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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmds en commenpant par la piremidre 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 apparaltra 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 filmis d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour 6tre reproduit en un seui clich6, il est film6 d partir de I'angle sup^rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 V im' i 1 A 16-2. DROPS FROM A LIVING FOUNTAIN By James A. Francis, Pastor Riverside Baptist Church, New York City. NEW \v)RK : E. Scott Co., Printers and Pi-blishers, 146 West 23L) Street. Copyright, 1895, JAMRS A Fkancis. TO THE CHURCH in ivhich I have the privilege of being a servant^ and to ivJiicJi I am bound by ties ivIiieJi grow every day stronger and dearer, this little book is lovingly in- scribed. ^o^rf PREFACE. ^HIS little volume of condensed sermons and prayer-meeting talks is the outcome of a suggestion from one of the congregation, to wit, that inasmuch as the Lord had been pleased to own them to the conversion of some and the upbuilding of others, when they were spoken, they might be found not unfruitful in printed form. The book has been prepared hurriedly, by an unskilful hand, in the midst of the pressing duties of a city pastorate. It is put forth without the least claim to literary merit, with the hope and prayer that it may just accomplish the one end, to lead the reader to love more the precious Name that appears in every page. J. A. F. ii CONTENTS. PAGE. The Lttt[,e Gospel, . . . . q A Jailer Converted Throucjii a Prisoner, 13 A Man who Tried to Wash his Hands, 17 A Lost Bov, 21 Helpers and Hinderers, - - - 26 Beginning Life Over, - - - 31 The Blessing of Thanksgiving, - - 37 Two TvIen vSaving Their Prayers, - 41 The Curse of Laziness, - - - 46 Jesus' Welcome to a New Disciple, 51 The Temptation of Jesus, - . . 56 The Nature of True Religion, - 60 The Oi5jEC'i' of the Gospel, - - 64 A Resting Place, .... (Sg The Great Salvation, - - - - 74 Saved by God tfh^ough Righteousness, 78 A Broken Family Circle Mended, - 83 The Possibilities of P'aith, - - Sy Faith, Hoi'e, and Love, - - - 92 God's Thought About His Children, Before the World Was, - - 98 8 CONTENTS. PAGE. God's Inheritance and Ours, - - 103 What Does it Mean to be Saved? 107 A Great Gift and a Princely Giver, i i i The Kind of Prayer that is Answered, 116 A Dismal Failure and Its Cause, The Man Who Introduced Jesus to the World, . . . . The High Water Mark of Christian Experience, - . . . Are We Responsible for Each Other? Love's Course, .... A Man with an Experience, A Sermon Without Words, - After Death What? On a Mountain with Jesus, - The Measure of God's Power in the Christian, Believing God Under Difficulties, The Spirit, the Word, and the Man, The Christian's Secret, The Great Revealer, 127 131 135 140 144 1 148 153 157 161 •i 1 166 ) 170 1 174 178 185 1 1 j THE LITTLE GOSPEL. For God so loved the world, that he gave hir, only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.— John 3: i6. IT was Martin Luther who called this verse ''The Little Gospel." Not that the gospel it contains is little, it is infinite; but that the ' whole gospel is compressed into the little com- pass of a single sentence. Probably it will be found, when the hisbny of the church of Christ is completed, that more men and women have been led into life eternal through this verse, than I any other in the Bible. It begins with God, it ends with life ; the world comes in between. I We have here first of all, the source of salva- . tion ; '*God so loved the world." A thirsty ; traveller under a burning sun on a dusty highway I comes to a sparkling fountain. He drinks and I then asks, "Whence this delicious stream?" f The answer is, "Yonder. Somewhere far up in 10 DROPS FROM A the heart of the mountain, is a hidden reservoir from which the fountain flows." O, traveller on life's highway, behold the fountain ! Over it is inscribed, ''Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." The original source of that fountain is in the heart of God. God the infinite, perfect, spirit; the source, support and end of all things; God, back of whom and beyond whom there is nothing. "God so loved the world." Nothing in us is the source, in any sense, of our salvation. But because his nature is love, and because from all eternity he fixed his love on us, the blessings of salvation follow. Here, too, is the av^j of salvation ; "He gave his only begotten vSon." Dismiss from your mind forever, every other way. "There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." Christ came, the Father's love gift to a lost world. He lived among us; he taught us; he revealed the Father to us ; he died for us ; he rose again ; he was received back to the throne. This is God's LIVING FOUNTAIN. u one, only, last and eternal way of salvation. Christ is the center of all God's counsels of grace about man. There is no other meeting place between a holy God and a sinful man. Jesus said, "I am the way, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." - God was in Christ recon- ciling the world unto himself," Come to Christ and you have come to God. Here, too, we find the terms of salvation. ''That whosoever believeth in him." Divinely simple. Man wants to do in order to be saved. God says, -No, come to Calvary, behold what has been done, done by another, done for thee; believe, trust, rest, accept and be saved." "Stand still and see the salvation of God." Trust your own doing, and it will be the death of you ; trust Christ and you are as safe as God can make you. Here, too, is salvation itself contrasted with the doom of the lost. -Should not perish but have everlasting lifer Repeat the two words to yourself. ' ^Perish, everlasting lifer One word 12 DROPS FROM A makes vou look down into an abvss without a bottom, "Perish." The Bible says little about the doom of the lost. God seems to have left it purposely shrouded in the gloom of an awful mystery. But who can repeat without sadness unspeakable, this one word concerning the vSoul, " Perish." The other word makes us look up, " Eternal life." It begins here, '* He that hath the Son hath life." Christ in us is eternal life ; pure life, God's own life, boundless life, end- less life. This is the gift of God. O, God, Thou art the source of salvation! O, Jesus, Thou art the way ! Faith is the simple condition through which we may lay hold on the life that is life indeed. ^" i 'A. LIVING FOUNTAIN. 13 A JAILER ^:iNVERTED THROUGH A PRISONER. And brought them out, and said. Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Lelieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house - Acts 16 : 30, 31, "pHE above question was asked by a heathen jailer of a prisoner in his charge. Let us review the story. When Paul and his companions were on the western coast of Asia, he saw in a dream one night, a man of Greece beckoning to him and saying, ' ^ Come over into Macedonia and help us." It was the call of God. They went, but on landing the man was nowhere to be found. Going to a prayer-meeting a few days later, in the city of Phillipi, they were followed by an insane girl. She kept crying, -These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation." She it- 14 DROPS FROM A was telling- the truth, but the spirit that pos- sessed her was of Satan. Paul shared the faith of his Master, that the kingdom of God could not be established by the testimony of Satan ; so after listening to her strange, wild cry for days, he turned, and said to the spirit, "I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." Satan can stand before anything but the name of Jesus ; but that name, spoken in faith, will conquer in any realm, from heaven's throne to the gates of hell. She was cured. And now we get a glimpse of what men were, even in cultured Greece, without the grace of God. A syndicate of men who had owned that poor girl, and had made money out of her ravings, dragged Paul and Silas before the rulers upon a false charge. They w^ere beaten till half dead, thrown into pri.son, and the jailer, having been charged to keep them safely, "Thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks." LIVING FOUNTAIN. 15 The next turn of the story is a touch of heaven's harmony amid earth's discord. "At midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God ; and the prisoners heard them," There was a secret in that Phillipian dungeon of which Caesar in his gilded palace on the Tiber never dreamed. Christ was there comforting his suffering disciples. But it was time now for God to work. "And suddenly there was a great earthquake, and all the doors were opened, and every one's bands w^ere loosed." A little boy who had lost the key of the tiny safe in which he kept his pennies, brought it to his father to have it opened. The father took it in both hands, shook it a moment, and the door flew open. It has been quaintly said : ' * God could have picked the lock of the jail at Phillipi ; it would have been an economy of power ; but he has no need to economize in the use of power. He just picked up the earth and shook it until the door flew open." The jailer awoke; the doors were open. " He drew i6 DROPS P^ROM A out his sword and would have killed himself." A voice from within said, ''Do thyself no harm, we are all here." He broug-ht them out, and in his anxietv, borrowing, perhaps, an idea and a word from the insane cry with which the people of the town had been recently so familiar, he said, "What must I do to be saved?" It was Paul's life business to answer that question ; quickly came the reply: " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." When the sun set that night, he was an ignorant heathen. When the sun rose next morning-, he was a baptized believer. Thus was the gospel planted on the European shore. LIVING FOUNTAIN. 17 A MAN WHO TRIED TO WASH HIS HANDS. He took water and washed his hands. Matthew 27 : 24. T ESUS once stood at the bar of an earthly tri- •^ bimal, and they knew him not. A Roman governor named Pilate was the judge. The Jews brought him there because they desired his death and had not authority themselves to accomplish it. But God took especial pains that Pilate should not act in the dark. He had three things to guide him. First, he saw, as a keen eyed man could see, ^^That for envy they had de- livered him;" that their charges were worth- less, besides contradicting each other. This alone should have made the prisoner's innocence seem at least probable. He had warning from another source. During the trial a hurried message arrived from his wife: ^'Pilate, have '** DUO PS FROM A thou nothing to do with that just man : for I have suffered many things this day in a dream be- cause of him." A third thing threw light on Plate's mind. It was Jesus' own bearing Before the Jewish Sanhedrin he had been like a lamb before his shearers, dumb. It was no use to speak there; full light had previously been given to them. But it seemed ^,s if Jesus would not permit Pilate to stain his hands with crime tinenhghtened. In answer to his question abou[ his kmgship, Jesus explained that his "Kino-, dom was not of this world- that it was °a kmgdom of the children of truth. So impressed was Pilate with his innocence, that he thrice repeated the statement, "I find no fault in him." And then, as if thinking that the same bearing that had impressed him, would also impress them, he brought him forth before them all, and cried, ' • Ecce Homo ! " Behold the man But their minds were made up. Die he must, if they had their way. Pilate turned f,8 H LIVING FOUNTAIN. jg every way; at last gave them their choice between Jesus and a man who was both murderer and robber. Israel chose a murderer and rob- ber, and poor Israel has been robbed and mur- dered ever since. At last, for selfish reasons, Pilate went against the voice of reason, against the voice of his wife, against the voice of conscience which spoke in thunder tones from within, and decided as they desired. And then, most pitiable piece of act- ing, "Took water, and washed his hands be- fore the multitude." Ah, Pilate! it is now no use, water will not take that stain away. God in his providence laid the responsibility on you ; you cannot shift it, you cannot wash your hands of it; you will have to decide it, and in the great day face the record of your decision. Our thoughts involuntarily fly onward to an- other tribtmal. Jesus is on the judgment seat; Pilate stands before him. All is changed. Imag- ine, if you can, his feelings, as he looks up into the same face upon which he once looked down, 20 DROPS FROM A and as he listens for the sentenee from the Jud^e of all the earth, who once .stood before hL 1 friendless, though innocent man But does Pilate's case differ so widely from our own ? Every hearer of the gospel has Jesus thrust ^iponh:s hands, either foraceeptanceorrejeetin We C.U. more wash our hands of the matter man ir'ilate could Jli^niri,. -, 1 . -i-'ecide we must. If we delay, time will decide for us and thnt th. ^'^^ ana tiiat the wrong- ''^- ^""^ <3"^«'>°» Pilate asked waits for an answer at each heart's door, •• What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ > - LIVING FOUNTAIN. 21 A LOST BOY. Luke 15 : 11-24. QF all the pictures Jesus ever drew, this will always be the favorite. We some- times feel afraid to touch it in comment. We may mar it, but no human hand can ever enhance its beauty. ^ A discontented boy ; the property divided ; a journey to a far country ; a course of dissi- pation ; a homeless outcast ; a quiet meditation : a new resolve ; a journey home ; an humble confession ; a father's forgiveness ; and the lost boy is found. It^ is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. It touches many questions of sin and salvation. We will speak of but four. It gives us a glimpse of what ^/;/ is like, of what repentance is like, of what God is like, and of what salvation is like. Sin in its ugliness, 22 DKOI'S KkOM repentance in its simplicity, God in his match- less kindness, and salvation in its joy, are made to shine out in this sweet tale, as only Jesns could make them shine. A picture of sin. It is like a discontented boy taking his fortune into his own hands, leav- mg home to escape the restraint of father, and then spending all without thought or reason. Read between the lines a little, and you will find that m Its inmost essence, selfishness is the root pnncple of sin. Yes, of every sin .since Eve's errmg hand plucked the fruit of the forbidden tree. Not all ,si„ looks selfish on the surface. Somet.me.s it looks generous and big-hearted, but careful examination will reveal that sin is selfishness. But more, the story shows that misery must follow on the heels of sin. O, ye who declare your faith in the God of Lure .;vee ' Doth not Nature it.,elf teach yo' this ? Have you discovered any .sphere where sm does not entail sufferinp- > l\r. auuermg f No man was ever a LIVINC; FOUNTAIN. 