, O king, break off thy sins by righteousness -and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, if it -may be a lengthening of thy tranquility.”</p> - -<p>And straightway the king repented in sackcloth and -ashes, and God stayed the doom. But twelve months<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> -from that time we see Nebuchadnezzar walking in his -palace and boasting: “Is not this my great Babylon -that I have built by the might of my power and for the -honor of my majesty!” And behold, while he yet spake -a voice came from Heaven, saying: “Thy kingdom hath -departed.” And undoubtedly God then touched his reason, -and straightway he ran madly through the gates to -eat grass.</p> - -<p>But his kingdom had not passed from him forever, -and, according to the prophet’s word, at the end of seven -years—or, possibly, seven months—his reason came -back, and he returned to his palace. All his princes and -officers gathered about him. Then he immediately sent -out a new proclamation, and its closing words show his -repentance, and how Daniel had brought this mighty -king to God:</p> - -<p>“And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, -lifted up mine eyes unto Heaven, and my understanding -returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I -praised and honored Him that liveth forever, whose dominion -is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is -from generation to generation.</p> - -<p>“At the same time my reason returned unto me, and -for the glory of my kingdom mine honor and brightness -returned unto me, and my councilors and my lords sought -unto me. I was established in my kingdom, and excellent -majesty was added unto me.</p> - -<p>“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol the King -of Heaven, all whose works are truth and His ways -judgment, and those that walk in pride He is able to -abase.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span></p> - -<p>And then he passes from the stage. This is the last -record of him, and undoubtedly he and Daniel now walk -the crystal pavement together. That mighty monarch -was led to the God of the Hebrews by the faith of this -Hebrew slave, and just because he had a religion and -dared to make it known.</p> - -<p>But now we lose sight of the prophet for a few years, -perhaps fifteen or twenty. The next we hear is that -Belteshazzar is on the throne—possibly as regent. He -is believed to have been a grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. -One day he said he would make Daniel the third ruler of -the people if he would interpret for him the handwriting -on the wall. He was probably second himself, and -Daniel would be next to him. Of this prince we have -only one glimpse. The feast scene is the first and last -we have of him, and it is enough. It was a great feast, -and fully a thousand of his lords sat down together. In -those days feasts sometimes lasted six months. How long -this one lasted we do not know. The king caroused with -his princes and satraps and all the mighty men of Babylon, -drinking and rioting and praying to gods of silver -and gold and brass and stubble—just what we are doing -today, if we bow the knee to the gods of this world. -And the revelers, waxing wanton, even go into the temple -and lay sacrilegious hands on the sacred vessels that -had been brought away from Jerusalem, and drank wine -from them—drank toasts to idols and harlots. And, undoubtedly, -as they are drinking they scoff at the God of -Israel.</p> - -<p>I see these revelers swearing and rioting when, suddenly, -the king turns pale and trembles from head to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> -foot. Above the golden candlesticks, on a bare space on -the wall, he sees the writing of the God of Zion. He -distinctly sees the terrible fingers. His voice shakes with -terror, but he manages to falter out: “Bring in the wise -men! Any man who can read the handwriting I will -make third ruler of the kingdom.”</p> - -<p>Then the wise men come trooping in, but there is no -answer. Not one of them can read it. They are skilled -in Chaldean lore, but this stumps them. At last the -queen comes in and whispers: “O king, there is a man -in the kingdom who can read that writing. When your -grandfather could not interpret his dreams he sent for -Daniel, the Hebrew, and he knew all about them. Can -we find him?”</p> - -<p>They did find him, and now we see the man of God -again standing before a king’s throne. To the king’s -hurried promises of gifts and honors Daniel replies: -“You can keep your rewards.” Quietly he turns his -eyes on the writing. He reads it at the first glance, for -it is his Father’s handwriting. He says:</p> - -<p>“Mene—Thy kingdom hath departed from thee.</p> - -<p>“Tekel—Thou art weighed in the balance, and art -found wanting.</p> - -<p>“Upharsin—Thy kingdom is divided. It is given -over to the hands of the enemy.”</p> - -<p>How these words of doom must have rung through -the palace that night!</p> - -<p>And the destruction did not tarry. The king recovered -himself, banished his fears, and went on drinking in -his hall. The mystery and its interpretation were as an -idle tale. He thought he was perfectly secure. He had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> -deemed the great walls of Babylon thoroughly safe. But -there was Darius besieging the city; the enemy was right -upon him. Was that safe? While they reveled, the -river Euphrates, that flowed under the walls, was turned -into another channel. The hosts of Medes and Persians -rushed through, unobstructed, and in a few minutes more -battered down the king’s gate and broke through the palace -guard into the inmost palace chamber. And the king -was slain, and his blood flowed in that banquet hall.</p> - -<p>We are next told Darius took the throne and set over -the people 120 rulers, and over these three presidents, of -whom Daniel was first. And so we find him in office -again. I do not know how long he was in that position. -But by-and-by a conspiracy took head among his fellow -officers to get rid of him. They got jealous and said:</p> - -<p>“Let’s see if we can get this man removed. He -has bossed us long enough—the sanctimonious old Hebrew.”</p> - -<p>And then he was so impracticable, they could not do -any thing with him. There were plenty of collectors -and treasurers, but he kept such a close eye on them that -they only made their salaries. There was no plundering -of the government with Daniel at the head. He was -president of the princes, and all revenue accounts passed -before him. I can overhear the plotters whispering: -“If we can only put him out of the way, we can make -enough in two or three years to retire from office, have -a city house in Babylon and two or three villas in the -country—have enough for all our days. We can then go -down to Egypt and see something of the world. As -things now are, we can only get our exact dues, and it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -will take years to get any thing respectable. Yes, let us -down this pious Jew.”</p> - -<p>Well, they worked things so as to get an investigating -committee, hoping to catch him in his accounts. But -they found no occasion for fault against him. If he had -put any relatives in office it would have been found out. -If he had been guilty of peculation, or in any way broken -the unalterable statutes of the kingdom, it would have -come to light. What a bright light was that, standing -alone in that great city for God and the majesty of law!</p> - -<p>But at last they struck on one weak point, as they -called it—he would worship no one but the God of Israel. -The law of his God was his only assailable side. The -conspirators reasoned in their plotting:</p> - -<p>“If we can only get Darius to forbid any one making -a request for thirty days except from the king himself, -we shall trap him, and then we can cast him among the -lions. We will take good care to have the lions hungry.”</p> - -<p>And the hundred and twenty princes took long council -together. “Take care,” they said; “you must draw -up the paper which is to be signed by the king with a -deal of care and discretion. The king loves him, and he -has influence. Do not speak of the movement outside -this meeting. It might come to the ears of the king, and -we must talk to the king ourselves.”</p> - -<p>When the mine is all ready, the hundred and twenty -princes come to the king and open their business with -flattering speech. Naturally, we hear these men saying: -“King Darius, live for ever!” They tell him how prosperous -the realm is, and how much the people think of -him. And then they tell him, in the most plausible way<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> -that ever was, that if he would be remembered by children’s -children to all ages, just to sign this decree. It -would be a memorial of his greatness and goodness for -ever. And the king replies graciously: “What is the -decree you wish me to sign?” Casting his eye over the -paper, he goes on: “I see no objection to that.” In -the pleasure of granting a request he thinks nothing of -Daniel, and the princes carefully refrain from jogging his -memory. And he asks for his signet ring, and gives the -royal stamp. The edict has become one of the laws of -the Medes and Persians, that alter not. It reads: “Any -man that worships any God but me for thirty days shall -be cast into the lions’ den.”</p> - -<p>The news spreads all through the city, and quickly -gets to the ears of Daniel. I can imagine some of them -going to the prophet and advising him about the edict, -saying: “If you can only get out of the way for a little -time—if you can just quit Babylon for thirty days—it -will advance your own and the public interest together. -You are the chief secretary and treasurer; in fact, you -are the chief ruler in the government. You are an important -man and can do as you please. Well, now, just -you get out of Babylon. Or, if you will stay in Babylon, -do not let them catch you on your knees. At all -events, do not pray at the window toward Jerusalem. If -you must pray, close that window, pull down the curtain -and put something in the keyhole.”</p> - -<p>I can imagine how that old prince, Daniel, now in -his gray hairs, would view such a proposition—that he -desert his God in his old age. All the remonstrances -that must have been made fell dead. He just went on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> -praying as usual three times a day, with his face toward -Jerusalem. This old prophet found plenty of time to -pray, though secretary and treasurer of the most important -empire of the world. And besides his own business, -he had to attend, doubtless, to much belonging of right -to those hundred and twenty. But he would never have -been too busy or ashamed at a prayer meeting to stand -up for God.</p> - -<p>Daniel had a purpose, and he dared to make that -purpose known. He knew whom he worshiped. The -idea of looking back to church records of long ago to see -whether a man has professed religion is all wrong. In -Babylon they knew whom Daniel believed on. These -hundred and twenty knew the very day after the passage -of the edict. He knows they are watching near his window -when the hour comes for prayer. He can see two -men close at his side, and he knows they are spies. Perhaps -they may be taking down every word he says for -the papers.</p> - -<p>The moment comes, and Daniel falls on his knees. -In tones even louder than ever he makes his prayer to -the God of Israel, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He does -not omit to pray for the king. It is right to pray for our -rulers. The reason they are not better, oftentimes, is -just because we do not pray for them.</p> - -<p>And now the spies rush to the king and say, “O -Darius, live for ever! Do you know there is a man here -in your kingdom who will not obey you?”</p> - -<p>“Will not obey me? Who is he?”</p> - -<p>“Why, that man Daniel.”</p> - -<p>And the king says: “I know he will not bow down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> -and worship me. I know that Daniel worships the God -of Heaven.”</p> - -<p>Then the king sets his heart to deliver him, all the -day, from those hundred and twenty men. But they -come to him and say: “If you break your law, your -kingdom will depart. Your subjects will no longer obey -you. You must drive him to the lions’ den.”</p> - -<p>So Darius is compelled to yield, and at last he gives -the word to have Daniel sent away and cast into the den -of lions. These men take good care to have the den -filled with the most hungry beasts of Babylon. He is -thrown headlong into the den, but the angel of God flies -down, and Daniel lights unharmed on the bottom. The -lions’ mouths are stopped. They are as harmless as -lambs. The old prophet, at the wonted hour, drops on -his knees and prays, with his face toward Jerusalem, as -calmly as he did in his chamber. And when it gets later -he just lays his head on one of the lions and goes to -sleep. Undoubtedly no one in all Babylon sleeps more -sweetly than does Daniel in the lions’ den.</p> - -<p>In the palace, the king can not sleep. He orders his -chariot, and early in the morning rattles over the pavement -and jumps down at the lions’ den. I see the king -alight from his chariot in eager haste, and hear him cry -down through the mouth of the den: “O Daniel, servant -of the living God! Is thy God, whom thou reverest -continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?”</p> - -<p>Hark! Why, it is a resurrection voice! It is Daniel, -saying: “My God is able. He hath sent one of His -angels, and hath shut the lions’ mouths.”</p> - -<p>I can see them now just embrace each other, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -together they jump into the chariot and away they go -back to the palace to breakfast.</p> - -<p>I want to say something further about Daniel. I -want to refer to how an angel came to him, and, as we -read in the twelfth chapter of Daniel, told him he was a -man greatly beloved. Another angel had come to him -with the same message. It is generally thought this last -angel was the same one spoken of in Revelations—first -chapter and thirteenth verse—as coming to John when -banished to the Isle of Patmos. People thought he was -sent off there alone, but he was not; the angel of God -was with him.</p> - -<p>And so with Daniel. Here, in the tenth chapter and -fifth verse, he says: “Then I lifted up mine eyes, and -behold, a certain man clothed with fine linen, and otherwise -arrayed as God’s messenger, who cried: ‘O Daniel, -a man greatly beloved, understand the words which -I speak unto thee, and stand upright, for unto thee am I -now sent.’”</p> - -<p>It was Daniel’s need that brought him from the glory -land. It was the Son of God right by his side in that -strange land. And that was the second time when the -word came to him, saying he was greatly beloved. Yes, -three times a messenger came from the throne of God to -tell him this. I love to speak of that precious verse in -the eleventh chapter—the thirty-second verse: “The -people that do know their God shall be strong and do -exploits.” I also love to speak of the twelfth chapter -and second and third verses: “And many of them that -sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting -life and some to shame and everlasting contempt;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> -and they that be wise shall shine as the stars of the firmament, -and they that turn many to righteousness as the -stars for ever and ever.”</p> - -<p>This was the angel’s comfort to Daniel, and a great -comfort it was. The fact with all of us is that we like -to shine. There is no doubt about that. Every mother -likes her child to shine. If her boy shines at school by -reaching the head of his class, the proud mother tells all -the neighbors, and she has a right to do so. But it is -not the great of this world that will shine the brightest. -For a few years they may shed bright light, but they go -out in darkness, without an inner brightness. Supplying -the brightness, they go out in black darkness.</p> - -<p>Where are the great men who did not know Daniel’s -God? Did they shine long? Why, we know of Nebuchadnezzar -and the rest of them scarcely a thing, except -as they fill in the story about these humble men of God. -We are not told that statesmen shall shine; they may, -for a few days or years, but they are soon forgotten. -Look at those great ones who passed away in the days of -Daniel. How wise in council they were! How mighty -and victorious over hundreds of nations! What gods -upon earth they were! Yet their names are forgotten—written -only in the grave. Philosophers, falsely so-called—do -they live? Behold men of science—scientific men -they call themselves—going down into the bowels of the -earth, digging away at some carcass and trying to make -it talk against the voice of God! They shall go down to -death, by-and-by, and their names shall rot.</p> - -<p>But the man of God shines. Yes, he it is who shall -shine as the stars for ever and ever. This Daniel has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -been gone for 2,500 years, but still increasing millions -read of his life and actions. And so it shall be to the -end. He will only be better known and better loved; he -shall ever shine the brighter as the world grows older. -Of a truth, they that be wise and turn many to righteousness -shall shine on, like stars, to eternity.</p> - -<h3>DAVID.</h3> - -<p>You know how David fell. No man rose so high and -fell so far, I think. God took him from the sheepfold -and put him upon a throne. He took him from obscurity -and made him king of Israel and Judea; gave him -lands in abundance, and would have given him more if -he had wanted them. He was on the pinnacle of glory, -and honored among men.</p> - -<p>But one day, while looking out of a window, he saw -a woman with whom he became enamored. He yielded -to the temptation, and ordered her to be brought into -the palace, and committed the terrible sin of adultery. -After that, as is the case with all men who commit a sin, -he had to commit another to cover it up, so he laid plans -to kill her husband, and ordered him to be put in a position -in the ranks of his army so that he could be killed.</p> - -<p>Months rolled away, and one day Nathan came into -the palace of the king. I can imagine that David was -glad to see him. Nathan began to tell him about two -men who dwelt in a certain city. The one was rich, the -other poor; one had herds and flocks, and the other had -only a little ewe lamb, and he went on to tell how this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> -rich man seized this ewe lamb, all that the poor man -had, and slew it. I can see the anger of David as it -flashed from his eye when he heard the story, and he -cried: “As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done -this thing shall surely die.” He turned to Nathan, and -in tones of thunder demanded who the man was. “Thou -art the man.” This was the reply of Nathan. David -had convicted himself. “The man who did this thing -shall die.” Then the Lord said: “I will raise up evil -against thee out of thine own house, because thou hast -kept this thing secret.”</p> - -<p>Soon after this the hand of death was put upon that -house. Not only did death enter David’s house, but it -was not long before his eldest son committed adultery -with his sister, and another committed murder—murdered -his own brothers, and went off into a foreign land -into exile. Then he got up a rebellion and drove the king -from the throne, and at last died and was buried like a -dog, and they heaped stones upon his resting place. -“Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” -David committed adultery, and so did his son; David -committed murder, and his son did the same. He was -paid back in his own coin. He learned the truth of this -passage: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he -also reap.”</p> - -<h3>ELIJAH.</h3> - -<p>Let us go to Carmel for a few minutes.</p> - -<p>King Ahab had forsaken the God of Israel, and all -the court people and “upper ten” had followed his example.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -But there was an old prophet out in the mountains, -to whom God said: “Go to Ahab, and tell him -the heavens shall be shut up and there shall be no rain.”</p> - -<p>Away he goes to the wicked king. He bursts in upon -him like a clap of thunder, gives his message and hurries -away.</p> - -<p>I suppose Ahab laughed at the old prophet. “What! -No more rain? Why, the fellow must be crazy.”</p> - -<p>Pretty soon the weather gets very dry. The earth is -parched, and begins to crack open. The rivers have but -little water in them, and the brooks dry up altogether. -The trees die; all the grass perishes, and the cattle die, -too. Famine—starvation—death! If rain does not -come pretty soon, there will not be a live man or woman -left in all the kingdom.</p> - -<p>One day the king was talking with the prophet, -Obadiah.</p> - -<p>You see, he did have one good man near him, along -with all the prophets of the false god. Almost anybody -likes to have one good man within reach, even if he is -ever so bad. He may be wanted in a hurry some time.</p> - -<p>“See here, Obadiah!” says King Ahab. “You go -one way and I will go another, and we will see if we can -find some water somewhere.”</p> - -<p>Obadiah has not gone a great way before Elijah -bursts out upon him.</p> - -<p>“O Elijah! Is that you? Ahab has been hunting -for you everywhere, and could not find you. He has sent -off into all the kingdoms about, to have them fetch you, -if you were there.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yes; I am here,” says Elijah. “You go and tell -Ahab I want to see him.”</p> - -<p>“I dare not do that,” says Obadiah, “for just as -soon as I tell him you are here, the Spirit will catch you -away and take you off somewhere else, and then the king -will be very angry, and maybe he will kill me.”</p> - -<p>“No,” says Elijah. “As the Lord liveth, I will meet -Ahab face to face this day.”</p> - -<p>So Obadiah hurries off to find Ahab, and tells him he -has seen the prophet.</p> - -<p>“What! Elijah?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t you bring him along?”</p> - -<p>“He would not come. He says he wants you to -come to him.”</p> - -<p>Ahab was not used to have people talk that way to -him, but he was anxious to see the prophet, so he went. -And when he sees Elijah he is very angry, and asks:</p> - -<p>“Art thou he that troubleth Israel?”</p> - -<p>“Not at all,” says Elijah. “You are the man that -is troubling Israel—going off after Baal, and leading ever -so many of the people with you. Now, we have had -enough of this sort of thing. Some people are praying -to God and some are praying to Baal, and we must have -this question settled. You just bring all your prophets -and all the priests of Baal up to Mount Carmel, and I -also will come. We will make us each an altar, and -offer sacrifice on it; and the god that answereth by fire, -let Him be God.”</p> - -<p>“Agreed,” says Ahab. And away he goes to tell his -priests and get ready for the trial.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span></p> - -<p>I fancy that was a great day when this question was -decided.</p> - -<p>All the places of business were closed, and everybody -was going up to Mount Carmel. There must have been -more people on Mount Carmel than there are today at -the races.<a name="FNanchor_1" id="FNanchor_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> A better class of people, too.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1" id="Footnote_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> This was said on Derby Day, in Opera House, Haymarket, London.</p> - -</div> - -</div> - -<p>There were eight hundred and fifty of the prophets -and priests of Baal altogether. I fancy I can see them -all, going up in a grand procession, with the king in his -chariot at their head.</p> - -<p>“Fine-looking men, aren’t they?” says one man to -another, as they go by. “They will be able to do great -things up there on the mountain.”</p> - -<p>But there Elijah marched, all alone—a rough man, -clad in the skins of beasts, with a staff in his hand. No -banners, no procession, no great men in his train! But -the man who could hold the keys of Heaven for three -years and six months was not afraid to be alone.</p> - -<p>Now, Elijah says to the people: “How long will -ye halt between two opinions? Let the priests of Baal -build them an altar and offer sacrifice, but put no fire -under, and I will do the same; and the god that answereth -by fire, let Him be God.”</p> - -<p>So the priests of Baal build their altar.</p> - -<p>I am sure that, if God had not held him back, Satan -would have brought up a little spark out of hell to set -that sacrifice on fire. But God would not let him.</p> - -<p>Then they begin to pray: “O Baal, hear us! O -Baal, hear us!”</p> - -<p>Elijah might have said: “Why haven’t you prayed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> -to Baal for water this dry weather? You might just as -well have asked him for water as for fire.”</p> - -<p>After a long time they begin to get hoarse.</p> - -<p>“You must pray louder than that, if you expect Baal -to hear you,” says the old prophet. “Maybe he is -asleep. Pray louder, so as to wake him up.”</p> - -<p>Poor fellows! They haven’t any voice left. So they -begin to pray in blood. They now cut themselves with -knives, and lift their streaming hands and arms to Baal. -But no fire comes down.</p> - -<p>It is getting toward sundown.</p> - -<p>The prophet of the Lord builds an altar. Mind you, -he does not have any thing to do with the altar of Baal. -He builds an entirely different one, on the ruins of the -altar of the Lord, which had been broken down.</p> - -<p>“We will not have any one saying there is any trick -about this thing,” says the prophet. So they bring twelve -barrels of water and pour over the altar. I do not know -how they managed to get so much water, but they did it.</p> - -<p>Then Elijah prays: “O God of Abraham and of -Isaac and of Jacob, let it be known this day that Thou -art God in Israel.”</p> - -<p>He did not have to pray very loud. God heard him -at once, and down came the fire. It burnt up the sacrifice—burnt -up the wood—burnt up the water—burnt up -the very stones of the altar. Jehovah is God; nobody -can halt any longer.</p> - -<p>Ah, but some of you say: “I, too, would have -decided for God if I had been on Mount Carmel that -day.” But Calvary is far more wonderful than Carmel.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> -The sacrifice of Christ on the cross is more wonderful -than the sacrifice which was burnt on that altar.</p> - -<h3>GIDEON.</h3> - -<p>I believe this man Gideon was called an enthusiast -in the camp of Israel. The very idea of his going out to -meet a hundred thousand men with pitchers and lanterns! -How many people would have said: “The man -has gone clean mad.” Yes, he was an enthusiast; but -the Lord was with him.</p> - -<p>If we lean upon ourselves we will have failure, but if -we lean upon the arm of God we will see how swiftly -God will give us victory. God wants the glory, and no -flesh shall glory in His stead. Look at what He said to -Gideon.</p> - -<p>Gideon had called in an army of thirty-two thousand -men. The Lord said to him: “You have too many -men. If I give you victory, Israel will vaunt themselves -against Me, saying: ‘My own hand hath saved me.’ -You can not work with so many, because I must have -the glory. Just say to all that are fearful: ‘Depart if -you want to.’”</p> - -<p>So Gideon proclaimed, in accordance with God’s -command, saying: “Whosoever is fearful and afraid, -let him return and depart early from Mount Gilead.” -And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand, -and there remained ten thousand.</p> - -<p>I can imagine that Gideon became a little scared at -first. Only ten thousand left! But the Lord came<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> -again, and said: “Gideon, you have got too many men. -If I work with them, you will take the glory.” So he -brought down the people unto the water, and the Lord -said unto Gideon: “Every one that lappeth of the -water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou -set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down -upon his knees to drink.”</p> - -<p>Three hundred lapped and ninety-seven hundred -wheeled out of line. I can imagine they were like many -Christians. What can God do with those who are like -those of Gideon’s army who were full of fears and -doubts? Look at the reduction in that great army. But -three hundred men with the Almighty! Three hundred -men that side with God can be a power for God. Three -hundred like Gideon’s men will move any city. What a -routing there was before that band! They fly like chaff -before the wind. Do not call any thing small of God.</p> - -<h3>ITTAI.</h3> - -<p>I will read a few verses in the fifteenth chapter of -Second Samuel, beginning at the nineteenth verse:</p> - -<p>“Then said the king to Ittai, the Gittite: ‘Wherefore -goest thou also with us? Return to thy place, and -abide with the king; for thou art a stranger, and also an -exile.</p> - -<p>“‘Whereas, thou camest but yesterday, should I -this day make thee go up and down with us? Seeing I -go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren. -Mercy and truth be with thee.’</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span></p> - -<p>“And Ittai answered the king, and said: ‘As the -Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in -what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death -or life, even there also will thy servant be.’</p> - -<p>“And David said to Ittai: ‘Go, and pass over.’ -And Ittai, the Gittite, passed over, and all his men, and -all the little ones that were with them.</p> - -<p>“And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all -the people passed over. The king also himself passed -over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, -toward the way of the wilderness.”</p> - -<p>What must have been the feeling of David when he -got outside the city and found this foreigner and stranger -out there with six hundred men, ready and willing to go -with him! He had had three men who sat at his table, -and in the hour of trial, in the hour of trouble, they had -deserted him. It is in the time of darkness that we find -out our friends. You find then who are your friends.</p> - -<p>Now, David was in trouble, and here was this Ittai -standing right by him. How that must have cheered the -heart of the king! He had been driven from the throne -by Absalom, and the whole kingdom seemed to be going -with Absalom. Absalom and those who were with him -were planning to take the life of David, but here we find -this stranger—this man Ittai—just following David; and -when David told him to go back, see what he says. I -think it is one of the sweetest things in the whole life of -David:</p> - -<p>“Then said the king to Ittai, the Gittite: ‘Wherefore -goest thou also with us? Return to thy place, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -abide with the king; for thou art a stranger, and also an -exile.</p> - -<p>“‘Whereas, thou camest but yesterday, should I this -day make thee go up and down with us? Seeing I go -whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren. -Mercy and truth be with thee.’”</p> - -<p>Here was a man who was attached to a person. That -was the point I wanted to call your attention to. We -are living, I think, in the day of shams. There are a -good many people who are attached to creeds, denominations -and churches. They are attached to this and to -that, instead of a person. Creeds and churches are all -right in their places, but if a man puts them in the place -of the Savior and the personal Christ, then they are but -snares. He would be willing to give up every thing but -Christ in the hour of trouble, and if he is attached to -Christ he will be able to say: “Wherever Thou goest -I go.” David had nothing to offer this man. There he -was—barefooted and leaving the throne. Ittai was attached -to the man.</p> - -<p>David was every thing to Ittai, and life was nothing. -No man had better friends than David had in his day. -What we want is to be attached to the Lord Jesus Christ -as Ittai was attached to David.</p> - -<h3>JACOB.</h3> - -<p>The key to all Jacob’s difficulties will be found in the -twentieth chapter of Matthew. It is the story of the -laborers in the vineyard. The thought is in the second<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> -verse. The first men hired agreed to the bargain. The -men would not go until the owner of the vineyard had -made a bargain with them. He told them that he would -pay them what was right. They got a penny. He gave -them the lawful wages. They probably asked: “And -is this all you are going to give us?”</p> - -<p>Jacob was all the time making bargains.</p> - -<p>The Christians who are making bargains with the -Lord do not get as much as those who trust Him. It -does not pay to make bargains with the Lord.</p> - -<p>Jacob is a twin brother of most of us. Where you -find one Joseph or one Daniel you will find a hundred -Jacobs. We are not willing, all of us, to take God at -His word and trust Him. There is a strong contrast between -the character of Joseph and Jacob. The one -trusted God implicitly, but Jacob wanted to trust Him -no farther than he could see God. There would have -been a great deal of murmuring if Jacob had been thrown -into jail in Egypt.</p> - -<p>No doubt Jacob got much of his weakness from his -mother. There was a division in that home. Isaac -favored Esau, and Rebekah favored Jacob. Such dissensions -are just the thing to stir up the old Adam in the -man. A mother and a father have no right to take this -course. Rebekah plans continually to keep Jacob at -home. The very thing that Rebekah tries to achieve, in -that she fails. By nature Esau was the better of the -two. If such a mean and contemptible nature as Jacob’s -can be saved, then there is hope for all of us.</p> - -<p>The Lord promised to Jacob from the bottom of the -ladder what he should have. Jacob gets up and says:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> -“If God will be with me and keep and clothe me, then -shall the Lord be my God.” What a low and contemptible -idea he had! God had promised him all from Dan -to Beersheba.</p> - -<p>That is the difficulty with the people at the present -time. If God will bless us in our basket and store, we -shall have Him for our God. We find Jacob after this -in Haran, driving bargains all the time, and the worst of -it is he gets beat every time. He had to work seven -years for his wife, and then gets another woman in her -place. He is paid back in his own coin. We must not -think that God will allow us to deceive without punishing -us for it. Jacob forgot all the vows which he made -at Bethel, but God did not forget His. Some of God’s -promises are unconditional. The promise which He -made at Bethel was unconditional.</p> - -<p>God chose Jacob rather than Esau. Some people -say that God hated Esau before he was born. This is -not the teaching of Scripture, even though one of the -minor prophets long years after mentioned it. God says -to Jacob after he had been in Haran for so many years: -“I am the God of Bethel. Arise and dwell there.”</p> - -<p>Jacob ought to have been proud, and should have left -Haran like a prince, but instead he steals away like a -thief. He starts off, and his uncle and father-in-law -pursue. God took care of him. God was determined -to keep His vows, and there is no doubt that, had not -God interfered, Jacob would have been slain.</p> - -<p>We find that Jacob stays behind, like a miserable -coward, after he had sent his effects away. A man out -of communication with God is a coward always.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p> - -<p>There was a man who wrestled with Jacob. He was -Christ. When did Jacob prevail? When his thigh was -out of joint all he could do was to hold on and get the -blessing. The man who is the lowest down is the man -whom God lifts up the highest. The man that has the -greatest humility will be the most exalted.</p> - -<p>A great many say that Jacob was a different man. -Would to God his thigh had been left out of joint, so -that there was no more of the flesh in him. The next -thing, we find Jacob and Esau embracing, and we would -suppose that he would be filled with gratitude. But no. -He goes down to Shechem and builds an altar and calls -it by a high-sounding name. Jacob in Shechem, with -this altar with a high-sounding name, was no better than -he was in Haran without an altar. He built an altar, -finally, at Bethel. He said that he would go to Bethel -and build an altar to his God, as if the Shechem altar -was no altar. He called it El-Bethel. Just the moment -he came to Bethel the Lord God met him.</p> - -<p>The next thing we hear is the saddest episode in the -career of Jacob—the death of Rachel, his favorite wife. -His sons go back to Shechem, and hunt up the old idols. -His sons bring him back news from there that his most -dearly loved son was dead. Do you see how Jacob begins -to reap the harvest of the sins of his early days? -For twenty long years he mourned that beloved boy. He -deceived his own father, and his own sons, in turn, deceived -him.</p> - -<p>What a bitter life! What was Jacob’s dying testimony -to Pharaoh? It would take ten thousand Jacobs -to get one convert like Pharaoh. “Few and evil,” said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> -Jacob, “have my days been.” He started with a lie in -his mouth. He died in exile. He died in Egypt—not -in the land which God had promised him. He would not -let God choose for him. He was saved by fire—or, as -Job said, by the skin of his teeth.</p> - -<h3>JACOB’S SONS.</h3> - -<p>Look at the sons of Jacob. Look at them when they -took away their brother, and after they had delivered -him into slavery see them coming back. How much they -must have suffered with their secret during those twenty -years! What misery they must have endured as they -looked, during all those years, at their old father sorrowing -for his son, Joseph! They knew the boy had not -been killed. They knew he was in slavery.</p> - -<p>For twenty years the sin was covered up, but at last -it came back upon them. God had, in the meantime, -been doing every thing for Joseph. He had raised him -nearly to the throne of Egypt.</p> - -<p>A famine struck the land of the father, and the old -man sent his sons down into Egypt to purchase corn. -God was at work. He was making these men bring their -own sin home to themselves. Their consciences smote -them, and they confessed, in the presence of Joseph, -that their sin had found them out. Twenty years after -it was committed that sin was resurrected, and they were -brought face to face with it. “He that covereth his sin -shall not prosper.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p> - -<h3>JOHN THE BAPTIST.</h3> - -<p>I want to call your attention to John, the forerunner -of Christ. On hearing the news of the death of the -king Joseph brings Jesus back to Nazareth, and there He -remained for thirty years.</p> - -<p>I once read of the founder of the Russian Empire -going down to a Dutch sea port as a stranger and in disguise, -that he might learn how to build ships and return -home and impart this knowledge to his own subjects. -People have wondered at that. But this is a far greater -wonder, that the Prince of Glory should come down here -and learn the carpenter’s trade. He was not only the -son of a carpenter, but He was a carpenter Himself. -His father was a carpenter, and He was a carpenter, too, -for we read that they brought it up against Him that He -was a carpenter. We read:</p> - -<p>“And when He was come into His own country, He -taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were -astonished, and said: ‘Whence hath this man this wisdom -and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s -son?’”</p> - -<p>Right here is one lesson that we ought to learn, and -that is, when Christ was here He was an industrious -man. I have often said on this platform that I have -never known a lazy man to be converted. If one ever -was converted, he soon gave up his laziness. I tell you -that laziness does not belong to Christ’s Kingdom. I do -not believe a man would have a lazy hair in his head if -he was converted to the Lord Jesus Christ. If a man -has really been born of the Spirit of Christ, he is not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> -lazy. He wants to find something to do, and no kind of -manual labor is degrading. It is honorable. If our -Master, who is the Prince of Peace and the King of -Glory, could leave Heaven and come down here and -work as a village carpenter, let us not think that manual -labor is beneath our notice. Let us be willing to go out -and work. If we can not find what we want, let us do -what we can. If we can earn only twenty-five cents a -day, let us earn that rather than do nothing. We not -only want something to occupy our hands, but also our -minds.</p> - -<p>But this is not the point of the lecture this morning. -I want to go back to those two wonderful men.</p> - -<p>The thirty years have rolled away, and it is now time -that this wonderful Messiah should come unto the nation. -The Scriptures have been fulfilled, and the first sound we -hear of His coming is that strange voice crying in the -wilderness.</p> - -<p>Those thirty years that have just expired were as -nothing to the nation. Undoubtedly, the rumors about -those two children, which created a great sensation at -the time, had died out. The story of the shepherds on -the plains of Bethlehem had gone out of popular recollection—faded -away. The story of this child being -brought into the Temple, and that old man and that old -woman coming in there just at the time—that wonderful -scene had faded away. Many who were in the Temple -at that time had gone. Zacharias and Elizabeth had -passed away, and the Roman Empire had also died, after -sending out a decree that the country should be taxed. -Herod was also dead.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span></p> - -<p>A great change had taken place in thirty years. You -just carry your minds back through thirty years, and see -how many who stood with you thirty years ago—with -whom you were acquainted—have gone, and are sleeping -in their graves.</p> - -<p>If the Holy Ghost had not come after Christ went to -Heaven, the story of His death and His resurrection -would have been forgotten as soon as His birth and His -life. No doubt about that. It is that which has kept -the memory of Christ in the world, and His name so -fresh and fragrant. The Holy Ghost has come down -here to keep in our minds the glory and beauty of Christ. -Now, we find His forerunner comes.</p> - -<p>Matthew says: “In those days came John the Baptist, -preaching in the wilderness.”</p> - -<p>Mark says: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness.”</p> - -<p>Luke says: “The word of God came unto John, -the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.”</p> - -<p>John’s account is: “There was a man sent from -God, whose name was John.”</p> - -<p>The last prophet had closed up his prophecy by saying -that John should come before the Messiah, and that -he should be the herald who would come to introduce -Him. Now, these four evangelists all take up their pens, -and they all notice it.</p> - -<p>You know, if you let any four men write up any one -thing, they will not all write about it alike. Why, when -men went to the Centennial, at Philadelphia, not any -four of them wrote about it alike. Let a man come in -here, and let any four of us look at him. One will get<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> -a side view of him, one a front view, and so on; and no -two of the four will see him alike.</p> - -<p>So these evangelists wrote about John, but not one -of the four used the same language. You know, it was -said he was to be like Elijah. Well, he looked like him, -dressed like him, and his preaching was like him.</p> - -<p>He came suddenly and unexpectedly upon the world, -and it was not long before his voice rang clear through -the whole nation, and the whole nation was stirred. He -stood between the two dispensations. He was the last -prophet the new dispensation was to have. They had -had some mighty prophets—wonderful men; but this -man was to be the last one.</p> - -<p>Now, we find this man standing there, as it were, between -these two dispensations; and when he commenced -to preach his preaching was very much like that of -Elijah. He was a reformer. His cry was: “Repent! -Reform!”</p> - -<p>But if he had stopped there his reform would have -died out with him. A great many reformations die out -with the reformers because they cry out: “Repent! -Repent! Reform! Reform!” but they do not get any -farther than that. Thank God, John had something else -to tell them. He did not stop at “Repent! Repent!” -He kept telling them there was One coming mightier -than himself. Undoubtedly that was what thrilled the -nation. Talk about sensation! There was never a -nation moved as that one nation was moved by John the -Baptist.</p> - -<p>In these days, if certain persons want to stir a town -or city, they need to influence the leading men of that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -city to stand around them, help them and pray for them. -But there stood John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness, -without any influence of your committee. He -did not have Mr. Sankey to sing for him to draw out the -people. He stood there upon the banks of the Jordan -alone, preaching the glorious tidings that the Messiah -was coming after him, and he probably was preaching -this to the lowest beggar in the land.</p> - -<p>There John was in the wilderness, dressed like his -predecessor, Elijah. There he was, preaching in the -wilderness; and just bear in mind, it was not any milk-and-water -preaching. He gave the message just as God -gave it to him. I suppose, if he had some of the Christians -of the present day there, they would have said: -“Do not be so bold; be mild about it. Don’t you know -you must use a little moderation about this? Come, -John! If you talk against these Pharisees they will cut -your head off.”</p> - -<p>But that did not enter his mind. It was not what -they wanted. It was what God gave him to deliver; -and if any man just takes the message and delivers it as -God gives it to him, I tell you God will stand by him. -He is going to succeed—mind that. He may be unsuccessful -at first; his labor may seem to be unprofitable for -a time, and people may turn away. But the time will -come when his words will cut deep down into their -hearts and lead them to salvation.</p> - -<p>Then the people began to tremble. They had no -newspapers then to print the sermons; they had no telegraph -wires to flash them over the country. But one -man just took the matter up and passed it to the next,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> -and so on, and very soon it was spread over the whole -country.</p> - -<p>“There he is,” they said, “dressed just like Elijah, -with his leathern girdle and his raiment of camel’s hair.” -He comes out about 9 o’clock in the morning, and there -he stands on the banks of the Jordan, and there he continues -his talk. Day after day he is seen there, and his -cry is: “Repent! Repent!” And that was his appeal.</p> - -<p>Well, it is not very long before every city, town and -village has heard of this wonder. John preached the law -just as it was given him, and as a specimen of his preaching -just read this. See how bold he was:</p> - -<p>“Then said he to the multitude that came forth to -be baptized of him: ‘O generation of vipers!’”</p> - -<p>O generation of vipers! Pretty hard talk, wasn’t -it? I don’t know as you could get many people into this -Tabernacle by such talk as that. But he knew what he -was doing. He knew they hated his Master. He knew -that, away down in their hearts, they were at enmity -with God. Read a little farther, and see what he said:</p> - -<p>“O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to -flee from the wrath to come?</p> - -<p>“Bring forth, therefore, fruits worthy of repentance, -and begin not to say within yourselves: ‘We have -Abraham to our father.’ For I say unto you that God is -able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.”</p> - -<p>He knew the men pretty well. I do not know where -he had been all these thirty years. But he had found -out the human heart. He had found out human nature -pretty well. And those people undoubtedly said: “We -belong to the seed of Abraham. We are the descendants<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> -of Abraham. We do not need to be converted. -We have got the law from Moses, and we obey that. -Let these poor dogs of Gentiles be converted. It is not -for us.”</p> - -<p>And that is just the doctrine now.</p> - -<p>“We do not need to be converted. John a first-rate -reformer? Oh, yes; but that does not touch us. We -go to church regularly. It is for these publicans and -harlots. That kind of preaching is not for us. Oh, it -is all good enough—all very good.”</p> - -<p>And no doubt they would put up a Tabernacle for -them—for the harlots and drunkards to go to.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no! That preaching is not for us. It is good -enough for them, but we do not need to go. We are the -seed of Abraham. We belong to Moses, and we are not -such bad men. What do you mean by conversion? We -do not need to be born again. What do we need to be -born again for? We pay our debts. We are good men.”</p> - -<p>See? That same old spirit. Eighteen hundred years -have rolled away, and you find human nature the same. -John knew them pretty well.</p> - -<p>“I say unto you that God is able of these stones to -raise up children unto Abraham.”</p> - -<p>You need not flatter yourselves that you are better -than the other people. God can make children right out -of these stones, and make them the seed of Abraham.</p> - -<p>“And now, also, the ax is laid unto the root of the -tree; every tree, therefore, which bringeth not forth -good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.</p> - -<p>“And the people asked him, saying: ‘What shall -we do, then?’”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></p> - -<p>See! They had an inquiry meeting, right there on -the banks of the Jordan.</p> - -<p>“He answereth, and saith unto them: ‘He that -hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; -and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.’</p> - -<p>“Then came, also, publicans to be baptized, and said -unto him: ‘Master, what shall we do?’</p> - -<p>“And he said unto them: ‘Exact no more than that -which is appointed you.’</p> - -<p>“And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying: -‘And what shall we do?’ And he said unto them: ‘Do -violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be -content with your wages.’”</p> - -<p>Now, that was his preaching up to the time that -Christ came. As I said before, it was: “Repent! -Repent! Reform! Reform!” And you may tell these -men they ought to do better; but if you do not tell them -how, you can not save them. Now, we find here, in this -fifteenth verse, that they were looking for something -more:</p> - -<p>“And as the people were in expectation, and all men -mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the -Christ or not, John answered, saying unto them all: ‘I, -indeed, baptize you with water; but One mightier than -I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to -unloose. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and -with fire.</p> - -<p>“‘Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly -purge His floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; -but the chaff He will burn with fire unquenchable.’</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span></p> - -<p>“And many other things in his exhortation preached -he unto the people.”</p> - -<p>Now, what a chance there was for John to have let -self come in! When people were wondering in their -hearts if he was not the true Messiah—if he was not -Christ—he might have been tempted to come out and -say he was more than himself—that he was Christ. But -there was this commendable trait about John: He never -preached up self.</p> - -<p>He was preparing the nation to receive the Lord of -Glory. He had come merely to introduce Him. He was -nothing. Just as a man comes and introduces a friend -to you, he barely introduces him and steps aside. He -does not put himself forward.</p> - -<p>So John introduces the Son of God, and then begins -to fade away, and soon is gone. He had not come to -introduce himself, but to preach Christ.</p> - -<p>And let me say, right here, that this is the very -height of preaching. When they begin to wonder who -he is, he just comes right out and says: “I am not -Jesus. I am only just one sent to introduce Him. I -have come for that purpose. I have not come to preach -up myself, but Him that is mighty to save.”</p> - -<p>And then we find that while his star was just at its -height, while he was just about at the zenith of his glory, -while people were flocking in from the towns and villages -to hear him, the chief rulers of Jerusalem send down a -deputation to inquire what this religion meant. They -appointed some influential men to find him out, and they -said to him: “We have been sent by the chief priest -of Jerusalem to find out who you are. Are you Christ?”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> -And John answered: “No.” “Well, who are you? -Are you this man or that man?” “No.” “Are you -this prophet or that prophet?” “No.” “Well, who -are you?”</p> - -<p>Did he say: “I am Jesus”? No. “Merely Mr. -Nobody—merely a voice crying in the wilderness.”</p> - -<p>What a message that was to send back to Jerusalem! -He was not trying to put himself forward. He was all -the time trying to get out of self. In the nineteenth -verse and first chapter of John we read:</p> - -<p>“And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent -priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him: ‘Who -art thou?’</p> - -<p>“And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed: -‘I am not the Christ.’</p> - -<p>“And they asked him: ‘What, then? Art thou -Elias?’ And he saith: ‘I am not.’ ‘Art thou the -prophet?’ And he answered: ‘No.’</p> - -<p>“Then said they unto him: ‘Who art thou? That -we may give an answer to them that sent us. What -sayest thou of thyself?’</p> - -<p>“He said: ‘I am the voice of One crying in the -wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as said -the prophet, Esaias.’</p> - -<p>“And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.</p> - -<p>“And they asked him, and said unto him: ‘Why -baptize thou, then, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, -neither that prophet?’</p> - -<p>“John answered them, saying: ‘I baptize with -water; but there standeth One among you whom ye -know not. He it is who, coming after me, is preferred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> -before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am unworthy to unloose.’</p> - -<p>“These things were done in Bethabara, beyond Jordan, -where John was baptizing.”</p> - -<p>Now, this was the day, I say, when John was at the -very zenith of his glory; but see how noble he stood. -He did not take any honor or glory to himself, and in -two different places he declared that he knew not this -Stranger that he was the herald of—his Messiah.</p> - -<p>Some are trying to make out that this was all planned -by John and Jesus, that he should say he did not know -Him. But he declares in two places that he did not -know Him. They were brought up in two extremes of -the country—one in the northern part of it, Nazareth, -and the other at Hebron.</p> - -<p>Talk about eloquence! John was one of the most -eloquent men, I suppose, that ever lived. He was the -herald of God, and when the nation was in a terrible -state of excitement, and the chief priests of Jerusalem, -and even the king himself, went to hear him.</p> - -<p>There he stood on the banks of the Jordan. I can -see the men and women on both sides of the river—little -children, mothers with their babes in their arms—all intensely -excited and leaning forward to catch what he -says. “Now,” says John, “if you believe what I say, -that if you have broken the law given at Sinai you have -sinned, to be forgiven you must repent and come down -into this Jordan, and I will baptize you in the name of -the God of Hebron.”</p> - -<p>The people went in by scores and hundreds, and there -he baptized them. And as he stood there baptizing them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> -I can imagine about twenty thousand people hanging -upon his lips. There was a man came down through the -crowd. I can imagine that John was a man who looked -as though he was more like a mountain eagle, but his -wings seemed to droop. That eye which had been so -keen and so severe on the Israelites when he called them -a generation of vipers became lusterless, his face fell and -he shook his head, as this Stranger came.</p> - -<p>I suppose, as He came walking along toward John, -God revealed the fact to him and said: “This is My -Son. This is the Savior of the world. This is the Prince -of Peace.” And when John saw Him he quailed before -Him, and he said: “I have need to be baptized of -Thee.”</p> - -<p>What excitement! How it must have thrilled the -audience as John drew back and said: “I have need to -be baptized of Thee.” John knew Him. John at once -recognized Him. He knew He was the promised One of -the law. John said: “I have need to be baptized of -Thee, and comest Thou to me?” But Jesus said unto -him: “Suffer it to be so now, that the law may be fulfilled.” -Now, what excitement as these two men went -down into the river together!</p> - -<p>Oh, if Jordan could speak it could tell some wonderful -stories! Wonderful scenes have taken place there. -Naaman had gone into that river and washed, and had -come forth clean. Elijah, going up with his mantle, -struck the water and went over dry-shod, as also did -Elisha after Elijah had ascended. But a more wonderful -scene was taking place in Jordan than ever took place -before. It was of transcendent interest to all mankind.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p> - -<p>Our Lord was going down into Jordan to be baptized, -and He was going to come up on resurrection ground. -So He goes down with John the Baptist, and the moment -He was baptized and came up out of the water the -heavens were opened unto Him, and the Spirit of God -descended upon Him like a dove, and alighted upon Him. -Heaven witnessed the scene. God the Father spoke -then. He broke the silence of ages. The God of the -Old Testament was the Christ of the New. And he -heard a voice from Heaven, saying: “This is My beloved -Son, in whom I am well pleased.”</p> - -<p>Some one says that was the first time God could look -down on the world since Adam fell and say that He was -well pleased. In Hebrews, tenth chapter and seventh -verse, we read:</p> - -<p>“Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written -of Me) to do Thy will, O God.”</p> - -<p>He was the Son that was born above. The heavens -opened and the Holy Ghost descended upon Him. The -Spirit of the Lord came down on Him, and God owns -Him and recognizes Him.</p> - -<p>Now, there is another thought to which I want to -call your attention. John’s preaching changed. But he -was not like many men of the present day, who want to -reform the world without Christ, who set a good example -and tell men to sign pledges and to do this or that, -and to trust in their own strength.</p> - -<p>The moment John got his eye on Christ he had one -text: “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the -sins of the world.” That is how you are going to get rid -of your sins. Says John: “I bear record of this in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> -Son of God.” And he told his disciples: “Now, you -follow Him. Go with Him.”</p> - -<p>One afternoon, as he sat there with his disciples, he -said: “Behold the Lamb of God!” And they left him -to follow Jesus—two of his own disciples. I tell you that -is something which you do not like to do—to make your -friends leave you; to preach them away—your own congregation. -But now this man begins to ask his disciples -to leave him. “Why,” said he, “I tell you I am not -worthy to just unloose His shoes. He is more worthy -than I am. Follow Him.” He began to preach up Christ. -“He must increase; I must decrease.”</p> - -<p>Some of his disciples came to him one day and said: -“You know that Man you baptized over there in the -Jordan? Well, more men are coming to Him than are -coming to you.” That was jealousy—envy rankling in -those men’s bosoms. But what did John say? “I told -you that I was not He. Why, He must increase, and I -must decrease. That’s right, I would rather see the -crowd flocking to hear Him.”</p> - -<p>John, I think, was terribly abused by some one. He -was cast into prison. Then he sent two of his disciples -to inquire of Christ if He was the true Messiah, or must -he look for another. I do not know, but I have an idea -that he wanted his disciples to leave him and go over to -Jesus. So he called two of his most influential disciples -and told them: “Now, you go and ask Him if He is -the true Messiah.” I can not believe in John’s faith -wavering; but, if he was wavering, he took the very best -way, and sent those men to ask the Savior.</p> - -<p>I see his deputation arrive, and when Jesus had finished<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> -preaching these disciples come up and say: “Our -master has sent us to ask if You are the true Messiah? -Or, shall he look for another?”</p> - -<p>Jesus goes on healing the sick, causing the lame to -leap, giving sight to the blind, making the deaf to hear, -and after He had gone on performing these miracles He -said to John’s messengers: “You go back and tell your -master what you have seen and what you have heard. -Go back and tell John that the blind see; that the deaf -hear; that the lame walk, and that the poor have the -Gospel preached to them.”</p> - -<p>When John heard that, in prison, it settled all his -doubts. His disciples believed, and the poor had the -Gospel preached to them. That was the test, and then -John’s disciples, one after another, left him. And now -we find him thrown into prison. There he is, in prison—awaiting -his appointed time.</p> - -<p>Just bear in mind that God had sent him. His work -was done. He had only just come to announce the -Savior—only for that object. Some think that Christ’s -treatment of John was rather hard—in fact, harsh; but -the greatest tribute ever paid to any man was paid by -Jesus to John.</p> - -<p>“But what went ye out to see? A man clothed in -soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are -in kings’ houses.</p> - -<p>“But what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yea, I -say unto you, and more than a prophet.</p> - -<p>“For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I -send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare -thy way before thee.’</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Verily, I say unto you: ‘Among them that are -born of women there has not risen a greater than John -the Baptist; notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom -of Heaven is greater than he.’”</p> - -<p>There was none greater than this same John. Our -Savior knew that John was going first. He knew that -He was soon to die, and that John would have to come -to Him; that they would soon be together in Glory, and -then they could talk matters over; that John must sink -out of sight, and the Lord of Glory must be the central -object.</p> - -<p>Jesus and John were like the Sun and Moon in comparison -with the stars. All the prophets were like the -stars in comparison with those two men. There was no -prophet like John. None born of woman was greater. -Moses was a mighty prophet. Elijah was the son of -thunder, and a great and mighty prophet; and so was -Elisha. But they were not to be compared with John.</p> - -<p>What a character! He lost sight of himself entirely. -Christ was uppermost; Christ was the all-in-all with him. -He was beheaded outside the Promised Land. He was -buried in Moab, somewhere near where Moses was laid -away. The first and last prophet of that nation were -buried near together, and there they lie, outside the -Promised Land; but their bodies, by-and-by, will be -resurrected, and they will be the grandest and most glorious -in God’s kingdom.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p> - -<h3>JOSHUA.</h3> - -<p>Joshua was a man who walked by faith, and you will -find the key to his character in three words—courage, -obedience and faith.</p> - -<p>Courage, obedience and faith. And he dared to be -in the minority.</p> - -<p>Now, friends, there are very few men at the present -time who like to be in the minority. They always want -to be in the majority. They want to go with the crowd. -But when a man has laid hold of the Divine nature of -God, and has become a product of the Divine nature, he -is willing then to go against the crowd of the world and -be numbered with the minority.</p> - -<p>Where Joshua met the God of Israel first we are not -told. We do not catch a glimpse of him until the man -is about forty years old. The first sight we get of Joshua -is as he comes up out of Egypt. We are told that after -Moses had struck the rock in Horeb and the children of -Israel had drank the water that came out of that rock—and -that rock was typical of Christ and of God’s pure -throne—Amalek came out to fight them, and after they -had got a drink of this pure water they were willing to -meet him.</p> - -<p>We find that Joshua’s first battle was successful, and -that his last one was successful. He never knew what -defeat was. He was successful because he believed in -the Lord God of Heaven—because he had perfect faith -in God. Moses went up into the mountain to pray, and -while he was praying Joshua was down fighting Amalek.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -And when Moses held up his hand Israel prevailed, and -when he let down his hand Amalek prevailed.</p> - -<p>“And Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands—the one -on the one side and the other on the other side—and his -hands were steady until the going down of the sun.”</p> - -<p>His hands were up until Amalek was defeated.</p> - -<p>There is only one thing against Joshua. He was opposed -to the preaching of Eldad and Aminidab. He did -not like to see Eldad and Aminidab out there preaching -in the camp, because they did not belong to the Apostolic -body. So he says to Moses: “I wish you would -rebuke Eldad and Aminidab for preaching in the camp. -I do not want them to preach there.”</p> - -<p>But Moses said: “No! I will not rebuke Eldad -and Aminidab. That’s just what we want. I wish to -God there were more of them.”</p> - -<p>After Moses rebuked Joshua we never hear him complaining -any more about Eldad and Aminidab. That is -the only thing on record against him. The next thing -we hear of is the matter of those twelve spies, and I will -pass over that. You remember how they came back, -and Joshua and Caleb were the only two out of the -twelve that dared to bring in a minority report. But -now the forty years’ wilderness journey is over, and during -all those forty years you can not find any place where -Joshua or Caleb ever murmured or complained. They -were not of that kind.</p> - -<p>Now, as I said, the forty years’ wilderness journey is -over, and Moses is about to leave. He went up into -Mount Nebo, and “God kissed away his soul and buried -him.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span></p> - -<p>Then Joshua was commanded to take charge of the -army. The word of the Lord came to him, saying: -“Joshua, arise and go over this Jordan. Moses, my -servant, is dead.”</p> - -<p>There was no president, no general, no marshal -about it. There was no title at all, but just merely: -“Joshua, arise and go over this Jordan.” Now, Joshua -just obeyed, and here you will find the secret of his wonderful -success. He did just what the Lord told him to -do. He did not stand, like many people would have -done, and say: “I don’t know how I am going to get -these people over. Hadn’t you better wait, Lord, until -the next day? How am I to get these three million people -over this angry flood? Hadn’t we better wait until -the waters recede?”</p> - -<p>No! Joshua did not say that. He had got his command -from God: “Arise and go.” When the Lord -gave orders, that was enough. He had got His word, -and he brings these children of Israel down in sight of -the swollen stream. Faith must be tried. God will not -have people whom He can not try.</p> - -<p>Joshua brings them there in three days, in sight of -the angry flood, with not a word of murmuring. If he -had brought them there forty years before, what murmuring -there would have been! We will get trained—every -one of us.</p> - -<p>They had had their faith tried in those forty years in -the wilderness, and now they murmured not. There was -not a word of complaint. But forty years before they -would have asked, when they had got opposite Jericho: -“What is He going to do? How are we going to get<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> -over? We’ve got to have a bridge or a pontoon. And -even if we get over, they will see us and defeat us. They -will slay us here on the bank of Jordan. Guess we had -better turn around and go back.”</p> - -<p>That is about what they would have said, what they -would have tried, and what they would have done forty -years before. But now Joshua tells the people that the -priests are to walk out in front of them, and that the -moment the priests touched the water—the moment the -soles of their feet touched the water—the water was to -be cut off.</p> - -<p>There was faith for you! When those seven men -took up the ark God was with them, and the moment -the soles of their feet touched the water the waters were -cut off, and they passed into the middle of the stream -and put down the ark.</p> - -<p>That ark represented the Almighty. He was in the -ark, with the ark right there in the midst of death—for -Jordan is death and judgment—right in the middle of -the stream. He held that stream in the palm of His -hand. And now the people pass beyond—three millions -of them.</p> - -<p>You can hear their solemn tread. Not a word said -on their march through death and judgment until Joshua -led them on to Resurrection Ground. After he had got -them all over, he told twelve men—one from each tribe—to -take each a stone and set them up where the priests -stood, so that when their children asked “What mean -ye by these stones?” they could tell how the Almighty -brought them through dangers into the Promised Land.</p> - -<p>Now, after they had placed their stones, the ark was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> -brought up out of the Jordan, and the waters rolled off. -Instead of moving right on at once to Jericho, the children -of Israel stopped to keep the Passover. They were -in no hurry. They were willing to worship God. They -kept the Passover, and after that they started for Jericho. -Jericho was shut off, undoubtedly, and surely the -hearts of those people were filled with fear. Here the -children of Israel had come to their country and their -God had brought them through the Red Sea with an out-stretched -arm. Surely there was a strange God among -them. Jericho had no such God as that. He had defended -them and led them, and had given them light and -life after that.</p> - -<p>But now Joshua just takes a walk around the walls -of Jericho. God had ordered him to take it, and he -must. And as he was walking around, viewing the walls -of Jericho, all at once a man stood right in front of him -with a drawn sword right over him, and God said: “No -man can be able to stand before you all the days of your -life.” And Joshua steps right up to him, and asks: “Art -thou for us or for our adversaries?” The stranger answered: -“I am captain of God’s host, come to lead you -to victory.”</p> - -<p>Then Joshua fell on his face, and God talked with -him. How many men of the present time would have -laughed at Joshua if they had been in Jericho! How -much sport they would have made of him! If there had -been a Jericho Herald, what articles would have come -out! The idea of taking the city in that way! The ark -was to come out, and the priests were to blow rams’ -horns. That was very absurd, wasn’t it? Rams’ horns!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p> - -<p>Well, the seventh day came, and they were up quite -early in the morning. Here were these seven men blowing -their rams’ horns, and the people going around for -the seventh time. At the end of the seventh time -Joshua says: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the -city.” They shout, and down tumble the walls of the -city. Then they went up and entered Jericho, and every -man, woman and child of that city perished. God had -given the order, and His commands were obeyed.</p> - -<p>Now they move on to Ai. You know, after a victory -is gained over some large town they attack and take the -little outlying towns. So, in this case, they moved right -on to Ai. Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, and they -came back and told him that just a few thousand men -could take Ai; and they go up and are repulsed. Then -Joshua rends his clothes and falls on his face, and asks -God what the fault was. He knew the fault was in the -camp—not God’s.</p> - -<p>When they went into Jericho they were told not to -touch one solitary thing. But there was Acham, who -saw a nice garment—perhaps he thought it would be a -nice dress for his wife. He also saw two hundred shekels -of silver and a wedge of gold, and he coveted all these -things and took them. He hid them, but he could not -conceal them. He had to confess that he had sinned -against the Lord God of Israel. Those men of Ai were -so humbled that they could not stand before the Lord.</p> - -<p>After leaving Ai, we read that Joshua came to Mount -Ebal, and there a wonderful thing took place. On one -side, on the slope of Mount Gerizim, were half of the -children of Israel, and on the other side, on the slope of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> -Mount Ebal, were the other half. There were three -million people gathered there, and the whole law of -Moses was read over to them.</p> - -<p>It was a solemn sight. Moreover, all the law of God -was read—not a part, but the whole. Joshua read the -blessings and cursings. He did not stand up there like -some one reading a moral essay and say that they must -be good for they were going into the Promised Land; -that there were blessings for them, and said nothing -about the curses. No; he did not do that. He read all.</p> - -<p>It says here, in the eighth chapter: “And all Israel -and their elders and officers and their judges stood on -this side the ark and on that side, before the priests, the -Levites, which bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, -as well the stranger as he that was born among them; -half of them over against Mount Gerizim and half of -them over against Mount Ebal, as Moses, the servant of -the Lord, had commanded before, that they should bless -the people of Israel. And afterward he read all the -words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according -to all that is written in the book of the law.”</p> - -<p>Now, mark that. “He read all the words of the law, -the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written -in the book of the law.” If Joshua had been like many -of the present day, he would have said to himself: “I -will read the blessings, but not the cursings. I do not -believe God is going to curse a man if he does wrong, so -I will read the blessings and omit the cursings.” But, -thank God, he read the whole law—the blessings and the -cursings. He did not keep back any thing. “And there -was not a word of all that Moses commanded which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -Joshua read not.” Thank God for such a man! That -is the kind of men we want nowadays—men who will -not cut the Bible to pieces like the king who took out his -penknife and said: “I don’t like that; cut that out. -I don’t like this; cut this out.” So they cut and slashed -the Bible until very little was left.</p> - -<p>The thirty-third verse of the eighth chapter says they -were all there—“as well the stranger as he that was -born among them.” You see, Joshua made no distinction. -He read to the stranger as well as to those that -were of the children of Israel. It was all read.</p> - -<p>And now Joshua is ready to move on. The law had -been read, they had worshiped their God, and they were -ready to move on. Undoubtedly the nations throughout -that land had heard how this solemn assembly had met -on the mountain side and the law had been read. Now -they are ready to move on again. They had been there -about three days.</p> - -<p>Some one now comes to Joshua with startling news. -The messenger begins with the question: “Joshua, -have you heard that there is a confederacy formed to -oppose you? Instead of meeting one man you are to -meet five. They are coming down from the mountains -with great regiments of giants. Why, the mountains -are full of the sons of Anak—full of giants—and some -of them are six feet high. Why, they are so big that -they would scare our own men to death. Why, one man -came out and just shook his little finger at our men, and -scared them out of their lives. There was not a man -who dared to meet them. The whole land is full of -giants. Do you know that they have formed a confederacy?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -Five kings are coming down against you with -hordes of these giants.”</p> - -<p>I see the old warrior. He does not tremble at all. -He had received the word of God: “Joshua, be of -good courage. No man shall be able to stand against -you.” He moved on in his godly armor and in the name -of his God, and he routed his adversaries. The hour -was growing late, and he commanded Sun and Moon to -stand still, and they obeyed him. So there were two -days in one. He found the five kings hid away in a cave, -and he took them out and hanged them. He took thirty-one -kings and kingdoms. He just took that land by -faith.</p> - -<p>Now, some people ask: “What right had he to -come over and take that land?” If you will read the -fourth verse of the ninth chapter of Deuteronomy, you -will see what right he had. “Speak not thou in thine -heart, after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out -from before thee, saying: ‘For my righteousness the -Lord hath brought me in to possess this land.’ But, for -the wickedness of these nations, the Lord doth drive -them out from before thee.”</p> - -<p>That is why He drove them out. Their cup of iniquity -was filled, and God just dashed it to pieces. -When any nation’s cup of iniquity is full, God sweeps -them away.</p> - -<p>Now, mark the Scripture: “Not for thy righteousness -or for the uprightness of thine heart dost thou go to -possess their land; but, for the wickedness of these -nations, the Lord thy God hath driven them out from -before thee, and that He may perform the word which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> -the Lord swore unto thy fathers—Abraham, Isaac and -Jacob.” “Understand, therefore, that the Lord thy God -giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy -righteousness; for thou art a stiff-necked people.”</p> - -<p>They were a stiff-necked people. It was not for the -righteousness of the children of Israel that the Lord gave -them this land. He hated these nations on account of -their wickedness.</p> - -<p>Now, Joshua has overcome them and driven them -from the face of the earth, and this brings out one noble -trait in his character. When he came to divide up the -land, Joshua took the poorest treasure himself, that he -might be near the ark. And there, on Mount Ephraim, -he died at the ripe old age of one hundred and ten years. -During all those years not a man was able to stand before -him. See the contrast between his dying testimony and -that of Jacob! Jacob’s self-reproach was: “Few and -evil have the days of the years of my life been.” He had -a stormy voyage.</p> - -<p>Look and see this old warrior going to rest. He had -tried God forty years. He had heard the crack of the -slave driver’s whip, down there in Egypt. But probably -he had a praying mother, who talked to him about this -King of the Hebrews, about the God of Abraham, of -Isaac and of Jacob, and he believed in that God. When -Moses came down into Egypt he found this young man -just in the prime of his life. Joshua recognized in Moses -that he was an instrument of the Almighty, and that the -King of the Hebrews had sent him there to deliver His -people.</p> - -<p>Joshua had tried God forty years in the wilderness,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> -and when eighty years old he was called into the Promised -Land. He had tried God thirty years in Canaan, -and now, at the age of one hundred and ten, the aged -and invincible warrior is going home. But he is not going -to die like an infidel. He knows he is about to die, -and he calls for all the tribes of Israel and their elders. -These come up from the tribe of Benjamin, the tribe of -Simeon, the tribe of Zebulon, and so on; and they are -gathered at Shiloh, to be there to hear the old prophet -and patriarch.</p> - -<p>That man of God speaks, and what does he say? -What is his dying testimony? How we all linger around -the couch of our dying friends! How anxious we are to -get their last words!</p> - -<p>Well, let us turn back. What are the last words of -this man who has tried God and proved God? These are -the words: “I am going the way of all the earth; and -ye know in your hearts and in all your souls that not one -thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord -your God spake concerning you. All are come to pass -unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.”</p> - -<p>Not one good thing has failed! God has kept His -word. God has made His word good. “Not one good -thing hath failed.” What a dying testimony! How -glorious! In the beautiful sunset light the old warrior -sank away, like he was going to sleep. In the dusk of a -beautiful Summer’s evening he passed away. There is -the old man’s dying testimony. He could tell the people -of God. He was the only one left. The rest had gone. -Moses had sunk into his desert grave, and the other leaders<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> -of the tribe of Israel had passed away. But now he -was going to die in the Promised Land.</p> - -<p>Truly, he was a man of courage, obedience and faith.</p> - -<h3>LOT.</h3> - -<p>One reason why I take up this character is because I -believe he is a representative man, and perhaps there is -no Bible character that represents so many men of the -present day as Lot of Sodom.</p> - -<p>Where you can find one Abraham, one Daniel or one -Joshua you can find a thousand Lots.</p> - -<p>Lot started out very well. He got rich, and that was -the beginning of his troubles. He and Abraham, his -uncle, went down to Egypt, and they came out of Egypt -with great wealth. The next thing we hear of is strife -among their herdsmen.</p> - -<p>But Lot could not get up a quarrel with Abraham. -Abraham said to him: “You are my nephew, and I -can not quarrel with you; but take your goods and go to -the right and I will go to the left, or I will go to the -right and you go to the left.” And they separated.</p> - -<p>Right here Lot made his mistake. He should have -said, in reply to Abraham: “No, uncle! I don’t want -to leave you. The Lord has blessed me with you, and I -do not wish to leave you.” But, if he had been determined -to leave his uncle, he should have asked Abraham -to choose for him. Instead of that, he lifted up his eyes -and saw the well watered plains of Sodom, and that -decided him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span></p> - -<p>No doubt Lot was very ambitious; he probably -wanted to become richer. Perhaps there was a little -spirit of rivalry toward his uncle. He wanted to excel -Abraham in worldly goods—to become rich faster. So -he saw and determined upon the well watered plains of -Sodom. If he had asked Abraham he would not have -gone there. If he had asked God, Lot would never have -entered Sodom; no man ever goes into Sodom by God’s -advice. He determined for himself, and pitched his tent -toward Sodom. I do not know how long Lot lived upon -those well watered plains, but no doubt the men of those -days said of him when he had settled down: “There -is a shrewd man; he is a smart man. Why, I can predict -that in a very short time he will be a wealthier man -than his uncle, Abraham. Look at these well watered -plains. Why, he is a great deal better off than is Abraham -now.”</p> - -<p>Lot is in a position in which he can soon become a -rich man. How long he remained on those plains I do -not know, but the next thing we know is that he got into -Sodom. We are told that Sodom was very wicked. Lot -lived near it, and he went into it with his eyes open, for -he knew all about it. The wickedness of Sodom was -coming up to God. He was going to destroy it soon. Do -you think, if Lot had asked Him, He would have permitted -the nephew of Abraham to enter that city?</p> - -<p>All the years that Lot was in Sodom we do not read -that he had any family altar. He must have known it -meant ruin for his family to take them in there. But -he did not look at that. It was business that took him -there. He might have said: “Well, I’ve got a large<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> -family. I’ve got a great many dependent upon me, and -I must get rich faster; so I will go into Sodom. Business -is the first consideration, and it must be attended -to.” So he goes into Sodom, and the next thing we hear -he is in trouble. Sodom had got a war on hand, and -when he went into the city he was forced to take its side. -In the war he was taken captive. It is a great mercy he -was not killed in battle.</p> - -<p>The first thing Abraham did when he heard of his -nephew’s trouble was to set out after him. When Lot -was captured in battle he was liable to be taken into -slavery, and his children also. He might have died in -slavery if Abraham had not gone after him. But Abraham -takes his servants and sets out and overtakes the -warriors who had taken Lot captive, and brought him -back, with all the property that had been taken.</p> - -<p>Now, you would think Lot would have kept out of -Sodom. You would expect to hear of his saying: “I -have had enough of Sodom; I will not go near it again.” -You would think that men, when they get into this and -that difficulty and affliction, would keep out of Sodom; -but they will not. It is one of the greatest mysteries to -me why men will remain in their Sodom when they have -continual trouble.</p> - -<p>So Lot went back. Probably he said: “I’ve lost -a great deal, and I must go back and try to recover it. -I must go back and make it up for my children.” And -he prospered in Sodom.</p> - -<p>If you had gone into Sodom before these angels came -down you would probably have found that no man had -got on so well. If they had a Congress, perhaps they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -sent him to represent Sodom, because no man had done -better in business. That is the way of the world. Possibly -they might have made him Mayor of Sodom. If -you could have seen his “turnout,” it would have been -one of the very best. Mrs. Lot must have moved in the -most select society of the city. The Misses Lot were -looked upon as the most fashionable people there. They -got on well.</p> - -<p>Perhaps Lot was a judge and had great influence. -When the angels got to the gate they might have heard -of the Honorable Judge Lot. It sounded pretty well. -He might have owned many corner lots. He might have -owned many buildings with “Lot” printed all over them, -and on account of his property he might have been a -very high man in Sodom. That is the way the world -looks at it. No doubt the dispositions of those people -were exactly as they are today. Human nature has been -pretty much the same always.