■I ^ 
 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 / 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 i/j 
 
 i.O 
 
 I.I 
 
 1.25 
 
 
 2.5 
 2.0 
 
 1.8 
 
 i-4 ill 1.6 
 
 V] 
 
 A 
 
 ^l. 
 
 
 >^ 
 
 V 
 
 'W 
 
 
 ^'^^. ^<> 
 
m ^ 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Series. 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 Collection de 
 microfiches. 
 
 Canadian institute for Historical Microreproductions 
 
 Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 
 
 1980 
 
ti 
 
 Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques 
 
 The Institute has attempted to obtain the best 
 original copy available for filming. Features of this 
 copy which may be bibliographically unique, 
 which may alter any of the images in the 
 reproduction, or which may significantly change 
 the usual method of filming, are checi<:ed below. 
 
 D 
 
 n 
 
 
 n 
 
 n 
 
 Coloured covers/ 
 Couverture de couleur 
 
 I I Covers damaged/ 
 
 Couverture endommag6e 
 
 Covers restored and/or laminated/ 
 Couverture restaurie et/ou pelliculde 
 
 Cover title missing/ 
 
 Le titre de couverture manque 
 
 □ Coloured maps/ 
 Cartes gdographiques en couleur 
 
 Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ 
 ere ils couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) 
 
 Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ 
 Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur 
 
 Bound with other material/ 
 Reli6 avec d'autres documents 
 
 Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion 
 a;ong interior margin/ 
 
 Lfi reliure serrde peut causer de I'ombre ou de la 
 distortion le long de la marge intdrieure 
 
 Blank leaves added during restoration may 
 appear within the text. Whenever possible, these 
 have been omitted from filming/ 
 II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout6es 
 lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, 
 mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont 
 pas 6t6 filmdes. 
 
 Additional comments:/ 
 Commentaires suppl6mentaires: 
 
 L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire 
 qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details 
 de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du 
 point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier 
 une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger una 
 modification dans la m6thode normals de filmage 
 sont indiquis ci-dessous. 
 
 I I Coloured pages/ 
 
 □ 
 
 Pages de couleur 
 
 Pages damaged/ 
 Pages endommag6es 
 
 Pages restored and/oi 
 
 Pages restaurdes et/ou pellicul^es 
 
 Pages discoloured, stained or foxe( 
 Pages ddcolordes, tachetdes ou piqudes 
 
 I I Pages damaged/ 
 
 I I Pages restored and/or laminated/ 
 
 I I Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ 
 
 □ Pages detached/ 
 Pages d6tach6es 
 
 □ Showthrough/ 
 Transparence 
 
 I I Quality of print varies/ 
 
 Quality indgale de I'impression 
 
 Includes supplementary material/ 
 Comprend du matdriel suppldmentaire 
 
 Only edition available/ 
 Seule Edition disponible 
 
 Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata 
 slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to 
 ensure the best possible image/ 
 Les pages totalement ou partiellement 
 obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, 
 etc., ont 6t6 film^es d nouveau de fagon d 
 obtenir la meilleure image possible. 
 
 [71 
 
 10X 
 
 This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ 
 
 Ce document est film6 au taux de reduction indiquA ci-dessous. 
 
 14X 18X 22X 
 
 
 26X 
 
 
 
 
 30X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 y 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12X 
 
 
 
 
 16X 
 
 
 
 
 20X 
 
 
 
 
 24X 
 
 
 
 
 28X 
 
 
 
 
 32X 
 
 
I 
 
 tails 
 I du 
 odifier 
 une 
 mage 
 
 The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks 
 to the generosity of: 
 
 Harriet Irving Library 
 University of New Brunswick 
 
 The images appearing here are the be'?t quality 
 possible considering the condition and legibility 
 of the original copy and in keeping with the 
 filming contract specifications. 
 
 Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed 
 beginning with the front cover and ending on 
 the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All 
 other original copies are filmed beginning on the 
 first page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, and ending on the last page with a printed 
 or illustrated impression. 
 
 The last recorded frame on each microfiche 
 shall contain the symbol — »- (meaning "CON- 
 TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), 
 whichever applies. 
 
 Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at 
 different reduction ratios. Those too large to be 
 entirely included in one exposure are filmed 
 beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to 
 right and top to bottom, as many frames as 
 required. The following diagrams illustrate the 
 method: 
 
 L'exemplaire filmi fut reproduit grAce A la 
 gdnirositd de: 
 
 Harriet Irving Library 
 University of New Brunswick 
 
 Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le 
 plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et 
 de la nettetd de l'exemplaire film6, et en 
 conformity avec les conditions du contrat de 
 filmage. 
 
 Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en 
 papier est imprim6e sont filmds en commen^ant 
 par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la 
 dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second 
 plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires 
 originaux sont film^s en commenpant par la 
 premidre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par 
 la dernidre page qui comporte une telle 
 empreinte. 
 
 Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la 
 dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le 
 cas: le symbole —► signifie "A SUIVRE", le 
 symbole V signifie "FIN". 
 
 Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre 
 film6s d des taux de reduction diff6rents. 
 Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre 
 reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film6 d partir 
 de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, 
 et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre 
 d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants 
 illustrent la mdthode. 
 
 srrata 
 to 
 
 pelure, 
 m d 
 
 n 
 
 32X 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 

r-,r:T. 
 
 PROF. DRUMMOND'S ADDRESSES 
 
^ iiJW.ilMWWi'ti^jii .^ 
 
 Iprot ®rurKmon6*0 Morh0» 
 
 at)j)rc00C0 bi2 prof, fjcnr^ 5)rummon5, 
 
 3P. "R. S. B., 3F. 0. S. With brief sketch of 
 the Autlior by Kev. W. J. Dawson. An excel- 
 lent portrait of Prof. Dmmmond is inserted as 
 a frontispiece. Cloth, 12mo, 75c. 
 Contents. — I^ove; the Supreme Gift, the Greatest 
 
 ThitiK in the World, II. The Perfected Life ; the OreaU 
 
 est hfeed of the World. III. Dealing with Doubt. IV. 
 
 Preparation for IxMirninfj. V. The Study of the Bible. 
 
 VI. " First ;" an Address to Boys. 
 
 The simple announcement of the publication of these 
 
 addrcHHos in permanent form is sufficient to insure a 
 
 wide circulation. 
 
 I^opular IDeUum Series. 
 
 Chaste Paper Covers, 16tno, SH pages, each 80c 
 May also he had with very choice nand-painUd floral 
 detigna o:i covers each 60c. 
 
 l)ow to Xcarn 1bow. 
 
 Addresses. I. Dealing with Doubt II. Preparation 
 for Learning;. 
 
 Issued in anticipation that the same hearty reception 
 will be given this little booklet that has been accorded 
 the former volumes. 
 
 TTbc pertccte& Xtte : 
 
 The Greatest Need of the "Vvokld. 
 
 If you haven't it send for it. It will do you and youre 
 good. — The Siu ndard. 
 
 Xove, tbe Supreme (Bitt ; 
 
 The Greatest Thing in the World. 
 
 "Worth its weight in gold; so pointed, bo sweet, bo 
 practical, so fnll of the spirit of Christ, Procure it, read 
 It, lay it to your heart."— i?</tyi<w# Telescope. 
 
 New York. FLEMING H.REYELL COMPANY. Chicago 
 
ADDRESSES 
 
 /•. 
 
 
 in 
 
 Professor Henry Drummond, 
 
 /■. A'. .V. A'.. F. (;. s. 
 
 WITH A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR 
 
 MY 
 
 REV. W. J. DAWSON 
 
 THE T. EATON CO. 
 
 MAIN ENTRANCE 190 VONGE STREET. 
 
 TORONTO. ONT. 
 
CoPYRKiHT, IS9J, 
 
 By FLEMING II. RI-VKLL COMPANY. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 A Bkikf Skbtch of Professor Henry 
 
 Dkcmmond, by Rev. W. J. Dawson . 5 
 
 I^vE : THE Supreme Gift : the Greatest 
 
 Thing in the World . , , .19 
 
 The Perfected Life : the Greatest Need 
 
 of the World 
 Dealing with Doubt . 
 
 Preparation for Learnini; . 
 The Study of the Bihi.k . 
 " First I " A Talk with Boys 
 
 53 
 75 
 
 93 
 
 105 
 
 117 
 
 -a 
 
mtKtt^immtaimei"^ 
 
A BRIEF SKETCH 
 
 OF 
 
 PROF. HENRY DRUMMOND. 
 
 F. R. Q. S. 
 
 BY REV. W. J. DAWSON. 
 
 KOFESSOR DRUMMOND, who was born 
 in Stirling, Scotland, about forty years ago, 
 has been a singularly fortunate man, and 
 
 • • • it can scarcely be said that his fortune is 
 
 • • • undeserved. He is another sample of the 
 man who, while doing one duty faithfully, has found 
 a higher duty prepared for him, and with it a new 
 career. It must have been somewhere about 1884 
 or 1885 that I noticed in an obscure religious 
 weekly, an article on Evolution and Degeneracy, 
 which struck me as singularly fresh and brilliant. 
 I knew nothing about the writer, whose name was 
 quite obscure, and the journal in question was not 
 such as to give any guarantee of distinction to its 
 contributors. But the article struck quite a new 
 note, and put truth in a way which I did not re- 
 member to have seen before. It was an attempt 
 
6 
 
 Brief Shki} of 
 
 to show how Darwin's great doctrines of evolution 
 and degeneracy found an almost scientific ex- 
 pression in the words of Christ, and an exact 
 
 'unterpart in spiritual things. I have not often 
 been guilty of plagiarism, but I annexed that arti- 
 cle. I made a sermon out of it. If there is any 
 comfort in the thought, or any apology for my 
 conduct, I have the satisfaction of knowing that 
 a good many hundreds of ministers have since 
 used that article in the same way. I simply had 
 precedence of them in theft. I took the paper for 
 some weeks, in the hope that I might find more 
 material of the same quality, but I was disap- 
 pointed. I think one or two more articles ap- 
 peared, and then the paper relapsed into its usual 
 dulness, and I gave it up. When ''Na/ural Law 
 in the Spin'lual World" was published, I found the 
 article again, much expanded and greatly im- 
 proved, and I found what was also a memorable 
 and formative book. 
 
 Now this little history is instructive as to the 
 method by which Professor Drummond has be- 
 come a famous author. It has been by a sort of 
 fortunate accident. He does not appear to have 
 been troubled with any fiery stinging of genius, 
 any absorbing ambition to write great books. In 
 the ordinary course of his duties, he delivers a 
 series of addresses to his students on the recon- 
 cilements between religion and science, and one 
 or two of these addresses find their way into 
 print It is said that it was the keen and prac- 
 
Professor Drummonb. 
 
 ticed eye of Dr. Marcus DoJs which first discerned 
 their great merit, and it was at his earnest soli- 
 citation they were collected and published. If 
 this be so, Dr. Dods deserves the thanks of Chris- 
 tendom. The address which is known as ''The 
 Greatest Thing in the World" was at first a spoken 
 utterance, and appeared in a fragmentary form 
 in a newspaper report. I remember reading this, 
 and being struck with the freshness of the Gtyle 
 and the aptness of the illustrations, long before 
 it emerged in its dainty white and gold covers 
 to the delight of its quarter of a million of readers. 
 There is an unsophisticated simplicity in these 
 methods of book-making which is refreshing. 
 Books produced in this way have obviously grown, 
 they have not been made. They are the genuine 
 output of the author's thought, accomplished with- 
 out strain or pressure. Perhaps that has much 
 to do with their charm. We taste a fruit which 
 has ripened slowly and legitimately, and has not 
 been forced. We feel the motive o^" the author to 
 be pure and high. "Do the duty that lies near- 
 est to you, and take no thought of fame," is the 
 advice which Longfellow gives to those who would 
 be famous. Books written with an eye to the 
 publisher's balance-sheet seldom succeed. Books 
 that are meant as a direct challenge to fame, usu- 
 ally utter their challenge to undiscerning or dis- 
 dainful ears. The moment the thought of the 
 reward of art intrudes, the spirit of art languishes. 
 Because Professor Drummond did his work with- 
 
8 
 
 Brief Sfctcf? of 
 
 1^, 
 
 III 
 
 out a thought of fame, he did it with a restraint 
 and simplicity which went far to win fame. It is 
 another illustration of the words of Christ, which 
 have a hundred bearings outside the strict domain 
 of the spiritual : he who seeks only the highest 
 finds the less; he who seeks first the kingdom of 
 God and His righteousness has all the other things 
 added to him. 
 
 It is through his great success in literature that 
 Professor Drummond has become so widely known, 
 and it is worth while therefore to ascertain the 
 reasons of this success. The theory that books 
 succeed by luck, we dismiss as childish and ab- 
 surd. There is more to be said in favor of the theo- 
 ry of the "psychological moment" — the happy 
 conjunction of the man and the hour. Unques- 
 tionably Professor Drummond's great book was 
 published at the right moment, when the thoughts 
 of men were busiest on the relations of religion and 
 science, and a voice of assurance was likely to be 
 hailed with a peal of praise. A third theory is the 
 Wordsworthian one, that the greater a book is, the 
 less likely is it to sell; that, in fact, the sale of a 
 book is always in an inverre ratio to its merit. Of 
 course this theory is a great comfort to authors 
 who fail. They console themselves as Landor did 
 with the thought of posthumous fame: "I shall 
 dine late; but the dining-room will be well lighted, 
 the guests few and select." But the implication 
 of this theory is twofold: first, that great books and 
 great men are always ignored by the public; and. 
 
Professor Druntmonb. 
 
 secoiid, that the rapid sale of a volume is a sign 
 that its author is not a man of genius. No man 
 of average knowledge and observation is likely to 
 accept these propositions. Really good writers in 
 our day have no cause to complain of an undis- 
 cerning public, and the public has grown too dis- 
 criminating to buy books for their badness. Great 
 writers in the nineteenth century need not "dine 
 late." There is always a place at the board of 
 fame for the new-comer, if he bring with him the 
 true credentials. Indeed, the tendency is to be too 
 generous and effusive in the welcome extended to 
 any writer who shows real signs of genius. 
 
 The success of Professor Drummond is the re- 
 sult of a very happy combination of qualities. 
 He has, in the first place, the gift of style. He 
 is absolutely lucid, crisp, and often brilliant. He 
 knows how to say what he wants to say. He 
 never uses too many words for his meaning, and 
 rarely uses the wrong word. He is always in- 
 teresting, and has an admirable way of using his 
 material to the best artistic advantage. It is this 
 art which makes his '■'■Tropical Africa " so charming 
 a book. It is the smallest of all the great array of 
 books on African travel, but artistically it is the 
 best. What he has to say he says with the best 
 possible effect, and in the most incisive manner. 
 Yet there is no attempt at being brilliant; on the 
 contrary, all is fresh, natural, and unforced. The 
 style, reminds one of a perfectly sunny day, when 
 the air is crisp and clear, and every natural object 
 
10 
 
 Brief BUki) of 
 
 I 
 
 stands out with drizzling ditstincincss. Because 
 the style is so captivating to the reader, we may be 
 sure that it has required great pains of the author. 
 The man who writes easily is often the hardest to 
 read. The amount of polish and finish expended 
 on those paragraphs of Professor Drummond which 
 charm us most, is probably far greater than any 
 one suspects. Professor Drummond once re- 
 marked to a friend, who had written an article at 
 the point of the editorial bayonet in a few hours, 
 that he was astonished that such a thing could be 
 done: he would have needed a week to produce it. 
 But he would have produced a better article. It 
 would have had more delicacy of phrase, a subtler 
 handling, a keener sparkle. And the incident il- 
 lustrates the literary methods of the Professor. He 
 is not, and will never be, a prolific author. He 
 writes slowly and with painstaking. The spring 
 does not flow with any great force or volume. 
 But if it is limited in quantity, the water is ex- 
 quisitely clear and fresh. A fastidious elegance 
 of phrase is his, and such an art can only be gained 
 by long practice. But in these days of hurry it 
 must always be a rare art, and for that reason will 
 be highly prized. 
 
 Tall, slight, delicnte in feature, alert in manner, 
 well dressed, there is a touch of this fastidiousness 
 in his appearance, which is no doubt a cause of 
 stumbling to the envious and the undiscerning. 
 One hesitates to use the word "fastidious," be- 
 cause it is so often confused with a very different 
 
pi-ofc5:5or Drumtnonb. 
 
 11 
 
 word — ** effeminate." There is certainly no touch 
 of effeminacy in the Professor. The great attrac- 
 tion which he possesses for young men is a suffi- 
 cient token of this. One has only to mark 
 the breadth of the shoulder, and remember 
 " Tropical A/irica," to hQ qnite sure of the mas- 
 culine qualities of its writer. And the same 
 thing may be said of his writing. It has mascu- 
 line strength as well as daintiness of touch. He 
 has robust judgment, a keen power of observation, 
 a wide knowledge of men. He is not a man like- 
 ly to be imposed upon. The man who presumed 
 upon his geniality to make a foolish or disrespect- 
 ful speech, would soon find out that there was iron 
 in his blood, and a contemptuous scrutiny in the 
 clear eye which would be eminently disagreeable. 
 Rough and ci'-eless natures always misunderstand 
 this touch of fastidiousness in others. They regard 
 it as a sign of weakness that a man should dress 
 with taste. On the contrary, it is often a sign of 
 weakness, and a proof that a man does not respect 
 himself, when he does not do so. It is the duty of 
 every young man to care for his person, and to be 
 scrupulous about his appearance. A little dignity 
 in the composition of a man is an excellent thing; 
 it is wonderful how great a power it exerts over 
 others — and specially the undignified. However, 
 this is a small matter, though a characteristic one. 
 He who said the style is the man, said a true thing. 
 Professor Drummond gives the impression of keen- 
 ness, dignity, fastidiousness; of elegance joined to 
 
12 
 
 Brief SPctcl? of 
 
 strength, of shrewdness as the counterfoil of sym- 
 pathy. This is the man, and this is his style. Just 
 as the style has captivated thousands by its happy 
 combination of qualities, so the man has exercised 
 a charm for years over many of the most thought- 
 ful youths of Scotland; and in each instance the 
 elements of conquest are the same. 
 
 But style alone cannot secure phenomenal suc- 
 cess: we want thought and substance. Piirhaps it 
 would be too much to claim for Professor Drum- 
 mond that he is an original thinker, but he cer- 
 tainly has the power of putting things in an origi- 
 nal manner. He can take up a commonplace 
 subject and invest it with freshness. "77;<? Greatest 
 Thing in the World" is an admirable example of 
 this power, and so, in less degree, WPax Vobiscum." 
 The theme in each case is thread bare. No pas- 
 sages in die New Testament have been so constant- 
 ly harped upon as St. Paul's great eulogy of love 
 and Christ's promise of rest to the heavy-laden. 
 The most suggestive preachers avoid them, because 
 they seem to have had all suggestiveness trampled 
 out of them by the insistent and commonplace 
 homiletics of centuries. They are like coins, of 
 pure gold, no doubt, but defaced by hard usage, 
 till the superscription is almost lost. Professor 
 Drummond has the happy art of restoring them to 
 their pristine glory. He makes us feel their truth 
 and beauty, as though we had never been con- 
 scious of it before. He d es not go out of his way 
 to be original, but he manages to write in a way 
 
Professor Prumntoub. 
 