25 smart eiiou^rh to divorce these two. God him- self has joined them together in the nature of things, and what God has joined together, in this instance, man has never been able to put asunder. The rags and hunger of the swine trough follow the riotous living as certainly as effect can follow cause. A picture of repentance. One day he began to think. If men would think more, more men would be saved. One has well said, -Ten minutes of serious thought might save a world." As soon as he began to think, things began to assume their proper proportions before his eyes He saw that the life of sin, so far as giving hap^ piness was concerned, had been an absolute failure : that his father's hired servants were better off than he. Thought produced repent- ance. Now mark its simplicity. He said, -I will arise and go to my father." -And he arose and came to his father." Repentance means simply a change of mind, and implies, of course, a change of behavior as the result. There is a 24 DROrS FROM A false notion that repentance means sorrow for sin. It does not. Sorrow for sin accompanies repentance, but repentance is a change of mind. ; vSimple as it is, it is the one thing tliat no one, ' not even God himself, can do for a man, " God commandeth all men everywhere to repent." It was a great day for the young man when he said, "I will." It turned his feet from the path of shame, to the path of life and joy. When we stand on the hills of o-jorv and review our i ^ pilgrim pathway, methmks there will be one day I that will seem, the red letter day in the calendar I of eternity to us. 'Twill be the day when to 1 Jesus' offer, we said, "I will." A glimpse of the character of God. " When ■ he was yet a great way oif, his father saw him, • and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his f neck, and kissed him." He began his confession : I ''Father I have sinned." But the father could j not wait to hear it through. His heart had yearned during all thos 3 years of shame to see his boy. He was in a hurry to bless, and in the LIVING FOUNTAIN. 2$ midst of the penitent's confession he cried, "Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it." Need we say more? This is Jesus' picture of his Father, and our Father, receiving a prodi- gal. There is no welcome such as God gives the sinner who will turn and believe. A picture of salvation. He is seated at the table with the father, feasting upon the best, the servants rejoicing, the household enjoying a holiday, the joy of the father finding response in the joy of the son, the past obliterated, the harmony restored. Such is Jesus' picture of salvation : a sinner saved from sin's swine trough, to the Father's house, and the bosom of God. '1 26 DROPS FROM A HELPERS AND HINDERERS. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was : and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son. thy sins be forgiven thee.— Mark 2 : 3-5. TESUS was preacliing; in a house. A crowd filled the house and g-athered round the door. Near the place was a palsied man. He had heard of Jesus, but he couldn't come to him. He was helpless. It is easy to imagine the wist- ful longing of his heart as he heard some one tell of the cures of the prophet of Nazareth. But he had four friends; they loved him; they believed on Jesus as a healer; their creed was simple, two clauses, -We love our palsied friend, and we believe that if we can g-et him to Jesus he will heal liim." Their creed produced action. Does yours? LIVING FOUNTAIN. 27 If not I don't care to hear it. If your creed does not control your life it might as well be the creed of Confucius or Mahomet as the doctrine of Christ. Well said Wesley : ' 'A string of opinions on a man's tongue is no more Christian faith, than a string of beads around his neck would be Christian practice. " Faith that God calls faith, fires the life with holy earnestness that will not keep still. The logic of the case is clear. If I really believe that men are lost, and that if they can be brought to Jesus he will save them, I'll go to work. A man may say he believes it, and then go to sleep. But if he really believes, he will go to work. They brought him. They were Jesus' helpers in his salvation. They reached the house — there was an obsta- cle in the way — the crowd would not move to let them in. Too eager were they to trip Jesus in his words, to criticise, to find fault, to admit of stepping aside a moment to give a poor palsied man a chance. Did they give it up ? Ah no ! Faith and love combined to 28 DROPS FROM A | kindle something in those men which would not i be beaten. To the back of the house, up the outside stair, to the roof they carried him ; and, all at once, the sermon is disturbed by the break- ing in of the roof, and the sick man is lowered from overhead, at Jesus' feet. ; It was an irregular way to enter a house. Would you find fault with a soul being saved in an irregular way? Any means that will get a sinner to Jesus is legitimate. Faith and love will drive a coach and four through any ecclesiastical rule ever made, to benefit a sinsick soul. Did the Lord find fault with their disturbance ? It is written : -When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy. Son, thy sins be for- i given thee." But it was not forgiveness the man was after. The ways of Jesus are well worth watching. He knew the man needed healing; he knew he needed something else far more. He began with the deeper need. When the Scribes and Pharisees heard this, "P'orgiven! LIVING FOUNTAIN. 29 forgiven ! What blasphemy ! Who can forgive sins but God ?" With flashing eyes the Lord surveyed them, and then said, ^' Which is easier ? " And then, turning to the sick man he gave them an exhibition, in the realm of the visible, of that power in which they refused to believe in the realm of the i'lvisible. He said, ''Arise, and take up thy bef". and walk." It was a life giving word. He spoke life, health and vigor through that palsied frame. Up he sprang, rolled up the mat on which he may have lain through many a weary year, and went forth a willing, joyful witness of the healing and saving grace and power of Jesus. There, then, were two classes, helpers and hinderers. To which one of them do we belong? Says someone, '*I am neutral." You can't be. Every soul who^e pathway is crossed by Christ in the gospel, casts at least a silent vote, for, or against him. *'He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." 30 DROPS FROM A It is written, -Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help." It might be written, - Happy is that man who is a helper to the God of Jacob." The harvest is being gathered; the feast of -Harvest Home" is coming, when the Lord of the harvest and his helpers will rejoice together. i" LIVING FOUNTAIN. 31 BEGINNING LIFE OVER. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, veril}-, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. — John 3: 3. IVTO thoughtful person can read the words of Christ without markingr their tone of authority; absolute, more than iinperial, god-like. Without a throne, without a sceptre, with no crown, except once a crown of thorns, he could not have spoken in loftier tones of supremacy had he been seated on heaven's throne with an adoring universe at his feet. Prophet and seer had said, ''Thus saith the Lord." John the Baptist, the greatest of the sons of men, had said, '' I am the voice of one crying." But hear Jesus: " Verily, verily, I say unto you." A Jewish rabbi, a member of the Sanhedrin, came to him inquiring the way of life. Our Lord's answer is profound, startling, final. ' ' Except a man be born again he cannot see the SI' 32 DROPS FROM A kingdom of God." Whatever else this means it does means this ; that without a radical change of character brought about by a birth from above, there can be no salvation. Put this into your creed upon the authority of Jesus Christ : " Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God," It is not our business to prove that this is true. He will never thank us for so doing. Our business is to deliver his message, not to establish it. We ask, however, with reverence, four questions about being born again. Why? How? When? And how will I know that I have been born again ? Why? A story. Two excursions were to leave the same wharf, on two steamers, the same morning, at the same hour. One included a number of Sunday-schools, the other a company of sporting men going out to witness a prize fight. The hour arrived, the gang planks were bemg pulled in, when down the wharf came two men running; they sprang, each on board, as he supposed, his own boat. As the boats LIVING FOUNTAIN. 33 moved out, one of the men, a Sunday-school superintendent, started below to find the child ren. He found a room with tables strewn with cards and beer glasses, and an atmosphere of tobacco smoke and profanity. He could not get ashore. He put in the most miserable day of his life. What was the surprise of the other, the man of sport, when turning to look for his companions, he heard the voices of three hun- dred children singing, "All hail the power of Jesus' name." He went to the captain, plead with him to be put ashore, and actually paid more than twenty times the price of his ticket to get out of the company he was in. What was the matter with that man ? They were all ready to treat him well. Not an unkind word would have been spoken to him that day. Yet that ship was a prison, a hell, to him. Such, only in far deeper degree, would be the experience of an unconverted soul in heaven. That's why a man nmst be born again. How? We quote from God's Word. "But ' \ 1 1 i 34 DROPS FROM A as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God."' Jesus has come, offering himself in mighty love, and in loving might, to each soul as a Saviour. The hour in which the soul receives him, trusts him, looks to him, leans on him, commits itself to him, closes in with his offer, that is the hour of that soul's second birth. When ? \7e answer, first, so far as the Scriptures reveal, in this life or never. Nor is this all ; usually early in life. The great majority of those who pass thirty without becoming Christians, never become so at all. There are exceptions ; we speak of the rule. Does any ask why this is ? The answer lies on the surface of thmgs. Life's habits become fixed. A young man fresh from school went to learn the black- smiths' trade. The first day he picked up with bared hand, a hot iron. He diopped it without waiting for orders. But three years afterward he could pick up an iron as hot and hold it with- out discomfort; the hand had become used to LIVING FOUNTAIN. 35 handling hot irons. We read in God's Word of "A conscience seared as with a hot iron." Youthful impressions, however deep, not acted on, gradually fade away; the ear grows deaf to the voice of God ; the heart hardens against the appeal of the vSpirit; all unconsciously to the person himself, he drifts further and further away. There is but one time for every soul to make sure ; that time is nozv. How shall I know when I have been born again ? There are many marks. We speak of but two. First. — Purity, ** Whosoever is born of God sinneth not." We speak not now of per- fection, but the bent and purpose of a regener- ated life is against sin, and for righteousness. It was a sinner running after sin ; it is a sinner running away from sin. Love. — "He that loveth not knoweth not God ; for God is love." ''We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." ''He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." Do you love Christians 36 DROPS FROM A because they are Christ's ? If so, you have one of the best evidences that you have been born ag-ain. It is indeed, a new start in life, for, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature ; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new." <«je LIVING FOUNTAIN. 3; THE BLESSING OF THANKSGIVING. Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? Luke 17 : 17. T ESUS was passing through Gahlee and Sp.tna- •^ ria for the last time. He was on his way to Jerusalem ; his goal was Calvary. With stead- fast face and eager step, he went forward to make that sacrifice which would form the hinge on which the ages would swing, and the founda- tion on which his church would rest forever. Not far from the roadside stood a group of ten poor wretches whose misery had bound them to one another. One word tells their pitiable story : — leprosy. As outcasts, dead among the living, they must not come within a certain distance of any clean person. In some way they learn who is passing and together they raise the cry, * 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us," He stopped. No cry of need ever fell unheeded on his ears. He called J 38 DROPS FROM A to them, " Go show yourselves unto the priest." They knew what that meant ; it was the promise of cleansing- ; and they were to show themselves to the priest, that they might be pronounced clean, I and be free to return to their homes. They start; not many steps, and they feel a mighty cha/ge; the leprosy is gone. They look at themselves and each other; the}' are cleansed. Nine of them simply quickened their steps and hastened on, congratulating themselves on their good luck. One stopped. He was only a Sama- ritan, one of the despised race. In happier days his present partners would have scorned him. Why does he hesitate ? We hear liim say, "I i i guess this business of going to the priest can I wait a few minutes." He hurries back to Jesus, falls before him and pours the wealth of his gratitude at the feet of his benefactor. Study now the face of the Lord, as he looks at the k-ieeling form, before him and then at the re- treating figures of the nine. "Were there not ten cleansed ? but where are the nine ? " And LIVING FOUNTAIN. 