</p> - -<p>But time rolls on, and Lot, while sitting at the gate -one evening, saw two strangers upon the highway. They -are coming toward Sodom. Likely these Sodomites did -not know them, but twenty years before Lot had been in -the company of Abraham, and he had seen these men at -his uncle’s house—had seen them sitting at his uncle’s -table. So he knew these angels when they approached, -and he bowed down and worshiped them; he bowed -down to the ground, and then invited them into his residence. -But it was a sink of iniquity, and they would -not enter in. Lot pressed his invitation upon them, and -finally they accepted.</p> - -<p>The news was soon noised around the streets that he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> -had two strangers there, and it was not long before a -crowd was around the door, and wanted to know whom -he had inside.</p> - -<p>Lot came out and endeavored to pacify them, but he -was met with the derisive query: “Who made this fellow -a judge over us?” He was dragged back into the -house, and the door was shut against the mob. His influence -was gone. He had been in the city twenty years -and had not made a convert.</p> - -<p>I suppose Lot lived in a marble front house there, -and his heart was away from God. Then these men said -to Lot: “Whom have you got here beside yourself? -What is your family? Have you got any others beside -yourself in this town?”</p> - -<p>Well, the father and mother had to own up that they -had married their children to some of the Sodomites. -That was the result of his going into the city. You go -into the world and live like the world, and see what the -result will be. How many fathers and mothers are now -mourning on account of marrying their sons and daughters -to Sodomites! Marrying them to death and ruin!</p> - -<p>These angels said to Lot: “If you have got any, -get them out of this place, for God is determined to burn -it up. Tell them this, and if they will not come, escape -for your lives and leave them, for He will surely destroy -the city.”</p> - -<p>Now, all these twenty years we do not know that Lot -ever had a family altar. He could not call his children -around him and pray to his God. They had all become -identified with Sodom and its people.</p> - -<p>Look at that scene. There are the men at the outside<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> -of the door, groping about to find it, and the door -opens and Lot starts out to tell his son-in-law of the -coming destruction. I can see the old man, head bowed -down, passing through the streets of Sodom at midnight.</p> - -<p>He goes to a house and knocks. No sound; all are -asleep. He knocks again, and likely shouts at the top -of his voice; and the man gets up and opens the window. -He puts his head out and asks:</p> - -<p>“Who’s there?”</p> - -<p>“Lot, your father-in-law.”</p> - -<p>“What has brought you out of bed at this hour? -What’s up?”</p> - -<p>“Why, two angels are at my house, who say that -God is going to destroy Sodom and every one who shall -remain here.”</p> - -<p>“You go home and get to bed.”</p> - -<p>They mock Lot. He has lost his testimony. They -all think he is deluded.</p> - -<p>I can see him now, going off to another daughter’s -house. I know not how many daughters Lot had. He -might have had as many daughters as Job. He goes to -them, and they mock him, too.</p> - -<p>There is that old man, in that midnight hour, plodding -along those streets of Sodom to urge them to flee -from the city, and they mock him. He had been long -enough with Abraham to know that every thing that -came from God could be relied upon.</p> - -<p>Now he starts back home. You can see him—his -head bowed down, his long white hair flowing over his -bosom and tears flowing from those aged eyes! The -world calls him a successful man; but what a miserable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> -end is his! Look at him tonight! He had achieved his -ambition, and was wealthy. He obtained what he longed -for, but with it came leanness of soul.</p> - -<p>Next morning the angels take him by the hand. He -and his wife and two daughters are led out of the city. -And they lingered. How could they do otherwise than -linger, when they had left their sons and daughters in -the city and knew they would be destroyed?</p> - -<p>Yes, they linger. I do not blame them. They had, -probably, a faint hope that the threatened storm might -be stayed, and they could get their children out. But -the angels took them by the hand and hastened them out -of the city.</p> - -<p>Poor mother! Ah, how sad when God came in judgment! -I can see that mother hesitating, but God orders -her not to look back. “Flee for your life; escape or -you will be destroyed.” “No man having put his hand -to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of -God.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Lot gets out of Sodom, but she looks back, and -judgment falls upon her. And I believe that the condition -of Lot’s wife is the condition of millions today. -They have come out of Sodom, but their hearts are in -the world. They ask: “Have I to give up the world? -Have I to give up all and follow Christ?” They linger -and look back, and judgment will fall upon them.</p> - -<p>We are told in the Scriptures that the people were -eating, drinking, buying and selling, planning and building -until the very moment Lot went out of Sodom. Perhaps -not a man in all Sodom took any account of his -going out. It might have got rumored around that he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> -was going because he believed the city was about to be -destroyed, but no man believed it. His sons and daughters -did not believe what their father said to them, and -the Son of God says they were all destroyed—great and -small, learned and unlearned, rich and poor. All alike -perished.</p> - -<p>Bear in mind that if you live in Sodom destruction -will come upon you. The world may call you successful, -but the only way to test success is to take a man’s whole -life—not the beginning nor middle, but the whole of it. -If a man is in Sodom, he will find at last the fruits of his -life to be</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Nothing but leaves—nothing but leaves.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Lot spent his life in gaining worldly goods for his -children, and he lost all and his children besides.</p> - -<p>How many men of the present day can only say they -have the same object in view that Lot had. They went -into the city to make money. They have built no family -altar. They recognize only two things—money and -business. They say: “My sons may become gamblers -and drunkards and my daughters may go off into ungodly -society and marry drunkards and make their lives miserable; -but I want money, and I will have all I wish if I -get it.”</p> - -<p>My friends, was Lot’s life a successful one? It was -a stupendous failure. Let us not follow in the footsteps -of this man Lot. Let us keep out of Sodom.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p> - -<h3>MARTHA.</h3> - -<p>There was a woman right in the midst of this darkness, -when many disciples left Him, who came forward -and invited Him to her home—a woman by the name of -Martha.</p> - -<p>I can imagine Martha coming from Bethany, one day, -and going into the Temple, in Jerusalem, to worship. -The great Galilean Prophet came in, Who spake as never -man spake, and she listened to His words. And as the -words came from His lips they fell upon Martha’s ears, -and she says: “Well, I will invite Him to my house.”</p> - -<p>It must have cost her something to do that. Christ -was unpopular. There was a hiss going up in Jerusalem -against Him. They called Him an impostor. All the -leading men of the nation were opposed to Him. They -said He was Beelzebub, the Lord of filth. They charged -that He was an impostor and a deceiver. And yet Martha -invites Him to her home. I hope there will always -be some Martha to invite Him to her home, to be her -guest. He will make that home a thousand times better -than it ever was before.</p> - -<p>Martha invited Him home with her. We read of His -going often to Bethany. The noblest, best and grandest -thing Martha ever did was to make room in her home for -Jesus Christ. That one act will live for ever. Little did -she know, when she invited the Son of God to become -her guest, who He was; and when we receive Jesus into -our hearts little do we know who He is. It will take all -eternity to find out who He is.</p> - -<p>There was a dark cloud then over that home in Bethany,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> -but Martha did not know it. Neither did Mary see -that cloud. It was fast settling down upon that home. -It was soon going to burst upon that little family. The -Savior knew all about it. He saw that dark cloud coming -across that threshold.</p> - -<p>We read that Jesus often lodged there. But a few -months after He became their friend and guest, Lazarus -sickened. The fever laid hold of him. It might have -been typhoid fever.</p> - -<p>You can see those two sisters watching over their -brother. The family physician is sent for to Jerusalem, -and he comes out and does every thing he can to restore -Lazarus to health; but he sinks lower and lower. Some -of us know what it is when the doctor comes in and feels -the pulse, begins to look very serious and takes you into -another room, away from the patient, and tells you it is -a critical case.</p> - -<p>Martha and Mary passed through that experience. -There was no hope, and Lazarus must die. They felt -that if Jesus was only here He would rebuke this disease. -He might prevent death from taking away our only -brother. They sent a messenger a good ways off to tell -Jesus His friend was sick, and this was the message:</p> - -<p>“He whom Thou lovest is sick.”</p> - -<p>They do not ask Him to come. They knew Jesus -loved Lazarus, and that He would come if it was for -their good. The messenger at last returned. He found -Christ and delivered his message. When he got back, he -found that the cloud had burst upon that little home, and -Lazarus was dead and buried.</p> - -<p>I see those two sisters as they gather around the messenger,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> -eagerly plying him with questions. They asked: -“Did you find Him?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I found Him.”</p> - -<p>“What did He say?”</p> - -<p>“He said the sickness was not unto death, and He -would come and see him.”</p> - -<p>Now, for the first time, I see faith beginning to stagger. -Mary asks the messenger:</p> - -<p>“Are you sure you understood Him? Did He say -the sickness was not unto death?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Are you quite sure?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Well, that is strange. If He is a prophet He -should have known that Lazarus was dead. Sure Elijah -would have known it. If He was a prophet, He must -have known it. You had not been away from the house -an hour before Lazarus died. He was dead when you -met Him.”</p> - -<p>“Well, that is what He told me. He said He would -come here and see him.”</p> - -<p>I see those two sisters as they kept watching for that -Friend to come and comfort them. How long those -nights must have seemed, as they watched and waited! -I can imagine they did not sleep through the night, but -listened to hear a footfall. The next day they watched, -and He did not come. The second night passed, and He -did not come. The third day came, and He did not -come. The fourth day comes, and the messenger returns -and says: “Martha, Jesus and His apostles are just -outside the walls of the city. He is coming on toward<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> -Bethany.” Martha runs out to meet Him, and says: -“If Thou hadst been here my brother had not died. -Thou wouldst have kept death away from our dwelling.”</p> - -<p>Jesus answered her: “But thy brother shall rise -again.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I knew that,” says Martha. “I know Lazarus -will rise again, for he was such a good brother. He will -rise at the resurrection of the just.”</p> - -<p>Jesus had probably taught them of the resurrection. -He answered Martha: “I am the resurrection of the -just. I carry the keys with Me. I have the keys to -death and the grave.” Then He asks: “Where is -Mary? Go call her.”</p> - -<p>They ran and told Mary that Jesus was there. Mary -met Jesus with the words of Martha:</p> - -<p>“If Thou hadst been here my brother had not died.”</p> - -<p>“Thy brother shall rise again. Where have you laid -him?”</p> - -<p>“Come and see.”</p> - -<p>And they led the way. Look at that company moving -along toward the grave yard. These two sisters are -telling about the last words and last acts of Lazarus. -Perhaps Lazarus left a loving message for Jesus. You -know what that is. When you go to see friends who are -mourning, how they will dwell upon the last words and -the last acts of the departed ones! You see Martha and -Mary weeping as they went along toward the grave, and -the Son of God wept with them.</p> - -<p>Jesus said to His disciples: “Take away the stone.”</p> - -<p>Again the faith of those sisters wavered, and they -said: “Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he has been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> -dead four days.” They did not know who their Friend -was. When the disciples rolled away that stone Christ -cried in a loud voice to His old friend:</p> - -<p>“Lazarus, come forth.”</p> - -<p>Then Lazarus leaped out of that same sepulcher and -came forth. Some old divine has said it was a good -thing that Jesus singled out Lazarus, for there is such -power in the voice of the Son of God that the dead shall -hear His voice, and if He had not called for Lazarus by -name all the dead in that grave yard would have come -forth.</p> - -<p>Little did Martha know whom she was entertaining -when she invited Christ into her home. The world has -been sneering at Martha ever since. But it was by far -the grandest, sublimest and noblest act of her life.</p> - -<h3>MEPHIBOSHETH.</h3> - -<p>There is a story in the Books of Samuel—away back -as far as the time of the kings of Israel—which will help -us to understand the Gospel. It is about a man of the -name of Mephibosheth.</p> - -<p>You remember what a hard time David had when -Saul was hunting him to kill him—just as men hunt for -game.</p> - -<p>Well, one day David and his good friend, Jonathan, -were taking a walk together in the fields. Saul was very -angry, and was bent on killing David; but his son, Jonathan, -was looking out for a chance to save him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span></p> - -<p>The fact had been revealed to Jonathan that David -was to be king after Saul’s death, instead of himself, but -this did not lessen his love for David. That must have -been a real friendship which could stand this sort of -thing.</p> - -<p>After they had agreed upon a sign by which David -was to know whether it was safe for him to stay around -the court of the king, where he could see his friend once -in a while, or whether he must leave, and go off into the -cave of Adullam, Jonathan says to him:</p> - -<p>“David, it has been revealed to me that you are to -be king after my father. Now, I want you to promise -me one thing. When you come to the throne, if any of -the house of Saul are alive, I want you to be good to -them, for my sake.”</p> - -<p>“I will do that, of course,” said David. So he made -a solemn covenant to that effect, and then he went away -to the cave of Adullam, to get out of the way of Saul, -who was bound to kill him if he could.</p> - -<p>But God took care of David. You never can kill or -harm a man if God is taking care of him.</p> - -<p>About four years after that, David heard that there -had been a great battle over by Mount Gilboa, and that -the Philistines had beaten back the Israelites with great -slaughter, and that Saul and Jonathan were both dead. -So he got his men together, and went out after the enemies -of the Lord and of Israel; and it was not a great -while before he had turned the tables on them, and set -up his kingdom at Hebron.</p> - -<p>It must have been pretty near fourteen years after -that before David remembered his promise to his old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> -friend, Jonathan. It is a great deal easier to make promises -than to keep them. How many broken vows has -God written down against you?</p> - -<p>But one day King David was walking in his palace at -Jerusalem, where he had removed his capital, and all at -once he happened to think of that promise. It is a good -thing God does not forget His promises that way.</p> - -<p>“That’s too bad,” mused David. “I had forgot all -about that promise. I have been so busy fighting these -Philistines and fixing things up that I have not had time -to think of any thing else.”</p> - -<p>So he called his servants in great haste, and asked: -“Do any of you know whether there is any of Saul’s -family living?”</p> - -<p>One of them said there was an old servant of Saul’s -by the name of Ziba, and maybe he could tell.</p> - -<p>“Go and tell him I want him, right away.”</p> - -<p>Pretty soon Ziba appeared, and King David asked: -“Do you know whether there is anybody of the house -of Saul in my kingdom?”</p> - -<p>Ziba said there was one he knew of—a son of Jonathan, -by the name of Mephibosheth.</p> - -<p>Jonathan! How that name must have smitten King -David! One of the sons of his old friend living in his -kingdom for as much as fourteen years, and he had never -known it! What would Jonathan think of him for forgetting -his promise that way?</p> - -<p>“Go, fetch him!” says David. “Go quickly. Tell -him I want him. I want to show him the kindness of -God.”</p> - -<p>Now, where do you suppose Mephibosheth was all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> -this time? Why, he was down at Lo-debar. Did you -ever hear of that place? If you are a sailor, did you -ever come across that port? When you have traveled -on the railway, did any of you ever stop at that station?</p> - -<p>Ah, yes! That is where the whole human race are -until they come to Christ for salvation—away down at -Lo-debar, which means “a place of no pasture.”</p> - -<p>The king is in haste to keep his promise now. I see -them hurrying off. Maybe they take the king’s own -chariot, and rattle away to find this son of Jonathan.</p> - -<p>When they reached the little out-of-the-way place, I -fancy there was a great commotion.</p> - -<p>“Where is Mephibosheth? The king wants him.”</p> - -<p>Poor fellow! When he heard this announcement he -hung his head. He was afraid the king wanted to kill -him because he was of the house of Saul, his old enemy.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be afraid,” said the servants. “The king -says he wants to show you the kindness of God. He is -in a great hurry to see you, so get ready and jump right -into the chariot. Don’t you see the king has sent his -own chariot to fetch you?”</p> - -<p>It did begin to look as if the king meant no harm to -him.</p> - -<p>But poor Mephibosheth had another difficulty. He -was lame in both feet. He was a little fellow when King -David came to the throne, and an old servant, who was -afraid that all the house of Saul would be killed, took -him up and ran away to hide him. Somehow he managed -to drop the lad, and lamed him in both feet.</p> - -<p>And now I can see poor Mephibosheth looking down -at his feet. Maybe his toes turned in, or he was club-footed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> -And he says to himself: “I am not fit to go -to the king. I am a poor cripple. I am not fit to be -seen among the tall and handsome servants of the palace -in Jerusalem.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind your lame feet, Mephibosheth; so long -as the king sends for you, it is all right.”</p> - -<p>So they take him up and put him in the chariot, and -start for Jerusalem on a run.</p> - -<p>As soon as the king sees him he takes him in his arms -and cries out:</p> - -<p>“O Mephibosheth! The son of my dear old friend, -Jonathan! You shall have all that ever belonged to the -house of Saul, and you shall live with me here, in the -palace.”</p> - -<p>Some people think that Mephibosheth, like certain -low-spirited Christians, after he went to live with the -king, must have been all the time worrying over his lame -feet. But I do not think so. He could not help it, and -if David did not mind it, it was all right. So, I think -that when he dined with David in state, with the great -lords and ladies all around him, he just stuck his club -feet under the table, and looked the king right in the face.</p> - -<h3>MOSES.</h3> - -<p>Moses was about to leave the children of Israel in the -wilderness. He had led them up to the borders of the -Promised Land. For forty long years he had been leading -them in that wilderness, and now, as they are about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -to go over, Moses takes his farewell. He said a great -many wise and good things on that memorable occasion.</p> - -<p>There was not a man on the face of the earth at that -time who knew as much about the world and as much -about God as did Moses. Therefore, he was a good -judge. He had tasted of the pleasures of the world. In -the forty years that he was in Egypt he probably sampled -every thing of that day. He tasted of the world—of -its pleasures. He knew all about it. He was brought -up in the palace of a king, a prince. Egypt then ruled -the world, as it were.</p> - -<p>Moses had been forty years in Horeb, where he had -heard the voice of God—where he had been taught by -God—and for forty years he had been serving God. You -might say he was God’s right hand man, leading those -bondmen up out of the land of Egypt and out of the -house of bondage into the land of liberty, and this is his -dying address—you might say, his farewell address. This -is the dying testimony of one who could speak with -authority and one who could speak intelligently.</p> - -<p>If you have not read that farewell address of Moses, -you will find it in the last few verses of Deuteronomy. -I advise you to read it. You are reading a great many -printed sermons. Suppose you read that. Why, there -is as much truth in that farewell address of Moses as -there is in fifteen hundred printed sermons at the present -time. Let me just give you a few verses:</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and -hear, O Earth, the words of my mouth.</p> - -<p>“My doctrine shall drop as the rain; my speech shall<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> -distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender -herb, and as the showers upon the grass.</p> - -<p>“Because I will publish the name of the Lord. -Ascribe ye greatness unto our God.</p> - -<p>“He is the Rock; His work is perfect. For all His -ways are judgment; a God of truth and without iniquity, -just and right is He.</p> - -<p>“They have corrupted themselves; their spot is not -the spot of His children. They are a perverse and -crooked generation.</p> - -<p>“Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and -unwise? Is not He thy Father that hath bought thee? -Hath He not made thee and established thee?</p> - -<p>“Remember the days of old; consider the years of -many generations. Ask thy Father, and He will show -thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.</p> - -<p>“When the Most High divided to the nations their -inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He -set the bounds of the people according to the number of -the children of Israel.</p> - -<p>“For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the -lot of His inheritance.</p> - -<p>“He found him in a desert land, and in the waste -howling wilderness. He led him about; He instructed -him; He kept him as the apple of His eye.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>There are two or three sermons in that last verse.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her -young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth -them on her wings, so the Lord alone did lead him, -and there was no strange god with him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p> - -<p>“He made him ride on the high places of the Earth, -that he might eat the increase of the fields; and He -made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of -the flinty rock.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>And so Moses went on and finished his sermon, and -God called him off into the mountain. He went up into -Mount Nebo, and there God showed him, from the top -of Pisgah, that land which he could not possess; showed -him the land from Dan to Beersheba.</p> - -<p>Then “God kissed away his soul and buried him.”</p> - -<h3>NAAMAN.</h3> - -<p>Naaman was a successful, valiant and noble man. -But he was a leper—and that spoiled him.</p> - -<p>What a blight that must have cast on his path! It -must have haunted him day and night.</p> - -<p>He was a leper, and there was no physician in Syria -who could help him. It was an incurable disease, and I -suppose he thought he would have to go down to the -grave with that loathsome ailment.</p> - -<p>We read that several companies had gone down to -the land of Israel and brought back to Syria some poor -captives. Among them was a little girl, who was sent to -wait on Naaman’s wife. I can imagine that little maid -had a praying mother, who had taught her to love the -Lord, and when she got down there she was not ashamed -to own her religion. She was not ashamed to acknowledge -her Lord.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span></p> - -<p>One day, while waiting on her mistress, I can think -of her saying: “Would to God your husband was in -Samaria. There is a prophet in that country who would -cure him.”</p> - -<p>“What! A man in Israel who can cure my husband? -Child, you must be dreaming. Did you ever hear of a -man being cured of leprosy?”</p> - -<p>“No. But that is nothing. Why, the prophet in -Samaria has cured many persons worse than your husband.”</p> - -<p>And perhaps she told her about the poor woman who -had such an increase of oil, and how her two boys were -saved from slavery by the prophet, and also how he had -raised the child of that poor woman from the dead, adding: -“If the prophet can raise anybody from the dead -he can cure your husband.”</p> - -<p>This girl must have had something about her to make -those people listen to her. She must have shown her -religion in her life. Her life must have been consistent -with her religion to make them believe her.</p> - -<p>We read that Naaman had faith in her word, and he -went to the king and told him what he intended to do. -And the king said: “I will tell you what I will do. I -will give you a letter to the king of Israel. Of course, -if any cure is to be effected, the king will know how to -obtain it.”</p> - -<p>Like many men nowadays, they believed, if a thing -was to be got, it was to be got from the king, and not -from his subjects. So you see this man starting out to -the king of Israel with all his letters and a very long -purse. I can not find, just now, how much it was, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> -it must have been something like $500,000. The sum -was a very large one, likely. He was going to be liberal. -He was not going to be small.</p> - -<p>Well, he got all his money and letters together and -started. There was no small stir as Naaman swept -through the gates of Syria that day with his escort. He -reaches Samaria, and sends a messenger to the king, announcing -his arrival. The messenger delivers the letter -to the king, and the first thing he does is to open the letter -and begin to read it.</p> - -<p>I can see his brow knit as he goes on.</p> - -<p>“What is this? What does it mean? This man -means war. This Assyrian king means to have a war -with me. Who ever heard of such a thing as a man -cured of leprosy?”</p> - -<p>And the king rent his mantle.</p> - -<p>Every one knew something was wrong when the king -rent his mantle, and the news spread through the streets -that they were on the eve of a war. The air was filled -with rumors of war; everybody was talking about it. -No doubt the news had gone abroad that the great general -of Assyria was in the city, and he was the cause of -the rumors, and by-and-by it reached the prophet Elisha -that the king had rent his mantle, and he wanted to -know the cause. When he had heard what it was he -just told the king to send Naaman to him.</p> - -<p>Now you see the major-general riding up in grand -style to the prophet’s house. He probably lived in a -small and obscure dwelling. Perhaps Naaman thought -he was doing Elisha a great favor by calling on him. He -had an idea that he was honoring this man, who had no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> -influence or position. So he rides up. A messenger is -sent in to announce Major-General Naaman of Damascus. -But the prophet does not even see him. He just -tells the servant to say to his master:</p> - -<p>“Go and wash in Jordan seven times.”</p> - -<p>When the messenger comes to Naaman and tells him -this, he is as mad as any thing. He considers it a reflection -upon him—as if he had not kept his person clean.</p> - -<p>“Does the man mean to insinuate that I have not -kept my body clean? Can’t I wash myself in the waters -of Damascus? We have much better water than they -have here. Why, if we had the Jordan in Syria we certainly -would look upon it as a ditch. The idea—wash -in that contemptible river!”</p> - -<p>Naaman was as full of rage as he well could be, but -suddenly he said: “Behold, I thought.”</p> - -<p>That is the way with sinners; they always say they -thought. In this expression we can see that Naaman -had thought of some plan, and had marked out a way -for the Lord to heal him.</p> - -<p>Keep this in mind: “My ways are not your ways, -nor my thoughts your thoughts.” If you look for the -Lord to come in one direction, He will come in another -direction. “My ways are not your ways,” thought the -leper. No man gets into the kingdom of God until he -gives up his thoughts. God never saves a man until he -gives up his own thoughts and takes up God’s.</p> - -<p>Yes, Naaman thought the moment the prophet knew -he was outside he would come out and bow and scrape, -and say he was glad to see such a great and honorable -man from Syria. Instead of that, he merely sent him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> -the peremptory prescription: “Go wash in Jordan seven -times.”</p> - -<p>When we were in Glasgow we had an employer converted, -and he wanted to get a man in his employ to -come to our meetings, but he would not come. If he -was going to be converted, he would not be converted by -those meetings. You know, when a Scotchman gets an -idea into his head he is the most stubborn man you can -find. He was determined not to be converted by Moody -and Sankey. The employer argued and pleaded with -this man, but he could not get him to come to the meetings -then being held.</p> - -<p>Well, we left Glasgow, and got away up to the north -of Scotland—in Inverness—and the employer sent his -stubborn friend up there on business, thinking he might -be induced to go into the meetings. One night we were -singing “On the Banks of That Beautiful River,” and -he happened to be passing. He wondered where the -sweet sounds were coming from. He came into the -meeting, and I happened to be preaching that evening -on the very text: “I Thought.”</p> - -<p>The stubborn man from Glasgow listened attentively, -and soon did not know exactly where he was. He was -convicted—he was converted—and he became a Christian. -Verily, a man must yield his own way to the way -of the Lord.</p> - -<p>Now, you can see all along that Naaman’s thoughts -were altogether different from those of God. He was -going to get the grace of God by showing favors—just as -many men now believe they can buy their way into the -kingdom of God. But we can not purchase the favor of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> -Heaven with money. If you get a seat in Heaven, you -must accept salvation as a gift.</p> - -<p>Naaman had another thought. He believed he could -get what he wanted by taking letters to the king—not to -the prophet. The little maid told him of the prophet, -yet he was going to pass the prophet by. He was too -proud to go to the prophet. But pride, if you will allow -me the expression, got a knock on the head on this important -occasion.</p> - -<p>It was a terrible thing for him to think of obeying by -going down to the Jordan and dipping seven times. He -had got better rivers in Damascus, in his own wisdom, -and he queries: “Can’t I wash there, and be clean?” -Naaman was angry, but when he got over it he listened -to his servants.</p> - -<p>I would rather see people get angry than see them go -to sleep. I would rather see a man get as angry as possible -at any utterance of mine than to see I had sent him -to sleep. When a man is asleep there is no chance of -reaching him, but if he is angry we may get at him. It -is a good thing for a man to get angry sometimes, for -when he cools off he generally listens to reason.</p> - -<p>So Naaman’s servant came to him and said: “Suppose -Elisha had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst -thou not have done it?”</p> - -<p>Probably, had Elisha told Naaman to take cod liver -oil for ten years, he would have willingly done it. If he -had told Naaman he wanted as much money as the leper -brought along, that would have been all right. But the -idea of literally doing nothing—just to go down into -Jordan and wash himself! It was so far below his calculations<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> -that he thought he was being imposed upon by -some charlatan.</p> - -<p>But Naaman’s sensible servant said to him: “If the -prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou -not have done it? Hadn’t you just better go down and -wash in Jordan?”</p> - -<p>Possibly, Naaman answered: “If I go down into -Jordan and am not cured, what will my enemies say of -me when I get back to Damascus?”</p> - -<p>But he was influenced by the servant, and he went. -That was one good point in Naaman’s character—he was -influenced by an humble messenger. A good many people -will not accept a messenger unless he is refined and -cultured and educated. But it is the message you want—not -the messenger. It would be the message I would -want. And so it was with Naaman.</p> - -<p>She was a little Hebrew girl who first told him to go -to Samaria, and now he was told to wash by his servant. -So Naaman goes down and dips into the waters. The -first time he rose he said: “I would just like to see how -much my leprosy has gone.” He looks, but not a bit has -left him. “Well, I am not going to get rid of my leprosy -in this way; this is absurd.”</p> - -<p>But the servant persisted. “Do just as the man of -God tells you; obey him.”</p> - -<p>And this is just what we are told to do in the Scriptures—to -obey Him. The first thing we have to learn is -obedience. Disobedience was the pit Adam fell into, and -we must get out of it by obedience.</p> - -<p>Well, Naaman goes into the water a second time. If -some Chicago Christians had been there, they would certainly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> -have asked, sneeringly: “Well, how do you feel -now?”</p> - -<p>He did not see that he was any better, and down he -went a third time; but when he looked himself over, he -saw just as much leprosy as ever. Down he goes a -fourth, fifth and sixth time. He again looks at himself, -but not a speck of leprosy is removed.</p> - -<p>Naaman now chides his servant. “I told you so! -Look at me! I am just the same as ever.”</p> - -<p>“But,” says the servant, “you must do just what -the man of God tells you to do—go down seven times.”</p> - -<p>Naaman takes the seventh plunge, and comes out. -He looks at himself. Behold, his flesh is as that of a -little child. He says to his servant:</p> - -<p>“Why, I never felt as good as I do today. I feel -better than if I had won a great battle. Look! I am -cleansed! Oh, what a great day this is for me! The -leprosy has gone.”</p> - -<p>The waters to him had been as death and judgment, -and he had come out resurrected—his flesh as that of a -little child. I suppose Naaman got into his chariot, and -away he went to the man of God. He had lost his temper; -he had lost his pride; he had lost his leprosy.</p> - -<p>That is the way now. If a man will only lose his -pride, he will soon see his leprosy disappear; leprosy will -go away with pride. I believe the greatest enemies of -men in this world are unbelief and pride.</p> - -<p>Naaman drives back to the man of God, and takes -his gold and silver. He offers him money. “I do not -want your money,” replies the prophet. If Elisha had -taken money, it would have spoiled the beautiful story.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> -Naaman had to take back every thing he brought from -Damascus except his leprosy.</p> - -<h3>PETER.</h3> - -<p>The first glimpse that we catch of Peter is when Andrew -brought him to the Savior. That is John’s account. -That is when he became a disciple; but he did not leave -every thing then and follow Christ. He waited until he -got another call.</p> - -<p>I think we all can learn a lesson right here—that it -is not every one who is called to be a disciple of Jesus -that is called to leave his occupation and become His -follower entirely. I believe there are many self-made -preachers—man-made preachers—and this is the reason -why so many fail. No man who was called by God has -ever failed, or has ever broken down in the ministry; but -when a man runs before he is sent, I believe he will fail.</p> - -<p>Now, we are called to be His disciples—all called to -follow Him—but we are not all called on to give up our -occupations and devote all our time to the ministry. I -have men come to me constantly who say they have been -raised up, and want to give up their business and their -worldly occupation and go into the work of the Lord entirely; -but I never advise a man to go into the ministry. -I think I never advised a man to give up his occupation, -and to go out into the vineyard of the Lord and go to -work. It is too high a calling, it seems to me, for men -to be influencing one another to go into it. If a man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> -will only wait until God calls him—be sure that God -sends him—then success will crown his efforts.</p> - -<p>Now, we find, in the fifth chapter of Luke, and also -in the fourth chapter of Matthew, where Peter got his -calling. He was out with his partners and others, fishing, -when Jesus came along and told them to cast their -net, or to launch out into the deep and cast their net into -the sea.</p> - -<p>“But,” says Peter, “we have toiled all night and -caught nothing.”</p> - -<p>“Nevertheless,” commanded Jesus, “let down your -nets.”</p> - -<p>At the word of God they did so, and were successful, -and when they got ashore they found Jesus had called -them to be His disciples. Just open your Bible at the -fifth chapter of Luke:</p> - -<p>“And it came to pass that, as the people pressed -upon Him to hear the word of God, He stood by the -lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the -lake; but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were -washing their nets.</p> - -<p>“And He entered into one of the ships, which was -Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little -from the land. And He sat down, and taught the people -out of the ship.</p> - -<p>“Now, when He had left speaking, He said unto -Simon: ‘Launch out into the deep, and let down your -nets for a draught.’</p> - -<p>“And Simon, answering, said unto Him: ‘Master, -we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing; -nevertheless, at Thy word I will let down the net.’</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span></p> - -<p>“And when they had done this, they inclosed a great -multitude of fishes, and their net broke.</p> - -<p>“And they beckoned unto their partners, which were -in the other ship, that they should come and help them. -And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they -began to sink.</p> - -<p>“When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ -knees, saying: ‘Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, -O Lord.’</p> - -<p>“For he was astonished, and all that were with him, -at the draught of the fishes which they had taken.</p> - -<p>“And so, also, were James and John, the sons of -Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus -said unto Simon: ‘Fear not. Henceforth thou shalt -catch men.’</p> - -<p>“And when they had brought their ships to land, -they forsook all, and followed Him.”</p> - -<p>You see, it says Christ just said to them: “Follow -me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And no one -was more successful in the world, in catching men, than -Peter. And if you will just follow the Lord and believe -in Him, He will make you fishers of men. Now, some -may wonder why it was that God did not call them when -they had their nets empty. Why did the Lord just give -them a draught of fish and then tell them to leave it?</p> - -<p>Now, it seems to me that He did so because He -wanted them to leave something. There are a good many -of us willing to be disciples of the Lord if it does not -cost any thing. If they can just swing their bag across -their back with the fish in it and follow Jesus, then they -are willing to follow Him, and to be His disciples. So<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> -Jesus wanted them to give up something. They might -have said:</p> - -<p>“We have been fishing a great while in the lake, -business is pretty poor, and we might as well give up the -business and go into this.”</p> - -<p>But no! The Lord did not call them until after they -attained success. Now, after they scored a business success, -He put the test to these men whether they were -willing to give up their nets and follow Him.</p> - -<p>Sometime after that, Peter says: “We have left -every thing to follow Thee.” What did Peter leave? -Why, a few old broken nets! And it is just so now. -People leave a few old broken nets, and then say to the -Lord: “We have left every thing to follow Thee.”</p> - -<p>The next glimpse we catch of Peter is when he takes -on the character of a doubter. You will find, if you read -it over, that it is our own experience right over again. -Peter got to doubting.</p> - -<p>In the fourteenth chapter of Matthew, beginning at -the twenty-second verse, you will find these words:</p> - -<p>“And straightway Jesus constrained His disciples to -get into a ship, and to go before Him unto the other -side, while He sent the multitudes away.</p> - -<p>“And when He had sent the multitudes away, He -went up into a mountain apart to pray; and when the -evening was come He was there alone.</p> - -<p>“But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed -with waves; for the wind was contrary.</p> - -<p>“And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went -unto them, walking on the sea.</p> - -<p>“And when the disciples saw Him walking on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> -sea, they were troubled, saying: ‘It is a spirit.’ And -they cried out for fear.</p> - -<p>“But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying: -‘Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.’</p> - -<p>“And Peter answered Him and said: ‘Lord, if it -be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water.’</p> - -<p>“And He said: ‘Come.’ And when Peter was -come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to -go to Jesus.”</p> - -<p>Now, that took faith. The idea of his just letting -go the boat, and stepping down into the water! Why, -that required faith. And there are a great many men today -willing to become Christians if they can only just -see how they are going to walk. They want to walk by -sight. They do not want to walk by faith. It took faith -for Peter to let go of the boat and take the first step on -the water, but the Lord had bid him to do it, and he just -did it; but after he began to sink he began to doubt, and -called on the Lord to save him.</p> - -<p>“But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was -afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying: ‘Lord, -save me.’”</p> - -<p>See! He began to sink when he took his eyes off his -Master. Peter did not trust in Him. He did not have -perfect faith.</p> - -<p>Now, the Lord says in Isaiah, twenty-sixth chapter -and third verse:</p> - -<p>“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is -stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.”</p> - -<p>Peter did not have perfect faith, because his mind was -not stayed on Christ; he did not trust in Him. If Peter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> -had trusted in the Lord he would not have sunk. The -ship was in the midst of the sea; the wind was blowing -quite a gale, and the waves were rolling high, and Peter -began to tremble and doubt, and down he went. And a -good many Christians follow his example. When it gets -dark, when the wind begins to blow, and when the water -rolls high about them, they begin to doubt—and down -they go.</p> - -<p>Some one says if Peter had as long a preamble to his -prayer as most people, he would have been forty feet -under water before he got through praying for what he -wanted. Now, just read a little farther:</p> - -<p>“And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, -and caught him, and said unto him: ‘O thou of little -faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’”</p> - -<p>But I want to pass rapidly over this portion of the -Word of God, and get at something which, perhaps, may -be of more help to us than any thing here. In the sixteenth -chapter of Matthew, twenty-fourth verse, we find -that Peter was willing to confess Christ as the Son of the -living God. Many men want to be disciples of Christ, -but they are not willing to confess Him.</p> - -<p>“Then said Jesus unto His disciples: ‘If any man -will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his -cross and follow Me.”</p> - -<p>To go home and tell your friends that you want to be -a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ requires much moral -courage. But it required more then than it does now, -for the Jews said any man who should confess Christ -should be cast out of the synagogue.</p> - -<p>“When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> -He asked His disciples, saying: ‘Whom do men -say that I, the Son of man, am?’</p> - -<p>“And they said: ‘Some say that Thou art John the -Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias or one of -the prophets.’</p> - -<p>“He saith unto them: ‘But whom say ye that I -am?’”</p> - -<p>And Peter—he generally spoke first—speaks out and -says:</p> - -<p>“‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.’</p> - -<p>“And Jesus answered and said unto him: ‘Blessed -art thou, Simon Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not -revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in -Heaven.’”</p> - -<p>See! Jesus blessed Peter right there, and I have yet -to find the first man and the first woman who are willing -to confess Christ who will not say that God has blessed -their souls after they have confessed Him.</p> - -<p>Now, let me call your attention to another scene in -the life of Peter. He got to be a sort of a—well, I may -say a sort of “high church” man. He belonged to the -“high church.” He was a sort of Ritualist. He had -got this idea that Christ was the same as any other saint; -that He was to be put on a level with some of the rest -of the saints. He did not make any distinction.</p> - -<p>In the ninth chapter of Luke we find that Jesus took -His disciples and went up into a mountain to pray. We -begin at the twenty-eighth verse:</p> - -<p>“And it came to pass about eight days after these -sayings, He took Peter and John and James, and went -up into a mountain to pray.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p> - -<p>“And as He prayed, the fashion of His countenance -was altered, and His raiment was white and glistering.</p> - -<p>“And, behold, there talked with Him two men, which -were Moses and Elias.</p> - -<p>“Who appeared in glory, and spake of His decease -which He should accomplish at Jerusalem.</p> - -<p>“But Peter and they that were with him were heavy -with sleep; and when they were awake, they saw His -glory, and the two men that stood with Him.</p> - -<p>“And it came to pass, as they departed from Him, -Peter said unto Jesus: ‘Master, it is good for us to be -here; and let us make three tabernacles—one for Thee -and one for Moses and one for Elias’—not knowing what -he said.”</p> - -<p>Peter wanted to put Jesus on a level with Moses and -Elias. To be sure, Moses was a mighty man. He went -into the mountain and took the law from the Lord God -of Heaven, and Elias was a representative of the prophets -and a mighty man; but when Peter wanted to put -them on a level with the God-man—with Jesus—what -took place? Why, there came a cloud which over-shadowed -them. God caught them right away. God -would not have them placing Moses and Elias on a level -with His Son. He is above the angels of Heaven; and -we find over here, in the last chapter of the Bible, and -in almost the last verse in it, that John was guilty of the -same thing—of worshiping angels. It says over here, in -the twenty-second chapter and eighth verse of Revelations:</p> - -<p>“And I, John, saw these things and heard them. -And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> -before the feet of the angel which showed me these -things.</p> - -<p>“Then saith he unto me: ‘See thou do it not; for -I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, -and of them which keep the sayings of this book. -Worship God.’”</p> - -<p>Now, if Jesus was not the God-man—if He was not -God in the flesh—then you and I are guilty of idolatry; -we are breaking the first command: “Thou shalt have -no other God before Me.”</p> - -<p>But when Jesus came down here, He said: “Come -unto Me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I -will give you rest.” And He never rebuked any one for -worshiping Him. But John fell down and worshiped -that angel, and the angel refused to let him; and when -Peter wanted to put Elias and Moses on a level with -Christ, God the Father spoke and said: “This is my -beloved Son. Hear ye Him.”</p> - -<p>No matter about Elias now. No matter about Moses -now. Hear Jesus. He is the one that God wants all of -us here to worship.</p> - -<p>Now, some one says we can not know, down here, -whether we are safe or not. Well, we have an assurance -right here:</p> - -<p>“Then Simon Peter answered Him: ‘Lord, to -whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.</p> - -<p>“‘And we believe and are sure that Thou art that -Christ, the Son of the living God.’”</p> - -<p>I will now call your attention to Peters faults. If -you will just turn over here into the twenty-second chapter -of Luke, you will find there a fault. Begin at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -thirty-third verse of the twenty-second chapter of Luke, -and you will find the following:</p> - -<p>“And he said unto him: ‘Lord, I am ready to go -with Thee, both into prison and to death.’</p> - -<p>“And He said: ‘I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall -not crow, this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny -that thou knowest Me.’</p> - -<p>“And He said unto them: ‘When I sent you without -purse and scrip and shoes, lacked ye any thing?’ -And they said: ‘Nothing.’”</p> - -<p>Now, here we find Peter’s fault of self-confidence. -That was really his besetting sin, and when the Lord told -him that the cock should not crow twice before he had -denied Him thrice, he ought to have believed the words -of Christ and cried for help; but no, he was very self-confident. -“Why,” says he, “if the rest of the disciples -deny You, I will not deny You.”</p> - -<p>Peter not only declared he would not deny Jesus, but -he even tried to make the other disciples worse by comparison. -If you meet a man full of conceit and self-confidence, -you may look for that man’s downfall.</p> - -<p>Men who have stood the highest, in Scripture, have -often fallen on their strongest point.</p> - -<p>Moses was noted for his humility. Right there he -fell. He got angry instead of being humble, and fell -through lack of humility.</p> - -<p>Elijah was noted for his boldness. Right there he -fell. Why, he stood on Mount Carmel and defied the -whole nation. He stood there alone. He seemed to be -the boldest man in the whole nation. But after a while -he got word that Jezebel was going to take his life, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> -then he lost all his boldness and got scared at the threat -of a woman.</p> - -<p>There was Samson, who was noted for his strength. -He lost his hair, wherein his strength consisted, but he -recovered it. They cut off his hair, but they did not -remove the roots, and it grew out again.</p> - -<p>Abraham was noted for his faith. But he got into -Egypt, and denied his wife.</p> - -<p>There was only one time, I am told, that Edinburgh -Castle was ever taken by the enemy, and that was done -by climbing on the back rocks. The rocks were so steep -the besieged did not believe the enemy could get in that -way, but that was just where they got in.</p> - -<p>I used to think when I had been a Christian ten or -twelve years I should be so strong that there would be no -danger of my ever being tempted, but I find that I was -blind. I have more temptations now than I ever had -before, and it takes twenty times as much grace to keep -me now as at first. Let every man take heed, lest he -fall. We can not tell how quickly we may fall if we are -not kept by the grace of God.</p> - -<p>Peter had to learn this lesson before he went out to -preach to others. He was kept by the grace of God, if -he could not keep himself. Well, I have got right here -two faults of the apostle. When the Lord told him he -should deny Him thrice, he ought to have trembled and -cried: “Lord, keep me from denying Thee!” But, -no! He said: “Lord, I am not going to deny You, if -the rest do.” Just see where he stands. He stands on -a slippery place, and it will not be long before he will be -down. Self-confidence leads many men to their fall.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p> - -<p>We must keep very humble and keep our eyes on the -Master, and see that we do not go to sleep. If we do -get asleep, then it won’t be long before we deny Him. -And so we find that when Christ was down in the garden, -sweating great drops of blood, He knew He was -hastening to death on the cross.</p> - -<p>Peter went to sleep. And when Jesus came back He -said: “Why sleep ye? Rise and pray, lest ye enter -into temptation.” Peter had been with the Lord three -years, but he had to sleep.</p> - -<p>The next that happens, for that second step down, -we find that Peter fights in the flesh. When they came -to arrest Christ, Peter took out his sword and cut off the -servant’s ear. That servant was the only person who -had suffered through the followers of Christ up to that -time. Peter cut the ear off, but it did not stay off long, -for it got back in just about five minutes.</p> - -<p>Jesus cried out: “Peter, put up your sword. If I -wanted to defend Myself, I could call seventy thousand -angels down; I could call legions of angels down; I -could defend Myself if I wanted to.” But, no; He did -not do that. He had to rebuke Peter, to put a thorn in -his flesh.</p> - -<p>The next thing Peter did was to follow Jesus afar off; -that is the next step. When a man gets away from the -Savior, then it won’t be long before he follows Him afar -off. You know Peter said, at first, he would keep close -to Him. “I will stand by You; I am willing to die with -You,” he had said. But now Peter changed his mind, -and he followed Jesus afar off.</p> - -<p>Well, the next thing, we find that Peter is in bad<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> -company. That is another step down. He had got, by -this time, down pretty low.</p> - -<p>A young lady comes in, looks at Peter, and says: -“This man is one of His disciples.”</p> - -<p>“No, I am not; no, not I,” says Peter.</p> - -<p>The maid cries out at him in perfect amazement—for -perhaps she had heard him preach some time—and she -says: “You <em>are</em> one of His disciples.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no; no, not I.”</p> - -<p>He did not know Jesus, who was right there inside, -where he could see him; and yet this man, who was so -bold, did not know Him.</p> - -<p>Another man comes to Peter and says: “You are -one of His disciples.”</p> - -<p>“No, Sir—not I. I don’t know Him—no Sir.” You -see, he had got a good ways off.</p> - -<p>The man says: “You are.”</p> - -<p>“No; I am not.”</p> - -<p>About an hour after Peter has denied Him, another -man came around and said: “You are one of His disciples.”</p> - -<p>“No; I am not.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, but you are. Your speech betrays you.”</p> - -<p>Peter had been with the Master three years, and he -talked a different language from those men; and you who -have been with God two or three years know that you -talk better than you did before.</p> - -<p>This man said: “You are one of those.” And Peter -began to curse and swear, and said he never knew Him.</p> - -<p>How did the Lord call him back? Although Satan -had been at work on him for hours and hours, yet the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -Lord did call him back. The Lord asked him: “Peter, -is it true that you have forgotten Me so soon? Do you -remember, when we walked together by the sea, how I -saved you? Do you remember the time I called you -again? Do you remember the wonderful sermon that I -preached on the mount? Is it true, Peter, that you do -not know me?”</p> - -<p>He might have said these things to Peter, but He did -not. He just gave him one look—and what a look that -was! It was a look of love, a look of tenderness, a -look of pity, a look of peace.</p> - -<p>He flashed upon Peter.</p> - -<p>Peter remembered what he had done to the Lord. -Then the cock crew, and Peter went out and wept bitterly. -No one on Earth knows how Peter suffered in -those hours that Christ was laid in the tomb. What -hours they must have been to him! I can imagine that -he did not eat any thing; that he did not sleep; that he -spent those hours praying that the Lord might be given -back to him.</p> - -<p>At last Sunday morning comes—that blessed morning—and -the first thing Peter hears is that Christ has -risen. And He sent word to Peter—one of the most -touching things He did. Just let me read from the sixteenth -chapter of Mark and the seventh verse:</p> - -<p>“But go your way, tell His disciples and Peter that -He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see -Him, as He said unto you.”</p> - -<p>Oh, how tender! I don’t know but if He had said -“Go back and tell My disciples,” Peter would have said: -“I am no disciple; I have forfeited my right as such.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> -But Jesus said: “Tell My disciples and Peter.” Tell -Peter; put his name in; don’t leave him out.</p> - -<p>We are told that Christ had an interview with Peter, -and they met alone. No one ever told us what took -place, but I can imagine how Peter felt. Like the woman -that we read about in the seventh chapter of Matthew, -He restored him to salvation and then sent him out to -preach.</p> - -<p>But when the twelve were at meat together the Lord -turned to Peter and asked: “Lovest thou Me more -than these?”</p> - -<p>How those words must have cut down into Peter’s -heart! Jesus wanted to see whether his conceit had been -taken out. That was hard, you know. He could not -get any thing out of Peter. Peter did not say a word. -Again the Lord asked: “Peter, lovest thou Me more -than these?”</p> - -<p>He was a broken and empty vessel, and must be filled.</p> - -<p>Then Jesus gave Peter his commission: “Go, feed -my sheep; preach the Gospel to all the world.”</p> - -<p>This is a sweet thought, that after Peter had denied -the Lord, He took him back and used him!</p> - -<h3>SAUL.</h3> - -<p>I have been speaking on the Prodigal Son, but now -I want to take up another man—a much harder case -than the prodigal, because he did not believe he needed -a Savior.</p> - -<p>You need not have talked a great while to that prodigal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> -before you could have convinced him that he needed -a Savior. It is easy to reach a prodigal’s heart when he -reaches the end of his rope.</p> - -<p>The man of whom I shall now speak stood high in -the estimation of the people. He stood, as it were, at -the top of the ladder, while the prodigal was at the bottom. -This man was full of self-righteousness, and if -you had tried to pick out a man in Jerusalem as a hopeless -case, so far as accepting Jesus of Nazareth as a -Savior, you would have picked out Saul. He was the -most utterly hopeless case you could have found.</p> - -<p>I would sooner have thought of the conversion of -Pilate than of this man. When they were putting to -death the martyrs to the cross he had cheered on the -murderers; but, in spite of all this, we find the Son of -God coming and knocking at his heart, and it was not -long before he received Him as his Savior.</p> - -<p>You can see Saul as he goes to the chief priests of -Jerusalem, getting the necessary documents that he -might go to Damascus—that he might go to the synagogue -there and get all who were calling upon the Lord -Jesus Christ cast into prison. He was going to stamp -out the teachers of the New Gospel.</p> - -<p>One thing that made him so mad, probably, was that -when the disciples were turned out of Jerusalem, instead -of stopping they went all around and preached.</p> - -<p>Philip went down to Samaria, and probably there -was a great revival there, and the news had come from -Damascus that the preachers had actually reached that -place.</p> - -<p>This man Saul was full of zeal and full of religion.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -He was a religious man, and no doubt he could say a -prayer as long as any one in Jerusalem. He had kept -the laws faithfully, and been an honest and upright man. -The people then would never have dreamed of him being -in need of a Savior. Many persons today would say of -Saul: “He is good enough. To be sure, he does not -believe in Jesus Christ; but he is a good man.”</p> - -<p>And there are many people today who do not believe -in Him. They feel if they pay their debts and live a -moral life they do not need to be converted. They do -not want to call upon Him; they want to get Jesus and -all His teachings out of the way, as Saul wanted to do. -That is what they have been trying to do for eighteen -centuries. Saul just wanted to stamp them out at one -swoop. So he got the necessary papers, and away he -went down to Damascus.</p> - -<p>Suppose, as he rode out of the gate of Jerusalem on -his mission, any one had said to Saul: “You are going -down to Damascus to prosecute the preachers of Christ, -but you will come back a preacher yourself.” If any man -had said this, his head would not have remained on his -shoulders five minutes. Saul would have protested: “I -hate Him—I abhor Him. That is how I feel.”</p> - -<p>Yes, Saul wanted to get Christ and His disciples out -of the way. He was no stranger to Christ. He knew -His working, for, as Paul said to Agrippa: “This thing -was not done in a corner.” He knew all about Christ’s -death. Probably he was acquainted with Nicodemus and -the members of the Sanhedrim who were against Christ. -Perhaps he was acquainted with Christ’s disciples, and -with all their good deeds. Yet he entertained a malignant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> -hatred for the Gospel and its propagandists, and he -was going down to Damascus to put all those Christians -in prison.</p> - -<p>You see Saul as he rides out of Jerusalem with that -brilliant escort, and away he goes through Samaria, -where Philip was. He would not speak to a Samaritan, -however. The Jews detested the Samaritans. The idea -of speaking to an adulterous Samaritan would have been -repulsive to Saul. So he rode on, proudly, through the -nation, with his head raised, breathing slaughter to the -children of God.</p> - -<p>Damascus was about 138 miles from Jerusalem, but -we are not told how long he took for that journey.</p> - -<p>Little did Saul think that, nineteen hundred years -after, in this country, then wild, there would be thousands -of people gathered just to hear the story of his -journey down to Damascus.</p> - -<p>He has arrived at the gates of the city, and is not yet -cooled off, as we say. He is still breathing revenge. See -him as he stands before that beautiful city.</p> - -<p>Some one has said Damascus is the most beautiful -city in the world, and we are told that when Mohammed -came to it he turned his head away from it, lest the very -beauty of it would take him from his God.</p> - -<p>So this young man comes to Damascus, and he tells -the hour of his arrival. He never forgets the hour, for -it was then that Christ met him. He says: “I saw in -the way a light from Heaven above the brightness of the -sun.” He saw the light of Heaven, and a glimpse of that -light struck him to the ground. From that light a voice -called: “Saul! Saul!” Yes, the Son of God knows<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> -his name. Sinner, God knows your name. He knows -all about you. He knows the street you live in and the -number of your house, because He told where Ananias -lived when Paul went there.</p> - -<p>“Saul! Saul! Why persecutest thou Me?”</p> - -<p>How these words must have gone down into his soul! -He stopped. The words were to him. Could Saul give -any reason when the question was put to him: “Why -persecutest thou Me?” Can any sinner give a reason for -persecuting Christ?</p> - -<p>I can imagine some of you saying: “I never persecute -Christ. I have a great many sins. I swear often—sometimes -drink; but I always speak respectfully of -Christ.” Do you? Do you never speak disrespectfully -of His disciples and God’s children?</p> - -<p>When Christ asked Saul that question He might have -added: “I lived on Earth thirty years, and I never did -you any hurt or injury; I never even injured your friends. -I came into the world to bless you. Why persecutest -thou Me?”</p> - -<p>When this question was put to Saul He supplemented -it by saying: “It is hard for thee to kick against the -pricks.” You and I would not have had any compassion -upon Saul if we had been in Christ’s place. We would -have said the hardship is upon the poor Christians in -Damascus. But the Lord saw differently.</p> - -<p>In those days, when people did not drive their camels -with whips, they had a stick with a sharp piece of steel -at the end, called a prick, and with this the animal was -goaded. Hence the point of the saying is obvious.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p> - -<h3>SIMEON.</h3> - -<p>The Lord was one day at Jerusalem, and a banquet -was given him by Simeon.</p> - -<p>There was a banquet table in the house, arranged -according to the fashion of that day. Instead of chairs -for the guests, the guests sat reclining on lounges.</p> - -<p>Well, it was just one of these repasts that our Lord -sat down to, along with the wealthy Simeon and his -many guests. But no sooner had He entered than a certain -woman followed Him into the house. She fell down -at His feet, and began to wash them with her tears.</p> - -<p>It was the custom in those days to wash one’s feet on -entering a house. Sandals were worn, and the practice -was necessary.</p> - -<p>This woman had got into the house by some means, -and, once inside, had quietly stolen up to the feet of the -Savior. In her hand was a box; but her heart, too, was -just as full of ointment as the box she carried. And -there was the sweetest perfume as she stole to His feet.</p> - -<p>Her tears started to fall down on those sacred feet—hot, -scalding tears, that gushed out like water. She said -nothing while the tears fell, and then she took down her -long black hair and wiped His feet with the hair of her -head. And after that she poured out the ointment on -His feet.</p> - -<p>At once the Pharisees began to talk together. How, -all through the New Testament, these Pharisees kept -whispering and talking together!</p> - -<p>They said, shaking their heads: “This Man receiveth -sinners. Were He a prophet, He would know who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -and what manner of woman this is that touches Him, for -she is a sinner.” No prophet, they insisted, would allow -that kind of a woman near him, but would push her -away from him.</p> - -<p>But Jesus read their thoughts, and quickly rebuked -them. He said: “Simeon, I have something to say -to thee.”</p> - -<p>Simeon answered: “Master, say on.”</p> - -<p>“Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, -thou gavest me no water to wash my feet; but she has -washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the -hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this -woman, since I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. -My head with ointment thou didst not anoint, but this -woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.”</p> - -<p>Simeon was like many Pharisees nowadays, who say: -“Oh, well! We will entertain that minister if we must. -We do not want to, for he is a dreadful nuisance; but -we will have to put up with him. It is our duty to be -patronizing.”</p> - -<p>Well, the Master said more to His entertainer, as follows:</p> - -<p>“There was a certain creditor which had two debtors. -One owed 500 pence and the other 50 pence, and -when he had nothing to pay——”</p> - -<p>Mark that, sinner; the debtor had nothing to pay. -There is no sinner in the world who can pay any thing -to cancel his debt to God. The great trouble is that sinners -think they can pay—some of them 75 cents on the -dollar, some even feel able to pay 99 cents on the dollar, -and the one cent that they are short they believe can be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> -made up in some manner. That is not the correct way; -it is all wrong; you must throw all the debt on God. -Some few, very likely, will only claim to pay 25 cents on -the dollar, but they are not humble enough, either; they -can not begin to carry out their bargain. Why, sinner, -you could not pay one-tenth part of a single mill of the -debt you are under to God.</p> - -<p>Now, it is said in this parable the debtors could not -pay their creditor any thing; they had nothing to give, -and their creditor frankly forgave them both.</p> - -<p>“Now, Simeon,” the Master asked, “which should -love that man the more?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose,” was the reply, “he that was forgiven -the more.”</p> - -<p>“You have rightly judged. This woman loves much -because she has been forgiven much.” And Jesus went -on to tell Simeon all about her. I suppose He wanted -to make it plainer to Simeon, and He turned to the poor -woman and said:</p> - -<p>“Thy sins are forgiven; go in peace.”</p> - -<p>All her sins were forgiven—not simply part of them; -not half them, but every sin from the cradle up. Every -impurity is blotted out for time and eternity.</p> - -<p>Yes, truly, she went out in peace, for she went out -in the light of Heaven. With what brightness the light -must have come down to her from those eternal hills! -With what beauty it must have flashed on her soul!</p> - -<p>Yes, she came to the feet of the Master for a blessing, -and she received it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span></p> - -<h3>THE GOOD SAMARITAN.</h3> - -<p>We are told that as Jesus stood with His disciples a -man, a lawyer, stood up and tempted Him.</p> - -<p>The lawyer asked Jesus this question:</p> - -<p>“Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”</p> - -<p>He asked what he could do to inherit eternal life—what -he could do to buy salvation.</p> - -<p>Jesus answered his question by asking another question: -“What is written in the law? How readest -thou?”</p> - -<p>To this the lawyer answered:</p> - -<p>“Thou shalt love the Lord God with all thy heart, -and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with -all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself.”</p> - -<p>“Thou hast answered right. But who is ‘thy neighbor?’”</p> - -<p>Then Jesus drew a vivid picture, which has been told -for the last eighteen hundred years, and I do not know -any thing that brings out more truthfully the wonderful -power of the Gospel than this story. It is the story of -the man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and -who fell among thieves.</p> - -<p>Jerusalem was called the City of Peace. Jericho and -the road leading to it were infested with thieves. Probably -it had been taken possession of by the worst of -Adam’s sons.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;" id="illus4"> -<img src="images/illus4.jpg" width="425" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Arrival of The Good Samaritan at The Inn</span></p> -<p class="caption">From the Painting by Gustave Dore.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;" id="illus5"> -<img src="images/illus5.jpg" width="425" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">David.</span>—From Statue by Angelo</p> -</div> - -<p>I do not know how far the man got from Jerusalem -toward Jericho, but the thieves had come out and fallen -upon him, and had taken all his money, stripped him of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> -his clothing and left him wounded. I suppose they left -him for dead.</p> - -<p>By-and-by, a priest came down the road from Jerusalem. -We are told that he came by chance. Perhaps he -was going down to dedicate some synagogue or preach a -sermon on some important subject, and had the manuscript -in his pocket.</p> - -<p>As he was going along on the other side, he heard a -groan. He turned around, and saw the poor fellow, -lying bleeding on the ground, and pitied him. He went -up close, took a look at him, and said: “Why, that -man is a Jew! He belongs to the seed of Abraham. If -I remember aright, I saw him in the synagogue last Sabbath. -I pity him; but I have too much business, and I -can not attend to him.”</p> - -<p>He felt a pity for him, and looked on him, and probably -wondered why God allowed such men as were those -thieves to come into the world. Then he passed by.</p> - -<p>There are many men just like this priest. They stop -to discuss and wonder why sin came into the world, and -look upon a wounded man, but do not stop to pick up a -poor sinner—forgetting the fact that sin is in the world -already, and must be rooted out.</p> - -<p>Soon another man came along, a Levite, and he also -heard the groans of the robbers’ victim. He, too, turned -about and looked upon him with pity. He felt compassion -for him. He was one of those men that, if we had -him here, we would probably make an elder or a deacon. -He looked at the suffering man and said: “Poor fellow! -He is all covered with blood! He has been badly hurt; -he is nearly dead; and they have taken all his money<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> -and stripped him naked! Ah, well; I pity him.” He -would like to extend help, but he, too, has very pressing -business; and so he passes by on the other side. But -he has scarcely got out of sight when another one comes -along, riding on a beast. He heard the groans of the -wounded man, and went over and took a good look at -him.</p> - -<p>The traveler was a Samaritan. When he looked -down he saw the man was a Jew.</p> - -<p>Ah, how the Jews looked down upon the Samaritans. -There was a great, high partition wall between the Jews -and the Samaritans. The Jews would not allow them -in the Temple; they would not have any dealings with -them; they would not associate with them.</p> - -<p>I can see him coming along that road, with his good, -benevolent face; and as he passes he hears a groan from -the poor fellow. He draws in his beast, and pauses to -listen. “And he came to where he was.”</p> - -<p>This is the sweetest thing, to my mind, in the whole -story.</p> - -<p>A good many people would like to help a poor man -if he was on the platform—if it cost them no trouble. -They want him to come to them. They are afraid to -touch the wounded man; he is all over blood, and they -will get their hands soiled.</p> - -<p>And that was just the way with the priest and the -Levite. This poor man, perhaps, had paid half of all -his means to help the service in the Temple, and might -have been a constant worshiper; but they only felt pity -for him.</p> - -<p>This good Samaritan “came to where he was,” and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> -after he saw him he had compassion on him. That word -“compassion”—how sweet it sounds! The first thing -he did on hearing him cry for water—the hot sun had -been pouring down upon his head—was to go and get it -from a brook. Then he goes and gets a bag, that he -had with him—what we might call a carpet-bag or a -saddle-bag in the West—and pours in oil on his wounds. -Then he says to himself: “The poor fellow is weak.” -So he goes and gets a little wine. He has been lying so -long in the burning sun that he is nearly dead now—he -had been left half dead—and the wine revives him.</p> - -<p>The good Samaritan looks him over, and sees all the -wounds that need to be bound up. But he has nothing -to do this with. I can see him now, tearing the lining -out of his coat, and with it binding up his wounds. Then -he takes him up and lays him on his bosom until he is -revived, and, when the poor fellow gets strength enough, -the good Samaritan puts him on his own beast.</p> - -<p>If the Jew had not been half dead he would never -have allowed the Samaritan to put his hands on him. -He would have treated him with scorn. But he is half -dead, and he can not prevent the good Samaritan treating -him kindly and putting him on his beast.</p> - -<p>Did you ever stop to think what a strong picture it -would have been if the Samaritan had not been able -himself to get the man on the beast—if he had needed -to call any assistance?</p> - -<p>Perhaps a man would have come along, and he would -have asked him to help him with the wounded man.</p> - -<p>“What are you?”</p> - -<p>“I am a Samaritan.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p> - -<p>“You are a Samaritan, are you? I can not help you—I -am a Jew.”</p> - -<p>There is a good deal of that spirit today—just as -strong as it was then. When we are trying to get a poor -man on the right way—when we are tugging at him to -get his face toward Zion—we ask some one to help us, -but he says: “I am a Roman Catholic.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” you say, “I am a Protestant.”</p> - -<p>So they give no assistance to one another.</p> - -<p>The same spirit of old is present today. The Protestants -will have nothing to do with the Catholics; the -Jews will have nothing to do with the Gentiles. And -there was a time—but, thank God, we are getting over -it—when a Methodist would not touch a Baptist nor a -Presbyterian a Congregationalist; and if we beheld a -Methodist taking a man out of the ditch, a Baptist was -sure to ask:</p> - -<p>“What are you going to do with him?”</p> - -<p>“Take him to a Methodist church.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ll have nothing to do with him.”</p> - -<p>A great deal of this has gone by, and the time is certainly -coming when, if we are trying to get a man out of -the ditch, and they see us tugging at him, and we are so -faint that we can not get him on the beast, they will help -him. And that is what Christ wants.</p> - -<p>Well, the Samaritan gets him on his beast, and says -to him:</p> - -<p>“You are very weak, but my beast is sure-footed; -he’ll take you to the inn, and I’ll hold you.”</p> - -<p>He held him firmly, and God is able to hold every -one He takes out of the pit. I see them going along the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> -road, he holding him on, and he gets him to the inn. He -gets him there, and he says to the inn keeper:</p> - -<p>“Here is a wounded man; the thieves have been -after him; give him the best attention you can; nothing -is too good for him.”</p> - -<p>I can imagine the good Samaritan as stopping there -all night, sitting up with him, and attending to his every -need. And the next morning he gets up and says to the -landlord:</p> - -<p>“I must be off; I leave a little money to pay you for -what the man has had, and if that is not enough I will -pay what is necessary when I return from my business in -Jericho.”</p> - -<p>This good Samaritan gave this landlord twopence to -pay for what he had got, and promised to come again -and repay whatever had been spent to take care of the -man, and he had given him, besides, all his sympathy -and compassion.</p> - -<p>Jesus tells this story in answer to the lawyer who -came to tempt Him, and showed that the Samaritan was -the neighbor.</p> - -<p>Now, this story is brought out here to teach church-goers -this thing: It is not creed or doctrine that we -need so much as compassion and sympathy.</p> - -<h3>THE LEPER.</h3> - -<p>See that poor leper! Do you know what an awful -thing leprosy is? A disease so terrible that it separates -its victim from all the world, and makes him an outcast,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> -even from his home. Every one is afraid of him. His -disease is so contagious that to touch him or even to -breathe the air near him is dangerous; and so these -poor, afflicted wretches have to go away and live in cave -or desert all alone.</p> - -<p>They sit by the wayside afar off, calling to the passers-by -for charity—who sometimes throw them a piece -of money and hurry off, lest they also come into that -terrible plight.</p> - -<p>Here is a poor man who finds the marks of what he -thinks is this terrible disease upon his body. According -to the law, he must go to the priest and be examined.</p> - -<p>Alas! The priest says it is leprosy—nothing else.</p> - -<p>Now the poor man, with broken heart, turns away -from the Temple. He goes to his house, to say good-by -to his wife and to take his children in his arms once more -before he goes away to spend the long years in the wilderness -alone, or with other lepers like himself, until -death shall come to deliver him from his sufferings.</p> - -<p>What a sorry house is that! Surely, this is worse -than death itself.</p> - -<p>He goes out of his door with no hope of ever entering -it again. He walks the street by himself, and if any -one comes near he lifts up his voice in that mournful cry:</p> - -<p>“Unclean! Unclean!”</p> - -<p>Out of the gates of the city he goes, away from all -his friends and acquaintances, carrying with him the sorrow -of separation and the seeds of death.</p> - -<p>One day he sees a crowd passing along the road, but -he dares not go near enough to inquire what it is. All -at once he happens to think it may be that Prophet of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> -Nazareth whom he had heard of—that same Man that, -people said, could open the eyes of blind men, make -lame men to walk, and who had even raised the son of -the widow from death, over there at Nain. If only He -were passing! At any rate, he will take the chances, -and cry out after Him; and so he shouts, at the top of -his voice:</p> - -<p>“Have mercy upon me!”</p> - -<p>All the rest of the crowd are afraid of him, but Jesus, -who is in the midst, hears some one calling; and, just as -He always did when any one wanted any thing of Him, -He stopped to find out what it was.</p> - -<p>He is not afraid of the leper; and so, while the rest -of the crowd stand apart by themselves, He calls the -poor fellow up to Him, and asks him what he wants.</p> - -<p>The leper, with his heart full of anxious hope, makes -answer:</p> - -<p>“Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.”</p> - -<p>Jesus says: “I will; be thou clean.”</p> - -<p>A strange sense of health and strength comes suddenly -over the man. He looks at his hands, and finds -the leprosy all gone. He begins to pour out his heart in -thanks to Jesus, who sends him away to the priests, saying: -“Go, show thyself to the priests, and offer the -gift that Moses commanded.”</p> - -<p>Now, I seem to see that cleansed leper, hurrying off -to show himself to the priest, to be pronounced cured, -according to the law; and then hastening to his little -home, to see his wife and children once more. He bursts -into the house, weeping for joy. He stretches out his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> -arms to his wife and little ones, saying: “I am clean! -Jesus did it—Jesus of Nazareth.”</p> - -<h3>THE PENITENT THIEF.</h3> - -<p>I am going to take for my text, this morning, “A -Man”—the last one that Jesus saved before He returned -to Heaven.</p> - -<p>The fact that Jesus saved such a man at all ought to -give every one of us much hope and comfort. This man -was a thief—a highwayman and murderer, perhaps—and -yet Christ takes him with Him when He ascends to -glory; and if Jesus is not ashamed of such a man, surely -no class of sinners need to feel that they are left out.</p> - -<p>It is a blessed fact that all kinds of men and women -are represented among the converts in the Gospels, and -almost all of them were converted suddenly.</p> - -<p>Very many people object to sudden conversions, but -you may read in the Acts of the Apostles of eight thousand -people converted in two days. That seems to me -rather quick work. If all the Christians before me this -morning would only consecrate themselves to the work -of Christ, they might be the means of converting that -number before the week is out.</p> - -<p>Let us look at Christ hanging on the cross, between -two thieves—the Scribes and Pharisees wagging their -heads and jeering at Him, His disciples gone away, and -only His mother and one or two other women in sight to -cheer Him with their presence, among all this concourse -of enemies—relentless and mocking enemies.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span></p> - -<p>Hear those spiteful Pharisees calling out to Jesus: -“If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the -cross, and we will believe on Thee.” And the account -says that the two thieves cast the same in His teeth.</p> - -<p>So, then, the first thing that we know of our man is -that he is a reviler of Christ. You might reasonably -think that he ought to be doing something else at such a -time as this; but, hanging there in the midst of his tortures, -and certain to be dead in a few hours, instead of -confessing his sins and preparing to meet the God whose -laws he had broken all his life—instead of that, he is -abusing God’s only Son. Surely, this man can not sink -any lower until he sinks into hell!</p> - -<p>The next thing we hear of him, he appears to be under -conviction. Nobody is ever converted until he is -convicted.</p> - -<p>In the twenty-third chapter of Luke we read:</p> - -<p>“And one of the malefactors which were hanged -railed on Him, saying: ‘If Thou be the Christ, save -Thyself and us.’ But the other, answering, rebuked -him, saying: ‘Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art -in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for -we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man -hath done nothing amiss.’”</p> - -<p>What, do you suppose, it was that made this great -change in this man’s feelings in these few hours?</p> - -<p>Christ had not preached him a sermon—had given -him no exhortation. The darkness had not yet come on; -the Earth had not opened its mouth; the business of -death was going on as usual; the crowd was still there, -mocking and hissing and wagging their heads; and yet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> -this man, who in the morning was railing at Christ, is -now confessing his sins.</p> - -<p>“We indeed justly.”</p> - -<p>No miracle had been wrought before his eyes. The -Son of God had not come down from the cross. No -angel from Heaven had come to place a glittering crown -upon His head, in place of the bloody crown of thorns.</p> - -<p>What was it, then?</p> - -<p>I will tell you what I think it was. I think it was the -Savior’s prayer:</p> - -<p>“Father, forgive them, for they know not what -they do.”