{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_28736/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_28736","id":"gutenberg_28736","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28736","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christian life"],"text":"Heart Talks\n\n                      A Volume of Confidential Talks\n\n                     on the Problems, Privileges, and\n\n                  Duties of the Christian Life, Designed\n\n                          to Comfort, Encourage,\n\n                         Strengthen and Instruct\n\n                             by C. W. Naylor\n\n                                   1922\n\n                            Reprinted 1982 by\n\n                          Faith Publishing House\n\n                            Guthrie, Oklahoma\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nConcerning The Author\nPreface\nReprint Publisher\u2019s Foreword (February, 1982)\nTalk One. What It Means To Trust The Lord\nTalk Two. The Blessing Of Dissatisfaction\nTalk Three. Why I Believe The Old Book\nTalk Four. He Maketh Me To Lie Down\nTalk Five. Blighted Blossoms\nTalk Six. Meeting The Lions\nTalk Seven. Egg-Shell Christians\nTalk Eight. Two Ways Of Seeing\nTalk Nine. The Living Bible\nTalk Ten. Heeding Intuitional Warnings\nTalk Eleven. Doing Something Worth While\nTalk Twelve. Home-Made Clouds\nTalk Thirteen. It Pleased The Lord To Bruise Him\nTalk Fourteen. Putting Clouds Over The Sun\nTalk Fifteen. What Is Your Word Worth?\nTalk Sixteen. How To Keep Out Of Trouble\nTalk Seventeen. What The Redbird Told Me\nTalk Eighteen. What Old Bill Could Not Do\nTalk Nineteen. Divine And Worldly Conformity\nTalk Twenty. Baptized With Fire\nTalk Twenty-One. What To Do With The Devil\nTalk Twenty-Two. Waiting On The Lord\nTalk Twenty-Three. Three Necessary \u201cRations\u201d\nTalk Twenty-Four. A Retreat, Or A Rout?\nTalk Twenty-Five. My Dream Message\nTalk Twenty-Six. When God Withdraws Himself\nTalk Twenty-Seven. What Happened To Solomon\nTalk Twenty-Eight. Fighting The Good Fight Of Faith\nTalk Twenty-Nine. How Are Your Ear Connections?\nTalk Thirty. Fret Not Thyself\nTalk Thirty-One. Being Easily Entreated\nTalk Thirty-Two. Following \u201cWhithersoever\u201d\nTalk Thirty-Three. Paul\u2019s Persuasion\nTalk Thirty-Four. In Christ And In Ephesus\nTalk Thirty-Five. The Practical Side Of Religion\nTalk Thirty-Six. Do You Need Patience?\nTalk Thirty-Seven. Stumbling-Stones, Or Stepping-Stones?\nTalk Thirty-Eight. Use What You Have\nTalk Thirty-Nine. Where The Joy Is\nTalk Forty. Blowing The Clouds Away\nTalk Forty-One. How To Fertilize Love\nTalk Forty-Two. How To Overcome Disappointment\nTalk Forty-Three. The Big End Of Trouble\nTalk Forty-Four. Self-Made Barriers\nTalk Forty-Five. How To Work God\u2019s Joy-Machine\nTalk Forty-Six. Be Brave\nTalk Forty-Seven. \u201cBut Jesus Sent Him Away\u201d (Luke 8: 38)\nTalk Forty-Eight. Getting The Kernel\nTalk Forty-Nine. Two Sunsets\nTalk Fifty. The Sculptor\u2019s Work\nTalk Fifty-One. The Helplessness Of The Gospel\nTalk Fifty-Two. He Careth For You\nTalk Fifty-Three. Three Tests Of Love\nTalk Fifty-Four. Two Ways Of Rising\nTalk Fifty-Five. Getting Even\nTalk Fifty-Six. Do You Know Yourself?\nTalk Fifty-Seven. Balkers\nTalk Fifty-Eight. Sponges And Watering-Cans\nTalk Fifty-Nine. The Final Retrospect\nFootnotes\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONCERNING THE AUTHOR\n\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                               C. W. Naylor\n\n\nThe author of _Heart Talks_ has been peculiarly qualified for his task by\na training of the soul in the school of suffering. After thirteen years in\nthe ministry, as a result of an internal injury he has been compelled to\nspend the last thirteen years in his bed day and night, a constant\nsufferer. He has known the experience of long and intense suffering with\nno hope of relief from any human source, and with no other prospect for\nthe future than that of remaining a helpless invalid for life and without\na means of earning a livelihood. He has learned to trust God for the\nsupply of his temporal needs because there was no other to trust. He has\nlearned to commune with God by being deprived of the opportunity of\nmingling much with his fellow men.\n\nYet he has not lost the joy out of life. He still does what he can to\nbuild up the kingdom of God and bless his fellow men by his words of good\ncheer. He is still interested in the events of the world, and especially\nin the progress of God\u2019s work. He has demonstrated the efficacy of God\u2019s\ngrace to sustain one and give joy in the very discouraging circumstances\nof life. Though a firm believer in divine healing, and instrumental in the\nhealing of those who kneel at his bedside for prayer, yet he has not\nreceived permanent healing, because, as he believes, this is God\u2019s method\nof developing his heart and making him more useful in helping others.\n\nDuring the last five years, especially, he has contributed regularly to a\nreligious periodical articles on subjects similar to those in this book,\nbesides conducting a \u201cQuestions Answered\u201d and information department, and\nwriting a number of books.\n\n\u2014Gospel Trumpet Company Publishers\n1922 A. D.\n\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nMost of the miscellaneous writings of which this volume is composed\nappeared originally in serial form. The widespread interest produced by\nthem, the hundreds of letters of appreciation, and the numerous earnest\nrequests for their publication in permanent form have been the moving\ncause for their presentation in this volume. They cover a very wide range\nof topics, are written in a popular style, and deal with phases of life\nand personal experience that are all too much neglected but which every\nChristian needs to understand. Each paper is complete in itself, though\nall have a general relation. They are pastoral in nature and have by the\nblessings of God comforted, encouraged, strengthened, and enlightened many\nsouls. That they may by divine help continue to be a blessing to many is\nthe earnest desire of the Author.\n\nAnderson, Ind., May 14, 1920\n\n\n\n\n\nREPRINT PUBLISHER\u2019S FOREWORD (FEBRUARY, 1982)\n\n\nThis excellent volume, _Heart Talks_, by C. W. Naylor, has been out of\nprint many years. The cloth-bound book, from which this reprint edition\nwas produced, is the property of Sister Fern Stubblefield of Earlsboro,\nOkla. Originally owned by the late Nellie Poulos, the book was given in\n1978 to Sister Stubblefield by T. Gus Poulos, the son of deceased Nellie\nPoulos.\n\nThis volume has been read by a number of saints and ministers who have\nrecommended that it be reprinted with a very few footnote corrections and\ndeletions. Therefore, we submit this book to the reading public with the\nprayer that the Lord will make its contents a blessing to many precious\nsouls.\n\n\u2014Lawrence D. Pruitt\nFaith Publishing House Publishers\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK ONE. WHAT IT MEANS TO TRUST THE LORD\n\n\nThroughout the Bible we are exhorted again and again to trust in the Lord.\nWe are warned against trusting in princes, in riches, or in ourselves; for\nall such trust is vain. Trusting in the Lord is represented as being safe,\nas blessed, and as producing very desirable results. In it is our hope,\nour strength, our safety, and our help.\n\nBut what does trust mean? It does not mean carelessness or indifference.\nJust to let things go and say, \u201cOh, I guess it will come out all right,\u201d\nis not trusting. Just drifting heedlessly with the tide is not trust.\nNeglect is not trust. Trust is something positive. It is a real something,\nnot a mere happen-so or maybe-so. It is a definite attitude of soul and\nmind, a realization of our own need and of God\u2019s sufficiency. It is the\nreaching out and anchoring of ourselves in God.\n\nThe soul who really trusts is not driven about by every wind. The waves\nbeat against him as they beat against the anchored ship, but they can not\ndash him upon the rocks; for he who trusts in God is strong, because he\nhas the strength of God.\n\nTrust does not mean shutting our eyes to facts. There is no such thing as\n\u201cblind faith.\u201d Trust looks at things as they are. It sees the dangers that\nthreaten, and assesses them at their true value. It sees the need, and\ndoes not try to disguise it. It sees the difficulties, and does not\ndiscount them. But seeing all this, it looks beyond and sees God, its\nall-sufficient help. It sees him greater than the needs or the dangers or\nthe difficulties, and it does not shrink before them.\n\nThere is no fear in trust: the two are opposites. When we really fear, we\nare not fully trusting. When we trust, fear gives way to assurance. Fear\nis tormenting. How many there are who are constantly agitated by fear!\nThey fear the devil, trials, temptations, the wind, lightning, burglars,\nand a thousand other things. Their days are haunted by fear of this thing\nor that. Their peace is marred and their hearts are troubled. For all\nthis, trust is the cure. I do not mean to say that if you trust, nothing\nwill ever startle you or frighten you, or that you will never feel\nphysical fear in time of danger; but in such times trust will bring to us\na consciousness that the Lord knows and cares, and that his helping\npresence is with us.\n\nWhen John Wesley was crossing the Atlantic from England to America to\nbecome a missionary to the Indians, the ship on which he was sailing\nencountered a terrible storm. It seemed that those on board would be lost.\nMany were much alarmed and were in deep distress. Wesley himself was one\nof this number. In the midst of the storm his attention was attracted to\nsome Moravians who sat calm and undisturbed by the dangers about them.\nWesley greatly wondered at their untroubled appearance. He inquired why it\nwas. Their reply was that they were trusting in the Lord and that they had\nin their souls the consciousness of his protecting presence and care. They\nfelt no fear because there was nothing threatening that a Christian had\nneed to fear. Mr. Wesley did not have such an experience, but what he\nlearned from those simple-hearted people caused him to seek a similar\nexperience.\n\nThere is no worry in trust. When we worry about anything, we have not\ncommitted it to God. Trust takes away the anxiety. So many people use up a\nlarge portion of their energy in worry. There is always something\ntroubling them. Their days and nights are full of anxiety. Worrying\nbecomes a fixed habit with them. Peace and calmness and assurance find but\nlittle room in their lives. The cure for all this is trust. Trust brings\nconfidence. Trust whispers to our souls that there is no cause to worry.\nIt tells us that God holds the helm of our vessel. It bids us to be of\ngood courage, assuring us that God is our refuge and strength, that our\nlives and all are in his hands, and that he will work out for us the\nthings that are best.\n\nO soul, stop worrying, and trust. It is so much better. If you find\nyourself worrying, stop right there. Take your eyes off the things that\ntrouble you; look up, and keep looking up till you see God and his\ninfinite care for you. Remember that when you worry you are not trusting,\nand that when you trust you are not worrying. Worry depresses,\ndiscourages, and weakens. It never helps us in any way. It is always a\nhindrance to us. God wants to bring into our lives a peaceful calm like\nthat of a summer evening. He would have us without anxiety, as care-free\nas the birds or the lilies. It is trust that brings us this experience.\nWill you not learn to trust? \u201cCasting all your care on him; for he careth\nfor you.\u201d\n\nThere is no murmuring in trust. When all is trusted into God\u2019s hands, it\nbrings to us a feeling of satisfaction concerning God\u2019s dealings with us.\nWe can sing from our hearts, \u201cGod\u2019s way is best; I will not murmur.\u201d When\nwe trust, it is easy to praise. When we trust, the heart is full of\nthankful appreciation. If you are inclined to murmur, it is because you do\nnot trust.\n\nThere is no feeling of bitterness when things do not go as we think they\nshould, if we are trusting. Bitterness comes from rebellion, and there is\nno rebellion in trust. Trust can always say, \u201cNot my will, but thine, be\ndone.\u201d\n\nIn trust there is peace, the peace of God which passeth understanding.\nThere is calm in the soul of him who trusts. There is no doubt in trust,\nfor doubt is swallowed up in assurance, and assurance brings calmness and\npeace.\n\nTrusting brings confidence. It permits us to see God in his true\ncharacter. It causes us to realize the greatness and tenderness of his\nlove. It gives us a consciousness of his might, and through it we are\nsheltered under his wings. By it our enemies lose their power; our\ndangers, their terrors. We have a consciousness of safety, and that brings\nrest. He has said, \u201cYe shall find rest unto your souls.\u201d He who trusts\nfinds this soul-rest. God has not given us turmoil and trouble. He has\nsaid, \u201cIn me ye shall have peace\u201d; and again, \u201cMy peace I give unto you.\u201d\nAre not these precious promises? Are they true in your life? God means\nthat they shall be. Trust will make them real to you. They never can be\nreal until you learn to trust. Trust is the root that upholds and\nnourishes the tree of Christian life. It is trust that causes it to\nblossom and to bring forth fruit, and the more fully you trust, the\ngreater and richer and more profuse will be the fruits of your\nrighteousness.\n\nI have told you something about trust, but I now wish to speak of some\nother things that belong to trust. Trust implies submission. Very often\nGod fails to do things for us because we do not permit him to. We want to\nplan for ourselves. We want things to be done in the way that seems best\nto our finite wisdom.\n\nToo many of us are like a woman whose husband recently said that they had\noften gone driving together, that their horse would sometimes become\nfrightened, and that when it did, his wife would also become frightened\nand would almost invariably seize the lines. Thus, he would have to manage\nboth his wife and the horse, making his task doubly difficult.\n\nHow many of us are just like that woman! When anything threatens, we\nbecome alarmed and try to help God. We feel that it is not safe to leave\nall in his hands and let him manage the circumstances. Our failure to\nsubmit to him often complicates matters, and it is harder for him to\nmanage us than it is to manage the difficulties. To trust God means to\nkeep our hands off the lines. It means to let him have his way and do\nthings as he thinks best. It may be a hard lesson to learn, but you will\nhinder God until you learn it.\n\n\u201cIt is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good\npleasure\u201d (Phil. 2: 13). If your life is submitted to him, he will work in\nyou to will as well as to do. He will help do the planning as well as the\nworking out. He will aid you in the choosing, no less than in the doing.\nIf you can not submit to him thus, you have not reached the place where\nyou can trust. You must first learn to take your hands off yourself and\noff circumstances; then trust will be natural and easy. How can you trust\nhim if you are not willing for him to do just as it pleases him? When you\nhave submitted all and he has his way fully with you, then the blessed\nfruitfulness of trust will come into your life.\n\nTrust also implies obedience. It means working with God to produce the\nresults. We can not sit down and fold our hands in idleness and expect\nthings to work themselves out. We must be workers, not shirkers. The man\nwho prays for a bountiful harvest but prepares no ground and plants no\nseed will pray in vain. Faith and works must go together. We must permit\nGod to _direct_ our efforts and _command_ our efforts. We must be willing\nto work when he wants us to work and in the way he wants us to work. Our\nattempts to trust will amount to nothing if we are not willing to obey.\nRight here is the secret of many people\u2019s trouble; they are willing to\nobey so long as the thing commanded is what they themselves would choose,\nbut when it is otherwise they are not so ready. Our obedience must be full\nand willing, or we can not trust.\n\nTrust implies patience. Even God can not work everything out immediately.\nWe are told that \u201cye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the\nwill of God, ye might receive the promise\u201d (Heb. 10: 36). So many times we\nwant the answers to our prayers right away. If they do not come thus, we\ngrow impatient and think God is not going to answer. There is no use\ntrying to hurry the Lord; we shall only hinder him if we do. He will not\nwork according to our plans, but according to his own. Time does not\nmatter so much to the eternal One as it does to us.\n\nA brother once came to the altar in a meeting I helped to hold. In telling\nhis trouble he said, \u201cWhen I want anything done, it has to be done in a\nhurry.\u201d Many other people can not be patient and wait. They want it _now_.\nThis is a great hindrance to their faith. The Psalmist says, \u201cRest in the\nLord, and wait patiently for him\u201d (Psa. 37: 7). We are not only to wait\npatiently for him to work out his purpose, but we are at the same time to\n_rest_ in him. Some people can wait, but they can not rest at the same\ntime. They are uneasy and impatient; they want to hurry the Lord all the\ntime. The result usually is that their faith does not last very long. You\nmust add patience to your faith to make it effective. If you really trust,\nyou can be patient. It may not always be easy, but the more perfect your\ntrust, the easier it will be to be patient.\n\nWhen Luther was summoned to meet the diet for trial on a charge of heresy,\nhis friends, fearing for his life, tried to persuade him not to go; but he\ndeclared that he would go even if there were as many devils there as there\nwere tiles on the housetops. He trusted God, and that trust gave him an\nunwavering courage. Three Hebrews trusted God, and the fiery furnace could\nnot even singe their garments. Daniel trusted God, and the hungry lions\ncould not touch him. Many thousands of others have trusted God with\nsimilar results.\n\nBut trusting God is an active, positive thing. A passive submission or\nsurrender to circumstances is not trust. Trusting the Lord to save us\nmeans to definitely rely on him to do it; to confidently expect that he\nwill do it. This leads directly to the confident trust that he does do it.\nIt brings the conscious assurance that it is an accomplished fact. We are\nnot left to doubt, to hope, or to guess; but we have a positive trust that\nbrings a positive result.\n\nThe same is true of sanctification. A positive faith brings a positive\nexperience; and so long as our faith remains positive, the experience\nremains positive. It is only when faith begins to waver and doubts appear\nthat the experience becomes uncertain. If you will maintain a positive\nfaith, God will take care of your experience. Here lies the secret of\ncontinuous victory. There may be conflicts, but faith is the foundation of\nsure victory.\n\nTrusting the Lord for healing means more than refusing to employ a\nphysician and to take drugs. People who do not trust God at all often\nrefuse to use drugs. They may at no time during their sickness really\nexercise an act of faith for healing. They simply surrender to existing\nconditions and hope that it will come out all right. In many such cases\nnature will overcome the disease, and the person will recover. The \u201cprayer\nof faith,\u201d however, is positive; it saves the sick; it brings healing.\nSometimes the sick person, because of the mental effects of his sickness,\nis not able to exercise faith; but when he is able, faith will be an\nactive, positive thing with him, if the desired results are to follow.\n\nIt is safe to trust in the Lord. Isaiah says, \u201cI will trust and not be\nafraid\u201d (Isa. 12: 2). That is the way God wants us to trust. He would have\nus be confident in him. But sometimes we get to looking at circumstances,\nand they loom up so threateningly before us that in spite of ourselves we\ntremble and shrink before them. We believe that God will take care of us\nand help us, but we can not quiet our fears. Our feelings are very much as\nthey are when we stand just outside the bars of the cage of a ferocious\nwild beast. We know it can not reach us; we know we are safe from those\npowerful teeth and claws; but still we can not help having a feeling that\nwe should not have were we somewhere else. When he comes to our side of\nthe cage, we shrink involuntarily, but still we trust the iron bars and do\nnot run away.\n\nThe Psalmist tells us what to do when we have such fears. \u201cWhat time I am\nafraid, I will trust in thee\u201d (Psa. 56: 3). Still keep trusting. God will\nnot chide you for the fears you can not help, but only for those that come\nfrom unbelief. Trust in God. It is the safest thing you have ever done;\nand he will never fail you.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK TWO. THE BLESSING OF DISSATISFACTION\n\n\nA young sister sat in a room one beautiful summer afternoon. The sound of\nthe birds chirping on the lawn and other noises of the out-of-doors came\nin through the open window to her. There was a look of melancholy upon her\nface, and her gaze rested steadily upon the floor. It was clear that she\nwas troubled about something. Just then a minister entered the room.\nNoticing her forlorn appearance, he said cheerily, \u201cWhat is the matter,\nsister?\u201d\n\nShe looked up at him and answered wearily, \u201cO Brother A, I am so\ndissatisfied.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d he replied, \u201cI am glad of it.\u201d\n\nShe almost gasped with astonishment, and exclaimed, \u201cWhy, Brother A! what\ndo you mean?\u201d\n\nHe then sat down in a chair near her and explained to her the substance of\nwhat I am going to say to you.\n\nWe have all thought how good it is to be satisfied. How many times we have\nheard people testify and rejoice that they had reached this experience! I\nwould not depreciate this sense of satisfaction, for out of it come many\nenjoyable things. It is a very pleasurable feeling and one that most\npeople very earnestly desire. There are times, however, when such a\nfeeling would be anything but a blessing. Perhaps this surprizes you as it\ndid the sister. God has made provision to satisfy us. Christ said that he\nwho would drink of the water of life should thirst no more; for it should\nbe in him a well of water, and thus his thirst should be continually\nquenched. So there is a continual satisfaction in God. It is a good thing\nto be thus satisfied with God and his plans and ways and with our\nsalvation, and dissatisfaction with any of these, if we are saved, is an\nevil to which we should not give place; but hardly any greater evil could\ncome upon us than a complete and constant sense of satisfaction relating\nto our attainments in grace, the development of our spiritual powers, or\nthe measures of our service to God.\n\nDissatisfaction is the mother of progress. The Chinese for centuries have\nbeen taught to be satisfied with having things like their fathers had. As\na consequence they have almost entirely lost the inventive faculty. Long\nago they were an inventive nation, but now an invention among them is a\nrarity. As long as people are satisfied, they are content to remain as\nthey are. Satisfaction is the foe to progress. As long as you are fully\nsatisfied, you are like a sailing-vessel in a dead calm. The sea about you\nmay be very smooth. Everything may be very peaceful and serene. But all\nthe time this calm prevails you are getting nowhere; you are at a\nstandstill. It is only when the wind rises and the swells begin to move\nthe vessel up and down and the sails begin to strain that good progress\nbegins. You may feel very comfortable in your satisfaction. It may be very\ndelightful and dreamy, but it may be dangerous also. Those who are fully\nsatisfied for very long may be sure that there is need for an\ninvestigation. It is only when we become dissatisfied with present\nconditions and attainments that we are spurred to effectual effort to make\nprogress.\n\nSuppose God had been satisfied with the world-conditions before Christ\ncame. We should now have no Savior and no salvation. He was dissatisfied,\nthoroughly dissatisfied, and so he made the greatest sacrifice that he\ncould make to change existing conditions. Paul was once very well\nsatisfied with his place in the Jewish religion; he was not looking for\nanything better. His dissatisfaction arose from the fact that some other\npeople were not satisfied thus but were finding and advocating something\ndifferent. This aroused his severest condemnation. What he had was good\nenough for him and ought to be good enough for them.\n\nThere are many today who are just like Paul was. They are fully contented\nin their present situation, and should any one try to show them its\ninsufficiency and the need of higher attainment, it would only arouse\ntheir opposition and indignation. That is why so many people oppose\nholiness. Just as soon as Paul saw Christ and the higher and better things\nfor which Christ stood, he suddenly lost his satisfaction and became an\nearnest seeker for those better things. Sometimes it takes a rude shock to\nbreak through our self-satisfaction and to show us our true needs; but\nwhen it comes and arouses a dissatisfaction, it is truly a blessing.\n\nSuppose Luther had been satisfied to continue in the Romish church,\napproving and submitting to her teachings and practices. Where might the\nworld have been today? He became dissatisfied and gave voice to that\ndissatisfaction. Others heard and became dissatisfied. This\ndissatisfaction made their hearts hungry for God, and out of that\nheart-hunger came the Reformation.\n\nDissatisfaction has brought us the multitude of new things which we have\nto use and enjoy. It has been because men became dissatisfied with old\nmethods and old implements and old ideas and customs and old attainments\nthat they have toiled in painful research, that they have labored night\nand day to invent new things. In some places, people still plow with a\ncrooked stick and grind their flour in hand-mills. What their fathers had\nis good enough for them. Some people are like that about religion. What\ntheir fathers had is good enough for them, and they are indignant if we\neven suggest something better; they are satisfied. There are others who\nsought and obtained a real experience of forgiveness, but right there they\nstopped. Years have passed. They were satisfied when they were first saved\n(which was a very good thing); the only trouble was that they remained\nsatisfied and never made any further progress. They hear entire\nsanctification preached, they accept the doctrine intellectually, but they\ncan never be persuaded to press on into the experience themselves. They go\non from year to year to year and never make any real spiritual\nadvancement. What is the trouble? Oh, they are just satisfied, that is\nall; and they will never get any further till their sleepy satisfaction is\nrudely broken in upon by something that startles them out of their\nsecurity and awakens them to their needs. That will bring dissatisfaction\nand that in time will set them to seeking to have those needs supplied.\n\nSome people are content just to drift with the tides. They go along with\nthe crowd, whichever way sentiment goes, and are quite content. They are\nno real moral force in their community or in the church. They are aware of\nthe fact, and they seem to be satisfied to have it so. They will never\namount to very much so long as they are thus satisfied. Getting\ndissatisfied is the only thing that will ever make anything worth while of\nthem.\n\nThere are those who know that they are less spiritual than they used to\nbe; still, they are not much concerned about it. They are resting very\neasy. Such satisfaction is a curse. What such folks need is a good case of\ndissatisfaction; for that is the only thing that will keep them from\ndrying up and withering away. I know of people who once had a glorious\nexperience but who for years have been so satisfied with themselves that\nthey have not progressed an inch. Instead, they have gone backwards, with\nthe result that today they are cold and formal. They are still satisfied,\nthey still profess to be justified and sanctified, but they amount to\npractically nothing for God or the church. There is no moral force\nradiating from their lives. To such persons the coming of dissatisfaction\nwould be a great blessing. So long as they are satisfied with their\npresent condition, so long they will be cold formalists.\n\nSome people know that they are coming short both of their duty and of\ntheir privileges in the Lord, but in spite of this they seem content and\nare making no effort\u2014at least no effective effort\u2014to do better. O brother,\nsister, if you are satisfied where you ought to be dissatisfied, it is\ntime you awakened, it is time you looked toward better things until your\nhunger for them stirred you to action to obtain them.\n\nTo those who are dissatisfied, who realize your needs and lacks, I say: Do\nnot be discouraged. God means by this very feeling of dissatisfaction with\nyourself to spur you on to seek diligently for higher and better\nattainments. If you allow yourself to be discouraged, it will only hinder\nyou. God will help you to obtain that which you need. Do not falter\nbecause your need seems great; God\u2019s supply is more abundant than your\nneed. Cast off every weight. Press forward. God will help you. When once\nhe has aroused you to effort, you will find him ready to help. Your\ndissatisfaction is most encouraging. Do not stay dissatisfied; press on\ntill you obtain what you need. You will never attain your full measure of\ndesire in this life, but you may obtain much, and what you do obtain will\nprepare you for that fulness and satisfaction which only eternity can\nbring you.\n\nDissatisfaction is never welcome, but it is a true friend. Through it you\nmay reach blessed attainments and soul-enriching grace. Value it and use\nit rightly, and it will prove a great blessing, though it may often be a\nblessing in disguise.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK THREE. WHY I BELIEVE THE OLD BOOK\n\n\nDo I believe the old Book? Do I really believe it? My heart answers that I\ndo. The deepest consciousness of my soul testifies that it is true. I will\ntell you some of the reasons why I believe it.\n\nThe Oldest, and Still the Newest, of Books.\n\nGod\u2019s book written in the rocks is old, exceedingly old, but God\u2019s book\nthe Bible reaches back still farther. It goes back not only to the\n\u201cbeginning\u201d of this terrestrial world, but into eternity; for the\nexpression, \u201cin the beginning,\u201d used by John, reaches back long before\nthis world was. \u201cIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,\nand the Word was God.\u201d From past eternity its majestic sweep covers the\nwhole range of being and reaches into the future eternity. It is, in fact,\nthe book of eternity, and within its folds lie the grandeur and sublimity\nof the great unknown future. It never gets out-of-date. Other books have\ntheir run of popularity and are forgotten, but the Bible never grows old;\nno matter how familiar we become with it, it is ever new. To the Christian\nit never grows stale, but is always fresh and always satisfying. It ever\nreveals new depths that we fail to fathom, new heights that we can not\nscale, and new beauties that enrapture our vision.\n\nWe read it over and over, and ever and anon we see new jewels sparkling\nwithin its pages, jewels that delight the eye and reflect the light of\nGod. From it refreshing waters break out where we least expect them, and\nour souls are refreshed like a thirsty man who suddenly finds water on the\ndesert. We may have read a text a thousand times, yet when we look at it\nagain it opens up and presents to us a vista of marvelous truth of which\nwe were before entirely unconscious. What other book can do these things?\nWhen we read a book written by man, however interesting it may be, it soon\nloses its interest and its charm; we do not find new beauties in it as we\ndo in the Bible. Its treasures are soon exhausted, but the Bible is ever\nnew, and so I do not believe that the Bible is man\u2019s book nor that it\ncould be man\u2019s book. Its depths are too deep to come from the heart or\nmind of man; its heights are too great for him to reach; and its wisdom is\nmore than human. It can but be divine.\n\nThe Most Loved of All Books.\n\nWherever the Bible goes, people learn to love and to treasure it above all\nother books combined. It is the one book that people love; it is the\ntreasure that people hold fast even at the risk of their lives. In past\nages when wicked rulers tried to keep it from the people, they could not.\nAt the peril of their lives people would have it. They underwent dangers\nand tortures, and shrank not from anything, that they might possess this\nwonderful book. It is not for what it claims to be\u2014though it claims\nmuch\u2014nor for what men claim for it, but for what it is to the individual\nhimself that it is so dearly loved. There is that in the Bible which\nendears itself to the human heart, and no other book has that quality.\nOther books are enjoyed and admired and praised and valued; but the Bible,\nin this respect, stands in a class by itself.