39 then to the grateful Samaritan he said, "Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole." This incident sparkles with lessons. It does make a difference to the Lord whether we thank him or not. If we receive ingratitude it hurts us just in proportion as we love the person who shows it. Apply this rule to Him. The heart of the Lord possesses the infinite sensitiveness of an infinite love. Again, the Lord intends his gifts of provi- dence to lead us to himself, and thus make us partakers of his gifts of grace. His gifts of providence can be bestowed upon us no matter i at what distance we live from him. Not so his I gifts of grace. By reason of their very nature he cannot give them, except through the medium of the soul's acquaintance with himself. When this man came back to thank Jesus for healing, Jesus' language implies that he received the greater boon of salvation through faith. The other nine missed that. We have no account that they ever sought Jesus' acquaintance. Their if 40 DROPS FROM A healing was a life long- blessing, and yet in them it failed of its highest purpose, in that it led them not to the Healer. Blessed are they who hear in every gift of God's providence, a voice saying, ''Come unto Me," and who make his gifts, through gratitiide, an angel ladder to the infinite heart of the Giver. LIVING FOUNTAIN. 41 t TWO MEN SAYING THEIR PRAYERS. And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that thej^ were righteous, and despised others. Two men went up into the temple to pray ; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are' extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.' 1 fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified V rather than the other : for every one that exalteth him- I self shall be abased ; and he that humbleth himself I shall be exalted.— Luke 18 : 9-14. TESUS knew what was in man. Just hear I him describe two men at prayer. The one a Pharisee, the other a publican. One from the upper crust of society, the other from the lower. The Pharisee prayed thus : "God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, ■1 1$ 42 DROPS FROM A unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess." Do you call that praying ? Bragging, rather. Yet with awful sarcasm Jesus says, " He prayed thus." It was a man who was getting along first rate without God, wdio stepped into the temple, in a complimentary way, to tell Ood how well he was getting along. It lacked every element of prayer. Look, now, at this publican. Far out toward the outer cotirt, wuth downcast eyes, he .smites upon his breast, and cries, "God be merciful to me a sinner." It is worthy of note that the word translated i:; merciful, is, really, mercy-seated. His face was turned toward the Holy ()f Holies. He knew that behind the veil was the mercy seat, sprinkled ,1 with blood, where God had promised to meet 1 1 with his people, and forgive them through the I I blood of atonement. The whole doctrine of the ' i; cross is crystallized into the brief prayer of this humble penitent. There are three elements in his prayer which f LIVING FOUNTAIN. 43 are conspicuous by their absence in the prayer of the Pharisee. First, he confessed that he was a needy sinner. Only a hungry man ap- preciates the gift of food ; only a thirsty man appreciates water ; only a sick man ap- preciates a physician ; only a drowning man appreciates a life-line ; only a man who feels that he is a sinner appreciates the mercy of God. It was a heart cry of need. In the second place, the prayer was a confession that God was just, and that sin deserved punishment. If you think we are reading more into the passage than there is in it, read it with the word " mercy-seated " in the place of the word ** merciful," and reflect a little on what a Jew understood by the word mercy-seated. No priest ever entered that awful place without blood. There was always that which reminded him that the "Wages of sin is death." Any gospel which presents God as overlooking sin, or treating it lightly, is a libel on his character, and a perversion of the gospel of I 44 DROPS FROM A * Christ. The God whom the gospel reveals, must punish sin, even though his own Son be made the culprit. This penitent understood this much of tlie divine character. Hence, his cry- implied that he knew what a blood sprinkled mercy seat meant. This element is entirely wanting in the prayer of the Pharisee. With no sense of sin, he could have no sense of how God regarded ': sin. His thoughts seem to have been, that, ] while not perhaps absolutely perfect, he was so 1^ much better than others, that God must needs I be a little proud of him, and he was more than a little proud of himself. ^ One of the fathers ;. quaintly says, "There are four kinds of pride: face pride, race pride, place pride and grace i, pride; and the worst of these is grace pride." f There is not much hope for the man who can so mingle the divine with the devilish as to be proud of his piety. We look again at the publican. There was a third thing in his prayer. A confession, not '*■ LIVING FOUNTAIN. 45 only that he wa.s a sinner, and not only that God was just, and therefore sin deserved punishment, but also that God was merciful, and hence could, would, and did accept a substitute, and forgive the sinner. This, too, of course, is wanting in the Pharisee's prayer. A man with no sense of the claims of divine justice, how could he under- stand this ? Mercy to him was a mere name. It takes a broken heart to receive mercy through a crucified Saviour. Mark now the conclusion. The Lord points to the publican, and says, " I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other." These two, in their attitude toward God, represent two great classes of mankind. There are but two ways of appearing before him ; either to stand on your merit and make the most of it, or acknowledQ:e vourself a sinner, and standing on the merits of another, ask for mercy through him. Take your choice. I'll tell you mine : " On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand." f 4^ DROPS FROM A 1 I i - THE CURSE OF LAZINESS. Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof ; because they came not to the help of the Lord against the mighty.— Judges 5: 23. ^Y'E sometimes find a beautiful pearl in a very roug-h looking oyster. One of the highest I privileges of the sons of God is hinted at in this I dreadful anathema. :, An enemy had invaded Israel. Under the I leadership of Deborah they went out to defend I their land. The Lord was with them. The battle was more his than theirs; it was not Israel against Sisera, but God against Sisera. No w^onder ''The stars in their courses fought against him." The victory was glorious, but one village of Israelites, Aleroz, declined to turn out for the fight. It is said Meroz occupied a strategic point near a pass where they could have prevented the enemies' flight. Be that as it may, Avhile they were willing to enjoy the results of i: I LIVING FOUNTAIN. 47 the victory, in exemption from a foreign rule, they excused themselves from coming to the help of the Lord. After the battle the inspired song of praise wliich Deborah sang to Jehovali, turns aside for a moment from its lofty strain, to curse bitterly, in the name of the Lord, the inhabitants of Meroz. We note the following lessons. First, it is the privilege of believers to help God. When he manifested himself in creation he wrought alone. He had neither counselor nor helper, and needed none. In redemption too, though Joseph, Jesus' foster father, Mary and oth- ers, were his helpers in one sense ; though Judas and Annas and Caiaphas and Herod and Pilate and Satan were his helpers in another sense, though they knew it not; yet in the deepest sense Jesus could say, "I have trodden the wine press alone, and of the people there was none with me." But redemption accom- plished ; Jesus seated at the Father's right hand ; the Spirit sent forth ; the new age ushered in ; it r 1^ 48 DROPS FROM A has pleased God, for the spreading of the gospel over the world, to link his almightiness with man's littleness. "We are laborers together with God." As the water in the miP dam shows its power where it pours its tide through the narrow race ; as the steam in the boiler shows its power where it forces itself through the narrow valve ; so God purposes to show his power in this world, through the narrow channel of human life. O, Soul! Canst thou say that this has no charm for thee ? Here is a plan laid before the world was, which "The angels desire to look into;" which the prophets scanned eagerly from afar through faith's telescope; into which God has put the blood of his son. A plan which seems indeed God's master-piece ; and, behold, a place is left in it for you. Yes, you are called into cooperation with Christ to make history, immortal history ; to do that which will stand beside and be a part of his doing, in that day that ' li LIVING FOUNTAIN. 49 is coming. Shall earth's toys blind your eyes to the heavenly vision ? Or will you rise as the living among the dead and say, "Oh God, let me have some small share in thy work ?" In the second place, we see that sins of omission are worse than sins of commission. It is a sin of omission simply, that is sending millions to perdition. The reason that the sinner is on the down grade instead of the upward pathway is not on account of anything that he has done, but on account of something he has left undone, that is, because he has neg- lected to believe on Jesus Christ. Now as truly as the sin of the world which rises far above all other sins, is a sin of omission, so truly the worst charge that can be laid at the door of the church of God, is not the many things its members do which they ought not, but the fact that so many of them neglect to help God. Jesus' errands must go undone because willing feet are not found. His messages must go unsaid because his people's tongues are busy with other so DROPS FROM A ,. !■ h 1 ' things. They "Come not to the help of the Lord." True, he is ahnig-hty and needs nothing from us ; yet, having chosen to link us with himself in his work, he is straitened through our indolence. Once more, Jesus will be victorious whether we help him or not. "Every knee shall bow." His sceptre will be undivided. It will, however, make a great difference to us in that day whether we help him or not. It is one thing to be saved, and another to be approved as a work- man. Many will be saved with small reward. vSome will be saved whose rewards will make them shine as the stars of God forever. Those who enter most fully into partnership with Jesus here, will share most gloriously the partnership w4th Jesus there. n LIVING FOUNTAIN. 5 1 JESUS' WELCOME TO A NEW DISCIPLE. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Then art Simon the son of Jona : thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. — John i : 42. TT was in the begining- of our Lord's ministry. He had returned from the wilderness of temptation and commeneed to preaeh. Two men, disciples of John the Baptist, hearing their teacher speak of him as the "Lamb of God," left John and followed him. They were fisher- men from Galilee ; one was Andrew, the other John the beloved. Andrew sought his own brother Simon and brought him to Jesus. These words were his welcome : ' * Thou art Simon ; thou shalt be called Cephas or Peter, — that is, a rock." A little study of these words shows us that into them Jesus condensed all Peter's future history. It is claimed that the word Simon means "Weakness," or "Son of 'Ifl' \ i if * i i •!, 52 DROPS FROM A j weakness." What then did Jesus say? "Thou art a son of weakness ; thou shalt be a rock." What a welcome. It implies at least, that when Jesus received him he knew what Peter I was. Nothing could ever occur in his history that would surprise the Master. Would Peter undertake to walk on the water and then lose faith in a moment? Would he draw his sword in de- j , fence of his Lord and the same night thrice deny • j \ ^ii^ ? Jesus knew it all when he first received ^ ^ him into the band of disciples. What wealth ' of comfort lies here. Our faults often astonish ^ ;^ us, and we say, "How could I?" Often dis- courage us, and we are ready to say, " I'll not I try again." But not so with him. The day he ^ j first stretched out his pierced hand and welcomed us to himself, he knew every slip we'd ever make ; he undertook with a perfect understanding of all I t^^^ difficulties in us. It is written: " He shall not fail, nor be discouraged." But this welcome implies also that he saw not only Peter's present character, but Peter's possi- A 1 LIVING FOUNTAIN. 53 bilities through his grace. Your name will not always be Simon. You will become a rock. Probably Peter was far from understanding at the time all that this meant. The time would come when his weakness would be strength, and he would be the opposite of what his former self had been. Jesus sees infinite possibilities for every soul. The keen eye-vsight of divine love looks beneath the mistakes and infirmities of our lame humanity and sees possibilities, through his grace, for each one of us, that would make our eyes sparkle with heavenly hope, could we see them. *'It doth not yet appear what we shall be," that is, to us. It is all plain enough to him. The nearer we come to the mind of Christ the larger faith we will have in the possibilities for the worst of men. Our way is to give a soul one trial, perhaps two, and then say, " No use, he's a failure; it is a waste of time." Jesus would begin the thousandth time as will- ingly as the first. A II 54 DROrS FROM A i ( ^^^ range of this thought, concerning the , possibilities for the believer, reaches away beyond ■ ^ this world. The precious blood of Heaven's first I ; ^^^^ w^s not poured out for you and me, without j ' ^ purpose worthy of God himself. Have faith i h ^^ w^^t Christ sees for thee above what thou 1 seest for thyself. | But this welcome implied not only that the | Lord saw what he was and what he would be f but also that the Lord himself undertook the work of Peter's transformation. O, glorious thought ! 