</p> - -<p>I seem to hear this thief talking with himself in this -fashion:</p> - -<p>“What a strange kind of man this must be! He -says He is King of the Jews; and the superscription on -His cross says the same thing. But what sort of a throne -is this? He says He is the Son of God. Why does not -God send down His angels, and destroy all this great -gathering of people that are torturing His Son? If He -has all power now, as He used to have when He worked -those miracles they talk about, why does He not bring -out His vengeance, and sweep all these wretches into -destruction? I would do it in a minute, if I had the -power. Oh, if I could, I would open the Earth, and -swallow up these tormentors!</p> - -<p>“But this man prays to God to ‘forgive them.’</p> - -<p>“Strange! Strange! He must be different from the -rest of us. I am sorry that I said one word against Him -when they first hung us up here. What a difference -there is between Him and me!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Here we are, hanging on two crosses—side by side; -but all the rest of our lives we have been far enough -apart. I have been robbing and murdering, but He has -been visiting the hungry, healing the sick, and raising -the dead. Now these people are railing at us both. -What a strange world is this!</p> - -<p>“I will not rail at Him any more. Indeed, I begin -to believe He must be the Son of God; for, surely, no -son of man could forgive his enemies this way.”</p> - -<p>That is what did it, my friends.</p> - -<p>This poor man had been scourged and beaten and -nailed to the cross, and hung up there for the world to -gaze upon; and he was not sorry for his sins one single -bit—did not feel the least conviction on account of all -that misery. But when he heard the Savior praying for -His murderers that broke his heart.</p> - -<p>I remember to have heard a story, somewhere, of a -bad boy that had run away from home. He had given -his father no end of trouble. He had refused all the invitations -that his father had sent him to come home and -be forgiven, and help to comfort his old heart. He had -even gone so far as to scoff at his father and mother.</p> - -<p>But one day a letter came, telling him his father was -dead, and they wanted him to come home and attend -the funeral.</p> - -<p>At first he determined he would not go, but then he -thought it would be a shame not to pay some little show -of respect to the memory of so good a man after he was -dead; and so, just as a matter of form, he took a train -and went to the old home.</p> - -<p>He sat through all the funeral services, saw his kind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> -old father buried, and came back with the rest of the -friends to the house, with his heart as cold and stony as -ever. But when the old man’s will was brought out to -be read, the ungrateful son found that his father had -remembered him along with all the other members of the -family in the will, and had left him an inheritance with -the others, who had not gone astray.</p> - -<p>This broke his heart.</p> - -<p>It was too much for him, that his old father, during -all those years in which he had been so wicked and so -rebellious, had never ceased to love him.</p> - -<p>That is just the way our Father in Heaven does with -us. That is just the way Jesus does with people who -refuse to give their hearts to Him. He loves them in -spite of their sins, and it is the love which, more than -any thing else, brings hard-hearted sinners to fall upon -their knees.</p> - -<p>Now, this thief on the cross confessed his sins. A -man may be very sorry for his sins; but, if he does not -confess them, he has no promise of being forgiven. The -thief says: “We are suffering justly.” I never knew -any man to be converted until he confessed.</p> - -<p>Cain felt bad enough over his sins, but he did not -confess.</p> - -<p>Saul was greatly tormented in his mind, but he went -to the Witch of Endor rather than to the Lord.</p> - -<p>Judas felt so bad over the betrayal of his Master that -he went out and hanged himself; but he did not confess—that -is, he did not confess to God. He came back and -confessed to the priests, saying: “I have sinned in that -I have betrayed the innocent blood.” It was of no use<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -to confess to them; they could not forgive him. What -he should have done was to confess to God; but instead -of that, he rushed out and hanged himself.</p> - -<p>How different is the case with the penitent thief! He -confesses his sins to Christ, and Christ has mercy on him -at once.</p> - -<p>Just here is one of the great difficulties with many -people. They do not like to come up face to face with -their sins. They do not like to own that they are sinners. -They excuse themselves in every way. They think -they are not very bad sinners; that there are a great -many worse than they are; and so they try to cover up -the great fact that this penitent thief confesses openly. -My friends, you never will be saved, so long as you try -to cover up your sins.</p> - -<p>We have heard a great deal about the faith of Abraham -and the faith of Moses; but this man seems to me -to have had more faith than any of them. He stands at -the head of his class.</p> - -<p>God was twenty-five years toning up the faith of -Abraham; Moses was forty years getting ready for his -work; but this thief, right here in the midst of men who -rejected Him—nailed to the cross and racked with pain -in every nerve, overwhelmed with horror, and his soul in -a perfect tempest—still manages to lay hold upon Christ, -and trust in Him for a swift salvation. His heart goes -out to the Savior. How glad he would be to fall on his -knees at the foot of that cross, and pour out his prayer -to Him who was hanging on it! But this he can not do. -His hands and feet are nailed fast to the wood; but they -can not nail his eyes, nor his heart. He can, at least,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> -turn his head, and look upon the Son of God; and his -breaking heart can go out in love to the One who is dying -beside him—dying for him, and dying for you and me.</p> - -<p>And what did Jesus say in answer to his prayer?</p> - -<p>That prayer was a confession of Christ. He calls -Jesus “Lord,” and begs to be remembered in His kingdom. -That must be a kingdom in Heaven—for, surely, -there was no chance of a kingdom on Earth, as matters -looked at that time.</p> - -<p>Christ fulfilled His promise to the thief:</p> - -<p>“Whoso confesseth Me before men, him will I confess -before my Father and the holy angels.”</p> - -<p>He looks kindly upon him, and says:</p> - -<p>“Today thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.”</p> - -<p>And now the darkness falls upon the Earth; the Sun -hides itself; but, worse than all, the Father hides His -face from the Son. What else is the meaning of that -bitter cry?</p> - -<p>“My God! My God! Why hast Thou forsaken -Me?”</p> - -<p>Ah! It had been written:</p> - -<p>“Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”</p> - -<p>Jesus is made a curse for us. God can not look upon -sin; and now His own Son is bearing, in His own body, -the sins of the world; and so He can not look upon Him.</p> - -<p>I think that was what was heaviest upon the Savior’s -heart, away there in the Garden, when He prayed: “If -it be possible, let this cup pass away from Me.”</p> - -<p>He could bear the unfaithfulness of His friends, the -spite of His enemies, the pain of His crucifixion and the -shadow of death. He could bear all these. But when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> -it came to the hiding of His Father’s face, that seemed -almost too much for even the Son of God to bear. But -even this He endured for our sins; and now the face of -God is turned back to us, whose sins had turned it away, -and looking upon Jesus, the sinless One, He sees our -souls in Him.</p> - -<p>In the midst of all His agony, how sweet it must -have been to Christ to hear that poor thief confessing -Him! He likes to have men confessing Him.</p> - -<p>Do you remember His asking Peter: “Who do -men say that I am?”</p> - -<p>Peter answered: “Some people say You are Moses; -some people say You are Elias, and some people say You -are one of the old prophets.”</p> - -<p>He asked again: “But, Peter, who do you say that -I am?”</p> - -<p>And when Peter said “Thou art the Son of God,” -Jesus blessed him for that confession.</p> - -<p>And now this thief confesses Him—confesses Him in -the darkness. Perhaps it is so dark he can not see Him -any longer; but he feels that He is there beside him.</p> - -<p>This poor thief did as much for Christ in that one act -as if he had lived and worked for Him fifty years. That -is what Christ wants of us—to confess Him; in the dark -as well as in the light, and when it is hard as well as -when it is easy. For He was not ashamed of us, and -carried our sins even unto death.</p> - -<p>Just look for a minute at the prayer of this penitent -thief.</p> - -<p>He calls Jesus “Lord.” That sounds like a young -convert. “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> -Thy kingdom.” Not a very long prayer, you see, but a -prevailing prayer.</p> - -<p>Some people think they must have a form of prayer—a -prayer book, perhaps—if they are going to address -the Throne of Grace properly. But what would that -poor fellow do with a prayer book up there—hanging on -the cross, his hands nailed fast to the wood? Suppose -it were necessary that some minister or priest should -pray for him, what is he going to do? There is nobody -there to pray for him, and he is going to die within a few -hours. He is out of reach of help from men, but God -has laid help upon One who is mighty, and that One is -close at hand.</p> - -<p>Then look at the answer to his prayer. The supplicant -received more than he asked. He only asked to be -remembered when Christ came into His kingdom. But -Christ said to him: “I will take you right up with Me -into My kingdom today.”</p> - -<p>The Savior wants us all to remember Him in His old -kingdom—to remember Him in the breaking of bread -and in the drinking of wine—and then He will remember -us in the new kingdom.</p> - -<p>Just think of this, my friends. The last the world -ever saw of Christ He was on the cross. The last business -of His life was the saving of a poor penitent thief. -That was a part of His triumph; that was one of the -glories attending His death.</p> - -<p>No doubt Satan said to himself: “I will have the -soul of that thief, pretty soon, down here in the caverns -of the lost. He belongs to me; he has belonged to me -all these years.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;" id="illus6"> -<img src="images/illus6.jpg" width="425" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Jacob, Tending Flocks of Laban.</span>—From the Painting by Gustave Dore.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;" id="illus7"> -<img src="images/illus7.jpg" width="425" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Moses, Breaking The Tables of The Law</span></p> -<p class="caption">From the Painting by Gustave Dore.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span></p> - -<p>But Christ snapped the fetters of his soul, and set -him at liberty; Satan lost his prey. “The Lion of the -tribe of Judah” conquered the lion of hell.</p> - -<p>You know that in the British colonies, before the day -of Wilberforce, there used to be a great many slaves; -but that good man began to agitate the question of setting -them free; and all the slaves in the colonies, when -they heard of it, were very anxious to hear how he was -getting along. They knew the bill was before Parliament, -and with them it was a question next to that of -life itself.</p> - -<p>But in those days there were no telegraphs and no -steamships. The mails went by the slow sailing vessels. -They would be from six to eight months in making the -voyage to some of the more distant of the colonies. The -slaves used to watch for the white sails of British ships, -hoping to hear good reports, and also fearing they might -hear bad ones.</p> - -<p>There was a ship that had sailed immediately after -the Emancipation Act had been passed and signed by the -king; and when she came within hailing distance of the -boats that had put off from the shore at the port of her -destination, the captain could not wait to deliver the message -officially, and have it duly promulgated by the government; -but, seeing the anxious men standing up in -their boats, eager for the news, he placed his trumpet to -his mouth, and shouted with all his might:</p> - -<p>“Free! Free!”</p> - -<p>Just so the angels shouted when this poor bondman -of Satan’s, almost in the jaws of the pit, was taken in -hand by the Savior Himself; delivered from the bondage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> -of darkness into the liberty of His dear Son! Free—free -from sin—free from the curse of the law—free, too, -in a short time, from the bonds of the flesh.</p> - -<p>What a contrast! In the morning he is led out a -condemned criminal; in the evening he is saved from his -sins. In the morning he is cursing; in the evening he is -singing hallelujahs with a choir of angels. In the morning -he is condemned by men as not fit to live on Earth; -in the evening he is reckoned good enough for Heaven.</p> - -<p>Christ was not ashamed to walk arm-in-arm with him -along the golden pavements of the Eternal City.</p> - -<p>He had heard the Savior’s cry: “It is finished.” -He had seen the spear thrust into His side. Jesus had -died before his very eyes, and hastened before him to get -a place ready for this first soul brought from the world -after He had died.</p> - -<p>You have heard of the child that did not like to die -and go to Heaven, because he did not know anybody -there. But the thief had one acquaintance—even the -Master of the place. He calls to Gabriel, and says:</p> - -<p>“Prepare a chariot; make haste! There is a friend -of Mine hanging upon that cross. They are breaking his -legs; he soon will be ready to come. Make haste and -bring him to Me.”</p> - -<p>And the angel in the chariot sweeps down the sky, -takes up the soul of the poor penitent thief, and hastens -back again to glory; while the gates of the city swing -wide open, and the angels shout their welcome to this -poor sinner—“washed in the blood of the Lamb.”</p> - -<p>And that, my friends, is just what Christ wants to do -for every sinner. He wants to save you. That is the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> -business on which He came down from Heaven. That -is why He died; and if He gives such great and swift -salvation to this poor thief on the cross, surely He will -give you the same deliverance, if, like the penitent thief, -you will repent, confess and trust in the Savior.</p> - -<p>Somebody says that this man “was saved at the -eleventh hour.” I do not know about that. Perhaps it -was the first hour. It might have been the first hour with -him, I think. Perhaps he never knew Christ until he -was led out to die beside Him. This may have been the -very first time he had ever learned the way of faith in the -Son of God.</p> - -<p>But how many of you gave your hearts to Christ the -very first time He asked them of you? Are you not farther -along in the day than even that poor thief?</p> - -<p>A little while ago, in one of the mining districts of -England, a young man attended one of our meetings, -and refused to go from the place till he had found peace -in the Savior. The next day he went down into the pit, -and the coal fell in upon him; and when they took him -out he was broken and mangled, and had only about two -or three minutes of life left in him. His friends gathered -about him, saw his lips moving, and, bending down -their ears to catch his words, this was what they heard -him say: “It was a good thing I settled it last night.”</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Begin now to confess your sins, and to pray the Lord -to remember you when He cometh into His kingdom.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span></p> - -<h3>THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN.</h3> - -<p>In this first parable we are told that men ought to -pray always and everywhere; that prayer should not be -left to a few in the churches, but all men ought to pray.</p> - -<p>Jesus gives us a picture, so that we may understand -in what spirit we ought to pray.</p> - -<p>Two men went up to the Temple—one to pray to -himself and the other to pray to God.</p> - -<p>I think it will be safe to divide the audience into two -bodies, and put them under these two heads. However, -whether we divide the audience or not, we come under -these two heads—those who have the spirit of the publican -and those who have the spirit of the Pharisee.</p> - -<p>You can find that the entire community may be correctly -divided into these two classes. The spirit of the -prodigal and the spirit of an elder brother are still in the -world; the spirits of Cain and Abel are still in the world, -and these two are representative men.</p> - -<p>One of them trusted in his own righteousness and -the other did not have any trust in it, and I say I think -all men will come under these two heads. They have -either given up all their self-righteousness—renounced it -all and turned their backs upon it—or else they are -clinging to their own righteousness; and you will find -that these self-righteous men that are ever clinging to -their own righteousness are continually measuring themselves -by their neighbors.</p> - -<p>“I thank God that I am not as other men are.”</p> - -<p>This was the spirit of that Pharisee, and this is the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -spirit today of one class in this community, and the other -class comes under the head of this other man.</p> - -<p>Let us look at the man Christ pictured first.</p> - -<p>It is evident that he was full of egotism—full of conceit—full -of pride; and I believe, as I have said before -on this platform, that is one of the greatest enemies the -Son of God has today, and I believe it keeps more men -from the kingdom of God than any thing else.</p> - -<p>Pride can grow on any soil, in any climate. No place -is too hot for it, and no place is too cold for its growth. -How much misery it has caused in this world! How -many men here are kept from salvation by pride!</p> - -<p>Why, it sprung up into Heaven, and for it Lucifer -was cast out; by pride Nebuchadnezzar lost his throne. -As he walked through Babylon he cried: “Is not this -a great Babylon which I have built?” And he was hurled -from his throne.</p> - -<p>How many men that have become drunkards, who -are all broken up—will gone, health gone—and yet are -just as full of pride as the sun is of light! It will not -let them come to Christ and be saved.</p> - -<p>A great many live like this Pharisee—only in the -form of religion; they do not want the wheat—only the -husk; they do not want the kernel—only the shell.</p> - -<p>How many men are today just living on empty form! -They say their prayers, but they do not mean any thing.</p> - -<p>Why, this Pharisee said plenty of prayers, but how -did he pray? He prayed to himself. He might as well -have prayed to a post. He did not pray to God, who -knew his heart a thousand times better than he himself -did. He thought he knew himself; he forgot that he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> -was a sepulcher, full of dead men’s bones; forgot that -his heart was rotten, corrupt and vile; and he comes and -spreads out his hands and looks up to Heaven.</p> - -<p>Why, the very angels in Heaven veil their faces before -God as they cry: “Holy, holy, holy!”</p> - -<p>But this Pharisee comes into the Temple and spreads -out his hands, and says:</p> - -<p>“Lord, I thank Thee that I am not as other men -are. I fast twice a week.”</p> - -<p>He set before God what he had done in comparison -with other men, and was striking a balance and making -out God to be his debtor, as thousands are doing today; -and then he says: “I give one-tenth of all I possess.”</p> - -<p>I suppose if he was living in Chicago now, and we -had gone to him and asked him for a donation to help -put up this Tabernacle, he would have said:</p> - -<p>“Well, I think it will do good; yes, I think it will. -It may reach the vagabonds and outcasts—I do not need -it, of course—but if it will reach that class it will do -good. I will give $50, especially if you can get it in the -morning papers—if you can have it announced: ‘John -Jones gave $50 to build the Tabernacle.’”</p> - -<p>That is the way some of the people give donations to -God’s cause; they give in a patronizing way. But in -this manner God will not accept it. If your heart does -not go with your gift, God will not accept it.</p> - -<p>This Pharisee says: “I give one-tenth of all that I -have; I keep up the services in the Temple; I fast twice -a week.”</p> - -<p>He fasted twice a week, although once was only -called for, and he thought because of this he was far<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> -above other men. A great many people nowadays think -because they do not eat meat on Fridays, but only fish, -they deserve great credit, although they go on sinning all -the week.</p> - -<p>Look at this prayer! There is no confession there. -He had got so bad, and the devil had so covered up his -sins, that he was above confession.</p> - -<p>The first thing we have to do when we come to God -is to confess. If there is any sin clustering around the -heart, bear in mind we can have no communion with -God. It is because we have sin about our hearts that -our prayers do not go any higher than our head. We can -not get God’s favor if we have any iniquity in our hearts.</p> - -<p>People, like the Pharisee, have only been educated to -pray. If they did not pray every night their consciences -would trouble them, and they would get out of bed and -say their prayers; but the moment they get off their -knees, perhaps, you may hear them swearing.</p> - -<p>A man may just as well get a string of beads and -pray to them. It would do him as much good.</p> - -<p>This Pharisee’s prayer showed no spirit of contrition; -there was no petition; he did not ask any thing from -God. This is a queer kind of prayer:</p> - -<p>“Lord, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are—extortionate, -unjust, adulterous—or even as the poor -publican.”</p> - -<p>Not a petition in his prayer. It was a prayerless -prayer—it was downright mockery. But how many men -have just got into that cradle and been rocked to sleep -by the devil!</p> - -<p>A short time ago I put this question to a man:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Are you a Christian?”</p> - -<p>“Of course I am; I say my prayers every night.”</p> - -<p>“But do you ever pray?”</p> - -<p>“Didn’t I tell you I prayed?”</p> - -<p>“But do you ever pray?”</p> - -<p>“Why, of course I do; haven’t I said so?”</p> - -<p>I found that he prayed, but he only went through the -form, and, after a little, I found that he had been in the -habit of swearing.</p> - -<p>“How is this?” I asked. “Swearing and praying! -Do your prayers ever go any higher than your head?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I have sometimes thought that they did not.”</p> - -<p>My friends, if you are not in communion with God -your prayers are but forms; you are living in formalism, -and your prayers will go no higher than your head.</p> - -<p>How many people just go through the form! They -can not rest unless they say their prayers. How many -are there with whom it is only a matter of education?</p> - -<p>But this Pharisee trusted in his own righteousness; -he ignored the mercy of God and the love of Jesus. He -was measuring himself by his own rule. Now, if you -want to measure yourself, do it by God’s law—by God’s -requirements.</p> - -<p>A great many people have a rule of their own, by -which they measure themselves, and by that rule they -are perfectly ready and willing to forgive themselves.</p> - -<p>So it was with this Pharisee. The idea of coming to -God and asking His forgiveness never enters his mind.</p> - -<p>While talking to a man—one of those Pharisees—some -time ago, about God and the need of Christ, he -said to me:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I can do without Christ; I do not want Him. I -am ready to stand before God any time.”</p> - -<p>That man was trusting in his own righteousness.</p> - -<p>Now, take a good look at this Pharisee. You know, -I have an idea that the Bible is like an album. I go into -a man’s house, and, while waiting for him, I take up an -album from a table and open it.</p> - -<p>I look at a picture.</p> - -<p>“Why, that looks like a man I know.”</p> - -<p>I turn over and look at another.</p> - -<p>“Well, I know that man.”</p> - -<p>By-and-by, I come upon another.</p> - -<p>“Why, that man looks like my brother.”</p> - -<p>I am getting pretty near home. I keep turning over -the leaves.</p> - -<p>“Well, I declare! Here is a man who lives in the -same street I do. Why, he is my next-door neighbor.”</p> - -<p>Then I come upon another, and I see—myself.</p> - -<p>My friends, if you read your Bibles, you will find -your own pictures there. It will just describe you.</p> - -<p>Now, it may be there is some Pharisee here tonight. -If there is, let him turn to the third chapter of John, -and see what Christ said to the Pharisee:</p> - -<p>“Except a man be born again, he can not enter the -kingdom of God.”</p> - -<p>Nicodemus, no doubt, was one of the fairest specimens -of a man in Jerusalem in those days, yet he had to -be born again, else he could not enter into the kingdom -of God.</p> - -<p>“But,” you may say, “I am not a Pharisee. I am -a poor and miserable sinner—too bad to come to Him.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -Well, turn to the woman of Samaria, and see what He -said to her.</p> - -<p>See what a difference there was between that publican -and that Pharisee. There was as great a distance -between them as between the Sun and the Moon.</p> - -<p>One was in the very highest station, and the other -occupied the very worst station. One had only himself -and his sins to bring to God, and the other was trying to -bring in his position and his aristocracy.</p> - -<p>I tell you, when a man gets a true sight of himself, -all his position and station and excellences drop.</p> - -<p>See this prayer:</p> - -<p>“I thank God.”</p> - -<p>“I am not.”</p> - -<p>“I fast.”</p> - -<p>“I give.”</p> - -<p>“I possess.”</p> - -<p>Why, if he had delivered a long prayer, and the copy -had been put into the printers’ hands, they would have -had to send out for some “I’s.”</p> - -<p>“I thank God,” “I,” “I,” “I.”</p> - -<p>When a man prays—not with himself, but to God—he -does not exalt himself; he does not pass a eulogy on -himself. He falls flat down in the dust before God. In -that prayer you do not find him thanking God for what -He had done for him. It was a heartless and prayerless -prayer—merely a form.</p> - -<p>I hope the day will come when formal prayer will be -a thing of the past. I think the reason why we can not -get more people out to the meetings is because we have -too many formal prayers in the churches. These formal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> -Christians get up, like this Pharisee, and thank God that -they are better than other men; but when a man gets a -look at himself he comes in the spirit of the publican.</p> - -<p>You see this Pharisee standing and praying with himself, -but God could not give him any thing. He was too -full of egotism—too full of himself. There was no religion -in it. God could not bless him.</p> - -<p>Now, for a moment, take a look at that poor publican. -Just give his prayer your attention.</p> - -<p>There was no capital “I” there—no exalting of himself. -“God be merciful to this Pharisee; God be merciful -to the other people who have injured me; God be -merciful to the church members who have not been true -to their belief.”</p> - -<p>Was that his prayer?</p> - -<p>Thank God, he got to himself. “God be merciful to -me, a sinner.” It was very short. He had got his eye -upon himself; he saw that his heart was vile; he could -not lift his eyes to Heaven. But, thank God, he could -lift his heart to Heaven.</p> - -<p>There is not a poor publican in the audience tonight -but can send up this prayer. No matter what your past -life has been—no matter if it has been as black as hell—if -you but send up the prayer it will be heard. He did -not buy his own righteousness; and God heard his appeal.</p> - -<p>Spurgeon, speaking of that publican, said he had the -soundest theology of any man in England. He came -before God, struck his hand on his heart, and cried: -“God be merciful to me, a sinner.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span></p> - -<h3>THE WIDOW’S SON.</h3> - -<p>Think of that poor widow at Nain.</p> - -<p>She is an old woman now; and her only son, who is -the staff of her life, is sick.</p> - -<p>How she watches him; sits up all night to see that -he has his medicine at the right time; sits by his bedside -all day, fanning him, keeping away the flies, moistening -his parched lips with water!</p> - -<p>Every thing he asks for she brings.</p> - -<p>The very best doctor in Nain is sent for; and when -he comes and feels the pulse of the young man and looks -at his tongue, he shakes his head; and then the poor -woman knows there is no hope for her boy.</p> - -<p>What an awful thought!</p> - -<p>“My son—my only son—must die! What will become -of me then?”</p> - -<p>Sure enough, the doctor is right; and in a little while -the fever comes to its crisis, and the poor boy dies, with -his head upon his mother’s bosom.</p> - -<p>The people come in and try to comfort the bereaved -mother; but it is of no use. Her heart is broken; and -she wishes she were dead, too.</p> - -<p>Some of you know what it is to look your last upon -the faces of those you love. Some of you mothers have -wept hot tears upon the cold faces of your sons.</p> - -<p>Well, they make him ready for burial; and when the -time comes, they celebrate the funeral service, and place -him on a bier to carry him away to the grave.</p> - -<p>What a sad procession!</p> - -<p>Just as they come out of the city gates, they see a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> -little company of thirteen dusty-looking travelers, coming -up the road.</p> - -<p>There is One among them who is tall and far fairer -than the sons of men.</p> - -<p>Who can He be?</p> - -<p>He is moved with compassion when He sees this little -funeral procession; and it does not take Him long to -find out that this woman who walks next the bier is a -poor widow, whose only son she is following in sadness -to the grave.</p> - -<p>He tells the bearers to put down the bier; and while -the mother wonders what is to be done, He bends tenderly -over the dead man, and speaks to him in a low and -sweet voice:</p> - -<p>“Arise!”</p> - -<p>And the dead man hears Him. His body begins to -move; the man that was dead is struggling with his grave -clothes; they unbind them, and now he sits up.</p> - -<p>He leaps off the bier, catches sight of his mother, -remembers that he was dead and is now alive again. He -takes his mother in his arms, kisses her again and again, -and then turns to look at the Stranger who has wrought -this miracle upon him.</p> - -<p>He is ready to do any thing for that Man—ready to -follow Him to the death. But Jesus does not ask that -of him. He knows his mother needs him; and so He -does not take him away to be one of His disciples, but -gives him back to his old mother.</p> - -<p>I would have liked to see that young man re-entering -the city of Nain, arm-in-arm with his mother. What do -you suppose he said to the people, who looked at him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> -with wonder? Would he not confess that Jesus of Nazareth -had raised him from the dead? Would he not go -everywhere, declaring what the Lord had done for his -dead body?</p> - -<p>Oh, how I love to preach Christ, who can stand over -all the graves, and say to all the dead bodies: “Arise!”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 150px;"> -<img src="images/cross.jpg" width="150" height="250" alt="Rows of the letter X forming the shape of a Christian cross." /> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span></p> - -<h3>ROCK OF AGES.</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Rock of Ages, cleft for me,</div> -<div class="verse">Let me hide myself in Thee!</div> -<div class="verse">Let the water and the blood</div> -<div class="verse">From Thy riven side which flowed</div> -<div class="verse">Be of sin the double cure—</div> -<div class="verse">Cleanse from guilt and make me pure.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In my hand no price I bring;</div> -<div class="verse">Simply to Thy cross I cling.</div> -<div class="verse">Naked—come to Thee for dress;</div> -<div class="verse">Helpless—look to Thee for grace;</div> -<div class="verse">Foul—I to Thy fountain fly;</div> -<div class="verse">Cleanse me, Savior, or I die!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Not the labors of my hands</div> -<div class="verse">Can fulfill Thy law’s demands.</div> -<div class="verse">Could my zeal no respite know—</div> -<div class="verse">Could my tears for ever flow—</div> -<div class="verse">All for sin could not atone;</div> -<div class="verse">Thou must save, and Thou alone!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">While I draw this fleeting breath,</div> -<div class="verse">When my eye-strings break in death,</div> -<div class="verse">When I soar to worlds unknown,</div> -<div class="verse">See Thee on Thy judgment throne—</div> -<div class="verse">Rock of Ages, cleft for me,</div> -<div class="verse">Let me hide myself in Thee!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span></p> - -<h3>WHERE HE LEADS I’LL FOLLOW.</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Sweet are the promises, kind is the word—</div> -<div class="verse">Dearer far than any message man ever heard!</div> -<div class="verse">Pure was the mind of Christ—sinless I see;</div> -<div class="verse">He the great example is, and pattern for me.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Where He leads I’ll follow—</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Follow all the way!</div> -<div class="verse">Where He leads I’ll follow—</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Follow Jesus every day!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Sweet is the tender love Jesus has shown—</div> -<div class="verse">Sweeter far than any love that mortals have known!</div> -<div class="verse">Kind to the erring one, faithful is He;</div> -<div class="verse">He the great example is, and pattern for me!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Where He leads I’ll follow—</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Follow all the way!</div> -<div class="verse">Where He leads I’ll follow—</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Follow Jesus every day!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">List to His loving words: “Come unto Me.”</div> -<div class="verse">Weary, heavy-laden, there is sweet rest for thee!</div> -<div class="verse">Trust in His promises—faithful and sure;</div> -<div class="verse">Lean upon the Savior, and thy soul is secure.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Where He leads I’ll follow—</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Follow all the way!</div> -<div class="verse">Where He leads I’ll follow—</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Follow Jesus every day!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="TALMAGE">BIBLE CHARACTERS<br /> -<span class="smaller">AS DEPICTED BY THE BRILLIANT AND NOTED PREACHER,</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">T. De Witt Talmage</span>.</h2> - -<h3>ATHALIAH</h3> - -<p>Grandmothers are more lenient with their children’s -children than they were with their own.</p> - -<p>At forty years of age, if discipline be necessary, -chastisement is used; but at seventy, the grandmother, -looking upon the misbehavior of the grandchild, is apologetic -and disposed to substitute confectionery for whip.</p> - -<p>There is nothing more beautiful than this mellowing -of old age toward childhood. Grandmother takes out -her pocket handkerchief and wipes her spectacles and -puts them on, and looks down into the face of her mischievous -and rebellious descendant, and says:</p> - -<p>“I don’t think he meant to do it; let him off this -time; I’ll be responsible for his behavior in the future.”</p> - -<p>My mother, with the second generation around her—a -boisterous crew—said one day: “I suppose they -ought to be disciplined, but I can not do it. Grandmothers -are not fit to bring up grandchildren.”</p> - -<p>But here we have a grandmother of a different hue.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span></p> - -<p>I have been at Jerusalem, where the occurrence that -I shall describe took place, and the whole scene came -vividly before me while I was going over the site of the -ancient Temple and climbing the towers of the king’s -palace.</p> - -<p>Here is old Athaliah, the queenly murderess.</p> - -<p>She ought to have been honorable. Her father was -a king. Her husband was a king. Her son was a king. -And yet we find her plotting for the extermination of the -entire royal family, including her own grandchildren.</p> - -<p>The executioner’s knives are sharpened; the palace -is red with the blood of princes and princesses. On all -sides are shrieks, and hands thrown up, and struggle and -death groan. No mercy! Kill! Kill!</p> - -<p>But while the ivory floors of the palace run with carnage -and the whole land is under the shadow of a great -horror, a fleet-footed woman—a clergyman’s wife, Jehosheba -by name—stealthily approaches the imperial nursery, -seizes upon the grandchild that had, somehow, as -yet escaped massacre, wraps it up tenderly but in haste, -snuggles it against her, flies down the palace stairs—her -heart in her throat, lest she be discovered in this Christian -abduction.</p> - -<p>Get her out of the way as quickly as you can, for she -carries a precious burden—even a young king.</p> - -<p>With this youthful prize she presses into the room of -the ancient Temple, the church of olden time, unwraps -the young king and puts him down, sound asleep as he -is, and unconscious of the peril that has been threatened; -and there for six years he is kept secreted in that -church apartment.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span></p> - -<p>Meanwhile, old Athaliah smacks her lips with satisfaction -and thinks that all the royal family are dead.</p> - -<p>But the six years expire, and it is now time for the -young Joash to come forth and take the throne, and to -push back into disgrace and death old Athaliah.</p> - -<p>The arrangements are all made for political revolution. -The military come and take full possession of the -Temple, swear loyalty to the boy Joash, and then stand -around for his defense. See the sharpened swords and -burnished shields! Every thing is ready.</p> - -<p>Now Joash, half affrighted at the armed tramp of his -defenders, scared at the vociferation of his admirers, is -brought forth in full regalia. The scroll of authority is -put into his hands, the coronet of government is put on -his brow, and the glad people clap and wave, huzza and -trumpet.</p> - -<p>Athaliah is aroused, and asks:</p> - -<p>“What is that? What is that sound over there in -the Temple?”</p> - -<p>She hurries out to see, and on the way they meet her -and say:</p> - -<p>“Why, haven’t you heard? You thought you had -slain all the royal family, but Joash has come to light.”</p> - -<p>Then the queenly murderess, frantic with rage, laid -hold on her mantle and tore it to tatters, and cried out -until she foamed at the mouth:</p> - -<p>“You have no right to crown my grandson. You -have no right to take the government from my shoulders. -Treason! Treason!”</p> - -<p>While she stood there, making this cry, the military -started for her arrest, and she took a short cut through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> -a back door of the Temple and ran through the royal -stables; but the battle-axes of the military fell on her -in the barn-yard, and for many a day, when the horses -were being unloosed from the chariot after drawing out -young Joash, the fiery steeds would snort and rear while -passing the place, as they smelt the taint.</p> - -<p>The first thought which I hand you from this subject -is that the extermination of righteousness is an impossibility.</p> - -<p>When a woman is good she is apt to be very good, -and when she is bad she is apt to be very bad; and this -Athaliah was one of the latter sort. She would exterminate -the last scion of the house of David, through -whom Jesus was to come. There was plenty of work -for embalmers and undertakers. She would clear the -land of all God-fearing and God-loving people. She -would put an end to every thing that could in any wise -interfere with her imperial criminality.</p> - -<p>Athaliah folds her hands and says: “The work is -done; it is completely done.”</p> - -<p>Is it?</p> - -<p>In the swaddling clothes of that church apartment -are wrapped the cause of God and the cause of good government.</p> - -<p>That is the scion of the house of David; it is Joash, -the Christian reformer; it is Joash, the friend of God; -it is Joash, the demolisher of Baalitish idolatry. Rock -him tenderly; nurse him gently.</p> - -<p>Athaliah, you may kill all the other children, but you -can not kill him. Eternal defenses are thrown all around -him, and this clergyman’s wife, Jehosheba, will snatch<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> -him up from the palace nursery, and will run up and -down with him into the house of the Lord, and there -she will hide him for six years, and at the end of that -time he will come forth for your dethronement and utter -obliteration.</p> - -<h3>DAVID.</h3> - -<p>David, the shepherd boy, is watching his father’s -sheep.</p> - -<p>They are pasturing on the very hills where afterward -a Lamb was born of which you have heard much—“the -Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”</p> - -<p>David, the shepherd boy, was beautiful, brave, musical -and poetic. I think he often forgot the sheep in his -reveries. There in the solitude he struck the harp-string -that is thrilling through all ages. David the boy was at -work gathering the material for David the poet and for -David the man.</p> - -<p>Like other boys, David was fond of using his knife -among the saplings, and he had noticed the exuding of -the juice of the tree; and when he became a man he -said: “The trees of the Lord are full of sap.”</p> - -<p>David the boy, like other boys, had been fond of -hunting the birds’ nests, and he had driven the old stork -off the nest to find how many eggs were under her; and -when he became a man he said: “As for the stork, the -fir trees are her house.”</p> - -<p>In boyhood he had heard the terrific thunder storm -that frightened the red deer into premature sickness; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> -when he became a man he said: “The voice of the -Lord maketh the hinds to calve.”</p> - -<p>David the boy had lain upon his back, looking up at -the stars and examining the sky, and to his boyish imagination -the sky seemed like a piece of divine embroidery, -the divine fingers working in the threads of light and -the beads of stars; and when he grew up he wrote:</p> - -<p>“When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy -fingers.”</p> - -<p>When he became an old man, thinking of the goodness -of God, he seemed to hear again the bleating of his -father’s sheep across many years, and to think of the -time when he tended them on the Bethlehem hills, and -he cries out: “The Lord is my shepherd.”</p> - -<p>There is one scene in the life of David that you may -not have pondered.</p> - -<p>You have seen him with a harp, playing the devil out -of Saul; with a sling, smashing the skull of Goliath; -with a sword, hacking to pieces the Philistines; with a -scepter, ruling a vast realm; with a psalm, gathering all -nations into doxology.</p> - -<p>But now we have David playing the fool.</p> - -<p>He has been anointed king, yet he is in exile and is -passing incognito among the Gathites. They are beginning -to suspect who he is, and they say:</p> - -<p>“I wonder if this is not the warrior, King David? It -looks like him. Is not this the man about whom they -used to make poetry, and about whom they composed a -dance, so that the maidens of the city, reeling now on -one foot and now on the other, used to sing: ‘Saul has -slain his thousands, but David has slain his tens of thousands’?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> -Yes, he is very much like David; he must be -David; he is David.”</p> - -<p>David, to escape their hands, pretends to be demented; -and he said within himself:</p> - -<p>“If I act crazily, then these people will not injure -me. No one would be so much of a coward as to assault -a madman.”</p> - -<p>So, one day, while these Gathites are watching King -David with increased suspicion, they see him standing -by the door, running his hands meaninglessly up and -down the panels—scrabbling on the door as though he -would climb up, his mouth wide open, drooling like an -infant.</p> - -<p>I suppose the boys of the streets threw missiles at -him, but the sober people of the town said:</p> - -<p>“This is not fair. Do you not see that he has lost -his reason? Do not touch this madman. Hands off! -Hands off!”</p> - -<p>So David escaped. But what an exhibition he made -of himself before all the ages!</p> - -<p>There was a majesty in King Lear’s madness after -Regan and Goneril, his daughters, had persuaded him to -banish their sister, Cordelia, and all the friends of the -drama have been thrilled with that spectacle.</p> - -<p>The craziness of Meg Merrilies was weird and imposing, -and formed the most telling passage in Sir Walter -Scott’s “Guy Mannering.”</p> - -<p>There was a fascination about the insanity of Alexander -Cruden, who made the best concordance of the -Bible that the world ever saw—made it between the mad -houses.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span></p> - -<p>But there was nothing grand, nothing weird, nothing -majestic, nothing sublime about this simulation on the -part of David. Instead of trusting in the Lord, as he -had trusted on other occasions, he gathers before him a -vast audience of all generations that were to come, and, -standing on that conspicuous stage of history, in view of -all the ages, he impersonates the slavering idiot.</p> - -<p>Taking the behavior of David as a suggestion, I wish -to show you how many of the wise, the brave and the -regal sometimes play the fool. Those men as badly play -the fool as did David who, in any crisis of life, take their -case out of the hand of God.</p> - -<p>David, in this case, acted as though there were no -God to lift him out of the predicament. What a contrast -between his behavior, when this brave little man -stood up in front of the giant ten feet in height, looking -into his face, and this time, when he debased himself -and bedraggled his manhood by affecting insanity in -order that he might escape from the grip of the Gathites! -In the one case, he played the hero; in the other -case, he played the fool.</p> - -<p>There came a time when David fled from his pursuers. -The world runs very fast when it is chasing a good -man. The country is trying to catch David, and to slay -him. David goes into the house of a priest, and asks -him for a sword or spear with which to defend himself.</p> - -<p>The priest, not being accustomed to use deadly weapons, -tells David that he can not supply him; but suddenly -the priest thinks of an old sword that had been -carefully wrapped up and laid away—the very sword -that Goliath formerly used. He takes down that sword,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> -and while he is unwrapping the sharp, glittering and -memorable blade it flashes upon David’s mind that this -is the very sword that was used against himself when he -was in the fight with Goliath, and David can hardly keep -his hand off it until the priest has unwound it.</p> - -<p>David stretches out his hand toward that old sword, -and says: “There is none like it; give it me.” In -other words: “I want in my own hand the sword that -has been used against me, and against the cause of the -Lord.” So it was given him.</p> - -<p>Here passes through these streets, as in imagination -I see him, a wonderful man. Can it be that I am in the -very city where lived and reigned David—conqueror, king -and poet? David—great for power and great for grief!</p> - -<p>He was wrapped up in his boy, Absalom, who was a -splendid boy, judged by the rules of worldly criticism. -From the crown of his head to the sole of his foot there -was not a single blemish. The Bible says that he had -such a luxuriant shock of hair that, when once a year it -was shorn, what was cut off weighed over three pounds.</p> - -<p>But, notwithstanding all his brilliancy of appearance, -he was a bad boy, and broke his father’s heart. He was -plotting to get the throne of Israel. He had marshaled -an army to overthrow his father’s government.</p> - -<p>The day of battle had come; the conflict was begun. -David, the father, sat between the gates of the palace, -waiting for tidings of the conflict.</p> - -<p>Oh, how rapidly his heart beat with emotion! Two -great questions were to be decided—the safety of his boy -and the continuance of the throne of Israel.</p> - -<p>After a while a servant, standing on the top of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> -house, looks off, and he sees some one running. He is -coming with great speed, and the man on top of the -house announces the coming of the messenger.</p> - -<p>David watches and waits, and as soon as the messenger -from the field of battle comes within hailing distance -the father cries out. Is it a question in regard to the -establishment of his throne? Does he say: “Have the -armies of Israel been victorious? Am I to continue in -my imperial authority? Have I overthrown my enemies?” -Oh, no.</p> - -<p>There is one question that springs from his heart to -his lip, and springs from the lip into the ear of the besweated -and bedusted messenger flying from the battle -field—the question:</p> - -<p>“Is the young man—Absalom—safe?”</p> - -<p>When it was told to King David that, although his -army had been victorious, his son had been slain, the -father turned his back upon the congratulations of the -nation, and went up the stairs of his palace, his heart -breaking as he went, wringing his hands sometimes, and -then again pressing them against his temples, as though -he would press them in, crying:</p> - -<p>“O Absalom! My son! My son! Would to God -I had died for thee, O Absalom! My son! My son!”</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Stupendous grief of David, resounding through all -succeeding ages!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span></p> - -<h3>DEBORAH.</h3> - -<p>A text of five words, and four of them one and the -same, is found in the fifth chapter and twelfth verse of -Judges: “Awake, awake, Deborah; awake, awake!”</p> - -<p>It seems that the men of Israel had lost their courage. -Trampled into the dust by their oppressors, the -cowards had not spirit to rise.</p> - -<p>Their vineyards destroyed, their women dishonored, -their children slain, the land was dying for a leader worthy -of the cause.</p> - -<p>A holy woman by the name of Deborah saw the desolation, -and, putting her trust in the Lord, sounded the -battle-cry, and by the help of General Barak launched -into the plain ten thousand armed men.</p> - -<p>The Canaanites, of course, came out with a larger -force. They came out against Israel with nine hundred -iron chariots, each of these iron chariots having attached -to the sides of it long and sharp scythes, so that when -these engines of war were driven down to battle, each -one of the nine hundred was ready to cut two great -swaths of death.</p> - -<p>But, when God gives a mission to a woman, He also -gives her strength and grace to execute it.</p> - -<p>The nine hundred iron chariots of the Canaanites -could not save them. They fly! They fly—horse and -horseman, chariot and charioteer, officers and troops—in -one wild and terrific overthrow. Sisera, their leader, -is so frightened in the conflict that he can not wait until -his team turns around. He leaps from the chariot and -starts, full run, for the mountains.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span></p> - -<p>Then this epic of the text was composed to celebrate -the grand womanly triumph: “Awake, awake, Deborah; -awake, awake!”</p> - -<h3>DORCAS.</h3> - -<p>Impressed as I am with the mosque at Joppa, the -first I ever saw, and stirred as I am with the fact that -this harbor once floated the great rafts of Lebanon cedar -from which the Temple at Jerusalem was builded, Solomon’s -oxen drawing the logs through this very town on -the way to Jerusalem, nothing can make me forget that -this Joppa was the birthplace of the sewing society that -has blessed the poor of all succeeding ages in all lands.</p> - -<p>The disasters to Joppa when Judas Maccabæus set it -on fire and when Napoleon had five hundred prisoners -massacred in this neighborhood can not make me forget -that one of the most magnificent charities of the centuries -was started in this seaport by Dorcas—a woman who -with her needle embroidered her name ineffaceably into -the beneficence of the world.</p> - -<p>I see her sitting in the village home. In the door -way and around about the building, and even in the room -where she sits, are the pale faces of the poor.</p> - -<p>She listens to their plaint.</p> - -<p>She pities their woe.</p> - -<p>She makes garments for them, and she adjusts the -manufactured articles to suit the bent form of this invalid -woman and to that cripple who comes crawling upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> -his hands and knees. She gives a coat to this one and -sandals to that one. With the gifts she mingles prayers -and tears and Christian encouragement.</p> - -<p>Then she goes out to be greeted on the street corners -by those whom she has blessed, and all through the way -of her walk the cry is heard: “Dorcas is coming!”</p> - -<p>The sick look up gratefully in her face as she puts a -hand on the burning brow, and the lost and the abandoned -start up with hope as they hear her gentle voice, -as though an angel had addressed them; and as she goes -out the lane, eyes half put out with sin think they see a -halo of light about her brow and a trail of glory in her -pathway.</p> - -<p>That night a half-paid shipwright climbs the hill and -reaches home. There he sees his little boy well clad, -and he asks: “Where did these clothes come from?” -They tell him: “Dorcas has been here.”</p> - -<p>In another place, a woman is trimming a lamp; Dorcas -brought the oil.</p> - -<p>In another place, a family that had not been at table -for many a week are gathered now, for Dorcas brought -them bread.</p> - -<p>But there is a sudden pause in that woman’s ministry. -They say: “Where is Dorcas? Why, we have -not seen her for many a day. Where is Dorcas?”</p> - -<p>Then one of these poor people goes up and knocks -at the door, and finds the mystery solved. All through -the haunts of wretchedness the news comes:</p> - -<p>“Dorcas is sick!”</p> - -<p>No bulletin flashing from the palace gate, telling the -stages of a king’s disease, is more anxiously waited for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> -than the news from this sick benefactress. Alas for Joppa! -There is weeping and wailing. That voice which -has uttered so many cheerful words is now hushed; that -hand which had made so many garments for the poor is -cold and still; that star which had poured light into the -midnight of wretchedness is dimmed by the blinding -mists that go up from the river of death.</p> - -<p>In every God-forsaken place in that town; wherever -there is hunger and no bread; wherever there is guilt -and no commiseration; wherever there is a broken heart -and no comfort—there are despairing looks, streaming -eyes and frantic gesticulations as they cry:</p> - -<p>“Dorcas is dead!”</p> - -<p>They send for the apostle, Peter. He edges his way -through the crowd around the door, and stands in the -presence of the dead. What expostulation and grief all -about him!</p> - -<p>Here stand some of the poor people, who show the -garments which this good woman had made for them. -Their grief can not be appeased.</p> - -<p>Peter, the apostle, wants to perform a miracle. He -will not perform it amid the excited crowd, so he kindly -orders that the whole room be cleared. The door is shut -against the populace.</p> - -<p>The apostle stands now with the dead. Oh, it is a -serious moment, you know, when you are alone with a -lifeless body! The apostle gets down on his knees and -prays, and then he comes to the lifeless form of this one -all ready for the sepulcher, and in the strength of Him -who is the resurrection he exclaims:</p> - -<p>“Tabitha, arise!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p> - -<p>There is a stir in the fountains of life; the heart flutters; -the nerves thrill; the cheek flushes; the eye opens; -she sits up!</p> - -<p>We see in this subject Dorcas the disciple, Dorcas -the benefactress, Dorcas the lamented, Dorcas the resurrected.</p> - -<p>If I had not seen that word disciple in my text, I yet -would have known this woman was a Christian. Such -music as that never came from a heart which is not both -chorded and strung by Divine grace.</p> - -<p>Before I show you the needle-work of this woman, I -want to show you her regenerated heart—the source of -a pure life and of all Christian charities.</p> - -<p>I wish that the wives and mothers and daughters and -sisters of this congregation would imitate Dorcas in her -discipleship. Before you sit with the Sabbath class, before -you cross the threshold of the hospital, before you -carry a pack of tracts down the street, before you enter -upon the temptations and trials of tomorrow, I charge -you, in the name of God and by the turmoil and tumult -of the Judgment Day, O women, that you attend to the -first, last and greatest duty of your life—the seeking for -God and being at peace with Him.</p> - -<p>Now, by the courtesies of society, you are deferred -to, and he were far less than a man who would not -oblige you with kind attentions; but when the trumpet -shall sound, there will be an uproar, and a wreck of -mountain and continent, and no human arm can help -you. Amidst the rising of the dead, and amidst the -boiling of the seat and amidst the live, leaping thunders<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> -of the flying heavens, there will be no chance for these -courtesies.</p> - -<p>But, on that day, calm and placid will be every woman’s -heart who has put her trust in Christ; calm, notwithstanding -all the tumult, as though the fire in the -heavens were only the gildings of an autumnal sunset—as -though the peal of the trumpet were only the harmony -of an orchestra—as though the awful voices of the -sky were but a group of friends bursting through a gateway -at eventime with laughter, and shouting: “Dorcas -the disciple!”</p> - -<p>Would to God that every Mary and every Martha -would this day sit down at the feet of Jesus!</p> - -<p>Further, we see Dorcas the benefactress.</p> - -<p>History has told the story of the crown; the epic -poet has sung of the sword; the pastoral poet, with his -verses full of the redolence of clover-tops and arustle -with the silk of the corn, has sung the praises of the -plow. I tell you the praises of the needle.</p> - -<p>From the fig-leaf robe prepared in the Garden of -Eden to the last stitch taken last night on some garment -for some church fair, the needle has wrought wonders of -kindness, generosity and benefaction. It adorned the -girdle of the high priest; it fashioned the curtains in the -ancient Tabernacle; it cushioned the chariots of King -Solomon; it provided the robes of Queen Elizabeth; -and in high places and in low places, by the fire of the -pioneer’s back-log and under the flash of the chandelier—everywhere, -it has clothed nakedness, it has preached -the Gospel, it has overcome hosts of penury and want -with the war-cry of: “Stitch, stitch, stitch!” The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> -operatives have found a livelihood by it, and through it -the mansions of the employers have been constructed.</p> - -<p>Amidst the greatest triumphs in all ages and lands, I -set down the conquests of the needle.</p> - -<p>I admit its crimes; I admit its cruelties. It has had -more martyrs than the fire; it has butchered more souls -than the Inquisition; it has punctured the eye; it has -pierced the side; it has struck weakness into the lungs; -it has sent madness into the brain; it has filled the potter’s -field; it has pitched whole armies of the suffering -into crime, wretchedness and woe.</p> - -<p>But, now that I am talking of Dorcas and her ministries -to the poor, I shall speak only of the charities of -the needle.</p> - -<p>This woman was a representative of all those women -who make garments for the destitute, who knit socks for -the barefooted, who prepare bandages for the lacerated, -who fix up boxes of clothing for Western missionaries, -who go into the asylums of the suffering and destitute -bearing that Gospel which is sight for the blind and -hearing for the deaf, and which makes the lame man -leap like a hart, and brings the dead to life with immortal -health bounding in their pulses.</p> - -<p>What a contrast between the practical benevolence -of this woman and a great deal of the charity of this -day!</p> - -<p>Dorcas did not spend her time planning how the poor -of Joppa were to be relieved; she took her needle and -relieved them. She was not like those persons who sympathize -with imaginary sorrows, and go out in the street -and laugh at the boy who has upset his basket of cold<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> -victuals; nor was she like that charity which makes a -rousing speech on the benevolent platform, and goes out -to kick the beggar from the step, crying: “Hush your -miserable howling!”</p> - -<p>The sufferers of the world want not so much theory -as practice; not so much tears as dollars; not so much -kind wishes as loaves of bread; not so much smiles as -shoes; not so much “God bless yous!” as jackets and -frocks. I will put one earnest Christian man, who is a -hard worker, against five thousand mere theorists on the -subject of charity.</p> - -<p>There are a great many who have fine ideas about -church architecture who never in their lives helped to -build a church. There are men who can give you the -history of Buddhism and Mohammedanism who never -sent a farthing for the evangelization of the adherents of -those religions.</p> - -<p>There are women who talk beautifully about the suffering -in the world who never had the courage, like that -of Dorcas, to take up the needle and assault it.</p> - -<p>I am glad that there is not a page of the world’s history -which is not a record of feminine benevolence. God -says to all lands and peoples: “Come, now, and hear -the widow’s mite rattle down into the poor-box.”</p> - -<p>The Princess of Conti sold all her jewels, that she -might help the famine-stricken. Queen Blanche, wife -of Louis VIII. of France, hearing that there were some -persons unjustly incarcerated in the prisons, went out -and took a stick and struck the door, as a signal that all -might strike it; and down went the prison door, and out -came the prisoners. Queen Maud, the wife of Henry I.,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> -went down amidst the poor and washed their sores, and -administered to them cordials. Mrs. Retson, at Matagorda, -appeared on the battle field while the missiles of -death were flying around, and cared for the wounded.</p> - -<p>But why go so far back? Why go so far away?</p> - -<p>Is there a man or woman in this house who has forgotten -the women of the sanitary and Christian Commissions? -Has any one forgotten that, before the smoke -had gone from Gettysburg and South Mountain, the -women of the North met the women of the South on -the battle field, forgetting all their animosities while they -bound up the wounded and closed the eyes of the slain? -Have you forgotten Dorcas, the benefactress?</p> - -<p>I come now to speak of Dorcas the lamented. When -death struck down that good woman, oh, how much sorrow -there was in Joppa!</p> - -<p>I suppose there were women living in Joppa possessing -larger fortunes; women, perhaps, with more handsome -faces; but there was no grief at their departure like -this at the death of Dorcas. There was not more turmoil -and upturning in the Mediterranean Sea, dashing -against the wharves of that seaport, than there were -surgings to and fro of grief in Joppa because Dorcas was -dead.</p> - -<p>There are a great many who go out of life and are -unmissed. There may be a very large funeral; there -may be a great many carriages and a plumed hearse; -there may be high-sounding eulogiums; the bell may toll -at the cemetery gate; there may be a very fine marble -shaft reared over the resting place. But the whole thing -may be a falsehood and a sham.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span></p> - -<p>By this demise the Church of God has lost nothing; -the world has lost nothing. It is only a nuisance abated; -it is only a grumbler ceasing to find fault; it is only an -idler stopped yawning; it is only a dissipated fashionable -parted from his wine cellar—while, on the other -hand, no useful Christian leaves this world without being -missed. The Church of God cries out like the prophet: -“Howl, fir tree, for the cedar has fallen.” Widowhood -comes and shows the garments which the departed had -made. Orphans are lifted up to look into the calm face -of the sleeping benefactress. Reclaimed vagrancy comes -and kisses the cold brow of her who charmed it away -from sin, and all through the streets of Joppa there is -mourning—mourning because Dorcas is dead.</p> - -<p>I suppose you have read of the fact that when Josephine -was carried out to her grave there were a great -many men and women of pomp and pride and position -that went out after her; but I am most affected by the -story of history that on that day there were ten thousand -of the poor of France who followed her coffin, weeping -and wailing until the air rang again, because when they -lost Josephine they lost their last earthly friend.</p> - -<p>Oh, who would not rather have such obsequies than -all the tears that were ever poured in the lachrymals -that have been exhumed from ancient cities! There may -be no mass for the dead; there may be no costly sarcophagus; -there may be no elaborate mausoleum. But -in the damp cellars of the city, and through the lonely -huts of the mountain glen, there will be mourning—mourning -because Dorcas is dead.</p> - -<p>I speak to you of Dorcas the resurrected. The apostle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> -came to where she was, and said: “Arise!” And -“she sat up.” In what a short compass the great writer -put that: “She sat up!”</p> - -<p>Oh, what a time there must have been when the -apostle brought her out among her old friends! How the -tears of joy must have started! What clapping of hands -there must have been! What singing! What laughter! -Sound it all through that lane! Shout it down that dark -alley! Let all Joppa hear it! Dorcas is resurrected!</p> - -<p>You and I have seen the same thing many a time—not -a dead body resuscitated, but the deceased coming -up again after death in the good accomplished. If a man -labors up to fifty years of age, serving God, and then -dies, we are apt to think that his earthly work is done. -No! His influence on Earth will continue till the world -ceases. Services rendered for Christ never stop.</p> - -<p>Here is a Christian woman. She toils for the upbuilding -of a church through many anxieties, through -many self-denials, with prayers and tears, and then she -dies. It is fifteen years since she went away. Now the -Spirit of God descends upon that church; hundreds of -souls stand up and confess the faith of Christ.</p> - -<p>Has that Christian woman, who went away fifteen -years ago, nothing to do with these things? I see the -flowering out of her noble heart. I hear the echo of her -footsteps in all these songs over sins forgiven—in all the -prosperity of the church. The good that seemed to be -buried has come up again. Dorcas is resurrected.</p> - -<p>After a while all these womanly friends of Christ will -put down their needles for ever. After making garments -for others, some one will make a garment for them; the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> -last robe which we shall ever wear—the robe which is -for the grave.</p> - -<p>You will have heard the last cry of pain. You will -have witnessed the last orphanage. You will have come -in worn out from your last round of mercy. I do not -know where you will sleep, nor what your epitaph will -be; but there will be a lamp burning at that tomb and -an angel of God guarding it, and through all the long -night no rude foot will disturb the dust. Sleep on—sleep -on! Soft bed, pleasant shadows, undisturbed repose! -Sleep on!</p> - -<h3>EHUD.</h3> - -<p>Ehud was a ruler in Israel. He was left-handed, -and, what was peculiar about the tribe of Benjamin, to -which he belonged, there were in it seven hundred left-handed -men; and yet, so dextrous had they all become -in the use of the left hand, the Bible says they could -sling stones at a hair’s breadth and not miss.</p> - -<p>Well, there was a king by the name of Eglon, who -was an oppressor of Israel. He imposed upon them an -outrageous tax.</p> - -<p>Ehud, the man of whom I first spoke, had a divine -commission to destroy that oppressor. He came, pretending -that he was going to pay the tax, and asked to -see King Eglon. He was told the king was in the Summer -house, the place to which his majesty retired when -the heat was too great to sit in the palace. This Summer -house was a place surrounded by flowers, springing -fountains and trees—the latter filled with warbling birds.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span></p> - -<p>Ehud entered the Summer house, and said to King -Eglon that he had a secret errand with him. Immediately -all the attendants were waved out of the royal -presence. King Eglon rises up to receive the messenger. -Ehud, the left-handed man, puts his left hand to his -right side, pulls out a dagger, and thrusts Eglon through -until the haft went in after the blade. Eglon falls.</p> - -<p>Ehud comes forth to blow a trumpet of right amidst -the mountains of Ephraim; and a great host is marshaled, -and proud Moab submits to the conqueror, and -Israel is free.</p> - -<p>I learn first, from this subject, the power of left-handed -men. There are men who, by physical organization, -have as much strength in their left hand as in -their right hand; but there is something in the writing -of the fifteenth verse of the third chapter of Judges that -implies Ehud had some defect in his right hand, which -compelled him to use the left.</p> - -<p>Oh, the power of left-handed men! Genius is often -self-observant, careful of itself, not given to much toil, -burning incense to its own aggrandizement; while many -a man, with no natural endowments, actually defective -in physical and mental organization, has an earnestness -for the right, a patient industry, an all-consuming perseverance, -which achieve marvels for the kingdom of the -Lord. Though left-handed as Ehud, they can strike -down a sin as imperial as Eglon.</p> - -<p>But I do not suppose that Ehud, the first time he -took a sling in his left hand, could throw a stone a hair’s -breadth, and not miss. I suppose it was practice that -gave him the wonderful dexterity.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span></p> - -<p>Go forth to your spheres of duty, and do not be discouraged -if, in your first attempts, you miss the mark. -Ehud missed it.</p> - -<h3>ESAU.</h3> - -<p>Esau had the birthright given him.</p> - -<p>In the olden times this meant not only temporal but -spiritual blessing.</p> - -<p>One day Esau took this birthright and traded it off -for something to eat. Oh, the folly! But let us not be -too severe upon him, for some of us have committed the -same folly.</p> - -<p>After Esau had thus parted with his birthright, he -wanted to get it back. Just as though you, tomorrow -morning, should take all your notes and bonds and government -securities, and should go into a restaurant, and -in a fit of restlessness and hunger throw all those securities -on the counter and ask for a plate of food, making -that exchange.</p> - -<p>This was the exchange Esau made.</p> - -<p>He sold his birthright for a mess of pottage, and he -was very sorry about it afterward; but “he found no -place for repentance, though he sought it carefully with -tears.”</p> - -<p>There are sins which, though they may be pardoned, -are in some respects irrevocable; and you can find no -place for repentance, though you seek it carefully with -tears. After wasting forty years, you can not get back -the neglected advantages of boyhood and youth.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span></p> - -<h3>FELIX AND DRUSILLA.</h3> - -<p>A city of marble was Cesarea—wharves of marble, -houses of marble, temples of marble. This being the -ordinary architecture of the place, you may well imagine -something of the splendor of Governor Felix’s residence.</p> - -<p>In a room of that palace—floor tesselated, windows -curtained, ceiling fretted, the whole scene affluent with -Tyrian purple, and statues, and pictures, and carvings—sat -a very dark-complexioned man by the name of Felix, -and beside him sat a woman of extraordinary beauty, -whom he had stolen by breaking up another’s domestic -circle.</p> - -<p>She was only eighteen years of age, a princess by -birth, and unwittingly waiting for her doom—that of being -buried alive in the ashes and scoria of Mount Vesuvius, -which in sudden eruption, one day, put an end to -her abominations.</p> - -<p>Well, one afternoon Drusilla, seated in the palace, -weary with the magnificent stupidities of the place, says -to Felix:</p> - -<p>“You have a very distinguished prisoner, I believe, -by the name of Paul. Do you know he is one of my -countrymen? I should very much like to see him, and -I should very much like to hear him speak, for I have -heard so much about his eloquence.</p> - -<p>“Besides that, the other day, when he was being -tried in another room of this palace, and the windows -were open, I heard the applause that greeted the speech -of Lawyer Tertullus, as he denounced Paul. Now, I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> -very much wish I could hear Paul speak. Won’t you -let me hear him speak?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Felix, “I will. I will order him up now -from the guard room.”</p> - -<p>The clank of a chain is heard coming up the marble -stairway, there is a shuffle at the door, and in comes -Paul—a little old man, prematurely old through exposure—only -sixty years of age, but looking as though he -were eighty.</p> - -<p>Paul bows very courteously before Governor Felix -and the beautiful woman by his side. They say:</p> - -<p>“Paul, we have heard a great deal about your speaking. -Give us, now, a specimen of your eloquence.”</p> - -<p>Oh, if there ever was a chance for a man to show off, -Paul had a chance there!</p> - -<p>He might have harangued them about Grecian art, -about the wonderful water-works which he had seen at -Corinth, about the Acropolis by moonlight, about prison -life in Philippi, about “What I Saw in Thessalonica,” or -about the old mythologies.</p> - -<p>But, instead, Paul said to himself: “I am now on -the way to martyrdom, and this man and woman will -soon be dead; so this is my only opportunity to talk to -them about the things of eternity.”</p> - -<p>And, just there and then, there broke in upon the -scene a peal of thunder. It was the voice of Judgment -Day speaking through the words of the decrepit apostle. -As the grand old missionary proceeded with his remarks, -the stoop begins to go out of his shoulders, and he rises -up, and his countenance is illumined with the glories of -a future life, and his shackles rattle and grind as he lifts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> -his fettered arm, and with it hurls upon his abashed -auditors the bolts of God’s indignation.</p> - -<p>Felix grew very white about the lips. His heart beat -unevenly. He put his hand to his brow, as though to -stop the quickness and violence of his thoughts. He -drew his robe tighter about him, as under a sudden chill. -His eyes glare and his knees shake, and, as he clutches -the side of his chair in a very paroxysm of terror, he -orders the sheriff to take Paul back to the guard room.</p> - -<p>“Felix trembled, and said: ‘Go thy way for this -time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for -thee.’”</p> - -<p>I propose to give you two or three reasons why I -think Felix sent Paul back to the guard room and adjourned -this whole subject of religion.</p> - -<p>The first reason was: He was unwilling to give up -his sins. He looked around; there was Drusilla. He -knew that, when he became a Christian, he must send -her back to Azizus, her lawful husband; and he said to -himself: “I will risk the destruction of my immortal -soul sooner than I will do that.”</p> - -<p>Delilah sheared the locks of Samson; Salome danced -Herod into the pit; Drusilla blocked up the way to -Heaven for Felix.</p> - -<p>Another reason why Felix sent Paul back to the -guard room and adjourned this subject was: He was so -very busy. In ordinary times he found the affairs of -state absorbing, but those were extraordinary times. -The whole land was ripe for insurrection. The Sicarii, -a band of assassins, were already prowling around the -palace, and I suppose he thought: “I can not attend<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> -to religion while I am so pressed by affairs of state.” It -was business, among other things, that ruined his soul.</p> - -<p>Aye, with thousands of the present day, it is the annoyance -of the kitchen, and the sitting room and the -parlor—the wearing economy of trying to meet large expenses -with a small income. Ten thousand voices of -“business” drown the voice of the Eternal Spirit.</p> - -<h3>GALLERY OF CHARACTERS.</h3> - -<p>I see the Gallery of the Prophets and Apostles.</p> - -<p>Who are those mighty ones up yonder? Hosea, -Jeremiah, Daniel, Isaiah, Paul, Peter, John and James.</p> - -<p>There sits Noah, waiting for all the world to come -into the ark.</p> - -<p>Moses is waiting till the last Red Sea shall divide.</p> - -<p>Jeremiah is waiting for the Jews to return.</p> - -<p>John of the Apocalypse is waiting for the swearing of -the angel that Time shall be no longer.</p> - -<p>Glorious spirits! Ye were howled at; ye were -stoned; ye were spit upon. They have been in this -fight themselves, and they are all with us. Daniel knows -all about lions. Paul fought with beasts at Ephesus. -For Joseph, a pit; for Daniel, a wild beast den; for -David, dethronement and exile; for John the Baptist, a -wilderness diet and the executioner’s ax; for Peter, a -prison; for Paul, shipwreck; for John, desolate Patmos; -for Vashti, most insulting cruelty.</p> - -<p>In that gallery, prophetic and apostolic, they can not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> -keep their peace. Daniel cries out: “Thy God will -deliver thee from the mouth of the lions!” David exclaims: -“He will not suffer thy foot to be moved.” -Isaiah calls out: “Fear not! I am with thee. Be not -dismayed.” Paul exclaims: “Victory through our Lord -Jesus Christ!”</p> - -<p>I see the Angelic Gallery. There they are. There -is the angel that swung the sword at the gate of Eden, -the same whom Ezekiel saw upholding the throne of -God, and from which I look away, for the splendor is insufferable. -Here are the guardian angels. That one -watched a patriarch; this one protected a child. That -one has been pulling a soul out of temptation. All these -are messengers of light. Those drove the Spanish Armada -on the rocks. This turned Sennacherib’s living -hosts into a heap of one hundred and eighty-five thousand -corpses. Those, yonder, chanted the Christmas -carol over Bethlehem, until the chant awoke the shepherds. -These, at Creation, stood in the balcony of -Heaven, and serenaded the new-born world wrapped in -swaddling clothes of light.</p> - -<p>And there, holier and mightier than all, is Michael, -the archangel. To command an earthly host gives dignity; -but this one is leader of the twenty thousand -chariots of God, and of the ten thousand times ten -thousand angels.</p> - -<p>I think God gives command to the archangel, and the -archangel to the seraphim, and the seraphim to the cherubim, -until all the lower orders of Heaven hear the -command and go forth on the high behest.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span></p> - -<h3>GIDEON.</h3> - -<p>The seventh chapter of the Book of Judges contains -a detailed report of the strangest battle ever fought.</p> - -<p>God had told Gideon to go down and thrash the -Midianites, but his army is too large; for the glory must -be given to God, and not to man. And so proclamation -is made that all those of the troops who are cowardly, -and want to go home, may go; and twenty-two thousand -of them scampered away, leaving only ten thousand men.</p> - -<p>But God says the army is too large yet; and so He -orders these ten thousand remaining to march down -through a stream, and commands Gideon to notice in -what manner these men drink of the water as they pass -through it. If they get down on all-fours and drink, -then they are to be pronounced lazy and incompetent for -the campaign; but if, in passing through the stream, -they scoop up the water in the palm of the hand and -drink, and pass on, they are to be the men selected for -the battle.</p> - -<p>Well, the ten thousand men march down into the -stream, and the most of them come down on all-fours, -and plunge their mouths, like a horse or an ox, into the -water and drink; but there are three hundred men who, -instead of stooping, just dip the palm of their hands in -the water and bring it to their lips—“lapping as the dog -lappeth.”</p> - -<p>Those three hundred brisk, rapid and enthusiastic -men are chosen for the campaign. They are each to -take a trumpet in the right hand and a pitcher in the -left hand, and a lamp inside the pitcher; and then at a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> -given signal they are to blow the trumpets, throw down -the pitchers and hold up the lamps. So it was done.</p> - -<p>It is night. I see a great host of Midianites, sound -asleep in the valley of Jezreel.</p> - -<p>Gideon comes up with his three hundred picked men, -and when every thing is ready the signal is given, and -they blow the trumpets, throw down the pitchers and -hold up the lamps.</p> - -<p>The great host of Midianites, waking out of a sound -sleep, take the crash of the crockery and the glare of the -lamps for the coming on of an overwhelming foe; and -they run, and cut themselves to pieces, and most horribly -perish.</p> - -<p>The lessons of this subject are very spirited and impressive. -This seemingly valueless lump of quartz has -the pure gold in it. The smallest dewdrop on the meadow -at night has a star sleeping in its bosom, and the -most insignificant passage of Scripture has in it a shining -truth. God’s mint coins no small change.</p> - -<h3>HEZEKIAH.</h3> - -<p>Luxurious living is not healthy. The second generation -of kings and queens and of lords and princes is -apt to be brainless and invalid.</p> - -<p>The second crop of grass is almost always short.</p> - -<p>Royal blood is generally scrofulous. You will not be -surprised, then, to hear that King Hezekiah had disorders<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> -which broke out in a carbuncle, virulent and deathful. -The Lord told him he must die.</p> - -<p>But Hezekiah did not want to die. He turned his -face to the wall, so that his prayer would not be interrupted, -and cried to God for his life.</p> - -<p>God heard the prayer and answered it, saying: “Behold, -I will heal thee.” But there was human instrumentality -to be employed.</p> - -<p>This carbuncle needed a cataplasm. That is a tough -word that we use to show how much we know. If in -the pulpit we always used words the people understood, -we never should have any reputation for learning.</p> - -<p>Well, this carbuncle needed a cataplasm, which is a -poultice. Your old mother, who doctored her own children -in the time when physicians were not as plentiful as -they are now, will tell you that the very best poultice is -a fig, and that was what was used upon the carbuncle of -King Hezekiah. The power of God, accompanied by -this human instrumentality, cured the king.</p> - -<p>In this age of discovery, when men know so much it -kills them, and write so wisely it almost kills us, it has -been found out that prayer to God is a dead failure. All -things are arranged according to inexorable law.</p> - -<p>Ah, my friends, have we been so mistaken? Does -God hear and answer prayer, or does He not? Why -come out with a challenge in this day, and an experiment, -when we have here the very experiment?</p> - -<p>Hezekiah was sick unto death; he prayed for his life; -God heard him, and added fifteen years to that lifetime. -The prayer saved him, the lump of figs applied being -merely the God-appointed human instrumentality.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p> - -<h3>JEHOIAKIM.</h3> - -<p>We look in upon a room in Jerusalem. Two men -are there.</p> - -<p>At the table sits Baruch, the scribe, with a roll of -parchment and an iron pen in his hand. The other man -is walking the floor, as if strangely agitated.</p> - -<p>There is an unearthly appearance about his countenance, -and his whole frame quakes as if pressed upon by -something unseen and supernal.</p> - -<p>This is Jeremiah, in the spirit of prophecy. Being -too much excited to write with his own hands the words -that the Almighty pours upon his mind about the coming -destruction of Jerusalem, he dictates to Baruch, the -scribe. It is a seething, scalding, burning denunciation -of Jehoiakim, the king, and a prophecy of approaching -disasters.</p> - -<p>Of course, King Jehoiakim hears of the occurrence, -and he sends Jehudi to obtain the parchment and read -its contents.</p> - -<p>It is winter. Jehoiakim is sitting in his comfortable -winter house, by a fire that glows upon the hearth and -lights up the faces of the lords, princes and senators who -have gathered to hear the reading of the strange document.</p> - -<p>Silence is ordered. The royal circle bend forward to -listen. Every eye is fixed.</p> - -<p>Jehudi unrolls the book gleaming with the words of -God, and as he reads Jehoiakim frowns; his eye kindles; -his cheek burns; his foot comes down with thundering -indignation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span></p> - -<p>King Jehoiakim snatches the book from Jehudi’s -hand, feels for his knife, crumples up the book, and goes -to work cutting it up with his penknife. Thus God’s -book was permanently destroyed, and the king escaped.</p> - -<p>Was it destroyed?</p> - -<p>Did Jehoiakim escape?</p> - -<p>In a little while King Jehoiakim’s dead body is hurled -forth to blacken in the sun, and the only epitaph that he -ever had was that which Jeremiah wrote:</p> - -<p>“Buried with the burial of an ass.”</p> - -<p>To restore the book which was destroyed, Baruch -again takes his seat at the table, while Jeremiah walks -the floor and again dictates the terrible prophecy.</p> - -<p>It would take more penknives than cutler ever sharpened -to hew into permanent destruction the Word of -God. He who shoots at this eternal rock will feel the -bullet rebound into his own torn and lacerated bosom.</p> - -<p>When the Almighty goes forth armed with the thunderbolts -of His power, I pity any Jehoiakim who attempts -to fight Him with a penknife.</p> - -<p>That Oriental scene has vanished, but it has often -been repeated. There are thousands of Jehoiakims yet -alive who cut the Word of God with their penknives.