\n\nThe educated and the ignorant, the high and the low, all races in all\nclimes, when they learn to truly know the Bible, and when they submit\nthemselves to the God of the Bible, learn to love it and to delight in it\nand are enriched and blessed by it; and because I too feel this deep love\nin my heart for the old Book, I believe it. I believe that, in some way,\nit was made for me by One who knew my needs, and that it corresponds to\nthe very essence of my inner self; and I believe that I could not love it\nas I do if it were not God\u2019s book and if it were not true.\n\nThe Most Hated of All Books.\n\nNot only is it the best-loved book, but it is also the most-hated book. No\nother book has had so many nor such bitter enemies. I suppose more books\nhave been written against the Bible than against all other books combined.\nMen do not hate Shakespeare nor Milton nor Longfellow; they do not hate\nworks on science nor philosophy; they do not hate books of travel or\nadventure or fiction; they do not hate the other sacred books of the\nworld; they hate only the Bible. Why this hatred? It can be only because\nthey find in the Bible something that they find nowhere else. What they\nfind there is a true picture of themselves, and the picture is not\npleasant to look upon, so they turn away their faces and will have nothing\nto do with it except to vilify and condemn it. They deliberately\nmisrepresent it and write falsehoods about it; they satirize and ridicule\nit, using all sorts of weapons and all sorts of methods to combat it, and\nfor only the one reason\u2014that its truth pricks them in their consciences\nand they can by no other means escape from it.\n\nIt is judged by a standard far more stringent than any other book, not\nexcepting the other sacred books. No critic would think of treating any\nother book as he treats the Bible, nor of requiring of any other book what\nhe requires of the Bible. The more men hate God, the more they hate his\nWord; and this has a deep, underlying reason, and that reason, I believe,\nis that the Bible is God\u2019s book and that in it there is so much of God\nhimself.\n\nIt Has Withstood All Assaults.\n\nBut though so bitterly assailed through all the ages, the Bible has\nwithstood the assaults of all its enemies and stands victorious still. The\nGreek philosophers, with all their skill, were vanquished. The greatest\nintellects of modern times find themselves given pause before it. The\nsharpest arrows that unbelief could forge have not pierced it; the\nassaults made upon it have resulted only in the destruction of the weapons\nused. All through the ages countless theories\u2014religious, philosophic,\nscientific, or other\u2014have been used against the Bible, only to fall in\nruins at last before it and to be rejected even by those who once\nadvocated them. The Bible endures an amount of criticism that no other\nbook could endure, and instead of being destroyed, it is only brightened\nand made better known. Could such a thing be truly said of error? Could\nerror endure what the Bible has endured, and live? It is the law of nature\nthat error is self-destructive, but that truth can not be destroyed; and\naccording to this law, the Bible must be true because of its\nindestructibility.\n\nIt Tells Me of Myself.\n\nMy deepest emotions and longings, my highest thoughts and hopes, are\nmirrored there, and the more settled inner workings of conscience are\nthere recorded. It speaks to me of my secret ambitions, of my dearest\nhopes, of my fears, of the love that burns within me. My desires are\npictured in the Book just as I find them working in my heart. Whatever\npicture it draws of the human soul I find within myself, and whatever I\nfind within myself I find within its pages, and thus I know that it is\ntrue. No man can know me as the Bible knows me nor picture out my inner\nself as the Bible pictures me; and since no work of man could correspond\nwith my inner self as the Bible corresponds with me, I know that it did\nnot come from man.\n\nIt Is the Book of Conscience.\n\nIt is as a mirror into which every man, when he looks, sees himself. It\nspeaks to his conscience, not as a man speaks, yet with a potency unknown\nto any other book. It is preeminently the book of the conscience. Other\nbooks appeal to men\u2019s consciences, but not with the appeal of this book.\nOther books mirror men, but not like the Bible. In the silent watches of\nthe night, in the lonely depths of the forest, upon the expanse of the\nsea, or wherever man may be, how frequently is it the case that this book\nspeaks into his conscience in a silent yet thundering voice, and before it\nhe is awed and silenced and oftentimes terror-stricken. It speaks to the\nconscience as only God can speak, and therefore it must be God\u2019s book.\n\nIt Gives Comfort and Hope.\n\nTo what book do those in sorrow turn? To Voltaire? to Ingersoll? to\nHaeckel? Do they turn to science or philosophy or poetry or fiction? There\nis but one book that is the book of comfort. The sad and desolate heart\nturns to its pages, and as it reads, the consolation of the Holy Spirit,\nwhich fills the book, comes into that heart, and it is comforted. It is as\nthe balm of Gilead; it is as a letter from home to the wanderer; it is as\na mother\u2019s voice to the child. Friends may speak words to comfort us, but\nthey can not comfort us as does the Book; its words seem to enter into our\ninnermost sorrows with a healing touch. God is the God of all comfort, and\nit is the comforting God in this comforting book that comforts the soul.\n\nIt is also the book of hope. Sometimes man despairs, and he looks here and\nthere for hope, finding none; but there is one book in which hope may\nalways be found. It always has something to offer him to inspire hope with\nnew courage. Therefore it is the hope of the hopeless; since in the\ntroubled soul it brings a calm, brightening dull eyes and causing them to\nlook beyond. It lifts up the bowed head, strengthens the feeble knees,\nrenews the courage, and takes the sadness out of the voice; it is\ntherefore truly the book of hope.\n\nThe Book of the Dying.\n\nA soldier, desperately wounded, lay in a trench. The shells were bursting\naround him; the bullets and shrapnel were whistling through the air; the\nroar of the guns shook the ground. He was going down into the valley of\nthe shadow of death. Knowing that he must pass over to the other side, he\nreached into his pocket with his little remaining strength and pulled\ntherefrom a soldier\u2019s Testament. Handing it to a comrade he said, \u201cRead to\nme.\u201d His comrade opened the book and began to read\u2014\u201cIn my Father\u2019s house\nare many mansions: if it were not so I would have told you. I go to\nprepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will\ncome again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be\nalso.\u201d A smile overspread the face of the dying soldier as he listened to\nthe words amid that solemn and terrible scene. He closed his eyes and lay\nquite still smiling, then he murmured, \u201cIt is well.\u201d And with a smile\nstill upon his face he passed across to the other side.\n\nFor what book do the dying call? For just any book? What words do they\nwish to hear in the final hour? There is but one book for that hour; but\none that can throw light into that shadowy valley. That is the Bible. It\nis the book of the living and of the dying, the book of the sorrowing and\nof the hopeless. It is just such a book as the loving Father would give to\nthe children whom he loves, and it meets their need in all the details of\ntheir lives as only God could meet it, and therefore I can but believe\nthat it is the book of God.\n\nOnly Answer to the Enigma of Life.\n\nThe \u201cwhy\u201d of life is found nowhere else. Other books tell us many truths\nabout life, yet its depths and meaning find expression and answer in only\none book. It interprets life; and he who reads the interpretation knows\nthat it is true because it is the story of himself, and in himself is the\nwitness of its truth. Men have sought everywhere the secret of life and\nthe things that pertain thereto, but everywhere, save in the Bible, they\nfind only darkness and obscurity and uncertainty. The Bible, however,\nspeaks in no uncertain terms. It speaks the language of him who knows, and\nif we reject its voice we are left in a tangled maze, out of which we can\nnot find our way.\n\nThe Bible outlives all its critics and is triumphant when they are\nforgotten; it has many times been pronounced dead, but still it lives; it\nhas been called \u201cexploded,\u201d but its power is not dissipated; it has seen\nall antagonistic theories of the past, one by one, destroyed and rejected,\nbut it still stands in spite of the critics, in spite of its enemies; and\nthose who anchor their faith upon it need not fear what voice is raised\nagainst it. Neither need they fear what weapons are brought to bear upon\nit; for it is truth, and those who fight against it fight against God and\nare themselves ruined.\n\nIt is adapted to all people of every race and clime, to the high and the\nlow, the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant. Of no other book\ncan this be said. It is the Book of books, the book of God. In it God\nspeaks, and my inmost heart knows that it is the voice of my Beloved, and\nleaps for joy.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FOUR. HE MAKETH ME TO LIE DOWN\n\n\nThe Psalmist says of the Lord, his Shepherd, \u201cHe maketh me to lie down in\ngreen pastures,\u201d or, as the Hebrew has it, \u201cin pastures of tender grass.\u201d\nWhat a world of significance there is in this little sentence: \u201cThe Lord\nis my shepherd.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe maketh me to lie down.\u201d He doth not compel me. That is not the Lord\u2019s\nmethod; he findeth a better way. If he compelled me to lie down, there\nwould be no pleasure in it. When a sheep is compelled to lie down, it is\nin fear; it can not but dread what is to happen to it. So the Lord doth\nnot compel me. He leadeth me in the pastures of tender grass, and I eat\nuntil I am satisfied, and being satisfied with the sweet and luscious\npasturage, I lie down, content. While the sheep is hungry, it will not lie\ndown in the pasture; it desireth to eat. But when it hath eaten its fill,\nit lieth down and resteth and is satisfied. So he feedeth my soul day by\nday; the good things of his kingdom doth he give unto me. He satisfieth my\nsoul with fatness. My soul desireth nothing more than what he giveth. If I\nhunger, he hath a supply, and he giveth me, and that with a generous hand.\nHe knoweth all my needs. He supplieth every one, that I may be \u201cfat and\nflourishing, to show that the Lord is upright.\u201d\n\nThere are many enemies about, but \u201che maketh me to lie down.\u201d I am in\nquietness. My heart is not afraid. The Shepherd standeth between me and\nthose ravening wolves. The lion and the bear can not harm me, for the\nShepherd standeth as my protector. His eye shall watch while I lie down.\nHis ear shall hearken and shall hear the sound of their footsteps if they\ncome near. I trust the Shepherd; therefore my heart is not afraid, and I\nshall lie down safely. It is trust that enableth me to lie down. If I were\nafraid, I could not thus rest. I should be watching and fearing and\ntrembling. Every noise would alarm me. I should forget about the green\npastures. I should forget the tender grass. But he is watching. He hath\nhis weapon in his hand. He doth not fear my enemies, and while he is\nwatching I do not fear them, for he is strong and mighty. He is greater\nthan my foes. They know it and are afraid. They tremble at his voice. They\nflee away, but I lie safely. He hath said, \u201cI will feed them in a good\npasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel: ... in a fat pasture shall\nthey feed upon the mountains of Israel.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe leadeth me beside the still waters.\u201d When I grow thirsty, the river\nlieth at the foot of the mountain, and down the slope he will lead me, and\nthere in the shade, in the quiet, restful coolness, I shall drink of the\nwaters of quietness and shall be satisfied, and my soul shall delight in\nhim. The path down which he leadeth me may be steep; there may be thorns\nalong the way; but so long as I permit him to lead me where he will, he\nwill lead me safely. I must not choose my own way. I must not run ahead of\nhim. I must not leave the path. I must follow close to him. I must listen\nto his voice, and then he will lead me to the still waters, and there I\nshall rest in his love. Then as the evening falleth, he will lead me to\nhis fold, and inside its walls of security I shall rest during the hours\nof the night. I shall not fear the darkness, for the Shepherd is watching.\nI shall not fear the wild beasts round about, for they can not harm me. He\nwill watch over me and bear me up when I am weak. I can rest secure. My\nshepherd is the Good Shepherd. He loveth his sheep. They are a pleasure to\nhim.\n\nThough he sometimes may needs lead by a rugged way, yet I am safe, for he\ncareth for me. He will lead me in the way that I should go. He will enrich\nmy soul with his goodness. Yea, \u201cgoodness and mercy shall follow me all\nthe days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FIVE. BLIGHTED BLOSSOMS\n\n\nIn our yard, a few feet from the door, stands an apple-tree. In the early\nspring I watched its swelling buds from day to day. Soon they burst forth\ninto snowy blossoms, beautifying the tree, and filling the air with their\nfragrance. There was the promise of a bountiful crop of fruit. In a few\ndays the petals had fallen like a belated snow. As the leaves unfolded and\ngrew larger, there appeared here and there a little apple that gave\npromise of maturing into full-ripened fruit. But, alas! how few apples\nthere were compared with the number of blossoms with which the boughs had\nbeen laden! Most of the blossoms had been blighted, and had fallen to the\nground leaving nothing behind.\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d thought I, \u201chow like these blighted blossoms are so many of the\ndesires and hopes and plans of our lives! How many of our aspirations are\nnever realized! How many of our plans fail! How scanty the perfectly\nmatured fruit in our lives, when compared with the blossoms!\u201d When we\nconsider this, how barren our lives often seem! How little we seem to\naccomplish! How little our lives seem to amount to!\n\nEvery truly saved heart longs to serve. The redeemed heart loves, and love\nfinds its joy in service. How much there is to be done all around us! and\nhow eagerly we would take up the task of doing it! How much we want to\naccomplish for the Lord! but ah, how little we do really accomplish! How\nmany blossoms of desire we possess! but how little fruit of real\naccomplishment! Seeing this, we sometimes become discouraged. It does not\nseem worth while to try to do the few little things that we actually can\ndo. Do the best we can, so many of our blossoms will be blighted\u2014so many\nof our plans will fail; so many of our hopes will not be realized; so many\nof our desires will not be fulfilled. We can rejoice in those that are\nbrought to fruitage; we can rejoice in those that do mature; but how about\nthe blossoms that fall and seem to leave nothing behind them? Do they bud\nin vain? Do they serve no good purpose in our lives? They are not in vain.\nThe blossoms on that apple-tree which were blighted, and died, were just\nas beautiful and just as fragrant as those which bore fruit. They served a\nvery real purpose, and so do the hopes and purposes that we cherish in our\nhearts, even though we never see their fruitage.\n\nDavid was a man who loved the Lord, and out of that love came a desire to\nbuild the Lord a house. That desire was never realized by David. Making it\na reality was left to others. Nevertheless, David\u2019s purpose was pleasing\nto the Lord. In his prayer at the dedication of the temple, Solomon said:\n\u201cAnd it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name\nof the Lord God of Israel. And the Lord said unto David my father, Whereas\nit was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that\nit was in thine heart\u201d (1 Kings 8: 17, 18). God did not despise the\ndesire, even though he did not permit David to carry it out. As God was\nwell-pleased with the desire of David to build him a house, so he is\nwell-pleased with those worthy desires and purposes of our hearts that are\nnever carried out. Whether it be circumstances or surroundings that hinder\nus, whether it be a lack of wisdom or of ability, whether it be the\npressure of other duties, or even if God gives the task to some one else,\nthere is, nevertheless, beauty and fragrance in the desire that is in our\nheart to do him service.\n\nWe must not become discouraged and give up hoping and desiring and\nplanning to do something for the Lord, even though so many of our plans\nfail and our hopes become blighted. We know that it is the sap flowing\nupward through the tree that produces the beautiful fragrant blossoms.\nLikewise God knows that it is the love in our hearts that produces the\ndesire for service; and that love is precious in his sight. Do you\nsometimes feel that there is so little, oh, so little! that you can do for\nthe Lord? Does your life seem to count so little for his kingdom? and do\nyou long to be more useful? That very longing is as the odor of sweet\nincense before the Lord. If you are prevented from doing the things that\nyou would gladly do, if circumstances shut you in like a hedge, if you\nseem weak when you would be strong, you can still do something. The more\nof those blossoms of desire you have, even if they never reach fruition,\nthe more your life is beautified, and the more the Lord is pleased. These\nunfulfilled desires work to ennoble our character and to enrich us,\nprovided we do not spend our time mourning and lamenting because we can\nnot put them into action.\n\nThere is, however, one danger which we must be careful to shun. Sometimes\npeople have their hearts so set on doing some great thing that they miss\nthe little things, the little opportunities that lie close to their hands.\nLife is made up of a round of little things. The great things only happen\nat rare intervals. But it is being faithful in the little things that\nmakes us ready for our opportunities for the great things when they come.\nChrist said \u201cHe that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also\nin much.\u201d The little things are not spectacular, they do not attract much\nattention, but they are the things that make up life; and if we are true\nin these little things, God will trust us with some greater things by and\nby. It is not wrong to yearn to do more; but that longing works evil if,\nin our reaching forward to greater opportunities, we neglect what\nopportunities we have. It is the fruits we are able to produce, not their\nblossoms, that count at the harvest.\n\nLet us, therefore, strive to do all that we can; and if we can not do all\nthat we would, let us remember that the blossoms that are blasted are not\nin vain. They serve their purpose. They are well worth while; and if we go\nresolutely and stedfastly on, we shall at last hear the Master\u2019s voice say\nto us, \u201cIt is good that it was in thine heart.\u201d How sweet these words will\nsound in our ears! How they will soothe our feelings of disappointment at\nnot having done more! Let us press on, therefore, and not be discouraged\nbecause we do not see our hopes and plans realized in this world. Let us\nbe strong and of good courage, knowing that God knows all about it. Let us\nthank him for such privileges as we have, and make the best of our\nopportunities.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK SIX. MEETING THE LIONS\n\n\nThe Bible recounts some interesting stories of lions. They are\ninteresting, not simply because they are stories of animals, but because\nthere are things in connection with them from which we may draw some very\nstriking lessons. We all remember the story of Daniel\u2014how he was cast into\nthe den of lions, and how during the long watches of the night he sat\nthere in their den unharmed. What was expected to be the tragedy of his\nlife proved to be his most glorious victory. The expected triumph of his\nenemies was turned into their utter defeat, and Daniel, stronger and more\ncourageous than ever, came forth to continue his service to God.\n\nSamson too had an experience with a lion. As he was going along the road\none day he met a lion, and it attacked him. He had no weapons, yet he met\nit courageously. We are told that \u201cthe Spirit of the Lord came mightily\nupon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid.\u201d Some time later he\nwas passing that way and found that a swarm of bees had entered the dried\ncarcass of the lion and made their abode there, and he took of the honey\nand went on his way.\n\nIn the thirteenth chapter of 1 Kings we find another lion story. Here a\nprophet sent of God went to Samaria and prophesied as God had commanded\nhim, and according to the commandment he started back on his way to Judea.\nGod had told him not to eat or drink there, but to go back immediately by\na different way from that by which he came. He started to obey, but sat\ndown to rest by the wayside. While he was here, another prophet came and\npersuaded him to go back and dine with him. Then, as he went upon his way,\na lion met him and slew him.\n\nThe lions of these stories may be likened to our trials. We meet trials\nevery now and then in life, and some of them seem very much like lions.\nThey seem very threatening and very dangerous. Sometimes we try to run\naway from a trial, but as surely as we do, we meet another in the pathway\nin which we go. We are certain to have trials. The important thing is that\nwe meet them properly. Some people imagine that if they live as they\nshould they ought not to have trials. But trials often come when it is no\nfault of ours. Daniel was not thrown into the lions\u2019 den because he had\nnot lived right or because he had been unfaithful in something. No; it was\nhis faithfulness that resulted in his meeting the lions. It will be that\nway in our lives. If we are true and loyal to God, that very loyalty is\nsure to bring us trials sometimes. Daniel had his choice in the matter. He\ncould have been disloyal and escaped the lions, but he chose rather to be\nloyal and take the full consequences, whatever they might be. God wants\nyou and me to dare to be Daniels too. He does not want us to swerve an\ninch from the truth in order to evade any sort of trial. If we are true,\nand as a result of that trueness a great trial like being thrown into a\nden of lions comes upon us, and every earthly hope seems shut off, and\nthere is no help from anywhere, what shall we do? Despair? Ah, no. God\nwill send his angel and shut the lion\u2019s mouth for us, just as he did for\nDaniel. Dare to be true. God will stand by you even in the most trying and\ndesperate hour.\n\nIt was not a test of his standing true that brought Samson face to face\nwith the lion. He met the beast just by accident. He got into the trouble\nunwittingly. He had no expectation of it whatever, but the first thing he\nknew, he was face to face with it. That is just the way it happens with us\nsometimes: we get into a trial without any seeming reason for it; we are\nnot expecting anything of the kind.\n\nIf the prophet in Samaria had gone in the way that God commanded him, he\nwould not have met the lion that slew him. It was his disobedience that\ncaused the trouble. Sometimes when we are in trials, we realize that it is\nour own fault that we are tried. Sometimes we may be disobedient,\nsometimes we may be careless, sometimes it may be this or that; but\nwhatever it is, we realize that it is our own fault. That makes the trial\nharder to bear. But however trials come, whatever is their cause, we must\nmeet them. We have no choice in the matter. The important thing is to meet\nthem right. Daniel knew that he had done right and pleased God; and,\nfurthermore, he met his trial with a calm peace and full assurance that\nGod would take care of him, and God did take care of him, and he came\nthrough the trial. He was peaceful through the trial and triumphant after\nit, because God was his helper.\n\nSome one has said that our trials make or mar us. This is true. Either we\ncome out of them stronger than we went in or we come out of them weaker.\nWe have either joy or sorrow from them. We should meet our trials as\nSamson met the lion. Face them boldly. Do not run or shrink. If you seem\nto have no adequate weapon to use against them, trust in God and meet them\nboldly anyway. That is the way Samson did, and do you remember what\nhappened? Why, after a while he got honey out of the carcass. Do you want\nhoney out of your trials? You would rather have that than bitterness.\nWell, you may have the honey if you will face the trial and overcome it.\nConquer in the name of Christ. Do not whimper or whine; do not lament or\nmurmur; do not fear or tremble. Face your trials boldly, and the Spirit of\nthe Lord will come mightily upon you as it did upon Samson, and you will\nconquer. And then, ah, it is then that the sweetness will come: after you\nhave mastered the trial, in the days that follow, sweetness will come, and\nyou will bless God that he ever permitted you to be so severely tried.\n\nConflict must always precede victory. The lion must be killed before the\nbees can build the honeycomb in the carcass. So face your trials boldly\nand kill them. Then you may taste the sweets of victory. This is the only\nway, and you are not too weak to take this way. God has promised that he\nwill not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able to bear. If you\nwill believe it and do your part, God will do his, and you will triumph.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK SEVEN. EGG-SHELL CHRISTIANS\n\n\nYou have sometimes heard it said of people that \u201cthey have to be handled\nlike eggs\u201d; eggs must be handled carefully, or you are likely to break\nthem. Some people are super-sensitive: you have to be very careful what\nyou do or say, or they will be hurt or offended; you can never be sure how\nthey are going to take anything. Such people are much of the time\nsuffering from wounded feelings, are displeased and offended. It is true\nthat some are of a highly nervous temperament and naturally feel things\nmore keenly than others, but it is not this natural nervous sensitiveness\nthat leads to the results above mentioned, it is a morbid and unnatural\nstate into which people allow themselves to enter. The natural feelings\nmay need restraint and careful cultivation, but these morbid feelings need\nto be got rid of.\n\nSometimes people can bear to hear others ridiculed or talked about in a\ngossiping way, or see them slighted, and think nothing of it or even be\namused; but when they themselves become the target for such things, it\nalmost kills them, or at least they feel almost killed. What makes this\ngreat difference in their feelings? Why do they feel for themselves so\nmuch more than they do for others? Trace the feeling back to its origin,\nand you will find that their self-love is the thing that has been hurt. If\nthey loved others as they love themselves, they would feel just as much\nhurt by that which was directed against the other as by that which was\ndirected at themselves. It is self-love that makes people easily offended\nand easily wounded; and the more self-love they have, the easier they are\nhurt and the quicker their resentment is aroused. Self-love begets vanity;\nit quivers in keenest anguish at a sneer or a scornful smile; it is\ndistressed by even a fancied slight. Self-love throws the nerves of\nsensation all out to the surface and makes them hyper-sensitive, and so\nthe person feels everything keenly. He is constantly smarting under a\nsense of injustice. He feels he is constantly being mistreated.\n\nOh, this self-love! How many pains it brings! how many slights it sees!\nhow often it is offended! Reader, are you a victim of self-love? If you\nare so sensitive, always being wounded and offended, self-love is what is\nthe trouble. If you will get rid of this self-love, you will be rid of\nthat morbid sensitiveness; that is, you will get rid of that morbid\nsensitiveness that makes people have to be so careful with you.\n\nSelf-love makes a person wonder what others are thinking and saying about\nhim. It makes him suspicious of others, suspicious that they are saying or\nthinking things that would hurt his feelings if known. If two others talk\nin his presence and he can not hear what is said, he is afraid lest the\ntalk is about him or he is hurt because he is not taken into the\nconfidence of the others. If others are invited to take part in something\nwhile he is omitted, he feels slighted and hurt, and can hardly get over\nit. I have often heard people make remarks like this: \u201cWe shall have to\ninvite So-and-so, or he will feel hurt.\u201d Self-love is a tender plant; it\nis easily injured. We may make all sorts of excuses for such\nsensitiveness; but if we will clear away these excuses and dig down to the\nroot of the trouble, we shall find that God has it labeled \u201cself-love.\u201d\n\nAnother thing that increases sensitiveness is holding a wrong mental\nattitude toward others. This attitude manifests itself in a lack of\nconfidence in the good intent of others. If we are looking for and\nexpecting slights, ridicule, and like things, it means we take it for\ngranted that others are holding a wrong attitude toward us. We do not\nreally believe that they love us and have kindly feelings toward us, or\nthat they will be just and kind and sympathetic in their actions that\naffect us or relate to us. Have you not seen children who, when one would\nhurt another and say, \u201cOh, I did not mean to do it!\u201d the other would\nretort, \u201cYes, you did; you just did it on purpose\u201d? There are many older\npersons who are always ready to say, \u201cIt was just done on purpose; they\njust meant to hurt my feelings!\u201d This is childish, but alas, how many\nprofessed Christians hold such an attitude! This is a sure way to destroy\nfellowship and to take the sweetness out of the association with God\u2019s\npeople. It is unjust to our brethren. It is the foe of unity and\nspirituality. Were it not for self-love, we would not think of attributing\nto others an attitude different from that which we feel that we ourselves\nhold toward them.\n\nThis self-love crops out in all our relations. It constantly exalts us and\nas constantly depreciates our brethren. God\u2019s saints are animated with a\nspirit of kindness and brotherly affection for each other, and this does\nnot manifest itself in wounds and slights, and if we are looking for such\nmanifestations it is because we do not believe that they have Christlike\nfeelings toward us. God wants us to have more confidence in our brethren\nthan to be looking for them to misuse us.\n\nIf we are looking for slights, we shall see plenty of them\u2014even where none\nexist. If we are expecting wounds, we shall receive them even when no one\nintends to wound us. Self-love has a great imagination. It can see a great\nmany evils where none exist. It is like a petulant and spoiled child. I\nremember one child of whom it was said, \u201cIf you just crook your finger at\nhim, he will cry.\u201d Thinking that this was an exaggeration, I tried it, and\nthe boy cried. There are some people six feet tall who are hurt just that\neasily. They are truly \u201clovers of their own selves.\u201d Paul said, \u201cWhen I\nbecame a man, I put away childish things.\u201d It is high time others were\ndoing the same thing. Suppose Christ had been as sensitive as you are,\nwould he have saved the world? If Paul had been like you, would he have\nendured the persecution and dangers and tribulations and\nmisrepresentations that he bore to carry the gospel to the world? He was\nnot so sensitive. He was not looking for slights. He was a real,\nfull-sized man for God. The secret is that he loved Christ and others more\nthan he loved himself; therefore he could endure all things for his\nbrethren\u2019s sake, that they might be saved.\n\nThe cure for self-love and the sensitiveness that comes from it is to turn\nyour eyes away from self to Jesus Christ, and look upon him until you see\nhow little and insignificant you and your interests really are. Look upon\nhim until you see how high above all such narrow pettishness he was, until\nyou see that his great heart was so overrunning with love for others that\nhe had no time to think of himself. Then ask him to revolutionize you and\nfill your heart with that same love till your eyes and your thoughts and\nyour interests are no longer centered upon yourself, and self no longer\nfills your horizon, but your heart goes out to others till it quite draws\nyou away from yourself. You will find this the cure for your\nsensitiveness; and when you are thus cured, you will no longer be an\negg-shell Christian, and people will no longer have to be afraid of\nwounding or offending you.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK EIGHT. TWO WAYS OF SEEING\n\n\nThe appearance that things have to us depends, to a great extent, upon the\nway that we look at them. Sometimes our mental attitude toward them is\nlargely responsible for their appearance. Often two or more persons look\nat the same thing, and each one sees something quite different from what\nthe others see. Persons who see the same thing will often have very\ndifferent stories to tell about it afterwards, and will be very\ndifferently affected by what they see. This is not because their eyes\ndiffer so much, but because their mental attitude affects the\ninterpretation of what they see.