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Les diagrammes suivants •< ■ illustrent larnAthode. 1 6 MICROCOPY RESOIUTION TEST ■CHAKt (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. ^tj ' ■ '-f; 1.0 ;; .1^. ki|ii m mtSi ^ If tiA H^ ' . : 1 1 '-^ 1 1.4 1.6 ^ /APPLIED M^BE Inc E t653 Eost Main Strtet Rochester, New York 14609 USA (716) 482 -0300 -Phone (7J6) 288 - 5989 ^ Fox s h i r ■■ ■•■'T^T' "•"^a ^^ of Blessing, w^ J" Keswick Papers. ;jltTtD CHURC*- .»• a ;\ LLARor; ft \ iCT H. K>SITORY REV. HUBERT BROOKE. REV. CHAS. INWOdD. REV. 0. H. C. McQREQOR. ►NTO. koV .-i^y ^>ifc''a--.*;t'*'r' s V ■ 'W*'-'^') \r ./ • 1 t 4 7^ DAYS OF BLESSING DELIVERED llV THE DELEdATES FROM THE KESWICK CONFERENCE ON THE DEEI'ENING OF SPIRIT AND LIFE 4 Rev. Hui'.ERT Brooke, Reading, England. Rev. Chas. Inwood, Duhijn, Ireland. Rev. G. H. C^I^McGregor, Ab^^RDEen, Scoti^and. ■i •« ■ Toronto, Canada: TORONTO WILLARD TRACT DEPOSITORY Cor. Yoiige' and Temperance Sta. ■I---. ..v' > '^w J CONFERENCE FOR THE DEEPENING OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. NOTES. The Conference held in Association Hall in Toronto from the 24th to the 27th of April, for deepening of spiritual life, aroused such a remarkable re- ligious interest that' a few notes about it may not be uninteresting to those who had not the privilege of attending. The Conference was conducted by those ministers from the Old Land, who have for the sake* of brevity been |[^d the *• Keswick brethren," becJTuse .they arelSRhers in connection with the widely known ConfereJice' held each year at Keswick, in the region of the Cumberland Lakes in England. These brethren came out by special invitation from friends in Canada. Rev. Hubert Brooke, of Reading, England, an Episcopalian clergy- man, is the senior member of the deputation. He is a man bordering on fifty, of very quiet demeanor, but with a remarkably clear and comprehensive knowledge of Scripture, and a wonderfully sympathetic tenderness of speech. Rev. Charles Inwood is a Wesleyan Methodist minister from Dublin, Ireland. He has a fine appearance, beaming face and splendid vpice, and speaks •** ' ■ ''lIipi-W.-Ji. wlthS/^'ry gri*at phWer and eafnostnoss. Rev. G. H. C. iy\cpr|.'K()r, M.A., tilt* youn^fst of tlic three, Is minister of Free bast Presbyterian Church, Aberileen» Scotland, possesses a wonderfully matured mind ; has a very clear and Incisive way of presenting the truth, and a manner that has reminded some of the devoted McCheyne. Thus the three men represent three differ- ent countries, and three different Hvanjjelical denomi- nations, and so may be taken to represent the true twnty pf the Christian Church in that beautiful harmony of spirit which enabled them to stand side by side In seekinj^to lead Christians to a hi^^her plane of 'Christian livinji. N What is the explanation of the wonderful interest manifested in tho'stj meetings where probably a thousand people come in the BttJ^ afternoon of each day to hear a simple Bible Reading ; and when the crowd was so great iri the evenings that hundreds were unable to gain an entrance ? The interest was not in the m^ who came, or their popularity, for they were entirely urmupwn, except to a very ft^. One can easily understan^xhow Messrs. Moody ahd Sankey could have large meeting^ for their fame is world-wide. Nor was it because of a genera^l enthusiasm IMhe object of the Conference. A Sabbath School or a E. Convention will^draw a large number because of general interest in these branches of Christian wbrk. But in regard to this Conference, many were in ignor- ance as to the lines of teachj^ng, and not a few confusing them with dangerous errors)^such as "Sinless Pei fee 5 s. Rev. G. H. tlic thref, Is irch, Aberdeen t rt'd mind ; has tinji the truth, of the devoted L*nt three differ- iK^lical denoml- esent the true uittful harmony side by side In lie of 'Cliristian iiderful interevSt ibly a thousand h day to hear a vd was so ^reat iibie to gain an » came, or their wn, except to a how Messrs. etirifes. for their thusiasm irNthe jchool or a because of !^hristian WDrk^ were in ignor- i few confusing Sinless Peifec- tlon" and '• Antinomianism," wore in a position of opposition, TIu'm jn most mvelings of this kind, a very great deal of attention is given to such tilings as music, advertising ^nd the like. Tliere were no distinguished singers leading the praise, and because of unacquaint- ance with tlie hymns, the singing was nut really as good as in an ordinary congregation. Yet these three unknown ministers, without any very remarkable natural gifts, and with the principal of the three laid aside most of the time by illness— simply open their Bibles and present God's truth regarding the privileges of believers in Christ Jesus ; and from the very first meeting the people go away saying, God is in this work. There are two things that seem to explain this remarkable result. (1) These men i|re themselves filled with the Holy Spirit, and as one has said, "are not advocating a theory, but are testifying to an experience." (2) They clearly and definitely present truth that Christians feel they need, and that many are longing, for. We say "clearly and definitely," because the same truth in some form has been presented in many of the evangelical pulpits of this city. But a full, clear statement of it by men whd have deeply experienced its blessedness themselves, has naturally aroused a pro- found interest in huncjfeds of Christian hearts. ^ Conferences of this kind have so often gone off on "perfectionism" of some kind* that the brethren were particularly careful to repudiate utterly any such doc- trine. Mr. McGregor sald^ in one of his addresses, " The profession of sinless perfection is a soul-destroying error. Tothe very end of life we have to pray, / Forgive qs -^.. our debts as, we forgive our debtors,' " and Rev. Hubert Brooke safd quaintly, " I have heard many persons pro- fess sinless perfection, but I never saw any one that . practised It." •Though there was no prearranged programme— this being contrary to the method of such Conferences— yet there was a very beautiful order of teaching. Tlie first day (Monday, 24th), the brethren dealt specially with the sins of Christiansvvho are leading careless, worldly and unconsecrated lives. " Mr. Inwood in his Bible Reading in the "afternoon on Ezekiel vjii. 10, instituted a most searching comparison between the sins of Ezekie^s day and now. The temple differed from all other buildings— (i) In being set apart for sacred uses only. (2) In being the place where God^ specially manifested His glory, and those represent the human and the divine sides in thfe consecration of the believer as a temple of the Holy Ghost. He pointed .out the four abominations by which the temple was profaned, and their modern representatives. (i) The Image of Jealousy, representing the general .spirit of idolatry, and seen in our day in shutting God out of certain departments of the life altogether. (2) The Chamber of Imagery, representing the pol- lution in thought, and motive, and desire. , (3) Weeping for Tammiiz, representing pollution and wrong-doing in the outward life and conduct. (4) And the Sun worship of those who had their backs turned to the altar and worshipping ^he rising sun, which has its counterpart in those who turn their backs pn the atoning work of Christ and are running X and Rev. Hubert any persons pro- w any one that programme — this Conferences — yet hing. The first t specially with :areles$, worldly tie afternoon on hing comparison )w. The temple 1 being set apart [)lace where God * se represent the isecration of the St. He pointed he temple was /es. - ting the general 1 shutting God ogether. senting the pol- ■ • »g pollution and luct. who had their >ping 'the rising Who turn their nd are running after every new fashion in philanthropy, srience and criticism. He then showed how judgment followed this evil, and how the glory of God withdrew first to the threshold, then to the city, and finally to the Mount outside the city. The worship continued but the glory had departed. , In the evening Mr. McGregor spoke on the need of purification from i Cor. iii. 10-15, an^^saiah i. 24, 25, and in it showed how the fire of Christ's righteousness would burn everything In our service that was false and unworthy, as we stand at His judgment seat, and that now God will purge the dross — representing the flagrant outward evils— and take away the alloy— representing the inner unfitness and desires to the surrendered heart. God. does not eradicate the sinful disposition, but he gives power to overcome the sins that vex and hinder the daily life. Mr. In wood followed by an earnest appeal to all to fnake a full and unconditional surrender to Christ. He said the greatest struggle in many a heart is not with sin, but with the will of God. The general subject for the second day was the power and faithfulness of God, and the necessity of a full surrender to Him. Mr, McGregor's Bible reading in the afternoon on the names of God was truly a feast of fat things. He showed that whenever God asks His people to take an important step forward, He reveals Himself by a new and appropriate name, (i) El, or Elohim, means the strong one, suggestive of creative po\ver. (2) El Shaddai (Gen, xvii. i), to Abram when He was about' to fulfil His promise, which implies not only .f i * almighty strength, but gracious providence. (3) Jeho. vah (Ex. vi. 2, 3) to Moses when about to send him to deliver the people from boqdage. It ^nplies the absolute eternal, existence of God, the absolute sovereignty of God, and His unfailing faithfulness. The names that follow are but unfoJdings of that name. (4) J^hovah- tsidkenu (Jer. xxiii. 6), the Lord our Righteteness. Righteousness, being a prime necessity for God's people, (5) Jehovah our Sanctifier (Ex. xxxi. 13), or the one who consecrates, implying that they mus* be a people for His own possession. (6) Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord who provides, and will supply all the needs of His conr secrated people. If the wants are supplied, there will be rest, and hence the next, name (7) Jehovah-shalom X Judges vi. 24), the Lord our peace. But when there is peac6 with God, and when we possess the peace of God, the conflict wil^ begin with enemies. So Jehovah- shalom becomes (8) Jehovah-aissi, the Lord our Banner. Satan will aim his deadliest assaults against us, and in the fierce conflict we may forget our Leader and be wounded, but not left, for Jehova-nissi is also (9) Jeho- vah-Rophi (E^. vi. 26) the Lord that healeth. (10) Then He is Jehovah our- Shepherd (Psa. xxiii.), keeping, guarding; leading HisTpeople; and last of all, He is (11) Jehovah-sHammah (Ezek.xlviii. 35)^ an ever present God, Jxe Lord is there. Who will riot trust such a God ? In nte evening Mr. Inwood spoke on Deut. viii. 7-9. the contrast between the wilderness life and the Cstiia^n life of Israel. God did not deliver them from the bondage of Egypt, to leave them in the wilderness but to bring them into Canaan, they remained in the ■,-'.M 9 lence. (3) Jeho- )ut to send him to iplies the absolute te sovereignty of The nanles that e. (4) Jf hovah- ir Rightedusness. for God's people, . 13), or the one must be a people -Jireh, the Lord needs; of His con- pplied, there will I Jehovah-shalom lut when there is he peace of God, . So Jehovah- Lord our Banner. 