</p> - -<p>King Jehoiakim showed as much indignity toward the -scroll when he cut one way as when he cut the other. -You might as well behead Moses as to behead Jonah. -Yes, Sir, I shall take all of the Bible or none. Men -laugh at us as if we were the most gullible people in the -world for believing in the genuineness of the Scriptures; -but there can be no doubt that the Bible, as we have it, -is the same—no more, no less—as God wrote it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span></p> - -<p>As to the books of the New Testament, the great -writers of the different centuries give complete catalogs -of their contents. Polycarp, Ignatius and Clemens Romanus, -in the first century, give a catalog of the New -Testament books; Tertullian and Justin Martyr, in the -second century; Cyprian and Origen, in the third century; -Augustine, Jerome and Eusebius, in the fourth -century. Their catalogs of the different books of the -New Testament silence the suggestion that any new -books could have been stealthily put in.</p> - -<p>As to the books of the Old Testament, Christ sanctioned -them by recommending them to the Jews. If any -part of the Old Testament had been uninspired, Christ -would have said: “Search the Scriptures—all except -that Book of Jonah,” or “Search the Scriptures, except -the Book of Esther.” When Christ commends to all the -canon of the Old Testament Scriptures, He affirms its -genuineness.</p> - -<p>There never could have been any interpolations in -the Bible, for the Jews were constantly watching, and -there were men whose lifetime business it was to attend -to the keeping of the Scriptures unadulterated.</p> - -<h3>JEHU.</h3> - -<p>Joram, wounded in battle, lies in a hospital at Jezreel. -The watchman, standing in the tower, looks off -and sees against the sky horsemen and chariots.</p> - -<p>A messenger is sent out to find who is coming, but he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> -does not return. Another messenger is sent, but with -the same result.</p> - -<p>The watchman, standing in the tower, looks off upon -the advancing troop, and gets more and more excited, -wondering who are coming. But long before the cavalcade -comes up, the matter is decided.</p> - -<p>The watchman can not descry the features of the fast -approaching man, but he exclaims:</p> - -<p>“I have found out who he is. The driving is like the -driving of Jehu, the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.”</p> - -<p>By the flash of that one sentence we discover Jehu’s -character. He came with such speed not merely because -he had an errand to do, but because he was urged on by -a headlong disposition, which had won him the name of -a reckless driver, even among the watchmen. The chariot -plunges until you almost expect the wheels to crash -under it, or some of the princely party to be thrown out, -or the horses to become utterly unmanageable. But he -always goes so; and he becomes a type of that class of -persons to be found in all communities, who in worldly -and in religious affairs may be styled reckless drivers.</p> - -<p>To this same class belong all those who conduct their -worldly affairs in a headlong way, without any regard to -prudence or righteousness. The minister of Christ does -not do his whole duty who does not plainly and unmistakably -bring the Gospel face to face with every style of -business transaction. We have a right, in a Christian -manner, to point out those who, year by year, are jeopardizing -not only their welfare, but the interests of many -others, by reckless driving.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span></p> - -<p>As a hackman, having lost control of a flying span, -is apt to crash into other vehicles, until the property and -lives of a whole street are endangered, so a man driving -his worldly calling with such loose reins that, after a -while, it will not answer his voice or hand, puts in peril -the commercial interests of scores or hundreds.</p> - -<p>There are today in our midst many of our best citizens -who have come down from affluence into straitened -circumstances, because there was a partner in their firm, -or a cashier in their bank, or an agent representing their -house, or one of their largest creditors, who, like Jehu, -the son of Nimshi, was a furious driver.</p> - -<p>When I see in the community men with large incomes, -but larger outgoes, rushing into wildest undertakings, -their pockets filled with circulars about gold to be -found in Canada and lead in Missouri and fortunes of all -sorts everywhere, launching out in expenditures to be -met with the thousands they expect to make, and with -derision dashing across the path of sober men depending -upon their industry and honor for success, I say: “Here -he comes, the son of Nimshi, driving furiously.”</p> - -<p>When I see a young man, not content gradually to -come to a competency, careless as to how often he goes -upon credit, spending in one night’s carousal a month’s -salary, taking the few hundred dollars given him for getting -a start in the purchase of a regal wardrobe, lazy or -ashamed to work, anxious only for display, regardless of -his father’s counsel and the example of the thousands -who, in a short while, have wrecked body, mind and -soul in scheming or dissipation, I say: “Here he comes, -the son of Nimshi, driving furiously.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span></p> - -<p>When this world gets full power over a man, he might -as well be dead. He is dead! When Sisera came into -the house of Jael, she gave him something to drink, and -got him asleep on the floor. Then she took a peg from -the side of her tent, and with a mallet she drove the peg -through the brain of Sisera into the floor. So the world -feeds and flatters a man, and when it has him sound -asleep it strikes his life out.</p> - -<h3>JESUS AT EMMAUS.</h3> - -<p>Two villagers, having concluded their errand in -Jerusalem, have started out at the city gate, and are on -their way to Emmaus, the place of their residence.</p> - -<p>They go with a sad heart. Jesus, who had been their -admiration and their joy, had been basely massacred and -entombed.</p> - -<p>As with sad face and broken heart they pass on their -way, a stranger accosts them. They tell him their anxieties -and bitterness of soul. He, in turn, talks to them, -mightily expounding the Scriptures. He throws over -them the fascination of intelligent conversation. They -forget the time, and notice not the objects they pass, -and, before they are aware, have come up in front of -their house.</p> - -<p>They pause before the entrance, and attempt to persuade -the stranger to tarry with them. They press upon -him their hospitalities. Night is coming on, and he may -meet a prowling wild beast, or be obliged to lie unsheltered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> -from the dew. He can not go much farther now. -Why not stop there, and continue their pleasant conversation? -They take him by the arm, and they insist on -his coming in, addressing him in the words: “Abide -with us; for it is toward evening.”</p> - -<p>The candles are lighted. The tables are spread. -Pleasant sociabilities are enkindled. They rejoice in the -presence of the stranger guest. He asks a blessing upon -the bread they eat, and he hands a piece of it to each.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, and with overwhelming power, the thought -flashes upon the astonished people: “He is the Lord!” -And as they sat in breathless wonder, looking upon the -resurrected body of Jesus, He vanished. The interview -was ended. He was gone.</p> - -<p>The journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus will soon be -ended. Our Bible, our common sense and our observation -reiterate this fact in tones that we can not mistake, -and which we ought not to disregard.</p> - -<h3>JOB.</h3> - -<p>Job had it hard. What with boils and bereavements -and bankruptcy, and a fool of a wife, he wished he was -dead; and I do not blame him.</p> - -<p>His flesh was gone, and his bones were dry. His -teeth wasted away until nothing but the enamel seemed -left. He cried out: “I am escaped with the skin of -my teeth.”</p> - -<p>There has been some difference of opinion about this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> -passage. St. Jerome and Schultens and Doctors Good, -Poole and Barnes have all tried their forceps on Job’s -teeth. You deny my interpretation, and ask: “What -did Job know about the enamel of the teeth?”</p> - -<p>He knew every thing about it. Dental surgery is -almost as old as the Earth. The mummies of Egypt, -thousands of years old, are found today with gold filling -in their teeth. Ovid, Horace, Solomon and Moses wrote -about these important factors of the body.</p> - -<p>To other provoking complaints, I think Job had added -an exasperating toothache, and, putting his hand -against the inflamed face, he said: “I am escaped with -the skin of my teeth.”</p> - -<p>A very narrow escape, you say, for Job’s body and -soul; but there are thousands of men who make just as -narrow escape for their soul. There was a time when -the partition between them and ruin was no thicker than -a tooth’s enamel; but, as Job finally escaped, so, thank -God, have they.</p> - -<p>Paul expresses the same idea by a different figure -when he says that some people are “saved as by fire.”</p> - -<p>A vessel at sea is in flames. You go to the stern of -the vessel. The boats have shoved off. The flames advance; -you can no longer endure the heat on your face. -You slide down on the side of the vessel, and hold on -with your fingers, until the forked tongue of the fire begins -to lick the back of your hand, and you feel that you -must fall, when one of the life-boats comes back, and -the passengers say they think they have room for one -more. The boat swings under you—you drop into it—you -are saved.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span></p> - -<p>So some men are pursued by temptation until they -are partially consumed, but, after all, get off—“saved as -by fire.”</p> - -<p>But I like the figure of Job a little better than that -of Paul. With God’s help, some men do make narrow -escape for their souls, and are saved as “with the skin -of their teeth.”</p> - -<h3>JONAH.</h3> - -<p>God told Jonah to go to Nineveh on an unpleasant -errand. He would not go. He thought to get away -from his duty by putting to sea.</p> - -<p>With pack under his arm, I find him on his way to -Joppa, a seaport. He goes down among the shipping, -and says to the men lying around on the docks: “Which -of these vessels sails today?”</p> - -<p>A sailor answers: “Yonder is a vessel going to -Tarshish. I think, if you hurry, you may get on board -her.”</p> - -<p>Jonah steps on board the rough craft, asks how much -the fare is, and pays it. Anchor is weighed, sails are -hoisted, and the rigging begins to rattle in the strong -breeze of the Mediterranean.</p> - -<p>Joppa is an exposed harbor, and it does not take long -for a vessel to get out on the broad sea. The sailors like -what they call a “spanking breeze,” and the plunge of -the vessel from the crest of a tall wave is exhilarating to -those who are at home on the deep.</p> - -<p>But the strong breeze becomes a gale—the gale a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> -hurricane. The affrighted passengers ask the captain if -he ever saw any thing like this before. He answers:</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes. This is nothing.”</p> - -<p>Mariners are slow to admit danger to landsmen.</p> - -<p>But, after a while, “crash!” goes the mast, and the -vessel pitches so far “a-beam’s-end” that there is a fear -she will not be righted. The captain answers few questions, -but orders the throwing out of boxes and bundles -and so much of the cargo as they can get at.</p> - -<p>At last, the captain confesses there is but little hope, -and he tells the passengers they had better begin praying. -It is seldom that a sea captain is an Atheist. He -knows there is a God, for he has seen Him at every -point of latitude and longitude between Sandy Hook and -Queenstown. Captain Moody, commanding the Cuba, -of the Cunard line, at Sunday service led the music and -sang like a Methodist.</p> - -<p>The captain of this Mediterranean craft, having set -the passengers to praying, goes around the vessel, examining -it at every point. He descends into the cabin to -see whether, in the strong wrestling of the waves, the -vessel has sprung a leak, and he finds Jonah asleep.</p> - -<p>Jonah had had a wearisome tramp, and had spent -many sleepless nights about questions of duty, and he is -so sound asleep that all the thunder of the storm and all -the screaming of the passengers disturb him not.</p> - -<p>The captain lays hold of him, and begins to shake -him out of his unconsciousness with the cry: “Don’t -you see that we are all going to the bottom? Wake up -and go to praying, if you have any God to go to. What -meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God—if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> -so be that God will think upon us—that we perish -not.”</p> - -<p>The remainder of the story I will not rehearse, for -you know it well. To appease the sea, they threw Jonah -overboard.</p> - -<p>The devil takes a man’s money, and then sets him -down in a poor landing place. The Bible says Jonah -paid his fare to Tarshish. But see him get out. The -sailors bring him to the side of the ship, lift him over -“the guards,” and let him drop with a loud splash into -the waves. He paid his fare all the way to Tarshish, but -he did not get the worth of his money. Neither does any -one who turns his back on his duty and does that which -is not right.</p> - -<p>The worst sinner on shipboard, considering the light -he had, was Jonah. He was a member of the Church, -while they were heathen. The sailors were engaged in -their lawful calling—following the sea. The merchants -on board, I suppose, were going down to Tarshish to -barter. But Jonah, notwithstanding his Christian profession, -was flying from duty. He was sound asleep in -the cabin. Oh, how could the sinner sleep?</p> - -<p>If Jonah had been told, one year before, that any -heathen sea captain would ever waken him to a sense of -danger, he would have scoffed at the idea; but here it is -done. So now—men in strangest ways are aroused from -spiritual stupor.</p> - -<p>If, instead of sleeping, Jonah had been on his knees -confessing his sins from the time when he went on board -the craft, I think God would have saved him from being -thrown overboard. But he woke up too late. The tempest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> -is in full blast, the sea is lashing itself into convulsions, -and nothing will stop it now but the overthrow of -Jonah. So Jonah was cast overboard.</p> - -<h3>JOSEPH.</h3> - -<p>The Egyptian capital was the focus of the world’s -wealth. In ships and barges, there had been brought to -it: From India, frankincense, cinnamon, ivory and diamonds; -from the North, marble and iron; from Syria, -purple and silk; from Greece, some of the finest horses -of the world and some of the most brilliant chariots; and -from all the Earth, that which could best please the eye, -charm the ear and gratify the taste.</p> - -<p>There were temples aflame with red sandstone, entered -by gateways that were guarded by pillars bewildering -with hieroglyphics, wound with brazen serpents and -adorned with winged creatures—their eyes, beaks and -pinions glittering with precious stones.</p> - -<p>There were marble columns blooming into white -flower buds; there were stone pillars, at the top bursting -into the shape of the lotus when in full bloom.</p> - -<p>Along the avenues—lined with sphinx, fane and obelisk—there -were princes who came in gorgeously upholstered -palanquin, carried by servants in scarlet, or else -were drawn by vehicles, the snow-white horses, golden-bitted -and six abreast, dashing at full run.</p> - -<p>There were fountains from stone-wreathed vases -climbing the ladders of the light. You would hear a bolt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> -shove, and a door of brass would open like a flash of the -sun. The surrounding gardens were saturated with odors -that mounted the terrace, dripped from the arbors and -burned their incense in the Egyptian noon.</p> - -<p>On the floors of mosaic the glories of Pharaoh were -spelled out in letters of porphyry, beryl and flame. -There were ornaments twisted from the wood of the -tamarisk, embossed with silver breaking into foam. -There were footstools made out of a single precious -stone. There were beds fashioned out of a crouched -lion in bronze. There were chairs spotted with the sleek -hide of the leopard. There were sofas footed with the -claws of wild beasts, and armed with the beaks of birds.</p> - -<p>As you stand on the level beach of the sea on a -Summer day, and look each way, there are miles of -breakers, white with the ocean foam, dashing shoreward; -so it seemed as if the sea of the world’s pomp and wealth -in the Egyptian capital for miles and miles flung itself up -into white breakers of marble temple, mausoleum and -obelisk.</p> - -<p>This was the place where Joseph, the shepherd boy, -was called to stand next to Pharaoh in honor.</p> - -<p>What a contrast between this scene and his humble -starting—between this scene and the pit into which his -brothers threw him! Yet Joseph was not forgetful of his -early home; he was not ashamed of where he came -from.</p> - -<p>The bishop of Mentz, descended from a wheelwright, -covered his house with spokes, hammers and wheels; -and the king of Sicily, in honor of his father, who was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> -a potter, refused to drink out of any thing but an earthen -vessel.</p> - -<p>So Joseph was not ashamed of his early surroundings, -or of his old-time father, or of his brothers. When -the latter came up from the famine-stricken land to get -corn from the Egyptian king’s corn crib, Joseph, instead -of chiding them for the way they had maltreated and -abused him, sent them back with wagons, which King -Pharaoh furnished, laden with corn; and old Jacob, the -father, was brought back in the very same wagons, that -Joseph, the son, might see him and give him a comfortable -home all the rest of his days.</p> - -<p>Well, I hear the wagons, the king’s wagons, rumbling -down in front of the palace. On the outside of the palace, -to see the wagons depart, stands Pharaoh in royal -robes; and beside him stands Prime Minister Joseph, -with a chain of gold around his neck, and on his hand a -ring given by Pharaoh to him, so that any time he wanted -to stamp the royal seal upon a document he could do -so conveniently.</p> - -<p>Wagon after wagon rolls on down from the palace, -laden with corn, meat, changes of raiment and every -thing that could aid a famine-stricken people.</p> - -<p>I see aged Jacob, one day, seated in the front of his -house. He is probably thinking of his absent boys (for -sons, however old they get, are never to a father any -more than boys); and while he is seated there, he sees -dust arising, and he hears wagons rumbling, and he wonders -what is coming now, for the whole land had been -smitten with the famine, and was in silence.</p> - -<p>But after a while the wagons have come near enough,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> -and he sees his sons on the wagons, and before they -come quite up, they shout:</p> - -<p>“Joseph is yet alive!”</p> - -<p>The old man faints dead away. I do not wonder at -it. The boys now tell the story how that the boy, the -long-absent Joseph, has got to be the first man in the -Egyptian palace.</p> - -<p>While they unload the wagons, the wan and wasted -creatures in the neighborhood come up and ask for a -handful of corn, and they are satisfied.</p> - -<p>One day the wagons are brought up, for Jacob, the -old father, is about to go to see Joseph in the Egyptian -palace.</p> - -<p>You know, it is not a very easy thing to transplant -an old tree; and Jacob has hard work to get away from -the place where he has lived so long. He finally bids -good-by to the old place, and leaves his blessing with the -neighbors; and then his sons steady him, while he, still -determined to help himself, gets into the wagon—stiff, -old and decrepit.</p> - -<p>Yonder they go—Jacob and his sons, his sons’ wives -and their children, eighty-two in all—followed by herds -and flocks, which the herdsmen drive along. They are -going out from famine to luxuriance; they are going from -a plain country home to the finest palace under the sun. -Joseph, the prime minister, gets into his chariot and is -driven down to meet the old man. Joseph’s charioteer -holds up the horses on the one side; the dust-covered -wagons of the emigrants stop on the other.</p> - -<p>Joseph, instead of waiting for his father to come, -leaps out of the chariot and jumps into the emigrants’<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> -wagon, throws his arms around the old man, and weeps -aloud for past memories and present joy.</p> - -<p>The father, Jacob, can hardly think it is his boy. -Why, the smooth brow of childhood has now become a -wrinkled brow—wrinkled with the cares of state—and -the garb of the shepherd boy has become a robe royally -bedizened!</p> - -<p>But as the old man finally realizes that it is actually -Joseph, I see the thin lip quiver against the toothless -gum, as he cries out: “Now let me die, since I have -seen thy face; behold, Joseph is yet alive!”</p> - -<h3>LAZARUS.</h3> - -<p>We stand in one of the finest private houses of the -olden time. Every room is luxurious. The floor—made -of stones, gypsum, coal and chalk, pounded together—is -hard and beautiful. From the roof, surrounded by a -balustrade, you take in all the beauty of the landscape.</p> - -<p>The porch is cool and refreshing, where sit the people -who have come in to look at the building, and are -waiting for the usher. In this place you hear the crystal -plash of the fountains.</p> - -<p>The windows, reaching to the floor and adorned, are -quiet places to lounge in; and we sit here, listening to -the stamp of the horses in the princely stables.</p> - -<p>Venison and partridge, delicate morsels of fatted -calf, and honey, figs, dates, pomegranates and fish that -only two hours ago glided in the lake, and bowls of fine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> -sherbet from Egypt—these make up the feast, accompanied -with riddles and jests that evoke roaring laughter, -with occasional outbursts of music, in which harps thrum -and cymbals clap and shepherd’s pipe whistles.</p> - -<p>What a place to sit in!</p> - -<p>The lord of the place, in dress that changes with -every whim, lies on a lounge, stupid from stuffed digestion. -His linen is so fine, I wonder who washed it and -who ironed it. His jewels are the brightest, his purple -the rarest.</p> - -<p>Let him lie perfectly quiet a moment, until we take -his photograph. Here we have it:</p> - -<p>“A certain rich man, which was clothed in purple -and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day.”</p> - -<p>How accurate the picture! You can see every pleat -in the linen and every wrinkle in the shirt. What more -could that man have? My lord, be happy!</p> - -<p>After a while he leans over the balustrade, and says -to a friend in shining apparel:</p> - -<p>“Look at that fellow—lying at my gate! I wonder -why the porter allows him to lie there. How disgusting! -But our dogs will be let out of the kennel very soon, and -will clear him out.”</p> - -<p>Yes, they bound toward him. “Take hold of him!” -cries the rich man from the balustrade.</p> - -<p>The dogs go at the beggar with terrible bark; then -take lower growling; then stop to yawn; and at the -coaxing tone of the poor wretch, they frisk about him, -and put their soft, healing tongues to his ulcers, driving -off the flies and relieving the insufferable itch and sting -of wounds which could not afford salve or bandage.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span></p> - -<p>Lazarus has friends at last. They will for a while -keep off the insults of the street, and will defend their -patient. That man is far from friendless who has a good -dog to stand by him. Dogs are often not so mean as are -their masters. They will not be allowed to enter into -Heaven, but may they not be allowed to lie down at the -gate? John says of the door of Heaven: “Without -are dogs.”</p> - -<p>But what is the matter with that beggar? He lies -over, now, with his face exposed to the sun. Lazarus, -get up! He responds not. Poor fellow, he is dead!</p> - -<p>Two men appointed by the town come to carry him -out to the fields. They dig a hole, drop him in and cover -him up. People say: “One more nuisance got rid of.”</p> - -<p>Aha! That is not Lazarus whom they buried; they -buried only his sores. Yonder goes Lazarus—an angel -on his right hand, an angel on his left, carrying him up -the steep of Heaven—talking, praising, rejoicing. Good -old Abraham stands at the gate, and throws his arms -around the new comer.</p> - -<p>Now Lazarus has his own fine house, and his own -robes, and his own banquet, and his own chariot; and -that poor and sickly carcass of his, that the overseers of -the town dumped in the potter’s field, will come up at -the call of the archangel—straight, pure and healthy—corruption -having become incorruption.</p> - -<p>Now, we will go back a minute to the fine Oriental -house that we spoke of. The lord of the place has been -receiving visitors today, as the doorkeeper introduced -them.</p> - -<p>After a while there is a visitor who waits not for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> -porter to open the gate, nor for the doorkeeper to introduce -him. Who is it coming? Stop him there at the -door! How dare he come in unheralded?</p> - -<p>He walks into the room, and the lord cries out, with -terror-stricken face:</p> - -<p>“This is Death! Away with him!”</p> - -<p>There is a hard thump on the floor. Is it a pitcher -that has fallen? An ottoman upset? No. Dives has -fallen. Dives is dead.</p> - -<p>The excitement in town is great. The grooms rush -from the barns to see. All the great folk of the neighborhood, -who used to sit at his dinners, come in. The -grocer from whom he got his spices, the butcher from -whom he got his meats and the clothier from whom he -got his garments come to find out all about it.</p> - -<p>The day of burial has arrived. Dives is carried down -out of his splendid room, and through the porch into the -street. The undertaker will make a big job of it, for -there is plenty to pay. There will be high eulogies of -him pronounced, although the Bible represents him as -chiefly distinguished for his enormous appetite and his -fine shirt.</p> - -<p>The long procession moves on, amid the accustomed -weeping and howling of Oriental obsequies. The sepulcher -is reached. Six persons, carrying the body, go -carefully down the steps leading to the door of the dead. -The weight of the body on those ahead is heavy, and -they hold back. The relics are left in the sepulcher, and -the people return.</p> - -<p>But Dives is not buried there.</p> - -<p>That which they buried is only the shell in which he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> -lived. Dives is down yonder in a deeper grave. He -who had all the wine he could drink asks for a plainer -beverage. He wants water. He does not ask for a cupful, -nor even for a teaspoonful, but “just one drop,” -and he can not get it.</p> - -<p>He looks up and sees Lazarus, the very man whom -he set his dogs on, and wants him to put his finger into -water and let him lick it off.</p> - -<p>Once Lazarus wanted just the crumbs from Dives’ -feast; now Dives wants just a drop from Lazarus’ banquet. -Poor as poor can be! He has eaten his last quail’s -wing. He has broken the rind of his last pomegranate. -Dives the lord has become Dives the pauper. The dogs -of remorse and despair come not with healing tongue to -lick, but with relentless muzzle to tear. Now Dives sits -at the gate in everlasting beggary, while Lazarus, amid -the festivities of Heaven, fares sumptuously every day.</p> - -<p>You see that this parable takes in the distant future, -and speaks as though the resurrection were passed and -the body of Lazarus had already joined his spirit, and -so I treat it.</p> - -<p>Well, you see a man may be beggared for this life, -but be a prince in eternity. A cluster of old rags was -the entire property of Lazarus. His bare feet and his -ulcered legs were an invitation to the brutes; his food -the broken victuals that were pitched out by the house-keeper—half-chewed -crusts, rinds, peelings, bones and -gristle—about the last creature out of which to make a -prince—yet for eighteen hundred years he has been one -of the millionaires of Heaven. No more waiting for -crumbs. He sits at the same table with the kings of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> -eternity, himself one of them. What were the forty -years of his poverty compared with the long ages of his -royalty?</p> - -<p>Let all the Christian poor be comforted. Your good -days will be after a while. Stand it a little longer, and -you will be all right. God has a place for you among the -principalities. Do not be afraid of the dogs of distress, -for they will not bite; they will help to heal. Your poverty -may sometimes have led you to doubt whether you -will have a decent funeral. You shall have grander obsequies -than many a man who is carried out by a procession -of governors and senators. The pall-bearers will -be the angels that carried Lazarus into Abraham’s bosom. -The surveyors have been busy. Your eternal possessions -have been already laid out by God’s surveyors, and the -stake that bounds the property on this side is driven into -the top of your grave, and all beyond is yours.</p> - -<p>You can afford to wear poor clothes now, when for -you in the upper wardrobes is folded up the royal purple. -You can afford to have coarse food here, when your -bread is to be made from the finest wheat of the eternal -harvests. Cheer up! Weeping may endure for a night, -but joy cometh in the morning.</p> - -<p>See, also, that a man may have every comfort and -luxury here, and yet come to a wretched future. It is -no sin to be rich. It is a sin not to be rich, if we can -be rich honestly. I wish I had five hundred thousand -dollars—I suppose I might as well make it a million. I -see so much suffering and trial every day that I say, -again and again, I wish I had the money to relieve it.</p> - -<p>But alas for the man who has nothing but money!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> -Dives’ house had a front door and a back door, and they -both opened into eternity. Sixty seconds after Dives -was gone, of what use were his horses? He could not -ride them. Of what use were his rich viands? He could -not open his clenched teeth to eat them. Of what use -were his fine linen shirts, when he could not wear them?</p> - -<p>The poorest man who stood along the road, watching -the funeral procession of Dives, owned more of this -world than did the dead gormandizer. The future world -was all the darker because of the brightness of this.</p> - -<p>That wife of a drunken husband, if she does wrong -and loses her soul, will not find it so intolerable in hell -as others, for she has been in hell ever since she was -married, and is partially used to it.</p> - -<p>But this rich man, Dives, had every thing once—now -nothing. He once had the best wine; now he can not -get water. He had, like other affluent persons of the -East, slaves to fan him when he was hot; now he is being -consumed. He can afford no covering so good as the -old patches that once fluttered about Lazarus as he went -walking in the wind.</p> - -<p>Who among my hearers will take Dives’ fine house, -costly plate, dazzling equipage and kennel of blooded -dogs, if his eternity must be thrown in with it?</p> - -<h3>NOAH.</h3> - -<p>Noah did the best and the worst thing for the world. -He built an ark against the deluge of water, but he also<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> -introduced a deluge against which the human race has -ever since been trying to build an ark—the deluge of -drunkenness.</p> - -<p>In the opening chapters of the Bible we can hear his -staggering steps.</p> - -<p>Shem and Japhet tried to cover up the disgrace, but -there is Noah—drunk on wine at a time in the history of -the world when, to say the least, there was no lack of -water.</p> - -<p>Inebriation, having flooded the world, has never -receded.</p> - -<p>Abigail, the fair and heroic wife who saved the flocks -of Nabal, her husband, from confiscation by invaders, -goes home at night and finds him so intoxicated she can -not tell him the story of his narrow escape.</p> - -<p>Uriah came to see David, and David got him drunk, -and paved the way for the despoliation of his household.</p> - -<p>Even the church bishops needed to be charged to be -sober and not given to too much wine; and so familiar -were the people of Bible times with the staggering and -falling motions of the inebriate, that Isaiah, when he -comes to describe the final dislocation of worlds, says: -“The Earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard.”</p> - -<h3>OTHNIEL.</h3> - -<p>The city of Debir was the Boston of antiquity—a -great place for brains and books.</p> - -<p>Caleb wanted it, and he offered his daughter Achsah<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> -as a prize to any one who would besiege or storm and -capture that city.</p> - -<p>It was a strange thing for Caleb to do; and yet the -man who could take the city would have, at any rate, -two elements of manhood—bravery and patriotism.</p> - -<p>Besides, I do not think that Caleb was as foolish in -offering his daughter to the conqueror of Debir as thousands -in this day who seek alliances for their children -with those who have large means, without any reference -to moral or mental acquirements.</p> - -<p>Of the two evils, I would rather measure happiness -by the length of the sword than by the length of the -pocket-book. In one case there is sure to be one good -element of character; in the other, there may be none -at all.</p> - -<p>With Caleb’s daughter as a prize to fight for, General -Othniel rode into the battle. The gates of Debir were -thundered into the dust, and the city of books lay at the -feet of the conquerors.</p> - -<p>The work done, Othniel comes back to claim his -bride. Having conquered the city, it is no great job for -him to conquer the girl’s heart; for, however faint-hearted -a woman herself may be, she always loves courage -in a man. I never saw an exception to that.</p> - -<p>The wedding festivity having gone by, Othniel and -Achsah are about to go to their new home. However -loudly the cymbals may clash and the laughter ring, the -parents are always sad when a fondly cherished daughter -goes away to stay; and Achsah, the daughter of Caleb, -knows that now is the time to ask almost any thing she -wants of her father.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span></p> - -<p>It seems that Caleb, the good old man, had given as -a wedding present to his daughter a piece of land that -was mountainous, and, sloping southward toward the -deserts of Arabia, it was swept by some very hot winds. -It was called “a south land.”</p> - -<p>But Achsah wants an addition of property; she desires -a piece of land that is well watered and fertile.</p> - -<p>Now, it is no wonder that Caleb, standing amid the -bridal party, his eyes so full of tears because his daughter -was going away that he could hardly see her at all, -gives her more than she asks. She said to him: “Thou -hast given me a south land; give me also springs of -water.” And he gave her the upper springs and the -nether springs.</p> - -<p>That passage occurs in the fifteenth chapter of the -Book of Joshua, nineteenth verse, but I never saw it till -a little while ago; and as I came upon it I said: “If -God will give me grace, I shall preach a sermon on that -before long.”</p> - -<p>The fact is that, as Caleb, the father, gave Achsah, -the daughter, a south land, so God gives to us His world. -I am very thankful that He has given it to us.</p> - -<p>But I am like Achsah in the fact that I am not satisfied -with the portion. Trees, flowers, grasses and blue -skies are very well in their places; but he who has naught -except this world for a portion has no portion at all. It -is a mountainous land, sloping off toward the desert of -sorrow, swept by fiery siroccos. It is “a south land”—a -poor portion for any man who tries to put trust in it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span></p> - -<h3>PAUL.</h3> - -<p>The Damascus of Bible times still stands, with a -population of 135,000 people. It was a gay city of white -and glistering architecture, its minarets and crescents -and domes playing with the light of the morning sun; -embowered in groves of olive, citron, orange and pomegranate; -a famous river plunging its brightness into the -scene—a city by the ancients styled “a pearl surrounded -by emeralds.”</p> - -<p>A group of horsemen are advancing upon that city. -Let the Christians of the place hide, for that cavalcade -coming over the hills is made up of persecutors.</p> - -<p>Their leader is small of stature and unattractive in -some respects, as leaders sometimes are insignificant in -person—witness the Duke of Wellington and Dr. Archibald -Alexander. But there is something very intent in -the eye of the man at the head of this troop, and the -horse he rides is lathered with the foam of a long and a -quick travel of 135 miles. He cries “Go ’long” to his -steed, for those Christians must be captured and must be -silenced, and that religion of the cross must be annihilated.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the horses shy off, and plunge until their -riders are precipitated. Freed from their riders, the -horses bound snorting away.</p> - -<p>You know that dumb animals, at the sight of an -eclipse or an earthquake, or any thing like a supernatural -appearance, sometimes become very uncontrollable.</p> - -<p>A new sun had been kindled in the heavens, putting -out the glare of the ordinary sun. Christ, with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> -glories of Heaven wrapped about Him, looked out from -a cloud and the splendor was insufferable, and no wonder -the horses sprang and the equestrians dropped.</p> - -<p>Dust-covered and bruised, Saul attempts to get up, -shading his eyes with his hand from the severe luster of -the heavens, but unsuccessfully, for he is struck stone -blind as he cries out: “Who art Thou, Lord?”</p> - -<p>Jesus answered him:</p> - -<p>“I am the One you have been chasing. He that -whips and scourges those Damascine Christians whips -and scourges Me. It is not their back that is bleeding; -it is Mine. It is not their heart that is breaking; it is -Mine. I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest.”</p> - -<p>From that wild, exciting and overwhelming scene -there rises up the greatest preacher of all ages—Paul; -in whose behalf prisons were rocked down, before whom -soldiers turned pale, into whose hand Mediterranean sea -captains put control of their shipwrecking craft, and -whose epistles are the advance courier of the Resurrection -Day.</p> - -<p>I learn, first, from this scene that a worldly fall may -precede a spiritual uplifting. A man does not get much -sympathy by falling off a horse. People say he ought -not to have got into the saddle if he could not ride. -Those of us who were brought up in the country remember -well how the workmen laughed when, on our way -back from the brook, we suddenly lost our ride. At the -close of the great Civil War, when the army passed in -review at Washington, if a general had toppled from the -stirrups it would have been a national merriment.</p> - -<p>Here is Paul on horseback—a proud man, riding on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> -with government documents in his pocket, a graduate of -a most famous school in which the celebrated Dr. Gamaliel -had been a professor, perhaps having already attained -two of the three titles of the school: Rab, the first; -Rabbi, the second; and was on his way to Rabbak, the -third and highest title.</p> - -<p>I know from Paul’s temperament that his horse was -ahead of the other horses. But without time to think -of what posture he should take, or without any consideration -for his dignity, he is tumbled into the dust. And -yet that was the best ride Paul ever took. Out of that -violent fall he arose into the apostleship. So it has been -in all the ages, and so it is now.</p> - -<p>You will never be worth any thing for God and the -Church until you lose fifty thousand dollars, or have your -reputation upset, or in some way, somehow, are thrown -and humiliated. You must go down before you go up.</p> - -<p>Joseph finds his path to the Egyptian court through -the pit into which his brothers threw him.</p> - -<p>Daniel would never have walked amid the bronze -lions that adorned the Babylonish throne if he had not -first walked amid the real lions of the cave.</p> - -<p>Paul marshals all the generations of Christendom by -falling flat on his face on the road to Damascus.</p> - -<p>Men who have been always prosperous may be efficient -servants of the world, but will be of no advantage -to Christ. You may ride majestically seated on your -charger, rein in hand, foot in stirrup, but you will never -be worth any thing spiritually until you fall off. They -who graduate from the School of Christ with the highest -honors have on their diploma the seal of a lion’s muddy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> -paw, or the plash of an angry wave, or the drop of a -stray tear, or the brown scorch of a persecuting fire.</p> - -<p>In nine hundred and ninety-nine cases out of the -thousand there is no moral or spiritual elevation until -there has been a thorough worldly upsetting.</p> - -<p>Again, I learn from the subject that the religion of -Christ is not a pusillanimous thing. People of this day -try to make us believe that Christianity is something for -men of small caliber, for women with no capacity to -reason, for children in the infant class, under six years -of age, but not for stalwart men.</p> - -<p>Look at this man who is mentioned in the ninth -chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Do you not think -that the religion that could capture such a man as that -must have some power in it?</p> - -<p>Paul was a logician; he was a metaphysician; he -was an all-conquering orator; he was a poet of the highest -type. He had a nature that could swamp the leading -men of his own day, and, hurled against the Sanhedrim, -he made it tremble.</p> - -<p>Paul learned all he could get in the school of his immediate -vicinity; then he went to a higher school, and -there mastered the Greek and the Hebrew, and also perfected -himself in belles-lettres, until in after years he -astonished the Cretans, the Corinthians and the Athenians -by quotations from their own authors.</p> - -<p>I have never found any thing in Carlyle or Goethe or -Herbert Spencer that could compare in strength or in -beauty with Paul’s Epistles. I do not think there is any -thing in the writings of Sir William Hamilton that shows -such mental discipline as you find in Paul’s argument<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> -about justification and the resurrection. I have not found -any thing in Milton finer in the way of imagination than -I can find in Paul’s illustrations drawn from the amphitheater.</p> - -<p>There was nothing in Robert Emmet pleading for his -life, or in Edmund Burke arraigning Warren Hastings in -Westminster Hall, that compared with the scene in the -court room when, before robed officials, Paul bowed and -began his speech, saying: “I think myself happy, King -Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day.”</p> - -<p>I repeat the assertion that a religion that can capture -such a man as that must have some power in it. It is -time people stopped talking as though all the brains of -the world were opposed to Christianity. Where Paul -leads we can afford to follow.</p> - -<p>I am glad to know that Christ has in the different -ages of the world had in His discipleship a Mozart and -a Handel in music; a Raphael and a Reynolds in painting; -an Angelo and a Canova in sculpture; a Rush and -a Harvey in medicine; a Grotius and a Washington in -statesmanship; a Blackstone, a Marshall and a Kent in -law.</p> - -<p>The time will come when the religion of Christ will -conquer all the observatories and universities, and then, -through her telescope Philosophy will behold the morning -star of Jesus, and in her laboratory see that “all -things work together for good,” and with her geological -hammer discover the “Rock of Ages.”</p> - -<p>Instead of cowering and shivering when the skeptic -stands before you and talks of religion as though it were -a pusillanimous thing, take your New Testament from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> -your pocket and show him the picture of the intellectual -giant of all the ages, prostrated on the road to Damascus, -while his horse is flying wildly away. Then ask the -skeptic what it was that frightened the one and threw the -other.</p> - -<p>Oh, no! It is no weak Gospel. It is a most glorious -Gospel. It is an all-conquering Gospel. It is an omnipotent -Gospel. It is the power of God and the wisdom -of God unto salvation.</p> - -<p>Jesus and Paul were boys at the same time in different -villages, and Paul’s antipathy to Christ was increasing. -He hated every thing about Christ. He was going -down then with writs in his pockets to have Christ’s disciples -arrested. He was not going as a sheriff goes—to -arrest a man against whom he has no spite—but Paul -was going down to arrest those people because he was -glad to arrest them. The Bible says: “He breathed -out slaughter.” He wanted them captured, and he also -wanted them butchered.</p> - -<p>It was particularly outrageous that Saul should have -gone to Damascus on that errand. Jesus Christ had been -dead only three years, and the story of His kindness, -generosity and love filled all the air. It was not an old -story, as it is now. It was a new story. Jesus had only -three Summers ago been in these very places, and Saul -every day in Jerusalem must have met people who knew -Christ, people with good eyesight whom Jesus had cured -of blindness, people who were dead and had been resurrected -by the Savior, and people who could tell Paul all -the particulars of the crucifixion—just how Jesus looked -to the last hour—just how the heavens grew black in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> -face at the torture. He heard that recited every day by -people who were acquainted with all the circumstances, -and yet in the fresh memory of that scene he goes out to -persecute Christ’s disciples, impatient at the time it takes -to feed the horses at the inn, not pulling at the snaffle, -but riding with loose rein—faster and faster.</p> - -<p>Truly, Paul was the chief of sinners. No outbreak -of modesty when he said that. He was a murderer. He -stood by when Stephen died, and helped in the execution -of that good man. When the rabble wanted to be unimpeded -in their work of destroying Stephen, and wanted -to take off their coats but did not dare to lay them down -lest they be stolen, Paul said: “I will take care of the -coats.” So they put their coats down at the feet of Paul, -and he watched them, and he watched the horrid mangling -of glorious Stephen.</p> - -<p>Is it not a wonder that when Paul fell from the horse -he did not break his neck—that his foot did not catch -somewhere in the trappings of the saddle, and he was -not dragged and kicked to death? He deserved to die—miserably, -wretchedly and for ever—notwithstanding all -his metaphysics, eloquence and logic.</p> - -<p>It seems to me as if I can see Paul today, rising up -from the highway to Damascus, brushing off the dust -from his cloak and wiping the sweat of excitement from -his brow, as he turns to us and all the ages, saying:</p> - -<p>“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, -that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, -of whom I am chief.”</p> - -<p>If it had been a mere optical illusion on the road to -Damascus, was not Paul just the man to find it out? If<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> -it had been a sham and pretense, would he not have -pricked the bubble? He was a man of facts and arguments, -of the most gigantic intellectual nature, and not -a man of hallucinations; and when I see him fall from -the saddle, blinded and overwhelmed, I say there must -have been something in it.</p> - -<p>I have been reading this morning, in my New Testament, -of a Mediterranean voyage in an Alexandrian ship. -It was in the month of November.</p> - -<p>On board that vessel were two distinguished passengers—one, -Josephus, the historian, as we have strong -reasons to believe; the other, a convict, one Paul by -name, who was going to prison for upsetting things—or, -as they termed it, “turning the world upside down.”</p> - -<p>This convict had gained the confidence of the captain. -Indeed, I think that Paul knew almost as much -about the sea as did the captain. He had been shipwrecked -three times already, and had dwelt much of his -life amid capstans, yardarms, cables and storms, and he -knew what he was talking about.</p> - -<p>Seeing the equinoctial storm was coming, and perhaps -noticing something unseaworthy in the vessel, he -advised the captain to stay in the harbor. But I heard -the captain and the first mate talking together. They -say, in effect:</p> - -<p>“We can not afford to take the advice of this landsman, -and he a minister. He may be able to preach very -well, but I do not believe he knows a marlinespike from -a luff tackle. All aboard! Cast off! Shift the helm -for headway. Who fears the Mediterranean?”</p> - -<p>They had gone only a little way out when a whirlwind,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> -called Euroclydon, made the torn sail its turban, -shook the mast as you would brandish a spear, and -tossed the hulk into the heavens. Overboard with the -cargo! It is all washed with salt water and worthless -now, and there are no marine insurance companies. All -hands, ahoy, and out with the anchors!</p> - -<p>Great consternation comes on crew and passengers. -The sea monsters snort in the foam, and the billows clap -their hands in glee of destruction. In the lull of the -storm I hear a chain clank. It is the chain of the great -apostle as he walks the deck or holds fast to the rigging -amid the lurching of the ship. The spray drips from his -long beard as Paul cries out to the crew, in tones of confidence:</p> - -<p>“Now, I exhort you to be of good cheer, for there -shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the -ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God—whose -I am and whom I serve—saying: ‘Fear not, -Paul. Thou must be brought before Cæsar; and lo, God -hath given thee all them that sail with thee.’”</p> - -<p>Fourteen days have passed, and there is no abatement -of the storm. It is midnight. Standing on the -lookout, the man peers into the darkness, and, by a flash -of lightning, sees the long white line of breakers, and -knows they must be coming near to some country, and -fears that in a few moments the vessel will be shivered -on the rocks.</p> - -<p>The ship flies like chaff in the tornado. They drop -the sounding line, and by the light of the lantern they -see it is twenty fathoms. Speeding along a little farther, -they drop the line again, and by the light of the lantern<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> -they see it is fifteen fathoms. Two hundred and seventy-six -souls within a few feet of awful shipwreck!</p> - -<p>The managers of the vessel, pretending they want to -look over the side of the ship and undergird it, get into -the small boat, expecting in it to escape; but Paul sees -through the sham, and he tells them that if they go off -in the boat it will be the death of them.</p> - -<p>The vessel strikes! The planks spring! The timbers -crack! The vessel parts in the thundering surge! -Oh, what struggling for life! Here they leap from plank -to plank. There they go under as if they would never -rise, but, catching hold of a timber, they come floating -and panting on it to the beach.</p> - -<p>Here strong swimmers spread their arms through the -waves until their chins plow the sand, and they rise up, -and ring out their wet locks on the beach. When the -roll of the ship is called, two hundred and seventy-six -people answer to their names.</p> - -<p>Paul was the most illustrious merely human being the -world has ever known. He walked the streets of Athens -and preached from yonder pile of rocks, Mars Hill.</p> - -<p>Though more classic associations are connected with -Athens than with any other city under the sun—because -here Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Demosthenes, Pericles, -Herodotus, Pythagoras, Xenophon and Praxiteles wrote, -chiseled, taught, thundered or sung—yet, in my mind, all -those men and their teachings were eclipsed by Paul and -the Gospel he preached there and in the near-by city of -Corinth. Standing yesterday on the old fortress at Corinth, -the Acro-Corinthus, out from the ruin at its base -arose in my imagination the old city—just as Paul saw it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span></p> - -<p>I have been told that, for splendor, the world beholds -no such wonder today as that ancient Corinth, standing -on an isthmus washed by two seas—the one sea bringing -the commerce of Europe, the other sea bringing the -commerce of Asia.</p> - -<p>From her wharves, in the construction of which entire -kingdoms had been absorbed, war galleys with three -banks of oars pushed out and confounded the navy yards -of all the world.</p> - -<p>Huge handed machinery, such as modern invention -can not equal, lifted ships from the sea on one side and -transported them on trucks across the isthmus and sat -them down in the sea on the other side.</p> - -<p>The revenue officers of the city went down through -the olive groves that lined the beach to collect a tariff -from all nations. The youth of all peoples sported in -her isthmian games and the beauty of all lands sat in her -theaters, walked her porticos and threw itself upon the -altar of her stupendous dissipations. Column, statue -and temple bewildered the beholder. There were white -marble fountains into which, from apertures at the side, -there gushed waters everywhere known for health-giving -qualities. Around these basins, twisted into wreaths of -stone, there were all the beauties of sculpture and architecture; -while standing, as if to guard the costly display, -was a statue of Hercules of burnished Corinthian brass. -Vases of terra cotta adorned the cemeteries of the dead—vases -so costly that Julius Cæsar was not satisfied till -he had captured them for Rome. Armed officials paced -up and down to see that no statue was defaced, pedestal -overthrown or bas-relief touched.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span></p> - -<p>From the edge of the city the hill held its magnificent -burden of columns and towers and temples (one -thousand slaves waiting at one shrine), and a citadel so -thoroughly impregnable that Gibraltar is a heap of sand -compared with it. Amid all that strength and magnificence -Corinth stood and defied the world.</p> - -<p>Oh, it was not to rustics who had never seen any -thing grand that Paul preached in Corinth. They had -heard the best music that had come from the best instruments -in all the world; they had heard songs floating -from morning porticos and melting in evening groves; -they had passed their whole lives among pictures and -sculpture and architecture and Corinthian brass, which -had been molded and shaped until there was no chariot -wheel in which it had not sped, and no tower in which it -had not glittered, and no gateway that it had not helped -to adorn.</p> - -<p>Ah, it was a bold act for Paul to stand there amid all -that and say:</p> - -<p>“All this is nothing. These sounds that come from -the Temple of Neptune are not music, compared with -the harmonies of which I speak. These waters rushing -in the basin of Pyrene are not pure. These statues of -Bacchus and Mercury are not exquisite. Your citadel of -Acro-Corinthus is not strong, compared with that which -I offer to the poorest slave who puts down his burden at -that brazen gate. You Corinthians think this is a splendid -city; you think you have heard all sweet sounds and -seen all beautiful sights. But, I tell you, eye hath not -seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart -of man, the things which God hath prepared for them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> -that love Him.” Following up Paul’s line of thought, -we may say the Bible, now, is the scaffolding to the rising -Temple, but when the building is done there will be no -further use for the scaffolding.</p> - -<h3>PHARAOH.</h3> - -<p>One of the most intensely interesting things I saw in -Egypt was Pharaoh of olden times—the very Pharaoh -who oppressed the Israelites. The inscription on his -sarcophagus and the writing on his mummy bandages -prove beyond controversy that he was the Pharaoh of -Bible times. All the Egyptologists and the explorations -agree that it is the old scoundrel himself.</p> - -<p>Visible are the very teeth with which he gnashed -against the Israelitish brick makers. There are the sockets -of the merciless eyes with which he looked upon the -over-burdened people of God. There is the hair that -floated in the breeze off the Red Sea. There are the -very lips with which he commanded the children of Israel -to make bricks without straw.</p> - -<p>Thousands of years afterward, when the wrappings of -the mummy were unrolled, old Pharaoh lifted up his arm -as if in imploration; but his skinny bones can not again -clutch his shattered scepter. He is a dead lion.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span></p> - -<h3>PONTIUS PILATE.</h3> - -<p>At about seven o’clock in the morning, up the marble -stairs of a palace and across the floors of richest -mosaic and under ceilings dyed with all the splendors of -color and between snowbanks of white and glistening -sculpture, passes a poor, pale and sick young man of -thirty-three years, already condemned to death, on his -way to be condemned again. Jesus of Nazareth is His -name.</p> - -<p>Coming out to meet him on this tesselated pavement -is an unscrupulous, compromising, time-serving and cowardly -man, with a few traces of sympathy and fair dealing -left in his composition—Governor Pontius Pilate.</p> - -<p>Did ever such opposites meet? Luxury and pain, -selfishness and generosity, arrogance and humility, sin -and holiness, midnight and midnoon.</p> - -<p>The bloated-lipped governor takes the cushioned seat, -but the prisoner stands, his wrists manacled. In a semicircle -around the prisoner are the Sanhedrists, with eyes -flashing and fists brandished, prosecuting this case in the -name of their religion.</p> - -<p>The most bitter persecutions have been religious persecutions, -and when Satan takes hold of a good man he -makes up by intensity for brevity of occupation. If you -have never seen an ecclesiastical court trying a man, -then you have no idea of the foaming infernalism of -those old religious Sanhedrists.</p> - -<p>Governor Pilate cross-questions the prisoner, and he -finds right away that he is innocent; so he wants to let -him go. His caution is also increased by some one who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> -comes to the governor and whispers in his ear. The -governor puts his hand behind his ear, so as to catch the -words almost inaudible.</p> - -<p>These whispered words are a message from Claudia -Procula, his wife, who has had a dream about the innocence -of this prisoner and about the danger of executing -him, and she awakens from this morning dream in time -to send the message to her husband, who was at that -hour on the judicial bench.</p> - -<p>And what with the protest of his wife, the voice of -his own conscience and the entire failure of the Sanhedrists -to make out their case Governor Pilate resolves to -discharge the prisoner from custody.</p> - -<p>But the intimation of such a thing brings upon the -governor an equinoctial storm of indignation. They will -report him to the emperor at Rome. They will have him -recalled. They will send him up home, and he will be -hanged for treason, for the emperor has already a suspicion -in regard to Pilate, and that suspicion does not -cease until Pilate is banished and commits suicide.</p> - -<p>So Governor Pontius Pilate compromises the matter, -and proposes that Christ be whipped instead of assassinated. -So the prisoner is fastened to a low pillar, and -on his bent and bared back come the thongs of leather, -with pieces of lead and bone intertwisted, so that every -stroke shall be the more awful.</p> - -<p>Christ lifts Himself from the scourging with flushed -cheek and torn and quivering and mangled flesh, presenting -a spectacle of suffering in which Rubens, the painter, -found the theme for his greatest masterpiece.</p> - -<p>But the Sanhedrists are not yet satisfied. They have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> -had some of the prisoner’s nerves lacerated; but they -want them all lacerated. They have had some of his -blood; now they want all of it, down to the last corpuscle.</p> - -<p>So Governor Pontius Pilate, after all this merciful -hesitation, surrenders to the demoniacal cry:</p> - -<p>“Crucify him! Crucify him!”</p> - -<p>But the governor sends for something. He sends a -slave out to get something. Although the constables are -in haste to take the prisoner to execution, and the mob -outside are impatient to glare upon their victim, a pause -is necessitated.</p> - -<p>Yonder it comes—a wash basin. Some pure, bright -water is poured into it, and then Governor Pilate puts -his white and delicate hands into the water and rubs -them together, and then lifts them dripping, for the towel -fastened at the slave’s girdle, while he practically says:</p> - -<p>“I wash my hands of this whole homicidal transaction. -I wash my hands of this entire responsibility. -You will have to bear it.”</p> - -<p>Behold in this that ceremony amounts to nothing, if -there are not contained in it correspondences of heart -and life.</p> - -<p>It is a good thing to wash the hands. God created -three-fourths of the world water, and in that act commanded -cleanliness; and when the ancients did not take -the hint, He plunged the whole world under water, and -kept it there for some time.</p> - -<p>Hand washing was a religious ceremony among the -Jews. The Jewish Mishna gave particular directions -how that the hands must be thrust three times up to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> -wrist in water, and the palm of the hand must then be -rubbed with the closed fist of the other.</p> - -<p>All that was well enough for a symbol, but here is a -man in the case under consideration who proposes to -wash away the guilt of a sin which he does not quit and -of which he does not make any repentance. Pilate’s wash -basin was a dead failure.</p> - -<p>Ceremonies, however beautiful and appropriate, may -be no more than this hypocritical ablution. In infancy -we may be sprinkled from the baptismal font, and in -manhood we may wade into deep immersion, and yet -never come to moral purification. We may kneel without -prayer and bow without reverence, and sing without -any acceptance. All your creeds, liturgies, sacraments, -genuflections and religious convocations amount to -nothing unless your heart-life go into them.</p> - -<p>When that bronzed slave took from the presence of -Pilate that wash basin he carried away none of Pilate’s -cruelty, wickedness or guilt.</p> - -<p>Nothing against creeds; we all have them—either -written or implied. Nothing against ceremonies; they -are of infinite importance. Nothing against sacraments; -they are divinely commanded. Nothing against rosary, -if there be as many heartfelt prayers as beads counted. -Nothing against incense floating up from censer amid -Gothic arches, if the prayers be as genuine as the ceremony -is sweet. Nothing against Epiphany, Lent, Ash -Wednesday, Easter, Good Friday, Whitsuntide or Palm -Sunday, if these symbols have behind them genuine -repentance, holy reminiscence and Christian consecration.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span></p> - -<p>But ceremony is only the sheath to the sword; it is -only the shell to the kernel; it is only the lamp to the -flame; it is only the body to the spirit. The outward -must be symbolical of the inward. Wash the hands, by -all means; but, more than all, wash the heart.</p> - -<p>Behold, also, as you see Governor Pontius Pilate -thrust his hands into his wash basin, the power of conscience. -He had an idea there was blood on his hands—the -blood of an innocent person, whom he might have -acquitted if he only had the courage.</p> - -<p>Poor Pilate! His conscience was after him, and he -knew the stain would never be washed from the right -hand or the left hand; that, until the day of his death, -though he might wash in all the lavers of the Roman -Empire, there would be still eight fingers and two thumbs -red at the tips.</p> - -<p>Alas for this Governor Pontius Pilate! That night, -after the court had adjourned and the Sanhedrists had -gone home and nothing was heard outside the room but -the step of the sentinel, I see Pontius Pilate arise from -his tapestried and sleepless couch and go to the laver -and begin to wash his hands, crying: “Out! Out, -crimson spot! Tellest thou to me and to God and to the -night my crime? Is there no alkali to remove these -dreadful stains? Is there no chemistry to dissolve this -carnage? Must I to the day of my death carry the blood -of this innocent man on my heart and hand? Out, thou -crimson spot!”</p> - -<p>Against the disappointing and insufficient laver of -Pilate’s vice, cowardice and sin I place the brazen sea of -a Savior’s pardoning mercy!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span></p> - -<h3>QUEEN OF SHEBA.</h3> - -<p>What is that long procession approaching Jerusalem? -I think, from the pomp of it, there must be royalty in -the train. I smell the breath of the spices which are -brought as presents, and I hear the shout of the drivers, -and I see the dust-covered caravan, showing that they -come from far away. Cry the news up to the palace:</p> - -<p>“The Queen of Sheba advances.”</p> - -<p>Let all the people come out to see. Let the mighty -men of the land come out on the palace corridors. Let -King Solomon come down the stairs of the palace before -the Queen has alighted. Shake out the cinnamon and -the saffron, the calamus and the frankincense, and pass -it into the treasure house. Take up the diamonds until -they glitter in the sun!</p> - -<p>The Queen of Sheba alights.</p> - -<p>She enters the palace.</p> - -<p>She washes at the bath.</p> - -<p>She sits down at the banquet.</p> - -<p>The cup bearers bow. The meat smokes. The music -trembles in the dash of the waters from the modern -sea. Then she rises from the banquet, walks through -the conservatories, gazes on the architectural marvels, -and asks Solomon many strange questions. Thus she -learns about the religion of the Hebrews, and then and -there she becomes a servant of Jehovah.</p> - -<p>The Queen of Sheba is overwhelmed. She begins to -think that all the spices that she brought, and all the -precious woods which are intended to be turned into -harps and psalteries and into railings for the causeway<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> -between the Temple and the palace and the $1,800,000 -in money—she begins to think that all these presents -amount to nothing in such a palace; and she is almost -ashamed that she has brought them, and she says within -herself:</p> - -<p>“I heard a great deal about this place and about this -wonderful religion of the Hebrews, but I find it far beyond -my highest anticipations. I must add more than -50 per cent to what has been related. It exceeds every -thing that could have been expected. The half was not -told me.”</p> - -<p>What a beautiful thing it is when social position and -wealth surrender themselves to God! When religion -comes to a neighborhood, the first to receive it are the -women. Some men say it is because they are weak -minded. I say it is because they have quicker perception -of what is right, more ardent affection and capacity for -sublimer emotion.</p> - -<p>After the women have received the Gospel, then all -the distressed and the poor of both sexes—those who -have no friend except Jesus. Last of all come the -greatly prospered. Alas, that it is so!</p> - -<p>Do you know where Sheba was? Some say it was in -Abyssinia; others say it was in the southern part of -Arabia Felix. In either case it was a great way off from -Jerusalem. To get from there to Jerusalem the Queen -of Sheba had to cross a country infested with bandits -and go across blistering deserts.</p> - -<p>Why did not the Queen of Sheba stay at home and -send a committee to inquire about this new religion, and -have the delegates report in regard to that religion and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span> -wealth of King Solomon? She wanted to see for herself -and hear for herself. She could not do this by work of -committee. She felt that she had a soul worth ten thousand -kingdoms like Sheba, and she wanted a robe richer -than any woven by Oriental shuttles, and she wanted a -crown set with the jewels of eternity.</p> - -<p>Bring out the camels. Put on the spices. Gather -up the jewels of the throne and put them on the caravan. -Start now—no time is to be lost. Goad on the -camels. When I see that caravan—dust-covered, weary -and exhausted—trudging on across the desert and among -the banditti until it reaches Jerusalem, I say: “There -is an earnest seeker after truth.”</p> - -<h3>SALOME.</h3> - -<p>This is the anniversary of Herod’s birthday. The -palace is lighted. The highways leading thereto are all -ablaze with the pomp of invited guests. Lords, captains, -merchant princes, and all the mighty men of the land -are coming to mingle in the festivities.</p> - -<p>The table is spread with all the luxuries that royal -purveyors can gather. The guests, white robed and -anointed and perfumed, come and sit at the table.</p> - -<p>Music! The jests evoke roars of laughter. Riddles -are propounded. Repartee is indulged. Toasts are -drank. The brain is befogged. The wit rolls on into -uproar and blasphemy. They are not satisfied yet. Turn -on more light. Pour out more wine. Music! Sound<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span> -all the trumpets. Clear the floor for a dance. Bring in -Salome, the beautiful and accomplished princess. The -door opens, and in bounds the dancer. The lords are -enchanted. Stand back and make room for the brilliant -gyrations. These men never saw such “poetry of motion.” -Their souls whirl in the reel and bound with the -bounding feet.</p> - -<p>Herod forgets crown and throne and every thing but -the fascinations of Salome. All the magnificence of his -realm is as nothing compared with the splendor that -whirls on tiptoe before him. His body sways from side -to side, corresponding with the motions of the enchantress. -His soul is filled with the pulsations of the feet -and bewitched with the taking postures and attitudes -more and more amazing.</p> - -<p>After a while Herod sits in enchanted silence, looking -at the flashing, leaping, bouncing beauty, and as the -dance closes and the tinkling cymbals cease to clap and -the thunders of applause that shook the palace begin to -abate, the enchanted monarch swears to the princely performer:</p> - -<p>“Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me I will give it thee, -to the half of my kingdom.”</p> - -<p>Now, there was in the prison at that time a minister -of the Gospel by the name of John the Baptist, and he -had been making a great deal of trouble by preaching -some very plain sermons. He had denounced the sins -of the king and brought down upon him the wrath of the -women of the royal household.</p> - -<p>At the instigation of her mother, Salome takes advantage -of the extravagant promise of the king, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span> -says: “Bring me the head of John the Baptist on a -dinner plate.”</p> - -<p>Hark to the sound of feet outside the door and the -clatter of swords! The executioners are returning from -their awful errand. Open the door. They enter and -present the platter to Salome.</p> - -<p>What is on this platter?</p> - -<p>A new glass of wine to continue the uproarious merriment? -No. Something redder and far more costly—the -ghastly, bleeding head of John the Baptist. The -death glare is still in the eyes; the locks are all dabbled -with gore; the features are still distressed with the last -agony.</p> - -<p>Salome, this enchantress who had whirled so gracefully -in the dance, bends over the awful burden without -a shudder. She gloats over the blood, and with as much -indifference as a waiting maid might take a tray of empty -glassware out of the room after an entertainment Salome -carries the dissevered head of John the Baptist, while all -the banqueters shout with laughter. They regarded it as -a capital joke that in so easy and quick a way they have -got rid of an earnest and outspoken minister of the true -Gospel.</p> - -<p>Well, there is no harm in a birthday festival. All the -kings from Pharaoh’s time had celebrated such occasions, -and why not Herod? No harm in kindling the lights. -No harm in spreading the banquet. No harm in arousing -music. But from the riot and wassail that closed the -scene of that day every pure nature revolts.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span></p> - -<h3>SAUL.</h3> - -<p>The Amalekites thought they had conquered God, -and that He would not carry into execution His threats -against them.</p> - -<p>They had murdered the Israelites in battle and out of -battle, and had left no outrage untried. For four hundred -years this had been going on, and they said: “God -either dare not punish us, or He has forgotten to do so.”</p> - -<p>Let us see.</p> - -<p>Samuel, God’s prophet, tells Saul to go down and -slay all the Amalekites, not leaving one of them alive; -also to destroy all the beasts in their possession—sheep, -ox, camel and ass.</p> - -<p>Hark! I hear the tread of two hundred and ten -thousand men, with monstrous Saul at their head, ablaze -with armor, his shield dangling at his side, holding in his -hand a spear, at the waving of which the great host -marched or halted.</p> - -<p>The sound of their feet, shaking the Earth, seems -like the tread of the great God, as, marching in vengeance, -He tramples nations into the dust.</p> - -<p>I see smoke curling against the sky. Now there is a -thick cloud of it, and now I see the whole city rising in -a chariot of smoke, behind steeds of fire.</p> - -<p>Saul has set the city ablaze.</p> - -<p>The Amalekites and Israelites meet; the trumpets of -battle blow peal on peal, and there is a death hush.</p> - -<p>Then there is a signal waved; swords cut and hack; -javelins ring on shields; arms fall from trunks and heads -roll into the dust. Gash after gash, the frenzied yell,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span> -the gurgling of throttled throats, the cry of pain, the -laugh of revenge, the curse hissed between clenched -teeth—an army’s death groan. Stacks of dead on all -sides, with eyes unshut and mouths yet grinning vengeance.</p> - -<p>Huzza for the Israelites! Two hundred and ten -thousand men wave their plumes and clap their shields, -for the Lord God has given them the victory.</p> - -<p>Yet the victorious warriors of Israel are conquered by -sheep and oxen.</p> - -<p>God, through His prophet, Samuel, told Saul to slay -all the Amalekites, and to slay all the beasts in their -possession; but Saul, thinking that he knows more than -God, spares Agag, the Amalekitish king, and five droves -of sheep and a herd of oxen that he can not bear to kill.</p> - -<p>Saul drives the sheep and oxen down toward home. -He has no idea that Samuel, the prophet, will discover -that he has saved these sheep and oxen for himself.</p> - -<p>But Samuel comes and asks Saul the news from the -battle. Saul puts on a solemn face—for there is no one -who can look more solemn than your genuine hypocrite—and -he says: “I have fulfilled the commandment of -the Lord.”</p> - -<p>Samuel listens, and he hears the drove of sheep a -little way off. Saul had no idea the prophet’s ear would -be so acute.</p> - -<p>Samuel says to Saul: “If you have done as God -told you, and have slain all the Amalekites and all the -beasts in their possession, what meaneth the bleating of -the sheep in mine ears and the lowing of the oxen, that -I hear?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span></p> - -<p>Ah! One would have thought that blushes would -have consumed the cheeks of Saul. No, no! He says -the army—not himself, of course, but the army—saved -the sheep and oxen for sacrifice; and then they thought -it would be too bad, anyhow, to kill Agag, the Amalekitish -king.</p> - -<p>Samuel takes the sword, and he slashes King Agag -to pieces; and then he takes the skirt of his coat, in true -Oriental style, and rends it in twain—as much as to say:</p> - -<p>“You, Saul, just like that, shall be torn away from -your empire, and torn away from your throne.”</p> - -<p>In other words, let all the nations of Earth hear the -story that Saul, by disobeying God, won a flock of sheep -but lost a kingdom.</p> - -<p>A hypocrite is one who pretends to be what he is not, -or to do what he does not. Saul was only a type of a -class. When the fox prays, look to your chickens.</p> - -<p>Do not be hypocritical in any thing; you are never -safe if you are. At the most inopportune moment, the -sheep will bleat and the oxen will bellow.</p> - -<h3>SOLOMON.</h3> - -<p>What is that building out yonder, glittering in the -sunshine? Have you not heard?</p> - -<p>It is the House of the Forest of Lebanon. King -Solomon has just taken to it his bride, the princess of -Egypt. You see the pillars of the portico and a great -tower, adorned with a thousand shields of gold, hung on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> -the outside of the tower. Five hundred of the shields -of gold were manufactured at Solomon’s order, and five -hundred were captured by David, his father, in battle. -See how they blaze in the noonday sun!</p> - -<p>Solomon goes up to the ivory stairs of his throne between -twelve lions in statuary, and sits down on the back -of the golden bull, the head of the bronze beast turned -toward the people.</p> - -<p>The family and attendants of the king are so many -that the caterers of the place have to provide every day -one hundred sheep and thirteen oxen, besides the birds -and the venison. I hear the stamping and pawing of -four thousand horses in the royal stables.</p> - -<p>They were important officials who had charge of the -work of gathering the straw and the barley for all these -horses.</p> - -<p>King Solomon was an early riser, tradition says, and -used to take a ride out at daybreak; and when in his -white apparel, behind the swiftest horses of all the kingdom -and followed by mounted archers in purple, as the -cavalcade dashed through the streets of Jerusalem I suppose -it was something worth getting up at five o’clock in -the morning to look at.</p> - -<p>Solomon was not like some of the kings of the present -day—crowned imbecility. All the splendor of his -palace and retinue was eclipsed by his intellectual powers. -Why, he seemed to know every thing. He was -the first great naturalist the world ever saw. Peacocks -from India strutted the basaltic walks, and apes chattered -in the trees and deer stalked the parks, and there -were aquariums with foreign fish and aviaries with foreign<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> -birds; and tradition says these birds were so well -tamed that Solomon might walk clear across the city under -the shadow of their wings as they hovered and flitted -about him.</p> - -<p>King Solomon had a great reputation for the conundrums -and riddles that he made and guessed. He and -King Hiram, his neighbor, used to sit by the hour and -ask riddles, each one paying in money if he could not -answer or guess the riddle.</p> - -<p>The Solomonic navy visited all the world, and the -sailors, of course, talked about the wealth of their king, -and about the riddles and enigmas that he made and -solved.</p> - -<p>Solomon had at his command gold to the value of -£680,000,000, and he had silver to the value of £1,029,000,377. -The Queen of Sheba made him a nice little -present of £720,000, and King Hiram made him a present -of the same amount.</p> - -<p>If Solomon had lost the value of a whole realm out -of his pocket, it would hardly have been worth his while -to stoop down and pick it up.</p> - -<p>He wrote one thousand and five songs. He wrote -three thousand proverbs. He wrote about almost every -thing. The Bible says distinctly he wrote about plants, -from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out -of the wall, and about birds and beasts and fishes.</p> - -<p>No doubt he put off his royal robes, and put on the -hunter’s trappings, and went out with his arrows to bring -down the rarest specimens of birds; and then with his -fishing apparatus he went down to the streams to bring -up the denizens of the deep, and plunged into the forest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> -and found the rarest specimens of flowers. He then -came back to his study and wrote books about zoology, -the science of animals; about ichthyology, the science -of fishes; about ornithology, the science of birds; about -botany, the science of plants.</p> - -<p>Did any other city ever behold so wonderful a man?</p> - -<p>His fame spread abroad, and Queen Balkis, away to -the south, heard of it. She sent messengers with a few -riddles that she would like to have Solomon solve and -a few puzzles which she would like to have him find out.</p> - -<p>She sent to King Solomon, among other things, a -diamond with a hole so small that a needle would not -penetrate it, asking him to thread that diamond. Solomon -took a worm and put it at the opening in the diamond, -and the worm crawled through, leaving the thread -in the diamond.</p> - -<p>This queen also sent a goblet to Solomon, asking him -to fill it with water that did not pour from the sky, and -that did not rush out from the earth. Immediately the -wise man put a slave on the back of a swift horse and -galloped him around and around the park until the horse -was nigh exhausted, and from the perspiration of the -horse the goblet was filled.</p> - -<p>She also sent King Solomon five hundred boys in -girls’ dress and five hundred girls in boys’ dress, wondering -if he would be acute enough to find out the deception. -Immediately Solomon, when he saw them wash -their faces, knew from the way they applied the water it -was all a cheat.</p> - -<p>Queen Balkis was so pleased with the acuteness of -Solomon that she said: “I will just go and see him.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span></p> - -<p>Yonder it comes—the cavalcade—horses and dromedaries, -chariots and charioteers, jingling harness and -clattering hoofs, and blazing shields, and flying ensigns, -and clapping cymbals.</p> - -<p>The place is saturated with perfumes. She brings -cinnamon, saffron, calamus, frankincense and all manner -of sweet spices. As the retinue sweeps through the gate -the armed guards inhale the aroma. “Halt!” cry the -charioteers, as the wheels grind the gravel in front of the -pillared portico of the king. Queen Balkis alights in an -atmosphere bewitching with perfume. As the dromedaries -are driven up to the king’s storehouses and the bundles -of camphor are unloaded, and the cinnamon sacks -and the boxes of spices are opened, the purveyors of the -palace discovered, so the Bible relates: “Of spices, -great abundance; neither was there any such spices as -the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”</p> - -<p>Well, my friends, you know that all theologians agree -in making Solomon a type of Christ and making the -Queen of Sheba a type of every truth seeker, and I take -the responsibility of saying that all the spikenard, cassia -and frankincense which the Queen of Sheba brought to -King Solomon are mightily suggestive of the sweet spice -of our holy religion.</p> - -<h3>THE GENTILE MOTHER.</h3> - -<p>It was a Sabbath afternoon in the Belleville parsonage. -I had been trying for two years to preach, but to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> -me the Christian life had been nothing but a struggle. I -sat down at the table, took up my Bible, and asked for -divine illumination; and it poured like sunlight upon my -soul through the story of the Syro-Phenician woman.</p> - -<p>This woman was a mother, and she had an afflicted -daughter. The child had a virulent, exasperating and -convulsive disease, called the possession of the devil.</p> - -<p>The mother was just like other mothers; she had no -peace as long as her child was sick. She was a Gentile, -and the Jews had such a perfect contempt for the Gentiles -that they called them dogs. Nevertheless, she -comes to Christ, and asks Him to help her in her family -troubles. Christ makes no answer. The people become -afraid there is going to be a “scene” enacted, and they -try to get the woman out of Christ’s presence; but He -forbids her expulsion. Then she falls down and repeats -her request.</p> - -<p>Christ, to rally her earnestness, and to make His -mercy finally more conspicuous, addresses her, saying: -“It is not meet to take the children’s bread [that is, the -salvation appointed for the Jews] and cast it to dogs”—the -Gentiles. Christ did not mean to characterize that -woman as a dog. That would have been most unlike -Him, who from the cross said: “Behold thy mother.”</p> - -<p>His whole life was so gentle and so loving, He could -not have given it out as His opinion that that was what -she ought to be called; but He was only employing the -ordinary parlance of the Jews in regard to the Gentiles. -Yet that mother was not to be put off, pleading as she -was for the life of her daughter. She was not to be -rebuffed; she was not to be discouraged. She says:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yea, Lord, I acknowledge I am a Gentile dog; but -I remember that even the dogs have some privileges, and -when the door is open they slink in and crawl under the -table. When the bread or the meat sifts through the -cracks of the table or falls off the edge of it, they pick -it up, and the master of the house is not angry with -them. I do not ask for a big loaf; I do not ask even for -a big slice; I only ask for that which drops down through -the chinks of the table—the dogs’ portion. I ask only -the crumbs.”</p> - -<p>Christ felt the wit and the earnestness and the stratagem -and the faith of that woman. He turns upon her -and says:</p> - -<p>“You have conquered Me. Your daughter is well -now. Go home, mother; but before you get there she -will come down, skipping out to meet you.”</p> - -<p>There I see the mother going. She feels full twenty -years younger now. She is getting on in life, but she -goes with a half run. Amid an outburst of hysterical -laughter and tears they meet. The mother breaks down -every time she tries to tell it. The daughter is before -her, with cheeks as rosy as before she fell in the first fit. -The doctors of the village prophesy that the cure will -not last, because it was not according to their prescription. -But I read in the oldest medical journal in the -world: “The daughter was made whole from that very -hour.”</p> - -<p>This story shows you Jesus with His back turned. -That woman came to Him and said: “Lord, spare the -life of my child; it will not cost You any thing.” Jesus -turned His back. He threw positive discouragement on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span> -her petition. Jesus stood with His face to blind Bartimeus, -to the foaming demoniac, to the limping paralytic, -to the sea when He hushed it, and to the grave when He -broke it; but now He turns His back.</p> - -<p>I asked an artist if he ever saw a representation of -Jesus Christ with His back turned. He said no. And -it is a fact that you may go through all the picture galleries -of London, Dresden, Rome, Florence and Naples, -and you will find Christ with full face and profile, but -never with His back turned. Yet here, in this passage, -He turned away from the woman.