\n\nA notable example of this is seen in the twelve spies sent by Moses to spy\nout the land of Canaan. The Israelites had crossed the Red Sea. Their\nenemies had been destroyed behind them. They had come at God\u2019s command\nalmost to the borders of the Promised Land. Here the people camped while\nthe spies went to see the country. They passed through it and viewed the\nland and the people, and presently came back with their report. It was a\nwonderful land, they agreed, a land flowing with milk and honey. The\nsamples of the fruit they brought back were large and fine specimens. Of\ncourse, the people were at once very eager to possess such a land, but the\nquestion came up, _Are we able to do so?_ What kind of people are they\nover there? Are they good fighters? Are they courageous? Do they have\nstrongly fortified cities? As soon as this question was broached, there\nwas a difference of opinion. Caleb said, \u201cLet us go up at once, and\npossess it; for we are well able to overcome it\u201d (Num. 13: 30). The\nothers, however, did not agree with him, except Joshua. They said, \u201cWe be\nnot able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we ...\nand all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there\nwe saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were\nin our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight\u201d (vs.\n31-33).\n\nNow, what made the difference in their views? They all saw the same\nthings; they all saw the same people; but when it came to telling of them,\nthey told very different stories. The difference must have lain in the men\nthemselves. When the ten saw those sons of Anak, they felt that they were\nas grasshoppers in comparison with such giants. \u201cWhy, we amount to nothing\nat all,\u201d the ten spies thought. \u201cThose great big fellows could walk right\nover us.\u201d And when they recalled their sensations, the land did not seem\nso fine, either, and they said, \u201cIt is a land that eateth up the\ninhabitants thereof.\u201d They did not stop to consider that their own words\ncondemned them. How could a land be such a bad land and yet the people who\nlived in it be so strong and so great?\n\nJoshua and Caleb, however, were not to be frightened by the stories that\nthe others told. So they said, \u201cThe land, which we passed through to\nsearch it, is an exceeding good land\u201d (chap. 14: 7). They also held fast\ntheir confidence in the ability of Israel to gain the land saying, \u201cIf the\nLord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us;\na land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the\nLord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us:\ntheir defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us; fear them\nnot\u201d (vs. 8, 9).\n\nNow, all these men were probably honest. They probably described things\njust as these appeared to them. What was the difference? The difference\nwas not in their eyes, but in that which was back of their eyes. When the\nten went through the land and saw the giants, they forgot all about God.\nIt was themselves against the giants, with God left out; and when we leave\nGod out, things look very different. How big those giants looked! \u201cWe poor\ngrasshoppers had better be getting out of here quickly. We do not stand\nany show at all,\u201d they thought. \u201cHow could Israel fight with such fellows,\nanyway?\u201d The ten were full of doubts, and they looked through their\ndoubts, and their doubts magnified the Anakim.\n\nBut Caleb and Joshua had no doubts. They had faith in God\u2014faith that did\nnot waver. They remembered the Red Sea. They remembered the manna from\nheaven. They remembered the other things that God had done. They looked at\nthe situation through their faith; and instead of feeling as if they were\ngrasshoppers, they felt themselves more than a match for the giants. The\ntwo were not at all frightened. \u201cWhy,\u201d they said, in effect, when they\ncame back, \u201cthey will be only bread for us. We shall just eat them up.\nThey have heard what God has done among us, and they are too scared to\nfight. Their defense is departed from them.\u201d Then these men of faith began\ntalking about the other side. \u201cThe Lord is with us; fear them not. What do\nthose fellows amount to, since God is not with them? What do their\nfortresses amount to? Let us go up at once,\u201d said they. \u201cWhy, we can whip\nthem with ease.\u201d\n\nBut the people listened to both sides, and their ears heard; but instead\nof listening through their faith to Joshua and Caleb, they listened\nthrough their doubts to the ten and believed them and became very much\nfrightened; and in consequence they went to murmuring and complaining\nbecause Moses had brought them out there to face such a situation. The\nresult was that they were turned back, defeated by their enemies, and had\nto wander forty years in the wilderness until all the old ones perished.\n\nNow, that is just the difference between faith and doubts. Looking back\nfrom the present time, we can easily believe that God would have conquered\nthe land before them. Yes, we can believe that. We can see how foolish it\nwas for them to turn back and to be afraid and to murmur. That all looks\nvery plain to us now. We say, \u201cHow foolish and how full of unbelief they\nwere!\u201d But the question is, Are we doing any better than they did? When we\nlook at the obstacles in our way, when we look at the troubles that seem\nto be coming, when we look at the things that are before us, do we look\nthrough faith, like Caleb and Joshua, or do we look through doubts, like\nthe ten? Do your trials and difficulties make you feel like a grasshopper?\nDoes it seem that you would surely be overwhelmed? Does it look as though\nyou could never get through, that you might as well give up? If so, you\nare looking at things through your doubts just as the ten did.\n\nThe people who win, the people who are victorious are those who look at\nthings through their faith. They do not compare their troubles and trials\nand difficulties with themselves; they compare these with God. They behold\nGod\u2019s greatness. They behold the things that he has done in the past. They\nsee how he has helped others. They see that they have been helped in the\npast, that God has stood right by them and helped them through. They get\ntheir faith and their eyes working together, and then they can see a way\nout of their difficulties, just as Caleb did. \u201cThey shall be bread for\nus,\u201d faith says. \u201cNo use to be afraid. Giants don\u2019t count. What is a giant\nbeside God?\u201d Doubts say, \u201cOh, what shall we do?\u201d Faith takes a new grip on\nits sword and says, \u201cCome on; let\u2019s go and conquer them.\u201d\n\nYour eyes are all right; they will see things all right, but the question\nis, What is behind your eyes\u2014doubts, or faith? That is the thing that\nreally counts. Doubts will magnify your troubles, will make them look very\ngreat. Doubts will make your power look very small. They will make your\nability to fight look as nothing. They will make you feel like running or\nsurrendering. Faith will not work that way. It will fill you with courage;\nit will put the song of victory in your heart. Get faith behind your eyes.\nLook out by faith. Remember that God will fight your battles. Be strong\nand of a good courage, and you will overcome your foes. But doubts will\nspoil things for you. Doubts will take away what courage you have. Doubts\nwill ruin you if you let them. So get rid of your doubts. Look to God,\nbelieve in him, trust in him, and the victory will be yours. Take your\nstand with Caleb and Joshua. Do you remember what became of the spies? The\nten doubters died in the wilderness, and their bodies were left there; but\nthe two who had faith went on into the Promised Land and died full of\nyears and of honors.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK NINE. THE LIVING BIBLE\n\n\nThe Bible is a living book. What it is to us depends on what we are to it.\nIf we approach it with unbelief and sneers, it shudders like a wounded\nthing and closes up its heart, and we gaze only on a cold and gross\nexterior. We behold the form of its words, but discern not the treasures\nhidden in them. It appears cold and lifeless and repellent, and we go away\ndepressed and unbelieving.\n\nIf we approach it reverently, trustfully, and confidently, it opens up to\nus its hidden depths. It shows to us its wonders. We may see in it\nunequaled beauties, unfading glories, magnificent vistas of thought; we\nmay hear its voice of love, tender beyond words; we may feel the warmth of\nits affection, be uplifted by its hopefulness, and thrilled with the tones\nof its joy-bells.\n\nIf we open to it our heart\u2019s door and pour out our treasures of affection,\nit in turn opens to us a great storehouse, and we may eat and be\nsatisfied, and drink and thirst not. We may revel in its rich perfume, the\nrhythmic cadences of its music, the splendor of its heavenly light, and to\nus there is no question whether it is the living truth.\n\nThe Bible is to the Christian what the forest is to him who delights in\nnature. He who walks through the forest laughing, talking, and singing,\nhears not the sweet notes of the songster nor sees the wild things. He who\nwould see and hear the things that delight the nature-lover must steal\nsoftly and silently along, watching his footsteps, hiding in the shadows,\nand thus he may see nature as she is. Likewise he who comes to the Bible\nfull of self-importance with mind and heart self-centered sees not the\nnatural beauty of the Bible. We must come to it effacing self, seeking not\nour own but the things of Christ, and we shall find it a mine of spiritual\ngold, a fountain of living water, a balm for every sorrow, a light in\nevery dark hour\u2014the one and only book that meets and satisfies the needs\nof the human soul.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK TEN. HEEDING INTUITIONAL WARNINGS\n\n\nThere are things which we know and feel but which do not result from our\nown study. We have a consciousness that there is some supreme power over\nus, and we are conscious of a certain responsibility to, and a dependence\nupon, this higher power. Reading the Bible and reasoning may give us\nclearer ideas of this power and our relations to it, but we have the\nconsciousness of its existence without being taught.\n\nThis is never more clearly seen than in the case of the man who denies the\nexistence of a personal God. As surely as he rejects the God of the Bible,\nhe sets up something else in His place, and though he may call it by some\nother name than God, he will, nevertheless, attribute to it the powers and\nactions that belong to God. These intuitions by which we know without\nbeing conscious of how we know are given us by God for our protection and\nsafety, and we ought to give careful heed to their testimony.\n\nSometimes our reason sees no harm in a thing, but we do not feel just\nright about it. A doctrine may look ever so plausible and be ever so\ninteresting; but if we feel an inward uneasiness after consideration of\nit, there is a reason why we should be careful. Our intuition will often\ndetect something wrong when our reason has not yet done so. These\nintuitions are not to be disregarded. They are God\u2019s means of warning us\nagainst unseen dangers.\n\nSometimes when we come in contact with people, we see nothing outwardly\nwrong, but we have an inward feeling that all is not well. We feel that\nthere is something wrong somewhere, even though we may be at a loss to\nknow what it is. Sometimes we come in contact with a company of people and\nat once feel a strange something that we can not analyze; but we can not\nalways trust our feelings. There are many things that influence us, and it\nis very easy to misinterpret them. Nor should we conclude that there is\nsomething very badly wrong with anyone merely because we have peculiar\nfeelings when in his presence. There may be something wrong, however, and\nit behooves us to be on our guard. Sometimes it happens that such feelings\narise when we are in the presence of people who are deeply tried, or\ndiscouraged, or suffering under the assaults of Satan.\n\nThere are many evil spirits at work in these days among professors of\nreligion, and especially is this true among the various holiness factions.\nHave you ever gone into a meeting and felt that some way you did not \u201cfit\u201d\nthere? The worshipers may have seemed joyful and may have said many good\nthings, but all the while you felt an inward uneasiness. There was some\nreason for this, and whether the reason was spiritual or merely human, it\nwas wise to exercise carefulness. It is usually best to refrain from\ntrying to make yourself blend with anything when you have that internal\nsense of protest against it.\n\nFellowship is natural and spontaneous. It can not be forced. If you are\nstraight and true and your heart is open and unprejudiced, you will\nusually have fellowship with whatever is of God. Most sectarian holiness\npeople are so broad that they can take in almost anything and call it\ngood. Beware of this spirit. God\u2019s Spirit accepts only the good. If you\nhave ease and freedom with true, established, spiritual people of God, and\nare free in meetings where the whole truth is preached and the Spirit of\nGod works freely, and then when you come in contact with other professors\nyou fail to have that freedom, do not accuse yourself nor try to force\nyourself to have fellowship with them.\n\nA preacher once came into a certain community and began to preach. He was\nquite enthusiastic; he praised the Lord and shouted. He preached much\ntruth and professed to be out clean for God. It was afterwards discovered\nthat he was very crooked and wholly unworthy of confidence. I asked a\nnumber of the congregation later how it came that they received him. Their\nanswer was that, as he came recommended by some good brethren and preached\nso much truth, when they did not feel right about him they came to the\nconclusion that they must be wrong and he right. So they accused\nthemselves and went on through the meeting suffering under a heavy burden.\nThey knew they had no such feelings when other ministers came into their\nmidst, nor did they feel that way in their own ordinary meetings. But in\nspite of this, they took the wrong course, and the result was that the\ncongregation received much harm both spiritually and financially. The same\nthing happened with this preacher in other places, till at length he came\nto a place where some refused to ignore their feelings or to accuse\nthemselves of being in the wrong. Instead, they sent at once for two\nwell-established ministers, and as soon as they came into the community,\nthe crooked preacher fled and was seen no more in those parts.\n\nSometimes some one will come around making a high profession, and while we\ncan see nothing wrong, we do not feel free with him, or, in other words,\nwe have a sense of uneasiness. We feel at home with other saints, but not\nso with this person. Beware. If you are in fellowship with those whom you\nknow to be true saints, look out for those with whom you do not have\ninward harmony. Do not blame yourself nor disregard the warning. Isolated\nChristians naturally become hungry for spiritual association. Sometimes\nthey go to meetings where, while they find some good things, they also see\nother things and feel things that grate upon their spiritual sense of\npropriety. In such cases one should be guarded and should not try to \u201cfit\u201d\nwith these things. To blend with them you must become like them; and if\nyou become like them when they are not right, you will find that when you\ncome into an assembly where the truth and Spirit have freedom, you will\nnot blend there. If you ignore those inner warnings and accept something\ncontrary to them, you will soon find yourself out of harmony with God\u2019s\nchurch and without the liberty you used to have among the children of God.\n\nDo not follow your intuitions blindly, but do not go contrary to them. Let\nyour reason find out the way of action before you act, so that you may act\nwisely. But when that inward sense says to us, \u201cStop, look, listen,\u201d we\nshall do well to heed its warning.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK ELEVEN. DOING SOMETHING WORTH WHILE\n\n\nWe all like to feel that what we are doing counts for something, that it\nis really worth while. We like to see practical results. We know that much\nlabor is lost in the world, and we do not want ours to be lost. The\nordinary things of life seem to amount to so little. They are not\nspectacular; no one pays very much attention to them; and we naturally\nfeel that when we do something, we want it to be something that people can\nsee and that they will think is worth while, and something that we\nourselves can feel is worth while. Some think: \u201cIf I could just preach, I\nshouldn\u2019t mind working for the Lord. But, oh! I can do so little\u2014nothing\nworth while at all, nothing worth the effort. What can my feeble efforts\naccomplish, anyway?\u201d\n\nOthers think that if they could go to a foreign land and work among the\nheathen, draw people to Christ there, send back home great reports of what\nthey have accomplished, have their names published in the paper, and have\npeople talking about them, then that would be worth while. But since they\nare only ordinary people and can do only ordinary things, it seems to them\nthat it hardly pays to try. They will just follow the line of least\nresistance and do things the easiest way. Of course they want to do what\nthey can for God, but they want to do something really worth while.\n\nAnd now, reader, what is really worth while in life? Is it only those\nthings that make a great show? is it only those things that the world\ncounts great? A sister said to me recently in a letter, \u201cI used to think\nthat I could do nothing worth while, but I have found that just simply\nliving salvation before people is a great work.\u201d Now, that sister has\nlearned a wonderful lesson. She has found a truth so great that most\npeople do not recognize it as truth when they do find it. It is one of\nthose truths that have the peculiarity of seeming small and insignificant\nthough they are the very fundamentals of truth.\n\nJust simply living salvation before people\u2014yes, that is what counts, and\nit counts more than anything else. That is one of the very greatest things\nthat an individual has ever done in this world. Talk is cheap, and many\npeople can talk all day and say scarcely anything either. Some people can\nsway great crowds by their eloquence, they can accomplish wonderful\nthings, but still they can not live salvation, or, at least, they do not.\nThere is no power so great in this world as the simple power of a holy,\nquiet life. The sister mentioned can never hope to do great things as\nother people might count them. She is in frail health; she is isolated\nfrom other saints and can not attend meetings as can many others; she has\nnot the ability to preach or to do anything very great, as greatness is\nusually reckoned; but she has learned the great fact that she is not shut\nout from doing a grand work.\n\nIf all God\u2019s people could learn this lesson\u2014if they could learn that it\nreally counts just simply to live right, just simply to be an ordinary\nevery-day Christian; if they could once get that thoroughly fixed in their\nminds and hearts\u2014it would glorify their lives, it would exalt the common\nservice, it would shed a halo over their lives, and they would not feel\ndiscouraged.\n\nWhen Moses was at Pharaoh\u2019s court, I suppose he thought that he was doing\nsomething really worth while. He amounted to something there. But when the\nLord let him be driven, or rather frightened, away from that court and he\nwent out into the wilderness, I suppose he thought his occupation there\nwas hardly worth while. Why, what was he doing, anyway? Just taking care\nof the sheep, leading them out in the morning to the pasture, bringing\nthem back to the fold at night, seven days in the week\u2014just doing this and\nnothing more. I suppose it did not look very big to Moses, but it did to\nGod. God thought it worth so much that he kept him at that work for forty\nyears. Then Moses, at the age of eighty, when it looked as if he were\nabout done with this world, was called to go to do something for the Lord.\nThat forty years in the wilderness counted now. It had given him\nexperience that helped to qualify him for the work to which God had called\nhim. He came out of there worth while because he had done something worth\nwhile in those years. He had learned about God\u2014oh, so many things he had\nlearned! and now he was ready to put that knowledge into practise.\n\nSometimes we have wilderness periods in our lives, when God lets us be\nshut up in a corner, as it were, and do the little things that do not seem\nto count. But they count on us if they do not count anywhere else. There\nis one thing\u2014and just one\u2014that stands out above all other things in the\nhuman life, and that is faithfulness. No matter what our life may be, nor\nwhere we may be, nor what is our situation, if we are just faithful it is\nsure to count, and to count a great deal. That is one thing that you can\ndo: you can be faithful to the Lord. You can do what he wants you to do.\nYou can live pure, holy, undefiled, and keep shining every day, no matter\nwhat the circumstances may be. Just remember to keep shining. That is the\nthing that counts. Keep living clean and as God wants you to live. If you\ndo this, he will know where he can find somebody who is faithful when he\nwants something else done. But ever keep this before you: there is no\ngreater nor more necessary work in the world than putting the truth of God\ninto visible form in a pure and quiet life.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK TWELVE. HOME-MADE CLOUDS\n\n\nLouise stood looking out of the window with unseeing eyes. There was a\ntroubled expression upon her face. There were tears in her eyes, and a\nlump in her throat. What was the trouble? An hour before she had been\nsinging as blithely as a song-bird. Her morning devotions had been sweet.\nThe presence of God had been with her. The day had started out full of\nsunshine, but alas! now her sky was clouded.\n\nIt had all happened in a moment. Her younger brother had been playing with\nhis dog and had carelessly run against the stand upon which her\nflower-pots were sitting and had upset one of the choice plants, breaking\nthe pot and ruining the flower. Louise saw the happening. How careless it\nwas of the boy! Quickly a feeling of impatience arose, and before she\nrealized what she was doing, she had spoken sharply to her brother and had\nsaid hasty words that she immediately regretted. Her conscience quickly\nreproved her. She felt bad over the loss of the flower, but she felt much\nworse over her hasty words. A dark, heavy cloud settled down upon her. The\nsunshine was all gone; there was no longer any song in her heart, but\nheaviness instead.\n\nStanding there by the window, she now meditated over it. Oh, if she had\nbeen more tender! If she had only exercised more self-control! If she had\nkept back those hasty words! It was quite true that Tom had been very\ncareless. Still, she knew that he too loved the flowers. He did not mean\nto destroy one. Louise loved Tom, and because of this she felt all the\nmore deeply what she had done. He was gone now, she knew not where. She\nwould be glad to apologize to him and beg his pardon if he were there. She\ndecided that she would tell him as soon as he returned, and that gave her\nsome satisfaction, but it did not take away the cloud. She thought of how\nbright the morning and how light and care-free her heart had been! But now\nher day was clouded, and worst of all, she had made the cloud herself, by\nher own haste.\n\nThat is often the way it is with us. We make so many of our own clouds in\nlife. Clouds often come over our lives from the actions of others;\nsometimes they come through circumstances that can not be helped;\nsometimes they come from Satan himself. Such clouds as these do not have\nthe effect upon us that our home-made clouds do. The things that are\nhardest to bear are the things that we feel we have brought upon\nourselves. These get closer to us than anything else. They have a sting to\nthem that nothing else has. Many times people do things that try us; but\nif we also do or say something hastily at that time, it will increase our\ntrial and make it the more difficult to bear. It will make the clouds that\ncome all the darker. If we have not been as kind as we ought to have been,\nif there has been a sharpness in our words, or if we have manifested our\ndispleasure at something in a way that showed our feelings too much, it is\nsure to bring a cloud over our day.\n\nThe more tender our consciences, the more we shall feel these things and\nthe more the tendency will be to cloud our days. It is true that we shall\nfeel displeased over things, and it is very natural to manifest our\ndispleasure in some way. Some people are very impulsive and speak before\nthey stop to think what they are saying or what the result will be, and\nthus they are continually making clouds for themselves. There are times\nwhen we must resolutely take hold of ourselves when the feeling of\ndispleasure comes, as it is sure to do. The will must grapple with these\nemotions quickly and not let them get into action. Our wills were given us\nto rule ourselves with. When tempted to be unkind or to be hasty in our\nwords and actions, we should say within ourselves: \u201cI will not speak hasty\nwords. I will control myself and keep sweet. I will be patient; I will be\nkind. I will do as the Lord would have me to do.\u201d Then we should put these\nresolutions quickly into action. Instead of the trial bringing a cloud\nover us, the fact that we have conquered ourselves and kept ourselves in\nthe attitude that we should hold toward God and toward others will make\nthe sunshine all the brighter.\n\nConquer yourself; set a watch before your lips. If you are of an impulsive\ndisposition, you may fail again and again, but do not be discouraged, keep\nup the fight. You will win in the end. You will reach at last the place\nwhere self-control acts automatically, where you will think in time. If\nyou fail and the clouds come, endure them patiently, resolving to do\nbetter the next time. Do not let yourself be crushed under the\ncircumstance. Do not let yourself be so discouraged that you think that\nthere is no use in trying, that you never will overcome. Keep up the\nfight; you will yet come out conqueror.\n\nSometimes people feel that God is leading them to do a certain thing; they\nfeel strongly impressed to do it. They see an opportunity; then, perhaps\nthrough timidity or indecision, they let the opportunity pass by, and when\nit is gone they feel bad because they failed to improve it. How they\nregret not having done it! If they had another opportunity, they would not\nlet it slip. But it has gone. In vain do they wish for it again. They have\nfailed, and that failure brings a dark cloud over them. It is another\nhome-made cloud. They can not blame anyone else for it\u2014not even Satan. But\nthey do blame themselves, and sometimes to such an extent that it takes\nthe joy and sweetness out of the day, and possibly out of several days. If\nwe have done such things, it does no good to heap reproaches upon\nourselves. That only makes our clouds darker. The way out is to open our\nhearts to God and tell him all about it, asking him to help us to be more\ncourageous, more diligent to take advantage of our opportunities, and more\nfaithful to follow his leadings. Let us resolve in our hearts that we will\ndo this, then go cheerfully about it.\n\nFrivolous or foolish conversation or actions sometimes bring clouds over\nour sky. The Spirit reproves us and we see our fault. To chide and condemn\nourselves does no good. The only profitable thing for us to do at such\ntimes is to be open-hearted and frank toward the Lord and tell him about\nit, to ask his help that we may do better the next time, and to determine\nin our hearts that we will do better. I do not mean that we should get\ninto bondage. God wants us to be free, to live naturally, and not to live\nunder a strain, but to exercise a proper degree of caution.\n\nI suppose we all have regrets and come more or less short of our ideals at\ntimes. But if we are as careful and as true as we ought to be, we shall\nnot have so many of these home-made clouds; but if we do have them, let us\nbear up patiently. It will do no good to chastise ourselves. The only\nthing we can do that will be profitable is to trust in the Lord, and go\nahead until the darkness passes away and the sun shines again. Let us be\ntrue to God and hold fast our confidence and our decision to serve him and\nbe ready to confess our faults before him. He will treat our faults as\nfaults, not as sins. He will not cut us off for such things. He will have\nmercy upon us and will show his loving-kindness toward us. Let us\ntherefore trust in him and make as few of these home-made clouds as\npossible.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK THIRTEEN. IT PLEASED THE LORD TO BRUISE HIM\n\n\nIt is a mystery in the minds of many why Christian people often have to\nsuffer. With all the promises of physical healing, they still are many\ntimes in pain, notwithstanding God\u2019s faithfulness and his omnipresence.\nThey also suffer temptations, persecutions, and soul-conflicts. How can we\nexplain these things? How can we harmonize these with the teachings of a\nloving God? When we read Paul\u2019s experience, we find it largely a record of\nprivation and suffering, of sorrow and heaviness. It is true that in it\nall there is a note of joy and an unquenchable shout of victory, but\nnevertheless soul, mind, and body often had to endure the lash of pain.\nDid God love him? Why, then, must such things be?\n\nGod loved Christ with a perfect love, but we read that \u201calthough he had\ndone no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth, yet it pleased\nJehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to grief\u201d (Isa. 53: 9, 10, A.S.V.).\nWhat strange language! He had done no evil, he was guilty of nothing, and\nyet \u201cit _pleased_ the Lord to bruise him.\u201d Is it true that love is tender,\nthe tenderest of all things, and yet can bruise and find pleasure in it?\nBut this is just what happened. Jesus, the innocent Lamb of God, was\n\u201csmitten, stricken of God.\u201d When we remember Gethsemane, the crown of\nthorns, the cruel cross, it does not seem an act of love for God to give\nhis Son over to such suffering; yet it was love, truest love. Why did God\nthus deal with him? It was not because the Father-heart did not feel that\nagony. It was the only means to an end, and love desired that end so much\nthat it pleased it to make the great sacrifice that out of it might come\nthe infinite joy of a world\u2019s redemption.\n\nThere is nothing that brings Christ so close to men as his sufferings;\nthere is nothing that makes men trust in him so much as the story of those\nlast days. If that story were taken from the pages of the Bible, what\nwould Christ be to us? Only a great teacher whose morality was high and\nwonderful, though to us unattainable; but with this record added, he\nbecomes a Savior and makes his righteousness attainable by us all. Had he\nnot suffered, he could not have brought us to God. How much poorer we\nshould be today without the story of Gethsemane and Calvary, without\nknowing that \u201cit pleased the Lord to bruise him\u201d and that out of his sighs\nand tears and groans has flowed into our hearts a fountain of joy and love\nand tenderness whereby we have been enriched and the angels of God have\nbeen caused to sing a song for joy!\n\nIf God was pleased to bruise his own beloved Son, need we marvel if he is\nsometimes pleased to bruise us? If we are sometimes bowed down with grief,\nif anguish takes hold upon us, if the sky grows dark above us, and if God\nseems to have turned away, is it any proof that he no longer loves us? Is\nit not only the proof that God sees something to be accomplished that can\nbe accomplished in no other way, and that he is pleased for the sake of\nthat gain to let us suffer? The things that are worth while come through\npain. Joy does not make us stronger nor bring us nearer God; nor does it\nrefine, ennoble, or enrich us. The pure gold comes from the fire only and\nthe tempered steel also must have passed through the flame. God would have\nus pure as gold and as strong as steel, and to have us so he can not spare\nthe flame. We must pass through the furnace of affliction. We are told\nthat God \u201cdoth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men\u201d (Lam.\n3: 33). It is only that something may come out of it that will be better\nand more blessed than could have been without it.\n\nWe know in reality only what we know by experience. Those who would be\ninstruments in God\u2019s hands to help others must often have a preparatory\ntraining-course in the school of suffering; how else could they know how\nto help others? Brother, sister, has God called you to do a work for him?