2;ainst us, and in r Leader and be is also (9) Jeho- leth. (10) Then xxiii.), keeping, of all, He is (II) m ever present rust such a God? Deut. viii. 7-9. ss life and the liver them from 1 the wilderness remained in the wilderness because of their unbelief. After sho\Ving that Canaan is not a type of heaven except in a very in- direct sense, but a type of the life a Christian may have here, he pointed out four characteristics of this lite — (i) It is sacred, and is compared to the keeping of the Sab- bath. (2) It is restful. (3^ It is victorious, and (4) It is enjoyable. When Israel got into the land flowing with milk and honey there was no more lusting for the flesh pots of Egypt. They entered Canaan by defi- nitely committing themselves to God. The feet of the pi-iests had to be dipped into the brimming Jordan before a path was made foi* them. This committal is the first step in the life of faith. ° Mr. McGregor followed on Matt, xiv. 22-32, with such thoughts as these.: — Peter knevy it was possible to walk on the Water because he saw Jesus doing it. -Seeing Christ's victorious life is what makes us desire a life of victory. Peter stepped out oft the bare word of Christ " Come," and found the water like adamant beneath him.^ When Peter took his eyes off Christ he began to sink, showing that no change had taken place in Peter, and wiat he was sustained by the power of Christ in answer to his faith. The walk was begun in a moment by one leap— this is consecration, and the walk was continued so long as he looked to Christ— this is the secret of t)eing kept. He took his eyes off Christ, this is the secret of failure. But he was restored, and had he walked long on the water he would have learned to keep his eyes fixed upon Christ. The every act vyould thus have become a habit or- attitude. This he applied step by step to the Christian life. / ■■ The third day special emphasis was laid on the work o^the Holy Spirit: X"^ Mr. Brookfe who appeared for the first time gave a most instructive Bible study in the afternoon on the Christian calling. Basing his remarks on i Peter i. He pointed out that believers are called out of (i) An Evil Life (i'. 14) ; (2) An Empty Life (j>. 18), and (5) An Easy Life, (f. 6.) Called unto (r) Obedience (v. 2) ; (2) Sprinkling of the blood of Jesus or Consecration ; (3)' "Holiness (v. 14), and (4) Unfeigned love of the brethren. Then he showed from i Thess. vs. 23, 24, how this Iif0 is attained and lived. God is faithful, and we are tolvalk with Him one step af a time. . in the evening Mr. McGregor spoke of the Spirit's work, 2 Cor. v. i7,^and C^ol. iii./ip,^as undoing the work of sin, and hence His wtarkjs oilled a new crea- tion , Then he compared the Spirit's work in Redprnp* ' tiori to His work in Creation. (1) Giving acknowledge ^ of God and His will. (2) Shedding abroad the Divine Love. (3) Giving man power to- do God's will. But man by his disobedience has darkened the understand- ing, destroyed the affections, and rendered the will im- * potent* Then he shewed with wonderful force and clearness how the Spirit re-creates or renews man, and restores In him communion with God. Mr. In wood spoke on the filling of the Holy Spirit as suggested by Acts iv. Ai . He showed that it is possible for a man with sinful nature aiid in a sinful world, tp be .so surrendered to God as to be filled with the Holy Ghost. Then he referred to the results that followed' this filling, (i) Boldness in testimony. (2) Oneness of I ■\-' laid on the work irst time gave a fternoori on the :s on I Peter i. d out of (i) An (i>. i8), and (5) Dbedience (v, 2) ; ;>onsecration ; (3)' d love of the fhess. vs. 23, 24, d is faithful, and time. . e of the Spirit's as undoing the [illed a new crea- work in Redpmp* ng a- knowledge Toad the Divine God's will. But the understand- jred the will im- derful force and renews man, and 1/ ■■-■■■ . II ■■'V-'. .■ ■ spirit, .and affections. ^3) Generosity and liberality. (4) Power on the. world. (5) Grace. He then pointed out very clearly that it is the duty as well as privilege of every believer to be filled, for it is a divine command. On the fourth day the general subject seemed to be the privileges and responsibilities of believers who are surrendered to Christ to live a lite of faith. In the afternoon Mr. McGregor took as the subject of Bible study the 23rd Psalm. . i ^^yi/lr^?/i/iA^ he Holy Spirit as that it is possible nful world, tp be I with the Holy ilts that followed ' (2) Oneness of 1- IP ■M s.' '■■^ ■f,! ADDRESS OM THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM, BY RRV. O. M. C. MgGRIGOR. Sometimes we have very great difficulty in finding a name to describe that life of blessing of which we have been speaking so much this week, and into which so many of you, by God's grace, have been led durin^p; these days. Sometimes we speak of it^s the life of full salvation ; yet I believe that term is apt to be misunder- stood. One of our favorite names for tt is the name- tljat the Apostle Paul gives us in the Epistle to the Romans, whence speaks about, " The fulntfSs of the blessingof the Gospel of Christ." Now, this afternoon it has been laid on my heart to speak to you in the way of a Bible Reading about some of the characteristics of . this life of fulness of blessing, this life which is the con- sequence of the coming into our hearts in its fulness of God's Holy Spirit. Many who are here. to-day were here last night, arid very solemnly received this mighty gift, who believe that God is faithful to His promise, and that God fills us with the Holy Gho^t. Now, I want, both for the help of those, and very specially for the help of some who may be beginners, to go over the ground we have already traversed, and to lay out before you from God's Word some of the bles§- :-;l 'I •■ :v PSALM, 3R. ficulty in finding a of which we have ind into which so been led durin^p; it ^s the life of full pt to be misunder- br tt is the name the Epistle to the rhe fulness of the 3w, this afternoon to you in the way i characteristics of which is the con- ts in; its fulness of here. to-day were [ily received this is faithful to His the Holy Gho^t. those, and very y be beginners, to traversed, and to ome of the bles§- ings which you may expect to find in your life as the consequence of this filling with Qod's Holy Spirit. And in order to do this, I want you to turn with me to what is in Scotland perhaps the most familiar portion of the whole Bible— I do not know how it is in Canada— the 23rd Psalm, that we may find the Spirit-filled life; the life of fulness of blessing, set out in all its glory before us there. If you look at this 23rd Psalm, which has been so familiar to many of us from childhood, you will ' find that in structure it consists oif a proposition and then a great number of promises that are deducible from that proposition ; th«^ Psalm falls into two unequal parts, the first part consisting of the first clause of the Psalm, and then the v^hole of the rest of the Psalm being conse- quences of this first clause.' Now, let us spepd a little time on the first clause, because it gives us the key to the whole Psalm. You see what the Psalmist here says. He says, •* The Lord is my Shepherd." Here is a man who has made a personal appropriation of God ; he has not merely heard about God, but has taken God to be his God; he h^s said, *• Let others do what they will, asfor-me, I am God's, theXord is my Shepherd." Now, dearlfriends, that is exactly what we have done. What does this yielding of ourselves for the filling of the Holy Ghost mean except that we invite, we receive that Holy Spirit into our hearts to be absolute master ? I do not k^imv any filling of the Holy Ghost that does not involve that;-that is what makes it such a* tremendously solemn thing-; it means the acknowledgment as never before of the Lordship ^. Jesus Christ ; we appropriate Him;' we take Him as our SaVkmr, but, far more, we take x. 14 Him to have as much dominion over us as a shepherd has over a sheep; we put ourselves absolutely into His hands, so that He has the power of life and death over us ; and if the surrender for the filling of «the Holy Ghost didn't mt»an that, dear men and women, you need not look for it to brinj^ blessing into your souls. I think that is what makes this whole matter to me so tremen- dously solemn ; it is a surrender that goes down to the very roots of my being ; it is the giving over of our will, the very entirety of our being, into the hands of God. But notice here that it is not only a personal appropria- tion, but a present appropriation ; not "the Lord will be my Shepherd,"- it is "The Lord is." Now, that is true of us now, if what we did last. night meant anything. As we have gathered here this afternoon, we are people who have now accepted God as our absolute Shepherd. Now, just think of what it means. What is the relation in which the shepherd stands to the sheep who are under his charge? First of all, we know in regard to the eastern. shep- herd that he knows liis sheep, they are not lost in the crowd as in these countries hereabouts, the shepherd has an individual care and individual knowledge of the sheep. Another thought; the shepherd guides the sheep. When the sun scorches up all the grass in the lower valley it is the business of the shepherd to lead the sheep to where they will find pasture; and often- times he will take these sheep where they haven't the least idea that they are going ; they do not know in the least what is the mind of the shepherd regarding them, but ft is their business only to follow the shepherd ; it f 't is his business to ^uide, and it is the business of tlie sheep to lollow, ulthouRli tliey may not in tlie least know where he is leading them. Then another thouglit, the shepherd guards the sheep. You remember the story we have in God's Word tliat illustrates that, liow David himself took his life in his hand and perilled him- self against the lion and the bear, that he might stand between his sheep and destruction. And then we know quite well a shepherd loves his sheep. Someone has described the life of the eastern shepherd, where, living "under the clear Syrian skies for weeK? together, without any companion, he thinks of the helpless sheep who are under his charge, ancj^en have spoken of the wonder- ful love and tenderness' oi feeling that grows up in the s shepherd's heart toward^ his sheep. And the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing alLthat it 4aieant, said. •' I am the good shepherd ; the good shjephelRl-layeth down his life for the sheep." Now, men and women, with that idea of the sheep in your mind, read the clause again, and just think of the life that is yours now ! "The Lord is my Shepherd," therefore the Lord knows me>, knows me through and through, "He knoweth our frame. He knoweth that we are dust, and because He knows that so absolutely, there will always be between our Saviour and ourselves the most perfect sympathy. 