 13 
 
 which is new and suggestive. He has no com- 
 merce with commentators, and owes nothing to 
 them. But he has a thirst for truth, and he will 
 be content with nothing but the truth. He has 
 no fear of orthodoxy before hij: eyes. He says 
 plainly what the passage means to him, and his 
 one object is obviously to make his meaning as 
 clear to us, and his teaching as real, as it is to him. 
 In a word, he has a message. He does not write 
 till he has something to say, and then he says it 
 with charm and force. No doubt it is true that 
 much of what he says has been said before. It is 
 quite easy to point to other writers, and ask, What 
 has Professor Drummond said that they have not 
 said? Absolute originality is too much to expect 
 of any man in this late age of the world; the child 
 and the lunatic, it has been said, are the only per- 
 sons who are likely to be strictly original in their 
 remarks. But next to saying a new thing is the 
 art of saying an old thing in a new way. Pro- 
 fessor Drummond puts a familiar truth as it has 
 not been put before; he gives it a new setting; 
 he even utters commonplaces with a note of dis- 
 tinction, and invests them with the air of novelty. 
 He was the right hand of Mr. Moody in many 
 of his great meetings in this country, and his deep 
 interest in evangelical truth may be estimated by 
 that fact He is an ordained minister of the Free 
 Church of Scotland, and is engaged Sunday after 
 Sunday through the University session at Edin- 
 burgh in religious work among students. D\ir- 
 
14 
 
 3ricf Sfctcl? of 
 
 PI 
 
 ing the week-days he is to be found in the Free 
 Church College, Glasgow, teaching science. 
 
 His theological position is the same as that of 
 his friends Dr. Dods and Dr. Bruce, though with 
 such differences as are personal to the man. 
 Broadly speaking, that position is the position of 
 the Reconciliationist. He represents the new 
 culture in religion, and seeks to reconcile the 
 Churches to its inevitable growth. He is the 
 child of the age, and breathes its spirit. It is 
 only the stupidly orthodox who nowadays rave 
 against what they call *' modern thought." They 
 fail to realize that there is no way of cutting our- 
 selves off from the thought of the age, except by 
 living in some other age — which is impossible. 
 We cannot breathe the air of yesterday, and 
 modern thought is the intellectual air of to-day's 
 life. In every age there is an urgency upon men, 
 which makes them see truth in their own way, and 
 state it after their own method. Each age has 
 to write its own books, and thus expresses its 
 thought in forms that are native and natural to it. 
 This process in religion means the restatement of 
 truth in the language of the age. The truth may 
 be the same but its form of statement may differ, 
 as St. John's statement of Christianity difiers from 
 that of St. Paul and St. James. The work of men 
 like Professor Drummond is to state the old truths 
 in such a way that the friction between vital truth 
 and modern scholarship and culture may be 
 diminished to the lowest possible degree. It is 
 
Profcfsor Druntntonb. 
 
 15 
 
 practically to give a new lease to truth by making 
 truth intelligible to the modern mind. Of course, 
 the men who attempt this diflicult task may oc- 
 casionally err in judgment, and it is certain that 
 they must be prepared for suspicion and hostility. 
 Christ said that the Jews hated Him because He 
 was a man who told them the truth. But the man 
 who can so re-interpret vital truth that it becomes 
 real to us, is one of the highest benefactors of the 
 human race. There are multitudes who desire to 
 believe, but they "will not make their judgment 
 blind." They feel the force of the spirit of truth, 
 but they cannot endure the letter. They are al- 
 ways on the lookout for a teacher who can make 
 things clear and simple to them. Such teachers 
 are the Rcconciliationists. They stand between 
 the warring hosts and proclaim the truce of God. 
 They set the truth on high above the contentions 
 of agnosticism and intellectual barbarism. They 
 are the vanguard of the army of progress. Their 
 watchword is that though all kingdoms are shaken, 
 there is a Divine kingdom that remains. Their 
 aim is to retranslate Christianity into the dialect 
 of the day, the vernacular of current thought. In 
 that army Professor Drummond is enrolled, and 
 his influence has been far-reaching. 
 
 It would be an excellent thing if Professor Drum- 
 mond could be persuaded to give a series of ad- 
 dresses to students, in every great centre where stu- 
 dents are to be found. For the Professor has the 
 power of utterance as well as of writing. As a 
 
16 
 
 X^ricj SFctcl? of 
 
 speaker, he is terse, nervous, and interesting, as 
 iniglit be expected. His tall form, hiseas^ mauiier, 
 his clear vi)ice, never strained, always quiet, and 
 yet, singularly connnanding in tone, make him the 
 beau ideal of a si)eaker to the thoughtful. I have 
 had the pleasure of hearing him twice lately, and 
 on each occasion he dealt with his recent travels. 
 The first was a simple, unpremeditated address, 
 dealing with the need for beauty in common life. 
 His object-lesson was Japan, where the meanest 
 household utensils are fashioned with an eye to 
 art. The address did not last longer then ten 
 minutes, but it was so clear and vivid, that it 
 lives like a picture in the memory, and will not 
 be readily forgotten. The second address was a 
 much more important one, on modern missions. 
 It was read, but nothing of effect was lost by this 
 mode of delivery. There was the same exquisite 
 lucidity which characterizes all his writings, and 
 the quiet voice, with its clear and modulated 
 tones, added greatly to the effect. The finest 
 passage was a noble description of the work done 
 in the New Hebrides. The most striking was a 
 description of the present religious condition of 
 Japan. The skilled phrase-maker was seen in 
 the sentence that " Japan was just now prospect- 
 ing for a religion." The thinker was felt through- 
 out in the bold, yet cautious statements, and the 
 closeness of the reasoning by which all was held to- 
 gether. Finally, the Christian student was seen in 
 the relation of an incident which perhaps better 
 
Professor Drumntonb. 
 
 17 
 
 sums up than anything else Professor Drummond's 
 own attitude to the rehgious world. When he 
 left Japan, the native ministers gave him a message 
 for Europe. It was brief, but pregnant: ** Send 
 us no more doctrines: ive are tired of them. Send us 
 Christ. " In that sentence, not merely Japan, but 
 modern Europe expresses its deepest need. 
 
■Ml 
 
LOVE: THE SUPREME GIFT: 
 
 Cl?c Greatest Oll^in^ in tl?c VOovlb, 
 
 E^VERY one has asked himself the 
 [ ii^reat question of antiquity as of 
 
 the modern world: What is the 
 
 summtim bonum — the supreme 
 
 good ? You have life before you. That 
 is the burning question for you to face: 
 What is the supreme object of desire — 
 the supreme gift to covet ? We have 
 been accustomed to be told that the great- 
 est thing in the religious world is faith. 
 That has been the key-note for centu- 
 ries of the evangelical religion; and we 
 have learned to look upon that as the 
 greatest thing in the world. Well; we 
 are wrong. If we have been told that, 
 we have been told wrong. I have taken 
 
20 
 
 €or>c: tl^c Supreme ^ift. 
 
 you in the chapter which I have read to- 
 night (I Corinthians, xiii.) to Christi- 
 anity at its source; and there we have 
 read, ** The greatest of these is love." 
 It is not an oversight. Paul was speak- 
 ing of faith just a moment before. He 
 says: " If I have all faith, so that I can 
 remove mountains, and have not love, I 
 am nothing." It is not an oversight; 
 and it is not prejudice. A man is apt to 
 recommend to others his own strong 
 point. Love was not Paul's strong point. 
 There is a beautiful tenderness which 
 the observinof student can detect as Paul 
 gets old — growing and ripening all 
 through his character; but the hand that 
 wrote, " The greatest of these is love," 
 when we meet it first, is stained with 
 blood. Nor is Paul singular in singling 
 out love as the stimimim bonum. The 
 three masters of Christianity are agreed 
 about it. Peter says: •* Above all things 
 have fervent love among yourselves." 
 And John goes farther: ** God is love.'' 
 " Love is the fulfilling of the law." 
 Did you ever think what Paul meant by 
 
CI?c Greatest tn?iiu3 in tl?c XOovlb. 21 
 
 that? In those days men were working 
 their passage to heaven by keeping the 
 Ten Commandments, and the hundred 
 and ten other commandments which they 
 had manufactured out of them. Christ 
 came and said: " I will show you a more 
 excellent way. If you do one thing, 
 you will do these hundred and ten things, 
 without ever thinking about it — uncon- 
 sciously. If you love, you will fulfil the 
 whole law." And you can readily see 
 for yourselves how that comes to be. 
 Take any of the commandments. " Thou 
 shall have no other gods before Me.'' 
 If a man love God, you will not have to 
 tell him that. Love is the fulfilling of 
 that law. •* Take not His name in 
 vain." He would never dream of tak- 
 ino^ His name in vain if he loved Him. 
 " Remember the Sabbath day to keep it 
 holy." He would be too glad to have a 
 day to meditate upon the object of his 
 affection. Love would fulfil all f/icse 
 laws. And so, if he loved man, you 
 would never require to tell him to honor 
 his father and mother. He would do 
 
22 
 
 £oDe: tf)c Supreme (Sift. 
 
 that without thinking about it. It would 
 be preposterous to tell him not to kill. 
 He would never dream of it. It would 
 be absurd to tell him not to steal. He 
 would never steal from those he loved. 
 He would rather they possessed the 
 goods than that he should possess therr». 
 It would be absurd to tell him not to 
 bear false witness against his neighbor. 
 If he loved him it would be the last 
 thing he would do. And you would 
 never have to tell him not to covet what 
 his neighbor had. He would be rejoic- 
 ing in his neighbor's possessions. So 
 you see, " love is the fulfilling of the law." 
 
 Now, Paul had learned that; and in 
 this arcrument we have a most wonder- 
 ful account of the siimmuin bonum. We 
 may divide it into three parts. In the 
 beginning of this little chapter, we have 
 love contrasted; in the middle of it we 
 have love a^ialyzed; and towards the end 
 of it, we have love defended as the su- 
 preme gift. 
 
 Paul begins by contrasting love with 
 other things that men in those days 
 
C^c Greatest Cluing in tl^e IDorlb. 2a 
 
 : 
 
 thought much of. I shall not attempt 
 to go over those things in detail. They 
 are very obvious. He contrasts it with 
 eloquence. How many men covet elo- 
 quence ! — and what a noble gift it is — 
 the gift of playing upon the minds and 
 souls and wills of men — of moulding 
 them. Paul says: " If I speak with the 
 toncrues of men and of anoels, and have 
 not love, I am become as sounding brass 
 or a tinkling cymbal.'* He contrasts it 
 with prophecy. He contrasts it with 
 mysteries. He contrasts it with faith. 
 He contrasts it with charity. Love is 
 greater than faith, because the end is 
 greater than the means. And love is 
 greater than charity, because the whole 
 is greater than a part. 
 
 Love is greater than faith, because the 
 end is greater than the means. What 
 is the use of having faith ? It is to con- 
 nect the soul with God. And what is 
 the use of beincr connected with God ? 
 It is to become like God. For " God is 
 love." This is to say, faith is in order 
 to love. The end is greater than the 
 
 
"rr'^' '"" — 
 
 I 
 
 24 
 
 Core: tf^e Supreme (5ift. 
 
 means. Love, therefore, obviously is 
 greater than faith. It is greater than 
 charity, because the whole is greater 
 than a part. Charity is only a little bit 
 of love, and there is a great deal of 
 charity without love. It is a very easy 
 thing to toss a twenty-five-cent piece to 
 a beggar. It is a very easy thing to do 
 that when the love is in withholding. 
 We purchase relief from the sympathetic 
 feelings which are aroused by the spec- 
 tacle of misery, at the cost of a quarter 
 of a dollar. It is too cheap — too ciicap 
 for us, and it is often too dear for the 
 beggar. We must either do more for 
 him or less. Then Paul contrasts it with 
 sacrifice and martyrdom ; and I beg the 
 little band — shall I not say the large 
 band ? — of missionaries (and I have the 
 honor to call some of you by this name 
 for the first time) — shall I not say to you 
 missionaries. Remember that though 
 you give your bodies to be burned, and 
 have not love, it profits nothing — noth- 
 ing I You can take nothing greater to 
 the heathen than the impress and the re- 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 I 
 

 ^l)c Greatest Ct^ituj in tl^o IVovlb. 25 
 
 flection of the love of God upon your 
 own character — nothinij. That is the 
 universal language. It vi^ill take you 
 years to speak in Chinese, or in the dia- 
 lects of India, but from the day you land, 
 that language of love — understood by 
 all, and eloquent to every one — ^will be 
 going forth from you, consciously or un- 
 consciously, and it is the man who is the 
 missionary, it is not his words. In the 
 heart of Africa, among the great lakes, I 
 have come across black men and women 
 who remembered the only white man they 
 ever saw before — David Livingstone; and 
 as you cross his footsteps in that dark 
 Continent, you see men's faces light up 
 as they speak of the kind Doctor who 
 passed there years ago. They could not 
 understand him ; but they felt the love 
 that beat in that great heart. Th^y 
 knew that it was love — that that life was 
 laying itself down for Africa — although 
 he spoke no word. Take into your new 
 sphere of labor where you are laying 
 down your life that simple charm, and 
 your life must succeed. You can take 
 
I 
 
 26 
 
 £oi?e: tf?e Supreme ®ift. 
 
 j!i! 
 
 nothing greater. You may take every 
 accomplishment; but if you give your 
 body to be burned, and have not love, it 
 will profit you and the cause of Christ 
 nothing. 
 
 After contrasting love with these 
 things, Paul in three verses, very short, 
 gives us an amazing analysis of what 
 this supreme thing is. I ask you to 
 look at it. It is a compound thing, he 
 tells us. It is like light. And as you 
 have seen a natural philosopher take a 
 beam of light and pass it through his 
 crystal prism, and as you have seen it 
 come out on the other side of the prism 
 broken up into its component colors — • 
 red, and blue, and yellow, and violet, 
 and orancre, and all the colors of the 
 rainbow — so Paul passes this thing, love, 
 through the magnificent prism of his 
 inspired intellect, and it comes out on the 
 other side broken up into its elements, and 
 in these words we have the spectrum of 
 love — the analysis of love. Will you 
 observe what these things are? Will 
 you notice that they have common 
 
I 
 
 -» 
 
 « 
 
 Ct^c Greatest Cl^incj in tf^c IPorlb. 27 
 
 names — that they are virtues which we 
 hear about every day, they are things 
 which can be practised by every man in 
 every circumstance of life, and how by 
 a multitude of small things and ordinary 
 virtues the supreme thing, the siimmum 
 bonum is made up. 
 
 The spectrum of love has nine ele- 
 ments — nine colors — nine ingredients : 
 Patience — *' love suffereth long." Kind- 
 ness — "and is kind." Generosity — " love 
 envieth not." Humility — " love vaunteth 
 not itself, is not puffed up." Courtesy 
 — love "doth not behave itself unseemly." 
 Unselfishness — love " seeketh not her 
 Good temper — love "is not easi- 
 
 own. 
 
 ly provoked." Guilelessness — " think- 
 eth no evil." Sincerity — " rejoiceth not 
 in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth." 
 
 Patience ; kindness ; generosity ; hu- 
 mility ; courtesy ; unselfishness ; good 
 temper ; guilelessness ; sincerity — these 
 make up the supreme gift — the stature 
 of the perfect man. We talk a great 
 deal of peace with God. God says much 
 about peace on earth. " Good-will 
 
I 
 
 28 
 
 €oro: ilf^ Supronc (^ift. 
 
 toward men." And you will observe 
 that all these thin<^^s, all these virtues and 
 graces, are in relation to men — in rela- 
 tion to life — in relation to the known to- 
 day and the near to-morrow, and not to the 
 unknown eternity. There is no time to 
 do more than make a passim^ note upon 
 each of these ingredients. 
 
 Patience. Love passive. The normal 
 attitude of love — love waitiniif to be<nn ; 
 not in a hurry ; not petulant ; not hasty ; 
 calm ; composed — waiting to begin when 
 the summons comes, but meantime wear- 
 ing the ornament of a meek and quiet 
 spirit. 
 
 Kindness, Love active. Have you 
 ever noticed how much of Christ's life 
 was spent in doing kind things — in 
 merely doing kind things ? Run over it 
 with that in view, and you will find that 
 He spent a great proportion of His time 
 simply in making people happy — in 
 doing good turns to people. There is 
 only one thing greater than happiness 
 in the world, and that is holiness ; and 
 that is not in our keeping — God reserves 
 
^I}0 (Srcatost €i)uu} m tl}c XOovib- 29 
 
 that to Himself; but what He has put 
 in our power is the happiness of our 
 fellow-creatures, and that is to be se- 
 cured by our beini^ kind. After we 
 have been kind — after love, after lon<^ 
 waiting-, has gone out into action and 
 done its beautiful work — we must then 
 exercise the third of these graces : go 
 back into the shade again, and say noth- 
 ing about it. " Love vaunteth not it- 
 self, is not puffed up." '• Love vaunteth 
 not." 
 
 Generosity, That is love in competi- 
 tion with others. Whenever you have 
 done a good turn — done a good work — 
 you will find other men doing the same 
 kind of work. Envy them not. Envy 
 is a feeling of ill-will to that man who is 
 in the same line as ourselves — a feeling 
 of ill-will — and we hate ourselves for 
 cherishing it. That will spring up the 
 moment you get to your field — be it in 
 this land or in any other land — unless 
 you have learned generosity : to envy 
 not. And then, after having learned 
 that, you have to learn the further thing : 
 
■ 
 
 30 
 
 £oc»c: ti)c Supreme (5ift. 
 
 i 
 
 ^1 
 'I 
 
 ^ 
 
 to go into the shade — to hide, and not 
 let your right hand know what your left 
 hand has done. 
 
 Hiunility, Love hiding. '• Vaunteth 
 not itself, is not puffed up.'' And the 
 fifth ingredient is a somewhat strange 
 one to find in this summum bonum. 
 
 Courtesy — love in relation to etiquette. 
 *• Love doth not behave itself unseemly.'^ 
 Politeness has been defined as love in 
 trifles. Courtesy has been defined as 
 love in little things. And the secret of 
 politeness is to love. Love cannot be- 
 have itself unseemly. You can take the 
 most untutored persons and put them in 
 society, and if they have love as a reser- 
 voir in their heart they will not behave 
 themselves unseemly. They simply can- 
 not do it. Carlyle said of Robert Burns 
 that there was no truer gentleman in 
 Europe than the ploughman-poet. It 
 was because he lived to love everything 
 — the mouse, and the daisy, and all the 
 things, great and small, that God made ; 
 and so he could go into any society — 
 into courts and palaces — from his little 
 
(Ef?e greatest Cl?ing in tl^c XPorfb. 31 
 
 cottage on the banks of the Ayr. We 
 heard the other day from one of the 
 speakers on this platform about the 
 meaning of the word ** gentleman." It 
 means a gentle man — a man who does 
 things gently, with love. " Love doth 
 not behave itself unseemly." 
 
 Unselfishness. "Love seeketh not 
 her own." Observe: Seeketh not even 
 that which is her own. In Britain the 
 Englishman is devoted to his rights. He 
 likes to stand up for his rights — his 
 rights as a man, and his rights as an 
 Englishman. And I fancy you have the 
 same kind of patriotism. You stand up 
 for your rights ; and every man as an 
 individual or as a citizen feels a sense of 
 propriety over what he calls his rights. 
 It is the privilege of that man to give up 
 even his rights, if necessary, for the sake 
 of another. " Seeketh not her own." 
 It is easy to give up things that we are 
 not quite certain are our own ; but the 
 things that are obviously yours — that 
 are legally yours — that you have earned 
 perhaps by years of labor and sacrifice 
 
' 
 
 ; I 
 
 32 
 
 Core: t()c Supreme ^ift. 
 
 ■1" 
 
 
 of trouble or money — to give up those 
 things which are your own, that is tlie 
 hard thing. And yet the most obvious 
 lesson of the Gospel is that there is no 
 happiness in having and getting, but 
 only in giving. I say, //icre is no happi- 
 ness in having or in getting, hut only in 
 giving ; and half the world is on the 
 wrong scent in the pursuit of happiness. 
 They think it consists in having and 
 getting, and in being served by others. 
 It consists in giving, and in serving 
 others. And he that would be great 
 among you, let him serve. He that 
 would be happy, let him remember that 
 it is more blessed — it is more happy — 
 to irive than to receive. 
 