\nIf so you need not marvel if he lets the rod of pain be laid upon you. If\nyou have hindrances which seem to shut up the way before you, if you have\ntrials that you can not understand, if you have disappointments and\nperplexities, if you have spiritual conflicts that threaten to overwhelm\nyou, do not think it strange. How can you teach others how to bear such\nthings if you have not borne them? How can you know the way out for others\nif you have never gone that way? How can you teach others to look for the\nblessings in these things if you have not their fruitage in your own life?\nThose who have suffered most can enter most into the sufferings of others.\n\nThe successful worker will find that the strength and wisdom that bring\nhim success was the gift of pain, and had not pain brought him strength\nand knowledge, success could not now be his. Likewise sometimes we must\nsuffer for others if we would save them. So if you would be a worker for\nGod and know how to enter truly into the sorrows and needs of others, you\nmust yourself drink the bitter cup and feel the chastening rod.\n\nAfter the Lord called me to his work, I endured some great soul-conflicts.\nIn them I suffered inexpressibly. I almost despaired at times, but I look\nback upon those things now as being the things that made me understand the\nhuman heart, that gave me a broader sympathy, and that have since enabled\nme to enter into the sorrows and needs of others and to minister comfort\nand help as I could not otherwise have done. Those early sufferings\nunlocked a thousand mysteries and enriched not only my own life but also\nthe lives of others. Endure these things with patience; for out of them\nwill come to you that which is more precious than gold. If you do not\nsuffer, you can be of little use to those who do suffer. The promise is,\n\u201cIf we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him.\u201d\n\nAbraham suffered in that one supreme sacrifice, but his example of\nfaithfulness in the test has enriched millions of souls. Job suffered not\nonly physical agony but the keenest and deepest of spiritual agony, yet\nthat suffering was only an opportunity for God to manifest his mercy and\nkindness. How much Job learned of God by enduring through these dark days\nand how much the world has learned! If we should take out of the Bible the\nrecord of suffering and its results that are written there, we should take\nout of it all that is best and noblest and most helpful and encouraging.\nHow much poorer we should he if the sacred record told only of joy and\npeace and comfort, if it spoke only of victory and achievement, and told\nus nothing of the hard road that leads up to them! If the Lord chastises\nus, it is \u201cfor our profit\u201d; if God smites, it is only to enrich; so bear\nwith patience, endure as seeing him who is invisible. Be \u201cpatient in\ntribulation,\u201d drink the cup of your Gethsemane, wear your thorny crown\nwithout complaint, endure your Calvary; for unto you is given both to\nsuffer and to reign with him.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FOURTEEN. PUTTING CLOUDS OVER THE SUN\n\n\nA little boy was walking down the street rejoicing in the possession of a\nbright new penny. He was going to buy some candy with it. He could almost\ntaste it already, but just then he dropped his penny upon the sidewalk. An\nolder boy seized it and started off. The little boy began to cry and\ndemanded his penny, but the other boy only laughed derisively. It was a\nmean trick. It spoiled the whole day for the boy, and ever after when he\nthinks of the incident, he will have an unpleasant feeling. The older boy\nput a dark cloud over the little fellow\u2019s sun that day, and the shadow\nwill be cast upon him through other days.\n\nA number of persons were sitting in a room talking over a matter. During\nthe conversation one man made a charge against another, comparing him half\ncontemptuously with a man whose conduct had been quite unbecoming. The\ncharge was like a dagger in the man\u2019s heart. He knew it was both untrue\nand unjust. He was conscious of the uprightness of his conduct. He had\nalways held the other man in high esteem, and to be thus publicly wounded\nby him was almost unbearable. He made no defense, but he went out of that\nroom with an aching heart, humiliated and wronged. His friend had put a\ngreat cloud over his sun. Years have passed, but the darkness of that\ncloud has not yet all passed away. When he thinks of the injustice, there\nis still a pang in his heart. He does not feel bitter toward the other; he\nhas forgiven; but the close tie has been broken. He has never since been\nable to confide in the one who did him such an injury.\n\nA faithful minister had labored for years for souls. He had been\nsuccessful; he had been a blessing to many. One day a certain person spoke\nof him half jestingly in a manner that aroused the suspicions of some\nothers who were present. These suspicions grew until they became whispers,\nand the whispers grew till they became open charges. The minister could\nnot prove them to be false. They hindered his labors. They bowed down his\nhead with sorrow. Some one had put a cloud over his sun and over his name,\nand for years the dark shadow of it rested upon his life.\n\nHow easy it is to put a cloud over some one\u2019s sun, to make some life dark\nthat might have been bright! It may seem only a little thing, but\nsometimes a little cloud can make a dark shadow. We may not see either the\ncloud or the shadow, but the heart that is darkened both sees and feels.\nHow many times parents, by unkind words or actions, becloud their\nchildren\u2019s sky! One way in which parents do this is by telling the faults\nof their children to visitors, in the presence of the children. There is\nscarcely anything more disheartening to a child than this. He feels\nhumiliated and hurt. He feels, and justly feels, that he has been\nmistreated. It sinks down into his soul and rankles there. It discourages\nhim, and if it is often repeated he comes not to care if he is at fault.\nConstant reproof and faultfinding make a child\u2019s life gloomy and sad. That\nis not the way to cure faults; it is the way to make them worse.\n\nI once knew a young saint who had a rich experience of salvation. A\ncertain relative who opposed her religion began finding fault with her and\nkept doing so at every opportunity. The result was that that young life\nwas beclouded and a deep melancholy settled down over her. Her\ncheerfulness gave way to sadness and moroseness. The song of joy, once so\noften upon her lips, was stilled. Some one had put a cloud over her sun,\nand her life was never what it otherwise might have been.\n\nChildren may darken the hearts and lives of their parents. How many times\nis the mother-heart or father-heart grieved by the conduct of the\nchildren! It may be that they are only thoughtless, or they may be\ndisobedient and wilful. Young people, cherish your parents, try to make\ntheir lives as bright as you can. They have many cares. These are enough\nfor them to bear without your adding a single one. When you have grown\nolder and they have gone out of your life, you may look back with a pang\nof regret at the times when you caused their hearts to ache. Brighten\ntheir lives while you may; then when you look into the open grave where\nFather or Mother is being laid to rest, your conscience will not smite\nyou.\n\nWe are told that \u201cno man liveth unto himself.\u201d There is a circle of\ninfluence about our lives that affects every other life that we touch. We\nbrighten or darken the lives about us. We lighten or make heavier the\nburdens of others. Every unkind word or look makes a shadow on some life.\nEvery slighting remark, every sarcastic fling, every contemptuous smile,\nputs a cloud over somebody\u2019s sun. Lack of appreciation has darkened many a\nlife. How much better it would be to take away the clouds, to banish the\ngloom! You can do this just as easily as you can bring clouds. It is just\nas easy to speak kind words as to speak unkind ones, and you will feel\nmuch better over it yourself. You can encourage and help, you can speak\nwords of appreciation. When people please you, let them know it. When\npeople do well, or even when they try to do well and fail, you can show\nthat you appreciate their efforts. You can be cheerful and courteous and\nkind. That will make sunshine for others. There are enough clouds in life\nat best in this world of sorrow. Be a sunshine-bearer. Drop a little good\ncheer into every life you touch. No matter what you are by nature, you can\nform the habit of being cheerful and encouraging. Even when you have heavy\nburdens yourself, you can be encouraging and helpful to others.\n\nDo not let your troubles be mirrored on your face. One\u2019s face can smile\nand his words can be cheery if his own heart does ache. I am not writing a\nmere theory. I know what pain and gloom and heaviness are. I know what\nburdens are. During the first few months of my illness every one knew how\nI felt. My face told the story without words. I finally saw that that\nwould not do, and deliberately set to work to get the gloom out of my face\nand out of my words. You who read what I write know something of my\nsuccess. You can do the same.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FIFTEEN. WHAT IS YOUR WORD WORTH?\n\n\nEverything is measured by some standard of value. Material things are\nmeasured by length, breadth, weight, density, usefulness, or intrinsic\nvalue. Character also has its standard of measurement. Some people are\nvalued more highly than others, whether in the community, in the church,\nor in the nation. People are valued, not for their physical size or\nweight, but for their abilities and more especially for their characters.\nIn a Christian the special thing of value, and the only special thing, is\nhis character. If one\u2019s character is not of a higher and better quality\nthan that of people in general, one has no right to the name Christian.\n\nThe quality of ones character is indicated in various ways. One\u2019s words\nare generally a clear index to one\u2019s character. A person is judged by\nthem, and his value is reckoned by the reliance that may be placed upon\nhis word. We know some on whose word we fully rely. If they tell us\nanything, we believe them. If they make us a promise, we do not expect it\nto he broken. We rely upon them because they have shown by their conduct\nthat they themselves place a high value upon their own word. Of such\npersons it is often said, \u201cIf he says it is so, it is true,\u201d or, \u201cIf he\nmakes a promise, he will fulfil it.\u201d Such men wield a strong influence in\na community. People can easily believe and trust in their character. It is\na sad fact that such individuals are the exception rather than the rule,\neven among professed Christians. How many times promises are made only to\nbe broken or forgotten! This is a grave matter and marks a serious defect\nin Christian character. We should never make a promise unless we fully\nexpect to fulfil it, and we ought to feel under deep obligation to keep\nour promise. If we are careless and neglectful of this, it is sure to\nlower us in men\u2019s esteem, and we shall be cheapened and discredited.\n\nHasty Promises.\n\nMany times promises are made hastily. The person does not stop to consider\nwhat he really is promising; he does not weigh its meaning. He says, \u201cYes,\nyes, I will\u201d; but later when he thinks the matter over, it looks different\nto him. He is sorry that he made the promise, and begins to look for some\nway out so that he will not have to fulfil it.\n\nThese hasty promises are just as binding as any others. If we ignore them\nand do not make our word good, the persons to whom we have made them will\nhave just reason to condemn us. It is easier to make promises than it is\nto fulfil them. Beware of making haste to promise. Think about the\nfulfilment. Think whether you really want to do, or really will do, what\nyou promise. Consider your promises binding. Have the fear of God before\nyou just as much in this matter as in other things. If you wish people to\nvalue your word, you must show that you value it yourself. If you do not\nvalue it enough to keep it, do not expect others to value it. If you value\nyour word, it will make you careful about your promises\u2014careful in making\nthem, careful in keeping them.\n\nDo not make rash promises. Consider what you are promising. Is it\nsomething that you can perform? Consider your ability and what things may\nhinder. Have you any just reason to suppose that you can fulfil it? Would\nit be wise for you to do it? Would it be best? Have you made other\npromises that will conflict with it? Remember that when you once promise,\nif you do not keep your word your failure leaves a shadow upon your\ncharacter in the mind of the one you promised unless there is some good\nand sufficient reason to excuse you in his sight.\n\nDo not make careless promises. The Bible tells us that in our planning we\nshould say, \u201cIf the Lord will\u201d; that is, we should take in to\nconsideration that the unexpected may happen. We do not know the future;\ntherefore we ought not to make our promises too positive. We ought to\nqualify them so as to allow for hindrances.\n\nWe ought to be honest in making our promises. Many promises are made when\nthere is no intention of carrying them out. Many people, rather than to\nsay no, will promise and then refuse to perform, thereby making themselves\nliars. They have not manhood enough to refuse and honestly tell why, so\nthey make a promise and break it. That is the coward\u2019s way out. It is the\ndishonest way out.\n\nSome people say, \u201cIf the Lord wills, I will do so,\u201d when they do not\nconsider the Lord in the matter at all, but simply mean, \u201cIf I do not\nchange my mind.\u201d Do not throw the odium on the Lord. If you think you may\nchange your mind, do not commit yourself definitely. If you are not fully\ndecided, do not be afraid to say that you do not know what you will do. Be\nhonest enough to let the other know the state of your mind. Be honest in\nmaking promises; be honest in fulfilling them.\n\nFidelity to Promises.\n\nDo not make too many promises. He who is too free to promise, places\nlittle value upon his promises. He forgets them readily or lets some\ntrifle hinder the performance of them. He always has a ready excuse to\nease his conscience and to release himself from the obligation. This\nindicates a want of character, a lack of real sincerity.\n\nWhen you make a promise, do not forget it, do not break it. Never\ndisappoint people when you can help it. They feel disappointment as keenly\nas you do. There is an old saying that \u201cpromises are like pie-crust\u2014made\nto be broken.\u201d Are your promises of the pie-crust variety?\n\nPossibly you have heard the story of the old deacon. A man came to him one\nday to endeavor to get him to fulfil a promise that he had made. The\ndeacon refused. The other urged and entreated him, but still he refused,\nand finally said, \u201cThe Bible says that we should let our words be yea,\nyea, and nay, nay; and my words are so.\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d quickly retorted the\nother, \u201cwhen you are asked to make a promise, they are yea, yea; but when\nyou are asked to fulfil it, they are nay, nay.\u201d This is one brand of\nyea-and-nay Christians, but not the kind in whom God delights or man\ntrusts.\n\nWhen you make promises, keep them. They are a test of your character. I do\nnot mean that you should be under bondage to your promises. Sometimes we\nfully believe we can and will perform them, but later find that it is\nimpossible. In such a case we should explain matters and so relieve the\nmind of the one to whom the promise was made and show him that the failure\nto make good our word is not due to neglect or unwillingness. Keep your\nbusiness promises. Many persons get into debt and promise to pay and then\njust let things drift along. This is wrong. Pay your debts when you agree\nto, or give a reason for not doing so, and let it be a reason, not an\nexcuse. If you promise to do work for some one, do it. Keep your promise\nif you must sacrifice to do so.\n\nMany parents are very careless and inconsiderate regarding their promises\nto their children. Children will \u201ctease\u201d for things if allowed. Too many\ntimes parents make promises that they do not expect ever to fulfil, just\nto be rid of the children\u2019s asking. Children soon learn the value of such\npromises, and they learn the value of your character. Do not lie to your\nchildren; do not make promises to them unless you mean them. If you make\npromises to them and then are not able to keep them, value your word\nenough and their respect enough to explain to them the reason.\n\nReader, what is your word worth? What value do you place on it? What value\ndo others place on it? What value does God place on it? God wants you to\n\u201cspeak the truth, and lie not.\u201d Your standing, your influence, your\nusefulness\u2014all depend upon your faithfulness; and if you are faithful, you\nwill be faithful to your promises. Think seriously over these things. If\nyou are at fault, set about to amend. Such a fault will be a blight upon\nyour life and upon your character until it is corrected. When the Psalmist\npictures a righteous man, he says that he \u201csweareth [promiseth] to his own\nhurt, and changeth not.\u201d Are you that sort of righteous person?\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK SIXTEEN. HOW TO KEEP OUT OF TROUBLE\n\n\nOld Uncle John was not so spry as he had once been. There were only a few\nblack hairs left among the many gray ones. His limbs were shaky and his\nsteps faltering. He was \u201cno good for work any more,\u201d he said; but there\nwere two things that he kept on doing right along: he seemed to be always\nsmiling and he seemed to be always praising the Lord. \u201cHappy John,\u201d people\ncalled him, and he certainly deserved the name. He did not seem to have\nmuch of this world\u2019s goods to make him glad. His lot in life did not\nappear to be more than usually pleasant, nor was there anything in the way\nof external evidence to show whence his happiness came. I had often sat\nand gazed upon his placid face lifted in devotion to God. He never seemed\nto get into trouble. No matter what happened, Uncle John seemed to have no\npart in the trouble. With others, troubles came and troubles went, but\nUncle John still smiled and praised the Lord.\n\nOne day I was standing outside the meeting-house with a little company of\nbrethren, when Uncle John came walking out, smiling as usual and praising\nthe Lord. One of the brethren said to him, \u201cUncle John, how does it come\nthat you are always so happy and never seem to get into trouble?\u201d He\nstopped and looked at the speaker with a broad smile, and answered, \u201cI\njust praise the Lord and mind my own business.\u201d He turned and walked away,\nbut his words lingered in my ears and were indelibly impressed upon my\nmemory. His secret was very simple, but very effective. And thus he went\non smiling, praising the Lord and minding his own business, and he was\n\u201chappy John\u201d even to the end. Many years ago he went to his reward, but\nthe lesson that I learned that day has never been lost.\n\nUncle John\u2019s rule for keeping out of trouble seemed very simple. It looks\nvery easy to mind one\u2019s own business, but it is one of the hardest things\nin the world to do, because it is one of the hardest things in the world\nfor us to be willing to do. The Scripture says, \u201cEvery fool will be\nmeddling,\u201d and it is so hard for some folks not to act like fools, anyway\nin this particular respect, even though they are ever so wise. The affairs\nof others are so interesting to them! This is a very human trait, but it\nsometimes leads to unpleasant consequences.\n\nGod knew the failing of people on this line, so he said, \u201cStudy to be\nquiet, and to do your own business\u201d (1 Thess. 4: 11). You have, no doubt,\nstudied a great many lessons, but have you studied this particular one? It\nis evident that many have not yet learned this if they have studied over\nit. Probably they did not know that it requires studying. Possibly they\nnever thought of it as being an object for study. But it is. We shall\nnever graduate in the school of wisdom until we study this lesson and\nlearn it thoroughly. \u201cStudy to be quiet and to do your own business.\u201d That\nis the lesson. Have you learned it? Some folks are always talking,\ntalking, talking. There seems to be no end to their talk. When people talk\nso much they are sure to talk of some things that should not be talked of.\nSome people can not keep an experience of salvation because they talk too\nmuch, and as a result they have a great deal of spiritual trouble that\nmight be avoided. But, then, they are so interested in their friends and\nneighbors! How can they help talking about them? Why, just let them spend\ntheir time in studying to be quiet. Let them give themselves a few lessons\nin minding their own business.\n\nPeter had that human trait. He was interested in what John was going to\ndo. When he asked the Lord, \u201cWhat shall this man do?\u201d he received an\nanswer. He did not have to wait for it. It was this, \u201cWhat is that to\nthee? Follow thou me.\u201d I have known many good Christian people who became\nmixed up in neighborhood or family affairs and got into a great mess of\ntrouble because they failed to mind their own business. If there is a\ndog-fight going on, all the dogs in the community seem to want to join in\nit. There seems to be something in humanity that is very much the same. If\nthere is trouble in the community they want to mix into it some way or\nanother. Trouble is a thing that is much easier to get into than it is to\nget out of.\n\nMore people get into trouble through the wrong use of their tongues than\nthrough any other means, I suppose. The Wise Man says, \u201cHe that keepeth\nhis tongue keepeth his soul from trouble.\u201d He also says, \u201cThe beginning of\nstrife is as when one letteth out water.\u201d You know how it runs in every\ndirection, so that you can not gather it up again nor confine it. Never\nmeddle with the strife of others. You are sure of an abundant crop of\ntrouble if you do. It is written, \u201cHe that passeth by and meddleth with\nstrife belonging not to him is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.\u201d\nYou know how that is: if he holds fast he will get into trouble, and if he\nlets go he will get into trouble.\n\nThere are some people who are religious and who seem to get along pretty\nwell until their children get mixed up in trouble with some one. Just as\nsure as that happens they are in the trouble, too. They think that their\nchildren could not be to blame. They take the children\u2019s part, and trouble\nis the result. And when they have gotten out of the trouble, if they do\nget out, they have dishonored both themselves and their religion. There\nare others who can never let trouble alone if their friends or neighbors\nare in it. They will mix in. They feel that they must defend their\nfriends, and they are often so partial in their feelings toward them that\nthey can not believe them to be in the wrong. They become all heated in\nthe thing, and before they know it they have a big case of spiritual\ntrouble on hand in addition to the other trouble.\n\nWhen people get into trouble, they like to tell others about it. If you\nhave sympathetic ears for trouble, you can hear plenty of it. When you\nhear such things, it is very easy to pass them on to some one else. Never\nlet yourself he a news-carrier for trouble. You will have trouble of your\nown if you do. The only business that a Christian has in relation to such\ntroubles is as a peace-maker, and even then he must be very cautious and\nwise, or he will become involved.\n\nFew people want to take God\u2019s way out of trouble. They will do anything to\nhave their own way out. We are told to leave off strife before it is\nmeddled with. That is the only safe way. While you are out, keep out; and\nthe only way to keep out is to mind your own business. Try Uncle John\u2019s\nrule. It will work very well. It is a splendid preventive of trouble.\nWould you be happy? Would you have the confidence of your neighbors and\nassociates? Would you be free from worldly entanglements? Would you have a\ncontented heart and a cheerful mind? Would you be worthy of the esteem of\nthe people? Would you be different from worldly people? Would you be a\nsunshine-bearer for your neighborhood? There is just one way to do it. You\nmust do as \u201chappy John\u201d did\u2014smile, praise the Lord, and mind your own\nbusiness.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK SEVENTEEN. WHAT THE REDBIRD TOLD ME\n\n\nIt was a cold winter morning. Snow covered the ground. The frost on the\ntrees sparkled in the bright sunlight like ten thousand diamonds. But the\nbrightness outside seemed to find no reflection in me. I had been confined\nto my bed for more than six months. I was gloomy and despondent. It seemed\nas though all the light and joy had gone out of my life and that only pain\nand suffering and sorrow were left to me. I had no desire to live. Again\nand again I prayed that I might die. I should have welcomed any form of\ndeath, even the most horrible. I had grown morbid, and almost despaired. I\nhad been prayed for again and again, but the healing touch came not. Life\nseemed to hold for me no ray of hope, no gleam of sunshine.\n\nAs I lay brooding in my melancholy state, a red grosbeak, with his bright\nred plumage, alighted on a tree a few feet from my window. His eyes\nsparkled as he gazed at me with interest. He turned his head now this way\nand now that, apparently studying me intently, and then he gave a cheery\ncall and hopped as near to me as he could get and repeated his cries over\nand over. Somehow his cries took the form of words in my mind. This is\nwhat he said to me: \u201cYou, you, you, cheer up, cheer up, cheer up.\u201d He\nhopped about from limb to limb, wiping his beak, picking at pieces of\nbark, but ever and anon hopping back to look at me and cry again. \u201cCheer\nup, cheer up, cheer up.\u201d This he did for a long time, then he flew away,\nonly to return soon and to peer at me again, crying his merry \u201cYou, you,\nyou, cheer up, cheer up, cheer up.\u201d For more than two hours he continued\nto repeat this and then went away, and far in the distance I heard the\nlast echoes of his notes still saying, \u201cCheer up, cheer up.\u201d\n\nIt seemed as though God had sent the bird to bring a message to my soul;\nand as I thought of the cold and the snow and the winter winds, of the\nbird\u2019s uncertain supply of food, of his many enemies, and considered that,\nin spite of all this, he could be so cheerful and gay, it made me feel\nashamed that I should be so melancholy and despondent. His message,\nenforced by his example, sank into my heart. I began to think over the\nfavorable side of my situation. I began to consider how many things the\nLord had bestowed upon me in the past\u2014his mercy, his kindness, and his\nblessings. My heart took courage, hope began to lift herself up from the\ndust I reflected over the way I had yielded to discouragement. I saw that\nif I was ever to rise above it I must set myself resolutely to the task of\nlooking upon the bright side and of overcoming the gloom and heaviness.\nThe message of the bird made me ashamed to submit longer to my feelings. I\nresolved then and there that I would be different. And from that day I\nbegan to act and think and speak more cheerfully. Many times I had to act\ncontrary to the way I felt, but I found that this was having an influence\nupon my feelings, and the more I practised being cheerful the more\ncheerful I became. Many times I have been sorely pressed down in spirit,\nbut I have found that I can act cheerfully and talk cheerfully even in the\nmidst of depression, and that this is not hypocrisy, but the true way in\nwhich to meet such things and conquer them.\n\nCheerfulness is largely a matter of habit. We must do one of two\nthings\u2014either yield to our feelings and let them be our master or compel\nour feelings to yield to us that we may be their master. It is a case of\nconquering or being conquered. So many persons are at the mercy of their\nemotions. If they do not feel well in body, or their mind is troubled, or\ntheir spiritual sky is clouded, they yield themselves to gloomy thoughts\nand look upon the dark side of the picture. Their thoughts and feelings\nare reflected in their face, and actions and words. This, in turn, reacts\nupon them, and they then feel worse in body and mind. Every one around\nthem knows how they feel. This is putting a premium on your bad feelings.\nIt is encouraging them. And it is a very bad habit. You can be cheerful if\nyou will. Do not wear your troubles on your face. Do not let them put a\nnote of sadness in your voice. Cease your sighing: you are only adding to\nyour burdens. Take the birds advice and cheer up. You can if you will. You\ncan hide your burdens instead of advertising them. To hide them will help\nyou to forget them. You have a place to put your burdens\u2014\u201cCasting all your\ncare upon Him.\u201d\n\nI still suffer; I still have periods of mental depression; but I have\nlearned to be cheerful and not let these things be on exhibition. I find\nit now the easier, and by far the better, way. Cheerfulness is a habit;\nget the habit. It depends upon you, not upon your circumstances. You can\nrule your circumstances instead of letting them rule you. Take hold of\nyour bad feelings with a will and conquer them with cheerfulness. The task\nmay not be easy at first, but keep at it and you will win. Do not despair\nif you lose a few battles. You may have cultivated gloom for so long a\ntime that it has become the fixed state of your mind. Overcome the habit.\nGod will help you. When your feelings become gloomy, say, \u201cI will not be\nso,\u201d and force your mind into other channels. It will want to go back to\nits former habit, but as often as you catch yourself thinking along gloomy\nlines turn your thoughts back to the sunshine. Put good cheer into your\nvoice and a smile on your face, no matter how you feel. It will prove a\ntonic for soul, mind, and body. Listen to the redbird. Hear his merry\n\u201cCheer up, cheer up,\u201d and act upon his advice. You will find it worth\nwhile.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK EIGHTEEN. WHAT OLD BILL COULD NOT DO\n\n\nOld Bill M\u2014 was a drunkard. Everybody knew it. People expected to see him\nstagger as he walked; that was the common thing. As a young man he had\nbeen the leader among his chums, and people thought he would make his mark\nin the world. He had excelled most of his companions, but alas! it was not\nin the things that make men noble and great. As people said, \u201cThe drink\nwas getting him.\u201d He was a familiar figure in each of the three saloons in\nA\u2014. He was popular, for he was good-natured and jolly. He was still the\nleader of a company, who called themselves the \u201cbunch.\u201d Each night they\nmade the rounds of the saloons, then at a late hour staggered homeward.\n\nYes, Old Bill was a drunkard. He had tried many times to quit. His friends\nhad warned him and advised him to quit. His wife had begged him a hundred\ntimes, with tears running down her face. He had promised again and again,\nhad tried, over and over, to master the habit, but it held him fast. One\nnight when he went home, drunk as usual, he found his wife seriously ill.\nThree days he watched by her bedside, and then the end came. In her dying\nhour she laid her hand on his and asked him once more for her sake, and\nhis own, to quit drinking. Bill promised with hot tears falling like rain,\nand he meant it with all his heart.\n\nTwo days later he followed her body to the church, and as he took his last\nlook at that still form, he vowed with all his strength of will never to\ntouch drink again. He walked silently back to his home, but it was not\nhome any more. He was heart-broken. What would he do? How could he bear\nit? Presently two of his comrades came out to sympathize with him. After\ntalking a while, one pulled a bottle from his pocket, saying, \u201cHere, Bill,\ntake a bit to brace you up.\u201d \u201cNo, Jack,\u201d he answered, \u201cI\u2019m going to quit\nthe stuff; I promised her I would.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s all right,\u201d said Jack, \u201cbut\nyou need a little now for your nerves.\u201d He lifted the bottle to his own\nlips, then held it uncorked in his hand. The odor entered Bill\u2019s nostrils,\nthe old appetite asserted itself, and before he knew it he had seized the\nbottle. A minute later it was empty! When Bill next came to realize what\nwas happening, it was a week later. He had been drunk all the time; he did\nnot even know what day it was; but when he realized what had happened, he\nwas stricken with remorse. He knew now, as never before, that drink was\nhis master.\n\nTwo years passed. His few belongings had been sold to pay the funeral\nexpenses; the remainder had gone for drink. Another family lived in the\nhome now. Mr. Wilson, a kind neighbor, had given him a home, and he worked\nfor him when he was sober enough. One evening as he was making his way to\nthe saloon as usual, he heard singing. \u201cThat\u2019s strange,\u201d he muttered;\n\u201cwonder what\u2019s going on?\u201d He turned and walked toward the singing and soon\nfound a large tent filled with people. \u201cQueer-looking show,\u201d he thought as\nhe approached the entrance. A pleasant-faced young man stepped up to him\nand said, \u201cCome in, Bill, and I will get you a good seat.