</p> - -<h3>ZACCHÆUS.</h3> - -<p>Zacchæus was a politician and a tax gatherer. He -had an honest calling, but the opportunity for “stealings” -was so large that the temptation was too much for -him.</p> - -<p>The Bible says that Zacchæus was “a sinner”—that -is, in the public sense. How many fine men have been -ruined by official position! It is an awful thing for any -man to seek office under government unless his principles -of integrity are deeply fixed. Many a man, upright in -an insignificant position, has made shipwreck in a great -one. So far as I can tell, in the city of Jericho this -Zacchæus belonged to what might be called the “ring.”</p> - -<p>They had things their own way, successfully avoiding -exposure—if by no other way, perhaps by hiring somebody -to break in and steal the vouchers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span></p> - -<p>Notwithstanding his bad reputation, there were some -streaks of good about Zacchæus—as there are about -almost every man. Gold is found in quartz, and sometimes -in a very small percentage.</p> - -<p>Jesus was coming to town. The people all turned -out to see Him. Here He comes—the Lord of Glory—on -foot, dust-covered and road-weary, limping along the -way, carrying the griefs and woes of the world. Christ -looks to be sixty years of age, when He is only about -thirty.</p> - -<p>Zacchæus was a short man, and could not see over -the people’s heads while standing on the ground; so he -got up into a sycamore tree that swung its arm clear -over the road.</p> - -<p>Jesus advanced amid the wild excitement of the surging -crowd. The most honorable and popular men of the -city are looking on, and are trying to gain His attention. -But Jesus, instead of regarding them, looks up at the -little man in the tree, and says:</p> - -<p>“Zacchæus, come down. I am going home with -you.”</p> - -<p>All regretted to see such choice of company.</p> - -<p>Zacchæus had mounted the sycamore tree out of mere -curiosity. He wanted to see how this stranger looked—the -color of his eyes, the length of his hair, the contour -of his features, the height of his stature.</p> - -<p>I see Christ entering the front door of the house of -Zacchæus. The King of Heaven and Earth sits down; -and as He looks around on the place and the family, He -pronounces the benediction: “This day is salvation -come to this house.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span></p> - -<h3>NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE.</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Nearer, my God, to Thee—</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nearer to Thee!</div> -<div class="verse">E’en though a cross it be</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That raiseth me,</div> -<div class="verse">Still all my song shall be:</div> -<div class="verse">Nearer, my God, to Thee—</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nearer to Thee!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Though, like a wanderer,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The sun gone down,</div> -<div class="verse">Darkness be over me,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My rest a stone,</div> -<div class="verse">Yet in my dreams I’d be</div> -<div class="verse">Nearer, my God, to Thee</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nearer to Thee!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There let the way appear</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Steps unto Heaven;</div> -<div class="verse">All that Thou sendest me</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In mercy given!</div> -<div class="verse">Angels to beckon me</div> -<div class="verse">Nearer, my God, to Thee—</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nearer to Thee!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then, with my waking thoughts</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Bright with Thy praise,</div> -<div class="verse">Out of my stony griefs</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Bethel I’ll raise;</div> -<div class="verse">So, by my woes, to be</div> -<div class="verse">Nearer, my God, to Thee—</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nearer to Thee!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Or if, on joyful wing</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Cleaving the sky—</div> -<div class="verse">Sun, Moon and stars forgot—</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Upward I fly,</div> -<div class="verse">Still all my song shall be:</div> -<div class="verse">Nearer, my God, to Thee—</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nearer to Thee!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="PARKER">BIBLE CHARACTERS<br /> -<span class="smaller">DISCUSSED AND ANALYZED BY THE SCHOLARLY DIVINE,</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">Joseph Parker, D. D.</span></h2> - -<h3>ABIJAH.</h3> - -<p>We forget Abijah’s character in his eloquence. He -carries a spell with him. Judging from his speech, one -would suppose him faultless—entirely noble in every -aspiration and impulse and sublimely religious and unselfish.</p> - -<p>The whole Abijah is not here. This is but the ideal -Abijah. Who ever shows himself wholly upon any one -occasion? Who does not sometimes go forth in his best -clothing?</p> - -<p>We must read the account of Abijah which is given -in the Book of Kings before we can correctly estimate -the Abijah who talks in the Book of Chronicles.</p> - -<p>It is, perhaps, encouraging that while men are upon -the Earth they should not be so dazzlingly good as to -blind their fellow men. Yet it is pitiful to observe how -men can be religious for the occasion. Nearly all men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span> -are religious at a funeral; but few men are religious at a -wedding.</p> - -<p>Abijah has a great cause to serve, and he addresses -himself to it not only with the skill of a rhetorician but -with the piety of a mind that never tenanted a worldly -thought. God knows the whole character—how bright -we are in points, how dark in many places; how lofty, -how low. Knowing all, He judges correctly, and His -mercy is His delight. Neither God nor man is to be -judged by one aspect, or one attribute, or one quality. -We must comprehend, so far as we may be able, the -whole circuit of character and purpose before we can -come to a large and true conclusion.</p> - -<p>But as we have to do with the ideal Abijah, let us -hear what he has to say in his ideal capacity. We will -forget his faults while we listen to the music of his religious -eloquence.</p> - -<p>Abijah comes before us like a man who has a good -cause to plead. He fixes his feet upon a mountain as -upon a natural throne, and from its summit he addresses -a king and a nation, and he addresses his auditors in the -sacred name of “the Lord God of Israel.” He will not -begin the argument at a superficial point, or take it as -starting from yesterday’s new raw history—history hardly -settled into form. He will go back, and with great -sweep of historical reference he will establish his claim -to be heard. In II. Chronicles, thirteenth chapter and -fifth verse, Abijah asks:</p> - -<p>“Ought ye not to know that the Lord God of Israel -gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to -him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span></p> - -<p>The binding covenant—the covenant that even pagans -would not break. If you have eaten salt with a man -you can never speak evil of him with an honest heart. -You must forget your criticism in the remembrance of -the salt. You are at liberty to decline intercourse and -fellowship and confidence; you are perfectly at liberty to -say: “I will have nothing to do with thee in any association -whatsoever.” But you can not be both friend -and enemy. You can not eat salt with a man and smite -him in the face, or wound him in the heel, or hurt him -in any way, at any time, in any line or point.</p> - -<p>That was pagan morality.</p> - -<p>We are fallen a long way behind it in many cases, -for what Christian is there who could not eat all the salt -a man has, and then go out and speak about him with -bitterness, plunder him, frustrate his plans, anticipate -him in some business venture, and laugh at him over his -misplaced confidence?</p> - -<p>Abijah recognized the perpetuity of the covenant. -The kingdom was given to David for ever—if not in -words, yet in spirit; if chapter and verse can not be -quoted, yet the whole spirit of the divine communion -with David meant eternity of election and honor. It is -right to hold up the ideal covenant; it is right that even -men who themselves have broken covenants should insist -that covenants are right. We must never forget the -ideal. Our prayers must express our better selves. A -dying thief may pray. Again and again we have to fall -back upon the holy doctrine that a man is not to be -judged in his character by the prayers which he offers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span>, -inasmuch as his prayers represent what he would be if he -could.</p> - -<p>Abijah, having to deal with a perpetual covenant, -charges Jeroboam with breaking it:</p> - -<p>“Yet Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, the servant of -Solomon, the son of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled -against his Lord.”</p> - -<p>All rebellion is wrong, unless it arises from a sense -of injustice, untruthfulness or dishonesty. No man has -a right to dissent from the national Church unless his -dissent be founded upon conscience, a right conception -of the nature of the Kingdom of Christ upon the Earth, -which leads him to say to certain men: “Stand off.”</p> - -<p>No part of the empire has a right to arise against the -central authority, of which itself constitutes a part, -merely for the sake of expressing political prejudice or -selfish design. Every rebellion must be put down that -can not justify itself by the very spirit and genius of justice. -Separation becomes schism when it but expresses -a whim, an aversion, of a superficial or technical kind; -and every rebellion is wickedness, is born of the spirit of -the pit, that can not justify itself by appeals to justice, -nobleness, liberty and God.</p> - -<p>Yet our rebellions have made our history.</p> - -<p>We should have been in slavery but for rebellion. -The rebels are the heretics that have created orthodoxy. -We owe nothing to the indifferent, the languid, the selfish, -the calculating, the let-alone people who simply -want to eat and drink and sleep and die. That they were -ever born is either an affront to nature or is the supreme -mystery of human life.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span></p> - -<p>Abijah, therefore, is perfectly right when he insists -upon mere rebellion being put down; but when rebellion -expresses the spirit of justice and the spirit of progress—the -new revelation, the new day—all the Abijahs that -ever addressed the world can only keep back the issue for -a measurable period.</p> - -<p>The accusation of Abijah was that Jeroboam had -“gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial.” -For “vain men” read “sons of worthlessness”—empty -fellows, who will join any mob that pays best; men who -will cheer any speaker for a half-crown an hour, and put -out anybody on any plea on any side for extra remuneration.</p> - -<p>Where do these men come from? Whose language -do they speak? Whose image and superscription do -they bear?</p> - -<p>They are in every country; they worship in the sanctuary -of mischief and bow down at the altar of selfishness. -They know not what they do. They will make a cross -for a day’s wages. Evil company follows evil men. -Worthless fellows are soon dissatisfied with the company -of righteousness; the intercourse becomes monotonous -and suffocating. A bad man could not live in Heaven. -It is not in the power of mercy to save men from hell, -for they carry hell with them; they are perdition.</p> - -<p>Who can wonder if desecration followed in the steps -of worthlessness? Abijah asks:</p> - -<p>“Have ye not cast out the priests of the Lord, the -sons of Aaron and the Levites, and have made you -priests after the manner of the nations of other lands, so -that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span> -young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest -of them that are no gods?”</p> - -<p>Let them bring the offering, and then they may become -priests and do what they please at altars that have -no foundations, the incense of which is a cloud that -Heaven will not absorb. William Rufus declared that -church bread was sweet bread. How many men have -eaten church bread who ought to have died of hunger! -What responsibility attaches to some people in this matter! -Church bread ought never to be given away—ought -never to be dishonored with the name of a “living.” -No man should be in the Church who could not -make five times the money out of it that he ever made -in it. It should be felt that if he put forth all his power—both -his hands, his whole mind and strength—he could -be the greatest man in the commonwealth.</p> - -<p>Jeroboam would admit any one to the altar; he would -make room if there was none; he would cast out a priest -of the Lord to make room for a priest of Belial. This -is the accusation which Abijah brings against Jeroboam -and his company of rebels.</p> - -<p>Now Abijah turns to state his own case. He tells us -what he and his people are:</p> - -<p>“But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have -not forsaken Him; and the priests, which minister unto -the Lord, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait -upon their business. And they burn unto the Lord every -morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense; -the shew-bread also set they in order upon the -pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span> -thereof, to burn every evening; for we keep the charge -of the Lord our God; but ye have forsaken Him.”</p> - -<p>What a character Abijah gives himself!</p> - -<p>Let us remember that we are dealing with an ideal -man, and not with the real personality.</p> - -<p>Take this, however, as an ideal representation, and -how perfect it is in every line! “The Lord is our God.” -We have a sound and vital theology; we have a clear -upward look, and no cloud conceals the face divine; no -idols have we—no images of wood, no pillars, no groves, -no high places where idolatry may be performed as an -entertainment.</p> - -<p>The man reasons well. He insists upon having corner -stones in any edifice or argument he puts up. When -he accuses, he goes back to the covenant of salt; when -he claims a right position, he claims that it is a theological -one. He holds the right God. Losing the right -theology, we lose all the detail with it. When the conception -of God is wrong, no other conception can be -right. It is only bold because it is true to say that if a -man has not the right desire after the right God he can -not keep correct weights and scales. The custom house, -the inland revenue, the excise—call it what you please—may -to some extent keep him up to the right mark, but -in his soul he takes in every customer that comes near -him; if he does not, he loses sleep. This applies to the -so-called heathen as well as to the Christian. It is not -necessary that a man should have a clear and perfect -revelation of God, but that in his heart he feels that he -is a creature, not a creator; a subject, not a sovereign; -that he is under responsibility, and not above it. In that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span> -proportion only can he deal righteously and nobly with -his fellow men.</p> - -<p>“And the priests, which minister unto the Lord, are -the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business.”</p> - -<p>Here is apostolic succession before the time of the -invention of the term. Here is an excellent pedigree, a -most complete genealogy. Our priests are in the Aaronic -line, and the Levites know their business and keep to it; -every thing is in order in our Church.</p> - -<p>That is beautiful, and that is right. We need not -shrink from adding, that is necessary. We must have -nothing to do with men who are not in the Aaronic and -apostolic succession; they must not occupy our pulpits, -nor be allowed to make pulpits of their own; no man -must sell them wood or stone with which to construct a -pulpit; they must be forbidden by the genius of law -from ever preaching or attempting to preach.</p> - -<p>When we let go the doctrine of apostolic succession -we let go a vital treasure and blessing.</p> - -<p>We may differ as to our definition of “apostolic succession,” -but surely there can be no difference among -frank and enlightened hearts and minds as to what apostolic -succession is. No man is in the apostolic succession -who is not in the apostolic spirit, and no man is out of -the apostolic succession who is animated by the spirit of -the apostles. That is not a spirit which is conferred by -the tips of any fingers; that is the gift of God.</p> - -<p>Do you see your calling, brethren? God has chosen -you. What a Church is God’s! Not a Church of wax-works, -all made at one factory, and all charged for in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> -one invoice; but living men, characterized by innumerable -individualities—some broad as the firmament, others -beautiful and tender as little flowers that can only grow -in the fullest sun-warmth; some military in argument -and in discipline, others persuasive in pathos, sympathy -and tenderness.</p> - -<p>There is no monotony in God. One star differeth -from another in glory; no two blades of grass are microscopically -identical. There is a common likeness in the -worlds and in the sub-economies of Nature, but the more -penetrating our vision is made by mechanical and scientific -aids the more wondrous in difference are discovered -to be the very things which are supposed to be identical.</p> - -<p>We must never allow the apostolic succession to be -handed about without its being accompanied by the -apostolic spirit. Every man is in the apostolic succession -who believes in the apostles, who follows them as -they followed Christ, and who would know nothing -among men but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.</p> - -<p>“And they burn unto the Lord every morning and -every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense; the -shew-bread also set they in order upon the pure table; -and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to -burn every evening.”</p> - -<p>At that time piety was mechanical. It could not be -otherwise. God never forces history. The days come, -each with its own burden and its own blessing, its own -dawn and its own apocalypse. We can not have today -what is due tomorrow. God’s seasons move in measured -revolution, and come to us in orderly and timely procession; -and no man can hasten them by lighting his camp<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span> -fire, or striking his matches, or kindling his little inflammable -powder.</p> - -<p>We can not imitate the Sun.</p> - -<p>Some have tried to mimic the stars; but where is the -image of the Sun that the Sun has not obliterated by one -mid-day look?</p> - -<p>The time came when all these ordinances were set -aside. There was to be no more burning; there was to -be no morning sacrifice and evening sacrifice and sweet -incense, or shew-bread and candlestick of gold and -lamps thereof for evening burning.</p> - -<p>“Ye are not come unto the mount that might be -touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, -and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, -and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated -that the word should not be spoken to them any -more; but ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the -city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to -an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly -and church of the first-born, which are written in -Heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits -of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of -the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that -speaketh better things than that of Abel.”</p> - -<p>So we may misuse history by going back and making -that necessary which has already been abrogated. We -may thus ill-treat the day of rest, by measuring it and -weighing it in Jewish scales. We may cast a cloud over -the day of jubilee that comes every week, by measuring -its beginning and its ending by Jewish arithmetic; we -may make the whole week sabbatic by Christian consecration.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> -There will always be ordinances, because while -man is in the body he needs external helps, collateral -assistances and auxiliaries. He is not always equally -awake; he is not always equally spiritual. He needs the -communion of saints, the coming together in holy fellowship, -all the associations of a sacred time and a sacred -place, and through the active yet subtle ministry of these -he comes to feel that he is in touch with God. “Here -in the body pent” we need such aids as can penetrate -our prison and minister to the liberty of the soul.</p> - -<p>Now Abijah says, as a kind of climax:</p> - -<p>“And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, -and His priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm -against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against -the Lord God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.”</p> - -<p>How steadfastly Abijah abides by the altar! He can -not be tempted one step from the throne of God. His -appeal is sublime because it is religious. It is historically -religious. “The Lord God of your fathers.” It would -seem to be a solemn thing to cut off oneself from all the -currents of history—to bury our fathers over again in a -deeper grave; yea, to bury them at night-time, so that -when the morning came we could not tell where they -were interred.</p> - -<p>Abijah will have a historic line. He maintains the -doctrine of philosophic and personal heredity and organic -unity. He will insist upon it that the men of his day -represented the men of dead generations, and were to do -what they would have done had they then lived. Not -only was it historically religious, but it was religion accentuated -by motives, such as act most powerfully upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span> -human conduct—“for ye shall not prosper.” That appeal -they could understand.</p> - -<p>The double appeal constitutes God’s address to men. -He is bound to point out consequences, though He would -not have life built upon them. There is no other way of -getting at certain people than by telling them that if they -believe not they shall be damned. They are so curiously -and fearfully made that only hell can excite their attention. -The preacher does not declare this doctrine of fire, -or mere penalty, for the sake of revealing God and acting -upon human thought and conduct. He knows it is -an appeal more or less tinctured with possible selfishness. -He can not but despise the man who asks for Heaven -simply because he has smelt the fire of hell.</p> - -<p>But the Christian preacher will begin where he can. -He has to do with all classes and conditions of men. All -men do not occupy the highest point of thought—do not -approach the Kingdom of Heaven from the noblest considerations—and -he is the wise pastor, he has the great -shepherd heart, who receives men by night, by day, -through the gate of fear, through the portals of love; -who keeps the door ajar for men, not knowing when they -may come home.</p> - -<p>He is but a poor preacher, and he knows it, who bids -people come to God that they may get to Heaven; but -he is aware that some people can only understand through -the medium of such terms, if ever; and he really hopes -for them that by experience they may eventually rise to -a nobler level, and desire God for God’s own sake. He -only is in the Spirit of Christ who would pray as much, -give as much, suffer as much, if he knew he had to die<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span> -this night, and be blotted out for ever, as he would do -and give if he knew he were this night going into everlasting -glory.</p> - -<p>To be good in order to buy Heaven is not to be good. -To be religious in order to escape hell is not to be religious.</p> - -<p>Yet we must always so judge human nature as to -provide for people who can only act through fear, and -through love and hope of reward. Their education will -be continued and completed, and some day they will look -back upon their infantile beginning and pity themselves.</p> - -<p>The great thing, however, is to begin. If we are -afraid of hell, let us ask great questions. If we are in -hope of Heaven, let us begin to do great services. Hell -and Heaven have nothing to do with it in reality, but -they have to do a great deal with it initially, instrumentally -and educationally.</p> - -<p>What was the upshot of the war? Who needs to inquire? -When Omnipotence goes forth to war, what can -be the issue of the battle? God takes out His glittering -sword, and His hand lays heavy in judgment; can grasshoppers -stand before Him? Oppose a wooden fence to -a boundless conflagration, and you may act almost -rationally—most rationally—as compared with those who -set a grasshopper to oppose the march of God.</p> - -<p>The writer in the Book of Kings takes a much worse -view of Abijah’s character than we find in the Book of -Chronicles. From the first Book of Kings we learn that -Abijah endeavored to recover the kingdom of the Ten -Tribes, and made war on Jeroboam. No details are -given, but we are also informed that he walked in all the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span> -sins of Rehoboam—idolatry and its attendant immoralities—and -that his heart “was not perfect before God, as -the heart of David, his father.”</p> - -<p>In the second Book of Chronicles Abijah’s war upon -Jeroboam is more minutely described, and he makes a -speech to the men of Israel, reproaching them for breaking -their allegiance to the house of David, for worshiping -the golden calves, and substituting unauthorized priests -for the sons of Aaron and the Levites. He was successful -in the battle against Jeroboam, and took the cities of -Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephraim, with their dependent -villages. Nothing is said by the writer in Chronicles of -the sins of Abijah, but we are told that after his victory -he “waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives”—whence -we may well infer that he was elated with prosperity, -and like Solomon, his grandfather, fell during the -last two years of his life into wickedness, as described in -Kings. Both records inform us that he reigned only for -the period of three years.</p> - -<h3>AHAB.</h3> - -<p>God is the time-keeper. He says: “Now.” We -wonder we can not go just when it is convenient to ourselves. -We think we see the exact juncture when it -would be right to go, but if we went just then a serpent -would bite us on the road.</p> - -<p>We want to go to Heaven, but God says: “Not -yet.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span></p> - -<p>We want to begin the battle, but God says: “Wait.”</p> - -<p>In the eighteenth chapter of the first Book of Kings -we read:</p> - -<p>“And it came to pass, after many days, that the word -of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying: -‘Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon -the Earth.’ And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab. -And there was a sore famine in Samaria.”</p> - -<p>Think of waiting “many days” and doing nothing! -But what if waiting be the best working? What if we -can best do every thing by simply doing nothing? There -is a time to stand still and see the salvation of God.</p> - -<p>Mark another thing in these verses. The Lord said -“Go,” and Elijah went. Not Elijah “objected,” Elijah -“reasoned,” or Elijah “pointed out the difficulties,” but -simply Elijah “went.”</p> - -<p>That is the true ideal of life.</p> - -<p>Always be ready.</p> - -<p>Contrast with this the case of Jonah. Elijah had no -fear of Ahab. He who fears God can not fear man. If -you go up to your duties in your own strength, you will -find them difficult; if you come down upon them from -high communion with God, you will find them easy.</p> - -<p>The governor of the house of Ahab was called Obadiah. -The word Obadiah means “servant of Jehovah,” -and it would seem to have been a true description of the -man, for we read that “Obadiah feared [or reverenced] -the Lord greatly.”</p> - -<p>It is possible for a man to be very bad in one direction -and very tolerant in another. It was so in the case -of Ahab. He was the worst of the kings of Israel, yet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> -he kept a governor over his house who feared the Lord -greatly.</p> - -<p>The Lord causes the most wicked men to pay His -religion the homage which is due to its excellence. A -bad king employs a good governor. He who himself disobeys -Jehovah yet engages a servant who fears the Lord -greatly. The thief likes an honest man for steward. -The blasphemer likes a godly teacher for his child. The -great speculator prefers an unspeculative man for book-keeper. -It is thus that virtue has many unconscious -votaries.</p> - -<p>He who is the slave of idolatry becomes an easy prey -to the power of cruel tempters. We do not know that -Ahab was a cruel man, but we do know that Jezebel was -a cruel woman, and Ahab was greatly influenced by his -passionate and sanguinary wife. Ahab’s provocation of -the Lord may have been in the direction of idolatry -alone; but to be wrong in your conception of worship is -to expose yourself to every possible attack of the enemy. -To pray in the wrong direction is to be weak in every -other.</p> - -<p>Ahab was a speculative idolater; Jezebel was a practical -persecutor. Ahab showed that speculative error is -consistent with social toleration. You must distinguish -between Ahab and Elijah in this matter. It was Jezebel -who slew the prophets of the Lord, and Ahab knew that -his servant, Obadiah, had hidden fifty of these prophets -in a cave; and yet Ahab kept Obadiah in his service. -But redeeming points do not restore the whole character. -“One swallow does not make a Summer.”</p> - -<p>In the same character may be met great faith and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span> -great doubt. Obadiah risked his life to save fifty of the -prophets of the Lord, yet dare not risk it, without first -receiving an oath, for the greatest prophet of all! This -mixture we find in every human character. “How abject, -how august, is man!”</p> - -<p>In Ahab, Obadiah, Elijah and Jezebel we see a fourfold -type of human society. There is the speculator, the -godly servant, the far-seeing prophet and the cruel persecutor.</p> - -<p>Society has got no farther than this today. The -Ahabs of the age are leading us away into speculation -that ends in idolatry and in infinite provocation of the -Lord; the Obadiahs of the age are still praying, and -serving God, and saving even the worst households from -the wrath of Heaven; the Elijahs of the age are still -hurling their divine thunders through the corrupt and -stagnant air, and piercing with lightning shafts the -gloomy and threatening future; and the Jezebels of the -age are still narrow, bitter, indignant, vengeful and sanguinary.</p> - -<p>O wondrous combination! So checked, so controlled, -by invisible but benignant power! Speculative error has -its counterpart in actual cruelty, and patient worship has -its counterpart in daring service.</p> - -<p>We sometimes hear that Ahab was a covetous man. -Are we quite sure that the charge is just and that it can -be substantiated?</p> - -<p>This charge is based on the affair of Naboth’s vineyard. -How could Ahab be covetous? He proposed -terms, saying:</p> - -<p>“Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span> -of herbs, because it is near unto my house, and I -will give thee a better vineyard than it; or, if it seems -good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.”</p> - -<p>The terms do not, upon the face of them, appear to -be unreasonable or inapplicable. Surely this is not mere -covetousness, if covetousness at all. The vineyard was -close to the palace, and that fact was assigned as a reason -for wishing to open negotiations concerning its transfer. -But do we not sometimes too narrowly interpret -the word covetousness? It is generally, at least, limited -to money. When a man is fond of money, wishes to -add to it, and is not scrupulous as to the means by which -he seeks to enhance his fortune, we describe him as covetous. -The term is perfectly applicable in such a case.</p> - -<p>But the term “covetous” may apply to a much larger -set of circumstances, and describe quite another set of -impulses and desires.</p> - -<p>We may even be covetous of personal appearance; -we may be covetous of popular fame, such as is enjoyed -by other men; we may be covetous in every direction -which implies the gratification of our own wishes; and -yet, with regard to the mere matter of money, we may -be almost liberal.</p> - -<p>This is an astounding state of affairs.</p> - -<p>A man may be liberal with money, and yet covetous -in many other directions. Sometimes, when covetousness -takes this other turn, we describe it by the narrower -word, “envy.” We say we envy the personal appearance -of some; we envy the greatness and the public -standing of others.</p> - -<p>But under all this envy is covetousness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span></p> - -<p>Envy is in a sense but a symptom; covetousness is -the vital and devouring disease. Under this interpretation -of the term, therefore, it is not unfit or unjust to -describe Ahab as a covetous man.</p> - -<p>Look at his dissatisfaction with circumstances. He -wishes to have “a garden of herbs.” That is all. He -is king of Israel in Samaria; but there is one little thing -of which he has not yet possessed himself, and until he -gets that in his hand he can not rest well. There is a -dream that troubles him; there is a nightmare which -makes him afraid to lie down to sleep.</p> - -<p>Look at what he has. Who can measure it? Who -can run through the enumeration of his possessions? -Who can take an exhaustive inventory of all the riches -of the king of Israel?</p> - -<p>But there is one little corner that is not his, and he -wants it, and until he can get it all the rest goes for -nothing.</p> - -<p>The great Alexander could not rest in his palace at -Babylon because he could not get ivy to grow in his garden. -What was Babylon, or all Assyria, in view of the -fact that this childish king could not cause ivy to grow in -the palace gardens?</p> - -<p>Ahab lived in circumstances; he lived in the very -narrowest kind of circumstances. As a little man, he -lived in little things, and because those things were not -all to his mind it was impossible for him to be restful or -noble or really good.</p> - -<p>Once let the mind become dissatisfied with some trifling -circumstance, and that fly spoils the whole pot of -ointment. Once get the notion that the house is too<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span> -small, and then morning, noon and night you never see -a picture that is in it, or acknowledge the comfort of one -corner in all the little habitation. The one thing that is -present in the mind throughout all the weary hours is -that the house is too small.</p> - -<p>Once get the idea that the business is undignified, -and you go to it late in the morning and leave it early in -the afternoon, neglecting it between times; you are also -ashamed to speak of it, and will not throw your whole -heart and soul during business hours into its execution.</p> - -<p>Once get the notion that the neighborhood is unfashionable, -and it goes for nothing that the rooms are large -and airy, that the garden is one of the best you ever had, -that there is ample scope for a rich library, that all the -neighbors are men of peculiar intelligence and goodness. -All go for nothing, because the tempter has said: “This -neighborhood is not a fashionable quarter of the town, -and when people come to know that you are living here -they will lose confidence in you and respect for you.”</p> - -<p>If we live in circumstances, we shall be the sport of -events; we shall be without dignity, without calmness, -without reality and solidity of character. Let us, therefore, -betake ourselves into inner thoughts, into spirituality -of life, into the soul’s true character, into the very -sanctuary of God. There we shall have truth and light -and peace; there the stormy wind can not disturb us, -and the great darkness is but an outside circumstance, -for within there is the shining of the light of God.</p> - -<p>Then notice in Ahab a childish servility to circumstances.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;" id="illus8"> -<img src="images/illus8.jpg" width="425" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Prophet Amos.</span></p> -<p class="caption">From the Painting by Gustave Dore.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;" id="illus9"> -<img src="images/illus9.jpg" width="425" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Despair of Judas.</span></p> -<p class="caption">From a Photograph of the Character in the Passion Play.</p> -</div> - -<p>“Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span> -… and he laid him down upon his bed, and turned -away his face, and would eat no bread.”</p> - -<p>Yet he was the king of Israel in Samaria! He actually -had subjects under him. He was in reality a man -who could give law, whose very look was a commandment, -and the uplifting of his hand could move an army. -Now we see him surely at his least. So we do, but not -at his worst.</p> - -<p>All this must have an explanation. We can not imagine -that the man is so simply childish and foolish as -this incident alone would describe him. Behind all this -childishness there is an explanation. What is it?</p> - -<p>We find it in the twenty-fifth verse:</p> - -<p>“But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell -himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, -whom Jezebel, his wife, stirred up.”</p> - -<p>That explains the whole mystery. The man had sold -himself to the devil. And men are doing that self-same -thing every day.</p> - -<p>If it were a transaction in the market place—if the -auctioneer were visibly interested in this affair, if he -could call out in audible tones “So much is the price, -and the man is about to take it,” people would shrink -from the villainous transaction.</p> - -<p>But this is an affair which does not take place in the -open market or in the open daylight. It is not conducted -in words. If the men involved in such transactions -could speak the words, the very speech of the words -might break the spell and destroy the horrible infatuation. -But the compact is made in darkness, in silence, -in out-of-the-way places. It is an understanding unwritten,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span> -rather than an agreement in detail signed in the -presence of witnesses. It is a mystery which the heart -alone can understand, which even the preacher can not -explain in terms, but he can only throw himself upon his -own consciousness, and throw others upon their consciousness, -and call for a united testimony to the fact -that it is possible to sell one’s very soul to evil.</p> - -<p>Now we understand King Ahab better. We thought -him but little, frivolous of mind, childish and petty, -without a man’s worthy ambition; but now we see that -all this was only symptomatic, an outward sign, pointing, -when rightly followed, to an inward and mortal corruption.</p> - -<p>Now, let us look at the case of Naboth and the position -which he occupied in this matter.</p> - -<p>Naboth possessed the vineyard which Ahab is said to -have coveted. Naboth said: “The Lord forbid.” He -made a religious question of it. Why did he invoke the -Eternal Name and stand back, as if an offense had been -offered to his faith? The terms were commercial; the -terms were not unreasonable; the approach was courteous, -and the ground given for the approach was not an -unnatural ground. Why did Naboth stand back as if his -religion had been shocked?</p> - -<p>The answer is in the Book of Numbers, thirty-sixth -chapter and seventh verse:</p> - -<p>“So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel -remove from tribe to tribe; for every one of the children -of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the -tribe of his fathers.”</p> - -<p>So Naboth stood upon the law.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span></p> - -<p>In Ezekiel we read:</p> - -<p>“Moreover, the prince shall not take of the people’s -inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their -possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of -his own possession, that My people be not scattered every -man from his possession.”</p> - -<p>So Naboth was not answering haughtily or resentfully. -He was answering both solemnly and religiously. -When money was offered for his fathers’ inheritance, he -spurned the offer. There are some things, blessed be -God, we can not pay for.</p> - -<p>When Ahab said “I will give thee for it a better -vineyard than it” he knew not of what he was speaking. -There can be no better vineyard than the vineyard of the -fathers; there can be no vineyard equal to the vineyard -that is sown with history, planted with associations, solemnized -and endeared by a thousand precious memories. -There ought to be some things which we can not barter. -Surely there ought to be some things which we should -never try to sell.</p> - -<p>Verily, when we hear propositions made to us that -money shall be given in exchange for certain things, our -whole soul should rise in horror and indignation, and -repel the approach of a barter which itself expresses an -infinite, because a most spiritual, injustice. So Naboth’s -position was strong, and he had the courage to answer -the king in these terms.</p> - -<p>Kings must submit to law. Kings ought to be the -subjects of their own people. Ahab was taught that -there was a man in Samaria who valued the inheritance -which had been handed down to him. Have we no inheritance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> -handed down to us—no book of revelation, no -day of rest, no flag of liberty, no password of common -trust? Do we inherit nothing? Did we make the age -as it is, and is civilization a creature of our own fashioning? -And are we not bound to hand on to others what -was handed to us intact and unpolluted?</p> - -<p>Let us live in a sacred past, and regard ourselves as -trustees of many possessions, and only trustees, and as -bound to vindicate our trust and have an ample acquittal -at the last.</p> - -<p>So Ahab lay down upon his bed, turned away his -face, and would eat no bread. But there is a way of accomplishing -mean desires. There is a way of obtaining -what we want. Take heart! There is a way of possessing -oneself of almost whatever one desires. There -is always some Merlin who will bring every Uther-Pendragon -what he longs to have; there is always some -Lady Macbeth who will show the thane how to become -king. There is always a way to be bad. The gate of -hell stands wide open; or, if apparently half closed, a -touch will make it fly back, and the road is broad that -leads to destruction.</p> - -<p>Jezebel said she would find the garden or vineyard for -her husband. She taunted him. “Dost thou now govern -the kingdom of Israel? Arise and eat bread, and let -thine heart be merry. I will give thee the vineyard of -Naboth, the Jezreelite.” Jezebel threw into the word -“govern” a subtle and significant emphasis.</p> - -<p>How will she proceed? She will be ceremoniously -religious; she will proclaim a fast. O thou sweet, white, -pure religion, thou hast been forced into strange uses!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span> -“Proclaim a fast;” lengthen your faces; mimic solemnity; -promise your hunger an early satisfaction, but look -as if you were fasting.</p> - -<p>It is a sure sign of mischief when certain men become -serious. The moment they appear to be religious the -devil is just adding the last touch to the building which -he has been putting up within their souls. When they -talk long words—when they speak about responsibility, -obligation, duty, conscience, compulsion of conviction—they -are walking over tesselated pavement into the very -jaws of hell.</p> - -<p>They do not mean their words; they do but use them. -“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately -wicked.”</p> - -<p>First of all, then, be ceremoniously religious, Jezebel; -then trample down truth. “Set two men, sons of -Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying: -‘Thou didst blaspheme God and the king.’” Falsehood -is always ready. A great black lie is always willing to -be loosed and to be set going in the minds of men to pervert -them and mislead them. It is always open to the -bad heart to speak the untrue word. Nor is the untrue -word always frankly and broadly spoken. If so, it could -be answered in some cases.</p> - -<p>The false word is hardly spoken at all; it is uttered -in a whisper. Falsehood is made to use signs and gestures; -even silence is made to bear witness to falsehood. -Truly, again we may say: “The heart is deceitful above -all things, and desperately wicked.” Tell a lie big enough -about any man, and it will be difficult, if not impossible, -to do away with the consequences of the false accusation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span> -People will always be found to say: “There -must be something in it; it may not be just as rumor has -it, but surely a statement of that kind never could have -been invented. Allowing a good deal for exaggeration, -there must be something in it.”</p> - -<p>Nor is it always possible to get even righteous men -to purge their minds of that damnable sophism. Men -who ought to stand up and say “There is nothing in it” -hang down their heads, and with a coward’s gesture let -the lie pass on.</p> - -<p>This is how men insult the Son of God, and crucify -the Man of truth. They will not be thorough, bold and -fearless, and make the enemy ashamed of himself for -either having invented or repeated a falsehood. Nor may -the man escape because he says he heard the lie. Tell -him he may have heard it, but he is yet responsible for -repeating it. He may have no control over the hearing, -but the moment he repeats it he adopts it, and renders -himself amenable to the Eternal Righteousness.</p> - -<p>Make the very law an instrument of injustice! First -charge this man with blasphemy and treason, and then -take him out and stone him, that he may die! Do not -give him time to speak; do not ask for his defense; do -not give him an opportunity of interrogating the witnesses. -But who would cross-examine two “sons of -Belial?” Better almost to die than to taint the hands -and eyes with the touch and look of such children of -blackness!</p> - -<p>“Then they carried him [Naboth] forth out of the -city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.” It is -all over! Jezebel did this. Jezebel—a woman, a king’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span> -wife—did this. High position goes for nothing when the -heart is wrong. Great influence means great mischief -when the soul is not in harmony with the spirit of righteousness.</p> - -<p>Is Naboth quite dead? Yes, he is dead. Take the -vineyard—take possession of it instantly. Now grow -herbs, and grow them plentifully. The vineyard is now -at liberty—take it. “Ahab rose up to go down to the -vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, to take possession of -it.” But who is that looms in the distance? Is it Naboth? -No.</p> - -<p>How comes this man to be here just now—aye, just -now? How the end is marked off into points, and how -does providence reveal itself at unexpected times and in -ways unforeseen! Who is this? He looks stern. He -has an eye of fire. His lips are shut as if they could -never be opened. He does but look.</p> - -<p>Who is he? “Elijah, the Tishbite.” He has a -message:</p> - -<p>“Thus saith the Lord: ‘Hast thou killed, and also -taken possession?’ … Thus saith the Lord: ‘In -the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall -dogs lick thy blood, even thine.’”</p> - -<p>A sad walk!</p> - -<p>Ahab went down to take possession of a vineyard, -and a death warrant was read to him! After all, it is -safe to live in this universe; there is law in it, there is a -genius of righteousness, there is a Force that moves on -toward noble issues.</p> - -<p>“And Ahab said to Elijah: ‘Hast thou found me, -O mine enemy?’ And he answered: ‘I have found<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span> -thee; because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the -sight of the Lord.’” Ahab went out to take possession -of a garden of herbs, and there he stands face to face -with righteousness—face to face with honor—face to face -with judgment.</p> - -<p>Now take the vineyard. He can not! An hour since -the Sun shone upon it, and now it is black as if it were -part of the midnight which has gathered in judgment.</p> - -<p>There is a success which is failure. We can not take -some prizes. Elijah will not allow us. When we see -him we would that a way might open under our feet that -we might flee and escape the judgment of his silent look.</p> - -<p>In the Septuagint version the twentieth chapter of -the first Book of Kings immediately precedes the twenty-second. -The three years without war is a period which -is reckoned from the peace which was so rashly made by -Ahab with Ben-hadad.</p> - -<p>It is clear that Ben-hadad has recovered his independence, -and is probably in a position of superiority. -It is certain that he has not restored Ramoth-gilead, as -he had promised to do, and his reconstructed army now -seems to him to be sufficient to encounter successfully -the united hosts of Israel and Judah. In the forty-second -verse of the same chapter we have seen how Ahab was -rebuked for allowing the enemy to escape.</p> - -<p>It has been supposed that this conduct on the part of -Ahab may have been due partly to compassion and partly -to weakness. The judgment of the Lord was, however, -expressed in the severest terms:</p> - -<p>“Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span> -whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life -shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.”</p> - -<p>In the third verse we see these words signally fulfilled. -The king of Israel seems to have a good cause when he -said to his servants: “Know ye that Ramoth, in Gilead, -is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand -of the king of Syria?” On this occasion Ahab entered -into an alliance with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, for the -purpose of taking back the city which belonged to Israel. -Jehoshaphat made a deferential as well as a friendly -reply, but insisted upon the fulfillment of a religious -condition. Jehoshaphat would make inquiry at the word -of the Lord.</p> - -<p>Thereupon four hundred prophets were gathered together, -and with one consent they advised that the attack -should be made upon Ramoth-gilead. Surely this was -enough to satisfy the judgment and the conscience of the -most religious man, yet Jehoshaphat was not content -with the unanimous reply which four hundred prophets -had returned.</p> - -<p>“There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the -Almighty giveth them understanding.”</p> - -<p>All external unanimity goes for nothing when the conscience -itself dissents from the judgment which has been -pronounced. There is a verifying faculty which operates -upon its own responsibility, and which can not be overpowered -by the clamor of multitudes who eagerly rush -down paths that are forbidden. Even when imagination -assents to the voice of the majority, and when ambition -is delighted with the verdict of the prophets, there yet -remains the terrible but gracious authority of conscience.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span> -Through all the clamor that authority makes its way, and -calmly distinguishes between right and wrong, and solemnly -insists that right shall be done at all hazards and -in view of all consequences.</p> - -<p>A vital lesson rises here to all who are anxious to -know the right way under difficult circumstances. It is -not enough to have great numbers of authorities on our -side; so long as the conscience remains unsatisfied all -other authorities are “trifles light as air.”</p> - -<p>Jehoshaphat was uneasy, therefore, notwithstanding -the prophets had said: “Go up; for the Lord shall -deliver it into the hand of the king.” He inquired: “Is -there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we -might inquire of him?” The word which Jehoshaphat -used was the great word, Jehovah. It was not enough -for him to use a religious or sacred term. He must have -the prophecy identified with the awful name, Jehovah; -then it would come with final authority.</p> - -<p>The king of Israel knew that there was another man -whose very name signified “Who is like Jehovah?” -Ahab frankly admitted that he hated Micaiah because he -never prophesied good concerning him, but always evil.</p> - -<p>Observe the madness of Ahab’s policy, and note how -often it is the policy which we ourselves are tempted to -pursue. We suppose that if we do not consult the Bible -we may take license to do what seems good in our own -eyes, and we imagine that by ignoring the Bible we have -divested it of authority. We flatter ourselves that if we -do not listen to an exposition of the divine word we shall -be judged according to the light we have, forgetting the -solemn law that it is not according to the light we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span> -have that we are to be judged, but according to the light -we might have if we put ourselves in right relations to -the opportunities created for us by divine providence.</p> - -<p>We know that if we go to hear a certain preacher he -will insist upon “righteousness, temperance and judgment -to come;” and, supposing that we already know -every thing that he will say, we turn away from him and -listen to men who do not profoundly treat vital subjects, -or press home upon the conscience the terrible judgments -of God.</p> - -<p>What is this but closing our eyes to light, and supposing -that darkness is safety? What is this ostrich -policy but one that ought to be condemned by our sense -as well as shrunk from by our piety?</p> - -<p>Our duty under all critical circumstances is to go to -the truth-teller, and to get at the reality of things at all -costs. Where the truth-teller disturbs our peace and -disappoints our ambition, we ought surely to learn that -it is precisely at that point that we have to become self-rectifying. -The truth-teller is only powerful in proportion -as he tells the truth. Officially, he is nothing; his -power is simply the measure of his righteousness.</p> - -<p>But do not men love to be flattered, even in courses -of evil? Is it not pleasant to go to forbidden war amid -the huzzas of thoughtless and irresponsible multitudes?</p> - -<p>Jehoshaphat, however, was a just man, and as such -he protested against the sin of the king of Israel, saying: -“Let not the king say so.” Jehoshaphat being so bent -upon a complete judgment of the case, Micaiah was sent -for. The king of Israel wished to overawe the despised -prophet by the pomp and circumstance under which he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span> -was introduced to the royal presence. “The king of -Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, sat each on -his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in -the entrance of the gate of Samaria,” and, to increase -the impressiveness of the occasion, all the prophets -prophesied before the kings.</p> - -<p>A singular addition was made to the surroundings of -the occasion which was intended to impress the imagination -and stagger the courage of the despised Micaiah. A -man bearing the name of Zedekiah (“righteousness of -Jehovah”) made him horns of iron. The use of symbolical -acts is quite common in biblical history. We have -already seen Abijah engaged in acts of this kind. He -“caught the new garment that was on him and rent it in -twelve pieces, and said to Jeroboam: ‘Take thee ten -pieces.’”</p> - -<p>The enthusiasm of Zedekiah inflamed all the other -prophets to the highest point of excitement, and they -shouted as with one voice:</p> - -<p>“Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper; for the Lord -shall deliver it into the king’s hand.”</p> - -<p>In this instance the prophets, overborne by the enthusiasm -of Zedekiah, actually ventured to use the name of -Jehovah, which had not been used in the first instance. -The excitement had passed the point of worship and had -become more nearly resembling the frantic cry that was -heard on Mount Carmel: “O Baal, hear us.”</p> - -<p>Is it possible that there can be found any solitary -man who dare oppose such unanimous testimony and -complete enthusiasm?</p> - -<p>The messenger who was sent to call Micaiah was evidently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span> -a man of considerate feeling and who wished the -prophet well. Seeing that the words of the prophets had -all declared good unto the king with one mouth, the messenger -wished that Micaiah should for once agree with -the other prophets, and please the king by leaving undisturbed -their emphatic and unanimous counsel.</p> - -<p>Thus the voice of persuasion was brought to bear on -Micaiah, and that voice is always the most difficult to -resist. The temptation thus addressed to Micaiah was -thus double in force. On the one hand, there were the -pomp and the terror of the king who had sold himself to -do evil, and who would shrink from the infliction of no -cruelty that would express his unreasoning and unlimited -anger; on the other hand, there was the good will of the -messenger, who wished Micaiah to escape all danger and -penalty, and for once to take the popular side. Micaiah’s -reply is simply sublime: “As the Lord liveth, what the -Lord saith unto me, that will I speak.”</p> - -<p>The humility of this answer is as conspicuous as its -firmness. Its profound religiousness saves it from the -charge of being defiant. Micaiah recognizes himself -merely in the position of a servant or medium, who has -nothing of his own to say; who is not called upon to invent -an answer or to play the clever man in the presence -of the kings. He was simply as a trumpet through which -God could blow His own blast, or a pillar on which God -would inscribe his own message, or a voice which God -would use for the declaration of His own will. It is unjust -to attribute obstinacy or any form of self-will or -self-worship to Micaiah. If he had consulted his natural -inclination alone, he would have sought favor with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span> -king, and the logical effect of his subsequent position -would have been that Ahab would have endeavored for -ever to silence him by constituting him the prince and -leader of the four hundred prophets. Micaiah said, in -effect, what was said centuries afterward: “We have -this treasure in earthen vessels.”</p> - -<p>Micaiah lived in God, for God, and had nothing of -his own to calculate or consider. Until preachers realize -this same spiritual independence, they will be attempting -to accommodate themselves to the spirit of the times, -and even the strongest of them may be betrayed into -connivances and compromises fatal to personal integrity -and to the claims of truth.</p> - -<p>Now came the critical moment. Now it was to be -seen whether Micaiah was to be promoted to honor, or -thrust away in contempt and wrath. It is easy to read -of the recurrence of such moments, but difficult to realize -them in their agony. Yet these are the moments -which make history in its sublimest lines.</p> - -<p>It is not too much to say that there have been points -of time at which if certain men had given way the whole -economy of the world have been wrecked.</p> - -<p>The king addressed himself to the prophet, saying: -“Shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall -we forbear?” The answer of Micaiah must have been a -surprise to all who heard it, for he said: “Go, and -prosper; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of -the king.”</p> - -<p>This is an answer which can not be understood in -print. It was evident, however, that Ahab was in no -doubt as to its meaning, for the tone of the prophet was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span> -a tone of almost contemptuous irony. If King Ahab had -taken Micaiah’s literal answer, he would have gone forth -to the battle comforting himself with the thought that -he was carrying out the will of Heaven; but he knew in -his own soul that Micaiah was not uttering that which -expressed the reality of the case. With anger the king -said unto him: “How many times shall I adjure thee -that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the -name of the Lord?”</p> - -<p>Then Micaiah replied in symbolic language, the full -meaning of which was vividly clear to the mind of Ahab; -for, turning to Jehoshaphat, he said: “Did I not tell -thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but -evil?”</p> - -<p>Thereupon Micaiah charged the whole band of prophets -with being under the inspiration of a lying spirit, and -thus he put a stigma upon their judgment and extracted -from it every particle of dignity and authority.</p> - -<p>But this was not to be borne, for Zedekiah went near -and smote Micaiah on the cheek and taunted him as being -the only prophet in Israel. Micaiah had to bear the -sarcasm conveyed in the inquiry: “Which way went -the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?”</p> - -<p>Micaiah, like a true prophet, leaves his judgment to -the decision of time. He will not stoop to argue, or to -exchange words either of anger or of controversy; he -simply says that Zedekiah will one day see the meaning -of the whole prophecy, and until that day controversy -would be useless.</p> - -<p>Micaiah had to pay for his intrepidity. He was carried -unto Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span> -the king’s son, and was to be put in prison and fed with -the bread of affliction and with the water of affliction -until Ahab returned in peace.</p> - -<p>Micaiah thus disappears from history. Of his fate we -know nothing; but there can be no difficulty in forecasting -it a cruel death. Micaiah knew well the meaning of -the king’s message. It may be difficult for the commentator -to explain the expression, “bread of affliction and -water of affliction,” but Micaiah knew the full meaning -of the terms, and yet, while their cruel sound was in his -ears, he looked at the king and said: “If thou return -at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me.”</p> - -<p>Micaiah also made his appeal to the people, and thus -committed himself to the verdict of history, saying: -“Hearken, O people, every one of you.”</p> - -<p>See whether it is not a moment to be proud of when -Micaiah turns away in the custody of his persecutors, -having delivered his soul with a fearlessness that did not -cower or blanche, even at the sight of death in its most -ghastly form. Surely, it is due to history to recognize -the fact that there have been men who have not counted -their lives dear unto themselves when they were called -upon to testify for truth and goodness.</p> - -<p>The martyrs must never be forgotten.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;" id="illus10"> -<img src="images/illus10.jpg" width="425" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Joseph Interpreting Pharaoh’s Dream.</span> Genesis, xli.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;" id="illus11"> -<img src="images/illus11.jpg" width="425" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">St. Paul.</p> -<p class="caption">From the Painting by Raphael.</p> -</div> - -<p>Dark will be the day in the history of any nation -when the men who shed their blood that truth might be -told and honor might be vindicated are no longer held in -remembrance. In vain do we bring forth from our hidden -treasure the coins of ancient times, the robes worn -in high antiquity by kings and priests, the rusty armor of -warriors, if there is no longer in our heart the most tender<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span> -recollection of the men who wandered about clad in -sheep-skins and goat-skins—being destitute, afflicted and -tormented—that they might save the torch of truth from -extinction and the standard of honor from overthrow.</p> - -<p>Away the kings have gone, and instead of relying -upon the word of the Lord, or taking refuge in the sanctuary -of great principles, they invent little tricks for the -surprise and dismay of the enemy.</p> - -<p>The king of Israel disguised himself, and Jehoshaphat -made himself as the king of Israel; but all their -inventions came to nothing. A certain man drew a bow -at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the -joints of the harness. The poor king was fatally struck. -He “was stayed up his chariot against the Syrians, and -died at even; and the blood ran out of the wound into -the midst of the chariot.… And one washed the -chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up -his blood; and they washed his armor; according unto -the word of the Lord which He spake.”</p> - -<p>So will perish all the enemies of the Lord.</p> - -<p>Differences of merely accidental detail there will ever -be, but no honor can mark the death of those who have -gone contrary to the will of Heaven, and taken counsel -of their own imagination. How long shall the lessons -of history be wasted upon us? How long will men delude -themselves with the mad infatuation that they can fight -against God and prosper? Horsemen and chariots are -nothing; gold and silver are valueless; all the resources -of civilization are but an elaborate display of cobwebs. -Nothing can stand in the final conflict but truth, right -and purity. These are the eternal bulwarks, and unto<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> -these are assured complete and unchangeable victory. If -God be for us, who can be against us? And if God be -against us, it will matter not what kings are for us; they -shall be blown away by the wind as if contemptuously, -and cast out as refuse which is of no value.</p> - -<p>My soul, be thou faithful to the voice of history, nor -tell lies to thyself, nor operate merely through imagination, -ambition or selfish calculation; for the end of this -course is death—not heroic death, not death over which -coming men and women will weep, but death that shall -be associated with dishonor, a thing to be forgotten, an -event never to be named without bitterness and shame.</p> - -<p>The first and second Book of Kings constitute a section -of Jewish history, and originally formed only one -book in the sacred writings. It was customary with the -Jews to name the sacred books from the word or words -with which they commenced; and, while this practice -may have given rise to the designation, “Kings,” it is -right to observe that the title is well fitted to indicate the -character of these historic compositions.</p> - -<p>The annals given in these sacred registers are necessarily -brief; but they extend from the close of David’s -reign till the commonwealth was dissolved, a period of -427 years. Succinct as is the history contained in these -books, there are some peculiarities in them which should -not be overlooked, and from which not a little may be -learned. There is not here a simple biography of the -various kings that occupied the thrones of Judah and -Israel, nor is there a mere detail of national movements -and events, nor even a tabular register of ecclesiastical -affairs. The throne, the state and the church are all exhibited<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span> -in their mutual relations and bearings upon each -other. Kings and people are held up to view as existing -and acting under the immediate government of God; -and hence the character of the ruler is always tested by -the mode in which he adheres to the laws of the Most -High and develops the moral excellences of the people. -The notice of his accession to royal office is generally -accompanied with an estimate of his conduct, and the -standard to which he is likened or with which he is contrasted -is either the character of David, of his own -father or of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, “who made -Israel to sin.”</p> - -<p>All the political events which are recorded have been -brought forward chiefly to exhibit the influence of religion -on national prosperity, and in this way to show how -the divine King of Israel observed the conduct of his -subjects, and rewarded their fidelity or avenged their -wickedness with expressions of righteous indignation. -And the affairs of the Church are all portrayed with the -evident design of giving prominence to the same important -truth.</p> - -<p>Idolatry in Israel was treason against their King; -religious defection was open revolt, and every act of overt -wickedness was an act of rebellion. Hence there is a -constant comparing or contrasting of religious state and -feeling with those of former times, and especially are the -oracles of truth continually elevated as the perfect standard -to which the thoughts and actions of all should be -conformed.</p> - -<p>The Mosaic promises and warnings are strikingly -verified in the Books of Kings. For this object they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span> -were written, and to the manifestation of this the author -has made his whole narrative conduce.</p> - -<p>Much variety of opinion exists with reference to the -author of these records and the period of their composition. -Jewish tradition ascribes the authorship of the -treatise to Jeremiah, the prophet—a supposition which -is greatly strengthened by the similarity of style and -idiom which is traceable between the language of the -Books of Kings and that of Jeremiah.</p> - -<h3>AHAZIAH.</h3> - -<p>Ahaziah was the son of Ahab and Jezebel. He was -badly born. Some allowance must be made for this fact -in estimating his character.</p> - -<p>Again and again we have had occasion, and shall indeed -often have, to remark upon the disadvantages of -children born of wicked parents. It is not for us to lay -down any final doctrine of responsibility; we must leave -that in the hands of a just and gracious God.</p> - -<p>A terrible spectacle, however, it is to see a man -whose father sold himself to work wickedness in the sight -of the Lord, who bound himself as for a price to show -rebellion on the very floor of Heaven.</p> - -<p>Ahaziah was a prince of evil—a man who said he -would defile the sanctuary and commit his supreme sin -within the shadow of the altar, and whose mother laid -the plans for the murder of Naboth, and who all but personally -superintended their execution. What can we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span> -expect from such a child of darkness? Who can gather -grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Was he responsible -for his own actions? Society is often hard on such men—not -unreasonably or unnaturally. Yet society is often -very gracious to such men, saying with an instinctive -piety and sense of justice: “After all, such men are -not to be personally blamed for their antecedents; they -may indeed be open to some measure of suspicion, but -even they must have their opportunity in life.”</p> - -<p>Let us consider the case of Ahaziah and see how matters -stand for our own instruction.</p> - -<p>To understand the matter thoroughly, we must go to -the twenty-second chapter of the first Book of Kings: -“Then said Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, unto Jehoshaphat: -‘Let my servants go with thy servants in the -ships.’ But Jehoshaphat would not.”</p> - -<p>Jehoshaphat was right when he acted upon his instinct. -By-and-by he came to act upon a basis of calculation, -and then a compact was entered into. But -who dare set aside the voice of instinct—the very first -voice that rises in the soul to make judgment and to give -direction?</p> - -<p>Jehoshaphat, on hearing the proposal of the son of -Ahab, said: “No. I have known thy father too well. -I am too familiarly acquainted with thy family history. -Thou shalt not send thy servants with mine.”</p> - -<p>It would be well for us if we could sometimes act -more promptly upon our instincts. It would have been -well for Jehoshaphat if he had acted upon his instinct.</p> - -<p>Ahaziah fell through the lattice, and in his helplessness -he became religious. Man must have some God.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span> -Even Atheism is a kind of religion. When a man recoils -openly from what may be termed the public faith of his -country, he seeks to apologize for his recoil, and to make -up for his church absence by creating high obligations of -another class. He plays the patriot; he plays the disciplinarian; -he will be a Spartan in personal training -and drill—in some way he will try to make up for or -defend the recoil of his soul from the old altar of his -country.</p> - -<p>It is in their helplessness that we really know what -men are. Do not listen to the frivolous and irresponsible -chatter of men who, being in robust health, really -know nothing about the aching, the sorrow, the pain, the -need and the agony of this awful human life.</p> - -<p>What does our helplessness suggest? Instantly we -go out of ourselves to seek friendship, assistance and -sympathy. “Oh, would some gentle hand but touch my -weariness!” Thus cries the helpless one. All that, being -fairly and duly interpreted, has a religious signification. -The cry for friendship is but a subdued cry for -God.</p> - -<p>Sometimes men will invent Gods of their own. This -is what was done, practically, by Ahaziah. Men will go -out after novel deities. This is what is being done every -day—not under that name, but the mere name makes no -difference in the purpose of the spirit. Say new enjoyments, -new entertainments, new programs, new customs—these, -being interpreted as to the heart of them, mean -new altars, new helpers, new gods.</p> - -<p>It is said of Shakespeare that he first exhausted -worlds, and then invented new. That was right. It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span> -was but of the liberty of a poet to do so. But it is no -part of the liberty of the soul. Necessity forbids it, because -the true God cannot be exhausted. He is like His -own nature, so far as we know it in the great creation; -He is all things in one, gleaming and dazzling as noon-tide, -soft and gentle as the balmy wind, strong as the -great mountains and rocks, beauteous as the tiny fragrant -flowers, musical as the birds that make the air -melodious, awful as the gathered thunder which hovers -above the Earth as if in threatening.</p> - -<p>Who can exhaust nature?</p> - -<p>Who can exhaust nature’s God?</p> - -<p>Still, the imagination of man is evil continually. He -will invent new ways of enjoying himself. He will degrade -religion into a mere form of interrogation. This -is what Ahaziah did in this instance: “Go, inquire of -Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover -of this disease.” All that we sometimes want of God is -that He should be the great fortune teller.</p> - -<p>How true it is that Ahaziah represents us all in making -his religion into a mere form of question asking—in -other words, into a form of selfishness!</p> - -<p>The messengers have now come. They have taken -their speech from their king, and they are on the road to -consult Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron. But who is this -who meets them, and who asks:</p> - -<p>“Is it not because there is not a God in Israel that -ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?”</p> - -<p>The men had said nothing about their errand. Who -is it that reads the heart night and day, to whom the -darkness and the light are both alike, and from the fire<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span> -of whose eye nothing is hid? How do we get the impression -that when we have perfected our lie it is in some -sense public property? We are sure the man whom we -meet knows it. He looks as if he did.</p> - -<p>Elijah is an abrupt speaker. The “hairy man” and -“girt with a girdle of leather” did not study the scanning -of his sentences. He struck with a battering ram; -his interrogations were spears that quivered in the heart; -his looks were judgments. What an effect he produced -upon these men! Why did they not go past him and -say: “Keep thy speeches to thyself, thou hairy man, -nor interfere with the king’s messengers”?</p> - -<p>We can not do that. We know that some men are -not to be turned away so. We may attempt to deceive, -evade or disappoint them, but they have a magnetic and -most marvelous influence upon us. Though they do not -speak in the imperative mood, they speak with imperative -force.</p> - -<p>The men turned back like whipped children to tell the -king what they had heard, and Ahaziah was surprised at -their early return. He can not sleep. He asks that the -book of the chronicles may be brought, that he may look -up events and see where the loop slipped, where the -wrong entry was made, or where the minutes were not -carried out in detail.</p> - -<p>All this means that Elijah lives in some form or other -and will meet us and confront us and have it out with us.</p> - -<p>Look at the conflict between Ahaziah and Elijah, the -Tishbite. Ahaziah is the king and Elijah is only the -prophet, and the king ought to have every thing his own -way ex-officio. Now we shall see what metal Elijah is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span> -made of. He handled kings as if they were little children. -He took them up and set them down behind him -and said: “Wait there until I return, and stir at your -peril.”</p> - -<p>The prophet should always be the uppermost man. -Kings are nothing compared to teachers and seers—men -who hold the judgments of God on commission. The -great men of the nation are the prophets, the teachers, -the educators of thought, the inspirers of noble sacrificial -enthusiasm. See how Elijah tramps among the -kings. He has no favor to ask. If he were driven to -ask for one morsel of bread, he would be Elijah no more.</p> - -<p>Ahaziah sends to Elijah and says: “Come down.” -These words sound very commanding and imperative. -Elijah answered: “If I be a man of God, then let fire -come down from Heaven and consume thee and thy fifty. -And there came down fire from Heaven and consumed -him and his fifty.”</p> - -<p>Look at the conflict and its parties. On the one -hand, petulance; on the other, dignity. On the one side, -anger—fretful, fuming, petty; on the other, judgment—calm, -sublime, comprehensive, final.</p> - -<p>Ekron was one of the royal cities of the Philistines. -Its situation is pointed out with considerable minuteness -in Scripture. It is described as lying on the northern -border of Philistia and of the territory allotted to Judah. -It stood on the plain between Bethshemesh and Jabneel. -Jerome locates it on the east of the road leading from -Azotus (Ashdod) to Jamnia (Jabneel). From these notices -we have no difficulty in identifying it with the modern -village of Akir. Akir stands on the southern slope<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span> -of a low and bleak ridge or swell which separates the -Plain of Philistia from Sharon. It contains about fifty -mud houses, and has not a vestige of antiquity except -two large and deep wells and some stone water troughs. -Ekron means “wasteness.” The houses are built on the -accumulated rubbish of past ages, and, like their predecessors, -if left desolate for a few years they would crumble -to dust. The most interesting event in its history -was the sending of the ark to Bethshemesh. A new cart -was made and two milch kine yoked to it, and then left -to choose their own path; “and they took the straight -way to the way of Bethshemesh,” the position of which -can be seen in a gorge of the distant mountains eastward. -The deity worshiped at Ekron was called Baal-zebub, -and we may conclude from the story of Ahaziah -that this oracle had a great reputation, even among the -degenerate Israelites. Ekron was a large village in the -days of Jerome, and also in the age of the crusades.</p> - -<h3>ASA.</h3> - -<p>Asa was a good king of Judah. He “did that which -was good and right in the eyes of the Lord, his God.” -Not only “good and right,” because these might be variable -terms. There are persons who set themselves to the -presumptuous and impious task of settling for themselves -what is “right” and what is “good.”</p> - -<p>In the case of Asa, he did not invent a righteousness, -nor did he invent a goodness which he could adapt to his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span> -own tempers, ambitions and conveniences. He was right -and good and “did that which was good and right in the -eyes of the Lord, his God.”</p> - -<p>While the land had peace, Asa set to work and built -walls, towers and fences, and did all that he could for -the good of his country.</p> - -<p>Zerah, an Ethiopian warrior, did not understand -silence. He mistook quietness for languor. He made -the vulgar mistake of supposing that quietness was indifference. -He did not know that repose is the very -highest expression of power.</p> - -<p>Zerah brought against Asa, king of Judah, no fewer -than a million soldiers—to us a large number, but to the -Orientals quite a common array. Zerah’s host was the -largest collected army of which we read in Scripture, but -it does not exceed the known numbers of other Oriental -armies in ancient times. Darius Codomannus brought -into the field at Arbela a force of 1,040,000. Xerxes -crossed into Greece with certainly above a million combatants. -Artaxerxes Mnemon collected 1,260,000 men -to meet the attack of the younger Cyrus.</p> - -<p>What was to be done? Asa did not shrink from war, -though he never courted it. He must meet the foe in -battle. Before doing so he must pray.</p> - -<p>“Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help, whether with -many or with them that have no power. Help us, O -Lord, our God, for we rest on Thee; and in Thy name -we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; -let not man prevail against Thee.”</p> - -<p>Having risen from their knees, they launched themselves -against the Ethiopians, and were mighty as men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span> -who answer straw with steel. They fought in God’s -name and for God’s cause, and the thousand thousand of -the Ethiopians were as nothing before the precise and -terrific stroke of men who had studied war in the school -of God.</p> - -<p>The defeat of Zerah is one of the most remarkable -events in the history of the Jews. On no other occasion -did they meet in the field and overcome the forces of -either of the two great monarchies between which they -were placed. It was seldom that they ventured to resist, -unless behind walls. Shishak, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, -Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander and Ptolemy I. were either -unopposed or only opposed in this way. On the other -occasion on which they took the field—which was under -Josiah against Necho—their boldness issued in a most -disastrous defeat.</p> - -<p>Asa, then, began upon a good foundation; he established -himself upon a great principle. That is what all, -young people especially, should take to heart right seriously. -Do not make an accident of your lives—a thing -without center, purpose, certitude or holiness. Be right -in your great foundation lines, and you will build up a -superstructure strong, after the nature and quality of the -foundation upon which you build. Do not snatch at life. -Do not take out an odd motto here and there and say: -“This will do for the occasion.” Life should be deeply -laid in its bases, strongly cemented together in its principles, -noble in its convictions; then it can be charitable -in its concessions and recognitions.</p> - -<p>“And Asa took courage, and put away the abominable -idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span> -out of the cities which he had taken from Mount -Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the Lord.”</p> - -<p>Let us not trifle with the occasion by suggesting that -we have no idolatries to uproot, no heathen groves to -examine, to purify or to destroy. That would indeed be -making light of history and ignoring the broadest and -saddest facts of our present circumstances. The world -is full of little gods, man-made idols, groves planted by -human hands, oppositions and antagonisms to the tried -Theism of the universe.</p> - -<p>We are apt to think that the idols are a long way off—far -beyond seas; or that they existed long centuries -ago and spoke languages now obsolete or forgotten.</p> - -<p>Nothing of the kind. They live here; they build -today. Our gods are a million strong. We do not call -them gods, but we worship them none the less. Luck, -Accident, Fortune, Fashion, Popularity, Self-Indulgence—these -are the base progeny of idols that did once represent -some ideal thought and even some transcendental -religion. Idolatry has retrograded; polytheism has gone -quickly backward.</p> - -<p>Asa said, in effect: “We must be right about our -gods before we can be right with one another.” That is -true teaching. With a wrong theology we never can -have a thoroughly sound and healthy economic system.</p> - -<p>This was the corner-stone upon which Asa built his -great and gracious policy. What was the effect of it -upon other people? We find that the effect then was -what it must always be:</p> - -<p>“They fell to him out of Israel in abundance when -they saw that the Lord, his God, was with him.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span></p> - -<p>Such is the influence of a great leadership. If Asa -had been halting, the people would have halted, too. -Asa was positive; and positiveness, sustained by such -beneficence, begets courage in other people. “They fell -to him out of Israel in abundance”—that is, they came -over to him and were on his side. They ranked themselves -with Asa; they looked for his banner and called -it theirs, “when they saw that the Lord, his God, was -with him.”</p> - -<p>Nations perish for want of great leaders. Social -reforms are dependent to a large extent upon the spirit of -the leadership which has adopted them. The Church is -always looking around for some bolder man, some more -heroic and dauntless spirit, who will utter the new truth, -if any truth can be new—say, rather, the next truth; for -truth has always a next self, a larger and immediately -impending self, and the hero, who is also martyr, must -reveal that next phase of truth and die on Golgotha for -his pains.</p> - -<p>Can we not, in some small sense, be leaders in our -little circles—in our business relations, in our family life, -in our institutional existence? Many people can follow -a tune who can not begin one. That is the philosophy -we would unfold and enforce.</p> - -<p>Regard all leaders with prayerful hopefulness in so -far as they want to do good and to be good. Sympathize -with them; say to Asa, even the king: “What thou -hast done thou hast well done; in God’s name we bless -thee for the purification of the land and for the encouragement -of all noble things.”</p> - -<p>Asa showed the limits of human forbearance and human<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span> -philosophy. He broke down in the very act of doing -that which was right because he went too far. He made -a covenant, and the people made it along with him.</p> - -<p>Solemn renewals of the original covenant which God -made with their fathers in the wilderness occur from time -to time in the history of the Jews, following upon intervals -of apostacy. This renewal in the reign of Asa is -the first on record. The next falls three hundred years -later, in the reign of Josiah. There is a third in the time -of Nehemiah. On such occasions the people bound -themselves by a solemn oath to observe all the directions -of the Law, and called down God’s curse upon them if -they forsook it.