 The next ini^redient is also a remark- 
 able one: Good temper. •• Love is not 
 easily provoked." Now, we are inclined 
 to look upon bad temperas a very harm- 
 less infirmity. We speak of it as being 
 a mere infirmity of nature — not a thing to 
 take into very serious account in estima- 
 ting a man's character — a kind of acci- 
 dent — a matter of temperament, and so 
 
 
0.1)0 (Greatest ^t^incj in tl?c tOorlb. 33 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 on. And yet here, riij^hl in the middle 
 of this analysis of love, Paul plants this 
 statement; and the Bible a<^ain and again 
 comes to that little infirmity, as we call 
 it, and makes a great deal of it. It is 
 not a little infirmity to smile at. The 
 peculiarity of ill-temper is that it is the 
 vice of the virtuous. It is the one blot 
 on an otherwise noble character. You 
 know men who are all but perfect; and 
 who would be almost entirely perfect, 
 but you say they are hasty — they are 
 touchy — they are ill-tempered. Now, 
 there is nothing that a Christian has to 
 take more trouble to eradicate forever 
 from his being than ill-temper. It re- 
 quires the struggle of years — perhcos of 
 a lifetime; but it has to be done. It has 
 to be done. It is not to be looked upon as 
 an accident of temperament; but it is a 
 sin — one of the blackest of all the sins. 
 It is the symptom of an unloving nature 
 at bottom. A want of patience, — a 
 want of kindness, — a want of generosity, 
 — a want of humility, — a want of cour- 
 tesy, — a want of unselfishness — are all 
 
mm 
 
 -I' ^^" 
 
 34 
 
 £oDc: tf^c Supreme ®ift. 
 
 1 
 
 symbolized in one flash of evil temper. 
 It is the revelation of what is inside a 
 man, and therefore the man who has 
 that must have his whole nature sweet- 
 ened. It is not enough to deal with the 
 temper. You must go to the root, and 
 sweeten the whole nature, and then tem- 
 per will die away of itself. But how can 
 a man who has not had a victory over 
 that part of his nature have a part in 
 God's people in this world or in the next 
 world? How is it possible ? Why: a 
 man with a temper such as I have de- 
 scribed would make Heaven miserable 
 for all the people who are in it; and ex- 
 cept such a man be born again he can- 
 not enter into the kingdom of God. 
 Christ says: " Whoso shall offend one 
 of these little ones which believe in Me, 
 it were better for him that a mill-stone 
 were hanged about his neck and that he 
 were drowned in the depth of the sea.' 
 That is to say, it is the deliberate verdict 
 of the Lord Jesus that it is better not to 
 live than not to love. /I is better not to 
 live than not to love. I shall spend no 
 
Ct)c Greatest Ctjing in tljc rDorl!>. 35 
 
 ^1 
 
 time over the last two of these virtues. 
 Gtiilelessness. Courtesy is love in soci- 
 ety. Unselfishness is love denying. 
 Good temper is love restraining. Guile- 
 lessness is love believing. And Sincerity 
 is love learning. Guilelessness is the 
 grace for suspicious people. " Think- 
 eth no evil." The way to win a man is 
 to believe in him. That is the greatest 
 secret of the Christian worker. The way 
 to elevate a man is to believe in him and 
 trust him. Love ** thinketh no evil " — 
 imputes no motive — puts the best con- 
 struction on every action. What a de- 
 lightful frame of mind to live in ! And 
 then love is sincere — wears no mask. 
 " Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth 
 in the truth ; '' rejoiceth not in our 
 doctrine — in this church's doctrine, or in 
 that church's doctrine, in this ism or that 
 ism — but rejoiceth in the truth. 
 
 So much for this analysis of love. 
 Now, the business of our lives is to fit 
 these things into our character. That is 
 the supreme thing to which we need to 
 address ourselves; to learn love. And 
 
ii 
 
 30 
 
 £oDc: tl)C Supreme (5tft. 
 
 l\ 
 
 ti. 
 
 13 
 
 life is full of opportunities for learning 
 love. Every man and woman has a 
 thousand of them every day. The world 
 is not a playground ; it is a schoolroom : 
 and its great lesson that we are always 
 to learn is the lesson of love in all its 
 parts. 
 
 What makes a man a good foot- 
 ball player ? Practice. What makes a 
 man a good artist — a good sculptor — a 
 good musician ? Practice. What makes 
 a man a good athlete ? Practice. What 
 makes a man a orood man ? Practice. 
 Nothing else. There is nodiing capri- 
 cious about reliofion. We do not o^et the 
 soul in a different way — under different 
 laws — from that in which we get the 
 body. If a man does not exercise his 
 arm, he gets no biceps muscle ; and if a 
 man does not exercise his soul, he has no 
 muscle in his soul — no strength of 
 character, no roljustness. l.ove is not a 
 thing of emotion and gush. It is a 
 robust, strong, manly, vigorous expres- 
 sion of the whole character and nature in 
 its fullest development. And these things 
 
 
 .« 
 
CI?e ©rcatcst Cl?in^ in tl?e iPorlb. ;?7 
 
 are only to be acquired by daily and 
 hourly practl^ - Do not quarrel, there- 
 fore, with your lot in life. Do not quar- 
 rel with the quality you have of life. Do 
 not be angry tliat you have to go 
 through a network of temptation — that 
 you are haunted with it every day. 
 That is your practice, which God appoints 
 you. That is your practice ; and it is 
 having its work in making you patient, 
 and humble, and sincere ind unselfish, 
 and kind, and courteous, and guileless. 
 Do not grudge the hand that is mould- 
 ing the shapeless image in you: it is 
 growing more beautiful; and every touch 
 is adding to its perfection. Keep in the 
 midst of life. Do not isolate yourself. 
 Be among men, and among things, and 
 among troubles, and amongst difficulties 
 and obstacles. * ' Esbildet em Talent 
 sich in der Siille, Dock ein Character in 
 dem Stro7n der Welt." You remember 
 Goethe's words: '* Talent develops itself 
 in solitude ; character in the stream of 
 life." •* Talent develops itself in solitude " 
 — the talent of prayer, of faith. " Char- 
 
m'l 
 
 
 38 
 
 Sopc: tf?c Supremo (Sift. 
 
 acter in the stream of life." Tiiat is 
 where you are to learn love. 
 
 How ? Now, how ? I might go over 
 all the futile means of becoming like 
 Christ. We apply ourselves to love. 
 We strive for it. We brace our wills to 
 get it. We make laws for ourselves. 
 And we pray for it. These things will 
 not bring love into our nature. Love is 
 an effect. It is a question of cause and 
 effect; and if you fulfil the right condition 
 you must have the effect produced in 
 you. Shall I tell you what the cause of 
 love is? If you turn to the Revised 
 Version of the Epistles of John, you will 
 find there these words: •' We love be- 
 cause He first loved us." " We love " — 
 not " We love Him." That is the way 
 the old version has it, and it is wrong. 
 " We love because He first loved us." 
 Look at that word " because." There is 
 the cause of which I have spoken. *' Be- 
 cause He first loved us." The effect fol- 
 lows that we love Him — we love all men. 
 Our heart is slowly changed. Because 
 He loved us, we love. Contemplate the 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
Ct}c Greatest (Il/tncj in tl^c XOovib, 39 
 
 love of Christ, and you will love. Stand 
 before that, and you will be changed in- 
 to the same image, from tenderness to 
 tenderness. There is no other way. You 
 cannot love to order. You can only look 
 at the lovely object, and fall in love with 
 it. You cannot command yourself to do 
 it. And so look at the great sacrifice of 
 Christ, as He laid down His life all 
 through life, and at His death upon the 
 Cross of Calvary; and you must love 
 Him. Love begets love. It is a pro- 
 cess of induction. You put a piece of 
 iron in the mere presence of an electrified 
 body, and that piece of iron for a time 
 becomes electrified. It becomes a tem- 
 porary magnet in the presence of a per- 
 manent magnet, and as long as you leave 
 the two side by side, they are both mag- 
 nets. Remain side by side with Him who 
 loved us, and gave Himself for us, and 
 you too will become a permanent magnet 
 — a permanent attractive force; and like 
 Him you will draw all men unto you. 
 That is the inevitable effect of love. Any 
 man who fulfils that cause must have 
 
V 
 
 'j 
 
 40 
 
 Copc: tl}e Supreme (Sift. 
 
 I 
 
 that effect produced in him. Give up the 
 idea that reHgion comes to us by chance 
 or by mystery, or by caprice. It comes 
 to us by natural law; or by supernatural 
 law, for all law is Divine. 
 
 Edward Irving went to see a dying boy 
 once, and when he entered the room he 
 just put his hand on the sufferer's head, 
 and said: " My boy, God loves you," 
 and went away. And the boy started 
 from his bed, and he called out to the 
 people in the house, *' God loves me! 
 God loves me ! " One word ! It changed 
 that boy. The sense that God loved 
 him had overpowered him, melted him 
 down, and begun the making of a new 
 heart. And that is how the love of God 
 melts down the unlovely heart in us, and 
 begets in us this new creature, who is 
 patient and humble and unselfish. And 
 there is no other way to get it. There 
 is no mystery about it. Oh, truth lies 
 in that ! — we love others, we love every- 
 body, we love our enemies, because He 
 first loved us. 
 
 Now, lastly: I have a word or two to 
 
Clfc (Siwitost CljiHij in tl)0 IPorlb. 41 
 
 
 t 
 
 say about Paul's reason for singling out 
 love as the supreme possession. Love 
 defended or justified. It is a very re- 
 markable reason. In a single word it is 
 this: it lasts. It is a thing that is going 
 to last. " Love never faileth." Then 
 Paul begins again one of his marvellous 
 lists of the great things of the day, and 
 exposes them. He runs over the things 
 that men thought were going to last — 
 the things that men accounted great; and 
 he shows that they are all fleeting and 
 transitory. He says: " Love never faileth: 
 but whether there be prophecies, they 
 shall fail." It was the mother's ambition 
 for a boy in those days that he should 
 become a prophet. For hundreds of 
 years God had never spoken by means 
 of any prophet, and the prophet was 
 greater than the king. Men waited fqr 
 a prophet to appear, and hung upon his 
 lips when he did. Paul says: " Whether 
 there be prophecies, they shall fail." 
 This book is full of prophecies. One by 
 one they have failed; that is, having 
 been fulfilled, their work is finished ex- 
 
42 
 
 €oi?c: tf?c Supremo (5tft. 
 
 cept as evidences — as matters of interest. 
 Their work has failed. '• Whether there 
 be prophecies, they shall fail " — they 
 have nothing more to do in the world 
 except to feed a devout man's faith. 
 
 Then Paul talks about tongues. That 
 was another thing that was greatly cov- 
 eted. *' Whether there be tongues, they 
 shall cease." As we all know, many, 
 many centuiies have passed since 
 tongues have been known in this world. 
 They have ceased. Take it in any sense 
 you like. Take it in its narrowest sense, 
 which probably was not in Paul's mind 
 at all — languages in general. Take the 
 words in which these chapters were 
 written — Greek. It has gone. Take 
 the Latin — the other great tongue of 
 those days. It ceased long ago. Look 
 at the Indian language. It is ceasing. 
 The language of my own Scottish High- 
 lands is ceasing. The most popular 
 book in the English tongue at the pres- 
 ent time, except the Bible, is one of 
 Dickens' works — hjs '• Pickwick Papers." 
 It is written in the language of London 
 
tEI?c Greatest Cl^iiuj in tl?c IVovib, 43 
 
 street life; and experts assure us that in 
 fifty years it will be unintelligible to 
 the average English reader. Its lan- 
 guage is ceasing. 
 
 Then Paul goes further, and with even 
 greater boldness he says: " Whether 
 there be knowledge, it shall vanish 
 away." And the wisdom of the ancients, 
 where is it ? It is already gone. A 
 school-boy to-day knows more than Sir 
 Isaac Newton knew. His knowledge 
 has vanished away. You put yesterday's 
 newspaper in the fire. Its knowledge 
 has vanished away. You buy the old 
 editions of the great encyclopiudias for 
 a few cents. Their knowledge has van- 
 ished away. Look how the coach has 
 been superseded by the steam-engine. 
 Look how electricity — look how the tele- 
 phone has come in and put a hundred 
 inventions aside. Ay, and they will 
 have their day and then vanish away. 
 The greatest living authority on electric- 
 ity and on physics — Sir William Thom- 
 son — said in Scotland at a meeting at 
 which I was present: " The steam-engine 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
 44 
 
 ^ovc: tl)c Suprc'.nc (Sift. 
 
 is passing away." " Whether there be 
 knowledge, it shall vanish away." At 
 every workshop in America you will see 
 out in the back-yard a heap of old iron 
 — a few wheels, and a few levers, all 
 rusty. Twenty years ago that was the 
 pride of the city. Men flocked in from 
 the country to see this great invention, 
 and now it has been superseded and has 
 vanished away. And all the boasted 
 science and philosophy of this day will 
 soon be old. It is not going to last. 
 Let us pursue it; but let us not make it 
 the chief thing. Let us be humble with 
 it when we get it, because it is tempo- 
 rary. In my time in the University of 
 Edinburgh, the greatest figure in the fac- 
 ulty was Sir James Simpson, the discov- 
 erer of chloroform. Just before I left 
 Scotland, his successor and nephew, 
 Professor Simpson, was asked by the 
 Librarian of the University to go to the 
 library and pick out the books on his 
 subject (midwifery) that were no longer 
 needed. And his reply to the Librarian 
 was this: "Take every book that is 
 
 
€[}c Greatest Cl?inc3 in tl?c IDorlb. 45 
 
 more than ten years old, and put it down 
 into the cellar." Knowledge has van- 
 ished away. Sir James Simpson was a 
 great authority twelve years ago; men 
 came from all parts of the earth to con- 
 sult him; and the whole knowledge of 
 that day, within this short period, is now 
 consigned by the science of to-day to the 
 cellar. How true are the words of Paul: 
 " We know in part, and we prophesy in 
 part." " We see through a glass dark- 
 ly." Can you tell me anything that is 
 going to last ? 
 
 Many things Paul did not condescend 
 to name. He did not mention money, 
 fortune, fame; but he picked out the great 
 things of his time, and then brushed them 
 aside. A great many things that men 
 denounce as sins are not sins; but they 
 are temporary. And that is a favorite 
 argument of Paul's. John says : *' The 
 world passeth away." That is a great 
 charge against the w^orld. There is a great 
 deal in it that is delightful and beautiful ; 
 there is a ofreat deal in it tha': is useful 
 and pleasant ; but it passeth away — all 
 
m 
 
 46 
 
 £ouc: tf}c Supreme (5ift. 
 
 that is in the world — the lust of the eye, 
 the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. 
 But while the world passcth away, " he 
 that doeth the will of God abideth for- 
 ever." And Paul's argument is precisely 
 that all these things are going to pass 
 away, and therefore they are not worth 
 the entire life and the consecration of an 
 immortal soul. Let the immortal soul 
 give himself to something that is immor- 
 tal ; and the onlv thinors that are eternal 
 are these; •' Now abideth faith, hope, 
 love ; but the greatest of these is love." 
 You can see that the time will come 
 when two of these things will perhaps 
 pass away. I do not know — we know so 
 little about the conditions of life in the 
 other world — but it seems to me as if there 
 will come a time when faith shall vanish 
 into sight, and when hope shall vanish 
 into full fruition. Then there will be one 
 thing left, and that is love. Covet that 
 everlasting gift — that one thing which 
 is going to stand ; that one coinage which 
 will be current when all the other coin- 
 ages of all the nations shall be returned 
 
Cl?c (Srcatcsi Cl^ino; tit ify Woxlb. 47 
 
 from the bank of eternity. Covet that, 
 and give yourself to that. /'/// things in 
 their proportion ; and let the object of your 
 life be for yourself to have the character 
 defended in these words — and it is the 
 character of Christ — borne into your char- 
 acter, that you may be created into the 
 same image. 
 
 I have said this thing is eternal. Did 
 you ever notice how John is continually 
 associating love and faith with eternal 
 life ? I was not told when I was a Sun- 
 day-scholar that " God so loved the world 
 that He gave His only begotten Son, that 
 whosoever believeth in Him should have 
 everlasting life." What I was told, I 
 remember, was that God so loved the 
 world that if I trusted in Him, I was to 
 have a thing called peace, or I was to have 
 rest, or I was to have joy, or I was to 
 have safety. But I had to find out for 
 myself that whosoever trusteth in Him — 
 that is, whosoever loveth Him, for trust 
 is only the means to the end — hath ever- 
 lasting life. The Gospel offers a man 
 life. Do not offer men a thimbleful of 
 
48 
 
 tovi: tl}c Supreme dSift. 
 
 fi 1 
 
 Gospel. Do not offer them merely joy, 
 or merely peace, or merely rest, or 
 merely safety; but remember how Christ 
 came to give men a more abundant life 
 than they had, an-l then you will take 
 hold of the whole of a man — you will give 
 him a bigger life, a fuller life-current, than 
 the life he is living. Then our Gospel 
 will move him, if he has laid hold of it. 
 Instead of laying hold of a part of his 
 nature, you lay hold of the whole of his 
 nature. Christ becomes to him the Way, 
 and the Truth, and the Life. Do you 
 want to know whether you are to live 
 to-morrow? Why do you want to live 
 to-morrow ? It is because there is some 
 one who loves you, and whom you want 
 to see to-morrow, and be with, and to 
 love back. There is no other reason 
 why we should live on than that we love 
 and are beloved. The moment a man 
 has no one to love him, he commits 
 suicide. So long as a man has those who 
 iovehim.and whom he loves, he will live; 
 because to live is to love. If it be but 
 the love of a dog, it will keep him in life; 
 
ife; 
 
 tri?c (Srcatcst Cf?ing in tl?e XPorlb. 49 
 
 but let that go and he has no contact in 
 life — no reason to live. He dies by his 
 own hand. You want to live because 
 you love, so that love is life. " Love 
 never faileth." Life never faileth, so 
 long as there is love. That is the philos- 
 ophy of what Paul is showing us: why 
 love should be the supreme thing — be- 
 cause it is going to last. It is the eternal 
 thing. 
 
 Now, I have finished. How many of 
 you will join me in reading that chapter 
 once a week for the next three months, 
 then once a month for the following three 
 months ? I know a man who did that, 
 and it changed his whole life. Will you 
 do it ? It is for the greatest thing in the 
 world. Ay, you might begin by reading 
 it every day for a week, especially the 
 verses in the middle which describe the 
 perfect character. " Love suffereth long 
 and is kind ; love envieth not ; love 
 vaunteth not itself." Get these ingredi- 
 ents fitted into your life. Then every- 
 thing that you do is eternal. I need not 
 tell you that eternal life is not a thing 
 
1 1 
 
 50 
 
 £oDc: tt?e Supreme (Sift. 
 
 I 
 
 [I ■! 
 
 that we are to get when we die. It is a 
 thing that we are Hving now, and that 
 we will have a poor chance of getting 
 when we die unless we are living it now. 
 The life of love is an eternal life ; and 
 there is no worse fate can befall a man 
 than to live and grow old alone, unlov- 
 ing and unloved. To be lost is to live in 
 an unregenerate condition, loveless and 
 unloved ; and to be saved is to love — for 
 God is love. So that this thing is worth 
 doing. It is worth doing ! It is worth 
 giving time to. No man can become a 
 saint in his sleep; and to fulfil the condi- 
 tion requires a certain amount of prayer 
 and meditation and time, just as improve- 
 ment in any direction, bodily or mental, 
 requires a certain amount of preparation 
 and time. Address yourselves to that 
 one thing, and have this supreme thing 
 engraven upon your character. You will 
 find as you look back upon your life that 
 the moments that stand out above every- 
 thing else are the moments when you 
 have done things in a spirit of love. " He 
 that loveth is born of God;" and above 
 
»» 
 
 Cl?e Greatest Cluing in tl^e XDorlb. 61 
 
 all the transitory pleasures of life there 
 stand forward those supreme moments 
 when we have been enabled to do un- 
 noticed kindnesses to those about us 
 « — things too trifling to speak about, but 
 they become a part of us. I can remem- 
 ber them now. I have seen almost all 
 the beautiful things God has made ; I 
 have enjoyed almost every pleasure that 
 God has planned for man ; and yet I can 
 look back, and I see standing out above 
 all the life that has gone four or five short 
 experiences when the love of God re- 
 flected itself in some poor imitation, some 
 small act of love of mine ; and that is the 
 thing that I get comfort from now. When 
 I think about my past life, everything 
 else has been transitory — has passed 
 away. But the acts of love which no man 
 knows about, or will ever know about — 
 they never fail. 
 