1 wonder how many of you have felt the need of sympathy, and know the sweetness of it; I wonder how many of you here have been plunged- into deepest "sorrow? I do not think a man can k^w what the fulness of blessing is until he knows anfl^as proved when a wave of sorrow has gone over his head, and UNITED CHURCH ARCHIVES "■'i ■ ll'' i; I- I'- iliij !M^ r \:.k. i6 he has stood, amazed and stricken, as blow after blow fell on him ; and then, O m- 17 low after blow fn, the sympa* a man. Or If lat a comfort It Do you know 's work, when just to delight Jerness of the oi the greatest lepherd guides . •• The Lord ught ! in the ike ; everyone he Lord as a he best of life, is taken clean lis business to las the leading have ^ver my i?ver He leads. »r dovwp, I wni ght it is, "All ose that love because this id if you are be quite sure )uld have you right to claim the power of len theshep- les from .the thought of It ! If you read these Psalms they art? just ringing with the joy of a man who Is under the guardian- ship of Jehovah. "God is our refuge and Strength,." and the man who sung that said that he would not be afraid though the whole earth was turned upside down, " The Lord is on my side ; I will not fear : what can man do unto me?" Then what marvellous peace fills the soul in the vast difficulties of life. I have often said that life Is becoming more and more terrible. 1 wonder if you have noticed that hilarity and lightness is very often the attribute of youth, and as men become older they become .graver, because they see the terrlbleness vof living; and 1 believe, brethren. If It were not for a tfibught like this, the difficulties of life now-a-days would take the hearts out of us altogether ; but oh, to think of going through life, surrounded about by the Power of God, kept by the Power of God through faith unto salvation I And that Is ours to-day, because, " The Lord Is my Shepherd," and therefore 1 am not afraid. Life can bring nothing that God will not be able to deal ♦with, and to keep me In perfect peace In the midst of ft all. 1 tell you, it is greater than we bargained for ; there are mines here, gold mines in which we can dig for the word of God all our days. Then, best of all, the shepherd loves the sheep. They shall never perish, but have everlasting life. T wonder what this means? Well, It means knowledge of God, but L think It even means more than that ; strengthened withal by the" Spirit, now more than that, that we can be able to com- .prehend with all saints what Is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ, ^k^ % V. It:i ! 'K' > I i8 Tlierefore, If we are following Goti Is our shephenl. Oh, one can hardly trust one's self to speak of It f " Oh, Love Divine, how sweet thou art, When shall I find my willing heart All taken up with thee." Now, that Is only the bejilnnlng. Is not that rich, the blesslnj? of the Splrlt-filled life that just follows the Lord wherever He leads ? Now, let us look at some of the blessings that flow out of this. If the Lord is my Shep- herd ; if to-day, in this hall, I can honestly say, *• The Lord is my Shepherd," then notice-the blessings that come over my life one after the othi^ First of all, there Is the assurance of supply for ev^y vwint, " I shall not want." This means the assurance of supply for tem- poral wants, because the Lord is Lord of heaven and earth, and food and clothing are |n His hand as well as spiritual jblessings. Two or three years ago, I think it was, I w^funning through this Psalm with my congre- gation at olr weekly -prayer meeting, -and when I came to this phrase— I did not hear about it at first— there ' a poor woman in my congregation, (Jr poor congre of working people, some of them very poor), a wa! woman, anjl every single cent in her house was gone, there was-qi||^ep any food in the house. She was an earnest, ^*^^1^|||||lVte, woman, and could not make out what it ™|MKvfiiif^hear^ the minister was going to preach onpP|(S; " I ^k not want,"" and she wanted to knovt' whW he would have to say, because it looked uncommonly like as if she was going to want. She had told the Lord about it, and she did not exactly see where the next meal was going to comeirom, but 1 1^ ^: -?< fc. ..* she came «' Your H 10 ^i^ht, and I was speaking? about, ther knowetli that yv have need of |ese(|Jfcin5ff.''^l did not know about it, the Lord has ..{>wiHr)UKht,nie to my last cent, so I (annot tell how '-»J»that womaf>*fdt ; but I know that If I wa^, He is able to do for me what He did for her. and what I spoke about ; and that woman was enabled to go hom^ holding with moi^.fnith to this promise for dally breadi and she came and told me about it afterwards. She weht away home praising God, and she found an order wheh she got home that kept her bflsy ever since ; she got right into work, and never wanted since. 'M shall not iwant." And there are those in this congregation too, I believe, who could tell the same thing, who have proved the faithful- ness of God In this matter of temporal sujpply so often that they cannot for a moment doubt His power to do it now. Then, dear friends, if it is true about temporal supply. Is not it true about spiritual supply ? Why, is not that what we have been finding out 411 this week, thjOiLiveJwAl only give ourselves truly ui^to the Lord, theWs no single good in our spiritual life He will not supply. We are learning to believe all tliat the Lord has written in His book. There are a great many half- believing Christians, who take this promise, and that other promi.se-, and believe it, and who take ihis promise and that other promise an4 score them out of the Bible, and do not believe them at all. Now, what We have to learn, and what, God be thanked, we have learned this week, is to believe all that God has spoken, to believe that God means what He says when He says, r My God shall supply all your need." But then, there Vs ainother ■f.i « • /- «i i* {• % 1 . '' 4 ■' > • • ' ,, " f i- 11 V • r « 1* ■ 0!^ J '■: f X- \- |;^ !!•: •D^/ .+■ ; ■■ V- ff ■■■■- 20 ;. .y ■ blessing ; not only have we the blessing of assurance of supply for every need, but in this next clause, ^' He jnaketh me to lie down," we have the blessing of rest^ This aspect of the blessed life of fulness of blessing has ^Jljeen brought under your notice very often, and it is a' very wonderful aspect. You may say *• Dear me, surely a shee*p can lie down." Well, dear friends, that is just what a sheep cannot do ; before the sheep could rest the shepherd had to make him lie down, and God requires to teach His people how to rest before they get the rest that Jesus gives. Now, have you ever thought of what a sheep requires before it rests ? If you will watch a sheep you will find it never lies down unless it has three things. First of all it must be safe ; then it must know that it is safe; and then it must be satisfied. There must be saifety, security and satisfaction be- fore the sheep will lie down to rest. And, O dear me, how tjjfie that is of the Lord's people. A man cannot be at rest unless he is safe ; as long as the thundej of the Divine l^aw is ringing in his ears, as long as he is under the (?urse, how can a man rest ? But then, dear friends, I do not believe a man can rest even' when he is safe unless he knows it. The sheep may be safe in fold, anc^ the wolf not able to get at it, but if the sheep is continually fearing lest the wolf leap over into the fold, the sheep cannot take rest. So it is with those dear Children of God who have not the assurance of their salvation, who have not learned to know Him they have believed, to be persuaded that He is able to keep them. That is why they have so little rest, so little joy, and so much fear, and because of their fear '^i '■ ->■ 21 f assurance of clause, ^* He essing of restc >f blessing has en, and it is a* ear me, surely Is, that is just could rest the God requires y get the rest ought of what will watch a. ss it has three it must know ■d. tisfaction be- I, O dear me, i man cannot le thunder Of long as he is jt then, dear ven' when he ay be safe in : if the sheep over into the s with those assurance of know Him He is able to little rest, so of their fear :m 1- are all their lives subject to bondage, And then, dear friends, how many Christians have no rest because they are not satisfied. Oh what for satisfaction. Here you have a Christian who says she has given herself to the Lord, but when she wants satisfaction it is away from the Lord she^oes. Have you ever heard the story abdut Rowland H/ll and one of his deacons. It is said thatupon one Occasion Rowland Hill saw one of his deacons whom i^e helard had been at the theatre, and said to him, " I hear you have been at the theatre." '♦ Oh, Mr. Hill," he said, "well, 1 have been, but 1 do not go often there, 1 go there once in a while by way of a treat." And Mr. Hill looked at him and said, " Oh yes, that is it, is it "ii^ Then he s^ys, '"If I hear that you are iif the habit of eating garbage, I wfll say, ' He does not do it, but he takes a bit way of a treat.' " Now, friends, you are laughing^ some of you are not laughing at yourselves ? 1 do not know what it is doing in this city, in Canada, but it is the curse of the Church of God* in our country, this flying to^ the world, to the blackness and darkness of the ball-room, the theatre and worldly society by way of a treat, this flying for joy and gladness not to Christ, but to the world, oh, men and women, no wonder that many Christians have so little rest if that is what they are trying to find :— *" - O Christ, in Thee my soul hath found. And foupd in TheC' alone, ; >r The peace, the joy, I sought so long. The bliss till now unknown, now and again, by but are you sure that i< r- ! fit" M- 'I--. ji . ; II None, none but Christ can satisfy, . ^ Noneottier name for mei There's love, and life JId lasting joy, Lord Jesus found in thee." Now, if you know what the fulness of the Spirit is, you know what it is to have Christ's rest. You must feel that He is quite enough for you. Oh how He fills the soul, irradiating the whole being with blessedness, and then we can lie down. Now, another— because..Jhe blessings are so big that I often start this Psalm but rarely get past the third verse -"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures." When the Lord brings His people to rest, He always makes them rest in a nice* place. He giyeS very special attention to tl^e rest to which He britigs His people. "He leadeth me beside the still wa/ers." That is the blessing of guidance. Now, I hav/e not time to go into this at Jength, but I want to ssty one or two things about it, because quite a number {/f you have been speaking about this matter. In regacd to this matter of guidance, dear friends, re- member that if you have committed your lives to the control of God's Spirit, jt is your privilege to be led of the Spirit, it is your privilege to have God's Holy Spirit revealing to you the will of God, what God would hav^e you to do. Now, I want to point out one or two con- ditions. If we Avould have this guidance -which God is willing to give us, first of ail we must ask . it, and we must ask it; In faith and in sincerity. Then, another condition is this : we must ask with a determination to follow the guidance that we get. Now, I think it is just there so many people go wrong in this matter of gui(|- ; ■:.■;.;„.■. -23. ■.