\u201d He mechanically\nfollowed the usher in. The singing was good, and he enjoyed it. Presently\na man arose and, with tears running down his face, related that he had\nbeen a drunkard, and that after years of trying to overcome the habit, he\nhad finally turned to God for help, and that he was now a free and happy\nman. Bill understood the struggle part, but not the rest. He knew what it\nmeant to fail, and as he pondered he thought of his wife. Did she know how\nhe had broken his promise? Did she weep over him now as she used to?\n\nSome one entered the pulpit and talked for a long time, but Bill did not\nhear anything he said. Bill was thinking, thinking. There was a man who\nhad \u201cbeat the drink,\u201d and he said the Lord had helped him. Bill wondered\nif the Lord would help him. When the preacher finished, the first man rose\nagain; Bill straightened up and looked keenly. \u201cYes,\u201d he thought, \u201che has\nbeen a drinker all right, and a hard one; his face shows it.\u201d The speaker\nwas inviting men to Christ for the help they needed.\n\nOld Bill never quite knew how it happened, but he suddenly found himself\nup in front holding the stranger\u2019s hand and telling him that he wanted\nhelp to quit drink. Side by side they knelt while the saved man earnestly\npoured out his heart to God for the drunkard. Old Bill did not know how to\npray, he had never tried in his life, but he wanted help; all his soul\nlonged for it. He listened to the other man praying. He was asking for\njust what Bill needed; his heart joined in. Yes, he wanted to quit\ndrinking; he wanted to be a good man, but he had to have help. The other\nman prayed as though God were right close by, and Bill felt that He must\nbe, so he said: \u201cYes, God, I\u2019ll quit it if you\u2019ll help me. I\u2019ll be a man\nif you\u2019ll help me, but I can\u2019t do it by myself!\u201d That was all, but he\nmeant it, and he felt that God would help him. A strange, quiet peace came\ninto his heart, and he really felt happy. He went home sober that night.\n\nSome of the \u201cbunch\u201d outside the tent had seen Bill go forward, and soon\nthe news was in all the saloons. \u201cHe\u2019ll be back by Saturday night,\u201d they\nsaid. But he did not come back. Instead he was in the meeting telling the\npeople what wonderful things God had done for him. He did not want strong\ndrink any more at all, he declared. The \u201cbunch\u201d did not believe this. They\nlaughed and made many prophecies; they waited week by week, but Old Bill\ncame to the saloon no more. Two years passed; Bill lived a joyful\nChristian life and never tired of telling what the Lord had done for him.\nHe went out to a country schoolhouse, where he organized a Sunday-school\nand labored zealously and successfully.\n\nThere were many temptations. At first the \u201cbunch\u201d laughed and made him the\nbutt of many rude jests, then they laid plans to trap him. One day one of\nthem stuck an open whisky-bottle under his nose, saying, \u201cSmell it, Bill;\nain\u2019t it a fine odor?\u201d Bill stepped back, all smiles, and said quietly,\n\u201cWell, Tom, drink was my master a long time, but I have a better Master\nnow.\u201d He went on his way unobstrusively but steadily, and finally won the\nrespect and confidence of all.\n\nAt last the end came; Old Bill was dead. There was a peaceful smile upon\nhis face, for his sun had gone down in splendor. The \u201cbunch\u201d followed him\nto the grave. They could not quite understand even yet what had happened\nto him. It was a wonderful change, and his life had won their respect, and\nthey followed him silently to his last resting-place. After the burial\nthey stood talking it over in a little group by themselves, \u201cI thought the\ndrink had him sure,\u201d said one; \u201cI don\u2019t see how he beat it.\u201d \u201cIt was not\nBill who did it,\u201d said a quiet voice behind them; \u201cit was Jesus Christ.\u201d\nThey turned and saw the pastor walking away. \u201cGuess the parson must have\nit right,\u201d said one of them. \u201cIt was a pretty good job, too.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK NINETEEN. DIVINE AND WORLDLY CONFORMITY\n\n\nThe Scriptures say, \u201cBe not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed\nby the renewing of your mind\u201d (Rom. 12: 2). They also say that we should\nbe \u201cconformed to the image of his Son\u201d (Rom. 8: 29). We have here two\nsorts of conformity, one of which is condemned and the other approved.\nMuch is said by some classes of religious professors about worldly\nconformity, while little is said about divine conformity. It is my purpose\nherein to point out the essential nature of these two kinds of conformity.\n\nBy worldly conformity most religious teachers mean outward likeness of\ndress, manner, customs, etc. This, however, is not its true significance.\nConformity to Christ does not mean dressing as he dressed, speaking the\nlanguage that he spoke, eating the same kind of food that he ate, or\nobserving any of those externals that went to make up his life.\n\nIn the true meaning of the word, conformity goes deeper than externals.\nTwo things may look very much alike and yet be very different in their\nnatures. Pyrites of iron looks so much like gold that it has deceived many\na person into thinking that he had found riches. For this reason it is\ncalled \u201cfool\u2019s gold.\u201d Likewise things may outwardly seem very different,\nwhile in reality they are very much the same. A sparkling diamond seems\nvery different from a lump of coal, but the chief difference is only in\nthe arrangement of their particles. Both are composed chiefly of carbon,\nso in nature they conform closely to each other.\n\nConformity is a thing of nature, not of external appearance. We are \u201cby\nnature the children of wrath.\u201d Our likeness to the world consists in a\nlikeness of character, and for that reason we are told that we must be\ntransformed. This transformation is a change of character; it has to do,\nfirst of all, with internals, not with externals.\n\nConformity to the world in most externals is not only advisable but\nnecessary. We wear clothing as the world does; we live in houses built\nlike those around us; we speak the same language as sinners; we have the\nsame habits of thought and speech in general that they have; we use the\nsame implements and tools; we raise the same crops; we employ the same\nmethods of work and business; in fact, we conform to the world in all\nthese things. We can not avoid doing this without sacrificing what is\nvital and proper in our lives. Conformity to the world in these externals\nbecomes evil only when such conformity has its origin in an evil principle\nin the heart or when it produces an evil effect.\n\nWhen Christ prayed for his disciples, he said, \u201cKeep them from the evil.\u201d\nPaul said, \u201cAs using and not abusing.\u201d It is that which is evil, or the\nevil use that is made of externals, that is obnoxious to God. A proper use\nof all things is permissible, and if our hearts are conformed to God, we\nnaturally desire and seek only the proper use of things. But the natural\nheart is wicked; it is set on pleasing itself; it is full of vanity and\npride. So long as this condition exists, the heart is not conformed to\nGod. There must be a transformation, and this is not one which starts from\nthe outside and works inward, for such at best could be only a\nreformation. The real transformation is a thing that begins on the inside\nand works a vital change in the spiritual condition and character. When\nthis internal change is wrought, it gives a new quality and direction to\nthe whole range of thought and activity. It manifests itself in new\ndesires and aspirations, in new habits and customs, in newness of speech\nand looks and behavior. When we are transformed so that we become new\ncreatures in Christ Jesus, we begin to act like new creatures. But our\nbodies are not transformed: we still have bodies of flesh, which retain\ntheir natural desires and appetites, and these we may gratify in a lawful\nway without sin.\n\nWhen the heart is transformed and purified from its vanity and pride,\nthese qualities will not be manifested in external things. But so long as\npride and vanity remain in the heart, preaching to people and requiring\nthem to cease wearing worldly adornment is like trying to kill a tree by\npulling off some of its leaves\u2014the people may layoff such things under\npressure, but they are no better than before. People must be taught the\nBible standard of externals, but the chief thing is to get their hearts\nright. When the heart is conformed to the image of Christ, the words of\nthe old song are true of it:\n\n\n    \u201cThere\u2019s no thirsting for life\u2019s pleasure,\n      Nor adorning rich and gay;\n    For I\u2019ve found a richer treasure,\n      One that fadeth not away.\u201d\n\n\nNeither force nor persuasion is required to get persons with such an\nexperience to act properly regarding external things.\n\nIn carrying out their idea of non-conformity to the world, some bodies of\npeople have adopted a special garb or a special form of speech to\ndistinguish them from others. This, however, is not a mark of real\nnon-conformity, but a mark of sectarianism. The true and only difference\nneedful between ourselves and the world in externals is that we are to\nreject those things that are evil or that produce evil. All things else\nare lawful to us, though these lawful things must also be judged by the\nlaw of expediency.\n\nConformity to Christ means conformity in character. It means purity of\ndesire, so that our hearts reach out for only those things that are pure,\nand we are moved by pure motives and actuated by holy purposes. It means\nthat we have a conscience toward God in whatever we do. It means to put\nhis will before everything else. It means that the dominating purpose of\nour life will be to please him in every detail, and not ourselves. A heart\nlike this is not attracted by the vain and sinful things of the world; on\nthe contrary, it is repelled by them.\n\nWhen the person is adorned with gold, jewels, costly or gaudy array, or\nimmodest clothing, we must needs look for the root in the heart. There is\nwhere the trouble lies. There is the seat of the desire. It is useless to\ntake off the externals while the internal corruption is permitted to\ncontinue. God hates all vanity and pride. There is no such element in his\ncharacter. If we are conformed to him, there is no such element in our\ncharacter; and if our character is purged from these things, we have no\ndesire for their external manifestations. God loves meekness and modesty,\nand these are the opposites of display. If we are meek and modest in\ncharacter, our dress and deportment will manifest these qualities. If we\ndo not manifest them, it is because we do not possess them.\n\nIt may not be out of place here to call attention to the Bible principles\nrelating to the subject of dress and personal adornment. In beginning this\nphase of the subject we should note that the gospel is not a set of rules,\nbut a revelation of moral principles. It is intended for all people in all\ncountries, climates, and ages. We should not, therefore, expect that these\nprinciples as they relate to dress would be revealed in other than the\nmost general terms, or applied to the details of the subject. There is\njust one principle involved; we may sum up the whole subject under that\none heading. The Bible standard of dress consists of just three words, but\nthese three words cover the whole scope of life. They are, \u201cin modest\napparel\u201d (1 Tim. 2: 9). This is the standard, and this is the whole\nstandard. We are given a hint regarding how to apply this standard, but\nour own good judgment is sufficient to draw the line in the right place,\nprovided our hearts are conformed to the divine image. There is no excuse\nfor fanaticism any more than there is for pride. Sound judgment and good\nsense will help us avoid both extremes.\n\nA definition of modesty is, \u201cRestrained within due limits of propriety;\nfree from indecency or lewdness; not excessive or extreme; moderate.\u201d A\nChristian\u2019s apparel should be modest in cut, that is, in the way it is\nmade; it should cover the body as a modest person would cover it, not\ndisplaying those parts that the prevailing standards of modesty require to\nbe covered.(1) Judged by this standard, very many religious professors\ncome far short, their clothing being less than decency really requires.\nSuch a thing, of course, does not have its origin in a pure heart. The\nwoman who displays herself to attract attention is anything but modest.\n\nClothing should be made to conform to modesty in all other respects also.\nUseless things added to one\u2019s apparel for the purpose of display and show\ndo not conform to modesty. \u201cLoud\u201d and flashy colors are not modest. The\nBible does not forbid us to wear any particular shade, but there are\nshades and combinations that are showy and gaudy, and by their extremeness\nviolate modesty, for modesty is the avoidance of extreme. Whatever we\nwear, it should be modest in color just as well as in other particulars.\n\nChristian apparel should be modest in texture; that is, it should not be\nso thin that it displays the body or the underwear. No man thinks a woman\nmodest who wears goods so thin as to display her under-garments, or\nhosiery so thin as to display her limbs. Such things are very unbecoming\nto saints, and of course not less so to other people. Sisters, dress so\nthat a modest man will not feel embarrassed in your presence.\n\nApparel should be modest as to cost. It should not be what the Scriptures\nterm \u201ccostly array.\u201d It is well to buy good material, and for such we must\npay a good price, but this is not what the Bible means by \u201ccostly array.\u201d\nIt means not to be extravagant. We should not waste money, but make the\nbest possible use of it.\n\nSome have thought it wrong to try to make our clothes becoming. This is\nnot the case. The Bible says \u201cthat women _adorn_ themselves in modest\napparel\u201d; that is, their apparel should be such as adorns or becomes them,\nso long as it is modest clothing. It should be adapted in cut, color,\netc., to harmonize with the complexion, size, and height of the person. We\nowe it to ourselves to make a good appearance. To make ourselves\noutlandish in any way is neither wise nor right. It is violating modesty,\nand this is not consistent. It is only when we make a proper appearance\nthat we can have a proper influence, and so be effective for God.\n\nGod delights in modesty in dress, in words, in actions\u2014in all things.\nPride and show are an abomination to him, and if we conform to him in our\ninner life and character, outward conformity will naturally follow; but if\ninward desire runs out after that which is immodest and gaudy, if the\nheart desires to display upon the person gold and jewels and finery, it is\nbecause it does not conform to the image of God\u2019s Son, but to the world.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK TWENTY. BAPTIZED WITH FIRE\n\n\nJohn the Baptist said, when speaking of the work of the coming Messiah,\n\u201cHe shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.\u201d The symbolic\ntongues of fire which sat on the believers on the day of Pentecost\nrepresented a very real something which from henceforth would be\nmanifested in their lives. It is not my purpose here to enter into an\nexplanation of the Baptist\u2019s words. I wish to speak only of the fervency\nwhich fire represents as it should characterize our lives. The life that\nhas in it no fervency has little or nothing of God. The soul that is\nvigorous in God is a soul full of power. We need to be \u201con fire\u201d for God,\nand there are three ways in which this fervency should manifest itself.\n\nA Burning Love.\n\nWe need a fervent love. It is the foundation, as it were, of all Christian\nfervency. If our love lacks fervency, it lacks the vital element that\nmakes it effective. If our love for God is kindled into a burning passion,\nit will put him before all else. His will and desire will be the delight\nof our hearts. His service will be no task, to sacrifice for him will be\neasy, and to obey him will be our meat. It will make our consciences\ntender toward him. What he loves we shall love, and whom he loves we shall\nlove. If our love is fervent, we shall love truth, and we shall love it as\nit is worthy to be loved\u2014above our own opinions or ideas and more than the\nteachings of men. We will not sacrifice it or deny it for ease or comfort\nor to please others. We shall strive to make our lives conform to it. We\nshall labor with all our strength to spread it over the world. If we love\nthe truth, we shall be missionaries whether we are at home or abroad. Love\nbegets labor.\n\nA fervent love of the brethren glows in the heart that is full of God. It\nwill burn up criticism and backbiting. It will burn up division and\nstrife. It will destroy jealousy and envy. It will make peace in the home,\nin the church, and in the individual heart. A thousand troubles come when\nlove grows cold: the eyes see no more as they once saw, the ears hear no\nmore as before, the tongue talks differently, and the heart feels\ndifferently, the glow dies out of the eyes, the tenderness leaves the\ntouch, sympathy wanes in the heart, and there is ashes for beauty and\nheaviness instead of praise. When the first love is left, when the divine\nfire is quenched, out of the life has gone its richness, its transfiguring\nbeauty; and what is left?\n\nO brother, sister, keep the red glow of fervency in your love. If you have\nlost it, rest not till it is rekindled. Love makes us strong to do and to\nbear. John Knox said to God, \u201cGive me Scotland or I die.\u201d That was love\nthat shook a kingdom. Paul counted not his life dear to him. That was love\nthat overthrew the idols of the heathen. God \u201cso loved the world,\u201d and a\nnew era dawned, bringing light and salvation. If we have such love, it\nwill work out in effectual action. A church fervent in love is a church\nreaching out and winning others. It is a church with an all-absorbing\npassion for the lost. Let us ask ourselves today, \u201cHave I a fervent love?\nor am I cold and has my love lost its strength?\u201d\n\nA Burning Zeal.\n\nA man or a church without zeal is of necessity ineffective. What is the\ntemperature of your zeal? Does it let you go for months without speaking\nto a soul about his salvation? Does it permit you to rest easy while\nothers are toiling, praying, and sacrificing? About how much time on an\naverage do you spend each day praying for souls, or for the progress of\nthe kingdom of God in the earth? About how often do you pray definitely\nfor some of your neighbors, your friends, or business associates? About\nhow long has it been since you invited some one to Christ? When did you\npray with some one for his spiritual needs? When did you speak encouraging\nwords? When did you give some one a tract or paper? When did you write a\nletter filled with spiritual advice or help? How much sacrifice are you\nmaking for the cause? How much time, labor, or money have you expended for\nthe kingdom in the past year? Is your zeal dead, or is it in fervent\nactivity? How much does the salvation of the world mean to you?\n\nBehold the zeal of the advocates of some of the false movements of these\ndays! See how they pour out their money like water. See how they never can\nbe satisfied unless they are laboring for their movement. Are we as\nzealous as they? If not, why not? If we have the truth and know that we\nhave it, should not that be enough to fire our zeal till it would not let\nus rest while there are others in darkness? Almost in sight of you, or\nperhaps within a stone\u2019s throw, are people who do not know the truth. If\nyou do no more than you have done the past year, may they not live and die\nthere and never know it?\n\nZeal does not ask for excuses. Zeal is never satisfied till it has gone\nfull length in labor. When one man was asked what was the secret of the\nmarvelous success of the early church in its fight against heathenism, he\nreplied with just one word, \u201cZeal.\u201d The same sort of zeal will produce\nresults today. Zeal must, of course, be enlightened. It can succeed only\nwhen guided by wisdom. Blind zeal is like a blind horse: it is likely to\nrun in any direction regardless of results. So be wise when you are\nzealous. If you are truly wise with that wisdom \u201cwhich cometh down from\nabove,\u201d you will also be zealous.\n\nA Fervent Hatred.\n\nA good Christian is a good hater. \u201cYe that love the Lord hate evil.\u201d This\nis an age of toleration. Almost any false doctrine may be preached, while\nmany of the religious teachers of so-called orthodoxy plod on their way\nindifferently. Error thrives, a multitude of souls are deceived, but many\nseem but little concerned. Evil raises its head everywhere and sneers at\nthe Christian people. Dens of vice, gambling-houses, lewd picture-shows,\nand a hundred other forms of evil are tolerated and even looked upon as\n\u201cnecessary evils\u201d by religious professors. He who really loves God just as\ntruly hates all evil. He so hates it in himself that he will give it no\nplace in his heart or life. He hates it in others. He sees no pleasant\nthing in it. To him it is foul, vile, and revolting. It is his enemy, and\nhe is its bitter foe. The measure of his love for good is the measure of\nhis hatred for evil. We can not love the good more than we hate the evil.\nThe two exactly balance in our lives.\n\nA burning love, a burning zeal, and a burning hatred will make your life\nas a beacon-light to the world; and if you would be a true example of what\nGod means men to be, you must have this fervency in your life. It alone\ncan keep you from coldness. It alone can make you a prosperous, victorious\nChristian.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK TWENTY-ONE. WHAT TO DO WITH THE DEVIL\n\n\nSome people say there is no devil, but I am convinced that he is very\nreal. In fact, I have had some personal experiences with him that leave no\nroom for doubt. He is right here in this world. Like a lion he \u201cgoeth\nabout seeking whom he may devour.\u201d What to do with him is the biggest\nproblem that faces some Christians. They spend so much time thinking about\nthe devil, fearing him, and trying to combat him, that they have little\ntime for God. Their testimony is a testimony of the devil\u2019s doings and\ntheir conflict with him. Their religion is a negative, not a positive,\nthing. It consists in _not_ doing and _not_ being, _not_ thinking and\n_not_ feeling or in trying not to. They are working on the problem from\nthe wrong end. Our problem is to do and be, to live a positive life. Life\nis for accomplishment and for character-building. The overcoming of the\nobstacles that we meet is only incidental; it is not the main purpose of\nour lives. A great many persons think that they could accomplish great\nthings and be wonderful Christians if it were not for the devil. What to\ndo with him is their problem. I shall tell you what to do.\n\n_First, do not be afraid of him._ Have you not read these words, \u201cGreater\nis he that is in you, than he that is in the world\u201d? If you will just\nbelieve that, you will have no cause to fear the devil. Do you not know\nthat God is in you? and if he is in you, is he not more than a match for\nyour adversary? \u201cIf God be for us, who can be against us?\u201d Satan may\noppose us, but he can not prevail against us. His opposition and his\nschemes will be brought to naught. Just add a little boldness to faith,\nand you will overcome him. Do not be frightened at his roaring. He can not\ntouch you unless God permits, and if God permits him, it will only be to\ngive you the greater victory in the end. Are you God\u2019s child? Will he\npermit anything that will do you permanent ill? Do not fear the devil;\ntrust God. Give your attention and strength to pleasing him. If you will\nkeep busy doing this, you will not have so much trouble with Satan. God\ndoes not want you to be shivering with fear. He wants you to \u201cbe strong in\nthe Lord and in the power of his might.\u201d\n\nSatan is like a lion; but when a lion roared against Samson, that man slew\nthe beast with his naked hands because the Spirit of the Lord was upon\nhim. If, instead of fearing, you will trust in the Lord to put his Spirit\nupon you when there is need of it, you may overcome Satan as easily as\nSamson did the lion. Daniel was thrown into the lions\u2019 den, but they did\nnot eat him. God put a muzzle on them, not a literal muzzle, but something\nstill more effectual, and they could not touch Daniel.\n\nBeing afraid of the devil is much like being afraid of the darkness. When\nI was a boy, I was bold enough to go where I wanted to in the darkness;\nbut when I started for the house again, I could imagine that dogs and\nbears and all sorts of frightful things might be anywhere about, so I\nwould run at full speed. There might have been something, but if so, I\nnever really knew it; but I would get panic-stricken just the same. If you\nbecome frightened this way in spiritual things, you may look upon it as\nonly a childish habit. You will never be a \u201creally and truly\u201d grown-up man\nor woman for God until you get over your foolish fear of the devil. We are\ntold to \u201cresist him stedfast in the faith.\u201d It is faith that counts. If\nyou have a gun, a crow will not fly near you. If you have faith, the devil\nwill be more afraid of you than you are of him. Try using this weapon on\nhim. You will find it very effectual.\n\n_Second, do not run from him._ A man from the East was once riding over a\nWestern prairie with a party of friends, when he saw an Indian walking\nalong. While he was looking at the Indian, an angry bull, which had been\nbellowing and pawing up the ground, suddenly charged the Indian. Instead\nof his running, as the Easterner expected him to do, he simply turned\nabout, folded his arms, stood stock-still, and faced the angry animal. It\ncame charging down till it was almost upon him, then suddenly stopped,\nlooked at him, and ran around him. The Indian stood motionless. The animal\nbellowed and pawed and ran round and round him. He did not move, and the\nanimal did not touch him, but presently went off and left him alone, after\nwhich the Indian went on his way as though nothing had happened. There is\na good lesson in that for us. There is no use to run from the devil, for\nhe can run faster than we can. Our victory is often won by our standing\nstill to see the salvation of God.\n\n_Third, watch._ That is what our Lord commanded, but he did not say,\n\u201cWatch the devil.\u201d The thing that we need to watch most is where our own\nfeet are going. If we allow ourselves to be occupied in watching Satan, we\nmay get out of the path and not know it. The Bible also says, \u201clooking\nunto Jesus,\u201d not, \u201clooking unto Satan.\u201d It is from God that our help\ncomes. When we look at Satan, he appears great and terrible. When we look\nto God, We see his greatness and realize how much greater he is than\nSatan, and our courage rises, our strength is increased, our fears vanish,\nand we become confident. Look to God and where your own feet are going,\nand let God manage the devil.\n\n_Fourth, ignore him._ There is nothing Satan hates so much as to be\nignored. For us to calmly go upon our way unafraid and trustful, not\ndismayed by his roaring, is not at all to his liking. If we will keep our\nhearts and minds occupied with good things and pay no attention to his\nthreats, we shall find that he will go off and leave us. He may soon\nreturn, but if you meet him in the same way, he will not linger around you\nas he will if he can hold your attention upon himself.\n\nYou have better use for your time than to let the enemy occupy it. Use it\nin active service for God. Jesus said he would give us \u201crest unto our\nsouls.\u201d Do you have that rest? God means for you to have it, but you can\nnot have it if you keep your attention on Satan all the time. He will\ntantalize you if you will let him. While you are looking unto Jesus, you\nwill not see the faces that Satan makes at you, and so will not be\ntroubled. If you will listen to God, you will not have time to listen to\nSatan. If he is constantly troubling you, it is because you are giving him\nopportunity. He is a conquered foe. The victory is yours, if you will have\nit so.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK TWENTY-TWO. WAITING ON THE LORD\n\n\nSome people are always in a hurry about things. If they want to do\nsomething or to have something, they can not wait, they must do it or have\nit at once. When they are compelled to wait, the time seems very long and\ntheir impatience grows with every delay. They can not quietly and\npatiently wait for anything.\n\nSuch persons bring this same characteristic into their spiritual lives.\nWhen they pray, they want an immediate answer\u2014they want God to hurry up.\nIf the answer is delayed, they get all worked up about it. Sometimes they\nmurmur against the Lord and feel very bad, like spoiled children.\nSometimes they pray a few times for what they desire, and if the answer\ndoes not come they conclude that God does not mean to answer them; so they\ngive up seeking for it and sometimes question God\u2019s faithfulness. If they\nsee something that needs doing or something that is not going to please\nthem, it must be remedied immediately; if it is not, they are much\ndispleased. They can not wait for a propitious time or till things have\nworked out so that they can be properly handled. Their motto seems to be,\n\u201cDo it now.\u201d That is all very well for some things, but quite frequently\nit is necessary to patiently wait on the Lord and upon others. We can not\nhurry the Lord; all time is his. He works according to his own purposes\nand will, according to his own wisdom and plans. We can not choose for\nhim; we must be willing for him to choose for us. It must be his to say\nboth as to \u201cwhen\u201d and \u201chow.\u201d Ours is to wait and trust, his to choose and\ndo.\n\nMany years ago I read a story. Later, when I was lying on my bed of\naffliction and praying earnestly for God to restore my health, he brought\nto my mind this story and applied its lesson to my soul. It was such a\nhelp to me that I will give it to you also. I had been much troubled\nbecause I was not healed. I would pray very earnestly, with a longing that\nseemed to draw out all my soul. Others would pray also, but there was no\nanswer from God. Disappointment and discouragement seemed to shut me in\nwith walls of darkness. A feeling of helplessness and almost of utter\nhopelessness came over me. I was in this condition when God brought to my\nmemory this long-forgotten story and applied it to my heart with a\npeculiar emphasis that made it a direct message from him to my soul.\n\nThis is the story: The king of a certain country was growing old, and he\nhad no son to succeed him. He announced to his people that he would choose\nan heir to the throne from among the young men of the country by a\ncompetitive test which would give all an equal chance. On the day\nappointed a great number of young men presented themselves. A certain test\nwas made, and some failed while others passed. Then other tests came, and\neach time some were rejected till at last only three were left.\n\nThey were put through test after test, but all seemed equally able to meet\nthem, so the king announced through his heralds that on the next day the\nmatter would be decided by a foot-race. The course was marked off, the\njudges were at their places, and all was ready. Just at this time a man\ncame up to each of the contestants and said secretly to him, \u201cThe king is\ntaking special note of you. Do not run when the signal is given until the\nking gives you a special signal.\u201d The three took their places eager for\nthe race. The signal was given, one bounded forward quickly, then\nhesitated and stopped; then another sprang forward after him, upon which\nthe first started forward again and they ran for the goal with all speed.\nThe third stood looking anxiously at the king and at the two runners,\nmurmuring to himself, \u201cI can make it yet, I can make it yet.\u201d The king\ngazed at the runners and gave no heed to the one still standing. The\nwaiting man thought himself forgotten and soon realized that it would be\nimpossible for him to win the race. He felt that all was lost for him.\n\nThe two runners ran on at top speed, reaching the goal together. They were\nbrought back, and all three stood before the king. To the first he said,\n\u201cWere you not told not to run until I gave you the signal? Why then did\nyou run?\u201d\n\n\u201cI forgot,\u201d said the man.\n\nOf the second he asked the same question. His reply was, \u201cI thought it\nwould be but a moment till you would give the signal, and seeing the other\nrunning I ran also.\u201d\n\nTo the third he said, \u201cAnd why did not you run?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause you did not give me the signal, sir,\u201d he answered.\n\n\u201cMy son,\u201d said the king, \u201cI knew that you could run, but I did not know\nthat you could wait.\u201d\n\nSo the young man found that the test was not a test of doing but of\nwaiting. And thus the Lord said to me that day, \u201cI knew that you could\nrun, I knew that you would work with all your strength; but can you wait\non me?\u201d These words have been repeated over and over in my heart during\nthe long years. It was a hard lesson to learn, and many times I have grown\nweary, many times I have longed for the end of the waiting; but that\nlesson has helped me to bear and to wait and to be patient in the waiting.