1 not my poor strength, but - God that worketh in ' me, to will and to do of his good pleasure," shall ' change me from what I am, to what he wills for me. ; ! Little did Peter know the greatness of the task Jesus undertook that day; little did we, when he welcomed us, nor do we now; but he ' knows. He measures it all. He undertakes, and what ''He has promised, he is able to perform." This prophesy was realized in Peter See him on the day of Pentecost surrounded by -4 I LIVING FOUNTAIN, 55 a throng, some of whom had voted for the death of Christ. Hear him say, " Whom ye have taken and with wicked hands have crucified and slain." He stands like a rock amid surging waves. His union with the Living Rock has made him a rock. The stability of Christ's own character imparted, has changed Simon to Peter, and the prophecy of Jesus' welcome has been fulfilled. ii 1-' ; 5 6 DROPS FROM A THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. —Matthew 4:1. ^S long- as man is subject to temptation, the temptation of Jesus will posess an undying interest. Somewhere in the wilderness of Judea is the battle ground where one of the mightiest combats of time was fought. We speak of the issues that hung upon a Marathon, a Waterloo, or a Gettysburg; but what were the , issues at stake when the Prince of Light and the prince of darkness met on the soil of a contested ■ planet? | Let us go back. What preparation had Jesus ' for this teinptation? We ask this because, if by virtue of his Godhood he simply put his foot on Satan's neck, then theie is little to encourage us. We can't do that. But if, as is the case, he met the tempter as a man, with the same kind of furnishing which we have, then our hearts LIVING FOUNTAIN. 57 rise high with hope, and we say, " By his grace we'll conquer too." His preparation was twofold ; he was filled with the word ; he was anointed by the Spirit. His Father's Word had been his delight, his study, his meditation, his companion from child- hood. He was filled with it. He thought in the language of the Old Testament. Whatever men in pride of scholarship may think of that Book, it was the Saviour's daily food. At thirty he was baptized ; coming forth from the water, heaven was opened; from the throne came a form of snowy whiteness and rested on his head. And now with an indwelling word, kindled into flame by the anointing Spirit, he went out into the wilderness to meet the foe. The truth of God in his heart left no room for Satan's lie. The vSpirit made the things eternal so real, that the things temporal which Satan offered could not sway the soul. What were the temptations ? Three, and yet, only one. The first, was to use his power if I ! I I f 58 DROPS FROM A miraculously to satisfy his hunger; the second, was to leap from the pinnacle of the temple, presuming upon the Father's faithfulness to save him, in order that he might astonish the people, and compel faith in himself; the third, that he siiould compromise with Satan, and thus obtain the kingdoms of this world, which were already his by right. These three are one: that he would take himself out of the care of his Father, and take a short cut toward the object sought' If, tli^s g-^ining an advantage by doing wron^ This is really the one temptation on which Satan has been ringing the changes ceaselessly through all time. You can gain an advantage by doing wrong. Now it is money ; now it is fame ; now it is pleasure; now it is something else. There is^a shorter road to happiness than obedience. With Jesus we answer, "No." "While God lives and rules, there never can be a time or place or circumstance in which it will pay to do wroncr." Note now how he vanquished the tempter. LIVING FOUNTAIN. 59 The resources of the universe were at his dis- posal. Out of them all what did he use? Three verses from the book of Deuteronomy: '^t is written." -It is written." -It is^written." Tlie Word is the sword of the Spirit. He knew it, he drew it, he used it, he conquered with it. If thou wouldst be more than a conqueror go and do likewise. Satan fears not man's clever philosophy, but trembles before the unsheathed blade of God's truth. - The devil leaveth him, and behold angels came and ministered unto him." Sweet hour of rest after fierce hour of conflict. Here are -Footprints on the sands of time." Let us follow, leaning hard on him who made them, until our pathway leads through the gates of pearl. i\i I 1 1 ^^ DROPS FROM A THE NATURE OF TRUE RELIGIOxN. I am come that they might have life. John lo: lo. f HE errand of Christ to this world is stated m a variety of waj-s. It is said that he came. "To do the Father's ^-ill;" -To bear wit- "ess tmto the trtuh ; " "To destroy the works of the devil ; " " To take away our sins ; " " To save sinners:" but, perhaps, no statement of it comes so near the heart of the trosnel a, t1i,„ . i,„ '"= t»ospti asijiis: he came i hat we might have life. " Three things at least are implied in this statement. First, it indicates the nature of true religion • what is it.= A creed? No, though every re- ^gious person has a creed. A course of conduct > Ao though the truly religious man is .scrupuK onsly careful about his conduct. Religion, in its mmost essence, is something behind, and far 1 I I LIVING KOUXTAIN-. g, deeper than either creed or conduct : it is the life of Christ in man. A ne«- life is the hidden source of all outward change that takes place at conversion: we are religious, Justin proportion as the life of the risen Christ is permeating, inter- penetrating and controlling our lives. We hear it said that people should live their religion • as a matter of fact they do : those who do not live It do not possess it : the living of it is the thing Itself. Be not deceived ; a glorified Christ can- not be hidden away, unseen, unheard, in some one apartment of your being, while you live a seWsh worldly life. The difference between a mere moralist and a Christian, is the difference between a tombstone and a tree : the former may be shapely and fair, but the latter has a divine secret hidden in its every fiber, from lowest root to topmost leaf, which shows itself in -.owth and fruitfulness. Religion, then, is life. In the second place, this statement indicates the attitu.Ie of Christ toward us:-.'! am come that ye might have ; " a giver with a gift. The ^^ DROPS FROM A / S:ospel is too often presented as Christ demand- ^l ''^^ somethinori the fact is, the voice of inspira- tion is ever ringing the changes on the word : gift, give, gave, given, giver. Christ's first approach to the soul is not a demand, but an offer. Hear him at the well of Samaria: -If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saithtothee. Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. " It is a king stooping in holy ji , love, to give pardon and eternal life to a rebel, and earnestly beseeching him to receive it. Ij In the third place, we have here indicated, what ought to be the attitude of every soul toward Christ : that of a willing receiver. As }■ ^^^ palsied man received strength ; as the leper ^ received cleansing; as the blind man received [ ^ "^^^^' ^^^ the deaf hearing ; as the dead Lazarus f received life from him; even so it is given us to receive Christ ; and in him eternal life. -But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God;" that is, to them f LIVING FOUNTAIN. 63 gave he the life of God that made them sons of God. Shall our hearts say, - O, heaven sent king ! we come to thee ; we receive thy gift ; and, henceforth, thou alone shalt be our life, our all?" i !i] (tl 64 rjROI'S FROM A 41 THE OBJECT OF THE GOSPEL. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of ?Lh unteigned.-ist Timothy i: 5. " -pHE ^vord end, in this text, means aim. The word commandment, as the context shows means simply the gospel. The statement theti IS, "The aim of the gospel is love, out of a pure heart and of a gciod conscience and of faith un- feigned." It is necessary, not only to understand the various truths of God's word, but also their re- lation to each other. Hence, here and there, the writers pause; and, placing one end of the compass on some great central truth, swing the other end round the whole circle of truth to show Its relation to all. This is done here Mark the wide sweep of the thought.-The aim of the gospel is to awaken love in us ; and in order to do this, three conditions are necessary LIVING FOUNTAIN. 65 a pure heart, a good conscience, and faith un- feig-ned. Concerning the first statement : Christ's object in coming to this world, was to bring us back to that likeness to God which was lost in the fall. Now, God is love; Christ is the - Image \f God"; hence, He is love. In order to make us like God we too must learn to love : hence the statement that - The aim of the gospel is love," is but :.jother way of saying, that the aim of the gospel is to make us like God. His method is divinely simple : it is to show such overwhelming love to us, that our hearts shall be kindled into a blaze of love by his love. This is the first and greatest meaning of the cross of Calvary. ' ' God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." The result is, in the case of those who yield to the power of his love, that -We love because he first loved us." A burning glass collects the sun's rays in focus on a point, with great brightness and ^^ r)ROPS FROM A intense heat. The cross „f Jesus is heavens burning o.,,,ss, coHecting the rays of everlasting love, and focusing them upon the sinner's heart Jesus way of conquering his enemies, is by con- strammg them to oecome his friends The tnumphs of the gospel are heart conquests hroi,gh love. But what if this manifestation of love fad on a. soul = We can only answer, God has done his best, and most, and mightiest * ^ th.t'?rr"""'"""""""''°"-^- I"-d- I hat God s love to us produce the desired effect I three conditions are necessary. ' ? First, "A pure heart." But how shall I ' obta,napureheart.^ Con.scious, as I am, that life s stream was, long ago, poisoned at the fount- am; that ..The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;- can I puHfv "■nyscif? Xo more than the '• Ethiopian c J |- i.-'nge hrs skin, or the leopard his .spots " 0-, then' The- is but one way appointed, n the gospel message is the promise, that, if ^ I beheve, Jesus will enter, take possession of my 1 I f I I LIVING FOUNTAIN. g- life, and purify my heart by his own infinite punty. ..Without holiness no «an shall see the Lord; "-without an indwelling Christ there IS no holiness. Jesus present and active, is the purity of the believer. • • Swing the heart's door widely open; Bid Him enter." He will so cleanse the heart that it will become a reflector tor the love of God to us. Second, a good conscience.-But how shall I obtain this? My conscience is laden with the wrong that I have done. Look again at Jesus. Looking at the wrong I have done, I have a guilty conscience : looking at the satisfaction and perfect payment which he made for my sins I have a conscience purged with precious blood and as clear of guilt before high heaven as though I had never sinned at all. It seems too much to be true, but God hath said it ! With a guilty conscience I can never love God or man but with a conscience once guilty, now clear,' through his kindness in bearing my guilt, I can love both God and man. I.;; * DROPS FROM A Faith unfeigned,- is the third condition. Th,s means, honestly believing that what God says IS true; th.nt he loves me, sinful thou<.h I am ; that he sent Christ to provide perfect s^Clva- .on for me ; that Jesus bore my sins, therefore I do not bear them ; that he rose again, and is now represent„.g me before the throne; and that in h.m I have now eternal life. This is faith un- fegned. Grant these three conditions, and, as the hgh of the sun kmdles the mountain gla ier or placKl lake into a blaze of reflected glory, so does the light of his love Icindle the hean into an undymg flame of love, so like his own, that we are called the sons of God, and the object of th gospel IS attained. i I LIVING FOUXTAIN. 69 A RESTING PLACE. ITisagreatthingtohearJes«.s.sny..IwiIl" riiere is always some doubt about a mere huma„..r.,n;.butbehi,Klthis..I.,„," e the resources and the faithfulness of one who is The same yesterday, to-day, and forever - These words are divine Love's reply to the great heart cry of a weary world. ^ What a scene of unrest this is. One genera t>on follows another acro,ss the sea of life as~" ;-eds wave. It is a .sea swept by .storms o ''mb,t.on, ten,pests of passion, and surges of dis content. Earth has no resting place. Thers no t. m the whole reahn that comes within our ■'-•ngc, a place where a tired spirit can fold its -n.s ,n .s.afety, .save where John u.sed to lay ,2 --yhead. Je.sus.say.s,..I.i,.,K.,.,„,,L,: The promise rs as definite as it is sweet. Wesley hi f T1 70 DROPS FROM A ij was once sitting; by an open window, and saw a l.ttle bird fiercely pursued by a hawk. It darted here and tliere, now up, now down. But the hawk was always behind it. Suddenly it darted "■through the window, and into the bosom of Wesley's cloak. He closed the window until the hawk flew away. \Vhen all was safe he opened the window, freed the little flatterer, took up his pen, and wrote, "Jesus lover of my soul. Let me to Th)- bosom fly." Rest from what? There are three burdens that make life unbearable, and make people ^■"7 "'^ '^'^'■°- "-^"- time. These three are guilt, sin, and care. Jesus gives rest from guilt. I have seen a man with a strange, frigluened look in his eyes' He seemed uncomfortable and appl.ehensi^•e everywhere. I learned the reason : he was a criminal: he had .served time: he knew not the moment the iron hand of the law might be laid ou him again for other crimes which he had 'I ^ /' 'j s 'S ;( ^ LIVING FOUNTAIN-. committed. An uiirR^t i;i-„ ^^ ■ ■ a bosom M " '" ''''"''" m«-i"y a bo.som. Many a person, gay enough in com any. .s a httle afraid to go to sleep af night "; >s because of the dreadful fear that the p^st wi meet him somewhere in the future Jesus tal this all away Thp ri, ■ *• . J^sus takes rise tn T •Christian's past can never rise to confront him Hi,. ,•„ i far IS -' 'h-^" we feel t'>a twe are wedded to God by ,„ercy already height.