„/•. ,-■■ ance. You want to know whethqfe^^ou should go to China as a missionary/and go to seek guidance, ail the while hoping in your heart that the Lord will not lead you to China. Two courses are open\to your and you go to seek the Lord's guidance about them, but have a distinct preference for one, and adl the time you are hoping, " I do hope the Lord will guide me along that.rQaMl'- Now, friends, as long as we are in that con(fl|i^6f soul, no wonder that we are perplexed aboiilpiarice. When we say, •' What wouldst Thou have me to do," we must say it as Paul said it, lying at the Master's feet", that He may tell us what He means us to do ; and that is' where so many of us come short ; we want our own way, and because we want our own way, fail to receive that guidance which God the Holy Ghost is waiting to give us. 1 tell you, men and women, the guidance of the Holy Spirit is ^ one of the most ten- der things in the spiritual life. He whispers very softly, and when that voice is not heard it is very often because we have gone to seek guidance elsewhere. Have you ever read the life of Elijah? There was a man who only moved when the Word of the Lord came to him, he remained until that Word came to him. I often think it must have been awfully trying at the brook. There it was, drying up day by day. He might think, ^*M am going to die of thirst ; 1 came here at the Word of the Lord, but there must be some mistake, 1 must have misinterpreted the guidance," but there Elijah was kept until that brook was dried up, and it looked as if he was I , to die. And just at the.momei^ came the Word of the * Lord, " Arise, get thee to Zarephath, I have commanded ^ wi do w woman there to sustain thee." _. . 6-. H ■ I *. ■ ;;* ' ■ ,:^' ■■■■■'■ '".-"■'.■ .' 24 ■•;■ :■; n ;' ■ Look at the guidance of Abraham ; his hand was not stopped until the knife was raised to slay his son. I tell you, brethren, that test of resting i^ one of the greatest tests of faith that God puts upon His children. But then, besides leading you, He leads always beside the still waters, ''He leadeth me beside the still waters." And then» I never can read this Psalm without feeling . that between that second . and third verse there is a whole life history.' David knew>what it was to have the Lord as his Shepherd; he knew what it was to; have provision made for every n^ed ; he knew something about this life of rest arid guidance ; but after David had lived it for a while he thought he could take the guiding into his own hands; like Peter, walking on the .water, h.e began to look round about him, and what was the resutt.,? Read' those awful chapters in the Book of Samuel, and you will see what may come to him who thinks he has any strength in himself, even although he has been on the motintain top of blessing. David fell utterly and bitterly into the horrible pit, and into the .miry clay. What did the Lord do ? Did He crush him ? Did F^e break the bruised reed, or quench the smoking flax.' No, men and women, he brought David out of that awful abyss ; He made David more useful to the Church of God than he could have been without that awful fall. He made that mgn write "the 32nd Psalm, and the 51st Psalm, Psalms that have been drawing penitents throughout the ages, shouting gratitude to 'God ; and He made him write this 23rd Psalm, anff put this wonderful verse into it, " He restoreth my soul." Do you know how He restores the soul ? First of „ all i ■■^ there is the diagnosis, to use 'a medical term ;, the Lord fmds out vC'hat is wrong ; that is what He has been doing for you, showing where the spot in your life was that was keeping you from the fulness of blessing. Then what the Lord does, if we only allow Him, He exorcises or cup out that cancerous spot, that overgrowth that has been paralyzing all our power, and then He causes new streams of energy to. flow through us. That is what a doctor does; he first finds the malady, he seeks to re- move it, and then tones up the system with a tonic and strengthening food. Now, that is what the Lord does; that is what- 'He has done fqr a great number who are here to-night. He reveals to. them their sins, and these rose, it may be on Monday night, asking the Lord in His mercy, to turn His hand from them to put away all their sins. Then He took them away. And what did He do last night? Oh, there is a hew light in the eyes of some of you as you think of it, of the power of God's Spirit, and to-day you are different men, because of that toning and bracing up of the s>^stem, that investigation of the inner man, through the presence of the Divine Spirit. And now, what follows that ? " He leadeth me. in the paths of righteousness for His own naipe's sake." Well/my friends, the word that is used there is quite diffe;ent from the first leadeth 5 the idea underlying this particular leadeth, is more like the idea of a commander leading his army ; t^ie other one is rather the leading of cattle down to the water, but. this is the leading of a commander leading his troops, and, if 1 read it aright, there is the type of tighter grip over those who are led. There are some people who think the Christian life i§ II II \f ft ■ ' it ■ ■.: •■ ■^ 26 •■■ •■ . to be described this way ; "The Lord is my Shepherd, ! shall not want, He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. 1 tumble ifito the ditch, and t^^" the Lord restoreth my soul, and maketh me to lie down in green pasturi^s.; He- leadeth me beside the still waters, and then I am into, the ditch, again, and then He restores my soul once more." That is the life some people have been living, of up and down, high and low, an utterly fitful life. Now, do' you notice what He says here ? The loving Lord has been leading His child, and His child has re- fused to follow the Divine leading, and has landed in the ditch, and the Lord has stooped down and in His mercy lifted him from the horrible pit and from the miry clay, and now he says, * Mam not going to let you do that again, I am going to take a tighter grip on you ; i am going to exercise more strict authority over you than before." It is just like a father having hold of a child's arm,jrnd sayings " Now, child, you are to go with me, I am going to lead you hand in hand, we are to walk along the paths of righteousness." And I do not know of any better description of the life we have been speak- ing of , than the life of- walking with God, close to Him who has restored our souls in His infinite mercy, we holding n to His hand, He with His Almighty hand holding on us, with His voice saying to us, *•' I am able to keep .you from falling ; 1 give unto you eternal life, you shall never perish, and no one shall pluck you out of My hand." ' ' ♦ . But, deaY friends, what rs the immediate consequence of this life? The 'lininediate consequence of it is that I 1 i the Lord Jesus Christ is always in our thoujjhts ; you cannot live this life without bocoiping habitually con- scious of the presence of Jesus in a way which you have not been before, and the other thing-for I find that 1 must stop— the other thing that comes into your life is expectation. Have you ever realized, dear friends, that expectation is the measure of faith? If a man rfiak^ an engagement with you, and you. believe htm, you go to the place that he appoints, and you, expect him to turn up, and if he does not turn up you are dis- appointed. Your disappointment is the measure of your faith. Now, there are a great liany people who in the morning go to the Lord, and sa>(, *\ Lord, keep me to-day from sin, keep this temper of mine," and before half-an- hour-the temper has got the better of them, and they 3ay "Oh, Iknew it would be so, I couldn't help it." Oh' child of God, is that the faiih you have in your Saviour .? Did'you ask Him to keep you and then not expect to be -kept? 1 do not know that theie is any- thincr in this life that one notices more than the growth of expectation of what Jesus Christ is able to do for us, and to us. We are hind in h.md with Him. He Is never far away from us, and because He is with us there is habitual and constant expectation. We know, that in all tl>inos, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. M^hy ? Because, ^M am persuaded that nothing can separate me from the love ^ of God which is in Christ Jesus." Now, the last half of the Psalm is almost better than the first ; it is just continual blessing, blessing and blessing; there is the courage of faith in the face of all the trials of life, the song of glad- i.i' tf>-' I;:;-. ness accompanying us all through life, and then there is the Alleluia of welcome. '• Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." Oh, is it not worth living for, is it not glorious, the life of fulness of bless- ing ? ■■ ■■•■;_ ... ' ;■ / .|iF:;ti- M' I* • FOLLOWING CHRIST, kEV. HUBERT HROOK.E. We Will read the 8th chapter of Matthew, to the end of the chapter from the 34th verse. " And when He had called the people unto Him, with His disciples also, He said unto them, Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his' cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it ; but who- soever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For whatshall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own' soul ? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever, therefore, shallbe ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." . If there is one character in the world that we are all united more distinctly and definitely in despising, it is one who puts on the garb of a soldier, and takes up the profession of a soldier, and puts on the manners and looks of a soldier, and then; when the hour of danger comes, goes into civilian clothes and hides his head ; I do not know anything much more despicably mean ihan that. If he was a coward and afraid, no one asked him to put on the soldier's uniform ; but if h e pu t "P th e uniform, he is a double traitor if he then 30 flees in the hour of danger. And I do not know that it* is much less mean and despicable if one professes to be a soldier of Christy and says that he ban put on the armour of Christ, and has taken Christ as his Leader and his Captain, and has sun^ together with others of the warfare, and the armour, and th^; weapons, and the determination to face the foe, and then when the foe comes along, just runs round to the back to rank himself under the etiemy's colors, to the shame of his leader, and hiding away among the foes of Christ, at any mo- ment of danger, or even of discomfort. Of course i^jve knew of such a person, we should be bound to des^Se him; and if we found that such a person we^eourself, we should be bound to despise him just the same. Now, my friends, while it has not been my Jot to be ^" with you during the earlier days of thjs Conference, I need not tell you that 1 have followed with the deepest interest and prayer all that has beeni told me about the meetings, and we cannot help, shall I say plainly, won- dering, at the large response made at least one night during this week, when those w.ere asked to stand up and to confess IChrist vyho had— J do not know the exact laiji^uage ii^ which the matter was put— but who con- fessed themselves to be out and out, whole-hearted, con- secrated for God, and belonging to Him alone. That was as complete a profession that you were ranked under the banner of Christ, and had on the armour of Christ, and^wer^ fallowing Chrigt,. as any man or woman could make ; if /that was true of every heart, God be praised, and I think Toronto will feel the difference. But