\nSometimes it has seemed that the answer would never come. Sometimes it has\nseemed that the Lord had forgotten. Many times I have had to say to my\nheart, \u201cBe patient and wait.\u201d This is the hardest lesson that many of us\never have to learn, but learn it we must if God\u2019s will and his plan are to\nbe fulfilled in our lives.\n\nThere are some things for which we do not need to wait, but for which we\nneed to press our petitions with earnestness and diligence and with an\nout-reaching grasp of faith for a \u201cnow\u201d answer\u2014for example, the supplying\nof a soul-need, such as forgiveness or sanctification, or physical or\nother help where the need is urgent. Sometimes people think that it is not\nthe Lord\u2019s time to save or sanctify them or to give them something else\nthat is needed at once, when the trouble is they do not get in earnest\nenough or do not exercise faith as they might. God\u2019s time for necessary\nthings, and especially for salvation work, is _now_; and if we do not\nreceive when we seek, we may look for the fault in ourselves or in our\nmanner of seeking. Waiting on the Lord is not needful in this class of\nthings and it will only hinder receiving. There are, however, many other\nthings for which we may not know God\u2019s time and in the case of which\ngrowing impatient and trying to force matters will grieve God and hinder\nus. Unfulfilled desire patiently and submissively met is often a powerful\nfactor in character-building.\n\nHave you prayed for things, yearned for them, reached out after them, and\nyet your prayer is not yet answered? Have you been tempted to believe that\nit was of no use to seek for them? If you are not seeking selfishly, or if\nGod has not denied you, do not lose faith. God has said, \u201cAsk, and ye\nshall receive\u201d; and again he says, \u201cThey shall not be ashamed that wait\nfor me\u201d (Isa. 49: 23). God is faithful. He knows what is best. As a loving\nFather he watches over you. His ear is open to your cry. We are told to\n\u201crest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.\u201d Do not grow impatient, do\nnot become wrought up, but while you must wait on the Lord, rest in him.\nJeremiah tells us how to wait for God to deliver\u2014\u201cIt is good that a man\nshould both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord\u201d (Lam. 3:\n26). Think of that expression, \u201chope and quietly wait.\u201d Do not these words\nmean confidence and soul-rest? Do they not mean assurance and trust? They\ndo not mean, however, that we should be careless. They imply activity of\nfaith and desire, but they shut out fear and unbelief. The Psalmist says,\n\u201cWait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine\nheart\u201d (Psa. 27: 14). Keep up your courage while you wait, do not grow\ndespondent, be strong in faith; God will not fail.\n\nAgain, we are exhorted to \u201cwait on the Lord, and keep his way\u201d (Psa. 37:\n34). If wrongs are not righted, if persecutions continue, if, like Paul,\nwe have a \u201cthorn in the flesh\u201d and our desires are not granted, let us do\nwhat this text tells us\u2014let us \u201ckeep His way.\u201d Let us serve the Lord just\nas truly as though conditions were ideal and all our desires satisfied.\nLet us show our fidelity to God, by being true whether circumstances are\nfavorable or unfavorable. God promised Abraham the land of Canaan, but he\nwent up and down in it for many years as a stranger. His posterity went\ninto Egypt and there, under the lash of the taskmaster, they waited,\nwaited, waited. Did not they have God\u2019s promise? Had he not said that that\ngoodly land should be theirs? Why did he wait so long? Was this the way\nthat he fulfilled his promise? Had he forgotten them? Did their cries to\nhim fall on deaf ears? Their waiting was not easy. It was long and oh, how\nwearisome! Why did God wait so long, was there any adequate reason? Yes,\nwhen God waits there is always a good reason for the waiting. His acts are\nnot arbitrary; he does not act according to caprice; he acts wisely and\nwhen it is best. He tells us why he delayed in this case\u2014it was because\nthe sins of the Canaanites had not yet come to the full. When they reached\nthat point, the Lord fulfilled his promise and led the children of Israel\nout of their bondage into that goodly land.\n\nHave you learned this lesson of waiting upon the Lord? Can you commit your\nways to him and feel that if desire is still unsatisfied, if obstacles are\nnot yet removed, if trials yet bear upon you, the Father-love is not\ngrowing cold, nor his hearing dull, nor has he forgotten? In the proper\ntime and way the answer will be sure, and because of the delay the answer\nwill be fuller and will enrich you more than if it had come when first you\nasked. Wait patiently on the Lord, trust also in him, be not weary in\nwell-doing, and out of your waiting will come strength, and out of your\nsorrow will come rejoicing, and out of the bitterness will come sweetness,\nand at the end of the way you will find a crown and life everlasting.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK TWENTY-THREE. THREE NECESSARY \u201cRATIONS\u201d\n\n\nThe soul, like the body, must have something to nourish and strengthen it,\nto give it vigor and vitality. An army will have neither the strength nor\nthe courage to fight unless it has its rations. And if I may be allowed a\nplay on words, I may say that there are three rations which are very\nneedful to every Christian. Without these he must be weak and faltering\nand of little service, but with them he may be a pillar of strength in the\ntemple of God.\n\nThe first of these \u201crations\u201d is _aspiration_, or ardent desire. Strong\ndesire is one of the greatest incentives of life. To be contented as we\nare is one of the most fatal hindrances to progress and activity. There is\nnothing to stir us to action when desire is satisfied. The trouble with a\ngreat multitude of people is that they are satisfied when conditions do\nnot warrant it. If we are to make progress in the Christian life or\naccomplish anything for God, we must have strong aspirations. These are as\na spur to our energies. Aspiration is the cure for being \u201cat ease in\nZion.\u201d Aspirations are good or bad according to the motive that prompts\nthem. Some are essentially selfish, and such are necessarily evil. If we\ndesire to be or do for selfish advantage, for glory and praise; if we\naspire to be leaders, as so many religious people do, only that they may\nhave authority or honor\u2014our aspirations are evil. But each one of us owes\nit to himself and to God to desire strongly to be and to do his best for\nGod.\n\nWhat is the temperature of your spiritual aspirations today? Are you so\nwell satisfied that desire is cold and almost lifeless? or are you\nreaching out to the things that are before with an eager yearning? No\nmatter how good or how holy you may be, if you look Christward until you\nsee the depths of his submission to the Father, the length of his love for\nsouls, the heights of his lofty purity and unworldliness, the tenderness\nof his sympathy, the richness of his communion with the Father, his\nself-abnegation, his humility, and his unswerving faithfulness, your soul\nwill feel itself so immeasurably beneath Christ that you can not help\nlonging to be more like him. It will create in your soul an inexpressible\naspiration to draw further away from this old world with its trifles and\nits follies and to draw nearer to Christ, to be more like him in your\ninner life, and to act more like him in your outward life. If you look\nonly at self and self-interest, your spiritual aspirations will fade away;\nbut as you look away from self and behold Him who is altogether lovely,\nthe more you look upon him the greater will be your desire to be conformed\nto his likeness and submitted to his will.\n\nEach of us ought to desire to be our best for God. Do not be content to be\none of the \u201cweak ones,\u201d or even an average Christian. Those souls who rise\nabove the average, those who are bright lights in their communities, are\nnot the ones who are easily satisfied with their attainments, nor are they\nthe ones who are willing to be this year as they were last year or the\nyear before. You, as well as anyone else, can be a bright light if you\nwill. You can be spiritual if you will. It is not a question of God\u2019s\nblessing some more than others; it is a question of desire that spurs to\nactive effort to become spiritual.\n\nThere is much work to be done, and you have a part in that work. How great\nthat part may be depends more upon your desire to work than upon anything\nelse. Are you, like many professed Christians, willing enough for others\nto work and willing to be idle yourself? If you really _want_ to do\nsomething for the kingdom, there is something that you can do. If you are\nwilling to do anything, no matter what, God will see that you have\nsomething to do. No matter how small your task is, it is worth doing well.\nLook upon the fields, not those afar off, but those about you. All around\nyou are souls going to destruction. Forget your own concern. Look at the\nneeds about you till your heart is filled with desire for these souls,\ntill you covet them for the Master as a miser covets gold. Then you will\nfind work enough to do and strength to do it.\n\nThe second \u201cration\u201d is _inspiration_. There is so much half-hearted work,\nso much done mechanically, so much form in worship and service. What we\nneed is enthusiasm. We hear much about artistic inspiration and poetic\ninspiration, but what we really need most of all is spiritual inspiration.\nReligious forms are cold and dead until there is put into them the warmth\nof enthusiasm. Get your soul filled with this glowing warmth. It will\nlighten your tasks. It will bring success instead of failure. It will be a\nwell-spring of joy. It will make an optimist of you. It will help you\nbreak down barriers. It will enable you to surmount obstacles. It will put\nthe shout of victory in your soul in the very face of your foes. An\nenthusiastic man is a victorious man. An enthusiastic church is a\nvictorious church. Enthusiastic work and worship are filled with a\nvitality that makes them worth while.\n\nDo not be content to be a formalist. Throw yourself into your work. Go at\nthings as though you meant business. Do not be a lazy Christian. An\nindolent way of doing things can be neither joyful nor successful. The\nmore of your heart you put into your work, the more it will mean to you,\nand the more it means to you, the more you can accomplish. Have confidence\nthat you will succeed, for confidence will help you attain to your\ndesires. Your energy wisely directed has in it the very element of\nsuccess. Look at what others are accomplishing by hard work and\nperseverance. The same qualities in you will win. But keep this one thing\nin view, that without inspiration or enthusiasm you lack much of the\nwinning quality. Cultivate enthusiasm. Do with your might what your hands\nfind to do.\n\nThe third \u201cration\u201d needful is _consideration_. This serves as a balance\nfor the two former rations. Its absence has caused disaster many times.\nMany people grow very enthusiastic and aspire to great things, but because\nthey lack consideration they run into wild fanaticism and go to great\nextremes; and as a result both they and their religion lose the respect\nand confidence of the people. How especially true this is in some of the\nmodern holiness movements! Their adherents give themselves over to\nunseemly demonstrations, ignore good judgment, and teach things and do\nthings they would not if they stopped to carefully consider them.\n\nSalvation and all that pertains to it stand on the foundation of wisdom\nand good sense. Anything that is not according to these is out of harmony\nwith the true principles of religion. So we should weigh our every act and\nall our teachings in the balance of good judgment. What in our lives or\nteaching does not appeal to the sound judgment and good sense of others\nhad better be rejected. Genuine holiness, because of its reasonableness,\nappeals to the intellect and heart of every man. Extremism and fanaticism\nare not part of true religion. Throw plenty of enthusiasm into your work,\nbut see to it that that enthusiasm is held in proper channels by\nconsideration. Do not let it overflow without bounds. It is sure to run in\nthe wrong direction if you do.\n\nGod has given us the power of consideration and understanding to control\nand guide our energies. By means of these faculties we get the highest and\nbest use of our powers. To act without consideration is very often to act\nwrongly. God\u2019s acts are always wise, and to be godlike means for us to use\nwhat wisdom he gives to us.\n\nLet us be sure that we have these three needful \u201crations\u201d and that we make\nthe use of them that God has designed. We shall then be successful\nChristians and accomplish the work that it pleases God for us to do.\nAspire to be and do your best. Throw your soul into whatever you\nundertake. Be careful and considerate in all your ways, so that you \u201cshall\nneither be barren nor unfruitful,\u201d but that you \u201cshall be like a tree\nplanted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his\nseason.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK TWENTY-FOUR. A RETREAT, OR A ROUT?\n\n\nArmies often suffer defeat, but there is a great difference in the way\nthey take defeat. Sometimes an army is overcome and driven out of its\nposition, but retreats only as far as it must, then turns again upon the\nfoe to courageously renew the conflict. Other armies have been defeated,\nand in a panic have thrown away their weapons and fled in disorder. The\nfirst, though defeated, retains its honor, while the others have nothing\nbut shame.\n\nSimilar things are seen in individual lives. There are those who suffer\ntemporary defeat, but who count it only temporary and set themselves\nimmediately to the task of gathering together their forces and retrieving\nwhat they have lost. Others, when they realize a defeat, give up all as\nlost, throw down their weapons, and cease to fight. They forsake the ranks\nof God\u2019s people, sometimes for a very trifling reason, and go back into\nthe world and suffer the shame that attaches to a backslider. The serious\npart of this is that many can do such a thing and consider it a rather\nlight matter. Instead of being a light matter, turning away from God is\none of the most terrible things that a soul can do and one which is often\nfraught with the direst results and would be every time were it not for\nthe exceeding mercy of God. How it is that one who has ever truly loved\nGod can turn away from him and plunge again into the follies of the world,\ndoing those things which he knows God abhors, is more than I can\nunderstand. Sometimes those who once seemed to be quite spiritual are now\namong the most wicked, even worse than before they ever made a profession.\n\nIn one of the Southern States lived a lady who had at different times\nprofessed to be saved, but as often backslid. Her daughter, while\nconversing with me one day, said, \u201cWhen Mother goes back, she goes full\nlength to the world.\u201d She went on to tell me that when her mother gave up\nher profession she at once laid aside her plain attire and decked herself\nin jewelry and gay clothing and began attending worldly places of\namusement. She seemed to think that when she no longer claimed to be saved\nshe could cast off all restraint and ignore God\u2019s claims upon her\nentirely, and that it did not matter what she did now. Her excuse was,\n\u201cOh, I am not saved now.\u201d Just as though that changed in any degree her\nsolemn responsibility to obey God!\n\nI was talking with a man who had been a preacher. I spoke to him about\nsomething that had happened in his life on a certain occasion. He had been\nguilty of immoral conduct. He acknowledged it with apparently no sense of\nshame, saying, \u201cOh, I was not professing then.\u201d He acted as though he\nthought his past conduct made no difference in respect to his present\nstanding or influence. Some people seem to think that backsliding gives\nthem some sort of indulgence or license to act as they please. Such a view\nis equally dishonoring to God and to themselves. Sin makes a stain that\nnever can be eradicated. Do not forget this. I make the statement\nadvisedly. I am aware that many persons do not view it thus, but it is\nonly because they do not consider the question as it should be considered.\nEven the blood of Christ, all-powerful as it is, is not sufficient. This\nis not heresy; it is solemn truth, and, reader, the sooner you find it out\nthe better. It may make the matter of sin appear more serious to you. The\nblood of Christ will wash away the guilt of our sins, if we truly repent\nand believe, and our hearts may be made as pure as though we had never\nsinned; but the stain of it lies ever upon our memory, and its somber\nshadow lies upon our life whenever memory calls it to view. No doubt that\nshadow will be as eternal as our souls.\n\nIts stain also lies upon our reputation. Men do not forget such things. If\nyou backslide and go into sin, you may obtain salvation again through the\nforbearance of God, but you can not get away from the stigma of your\nbacksliding. The sins you committed may be forgiven by the saints, for\n\u201ccharity shall cover a multitude of sins,\u201d but the world neither forgets\nnor forgives. The preacher who, after he has preached to others to live\nright, goes into sin, can not expect repentance to put him back where he\nwas before, except in the mercy of God. He will have his sin to live down.\nHis words will have lost their power. His influence will have greatly\nsuffered.\n\nThis is true of others as well as of preachers. David was a man of God; he\nsinned, and to this day men despise him for it. The skeptic and the\ninfidel cease not to point to the sad spectacle. The one sin of Peter in\ndenying his Lord stands out today as a dark stain upon his life. O my\nfriend, if you have been defeated in your Christian life, if you have lost\nthe sacred treasure of salvation from your heart, I adjure you today that\nyou do not throw away everything, but value at their true worth the things\nthat remain to you, and hold them fast. In your righteous life you formed\nmany good habits; do not turn away from them, hold fast to them. You had a\nthankful and appreciative heart toward God; do not become hard and\nthankless. You had a reverence for holy things; do not let it go. You had\na desire to please God; keep that desire still warm in your bosom. Keep\nyour face turned Godward, not worldward, and make your way back to him at\nonce.\n\nSometimes people sin against God, then immediately cease their profession\nand just drift along day after day, making no effort to obtain\nforgiveness. They think they will \u201cget saved again\u201d when some evangelist\ncomes to hold a revival. We often see reports of meetings saying that so\nmany \u201cbacksliders were reclaimed.\u201d This expression tells a sad story of\nsuch careless living before God that it makes one\u2019s heart sad to\ncontemplate it. If Satan gets advantage of you, or your foot slips in your\nupward climb, do not let go all holds and go clear to the bottom into the\npit of sin, there to lie carelessly; do not lose an inch more than you can\nhelp losing. If you have sinned, resolutely determine that you will not\nadd to it another sin. Repent of the one committed and press your way\nright back to God; do not wait for some preacher; do not wait for\nanything; return to God. To drift along and wait is folly. It is giving\nSatan all the chance he needs.\n\nOne of the most hurtful ideas existing among us today is, that one sin\nputs a man back in the same place where he was before he was saved.\nNothing could be more false; nothing could more obscure what salvation has\ndone for him. Nothing could tend more to make him indifferent and\ncareless. I want to oppose that idea with all my strength, for it is\nSatan\u2019s lie. When a man sins he becomes guilty, but the good character\nthat has been built up, the pure feelings and desires, the right habits of\nthought and action, the Christian point of view to which he has\nattained\u2014these are all a wealth that he still possesses. They are\nsomething of exceeding value, which in a large measure still remain in his\npossession. They are, however, in serious danger. If he persists in sin,\nhe will lose them all; but if he recovers himself in time, he will save\nthem.\n\nI offer no excuse for sin; it is terrible, and how quickly its deadly\ninfection spreads through all the being! Fear it as you would fear a\nplague. If you have sinned, make your way back to God at once before that\nsin shall \u201cincrease to more ungodliness.\u201d If you are a backslider, do not\nthink that it does not matter what you do; for it does matter greatly. Do\nnot add sin to sin, increasing your guilt; but let the fear of God be upon\nyour heart. If you are overcome, do not let yourself be routed. Do not\nthrow away your weapons in a panic, but turn again and face the foe and\nfight him until the victory comes, until you regain what you have lost,\nuntil you stand \u201cmore than conqueror through him that loved us.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK TWENTY-FIVE. MY DREAM MESSAGE\n\n\nSolomon says that dreams come \u201cthrough the multitude of business.\u201d Our\nnight thoughts are like our day thoughts, except that our faculties being\npartly asleep, our dreams usually lack the coherence and the\nreasonableness of our waking thoughts. God does occasionally, at rare\nintervals, operate upon men\u2019s minds to cause them to dream something; but\neven the prophets with whom he thus communicated more than with ordinary\nmen received such messages only now and then, and their other dreams had\nno significance.\n\nMany people are always trying to find some hidden meaning in their dreams.\nIf they have some peculiar dream, they try to interpret it or to get\nsomebody else to do so. Now, God is reasonable. He knows that we can\nbetter comprehend when we are awake than when we are asleep; so he usually\ncommunicates with us during our waking hours. We sometimes have very\nstriking dreams, but this does not signify that the Lord originated them.\nI have known people to act very unwisely as the result of following\ndreams. One night a preacher, who was holding a series of meetings,\ndreamed of having a terrible fight with a great snake. When he awoke, he\nfelt that surely the Lord was trying to show him something. He interpreted\nthe dream to mean that somebody in the congregation was represented by\nthat snake. The next day he told his dream in the meeting and said that he\nthought he knew who the snake was. He began acting upon his supposition.\nThe result was that at least two of the congregation backslid over it, and\nthe whole church was thrown into confusion.\n\nA dream is a dream, and possibly not more than one in ten thousand come\nfrom God. There are times, however, when we may learn good lessons from\nour dream thoughts as well as from our waking thoughts. One such dream I\nonce had, and the lesson I derived from it has been good for my soul. I\ndreamed that I stood beside a gigantic wild rosebush. In my hand I held\none of the beautiful fragrant flowers. I looked at it and drank in its\nrich perfume, but I saw a great number of flowers, and I desired more than\nthe one, so I held it in my left hand and began to reach up for others.\nThey were very high, so I pressed against the outer limbs and stretched to\nmy utmost, but they were too high; I could not get them. I stepped back\nfrom the bush. As I did so, my gaze fell upon the rose in my hand just in\ntime to see its petals fall to the ground. In stretching for those beyond\nmy reach, I had ruined the one that was already mine. I gazed upon the\nempty stem in my hand and at the bruised petals upon the ground with a\nfeeling of regret.\n\nThe scene changed. I sat at a desk with pencil and paper, and in my dream\nwrote these words: \u201cIf you have but one rose, enjoy it to the full. Do not\nlet its perfume be wasted upon the empty air, and its beauty go unnoticed,\nwhile you spend your time in vain longing for the unattainable.\u201d When I\nawoke I wrote down the words that I had written in my dream, and through\nthe years they have preached to me many a sermon.\n\nHow natural it is for us to forget what we have while we look at others\nwhom we think to be more fortunate! We look at the blessings that others\nenjoy and forget to be thankful for our own. We look at others\u2019\npossessions, and because they are greater than ours, we fail to appreciate\nwhat we have. Our position in life may be very humble, but however humble,\nour life is full of blessings if we but have eyes to see them.\n\nWhen I had this dream, my health was gone, and I lay alone in my bed\nthroughout the long hours of the day while my wife was away working for\nour support. My eyes were so I could read but a very little. We had two\nrooms in a house with another family. All around us were people with\nhealth and plenty. I could easily realize the difference between my\nsituation and theirs. Sometimes I would look out of the window and see\npeople passing, strong and vigorous and care-free. I would hear the gay\nlaughter and the sound of happy voices, while I\u2014there I lay suffering and\nalone. How easy it was to see their blessings! and in seeing theirs, how\neasy it was to forget my own!\n\nBut this dream came upon the morning of my birthday; and as I lay there\nthinking it over, I determined that in the coming year I would not let my\none rose be spoiled because I was reaching for that which was beyond my\nreach. I decided to enjoy my own blessings. If others were more blessed\nthan I, should I not rejoice in the fact? Longing to be like them would\nnot make me so. If I had but little to enjoy, I would enjoy that little.\nSo I began to look at my blessings, and as I looked them over I found them\ngreater than I had supposed. I had many things to give me comfort. I had\nfood to satisfy my hunger. I had a home and clothing. I had the loving\ncare of a faithful wife. I had kind friends who gave to me freely of their\nsympathy and who were ready to grant my every wish so far as it lay in\ntheir power. Better than all else, I had the peace of God in my heart. I\nbegan to realize that my state might be far worse.\n\nThe more I thought, the more I saw for which to be thankful. The more I\nconsidered my blessings, the more I appreciated them. And many a time\nsince have I looked out upon the passers-by or listened to their\nmerriment, and have said to myself, \u201cI would not exchange places with you;\nfor I am saved; I have the treasure of God\u2019s love; I have the presence of\nthe Holy Spirit; I have the joys of salvation; I have a mansion in\nheaven.\u201d I knew that most of the passers-by did not have these things, and\nso I was blessed more than they. What were health and strength when put to\na wrong use? What were temporal blessings that ministered only to\nselfishness? What were the joy and gaiety that ignored God? What were the\npleasures of sin, when they only laid up a harvest of sorrow? Ah no, I had\nno reason to envy them, for my blessings were greater and would not fade\naway like mist before the sun.\n\nMy brother, my sister, you may be happy in your own little corner if you\nwill learn the lesson of enjoying what you have. Learn to be content with\ncommon things. Learn that the truest joy does not come from external\nthings. It springs spontaneously from a contented heart. If God wills that\nyou be situated as you are, will he not make you happy where you are? The\nBible says, \u201cGodliness with contentment is great gain ... Having food and\nraiment let us be therewith content\u201d (1 Tim. 6: 6-8). You may not have\nmuch of this world\u2019s goods; you may not have many talents; your blessings\nmay seem few; but remember my dream message\u2014\u201cIf you have but one rose,\nenjoy it to the full.\u201d If another has both hands filled, he may enjoy them\nless than you enjoy your one, unless you look with envious eyes. Sometimes\na little perfume is sweeter than an abundance. Do not spend your days in\nvain longing. Do not despise what you have because it is not greater.\nCultivate the habit of thankfulness and appreciation. Be glad for what you\nhave. Be contented. Better your condition if you can, but do not spoil\nwhat you have in reaching for more. If you have but one talent, use it for\nthe Lord and be thankful for it. Do not depreciate it because others have\nseveral talents. Use it and be content. Happiness consists not in the\nthings we have, but in our appreciation and use of them. So enjoy your one\nrose. Drink in its sweet perfume; gaze upon its beauteous colors. Enjoy it\nto the full.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK TWENTY-SIX. WHEN GOD WITHDRAWS HIMSELF\n\n\nA mother sat quietly in her easy chair. Upon the floor near her was her\nlittle one playing\u2014piling his blocks one upon another, then throwing them\ndown and laughing in childish glee. He was all absorbed in his play. The\nmother gazed upon him with her eyes beaming. Presently she began to call\nhim, \u201cBaby, come to Mama! Baby, Baby, come to Mama!\u201d but he played on\nunheeding. Again she called, but he paid no attention; his mind was\noccupied with his own affairs.\n\nPresently the mother quietly slipped from her chair and went into an\nadjoining room, out of the baby\u2019s sight. He did not notice her go. He\nsupposed that she was right there and that he could go to her at any time;\nbut happening to glance up from his play, he saw that the chair was empty.\nThe laughter ceased at once, and a cloud came over his features; he turned\nand looked all around the room, but his mama was not in sight. He saw only\na stranger sitting in an easy chair. A pang of startled fear passed\nthrough him, and he began to cry and call very earnestly, in his baby way,\nfor his mama.\n\nIt brought a quick response. The mother, leaving her concealment, rushed\nto him quickly, picked him up, and hugged him tightly to her bosom. His\nchubby baby arms were clasped about her neck as though he would never let\nher go. Soon the tears were gone and the baby\u2019s face lay against that of\nthe mother, while the joy of the mother-heart caused the eyes to shine\nlike stars.\n\nNow, the mother did not go away from the child because she did not love\nit, or because she thought that it did not love her; but she wanted to\ndraw its attention away from its little concerns to herself. She wanted to\nshow her affection for it and to receive its baby caresses in return.\n\nLike that little one, we sometimes become so absorbed in our own\npleasures, our work, or some little personal interest, that God can not\nattract our attention. His father-heart yearns for a season of communion\nwith us. He wants to show his love to us and receive, in turn, our love\nand communion. But we do not heed him; we are too busy with other things;\nand so he quietly withdraws himself, and we become aware that we are\nalone. With that presence gone, how lonely we feel! How dark the world\nsuddenly grows! How quickly we lose interest in the things that held our\nattention before! How we yearn for his presence again! how our hearts\nreach out for him! how our tears start! We think, \u201cWhat have we done that\ncaused him to leave us? have we grieved away his Spirit? have we sinned\nagainst him?\u201d But ah! he is not gone far; he is just beyond our vision. He\nis watching; he is waiting for our hearts to be drawn back to himself.\n\nThe mother would not have left her child if by leaving she would have\nplaced him in danger. She did not mean to stay away. So God knows that to\nleave us thus is not to expose us to danger. He is watching, waiting\nanxiously the moment when he may return; and ah! when he does return and\ntakes us in his bosom, what words of comfort he speaks! what tender\naffection he shows! and how our hearts are melted and poured out in\nthanksgiving and adoration before him! If God apparently withdraws from\nus, it is only because he sees that we need to be left alone for a season.\nHe sees that the heart must be drawn away from selfish interest; and when\nthis is accomplished, he comes back and reveals to us anew the fulness and\nrichness of his love.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK TWENTY-SEVEN. WHAT HAPPENED TO SOLOMON\n\n\nIn his early manhood Solomon was noted for his deep piety and his fervent\nlove of righteousness. When he became king, he found a great work ready\nfor his hand, and he set about the task with a glad heart. To build a\ntemple to Jehovah was his delight, and he threw into it his whole\nstrength. His prayer at the dedication of the temple shows a deeply\nreverent and submissive spirit.\n\nAs the years went by he increased in riches and honor. His name became a\nsynonym for wisdom. Many nations paid him tribute. But notwithstanding all\nthese things, his heart held true to God. During these years he had, I\nsuppose, no thought but that he should continue thus until the end, that\nhe should live his life out as a true servant of Jehovah, and that his\nlife\u2019s sun would go down in a blaze of glory. But alas! it was not so to\nbe. We who know his history know the dark shadow that came over his life.\nWe know how its radiance faded away into the night. We shall do well to\nanalyze the things that led to his downfall.\n\nThere was no change in Jehovah. There was no change in Solomon\u2019s duty\ntoward him. The change that led to the disaster was in Solomon himself.