-How this will appear on the resume "on morning, ,,h,„ «,, ^^^^ ,,^ -dory oZ T View n1^rl A , ft.^^O open to f, • ''"^ ^""" "'^^t I>eight we see -The uit f>om wh,ch we were di DROPS FROM A {■ from sin's bottomless abyss into the unspeakable joys of life eternal, is certainly a great vSalvation. It is great because univensal. — The provisions of salvation are as broad as the stream of humanity. Touching redemption's provisional sweep, the Christian is a Universalist. Were men but as willing as God is, universal salvation would be the result. *' He tasted death for every man." "He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world." ''Whosoever will may come." Mercy's gate is wide ; Jesus sits in the reception room of everlasting mercy ; and over the door is written, " Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." It is great in that it is complete. — It is true, but not the whole truth, to say that Christ came to save souls. A misstatement is almost as bad as a false statement. He came to save 2ts. What is there in us that he will not save? Not satisfied with claiming the spirit in the hour of death, he declares he will come back, and claim 4. i li LIVING FOUXTALV. i. 77 even the sleep,,, .u,.st in u:e W of ,.e.s„„ec. gloufied, stand fortli l . exhibit tl„. t God's .salvation. ' Perfeetion of It i.s great, because tlae message is sent bv one. Who. thon.h elothed in ti.e Lwv •; b of our common humanity, is - Over .11 r- ' , f , forever •■-- Tf tl,. , ' ^"'^ '"'''"■'^'-''I steadfa.st, and ;;" r'^' " '^ ""''^^"■^ ^^"^'^ obedience received Lt "''""'"" ""' ''" leccivea a just recompense of rew-irfl • how shall we cscioe ,-f , "^^'^^^ • salvation . I , "'^^'''^'^' «" great bvihe r ' r : '' "" '"' '^^^'''" '<^ '^'^ spoken by he Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them ha heard him.v. This question, like a div.^" c^-llenge, has been flung out for centuries. No rnan has ever been able to an.swer it. .How siiall we escape li we neglect?" |i I 1 T 78 DROPS FROM A SAVED BY GOD THROUGH RIGHTEOUS- NESS. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that be- lieveth; for therein is the righeousness of God revealed. — Romans i: 16, 17. TN this text, after the apostle declares he is not ashamed of the gospel, he tells us three things about the gospel. — First, he tells us that it is the power of God unto salvation; — next, whom it saves; — and third, how it saves. Weigh the first statement. That is, "The gospel is the power of God unto salvation." We have heard of God's power in creation ; we have heard of God's power in destrtiction ; we have seen God's power in preservation ; and the news of the gospel is, that the same arm that created all things, and that upholds all things, is stretched out to save. God has become a vSaviour. This fact alone makes the salvation of every soul \ i LIVING FOUNTAIN. . possible. No matter how deep the degradation • no matter how strong the ehains of sin ■ no matter how long they have been forged- no matter how weak and helpless the poor captive ■ he gospel is the power of God : -and when God s arm .s stretehed out on behalf of a sinner, hat sou wdl be saved. Let the person who has tned so hard to be good, and failed, hear this. 1 he gos-,,el is the power of God enlisted on be- half of the soul ! And now, whom does it .save? •. Every one that believeth." Divinely simple good tidings of heaven! God. in Christ, stands ready to tindertake, on behalf of every one that be- -veth If I believe, then not only all that Chnst has done for me is mine ; but all that he ■s IS enlisted on my side. If I believe not, then all that he has done, and all that he is, is in vain or me. Yonder on the traek stands a train of headed cars : i„ front of them an engine. There IS power enough in yonder engine, to carry that tram at a flying rate. The engine starts, but !;f 80 I)R •\ 82 ^KOVS FROM A Son for me!" But I say also, ..Behold, his r^hteous judgment on my sin : for wh.. il rested even on his beloved Son, he must die-" Thus, mercy :„ God's plan is not exercised at the expense of rig^hteousness, but through right- eousness : and in perfect accord with righteous- n^ The smner who is saved through Jesus Chns can know that he is saved, not alone in a cord w,th the love of God, but that every nbuteo the divine character gives him the gospel, reveahng an infinite power for the s.nner's salvation; asking him simply to trust- and s,,,„,. ,„„ .„ ^ ^^.^^^. ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^_^^ ^^.^-^ . nghteousncss, as clearly as the divine love ' LIVING FOUNTAIN. 83 A BROKEN FAMILY CIRCLE xMENDED. Take ye away the stone.-John xi: 30. Lazarus come forth.— John xi- 43 Loose him and let him go. -John xi: 44. J\^ SHADOW had fallen across the home at Bethany. It was one of the earthly homes where Jesus loved to visit: but Jesus was away,' and Lazarus was sick,-sick unto death. They sent for the Lord. He came not.-Lazarus died. -Four days afterward Jesus came. He walked with them to the grave ;-while they wept, he w^pt. "O, tear forever sacred, since in grief The Man of sorrows mingled healing drops With the great ocean tide of human woe !" He said, "Take ye away the stone. "-He woke the sleeper.-He said, " Loose him and let him go." The broken family circle was mended. But the story has a significance deeper than Its sweet historic meaning; deeper than simply flS- I '-f I 84 I^ROPS FROM A "rjT?; '"" ^^"" '°°'^^'^ ^^>'""'i t''- grave to all graves ; beyond the.se tears to all and hat to h„„, the scene was but a rift in the clouds, revealing what sin had done. It .«e :^ 2-- ^- '^esides, it is a pieture Of the :^ Ples'^d'r "t';'" '"" ''°"^-The first, the disei- Ples did. They took away the stone. The second, the Lord dKl.-_He alone eould do it _ m-'^TlTr"'- ^'- '■^-'- the disciples dKl took off the grave clothes and let him go. souls o „fe. Many a dead soul is entombed wh^ch eoL: r ro,rc;\:r,;'^^ "^^^ ^-^■"^'-' /" '"' '-'«•■'}• by persistent kind- h.ch could be rolled away by teaching and 1-ng the gospel before them. It may iL the contr.ad,ct,ou they .see between the pLcs.s „ US ill s: le IS a ■0 LIVING FOUNTAIN. S5 and the daily living; of Christians. This stone keeps thousands in their graves. It ean be rolled away by repentance on the part of the d'seiple, and a retnrn to the devotion and the ■simplicity of the Christian life. There'll be no resurrection till the stone is rolled away, and while we are asking Christ to raise the dead he IS commanding us to roll away the stone. After this was done, how instantly, readily eagerly, Jesus stepped forward and did his part' Let the church meet the conditions on her side' and the voice that wakes the dead will be heard "1 the midst, at once. Think of the life givin.. power of that voice :-the same voice that at th^e begmning, clothed earth with verdure, filled ocean with fish, filled air with fowl and forest with beast ; and breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life. It is the .san>e voice that uiU .soon speak, and, from earth's bosom and ocean's bed; from lonely battle field and hillside cemetery: his sleeping .saints, a miyhty army will rise, dressed in immortality, and meet him i I 86 t>RO]>S FROM A in the air. When he whispers, '.Coffle forth " the soul that lone has slnnt ;„ c- call ,n.l tu ^ '""' "^^^ "t '"S call, and the man is a new creature But, though Lazarus was risen, his grave clothes were still tightly wound about him So he regenerate soul finds much that belongs not ^o h b t to the old. still clinging to him. D^cples of Jesus, go quickly to that soul i„ whom you see the stirring of a new life.-_Help >^.noff wt,,,,g,,,^.^,,^^,^^^_,,^^^^^^.l and let h,m go." Thus are we, "Laborers together with God." LrVI.VG FCIUXTAIX. 87 THE POSSIBILITIES OF FAITH, works than thes. ll a he ; o h""' ^'"'r'^ """ greater AT first sight this saying of our Lord appears hkc an extravagant oriental mctaplwr. What? ..And he that believeth on me the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these?" We look at the eontcxt for an explanation, and instead of the wonder dimin- ishing It increases. He had been talking with his disciples about the way to the Father, when Philip broke in «.-iy-ng. ..Lord, show us the Father and it suflieeth us. We can almost see bin, raise his brows in k.ndly surprise as he saul, •• Have I been so Ion. ■me with j-ou, and yet hast th,n, not known mc^ ' '"I'P? He that h.ath seen n>e hath seen the J 88 DROPS FROM A ,; ^^1 Father." And then he proeeeded to explain, ••^' that, as a man, he so lived by faith in the Father, and was so filled with the Father, that when he spoke, the Father spoke in, and throiicrh him, and that when he wroujrht, it was the Father who wrought in, and throng-h him; so that seeing and hearing him, they were seeing and hearing the Father. Having thus explained I his relation to the Father, he instantly added, > ''And he that believeth on me, the works that I . " do shall he do also." <^ ^t '''■'^^ J<-^-'^^i« tising his own relation to the Father as an illustration and pattern of what the believer's relation to Him would be after his j ji resurreetion ; as if he said, - I have believed in ': my Father: in response to my faith he has filled . me, so that when I spoke, it was not I who spoke, but the Father who spoke through me ; so that when I wrought, it was not I who wrought, but the Father working through me: thus have I been God manifest among men. Now I am going away, and such shall be the relation ! UVIXU l--OU.\iAIN. 89 between my disciple and myself, that, as he looks up to me in faith, I will fill him, so that when he speaks, I will speak tho„s,.h him ; so that when he w,)rks. I will work through him • and he sh.all be Christ manifest among men' ■So that just as I ean say. ' He that hath seen me hath seen the Father,' it shall be true of my cl..se,ple, in a very important sense, that he who sees him, sees Jesus Christ." This promise is so glorious that it becomes awful. Our weak faith staggers before it. We are very familiar with the truth that Christ is our righteousness before God ; we are gla,: to look up and .s.ay. .'I have one representinc. me before the throne, whose righteousness it perfect; -but Jesus teaches us in this saying that, wh.le he is our righteousness before God we are his righteousness before men. God sees us in Clirist. Men are to see Christ in us It is as if he .said, .'While I represent vou up here I will so fill you, that you will be able t,> represent me down there. i )o Dkors FROM A *y Rut what means the elimax of this promise? "And <,n"eater works shall he do because I go unto my Father?" It means that he, indeed, is to do greater things throagli the members of his l)ody than he did liimself. At Pentecost tliis promise l)egan to be fulfilled. Peter's single sermon on that day brought more nien to Christ than were brought, so far as we know, by the entire three years ministry of Jesus. But it was not Peter. — It was still Christ in his resurrection life, speaking through one who believed in him. Would we have power in testimony; would we have power in prayer; would we love men with a love like Christ's; would we have power in the hour of temptation like tlie very stability of God ; would wc have a patience that cannot be ruOled? In a word, w(ju!(l we have t)ur poor crooked lives to grow like his ? Jesus gives us the key: — " He that believeth on me." Put the einphasis on ///r. As if he said, ''If you will take f//i' for it and let //w do it, it shall be done." This is but another edition of that wonderful ^ ■k i I I.IVINc; IXlUXIAlV. 91 •saymg; .. Work out your own .salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in you to wll and to do of his good pleast.ro." He who dares to believe, will have the rieh reward of the experience of faith s high possibilities. I ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // 1.0 IS" I.I 11^ 2.2 - IAS lllll 10 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ■^ 6" ► V] V M Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 m \ iV ^.|| Man was no more made to live without God, than he was made to live without food, and the soul, though it drink of every earthly stream ; though its pathway be strewn with roses; though earth and heaven combine to provide the good things of this life ; that soul will still be thirsty, till it finds Christ. Jesus knew what was in man. He knew that man is just a great capacity for God. Hence, his frequent use of that word "Thirst." We are apt to think, - If I had this or that, I'd be satisfied." Could we fill the ocean's bed with a teacup? Then could we fill a great, hungry spirit, created in God's image, with the fading toys of time. But our Lord also taught her that this if i ■ ■ h /. LIVING FOUNTAIN. I 13 heavenly gift, which would slake the soul's thirst forever, was to be had for the asking. He said, '*If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that talketh with thee, thou wouldest have asked of him and he would have - the grain. There is a separation, solemn and final. The wheat is gathered for the Harvest Home of heaven, the chaff is burned and the ages to come are ushered in. O, lonely wilderness prophet, with thy hermit garb, though thou wast only a voice, the echoes of that voice still break on every shore, and will, till all be fulfilled! / LIVING FOUNTAIN, 135 THE HIGH WATER MARK OF CHRIST- IAN EXPERIENCE. Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. — Acts 2 : 38. /^NE of Satan's clever tricks, is to lead the believer to accept only a fragment of the gospel for the whole of it. It greatly dishonors God to believe less than he has said. Two great promises appear in the Old Testament, to be ful- filled in the latter day. They rise above all the other promises in the Hebrew prophets, like Alpine peaks above the foot hills round their base. The first was that the j\Iessiah would come, the second, that after his coming God would pour out his Spirit in a very wonderful way; and would, through his spirit, come into a closeness of relation with the spirit of man, unknown before in the world's history. The first of these was fulfilled when "God was manifest in the flesh, justihed in the Spirit, i ■I!. I 'I 1.' ; .!! i 136 DROPS FROxM A seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." Ten days after this "Receiving up" the second promise began to be fulfilled, when through the ascended Saviour the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples. We well remember the story. The upper room, — the hundred and twenty,— the days of prayer, — the awful hour, when, like a rushing mighty wind from heaven the Spirit came, — the tongues of fire, — the multitude of languages, — and Peter's sermon ; the first sermon ever preached on this planet, in which an enthroned Christ was pre- sented to men for their acceptance. Out from that upper room came one hundred I and twenty men and women, '' Of like passions 1 with us," but filled and fired with a conscious- | ness of Christ's indwelling almightiness which >| rendered them invincible. I Now, too many make the forgiveness of sin the supreme blessing, the high water mark of divine grace in the believer's life. We mark ! . • n. LIVING FOUNTAIN. 137 A Peter's words, when they asked, "What shall we do?" He said, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Did he make the forgiveness of sins the climax of blessing? No, No ! He mentioned it as a part of the gospel, but pausing not a moment on this threshold of blessing he rushed on to the climax, "The gift of the Holy Ghost." The forgiveness of sins is but God removino- o the rubbish of the past from between the soul and himself, and readjusting the soul's relation with himself. The forgiveness of sins must come first, in order to bless as he desires, but do not make a goal of what God intended as only a half way house. Jesus' purpose in dying for us was that he might live in us. The normal Christian life is that of a soul, not simply for- given, but " Filled with all the fullness of God:" so permeated and interpenetrated by him that the soul can say "Christ liveth in me;" "For I ii: !. I ■ 138 DROPS FROM A to me to live is Christ." A soul may be forgiven and still be powerless and almost useless. Jesus promises that his ehildren shall be elothed with a i divine power as gentle as it is mighty, as secret as it is strong; which will make one count more than many ; which will bear our lives onward on the sweet flood tide of God's will in a way that ^ will give great satisfaction to us, as well as great t f ;i| joy to him. Fellow Christian, have you believed this? Have you sought it? Have you claimed it as your right, just as you claim forgiveness of sin, or a place in the Lamb's book of life? Have you •eceived it? ' ' Child of the kingdom be filled with the Spirit. Nothing but fullness your longing can meet." What is needed in all Christian circles is not better machinery, but more steam in the boiler ; not a better ship but the gale from heaven to fill the sails ; not a better gospel, but a return to the whole gospel that flowed of old, "Like living water from Jerusalem." Drummond has well said, ''What is needed is, first, not more Christ- 's LIVING FOUNTAIN. 139 ians but a better brand. There is nothing in the realm of character or service that lies beyond the power of the Holy Spirit. 140 DROPS FROM A ARE WE RESPONSIBLE FOR EACH OTHER? Am I my brother's keeper ? — Genesis, 4 : 9. T^HE word of God answers two great questions, man's relation to his Maker, and man's relation to liis brother. It is the second of these that is raised in the question which we quote from the very dawn of history. We have no desire to ask it in the spirit in which Cain spoke ; for when he lifted his impudent face to God and said these words he w^ell knew that his brother had fallen a victim beneath his murderous hand. But without reference to him let us ask the question honestly and thoughtfully, *'Am I my brother's keeper?" Satan says, ** No, What your brother does is none of your business, what you do is none of his. Look out for number one. Let your I brother take care of himself." Did Jesus do so? :^ LIVING FOUNTAIN. 141 It is written, ''Even Christ pleased not himself." Not only was it true of Jesus, but of every person who has truly followed him that they were deeply solicitous for the welfare of others. If your rule is, "Look out for number one," ivdl, but do not call yourself a follower of the Man of Nazareth. The man who looks out for number one, a follower of one who left a heavenly throne and died between two thieves, to save a world? It is unthinkable. Let us see if we can formulate a rule then in accord, not with the maxims of earth, but of heaven. Every man is responsible for the highest welfare, that is, for the salvation, of his brother, just in so far as he has power to further it. No man is absolutely responsible for another's salva- tion, for no man has absolute power to bring it about. But just in so far as it is in our power to further it, high Heaven holds us responsible; and only when we have done our most and best are our hands clean. But how? We owe it first to our brother, to so live I :, 142 DROPS FROM A before him that the salvation of God will need no further recommendation. This is the least we can do to pay rent for the room we occupy in he Church of God. Nor can anything be sub- stituted for it. Large gifts will not atone for crooked living. The first contribution God wants from every man toward a world's salvation is •'Ml :ii' ' Ijfij! that he be a good man. But though this is the first contribution it is not all we owe him. We should not only live right before our brother and toward him, but pray in faith for him. The ministry of intercession is wofully neglected. The privilege of conference with God, for man, is not grasped by us constantly and eagerly. God's willing ear often waits when nothing is poured into it. But we have not done all when we have given him a good example and prayed for him. It is ours to tell him what we have found, and how we have found it. Spirit inspired testimony concerning Jesus has been the flame that has ^ lighted the world thus far. At Pentecost, if. fH LIVING FOUNTAIN. 143 tongues of fire sat upon each of them, meet symbol of the chosen method by which the knowledge of his name should fly. The believer who will live as he ought, pray as he is privi- leged to pray, and speak of Jesus as the vSpirit will enable him, will be indeed his brother's keeper, and that not in vain. He will earn for himself that which is promised. " They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firma- ment, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars, forever and ever." '^'ii ( ' ! ii? l! I !l hi i 144 DROPS FROM A LOVE'S COURSE. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.— John 15:9. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. — John 15: 12. By this shall men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. — John 13: 35. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. — I John 4: 11. T ET us mark the progress of thought in the verses quoted above. It begins on the plane of the unseen and infinite and ends in the visible plane of our daily lives. First, Jesus says, *'As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you." Note the '* as" and ** so," think of the Father's love to him. For ages the eyes of God had scanned this world for an object on which his love could rest without mingling of pain. At last, on Jordan's bank, there stands a man. In him the Father's eye can see no flaw: his devotion is perfect : his spirit is sinless : he is unspotted. God could not be silent: lie broke \ LIVING FOUNTAIN. 1 45 the stillness of ages, and men heard him say, '•This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." During his ministry Christ could say, "I do always those things that please him." Perfect love found a perfect object and rested in perfect complacency on him. But now Jesus is going away. — The disciples are gathered about him. — Hear what he says to them. "As my Father hath loved me, so have I loved you." Fellow believer, you and I belong to that circle. We too share that assurance. A moment later he said, " This is my command- ment. That ye love one another as I have loved you." Here, then, is the course of love; — the Father loved the son ; the Son in turn poured this wealth of love upon us ; we in turn are to love one another as he loved us. — Three falls in the mighty cascade of divine affection. Now, John the apostle of love, argues thus in his epistle: "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." Aly obligation to love my brother is not born of my brother's 146 DROPS FROM A ft t |- i i love to me, but of Christ's love to me. Freely have I received, freely must I give. But it could have been written, not only, ''If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another," but also, *'If God so loved us, we can so love one another." For it is the fact that he so loved us that makes it possible for us to love one another. Would you learn to love those around you ? You cannot do it by trying. Go sit at Jesus' feet ; let him love you ; drink in his love ; walk in it as you would in the sunshine; and your heart will kindle, and in being loved you will learn to love as he loves. One step further. '' By this shall all mea know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." God is love: Christ is a God of love manifest ; the Christian is a Christ of love, manifest through one in whom he dwells. This poor broken-hearted world is hungry for love. Men have more knowledge than they know how to use rightly, but love can find a ready market on any continent, on any shore, in any stratum of society. Do not fear that you will ! I I LIVING FOUNTAIN. 147 be misunderstood. Love can be translated into all languages, will win its way where all else fails, will convince where logic would be de- spised and will introduce the brightness of heaven into the darkest spot of earth's night. " Beloved let us love one another." 148 DROPS FROM A I i '"V li A MAN WITH AN EXPERIENCE. One thing I know, that whereas I was blind now I see. John 9 : 25. TESUS passing from the temple saw a man -^ who had been blind from his birth. The disciples raised a foolish question as to the cause of his blindness. Jesus did not explain the cause, but took occasion to remark that it was an opportunity to manifest the power of God. — We do not remember that Jesus ever wasted a sentence theorizing about the origin of evil ; he came to save us from evil. — He then made clay and anointed the blind man's eyes, then told him to go to the pool of Siloam and wash. Let us look at this case as it now stands. Jesus had aroused his expectation by what he had done, and by the command he had given. The man's part was very simple, obedience only. Let us meet him on the way. "What is on your eyes?" *'Clay." ''Who put it there?" ''A LIVING FOUNTAIN. 149 man called Jesus." ''Where are you going?" "To the pool of Siloam to wash." ''What for?" *'I expect to receive my sight." "Can you explain how putting clay on your eyes and wash- ing it off again can give sight to a man born blind?" " No sir, I do not pretend to explain it. He put clay on my eyes. He told me to wash. It is my business to obey. It is his business to give me my sight." If that man had gone in simple faith to the pool of Siloam, and obeyed Jesus' bidding and had not received sight, whose fault would it have been? We answer, reverently, but the logic of the case is irresistible, Jesus' fault. When the man obeyed, Jesus, and he alone, was responsible for the result. Bui; this is a parable as well as a miracle. The man born blind is a picture ; for every man is born blind. The message of salvation from the blindness of sin comes in the form of a command. We say it boldly, when the sinner obeys the command of Jesus Christ, Christ i.s 150 DROPS FROM A Fil I .'I responsible for his salvation. When we have repented and believed on him according to his word, the responsibility for our salvation has, in the highest sense, passed out of our hands and into his forever. A Swiss guide, was climbing a steep cliff with a traveler. At a dangerous point the traveler began to look down. The guide shout- ed, firmly, ''Look up! Place your foot there. — Now there. — Now place it in my hand. — Now on that rock." A moment more and they were safe at the top. Then said the guide, ''For a quarter of a century I have guided travelers up this cliff, and I have never lost a man who did as I told him." Fellow sinner, Jesus Christ has been guiding souls from the darkness of sin into the light of his kingdom of grace for more than eighteen hundred years, and he has never lost a soul who did as he told him. Jesus Christ is willing, yea, glad, to be re- sponsible forever for the salvation of every one who will obey. Obeying him, we can say. i w LIVING FOUNTAIN. 151 " I am safe in the ark, and I dread not the storm ; Thou art around me, the surges may roll ; I will look to the skies where the day never dies, And sing of the joy in my soul." Note that this man's cure cost him nothing. All Christ's gifts are free. But though it cost him nothing to be cured it soon cost him much to confess it. The enemies of Jesus gathered round him, questioned him, tried to puzzle him, and almost succeeded. They asked him ques- tions he could not answer; but there was one thing they could not rub out of his life, and on that he took his stand, saying, "One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see." It is the argument of experience. I know what Christ has done for me. One moment of exper- ience is worth more to assure the soul than a century of theory and opinion. It is a truism, yet one pregnant with meaning, concerning these things, ''If you know them, you know them. If you don't, you don't." But they cast him out. Jesus heard it. He sought him the second time. — The man who is 152 DROPS FROM A willing to lose his standing for Christ's sake is never forgotten. — He said to him, ''Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" ** Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? " And then Jesus revealed himself. The second gift he received, as the result of confessing Christ, was as m'lch richer than the first, as heaven is richer jj than earth. Yea, as much richer as eternity is j: longer than time. Blessed are they, who, in the ^',|j : midst of surrounding unbelief can look into his i j ; face and say, " One thing I know." , ' i ' , > 1 LIVING FOUNTAIN. 