lest "there sl/ould be any mistake about it, \ would ask you 31 this closiriK evening to look first of all at what tfiat life rfieans when it comes into practice. There was once a man who just as h'e was coming out of church met „*9 friend, who asked, "Is the sermon done ?" "No," ^aid the man, " the sermon is not ; the preacher is done, '!l^ut the sermon is only going to begin." Tlie Confer- '' ynce to-night is done in one sense ; the speakers have done-, and are going, but what you have heard, what you profess to have taken in, is only going to begin now, and it is going to begin its real being just at the lines of these verses we ha v^ now read. When Jesuji called the people unto Him with His dis- ciples— don't mistake this, friends, the words were ^siioken to the whole people : it was a call to anyone w^io liked to listen. But it was spoken to every drs- jciple, he was bound to listen, and I suppose I am not far wrong in saying if those were asked to rise here to-night who are disciples of the Lord Jesus .Christ no one would remain sitting. Well, that settles the matter that it is for you. Jesus Christ called the people unto Him with His disciples, and He said unto them, "Whosoever will come after Me." There He has put before you the • real conditions of discipleship, because of course a dis- ciple or follower is one who comes after and learns from his master, aqd that means that before he comes after him the question is settled, that he has come to him. You cannot go after a man in the sense of following him step by step unless you have come up to him first of all. You have doubtless noticed in these meetings we have been speaking about matters that concerned the Lord's disciples, and speaking to those who have detuiitely and 32 *i Id' if )::-: II: ■.•■..■• consciously come to Christ, and who know that they have a place in Him, so let that t^e clear at the outset, if any soul here to-night has not consciously come to Christ, then, brother, sister, the best thin^ you can do is to come at once, and make this the starting point in the life of true discipleship; the Lord is waiting, even now. Blessed Lord, if one soul before Thee has not yet come, draw that soul unto Thyself, for pardon and for peace, that he may start witii us all together in the life of discipleship this night. Amen. Then for those w^io have come to Him, " Whosoever will come after Me." Well, every Christian, of course, professes at once to be coming after Christ, that is the very mean- ing of the word Christian, one who goes after Christ, they have got Christ in them, and they profess to have Christ'snature, and now they are going to walk in Christ's steps. But when anyone enters the service of a new master, of course the master makes his own con- dition first of all, and if the proposed servant does not like them he does not enter the service. Certainly no sensible master is going to engage a servant on any other than his own terms, and certainly, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of all, will have no soldier in His ranks, fighting under His banner, will have no rewards and prizes in the great rewarding day, for any soldier who does not take up his conditions at once. ' There are no conditions tl^at will lead us other than in the right way, of course! and there are a great many people who say, • * I have come to Christ, now, what shall 1 do ' ' ? No, friends, it is not for you to say what ^ shall you do^ it is for you to see what the Lord wants you to do, it « you are goin« to take the rijiht position. Paul was the ri^ht man when he said at the outset, the first question he asked as soon as he had learned that it was Jesus speaking to him, •• Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do"? He started straight away from that very point, just doinji what the Lord told him to do. And, dear friends. If you are not intending to dQ that, I would say, for the Lord's sake, do not profess yourselves Chris- tians, because you will only brinjr reproach upon His blessed name. The world is bound to look at Chris- tians to see what Christ is like, there Is no other way they can know Him, and If a Christian says, "I am a Christian," and does not walk with Christ, he gives false testimony of the Lord Jesus, and the Lord has said, •' Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." Oh, friends, are there any here to-night that have been bearing false witness to Christ, on whom the world has been looking, on whom, perhaps, some poor, hungering and thirsting soul has been looking to see if Christ can satisfy them, and has found that for alltheir satisfaction they go off to the world ? If that is so what can that poor looker conclude but tliat Christ does not satisfy, that He may do very well to save your sour at the last, but is not worth taking now. That is what the poor worldling thinks when he sees the professed Christian going to^e \yorld for all his amusements and recreations. Now, the Lord says, come after Me ;" He wants people to He wants people to go to Him, and the only purpose for- which He bids you come to Him is that you may go out in service. You know in the great type, the picture, ** Whosoever will come after Hilii, 1 1 %\ .08 . the bringing of Israel out of Egypt, He said seven times *over, "Let My people go, that they may serve Me." . That is what Christian hearts have all heard ; let them go from the burden of unforgotten sin, from the awful sense of debt,. from the terrible looking forward to judg- ment'to come, let them go from the fears of the coming world, and they have come to Christ, and found that - they were let go from these things, .and there they put a full stop, where God put a comma. '* Let My people go! that they njay serve Me," and any soul that stops .at that comma is refusing the purpose for which the Lord^aid let them go, that they may serve Me; that is what any servant does, he )s ready to go where the master tells. And then the master of all gives the con- ditions, and let us look at those conditions; because they are the conditions for divine lives for evei'yone of you. They are signs' that you are to be whole hearted for the Lord. '^Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself," first ; " take up his cross," second ; and " fol- • . low Me," third. Let him deny himself. It does not say; mind you, "let him deny himself something," it do^s not say, let him deny himself little things, here and there; or big things somewhere else ; it does not say, let him deny himself in his pleasures, or pursuits, &r recreations, or business at all, it says, "let him deny " himself.",-. A man says, " Lent is coming on, 1 will stop smoking - for Lent," and he calls that self-denial, and at the end '* of Lent he has forty dollars more than he would have ~ had if he had smoked'; that is not self-denial, that is not ' denying himself, he has got the whole proceeds of that mk m^^ .'^' * - ■■ . .:•. Vr ■ 35 in his own pocket, and can spend it on himself. I read in a paper the other day of a woman who said at the end of Lent, ** After all it is not so bad, for I got enough by abstaining from sweets to buy a new bonnet." That i^'^iled self-denial. Yes, laugh away, but take care when you laugh that you do not ever fall into the same folly yourself. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ says at the very outset, "If you mean to follow Me you have got to deny yourself," not merely to deny yourself some- thing; one is, a much more serious business than the other. Do you know what denying yourself is ? It is denying yourself as Peter did his Lord, it is the very same word as was used when Peter thrice denied his Lord. How did he do it ? That is the way you are to do it. He *said about his Lord, "1 know not the man," and you are to say about yourself, •* I know ndt the man," or "I know not the woman," when your ways or will stand up against Christ's, that is self-denial. And that is a wide feaching thing. It is not, " what would I like to do to-night," but '♦what would the Lord like me to do ;" to-morrow morning it is not, "How can 1 make a profit out of this," but, " How would the Lord have me conduct this business," and when the day is over, not "How shall I amuse myself and spend the evening,'' but "How woul^id the Lord have me to spend it " ? It means that whenever a question arises between you and the Lord you should say to yourself what Peter said of his Lord, " 1 do not know the man," and therefore the whole decision lies with the other man, the Lord Jesus Christ ; that is self- denial. He says at the very outset, "Whosoever will N I come aft^r Me, let hi'm deny himself." Some people say, •• Well, you know, that is extreme, you will get to be a piece of mechitnism," My dear ifriends, is there a single loyal wife Jn this house who, when she said to the one she loved, 7 Yes, 1 vyill, go with you," said " Yes, Lwill go with you if I may choose my own place of residence,, if I may please myself in the mcrning, af- ternoon and evening"? If she was a loyal wife, worthy of the name, she said in answer just as the Old Testament woman said when asked, "Wilt thou go withthis man" ? " "I will go." That is self-denial. That is the secret of every happy home in the land, the self-denial' of the wife who puts the husband* s choice in place of her own ; and you, who by God's grace know it, rertiember you have in that a picture of what the Lord wants you to do for Him. Do not suppose it is impracticable, and going to make you into d piece of mechanism, either. The loyal soldier that will go and fight to the death for-^his captain or king, what did "he do . at the outset when he enrolled his name in the ranks of ar/hy? He denied himself. You would not go to a soldier and say, "Where are you going to spend the next year " .V " Why," he \yould say, "I have no voice In the matter at all, I am enrolled in the army, wherever my jgeneral says go, 1 go." " But don't you find it very irksome ?" * " Oh, it is the very best life in the world, 1 don't have to look after my needs ; my sovereign provides me with my food and uniform and home." You know there is no'one so free from care as the loyal so^er of a good queen or king, ' everything is provided for them, and when their time for work is over they get a pension, and perhaps tlieir widows afterthem." The frtjest life from care you can imagine is just to enter upon a life like that, by one con- clusWe, life ftng, definite act of self-denial, sayfri^ that from this moment on ray sovereign is going to decid^ ' where 1 am to go, where 1- am to serve, where 1 am to. fight, where 1 am to retire^ right through the whole time of my service. The soldier thinks no great things of it when by one act of. self-denial he made his life over to ' his commander. Tha/is what self-denial means. Yott. ' know.whenthe Christian is wise enough to hand ove his life to the Saviour, He calls His people His bride, and', He calls therti His soldiers, so that He has the double,,; claim of a husband upon a wife and^4he coirimander of an army over his soldiers; When a Cl^ristian soui;a')e- - •ginning to know what this is, purpose^'td do it," to den-y himself, it means a l.ife of rest and guiet withiri that he never knew before. / Do you know, any murmuring Christian, or do yoy happen to be one yourself, brother or sister ? Well,.rtell' you what, you have not denied yourself if you are murmuring<< Murmuring means, " I /; can do it better than the Lord."' A man goes home, and finds that somethihg crosses him, and he sits do\Vn and ' grumbles. What does" that meati .? ^ U means fiaitAf he, had had the ordering of ifhewouid have dorte.it better. And the Christian who goes through life murmuring and complaining is one who says, practically, 'Mf I had had the ruling of my life 1 would have done it better ^ than that," so he ignpres the 'Lord ais Vuler altogether. So v ^ jj the Apostle Paul saJ/s/ " Let all thingsbe done ^without -M murmuring," or without, dispute. And, you know, a — ; ■■■.