\nFor political reasons Solomon married princesses of the royal houses round\nabout him. These women were idolaters. Jehovah they regarded as only the\nnational God of the Hebrews. They still clung to their old religions, and\nworshiped the gods of their nations. Their feelings and sentiments were\nall in favor of idolatrous worship. These influences Solomon withstood for\na long time. His heart held true to God; but these influences kept on\nworking. He was in daily contact with them, and little by little they\ngained a hold upon him; consequently we read, \u201cIt came to pass, when\nSolomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods:\nand his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of\nDavid his father\u201d (1 Kings 11: 4). As a result, the man who had been so\nhonored by God and who had so honored God became an idolater and put his\nLord to an open shame and drew away into the same net of idolatry many of\nhis people.\n\nWhat a lesson there is in this for us! What a warning is there in his\nexample! When young Christians marry sinners in these days, the final\nresult is generally pretty much the same as it was with Solomon. But it is\nnot only through such marriages that hearts are turned away from the Lord:\nthere are many other things that will influence us likewise if we are not\ncareful. We are strongly influenced by the actions of others. That\ninfluence is constantly working, whether we are conscious of it or not. In\nthe life of Joash we see an example of the power of influence. He was\nbrought up by Jehoiada, the high priest, who was a man that feared God;\nand as a result of the influence brought to bear upon the young king, he\ngrew up to be a man who feared God, and who, during the lifetime of\nJehoiada, did that which was right and good in the sight of the Lord. He\nwas a good king as long as he had a good teacher and was under proper\ninfluence; but at last Jehoiada died, and other influences were brought to\nbear upon the king. He yielded to them; and instead of continuing to be a\ngodly king, he became a wicked one. Thus, his life experience is parallel\nto that of Solomon. They were glorious in their youth and young manhood;\nbut in their old days they dishonored their God and themselves, and in\nconsequence their sun went down in darkness, and their lives were blighted\nand sullied.\n\nWith these two examples before us, we shall do well to give heed to the\nscripture that says, \u201cLet him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he\nfall.\u201d When we are serving the Lord, it is natural for us to suppose that\nwe shall go right on to the end. We do not think that we shall yield to\nany influence that will draw us away from the Lord. But alas, how many,\nlike Solomon, are having their hearts turned away by the influences that\nare brought to bear upon them! Solomon himself said, \u201cKeep thy heart with\nall diligence,\u201d but he failed to do this. The silent and subtile workings\nof those evil influences wrought in his heart something that he did not\nknow was taking place. He did not realize that he was being alienated from\nGod; but presently his love had waxed cold, his zeal had abated. To him\nthe God of Israel became only as one of the other gods.\n\nThere are influences brought to bear upon you each day and each hour, my\nbrother, my sister. Do you know what these influences are? Do you know how\nthey are working? Do you know what effect they are having upon your heart\nand your life? upon your thoughts and your soul\u2019s attitude? Are you\ndiligently guarding yourself against every evil influence? Look into your\nlife and see if there is any evil influence to which you have been\ngradually and unconsciously yielding. Has the world been getting closer to\nyou through the years? Has it more attraction for you than it had in the\ndays gone by? Do its pride and vanity, its frivolity and ungodliness, seem\nless obnoxious to you than it has heretofore? Does sin seem a lighter\nthing to you than it used to? Does the Word of God take less hold upon\nyour conscience now than formerly? Is the voice of duty speaking in your\nsoul in the same clear terms as before? and does it find your soul as\nready to respond? Are the service and worship of God still so sweet and\nsatisfying? Is it your delight to give of your substance for the spread of\nthe gospel? or has covetousness, little by little, been working into your\nheart until it has taken root there? Do you love material things less or\nmore than formerly? Is your consecration just as real and just as complete\nas it was?\n\nIf you are coming short in any of these things, what has been the\ninfluence that has worked to bring it about? Make a good, careful\nexamination of the situation. If you have been drifting, beware lest your\nheart be entirely turned away from the Lord. Find out what influences are\nworking. Watch and defend your heart against them; overcome their\ninfluences; counteract their powers; stand for God. It is only in this way\nthat you can serve him to the end faithfully, and that you can be\ntriumphant when the call comes for you to stand before his presence.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK TWENTY-EIGHT. FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH\n\n\nPaul said, \u201cFight the good fight of faith.\u201d This world is a battle-ground\nof spiritual forces. If we are spiritual beings, it is impossible that we\nshould hold ourselves neutral and stand apart from those forces that are\nin conflict. We must stand on one side or the other of the battle array.\nJesus has said, \u201cHe that is not with me is against me.\u201d Since we must be\nin the conflict whether we will to be or not, it behooves us to be on the\nright side. When we know that we are on the right side, then the thing of\ngreatest importance to us is the method of our warfare. Since we wrestle\nnot against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers of\nevil, it is not strange that our weapons should be \u201cnot carnal\u201d weapons,\nwhich are effective against material foes, but those spiritual weapons\nthat are \u201cmighty through God.\u201d\n\nOne great outstanding fact in this battle of life is that it is\nnecessarily a battle of faith. As I observe some people\u2019s methods of\ntrying to fight this Christian warfare, it seems to me that they are\nrather fighting the fight of unbelief, or of doubts. Instead of being\nconfident with the confidence that true faith gives, they are all the time\nfearful. They are never certain they are going to win. They are never\ncertain that their methods are going to prevail. They are always trembling\nand uncertain. When they do gain a victory, it seems more like a piece of\ngood fortune than the result of their fighting. When they see a conflict\ncoming, they shrink from it and look for some way to evade it. They are\nfilled with fear of the outcome. Sometimes they fight in desperation and\nwin; and when they see that they have won, they are surprized. They were\nalmost sure that they would lose the battle; they were almost certain of\ndefeat, but in some way they won. That victory, however, does not give\nthem much courage to meet the next conflict. They meet it with the same\nfearfulness, with the same unbelief, with the same doubt. There is not the\njoyful note of victory in their song. They do not face the future with\nconfident expectation of winning. They are continually harassed with their\ndoubts; they are constantly troubled with forebodings. It is better to\nfight thus than not to fight at all, but there is a better way than this\nto fight.\n\nFaith is the mightiest of all weapons. When our spirits are armed with\nfaith, we may go confidently into any battle. We may have expectation of\nwinning. We may know before we fight that victory is ours. We may face our\nadversary with calm confidence and with a consciousness of an indwelling\npower that is greater than his power. Has not God said, \u201cGreater is he\nthat is in you, than he that is in the world\u201d? If our faith claims that to\nbe so, then God will make it so to us.\n\nWe must have faith in God. He is our leader. The army that does not have\nconfidence in the ability and courage of its leader is half defeated\nbefore it goes into battle. Most of us, I think, have confidence in God\u2019s\nability as a leader, and in his power and wisdom, and believe that he is\nable to overcome our foes. It is not his ability that we doubt. The only\nquestion that confronts us is, \u201cWill he use that power to conquer our\nenemies?\u201d We see that he has made many promises. It is easy to believe, in\na general way, that they will be fulfilled; but when it comes to making\ndirect applications to the situations that we meet, it is there that faith\nsometimes fails. Will God fight for us on this special occasion? Will God\nhelp us now? Will he really make good his word to us? or will he fail us\nin the critical moment?\n\nIf God\u2019s promises are true, then the ones that relate to our particular\nneeds are true, and they are true now. If they are true to others, they\nare true to us, for God is no respecter of persons. And if they are true\nto us, they are true to us now as well as they were yesterday or will be\ntomorrow. It is so easy to think that God would help others. They are more\nworthy than we are. Do you feel this way? Do you feel that if it were\nsomebody else in your place, you could easily have faith that God would\nhelp? Then, why not have faith that God will help you?\n\nThis brings us to the next important thought: We must have faith in\nourselves as well as in God. We must have faith in our integrity and\nloyalty. Do we mean real business for God? Have we thrown ourselves\nunreservedly on the side of God in this battle? Do we intend with all our\nsouls to fight the good fight of faith? Do we have it really settled that\nwe are going to do the right? So many _want_ to do the right, but they are\nnot sure that they _will_ do it. They mean to do it, but they are\nconstantly afraid that they will fail in doing it. This is not faith. Have\nconfidence in yourself; not only in your loyalty and integrity and purpose\nto serve God, but also in your ability to do it. You can do it. You can do\nit as well as anyone else. That doubt and fearfulness that you have will\nonly be a hindrance to you. Get rid of it. Develop confidence in\nyourself\u2014not overconfidence that depends upon yourself, but that true\nconfidence that depends upon God helping you and that arms you with\ncourage and trust in God and in yourself.\n\nYou must also have confidence in your weapons. Our weapons are \u201cmighty\nthrough God,\u201d we are told. God has told you how to win; and just as surely\nas you follow his instructions and trust in him for results, he will cause\nyou to wear the victor\u2019s crown. Our cause is a righteous one. Have faith\nin that cause, and know that right must triumph. But remember that you can\nnot win unless you put your faith into your fighting. \u201cThis is the victory\nthat overcometh the world, even your faith.\u201d Believe that you will win. No\nmatter how weak you are, no matter how great your foe, no matter what may\nconfront you, go into the conflict with that courage that is born of\nfaith. Believe that God will give you the victory. Do not consider defeat\nat all. Let your faith mount up, and say: \u201cI can win, and I will win. In\nGod I will conquer.\u201d Throw away your doubts. Make an end of them. Trust in\nGod. His Word is true. You can believe it if you will, and believing it,\nyou shall be more than conqueror through him that loves you.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK TWENTY-NINE. HOW ARE YOUR EAR CONNECTIONS?\n\n\nA telephone must be properly connected with where the person is to whom we\nwish to communicate, or it will be of no value to us. If the connection is\nbroken, or the receiver out of order, it will be useless for us to talk\ninto the transmitter: the person at the other end will hear none of our\nwords. We may speak just the same as though he were hearing, but nothing\nwill be accomplished. There must be a proper connection: there must be a\nresponsive vibration at the other end of the wire.\n\nIt is just so in spiritual things. One of the most important things is to\nhave our ears properly connected with our hearts. We have often heard the\nexpression, \u201cIt just went in at one ear and out at the other.\u201d By this is\nmeant that the one who heard gave no heed. How often this occurs in regard\nto the things of God!\n\nWhen it comes to gossip and idle tales and foolish conversation and things\nof that sort, we ought to let such go \u201cin at one ear and out at the\nother\u201d; we should be very careful that they find no lodging-place in our\nhearts. That is the only safe way for our souls. But too often these\nthings are given a place in the heart and mind: there is too good a\nconnection, and many times there is only too ready a response in the heart\nfor such things. That is why some people can never keep spiritual, and are\nalways lagging behind others. People who have such a good connection and\nresponsiveness in their hearts on these lines usually have very poor\nconnection between their ears and their hearts when it comes to the\nteachings of the Word of God. They can hear the Word preached on almost\nany subject, and not seem to think it means them. They go along in their\nlives just as they had been doing before. They feel no particular\nresponsibility to obey. They can go on just as if they had never heard,\nand still profess, and possibly shout occasionally.\n\nThere were times when Israel had their connection broken. God said to the\nprophet of old, \u201cThey hear thy words, but they will not do them.\u201d So many\ntimes people say, \u201cWas not that a good sermon today?\u201d Why, yes, how they\nenjoyed it! But they go their way and give no further heed to what was\nsaid. However, in the popular pulpits of today the preachers too often\nhold this attitude: \u201cThis is my opinion of things. You may take it or let\nit alone, just as you please; you have a right to your own opinions about\nit.\u201d And there are a great many people who act upon this idea. They feel\nthat they can take a thing or let it alone, just as they please\u2014even when\nthe words preached are the judgments of God. Many hold that attitude not\nonly toward preaching but toward the Bible also. They read, or hear read,\nwhat it says about worldliness, foolish actions and conversation, the\nwearing of gold for adornment; they read about being patient and holy and\nblameless, about not returning evil for evil, and about speaking evil of\nno man; yet they go right on doing the things forbidden, just as though\nthe Book said nothing. They do not take it to heart. The trouble is, the\nconnections between their ears and their hearts are broken as far as these\nthings of God are concerned.\n\nThe Bible warns us to take heed how we hear. If we do not treat the\npreaching of God\u2019s Word reverently, and listen with reverent hearts to his\nmessages, it is because we do not reverence him. It is because in our\nhearts we are lifted up against him. That attitude of \u201cI shall take or\nleave alone, just as I please\u201d is one of the very worst attitudes that can\nbe held. Not only is it dishonoring to God, but it is exceedingly\ndangerous.\n\nSometimes such an attitude of heart is partly, at least, the result of the\nway the preacher preaches. If a man has a message from God, he has\nauthority to preach that message as the word of God, and he should so\npreach it. Every true gospel preacher should be imbued with the feeling:\n\u201cI am preaching the truth of God. It is your duty to hear it; I expect you\nto hear it; and hear it you must.\u201d Let him hold this attitude in his heart\nand mind, and then let him enforce upon his congregation by proper\ndisciplinary methods the truth that he preaches. If the preacher feels his\nauthority as God\u2019s spokesman as he ought to feel it, the people will be\nimpressed\u2014they can not help it. It is true that they may rebel, grow\nstubborn, or disobey; they may shut his words out from their hearts; but\nnevertheless he is clear, and they only increase their responsibility, of\nwhich they must give an account to God. Paul believed that preaching and\nteaching should be with \u201call authority.\u201d This does not imply mere human\nrule, but divine authority\u2014God speaking through the man.\n\nWhen the heart does not hear and feel, there is always a reason. One\nreason is self-will. People do not like to be told what to do. They like\nto be masters of themselves. God\u2019s government demands complete surrender\nof self-will and must of necessity do so. If we will be his servants, it\nis not for us to choose what our lives shall be, nor what we shall say,\nnor what we shall do. It is his right to command; it is our part to hear\nand to obey. To hear and then to heed just as we please is setting up our\nauthority above his. The two ideas of service and self-will are opposed\nthe one to the other. Self-will always means rebellion against God\u2019s will.\nTherefore if a person chooses what he will do, and leaves undone what he\nfinds distasteful, he, and not God, is the master. This self-willed\ndisposition is very noticeable among nominal professors of religion. They\nprofess to be God\u2019s servants, and yet they set their wills not to do\ncertain things that they ought to do, or else to do certain things that\nthey ought not to do. They have their minds and hearts set in the matter.\nWhen they hear the Word of God preached on matters predetermined by them,\nit falls on unhearing ears. There is no response of the heart.\n\nAnother reason is love of ease\u2014indolence. People hear the voice of duty,\nbut they do not respond to it because they do not wish to make the\nnecessary effort. They do not let their hearts be pressed by a sense of\nduty on that particular point, because to obey they must arouse themselves\nfrom their indolent attitude.\n\nOne symptom showing that the heart does not hear is unbelief. One reason\nwhy the Jews did not believe Christ was because their hearts were so hard,\nand that is one reason why people do not hear the gospel in these days.\nThis is not confined to non-professing sinners; it is a very common thing\namong church-members.\n\nReader, how is it with you? Are you one of those who have the connection\nbroken between the ears and the heart? or have you listening ears and a\nfeeling heart? When you hear the Word of God preached on certain subjects,\ncan you slight it? or does it sink deep into your conscience and take hold\nthere and produce fruit in your life? Are you ready to live by every word\nof God? Or do you want to take only that which suits your views? If the\nlatter is true in your case, you are in a dangerous condition. God has the\nword preached, not simply to entertain people, but that they may obey it.\nThe soul who delights in God\u2019s will does not have to be compelled to\nlisten, nor does he have to be compelled to obey; he is ready both to hear\nand to obey. If there is something wrong with the connection between your\nears and your heart, you had better get one of God\u2019s \u201ctrouble men\u201d to look\nafter it at once; or, better still, go direct to God and have the\nconnection remade. Get your heart taught to feel as it ought to feel, and\nto respond as it ought to respond. Be not a hearer only, but be a doer of\nGod\u2019s Word.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK THIRTY. FRET NOT THYSELF\n\n\nTo fret means to chafe, to be irritated, to be uneasy, to be troubled and\nbothered. It is just the opposite of peaceful, trustful rest. Jesus has\npromised us rest to our souls, and we may have this rest. We can not have\nit, however, if we give place to worrying and fretting. God\u2019s purpose for\nus is that we shall have calmness and soul-quietness, even in the midst of\ntribulation. He has said, \u201cMy peace I give unto you.\u201d He followed this by\nsaying, \u201cLet not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful\u201d (John\n14: 27). (These and all following quotations are from the American\nStandard Version.)\n\nIt is not God\u2019s will that we be continually worrying. This world is full\nof things that are not as they ought to be, and if we are to be happy and\npeaceful we must adjust ourselves to circumstances and learn to be happy\nin spite of the things that are displeasing to us, that are not as they\nought to be. We can never be amidst ideal conditions in this world.\n\nFretting is like sand in a bearing; it is likely to make all sorts of\ntrouble. It will use up the energy that we ought to be using for something\nelse; it will keep our physical and spiritual nerves on edge; it will\nspoil the tranquility of our lives; it will mar our peace and take the\nsweetness out of our devotions.\n\nSome people are always worrying about the wrongdoings of others. They fret\nand grieve, and can not remove the subject from their minds nor the burden\nfrom their hearts. The Bible says, \u201cFret not thyself because of\nevil-doers\u201d (Psa. 37: 1). Many people choose to do wrong; many people do\nwrong to themselves and to others, including God\u2019s people. Of course, we\ncan not rejoice over this, but we should not let it spoil our own lives.\nWe should not fret about it. We should have a proper concern for the\nwelfare of their souls, so that we shall earnestly pray for them and do\nall in our power to cause them to do better, but this is very different\nfrom being fretful, from worrying and bothering ourselves continually. If\nwe keep our eyes on the wickedness of others and continually grieve over\nit, we shall have no time to be joyful ourselves, we shall have no time to\nlive our life with God.\n\nPsalm 37 further says, \u201cFret not thyself because of him who prospereth in\nhis way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass\u201d (v. 7).\nWhat all of us need to learn is to let God bear his own responsibilities.\nHe tells us what to do in the first part of the verse\u2014\u201cRest in Jehovah,\nand wait patiently for him.\u201d If evil-doers prosper, if they seem even more\nprosperous than the righteous, if they seem to get along without trouble,\nwe should not be bothered over that. That is God\u2019s business. We see a\ngreat many evil things going on, and we should like to stop them. They\ngrieve us in spirit, and this is but natural. But we ought not to fret\nourselves over them. There is a vast difference between godly concern and\nhuman worry, and we need to learn this difference clearly. To be concerned\nabout such things, and to pray earnestly for God to overcome them and put\na stop to them, is all very well; but when it comes to fretting over them\nand worrying and being bothered, this is quite another thing. We should\nnever let these things mar the peace of our souls. God means for us to\nhave peace and be thankful right here in the midst of all this wickedness.\n\nHe tells us why we should not fret. \u201cFret not thyself; it tendeth only to\nevil-doing\u201d (v. 8). Fretfulness has a tendency to make us doubt God and\nhis wisdom: how natural for us to think that if we had the power that he\nhas we would put a stop to such things. It has a tendency to make us\nmurmur and to be dissatisfied. It is likely to discourage us; and when we\nare discouraged, we are likely to murmur against the way things appear to\nbe going. Fretfulness is almost certain to take the sweetness out of our\nhearts and out of our communion with God. It will lead to a loss of\nspirituality. It will rob us of spiritual tone.\n\nWhen we are fretting we may think that we are doing the best we can, but\nwe are not. We may think that we can not help fretting, but we can. There\nis a way in which we may possess control of ourselves and cast the burden\nof the responsibility upon God, and he will bear it if we do thus. We have\nto decide that we will be happy no matter what happens, no matter what the\nconduct of others may be, no matter what obstacles they place in our way,\nno matter what burdens they may throw upon us. We will be happy anyway,\nbecause God has willed that we should be happy. If we see things going\nwrong we should take the burden to the Lord, saying: \u201cLord, thou must bear\nthe responsibility of these things. My shoulders were not made to bear\nthese burdens. They are thine. I give them over to thee. If anything is to\nbe accomplished, thou must do it.\u201d Then we must take our hands off. We\nmust let the thing go, treat it as something that is none of our business,\nand let God handle the situation.\n\nAgain, he said, \u201cNeither be thou envious against them that work\nunrighteousness.\u201d It is so easy to look upon those who are rich and who\nare not using their money for God, and think, \u201cI wish I had their money;\nhow much good I might do with it!\u201d Or perhaps when we see talented people\nof the world, we might say, \u201cOh, if I had the ability they have, I would\nuse it for the Lord!\u201d God does not want us to do this; that is, to envy\nthem their riches or their talents. It is all right for us to wish that we\nhad more money or greater talents to use for the Lord, but it is not right\nto be envious of others. Even wishing that we had more is a waste of time.\nThe thing that is important is that we use what we do have.\n\nIf we are given to letting ourselves worry and fret over things that\nothers do toward us, it is often an incentive to them to try to make us\ntrouble. We see a good illustration of this in the life of Hannah. Elkanah\nhad two wives. Peninnah had a number of children, but Hannah was\nchildless. Peninnah took advantage of this to reproach Hannah, and it is\nsaid she \u201cprovoked her sore, to make her fret\u201d (1 Sam. 1: 6). There are\nsome people who delight in twitting others about some fault or physical\ndefect, or because of lack of ability or something of that sort. If they\nsee that this causes us to fret, it only increases their desire to provoke\nus. Then again, some people like to make sport of others, and tease them;\nand if they see that some one can not hear it well, if it frets him and\nworries him, this only increases their delight. I have heard such people\nsay, \u201cI just like to tease So-and-so; he can not stand it at all.\u201d Saints,\nof course, should never do such a thing as that; they should have more\nregard for the feelings of others. But sinners will do such things. We may\nexpect it. Therefore, the thing to do is to learn not to fret over it, but\nto submit our ways to God and bear it patiently.\n\nNever allow yourself to fret over anything. Fretting never helps. It\nalways hinders. Learn to commit these things to God. Cast your burdens\nupon him\u2014and do not try to bear his burdens. Learn to be happy in spite of\nyour difficulties. Keep your own soul-life separated from these\ntroublesome things. God will help you, and you can make a success. He\ncommands you not to fret, and he will give you grace to keep from doing\nit.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK THIRTY-ONE. BEING EASILY ENTREATED\n\n\nNot long since I saw in the report of a meeting a statement something like\nthis: \u201cThe brethren were easily entreated, and so all personal\ndifficulties were easily settled.\u201d One of the greatest problems that\nministers meet and one that requires the most patience and wisdom is the\nproblem of settling personal difficulties. These difficulties are often\nfound existing between those professing to be Christians. And sometimes\nthey are very hard to get settled. There is just one reason for this:\nthose involved are not \u201ceasy to be entreated.\u201d James tells us that this is\na quality of that \u201cwisdom that is from above.\u201d The quality of being easily\nentreated is a mark of true piety and of a Christlike spirit. Where it is\nwanting, spirituality is always below normal. It is not hard to settle\ntroubles if people want to have them settled; for if they really want them\nsettled, they are willing to settle them the right way. Peace and harmony\nmean more to them than any other consideration, except truth. Division and\ndiscord can not exist unless people are willing to have it so; that is,\nunless one or both parties place a higher value upon something else than\nthey do upon peace and harmony.\n\nAbraham is an example of a man who is easily entreated. When strife arose\nbetween his herdmen and those of Lot, it grieved him, and he said to Lot,\n\u201cLet there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my\nherdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren\u201d (Gen. 13: 8). He therefore\nproposed to give Lot his choice of all the land and to take what was left.\n\nWhat does it mean to be easily entreated? It means to be kind and just and\nreasonable and self-sacrificing in one\u2019s attitude toward others. The man\nwho possesses this quality habitually manifests this temper in his life.\nThere are those who are very tenacious of their rights. They feel that\npeople do not respect those rights as they should; so when any question\ninvolving them arises, they feel as though they must \u201cstand up for their\nrights.\u201d They often lose sight of everything else; kindness, mercy,\nforbearance, patience, Christlikeness\u2014in fact, nothing counts but their\nrights. Their rights they will defend; and very often their rights prove\nto be wrongs, or in insisting on their rights they do that which wrongs\nothers. Really spiritual people are not so particular and insistent\nconcerning their rights. They would far rather sacrifice their rights than\nto contend for them, unless something vital is involved, which is rarely\nthe case. When a spiritual man is compelled to defend his rights, he will\ndo it in a meek and quiet way, a way that has in it nothing offensive or\nself-assertive. When they were about to scourge Paul unlawfully, his only\nassertion of his rights was to quietly ask, \u201cIs it lawful for you to\nscourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?\u201d (Acts 22: 25). But there\nare those who will not yield in the least; they know their rights, and\nthey will not yield to anyone! Very often their rights would look quite\ndifferent if such persons possessed more of the spirit of Christ.\n\nThings sometimes look very different to different people, and no amount of\ntalking and arguing will make them see alike; and the more of such there\nis, the further apart people drift. That is the reason so many church\ntroubles are always _being_ settled but are never _really_ settled. The\ntrouble is in the hearts. The members are not willing to be entreated. Let\nthem get their hearts warm toward each other, and be filled with the\nspirit of brotherly kindness. Until such is the condition, one might as\nwell try to weld two pieces of cold iron. As before stated, when people\ndesire unity and harmony they can have it. But they must desire it enough\nto be willing to sacrifice for it all those things that prevent it.\n\nAnother thing that hinders is self-will. So many people like to have their\nown way. If others will do their way, such persons can be very gracious\nand kind; but if they do not have their way, they manifest a very\ndifferent disposition. They are ready to \u201cbalk\u201d; their kindness is gone;\nthey become stubborn; if there is trouble, they are very slow to yield. It\nis very hard for them to submit even when they are convinced that they\nshould do so. When they do seem to yield, it is often only an outward\nyielding, the heart remaining the same. How much trouble this self-will\nmakes, and how different it is in spirit from him who said, \u201cNot my will,\nbut thine, be done\u201d! We are commanded to submit ourselves one to another.\nWhen we demand that all the submission be on the part of the other person,\nit shows that we are self-willed, that we care more about having things go\nour way than we do about having them go right, or than we care to manifest\na Christlike disposition.\n\nStill another thing that prevents our being easily entreated is pride. A\nlady was recently talking with me about a conversation she had just had\nwith some other ladies. She had been advocating a certain doctrine which\nthey did not receive. In speaking of it she said: \u201cI grew a little warm in\nthe discussion of it. I did not mean to let them best me.\u201d So many people\nhave this disposition. They will not be \u201cbested.\u201d They will hold to their\nposition even when they are in the wrong, and know it. If they did not\ntake such a position, they might acknowledge the other to be right; but\nwhen they have taken the stand, they will not yield. What is the trouble?\nPride in the heart is the secret. This disposition always has its root in\npride; humility never acts in this way. Pride keeps people from\nacknowledging truth; it keeps them from changing their attitude. Pride of\nopinion keeps them from being willing to listen patiently to others who\ndiffer with them. Pride is at the root of many church and personal\ntroubles; pride is what they feed on, and the only way to cure them is to\nget rid of the pride.\n\nThe minister who would settle such troubles has need to look for one or\nmore of these three things. He may expect a search to disclose either\nselfishness, self-will, or pride; for if the trouble is not easily\nsettled, he may be assured that some or all of them are in the way. His\ntask, then, is not so much to get at what seems to be the trouble, as to\ngive attention to these underlying things which are the life of the\ntrouble. No trouble is truly settled till these elements are purged out of\nthe heart.\n\nO brethren! what we need in all the churches and in every heart is that\n\u201cwisdom that is from above\u201d (Jas. 3: 17). We are told that it is \u201cfirst\npure.