153 A SERMON WITHOUT WORDS. He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.— John 13:4, 5. TT is a room in Jerusalem. Thirteen men are reclining on couches in oriental fashion round a table on which a supper is spread. They are Jesus and his twelve apostles. They have been walking all the afternoon, and are tired now ; but before they eat, one thing is necessary for their comfort. Each one has slipped the sandals from his otherwise bare feet as he entered the door : but the feet are tired and dust- stained. It is the servants' place to wash them ; but there are no servants. This company con- stitutes a little commonwealth in which all are equal. Who will do it before they eat? The question was in every mind. Not one forgot it. r ! ■( ! 154 DROPS FROM A ;! 1 . ,i-i ' U !;J I! I ■hi ^\li'^ ' /; I I n As soon would one forget to offer a stranger a seat, when he entered his home, as an Oriental would forget this necessity. You can almost read their thoughts. Peter is saying, " It's not my place, I am a sort of leader in this band," Judas is saying, "It's not mine, I am treasurer," John, perhaps, " It's not mine, I am the Lord's favorite apostle." Presently Jesus rose, and laid down his outer garment. Perhaps they thought he was going to preach. Yes, verily, and a sermon without words that none present would ever forget. He goes to the corner of the room, takes a towel, ties one end around his waist as a servant would, takes up the big water pitcher which always stood in a Jewish chamber, pours some water into a basin, carries the basin to the foot of one of the couches, kneels, gently takes first one foot and then the other, washes and wipes them. See the flushed faces. Read their thoughts. " Well, I'd have done it rather than to have had the Lord do it." :| I ! I LIVING FOUNTAIN. 1 55 He went round the twelve. Peter raised an objection but was overruled. He comes to Judas. What will he do? He knows that man is bargaining noiv to sell him unto death. This old world has been reeking with wrong for six thousand years, but it never furnished a mate for that man. See Jesus kneel at his feet, and as gently and kindly as he washed the feet of John the beloved, he washes his. Judas, it's your last chance. The Sun of Righteousness in mighty love is shining full upon you now ; the reign of grace for you is nearly over. Had the ofrced of ofold not cankered his soul luitil the likeness of the devil had taken the place of tlic likeness of God he would have risen from that couch, fallen prostrate at Jesus' feet and con- fessed all. The work is done : the towel is laid a' ie : he takes his garment and is seated. It is time to speak. " Ye call me Master, and Lord, auvl ye say well, for so I am. If I tlien, your Lord and }^Iaster have washed your feet, ye ought also to wash one another's feet. For I i 'If •"' 156 DROrS FROM A I have given you an example, that ye should do as , I have done to you." The lesson was not lost : twenty years later, ■ writing his epistle, Peter says, *♦ Gird yourselves ■ with humility." No comment is needed. In Peter's memory there hung a picture of a man, towel-girded, with dripping arms, washing his ^,!|| feet. That man now sits at God's right hand. li j What now of our notion about the highest place? The humblest place is nearest heaven. Love only seeks to serve. 1- ■ « 1 1 as LIVING FOUNTAIN. 157 er, ^es In m, lis id. e? ve AFTER DEATH WHAT ? And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom ; the rich man also died, and was buried. — Luke 16: 22. VyE stand beside an open grave. Questions arise that will not down. Where? What? When? Shall we see them again? Close the Bible, and you may search from heaven's highest star to earth's lowest depth and you will find neither in height nor depth whisper of reply. The future life is absolutely a thing of revelation. Let us glance at five things revealed about the life that lies beyond the grave and the resurrection. There is a future life for every soul. ''AH that are in the graves shall hear his voice and come forth." Every being that ever bore God's image on this earth shall rise from the grave. Many wish they could die as the beasts die, simply because they have lived as the beasts live. That i 'I; ' 1 158 DROPS FROM A cannot be. No grave can be sunk beneath the hearing of His voice. Though our ashes be scattered on the wings of the wind, when the search warrant of the resurrection is issued from the throne it will find them. This life at longest is but the first short chapter of our existence. In that future life there will be two distinct states. One of happiness, the other of woe. Jesus taught this. He never juggled with ! words.— He knew well that the faith of unborn ,[ millions would hang on what he said about the ^^ ^ unseen future.— Hear him: "The beggar died tj ''ind was carried by the angels unto Abraham's ^ bosom. The rich man also died and was buried ; V ' i ^^^ in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment." ''Figures of speech " you say. Well, what do they mean? If language can convey ! ' any impression, they mean what we have stated , above.— Two states, one of happiness, the other |f of woe. I Again, the Scriptures reveal that these two : J ' I « [ LIVING FOUNTAIN. 159 statevS arc fixed. Hear him again: "Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed." We tread softly here. We dare not say a word beyond what He has said. — We dare not say less. The tenderest heart that ever beat, yea, the heart that bled for the world, spoke these words with all the authority of God. We bow the knee to their imperial sway and fearlessly proclaim this as a part of his truth. Again, the Scriptures reveal that in the life to come there will be a distinct and vivid memory of tJic things of tliis life. Hear the word spoken to the rich man in hell: **Son, remember that thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things ; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." The question is asked, "Shall we forget anything?" Just as a drowning person suddenly sees the entire panorama of his past life in a moment, how easy for God, by one flash of judgment light, to make man's memory to become God's " Book of Remembrance." ll' I I 1 60 DROPS FROM A !' Again, The li^rougs of this world will be righted there. No thoiigrhtful soul can fail to feel that the condition of things here demands, if God is jnst, a judgment day, and a hereafter. Once more, the Scriptures teach us that if we believe not the testimony that is given, we would not believe if friends rose from the dead. " But," says some one, -If my father came back and told me it was so."— Would you believe your father before you would God? The light is sufficient. Faith asks no more. Mysteries there are, but the mighty outlines of the hills of the future are marked off by the Son of God, and through the telescope of his promises his children walk, by faith of joys to come. LIVING FOUNTAIN. I6l ON A MOUNTAIN WITH JESUS. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.— Matthew 28: iS-20. ^HERE are mountain tops in Galilee and Judea around which unspeakable memories hang : Hermon, Hattin, Calvary, Olivet. But there is a mountain somewhere in Galilee, we know not where, where Jesus made an appointment to meet the eleven before his final departure from this world. There he gave them the marching orders of the church for the coming centuries. The view we get from that hill, through his words, is world wide, and age long. We will 1 62 DROPS FROM A I note only four things in the saying, which may be regarded as Jesus' solemn "Good night" to his disciples. First, the Christian's starting point — an enthroned Christ. — "All authority is given unto me in heaven and on earth." No person is fit to work for God amid the shifting changes of this world, who is not first anchored to an eter- nal Throne. A deep sense of the kingship of Christ is one of the first essentials in the furnish- ing of a Christian. Christ is a king. One little province, called Earth, in his empire is in re- bellion. The king could crush the rebellion easier than a giant could crush an insect ; but he desires to make the rebellion an ocasion to man- ifest, not simply his power, but also his grace ; so he is dealing gently with the rebels, offering them terms which include pardon, restoriticn, yea, even crowns of life. Let him who would work for God be filled with this idea; that while Christ is a king of grace, he is none the less a kinof. This alone enables the servant of God to LIVING FOUNTAIN. 163 weigh earth's proud trifles in heaven's perfect balance. But he also gives us the believer's outlook. '' Go and make disciples of all nations." A par- liament of religions forsooth ! When did Jesus offer to divide this world with Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius or anybody else ? ' ' He tasted death for every man." He bought the world, he claims the world, and to him yet, "Every knee shall bow." The religion of Jesus is abso- lutely exclusive because it is absolutely inclusive. A revival of the old fashioned notion that Jesus Christ is somebody, would save the church from the folly that amuses heathendom and delights Satan. Jesus himself has set the bounds of mission- ary endeavor and the pace for the age. **A11 nations," nothing less, is his word. But glance now at the Christian's work as outlined by his Lord. Three things: "Make disciples;" "Baptize them;" then "Teach them." Mark the order. Change it not. Is m I ii I I : , I > ^1 j i i ( ? J ^4 DROPS FROM A the church about its business, making disciples? Nineteen professing Christians out of every twenty never won a soul, and four out of five never honestly tried to. Fellow believer, would you like to have a hand in the special work into which the Father has put his right arm, the Son his precious blood, and the Spirit his wealth of gentle love? If so, mark well his words as he outlines the work. Make disciples, lead them to the baptismal waters, and then teach them to obey all things that he has commanded. But our Lord gives us in this farewell one thing more. His great promise; ''And, lo, I am with you alway." Mark well that capital /. It is a good deal bigger than the whole universe I outside of it. It verily seems as if, in this sweet * 'Good night, " Jesus gathered up all the precious promises he had ever made and crystallized them into one comprehensive guarantee. "Lo, I am with you alway." Starting from an enthroned Christ, with a world wide outlook, with a work which is a continuation of his own, with a 'L_ LIVING FOUNTAIN. 165 promise which is his richest, let us tread this pathway of service, -Which shineth more and more," till it leads us to the foot of a shining throne, and Jesus says, ''Well done ! " I w j !■- I 1 66 DROPS FROM A THE MEASURE OF GOD'S POWER IN THE CHRISTIAN. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward, who believe.— Ephesians i : 19. T^HE power by which God works in the life of the Christian is the Holy Spirit. The question arises, How much can he do? What is the extent ot his power? How far will he go in my life if I let him have his way? The text above is part of a prayer in which the apostle asks that they ' ' may know what is the greatness of his power in those who believe," and then he proceeds to state that it is according to the power that was manifested when Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and scaled at God's right- hand, and made Lord over all. We pause before this statement in amazement. It means nothinir less than this. God appeals to the crowning LIVING FOUNTAIN. 167 IN miracle of the acres; for it is a fact that if all the miracles wrought from the creation to the resurrection of Christ were combined in one, they would not make, for greatness, the shadow of the resurrection and enthronement of Jesus. It is the mightiest thing that God's right arm has ever done, of which men have any know- ledge. Does any one appeal to creation? Hear what the Book says about creation: ''When I behold the heavens, the work of thy fingers." The making of worlds and systems, and setting them^ in their mighty circles, is ". .it finger work for Cxod. Hear now what the Scripture says about the resurrection of Christ: "He made bare his holy arm." Creation is but his finger work. The resurrection of Jusus was worthy of his right arm. And now God appeals to this miracle of miracles, this wonder of wonders, this masterpiece of his own, as if to say, when you can measure the power that raised the dead Christ from the tomb into endless life ; that raised him to the throne of (lod ; put the sceptre f Mi? ,1 ( 'I /, !ii k^: 1 68 DROPS FROM A of the universe in his hand, and made every dominion, principality and power subject to him ; then you can measure the power by which the Holy Spirit works in the believer. That gentle, silent uprising within, is as gentle and sweet as , the dawning of the morning, as the incoming of the spring, but as mighty as God's right arm. j;j| We need this. Tasks confront us too great for 1 I human hands ; temptations surround us too strong j for human will. But with the consciousness , I ■ '' that an enthroned Saviour walks within us, by ' . his Spirit, we can dare the impossible and not in ,' ^ vain. Even in dealing with the ** Prince of the ' ■ power of the air," in the light of this fact, the 111 place for his neck is under our heel, and the I place for our heel is on his neck. This is the i ' normal condition. The believer is a king, because the King of Kings dwells within him. *' But," some one asks, "Is it his intention to h; manifest such power?" We answer, The one •; place that God has chosen as the special theatre ,ii, of his power, is the life of his redeemed child. i\ (1 I LIVLXG FOUNTAIN. 