■ ''.■ • /■ '■'■<, ' '■ '\' ». tr *4:.. ••■) ; V • *::':■' .--^ 38 life of self-denial is a life -of free^lom from complaints about others. The Lord Jesus Christ is the most per- fect picture of a life of self-denial, he denied himself. He said, he spoke only the words, of his father, and did only the deeds of his father, and he sought only the will of his father, and, as the yery infidel ajid sceptic is compelled to acknowledge, it is the only perfect life eyer J 'lived, and the secret of it,'the„way into' that Christ-like life is by way of the door of self-denial. - So whipn he '" was; reviled, he reviled not again; he had given his life for the Father to rule, and if the Father chose to bring, him where He^^id it was all right, the Father had -sent him there.. And when our lives are thus given to the Ldrd Jesus Christ, murmuring dies a sudden death, and We are like that old saint irx the days of the martyrs in the>5th century, who praised God for everything that came. When he was taken captive, to be taken, to Smithfield an\l burned there, he praised the Lord; and when he fell oit his horse and broke his leg he praised th^ Lord. He v((as carried into some yi^yside inn to wait until hjs I^g was mended, and every day he said, " Prdfise the Lord," and before the leg was meoded , Queen Mary died, and then he had double reason to' praise the Lord. 1 suppose someone else would have said it was bad enough to have to be taken to .Smith* field to be burned,vbut to have one's, leg broken into the bargain is wofse. Bu| you see that breakjng of his leg saved his life. Tljat is what the Lord teaches us to 46 when we can see. Well, we see it no^; ,my 'heart's- desire rs to deny myself. And the next tbing when you lav dow n you r self 4 ik e that, so now h e is put out of the lav ^i- ■/ .; '"i '.-' , ^ question, then, *' Take up His cross;" that is the'thinjz you are to take up, that your own will has laid down. That is another thing jthat people talk strange nonsensj^ about sopietimes. They say, "Oh, the cross is my will given up to God's will, and when we fall into line the cross goes away." That is not a crS^s. Why, when the Lord Jesus Christ was carrying His cross through Jerus^lemr His will was in the most absolute "harmony with the Father. It was the very time when He "had said, not My will, but thine, be done, and then He took up His cross. And some people say, ** I have a bad temper, that is my cross, you know." Cross! Nothing -of the sort, it is not a cross, that is a crime. If you are bearing a b/irden wfiich the Lord Jesus Christ has forbidden you^to bear, is it anything short Of a cwme for y^u t(^gd on bearing it } If you are fettered by a chain jjie^tftfd^ Jesus Christ has told you that He js the breaker of chains, the iooser from fetters, and what are you if not a criminal .^ What are you if you stand there Ni'ith your hands fettered when you might be' free .? Well, we should call a man a fool, and Ido h^t know that there is much freer choice NVhen the Lord Jesus Christ wl^o could say to the poor cripple, "Take up thy |5ed a^d walk," can /as easily loose the fetters, now a;s He did I for Pet^ in prison. Or someone has a quarrelsome member of their householdj-and calls that his cross. \i^ vou use that quarrelsome person right it may be your crown> a jewel in ybur crown. Well, what is the cx(ks. If you had walked in Jeru- 'sal^m in the days whbh the Lord was there, and had ; ;segn a'man carryir ^ gla cross, - what would you hav e ■-■■ I ■.. ■ ■»■ ■♦ ■%.■-■.::"■■: I » it * 8-4 : -40 / . ■' .- ' ".• said? A condemned criminiil,|];oing to b^ executed.' that is wiiat the cross means, a cross on any man's shoulders meant that the world has judged liim to be unfit for tlieir society. Away with such a man, thtiy- vsaid; it is n6t fit that he should live ; and they said it three times over in different ways, they complained that he was not fit to live, and that he was worthy of death, that is the way they put their -cross upon him. And they did the same with Paul, they lay in wait to kill him. Why I Because he came in to tell them about Jesus. 1 do not know how it is in Toronto, but in most other' towns and. cities of the world at the isres^nt time there ' are plenty of places w(iere if you begin to talk about Jesus they would rather you v\^&nt out. Is it so here in Toronto ? If there are such places, of course there are only those people there who do . not knovy the Lord Jesus ; poor souls, tliey do not know' any better^, but if Christians go in there and let their mouths be muzzled rather than bear the cross and have to go out, "I am afraid they afe not coming after Jesiis, that is all. " If a . man will come afterVMe, let him take up his cr6ss;'* let him share my rejection by the \yorld; let' him be ready to incur the reproach and scorn of the world as 1 did, of telling of my Father's love and. my way of salvation; &nd if the story of the Father's* love ; and if the gentle - t^^estimony of Jesus i^ not welcome in the assemby; i)ut with every Christian from that assembly for good and all. That is what it means, take up the^cross; and go , nowhere that you cannot speak of Jesus and know at any -rate that the message will be-received. If you go, 41 keep those rcliaiousopfnions at h6me«^" you know What to do. "1^0 where m^' IVUster goes, I no nowhere where my lips are shut." That means tienying your- self itnci taking- up the.cross. It is j^'erious m^itter, it really means standing reproach sometimes. It would ; fmean great change in many Christian lives in the world, perhaps in some that are represented hefe to-night, if they began td say to Him, "Lord, I want to do for Thee • what Thou hast done for me, 1 want to ^ut Thee a^ Lord in my heart." And putting Jesus aa| the Lord in your heart means to bear reproach by the world,, to be called a fanatic, a puritan, to be told that you are a ' stuck-up, self-righteous person. But m all those things, / my dear friends, if you are evil spoken of for the -sake -of Christ, glory in it, for the Spirit of Christ and His glory will rest on you. There was a man telling us the other day, coming across the Atlantic, of (the time when as a soldier he found Christ ; the was a private in an English regiment. He found the Lord one night, and he went back to his barracks, and he said to himself, ♦• ISow, this, being a Christian means kneeling down 4in prayer before I go to resl^" but there were twenty-eight men in that room, "and not another ' Christian among tltem, and he said he could not "do it that night, but got, irvto bed and prayed there. But that would, not da, so ♦the next night he got down oh his knees before them aU. And then, he said, **! gotit Hot. they were just twenty-seven blaspheming, cursing, gambling men, 'and 1 got it hot." "But," lies^id, ' ♦ Th»t was twenty-©ne or twenty^two years ago, and I do not\ know that in any of the years since 1 have knovyn such \ deep, wondrous •i',Vt »• I '■■'.' ■ ' '.. 7 : w. . , .:.::■'•'■■■ ■■■./;■ ^■■■; :■■■■.■■ sense of the Lj)rd's companionship as I knew in these ; days of trial for Christ'* sake." That is it, when the world is shut out for Jesus' sake<» then you find, as you never found before, that the Lord Jesus Christ is shut in for the disciple's sake. This taking up the cross is no light thing ; the Lord Himself said it Was no light thing. It is not to say, *M am going to follow Christ," and the first time the ctoss is put in. your hand to say /'No, I cannot bear that." Take up your cross, and follow Me, think of that; follow Me, that is th^ mark of the true sheep. " My sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me. ' ' And it is the mark of the trUe disciple; " If any mart will so^^Me, let him follow Me ;" it is the jnark of the serva|rt of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who Said to His disciple Peter, when He questioned him, ''What is that to thee,- follow thou Me." So if we want to be true sheep, so that all men can distinguish {is, not sheep that are ashamed of their' master and want to get among the goats, where they would be sure^o'get hurt by the horns of the goats, if we want to be true servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is one thing that the servant must do, follow Him./ .^ is very simple. When Elijah cast his mantle upon %lisha by way of saying, •• I want you to be my suc- cessor," we are told that Elisha went after Elijah and ministered unto him. That is the only way you can minister. If you Want to minister to your Master, you- must be close to Him. If you want to -.follow the Lord Jesus Christ, that\must be the one aim of your life, and as you make that ybur aim, He makes your delight His ai m i n return . ThQse who would follow Him have to V in thest' when the id, as you t is shut the Lord ) say, *M the ctoss ■ar that." at ; follow My sheep it is the afrt of the ter, when How thou it all men i of their ^ere they ? goats, if s Christ, How Him./ ntle upon ? my suc- :lijah and you can [Ster, you- the Lord life, and ?Iight His have to .