</p> - -<p>“And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord -God of their fathers with all their heart and all their -soul; that whosoever would not seek the Lord God of -Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, -whether man or woman.”</p> - -<p>That is the danger. You can not make men religious -by killing them, by threatening them, by inflicting upon -them any degree of penalty. Do not force a child to -church. Lead it; lure it; make the church so bright -and homelike and beautiful that the child will eagerly -long for the time to come when the door will be opened.</p> - -<p>Asa was impartial. There was a touch of real grandeur -about the man. He would not even allow his -mother to keep an idol. The queen had an idol of her -own “in a grove.”</p> - -<p>“And also concerning Maachah, the mother of Asa, -the king, he removed her from being queen, because she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span> -had made an idol in a grove; and Asa cut down her idol, -and stamped it and burnt it at the brook Kidron.”</p> - -<p>Thus ruthlessly Asa disestablished that little royal -church. See how burningly in earnest the man was, and -what a man will do when his earnestness is fervent! He -knows nothing about fathers, mothers, partialities or -concessions. He says: “Light is the foe of darkness, -and you can not have any little dark corner of your own. -This light must find you out, chase away every shadow -and purify every secret place in human life and thought.”</p> - -<p>Some have supposed that Maachah, the mother of -Abijah, and Maachah, the “mother” of Asa, were different -persons, the former being the daughter of Absalom, -the latter the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. There -are really no grounds for this. Maachah, the mother of -Abijah, enjoyed the rank of queen mother not only during -his short reign of three years, but also during that of -her grandson, Asa, until deposed by him on account of -her idolatry.</p> - -<p>The original word for “idol” appears to signify a -“horrible abomination” of some monstrous kind; and -instead of “in a grove” we should read “for an asherah,” -the wooden emblem of the Canaanitish deity.</p> - -<p>There seems little doubt that some obscene emblem -is meant, of the kind so often connected with worship of -the productive powers of nature in ancient religions—substituted, -as a still greater abomination, for the ordinary -asherah. Clearly, the act of Maachah was one of -so flagrant a kind that Asa took the unusual step, on -which the historian here lays great stress, of degrading -her in her old age from her high dignity, besides hewing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span> -down her idol and burning it publicly under the walls of -Jerusalem.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said Asa, in effect, “what is good for the -public is good for the individual; what is good for the -subject is good for the queen.”</p> - -<h3>ATHALIAH.</h3> - -<p>Athaliah was a king’s daughter and a king’s wife. -She had a son whose name was Ahaziah, but, as he was -an invalid, he did not occupy the throne longer than -about twelve months.</p> - -<p>As soon as his mother saw that he was dead a fierce -and most murderous passion seized her heart. She then -resolved to be queen herself.</p> - -<p>In order to carry out this nefarious purpose, she slew -all the seed royal, so that, there being no successor to -the throne, she ascended it and reigned as queen.</p> - -<p>It is very wonderful that some of the most cruel and -startling things in the world have been done by women. -One called Laodice poisoned her six sons one by one, -that she might be empress of Constantinople. Another, -ironically named Irene, took the eyes out of her own -boy, that he might be incapable of empire, and that she -might reign alone.</p> - -<p>These things were done in the ancient time. Is any -of the cruelty of heart left still? The accident may be -changed—what about the passion and purpose of the -heart? Let every one answer the question individually.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span></p> - -<p>Athaliah made her heap of corpses and laughed in -her mad heart, saying that now she was queen. But -always some Fleance escapes the murderer’s clutch. In -that heap of corpses there was an infant boy, hardly -twelve months old; he was spared. The sword had not -taken his little life, but the queen knew not that the -child Joash had escaped. He was taken and with his -nurse was hidden in the Temple, and there he was -trained by the good priest, Jehoiada, for some six years. -All the while the queen was reigning and doing evil.</p> - -<p>The little boy was saved by his aunt, Jehosheba, and -when six years had passed and the boy was seven years -of age, being twelve months old when he was snatched -from impending ruin, Jehoiada called the rulers together -and all the chief and mighty men of Israel. He then -revealed the secret to them.</p> - -<p>Having disposed these dignitaries in military order -and with military precision around the person of the -young king, Jehoiada brought the crown and put it upon -his head, and he gave him the testimony or Book of -Leviticus; and, having gone through all this ceremonial -process, the young king stood upright by the pillar of inauguration -in the Temple, and all that great throng then -clapped their hands and shouted: “God save the king!” -Louder the shout rang till the queen heard it in her own -house, which was not far off.</p> - -<p>“The nearer the church, the farther from God,” has -been wittily said.</p> - -<p>Athaliah hastened to the sacred place to know the -reason of this hilarious tumult, and when the case was -made clear to her she shrieked and cried:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Treason! Treason!”</p> - -<p>But her voice found no echo in the hearts of men. -Not a soul fluttered—not a heart started up in the royal -defense. The woman—the evil daughter of an evil -mother—was taken out by the way along which the -horses came into the king’s house, and the sword which -she had thrust into the throats of others drank her own -blood.</p> - -<p>In an event of this kind there must be some great -lessons for all time. These are not merely momentary -ebullitions of wrath or malice. They have history in -them; they are red with the common blood of the whole -race.</p> - -<p>Very few men stand out in ancient history with so -fair and honorable a fame as good Jehoshaphat. It is -like a tonic, intellectual and spiritual, to read his vivid -history. He was a grand king—long-headed, good-hearted, -honest and healthy in purpose of doing wondrous -things for his kingdom and for the chosen of God.</p> - -<p>But is there not a weak point in every man? Does -not the strongest man stoop? Does not great Homer -sometimes nod?</p> - -<p>Jehoshaphat had this weakness, that he hankered -after some kind of connection with the wicked house of -Ahab. He had a son, whose name was Jehoram (or -Joram), and he wanted his son married. He must look -around for royal blood. Explain it as we may—no man -has explained it fully yet—Jehoshaphat wanted to be -connected with the evil house of Ahab. To that house -he looked for a wife for his son, Jehoram. His son married -Athaliah, and she brought into the kingdom all the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span> -idolatry of Ahab and the fierce blood-thirstiness of Jezebel. -That was the root of the mischief. Some roots -lie a long time before they begin to germinate. There -may be roots in our lives which will take ten years or -forty years to develop, but the root will bring forth according -to its kind. Let us take care what roots we plant -in our lives—what connections we form.</p> - -<p>Jehoram, the son of good Jehoshaphat, walked in the -evil ways of the kings of Israel, and he wrought that -which was evil in the sight of the Lord. Mark the reason -given by the inspired historian: “He had the -daughter of Ahab to wife.”</p> - -<p>What secrets were indicated by that one reason! -What a whole volume of tragedy is wrapped up in that -brief sentence!</p> - -<p>The responsibility seems to a large extent transferred -from Jehoram and placed upon his wife, who was a more -subtle thinker, a more desperate character, with a larger -brain and a firmer will, with more accent and force of -personality. Jehoram played the evil trick, repeated the -foul habit, went in the wrong direction, bowed down to -forbidden altars, for—“he had the daughter of Ahab to -wife.” She lured him; the seduction was hers; she won -the conquest. When he would have bowed the knee to -the God of Heaven, she laughed at him and mocked him -into Baal worship. He fell as a victim into her industrious -and cruel hands.</p> - -<p>“Be not unequally yoked together.” Do not look -upon marriage lightly; do not suppose that it is a game -for the passing day, a flash and gone, a hilarious excitement, -a wine-bibbing, a passing around of kind salutations,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span> -then dying away like a trembling echo. Beware -what connections you form, and do not suppose that the -laws of God can be set aside with impunity. Get out of -your heads the infinite mistake that you can do as you -like and escape the operation of divine law. Deliver -yourselves from the cruel delusion that you can sow tares -and reap wheat. Be not deceived. God is not mocked, -for whatever a man sows that shall he also reap.</p> - -<p>Our family life explains our public attitude and influence. -What we are at home we are really abroad.</p> - -<p>Wives, do not destroy your husbands. When they -would do good, help them. When they propose to give -to the cause of charity, suggest that the donation be -doubled, not divided. When they would help in any -good and noble work, give them sympathy, prayer and -blessing. We never knew a man yet of any enduring -public power that was not made by his wife, and we -never knew a public man yet that fully appreciated the -value of that ministry. It is secret; it is at home; it -does not show. It is chalked on a black-board, and not -gilded on a high ceiling; it is silent, but vital.</p> - -<p>We have seen a man go down in his church life, and -we have wondered why. It was his wife—the daughter -of Ahab—who was degrading him, narrowing him and -dwarfing him in his thinking and sympathy.</p> - -<p>We have seen a man go up in his public influence, -and we have found that it was his wife who was encouraging -him, helping him, telling him that he was on the -right way, and wishing him good luck in the name of the -Lord.</p> - -<p>See to it that your home is right. Have a beautiful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span> -home—morally and religiously; a sacred house, a sanctuary -where joy is the singing angel. And then, when -you come abroad into the market-place, into the pulpit, -into parliament, into trade and commerce or into any of -the social relations of life, you will bring with you all the -inspiration which comes from a home that blooms like a -garden or glows like a Summer sun.</p> - -<p>Do not suppose that the divine purpose can be set -aside by Athaliahs, Irenes, Laodices or any false, furious -or desperate characters of any kind.</p> - -<p>The Lord promised David that he should always have -a candle in Jerusalem. The light was very low sometimes—it -was reduced to a spark in young Joash; but it -was God’s candle, and Athaliah’s wild breath could not -blow out that light. The word of the Lord abideth for -ever.</p> - -<p>Observe a very strong peculiarity in human nature, -as shown in the conduct of Athaliah. She went into the -Temple and saw the young Joash with a crown upon his -head, and she shrieked out: “Treason! Treason!”</p> - -<p>Poor innocent Athaliah! Who would not pity so -gentle a dove, with a breast of feathers and a cruel dart -rankling in it? Sweet woman—gentle and loving creature—injured -queen! Her hands were perfectly clean; -she was the victim of a cruel stratagem. She was outwitted -by heads longer than hers. She, poor unsuspecting -soul, had been brought into this condition, and all -she could do was to cry in injured helplessness:</p> - -<p>“Treason! Treason!”</p> - -<p>How moral we become under some circumstances! -How very righteous we may stand up to be under certain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span> -provocations! Who could but pity poor Athaliah, who -had nursed her grandchildren with a wolf’s care? We do -this very self-same thing very often in our own lives. -Where is the man who does not suppose that he has a -right to do wrong? But let other people do wrong, and -then hear him!</p> - -<p>Given a religious sect of any name whatsoever, that -has the domination of any neighborhood, and the probability -is that that religious sect will use its supremacy -somewhat mischievously in certain circumstances. It -will not let anybody who opposes its tenets have an acre -of ground in that neighborhood, nor will it allow any -sect that opposes its principles to build a church there. -No! It takes a righteous view of the circumstances; it -will not trifle with its responsibilities; it can allow no -encroachment. It is charged with the spirit of stewardship, -and must be faithful to its sacred obligations.</p> - -<p>So it cants and whines, whatever its name be. If it -be the name we bear religiously, so much the worse. We -speak of no particular sect, but of any sect that may be -placed in such peculiar circumstances as to claim the -domination and supremacy in any neighborhood.</p> - -<p>Now, let any member of that sect leave that particular -locality and go to live under a wholly different set of -circumstances, and apply for a furlong of ground, or for -a house that he may occupy as tenant. Then let it be -found that his religious convictions are a bar to his enjoyment -of local properties and liberties. He will cry out: -“Persecution! Persecution!” How well it befits his -lips! The very man who in one district persecuted to -the death those who opposed him removes to another<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span> -locality, where a screw is applied to his own joints, and -he raises the cry of persecution. It is Athaliah’s old -trick, and will have Athaliah’s poor reward.</p> - -<p>See how the cry of the wicked is unheeded. Athaliah -was a woman, and by so much had a claim upon the -sympathy of the strong. Yet no man’s heart went out -to her in loyal reverence.</p> - -<p>Jehoash (or Joash, as the name was shortened) was -trained in the Temple, under the good Jehoiada. He -was blessed in his aunt—for it was his aunt who took -him, the daughter of Ahab, but not by the mother of -Athaliah—and Joash did good all the days of Jehoiada, -the priest. See the influence of a noble life. See how -religion may help royalty, and how that which is morally -true lifts up patriotism to a higher level. No country is -sound at heart—through and through good and likely to -endure—that draws not the inspiration of its patriotism -from the loftiness and purity of its religion.</p> - -<p>All these tragedies are making the Earth reek with -abomination today. Athaliah lives in a vigorous progeny.</p> - -<h3>BALAAM.</h3> - -<p>Balaam comes into the narrative most suddenly—but -he will never go out of it again. Other men have come -into the Bible story quite as suddenly, but they have only -remained for a time. Balaam will never disappear; we -shall read of him when we come to the Book of the -Revelation of John the Divine.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span></p> - -<p>There are some historical presences that you can -never get rid of. It is useless to quibble and question. -The same mystery occurs in our own life. Some persons, -having been once seen, are seen for ever. You can not -get away from the image or the influence, or forget the -magical touch of hand or mind or ear; they turn up in -the last chapter of your life Bible. You can not tell -whence they come. Their origin is as great a mystery as -is the origin of Melchisedek; they come into your lifelines -as quickly and abruptly as came Elijah, the Tishbite; -and they take up their residence with you—subtly -coloring every thought, secretly and mightily turning -speech into new accents and unsuspected expressions full -of significance and revealing that significance in ever-surprising -ways and tones.</p> - -<p>Why sit down and look at the story of Balaam as -though it were something that occurred once for all? It -occurs every day. God teaches by surprise. He sets the -stranger in our life, and while we are wondering He turns -our wonder into a mystery more sublime.</p> - -<p>Who would have a life four-square, in the sense of -limitation, visible boundary, tangible beginning and ending? -Who would not rather be in the world as if he had -been in some other world, and as if he were moving on -to some larger world? We lose power when we lose -mystery. Let us not chaffer about words. If the spirit -of mystery is in a man, the spirit of worship is in him; -and if the spirit of worship is in him, it may detail itself -into beliefs, actions and services which are accounted -right, and whose rightness will be proved by their beneficence. -Balaam comes as suddenly as Melchisedek, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span> -unexpectedly as Elijah; but we shall find him at the -very last an instructive historical character.</p> - -<p>He is called Balaam, the son of Beor, and he is domiciled -at Pethor, on the River Euphrates. At that time -the king of Moab was called Balak, and when Balak saw -how Israel had destroyed the Amorites he said:</p> - -<p>“Fighting is out of the question. If we have to -come to battle, we may as well surrender before we begin; -the numbers are overwhelming. Now shall this -company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox -licketh up the grass of the field.”</p> - -<p>You can hear the lick and the crunch, and be present -at the destruction. It was a day of fear and much sorrow -in Moab.</p> - -<p>What, then, was to be done?</p> - -<p>Herein came the wisdom of Balak. He also lives to -the end of life’s chapter, for to the end of that chapter -we shall find the touch of superstition in the human -mind. Balak would have recourse to supernatural help. -He had heard of Balaam, the soothsayer of Pethor—a -man of divination, a person who had power to bless and -to curse—the Simon Magus of his day. So he took advantage -of his superstition, and thought to sow the air -with curses which would work where his little sword -could not reach.</p> - -<p>That is not a mean thought. Call it perversion or -superstition—you do not touch the inner and vital mystery -of the case. The great agonies of life are not to be -explained by calling them perversions, or labeling them -superstitions, or denouncing them as nightmares or -dreams; they are there. Man must obey voices which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span> -are not always articulate and reportable as to words and -tones. It may be more superstitious to deny the supernatural -than to affirm it. Never forget the cant that is -talked against cant.</p> - -<p>Do not believe that they are the heavenly, pure and -brilliant souls who have no church, no religion, no altar; -who live under the dome of their own hats and walk on -the marble of their own boots. Whose prophets, pray, -are they? They must be accounted for, as well as the -Melchisedeks, the Balaams and Elijahs of old time. -What is their history? Where have they made their -mark? What marvels of beneficence have they performed? -Or do they only live in the very doubtful region -of sneering at other people’s piety?</p> - -<p>Balak’s was a great thought. We do not adopt its -form, but we should perhaps do unwisely to reject its -spirit and intent. Balak said: “Numbers are against -us. If it is to be a mere contention of army against -army, Moab will be destroyed at once. The thing to be -done—if it can be done—is to enlist the service and the -action of the supernatural.” Quite right. We say so -now. If that can be done, any other thing that can be -done is contemptible in comparison.</p> - -<p>So Balak sent for Balaam, who made answer that he -would not come. By-and-by Balak sent other princes -more honorable still, with offers of promotion and honor -and abundant wages. Balaam said he would ask God. -He asked God, and angered Him by so doing. Some -second prayers are worse than superstitions.</p> - -<p>So God said: “If the men come to call thee, rise -up, and go with them; yet the word which I shall say<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span> -unto thee, that shalt thou do.” But God’s anger was -kindled against Balaam.</p> - -<p>“And God’s anger was kindled because he went; and -the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary -against him. Now, he was riding upon his ass, and his -two servants were with him. And the ass saw the angel -of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in -his hand; and the ass turned aside out of the way, and -went into the field; and Balaam smote the ass, to turn -her into the way. But the angel of the Lord stood in a -path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side and a -wall on that side.”</p> - -<p>When Balak heard of Balaam’s arrival he was glad. -Gold went for nothing, now the soothsayer had come. -Riches were as water poured forth. In those days the -supernatural went for something in the market-place. It -is the cheapest of all things now. Ideas are without -value; religious thoughts are mere breath. But Balaam -remembered that he was only to speak what God told -him; so he began to play the priest. He would have -altars put up.</p> - -<p>He took up his parable, and said: “Balak, the king of -Moab, hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains -of the east, saying: ‘Come, curse me Jacob,’ and -‘Come, defy Israel.’”</p> - -<p>Balaam would have altars put up and sacrifices rendered. -But the answer was: “No. Israel can not be -cursed.”</p> - -<p>So Balak took him to another point of view, where -perhaps, the multitude looked greater or did not look so -great. “And he took up his parable, and said: ‘Rise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span> -up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor.’” -And again the people were to rise like a lion, and -lift up themselves as a young lion; and the people were -not to lie down until they had eaten of the prey and -drunk of the blood of the slain.</p> - -<p>“Well, then,” said Balak, “if that be the case, this -thou must do for me: Neutralize thyself; be nothing; -act as if thou hadst not come at all. Neither curse them -at all, nor bless them at all.”</p> - -<p>But Balaam said: “No. You can not treat God’s -messengers in that way. As a matter of fact, they are -here; you have to account for them being here, and to -reckon with them while they are here.”</p> - -<p>We can not quiet things by ignoring them. Simply -by writing “Unknowable” across the heavens we really -do not exclude supernatural or immeasurable forces. The -ribbon is too narrow to shut out the whole Heaven. It -is but a little strip, and looks contemptible against the -infinite arch. We do not exclude God by denying Him, -nor by saying that we do not know Him, or that He can -not be known. We can not neutralize God, so as to -make Him neither the one thing nor the other.</p> - -<p>So Balaam was the greatest mystery that Balak had -to deal with. It is just the same with the Bible—God’s -supernatural Book. It will not lie where we want it to -lie. It has a way of getting up through the dust that -gathers upon it and shaking itself, and making its pages -felt. It will open at the wrong place. Would it open -at some catalogue of names it might be tolerated, but it -opens at hot places, where white thrones are and severe -judgments, and where scales are tried and measuring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span> -wands tested. It will speak to the soul about the wrong -doing that never came to any thing, and the wicked -thought that would have burned the heavens and scattered -dishonor upon the throne of God.</p> - -<p>Balak said, in effect: “Would to Heaven I could -get rid of this man.” He took Balaam to another point -of view, and Balaam “set his face toward the wilderness, -and took up his parable.” He sang a sweet and -noble song: “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob! And -thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread -forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign -aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees -beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his -buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his -king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be -exalted. God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath, -as it were, the strength of an unicorn; he shall eat up -the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones and -pierce them through with his arrows. He couched, he -lay down as a lion, and as a great lion; who shall stir -him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is -he that curseth thee.”</p> - -<p>Balak made a bad bargain that day. He added unto -his troubles, instead of diminishing them.</p> - -<p>Balak would gladly have parted with Balaam, but he -could not get rid of him; and Balak was wroth. It became -a king to become angry. And Balak’s anger was -kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together -and said unto Balaam: “I called thee to curse mine -enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them -these three times. Therefore, now flee thou to thy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span> -place. I thought to promote thee unto great honor, but -lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honor.”</p> - -<p>Balaam then made a great speech to Balak. He said: -“Is this not precisely what I said to the king’s messengers? -Did I not say: ‘If Balak would give me his -house full of silver and gold, I can not go beyond the -commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of -mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I -speak’? Now, I will tell that which I see.”</p> - -<p>And then came the parable of the man whose eyes -are open:</p> - -<p>And he took up his parable, and said: “Balaam, -the son of Beor, hath said, and the man whose eyes are -open hath said, he hath said which heard the words of -God, and knew the knowledge of the Most High, which -saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but -having his eyes open; I shall see him, but not now; I -shall behold him, but not nigh; there shall come a Star -out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and -shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children -of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir -also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel -shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that -shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth -of the city.”</p> - -<p>Then the parable is continued, Balaam looking Balak -full in the face; and last of all “Balaam rose up, and -went and returned to his place, and Balak also went his -way.”</p> - -<p>You can not carve your God into any shape that will -please your fancy. You can not send for any true faith<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span> -and bribe it to speak your blessings or your cursings. -Balaam was a man of noble sentiments. Look at some -of his words: “Let me die the death of the righteous, -and let my last end be like his.” And again: “God is -not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, -that he should repent.” And again: “I shall see him, -but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh.”</p> - -<p>Then take the grand words which he spoke to Balak, -as reported in the prophecies of Micah. Never did man -preach a nobler sermon than this: “He hath showed -thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord -require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and -to walk humbly with thy God.”</p> - -<p>Who can amend that speech? Who can refine that -gold? Who dares touch that lily with his mean paint? -Who taught Balaam that great speech?</p> - -<p>We sometimes say we find, scattered up and down in -ancient literature, morals as beautiful as any we find in -the Bible. Possibly so. Who wrote them? Whence -did they come? Is God the God of one corner of the -creation? Is God a parochial Deity?</p> - -<p>Is there not a spirit in man—universal man—and -does not the Spirit of the Most High give him understanding? -Wherever there is a line of beauty, God -wrote it; wherever there is a sentiment which is charged -with the spirit of beneficence, that may be claimed as a -good gift of God.</p> - -<p>Apostle Paul never uttered a nobler sentiment than is -uttered by Balaam, as reported in the prophecies of -Micah. This is the Sermon upon the Mount in anticipation. -That is the vicious Church, built on the wrong<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span> -foundation, aiming at the wrong Heaven, which does not -recognize in every literature and in every nation all that -is good, noble, wise, prophetic.</p> - -<p>Balaam’s convictions and wishes disagreed sometimes. -Therein he was most human. He knew he ought not to -go to Balak, and yet he wished to go. He would ask the -second time; he would doubt his own convictions, or he -would adjust them according to the shape and temper of -circumstances. Wherever he came from, he claims -herein to be quite a near neighbor of ours. Doubt may -exist as to the exact relation of Pethor to the river upon -which it was built, but there can be no doubt whatever -of the blood relationship between Balaam and our own -age. Speaking impulsively from the center of his convictions, -he said: “No. Nothing shall tempt me to -go. You speak of gold and silver. Were Balak to give -me his house full of gold and silver, I would not go. I -am the Lord’s servant, and the Lord’s work alone will -I do.”</p> - -<p>Then the thought occurred to him—a second message -coming, borne by more honorable princes: “Perhaps I -might go and obtain this wealth and honor, and still do -my duty.”</p> - -<p>He is on the downward road now. A man who thinks -to do forbidden things and spend the bounty for the advantage -of the Church is lost; there is no power in him -that can overcome the gravitation that sucks him downward. -He says: “I will bring back all Balak’s gold -and silver, and add a transept to the church or another -course of marble to the altar.”</p> - -<p>He will never return. God will not have His house<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span> -so patched and bungled; nor does He want Balak’s gold -for the finishing of His sanctuary. A nobler spirit was -Abram, who said no to the king of Sodom, “lest thou -shouldest say: ‘I have made Abram rich.’”</p> - -<p>The whole story of Balaam is intensely Oriental and -primeval. The first deputation is dismissed in obedience -to a divine warning; but, so far as we know, “the -wages of unrighteousness,” which Balaam loved, are -carefully retained. A second embassy of nobler messengers, -carrying richer gifts, succeeds. He does not at -once dismiss them, as God had required, but presses for -permission to go with them, which at last is granted.</p> - -<p>Balaam would earn the fame and honor apparently -within his grasp, yet he knows that when the prophetic -afflatus comes on him he can only utter what it prompts. -With a feigned religiousness, he protests that if Balak -were to give him his house full of silver and gold he -could not go beyond the word of Jehovah, his God, to -do less or more; but he also bids them wait overnight to -see if he may not, after all, be allowed to go with them. -If his ignoble wish to be allowed to curse an unoffending -nation be gratified, he has the wealth he craves; if it be -refused, he can appeal to his words as proof of his being -only the mouth-piece of God.</p> - -<p>That Balaam should have been allowed to go with -Balak’s messengers was only the permission given every -man to act as a free agent, and in no way altered the -divine command, that he should bless, and not curse. -Yet he goes as if at liberty to do either, and lets Balak -deceive himself by false hopes, when the will of God has -been already decisively made known.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span></p> - -<p>Balaam’s was a maneuvering life—very truthful, and -yet very false; very godly, and yet very worldly—a most -composite and self-contradictory life, and still a most -human life. Balaam never breaks away from the brotherhood -of the race in any of his inconsistencies. When -he is very good, there are men living today who are just -as good as Balaam was; when he is very bad, it would -not be difficult to confront him with men who are quite -his equals in wrong doing. When he is both good and -bad almost at the same moment, he does not separate -himself from the common experience of the race. He -was always arranging, adjusting, endeavoring to meet -one thing by another, and to set off one thing over -against another. It was a kind of gamester life—full of -subtle calculation, touched with a sort of wonder which -becomes almost religious, and steeped in a superstition -which reduces many of the actions of life to a state of -moral mystery wholly beyond ordinary comprehension.</p> - -<h3>ELAH.</h3> - -<p>There was once a king in Israel named Elah. He -reigned over Israel, in Tirzah, two years. He had a -servant called Zimri, who was a captain of his chariots.</p> - -<p>Zimri was a born traitor. Treachery was in his very -blood. In the case of Elah, Zimri had a marked advantage, -for Elah was a drunken fool. He was in the habit -of visiting the house of another of his servants, a steward -called Arza. There he had what drink he asked for,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span> -and he asked for a great deal—so much that he was often -drunk in his servant’s house. On one of these occasions -Zimri went in and killed him, and reigned in his stead.</p> - -<p>These are the facts with which we have to deal. Are -they very ancient, or are they happening about us every -day? Is Elah dead? Is Zimri clean gone for ever? -And is the house of the servant Arza closed, so that the -master can drink no more with the steward?</p> - -<p>Elah lives in every man who has great chances or -opportunities in life, but allows them to slip away from -him through one leak in the character. Elah was a king -and was the son of a king, so his openings in life were -wide and splendid; but he loved strong drink, and thus -through that leak in his character all that might have -made him a man oozed away, and left him a king in -nothing but the barren name.</p> - -<p>Strong drink will ruin any man. It is the supreme -curse of England. I will say nothing now of the old, -but to the young I may speak a word. I care not, young -man, how many and how brilliant in life your chances -are, if you drink wine in the morning, as many young -men in London do, you are as good as damned already. -You think not, but that only shows the infinite deceitfulness -of the enemy. He tells you:</p> - -<p>“Nothing of the kind. This is parson’s twaddle. -Take your wine when you want it, and let it alone when -you do not care for it.”</p> - -<p>There is suppressed mockery in that high challenge. -There is no soundness of health in it. Every drink but -leaves you weaker. Every emptied glass is another link -added to the strong chain thrown upon your limbs.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span></p> - -<p>Zimri still lives in all persons who take advantage of -the weaknesses of others. Zimri knew that Elah was a -drunkard, and he further knew through Elah’s habit of -drunkenness alone could he be reached. On every other -side of his character Elah may have been a strong man—acute, -shrewd and far-sighted—but when in drink he -was, of course, weak and foolish. Zimri played his game -accordingly. He said:</p> - -<p>“Elah goes to Arza’s house after sundown. In half -an hour after going, he will begin to fall under the effects -of wine; then the worst wine will be brought out, and -he will go mad under its poison and become drowsy. I -must get Arza out of the way. The fool will go on any -errand I name, on promise of another horse; that is it.”</p> - -<p>The Bible says: “And Zimri went in and smote -him and killed him.” He took advantage of his master’s -weakness, and his progeny is numerous on the Earth.</p> - -<p>Some people trade on the weaknesses of others. -They study them. They adapt themselves to them. -They watch for striking time, and seldom miss the mark. -How else could the net be always ready for the bird? -How else could the pit be always prepared for the unsuspecting -and bewildered traveler? There is an infernal -science in these things—a devil’s black art!</p> - -<p>And does not Arza still live in those who find the -means whereby men may conceal their evil habits and -indulge their unholy desires? They seem to say: “In -my house you may do what you please. I shall not look -at you. Come when you please; go when you like; I -am nobody, if you like to call me so.”</p> - -<p>Tirzah, whose name means pleasantness and which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[342]</a></span> -was Elah’s capital, was an ancient royal city of the Canaanites, -captured by Joshua. After its conquest it is -not again mentioned in history till the time of Jeroboam, -who appears to have chosen it as his principal residence. -The geographical position of Tirzah has not been given -by any ancient geographer. Zimri reigned only seven -days in Tirzah. Omri, captain of the host, was made -king over Israel in the camp. He besieged Tirzah and -took it. Zimri, seeing that the city was taken, went into -the king’s palace, set it on fire and perished in it. The -last mention of Tirzah in Scripture history is in connection -with Menahem, who went from Tirzah to Samaria, -“and smote Shallum, and reigned in his stead.” Solomon -made the comparison: “Thou art beautiful, O -my love, as Tirzah.”</p> - -<h3>ELIJAH.</h3> - -<p>Elijah means “Jehovah is my God.” There is often -much in a name. It is a history, sometimes—the summing -up of generations; it is sometimes an inspiration, -recalling memories that stir the soul to high daring.</p> - -<p>There are two places called Tishbi—one in Gilead -and the other in Galilee. Elijah belonged to the former. -Sometimes character is mysteriously and very deeply -affected by country. Gilead was a wild and mountainous -district, bordering on Arabia, and consequently half Arab -in its customs. There was a wonderful similarity between -the man and the region; stern, bleak, grand, majestic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span> -and awful were they both. John the Baptist seemed -to bring the wilderness with him when he came into the -city. Children born in luxury are apt to be themselves -luxurious. Children born in slavery will hardly ever be -free, though slavery has been abolished. To the end of -life we carry the color which first impressed itself on our -vision.</p> - -<p>All revelations seem to us to be sudden. Look at the -suddenness of the appearance of Ahijah to Jeroboam, -and look at the instance before us: “Elijah, the Tishbite, -said unto Ahab.” The total apostasy of the Ten -Tribes (Israel) was now almost accomplished, and yet a -faithful prophet of the Lord stands up in the degenerate -land and declares that Jehovah is his God, and in sacred -solitariness protests against the abominations of Israel -and her king.</p> - -<p>No mild man would have been equal to the occasion. -God adapts His ministry to circumstances. He sends a -nurse to the sick room and a soldier to the battle field. -The son of consolation and the son of thunder can not -change places. You are right when you say that the dew -and the light and the soft breeze are God’s; but you may -not, therefore, suppose that the thunder and the hurricane -and the flood belong to a meaner lord.</p> - -<p>Imagine the two men standing face to face—Ahab, -the dissolute king, and Elijah, the faithful prophet. -Probably there is no finer picture in ancient history. Terrible -indeed is the national crisis when king and prophet -come into collision. There is not a combat between two -men. Mark that very closely. It is Right against Wrong, -Faithfulness against Treachery, Purity against Corruption.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span> -Look at them—Ahab and Elijah—as they face -one another! Consider the boldness of the prophet. -Religion is never to be ashamed of its own testimony.</p> - -<p>As we look at the scene, not wanting in the elements -of the highest tragedy, we see the value of one noble -witness in the midst of public corruption and decay, and -the grandeur as well as necessity of a distinct personal -profession of godliness. It is not enough to be godly; -we must avow it in open conduct and articulate confession.</p> - -<p>Let us now observe how Elijah proceeds to deal with -Ahab. “There shall not be dew nor rain these years, -but according to my word.” Here is physical punishment -for moral transgression. So it is; and that is just -what a parent does when he uses the rod upon his child -for falsehood. You can only punish people according to -their nature. The garroter can submit to any number of -censures and lectures, but he dreads the cat-o’-nine-tails.</p> - -<p>Physical punishment for moral transgression is the -law of society. So the liar is thrown out of his situation; -the ill-tempered child is whipped; the dishonorable man -is expelled from social confidence.</p> - -<p>With regard to the particular punishment denounced -against Ahab, it is to be remembered that drought is one -of the punishments threatened by the law if Israel forsook -Jehovah and turned after other gods.</p> - -<p>This, then, was the brief communication which the -prophet addressed to the king. God’s threatenings are -terrible in their conciseness. He leaves no room in a -multitude of works for ambiguity and verbal wriggling. -The soul that sinneth shall die. “The wages of sin is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[345]</a></span> -death.” “There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the -wicked.”</p> - -<p>And as He can be concise in threatening, so He can -be concise in promise: “I will give you rest.” “I will -give you living water.” “He that believeth shall be -saved.” “Ask, and it shall be given you.”</p> - -<p>Thus great things can be said in few words: “God -is light.” “God is love.” “Believe on the Lord Jesus -Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” “Ye must be born -again.”</p> - -<p>At the bidding of the word of the Lord, Elijah turned -eastward and hid himself by the brook Cherith, a place -nowhere else mentioned in the Bible, and “no place like -it has as yet been discovered in Palestine.” It was a -torrent-course facing the Jordan, “but whether it was -one of those which seam Mount Ephraim or of those on -the opposite side of Jordan, in the prophet’s own country, -is uncertain.”</p> - -<p>But what is the meaning of the extraordinary expression: -“I have commanded the ravens to feed thee”? -By omitting the points, which are generally allowed to -have no authority, the Hebrew letters may signify Arabians. -Then the passage would read: “I have commanded -the Arabians to feed thee.” Or, if we retain -the present pointing, the word may be translated “merchants,” -according to “The Speaker’s Commentary.” -But it is better to allow the word “ravens” to stand. It -implies a miracle; but the whole Bible is a miracle, and -so is our own daily life, could we but see the inner movement -and look beyond all symbols to the spiritual reality.</p> - -<p>But Elijah’s brook dried up. Prophets may be overtaken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span> -by the operation of their own prophecies. The -great laws are impartial, yet wonderful is the scope -within which exceptions may be established. This incident -gives an instance in point.</p> - -<p>“Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to -Zidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a -widow woman there to sustain thee.” This place is called -Sarepta in the New Testament. It lay upon the great -public road which connected the two towns. A little -village called Sarafend now occupies the situation.</p> - -<p>But how did it come about that Elijah was sent to a -place so near the city of Jezebel’s father? It has been -suggested that it would be the last place that he would -be suspected of having chosen as a retreat. When Elijah -came to the gate of the city the widow woman was there -gathering sticks, and he asked her for a little water in a -vessel, that he might drink. And as she was going to -fetch it, he asked her to bring also a morsel of bread in -her hand. But she had no bread—not so much as a -cake—only a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil -in a cruse.</p> - -<p>She was just going to dress this little food for herself -and her son, “that we may eat it and die.” But Elijah -claimed it in the name of the Lord, and gave to her in -return the gracious promise: “The barrel of meal shall -not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the -day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the Earth.”</p> - -<p>We may here admire and imitate one of the finest -instances of ancient faith. The woman was asked for -all she had, and she gave it. But mark, she was put in -possession of a promise. This is God’s law. He gives<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span> -the promise first, and then asks for the faith of man. It -was so in the ease of Abraham. It is so with ourselves -today.</p> - -<p>“And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the -cruse of oil fail.” This is the continual miracle of nature; -this is the security of life. We are puzzled by it, but -what of that? Are possibilities to be determined by our -weakness or by God’s strength? We could have increased -the flour had we sown the seed, reaped the grain -and called in the aid of the miller. Now let us venture -on the supposition that Almighty God is able to do just -a little more than we can do, and the whole difficulty is -gone. The air wastes not, nor the light, nor the force of -nature; what if God can touch points which happen to -lie beyond the range of our short fingers? We must -allow something for Deity.</p> - -<p>And now sorrow fell upon the poor woman’s house. -Her only child died, and her heart was lacerated even to -torment and agony. But the Lord was merciful. Elijah -took the dead child away into a loft—the upper chamber, -which was often the best part of an Eastern house—and -cried unto the Lord, and stretched himself upon the -child three times, and cried again and again unto the -Lord, and the child’s life returned. Then the glad mother -hailed Elijah as a man, and one in whose mouth was the -word of the Lord.</p> - -<p>Elijah had put himself beyond the reach of Ahab—not -because he feared him or distrusted the power of God -in critical circumstances—but because God’s providence -or government is a great scheme with innumerable sides, -and requires time for its full disclosure and accomplishment.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[348]</a></span> -We are not to hasten the march of God. To -every thing there is a season. Everywhere we see this -idea of time observed and honored. Though there is -famine in the land, we can not urge the seasons forward. -The child, too, must have years of growth, though his -father be disabled and there be none to earn the household -bread but himself.</p> - -<p>So in the case before us. Ahab must be wearied out -with searching for Elijah. He must be made to see how -fruitless may be the efforts even of a king. And at last, -when success does come, it must come not from his side -at all.</p> - -<p>We have said that Ahab was a speculative idolater -rather than a cruel persecutor. Jezebel acted the part -of cruelty; Ahab acted the part of unbeliever and spiritual -rebel generally. A proof of the probable correctness -of this view is found in the incident before us, for -when Ahab met Elijah he did not show a spirit of cruelty. -He said unto the prophet: “Art thou he that troubleth -Israel?” He did not threaten Elijah with the sword; he -did not demand his immediate surrender and arrest. He -seems rather to have looked upon Elijah with wonder—perhaps -not unmixed with admiration of a figure so independent -and audacious.</p> - -<p>The tone of the king’s mind may be inferred from the -kind of challenge which he accepted. It exactly suited -his speculative genius. Elijah proposed a trial between -himself and the idolatrous prophets, 850 in number—proposing -that the god who answered by fire should be -God. The idea instantly commended itself to Ahab as -excellent. He liked the high and practical speculation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span> -He was fond of intellectual combat, and he warmed at -the notion of a holy fray. The man who could accept -a notion of this kind was not cruel, wild or fond of human -blood. Ahab was even wickedly religious; the more -altars and groves the better—yea, altar upon altar, until -the pile reached to Heaven; and grove after grove, until -the line met itself again and formed a cordon around the -world. If he had started from a right center, Ahab had -been the foremost evangelist in the ancient Church.</p> - -<p>Let us now look at the controversy itself.</p> - -<p>This plan was proposed by the prophet of the Lord, -and not by the servants of Baal. Truth addresses a perpetual -challenge to all false religions and all wicked and -incompetent workers. Its challenges have heightened -and broadened in tone from the first ages until now.</p> - -<p>Moses challenged the necromancers of Egypt; Elijah -challenged the priests of Baal; Christ challenges the -world.</p> - -<p>At first the challenge was more strictly physical; but -now it is intensely spiritual. What religion produces the -highest and finest type of character? That is the challenging -question.</p> - -<p>That sane men should prefer a display of physical -power or skill to a spiritual contest is an illustration of -the infancy and rudeness of their minds, and not a proof -of the best form of competition. Where, in Christian -or in pagan lands, have we the finest men, the purest -character, the most sensitive honor? Where are schools, -hospitals, asylums and charities of every kind most -abundant?</p> - -<p>That Christian countries are disgraced by some of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[350]</a></span> -foulest crimes possible in human life, may but show that -their very foulness and atrocity never could have been so -vividly seen and so cruelly felt but for the enlightenment -and culture furnished by Christianity. In any other countries -they would have been matters of course; but in -Christian lands their abomination is seen by the help of -Christian light.</p> - -<p>The appeal or challenge was forced upon the prophets -of Baal; it was not spontaneously accepted by them. -This should be made very clear, as it is a point apt to be -overlooked.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the common impression is that Elijah challenged -the prophets directly, standing face to face with -them, without any medium of communication.</p> - -<p>Nothing of the kind. Elijah first challenged King -Ahab, who snatched eagerly at the sensational chance, -little knowing what he was snatching at. Having spoken -first to the king, Elijah spoke next to the people, and -demanded why they hesitated between two opinions, insisting -that they should make a choice between Jehovah -and Baal. Then Elijah made his grand appeal to the -people of Israel, and they answered and said: “It is -well spoken.” Having secured the approval of the king -and the people, Elijah called upon the prophets to proceed -to trial.</p> - -<p>Today Christianity appeals not to a few sectarian -prophets, nor to a few bewildered speculators, nor to a -few scientists who are wild with boy-like joy because -they have found a bird’s nest, though they have never -seen the bird that built it; but Christianity makes its -appeal to the great and broad heart of human nature, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span> -the common sufferings of the race, to the indestructible -sentiments of mankind. In Elijah’s day the people said: -“It is well spoken.” Of Christ it is said: “The common -people heard him gladly.”</p> - -<p>Every assault upon truth must bring mockery and -death upon the assailants. Elijah mocked the prophets -on Carmel and slew them at Kishon.</p> - -<p>Elijah was a prophet of truth, but of sternness and -terror. He lived in a tempestuous atmosphere. Lightning -seemed to play around his temples, and his voice -was as thunder.</p> - -<p>Van de Velde gives a vivid delineation of the precise -locality of the Carmel contest. He was, it is believed, -the first traveler who identified the site of the “Burning.” -The rock shoots up in an almost perpendicular -wall, more than two hundred feet in height on the side -of the vale of Esdrelon. This wall made the burning -visible over the whole plain and from all the surrounding -heights, so that even those left behind and who had not -ascended Carmel would still have been able to witness, -at no great distance, the fire from Heaven that descended -on the altar. Here the place must have been, for it -is the only point of all Carmel where Elijah could have -been so close to the brook Kishon as to take thither the -priests of Baal and slay them, return again to the mountain -and pray for rain, all in the short space of the same -afternoon. Down 250 feet beneath the altar plateau is -a vaulted and very abundant fountain. While all other -fountains were dried up, one can well understand that -there might have been found here that superabundance -of water which Elijah poured so profusely over the altar.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span></p> - -<h3>ELISHA.</h3> - -<p>When Elijah supposed that his work was done he -was ordered by Jehovah to go up and return on his way -to the wilderness of Damascus; and he who supposed -that his ministry was concluded had yet to anoint Hazael -to be king over Syria and Jehu, the son of Nimshi, to be -king over Israel.</p> - -<p>But the anointing of these kings was a comparatively -insignificant circumstance. The great point of the commission -is contained in this sentence:</p> - -<p>“And Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel-mehola, -shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.”</p> - -<p>Probably it had not occurred to Elijah that he could -have a successor. A very subtle indication is thus given -of his approaching end. The Lord, instead of telling -Elijah that he had many a year left to spend in holy -service, gave him to understand that even he, mighty -prophet though he was, could be dispensed with, and a -man of almost unknown name would be qualified by -divine inspiration to take his room. We can not imagine -Elijah’s feelings under these circumstances. If a great -demonstration of regard had been made, on the part of -the Lord God of Israel, because Elijah was weary, the -prophet might have supposed himself to be of vital consequence -to the divine economy; but to be told that -Elisha, a man who was plowing the twelfth plow in the -field while his eleven servants were plowing beside him, -would succeed to the high dignity was really to inflict in -the most gracious way a very solemn humiliation upon a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[353]</a></span> -man who had become so self-conscious as practically to -ignore the resources of the living God.</p> - -<p>Elisha was a man in what we should now term comfortable -circumstances. As he was plowing in his field -of Abel-mehola (“the meadow dance”) Elijah drew near -and threw over the plowman his prophetic sheep-skin -mantle, and passed on in silence, leaving Elisha himself -to interpret the graphic symbol. Elisha instantly comprehended -the purpose, and, running after Elijah, he -begged to be allowed to kiss his father and mother, after -which he promised to follow the senior prophet.</p> - -<p>It is noteworthy that at this time Elisha must have -been quite a young man—an inference which may be -fairly drawn from the fact that sixty years after this event -he was still in the exercise of his prophetic office.</p> - -<p>It is a noticeable circumstance, which repeats itself -even in our own day, that Elisha was in many respects -the exact counterpart of Elijah.</p> - -<p>By choosing all kinds of character and capacity to -represent the divine kingdom, God shows His infinite -wisdom in a way which even the dullest understanding -can hardly fail to appreciate. He is not dependent upon -one particular aspect of genius, or one particular aspect -of eloquence; but He calls whom He will to the prophetic -office and the ministerial function, and it should -be our part to accept His vocations, however much we -may be surprised at the course which they take and at -the social consequences which they involve.</p> - -<p>At the time in which Elijah and Elisha exercised -their functions religion and morals had gone down to the -lowest possible point in Israel. The very schools of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[354]</a></span> -prophets had themselves felt the corrupting influence of -the times. Ahab was able to gather four hundred false -prophets at a time, the remarkable circumstance being -that they were not prophets of Baal, but false prophets -of the Lord himself.</p> - -<p>It can hardly be a matter of surprise, therefore, that -a man of burning spirit, arising under such circumstances, -should begin his ministry with displays of power -which can hardly escape the charge of being stern or -even violent.</p> - -<p>The second chapter of the second Book of Kings introduces -us to the beginning of Elisha’s ministry. He -had just seen Elijah ascend, and he felt that he was left -alone to carry on the great work which had been so wondrously -conducted by a master hand.</p> - -<p>In the twelfth verse we see how Elisha estimated the -character and service of Elijah. He exclaims: “My -father! My father!” He thus indicates the most serious -loss which can befall human life. This is not altogether -a cry of reverence, but it is also a cry of orphanhood. -In their brief intercourse, one with the other, Elijah had -naturally taken the paternal place, and Elisha, as a very -young man, had felt the comforting influence exercised -upon him by the mighty prophet.</p> - -<p>This is a cry of young sensibility. The almost child -feels himself to be quite alone. He who an hour ago -supposed that, after all, he might be able to continue the -work of Elijah now felt how terrible was the void that -was created by Elijah’s absence.</p> - -<p>We do not know the bulk and value of some ministries -until they are removed from us. We become quite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span> -familiar with them, and attach no particular significance -to their exercise; we come to think we have some right -in them, and that by some means or other they will be -present with us always. When, however, the great -removal does take place and we look around for the -familiar face and expect to be touched by the familiar -hand, but find our expectations disappointed, the natural -cry is: “My father! My father!”</p> - -<p>These words, too, may fairly be construed as suggesting -an aspect of Elijah’s character which is generally -overlooked. Probably it has hardly occurred to us to -regard Elijah as a man of special tenderness. We think -of him as a great comet, or as a flash of lightning, or as -a mighty whirlwind, or under any figure that suggests -grandeur, majesty and force; but we have never associated -with Elijah the notion of graciousness, tenderness, -love and that easy familiarity which constitutes the very -soul of friendship.</p> - -<p>Now, however, by the ascription of his name we do -seem to know somewhat of the genial intercourse which -passed between father and son—the senior prophet and -the young apostle of God; and it is delightful to infer -that such intercourse had been conducted on the one side -paternally and on the other side filially.</p> - -<p>We do not know altogether what men are when we -only see them in public life. The great parliamentary -orator may be the simplest of all men when he is in the -domestic circle. The great commander of armies, whose -courage never quails, may have the heart of a woman -when he stands in the presence of suffering childhood. -It is important for all who attempt to delineate the characters<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[356]</a></span> -of public men to remember that they see only one -aspect of those characters, and are not qualified to pronounce -upon the whole man.</p> - -<p>The next expression of Elisha is: “The chariot of -Israel, and the horsemen thereof.”</p> - -<p>This is an apparently incoherent exclamation. When -properly understood, however, it conveys a further tribute -to the ministry which was exercised by the ascending -prophet. The real meaning is: “My father—so much -better than all chariots and horses; in thy absence the -chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof are useless. -They were used by thee, and under thy conduct could be -turned to good account; but, now that thou art gone, -they do but mock our loneliness and make us feel still -more bitterly our helpless condition.”</p> - -<p>A greater question than “Where is Elijah?” now -occurred to the desolate young man. Instantly he seizes -the reality of the occasion, and by exclaiming “Where -is the Lord God of Elijah?” he shows that he is not -called to a merely official position, but that he is elected -to represent the divine majesty upon Earth.</p> - -<p>The young man thus begins well. There is nothing -frivolous in his inquiry or in his interpretation of events. -The very depth of his feeling gives us an index to the -capacity of his mind. Rely upon it, that he who can -feel as Elisha did must have a mind equal in its proportions -to the fine emotions which enlarge and ennoble his -heart. Had the young man deported himself in a way -which suggested self-sufficiency, his prophetic office would -have been destroyed well-nigh before it was created.</p> - -<p>It is when we stand back in humility and in almost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[357]</a></span> -despair, and cry out in our desolateness “Where is the -Lord God of Elijah?” that we begin our work in the -right spirit, and only then.</p> - -<p>In this whole ministry of righteousness and redemption -there is no place for self-sufficiency. Apostle Paul -said: “Our sufficiency is of God.” The great inquiry -“Who is sufficient for these things?” keeps down human -ambition and vanity, and prepares the heart for the utterance -of prevailing prayer. The question which was -thus propounded by Elisha is full of suggestion to ourselves. -When we come to read the Bible we should not -inquire so much where inspiration is, but where is wisdom -which can be applied to our own circumstances and -be made unto us as the very staff of life.</p> - -<p>We need not exclaim, in considering the Christian -ministry of our own day: “Where are the miracles of -the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles?” Our inquiry -should be: “Where are the healed men, the comforted -hearts, the forgiven souls, the rejoicing spirits?”</p> - -<p>Who care to inquire into the mechanism of the organ -when he can hear its music and be bowed down by its -most solemn appeals?</p> - -<p>“And when the sons of the prophets which were to -view at Jericho saw him, they said: ‘The spirit of Elijah -doth rest on Elisha.’ And they came to meet him, -and bowed themselves to the ground before him.”</p> - -<p>There was no mistaking that spirit. Who can mistake -the presence and influence of fire? Better that our -spirit should be discovered than that our credentials -should be examined.</p> - -<p>Of what avail is it that a man can produce a whole<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[358]</a></span> -portfolio of testimonials, if nobody has discovered in him -the presence and effect of the divine Spirit?</p> - -<p>This tribute is also to the credit of the sons of the -prophets, for their judgment was vital, and was not accidental. -There are men who will only regard providence -as operating in one way, or as operating in one form. -These sons of the prophets did not belong to such an inferior -class of judges.</p> - -<p>It is remarkable, too, that the organic unity of the -prophetic office is hereby recognized. The sons of the -prophets do not treat Elisha as a novelty, a new sensation, -or as representing a new point of departure. They -unite the old with the new; though the man has changed, -the spirit remains the same.</p> - -<p>This is what must be always regarded in reading -Christian history and in watching the course of the -Christian ministry. Old ministers depart, but when new -men come they come with the old spirit and with the old -truth, or if they come with any other spirit or any other -doctrine, they should, in the degree of the change, be -suspected of being other than genuine successors of the -prophets.</p> - -<p>Elisha begins his ministry by doing good—that is to -say, by healing the water that was diseased. This appeal -to the prophet to do something for the city of Jericho -was itself a tribute to the genuineness of the prophetic -office as exercised by him. It is always beautiful to notice -how great power is associated with the doing of good. -What is it to be a prophet of any age, if the age is not -practically benefited by the exercise of the office? The -age does not want ornamental prophets, nominal prophets,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[359]</a></span> -official prophets. The age is crying out for men who -can give it bread, who can heal its water, who can mitigate -its sorrows, who can destroy its oppressions.</p> - -<p>By this sign must all prophets live or die. It would -have been a poor thing on the part of Elisha to have -shown the mantle of his predecessor if he could not also -show his power. We are only in the apostolic succession -as we are in the apostolic spirit.</p> - -<p>We may have all the relics which the apostles left behind—the -cloak that was left at Troas, the parchment, -the staff and the vessels out of which they ate and drank—we -may even have the scrolls which they used in reading -the Holy Scriptures; but all these things will constitute -only a burden if we have not, along with all other -possessions, the mighty and eternal Spirit of the living -God, without whose energy even the apostles themselves -were but common men.</p> - -<p>Elisha, having cured the water, went up from the depressed -plain of Jericho to the top of the highland of -Jordan, to the height of three thousand feet, that he -might come unto Beth-el—which, alas, became the chief -stronghold of the calf worship. The popular sentiment -was debased to the lowest possible point; even the little -children were tainted with the awful disease of contempt -for the greatest names and the greatest thoughts in all -Israel.</p> - -<p>“And he went up from thence to Beth-el; and as he -was going up by the way, there came forth little children -out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him: -‘Go up, thou bald head! Go up, thou bald head!’ And -he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[360]</a></span> -the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she -bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children -of them. And he went from thence to Mount Carmel, -and from thence he returned to Samaria.”</p> - -<p>This miracle has occasioned no little difficulty to -those who read it only in the letter. It is not a narrow -incident which can be regarded as a mere anecdote and -treated, as it were, within the limits of its own four corners. -We must understand the spirit of the age in which -the incident occurred. We must realize that the whole -air was full of idolatry and blasphemy. We must also -remember that the very Church of Israel itself was deceitful -above all things and desperately wicked, with -hardly one spot of health on all the altar from the crown -of the head to the sole of the foot. We must keep -steadily before our minds the fact that the places which -are mentioned in this incident had become as Sodom and -Gomorrah—not, perhaps, in the physical and carnal -sense, but in the still worse sense of spiritual alienation -and spiritual contempt for every thing associated with -the name of the living God.</p> - -<p>When Elisha, therefore, wrought this deed of violence—this -miracle of destruction—his action must be -regarded typically and as strictly in keeping with the -necessities of the occasion. Only this kind of miracle -could have been understood by the people among whom -it was worked and who had an opportunity of feeling its -effects, either directly or incidentally. How often it happens -that the first miracle is one which is marked peculiarly -by a destructive energy!</p> - -<p>This would seem to be the miracle which our own<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[361]</a></span> -first zealous impulses would work, had they the power to -express themselves in such a form. When the soul is -alive with the purity of God, when the heart glows and -burns with love, when the whole being is in vital sympathy -with the purposes of the cross of Christ, the first and -all but uncontrollable impulse is to destroy evil—not to -reason with it, or make truce with it, or give it further -treatment of any kind, but instantly and violently to -crush it out of existence.</p> - -<p>This impulse will be trained unto other uses in the -School of Christ.</p> - -<p>We see, in the opening of the sixth chapter of the -second Book of Kings, some of the simple and happy -relations which existed between the elder and the younger -prophets.</p> - -<p>Is it not possible to revive some of these relations? -Look at the case:</p> - -<p>“And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha: -‘Behold, now, the place where we dwell with thee is too -strait for us.’”</p> - -<p>Put into modern language, the statement amounts to -this: “Our college is getting too small, and we want -more room. Let us, therefore, consider this practical -question, and see what can be done.”</p> - -<p>Elisha did not live with the young men. That, perhaps, -was rather a happy than an unhappy circumstance—though -a very beautiful picture could be drawn concerning -domestic collegiate life. A college or a school -with the teachers and the students all living together -must, one would surely say, be a little Heaven on Earth. -What can be, ideally, more perfect than the old prophet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[362]</a></span> -surrounded by all the younger prophets, eating and living -together, having a common room, a common hostelry—a -common home? What can be, imaginatively, more -taking, pathetic and satisfactory?</p> - -<p>Without pronouncing a judgment upon that inquiry, -it is enough to be so far just to the text to say that Elisha -did not adopt that system of collegiate life. He went -around from place to place; he visited the schools of the -prophets in the various localities, and when he came to -this place the young men said: “We have not room -enough; we must consider our circumstances, and endeavor -to enlarge our accommodation.”</p> - -<p>What did they propose?</p> - -<p>It is well now and again to hear what young men -have to suggest. It is useful to listen to young politicians -in national crises, that we may hear how they would -treat the patient. It is most desirable that young voices -should mingle with old voices in the common council.</p> - -<p>Now it is the turn of the young men to speak. What -will they propose to Elisha?</p> - -<p>The answer is given in the second verse: “Let us -go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every -man a beam, and let us make a place there where we -may dwell.”</p> - -<p>The city was not situated exactly upon the Jordan, -but upon a stream a little way from it, which flowed into -that great river; and now the young men proposed to -get a little nearer to the main stream, for the district of -it was called The Valley of Palms.</p> - -<p>Palestine was notably destitute of trees, but in this -particular locality timber was to be got. So the young<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[363]</a></span> -men made the proposition to Elisha. What does the -proposition amount to? It amounts to something which -in this day might horrify a good many of the successors -of Elisha.</p> - -<p>The young men said: “Let us go and cut down our -timber, and enlarge our college with our own hands.” -Did they propose that the question should be “reported -upon”—that it should be brought first under the attention -of the general committee, then be referred to a sub-committee -being bound to make a report to the general -committee, and the general committee being unable to -attend, or to constitute a quorum, and so go on to forget -the whole business? The young men said:</p> - -<p>“We want room; let us make it. We want a larger -college; let us build it.”</p> - -<p>Why not adopt the same principle today? There is -nothing so easy as to send around an appeal for a contribution -and never get any reply to it.</p> - -<p>We, wanting to be missionaries, should go by the -next boat; wanting to preach the Gospel to the heathen, -we should ask: “When does the ship start?” Being -unable to pay the fare, we should work our passage. If -people should ask us what we are doing, and whether we -have lost our senses, we should say: “Yes; if we be -beside ourselves, it is unto God.”</p> - -<p>Then an impression might be made upon those who -look on. They would say: “Surely, these men are in -earnest; be they right or be they wrong, be they fanatical -or sober-minded, their earnestness burns in them like a -fire, and such men can neither be put back nor be kept -down.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[364]</a></span></p> - -<p>However, without wishing to modernize the details -of this incident, which, owing to our civilization, would -be impossible, it is enough to remember that, in the early -days of collegiate and school life, the scholars were prepared -to do something toward helping themselves. They -did not send for builders from Jerusalem, or even from -the city of Jericho; they undertook the work at their -own impulse and at their own charges.</p> - -<p>There is a line of beauty even in the proposition of -the young men. They desired Elisha’s permission. They -said, in effect: “Father, may we go?” They were enthusiastic, -but they were under discipline; they had fire -enough, but they responded to the touch of the master. -And one said to Elisha: “Be content, I pray thee, and -go with thy servants.” They were stronger when the -elder man was with them.</p> - -<p>Sometimes the eye is the best master. It often happens -that the man who is standing in the harvest field, -resting upon his rake, a picture of dignity and ease, is -doing more than if he were sweltering himself by cutting -down corn with his own sickle. His eye is doing the -work, and his presence is exerting an immeasurable and -happy influence upon the whole field.</p> - -<p>Elisha was not asked to go and fell the timber, but -to be with the young men while they did the hard work; -and, becoming young again himself, as old men do become -young when associated with young life, he replied:</p> - -<p>“I will go. The work is a common work. It belongs -to me as well as to you; it belongs to all Israel, in so far -as all Israel is true to the living God. Come, let us go -in one band; union is strength.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[365]</a></span></p> - -<p>Now, they went—the old and the young together. -Why would they not go alone? Perhaps they were all -reminded of what happened when once they did go alone. -Elisha ordered that food should be prepared, and when -the seething pot was on, one of the young men went out -and gathered something and threw it into the pot, and -nearly poisoned the whole college. Small wonder if one -of them, remembering this, said:</p> - -<p>“No more going out alone, if you please. We once -took the case into our own hands, and I remember how -many of us fell sick, and how we cried to Elisha: ‘Master, -there is death in the pot!’ And he kindly took up a -handful of meal, sprinkled it into the vessel and restored -its healthfulness. The pot was relieved of all the disease -which it had contained, and the meal most happily -proceeded.”</p> - -<p>We should remember our blunders, and learn from -them. We are always safer in the company of the old -and wise than when we are in our own society. Happy -is the man who takes counsel with his elder neighbors, -and who can sometimes renounce himself and say unto -wise men: “Such and such are my circumstances; -now, what would you advise me to do?”</p> - -<p>Elisha and the young men have now gone down to -the Jordan. Elisha felled no tree but he did his own -particular kind of work.</p> - -<p>The Syrian king could not rest. In his heart he hated -or feared the king and the hosts of Israel. There was -chronic war between Israel and Syria. The king of Syria -said: “I will fix my camp in such and such a place.” -Of this the sacred record says: “And the man of God<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[366]</a></span> -sent unto the king of Israel, saying: ‘Beware that thou -pass not such a place, for thither the Syrians are come -down.’”</p> - -<p>There is a ministry of warning. Men may not go -themselves to battle, and yet they may be controlling the -fortunes of war. We need statesmen, spiritual interpreters, -religious teachers, men of thought and men of -prayer; and they may be doing more practical work than -is being done by those who are engaged in the physical -work of leading armies and commanding military hosts.</p> - -<p>This is what Elisha did.</p> - -<p>He felled no tree; he wielded no sword. Yet, alike -in the building of the college and in the direction of the -war, his was the supreme mind. The prophet saved the -king. This must always be the case.</p> - -<p>The great man of the nation is the man who can -think most profoundly and most comprehensively. The -architect is a greater man than the builder. The prophet -is a greater man than the king. He reads more; he -sees farther; he grasps a larger field. He is master of -metaphysical principles, which alone endure. They wear -the clothes of the present time; they adopt the form of -the passing generation, but they go on from age to age—themselves -always the same, their adaptations being addressed -to the immediate and pressing necessities of the -people.</p> - -<p>We have been told that “Justice is not an intermittent -apparition.” That is perfectly true in one sense; -but justice is often a deferred creditor, and sometimes -that may be done tomorrow which can not be justly done -today. The prophet sees all this. He looks ahead; he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[367]</a></span> -has a larger horizon than is accessible to the vision of -other men.</p> - -<p>So let it stand, an eternal lesson, that the greatest -men in any nation are the men who can think most, -pray best, feel most deeply and penetrate the metaphysics -and the inmost reality of politics and of civilization.</p> - -<p>Spiritual power is not only useful in one direction; it -is alarming in another. When the king of Syria felt -himself baffled, all his plans thrown into uncontrollable -bewilderment, his heart was sorely troubled. It is the -Immeasurable that frightens men. It is the Unknown -Quantity that troubles all their calculations and causes -them to feel that after they have completed their arithmetic -their conclusion is a lie.</p> - -<p>What was in the air? Whose was this ghostly presence -that was upsetting Ben-hadad’s well laid schemes? -What was it, or who, that always went before him, and -that made his proposals abortive and turned all his policies -into mocking nothings?</p> - -<p>Had there been any man who was visible and measurable, -that man could have been dealt with. There is -always a quantity equal to any quantity that is known. -What is wanting in one way can be made up in another—as, -for example, what is wanting in number may be -made up in quality. As one great leader said in ancient -history, when his soldiers were saying they were too few -for the battle: “How many do you count me for?” -That touched the fire of the army, and inspired the soldiers -with confidence.</p> - -<p>Now, the matter was revealed to the king, and he -took means to remove the spectral influence. He made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[368]</a></span> -this arrangement: “Go and spy where he is, that I may -send and fetch him.” When he knew that Elisha was in -Dothan the king sent “thither horses and chariots and -a great host.”</p> - -<p>What unconscious tributes bad men pay to good influences! -Men do not know wholly what they are doing. -Why, this was but a poor prophet, wearing a hairy robe -that had descended to him; he was no king; he had no -sword or horse; he was but a man of prayer. How did -Ben-hadad propose to capture him?</p> - -<p>The king sent “horses and chariots and a great host” -to take a man whose sword was the word of God, whose -helmet was the defense of the Most High, whose breastplate -was Righteousness!</p> - -<p>Here are three arms of the Syrian service—footmen, -horsemen and chariots; and remember that these were -all employed to bring one poor man to the king’s presence. -Well might Elisha have said, before Antigonus -uttered it: “How many do you count <em>me</em> for?” Elisha -might have taunted the king of Syria, saying: “Why -all this ado? Would not one soldier have been enough -to take one prophet? He might have come on foot; a -horse was not necessary, and certainly not a sword. One -soldier might surely have arrested me.”</p> - -<p>But bad men unconsciously pay tribute to good men. -They say, in effect: “Elisha is only one, but a stubborn -one; only one tree, but his roots seem to have spread -themselves through the Earth, and to have taken hold of -the entire scheme of things; he is only one, yet, what is -strange, he is many in one.”</p> - -<p>And this, indeed, was the interpretation given by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[369]</a></span> -Elisha, for he said: “They that be with us are more -than they that be with them.”</p> - -<p>Who can tell how many angels are round about the -praying man? How is it that when the arresting hand -is laid upon some men it becomes softened, the muscles -relax and have no more pith in them, and the men come -back to say: “Never man spake like this man; arrest -him we can not”? This is a tribute paid to the Christian -religion. Men have passed parliamentary statutes -against it, but the religion of the cross has outlived the -statutes—has seen them grow into yellow letters, has -observed them being canceled or otherwise passing into -obsoleteness.</p> - -<p>We are now brought to a very striking point in the -incident. The servant of Elisha came back, saying: -“Alas, my master, how shall we do? I have been up -early, and behold, a host compasses the city—both with -horses and chariots.”</p> - -<p>Then Elisha said: “Lord, open his eyes; let this -young man see. At present he can only look upon appearances, -which are not realities. The universe is within -the universe. The Bible is within the Bible. The man -is within the man. This servant of mine sees only the -outer circle—the rim or rind of things. Lord, show him -the reality; let him see, and then he will be at peace.”</p> - -<p>There is a view of sight; there is a view of faith. -The worldly man goes by what his bodily eyes notice or -discern; the spiritually minded man walks by faith, not -by sight.</p> - -<p>The telescope does not create the stars; the telescope -only reveals them, or enables the eye to see them. If,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[370]</a></span> -then, a telescope can do this, shall we deny to that spiritual -power within us called Faith the power which we -ascribe to a mechanical instrument which our own hands -have fashioned?</p> - -<p>Look upon a given object—say, you take a piece of -glass two inches square; look upon it and ask: “Is -there any thing on that glass?” Looking with the naked -eye, the sharpest man would say: “That glass is perfectly -free from blot, stain, flaw or inscription of any -kind whatsoever.”</p> - -<p>Now, put that same two-inch square of glass under -a microscope, and look through the microscope. What -is upon it? The Lord’s Prayer, upon a speck not discernible -by the naked eye.</p> - -<p>If, then, we ascribe such wonderful powers to a glass -which we ourselves have determined as to its size and its -relation to other glasses, shall we deny to a certain spiritual -faculty the power of seeing that which can not be -discriminated by unaided reason?</p> - -<p>By all the pressure of analogy, by all the reasoning -of inference, we insist that, if such wonderful things can -be done mechanically, things at least equally wonderful -can be done by forces that are spiritual.</p> - -<p>The Sun does not make the landscape; the Sun only -shows it. A man may stand upon a high hill on a dull-gray -day and say: “I can imagine what this would be -when the Sun was shining.” But no man can imagine -light. It stands as a sacred mystery in our life that the -Sun never comes within the lines of imagination. The -Sun light is a continual surprise, even to the eyes that -have most reverently and lovingly studied it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[371]</a></span></p> - -<p>When the Sun looks upon the landscape there are -new colors, new distances, new forms; a whole work is -wrought upon the landscape which can only be described -by the word “wizardry.”</p> - -<p>So it is with the Bible, the great work of the living -God. Look at it with the natural vision, and you may -discover in it particular beauties. You may say: “The -poetry is noble; the English is pure; and the moral sentiment -of the book is not without a certain elevation.”</p> - -<p>But the Bible wants no such reluctant or impoverished -compliments. Let the soul be touched by the -Spirit that wrote the book; let the eyes be anointed by -the living God; and then the Bible is like a landscape -shone upon by the noonday’s cloudless Sun.</p> - -<p>Elisha took his own way with the Syrian army, and -here occurs a point worthy of special note. When the -Lord smote the people with blindness, according to the -word of Elisha, the latter said unto them: “This is not -the way, neither is this the city; follow me, and I will -bring you to the man whom ye seek.” But he led them -to Samaria.</p> - -<p>What! Then did the man of God resort to a false -strategy? This is a very serious case, indeed, and has -occasioned much difficulty. Nor need we wonder, for in -“The Speaker’s Commentary” we find such words as -these:</p> - -<p>“Untruth has been held by all moralists to be justifiable -toward a public enemy. Where we have a right -to kill, much more have we a right to deceive by stratagem.”</p> - -<p>When words like these occur in a Christian commentary,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[372]</a></span> -no wonder that infidelity should seize upon the -annotation as a prize, or use it as a weapon. No such -comment can we adopt in perusing this portion of sacred -Scripture. It can not be justifiable to treat a public -enemy by untruth or deception. We have no right to -kill, and therefore we have no right to deceive by stratagem. -This is not the way to recommend the word of the -living God.</p> - -<p>The incident must be taken in its totality. The -reader must not arrest the progress of the narrative by -stopping here or there to ask a question. He must see -the incident in its completeness, and, seeing it, he will -have reason further to glorify God for the pure morality -of the book and the noble spirit of the record.</p> - -<p>Elisha might well so far follow his illustrious predecessor -as to use the weapon of irony or taunting in dealing -with the Lord’s enemies.