 And let me remind you that in the 
 book of Matthew, where the great judg- 
 ment day is depicted for us in the imag- 
 ery of One seated upon a throne and 
 dividing the sheep from the goats, the 
 
nvi 
 
 52 
 
 £opc: tf^c Supreme ^tft. 
 
 I I 
 
 I 
 
 test of a man then is not '* How have I 
 believed? " but ** How have I loved ? " 
 The test of religion — the final test of re- 
 ligion — is not religiousness, but love. 
 I say the final test of religion at the great 
 assizes is not religiousness, but love; not 
 what I have done — not what I have be- 
 lieved — not what I have achieved — but 
 how I have loved: according to the num- 
 ber of the cups of cold water we have 
 given in the name of Christ. 
 
 "Oh, may I join the choir invisible 
 Of those immortal dead who live again 
 In lives made better by their presence." 
 
 i 
 
THE PERFECTED LIFE: 
 
 Cf?e Greatest Heeb of tt^c IPorlb. 
 
 /^OD is all for quality; man is for 
 
 \~J quantity. But the immediate need 
 
 of the world at this moment is not 
 
 • • • • 
 
 .... more of us, but, if I may use the ex- 
 pression, a better brand of us. To se- 
 cure ten men of an improved type would 
 be better than if we had ten thousand 
 more of the average Christians distributed 
 all over the world. There is such a thing 
 in the evangelistic sense as winning the 
 whole world and losing our own soul. 
 And the frst consideration is our own 
 life — our own spiritual relations to God 
 — our own likeness to Christ. And I 
 am anxious, briefly, to look at the right 
 and the wrong way of becoming like 
 
■ev^p 
 
 \ !l 
 
 54 
 
 €I?e perfcctcb £ife. 
 
 '' li 
 
 Christ — of becoming better men: the 
 right and the wrong way of sanctification. 
 One of the futile methods of sanctify- 
 ing ourselves is trying; effort — struggle 
 — agonizing. I suppose you have all 
 tried that, and I appeal to your own 
 life when I ask if it has not failed. 
 Crossing the Atlantic, the Etruria, in 
 which I was sailing, suddenly stopped in 
 mid- ocean — something had suddenly bro- 
 ken down. There were a thousand peo- 
 ple on board that ship. Do you think 
 we could have made it go on if we had 
 all gathered together and pushed against 
 the sides or against the masts ? When 
 a man hopes to sanctify himself by try- 
 ing, he is like a man trying to make the 
 boat go that carries him by pushing it — 
 he is like a man drowning in the water 
 and trying to save himself by pulling the 
 hair of his own head. It is impossible. 
 Christ held up that mode of sanctifica- 
 tion almost to ridicule when He said: 
 " Which of you by taking thought can 
 add a cubit to his stature ? " Put down 
 that method forever as being futile. 
 
■ 
 
 .t 
 
 Cl?c Greatest Hccb of t{?c IPorlb. 55 
 
 Another man says: " That is not my 
 way. I have given up that. Trying has 
 its place, but that is not where it comes 
 in. My method is to concentrate on 
 some single sin, and to work away upon 
 that until I have got rid of it." Now, in 
 the first place, life is too short for that 
 process to succeed. Their name is legion. 
 In the second place, that leaves the rest 
 of the nature for a long time untouched. 
 In the third place, it does not touch the 
 seed or root of the disease. If you dam 
 up a stream at one place, it will simply 
 overflow higher up. And for a fourth rea- 
 son: Religion does not consist in nega- 
 tives — in stopping this sin and stopping 
 that sin. 
 
 Another man says: " Very well; I am 
 not trying to stop sins in succession; but 
 I am trying to copy the character of 
 Christ, bit by bit, point by point, into my 
 life." The difficulty about that method 
 is, that it is mechanical. It makes an 
 overbalanced life; and there is always 
 the mark of the tool about such a life 
 — about such a nature. It is like a 
 
56 
 
 C^^ perfectcb €ifc. 
 
 Jlii 
 
 :ilii! 
 
 wax-flower as compared with a natural 
 flower. 
 
 There is another method. I suppose 
 you have tried it. I have. It is to get 
 a book of blank paper and made columns 
 for the days of the week, and then put 
 down a list of the virtues with spaces 
 against each for marks, and then follow 
 it up with a great many rules, and de- 
 termine to live by rule. That is how 
 Franklin did; and I suppose that many 
 men in this day could tell how they had 
 hung up in their bedroom, or laid away 
 in their secret drawers, the rules they 
 had drawn up for themselves. Again I ap- 
 peal to life. You bear me witness that that 
 method failed. And it failed for very 
 matter-of-fact reasons — likely because 
 you forgot the rules. As a matter of fact, 
 that is a false method of sanctification, 
 and, like all the others, must come to 
 nothing. 
 
 All these methods that I have named 
 are perfectly human, perfectly natural, 
 perfectly ignorant, and perfectly futile. 
 I do not say we must abandon them; but 
 
 fi 
 
^\:}i Greatest Hecb of tl?c IPorlb. 57 
 
 
 they are futile to accomplish the real end 
 that we seek.^ 
 
 Now, what is the true method ? There 
 is one method which is as simple and 
 effectual as the others are complicated 
 and useless. It is laid down in a sincrle 
 verse in the Bible; and it is so practical 
 that any man can apply it to his own life, 
 and as certain in its action as a law of 
 Nature. It is a case of cause and effect. 
 The verse I refer to is in II Corinthians; 
 and I take it from the immensely im- 
 proved text in this instance of the 
 Revised Version — the i8th verse of the 
 3d chapter of II Corinthians: " We all, 
 with unveiled face, reflecting in a mirror 
 the glory of the Lord, are changed into 
 the same image from glory to glory even 
 as by the Lord, the S )irit." 
 
 Observe : " We a7r changed!' The 
 mistake we have been making is that we 
 have been trying to change ourselves. 
 That is not possible. We are changed 
 into the same image. Now, if we are to 
 get the benefit of the relief that these 
 words ought to give to the man who has 
 
7»P 
 
 58 
 
 Cf?c perfected ttfc. 
 
 li 
 
 
 ! 5 111 
 
 been spending half his nights and half 
 his life in a frenzied struggle for holiness 
 without having fulfilled the necessary 
 conditions, let us carefully mark the con- 
 dition demanded. For that condition 
 being fulfilled, we are infallibly changed 
 into the same image. The condition is 
 that we reflect in a mirror the glory of 
 Christ. That condition I shall refer to 
 in a moment; but one word requires an 
 explanation in passing. '• Reflecting in 
 a mirror the glory of the Lord." What 
 is the glory of the Lord."* The word 
 ** glory " suggests effulgence — radiance. 
 It recalls the halo that the old masters 
 delighted to paint around the heads of 
 their saints and Ecce Homos. But this 
 is all material. What does that halo, 
 that radiance, symbolize ? It symbolizes 
 the most radiant and beautiful tiling in 
 man, as in the Man Christ Jesus; and 
 that is, character. Character, The glory 
 of Christ is in character. I make a 
 challenge. Does any man know any- 
 thing more glorious in man or in God 
 than character ? God's name was His 
 
tEl]e (greatest Heeb of tl?e IDorlb. 59 
 
 character — Himself. Do not be misled 
 by the vagueness of that word " glory " 
 in modern usage. We lose the force of 
 it because we do not employ the word in 
 current speech. When it is in your 
 mind, substitute" character " for "glory." 
 " We all, with unveiled face, reflecting in 
 a mirror the character of Christ, are 
 changed into the same image from 
 character to character " — from the charac- 
 ter a little better to the character a little 
 better still, the character getting nobler 
 and nobler by slight and imperceptible 
 degrees. Now, read that verse once 
 more with all these meanings brought 
 out : '• We all, with unveiled face, re- 
 flecting in a mirror the character of the 
 Lord, are changed into the same image 
 from character to character." 
 
 How to get the character: Stand in 
 Christ's presence and mirror His charac- 
 ter, and you will be changed in spite of 
 yourself, and unknown to yourself, into 
 the same image from character to char- 
 acter. Every man is a reflector. That 
 is the principle upon which this is based. 
 
GO 
 
 Cl?c pcrfcdcb ixU. 
 
 P 
 
 In your face you rellcct your nationality. 
 I ask a man a qu(jstion, and I find out in 
 ten seconds whether he is a Northerner, 
 or Southerner, or a Canadian, or an Eng- 
 Hshman. He has reflected in his very 
 voice his country. I ask him another 
 question, and another, and another, and 
 I see reflections flit over the mirror from 
 all points of the compass. I find out in 
 five minutes that he has a Qood mother. 
 I see reflected in a mirror that he has 
 been reading Herbert Spencer, and Hux- 
 ley, and Darwin ; and as I go on watch- 
 ing him as he stands and talks to me, his 
 whole life is reflected back from it. I see 
 the kind of set he has been living in — 
 the kind of companions he has had. He 
 cannot help reflecting. He cannot help 
 himself showing the environment in 
 which he has lived — ^the influences that 
 have played around him. As Tennyson 
 says: " I am a part of all that I have 
 met." Now, we become like those whom 
 we habitually reflect. I could prove from 
 science that that applies even to the phys- 
 ical framework of animals — that they are 
 
^Ijc "(5rcalcs.t Hccb of tl^c IPoilb. fil 
 
 influenced and orp^anically changed by the 
 environment in which they live. We all 
 know how every man is influenced by the 
 people and the things that surround him. 
 I remember two fellow-students who 
 lived for eight years together, and by the 
 end of that time they had become so like 
 one another in their methods of thinking, 
 in their opinions, in their ways of looking 
 at things, that they were practically one. 
 When you asked a question it was im- 
 material to which you addressed it, and 
 when you made a remark you knew ex- 
 actly the impression it would make on 
 both of them. They had been changed 
 into the same image. There was a savor 
 of Jonathan about David, and a savor of 
 David about Jonathan. You sometimes 
 see husband and wife, after a half cen- 
 tury of fellowship, changed entirely into 
 the same image. They have gone on re- 
 flecting one another so often — without try- 
 ing, and perhaps even trying to prevent 
 it — that they have become largely made 
 up of the same qualities and character- 
 istics. That is the grand doctrine of in- 
 
 5 
 
62 
 
 CI?c pcrfecteb £tfc. 
 
 ii!i 
 
 li 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 fluence — that we become like those whom 
 we habitually associate with. 
 
 What, then, is the practical lesson? It 
 is obvious. Ma/ee Christ your most con- 
 stant companion. Be more under His 
 influence than under any other influence. 
 Five minutes spent in the companionship 
 of Christ every morning — ay, two min- 
 utes, if it is face to face and heart to heart 
 — will change the whole day, will make 
 every thought and feeling different, will 
 enable you to do things for His sake that 
 you would not have done for your own 
 sake, or for any one's sake. And the su- 
 preme and the sole secret of a sanctified 
 nature and a Christlike character and life, 
 is to be ever with Christ and reflecting 
 Him— catching His nature, His mind 
 and spirit, insensibly and unconsciously, 
 by mere proximity and contagion. 
 
 You say, *' How can a man make 
 Christ, the absent Christ, his most con- 
 stant companion ? " Why; friendship is 
 a spiritual thing. Think over it for a 
 moment, and you will find that your 
 friend influences you just about as much 
 
 •4 
 
tEl}c (greatest Hccb of tf^c XOotib. 63 
 
 in his absence as when he is with you. 
 Christ might have influenced us more, 
 perhaps, if He had been here, and yet I 
 do not know. It would have been an 
 ineffable experience to have lived at that 
 time — 
 
 'I think when I read that sweet story of old, 
 
 How when Jesus was here among men, 
 He took little children like lambs to His fold, 
 I should like to have been with Him then. 
 
 "I wish that His hand had been laid on my head, 
 
 That His arms had been thrown around me; 
 And that I had seen His kind look when He said 
 ' Let the little ones come unto Me.' " 
 
 «. 
 
 And yet, if Christ were to come into the 
 world again, few of us probably would 
 ever have a chance of seeing Him. I 
 have never seen my own Queen in our 
 little country of Britain. There are mil- 
 lions of her subjects who have never 
 seen her. And there would be thou- 
 sands of the subjects of the Lord Jesus 
 who could nev^er get within speaking dis- 
 tance of Him if He came to the world 
 now. We remember He said: '• It is ex- 
 
64 
 
 CI?c pcvfcctcb £tfc. 
 
 i' ! 
 
 'tifi 
 
 III 
 
 
 pedient for you (not/or Me) that I go 
 away; " because by going away He could 
 really be nearer to us than He would have 
 been if He had stayed here. It would 
 have been geographically and physically 
 impossible for most of us to have been in- 
 fluenced by His person had He remained. 
 And so our communion with Him is a 
 spiritual companionship; but not different 
 from most companionships, which when 
 you press them down to the roots, you 
 will find to be essentially spiritual. 
 
 All friendship, all love, human and Di- 
 vine, is spiritual. So that it is no diffi- 
 culty in reflecting the character of Christ 
 that we have never been in visible con- 
 tact with Him. He does not appeal to 
 the eye; He appeals to the soul: and is 
 reflected not from th? body, but from the 
 soul. The thing you love in a friend is 
 not the thing you see. I knew of a very 
 beautiful character — one of the loveliest 
 which had ever bloomed on this earth. It 
 was the character of a young girl. She 
 always wore about her neck a little lock- 
 et, but nobody was allowed to open it. 
 
 3r 
 
 i 
 
CI?e Greatest Itccb of tl?c XOoxlb. 05 
 
 None of her companions ever knew 
 what it contained, until one day she was 
 laid down with a dangerous illness, when 
 one of them was granted permission to 
 look into the locket; and she saw written 
 there: ''Whom having not see7i I love!' 
 That was the secret of her beautiful life. 
 She had been changed into the same 
 image. 
 
 Let me say a word or two about the 
 effects which necessarily must follow from 
 this contact, or fellowship, with Christ — 
 I need not quote the texts upon the sub- 
 ject — the texts about abiding in Christ — 
 •' He that abideth in Him sinneth not." 
 You cannot sin when you are standing 
 in front of Christ. You simply cannot 
 do it. '• Whosoever committeth sin 
 hath not seen Him, neither known Him." 
 Sin is abashed and disappears in the pre- 
 sence of Christ. Again: " If ye abide 
 in Me, and My words abide in you, ye 
 shall ask what ye will, and it shall be 
 done unto you." Think of that ! That 
 is another inevitable consequence. And 
 there is yet another. *' He that abideth 
 
m^ 
 
 iP« 
 
 ■ 
 
 66 
 
 Cf?c Pcrfcctcb €ife. 
 
 M 
 
 Mill 
 
 
 I- 
 
 !l 
 
 , ! 
 
 in Me, the same bringeth forth much 
 fruit." Sinlessness — answered prayer — 
 much fruit. But in addition to these 
 things, see how many of the highest 
 Christian virtues and experiences neces- 
 sarily flow from the assumption of that 
 attitude toward Christ. For instance, the 
 moment you assume that relation to 
 Christ you begin to know what the 
 child-spirit is. You stand before Christ, 
 and He becomes your Teacher, and you 
 instinctively become docile. Then you 
 learn also to become charitable and tol- 
 erant; because you are learning of Him, 
 and He is " meek and lowly in heart," 
 and you catch that spirit. That is a bit 
 of His character being reflected into 
 yours. Instead of being critical and self- 
 asserting, you become humble and have 
 the mind of a little child. I think, fur- 
 ther, the only way of learning what faith is 
 is to know Christ and be in His comp nv. 
 You hear sermons about the nine diffe . t 
 kinds of faith — distinctions drawn be- 
 tween the right kind of faith and the 
 wrong — and sermons telling you how to 
 
Cf?c (greatest Hecb of tl)e IDovIb. 07 
 
 get faith. So far as I can see, there is 
 only one way in which faith is got, and 
 it is the same in the religious world as it 
 is in the world of men and women. I 
 learn to trust you, my brother, just as I 
 get to know you, and neither more nor 
 less; and you get to trust me just as you 
 get to know me. I do not trust you as 
 a stranger. But as I come into contact 
 with you, and watch you, and live with 
 you, I find out that you are trustworthy, 
 and I come to trust myself to you, and 
 to lean upon you. But I do not do that 
 
 to a stranofer. 
 
 The way to trust Christ is to know 
 Christ. You cannot help trusting Him 
 then. You are changed. By knowing 
 Him faith is begotten in you, as cause 
 and effect. To trust Him without know- 
 ing Him as thousands do, is not faith, 
 but credulity. I believe a great deal of 
 prayer for faith is thrown away. What 
 we should pray for is that we may be 
 able to fulfil the condition, and when we 
 have fulfilled the condition, the faith nec- 
 essarily follows. The way, therefore, to 
 
68 
 
 tEl)e pcrfcctcb €itc. 
 
 increase our faith is to increase our inti- 
 macy with Christ. We trust Him more 
 and more the better we know Him. 
 
 And then another immediate effect of 
 this way of sanctifying the character is 
 the tranquilHty that it brings over the 
 Christian Hfe. How disturbed and dis- 
 tressed and anxious Christian people are 
 about their orrowth in grace ! Now, the 
 moment you give that over into Christ's 
 care — the moment you see that you are 
 being changed — that anxiety passes away. 
 You see that it must follow by an inev- 
 itable process and by a natural law if 
 you fulfil the simple condition; so that 
 peace is the reward of that life and fel- 
 lowship with Christ. Peace is not a thing 
 that comes down solid, as it were, and is 
 fitted somehow into a man's nature. We 
 have very gross conceptions of peace, 
 joy, and other Christian experiences; but 
 they are all simply effects of causes. We 
 fulfil the condition; we cannot help the 
 experiences following. I have spoken 
 about peace, but how about joy '^. In the 
 1 5th of John you will see when Christ 
 
 
Cf?e ^tcakst ttccb of tfy XOotib, 
 
 G9 
 
 
 gave His disciples the Parable of the 
 Vine, He said: " I will tell you why I 
 have told you that parable. It is that 
 your joy might be full." Did you ever 
 notice that ? He did not merely throw 
 it into space as a fine illustration. It 
 was not merely a statement of the doc- 
 trine of the indwelling Christ. It was 
 that, but it was more. ** These worda 
 have I spoken unto you," He said, " that 
 My joy might remain in you, and that 
 your joy might be full." That is the way 
 to get joy. It is to abide in Christ. Out 
 of this simple relationship we have faith, 
 we have peace, we have joy. Many 
 other things follow. A man's usefulness 
 depends to a large extent upon his fel- 
 lowship with Christ. That is obvious. 
 Only Christ can influence the world; but 
 all that the world sees of Christ is what 
 it sees of you and me. Christ said: 
 •' The world seeth Me no more, but ye 
 se^ Me." You see Him, and stand- 
 ing in front of Him, reflect Him, 
 and the world sees the reflection. It 
 cannot see Him. So that a Christian's 
 
im^f 
 
 70 
 
 Cf}c porfcctcb £ifc. 
 
 t 
 
 '•III 
 
 ;«! !; 
 
 usefulness depends solely upon that re- 
 lationship. 
 
 Now, I have only pointed out a few 
 of the things that follow from the stand- 
 ing before Christ — from the abiding in 
 Christ. You will find, if you run over the 
 texts about abiding in Christ, many other 
 things wi' suggest themselves in the same 
 relation. Almost everything in Christian 
 experience and character follows, and fol- 
 lows necessarily, from standing before 
 Christ and reflectinor His character. But 
 the supreme consummation is that we are 
 changed into ^/le same image, ** even as by 
 the Lord the Spirit." That is to say, 
 that in some way, unknown to us, but 
 possibly not more mysterious than the 
 doctrine of personal influence, we are 
 changed into the image of Christ. 
 