% make a \vhole-heaietett c6fisecration ; if you wouiti follow Him, you must deny^ yourself , and take up your'crbss^ and follow Him. Arid *that means going nowheri? that He does not go before. I am not going to tell you Where, that is. 1 do not know where HC; is going to lead you| but I can tell you a great many placi?s where He will ijoji lead you ; but I do not think 1 need tell them at all; thj? real question is, do you want to follow Jesii^. If you g6^ looking at these things you once loved, it will not be long'^\- before you leave Jesus Christ behind, and qh, it would be a shame to leave Him to walk alone. \ <. The story is told in the early traditions of tne Chiitcti, that the Apostle Peter, kfiew he would be adprehended and put to death in Rome if he did not flee, and he fled, and as he 3v^s flying out of the city by night he met the Lord Jesus Christ coming in, and His face was very sad, and Peter said to Hini, .1^^^^ art Thou going ?" Anji41«rt:6rd answered him, "1 am going in to be fiiticified ^gain, because my disciple is afraid." And Peter said, "Oh no. Master, 1 am going,',' and then he went back to be crucified i&[ the Lord's sake. You see he was fleeing from the crossVand he Icioked at Jesus, and the cross was welcome when i;ie looked at Jesus. \ would ask you, friends, to count the cost to-night, but not in the way that most people count the cost. They say, " If I am, going to be out and out for Christ, I shall lose certain friends, 1 shall not be welcome in certai circles, 1 shall have to give up certain pleasures and hai^e to adopt certain pursuits, and have to follow certain plans. Weil, that is desperately hard." They count the cost of what th e y will lose, and put it down t»imost tk r :l r: to a cent ; they know exactly what they will lose if they follow the Lord Jesus Christ, and they forget the other side altogether, what they will lose if they do not follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you ever begun to reckon that up ? And you know this is but a short little time that we have to live, and when that little time is over, the glorious time begins. The Lord tells us there are some people whom He is going to welcome with joy, some people He is going to confess before the angels of heaven, some people He Is going to have sit down with Him in His throne, some people He is going to have ruling over His people throughout the world, His earthly people, some people who are going to be crowned With crowns and adorned with precious jewels, shining as the stars forever and" ever. Who are those people ? The people who calculated what they were going to lose, and thought it too much; or the people who counted what they were going to gain, and thought it was worth while ? . There is many a successful business man who, after making a calculation and having examined it, has put his all into one venture, and who has come out success- fully and had rest and peace and ease for the remainder of his days, but that was a venture in which he might have lost. But I am talking to you of a venture in which you are bound to win» the Lord of all power and might has pledged His word, "If any man serve Me let him follow Me ; and where I am there shall also My ser- vant be ; if any man serve Me, him >yill My Father hono ur ;■' glory by and by besides coming and making His abode with you naw. And th^re is something more 4'/ 'j: 3se if they ; the other not follow to reckon little time ne is over, there are with joy, ' angels of down with ig to have lis earthly ivned with ling as the 3le ? The lose, and nted what »vas worth who, after t, has put Lit success- remainder he might venture in power and ?rve Me let so My ser- Ay Father nd making /". .■■■". the Lord Jesus making His ahode*- with those who love Him and keep His commandments, the Lord manifesti/ig His presence with them, the Lord keeping them in per- fect peace, the Lord giving them power for His services, the Lord making their life one long life of deep inner joy ; they may have outward sorrows, but always well- springs of joy within ; the Lord crowning with mercy and loving-kindness, and for eVery one of those things you have counted so carefully the life for Christ giving you one hundred fold rewVd. Years ago, in speaking to my own people about giving up anything for Christ, 1 said remember there is a huiidred per cent, in return if you give it up. After the service was oyer a banker came in and said, " You made a great mistake, you said a hundred per cent., but you know it is ten thousand per cent., not a hundred per cent. ; if you gave up one and got two that is one himdred per cent., but this ,is ten thousand per cent." That is the Lord's way of dealing, and no soul has ever tried Him yet that has not got it. I was told by a person only the other day that once, in a time of great need, the Lord plainly showed them they were to lay out the last $A they had for some- thing, and they could riot refuse, and laid it out for the Lord, and the very next morning came a letter with ^250 for their work, which they had never dreamt of getting. That is the way the Lord gives back. If you give up for the Lord's sake any pleasure, pursuit, or recreation. He is bound to keep His word, one hundred foldreward. Then on the other side, "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world^and lose his own"— ah, don't always say. souJ, bj^Uuse it is the ■Mk\ thing mor^ UNITED CHURCH ARCHIVES 4«5 same word as in the verse before, life, and when spoken to Christians it does not mean that they are going to lose tlieir souls, it means they are goinj» to be savejd, but their lives will be lost. Lot was saved, that righteous soul escaped, but his lift' was utterly wasted down there ^in Sodom. Do you know, friends, that it is possibleler^ Christian souls, believers in the Lord Jpus Christ, who have kept their lives for themselves Instead of giving them to the Lord, and who have declined to follow Jesus, to come up before hfim in the* glory, like one that has escaped naked from a burning house? Oh, that is a sad prospect for those who are Christians, a miserable prospect for themselves and a shaming prospect for the Lord Jesus, who gave them all a beautiful prospect. '•What shall it profit a man " ? The Christian mart may make up his mind that the one thing he wants is so much money before he dies. He may get it, but his life will be lost, it is wonderful how men will do that. \^e were singing just now, " Seek ye first not earthly treasur€^ The love of Christ that passeth measure.** That is the thing to Jbe sought first, if you seek Him first He gives you the rest, " Make you His sef^^ice your de- light, your wants shall be His care.** Are there souls here who are fixing their mindfe on these other things they want first ? I will tell you a story that was told me by the old servant of a manufacturer in Yorkshire. He said his old master was determined to make a hun- dred thousand pounds, andinnany a time he would have a bale of inferior wool, and he would throw a handful of Saxony into it, and call that Saxony. " Well, Sir," 47 lid when are goin^ be saved!, righteous )wn there ►ssible for rist, wlio of giving )w Jesus, that 'has that is a niserable :t for the prospect, tian man mts is so Hi his life lat. We •* Him first your de- ire souls er things was told orkshire. a hun- Lild have indful of this old man said to me, ••he made his hundred thousand pounds, and then he died.'' He was not a pro- fessing Christian, but I want to show you what happened Where a soul made up its mind to have something defi- nitely. He made hi> hundred thousand pounds, and he died, and that old man outlived him some fifteen or twenty years, and he told me that his three sons had that hundred thousand pounds between them, and to-day one of them is a scavenger, one a hopeless drunkard, and the other penniless and in debt. That is what hap- pens when we do not put the Lord Jesus Christ first ; you may gain the whole world, and if you are not Christ's your soul is lost, and if you lui^e been Christ's and have yet held on to Him somehow, your life is lost ; ^ you go up as one olc^ dying one once said when ;isked, ** Are you afraid to/die " ? •• O, no," she said, 'T am not afraid to die, but I am juJrt ashamed to die ; 1 have known the Lord for forty years, and I have not served Him as I might nave done." Ah, friends, we don't want that, do we .? It is just a question of Jesus now; He puts His appeal to us at the end when He says in the closing verse,/" Whosoever, therefore,"— this isthecon^ ^elusion of the whole matter — '• shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful genera- tion ; of Him also shall* the Son of Man be ashamed when He cometh in the g|ory of His -Father with the holy angels." ^ '"■*: — ^ -^^1 think Christians do not see why the Lord calls the world an adulterbus and sinful generation. It is well to ponder those worlds ; it is no more fitting for the Christian "X- ^. I -v 11, Sir." soul to be walking vyith the w.orld that does not know a*- /I ■M'^ m and does not want to know Christ, than it is for the fair purity of a married woman to be walking with one whose name we cannot mention, 'Mf anyone' is ashamed of JWe arid of'My words,"— that is just what you are when you get into the world in this way—" in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed;" and then, " If anyone shall confess Me before men."— before this adulterous and sinful genera- tion— " him will the Son of Man confers when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy ai^gels." Well, friends, it is for you to decide to-night, those are the ' closing words to you. It is not so much a question of whether you have risen to testify here ; the question is, are you going out to testify there in your life, be- ■:}ginning perhaps to-night, and continuing the next and ^the next, following "and confessing Him Who is your Lord before the world, and looking forward to the day when He will confess and welcome you in the glory of His Father. "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.' •>? f. \' / ADDRESS, PV REV. MR. INWOOD. John i6th chapter, 32nd verse, - Behold, the hour Cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave Me alone ;^ and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. _ Alone, and yet not alone, because the Father is with me: The part of the Lord Jesus Christ was a very lonely part, and it grew more and more lonely as "e neared the cross. * When He first spoke plainly of His death, when John, 6th chapter, tells us, " From that time many of His disciples went no mcvre after Him. and even those who remained^ were not in very close touch with Him, the Lord Jesus was evidently painfully conscious that even those who did remain did not under- stand Him, He was an enigma unto them. ^ ^ And then, when He began that last strange march to Calvarv wel^ told that they followedHim ; He went S^?^^^wed after, and as they followed, they ^ fraic^ and in that hour Jesus Christ felt more than Iver that He was alone\ And then, when the moment came, of which the text speaks; when they all forsook Him and fled. then, to a degree hitherto unknown, the S of the Lord Jesus became a lonely one, Jhe march through the valley of the shadow ; and as He entered C lonely solitude the word uttered here was the word MA on His heart, "Ye shall leave Me alone," 'and He felt the pain in the quick of His soul as He said that word • alone, for He craved the sympathy of His;own : " Ye," My disciples, who were years with Me,'*'' shall leave Me alone." " ^ Then he commenced to brighten, and the heart leaped up, as he said, "And yet I am not alone, because my Father is with me." Then, my d^ar' friends, we read on in the very next chapter, which serves as a key to ex- plain this, " For their sakes," and for your sakes, " I , sanctify mjfself," or [separate myself,. " that they also may be sanctified throMgh the truth," that you also may be truly separated or sanctified. That, is what true haliness involves; it m^ans peace, thank; God it is per- fect peace ; it means rapture such as you never felt be- fore; it means power such as we were speaking about last night ; it means Victory such as we were speaking about the night before ; it means all that, but it means more than, that ; It means fellowship -with Jesus Christ's suffering ; it means conformity to Jesus Christ's death ; it means,, as we have hearcl , to-night, the taking and keeping the place of crucifixion with the Lord Jesus Christ. Holiness rneans separation, and separation necessarily involves loneliness. At your conversion, if it was a real conversion, th^'re was ,a separation, and a sharply cut separgition|from"^ sinners, blit I have come to think that when one faces for one's self the question of entire sanctification, then" the separation is a separation very generally not'*from sinners, but from Christians. If you elect \o tread the path of holiness you will soon find that holiness is not a bijt more welcom'e to flesh and , ^ -; ,,» &^ ■y' ':---'-y ■■■'■■: -^ v--■•''■^\;.