</p> - -<p>Elijah said to the prophets of Baal: “Cry aloud; -for he is a god.” As well might we stop there, and say: -“By Elijah’s own testimony deity was ascribed to Baal.” -We forget the irony of the tone; we forget that Elijah -was mocking the debased prophets.</p> - -<p>So Elisha might say: “This is not the way, neither -is this the city; follow me, and I will bring you to the -man whom ye seek.”</p> - -<p>There was a taunt in the tone; there was sarcasm in -the emphasis. Nor is the verse to be read in its unity. -It is to be read as part and parcel of a whole narrative.</p> - -<p>Now, what became of all this so-called deception -and stratagem?</p> - -<p>When the people were come into Samaria, Elisha<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[373]</a></span> -said: “Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they -may see.”</p> - -<p>He prayed, first, that their sight might be taken -away. That seemed to be cruel. Now he prays that -their sight may be given to them again.</p> - -<p>“And, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. -And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw -them: ‘My father!’” As if he had become a convert. -The son of Ahab and Jezebel said to Elisha: “My -father!” A reluctant and hypocritical compliment, for -Jehoram could be neither reverent or true.</p> - -<p>But, said he, observing the prize that was before him: -“Shall I smite them? Shall I smite them?” This was -a Hebraism equal to: “Smiting, shall I smite?” So -Jehoram said: “Shall I, smiting, smite them?”</p> - -<p>Elisha answered: “No.”</p> - -<p>Now, let us hear what this man can say who has been -judged guilty of untruth and of stratagem.</p> - -<p>Elisha said to Jehoram: “Thou shalt not smite -them. Wouldst thou smite those whom thou hast taken -captive without thy sword and without thy bow?” This -is the same as saying: “If you yourself have won the -victory, then you can smite; but you did not take these -men, and therefore you shall not smite them. What you -have taken by your own sword and spear may be your -lawful prize in war; but here is a capture with which -you have had nothing to do.”</p> - -<p>What, then, is to be done? Hear Elisha: “Set -bread and water before them, that they may eat and -drink and go to their master.”</p> - -<p>And so great provision was prepared, “and when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[374]</a></span> -they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they -went to their master.”</p> - -<p>We might even excuse a strategic act in order to secure -such a conclusion.</p> - -<p>Elisha was supposed to be about a hundred years of -age when he died. We have seen that he was a domestic -rather than a public prophet. He was unlike his -great predecessor and father. The awful Elijah dwelt -alone. He came upon society now and then—came -down like a flood from the threatening clouds; shot out -like a fire, and burned the men whom he approached.</p> - -<p>Elisha was exactly the contrary. He worked his -miracles in the house. He often called upon people; he -was quiet, serene, most sympathetic and tender-hearted. -Now and then he could stand bolt upright and send away -proud men from his door with a disdain that they could -never forget; but in the usual process of his life he was -a mother-man in Israel. He went into people’s houses -and asked how they were. He consented to increase -their oil and their flour, and to bless their family life with -prophetic benedictions.</p> - -<h3>GEHAZI.</h3> - -<p>The name Gehazi means “valley of vision,” and is -appropriate enough if we think of what Gehazi saw as -to the nature of wickedness when the prophet opened -his eyes.</p> - -<p>Let us note what points there are in this case which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[375]</a></span> -illustrate human life as we now know it. In this way -we shall test the moral accuracy of the story—and that -is all we are now principally concerned about.</p> - -<p>Gehazi was “the servant of Elisha, the man of God.” -Surely, then, he would be a good man? Can a good man -have a bad servant? Can the man of prayer, whose life -is a continual breathing unto God of supreme desires -after holiness, have a man in his company, looking on -and watching him, and studying his character, who denies -his very altar and blasphemes against his God? Is -it possible to live in a Christian house and yet not be a -Christian? Can we come so near as that, and yet be at -an infinite distance from all that is pure and beautiful -and true?</p> - -<p>If so, then we must look at appearances more carefully -than we have been wont to do, for they may have -been deceiving us all the time.</p> - -<p>Surely, every good man’s children must be good, for -they have had great spiritual advantages. They have, -indeed, had some hereditary benefits denied to many -others. Their house has been a home, their home has -been a church, and surely they must show by their whole -spirit and tone of life that they are as their father as to -all spiritual aspiration and positive excellence.</p> - -<p>Is it not so?</p> - -<p>If facts contradict that theory, then we must look at -the theory again more carefully, or we must examine the -facts more closely, because the whole science of Cause -and Effect would seem to be upset by such contradictions. -There is a metaphysical question here, as well as -a question of fact. A good tree must bring forth good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[376]</a></span> -fruit; good men must have good children; good masters -must have good servants. Association in life must go for -something.</p> - -<p>So we would say—emphatically, because we think -reasonably.</p> - -<p>But facts are against such a fancy.</p> - -<p>What is possible in this human life? It is possible -that a man may spend his days in building a church, and -yet denying God. Does not the very touch of the stones -help him to pray? No. He touches them roughly; he -lays them mechanically, and he desecrates each of them -with an oath.</p> - -<p>Is it possible that a man can be a builder of churches -and yet be a destroyer of Christian doctrine and teaching -generally? Yes.</p> - -<p>Let us come closer still, for the question is intensely -interesting and may touch many.</p> - -<p>It is possible for a man to print the Bible and yet not -believe a word of it. On first hearing this shocking -statement we revolt from it. We say it is possible for a -man to handle type that is meant to represent the greatest -revelation ever made to the human mind without -feeling that the very handling of the type is itself a kind -of religious exercise. Yet men can debauch themselves -in the act of printing the Bible; can use profane language -while putting the Lord’s Prayer in type; can set -up the whole Gospel of John without knowing that they -are putting into visible representation the highest metaphysics, -the finest spiritual thinking, the most tender -religious instruction.</p> - -<p>Let us come even closer. A man can preach the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[377]</a></span> -Gospel and be a servant of the devil. Who, then, can -be saved? It is well to ask the question. It is a burning -inquiry; it is a spear-like interrogation. We would -put it away from us if we dare.</p> - -<p>Now, let this stand as our first lesson in the study of -this remarkable incident, that Gehazi was the servant of -Elisha, the man of God, and was at the same time the -servant of the devil. He was receiving wages from both -masters. He was a living contradiction; and in being -such he was most broadly human. He was not a monster; -he was not a natural curiosity; he is not to be -accounted for by quietly saying that he was an eccentric -person. He represents the human heart, and by so much -he brings against ourselves an infinite impeachment.</p> - -<p>It is in vain that we shake our skirts as if throwing -off this man and all association with him and responsibility -for him; this can not be done. He anticipated ourselves; -we repeat his wickedness. The iniquity is not -in the accident, in the mere circumstances, or in the particular -form; the iniquity is in the heart—yea, in the -very heart itself. Marvel not that Christ said: “Ye -must be born again.”</p> - -<p>Gehazi did not understand the spirit of his master. -He did not know what his master was doing. How is it -that men can be so far separated from one another? -How is it that a man can not be understood in his own -house, but be thought fanciful, fanatical, eccentric and -phenomenally peculiar? How is it that a man may be -living among men, and yet not be of them; may be in -the world and yet above the world; may be speaking the -very language of the time, and yet charging it with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[378]</a></span> -meaning of eternity? See here the differences that still -exist, and must ever exist, as between one man and another:</p> - -<p>Elisha—living the great spiritual life, the grand -prayer-life and faith-life.</p> - -<p>Gehazi—grubbing in the Earth and seeking his contentment -in the dust.</p> - -<p>These contrasts exist through all time, and are full of -instruction. Blessed is he who observes the wise man, -and copies him; who looks upon the fool, and turns -away from him, if not with hatred yet with a desire not -to know his spirit.</p> - -<p>Gehazi had a method in his reasoning. Said he, in -effect:</p> - -<p>“To spare a stranger, a man who may never be seen -again; to spare a beneficiary, a man who has taken away -benefits in the right hand and in the left; to spare a -wealthy visitor, a man who could have given much without -feeling he had given any thing; to spare a willing -giver, a man who actually offered to give something and -who was surprised, if not offended, because his gift was -declined! There is no reason in my master’s policy.”</p> - -<p>It never occurred to Gehazi that a man could have -bread to eat that the world knew not of. It never occurs -to some men that others can live by faith, and can work -miracles of faith by the grace of God.</p> - -<p>Are there not minds that never had a noble thought? -It is almost impossible to conceive of the existence of -such minds, but there they are. They never went beyond -their own limited location; they never knew what -suffering was on the other side of the wall of their own<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[379]</a></span> -dwelling place. They were never eyes to the blind, or -ears to the deaf, or feet to the lame; they never surprised -themselves by some noble thought of generosity. -How, then, can they understand the prophets of the -times?</p> - -<p>Yet how noble a thing it is to have among us men -who love the upper life, and who look upon the whole -world from the very sanctuary of God, and who say:</p> - -<p>“A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the -things which he possesseth, but a man’s life consists of -his faith, love and charity.”</p> - -<p>We can not tell how much the prophets are doing to -refine their age, to give a new view to all human duty, -to inspire those who otherwise would fail for the lack of -courage.</p> - -<p>We can not tell where the answers to prayer fall, or -how those answers are given, but we feel that there is at -work in society a mystic influence, a strange, ghostly, -spectral action, which keeps things together, and now -and again puts Sabbath day right in the midst of the -vulgar time.</p> - -<p>There are facts of a high and special kind, as well as -what we commonly call facts, which are often but appearances -and dramatic illusions. What about the secret -ministry, the unnamable spiritual action, the holy, elevating -and restraining influence? What is that hand -which will write upon palace walls words of judgment -and keep the world from plunging into darkness infinite?</p> - -<p>Surely, God is in this place, and I knew it not. This—wherever -it be, garden or wilderness—is none other -than the house of God and the gate of Heaven.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[380]</a></span></p> - -<p>Gehazi prostituted an inventive and energetic mind. -He had his plan: “My master hath sent me, saying: -‘Behold, even now there be come to me from Mount -Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. -Give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver and two -changes of garments.”</p> - -<p>The case was admirably stated. It was stated, too, -with just that urgency which increases the likelihood of -that which is declared.</p> - -<p>Elisha spent his time among the sons of the prophets. -They all looked to him as a father, as he had once -looked to Elijah. He was the young man’s friend—the -young minister’s asylum. They all knew the gracious, -gentle, Christ-like Elisha—the ante-type of the Messiah; -and what was more likely than that two of them, in the -course of their journeying, should have called on Elisha -unexpectedly?</p> - -<p>It was a free and gracious life that the old ministers -lived. They seemed to have rights in one another. If -any one of them had a loaf, that loaf belonged to the -whole fraternity. If one of them, better off than another, -had a house or part of a house, any of the sons of -the prophets passing by could go and lodge there.</p> - -<p>It was a gracious masonry—a true brotherhood.</p> - -<p>Gehazi was no model man in a moral sense. His invention -was a lie; his cleverness was but an aspect of -depravity; his very genius but made him memorable for -wickedness.</p> - -<p>But Gehazi was successful. He took the two talents -of silver in the two bags, with the two changes of garments. -He brought them to the tower, and bestowed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[381]</a></span> -them in the house. Then he sat down—a successful -man! Now all is well; lust is satisfied, wealth is laid -up. Now the fitness of things has been consulted, and -harmony has been established between debtor and creditor, -and Justice nods because Justice has been appeased.</p> - -<p>Were the test to end with the twenty-fourth verse of -the fifth chapter of the second Book of Kings, we should -describe Gehazi as a man who had set an example to all -coming after him who wished to turn life into a success.</p> - -<p>Who had been wronged?</p> - -<p>Naaman pursues his journey all the more happy for -thinking he has done something in return for the great -benefit which has been conferred on him. He is certainly -more pleased than otherwise. The man of God has at -last been turned, he thinks, into directions indicated by -common sense.</p> - -<p>All this has come about in the way of business; for -nothing that is not customary has been done.</p> - -<p>Gehazi is satisfied, and Elisha knows nothing about -it. The servant should have something, even if the -master would take nothing. It is the trick of our own -day. The servant is always at the door with his rheumatic -hand, ready to take any thing that may be put into -it. We leave nothing with the master; it would be an -insult to him.</p> - -<p>So far the case looks simple, natural and complete; -and we have said Elisha knows nothing about it.</p> - -<p>Why will men trifle with prophets?</p> - -<p>Why will men play with fire?</p> - -<p>When will men know that what is done in secret will -be published on the house tops?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[382]</a></span></p> - -<p>When will men know that there can be nothing confidential -that is wicked?</p> - -<p>Observe Gehazi going in to his master as usual, and -look at his face; not a sign upon it of any thing having -been done that is wrong. Look at his hands—large, -white, innocent-looking hands that never doubled their -fingers on things that did not belong to them.</p> - -<p>Look at Elisha. Fixing his eyes calmly upon Gehazi, -he asks:</p> - -<p>“Whence comest thou, Gehazi?”</p> - -<p>“Thy servant went no whither.”</p> - -<p>Gehazi meant it to be understood that he had been -on the premises all the time; always within call; the -lifting up of a finger would have brought him.</p> - -<p>Then came the speech of judgment, delivered in a -low tone, but every word was heard—the beginning of -the word and the end of the word—and the last word -was like a sting of righteousness.</p> - -<p>“Went not mine heart with thee?”</p> - -<p>Oh, that heart! The good man knows when wickedness -has been done. Christ knows when He enters -into the congregation whether there is a man in it with a -withered hand.</p> - -<p>“Went not mine heart with thee?” Was I not present -at the interview? Did I not hear every syllable that -was said on the one side and on the other? Did I not -look at thee when thou didst tell the black, flat and -daring lie?</p> - -<p>Then came the infliction of the judgment:</p> - -<p>“The leprosy, therefore, of Naaman shall cleave -unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[383]</a></span></p> - -<p>Thou, Gehazi, hast touched the silver, not knowing -that it was contagious and held the leprosy; thou didst -bring in the two changes of garments, not knowing that -the germs of the disease were folded up with the cloth. -Put on the coat; it will scorch thee.</p> - -<p>“He went out from his presence a leper as white as -snow.”</p> - -<p>A splendid conception is this silent departure. Not -a word was said, not a protest uttered. The judgment -was felt to be just. “Cast ye the unprofitable servant -into outer darkness.” “These shall go away into everlasting -punishment.”</p> - -<p>Oh, the hush—the solemn silence! The judgment -seemed to begin with the sound of trumpets and the -rending of things that apparently could not be shaken; -at the end there is simply a going away, a silent motion, -a conviction that the sentence is right.</p> - -<p>See Gehazi as he goes out of Elisha’s presence, and -regard him as a specimen of those who, having been -judged, on the last day will depart.</p> - -<p>Men should consider the price which they really pay -for their success.</p> - -<p>The grateful Syrian would gladly have pressed upon -Elisha gifts of high value, but the holy man resolutely -refused to take any thing, lest the glory redounding unto -God from this great act should in any degree be obscured. -But his servant, Gehazi, was less scrupulous, and hastened -with a lie in his mouth to ask, in his master’s name, -for a portion of that which Elisha had refused.</p> - -<p>The illustrious Syrian no sooner saw the man running -after his chariot than he alighted to meet him, and being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[384]</a></span> -glad to relieve himself in some degree under the sense of -overwhelming obligation, he sent him back with more -than he ventured to ask.</p> - -<p>Nothing more is known of Naaman.</p> - -<p>We afterward find Gehazi recounting to King Joram -the great deeds of Elisha, and in the providence of God -it so happened that when he was relating the restoration -to life of the Shunnammite’s son, the very woman with -her son appeared before the king to claim her house and -lands, which had been usurped while she had been absent -abroad during the recent famine. Struck by the -coincidence, the king immediately granted her application.</p> - -<p>As lepers were compelled to live apart outside the -towns, and were not allowed to come too near to uninfected -persons, some difficulty has arisen with respect to -Gehazi’s interview with the king. Several answers occur. -The interview may have taken place outside the town, -in a garden or garden house, and the king may have kept -Gehazi at a distance, with the usual precautions which -custom dictated. Some even suppose that the incident -is misplaced, and actually occurred before Gehazi was -smitten with leprosy. Others hasten to the opposite -conclusion, and allege the probability that the leper had -then repented of his crime, and had been restored to -health by his master.</p> - -<h3>HEZEKIAH.</h3> - -<p>So far in our Bible studies we have had many weary -wanderings among bad men. The fear was that, to some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[385]</a></span> -extent, familiarity with them might blunt our own moral -sensibility.</p> - -<p>Man after man has passed before us out of whose -very countenance the image of God had faded. How -pleasant it is, and how spiritually exhilarating, to come -upon a case in which we read of a different pattern of -man! Of Hezekiah it is recorded in the eighteenth chapter -of the second Book of Kings:</p> - -<p>“And he did that which was right in the sight of the -Lord, according to all that David, his father, did.”</p> - -<p>After a long journey underground we seem to have -come suddenly upon a sweet garden, and the sight of it -is as Heaven. The charm is always in the contrast. If -things are not quite so good as we supposed them to be, -they are all the better by reason of circumstances through -which we have passed, which have made us ill at ease -and have impoverished or disheartened us; then very -little of the other kind goes a long way.</p> - -<p>A man comes up out of the underground railway and -says, when he emerges into the light:</p> - -<p>“How fresh the air is here! What a healthy locality! -How well to live in this neighborhood!”</p> - -<p>Why does he speak so kindly of his surroundings? -Not because of those surroundings intrinsically, but because -of the contrast which they present to the circumstances -through which he has just passed.</p> - -<p>Hezekiah was no perfect man.</p> - -<p>We shall see how noble he was, and how rich in -many high qualities, yet how now and again we see the -crutch of the cripple under the purple of the king.</p> - -<p>It is well for us that he was occasionally and temporarily<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[386]</a></span> -weak, or he would have been like a star which we -can not touch, and at which we can not light our own -torch.</p> - -<p>Even Hezekiah was a man like ourselves in many -particulars, and therefore what was good and sound in -him is all the more attractive and is all the more possible -to us.</p> - -<p>Who can mistake an honest man?</p> - -<p>If all men were upright, where would be the peculiarity -of any individual man’s integrity? But, given a -corrupt state of society, when the honest man appears -we say: “The wind has changed. It blows balmily -and healthfully. It comes from a fine origin, and brings -with it many a blessing.”</p> - -<p>Who can mistake the atmosphere of the sea? How -it blows away all the city dullness! How it quickens the -blood! How it throws off increasing years, and makes -the voyager feel almost young again!</p> - -<p>It is so with honesty, nobleness, charity and goodness -of character when the surrounding air is charged -with some kind of poison or pestilence.</p> - -<p>So it is that we come upon Hezekiah.</p> - -<p>Perhaps it is well for him that we approach his case -after such an experience. He thus gets advantages that -otherwise might not have been accorded to him. He -looks the higher for the dwarfs that are round about him, -the whiter because of the black population amid which -he stands—at once a contrast and a rebuke.</p> - -<p>But from Hezekiah’s point of view the case was different. -Behind him were traditions of the most corrupt -sort. He was as a speckled bird in the line of his own<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[387]</a></span> -family. It is hard to be good amid so much that is really -bad. All attempts at goodness are accounted examples -of affectation, conceit, vanity and pharisaism; and under -such circumstances sometimes a man’s foes may be the -people of his own household. They wish he was more -pliable, less sabbatarian, less devoted to his Bible, less -constant in his attendance at church. He might go once -a day, and give himself one end of the rope not tethered -to the altar; but he will not.</p> - -<p>Has that man an easy time of it?</p> - -<p>No hard word may be spoken to him—certainly no -bitter word—and yet all the while he may be made to -feel that perhaps, after all, he may be affecting somewhat -of piety and purity, and that those who are looking -on may be better critics of him than he is of himself.</p> - -<p>At all events, there come to him periods of trial, and -sometimes he says within himself:</p> - -<p>“Shall I today be as constant as I have been, or may -I not break away now? Have I not built up a character, -and may I not retire upon my moral competence, -and live henceforth the life of a latitudinarian? After a -long spell of many years, surely I might intermit just a -little.”</p> - -<p>Who shall say that the temptation is not subtle and -strong? Some men have to force their way to church -through innumerable and unnamable difficulties. This -ought to be reckoned. Some credit must be due to men -who are thus constant to their sense of public duty and -religious obligation. Men are not always at church with -the entire consent of those who are round about them.</p> - -<p>What, then, must be done?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[388]</a></span></p> - -<p>One of two things. Either yield to the temptation -or resist it. You can not trifle with it. You can not -compromise, and then recur to firmness, and again connive, -and again balance, consider and hesitate. Virtue -is not an intermittent grace. We must stand, or we -must fall.</p> - -<p>Hezekiah had a wicked father. How will that wickedness -come out in the son? Not, perhaps, as wickedness, -but as infirmity, weakness, and want of constancy -in some directions, though there may be no want of firmness -in others.</p> - -<p>Can a man wholly escape the bad blood inherited of -his father?</p> - -<p>We must not forget that Hezekiah’s mother’s name -was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. How she came to -marry a wicked husband must remain a mystery. But -the mother will come up in the son.</p> - -<p>She was the daughter of Zachariah, and Zachariah -was a prophet, or seer—a man with double sight—one of -those strange men who can see beyond the merely visible -and palpable, and can read things that lie behind.</p> - -<p>Zachariah came up again in his daughter, and the -mother came up again in the son, and so there was a -mysterious play of inheritance, transfer, transition, reappearance, -somewhat of resurrection—a great tragic -mystery of transformation and representation.</p> - -<p>We speak about a man as if he were self-contained—just -standing upon so much ground, without relation -behind or before, on the right hand or on the left. But -no man is thus insularly placed; no man is an absolute -solitary.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[389]</a></span></p> - -<p>Every man has in him the blood of the past and the -life of the future.</p> - -<p>Can a son of a good mother be altogether bad? Most -surely not. You must have mistaken the case if you -thought so. Your very thinking so may constitute an -element of hopefulness in your case. Take comfort from -that suggestion.</p> - -<p>So long as you can think of yourself seriously and of -the past and of your advantages, and can compare what -you are with what you might have been, there is hope of -you.</p> - -<p>But can there be in all history such an irony as this, -that a man should have had a praying mother and himself -be a prayerless man?</p> - -<p>No! It can not be. Somewhere—at some time and -in some way—the better nature will assert itself, and out -of a good seed surely there will come a good harvest.</p> - -<p>But the lesson does not lie upon one side only. Here -is encouragement to the praying fathers and to praying -mothers.</p> - -<p>Zachariah, read on; read between the lines of things; -interpret events symbolically; read the apocalyptic sense -of what is happening—and out of all this mental elevation -and spiritual conduct there will come results in your -daughter or your son.</p> - -<p>Abi, pray on. Be just to your father’s memory, and -say: “He was a holy man. I must prove it by being -a holy woman. He can not live upon a written character; -he must live in my life. I will prove that such a -child must have had a good father.”</p> - -<p>So the vital lessons fall—on the right hand, on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[390]</a></span> -left, and around about us. Shame be to us if, amid this -shower of monition and encouragement and stimulus, we -be deaf and dumb and blind, unfeeling, unresponsive.</p> - -<p>Hezekiah will now go to work and prove himself to -be an energetic reformer.</p> - -<p>“He removed the high places, and brake the images, -and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brazen -serpent that Moses had made; for unto those days the -children of Israel did burn incense to it; and he called -it Nehustan.”</p> - -<p>He must have been a strong man. He had no colleague, -no ally; no one to say to him: “Be brave, be -true.” He went straight against the hardest wall that -ever was built by the stubbornness and perversity of -man.</p> - -<p>It is not easy to begin life by a destructive process of -reformation. Who would not rather plant a tree than -throw down a wall? Who would not rather plant flowers -and enjoy their beauty and fragrance than give himself -the severe toil and the incessant trouble of destroying -corrupt and evil institutions?</p> - -<p>Whoever attempts this kind of destructive work, or -even a constructive work which involves preliminary destructiveness, -will have a hard time of it. Criticism will -be very sharp, and selfishness will be developed in an -extraordinary degree.</p> - -<p>If a man be more than politician—if he be a real -born statesman, looking at whole empires at once and -not at mere parishes, and if in his thought and purpose -he should base his whole policy upon fundamental right—he -will not have an easy life of it, even in a Christian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[391]</a></span> -country. In proportion as he bases his whole policy on -righteousness, temperance and judgment to come, he will -be pelted with hard names and struck at with unfriendly -hands.</p> - -<p>This holds good in all departments of life, in all great -reformations, in all assaults made upon ignorance, selfishness, -tyranny and wrong of every name.</p> - -<p>The children of Israel always seemed to live a foolish -life. They were the veriest children—so, at least, we -would say but for fear of branding sweet children with -an evil stigma.</p> - -<p>They were infantile, weak, treacherous to themselves, -uncertain at every point—and so, having kept the brazen -serpent, they burned incense to it. They liked a visible -God. When the calf appealed to their religious feelings -they danced around it as if at last they had found a deity.</p> - -<p>But who can worship a spirit—invisible, impalpable, -far away, near at hand, without a name, without a shape -which we can verify and say: “It comes to thus much, -and this is the weight and this is the value of it?”</p> - -<p>It requires a mind of some mental strength to stand -up, take hold of the brazen serpent and call it “Nehushtan”—a -contemptuous term, meaning a piece of brass; -dead brass, useless and worthless brass, a relic but not a -God.</p> - -<p>Let us give credit to the men who have been bold—religiously -intrepid—in the midst of circumstances of a -most discouraging and overbearing kind. They are the -men to whom we owe our present privileges. We have -the Bible in our mother tongue because they were valiant. -Not a church would have been built today in which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[392]</a></span> -men could assemble with a sense of freedom—sweet, -joyous liberty—but for the Hezekiahs and others who -went forth and, at great cost and great peril, destroyed -things evil and black, by the power of God’s almightiness—overthrew -them, and set up a better kingdom.</p> - -<p>What was the root of Hezekiah’s character? At -present we have seen phenomena of a gracious kind; we -like what we have seen of this man.</p> - -<p>“He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after -him was none like him among all the kings of Judah nor -any that were before him. For he clave to the Lord, -and departed not from following Him, but kept His commandments, -which the Lord commanded Moses.”</p> - -<p>At length a man arose who said: “I will do God’s -will, God helping me. I will not only read the commandments, -but I will incarnate them. I will not only speak -religious words, but live a religious life.”</p> - -<p>Tender and yet emphatic are the words: “He trusted,” -“he clave,” “he kept.”</p> - -<p>He “trusted”—that is to say, he had no other trust. -His religion was not a convenience, one thing among -many things, an occasional exercise in piety; but it was -a perpetual confidence, the one trust, the all-centralizing -and all-ruling fact.</p> - -<p>Then he “clave”—he kept close to. He would not -allow any thing to come between his hand and the God -he seized. The hand could do nothing except cleave to -God and what was possible through that cleaving; and -much is possible of a helpful and beneficent kind.</p> - -<p>He “kept the commandments”—counted them one -by one; examined himself in them; took himself daily<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[393]</a></span> -to task about the whole ten. We live an off-hand life.</p> - -<p>Religion is now as easy as a wave of the hand, a salutation -across a thoroughfare; it is something that can -be taken up, laid down, forgotten and resumed.</p> - -<p>What wonder if the Rab-shakehs of the age come -and taunt us, mock our piety and blow back our prayers -before they get to the skies?</p> - -<p>We want more trust, more cleaving piety, more keeping -of the commandments, living in them and having no -other life that is not consonant with them.</p> - -<p>Now came, as we have often seen, the inevitable -temptation. We pass instantly to the visit of Rab-shakeh. -This Rab-shakeh was an eloquent man. He -had the gift of mockery; he could gibe well. He was -not without a certain logical qualification.</p> - -<p>He made a long and offensive speech to the people -under Hezekiah’s rule, and he thought he had them at -both ends of the argument.</p> - -<p>Having mocked their piety, laughed it down, challenged -it, spat upon it, he said:</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you will say: ‘We trust in the Lord, our -God,’ but you forget that this very man, Hezekiah, has -thrown down His altars, has taken away His groves, has -rooted up the house of your God by the foundations.”</p> - -<p>Rab-shakeh did not understand the destructive reformation -wrought out by Hezekiah. He heard of the -groves being cut down and the holy places being removed, -and he said:</p> - -<p>“This is so much to our advantage. The king of -Assyria shall hear of this, and we shall make good commerce -of it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[394]</a></span></p> - -<p>Rab-shakeh did not distinguish between idolatry and -piety—between a reform essential to health and a mere -accident in history. That which was good in Hezekiah -seemed to be wickedness to Rab-shakeh.</p> - -<p>Rab-shakeh assaulted the people, trampled on them, -leaped over their bodies, mocked their refuges and their -trust, and thrust his fist into the face of Egypt and said:</p> - -<p>“Come away from Hezekiah. Trust him not; he is -blind; he is incapable. Leave him, and I will tell you -what the king of Assyria will do for you.”</p> - -<p>And he held this out to them:</p> - -<p>“I will come and take you away to a land like your -own land—a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and -vineyards, a land of olive oil and of honey—that ye may -live, and not die; and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when -he persuadeth you, saying: ‘The Lord will deliver us.’”</p> - -<p>It is but an empty saying: “Come, and I will give -you a great Canaan!”</p> - -<p>Sometimes it does seem as if the enemy had the best -of it. Every thing lies so handily to him. He says:</p> - -<p>“I will get you through this difficulty. I know a lie -that would deceive a king. I can instruct you in a policy -that would blind a judge. I could get the money for -you; you need have no difficulty about that. Why, I -say, in confidence, I can let you have it now!”</p> - -<p>What can the preacher do in the presence of such a -Rab-shakeh?</p> - -<p>Or, he may not offer temptation in that direction, but -in another. He may say:</p> - -<p>“All these arguments I could answer, if I cared to -do so. Who wrote the Bible? Who has seen the original<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[395]</a></span> -manuscripts? Who has ever seen God? It is utterly -impossible to know the infinite. Come, and I will make -you rich at once in real, solid, practical things. I can -give you work instantly, and wages immediately the -work is begun. I can give you something in advance. -Leave the preacher, the altar, the Bible and the church. -Come and work in the open streets, and be doing something -that you can handle and about which there is no -manner of doubt.”</p> - -<p>People begin then to wonder.</p> - -<p>They should adopt the policy which was imposed on -the children of Hezekiah:</p> - -<p>“But the people held their peace, and answered him -not a word, for the king’s commandment was: ‘Answer -him not.’”</p> - -<p>Nothing is to be got out of wordy controversy. Live -the Christian life; grow in grace and in the knowledge of -our Lord Jesus Christ. While the controversialist is -contemning you, taunting you and smiting you, show to -him that you are growing broader, more massive in character, -more tender in disposition, more benevolent in -every aspiration and desire and purpose, and thus by -well-doing “Put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.”</p> - -<p>Defend your Christianity by the eloquence of your -life.</p> - -<p>The servants of Hezekiah said to him: “What Rab-shakeh -has said may come to pass. Let us go to Isaiah -and tell him all.”</p> - -<p>Hezekiah himself thought that perhaps there might -be something in it, after all. There he and his servants -fell into a state of incertitude.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[396]</a></span></p> - -<p>“So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.” -They came to the right man. Standing up like a king, -he said:</p> - -<p>“Thus shall ye say to your master: Thus saith the -Lord: ‘Be not afraid of the words which thou hast -heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria -have blasphemed Me. Behold, I will send a blast upon -him, and he shall hear a rumor, and shall return to his -own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in -his own land.’”</p> - -<p>He would make no violent attack on the men. He -would summon no legion of angels to overwhelm this -great Oriental potentate. He would simply “send a -blast.” He would change the wind; he would scatter -something upon it and bid it blow across the brain of the -king of Assyria, and the king would not know his right -hand from his left, nor the morning from the night; he -would be calling everybody by the wrong name, and be -asking for things that he did not wish to possess, and be, -generally, thrown into a state of unbalanced and wandering -mind.</p> - -<p>“I will send a whisperer to him. He shall simply -go to the ear of the king of Assyria and say something, -and the king will take fright and fly away in a panic. O -Hezekiah, continue thy prayer, repeat thy morning sacrifice -and thine evening oblation; and, as for the king of -Assyria, I will send a blast and a rumor. I will answer -Rab-shakeh.”</p> - -<p>Let the contempt of the enemy be answered by the -contempt of Heaven.</p> - -<p>Rab-shakeh, having found that the king of Assyria<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[397]</a></span> -was warring against Libnah, returned; and when he -heard that Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, was come up to -war, he once more addressed Hezekiah in terms of exultation -and contempt.</p> - -<p>Rab-shakeh was pretendedly anxious that Hezekiah -should not be deceived by the Lord, his God, and then -he taunts him with many a history in which Assyria had -been conqueror over opposing nations. He completes -his taunt by asking:</p> - -<p>“Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, -and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, -and Ivah?”</p> - -<p>This message came to Hezekiah in the form of a letter, -or letters, and he instantly “went up into the house -of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.”</p> - -<p>There is no need to regard this as in any sense involving -a heathenish custom. The meaning simply is -that Hezekiah consulted the Lord on the whole matter, -and declined to take any thing into his own counsel or -power. He acknowledges the dignity of God by the expression: -“O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest -between the cherubims.”</p> - -<p>Then he pointed to the letter which more immediately -concerned himself, thus showing his consciousness -that the majesty of the Lord did not separate Him from -taking an interest in earthly things. We are not to stop -at the point of majesty, but are to reason that, because -God is so majestic and august, He will pay attention to -the prayers and desires of the beings whom He has created -in His own image and likeness. The divine majesty -is not a rebuke to human approach, but is an encouragement<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[398]</a></span> -to human prayer. When Hezekiah says “Thou -art the God,” the emphasis is to be laid on the pronoun. -Thou art the true God, and Thou alone. When he desires -God to bow down His ear, and hear, the reference -is not so much to listen to Hezekiah’s prayer as to the -words of Sennacherib.</p> - -<p>The meaning of the whole petition may be:</p> - -<p>“Interpose immediately and energetically between -me and mine enemy. Let Thine ears hear, let Thine -eyes see, and let Thine arm be extended.”</p> - -<p>Hezekiah acknowledges that the kings of Assyria had -destroyed the nations and their lands, and had cast the -gods of the nations into the fire. By so much he gives -the Assyrians credit for having spoken the truth, and for -having thus founded their project against Israel upon the -success which they had already attained.</p> - -<p>Hezekiah acknowledges, indeed, that the gods of the -nations were no gods. At the same time he feels that to -the minds of the Assyrians they may have been as real -deities, and their overthrow may have encouraged the -Assyrians to believe that Jehovah was like unto them.</p> - -<p>Thus the prayer of Hezekiah was argued and ordered -in logical and historical form, and was intended to excite, -as it were, the very jealousy of the Lord God of -Israel.</p> - -<p>We now turn to the reply which was made to Hezekiah -through the lips of Isaiah, the son of Amos. The -reply was manifestly given in a contemptuous tone:</p> - -<p>“The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, -and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem -hath shaken her head at thee.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[399]</a></span></p> - -<p>This is a poetic personification of place, Zion being -regarded as mother of the people dwelling there. While -the term “virgin” may denote the inviolable security of -the citadel of Jehovah, it may also intimate that a woman—even -a solitary woman—was enough, when under -the inspiration and protection of God, to repel the assault -of the most boastful and audacious king.</p> - -<p>The expression, “hath shaken her head at thee,” has -been literally rendered: “Hath nodded behind thee.” -It signifies an act of security—as, for example, in the -Twenty-second Psalm: “All they that see me laugh me -to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, -saying: ‘He trusted on the Lord that He would deliver -him. Let Him deliver him, seeing He delighted him.’”</p> - -<p>The people of Jerusalem are represented by this expression -as nodding their heads in contempt at the retiring -envoys of Sennacherib.</p> - -<p>The answer of Isaiah to Hezekiah was a religious -revelation to the king of Assyria.</p> - -<p>The twenty-second verse puts into interrogative form -a reproach against the ignorance of the king:</p> - -<p>“Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? -And against whom hast thou exalted thy voice and lifted -up thine eyes on high?”</p> - -<p>The meaning evidently is that the king did not know -the real nature of the God of Israel and Judah, and that -he was making an infinite mistake in confounding that -nature with what he had already seen of the idols of the -nations.</p> - -<p>Humiliation is promised to the king of Assyria. A -hook is to be thrust into his nose, a bridle is to be put on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[400]</a></span> -his lips, and he is to be turned back by the way which -he came.</p> - -<p>While the king of Assyria is humiliated, the remnant -that escaped of the house of Judah is promised again to -take root downward and bear fruit upward—literally, -shall add root to root, shall take firmer root than ever, -as a tree often does after a storm; the ravaged land was -to be newly stocked by the remnant that was to be saved -out of Jerusalem.</p> - -<p>All these statements are supported by the declaration: -“The zeal of the Lord of Hosts shall do this.”</p> - -<p>Thus the promise is not made in any human name or -guaranteed by the conquests of human history. It is -immediately connected with the very purpose and power -of the Most High. Nor is this the only instance in which -divine strength is promised on behalf of Judah and of -Israel. We read: “For I will defend this city, to save -it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.”</p> - -<p>We must always be careful to notice that the race is -not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, and that no -occasion is ever given for man to glory in man, but that -everywhere from the beginning of religious history, as -given in the Bible, it is God who is King, Ruler and Protector, -and to Him all the glory of deliverance and conquest -undividedly belongs.</p> - -<p>And that night “the angel of the Lord went out and -smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore -and five thousand; and when they arose early in -the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.”</p> - -<p>Again and again we say: “It is a fearful thing to -fall into the hands of the living God.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[401]</a></span></p> - -<p>Let Rab-shakeh talk—let him deliver his burning -messages—and when he has ceased his mockery it is not -necessary for us to answer. God will defend His own -cause.</p> - -<p>Here we stand. We think all history is on the Christian -side. But let us not forget that the finest argument -in favor of Christianity is a Christian life.</p> - -<h3>JABEZ.</h3> - -<p>The ninth verse of the fourth chapter of the first -Book of Chronicles contains a reference to Jabez. The -whole history is brief:</p> - -<p>“And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren; -and his mother called his name Jabez, saying: ‘Because -I bear him with sorrow.’ And Jabez called on the God -of Israel, saying: ‘Oh, that Thou wouldst bless me indeed, -and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might -be with me, and that Thou wouldst keep me from evil, -that it may not grieve me!’ And God granted him that -which he requested.”</p> - -<p>Nothing more is known of this Jabez or of his brethren. -“The Speaker’s Commentary” regards the fact -as remarkable that Jabez should be introduced without -description or patronymic, as if a well-known personage, -and supposes that he was known to those for whom the -Book of Chronicles was written, either by tradition or -by writings which have perished.</p> - -<p>The word Jabez signifies sorrowful.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[402]</a></span></p> - -<p>Jabez was distinguished in some way above his brethren. -By this distinction we are not to infer the exercise -of an undue partiality in the spirit of his parents. Account -for it as we may, some men appear to be born with -what may be called a larger religiousness of nature than -other men. It is easy for them to pray; it is a delight -to them to peruse all sacred writings; it is a positive pain -to them to be deprived of religious privileges.</p> - -<p>We must leave this mystery as insoluble. It is a very -pleasant mystery to those who are gifted with religious -intuition; but, on the other hand, it is a most appalling -mystery to those who seem to be what we can not better -describe than by calling them natural Atheists.</p> - -<p>The name which Jabez bore was a memorial of his -mother’s sorrow—not a prophecy of his own. Yet Jabez -was animated by that inexplicable superstition which -discovers in names and circumstances omens and predictions -which the imagination can never treat with disregard.</p> - -<p>Jabez might intellectually know that his name did -but represent what his mother had endured, yet a subtle -feeling took possession of him, as if he himself would in -some way be involved in the same sorrow. Nor was this -an irrational conclusion.</p> - -<p>As a matter of fact, some men are born to more sorrow -than others—as certainly as by constitution some -men are more religious than others.</p> - -<p>Here, again, is a dark and painful mystery. We see -the operation of this mystery even in the same family, -where one of the children may be full of sunlight, hope -and music, and another may be doomed to walk in darkness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[403]</a></span> -throughout a lifetime—unable to discern between -Summer and Winter, loaded with trouble and oppressed -with undefinable apprehensions.</p> - -<p>Jabez is known to history as pre-eminently a man of -prayer. Although it has been considered that the prayer -of Jabez was uttered in view of some imminent battle or -other dreaded experience, yet by common consent Jabez -has been regarded by Christian students as a typical man -of prayer.</p> - -<p>Judging the case within the narrow limits of the history -given in verses nine and ten, it would seem as if -Jabez started life in an act of prayer. The image is at -once graphic and beautiful. Think of a young man -standing at the door of his house, looking abroad at the -unknown and unmeasured world, listening to the conflicting -voices which troubled his native air, and then -turning his eyes to Heaven and asking divine direction -before he would take a single step from the threshold of -his home.</p> - -<p>Nothing of the nature of mere romance attaches itself -to this picture.</p> - -<p>This, indeed, is what every young man ought to do -before going out to battle or labor. It would appear, -from instances which have come under our view, that -God condescends to receive from men promises of religious -life on certain providential conditions. We can not -understand this now, but it is perfectly clear, from such -instances as Jacob and Jabez, that God was willing to -respond to propositions of obedience founded upon the -realization of specified blessings.</p> - -<p>The prayer of Jabez must be judged to be good, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[404]</a></span> -the sufficient reason that it was answered—“and God -granted him that which he requested.”</p> - -<p>Is the conduct of life, then, open to regulation upon -such high and sacred lines? May a young man come -before the Almighty, speak out all his heart and receive -promises of continual guidance and defense from the -Living One?</p> - -<p>If we could realize the certainty of this holy commerce -as between Earth and Heaven, our whole life -would be lifted to a noble level, our spirit would be -released from the dominion of fear, and instead of laboring -in toilsome prayer, we should be filled with the spirit -of triumphant thankfulness and praise.</p> - -<p>What privileges are open to the young! It lies within -their power to give a whole life-time to God. Those -who have advanced considerably in life can now but give -a fraction of their days, but the young soul can give God -the brightness of the morning, the glory of noonday and -the tranquility of evening.</p> - -<p>Let the young think of this, and give themselves -diligently to the study of such instances as that of Jabez, -knowing that if they remember their Creator in the days -of their youth increasing age will mean increasing joy.</p> - -<h3>JEHORAM.</h3> - -<p>Jehoram undertakes an expedition against King -Mesha, but in doing so he pays a tribute to the power of -the king of Moab by allying with himself Jehoshaphat,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[405]</a></span> -king of Judah, and also the king of Edom. A remarkable -character is given of Jehoram. He was not an -imitator of the evil of his father as to its precise form, -but he had his own method of serving the devil.</p> - -<p>We should have thought that Ahab and Jezebel had -exhausted all the arts of wickedness, but it turns out that -Jehoram had found a way of his own of living an evil -life.</p> - -<p>Warned by the untimely fate of his brother, which -had fallen upon him expressly on account of his Baal -worship, Jehoram began his reign by an ostentatious -abolition of the Phenician state religion, which his father -had introduced.</p> - -<p>Jehoram went back to the olden times, and re-established -the worship of the calf, after the pattern which -Jeroboam, its founder, had patronized. His doing so, -however, he found to be quite compatible with a secret -allowance that the people should practice their own form -of worship.</p> - -<p>There is room in wickedness for the exercise of genius -of a certain limited kind. The limitation is imposed by -wickedness itself—for, after all, wickedness is made up -of but few elements.</p> - -<p>Many persons suppose that if they do not sin according -to the prevailing fashion they are not sinning at all. -They imagine that by varying the form of the evil they -have mitigated the evil itself.</p> - -<p>A good deal of virtue is supposed to consist in reprobating -certain forms of vice. A man may be no drunkard, -according to the usual acceptation of the term, and -yet he may be in a continual state of intoxication. It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[406]</a></span> -is possible to shudder at what is usually known as persecution, -and yet all the while to be beheading enemies -and burning martyrs.</p> - -<p>Jehoram made a kind of trick of wickedness. He -knew how to give a twist to old forms, or a turn to old -ways, so as to escape part of their vulgarity and yet to -retain all their iniquity.</p> - -<p>A most alarming thought it is to the really spiritual -mind that men may become adepts in wickedness—experts -in evil doing—and may be able so to manage their -corrupt designs as to deceive many observers by a mere -change of surface or appearance.</p> - -<p>We do not amend the idolatry by altering the shape -of the altar. We do not destroy the mischievous power -of unbelief by throwing our skepticism into metaphysical -phrases, and thus making verbal mysteries where we -might have spiritual illumination. We are deceived by -things simply because we ourselves live a superficial life -and read only the history of appearances.</p> - -<p>What is the cure for all this manipulation of evil, this -changing of complexion and of form, and this consequent -imagining that the age is improving because certain -phenomena which used to be so patent are no longer -discernible on the face of things?</p> - -<p>We come back to the sublime doctrine of regeneration, -as the answer to the great inquiry: “What is the -cure for this heart disease?”</p> - -<p>“Marvel not that I said unto thee: ‘Ye must be -born again.’”</p> - -<p>We may change either the language or the manners -of wickedness, or the times and seasons for doing wicked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[407]</a></span> -things, and we may decorate our wickedness with many -beautiful colors, but so long as the heart itself is unchanged -decoration is useless—yea, worse than useless; -for it is a vain attempt to make that look true which is -false—an endeavor even to deceive Omniscience itself.</p> - -<p>“And Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheepmaster, and -rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand -lambs and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool. -But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king -of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.”</p> - -<p>Enduring masteries are not of a physical kind. Ahab -held Mesha simply by a strong arm, and the consequence -was that, as soon as Ahab was dead, Mesha refused to -render the tribute.</p> - -<p>This historical circumstance, limited so far as the -mere letter is concerned, is full of significance to the -Christian Church and to all Christian countries.</p> - -<p>Let us not call ourselves masters of positions or of -men, simply because we happen to have the stronger -arm. The dominion which is acquired by mere strength -and held by superior force is an illusion wherever it is -found.</p> - -<p>The men whom we may so hold may be hypocrites -enough to assume an acquiescent attitude, or even to -display a complacent demeanor; they may even go so -far as to appear to be grateful for the rule which they -can not set aside. But all such appearances are of necessity -without reason, and therefore without continuance. -They are always to be suspected.</p> - -<p>This would be so in the case of the Christian faith, -had we the power of imposing even its nominal belief<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[408]</a></span> -upon any nation. Suppose we say that any man not -professing the Christian faith shall certainly be fined, -imprisoned or otherwise punished. It is easy to see that -such a threat might in many instances bring about an -appearance of acquiescence. But it must be, by the -very necessity of the case, appearance only.</p> - -<p>Faith is a question of the individual judgment and of -the individual heart, and can not be controlled in any -degree by external authority.</p> - -<p>Suppose we create a law making it penal to open -places of business on the Sabbath day. Looking upon -all commercial houses whose business was suspended for -a particular time, we might say: “See how unanimously -and happily the Sabbath day is observed in this -country!”</p> - -<p>But such would be an altogether superficial and mistaken -judgment. The Sabbath day can not be kept by -law. If the Sabbath is not kept by the reason, and is -not hailed with thankful delight by the very heart, it can -never be kept at all.</p> - -<p>All shops may be closed, all places of amusement -may suspend their entertainments, all toys may be put -away from the nursery, all out-door enjoyments and avocations -may be withdrawn for the time, but the people -who have retired in apparent acceptance of these conditions, -but not in heartfelt acquiescence with them, are -breaking the Sabbath every moment they breathe.</p> - -<p>Here is a great law for the house, the church and the -nation. The head of the family who rules by mere -dread or tyranny is not training an obedient household, -but he is preparing an outburst of sedition, which sooner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[409]</a></span> -or later must transpire, and when it occurs his ruin is -certain.</p> - -<p>The same law applies in the matter of capital and -labor. The man who only works that he may receive -his wages never truly serves or makes his labor into a -delight. The man who can threaten the laborer by withdrawment -of pecuniary recognition never elicits from -that laborer a response to duty, though he may insist on -a formal compliance with law.</p> - -<p>What a blessed mastery is that of Jesus Christ in this -respect.</p> - -<p>For Christ reasons with men, and addresses the very -highest form and quality of mind; He sets before men -the alternative courses of life, and beseeches them to -accept the straight and narrow way leading to repentance. -Certainly he threatens, He denounces, He declares -an awful issue for the wicked man, but it is not -mere threatening or mere denunciation; it is the solemn -disclosure of a sequence which even Almighty God could -not suspend and yet retain the integrity of His throne -and the security of the universe. We must never accuse -Jesus Christ of what is termed “threatening.” His denunciations -are revelations, and not the expressions of -merely angry feelings.</p> - -<p>The way of the approach having been settled, the -kings proceeded to fetch a compass of seven days’ journey -around by the south end of the Dead Sea. They -little knew the difficulty that would arise in their way. -We do not read that they made any religious inquiry at -the outset of their journey, and therefore no responsibility -could be charged upon God for the misadventure<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">[410]</a></span> -which occurred. The three kings seem to have consulted -only with themselves, and to have resolved in their -own counsel and strength upon their expedition against -Mesha.</p> - -<p>What was the misadventure which occurred? It is -related: “And there was no water for the host and for -the cattle that followed them.”</p> - -<p>Even kings are dependent upon nature. Think of -three kings, who supposed themselves at least to be very -mighty, and all their people, stopped in their career simply -for want of water!</p> - -<p>A very pitiable and yet very instructive picture is this -of three kings and their armies standing still merely for -want of water. The so-called little things of life are -often turned into not only things that are great, but into -things that are vital.</p> - -<p>Blessed indeed would be the man who sees even in -natural arrangements and daily providences a call to him -to lift up his head toward the heavens and ask great -questions about being and duty and destiny.</p> - -<p>So we have the usual religious appeal: “Is there -not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire of -the Lord by him?”</p> - -<p>Elisha now assumes a new attitude, and one certainly -not destitute of spiritual grandeur. Turning to the king -of Israel, he said:</p> - -<p>“‘What have I to do with thee? Get thee to the -prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy -mother.’ And the king of Israel said unto him: ‘Nay; -for the Lord hath called these three kings together, to -deliver them into the hand of Moab.’”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">[411]</a></span></p> - -<p>Observe that this address was made to the very king -of Israel. It simply means that the God of Israel had -nothing to do with the king of Israel, and yet Israel was -understood to be a theocracy. The form was theocratic, -but not the power.</p> - -<p>Think of a man bearing the name of God, and yet -being godless! A temple deserted of its deity is surely -a melancholy sight, but what shall be said of the man -from whose heart the Spirit of the living God has utterly -departed?</p> - -<p>Elisha seems to have inherited the taunting spirit of -his great predecessor: “Get thee to the prophets of -thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother.”</p> - -<p>Who can say with how bitter a taunt the word -“mother” was pronounced in this connection?</p> - -<p>The evil that men do goes on for many a day—not -only to the end of their life-time, but it lives after them.</p> - -<p>This is a taunt that is founded on reason. If men -have been serving a god for seven years past, surely it -can not be unreasonable to refer them to that god in the -time of their extremity. What is faith if it can not be -tested? What is the value of an altar if you can not go -to it and find lying upon it direct answers to your prayer?</p> - -<p>Is there any thing meaner in all the history of cowardice -than that a man should ignore the living God all -his life, and then whiningly repent upon his death-bed? -Why does he not go to the trusts to which he has committed -himself, and say he will die in them as he has -lived in them? Surely, the cowardice of men should -teach those who observe it something regarding the nature -and uses of religious faith.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">[412]</a></span></p> - -<p>The appeal of Elisha was perfectly fair.</p> - -<p>If the gods of Jehoram were worth any thing, they -could find water for him in the time of his necessity. -Let them do it. If they will do it, then they will establish -their claim to be regarded with reverence, and indeed -be honored and worshiped.</p> - -<p>We must insist upon making the same appeal in our -own day. Men must be made to feel their irreligion.</p> - -<p>Jehoram did feel his in this instance, for he protested -against the decision of Elisha. Throughout the course -of Scripture men are referred to their gods, and are -made to test the value of their religion.</p> - -<p>Possibly many a Jehoram may be acting under influences -which he himself can not explain—so much that -he becomes a puzzle to his own mind, wondering how it -is that he takes one road when he has decided upon another, -and that he mistakes substances for shadows and -shadows for substances, so that his whole life is turned -into a mocking bewilderment.</p> - -<p>The answer is given in Scripture: “I also will choose -their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; -because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, -they did not hear; but they did evil before Mine eyes, -and chose that in which I delighted not.”</p> - -<p>Now we come to a better phase of this history—namely, -to the saving element—which appears and reappears -in the course of our changeful life.</p> - -<p>Elisha was not to be placated by the king of Israel. -In his eyes a vile person was contemned. The king of -Israel was but a poor, frail thing in the presence of a -man who lived with God and was commissioned to denounce<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">[413]</a></span> -the judgments of Heaven against evil. But the -world is not made up of Jehorams. Blessed be God, -there are men of another type, whose very presence -saves society from judicial ruin.</p> - -<p>“And Elisha said: ‘As the Lord of Hosts liveth, -before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard -the presence of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would -not look toward thee, nor see thee.’”</p> - -<p>Now we know that the spirit of Elijah rested upon -Elisha. We seem to hear the very tones of the old master -in the new disciple. Is it not always so in life—that -it is one man who saves many; that the ten righteous -men save the city, and that Paul saves all those who sail -with him in the midst of the tempestuous sea?</p> - -<p>Your house is saved because of your little child. -Your whole estate is protected from ruin because your -wife is a praying woman. Your life would be cut off tomorrow -in shame and disgrace were it not that you have -entered upon an inheritance of prayers laid up for you -by those who went before.</p> - -<p>Life thus becomes very sacred and very tender, and -we know not to whom we are under the deepest obligations. -Enough to know that, somewhere, there is a -presence that saves us, there is an influence that guards -our life, and that we owe absolutely nothing in the way -of security or honor to bad kings or bad men of any -name.</p> - -<p>The remainder of the chapter is occupied with a -prophecy of Elisha and by a statement of the overthrow -of the king of Moab.</p> - -<p>Nothing now could save Mesha. A strong delusion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[414]</a></span> -was sent upon him to believe a lie. When water came -down by way of Edom, and the whole country was filled -with it, the Moabites rose up early in the morning, and -as the Sun shone on the water the Moabites saw the -water on the other side as red as blood.</p> - -<p>It looked so like blood that they declared it to be -blood; and, believing that the kings were slain who had -come up against them, the Moabites advanced to the -spoil. Alas, they advanced to their ruin.</p> - -<p>The king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore -for him. In his despair he took with him seven hundred -men that drew swords, to break through even unto the -king of Edom, but through the iron wall he could not -force his way. In his madness he took his eldest son, -who should have reigned in his stead, and flung him for -a burnt offering upon the wall.</p> - -<p>But the Lord will not be pleased with thousands of -rams or with ten thousand rivers of oil, nor will He -accept the first-born for a man’s transgression or the fruit -of his body for the sin of his soul.</p> - -<h3>JEHORAM, KING OF JUDAH.</h3> - -<p>Verses sixteen to twenty-nine, inclusive, of the -eighth chapter of the second Book of Kings should be -compared with the twenty-first chapter of the second -Book of Chronicles. The name Joram is an obvious -contraction of Jehoram. Joram and Jehoram were practically -interchangeable terms. The king of Israel is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">[415]</a></span> -called Joram, and the king of Judah Jehoram. In another -place Joram is the name of the king of Judah. In -two other places both kings are called Jehoram.</p> - -<p>Jehoram “walked in the way of the kings of Israel, -as did the house of Ahab”—in other words, as the house -of Ahab acted. Jehoram, as son-in-law of Ahab and -Jezebel, gave his patronage to the worship of the Tyrian -Baal.</p> - -<p>Jehoram had examples enough before him of the fate -which had befallen idolatrous worship, and yet, turning -his eye backward upon all the ruins which had been created -by divine anger, he pursued his evil way as if the -Lord had approved the house of Ahab and its idolatry -rather than manifested His judgments upon them.</p> - -<p>Rational men may well ask themselves how it is that -history is lost on some minds. They look backward and -see that from the beginning sin has always been followed -by punishment, and punishment has in many cases been -carried as far as death itself. Yet in view of all the suffering, -and in full sight of the innumerable graves dug by -the hand of justice, they continue the same policy without -one particle of alteration.</p> - -<p>One would have supposed that, looking at the history -of the kings of Israel, Jehoram would have said:</p> - -<p>“I see now exactly what to avoid; and to see what -to avoid is to begin to see what to cultivate and establish. -It is perfectly evident that the worship of Baal is -doomed, or that wherever it is set up divine anger instantly -and severely attests the displeasure of God. It -must be my care, therefore, to destroy every trace of -idolatry, and build up faith in the true God.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">[416]</a></span></p> - -<p>This would have been called reflective and philosophical -on the part of the king, and indeed any thing that -stood opposed to this course of reasoning would seem to -be marked by incredible fatuity.</p> - -<p>The contrary, however, is the exact fact. With all -the evidences of divine displeasure around him Jehoram -continued in the worship of Baal, or in some other form -of idolatry which might appeal to the popular imagination -or gratify the desires of his own corrupt fancy.</p> - -<p>It is easy for moralists to condemn this neglect of -history, and to point out to those who, having neglected -it, come into suffering and loss, that they ought to have -been wise before the event; but the very same thing is -done even by the moralists who criticize the course of -Jehoram and his predecessors.</p> - -<p>This is the sin of every age, and it should be looked -at clearly and acknowledged frankly, because until we do -bring ourselves into vital relation to it our reasoning will -be founded on false bases and will hasten itself to false -conclusions.</p> - -<p>All history is teaching us that the wages of sin is -death; that the way of transgressors is hard; that, -though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not go unpunished; -that the face of the Lord is as a flint against -evil doers. Yet, with this plainest of all lessons written -on the very face of history, men are doing today as their -predecessors did centuries ago, and will probably continue -to repeat the folly and the wickedness until the end -of time.</p> - -<p>Surely, this is as curious a puzzle as any that occurs -in all the annals of human history. It would seem, indeed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">[417]</a></span> -to be more than a puzzle; to be, in fact, indicative -of a suicidal disposition on the part of the actor. It -would not be tolerated in any other department of life.</p> - -<p>If a man had known that a hundred of his ancestors -were killed by drinking a certain liquid, and he thus -knowingly put that liquid to his lips, the iniquity of his -suicide would be aggravated by the knowledge of what -had occurred in the records of his family.</p> - -<p>How many murders, then, may he be said to accomplish -who murders himself as to his moral nature and -spiritual cultivation? He does not do it in ignorance. -All history is surrounding him with its evidence, and is -doing its utmost to secure his attention, and he himself -is not unwilling to acknowledge that the testimony of -history is uniform and absolute. Yet some immeasurable -force within him drives him with infinite fury to the -repetition of every sin and the defiance of every judgment.</p> - -<p>What was the reason of all this patronage and support -of idolatry?</p> - -<p>Jehoram had an excellent father, and if any thing -was to be expected from the operation of the law of -hereditary dispositions, it would be that Jehoram would -be of the same quality as Jehoshaphat.</p> - -<p>Some curious and energetic influence must have been -at work to throw back all hereditary quality and convert -the man into a totally different nature. What was that -influence? An expression in the eighteenth verse explains -its nature and its scope: “For the daughter of -Ahab was his wife.”</p> - -<p>Wherever we find the name of Ahab we also find the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">[418]</a></span> -presence of evil. Ahab lived again in his daughter, -though Jehoshaphat did not repeat himself in his son. -“The evil that men do lives after them.” Jehoram was -under home influence; and is not home influence most -potent of all? It is a daily influence; it begins with the -early morning and continues all the day through. It does -not assume aggressive attitudes or excite suspicion by -tumult and defiance of temper. It is noisy or quiet, persistent -or reluctant, energetic or languid, according to -the peculiar circumstances of the family history. At -this moment a word too energetically spoken might -defeat its own object; at another moment a languid -reference might be more than a vehement appeal; and -on still other occasions anger, fury and clamor may bring -to a point a long process of suggestion and education.</p> - -<p>This is the mystery of home life.</p> - -<p>The plotter waits for opportunities, creates them, -puts them in the way of his victim, measures distances, -regulates the methods of approaches. He studies his -prey, watches him with an evil eye, remembers all his -words, weighs them, calculates all their unspoken meanings, -and at the right moment interposes his own influence. -Wicked men in this respect are often models to -good men.</p> - -<p>The enemy of souls never rests.</p> - -<p>“Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh -about, seeking whom he may devour.”</p> - -<p>Nor is he always a lion. Sometimes he is as a serpent, -and sometimes even as an angel of light. But his -evil policy never hesitates. When he blesses, it is that -he may curse; when he leads his victim into the light,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">[419]</a></span> -it is that he may have the greater influence over him to -persuade him into the darkness.</p> - -<p>Is it of no consequence with whom we live our daily -life? Is the married relation one that expresses mere -taste or momentary pleasure? Are not the companionships -of life its true sources of tuition and inspiration?</p> - -<p>A man who is in happy fellowship at home may over-get -some of the worst hereditary infirmities and disabilities, -and may be encouraged into attainments of correct -self-discipline and virtue which under other circumstances -would be simply impossible.</p> - -<p>The conversion of the world, it would seem, must -begin at home. We must have happier married relations, -fuller domestic confidence, riper household trust -and sympathy.</p> - -<p>Out of all this daily education, under happy influences, -there may come a kind of character rich in its own -quality and beneficent in its influence on society.</p> - -<p>Jehoram had provoked the Lord, yet so pitiful is the -God of Heaven that He spared Judah for the sake of -David, His servant, as He promised to give David always -a light. But Jehoram was, nevertheless, severely punished -for his wickedness.</p> - -<p>In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of -Judah, and made a king over themselves. Libnah also -revolted at the same time. Thus the peace of the kingdom -was broken up, and Jehoram was made indirectly -to suffer for the sin of idolatry.</p> - -<p>How quietly the twenty-third verse reads! It says: -“And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he -did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[420]</a></span> -the kings of Judah?” It would seem as if the bad king -had simply fallen asleep like a tired child.</p> - -<p>But in the second Book of Chronicles we read that -Jehoram died of sore diseases, and that “the people -made no burning for him”—that is, the usual honors of -a sovereign were withheld in this particular case.</p> - -<p>Jehoram died in contempt and neglect. He departed -without being desired; in other words, he departed without -regret—died unregretted. He was not refused burial -in the city of David, but his body was not laid in the -sepulchers of the kings.</p> - -<p>Thus, sooner or later, wickedness finds out a man, -and brands him with dishonor. If, under other conditions, -wickedness is carried to the grave amid great pomp -and circumstance, it is only that the dishonor may be -found in some other quarter—in the hatred of good men -and in the bitter recriminations of those who have been -wronged.</p> - -<p>Set it down as a sure doctrine that, whenever a bad -man is buried, dishonor attaches to his whole name, and -contempt withers every flower that may be planted over -his grave.</p> - -<p>The words “but not in the sepulchers of the kings” -may receive a larger interpretation than the technical -one which belongs to this immediate circumstance. Men -are buried in the sepulchers of the kings when their lives -are full of beneficence, when their names are the symbols -of noble charity, large-minded justice, heroic fortitude, -tender sympathy for others. Their burying place -is not a merely topographical point. Their relation to -the hearts that knew them, their place in the memory of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_421" id="Page_421">[421]</a></span> -those who lived with them, the tears which are shed over -the recollection of their good deeds, the void which has -been created by their removal—all these constitute the -royalty of their interment.</p> - -<p>The end of Jehoram, king of Judah—who would -choose it?</p> - -<h3>JEHOSHAPHAT.</h3> - -<p>In succeeding to the throne of Judah Jehoshaphat -simply followed the course of a law, but in strengthening -himself against Israel he indicated a personal policy.</p> - -<p>How definitely the statement reads!</p> - -<p>“And Jehoshaphat, his son, reigned in his stead, and -strengthened himself against Israel.”</p> - -<p>There is no doubt or hesitation in the mind of Jehoshaphat -as to the course which ought to be pursued. He -did not simply think that he would strengthen himself -against Israel; he had not a merely momentary vision of -a possible fortification against the enemy; but he carried -out his purpose, and thus challenged northern Israel. On -the other hand, how peaceful is the declaration that is -here made! There is not an aggressive tone in all the -statement.</p> - -<p>Innocent Jehoshaphat simply “strengthened himself -against Israel”—that is to say, he put himself into a -highly defensive position, so that if the enemy should -pour down from the north Jehoshaphat would be secured -against his assaults.</p> - -<p>Every thing, therefore, depends on the point of view<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_422" id="Page_422">[422]</a></span> -which we take of this policy. But the thing which history -has made clear is that a man often lays down a -policy before awaiting the issue of events which would -determine its scope and tone.</p> - -<p>All this was done by Jehoshaphat before he connected -himself by marriage with the northern dynasty.</p> - -<p>A marriage may upset a policy; a domestic event may -alter the course of a king’s thinking, and may readjust -the lines of a nation’s relation to other kingdoms.</p> - -<p>The wise man holds himself open to the suggestion -and inspiration of events. No man is as wise today as -he will be tomorrow—provided, he pay attention to the -literature of providence which is being daily written before -his eyes. Our dogmatics, whether in theology or in -state policy, should be modified by the recollection that -we do not now know all things, and that further light -may show what we do know in a totally different aspect. -Our policy, like our bread, should in a sense be from day -to day.</p> - -<p>When men are omniscient they may lay down a theological -program from which departure would be blasphemy; -but until they are omniscient they had better -write with modesty and subscribe even their best constructed -creeds with reservations which will leave room -for providence.</p> - -<p>“And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he -walked in the first ways of his father, David, and sought -not unto Baalim.”</p> - -<p>The Lord was not with Jehoshaphat because he -strengthened himself against Israel, nor because he had -placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah, and set<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">[423]</a></span> -garrisons in the land of Judah and within the streets of -Ephraim. Not one of these little triumphs is referred -to as affording God a basis for the complaisant treatment -of the new king.</p> - -<p>As ever, the Lord’s relation to Jehoshaphat was determined -by Jehoshaphat’s own moral condition. A very -beautiful expression is this: “He walked in the first -ways of his father, David.” That is to say, in the former -or earlier ways of David, as contrasted with David’s -later conduct.</p> - -<p>Some have found here a tacit allusion to David’s -greatest sin, which he committed when he was advanced -in life. A somewhat mournful thing it is that a man’s -first ways should be better than his last. The other relation -would seem to be the one which reason would approve -and God would specially honor—namely, that a -man’s old age should be the ripest and best part of his -conduct—rich with wisdom, strong with experience, and -chastened by many a pensive recollection.</p> - -<p>Sad when you have to go back to a man’s youth to -find his virtues or his most conspicuous excellences; but -most beautiful when a man’s earlier mistakes are lost in -the richness and wisdom of his later conduct.</p> - -<p>Jehoshaphat’s conduct in this matter is the more -notable because of the constant observation of mankind -that it is easier to follow the evil than to imitate the -good. When imitation enters into a man’s life he is apt -to copy that which is inferior, and to leave without -reproduction that which is lofty and disciplinary.</p> - -<p>In this instance Jehoshaphat sets an example to the -world. His conduct, too, is represented negatively as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">[424]</a></span> -well as positively—“and sought not unto Baalim.” The -word “Baalim” is in the plural number, and the literal -reading might be: “Jehoshaphat sought not the Baals.” -The Baals were different local aspects or phases of the -Sun god.</p> - -<p>It is to be specially noted that the term Baal includes -an aspect even of Jehovah—that is to say, Israel had -degenerated so far as to suppose that in worshiping Baal -they were worshiping at least one phase of the true God.</p> - -<p>It is often difficult to abandon a popular custom. -More people might be in favor of Jehoshaphat strengthening -himself against Israel than in returning to the first -ways of David and abandoning the altar of the Baals.</p> - -<p>History and religion are always considered in their -separate distribution.</p> - -<p>There are politicians who would vote for a war who -would on no account surrender a superstition. On the -other hand, there are men who pride themselves on being -free of the influence of superstition, yet who would enter -willingly into the most sanguinary wars for the extension -of empire or the glory of some particular throne.</p> - -<p>In Jehoshaphat we seem to come into contact with a -complete character—in other words, a man who in every -point was equally strong, a man of foresight, a man of -reverence, a man of an honest heart, a man who felt -that idolatry and true worship could not co-exist in the -same breast.</p> - -<p>“But sought to the Lord God of his father, and -walked in His commandments, and not after the doings -of Israel.”</p> - -<p>We must be prepared for singularity if we are genuinely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_425" id="Page_425">[425]</a></span> -prepared to be good. Let a man settle it with himself -in prayerful solitude whether he means to walk with -God or to identify himself with the spirit and customs of -his age.</p> - -<p>Jehoshaphat laid down a clear program for himself, -and he followed it out with patient and faithful industry. -“The Lord God of his father” was not a mere term in a -crowd; it was the object of daily search and quest. -Jehoshaphat inquired for Him, and operated constantly -upon the doctrine: “Ask, and it shall be given you; -knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”</p> - -<p>Nor was Jehoshaphat’s religion merely speculative—that -is to say, an intellectual quest after an intellectual -God. Whatever was speculative in the mind and service -of Jehoshaphat was sustained and ennobled by a solid -moral element. He read the Decalogue; he studied the -Word of God; he would take no action—personal, regal -or social—that was not first examined and approved in -the light of the divine statutes.</p> - -<p>All this might have been comparatively easy if Jehoshaphat -had started at an independent point; but at such -a point no man can start, for he must take up the age as -he finds it, and must first disembarrass himself from all -the stipulations and claims of custom, usage and popular -superstition.</p> - -<p>Jehoshaphat sought not after the doings of Israel. -He set himself up in this respect against the kingdom. -He was not afraid of peculiarity; in a word, Jehoshaphat’s -religion was characteristic; it had lines, points -and colors of its own, about which there could be no -reasonable mistake.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_426" id="Page_426">[426]</a></span></p> - -<p>What is our religion?</p> - -<p>Do we intellectually assent to the existence and sovereignty -of one God, and then degenerate into self-worship? -Do we admit that there must be an ultimate -morality, a philosophy of conduct founded on eternal -metaphysics; and then do we measure our own behavior -by the canon of custom?</p> - -<p>These are questions that search the heart, and no -man can answer them for his brother.</p> - -<p>What became of all this noble conduct arising out of -this high religious conception? We shall see in the following -verse:</p> - -<p>“Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his -hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents, -and he had riches and honor in abundance.”</p> - -<p>Whatever was doubtful about the ascent of Jehoshaphat -to the throne was removed, and the king was -enabled to realize his power. When he closed his hand -on the royal scepter he found that he was not grasping a -shadow but a reality.</p> - -<p>There are times when men become fully conscious of -their influence and of their proper social position; happy -are they if in this consciousness they detect a prevailing -religious element, which constrains them to acknowledge -that honor and wealth, power and dignity are the gifts of -God. Is not this an anticipation of the Savior’s great -doctrine: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His -righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto -you”?