 This method cannot fail. I am not 
 setting before you an opinion or a theory, 
 but this is a certainly successful means of 
 sanctification. ** We all, with unveiled 
 face, reflecting in a mirror the glory of 
 Christ (the character of Christ) assuredly 
 — without any miscarriage — without any 
 
 
CF?c (Greatest IXcch of tl^ TOovlb. 71 
 
 possibility of miscarriage — are changed 
 into the same image." It is an immense 
 thing to be anchored in some great 
 principle like that. Emerson says: " The 
 hero is the man who is immovably cen- 
 tred." Get immovably centred in that 
 doctrine of sanctification. Do not be 
 carried away by the hundred and one 
 theories of sanctification that are floating 
 about in the religious literature of the 
 country at the present time; but go to 
 the bottom of the thing for yourself, and 
 see the rationale of it for yourself, and 
 you will come to see that it is a matter 
 of cause and effect, and that if you will 
 fulfil the condition laid down by Christ, 
 the effect must follow by a natural law. 
 
 What a prospect ! To be changed into 
 the same image. Think of that ! That 
 is what we are here for. That is what 
 we are elected for. Not to be saved, in 
 the common acceptation, but " whom He 
 did foreknow He also did predestinate to 
 be conformed to the image of His Son." 
 Not merely to be saved, but to be con- 
 formed to the image of His Son. Conserve 
 
72 
 
 tTf^c Porfcctcb Cifc. 
 
 ii/i ^ 
 
 that principle. And as we must spend 
 time in cultivating our earthly friend- 
 ships if we are to have their blessings, so 
 we must spend time in cultivating the 
 fellowship and companionship of Christ. 
 And there is nothing so much worth tak- 
 ing into our lives as a profounder sense 
 of what is to be had by living in com- 
 munion with Christ, and by getting 
 nearer to Him. It will matter much if 
 we take away with us some of the 
 thoughts about theology, and some of the 
 new light that has been shed upon the 
 text of Scripture; it will matter infinitely 
 more if our fellowship with the Lord 
 Jesus become a little closer, and our 
 theory of holy living a little more 
 rational. And then as we go forth, men 
 will take knowledge of us, that we have 
 been with Jesus, and as we reflect Him 
 upon them, they will begin to be changed 
 into the same image. 
 
 It seems to me the preaching is of in- 
 finitely smaller account than the life which 
 mirrors Christ. That is bound to tell ; 
 without speech or language — like the 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
/, 
 
 CI^^ (greatest Hceb of tf}C ir>orI6. 73 
 
 voices of the stars. It throws out its im- 
 pressions upon every side. The one 
 simple thing we have to do is to be there 
 — in the right relation ; to go through 
 life hand in hand with Him ; to have Him 
 in the room with us, and keeping us com- 
 pany wherever we go ; to depend upon 
 Him and lean upon Him, and so have 
 His life reflected in the fullness of its 
 beauty and perfection into ours. 
 
 There was a famous sculptor in Paris 
 who executed a great work. It stands 
 to-day in theGallerie des Beaux Arts. He 
 was a great genius, and this was his last 
 work; but like many a great genius he 
 was very poor, and lived in a small gar- 
 ret. This garret was his workshop, his 
 studio, and his bedroom. He had this 
 statue almost finished in clay, when one 
 night a frost suddenly fell over Paris. The 
 , sculptor lay on his bed, with the statue 
 before him in the centre of the fireless 
 room. As the chill air came down upon 
 him, he saw that if the cold got more in- 
 tense the water in the interstices of the 
 clay would freeze, and so the old man rose 
 
T 
 
 74 
 
 ^t?c porfcctcb Cifc. 
 
 and heaped the bed-clothes reverently 
 upon the statue. In the morning when 
 his friends came in they found the old 
 sculptor dead ; but the image was saved ! 
 That is the greatest thing about you. 
 Preserve that at any cost — the image into 
 which you are being changed by the un- 
 seen Sculptor, who is every moment that 
 you are in His presence working at that 
 holy task. The work of creation is not 
 done. Geology is still toiling to-day at 
 the unfinished earth; and the Spirit of 
 God which brooded upon the waters 
 thousands of years ago, is busy now creat- 
 ing men, within these commonplace lives 
 of ours, in the image of God. 
 
 I 
 
^erently 
 g when 
 the old 
 ) saved ! 
 Lit you. 
 age into 
 the un- 
 snt that 
 ; at that 
 I is not 
 i-day at 
 >pirit of 
 waters 
 w creat- 
 ice lives 
 
 I 
 
 Dealing with Doubt. 
 
 TT7HERE is a subject which I think 
 I we as workers amongst young 
 men cannot afford to keep out of 
 sight — I mean the subject of 
 " Doubt." We are forced to face that 
 subject. We have no choice. I would 
 rather let it alone; but every day of my 
 life I meet men who doubt, and I am 
 quite sure that most of you have innu- 
 merable interviews every year with men 
 who raise skeptical difficulties about re- 
 ligion. Now, it becomes a matter of 
 great practical importance that we 
 should know how to deal wisely with 
 these men. Upon the whole, I think 
 these are the best men in the country. 
 I speak of my own country. I speak 
 of the universities with which I am 
 
w^lt 
 
 wmm 
 
 76 
 
 Xlcalitui; w'ltl} Doul't. 
 
 ■/■i m 
 
 
 iw 
 
 mi . 
 
 familiar, and I say that the men who 
 are perplexed — the men who come to 
 you with serious and honest diffi- 
 culties — are the best men. They are 
 men of intellectual honesty, and can- 
 not allow themselves to be put to rest 
 by words, or phrases, or traditions, or 
 theologies, but who must get to the 
 bottom of things for themselves. And 
 if I am not mistaken, Christ was very 
 fond of these men. The outsiders al- 
 ways interested Him, and touched 
 Him. The orthodox people — the Phar- 
 isees — He was much less interested in. 
 He went with publicans and sinners — 
 with people who were in revolt against 
 the respectability, intellectual and re- 
 ligious, of the day. ^^nd following 
 Him, we are entitled to give sympathe- 
 tic consideration to those whom He 
 loved. and took trouble with. 
 
 First, let me speak for a moment or 
 two about the origin of doubt. In the 
 first place, we are born questioners. 
 Look at the wonderment of a little 
 child in its eyes before it can speak. 
 
 i 
 
Dealing unti? Doubt. 
 
 77 
 
 The child's great word when it begins 
 to speak is, " why ? " Every child is 
 full of every kind of question, about 
 every kind of thing" that moves, and 
 shines, and changes, in the little world 
 in which it lives. That is the incipi- 
 ent doubt in the nature of man. Re- 
 spect doubt for its origin. It is an 
 inevitable thing. It is not a thing to 
 be crushed. It is a part of man as God 
 made him. Heresy is truth in the mak- 
 ing, and doubt is the prelude of knowl- 
 edge. 
 
 Secondly : The world is a Sphinx. 
 It is a vast riddle — an unfathomable 
 mystery ; and on every side there is 
 temptation to questioning. In every 
 leaf, in every cell of every leaf, there 
 are a hundred problems. There are 
 ten good years of a man's life in in- 
 vestigating what is in a leaf, and there 
 are five good years more in investiga- 
 ting the things that are in the things 
 that are in the leaf. God has planned 
 the world to incite men to intellectual 
 activity. 
 
 6 
 
78 
 
 Dealing u?itf? DouH. 
 
 'I;; > 
 I 
 
 Hl^ 
 
 Thirdly: The instrument with which 
 we attempt to investigate truth is im- 
 paired. Some say it fell, and the glass 
 is broken. Some say prejudice, hered- 
 ity, or sin, have spoiled its sight, and 
 have blinded our eyes and deadened 
 our ears. In any case the instruments 
 with which we work upon truth, even 
 in the strongest men, are feeble and 
 inadequate to their tremendous task. 
 
 And in the fourth place, all religious 
 truths are doubtable. There is no 
 absolute proof for any one of them. 
 Even that fund -^mental truth — the ex- 
 istence of a God — no man can prove 
 by reason. The ordinary proof for the 
 existence of God involves either an 
 assumption, argument in a ci'cle, or a 
 contradiction. The impression of God 
 is kept up by experience; not by logic. 
 And hence, when the experimental 
 religion of a man, of a community, or 
 of a nation, wanes, religion wanes — 
 their idea of God grows indistinct, 
 and that man, community or nation 
 becomes infidel. Bear in mind, then, 
 
Dcalincj will} Vonbt 
 
 79 
 
 that all religious truths are doubtable — 
 even those which we hold most strongly. 
 What does this brief account of the 
 origin of doubt teach us? It teaches 
 us great intellectual humility. It 
 teaches us sympathy and toleration 
 with all men who venture upon the 
 ocean of truth to find out a path 
 through it for themselves. Do you 
 sometimes feel yourself thinking un- 
 kind things about your fellow-students 
 who have intellectual difficulty.? I 
 know how hard it is always to feel 
 sympathy and toleration for them; but 
 we must address ourselves to that 
 most carefully and most religiously. 
 If my brother is short-sighted I must 
 not abuse him or speak against him ; 
 [ must pity him, and if possible try to 
 improve his sight or to make things 
 that he is to look at so bright that he 
 cannot help seeing. But never let us 
 think evil of men who do not see as 
 we do. From the bottom of our 
 hearts let us pity them, and let us 
 take them by the hand and spend 
 
 I 
 
r 
 
 mm^mm 
 
 
 
 80 
 
 Dcalincj tc'iil} Doubt. 
 
 time and thought over them, and try 
 to lead them to the true Hght. 
 
 What has been the Church's treat- 
 ment of doubt in the past ? It has 
 been very simple. ** There is a here- 
 tic. Burn him!" That is all. "There 
 is a man who has gone off the road. 
 Brinof him back and torture him!'' 
 We have got past that physically ; 
 have we got past it morally ? What 
 does the modern Church say to a man 
 who is skeptical ? Not " Burn him I " 
 but " Brand him!" "Brand him! — 
 call him a bad name." And in many 
 countries at the present time, a man 
 Y/ho is branded as a heretic is de- 
 spised, tabooed, and put out of relig- 
 ious society, much more than if he had 
 gone wrong in morals. I think I am 
 speaking within the facts when I say 
 that a man who is unsound is looked 
 upon in many communities with more 
 suspicion and with more pious horror 
 than a man who now and then gets 
 drunk. " Burn him ! " " Brand him ! " 
 *' Excommunicate him ! " That has 
 
Dealing iritt) PouM. 
 
 81 
 
 its 
 
 I" 
 
 las 
 
 been the Church's treatment of doubt, 
 and that is perhaps to some extent the 
 treatment which we ourselves are in- 
 clined to give to the men who cannot 
 see the truths of Christianity as we 
 see thein. Contrast Christ's treat- 
 ment of doubt. I have spoken already 
 of His stranore partiality for the out- 
 siders — for the scattered heretics up 
 and down the country ; of the care 
 with which He loved to deal with 
 them, and of the respect in which He 
 held their intellectual difficulties. Christ 
 never failed to distinguish between 
 doubt and unbelief. Doubt is ciDit be- 
 lieve ; unbelief is wont believe. Doubt 
 is honesty; unbelief is obstinacy. Doubt 
 is looking for light ; unbelief is content 
 with darkness. Loving darkness rather 
 than light — that is what Christ attacked, 
 and attacked unsparingly. But for the 
 intellectual questioning of Thomas, and 
 Philip, and Nicodemus, and the many 
 others who came to Him to have their 
 great problems solved. He was re- 
 spectful and generous and tolerant. 
 
82 
 
 Healing vo'itlf Doubt. 
 
 And how did He meet their doubts ? 
 The Church, as I have said, says, 
 "Brand him!" Christ said, "Teach 
 him." He destroyed by fulfilling. 
 When Thomas came to Him and de- 
 nied His very resurrection, and stood 
 before Him waiting for the scathing 
 words and lashing for his unbelief, they 
 never came. They never came. Christ 
 gave him facts — facts. No man can 
 go around facts. Christ said, " Be- 
 hold My hands and My feet." The 
 great god of science at the present 
 time is a fact. It works with facts. 
 Its cry is, " Give me facts." Found 
 anything you like upon facts and we 
 will believe it. The spirit of Christ 
 was the scientific spirit. He founded 
 His religion upon facts ; and He asked 
 all men to found their religion upon 
 facts. Now, gentlemen, get up the 
 facts of Christianity, and take men to 
 the facts. Theologies — and I am not 
 speaking disrespectfully of theology ; 
 theology is as scientific a thing as any 
 other science of facts — but theologies 
 
Dealing tpitl? Doubt. 
 
 83 
 
 are human versions of Divine truths, 
 and hence the varieties of the versions, 
 and the inconsistences of them. I 
 would allow a man to select whichever 
 version of this truth he liked after- 
 wards; but I would ask him to begin 
 with no version, but go back to the 
 facts and base his Christian life upon 
 that. That is the great lesson of the 
 New Testament way of looking at 
 doubt — of Christ's treatment of doubt. 
 It is not "Brand him!" — but lovingly, 
 wisely, and tenderly to teach him. 
 Faith is never opposed to reason in 
 the New Testament ; it is opposed to 
 sight. You will find that a principle 
 worth thinking over. Faith is never 
 opposed to reason in the New Testa- 
 ment, hat to sight. 
 
 Well, now; with these principles in 
 mind as to the origin of doubt, and as 
 to Christ's treatment of it, how are we 
 ourselves to deal with our fellow-stu- 
 dents who are in intellectual difficulty 1 
 In the first place, I think we must 
 make all the concessions to them that 
 
11' 
 
 ^IF 
 
 V 
 
 84 
 
 Dcalincj luitl) Doubt. 
 
 ill 
 
 I 
 
 'It 
 
 we conscientiously can. When a 
 doubter first encounters you he pours 
 out a deluge of abuse of churches, and 
 ministers, and creeds, and Christians. 
 Nine-tenths of what he says is proba- 
 bly true. Make concessions. Agree with 
 him. It does him good to unburden 
 himself of these things. He has been 
 cherishing them for years — laying 
 them up against Christians, against the 
 Church, and against Christianity; and 
 now he is startled to fmd the first Chris- 
 tian with whom he has talked over the 
 thing almost entirely agrees with him. 
 We are, of course, not responsible for 
 everything that is said in the name of 
 Christianity; but a man does not give 
 up medicine because there are quack 
 doctors, and no man has a right to give 
 up his Christianity because there are 
 spurious or inconsistent Christians. 
 Then, as I already said, creeds are hu- 
 man versions of Divine truths; and we 
 do not ask a man to accept all the 
 creeds, any more than we ask him to 
 accept all the Christians. We ask him 
 
tJcaling wiU} VonU. 
 
 85 
 
 to accept Christ, and ihe facts about 
 Christ, and the words of Christ. But 
 you will find the battle is half won 
 when you have endorsed the man's ob- 
 jections, and possibly added a great 
 many more to the charges which he 
 has against ourselves. These men 
 are in revolt against the kind of religion 
 which we exhibit to the world — airainst 
 the cant that is taucrht in the name of 
 Christianity. And if the men that have 
 never seen the real thing — if you could 
 show them that, they would receive it as 
 eagerly as you do. They are merely in 
 revolt against the imperfections and in- 
 consistencies of those who represent 
 Christ to the world. 
 
 Second: Beg them to set aside, by 
 an act of will, all unsolved problems: 
 such as the problem of the origin of 
 evil, the problem of the Trinity, the 
 problem of the relation of human will 
 and predestination, and so on — problems 
 which have been investigated for thou- 
 sands of years without result — ask them 
 to set those problems aside as insoluble 
 
8fi 
 
 PcalitKj iiMll? Doubt. 
 
 I I 
 
 ! ?■ 
 
 in the meantime, just as a man who is 
 studying mathematics may be asked to 
 set aside the problem of squaring the 
 circle. Let him go on with what can be 
 done, and what has been done, and leave 
 out of sight the impossible. You will find 
 that will relieve the skeptic's mind of a 
 great deal of unnecessary cargo that has 
 been in his way. 
 
 Thirdly : Talking about difficulties, 
 as a rule, only aggravates them. En- 
 tire satisfaction to the intellect is unat- 
 tainable about any of the greater prob- 
 lems, and if you try to get to the bot- 
 tom of them by argument, there is no 
 bottom there ; and therefore you make 
 the matter worse. But I would say 
 what is known, and what can be honestly 
 and philosophically and scientifically said 
 about one or two of the difficulties that 
 the doubter raises, just to show him that 
 you can do it — to show him that you 
 are not a fool — that you are not merely 
 groprng i:i the dark yourself, but you 
 have found whatever basis is possible. 
 But I would not go around all the doc- 
 
Dcalincj ir>itl} I)oubt. 
 
 87 
 
 
 trines. I would simply do that with one 
 or two ; because the moment you cut off 
 one, a hundred other heads will grow 
 in its place. It would be a pity if all 
 these problems could be solved. The 
 joy of the intellectual life would be 
 largely gone. I would not rob a man 
 of his problems, nor would I have an- 
 other man rob me of m)' problems. 
 They are the delight of life, and the 
 whole intellectual world would be stale 
 and unprofitable if we knew everything. 
 Fourthly — and this is the great 
 point: Turn away from the reason, 
 and go into the man's moral life. I 
 don't mean, go into his moral life and 
 see if the man is livinof in conscious 
 sin, which is the great blinder of 
 the eyes — I am speaking now of 
 honest doubt ; but open a new door 
 into the practical side of man's nature. 
 Entreat him not to postpone life and 
 his life's usefulness until he has settled 
 the problems of the universe. Tell 
 him those problems will never all be 
 settled ; that his life will be done be- 
 
IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 1.25 
 
 u£ !■■ mil 2 2 
 
 li Iii4 — 
 
 1^ 
 
 2.0 
 
 1.8 
 
 U III 1.6 
 
 V] 
 
 /) 
 
 
 A 
 
 
 y 
 
 >^ 
 
% 
 
 Q' 
 
 ^ 
 
88 
 
 Dealing u?itf? DouH. 
 
 n^ 
 
 fore he has begun to settle them ; 
 and ask him what he is doing with 
 his life meantime. Charge him with 
 wasting his life and his usefulness ; 
 and invite him to deal with the moral 
 and practical difficulties of the world, 
 and leave the intellectual difficulties 
 as he goes along. To spend time 
 upon these is proving the less impor- 
 tant before the more important ; and, 
 as the French say, '• The good is the 
 enemy of the best." It is a good 
 thing to think ; it is a better thing to 
 work — it is a better thing to do good. 
 And you have him there, you see. 
 He can't get beyond that. You have 
 to tell him, in fact, that there are two 
 organs of knowledge: the one reason, 
 the other obedience. And now tell 
 him, as he has tried the first and 
 found the litde in it, just for a moment 
 or two to join you in trying the 
 second. And when he asks whom he 
 is to obey, you tell himi there is but 
 One, and lead him to the great his- 
 torical figure who calls all men to Him: 
 
tlcnltuc^ w'lil) Doubt. 
 
 89 
 
 the one perfect life — the one Saviour 
 of mankind — the one Light of the 
 world. Ask him to begin to obey 
 Christ ; and, doing His will, he shall 
 know of the doctrine whether it be of 
 God. 
 