• -•■■■:': •■•'•^•■, blood to-day than it was when the Lord Jesus Christ Himself lived amongst men. So the Lord has. put it into my heart, in speaking a closing word to you, to present to you to-night this one truth, the loneliness of the* separated life, and the compensating presence. Lone- liness. -^ be left alone. There are three classes of ^Christian people, so called, three classes of Christian people who will probafoly leave you severely alone, if, as ,we desire yo" "^^Bftf' you Hve out the separated life. First of all thej||(Ppthose— and they are many— who do not understand you. Spitltuar things, we say, are spiritually discerned, and we often apply that truth to the unconverted, and it does apply to them ; but it applies just as deeply and definitely to worldly Christ- ians : the most spiritual truths, the deepest spiritual truths in God's Word, are only discerned by the most deeply spiritually minded people. And so you will find a great many Christian people who do not see these J deep spiritual truths, which, God, by His grace, has led you to see this week. Every truth in God's Word has beauty, and at first Christian people can seethe beauty fast enough, but only the spiritual vision sees the whole. . If you ponder over a thought such as the wonderful word uttered by the Apostle in his first prayer to the Ephesians, "That the eyes of your understanding being enlightened'^— in the rhodern it is, " The eyes of your heart "—it proclaims thi^fact, that there are truths, and they the deepest, richest, most glorious possession of God's people, there are truths which you"" cannot get at through the head, which can only be interpreted by the heart ; and people who look at those truths intellectually ; t- -i ' ■ .. ^'i. i 52 . • do notse.e the^, but if God te t>een opening the eyes of your heart, and you look out at those truths from the heart rather than the brain," jijju see them. But when you come in contact wjth people* who do rft see them'' Jhey Will think some of" you are dreaming, when you talk about," as actualities, whatyou have been, expieri- xMicing tliis week ; they Will c^ari \you" mystics, fandtics,. extremists, impracticables-ra most popular word- to-day, a word, the devil is usi^^ more t'han any other . word Ho ketjp.thousafids of Cliristian people, from facing- thjs question— they will, ca^lyou perfectionists. ^People^will. call you that, although^tu are as far removed .from it as God's word.^s,'and thej^ivill call you names like that. They will not petf;|eGute yoi, but they wilf think; if the work is real, that some of tou people are 'graduating for. the lunatfc asylum. Thatfis ;what they Will think, as sure a's I am till king to yoiij^hey will hear your talk,' and watch your lives, and listen to your testimony, and when you get into close quarters with/them they will ' listen to you, and then 5um up their wfiole concentratied judgment in that extraor-dinary stateiyient, *^Wellj you know, you go to extremes, and.one)canhot go with you," "and so Biey Will politely bow you out^^ That is the first class from which you will be separated if you live this separated, consecrated, .whole-hearteS life. Then there is another class, those who do, not/like holineiBs itself, and you will find many of them Christian people ; they do not likeholiness, it is too severe for them, too drastic, too sweeping in its demands ; it means giving up, ani they know it means giving up so much upon- Which their hearts ^re set. Yes, they are quite willing to follow the '^ w- J ■S-^ i: PI \%\ ■^ " ;. ■ -V" ■ ■- ■ ." ■■■'■ ■ /■.-■■ ^^ ;■ . ■ ■ . Lord Jesus Christ to Jordan, wh^re He tt^ag baptized^ it ' does not give Va than mUch pain, to fee bapti7ed with water/quitewining to follow Him to the transfiguratiQn scene, ind have what they call " a good time,*' they are - quite willing to go with Jesijs Christ into the wilderness, and take part in*passihg the^lpayes from His hands to thehOngry multitude, that Js, even an hqnprable posi- tion. Ye^, they are wlUingior that, but not willing to , follow the Lord Jesus Christ to" Calvary ; they- are pre- pared^to accept the death of the' Lord Jesus Christ for < sin, butithey -do nbt \yant to be themselves dea^ to sinr Np; th^will sfng in the •meeting, " All the way to Cat- , vary He werit^or me-, " *ut .they won't loo||c' up ii}fo' His • face and say, /' Lord Jesus, all, fhe way tO; Calvary J ^ wijlgdfor Thee."' No,'|)ey do rvbtjik^ holiness^,- afid;^^ therefore thiey wiirnQt have mugh to doAvith yqu- Th^n " there is another, class, those^^ wlop ^ ar#; con^sciously searched and condemned by.you if youJeadCat holy life.. Mark this. " Every m'an in this,iTie"eting,^r;wpipan^ that, from torday lives, out— fol- F do- not care ai^hing i^^ mere 6phi ion,' holiness that wil) 'do ;iipthing--but any; man or wbman who l#es out in. Toronto the holy life, ' will be anjrtcarnated bar of Judgment for every CKristian who is not living a holy life, ai>d th€y Will feel it, and they will smart und^r it ; they will\be -Sjearclied and .con- demned by it. Perhaps some of you thirik* tl^isls strong! talk. * ■■■■:■"■ :^:'-^v'; .•'.-■ ,::--'■.' ■' ■■" ■■ ---m Mwdear friends; my heart 4s smitten as 1' stand heje and remember that it has been true ot^myself. 1 have found, next to God's Word, no field that has taught me so much as a clos e , honest, prayerful stud/ of my own ■ r / > •» ■.J .y|. A-l % / i ( heart, and I can look back to a time -when I had not received this blessin^and 1 kneW others who hadit; I knew some godly ministers wh6 had, and^ 1 know very well how I felt to them . They \^ere holy men, godly men', and if. there were any little bit in the address that I could criticise, anything in their manner or action that 1 GOti^d get hold of, I was glad to do it ; and as 1 have looked into my heart since, I have foijnd this, that ttown in my heart there was a bitterness against those people, .because I feltj •• That man has something I have not, which. I know in my. conscience 1 ought to have," and so the man was like a bar of judgment to me. loused to. feelr— and piy dear brotHer iWcGrfrgpr, was telling us the ?ame thing of his experience— f I used to feel almost a hatred of those men, a bitterness of spirit. l§eeitriow, I was searched and condemned by the holy life those men were leading, and I was not filling to yield inyself utterly to God. So you will meet with people of that kind, Ghristian^ people— I don 't mean to absolutely unchrist- ianize them— you will find those people, when they dis- . cover that you are living a, holy, consecrated Ijfe, will just part W|th you as many of these people parted cofti- pahy with il^eir Lord and Master, and, let me add, the further you advance to Golgotha the more lonely and isolated willyour part beconre; If you Christian people go back to your Churches and champion worldlihess, you will be very popular, you will be applauded in some .quarters, and the members inside the- Chijrch,^'^^ the" Christian members, to a great extent, will applaud yop, -and say that you are broad^ and liberal, and advanced, a man abreas t of the age, and'all that sort of wre t ched ■^f V J I 4 V ■■■■ / ■> ^.•■" :■■ 55 cant that has caught tripping ^scores^arn^ hundreds of Christian people. That is what they will siry4o you if yoy^o in for the easy-)5oing, pleasure loving, w^lUJy type of Christianity; but if you step clean out, if .you talk separation frpm the world, asid if. you live it, if you let it be known clear out from •to-dky> when the invita- tions come, that you are notgoing to the theatre again, that you are not going to- the ball room again, that you are not^going to wast^ your precious moments playing cards again, that you are^not going to have. anything to do with those worldly societies agaifl, and not g5ing to . the secret societies that .are steeped with worldliness; if you let that be known, and- honestly and tculy U^ it out, unless I am dreadfully mistaken you will fmd mese people leaving you in scores and hundreds ; ,those vv*ho^ t6-hight-WojLild say the best thing they could about you, ' wrill be very very ready to sji^rihe worst thing in tht?" •coming time. They jji^ Some of the people who , stepped out and soughfpardon ajt the very same penitent rails where you found it;, some of the people Who have joined with' you in godly, Chtistian work, in temperafrce movements, Sunday schools and Christian Endeavour Societies.' Yes, these people some . of them will not fotlow you if you speik out and claim purity of heart and baptism of the Holy Ghost. - ■ There occurs to mj^ mind to-night one dear, sainted . brother, intimately known and loved by every member of our deputation, one who sought' the fount of blessing some years ago at pur convention, but at that time'an honored man, the pastor of a leading church, a pro- found student of God's word, and a profound schol a r, ■'M ij 4 s> .. / >t-*b but as soon as that man let it be known that he had definitely sought and definitely claimed, and definitely entered into the fulness of blessing, the friends of a jgng- honored lifetime slipped away by the dozen, his bosom friends and companions of the same church and ministry' cut him, to use an expression you will understand ; to this very day some of them will not speak to the man, and have never shown him one single bit of brotherly kind- ness for no reason whatever but this ; this qian had sought, and found, and now does not hesitate to preach any- where, this gospel of rest, peace and power which by God's grace we have been presenting to you. Oh yes, you will have to pa,y for it in' that way, it will mean a really lonely paff, but it is enough for the disciple that he be asliis master. Lfet'me say one word or two about the oth^thought^before I close,. It would be very easy to be left by worldly people and sinners, but to be left by one's own 'relatives, it ^ill touch some of you there,--- son;ie of ywyoung people, to be left by your own church associates, to be left by , members of your own , churches, 'aye, perljap? some of you, to be left, by, or iried by your .own ministers, people nd Jove in your hearts ; the hardest es ftom people in that quarter, and 1 radical WQrk has been wrought. Now, what iyitobecome of it ? If God has cdled you ■ to" live out this .lonely separated life, is God going to leave you? No; the lonely part, and then the (Compen- sating presence," I am alone, yet> not alone^ Mfor the Father is with me.** v Some of you may be fanjiliar witlv that powerful and criticised or ■ '■ ■ (' whom ,you thing Is^ it will CO /■ 57 •: /■ magiUricent poem of Russell Lowell on Columbus' di?- covery of America, and if you are familiar with it, you 'Will remember in that poemthepoet describes Columbus when this one great thought had seized Itim ; he des'-v cribes him as being an exile in the throng of the marj 1 have no strength or gbodness, or wisdom of my own ;^ But Thou, beioved Saviour, art all in all to me, ^ And weakness becomes power, when leaning hard on ":.Thee.V •:.■■■,.. . ' ■■ '. ' ■ .." ' ; ....:; Oh, may Jesus Christ satisfy your souls, brothers and sisters, that you will go out and live this separated life, losing these things, it may be, but. absolutely resting in Kis grace and power to livQ. God grant it. 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