</p> - -<p>Jehoshaphat did not seek riches and honor. But he -sought to the Lord God of his father and walked in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">[427]</a></span> -divine commandments, and as a result he enjoyed all that -kings delight in as indicating strength, renown and influence.</p> - -<p>“And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the -Lord; moreover, he took away the high places and the -groves out of Judah.”</p> - -<p>The expression “his heart was lifted up” is an awkward -one. The lifting up of the heart signifies increase -of pride, a sensation of vanity, a desire to gratify personal -ambition, and to make an idol of his will. In this -instance the marginal reading is to be preferred—“was -encouraged;” or otherwise, “his courage rose high.” It -has also been rendered: “Jehoshaphat grew bold”—that -is to say, he was not a timid reformer or a timid -worshiper, nor a trimmer or time server in any sense. -He was a heroic worshiper of the living God. When he -saw that reform was necessary he went forward with a -steady step and an energetic hand.</p> - -<p>We should call Jehoshaphat a man of conviction and -a man who had the courage of his convictions. Altogether, -this is the outline of a noble personage—a born -king, a man who has a right to the purple and the scepter. -When such men ascend thrones nations should be -glad and rejoice with a great joy, for their character is -grander than their office and their spirit is the best guarantee -of the elevation and utility of their regal policy.</p> - -<p>Becoming conscious of his power, knowing that his -kingdom was established from on high, Jehoshaphat not -only did not seek the Baals himself, but he took away -the high places and groves out of Judah.</p> - -<p>Jehoshaphat was not content with a merely personal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_428" id="Page_428">[428]</a></span> -religion. He could not convert the hearts of his people, -but he could destroy all the symbols of unholy worship.</p> - -<p>Men are only required to do that which lies in their -power. A proprietor may not be able to make people -sober, but he can forbid the introduction of temptations -to drunkenness. A parent may not be able to subdue -the spirit of pride, but he can in many instances limit -the means of gratifying it.</p> - -<p>There are reforms which are open to us all—in personal -custom, in social habit, and it may be even in -imperial ways. Let each Jehoshaphat seize his opportunity -and magnify it.</p> - -<p>All this would have been comparatively in vain but -for another step which Jehoshaphat took. In the third -year of his reign he sent to his princes—that is to say, -he sent his princes—and he sent Levites, all of whose -names are given; and he sent also two priests, Elishama -and Jehoram, and their business was purely educational.</p> - -<p>“And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the -law of the Lord with them, and went about throughout -all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.”</p> - -<p>This was a mixed commission—partly civil, partly -ecclesiastical. The men here mentioned are otherwise -unknown. We identify them as educational reformers, -or reformers who operated through the medium of education. -They were not warriors, destroyers, revolutionists, -but men who addressed the mind and understanding -and conscience, and caused men to know that the true -law was from above and not from beneath.</p> - -<p>The book which the commission had in hand was the -Pentateuch, or the law of Moses. This was known to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_429" id="Page_429">[429]</a></span> -be the law which alone could touch all the vital necessities -of the commonwealth. Again and again we are -constrained to admit that there is a law beyond man, -above man, in a sense apart from man. Men are not -driven within themselves to find a law, an instinct, or a -reason. They have a written statute, an authoritative -declaration, a book which Christian teachers do not hesitate -to describe as a revelation, and to that they call the -attention of men.</p> - -<p>If the teacher were teaching out of his own consciousness -he would be but an equal, often exposing himself -to the destructive criticism of his more advanced -and penetrating scholars; but the teacher takes his stand -on a book—on <em>the</em> Book, the Bible—a revelation which -he believes to be divine and final.</p> - -<p>Say what we will, the effect of Bible teaching must -be judged by its fruits.</p> - -<p>Where are the nations that are most distinguished -for wide and varied intelligence, for large and exhaustive -sympathy, for missionary enterprise, for philanthropic -institutions and for all the elements which give grace and -beauty to social existence?</p> - -<p>The question should admit of definite reply.</p> - -<p>The facts are before men; let them judge fearlessly -and honestly, and we need have no apprehension concerning -their verdict.</p> - -<p>Wherever the word of the Lord has had free course -superstition has been chased away, human slavery has -been abolished, every instance of intolerance, injustice, -unkindness has felt the influence of holy thought. In -all these matters discussion should be limited strictly to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_430" id="Page_430">[430]</a></span> -facts. Thus kings can help nations, not by forcing education, -not by attempting to rule opinion, not by setting -up standards of orthodoxy to fall short of which is to -incur penalty; but by spreading education, by extending -light, by cultivating a spirit of inquiry, and by a generous -multiplication of all the instrumentalities needed for -the destruction of ignorance. What may come of this -we are not supposed at this moment to know.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, let us be thankful that we are face to face -with a man who has conviction, courage, independence, -high patriotism and generous impulse, and let us hope -that his end may be as beautiful as his beginning was -promising.</p> - -<h3>JEHU.</h3> - -<p>While Jehoram was lying ill of his wounds Elisha -had called one of the children of the prophets and sent -him on a special mission to Ramoth-gilead.</p> - -<p>It has been conjectured that this messenger was the -Jonah who is mentioned in the twenty-fifth verse of the -fourteenth chapter of the second Book of Kings.</p> - -<p>Jehu was left in supreme command of the forces at -Jehoram’s departure. Nothing is known of Jehu’s origin. -From the first, however, it is evident that he was called -to special functions. He was one of the men who had -been foreseen by Elijah, the prophet, under the divine -inspiration.</p> - -<p>Elijah was ordered to return unto the wilderness of -Damascus, and in the course of his progress he was to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_431" id="Page_431">[431]</a></span> -anoint Jehu, the son of Nimshi, to be king over Israel. -Whether any communication had been made to Jehu we -know not. Yet it is not improbable that this had been -done, as we may infer from the way in which he made -answer to the appeal when it was addressed to him by -the messenger of Elisha.</p> - -<p>All the circumstances of the communication are full -of dramatic color and impressiveness.</p> - -<p>The young man was to take a vial of oil and pour it -on Jehu’s head, and say: “Thus saith the Lord: ‘I -have anointed thee king over Israel.’” Instantly he was -to open the door and flee from the presence of the new -monarch. A tremendous charge was delivered to Jehu -by the young man:</p> - -<p>“And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab, thy master, -that I may avenge the blood of My servants, the -prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, -at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab -shall perish; … and I will make the house of Ahab -like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like -the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah; and the dogs -shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall -be none to bury her.”</p> - -<p>Having delivered this message, the young man then -“opened the door and fled,” as if pursued by fire. We -know not whether to pity Jehu under the delivery of this -charge. The Lord must have many servants in His -household, and some of them are entrusted with hard -work. If we could choose our places in the divine economy, -who would not elect to be a minister of sympathy, -consolation and tenderness to broken hearts? Who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_432" id="Page_432">[432]</a></span> -would be willing to go forth to fight the battle and endure -the trial and hardship of military service? Above all, -who would be willing to accept the ministry of shedding -blood and cleansing the world of evil by putting to death -all evil doers?</p> - -<p>We must recognize the diversity of function in the -Christian Church, and in every department of human -life. Few men could do what Jehu did, but where the -special qualification is given the special service is also -demanded.</p> - -<p>It is pitiful criticism that stands back and shudders at -the career of Jehu; it is wanting in large-mindedness -and in completeness of view.</p> - -<p>The Lord’s work is many-sided, and all kinds of men -as to intellectual energy and moral daring, and even as -to physical capability, are required to complete the ministry -of God.</p> - -<p>Today one man is gifted with the power of intercession, -another with the talent of controversy, another -with the genius of exposition, another with the supreme -gift of consolation; one minister must tarry at home and -work close to the fireside at which he was brought up; -in another is the spirit of travel and adventure, and he -must brave all the dangers of enterprise and hasten to -the ends of the Earth, that he may tell others what he -knows of the Gospel of Christ.</p> - -<p>We must recognize this diversity, and the unity that -it constitutes; otherwise we shall take but a partial view -of the many-sided ministry which Jesus Christ came to -establish, and to which He has promised His continual -inspiration.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;" id="illus12"> -<img src="images/illus12.jpg" width="425" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">SOLOMON</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;" id="illus13"> -<img src="images/illus13.jpg" width="425" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Judgment of Solomon.</span> I Kings, iii.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_433" id="Page_433">[433]</a></span></p> - -<p>When Jehu came forth he was taunted by the servants -of his Lord; they called the young man “mad.” -From their manner, Jehu began to wonder whether the -whole affair had not been planned by themselves with a -view to befooling him by the excitement of his ambition. -He said to them, in effect:</p> - -<p>“Ye know the man, and his communication in this -matter is one of your own arranging. Ye think to make -a fool of me, and through the intoxication of my vanity -to lead me to my ruin.”</p> - -<p>But they denied the impeachment, and their tone so -changed that Jehu reposed confidence in them, and told -them what the man had said.</p> - -<p>Instantly, on hearing the message, they hasted, took -every man his garment or coat, and put it under Jehu on -the top of the stairs, which they constituted a kind of -temporary throne, and then amid loud blasts of the -trumpet they cried: “Jehu is king!”</p> - -<p>Thus Jehu was suddenly called to royalty and all its -responsibilities.</p> - -<p>Men should be prepared for the sudden calls of providence. -“What I say unto you I say unto all: Watch.”</p> - -<p>One is struck by the obedience of Jehu to the heavenly -call. There was no hesitation. Men but show -themselves to be yet under bondage when they hesitate -regarding the calls which God addresses to them.</p> - -<p>Jehu was determined to make complete work of his -mission. Not one was to escape or go forth out of the -city to tell what he was about to do to those who were -in Jezreel.</p> - -<p>Springing into his chariot and calling for a detachment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_434" id="Page_434">[434]</a></span> -of cavalry, Jehu set out on his journey of sixty or -seventy miles. You can see him almost flying down -from Ramoth, which was about three thousand feet -above the sea level. Swiftly he crosses the Jordan, and -then, turning to the north, he fled over the spurs of -Ephraim; then he darted up the Valley of Trembling, -made famous in the day of Gideon, and finally he came -to the Plain of Esdraelon, where was Jezreel.</p> - -<p>Jehoram was unaware of the approach of Jehu. One -messenger after another was sent out to make inquiry, -but the messengers were ordered behind, and Jehu came -forward until he and the king met at the vineyard of -Naboth.</p> - -<p>The king asked what news was being brought—news -of peace or of war.</p> - -<p>The question was answered with another question: -“What peace can there be so long as the idolatrous -whoredoms of thy mother, Jezebel, and her witchcrafts -are so many?”</p> - -<p>Jehu thus referred to fundamental wrongs. Instead -of trifling with details he went straight to the fountainhead, -and by the delivery of a profoundly religious message -he excited the alarm of those who heard him.</p> - -<p>Jehoram was weak and feeble and sought to flee, but -Jehu drew a bow with his full strength and smote between -his arms, and the arrow went out at the king’s -heart, and he sank down in his chariot.</p> - -<p>Then Jehu ordered his captain, or squire, to take up -Jehoram and cast him into the portion of the field of -Naboth, the Jezreelite, that the word of the Lord might -be fulfilled.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_435" id="Page_435">[435]</a></span></p> - -<p>And when Ahaziah, the king of Judah, saw this he -sought to flee, but Jehu followed him, saying: “Smite -him also in the chariot.” After a hot pursuit Ahaziah -was struck at the declivity of Gur, where his chariot was -forced to slacken its speed.</p> - -<p>Then came the most tragical of all the acts.</p> - -<p>No sooner was Jehu come to Jezreel than Jezebel, -now old and withered, heard of it, and her blood tingled -at the news. She was not one who was easily deterred.</p> - -<p>According to the custom of Oriental ladies, Jezebel -painted her eyebrows and lashes with a pigment composed -of antimony and zinc. The intention of the dark -border was to throw the eye into relief and make it look -larger. She adorned her head with a tire, or a headdress, -and after donning her royal dress she looked out -at a window, designing to impress Jehu.</p> - -<p>As Jehu looked up to the window he exclaimed: -“Who is on my side?” He ordered the two or three -eunuchs who looked out to throw down the painted -woman. Jehu knew that the cruel queen was intensely -hated by the palace officials.</p> - -<p>The two or three eunuchs who had been accustomed -to crouch before her in servile dread now saw that Jehu -was in the ascendant, and in obedience to the demand of -the regicide they threw her out of the window.</p> - -<p>Such has ever been the policy of sycophants—the -rats of court—who only linger there with a view of seeing -how much they can appropriate or destroy.</p> - -<p>No sooner was Jezebel thrown down than some of -her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses, -and she was trodden under foot.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_436" id="Page_436">[436]</a></span></p> - -<p>Here, again, we see the end of wickedness. For a -time there is escape, but in the long run there is ruin.</p> - -<p>Look at Jezebel, and learn the fate of the wicked. -No such fate, in a merely physical sense, may await the -iniquitous now; but all those intermediate punishments -simply point to the last great penalty: “The wicked -shall go away into everlasting punishment.”</p> - -<p>One can pity Jezebel as her flesh was eaten by the -dogs and her carcass was made as dung on the face of -the field in the portion of Jezreel, and we almost shudder -with horror as we think that she was to be so torn to -pieces that none should be able to say: “This is Queen -Jezebel.”</p> - -<p>But all this is wasted sentiment, unless we reason -from it toward spiritual conclusions.</p> - -<p>We are so much the victims of our senses that we -can pity with great compassion those who are smitten -with bodily disease, or are torn limb from limb in consequence -of some wicked deed; but it seems impossible -for us to rise to the conception of the terrible penalty -which is to fall upon the soul for violating God’s commandments -and defying God’s power.</p> - -<p>Instead of being appeased by the fate of Jezebel, -Jehu sends out a decree that the whole family of Ahab -shall be massacred—that the kinsmen of Ahaziah and -the Baal worshipers shall be extirpated from the face of -the Earth. He takes a new point of departure when he -challenges the sons of Ahab, saying:</p> - -<p>“Look even out the best and meetest of your master’s -sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight -for your master’s house.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_437" id="Page_437">[437]</a></span></p> - -<p>All this was a declaration of warlike intention on the -part of Jehu. But Jehu’s character as a soldier was too -well known to permit the rulers of Jezreel and the elders -to entertain the thought of encountering him in open -battle. So they made this answer:</p> - -<p>“We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt -bid us; we will not make any king. Do thou that which -is good in thine eyes.”</p> - -<p>Then Jehu set up a test of their obedience. He did -impose on them hard work. He said:</p> - -<p>“If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my -voice, take ye the heads of the men your master’s sons, -and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time.”</p> - -<p>The word was enough. The heads of seventy men -were put into baskets and sent to Jehu at Jezreel. Jehu -pronounced the men who had beheaded the sons of Ahab -guiltless in respect of their deaths, because what they -did had been done judicially, under royal command.</p> - -<p>Some think that Jehu wished to make them guilty of -the massacre of the princes, while he had slain but one -king. On the whole, however, it is better to consider -that Jehu exculpates the men who had only executed his -command.</p> - -<p>The slaughter of the priests is one of the most dramatic -incidents in all this portion of biblical history. -Jehu proceeded by way of strategy. It is impossible to -justify the spirit of the policy of Jehu in this matter. He -said he would serve Baal “much.”</p> - -<p>It has been thought that he was thinking of his intended -holocaust of human victims; but, whatever his -thoughts, it is impossible to deny that the impression he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_438" id="Page_438">[438]</a></span> -produced was that Jehu was about to become a worshiper -of Baal. This reading is imported into the narrative -in these words: “But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the -intent that he might destroy the worshipers of Baal.”</p> - -<p>Now a solemn assembly for Baal was proclaimed. -From all Israel the devotees of Baal came, so that there -was not left a man that came not. The house of Baal -was full from one end to the other. And they were all -clothed with appropriate vestments.</p> - -<p>Jehu was careful that not one worshiper of Jehovah -should be in the assembly, but those of Baal only.</p> - -<p>When the worshipers went in to offer sacrifices and -burnt offerings Jehu stationed fourscore men without, -and said: “If any of the men whom I have brought -into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life -shall be for the life of him.”</p> - -<p>Then came the moment of massacre.</p> - -<p>“And they smote them with the edge of the sword; -and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went -to the city of the house of Baal.”</p> - -<p>Jehu’s guards, having completed their bloody work in -the court of the temple, hastened up the steps into the -sanctuary itself, which, like the Temple of Solomon, was -made after the pattern of a fortress.</p> - -<p>The images of Baal were brought forth out of the -house of Baal and burned. The image of Baal was -broken down, and his house was broken down, and the -whole scene was utterly dishonored and desecrated.</p> - -<p>“Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.”</p> - -<p>But the way was wrong. Perhaps, for the period -within which the destruction took place, it was the only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_439" id="Page_439">[439]</a></span> -ministry that was possible. The incident, however, must -stand in historical isolation, being utterly useless as a -lesson or guide for our imitation.</p> - -<p>We are called upon to destroy Baal out of Israel, but -not with sword or staff or implement of war.</p> - -<p>“The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but are -mighty, through God, to the pulling down of strongholds -of Satan.”</p> - -<p>Jehu did his rough-and-ready work—a work, as we -have said, adapted to the barbaric conditions under -which he reigned. But there must be no Jehu in the -Christian Church, except in point of energy, decision, -obedience and single-mindedness of purpose. A Christian -persecution is a contradiction in terms.</p> - -<p>When Christians see evil, they are not to assail it -with weapons of war; they are to preach against it, to -argue against it, to pray about it, to bring all possible -moral force to bear upon it, but in no case is physical -persecution to accompany the propagation of Christianity. -Not only so. Any destruction that is accomplished -by physical means is a merely temporary destruction. -There is in reality nothing in it.</p> - -<p>When progress of a Christian kind is reported it must -not be tainted by the presence of physical severity. We -can not silence evil speakers by merely closing their -mouths. So long as we can hold those mouths there -may indeed be silence, but not until the spirit has been -changed—not until the very heart has been converted -and born again—can the evil-doer be silenced and his -mouth be dispossessed of wicked speech and filled with -words of honesty and pureness. Jehu himself was not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_440" id="Page_440">[440]</a></span> -a good man. “From the sins of Jeroboam, the son of -Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from -after them.”</p> - -<p>For reasons of state policy, Jehu maintained the -worship of Bethel and Dan.</p> - -<p>“But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the -Lord God of Israel with all his heart; for he departed -not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.”</p> - -<p>Jehu had done homage to Jehovah by extirpating the -foreign Baal worship, but he patronized and actively -supported the irregular mode of worshiping Jehovah -established by Jeroboam as the state religion of the -northern kingdom. He attempted to serve God and -Mammon. Religion was to him but a political instrument.</p> - -<p>Jehu did the particular kind of work which had been -assigned to him—a work of destruction and blood. Perhaps -he alone of all the people of his time could have -accomplished this task. But Jehu must stand in history -as a warning rather than as an example.</p> - -<h3>JOB.</h3> - -<p>Sometimes I have most clearly seen the whole tragedy -of Job in a waking dream, the whole passing before -me in twilight shadows, losing itself in thick darkness, -reappearing in light like the dawn—always changing, -always solemn, always instructive; a thing that surely -happened, because a thing now happening in all the substance -of its eternal meaning.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_441" id="Page_441">[441]</a></span></p> - -<p>Is it a pillar grand in height, and finished all over -with the dainty care of an artist whose life has been -spent in learning and applying the art of color?</p> - -<p>How stately! How Heaven seeking because Heaven -worthy! While I admire, I wonder religiously.</p> - -<p>I see the hosts of darkness gathering around the erstwhile -flashing capital, and resting over it like midnight -sevenfold in blackness; then the lightning gleams from -the center of the gloom, then the fire-bolt flies forth and -smites the coronal once so glorious, and dashes it in hot -dust to the Earth, and the tall stalk—so upright, so delicate, -so like a well-trained life—reels, totters and falls -in an infinite crash!</p> - -<p>Is it true?</p> - -<p>Every word of it. True now—may be true in thee -and me, O man, so assured of stability and immovableness. -There is danger in high places. Is there a Spirit -which hates all noble-mindedness and seeks to level the -spiritual pile with mean things? Evil Spirit! The very -Devil—hating all goodness because hating God!</p> - -<p>But stop.</p> - -<p>After all, who smote the pillar? Whose lightning -was used to overthrow the fair masonry?</p> - -<p>O God of gods, the devil’s Creator and Master, without -whom Satan could not be, nor hell, nor trees forbidden, -nor blast of death—O Mystery of Being—what can -our souls say in their groaning? And how, through -anguish so intolerable, can they pray?</p> - -<p>I am afraid to build, because the higher the tower -the more deadly the fall. Dost Thou watch our rising -towers and delight to rain Thy fires on them, lest our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_442" id="Page_442">[442]</a></span> -pride should abound and our damnation be aggravated by -our vanity?</p> - -<p>And God’s own Book it is that tells the good man’s -pains, and that revels in swelling rhetoric over the rottenness -and despair of the man who feared God and -eschewed evil! And what unguided hands—if hands -unguided—set the tale of wrong and woe and sorrow -next to the very Psalter? Is not the irony immoral, because -cruel? Or is there meaning in all this?</p> - -<p>Is it Life’s story down to the very letter and jot of -reality? How better to come out of the valley than to -the harping and song of musicians who have known the -way of the Almighty and tasted the counsels of Heaven?</p> - -<p>Cheer thee, O poor soul! Thou art today miserable -as Job, but tomorrow thou mayest dance to the music of -David. Tomorrow thou mayest have a harp of thine -own.</p> - -<p>A tree of the Lord’s right hand planting arises loftily -and broadly in the warm air. Birds twitter and sing as -they flit through its warp and woof of light and shade. -It is a tree whose leaves might heal the nations.</p> - -<p>What sudden wind makes it writhe? What Spirit -torments every branch and leaf? What Demon yells in -triumph as the firm trunk splits and falls in twain? Was -it grown for such a fate as this?</p> - -<p>Better if the seed had been crushed and thrown into -the fire than that it should have been thus reared and -perfected and then put to shame among the trees of the -field.</p> - -<p>Who can give speech to this flood as it plunges from -rock to rock in the black night time? Hush! There is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_443" id="Page_443">[443]</a></span> -a man’s voice in the infinite storm: “Let the day perish -in which I was born! Let it be darkness; let that -night be joyless, let no song enter into it; let them who -curse the day stigmatize it who are ready to stir up the -leviathan. Why died I not from the womb? Then had -I lain down and been quiet; I had slept; … there -the wicked cease from troubling, and there the wearied -mighty rest; the prisoners sweetly repose together, they -hear not the voice of the exactor, and the slave is free -from his lord.”</p> - -<p>These are human words, but are they not too strong, -too rhetorical, to be true?</p> - -<p>No! For who can mechanize the rhetoric of woe?</p> - -<p>“Why is life given to the miserable, and to one who -would be blithe to find a grave? I have no quiet, no -repose, for trouble on trouble came, and my sighs gush -out like waters long dammed back.”</p> - -<p>No doubt the rhetoric is lofty, yet with a strange -familiarity it touches with happy expressiveness all that -is most vivid in our remembrance of woe.</p> - -<p>“I loathe my life. I will give loose to my complaint. -I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. To God I will -say: ‘Condemn me not. Show me why Thou contendest -with me. As the clay Thou hast fashioned me, and -to dust Thou causest me to return. Thou hast poured -me as milk and compacted me as cheese. As a fierce -lion Thou huntest me; then Thou turnest again and -showest Thyself marvelous.’”</p> - -<p>Job has found fit words for all mourning souls. So -they borrow of him when their own words fail like a -stream which the Sun has dried up. What woe the poor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_444" id="Page_444">[444]</a></span> -little heart can feel! Herein is its greatness. It is, in -its own way, as the heart of God.</p> - -<p>“Truly, now, He hath worn me out. Thou hast -made all my household desolate, and Thou hast shriveled -me up. God giveth me up to the ungodly, and flingeth -me over into the hands of the wicked. He seized me by -the throat and shook me. He breacheth me with breach -on breach. He rusheth on me like a man of war.”</p> - -<p>In what good man’s sick chamber is not Job welcome? -Welcome because he can utter the whole gamut -of human woe. He can find words for the heart that is -ill at ease, and prayers for lips which have been chilled -and silenced by unbelief. His woe belongs to the whole -world. All other woe is as the dripping of an icicle compared -with the rush of stormy waters.</p> - -<p>In the case of Job the internal is proved to be greater -than the external. When the trials came one after another -like shocks of thunder, “in all this Job sinned not, -nor charged God foolishly.”</p> - -<p>But did he speak? That is the point. If he did not, -perhaps he was dazed. He felt a tremendous blow on -the forehead, and he reeled, and was not in a condition -to bear witness about the matter. If he said any thing, -let us know what he did say. Could he speak in that -tremendous crisis?</p> - -<p>Yes, he spoke. His words are before us. Like a -wise man, he went back to first principles. He said:</p> - -<p>“Circumstances are nothing; they are temporary -arrangements. The man is not what he has, but what -he is. I do not hold my life in my hands, saying ‘It -weighs so much,’ and count up to a high number.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_445" id="Page_445">[445]</a></span></p> - -<p>Job went back to first principles—back to elementary -truths. He said:</p> - -<p>“Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and -naked shall I return thither [that is, as I began]. The -Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away [as He had a -right to do; I had nothing of my own]. Blessed be the -name of the Lord.”</p> - -<p>Could Job look over the ages that have been healed -and comforted by his example—stimulated to bear the -ills of this life by the grateful memory of his invincible -patience—surely, even now, in Heaven, he would be -taking the reward of his long-continued and noble endurance -of the divine visitation.</p> - -<p>It may be so with you, poor man or woman. You -do not get all the sweet now. This shall be a memory -to you in Heaven, long ages hence. The wrestling you -have now may minister to you high delight, keen enjoyment -and rapture pure and abiding. Who can tell when -God’s rewards end? Who will venture to say: “This -is the measure of His benediction?”</p> - -<p>God is able to give and to do abundantly beyond all -that we ask or think. Should any one inquire of you as -to your compensation, say: “It is given by instalments—today -and tomorrow, in death; in the resurrection, all -through the ages of eternity. Ask me thousands of ages -hence, and I will reply to your question concerning compensation.”</p> - -<p>Life is not limited by the cradle and the tomb, and -it is not between these two mean and near points that -great questions are to be discussed or determined.</p> - -<p>Job has been read by countless readers. His was, of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_446" id="Page_446">[446]</a></span> -course, a public trial—a tragedy that was wrought out -for the benefit of multitudes in all generations. Nevertheless, -it is literally and pathetically true that every -man, even the most obscure, has his readers—fewer in -number, it may be, but equally earnest in attention.</p> - -<p>Think you that your children are not taking notice of -you—seeing how you bear your temptations, difficulties -and anxieties?</p> - -<p>Think you not that your eldest boy is kept away from -the table of the Lord because you are as atheistic in sorrow -as ever Voltaire was?</p> - -<p>Do you know that your daughter hates the church -because her pious father is only pious in the three Summer -months of the year? He curls under the cold and -biting wind as much as any Atheist ever did. Therefore, -the girl says: “He is a sham and a hypocrite—my -father in the flesh, but no relative of mine in the spirit.”</p> - -<p>You have your readers. The little Bible of your life -is read in your kitchen, in your parlor, in your shop and -in your warehouse; and if you do not bear your trials, -anxieties and difficulties with a Christian chivalry and -heroism, what is there but mockery on Earth and gloating -in hell?</p> - -<p>May God give us grace to bear chastisement nobly -and serenely; bless us with the peace which passeth -understanding—with the quietness kindred to the calm of -God; help us when death is in the house, when poverty -is on the hearth-stone.</p> - -<p>When there is a storm blinding the only poor little -window we have, let us say: “Though He slay me, yet -will I trust in Him. If I perish I will pray, and perish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_447" id="Page_447">[447]</a></span> -only here.” That is Christianity—not some clever chatter -and able controversy about metaphysical points; but -noble temper, high behavior, faultless constancy and an -invincible fortitude in the hour of trial and in the agony -of pain.</p> - -<h3>MICAIAH.</h3> - -<p>Micaiah was the son of Imlah, a prophet of Samaria, -who, in the last year of the reign of Ahab, king of Israel, -predicted his defeat and death, <span class="smcapuc">B. C.</span> 897. This was -three years after the great battle with Ben-hadad, king -of Syria, in which the extraordinary number of 100,000 -Syrian soldiers is said to have been slain, without reckoning -the 27,000 who, it is asserted, were killed by the -falling of the wall at Aphek.</p> - -<p>Ahab had proposed to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, -that they should jointly go up to battle against Ramoth-gilead, -which Ben-hadad was bound by treaty to restore -to Ahab.</p> - -<p>Jehoshaphat assented in cordial words to the proposal, -but he suggested that they should first “inquire -at the word of Jehovah.” Accordingly, Ahab assembled -four hundred prophets, while in an open space at the -gate of the city of Samaria he and Jehoshaphat sat in -royal robes to meet and consult them.</p> - -<p>The prophets gave a unanimously favorable response. -Among them was Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah. He -made horns of iron as a symbol, and announced, as from -Jehovah, that with those horns Ahab would push the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_448" id="Page_448">[448]</a></span> -Syrians till he consumed them. For some reason which -is unexplained, and can now only be conjectured, King -Jehoshaphat was dissatisfied with the answer, and asked -if there was no other prophet of Jehovah at Samaria.</p> - -<p>Ahab replied that there was yet one—Micaiah, the -son of Imlah; but in words which obviously call to mind -a passage in the “Iliad” (i. 106), he added: “I hate -him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but -evil.”</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, Micaiah was sent for; and after a vain -attempt had been made to tamper with him, he first expressed -an ironical concurrence with the four hundred -prophets, and then boldly foretold the defeat of Ahab’s -army and the death of Ahab.</p> - -<p>In contradiction of the false four hundred, Micaiah -said he had seen Jehovah sitting on His throne, and all -the host of Heaven standing by Him—on His right hand -and on His left. He said Jehovah asked: “Who shall -persuade Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?” A -Spirit came forth and volunteered to do so. On being -asked “Wherewithal?” the Spirit answered that he -would go forth and be a lying Spirit in the mouth of all -the prophets.</p> - -<p>Irritated by the account of this vision, Zedekiah -struck Micaiah on the cheek.</p> - -<p>Then Ahab ordered that Micaiah be taken to prison, -and be fed on bread and water till his return to Samaria. -But Ahab was killed, and Micaiah’s fate is unknown.</p> - -<p>This incident is found in both the first Book of Kings -and in the second Book of Chronicles.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;" id="illus14"> -<img src="images/illus14.jpg" width="425" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">The Cross From the Painting by Gustave Dore.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;" id="illus15"> -<img src="images/illus15.jpg" width="425" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">MOSES IN THE BULRUSHES.—Exodus, ii.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_449" id="Page_449">[449]</a></span></p> - -<h3>MOSES.</h3> - -<p>Moses loses nothing by diffuseness. Even in days -that were made long by intolerable monotony—in which -men lived centuries because of weariness—Moses did not -shrink from a condensation unparalleled in human literature.</p> - -<p>Considered as embracing the history of one month -only, the third Book of Moses may claim to be the most -remarkable book in the Old Testament. Containing -twenty-seven chapters, ranging its contents under sixteen -different categories, and requiring to be actively represented -within the space of twenty-eight days—it may, in -its own degree, claim an energy not inferior to the Book -of Genesis.</p> - -<p>The same fearlessness of treatment is distinctive of -both books. The reverent audacity which represented -creation as the work of six days—whatever the measure -of a day may be—did not shrink from focalizing into one -month the whole discipline of life.</p> - -<p>Moses’ words could hardly have been fewer if he had -lived in our time of feverish haste and tumult. To put -up the Heavens and the Earth in one chapter was a -miracle in authorship. Yet, well pondered, it was the -only thing to be done. Any poet could have built them -in endless stanzas, and any philosopher could have begun -the infinite story in a book too large for the world to -hold.</p> - -<p>Moses chose the more excellent way, creating creation -with a swiftness that has dazed a literal criticism -ever since—literal criticism that has but one season in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_450" id="Page_450">[450]</a></span> -its dreary year, a year that knows nothing of snow-blossom -or wedded light and song. But this very haste was -part of the man.</p> - -<p>The Moses of Poetry required fifty-one days for the -revolution of his “Iliad”; the Moses of Revelation -only took a week for the settlement of the Heavens and -the Earth, and in that week he found one whole day of -rest for the Creator.</p> - -<p>This action was entirely characteristic of Moses, for -he was the most wrathful man as well as the meekest—killing, -smiting, destroying and burning with anger, as -well as praying like the father-priest of his people.</p> - -<p>In a sense obvious enough he was the protoplastic -Christ—for was not he who described himself as “meek -and lowly in heart” the scourger of trespassers, and did -he not burn the religious actors of his day?</p> - -<p>Moses and Christ both did things with most startling -rapidity. In their very soul they were akin. They were -“straitened” until their work was “accomplished.” -The Pentateuch and the Gospels have action enough in -them to fill innumerable volumes, yet there is an infinite -calm in both—the haste being in the temporary framework, -the calm being in the eternal purpose.</p> - -<p>Think of these twenty-seven chapters constituting -the discipline of one month! The reflections started by -this circumstance culminate in a sense of pain, for who -can bear this grievous toil or endure this sting of accusation? -There is no respite.</p> - -<p>Egyptian burdens were for the body, but these wilderness -exactions tormented the soul, and by so doing -made Egyptian memories bright. The trial of muscle is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_451" id="Page_451">[451]</a></span> -nothing to the trial of patience. Men may sleep after -labor, but an unquiet conscience keeps the eyes wide -open. This discipline afflicted both the body and the -soul, and thus drained the entire strength of the people.</p> - -<p>This conscious toil must have been accompanied by -unconscious inspiration—a reciprocal action impossible -in theory but well understood in spiritual experience.</p> - -<p>We resume our burdens in the very act of dreading -them. We pray the next prayer in the very process of -waiting for answers to a thousand prayers to which God -has paid no known heed. Yesterday’s sacrifice has nothing -to do with this day’s sin, except to remind us that -today must provide its own sacrifice.</p> - -<p>This was so with the Jews; this is precisely so with -ourselves. Yet we boast our liberty, and suppose that in -leaping one inch from the Earth we have broken the -tether of gravitation.</p> - -<p>As put before us in this manual called Leviticus, the -discipline of the month seems to be more than we could -endure; and this we say in ignorance of the fact that -our own manual imposes a more severe discipline. Our -pity for the Jews arises out of the apparently ineradicable -sophism that spiritual service is easier than bodily -exercise. A most deadly sophism is this, and prevalent -yet, notwithstanding the rebuke and condemnation of -universal history.</p> - -<p>In no spiritual sense is Leviticus an obsolete book. -Moses is not dead. The inventors of the alphabet have -some rights even in “Paradise Lost,” and quite a large -property in “Euclid.” It is not grateful on our part to -forget the primers through which we passed to the encyclopedias,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_452" id="Page_452">[452]</a></span> -though their authors were but our intellectual -nurses. In no mere dream was Moses present when -Christ communed with Him concerning the Exodus that -was to be accomplished at Jerusalem, and in no dramatic -sense did Elijah watch the consummation of prophecy.</p> - -<p>The wonder is that Christians should be so willing to -regard the Pentateuch as obsolete. This is practically a -foregone conclusion—to such an extent, certainly, that -the Pentateuch is tolerated rather than studied for edification -by the rank and file of Christians.</p> - -<p>Without the Pentateuch, Christ as revealed in the -Gospels would have been impossible; and without Christ -the Pentateuch would have been impossible.</p> - -<p>I venture upon this proposition because I find no -great-event in the Pentateuch that is not for some purpose -of argument or illustration used by Christ or by His -disciples and apostles in the interests of what is known -as evangelical truth.</p> - -<p>It lies within easy proof that Christ is the text of the -Old Testament and that the Old Testament is the text -of Christ. What use is made in the New Testament of -the creation of the universe, the faith of Abraham, the -rain of manna, the lifting up of the serpent and the -tabernacle of witness! The sublime apology of Stephen -epitomizes the Old Testament, and the Epistle to the -Hebrews could not have been written but for the ritual -of Exodus and Leviticus. In its purely moral tone the -Old Testament is of kindred quality with the New.</p> - -<p>Take an instance from Leviticus. Three forms of evil -are recognized in one of its most ardent chapters—namely, -Violence, Deceit and Perjury. This is a succession<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_453" id="Page_453">[453]</a></span> -amounting to a development, and, unwittingly it -may or may not be, confirming that law of evolution -which is as happily illustrated in morals as in physics.</p> - -<p>Men begin with acts of violence, then go on to silent -deceit and calculation, and close with a profanation of -the holiest terms. The early sinners robbed gardens and -killed brothers; the later sinners “agreed together” to -“lie unto God.” It is something, therefore, to find in -so ancient a book as Leviticus recognition of an order -which is true to philosophy and to history.</p> - -<p>But the proof that Moses and Christ are identical in -moral tone is to be found in the process which offenders -were commanded to adopt. By no sacerdotal jugglery -was the foul blot to be removed; by no sigh of selfishness -could the inward corruption be permitted to evaporate; -by no investment of cheap tears could thieves -compound for felony.</p> - -<p>First, there must be restoration; second, there must -be an addition of a fifth part of the whole; third, the -priest must be faced as the very representative of God -and a trespass offering be laid on the altar. After atonement -forgiveness would come—a white angel from -Heaven—and dwell in the reclaimed and sanctified heart. -All the past would be driven away as a black cloud and -all the present filled with a light above the brightness of -the Sun.</p> - -<p>What is this but an outline or forecast of what Christ -said when He drove the hostile and vindictive man from -the altar, bidding him first be reconciled with his brother -and at peace with society? Christianity is not a substitute -for morality; it is morality inspired, glorified and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_454" id="Page_454">[454]</a></span> -crowned. Say that the ritual was sanitary rather than -doctrinal or theological. What then? All divine things -are first sanitary, but not necessarily bounded by that -term.</p> - -<p>It will be found that the practice of genuine cleanness, -chemical as well as mechanical, will be followed by -a philosophy, and that the morality of cleanness will be -followed by a theology.</p> - -<p>Accustom a man to look out for bullocks and rams -and lambs “without blemish,” and he will find that he -can not stop at that point. He has begun an education -which can only culminate in the prayer: “Create in -me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within -me.” Yet no word of that holy thought was named in -the original instructions.</p> - -<p>Leviticus is the gospel of the Pentateuch—glistening -with purity, turning law into music and spreading a banquet -in the wilderness. But its ritual is dead. This is -hard to believe—hard because religious vanity is fond of -ritualism, which makes no demand on the conscience. -Yet ritualism had a divinely appointed function in the -education of the awakening mind, and was the only influence -which could hold the attention of a people to -whom freedom was a new experience.</p> - -<p>Spectacular religion is alphabetic religion; therefore, -to revert to it is to ignore every characteristic and impulse -of manhood and progress. But they who say so -be prepared to complete the philosophy which that contention -initiates.</p> - -<p>It is not enough to dismiss ritualism on the ground -that it has been displaced by spiritual worship. Admit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_455" id="Page_455">[455]</a></span> -that such is the case, and other and broader admissions -are involved in the plea, and can only be shirked at the -expense of consistency.</p> - -<p>It is generally admitted, for example, that the Old -Testament law has been displaced by a New Testament -principle. So Ritualism and Law, in their ancient forms, -have passed away. But let us be careful. When we -say Ritualism and Law, we mean in reality the letter, -and it is evident that if any one letter can be displaced -every other letter may be outlived and completed. And -what is “the letter” but a symbol of flesh—visibleness, -objectivity, historic fact and bulk?</p> - -<p>Apostle Paul went so far as to say that even Christ -was no longer known “after the flesh”—yea, though He -had been known after the flesh, that kind of knowledge -was for ever done away, and another knowledge had permanently -taken its place.</p> - -<p>The Church has never adopted the whole meaning of -that teaching. Willing enough to consign Leviticus to -the shades, the Church still clings to some sort of bodily -Christ—the figure of a man—a bulk to be at least imaginatively -touched. This is easily accounted for without -suggesting superstition, and yet it might be done away -with without imperiling faith. We are held in bondage -by a mistaken conception of personality. When we -think of that term we think of ourselves.</p> - -<p>But even admitting the necessity of this, we may by -a correct definition of personality acquire a higher conception -of our own being. Instead of saying personality -is this or that, after the manner of a geometrical figure, -binding it to four points and otherwise limiting it, say<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_456" id="Page_456">[456]</a></span> -that personality is the unit of being, and instantly every -conception is enlarged and illuminated—the meaning -being that personality is the starting point of conscious -existence; not the fullness, but the outline; not the -maximum, but the minimum; the very smallest conception -which the mind can lay hold of—the Euclidic point, -to be carried on into ratios and dimensions which originate -a new vocabulary.</p> - -<p>We do not, then, define “God” when we describe -Him as a “Person,” but we merely begin to define Him; -in other words, we say that God can not be less than a -Person. What more He is, we must gradually and adoringly -discover.</p> - -<p>So far as Christ is concerned, there is one enlargement -of His personality which no school of thinkers will -dispute. This is rhetorically expressed by M. Renan, -when he says of Jesus:</p> - -<p>“A thousand times more living, a thousand times -more loved, since Thy death than during the days of Thy -pilgrimage here below, Thou wilt become to such a degree -the Corner-Stone of humanity that to tear Thy name -from this world would be to shake it to its foundations.”</p> - -<p>If ritualism has been displaced by spirituality, and if -law has been suspended by a principle—in other words, -if the local has made way for the universal—why shrink -from the admission that limited Personality has been exchanged -for unlimited Influence?</p> - -<p>How would Moses regard nineteenth century worship—say, -of a Low Church and Evangelical type, as the -true evolution of Leviticus? Where is the resemblance? -The eye that can see the similitude is surely looking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_457" id="Page_457">[457]</a></span> -through an adapted medium. Yet the mystery would be -dissolved if the Book of Leviticus were not open to reference.</p> - -<p>The man is the completion of the child, but the child -is no longer in existence.</p> - -<p>The fruit is the fulfillment of the blossom, but the -blossom is no longer available for comparison and for -contrast.</p> - -<p>Christianity is the consummation of Leviticus, but -Leviticus remains—unlike the child and the blossom—and -offers a series of dissonances or dissimilarities of the -most positive quality.</p> - -<p>Yet if Moses were living now he would be unchurched -if he refused to identify the meaning of Leviticus in the -service of the Christian sanctuary—the Papist nearest in -gorgeousness, the Protestant claiming to be nearest in -doctrine.</p> - -<p>The Nonconformist Moses, in the absence of inspiration, -would in this matter be the arch-heretic of the -century.</p> - -<h3>NEBUCHADNEZZAR.</h3> - -<p>The moral character of Nebuchadnezzar is not such -as entitles him to our approval. Besides the overweening -pride which brought on him such terrible chastisement, -we note a violence and fury common enough in -Oriental monarchs of the weaker kind, but from which -the greatest of them have usually been free; while at the -same time we observe a cold and relentless cruelty that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_458" id="Page_458">[458]</a></span> -is particularly revolting. The blinding of Zedekiah may -possibly be justified as an ordinary Eastern practice, -though it is the earliest case of the kind on record; but -the refinement of cruelty by which he was made to witness -his sons’ execution before his eyes were put out was -more worthy of a Dionysius or a Domitian than of a -really great king.</p> - -<p>Again, the detention of Jehoiachin in prison thirty-six -years for an offence committed at the age of eighteen -is a severity surpassing Oriental harshness.</p> - -<p>Against these grave faults we have nothing to set, -unless it be a feeble trait of magnanimity in the pardon -of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—when he found -that he was without power to punish them.</p> - -<p>It has been thought remarkable that to a man of this -character God should have vouchsafed a revelation of -the future by means of visions. But the circumstance, -however it may disturb our preconceived notions, is not -really at variance with the general laws of God’s providence, -as revealed to us in Scripture.</p> - -<p>As with His natural gifts, so with His supernatural -gifts—they are not confined to the worthy. Even under -Christianity, miraculous powers were sometimes possessed -by those who made an ill use of them. And God, -it is plain, did not leave the old heathen world without -some supernatural aid, but made His presence felt from -time to time in visions, through prophets, or even by a -voice from Heaven.</p> - -<p>It is only necessary to refer to the histories of Pharaoh, -Abimelech, Job and Balaam in order to establish -the parity of Nebuchadnezzar’s visions with other facts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_459" id="Page_459">[459]</a></span> -recorded in the Bible. He was warned, and the nations -over which he ruled were warned through him, God leaving -not Himself “without witness” even in those dark -times.</p> - -<p>Abydenus, a heathen writer who generally drew his -inspiration from Berosus, ascribes to Nebuchadnezzar a -miraculous speech just before his death, announcing to -the Babylonians the speedy coming of “a Persian mule,” -who, with the aid of the Medes, would enslave Babylon.</p> - -<h3>QUEEN OF SHEBA.</h3> - -<p>The Queen of Sheba is a model to all inquirers. It -was not enough for her to have heard of the fame of -Solomon and to have admired him at a distance as a -unique genius. Her admiration excited her interest and -suspicion, and, being a woman of penetrating mind, she -desired to put riddles and enigmas whereby she could -test the proverbial wisdom of Solomon.</p> - -<p>When she arrived at his court she did not put flippant -questions to King Solomon. She rather sought out the -most difficult inquiries which she could possibly make.</p> - -<p>It is recorded that Solomon told the queen all her -questions, and there was nothing hid from Solomon -which he told her not. She was astounded by what she -heard and what she saw. She declared that the half had -not been told her.</p> - -<p>The visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, though -not strictly commercial, arose out of commercial intercourse.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_460" id="Page_460">[460]</a></span> -The territory of Sheba, according to Strabo, -reached so far north as to meet that of the Nabathæans, -although its proper seat was at the southernmost angle -of Arabia.</p> - -<p>The very rich presents made by the queen show the -extreme value of her commerce with the Hebrew monarch. -This early interchange of hospitality derives a -peculiar interest from the fact that in much later ages—those -of the Maccabees and downward—the intercourse -of the Jews with Sheba became so intimate and their influence -and power so great. Jewish circumcision took -root there, and princes held sway there who were called -Jewish.</p> - -<p>The language of Sheba is believed to have been very -different from the literate Arabic; yet, like the Ethiopic, -it belonged to the great Syro-Arabian family, and was -not alien to the Hebrew in the same sense that the -Egyptian language was.</p> - -<p>The great ease with which the pure monotheism of -the Maccabees spread itself in Sheba gives plausibility -to the opinion that even at the time of Solomon the people -of Sheba had much religious superiority over the -Arabs and Syrians in general. If so, it becomes clear -how the curiosity of the southern queen would be worked -on by seeing the riches of the distant monarch, whose -purer creed must have been carried everywhere with -them by his sailors and servants.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_461" id="Page_461">[461]</a></span></p> - -<h3>REHOBOAM.</h3> - -<p>“So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spake to -Rehoboam, saying: ‘Thy father made our yoke grievous. -Now, therefore, ease thou somewhat the grievous -servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put -upon us, and we will serve thee.’”</p> - -<p>A cause so stated must succeed. There will be difficulty, -but the end is assured.</p> - -<p>The reasonable always triumphs, due time being -given for the elucidation of its purposes and the manifestation -of its real spirit. Violence can have but a short -day; the tempest cries itself to rest.</p> - -<p>The speech of this man was a speech strong in reason. -“Ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of -thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and -we will serve thee.” They wanted ease for service—for -loyalty. Where there is no ease how can there be homage, -thankfulness, devotion or any of the high qualities -of patriotism?</p> - -<p>Men who are not disquieted are prone to tell others -to bear their burdens uncomplainingly. We ought to -hear what they have to say who feel the iron. Our inquiry -should be: “How does it suit you? What is the -effect of the piercing iron on the soul? How does manhood -bear the heel of oppression?”</p> - -<p>The sufferers should sometimes be admitted to the -witness-box.</p> - -<p>There is a danger lest our personal comfortableness -should disqualify us for judging the case of down-trodden -men.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_462" id="Page_462">[462]</a></span></p> - -<p>Wherever there is weakness the Christian Church -should be found. Wherever there is reasonableness the -Christian sanctuary should offer hospitality. The Christian -sanctuary ceases to be the Tabernacle of God among -men when it shuts its door on the cries of reason, the -petitions of weakness, the humble requests of those who -ask for nothing exaggerated, but simply ask to have their -misery mitigated somewhat, that their loyalty may be of -a larger and better quality. The names are ancient, but -the circumstances may be painfully modern.</p> - -<p>It is the peculiarity of the Bible that it is always getting -in our way. It has a word on every subject. Is -there any thing more detestable than that a man who has -his own way seven days a week, whose footsteps are -marked by prosperity, whose very breathing is a commercial -success, should stand up and tell men who are -bleeding at every pore to be quiet and contented, and -not create disturbance in the body politic?</p> - -<p>If Jeroboam had come with a petition conceived in -another tone it ought to have been rejected. It would -have been irrational, violent and contemptuous; but the -reasonableness of the request will insure its victory in -the long run.</p> - -<p>How easy it is to think of Rehoboam as the foolish -son of a wise father! But are we not unjust to the son -in so regarding him? Was Solomon the wise man he is -often made out to be? The answer would be: “Yes—No.” -There was no greater fool than Solomon; and he -attained his supremacy in folly because there was no man -so wise. “If the light that is in thee be darkness, how -great is that darkness!” “How art thou fallen from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_463" id="Page_463">[463]</a></span> -Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!” If he had -not been son of the morning some shallow pit might have -held him; but, being son of the morning and detaching -himself from the gravitation of God, the pit into which -he falls is bottomless.</p> - -<p>Pliny says no man can be always wise. That is true -philosophically and experimentally; for all men have -vulnerable heels, or are exposed to temptations to lightness -of mind, amounting in some instances almost to -frivolity. They are also the subjects of a most singular -rebound, which makes them appear the more frivolous -because when we last saw them they were absorbed in -the solemnity of prayer.</p> - -<p>Solomon was not wise in this matter of government. -The history shows that the people were appealing, not -against Rehoboam, who had yet had no opportunity of -proving his quality as a king, but against his father. -“Thy father made our yoke grievous.” We are prone -to copy the defects of our ancestors and our idols rather -than their excellences.</p> - -<p>Folly has often more charms for us than wisdom. -When Diogenes discoursed of philosophy his auditors -turned away from him, but when he began to play frivolous -music or to sing frivolous songs the crowds thronged -about him, and he said: “Ye gods! How much more -popular is folly than wisdom!” Even there he spoke as -a philosopher.</p> - -<p>Rehoboam made a cautious reply, and therein he -began well. He said to the petitioners: “Come again -unto me after three days.” This looked hopeful.</p> - -<p>King Rehoboam utilized the interval by taking counsel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_464" id="Page_464">[464]</a></span> -with “the old men who had stood before Solomon, -his father, while he yet lived, saying: ‘What counsel -give ye me to return answer to this people?’ And they -spake unto him, saying: ‘If thou be kind to this people -and please them, and speak good words to them, -they will be thy servants for ever.’”</p> - -<p>Rich is the king whose old men talk in such a strain. -They were patriots and philanthropists and philosophers; -they were Christians before the time.</p> - -<p>Marvelous is the power of kindness. They will do -most in life who are most considerate. They may be -charged with sentimentalism by those who do not understand -the power of human feeling, but they will be given -credit for philosophy by men who understand the genius -of sympathy.</p> - -<p>What a message would this have been to return to -the complaining people! If, when the people returned -after three days, Rehoboam had spoken so, the welkin -would have rung with the resonant cheers of a delighted -and thankful people. Kindness is not weakness.</p> - -<p>But Rehoboam forsook the counsel which the old men -gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had -been brought up with him and who stood before him. -He asked them the same question he had asked the old -men. Their answer was:</p> - -<p>“Say unto them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker -than my father’s loins. For, whereas my father put a -heavy yoke upon you, I will put more to your yoke. My -father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you -with scorpions.’”</p> - -<p>Woe to the nation whose young men talked so! A<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_465" id="Page_465">[465]</a></span> -young oppressor is an infant devil. Young men talking -so will ruin any occasion.</p> - -<p>Are there such things in history as retorts, reprisals, -rebounds and consequences? Let it be known and laid -down as the basic principle of all action—social, ecclesiastical -and imperial—that there is no right of tyranny.</p> - -<p>It might be supposed that the king had taken a most -patriotic course in consulting the young and the old. He -had done nothing of the kind. He had omitted to consult -Him who had called his house to the royalty.</p> - -<p>Rehoboam should have consulted the King Maker -whose throne is on the circle of the Earth, whose scepter -touches the horizon and whose will is the law of both -monarchy and commonwealth.</p> - -<p>The greater the man, the nearer should he stand to -God; yea, he should be within whisper-reach of the -Lord of lords, asking Him in every crisis of national history -what Israel ought to do—what the country ought to -answer—what is the will of Heaven.</p> - -<p>Rehoboam answered the people roughly, and forsook -the counsel of the old men. “So the king hearkened -not unto the people.”</p> - -<p>The Gospel never gives liberty to oppression. Employers -may adopt this course if they please, but they -will find it end in ruin. We must recognize the difference -between employing cattle and employing men. A -parent may adopt this course of Rehoboam, if he so -chooses, but his children will chastise him and sting him -with many a disappointment; or, if he does not live to -see the wreck of their manhood, they will execrate his -unfragrant memory.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_466" id="Page_466">[466]</a></span></p> - -<p>Rehoboam will be punished; have no fear of that. -“With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to -you again.” You can make your whips thongs of scorpions, -but on your own back shall the lacerating lash be -laid; you can play the fantastic trick before high Heaven -and make the angels weep, but the bitterness shall be -yours. The triumphing of such a policy is short, and -the end is everlasting punishment.</p> - -<h3>SHISHAK.</h3> - -<p>Shishak was a king of Egypt contemporary with -Jeroboam, to whom he gave an asylum when he fled -from Solomon. This was indicative of his politic disposition -to encourage the weakening of the neighboring -kingdom, the growth of which under David and Solomon -was probably regarded by the kings of Egypt with some -alarm.</p> - -<p>After Jeroboam had become king of Israel, and probably -at his suggestion, Shishak invaded the kingdom of -Judah (<span class="smcapuc">B. C.</span> 971) at the head of an immense army, and -after having taken the fortified places advanced against -Jerusalem.</p> - -<p>Satisfied with the submission of Rehoboam and with -the immense spoils of the Temple, the king of Egypt -withdrew without imposing any onerous conditions on -the humbled grandson of David.</p> - -<p>Shishak has been identified as the first king of the -twenty-second or Diospolitan dynasty, the Sesonchis of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_467" id="Page_467">[467]</a></span> -profane history. His name has been found on the Egyptian -monuments in the form of Sheshonk. He is said to -have been of Ethiopian origin, and it is thought that, -with the aid of the military caste, he dethroned the -Pharaoh who gave his daughter to Solomon.</p> - -<h3>SOLOMON.</h3> - -<p>The first prominent scene in the reign of Solomon is -one which presents his character in its noblest aspect. -There were two holy places which divided the reverence -of the people—the ark and its provisional tabernacle at -Jerusalem and the original Tabernacle of the Congregation, -which, after many wanderings, was then pitched at -Gibeon.</p> - -<p>It was thought right that the new king should offer -solemn sacrifices at both.</p> - -<p>After those at Gibeon there came that vision of the -night which has in all ages borne its noble witness to the -hearts of rulers.</p> - -<p>Not for riches, long life or victory over enemies did -the son of David—then, at least, true to his high calling, -feeling himself as “a little child” in comparison with -the vastness of his work—offer his supplications, but for -a “wise and understanding heart,” that he might judge -the people.</p> - -<p>The “speech pleased the Lord.”</p> - -<p>There came in answer the promise of a wisdom “like -which there had been none before—like which there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_468" id="Page_468">[468]</a></span> -should be none after.” So far all was well. The prayer -was a right and noble one. Yet there is also a contrast -between it and the prayers of David which accounts for -many other contrasts.</p> - -<p>The desire of David’s heart is not chiefly for wisdom, -but for holiness. He is conscious of an oppressing evil, -and seeks to be delivered from it. He repents and falls, -and repents again.</p> - -<p>Solomon asks only for wisdom. He has a lofty ideal -before him, and seeks to accomplish it, but he is as yet -haunted by no deeper yearnings, and speaks as one who -has no need of repentance.</p> - -<p>Then began Solomon’s marvelous development as a -builder and statesman.</p> - -<p>He was not content to build the house of the Lord -alone. This is a remarkable circumstance, as illustrating -the spirit which is created and sustained by all truly -religious exercises. It would have been ambition enough -for any man religiously uninspired to have erected such -an edifice as the Temple. Most men are contented to do -one thing, and to rest their fame on its peculiar excellence.</p> - -<p>Having completed the house of the Lord and his own -house, Solomon began to build the cities which Huram -had restored to him, and to cause the children of Israel -to dwell there.</p> - -<p>A religion that ends only in ceremony building is little -better than a superstition. No man can be zealously -affected in the interests of the Church without having -his whole philanthropic spirit enlarged and ennobled, so -that he may become a builder of cities as well as a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_469" id="Page_469">[469]</a></span> -builder of churches. It must be remembered, on the -other hand, that he who builds a synagogue really helps -to build the town in which it is located. A synagogue, -temple or church is not to be looked on in its singularity, -as if it were so many walls, with so many doors and so -many windows. A church is a representative institution, -through which should flow rivers that will fertilize all the -districts of the city—rivers of knowledge, rivers of charity, -rivers of brotherhood, rivers of co-operation—so -that men should turn to the Church, assured that every -rational and healthy expectation would be satisfied by its -provisions.</p> - -<p>Having completed for the time being the measure of -building on which his mind was set, Solomon went forth -to war.</p> - -<p>It would seem as if, in ancient days, kings could not -be satisfied to dwell at peace. Even Solomon, whose -very name signifies peace, had in him the military spirit -which was characteristic of his race and time; it was in -him, indeed, as the word of the living God. Solomon -did not go forth to war for the sake of war; he believed -he was obeying a divinely implanted instinct, or carrying -out to the letter some divinely written law.</p> - -<p>Having passed through another military period, King -Solomon began once more to build. He built Tadmor, -and all the store cities; he built Beth-horon the Upper -and Beth-horon the Lower, and fenced cities with walls, -gates and bars.</p> - -<p>A busy time it was in the reign of Solomon. But -even all this building is not without its suggestion of a -corresponding evil.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_470" id="Page_470">[470]</a></span></p> - -<p>Why were the cities fenced? Why the gates? Why -the bars? We have instances of the same kind in our -own civilization—silent witnesses against the honesty of -the society in which we live. Every bolt on the door is -a moral accusation; every time we turn the lock we -mean that there is an enemy outside who may endeavor -to violate the sanctity of the house.</p> - -<p>We sometimes forget the moral suggestiveness even -of our commonest institutions and plans of procedure. -Every precaution that is taken for our preservation implies -the presence of hostile elements in the society that -is round about us.</p> - -<p>Solomon may be taken in this instance as representing -the great doctrine that men should seek first the -kingdom of God and His righteousness, and afterward -attend to minor matters, or even leave those minor matters -to the adjustment of providence.</p> - -<p>Solomon is represented as first most anxious about -the Temple, giving himself wholly to its erection, occupying -his thoughts night and day, turning every thing to -account in its relation to the Temple. Having finished -that marvelous structure, he was prepared to descend to -other levels and do the commoner work which lay to his -hand.</p> - -<p>Many persons leave the temple half finished. What -wonder if they go out to the war and return wounded -and disabled? Our religious purposes are broken off. -What wonder if our political ends pierce us and sting us -by way of retribution?</p> - -<p>“But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no -servants for his work; but they were men of war, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_471" id="Page_471">[471]</a></span> -chief of his captains, and captains of his chariots and -horsemen.”</p> - -<p>The statesmanship of Solomon is as distinctly proved -by this arrangement as by any thing we have yet seen in -his whole policy. Solomon knew that one man was not -as good as another, however much democratic philosophy -may have endeavored to prove the contrary. One man -is a genius, but another man is a slave—an imitator, a -hewer of wood; very serviceable, and in fact indispensable, -but not adorned with the very highest excellence and -dignity of mind.</p> - -<p>Solomon made a distribution of classes, saying in -effect that some men can do the drudgery, some men can -dig and build, some can pull down and take away and -make ready for the exertions of others; the higher class -of men can think and direct, for they are inspired with -the genius of administration, and are men of powerful -mind, of fertile resources in government and in war. So -Solomon made the best use of the material at his disposal—not -getting great men to do small work or setting -small men to fail in great work.</p> - -<p>Adaptation is the secret of success. For want of -knowing this, many men fail in life.</p> - -<p>There are employers who are making themselves but -little better than toilers, when they might by an expenditure -of money apparently distinctly not economical very -greatly assist the progress and solidity of their fortunes. -A man may be industrious in a way which involves the -absolute frittering and humiliation of his energies.</p> - -<p>We are to be careful not only to be industrious, but -industrious about the right things and in the right proportion.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_472" id="Page_472">[472]</a></span> -A man might slave himself to death cutting -down wood or in throwing away stones, but if some -other man of inferior mental faculty could be employed -to do that work the superior man should turn his attention -to other and nobler pursuits, and thus with smaller -expenditure of strength he might be doing immeasurably -greater good.</p> - -<p>If the thinker is not to degrade himself to the level -of a drudge, neither is the drudge to attempt to force his -way to positions for which he is not qualified. Nothing -is mean that is not meanly done.</p> - -<p>The Canaanites might be as useful as the Israelites -in their own way. With the eye of a statesman and -with the inspiration of a genius, Solomon saw that he -must distribute and classify men, and set each man to do -that for which he was best fitted. Even Solomon could -not do all the work alone.</p> - -<p>“And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh -out of the city of David unto the house that he had -built for her; for he said: ‘My wife shall not dwell in -the house of David, king of Israel, because the places -are holy whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come.’”</p> - -<p>This may be taken as an instance of punctilious morality. -We are not able to understand all that was -involved in the incident. Evidently we are in the presence -of conscience working under some eccentric law or -suggestion. Yet here is a conscience, and by so much -the action of Solomon is to be respected. He will not -have any place or institution even ceremonially defiled. -He will go back to precedents; he will consult the genius -of history; he will preserve the consistency of the royal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_473" id="Page_473">[473]</a></span> -policy. Solomon felt that the ark of the Lord had sanctified -every locality into which it had come, and that a -broad distinction must always be maintained between -heathenism and Judaism—between the idols of pagan -lands and the Spirit of the living God.</p> - -<p>In these matters Solomon’s wisdom was displayed as -certainly as in the greater concerns of State and Church. -We are to remember that at the beginning Solomon was -endowed with the spirit of wisdom and of a sound mind. -The Lord quickened his sagacity and gave him that marvelous -insight which enabled him to penetrate into the -interiors and cores which were hidden from the scrutiny -of other men.</p> - -<p>We are, therefore, to give Solomon credit for being -at once wise and conscientious; we are to see in his -action the working of a tender conscience. Even though -he may be appeasing his conscience by some trick or -ceremony, yet he is showing us the working of the moral -nature within the kingly breast.</p> - -<p>Yet there is a point to be noted here which is common -to human experience. Why should Solomon have -married the daughter of Pharaoh? Why should he, in -the first instance, have placed himself in so vital a relation -to heathenism? Are there not men who first plunge -into great mistakes, and then seek to rectify their position -by zealous care about comparatively trifling details? -Do not men make money by base means, and then most -zealously betake themselves to bookkeeping, as if they -would not spend money except in approved directions?</p> - -<p>There is nothing more misleading than a conscience -that does not rest on a basis of reason. We are to beware<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_474" id="Page_474">[474]</a></span> -of the creation of a false conscience, or a partial -conscience, or a conscience that operates only in given -directions, but which makes up for sins of a larger kind -by ostentatious devotion at the altar of detail and ceremony -and petty ritual.</p> - -<p>“Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the -Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had built before -the porch, even after a certain rate every day, offering -according to the commandment of Moses—on the Sabbaths, -and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, -three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened -bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of -tabernacles.”</p> - -<p>Solomon was great in burnt offerings. Do not men -sometimes make up in burnt offerings what they lack in -moral consistency? Is not an ostentatious religion the -best proof of internal decay? It ought not to be so.</p> - -<p>The hand and the heart should be one; the outward -and the inward should correspond; the action should be -the incarnation of the thought. We are not always to -look on the ceremonial action of the Church as indicative -of its real spirituality.</p> - -<p>Solomon did not live to a very great age, since he -was not more than twenty years old when he ascended -the throne. Whether Solomon turned to the Lord again -with all his heart—a question widely discussed by the -older commentators—can not be ascertained from the -Scriptures.</p> - -<p>If the Preacher (Koheleth) is traceable to Solomon -so far as the leading thoughts are concerned, we should -find in this fact an evidence of his conversion, or at least<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_475" id="Page_475">[475]</a></span> -a proof that at the close of his life Solomon discovered -the vanity of all earthly possessions and aims, and even -declared the fear of God to be the only abiding good -with which a man can stand before the judgment of God.</p> - -<p>The Temple of Solomon was, according to our ideas -of size, a small building. It was less than one hundred -and twenty feet long, and less than thirty-five feet -broad; in other words, it was not so large as one of the -ordinary parish churches of our own land. Much less -did it approach to the size of the colossal buildings in -Babylon or Egypt. But in Jewish eyes, at the time that -it was built, it may have been “great”—that is to say, -it may have exceeded the dimensions of any single separate -building existing in Palestine up to the time of its -erection. It may even have been larger than the buildings -which the neighboring nations had erected to their -respective gods.</p> - -<p>Ancient worship was mainly in the open air, and the -temples were viewed as shrines for the Deity and for His -priests—not as buildings in which worshipers were to -congregate. Hence their comparatively small size.</p> - -<p>“And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was -buried in the city of David, his father; and Rehoboam, -his son, reigned in his stead.”</p> - -<p>This seems to be a lame and impotent conclusion. -Yet it distinctly sets forth the common humanity of this -most extraordinary and brilliant king. Literally, the -passage means that Solomon lay down with his fathers. -He might hardly be recognized from the humblest of -them. The Sun dies at evening with scarcely a reminder -of the glory which shone from him at mid-day.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_476" id="Page_476">[476]</a></span></p> - -<h3>BASELESS PRIDE.</h3> - -<p>(This pride-humbling survey of man and his destiny was written by -William Knox, a Scotchman.)</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?</div> -<div class="verse">Like a swift fleeting meteor, a fast flying cloud,</div> -<div class="verse">A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave,</div> -<div class="verse">Man passes from life to his rest in the grave.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The leaves of the oak and the willow shall fade,</div> -<div class="verse">Be scattered around, and together be laid;</div> -<div class="verse">And the young and the old and the low and the high</div> -<div class="verse">Shall molder to dust, and together shall lie.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The infant a mother attended and loved,</div> -<div class="verse">The mother that infant’s affection who proved,</div> -<div class="verse">The husband that mother and infant who blessed—</div> -<div class="verse">Each and all are away to their dwellings of rest.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The maid on whose cheek, on whose brow, in whose eye,</div> -<div class="verse">Shone beauty and pleasure—her triumphs are by;</div> -<div class="verse">And the memory of those who loved her and praised</div> -<div class="verse">Is alike from the minds of the living erased.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The hand of the king that the scepter has borne,</div> -<div class="verse">The brow of the priest that the miter has worn,</div> -<div class="verse">The eye of the sage and the heart of the brave</div> -<div class="verse">Are hidden and lost in the depths of the grave.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The peasant whose lot was to sow and to reap,</div> -<div class="verse">The herdsman who climbed with his goats up the steep,</div> -<div class="verse">The beggar who wandered in search of his bread,</div> -<div class="verse">Have faded away like the grass that we tread.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The saint who enjoyed the communion of Heaven,</div> -<div class="verse">The sinner who dared to remain unforgiven,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_477" id="Page_477">[477]</a></span> -<div class="verse">The wise and the foolish, the guilty and just,</div> -<div class="verse">Have quietly mingled their bones in the dust.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">So the multitude goes—like the flower or the weed</div> -<div class="verse">That withers away to let others succeed;</div> -<div class="verse">So the multitude comes—even those we behold—</div> -<div class="verse">To repeat every tale that has often been told.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">For we are the same our fathers have been;</div> -<div class="verse">We see the same sights our fathers have seen;</div> -<div class="verse">We drink the same stream, we view the same Sun,</div> -<div class="verse">And run the same course our fathers have run.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The thoughts we are thinking our fathers would think;</div> -<div class="verse">From the death we are shrinking our fathers would shrink;</div> -<div class="verse">To the life we are clinging they also would cling—</div> -<div class="verse">But it speeds from us all like a bird on the wing.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">They loved—but the story we can not unfold;</div> -<div class="verse">They scorned—but the heart of the haughty is cold;</div> -<div class="verse">They grieved—but no wail from their slumber will come;</div> -<div class="verse">They joyed—but the tongue of their gladness is dumb.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">They died—aye, they died—and we things that are now,</div> -<div class="verse">That walk on the turf that lies o’er their brow</div> -<div class="verse">And make in their dwellings a transient abode,</div> -<div class="verse">Meet the things that they met on their pilgrimage road.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Yea, hope and despondency, pleasure and pain,</div> -<div class="verse">Are mingled together in sunshine and rain;</div> -<div class="verse">And the smile and the tear, the song and the dirge,</div> -<div class="verse">Still follow each other, like surge upon surge.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">’Tis the wink of an eye—’tis the draught of a breath—</div> -<div class="verse">From the blossom of health to the paleness of death,</div> -<div class="verse">From the gilded saloon to the bier and the shroud!</div> -<div class="verse">Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="center">BOOKS PUBLISHED BY<br /> -<span class="larger">THOS. 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Giving -the varied experiences, adventures, dangers and -narrow escapes of a Yankee seeking his fortune -in this wild country, who, by undaunted courage, -perseverance, suffering, fighting and adventures -of various sorts, is requited at last by the ownership -of the largest diamond taken out of the Kimberly -mines up to that time and with the heart -and hand of the fairest daughter of a diamond -king. Containing 30 full-page illustrations by -H. S. De Lay. Reading matter, 234 pages.</p> - -<p class="hanging"><span class="book">Bible Characters.</span>—A collection of Sermons by the most -renowned divines of their times on these subjects; a -beautiful and inspiring book that ought to find its place -into every home where good and elevating literature is -sought after. Dwight Lyman Moody, Dr. Talmage, -Joseph Parker, etc.; illustrations from the famous paintings -by Gustave Dore. 477 pages reading matter.</p> - -<p class="hanging"><span class="book">The First Mortgage.</span>—A truthful, instructive, pleasing -and poetical presentation of Biblical Stories, History -and Gospel Truth. By E. U. Cook. Fully and handsomely -illustrated from the world-renowned artist, Gustave -Dore, the whole forming an exceedingly interesting -and entertaining Poetical Bible. One of the most handsome -volumes ever issued in Chicago. 288 pages.</p> - -<p class="hanging"><span class="book">Helen Blair.</span>—A novel by Nina Miller Elliott. It is a well -written and decidedly interesting story and holds the -reader from the first page to the last.</p> - -<p class="hanging"><span class="book">When the Heart Is Young.</span>—By Nina Miller Elliott. 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