 That, I think, is about the only thing 
 you can do with a man: to get him into 
 practical contact with the needs of the 
 world, and to let him lose his intellec- 
 tual difficulties meantime. Don't ask 
 him to give them up altogether. Tell 
 him to solve them afterward one by 
 one if he can, but meantime to give 
 his life to Christ and his time to the 
 kingdom of God. And, you see, you 
 fetch him completely around when you 
 do that. You have taken him away 
 from the false side of his nature, and 
 to the practical and moral side of his 
 nature; and for the first time in his life, 
 perhaps, he puts things in their true 
 place. He puts his nature in the re- 
 lations in which it ought to be, and 
 he then only begins to live. And 
 by obedience — by obedience — he will 
 
Ih 
 
 :'» 
 
 90 
 
 Dcaltncj ii>itl^ Doubt. 
 
 soon become a learner and pupil for 
 himself, and Christ will teach him 
 things, and he will find whatever prob- 
 lems are solvable gradually solved as 
 he goes along the path of practical 
 duty. 
 
 Now, let me, in closing, give a 
 couple of instances of how to deal with 
 specific points. The commonest thing 
 that we hear said nowadays by young 
 men is, " What about evolution ? How 
 am I to reconcile my religion, or any 
 religion, with the doctrine of evolu- 
 tion ? " That upsets more men than 
 perhaps anything else at the present 
 hour. How wouM you deal with it ? 
 I would say to a man that Chris'-'mity 
 is the further evolution. I don't know 
 any better definition than that. It is 
 the further evolution — the higher evo- 
 lution. I don't start with him to at- 
 tack evolution. I don't start with him 
 to defend it. I destroy by fulfilling it. 
 I take him at his own terms. He says 
 evolution is that which pushes the 
 man on from the simple to the com- 
 
Dealing wxil} Doubt. 
 
 91 
 
 plex, from the lower to the higher. 
 Very well; that is what Christianity 
 does. It pushes the man farther on. 
 It takes him where nature has left him, 
 and carries him on to heights which 
 on the plain of nature he could never 
 reach. That is evolution. " Lead 
 me to the Rock that is higher that I." 
 That is evolution. It is the develop- 
 ment of the whole man in the highest 
 directions — the drawing out ol his 
 spiritual being. Show an evolutionist 
 that, and you have taken the wind out 
 of his sails. " I came not to destroy." 
 Don't destroy his doctrine — perhaps 
 you can't — but fulfil it. Put a larger 
 meaning into it. 
 
 The other instance — the next com- 
 monest question perhaps — is the ques- 
 tion of miracles. It is impossible, of 
 course, to discuss that now — miracles; 
 but that question is thrown at my 
 head every second day: " What do 
 you say to a man when he says to 
 you, * Why do you believe in mira- 
 cles ? '" I say, •' Because I have seen 
 
92 
 
 Dcalincj tt?itl) Doubt. 
 
 : \ 
 
 them." He says, "When?" I say, 
 'Yesterday." He says, "Where?" 
 " Down such-and-such a street I saw 
 a man who was a drunkard redeemed 
 by the power of an unseen Christ and 
 saved from sin. That is a miracle." 
 The best apologetic for Christianity is 
 a Christian. That is a fact which the 
 man cannot get over. There are fifty 
 other arguments for miracles, but none 
 so good as that you have seen them. 
 Perhaps you are one yourself. But 
 take you a man and show him a mira- 
 cle with his own eyes. Then he will 
 believe. 
 
 II 
 
Preparation 
 
 FOR Learning. 
 
 EFORE an artist can do anything; 
 the instrument must be tuned. 
 Our astronomers at this moment 
 are preparing for an event which 
 happens only once or twice in a Hfetime: 
 the total ecHpse of the sun in the month 
 of August. 1 hey have begun already. 
 They are making preparations. At cho- 
 sen stations in different parts of the 
 world they are spending all the skill that 
 science can suggest upon the construc- 
 tion of their instrumeiits; and up to the 
 last moment they will be busy adjusting 
 them; and the last day will be the busi- 
 est of all, because then they must have 
 the glasses and the mirrors polished to 
 
94 
 
 Preparation for Ccarning. 
 
 ■ i 
 
 the last degree. They have to have the 
 lenses in place and focussed upon this 
 spot before the event itself takes place. 
 
 Everything will depend upon the in- 
 struments which you bring to this ex- 
 periment. Everything will depend upon 
 it; and therefore fifteen minutes will not 
 be lost if we each put our instrument 
 into the best working order we can. I 
 have spoken of lenses, and that re- 
 minds me that the instrument which we 
 bring to bear upon truth is a compound 
 thing. It consists of many parts. Truth 
 is not a product of the intellect alone; it 
 is a product of the whole nature. The 
 body is engaged in it, and thf mind, and 
 the soul. 
 
 The body is engaged in it. Of course, 
 a man who has his body run down, or 
 who is dyspeptic, or melancholy, sees 
 everything black, and distorted, and un- 
 true. But I am not going to dwell 
 upon that. Most of you seem in pretty 
 fair working order so far as your bodies 
 are concerned; only it is well to remem- 
 ber that we are to give our bodies a liv- 
 
Preparation for teaming. 
 
 98 
 
 I 
 
 irse, 
 or 
 sees 
 un- 
 well 
 etty 
 Ddies 
 letn- 
 liv- 
 
 ing sacrifice — not a half-dead sacrifice, 
 as some people seem to imagine. There 
 is no virtue in emaciation. I don't know 
 if you have any tendency in that direc- 
 tion in America, but certainly we are in 
 danger of dropping into it now and then 
 in England, and it is just as well to bear 
 in mind our part of the lens — a very 
 compound and delicate lens — with which 
 we have to take in truth. 
 
 Then comes a very important part: 
 the intellect — which is one of the most 
 useful servants of truth ; and I need not 
 tell you as students, that the intellect 
 will have a great deal to do with your 
 reception of truth. I was told that it 
 was said at these conferences last year, 
 that a man must crucify his intellect. I 
 venture to contradict the gentleman who 
 made that statement. I am quite sure 
 no such statement could ever have been 
 made in your hearing — that we were to 
 crucify our intellects. We can make no 
 progress without the full use of all the 
 intellectual powers that God has en- 
 dowed us with. 
 
r 
 
 n 
 
 OS 
 
 preparation for Coaming. 
 
 But more important than either of 
 these is the moral nature — tlie moral and 
 spiritual nature* Some of you remem- 
 ber a sermon of Robertson of Brighton, 
 entitled " Obedience the Organ of Spir- 
 itual Knowledge." A very startling 
 title ! — " Obedience the Organ of Spir- 
 itual Knowledge." The Pharisees asked 
 about Christ ; " How knoweth this man 
 letters, never having learned ? " How 
 knoweth this man, never having learned? 
 The organ of knov/ledge is not nearly 
 so much mind, as the organ that Christ 
 used, namely, obedience ; and that was 
 the organ which He Himself insisted 
 upon when He said : " He that willeth 
 to do His will shall know of the doctrine 
 whether it be of God." You have all 
 noticed, of course, that the words in 
 the original are : " If any man will to 
 do His will, he shall know of the doc- 
 trine." It doesn't read, " If any do His 
 will," which no man can do perfectly ; 
 but if any man be simply willing to do 
 His will — if he has an absolutely undi- 
 vided mind about it — that man will know 
 
Prcparalion for CcarniiKj. 
 
 97 
 
 what truth is and know what falsehood 
 is ; a stranLTcr will he not follow. And 
 that is by far the best source of spiritual 
 knowledge on every ar.count — obedience 
 to God — absolute sincerity and loyalty 
 in following Christ. " If any man do His 
 will he shall know " — a very remarkable 
 association of knowledge, a thing which 
 is usually considered quite intellectual 
 with obedience, which is moral and 
 spiritual. 
 
 But even although we use all these 
 three different parts of the instrument, 
 we have not at all got at the com- 
 plete method of learning. There is a 
 little preliminary that the astronomer 
 has to do before he can make his obser- 
 vation. He has to take the cap off his 
 telescope. Many a man thinks he is 
 looking at truth when he is only looking 
 at the cap. Many a time I have looked 
 down my microscope and thought I was 
 looking at the diatom for which I had 
 long been searching, and found I had 
 simply been looking at a speck of dust 
 upon the lens itself. Many a man thinks 
 
i 
 
 OH 
 
 preparation for Ccarntng. 
 
 he is looking at truth when he is only 
 looking at the spectacles he has put on 
 to see it with. He is looking at his own 
 spectacles. Now, the common specta- 
 cles that a man puts on — I suppose the 
 creed in which he has been brought up — 
 if a man looks at that, let him remember 
 that he is not looking at truth : he is 
 looking at his own spectacles. There is 
 no more import. :;t lesson that we have 
 to carry with us than that truth is not to 
 be found in what I have been taught. 
 That is not truth. Truth is not what I 
 have been taught. If it were so, that 
 would apply to the Mormon, it would 
 apply to the Brahmin, it would apply to 
 the Buddhist. Truth would be to every- 
 body just what he had been taught. 
 Therefore let us dismiss from our minds 
 the predisposition to regard that which 
 we have been brought up in as being 
 necessarily the truth. I must say it is 
 very hard to shake oneself free altogether 
 from that. I suppose it is impossible. 
 
 But you see the reasonableness of 
 giving up that as your view of truth 
 
Preparation for Ccarnlncj. 
 
 09 
 
 IS 
 
 when you come to apply it all around. 
 If that were the definition of truth, truth 
 would be just what one's parents were — 
 it would be a thing of hereditary trans- 
 mission, and not a thing absolute in it- 
 self. Now, let me venture to ask you 
 to take that cap off. Take that cap off 
 now, and make up your minds you are 
 going to look at truth naked — in its 
 reality as it is, not as it is reflected through 
 other minds, or through any theology, 
 however venerable. 
 
 Then, there is one thing I think we 
 must be careful about, and that is be- 
 sides having the cap off, and having all 
 the lenses clean and in position — to have 
 the instrument rightly focussed. Every- 
 thing may be right, and yet when you 
 go and look at the object, you see things 
 altogether falsely. You see things not 
 only blurred, but you see things out of 
 proportion. And there is nothing more 
 important we have to bear in mind in 
 running our eye over successive theo- 
 logical truths, or religious truths, than 
 that there is a proportion in those truthsi 
 
ifi 
 
 loo 
 
 Preparation for Ccarinn.3. 
 
 and that we must see them in their pro- 
 portion, or we see them falsely. A man 
 may take a dollar or a half-dollar and 
 hold it to his eye so closely that he will 
 hide the sun from him. Or he may so 
 focus his telescope that a fly or a boulder 
 may be as large as a mountain. A man 
 may hold a certain doctrine, very intense- 
 ly — a doctrine which has been looming 
 upon his horizon for the last six months, 
 let us say, and which has thrown every- 
 thing else out of proportion, it has be- 
 come so big itself. Now, let us beware 
 of distortion in the arranofement of the 
 religious truths which we hold. It is 
 almost impossible to get things in their 
 true proportion and symmetry, but this is 
 the thing we must be constantly aiming 
 at. We are told in the Bible to " add 
 to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowl- 
 edge, and to knowledge balance," as 
 the word literally means — balance. It 
 is a word taken from the orchestra, 
 where all the parts — the sopranos, the 
 basses, the altos, and the tenors, and all 
 the rest of them — must be regulated. 
 
iS v. A jT} 
 
 y 
 
 Preparation for Ccitviun^. 
 
 101 
 
 If you have too much of the bass, or too 
 much of the soprano, there is want of har- 
 mony. That is what I mean by the 
 want of. pro[)er focus — by the want 
 of proper balance — in the truths which 
 we all hold. It will never do to exag- 
 gerate one truth at the expense of an- 
 other, and a truth may be turned into 
 a falsehood very, very easily, by simply 
 being either too much enlarged or too 
 much diminished. I once heard of some 
 blind men who were taken to see a 
 menagerie. They had gone around the 
 animals, and four of them were allowed 
 to touch an elephant as they went past. 
 They were discussing afterward what 
 kind of a creature the elephant was. 
 One man, who had touched its tail, said 
 the elephant was like a rope. Another 
 of the blind men, who had touched his 
 hind limb, said, " No such thing ! the 
 elephant is like the trunk of a tree." 
 Another, who had felt its sides, said, 
 •' That is all rubbish. An elephant is a 
 thing like a wall." And the fourth, who 
 had felt its ear, said that an elephant was 
 
 f\ 
 
 I 
 
I 1 
 
 I 
 
 102 Preparation for Cearnin^. 
 
 like none of those things; it was like a 
 leather bag. Now, men look at truth 
 at different bits of it, and they see differ- 
 ent things of course, and they are very 
 apt to imagine that the thing which they 
 have seen is the whole affair — the whole 
 thing. In reality, we can only see a 
 very little bit at a time; and we must, 
 I think, learn to believe that other men 
 can see bits of truth as well as ourselves. 
 Your views are just what you see with 
 your own eyes; and my views are just 
 what I see; and what I see depends on 
 just where I stand, and what you see de- 
 pends on just where you stand; and truth 
 is very much bigger than an elephant, and 
 we are very much blinder than any of 
 those blind men as we conn to look at it. 
 Christ has made us aware that it is 
 quite possible for a man to have ears and 
 hear nothing, and to have eyes and see 
 not. One of the disciples saw a great 
 deal of Christ, and he never knew Him. 
 " Have I been so long time with you, 
 Philip, and yet hast thou not known 
 Me ? " " He that hath seen Me hath 
 
preparation for ^carntn^j. 103 
 
 seen the Father also." Philip had never 
 seen Him. He had been looking at his 
 own spectacles, perhaps, or at something 
 else, and had never seen Him. If the 
 instrument had been in order, he would 
 have seen Christ. And I would just add 
 this one thing more: the test of value of 
 the different verities of truth depends 
 upon one thing: whether they have or 
 have not a sanctifying power. That is 
 another remarkable association in the 
 mind of Christ — of sanctifioation with 
 truth — thinking and holiness — not to be 
 found in any of the sciences or in any of 
 the philosophies. It is peculiar to the 
 Bible. Christ said " Sanctify them through 
 Thy truth. Thy Word is truth." Now, 
 the value of any question — the value of 
 any theological question — depends upon 
 whether it has a sanctifying influence. 
 If it has not, don't bother about it. 
 Don't let it disturb your minds until you 
 have exhausted all truths that have 
 sanctification within them. If a truth 
 makes a man a better man, then let him 
 focus his instrument upon it and get all 
 
HI 
 
 h : 
 
 104 prcvaratioii foi* Scanuug. 
 
 the acquaintance with it he can. If it is 
 the profane babbling of science, falsely 
 so called, or anything that has an in- 
 jurious effect upon the moral and spirit- 
 ual nature of a man, it is better let alone. 
 And above all, let us remember to hold 
 the truth in love. That is the most 
 sanctifying influence of all. And if we 
 can carry away the mere lessons of toler- 
 ation, and leave behind us our censori- 
 ousness, and criticalness, and harsh judg- 
 ments upon one another, and excommu- 
 nicating of everybody except those who 
 think exactly as we do, the time we shall 
 spend here will not be the least useful 
 parts of our lives. 
 
 jj 
 
 IM 
 
The Study of the Bible. 
 
 M 
 
 I WILL give a note or two, pretty 
 much by way of refreshing the mem- 
 . . . ory about the Bible and how to look 
 • • • at it. 
 
 First: T/ie Bible came out of religion, 
 not religicn out of the Bible. The Bible 
 is a product of religion, not a cause of it. 
 The war literature of America which 
 culminated, I suppose, in the publication 
 of President Grant's life, came out of the 
 war; the war did not come out of the 
 literature. And so in the distant past, 
 there flowed among the nations of 
 heathendom a small, warm stream, like 
 the Gulf Stream in the cold Atlantic — a 
 small stream of religion ; and now and 
 
loe 
 
 Ct^cStubyoftlK Bibk. 
 
 then at intervals, men, carried along by 
 this stream, uttered themselves in words. 
 The historical books came out of facts; 
 the devotional books came out of expe- 
 riences ; the letters came out of circum- 
 stances ; and the Gospels came out of all 
 three. That is where the Bible came 
 from. It came out of religion; religion did 
 not come out of the Bible. You see the 
 difference. The religion is not, then, in 
 the writing alone ; but in those facts, ex- 
 periences, circumstances, in the history 
 and development of a people led and 
 taught by God. And it is not the 
 words that are inspired, so much as the 
 men. 
 
 Secondly: These mejt were authors; 
 they were not pens. Their individuality 
 comes out on every page they wrote. 
 They were different in mental and literary 
 style ; in insight ; and even the same 
 writer differs at different times. II 
 Thessalonians, for example, is consider- 
 ably beneath the level of Romans, and 
 III John is beneath the level of I John. 
 A man is not always at his best. These 
 
^I?c Sixiby of IEk Bible 
 
 
 107 
 
 lese 
 
 writers did not know they were writing 
 a Bible. 
 
 Third : T/ie Bible is not a book; it is a 
 library. It consists of sixty-six books. 
 It is a great convenience, but in some 
 respects a great misfortune, that these 
 books have always been bound up to- 
 gether and given out as one book to the 
 world, when they are not; because that 
 has led to endless mistakes in theology 
 and in practical life. 
 
 Fourth: These books, which make up 
 this library, written at intervals of hun- 
 dreds of years, were collected after the 
 last of the writers was dead — long after 
 — by human hands. Where were the 
 books ? Take the New Testament. 
 There were four lives of Christ. One was 
 in Rome ; one was in Southern Italy; one 
 was in Palestine ; one in Asia Minor. 
 There were twenty-one letters. Five 
 were in Greece and Macedonia ; five in 
 Asia ; one in Rome. The rest were in 
 the pockets of private individuals. The- 
 ophilus had Acts. They were collected 
 undesignedly. For example, the letter 
 
«■ 
 
 108 
 
 Cl)c Stuby of tf?c Bible. 
 
 to the Galatians was written to the 
 Church in Galatia. Somebody would 
 make a copy or two, and put it into the 
 hands of the members of the different 
 churches, and they would find their way 
 not only to the churches in Galatia, but 
 after an interval to nearly all the churches. 
 In those days the Christians scattered up 
 and down through the world, exchanged 
 copies of those letters, very much as 
 geologists up and down the world ex- 
 change specimcms of minerals at the pres- 
 ent time, or entomologists exchange 
 specimens of butterfiies. And after a 
 lonof time a number of the books becran 
 to be pretty well known. In the third 
 century the New Testament consisted of 
 the following books : The four Gospels, 
 Acts, thirteen letters of Paul, I John, 
 I Peter; and in addition, the Epistles of 
 Barnabas and Hermas. This was not 
 called the New Testament, but the 
 Christian Library. Then these last books 
 were discarded. They ceased to be re- 
 garded as upon the same level as the 
 Others. In the fourth century the canon 
 
1 
 
 ^\:}c Stnby of tl}o V>\bU. 
 
 109 
 
 lof 
 
 'vas closed — that is to say, a list was 
 made up of the books which were to be 
 re<^arded as canonical. And then long 
 after that they were stitched together and 
 made up into one book — hundreds of 
 years after that. Who made up the com- 
 plete list ? It was never formally made 
 up. The bishops of the different churches 
 would draw up a list each of the books 
 that they thought ought to be put into 
 this Testament. The churches also 
 would give their opinion. Sometimes 
 councils would meet and talk it over — 
 discuss it. Scholars like Jerome would 
 investigate the authenticity of the dif- 
 ferent documents, and there came to be a 
 general consensus of the churches on the 
 matter. But no formal closing of the 
 canon was ever attempted. 
 