169 A good commentary on this text is Carey's immortal motto: -Expect great things from God, and attempt great things for God." "'i i); 1 ^70 DROPS FROM A BELIEVING GOD UNDER DIFFICULTIES. I believe God. — Acts 27: 25. 'J^HE above words are part of a sermon that was preached from a very strange pulpit. It was in the early days of Christianity. A hurricane was sweeping the Mediterranean. A grain ship with two hundred and seventy-six souls on board was scudding down under bare poles. They had not seen sun or stars for days, and "All hope that they should be saved was taken away." We can see the terror stricken crew in their J helplessness. But in their midst there is one man, a Jewish preacher, who presents a strange , contrast to all the rest. The light of hope is in '^ I bi« eye ; and with cheerful voice he tells them all to be of good courage for they will all be saved. There must be some strange secret about that ' man. Let us question him. "Paul, how do LIVING l-'OUNTAIN-. '71 you know? Don't you see that the ship cannot live Ions in s.,ch a sea as tliis? Whence comes such marvellous assurance with only a few cre-.k ing planks between yot. and a merciless ocean •- " He answered, .'There stood by me this „i„,,t the angel of (iod. whose I am and whom I serve saying, 'Fear not Paul, thou must be bron..],[ before Caesar.' " •. Now let the winds howl ■ l.t the waves roll; there will never l>e a storm in the Mediterranean that can swamp the promise of God." vSo while the crew watched the waves, and w.th quivering hearts, listened to the wind. Paul fixed his eye on the promise of hi„: v.-irl "(gathers the winds in his fist " and holds ihe ocean in the hollow of his hand. How faitli lifis the .soul above circumstances I,y „„iti„o. it t„ tLe author of circumstances, and keeps the spirit calm m the midst of life's wildest storm ! But do we stop to think that when C,,,] speaks there are just two things that we can ,lo with his testimony? One is to believe him ; the 172 DROrS FROM A Other is to make him a liar. Hear what John says: "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself; he that believeth not God, hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record God gave of his Son." This is true at the gate of entrance to the Christian life. The message of salvation comes. , One of two things every soul must do with it, — every soul does do with it ; either endorse God's i declaration, " Setting his seal to this, that God I ' is true," or else treat his message as if there were not a word of truth in it. Answer the I -I K . question how you treat the record that God gave of his Son and you have answered the question ,j| ^f your standing before him, of your relation to t him, and of your destiny. Not only is this true at the gate of entrance |j '; to the Christian life, but at every after-step. I I Each hour the soul is confronted with some new ii I * 1 promise of God. Each hour the alternative j, arises anew. Shall I believe him, or shall I doubt ^tl L him? Here lies the secret of the difference LIVINt; FOUXTAIX 1/3 between one life and another. "According, to your faith be it unto you." Take for instanee the victory over some besettin^r sin. I k^Av I cannot conquer. I have tried. I have been beaten. Jesus promises deliverance and a vie- tory that shall be more than a conquest. Slnll I believe him? If I do, no matter what the chain, no matter what the strength of the hal)it, no matter how heavy sin's deadly mortgage l)y reason of years of indulgence, I shall be ''free. We turn from sin to sorrow; from sorrow to trouble; from trouble to danger; God's promise covers all.-- Earth hath no sorrow that heaven cannot heal. "-The tree of promise will yield all kinds of fruit if shaken by the hand of faith. m 174 DROPS FROM A ji^ THE SPIRIT, THE WORD, AND THE MAN. The words that I speak unto you, they aro spirit and they are life.— John 6: 63. "J" HE work of God in this world is being- accomplished by a three-fold agency. The Spirit of God, the Word of God, and the man of God. When our Lord was going away he said he would send "Another," yet not another. Another, yet the Spirit is so identified with him, that where the Spirit dwells Christ may be said to dwell. He, the Comforter, is the energy by which all the work that God is doing; now is done, whether it be Lhe conviction and conver- sion of the sinnei he growth and santification of the believer, or the U])building of the body, the church. ''It is not by might nor by power, but by my vSpirit saith th. Lord." Our's is a religion of the Holy Spirit. Every step that has been made by the church of Christ, that God LIVING FO'-XTAIN. 175 recognizes as an onward step, has been through the power of the Holy Spirit. But the Spirit acts in co-operation with the Word. Mark this saying of Jesus : - The words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life." Again, in the parable of the sower he says, -The seed is the Word." Again, Peter tells us that we were -Born again of incorrupti- ble seed, by the Word." What do these sayings mean.? That just as the life of the future plant is somehow wrapped up in the seed, so the life, the eternal life, is wrapped up by the spirit in the letter of the Word, and that,— just as where the seed falls, there will be the harvest,— this seed dropped into human hearts can ))righten the fields of earth with harvests of grace, and whiten the fields of heaven with harvests uf glory. But who will carry the WoixP Who will be the medium of the Spirit's working?* J]oth the spirit of God and the word of God work throuuh the man of God. Just as Jesus needed the 176 DROPS FROM A K 'I' rxiedium of a human tongue, a human heart, a human personality, to accomplish his work, and so took upon himself our nature, he needs that medium now. Hence the call from the throne, " Whom shall we send and who will go for us? " A hotel was burning. The firemen supposed that they had rescued all the guests. After the lower stories were wrapped in flames, suddenly there appeared at a fifth story window the pale face of an invalid woman. Up went the longest ladder, but it was five feet too short. No time to piece it, no time to build a support for it ; the flames were leaping higher every moment ; if she is saved it miist be this minute. Quickly a broad shouldered fireman stepped under the window, straightened himself up and said, "1 think you can rest the lower end of that ladder on my shoulders." It was done; one held it; another went up and brought her down in safety. The gospel is meant to reach all men, but it needs to be pieced out the length of a man. Fellow Christian, will you be that man? There is no LIVING FOUNTAIN. i;7 unfaithfulness in the work of the Spirit, none in the unchanging testimony of the truth-telling Word, but over what unfaithfuhiess must we mourn on the part of the man whose place it is to complete the divine combination of grace ! Is there nothing in this view to stir the soul with a profound longing? "And, O. that he fulfilled may see The travail of his soul in nie, And with his work contented be, As I with my dear Saviour. " !;!» 178 DROPS FROM A THE CHRISTIAN'S SECRET. Christ liveth in me.-Galations 2: 20. yHE formula of salvation is very simple. Just two things:— -Christ died forme" -Christ liveth in me." The former of these is known, that is, intellectually apprehended, by many who are not themselves subjects of divine grace. Many unchristian men saw him die. Multitudes of them believed that he did die An intellectual faith in this fact is shared by Christian and unchristian alike. But the second part of this formula, -Christ liveth in me," is the most profoundly guarded secret beneath the sun. No man knows it unless he experiences it. Let us repeat the words slowly, that we may take in the wonder of their meaning. - Christ liveth in me." LIVING FOUNTAIN. 179 Who is he? Look up! A telescope was turned to the -Milky Way." Across the disk there floated, in an hour, one hundred thousand worlds. Some of them, by comparison, would make this world look like an ap])le. Vet that was but a spot like a .i^^arden bed in the empire of Jesus Christ. But he is far ^-rcater than his works. The wonder is, not what he has made. or what he has done, but what he is himself. A king? Yea, -Kino- of kings." A Lord ^ Yes, "Lord of Lords." And what is this secret, "Christ liveth in me?" Can we take in the thought that what he is on yonder throne he is in us? When he came to dwell in us, he left not one of his glorious attributes behind. Indeed, \uA only is this true, but also that out of all places in heaven or earth, the one place where he desires to manifest him- self gloriously, is in the life of the believer. It means that we are privileged in every difficully, in the face of every obstacle, at the entrance to every task, to fall back, not upon our own '^° I^1<0I>S FROM A esonrccs. but „p„„ the resources of an indwell- n, UH...st If .e c,o we will nnd tlKa his „a„,e Vo„derfu,/Wn our hearts, as wel, as where h^ Govennnent •' of worlds is on his shoulder. Unspeakable thought I • • Greater is he that is in "« than he that is in tlie world - The Christian, if he kn,>ws it, is as strong as l>e one who is within hi„,. When we were born again we were born eonquering and to conquer. It i.s ours to have such a suffieieney in the face of life's worl- tli-.t , ""-■^ woik, that we can echo P.-iul's trmmphant shout, ''I can do .,li »i ■ „ • ■-''" "" •''■ things throusfh Chnst who strengtheneth me." I„ this faiU, wedo„ota,sk, ..Ami able- Werathera.sk, LsHeable?" Our arms are nerved with the power of the armthatmovestheuniver.se; our hearts are filled with the ..Fullne.ss of him who fiUeth all th.ngs:" our intellects are enlightened with the glory of him who is the wisdom of God .-tnd U rs our privilege to be daily thus tran.sfi..-' «-d by the outshining of him who is withil The behever who takes this in cannot be weak LIVING FOUNTAIN. I8l He IS conscious of an endless reservoir of power and grace within. He has all and abounds. Let us look now at some of the avenues through which an indwelling Christ will mani- fest himself. First, A;r,vr in trstnuo,n:-U.v. apt we arc to imagine that our earnestness is what gives effectiveness to what we say. The fact is,--it is our privilege to know.-that behind the sermon, the Sunday .school teaching, the prayer meeting testimony, or the word dropped by life's wayside, stands C/irisf in us giving something of his own authority to the word" The testimony of a Christian ought to have much of the ring of the throne about it ; for he is the oracle of an enthroned Christ dwelling within him. Given this faith, and the testimony of believers will be clothed with power that will bend the hearts of men as the forest bends before the gale. ro7irr in prayer :—\i Christ in us, by the Spirit, indites and helps our prayers, then whose voice, really, does the I'atlier hear when we ! ,■ J' 182 DROPS FROM A |t pray? Ours only? Above ours, the voice 01 his only begotten Son. This is the real meaning of praying "In his name; " or of '* Praying in the Holy Ghost; " to be so dependent upon this indwelling one, that our petitions become his rather than ours. Also, that the believer need no more speak of and for himself when speaking to the Father, than when speaking to the world for the Father. It is unanswered prayer that brings prayer into disrepute and multiplies infidels. It is answered prayer that glorifies God, brings showers of blessing, stops the scoffer's mouth, and enlarges the faith of believers. Again, in love. However amiable we may be naturally, we will not go far in his work until we get to the end of our own love. What then ? " Christ liveth in me." I can fall back, not up- on my own resources of kindness, but upon his, and the same one who died for sinners, will well up in me like a fountain of living water, and love them through my heart, and hands, and tonijue. All the love there is in God is at the LIVIXf; FOUNTAIN. '«3 command of the l.dievcr. Well did P„„ ,,„ I long after y„u all with th. tender „>ercie.s ,>; Jesus Chnst." That is -. Hove you all with the heart of Jesus Christ," A'TO'K inpun,y. Morality means simplv. at "s best, the aUsenee of impurity. Christian pur- .ty means more. It is op,>„sed to evil, not sin,, ply a negative qu.ality. ,t is the hurnino- fire of ^ods hohness shining through the ehannel of hu.nan life. U is the scorehing sunlight of thnst s hatred of sin revealeake the l.c bever'slife, through his in,lwel!i„g, such a repro- cbietion of his own that the believer shall be in this w-orld what be was, '.The righteousness of God" among- men. •5 184 ^^<^i'S FROM A ^' ^-unspeakable secr^M ^;<^n^blin^ before it. W^'n r'" "^'"'^^ ^^'^^^^ ^^^t it. '^^^^ P'-^tience let us mani- ii loice with ^ "s mani. uvr\(; K()i;mai.\. ,o. Tiiic CREAT rkvi:.\li;r. I «'" the lixht of „,, „,„.,,, j^,j___ ^^ __^ 0^''< '-'■<] .,sestlK.u-,.rd /,,;/,/ in tins savin. stand;yousay, ..Iu-a,u,„,„vl,.lu ,.„ !,.■■ ,„„ n— •Iwa.uit.xplai,,.,,." UIk „ ,.,- ,;,„..I J*--"-^ says, ..Ian, the l„|,i ,„■„,,. .,,,1,1 ■' he ~ the sa,,,e ,hin, t,,a, J,,,,,, ,,,,„, ;,,,^,,, hesays ..We K-,tou. hat the S„„, „■<..,„, is.., n,, and hath .ive,, „s an ,„„le,-stan,lin.. " This sayinj. the,i sots Ch>-ist hel„,e „s ,n the eha,-..' erofareveale,-.„fa„e.xplaine,-, ,„•.,„,,„.. I--*.'' come to „„veil ,„ysteries a,>d a„swer questions. This life is ft,ll„f,,,,,,,„,,,^.,.,„^^,^,^^.^__^ ■sonie of thetn e!a,no,-„„s f.,,- ,„,,,„, ,,,„„^. ;,;. them are of suel, i,npo,-,anee to „s, H,a, ou,- welfare here and he.vaf.e,- depends „p„„ „„. "n«wer.s. Conee.-„i„,. these deep ,„estio„s of IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I If lis m ■^ Ui 12.2 ;? lit ■" I •- 1^ '- 1- ImUi. ill 1.8 1-25 IIIIII.4 IIIIII.6 V] <^ /}. ^a >, 7 '/ /^ Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716) 872-4503 "