 And lasdy: All religions have their 
 sacred books, just as the Christians have 
 theirs. Why is it necessary to remind 
 ourselves of that ? If you ask a man why 
 he believes such and such a thing, he will 
 tell you, because it is in the Bible. If you 
 ask him, ** How do you know the Bible is 
 8 
 
m ^ 
 
 1 
 
 f 
 
 110 
 
 Cf?e StubY of tf)c 3iblc. 
 
 true? " he will probably reply, " Because 
 it says so." Now. let that man remember 
 that the sacred books of all the other re- 
 ligions make the same claim; and while 
 it is quite enough among ourselves to 
 talk about a thing being true because it 
 is in the Bible, we come in contact with 
 outsiders, and have to meet the skepti- 
 cism of the day. We must go far deeper 
 than that. The religious books of the 
 other relip"ions claim to be far more Di- 
 vine in their origin than do ours. For 
 example, the Mohammedans claim for 
 the Koran — a large section of them, at 
 least — that it was uncreated, and that it 
 lay before the throne of God from the 
 beginning of time. They claim it was 
 put into the hands of the angel Gabriel, 
 who brought it down to Mahomet, and 
 dictated it to him, and allowed him at 
 long intervals to have a look at the orig- 
 inal book itself — bound with silk and 
 studded with precious stones. That is a 
 claim of much higher Divinity than we 
 claim for our book ; and if we simply have 
 to rely upon the Bible's testimony to its 
 
tEf?c Stuby of tf}c 23iMc 
 
 111 
 
 own verity, it is for the same reason the 
 Mohammedan would have you beHeve 
 his book, and the Hindu would have you 
 put your trust in the Vedas. That is 
 why thorough Bible study is of such im- 
 portance. We can get to the bottom of 
 truth in itself, and be able to give a rea- 
 son for the faith that is in us. 
 
 Now may I give you before I stop, just 
 a couple of examples of how the Bible 
 came out of religion, and not religion out 
 of the Bible ? Take one of the letters. 
 Just see how it came out of the circum- 
 stances of the time. The first of the let- 
 ters that was written will do very well 
 as an example. It is the ist Epistle to 
 the Thessalonians. In the year 52 Paul 
 went to Europe. He spent three Sundays 
 in Thessalonica, created a great disturb- 
 ance by his preaching, and a riot sprang 
 up, and his life was in danger. He was 
 smuggled out of the city at night — not, 
 however, before having founded a small 
 church. He was unable to go back to 
 Thessalonica, although he tried it two or 
 three times ; but he wrote a letter. That 
 
»i|r 
 
 i 
 
 il2 
 
 Cf?c Stuby of tf)c Z3ible. 
 
 m 
 
 is the first letter to the Thessalonians. 
 You see how it sprang outof the circum- 
 stances of the time. Take a second ex- 
 ample. Let us take one of the lives 
 of Christ. Suppose you take the life 
 recorded by Mark. Now, from internal 
 evidences you can make out quite clear- 
 ly how it was written, by whom it was 
 written, and to whom it was written. 
 You understand at once it was written 
 to a Roman public. If I were writin^i; a 
 letter to a red Indian I would make it 
 very different from a letter I would write 
 to a European. Now, Mark puts in a 
 number of points which he would not if 
 he had been writing to Greeks. For ex- 
 ample, Mark almost never quotes pro- 
 phecy. The Romans did not know any- 
 thing about prophecy. Then, he gives 
 little explanations of Jewish customs. 
 When I was writing home I had to give 
 some little explanations of American cus- 
 toms — for example, Commencement Day. 
 When Mark writes to Rome about thinijs 
 happening farther East, he gives elabor- 
 ate explanations. Again, Mark is fond 
 
1 
 
 (EI?c Stuby of tl}c 23iblc. 
 
 113 
 
 Lings 
 bor- 
 fond 
 
 of Latin words — writing to the Latins, 
 who could understand them. He talks 
 about " centurion," " prDCtoriuni," and 
 others. Then, he always turns Jewish 
 money into Roman money, just as I 
 should say a book, if I were writing to 
 Europe about it, costs two shillings, in- 
 stead o.' fifty cents. Mark, for example, 
 says, " two mites, which make a codran- 
 tes." He refers to the coins which the 
 Romans knew. In these ways we find 
 out that the Bible came out of the cir- 
 cumstances and the places and the times 
 in which it was written. Then if we will 
 we can learn where Mark got his infor- 
 mation, to a large extent. It is an ex- 
 tremely interesting study. I should like 
 to refer you to Godet's '• New Testament 
 Studies," where you will get this worked 
 out. Let me just indicate to you how 
 these sources of information are arrived 
 at — the principal sources of information. 
 There are a number of graphic touches in 
 the book which indicate an eye-witness. 
 Mark himself could not have been the 
 eye-witness; and yet there are a number 
 
C : ' -■•«■ 
 
 114 
 
 CI?e Stuby of tl?c Bible. 
 
 ■:|["I 
 
 of graphic touches which show that he 
 got his account from an eye-witness. 
 You will find them, for example, in Mark 
 iv. 38 ; X. 5o; vi. 31; vii 34. You will 
 find also graphic touches indicating an 
 ear-witness — as if the voice lingered in 
 the mind of the writer. For example, 
 the retention of Aramaic in v. 41; and in 
 vii. 34 — '^ Tali t ha cumi ; Damsel, I say 
 unto thee, arise." He retained the Ar- 
 amaic words Christ said, as I would say 
 in Scotland, " My wee lassie, rise up." 
 The very words lingered in his ear, and 
 he put them in in the original. Then 
 there are occasional phrases indicating 
 the moral impression produced — v. i5 ; 
 x. 24; X. 32. Now, Mark himself was' 
 not either the eye-witness or ear-witness. 
 There is internal evidence that he got his 
 information from Peter. We know very 
 well that Mark was an intimate friend of 
 Peter's. When Peter came to Mark's 
 house in Jerusalem, after he got out of 
 prison, the very servant knew his voice, 
 so that he must have been well known in 
 the house. Therefore he was a friend of 
 
Cf?c Stuby of tf^c Bible. 
 
 115 
 
 i5; 
 
 Mark's. The colorini,^ and notes seem to 
 be derived from Peter. There is a sense 
 of wonder and admiration which you find 
 all through the book, very like Peter's 
 way of looking at things — i. 27; i. 33; i. 
 45; ii. 12; v. 42; and a great many others. 
 But, still more interesting, Mark quotes 
 the words, " Get thee behind Me, Satan," 
 which were said to Peter's shame, but he 
 omits the preceding words said to his 
 honor — " Thou art Peter. On this rock," 
 and so on. Peter had learned to be hum- 
 ble when he was telling Mark about 
 it. Compare Mark viii. 27-33, ^^^^^ Mat- 
 thew's account — xvi. 13-23. Mark also 
 omits the fine achievement of Peter — 
 walking on the lake. When Peter was 
 talking to Mark he never said anything 
 about it. Compare vi. 5o with Matthew's 
 account — xiv. 28. And Mark alone re- 
 cords the two warnings given to Peter 
 by the two cock-crowings, making his 
 fall the more inexcusable. See Mark 
 xiv. 30 ; also the 68th verse and the 7 2d. 
 Peter did not write the book ; we know 
 that, because Peter's style is entirely 
 
116 
 
 'Ct?c Stuby of tl?e 3ible. 
 
 different. None of the four Gospels 
 have the names of the writers attached 
 to them. We have had to find all these 
 things out ; but Mark's Gospel is obvi- 
 ously made up of notes from Peter's 
 evangelistic addresses. 
 
 So we see from these simple examples 
 how human a book the Bible is, and how 
 the Divinity in it has worked through 
 human means. The Bible, in fact, has 
 come out of religion ; not religion out of 
 the Bible. 
 
 'ii ii ill 
 
 I ii 
 
"FIRSTI" 
 
 HORTLY after noon, one Sunday 
 
 lately, it was evident to dwellers in 
 
 the City of Glasgow that some event 
 
 of importance was to take place in 
 
 connection with the Boys' Brigade. 
 
 Boy after boy, wearing the now famil- 
 iar uniform of cap, belt, and haversack, 
 was seen making his way to the private 
 parade, where his Company was to fall in, 
 preparatory to marching to the City Hall 
 to take part in the Eastern District 
 Church Parade. 
 
 No sooner were the doors opened 
 than the Companies commenced to enter, 
 and were marched in file to their respec- 
 tive seats. At 2.IO every Company had 
 arrived, and the scene as viewed from 
 
i'T 
 
 fi 
 
 f-i^ 
 
 
 
 H, 
 
 118 
 
 "^irstr 
 
 the platform was now a most impressive 
 one, the entire area of the hall being 
 filled by the boys, some fourteen hun- 
 dred strong, who looked soldiers every 
 inch as they sat in their smart uniform. 
 
 The galleries were crowded with an 
 interested audience, and the platform 
 was also filled, principally by a large 
 choir. Five minutes before the hour 
 the organist took his seat at the or- 
 gan for the opening voluntary, and on 
 the first note being touched, the hum of 
 the voices was instantly hushed, and on 
 a signal being given every cap was at 
 once removed. 
 
 Punctually at 2.30 Professor Drum- 
 mond stepped on to the platform, ac- 
 companied by several members of the 
 Battalion Executive Committee. 
 
 Every boy was attention when Profes- 
 sor Drummond gave out the Hundredth 
 Psalm; and heartily as one has often 
 heard the familiar words sung, it is ques- 
 tionable if ever it was rendered with 
 greater effect. 
 
 The rustle of leaves which followed 
 
"^irstl 
 
 119 
 
 wlien the sixth chapter of Matthew was 
 given out, indicated that the order for 
 every boy to bring his Bible had not 
 been overlooked. The hymn, *' Jesus 
 shall reign," was then sung with hearti- 
 ness. When seats had been resumed 
 the Professor raised his hand, and imme- 
 diately every head was bowed, and the 
 silence was most impressive, as the 
 prayer was offered. The next hymn, 
 " Soldiers of Christ, arise ! " being an 
 evident favorite, was rendered with 
 great vigor. 
 
 Professor Drummond then said: "The 
 47th Glasgow Company will stand." 
 Instantly a large Company in front rose. 
 "The nth Glasgow Company will also 
 stand," and a Company near the back of 
 the hall rose. These C^^mpanies were 
 asked to turn to the chapter that had been 
 read, the sixth of Matthew, and to read 
 in unison the verse before the end: 
 " Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and 
 His righteousness; and all these things 
 shall be added tmto you** The Compa- 
 nies were told to sit down, and Professor 
 
U J> - = 
 
 II 
 
 Ml'-; 
 
 11 
 
 Mil J 
 
 ': . ! 
 
 
 120 
 
 "^irstf 
 
 Drummond proceeded with his address 
 as follows: — • 
 
 I have three heads to give you. The 
 first is " Geography," the second is 
 " Arithmetic," and the third is " Gram- 
 mar." 
 
 First. Geography tells us where to 
 find places. Where is the Kingdom of 
 God } It is said that when a Prussian 
 officer was killed in the Franco-Pnissian 
 war, a map of France was very often 
 found in his pocket. When we wish to 
 occupy a country, we ought to know its 
 geography. Now, zvherc is the King- 
 dom of God ? A boy over there says, 
 " It is in heaven." No; it is not in heav- 
 en. Another boy says, " It is in the Bi- 
 ble." No; it is not in the Bible. Anoth- 
 er boy says, "It must be in the Church.' 
 No; it is not in the Church. Heaven is 
 only the Capital of the Kingdom of God; 
 the Bible is the guide-book to it; the 
 Church is the weekly parade of those 
 who belong to it. If you would turn to 
 tlie seventeenth chapter of Luke you 
 
",fir5i! 
 
 121 
 
 will find out where the Kingdom of 
 God really is. *• The Kingdom of God 
 is within you " — within yoji. The King- 
 dom of God is inside people, 
 
 I remember once taking a walk by the 
 river near where the Trails of Niagara are, 
 and I noticed a remarkable figure walking 
 along the river bank. I had been some 
 time in America. I had seen black men, 
 and red men, and yellow men, and white 
 men: black men, the Negroes; red men, 
 the Indians; yellow men, the Chinese; 
 white men, the Americans. But this 
 man looked quite different in his dress 
 from anything I had ever seen. When 
 he came a little closer, I saw he was 
 wearing a kilt; when he came a little 
 nearer still, I saw that he was dressed ex- 
 actly like a Highland soldier. When he 
 came quite near, I said to him, '* What 
 are you doing here? " " Why should I 
 not be here i* " he said. ** Don't you 
 know this is British soil ? When you 
 cross the river you come into Canada." 
 This soldier was thousands of miles from 
 England, and yet he was in the Kingdom 
 
Is ' 
 
 w 
 
 1 .J 
 
 
 »8; ? 
 
 i 
 
 II 
 
 , 1 1 1. 
 
 3ii' 
 
 M 
 
 122 
 
 "^irstl 
 
 of England. Wherever there is an 
 English heart beating loyal to the Queen 
 of Britain, there is England. Wherever 
 there is a boy whose heart is loyal to 
 the King of the Kingdom of God, the 
 Kingdom of God is within him. 
 
 What is the Kingdom of God ? Every 
 Kingdom has its exports, its products. 
 Go down to the river here, and you will 
 find ships coming in with cotton; you 
 know they come from America. You 
 will find ships with tea; you know they 
 are from China. Ships with wool; you 
 know they come from Australia. Ships 
 with sugar; you know they come from 
 Java. What comes from the Kingdom 
 of God ? Again we must refer to our 
 Guide-book. Turn to Romans, and we 
 shall find what the Kingdom of God is. 
 I will read it: "The Kingdom of God is 
 righteousness, peace, joy" — three things. 
 " The Kingdom of God is righteousness, 
 peace, joy." Righteousness, of courscj 
 is just doing what is right. Any boy 
 who does what is right has the Kingdom 
 of God within him. Any boy who, in- 
 
"^trstl" 
 
 123 
 
 stead of being quarrelsome, lives at peace 
 with the other boys, has the Kingdom 
 of God within him. Any boy whose 
 heart is filled with joy because he does 
 what is right, has the Kingdom of God 
 within him. The Kingdom of God is not 
 going to religious meetings, and hearing 
 strange religious experiences: the King- 
 dom of God is doing what is right — living 
 at peace with all men, being filled with 
 joy in the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Boys, if you are going to be Christians, 
 be Christians as boyr, and not as your 
 grandmothers. A grandmother has to 
 be a Christian as a grandmother, and 
 that is the right and the beautiful thing 
 for her; but if you cannot read your Bi- 
 ble by the hour as your grandmother 
 can, or delight in meetings as she can, 
 don't think you are necessarily a bad 
 boy. When you are your grandmother's 
 age you will have your grandmother's 
 kind of religion. Meantime, be a Chris- 
 tian as a boy. Live a boy's life. Do 
 the straight thing; seek the Kingdom of 
 righteousness and honor and truth. Keep 
 
124 
 
 "^irstl" 
 
 1 'te;i I' ' 
 
 the peace with the boys about you, and 
 be filled with the joy of being a loyal, 
 and simple, and natural, and boy-like 
 servant of Christ. 
 
 You can very easily tell a house, or a 
 workshop, or an office where the King- 
 dom of God is uoL The first thing you 
 see in that place is that the " straight 
 thing" is not always done. Customers 
 do not get fair play. You are in danger 
 of learning to cheat and to lie. Better, 
 a thousand times, to starve than to stay 
 in a place where you cannot do what is 
 right. 
 
 Or, when you go into your work- 
 shop, you find everybody sulky, touchy, 
 and ill-tempered, everybody at daggers- 
 drawn with everybody else, some of the 
 men not on speaking terms with some 
 of the others, and the whole /cr/ of the 
 place miserable and unhappy. The King- 
 dom of God is not there, for // is peace. 
 It is the Kingdom of the Devil that is 
 anger, and wrath and malice. 
 
 If you want to get the Kingdom of 
 God into your workshop, or into your 
 
"^irstr 
 
 125 
 
 home, let the quarrelhng be stopped. 
 Live in peace and harmony and brother- 
 liness with everyone. For the Kingdom 
 of God is a kinofdom of brothers. It is 
 a great Society, founded by Jesus Christ, 
 of all the people who try to livelikeHim, 
 and to make the world better and 
 sweeter and happier. Wherever a boy 
 is trying to do that, in the house or in 
 the street, in the workshop or on the 
 baseball field, there is the Kingdom of 
 God. And every boy, however small 
 or obscure or poor, who is seeking that, 
 is a member of it. You see now, I hope, 
 what the Kingdom is. 
 
 the 
 )me 
 the 
 ine- 
 
 t IS 
 
 of 
 ^our 
 
 I pass therefore, to the second head ; 
 What was it ? " Arithmetic." Are there 
 any arithmetic words in this text ? 
 " Added," says one Boy. Quite right, 
 added. What other arithmetic words ? 
 " First." Yes, first—'' first," " added." 
 Now, don't you think you could not 
 have anything better to seek '• first " 
 than the things I have named — to do 
 what is right, to live at peace, and be 
 
 9 
 
126 
 
 -^iistl" 
 
 I 
 
 ,<\ 
 
 always making those about you happy ? 
 You see at once why Christ tells us to 
 seek these things first — because they 
 are the best worth seeking. Do you 
 know anything better than these three 
 things, anything happier, purer, nobler? 
 If you do, seek them first. But if you do 
 not, seek first the Kingdom of God. 
 I am not here this afternoon to tell you 
 to be religious. You know that. I 
 am not here to tell you to seek the King- 
 dom of God. I have come to tell you to 
 seek the Kingdom of God Jirst, First, 
 Not many people do that. They put a 
 little religion into their life — once a week, 
 perhaps. They might just as well let it 
 alone. It is not worth seeking the 
 Kingdom of God unless we seek \\. first. 
 Suppose you take the helm out of a ship 
 and hang it over the bow, and send that 
 ship to sea, will it ever reach the oth- 
 er side ? Certainly not. It will drift 
 about anyhow. Keep religion in its 
 place, and it will take you straight 
 through life and straight to your Father 
 in heaven when life is over. But if you 
 
"^trstl" 
 
 127 
 
 the 
 
 first, 
 
 ship 
 
 that 
 
 oth- 
 
 drift 
 
 its 
 
 aight 
 
 ther 
 
 you 
 
 do not put it in its place, you may just 
 as well have nothing to do with it. Re- 
 ligion out of its place in a human life is 
 the most miserable thing in the world. 
 There is nothing that requires so much 
 to be kept in its place as religion, and its 
 place is what ? second ? third? "First.* 
 Boys, carry that home with you to-day — 
 Jirsi the Kingdom of God. Make it so 
 that it will be natural to you to think 
 about that the very first thing. 
 
 There was a boy in Glasgow appren- 
 ticed to a gentleman who made tele- 
 graphs. The gentleman told me this 
 himself. One day this boy was up on 
 the top of a four- story house with a 
 number of men fixing up a telegraph- 
 wire. The work was all but done. It 
 was getting late, and the men said they 
 were going away home, and the boy 
 was to nip off the ends of the wire him- 
 self. Before going down they told him 
 to be sure to cjo back to the work- 
 shop, when he was finished, with his mas- 
 ter's tools. ** Do not leave any of them 
 lying about, whatever you do," said the 
 
128 
 
 "^Irstr 
 
 m<. I 
 
 IMii 
 
 foreman. The boy climbed up the pole 
 and began to nip off the ends of the 
 wire. It was a very cold winter night, 
 and the dusk was gathering. He lost 
 his hold and fell upon the slates, slid 
 down, and then over and over to the 
 ground below. Aclothes-rope stretched 
 across the *' green " on to which he was 
 just about to fall, caught him on the 
 chest and broke his fall ; but the shock 
 was terrible, and he lay unconscious 
 among some clothes upon the green. 
 An old woman came out ; seeing her 
 rope broken and the clothes all soiled, 
 thought the boy was drunk, shook him, 
 scolded him, and went for the policeman. 
 And the boy with the shaking came 
 bacK to consciousness, rubbed his eyes, 
 and got upon his feet. What do you 
 think he did ? He staggered, half blind, 
 away up the stairs. He climbed the 
 ladder. He got on to the roof of the 
 house. He gathered up his tools, put 
 them into his basket, took them down, 
 and when he got to the ground again 
 fainted dead away. Just then the police- 
 
"^irstl** 
 
 129 
 
 olice- 
 
 man came, saw there was something 
 seriously wrong, and carried him away 
 to the hospital, where he lay for some 
 time. I am glad to say he got better. 
 What was his first thought at that terri- 
 ble moment ? His duty. He was not 
 thinking of himself; he was thinking 
 about his master. First, the Kingdom 
 of God. 
 
 But there is another arithmetic word. 
 What is it ? '• Added." There is not 
 one boy here who docs not know the 
 difference between addition and siib- 
 traction. Now, that is a very important 
 difference in religion, because — and it is 
 a very strange thing — very few people 
 know the difference when they begin to 
 talk about religion. Th(!y often tell 
 boys that if they seek the Kingdom of 
 God, everything else is going to be sub- 
 tracted from them. They tell them 
 that they are going to become gloomy, 
 miserable, and will lose everything that 
 makes a boy's life worth living — that 
 they will have to stop baseball and story- 
 books, and become little old men, and 
 
130 
 
 "^irstl 
 
 
 m 
 
 If:; ;' 
 
 spend all their time in going to meetings 
 and in singing hymns. Now, that is 
 not true. Christ never said anything 
 like that. Christ says we are to " Seek 
 first the Kingdom of God," and every- 
 thing else worth having is to be added 
 unto us. If there is anything I would 
 like you to take away this afternoon, it 
 is these two arithmetic words — ** first " 
 and " added." I do not mean by added 
 that if you become religious you are all 
 going to become rich. Here is a boy, 
 who, in sweeping out the shop to-mor- 
 row, finds sixpence lying among the 
 orange boxes. Well, nobody has missed 
 it. He puts it in his pocket, and it be- 
 gins to burn a hole there. By breakfast 
 time he wishes that sixpence were in his 
 master's pocket. And by-and-by he 
 goes to his master. He says (to himself ^ 
 and not to his master), " I was at the Boys* 
 Brigade yesterday, and I was told to 
 seekyfrj/ that which was right." Then 
 he says to his master, " Please, sir, here 
 is sixpence that I found upon the floor." 
 The master puts it in the " till." What 
 
''^irstl 
 
 131 
 
 »» 
 
 >e- 
 [ast 
 his 
 he 
 
 to 
 
 Ihen 
 lere 
 for. 
 hat 
 
 has the boy got in his pocket ? Noth- 
 ing; but he has got the Kingdom of God 
 cu his heart. He has laid up treasure 
 in heaven, which is of infinitely more 
 worth than sixpence. Now, that boy 
 does not find a shilling on his way home. 
 I have known that happen, but that is 
 not what is meant by " adding." It 
 does not mean that God is going to pay 
 him in his own coin, for He pays in bet- 
 ter coin. 
 
 Yet I rei.. ember once hearing of a 
 boy who was paid in both ways. He 
 was very, very poor. He lived in a for^ 
 eign country, and his mother said to him 
 one day that he must go into the great 
 city and start in business, and she took 
 his coat and cut it open and sewed be- 
 tween the lining and the coat forty gold- 
 en dinars, which she had saved up for 
 many years to start him in life. She 
 told him to take care of robbers as he 
 went across the desert; and as he was go- 
 ing out of the door she said: " My boy, 
 I have only two words for you — * Fear 
 God, and never tell a lie/ " The boy 
 
132 
 
 " ^trst I '• 
 
 P^ 
 
 I '9 
 
 .' ' 
 
 Started off, and towards evening he saw 
 glittering in the distance the minarets of 
 the great city, but between the city and 
 himself he saw a cloud of dust ; it came 
 nearer; presently he saw that it was a 
 band of robbers. One of the robbers 
 left the rest and rode toward him, 
 and said: " Boy, what have you got ? " 
 And the boy looked him in the face and 
 said: " I have forty golden dinars sewed 
 up in my coat." And the robber laughed 
 and wheeled round his horse and went 
 away back. He would not believe the 
 boy. Presently another robber came, 
 and he said: " Boy, what have you got ? " 
 '• Forty golden dinars sewed up in my 
 coat." The robber said: *' The boy is 
 a fool," and wheeled his horse and rode 
 away back. By-and-by the robber cap- 
 tain came, and he said: '* Boy, what have 
 you got? " ** I have forty golden dinars 
 sewed up in my coat." And the rob- 
 ber dismounted and put his hand over 
 the boy's breast, felt something round, 
 counted one, two, three, four, five, till he 
 counted out the forty golden coins. He 
 
"^frstr 
 
 133 
 
 my 
 J is 
 ode 
 cap- 
 lave 
 nars 
 rob- 
 over 
 ■Dund, 
 ill he 
 He 
 
 looked the boy in the face, and said: 
 " Why did you tell me that ? " The boy 
 said: " Because of God and my mother." 
 And the robber leaned on his spear and 
 thought, and said: ** Wait a moment." 
 He mounted his horse, rode back to the 
 rest of the robbers, and came back in 
 about five minutes with his dress 
 changed. This time he looked not like 
 a robber, but like a merchant. He took 
 the boy up on his horse and said: " My 
 boy, I have long wanted to do some- 
 thing for my God and for my mother, 
 and I have this moment renounced my 
 robber's life. I am also a merchant. I 
 have a large business house in the city. 
 I want you to come and live with me, to 
 teach me about your God; and you will 
 be rich, and your mother some day will 
 come and live with us." And it a1^ hap- 
 pened. By seeking first the Kingdom 
 of God, all these things were added un- 
 to him. 
 
 Boys, banish forever from your minds 
 the idea that religion is subtraction. 
 It does not tell us to give things up, 
 
^"f^ 
 
 WH 
 
 134 
 
 " S'ltst 1 " 
 
 but rather gives us something so much 
 better that they give themselves up. 
 When you see a boy on the street 
 whipping a top, you know, perhaps, 
 that you could not make that boy hap- 
 pier than by giving him a top, a whip, 
 and half an hour to whip it. But next 
 birthday, when he looks back, he says, 
 "What a goose I was last year to be 
 delighted with a top ; what I want now 
 is a baseball bat." Then when he be- 
 comes an old man, he does not care in 
 the least for a baseball bat, he wants 
 rest, and a snug fireside and a newspaper 
 every day. He wonders how he could 
 ever have taken up his thoughts with 
 baseball bats and whipping-tops. Now, 
 when a boy becomes a Christian, he 
 grows out of the evil things one by one 
 — that is to say, if they are really evil — 
 which he used to set his heart upon (of 
 course I do not mean baseball bats, for 
 they are not evils) ; and so instead of 
 telling people to give up things, we are 
 safer to tell them to *• Seek first the 
 Kingdom of God," and then they will 
 
imHiifflll 
 
 "^irstl" 
 
 136 
 
 get new things and better things, and 
 the old things will drop off of themselves. 
 This is what is meant by the " new 
 heart." It means that God puts into 
 us new thoughts and new wishes, and 
 we become quite different boys. 
 
 Lastly, and very shortly. What was 
 the third head ? " Grammar." " Right, 
 Grammar." Now, I require a clever boy 
 to answer the next question. What 
 is the verb ? " Seek." Very good : 
 " seek." What mood is it in ? " Im- 
 perative mood." What does that mean ? 
 "Command." You boys of the Boys' 
 Brigade know what commands are. 
 What is the soldier's first lesson ? 
 " Obedience." Have you obeyed this 
 command ? Remember the imperative 
 mood of these words. " Ser^ first the 
 Kingdom of God." This is the com- 
 mand of your King. It m7is^ be done. 
 I have been trying to show you what a 
 splendid thing it is ; what a reasonable 
 thing it is ; what a happy thing it is ; 
 but beyond all these reasons, it is a thing 
 
^m 
 
 13<J 
 
 ", first I" 
 
 T 
 III 
 
 i 
 
 HI 
 
 I!:* 
 
 that musl be done, because we are com- 
 
 manded to do it by our Captain. It is 
 one of the finest things about the Boys' 
 Brigade that it always appeals to Christ 
 as its highest Officer, and takes its com- 
 mands from Him. Now, there is His 
 command to seekyfr^/ the Kingdom of 
 God Have you done it ? " Well,'* 
 I know some boys will say, " We are 
 going to have a good time, enjoy life, 
 and then we are going to seek — last — 
 the Kingdom of God." Now, that is 
 mean ; it is nothing else than mean for 
 a boy to take all the good gifts that God 
 has given him, and then give Him noth- 
 ing back in return but his wasted life. 
 
 God wants boys' lives, not only their 
 souls. It is for active service soldiers 
 are drilled, and trained, and fed, and 
 armed. That is why you and I are in 
 the world at all — not to prepare to go 
 out of it some day, but to serve God 
 actively in it 7iow, It is monstrous, and 
 shameful, and cowardly to talk of seeking 
 the Kingdom last It is shirking duty, 
 abandoning one's rightful post, playing 
 
"^irst!" 
 
 187 
 
 into the enemy's hand by doing nothing 
 to turn his flank. Every hour a King- 
 dom is coming in your heart, in your 
 home, in the world near you, be it a 
 Kingdom of Darkness or a Kingdom of 
 Light. You are placed where you are, 
 in a particular business, in a particular 
 street, to help on there the Kingdom of 
 God. You cannot do that when you 
 are old and ready to die. By that time 
 your companions will have fought their 
 fight, and lost or won. If they lose, will 
 you not be sorry that you did not help 
 them ? Will you not regret that only 
 at the last you helped the Kingdom of 
 God? Perhaps you will not be able to 
 do it then. And then your life has been 
 lost indeed. 
 
 Very few people have the opportunity 
 to seek the Kingdom of God at the end. 
 Christ, knowing all that, knowing that 
 religion was a thing for our life, not mere- 
 ly for our deathbed, has laid this com- 
 mand upon us now: •• Seek first the 
 Kingdom of God." I am going to 
 leave you with this text itself. Every 
 
'fi; 
 
 
 f-,? : 
 
 138 
 
 
 Brigade boy in the world should obey 
 it. 
 
 Boys, before you go to work to-mor- 
 row, before you go to sleep to-night, 
 before you go to the Sunday-school this 
 afternoon, before you go out of the door 
 of the City Hall, resolve that, God help- 
 ing you, you are going to seek Jirs^ the 
 Kingdom of God. Perhaps some boys 
 here are deserters; they began once be- 
 fore to serve Christ, and they deserted. 
 Come back again, come back again to- 
 day. Others have never enlistc:d at all. 
 Will you not do it now ? You are old 
 enough to decide. And the grandest 
 moment of a boy's life is that moment 
 when he decides to " seek first the King- 
 dom of God,** 
 
PopfllarMissionaryBiograpMes 
 
 12mo, 160 page.s. Fully illustrated. Cloth extra, 75 cents eapb. 
 
 From Tht Missionarf 
 Herald. 
 
 " We commended thi^ ser- 
 ies in our last issue, and a 
 further examination leads us 
 to renew our commendation. 
 <Tnd to urge the placinR ot 
 this series of missionary 
 books in all our Sabbath- 
 school libraries. 
 
 These books are handsome- 
 ly printed and bound and are 
 beautifully illustrated, and we 
 are confident that they will 
 prove attractive to all young 
 people." 
 
 " These are not pans of milk, but little pitchers of cream, compact and 
 condensed from bulkier volumes."— Dr. A. T. Pierson. 
 
 S.IMUEL CROWTHEB, the Slave Boy who became 
 Jiishop of the Niger, By Jesse Page, author of " Bishop 
 Patteson." 
 
 TJIOMAS i7. COMBER f Missionary Pioneer to the 
 
 Congo, By Rev. J. B. Mvers, Association Secretary Baptist Mis- 
 sionary Society. 
 
 BISHOP PATTESON, the Martyr of Melanesia. By 
 
 Jesse Page. 
 
 GBIFFITH JOHN, Founder of the Hankow Mission, 
 Central China. By Wm. Rodson, of the London Missionary 
 Society. 
 
 ROBERT MORRISON, the Pioneer of Chinese Mis- 
 sions. By Wm. J. Townsend, Sec. Methodist New Connexion 
 Missionary Society. 
 
 ROBERT MOFFAT, the Missionary Hero of Kuruman, 
 
 By David J. Deane, author oi " Martin Luther, the Reformer," etc. 
 
 WILLIAM CAREY, the Shoemar^er who became a Mis- 
 sionary. By. Rev. J. B. Myeks, Association Secretary Baptist 
 Missionary Society. 
 
 JTAMES CHALMERS, Missionary and Explorer of 
 
 Rarotonga and New Guinea. By Wm. Robson, of the 
 London Missionary Society. 
 
 MISSIONARY L ABIES IN FOREIGN LANDS. By 
 
 Mrs. E. R. Pitman, author of " Heroines of the Missionary Fields, 
 etc. 
 
 JAMES CALVERT f or, From Bark to Dawn in Fiji. 
 
 JOHN WILLIAMS, the Martyr of Polynesia. By Rev. 
 James ]. Ellis. 
 
 HENRY MARTYN, His Life and Labors. By Jessb 
 Page, author of " Bishop Patterson," etc. 
 
 NEW YORK. Fleming H, Revell Company. cHicAoa 
 
I 
 
 II 
 
 
 II' < '' 
 
 r 
 
 SUGGBSTIVB BOOKS 
 
 FOR nini^B RBADBRS. 
 
 ^ > » 
 
 THE OPEN SECRET; or, the Bible Explaining 
 Itself. r>y Hannah Whitall Smith. 
 
 That the author of this work has a faculty of presenting 
 the "Secret Things" that are revealed in the Word of 
 God, is apparent to all who have read the exceedingly pop- 
 ular work, " The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life," 
 and such will not be disappointed in expecting to find in 
 this new volume a fullness and sweetness in the unfolding of 
 God's Word, in its application to the practical and daily du- 
 ties of Christian living. i2nio, 320 pages, cloth, f i.oo. 
 
 BIBLE BRIEFS; or, Outline Themes for Scrip- 
 ture Students. By G. C. and E. A. Neeuham. i6mo, 
 224 pages, cloth, $].oo. 
 
 *• Here are sermons in miniature, which any preacher will find it 
 
 f)rofitabIe to expand into sermons in full measure. _ True Biblical out- 
 ines are here; not artificiui 'sketches,' but Scripture frame-works. 
 Oh, that the preachers would depend on such frame-works, rather thaa 
 on such ^rc-woris as many of them attempt V'—Kev. A.J, Cordon^ 
 D. /?., in The Watchword. 
 
 " Here you have meat without bones, and land without stones. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Needham will have the gratitude of many a hard-pressed 
 teacher when he is hard up for a talk." — Rev, C. H, Spurgeon. 
 
 BIBLE HELPS FOR BUSY MEN. By A. C. P. 
 
 COOTE. 
 
 Contains over 200 Scripture subjects, clearly worked out 
 
 and printed in good legible type, with an alphabetical 
 
 index. 140 pages, i6mo, paper, 30c. ; cloth, 60c. 
 
 " The topics are familiar in thought and form, and are in many cases 
 admirably adapted for Bible readings and for prayer meetings. * Busy 
 Men,' ufxin wnom rests the responsibility of leading a meeting and 
 choosing a topic, and especially of couducting an evangelistic meeting, 
 will find this little book of decided value."— ZA* Golden Rule. 
 
 *' Likely to be of use to overworked brethren."— C. H. Spurgeon. 
 
 " Given in a clear and remarkably telling iorm,^^— Christian Leader, 
 
 •MICAOO. 
 
 Fleming H. RoTell Company. 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 i 
 
Works of D, L MOODY. 
 
 "By the strenuous cultivation of 
 his gift Mr. Moody has attained 
 to a clear and incisive style which 
 preachers ought to study; and he 
 has the merit, which many more 
 cultivated nicn luck, of sayin;; 
 nothing that does not tend to the 
 enforcement of the particular 
 truth he is enunciating. Hr 
 knows how to disencumber his 
 text of all extraneous matter, and 
 cxhil)its his wisdom as a preacher 
 hardly less by what he leaves out 
 than by what he includes. Apart 
 from its primary purpose eacn of 
 these books has a distinct value 
 ■s a lesson on homilctics to min- 
 iatersa.id students." — 
 
 Th* Christian Ltadtr, 
 
 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 
 
 BIBLE CHARACTERS. 
 
 PREVAILING PRAYER; WHAT HINDERS IT. 80th Thousand. 
 
 TO THE WORK I TO THE WORK! A Trumpet Call. 80th Thousand. 
 
 THE WAY TO GOD AND HOW TO FIND IT. 105th Thousand. 
 
 HEAVEN; its Hope 'its Inhabitants ; its Hftppinev , its Riche* ; its 
 Reward. 125th Thousand. 
 
 SECRET POWER ; or, the Secret of Success in Christian Life and 
 Worrt. 72d Thousand. 
 
 rJVELVr SELECT SERMONS. 165th Thousand. 
 
 The above are bound in uniform style and price. Paper coverii 
 80 cents; cloth, 60 cents. Also the eight books are bound in four 
 volumes. Price of Set, in neat box, $4.00. 
 
 DANIEL. THE PROPHET. 10th Thousand. Paper cover, 30c.; cloth, 
 
 40c. 
 THE FULL ASSURANCE OF FAITH. 7th Thousand. Some thoughts 
 
 on Christian confidence. Paper cover, 15c.; cloth, 25c. 
 
 THE WAY AND THE WORD. 65th Thousand. Comprising " Regen- 
 eration," and " How to Study the Bible." Cloth, 25c.; paper, 15c. 
 
 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 45th Thousand. Cloth, 15c.; paper, 10c! 
 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 46th Thousand. Paper, 10c. 
 INQUIRY MEETINGS. By Mr. Moody and Maj. Whittle. Paper, 16c. 
 GOSPEL BOOKLETS. By D. L. Moody. 12 separate sermons. 
 
 Published in small, square form, suitable for distribution, or inclos- 
 ing in letters. 85 cents per dozen, $2.60 per hundred. May be had 
 assorted or of any separate tract. 
 
 CHICAGO. 
 
 Fleming H. ReyeD Company. 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 -*L.',,: ;J-": rljJ^.Jr ■*•"'«*'*«';■'; 
 
fl.i 
 
 Ae New Enlarged end Authorized Edition of a Remarkable Worfi; 
 THK CHRISTIAN'S 
 
 SECRET OF A HAPPY LIFE. 
 
 This Work, the demand for which 
 has been so great as to wear out two 
 sets of plates, has now been put in 
 entirely new form. The book hav- 
 ing become an accepted classic in de- 
 votional literature, it was thought 
 wise to issue this new edition in a 
 compact form, and in a variety of 
 bindings. Occasion has also been 
 taken by the author to thoroughly re- 
 vise the whole work, besides adding 
 considerable new matter. 
 
 Few Books of a Religious Character have been 
 accorded such Hearty and Universal En- 
 dorsement from all Denominations. 
 
 *' To commend this work would seem almost superfluous; 
 and yet to young Christians who may not know it, we can- 
 not refrain from saying, Buy this book, and keep it with 
 your Bible for constant study, until you have thoroughly 
 mastered, in your own experience, the ' secret ' of which it 
 tells. It will transform the dark days of your lif^, as it 
 has transformed those of thousands before you, into days 
 of heavenly light." — New u'or/c Evangelist. 
 
 " We have not for years read a book with more delight 
 and profit. The author has a rich experience, and tells it 
 in a plain and delightful manner." — Christian Advocate, 
 
 The "Handy Classic Edition." l8mo, 292 pages as follows ; 
 
 Each in separate box, gilt edge, round corners, except No. 3. 
 
 No. 3, Cloth, full gilt edges..} 85 
 4, French Morocco, Seal 
 
 Grain 1 50 
 
 6, French Morocco, Rus- 
 tic Gold Bands 1 50 
 
 7| White Enamel, Easter 
 
 or Wedding Edition. 1 50 
 
 No, 8, Persian Calf, Broken 
 
 Glass Pattern $1 75 
 
 10, Calf, plain 2 00 
 
 12, Best German Calf 
 
 Embossed 2 25 
 
 14, Best German Calf 
 
 Padded 2 60 
 
 The "Standard Edition." 12mo, 240 pages as follows : 
 
 No.Ol Papercovers 50 | No. 02 Cloth, fine 76 
 
 ;:o. 03 Cloth, full gilt edges 1 00 
 
 WW vuKK.: I Fleming H. Revell Company :: Chicago. 
 
E. 
 
 76