\u201d By wisdom James does not here mean what we usually mean by that\nterm, but in it he includes the whole of the gift of God that comes to us\nin our salvation. It is \u201cfirst pure,\u201d then as a natural consequence of\nthat purity it is \u201cpeaceable.\u201d It loves peace; it seeks to be at peace\nwith all. It is \u201cgentle.\u201d That gentleness which was manifested in the life\nof Jesus reveals itself anew in the hearts of those who are \u201cfirst pure.\u201d\nLove has no harsh words, no harsh feelings. It is full of mercy and easy\nto be entreated. Where this heavenly wisdom abides, there will not be a\ndisposition to assert one\u2019s own rights, to be self-willed, or to hold fast\nto one\u2019s own ways; on the contrary, if its blessed presence fills our\nsouls, we shall be merciful, kind, forgiving, long-suffering, pitiful, and\nwe shall have the same tender feeling for our brother who has done us\nwrong as the father had for the prodigal. We shall be ready to run to meet\nhim. We shall be ready to forget all the past. Our hearts will be filled\nwith joyfulness at the expected reconciliation. O brethren there is\nnothing needed quite so much today and every day as that heart-quality\nthat makes people \u201ceasy to be entreated.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK THIRTY-TWO. FOLLOWING \u201cWHITHERSOEVER\u201d\n\n\nOne day as Jesus was passing along the highway, a man said to him, \u201cI will\nfollow thee whithersoever thou goest\u201d (Luke 9: 57). This man no doubt was\ngreatly impressed by the wonderful works and noble character of Christ. He\nthought that companionship with such a man would be full of blessing and\nrichness. Just to see and hear would be worth any man\u2019s time and effort\u2014to\nhear the gracious words that came from His lips would enrich mind and\nheart; to see the mighty works done would inspire. To him it seemed to be\none of the most desirable of all things. Christ\u2019s answer to him, however,\nshowed that following Him might well mean something more than this man had\never considered. His way did not always lead through pleasant places; His\npath was not always to be rose-strewn; not always would the multitude look\non Him with favor. Whether this man followed Jesus we are not told, but\nfollowing evidently meant more to him now than it had meant before.\n\nThere are many today who, like that man of old, say, \u201cLord, I will follow\nthee,\u201d with no clear idea of what it means. It was not hard to follow him\nwhen the multitude shouted, \u201cHosanna!\u201d and threw palm-branches before him.\nIt is easy for us to follow him today when his cause is popular, when\npeople are proclaiming the truth of what we teach and approving of our\nservice. It is no task to follow when it brings praise and admiration. It\nis no task to follow in the calm after his \u201cPeace, be still,\u201d on\nGennesaret. Who would not follow gladly to the mount of transfiguration to\nbehold his glory? But to follow him \u201cwhithersoever\u201d means more than this.\n\nIt is our privilege to share in his glory, his triumph, and his\nexaltation; but if we have a part in these, as true followers we must also\nfollow him in his humiliation. Are we willing to follow him when the\nmultitude laughs and mocks at him? when his cause is unpopular? when for\npraise we have reproaches? when for smiles we have sneers? Then comes the\ntest whether we will follow him all the way.\n\nOn one occasion, after he had preached, the multitude forsook him and only\nthe Twelve were stedfast. In these days many are offended at the Word. Are\nwe willing to accept it all? Are we willing to listen to it all? Are we\nwilling to obey it all? God wants \u201cwhithersoever\u201d men and women, who will\nhear the whole Word, believe the whole Word, and obey the whole Word. If\nwe shrink from obedience to any part, we lack just that much of being\n\u201cwhithersoever\u201d disciples. Christ lived a dedicated life; he was dedicated\nto his Father\u2019s will and accomplished his work; he gave himself solely to\nthis. He allowed nothing to come between him and the fulfilment of God\u2019s\npurpose. With him nothing counted except that he should finish his work.\n\nThere is a purpose, a moving purpose, in every life. There is one thing\nabove all other things that is the chief purpose of our life. In many\ncases that purpose is to please self, to follow out a course of our own\nchoosing. The dominant purpose in the heart of every true follower is the\nsame as it was in the life of Christ\u2014to do the will and work of the\nFather. He who shrinks from either may hesitate to call himself a true\nfollower. Christ sacrificed all, even his life. A \u201cwhithersoever\u201d follower\nhas the same spirit of sacrifice; he will not withhold himself nor that\nwhich is his. The early church rejoiced \u201cthat they were counted worthy to\nsuffer\u201d for Christ. Let us today look into our own hearts and see if we\nare animated by the same spirit. That spirit is a very different spirit\nfrom that which is seen in those who are offended by a word or a look and\nwho are ready to resent the slightest act that encroaches upon their\nrights. How empty the claim of many who profess to be real followers! They\nfollow where it pleases them, but as soon as something happens not to\ntheir liking, they are ready to draw back.\n\nChrist had not where to lay his head. We have no record that he ever owned\nanything save the clothes he wore. A \u201cwhithersoever\u201d follower is not\nashamed of the poor; and if he himself is poor, he is not ashamed of his\npoverty. But Christ was not always poor. We read that \u201che became poor.\u201d He\nsacrificed that others might be enriched. The same spirit of sacrifice\nwill make us willing to sacrifice what we have for the enrichment of\nothers. If there were more \u201cwhithersoevers\u201d among us, we should not hear\nof ministers\u2019 being kept out of the work through lack of support or a lack\nof funds to carry on the Lord\u2019s work. Think of a stingy \u201cwhithersoever\u201d!\nCan you imagine such a combination? Yet many professed followers fail in\ntheir duty to give to the cause.\n\nLet us bring the question home to ourselves. Let us examine our hearts and\nlives. Are we willing to follow Christ all the way, even when we are\nrejected by our friends and relatives, through sneers and revilings? We\nmight be willing to walk on the waters with him, but how about Gethsemane?\nWe may be willing to eat of the loaves and fishes, but are we willing to\ngo with him to the palace of the high priest? We might drink of the wine\nof Cana, but will we wear the thorns? We would gladly sit with him on his\nthrone, but will we bear the cross with him to Calvary? We can easily\nfollow him where the way is easy and when our emotions are exalted and our\nhearts full of praise, but will we follow him when the skies grow dark,\nwhen we are troubled, when bitter trials come, when it takes courage to\nface what is before us? Let us decide to be true when the way is strewn\nwith stones or hedged with thorns, when the clouds hang low as well as\nwhen all is bright and encouraging. Let us cast away all shrinking, and\nsay from our hearts and by our lives, \u201cI will follow whithersoever thou\ngoest.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK THIRTY-THREE. PAUL\u2019S PERSUASION\n\n\nPaul uses the term \u201cpersuaded\u201d in the sense of assurance. When he said\nthat he was persuaded of a thing involving God\u2019s attitude, he meant that\nhe was fully convinced that it was as it was stated to be. He meant that\nto him it stood out as a reality. It was a thing that he no longer\nquestioned. In Rom. 8: 38 and 39, he speaks of one of the things of which\nhe was persuaded. He did not seem to feel about it as some feel; and when\nthey read what he says, they realize that they do not feel just as he did.\nHe says, \u201cFor I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,\nnor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,\nnor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate\nus from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.\u201d\n\nSome people are all the time worrying lest they should be separated from\nthat love, lest God\u2019s love should be turned into hatred against them. They\nwalk before him with fear and trembling. They are all the time questioning\nwhether their conduct merits his approval. They are ever fearful lest they\nmight do something that would bring his wrath upon them. Their life is a\nlife of fear and of bondage. Paul had no such fears and no such feelings.\nHe knew that the great heart of God is a heart of love, a heart of tender\npity, compassion, and sympathy. He knew that God is tender toward his\nearthly children. Why, even when we were sinners, Christ died for us! and\nthe Father so loved us that he gave his only begotten Son. This love was\nfor rebels. How much greater his affection for his sons! Instead of\nthinking that he might be easily separated from the love of God, and that\nhe should have to be exceedingly careful lest he should be, Paul cries\nout, \u201cWho shall separate us from the love of Christ?\u201d (v. 35). By this he\nmeans, Who or what _shall be able_ to separate us?\n\nPaul knew something of the strength of earthly love. He knew\nmother-love\u2014how tenderly it holds to its own. He knew that no matter where\nthe son wanders, mother-love goes with him; mother-love calls him back;\nmother-love yearns over him. He knew love in other forms\u2014how tenaciously\nit clings to its objects. But the love of Christ, or the love of God in\nChrist, is above and beyond all this human love. And so he cried out, \u201cWho\nshall separate us from the love of Christ?\u201d Then he named some things and\nasked if they should separate us from God\u2019s love, and when he looked at\nthem all, he was still persuaded that nothing should be able.\n\nPaul says, \u201cNeither death nor life.\u201d If death should lay his icy fingers\nupon us, it would be but the ushering into the more immediate presence of\nthat great love. But if we must continue to live on in our earthly\ncircumstances and surroundings, that very life can not separate us from\nthe love of Christ, for he will love us through it all. Through various\nchanges, through all the trying situations that may face us, that love\nwill hold us fast. Time and change can not make that love grow cold.\n\nAgain, he says, \u201cNor angels.\u201d God is in heaven, surrounded by the angels,\nbut he wants us to understand that those angels can not take up so much of\nhis time and attention that he will forget us. Nor can those evil angels\nthat hate God and hate us separate between us and his love. Even Satan\nhimself, their leader and master, has not power to come between us and the\nlove of God. Ah, soul, do not be afraid. Satan has no knife sharp enough\nto cut that love. He has no strength to tear its tendrils out of our\nhearts. He can not burn those cords that hold us. Even all his legions can\nnot touch that love, if we trust it and trust ourselves in God\u2019s keeping.\n\nThen he says, \u201cNor things present.\u201d O my brother, sister, do you believe\nthat? Do you believe that the things of this hour, whatever they may be,\ncan not separate you from the love of God? \u201cThings present.\u201d How many\nthings there are present. How many things there are that press in upon us!\nHow many discouragements there are in life! How many perplexities! How\nmany things that trouble! How many things that would draw us away! Yet, if\nwe keep our trust in God, none of these things will be able to separate us\nfrom his love. None of these things will make him turn his back upon us.\n\n\u201cNor things to come.\u201d Do you look into the future with dread? Do you see\nwith forebodings the things that appear there? Do you think, \u201cHow shall I\never pass through it? How shall I ever overcome?\u201d Ah, those things that\nare ahead of you can not separate you from God\u2019s love. That love is going\nto securely hold you through them all. That love is going to be your\nstrength and your safeguard, your hope and your all. Cast away your\nforebodings. Look to God with confidence until the confidence of Paul\nenters your soul and you can say with the same assurance that he did, \u201cI\nam persuaded.\u201d\n\nAgain, he says, \u201cNor height, nor depth.\u201d It matters not if God is in\nheaven, high above us. It matters not if he is so great, so majestic, so\npowerful. His height above us shall not prevent his love from reaching us\nand holding us up. \u201cNor depth.\u201d It matters not to what depth we sink,\nwhether it be depths of discouragement or depths of fear or depths in the\nfeeling of our own helplessness. It matters not if God is very high and we\nare very low, if he is very great and we are very small; our depth shall\nnot separate us from his height. His love will bridge the gulf.\n\nO soul, trust in that love. Rely upon it. It will never fail you. It will\nsecurely hold you in the gales of life. Tribulation or distress or\npersecution or famine or nakedness or perils or storms\u2014none of these\nthings shall be able to separate you from him. And the apostle continues\nto say, \u201cNay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him\nthat loved us\u201d (v. 37). Love will bear us up as with eagles\u2019 wings. It\nwill make smooth the rough paths. It will give strength to the fainting\nheart. It will preserve us while in the midst of temptation; and even when\nwe have come short of our expectations, when we realize that we have in a\nmeasure failed, that love will not cast us off, but will hold us safe and\nsecure until the end. Let us look to that love, and be confident, and rest\nin full assurance of faith, knowing that\n\n\n    When the storm-winds rage, and the rain falls fast,\n      And the clouds hang low above,\n    I shall be secure till the storm is past,\n      For I trust my Savior\u2019s love,\n    And he knows the way, and he holds my hand,\n      And he will not let it go;\n    He will lead me home to that better land\n      Just because he loves me so.\n\n    I will trust his love, for it e\u2019er will last;\n      It is rich and warm and free;\n    Through the years of life it will hold me fast,\n      And my help and comfort be.\n    To my waiting heart all its treasures rare,\n      As a sparkling stream shall flow;\n    In the joy of God I shall ever share,\n      Just because he loves me so.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK THIRTY-FOUR. IN CHRIST AND IN EPHESUS\n\n\nPaul addressed his Ephesian epistle, \u201cTo the saints which are at\n_Ephesus_, and to the faithful _in Christ Jesus_.\u201d The people addressed\nwere in Ephesus, and they were likewise in Christ. What did it mean to be\nin Ephesus? Ephesus was one of the great centers of paganism. It was\nadorned with costly and magnificent temples. It was rich and voluptuous.\nBoth private and public life were utterly corrupt. Even the religious\npractises of the Ephesians were unspeakably vile. This city was a moral\nbog, a sink of pollution, filled with all corruption, and reeking with\nvileness. It was a second Sodom. Vice stalked abroad everywhere and was\nhonored and worshiped.\n\nWe might therefore well say, \u201cCan any good thing come out of Ephesus? Can\nChristianity flourish in such surroundings?\u201d But there were saints in\nEphesus, and faithful ones, too. They were such in their lives and\ncharacters as to win the commendation of that great apostle to the\nGentiles. Out of that obnoxious mud of iniquity were growing the pure\nwhite lilies of Christian character. That is the glory of Christianity and\nof Christ. Those who were now Christians were not superior to the other\nEphesians; they were not by nature different. In fact, Paul tells them\nthat they had been the children of wrath, even as others, and that they\nhad been such by nature. What a triumph of divine grace that raised these\npeople up out of such unspeakable filth and made them faithful saints! And\nyet that is the power of our great Christ.\n\nSome persons look around at the present condition of things in this world,\nat sin abounding on every hand, and say, \u201cThere is no use for me to try to\nbe a Christian or to be different from the others.\u201d There are many who\nlook at things in this way. They think it useless to try to be righteous\nunder present conditions. Once while walking down the street of a certain\ncity, I came upon a policeman standing on the street-corner. I engaged him\nin conversation, which I quickly turned into religious channels, and began\ninquiring about his own standing. He said to me in a hopeless voice, \u201cOh,\nthere is no use talking; there is no chance for a policeman.\u201d I tried to\ntell him of the power of God and of what salvation would do for him. But\nit seemed as an idle tale to him, and he could only reply, \u201cThere is no\nhope for a policeman.\u201d\n\nThere are many other people today in various situations who say: \u201cThere is\nno hope for me. There is no use for me to try.\u201d Those Ephesians might have\ntalked the same way. They had just as much reason to do so as any one\nelse. Probably some of them did talk like that and were lost; who can\ntell? There were a great many, however, who turned from idols to serve the\ntrue and living God, received Christ into their hearts, and found the\npower of salvation in the gospel. They found power in the blood of Christ\nto cleanse them from their impurities, and not only so, but also to raise\nthem so far from the mire of sin and wickedness abounding around them as\nto keep them faithful in Christ Jesus while still dwelling in Ephesus.\n\nIt is not so much a change of environment that people need as a change of\nheart and of character. Diamonds are often found embedded in volcanic mud;\nmud surrounds them on every side, and yet they have lain there for\ncenturies and are still diamonds. What is the secret of it? Why have they\nnot become contaminated? It is because the mud never entered the diamond;\nand that was the reason that the Ephesian saints could be faithful and\nstill live in Ephesus. They were left amidst the foul mud of corruption,\nbut the mud was taken out of them, and the grace of Christ kept it from\ngetting back in again.\n\nWe can not get away from the mud and defilement of sin in this world. Sin\nwill ever be all about us. Its stench will be in our nostrils from day to\nday. Our eyes will be offended by it, and our ears will be shocked. But so\nlong as we keep it all on the outside, we can be saints and faithful in\nChrist Jesus. We are told that one of the chief things for us to do is to\nkeep ourselves \u201cunspotted from the world.\u201d Phil. 2: 15 says, \u201cThat ye may\nbe blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst\nof a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the\nworld.\u201d Again Paul says, \u201cNeither be partakers of other men\u2019s sins: keep\nthyself pure\u201d (1 Tim. 5: 22). We are not only to keep free from committing\nany sins of our own, but also to avoid partaking of the sins of others.\nThat is very important.\n\nNow, we are, as it were, in Ephesus. There is sin abounding all about us.\nGod wants us so to abhor the sins of others that we shall not follow them,\nnor find pleasure in those who do sinful things. There are two ways in\nwhich we can partake of other people\u2019s sins. One way is to approve of\ntheir evil works. It may be that we ourselves would not do those things,\nbut if we approve of some one else\u2019s doing them, it is just about as bad.\n\nNever allow yourself to approve of another\u2019s sins. You can not keep clean\nand do it. Again, we may be partakers of other men\u2019s sins by partaking of\nthe results of them. If a man cheats another in business, and then I share\nin his ill-gotten gain, I am partaking of his sin. It may be that I would\nnot steal my neighbor\u2019s melons; but if another steals them, and I, knowing\nhis theft, eat of them with him, do I not partake of his sins? And so it\nis with all the affairs of life.\n\nWe must keep ourselves separate from sin. We can not help being in\nEphesus. We must live in this corrupt and sinful world. So the important\nthing is that we attend to keeping ourselves in Christ\u2014unspotted from the\nworld. If the Ephesians could do this, so can we. But to do it, we must\nwalk uprightly. We must not stoop down into the mire of sin, but keep\nourselves erect, and keep our spiritual nostrils above the poisonous gases\nof sin.\n\nLot was a man of God. He dwelt in Sodom, and we are told that his\nrighteous soul was vexed from day to day because of the wicked conduct of\nthe Sodomites. But he kept himself clear; he had no part with them; he\nhated their sins. When we reach a place where we do not hate sin, where we\ncan see it and hear and know of it and find no vexation in our souls, it\ncauses us no uneasiness, we have no particular repugnance for it, it is\ntime that we were becoming awakened. We are commanded to abhor that which\nis evil, and it is only by so doing and by keeping ourselves clean from it\nthat we can be safe in Christ Jesus and dwell in this wicked world.\n\nThere was a bit of heaven in every Christian heart in Ephesus. That bit of\nheaven was just as pure as the celestial realms above. We too have that\nheavenly element in our hearts; and in that transplanted bit of God\u2019s\nholiness will flourish all the plants of righteousness that bloom in the\ncourts eternal. But we must guard these plants by keeping the gates of our\nhearts closed night and day against evil. Only thus can we keep pure and\nacceptable to God. This we can do and be holy and faithful in the worst\n\u201cEphesus\u201d that exists today, if it be our lot to abide there.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK THIRTY-FIVE. THE PRACTICAL SIDE OF RELIGION\n\n\nThe sun was slowly sinking toward the western horizon while I wended my\nway up the rugged hillside. As I ascended the winding path ever higher and\nhigher, my horizon broadened. When at length I reached the summit and\nturned to gaze back over the valley, the city lay spread out like a great\npicture at my feet. The winding river, with a steamer slowly moving along\non its bosom, shimmered in the evening sunlight. The sounds from the city\nwere softened and blended until they rose to me like the musical strain of\nfar-away melodies. The low-hanging sun glorified the drifting clouds with\nthe hues of the autumn mountain-side. Crimson and orange and gold, they\nburned in that western expanse. I gazed upon the scene, and its influence\nseemed to exalt and enrapture my spirit. There stole into my being a sense\nof rest and peace and joy that lifted me out of the monotony of ordinary\nthings. I sat there and drank in the beauties of the scene until the sun\nsank out of sight behind the hills and the stars began to twinkle\noverhead. The lights flashed out in the city beneath. The quiet hush of\nthe evening seemed to settle down over me, and it seemed good to be alive\nand to be there.\n\nThe mountain-top is a delightful plate. There the soul reaches heights and\ndepths such as it reaches at no other time. Preachers love to preach and\npoets love to sing of the mountain-tops of life. How delightful are these\ntimes in our spiritual life, and how naturally we long for these seasons!\nHow often they are pictured up till one would suppose that they are the\nprincipal things in the Christian life! Some people have fancied that when\nthey became Christians the mountain-top experience would be their constant\nportion. They may have been led to expect this from hearing preaching that\nexalted the emotional side of religion. It may be that when they were\nconverted their new-born joys seemed to be unending. They thought that\nthis exaltation of spirit was the normal state of a Christian. They\ngloried in it as the days passed by. The time came, however, when this\nemotional glow subsided. As the barometer of their feelings fell, they\nbegan to question themselves thus: \u201cWhat is the matter with me? Have I\ndone something wrong? Am I mistaken in thinking that I was saved?\u201d Thus,\ntheir faith fell with their emotions. After a while their emotions rose\nagain, and their faith rose with their emotions. Now they knew that they\nwere all right.\n\nThere are times when we seem to draw near to God in prayer, when the sight\nand sound of the world is shut out. An inexpressible sweetness and joy and\nsatisfaction come into the heart. How near God seems! How calm and\nprecious is the hour! How our spirits drink in of the water of life! How\nwe seem to talk face to face with our Lord, and how the curtain seems\ndrawn back till our eyes behold the secrets of the Eternal! We give\nourselves over to the supreme enjoyment of the hour. But alas! in a short\ntime we find ourselves no longer on the mountain, but out in the broad\nplain of life, and how tame and monotonous is that plain when we think of\nthe mountain!\n\nIn this the natural and the spiritual are alike. What would you think of\nthe man who would build a store upon the mountain-top, apart from the\nthrong of purchasers whose business he desired? Would you think that\nwisdom was displayed? Do business men do this way? No, they seek the busy\nstreet that is trodden by a multitude, where flows the constant stream of\ntraffic; and there, amid the noise and dust and hurry, they ply their\ntrade with little thought of the mountain-top.\n\nThe mountain-top is a very good place to which to make an excursion now\nand then. It is the place to spend our holidays, but it is not the place\nfor the real accomplishments of life. When we wish to make a living, we\nmust leave the mountain-top with its far-flung panorama of beauty. We must\nroll up our sleeves and take up the rugged toil and, mid sweat and grime\nand noise and discord, produce the real results that feed and clothe and\nshelter us. The real accomplishments of life are not on the mountain-top,\nbut in the monotonous, soul-trying daily grind of business. If you imagine\nthat you are to live in the idealism of a mountain-top experience you will\nfind yourself coming short of it most of the time. You will be continually\nlamenting over your failure to make your experience measure to your ideal.\nSo long as you are reaching toward this ideal and are conscious of your\nfailure to reach it, your attention will be absorbed by this, and you will\nbe of little use to God. The sooner you come down to the place where you\nstop condemning yourself because your emotions are not always joyous or\nbecause you can not always pray with that full outpouring of soul, the\nbetter it will be for you. You will never become a practical Christian\ntill you learn that the Christian life, like the natural life, is largely\nmade up of a monotonous round of duties.\n\nThere is little of glamor or brilliancy in labor or ordinary things. That\nis reserved for the special things in life. It is true that there is joy\nin the toil and in the hardness, yea, even in the bitterness, if there is\na consciousness of duty well done. It is the daily grind that tests the\nfaithfulness. God wants people who will be true in the daily toil of life,\nwho will do well the little, uninteresting things. He wants practical\nChristians, people who are willing to do the work even if it means\nweariness, even if it means little of emotion, even if it means sacrifice.\n\nIf you lived on the mountain-top always, the scene would soon lose its\nbeauty, and you would soon forget its loveliness. When, after the days of\ntoil, after the months of the prosaic, you lay aside your tools and turn\nfrom your labors, it is then that you can go out and enjoy the beauties of\nnature. It is then that you can enter into her moods and be her comrade.\nYou can enjoy her then and be refreshed by her as you could not be without\nthose weary days of toil. Many people are willing to enjoy, but they shun\nthe work. In natural things we call such persons lazy.\n\nIdealism has its place in life, but it must not close our eyes to the\npractical side of life. Enjoy what of the mountain-top God may give to\nyou, but do not count this the ordinary, usual thing of Christian life.\nLearn to enjoy the toil. Learn to find the sweetness that is in it. Learn\nto find the beauty in the common things of life, for some of the most\ncommon things are among the most beautiful when our eyes are taught to see\ntheir beauty. The Christian life is preeminently a life of service. That\nis its highest and broadest purpose. To try to be a Christian merely for\nthe joy that is to be found in it is often to render ourselves miserable.\nTo seek happiness for ourselves as the chief end of life is a very\nunworthy purpose, and is one that can but end in disappointment.\n\nSee that you do your part in life in the every-day things, and God will\npermit you to live on the mountain as he sees best. Appreciate the\nmountain experiences when they come, but do not let them make you despise\nthe common things.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK THIRTY-SIX. DO YOU NEED PATIENCE?\n\n\nHave you not often heard people say, \u201cMy greatest need is more patience\u201d?\nPossibly you feel just that way yourself. There is probably no lack that\nso quickly and persistently manifests itself as this lack, which can not\nexist without revealing itself, for in order to possess patience one must\nemploy it in his every-day life. Many people who do not understand its\nreal nature nor how to come into possession of it realize their need of\nit.\n\nMuch of the teaching on the subject of patience proves to be ineffectual\nbecause the teacher himself does not understand his subject. Sometimes it\nis taught that all impatience comes from sin in the heart, and that if one\nmanifests a lack of patience he is not sanctified. Such teaching can come\nonly from a misapprehension of the facts. Sanctification is a wonderful\nthing, and it does wonderful things for us. It purifies, softens, and\nrefines our whole nature; but it does not perfect our natural faculties,\nand patience is one of these natural faculties, or qualities. There is an\nimpatience, however, that has its root in sin, and which is itself sinful.\nThe blood-cure reaches and eradicates this type. There is also a natural\nimpatience. How much we have of this depends largely upon our general\nmake-up. A lack of discrimination between these two kinds of impatience\noften causes souls great distress. Before we teach on the subject, we\nought to be sure we have the distinction clearly drawn in our own minds.\n\nPatience is a matter of temperament, of grace, and of cultivation. Some\npeople are patient by nature. They can take almost anything patiently.\nSometimes this is from natural calmness of disposition; sometimes it is\nthe result of lack of spirit. But in any case, such a person will be more\nnaturally patient when saved than will others who are of a different\ntemperament. Salvation does not destroy our natural temperaments.\n\nGrace goes far towards supplying us with patience, but grace alone will\nnot always be sufficient; therefore patience must also be a thing of\ncultivation. We are told to \u201cadd patience.\u201d This means that not all our\npatience comes by grace, but that some of it comes by works. In our sinful\nlives we cultivate impatience by acting out our feelings of impatience.\nThe more we put our feelings into action, the more impatient we become.\nWhen we are saved, we begin to act out patience, and the more we act it\nout, the more patient we become in our nature.\n\nPatience is largely a matter of the proper use of the will. The Bible does\nnot say, \u201cFeel patient,\u201d for our feelings are largely involuntary; but it\nsays, \u201cBe patient,\u201d that is, _act patiently_, for our actions are\nvoluntary. There are those who, when waiting for a train, can not sit\nstill. Such an individual walks up and down the platform and looks at his\nwatch again and again. He sits down and rises again, and turns this way\nand that way. Another sits quietly and is unperturbed. It matters not to\nhim if he does have to wait a while. It is no task for him to be patient.\nHe is of a patient temperament. The other is quite the opposite. Because\nof this, however, we can not say that one has more salvation than the\nother. Both are feeling naturally. The difference is in their natures, in\ntheir temperaments, and not in their hearts.\n\nThe fact that we are exhorted again and again to be patient signifies that\nthe acting out of patience is a matter of our wills. No matter how pure\nour hearts are, we have tests of patience. A pure heart is not an\nautomatic heart, working out things independently of the will. When we\nhave a pure heart, our will is fully set to do right, and through our will\nwe regulate our actions so that they are right. Our feelings are\n_influenced_ by the will, but are not _controlled_ by it. We can not help\nfeeling sad or joyous when there is an occasion that influences our\nfeelings. So we can not but feel impatient sometimes; that is, things will\ntry our patience, and we find that our feelings respond, in some degree at\nleast, to those circumstances. The degree of response will depend upon our\ntemperament, and the amount of grace we have, and how much we have\ncultivated patience.\n\nDo not forget that we are not told to feel patient, but to \u201cbe patient,\u201d\nthough we should be careful to control our feelings so far as is possible\nby the force of will. When an impatient feeling comes, we do one of two\nthings: we either yield to it and act it out, or we resist it and act\npatiently. The latter is what we should always do. When we are full of joy\nand everything is going smoothly, it is easy to believe that we have\nplenty of patience; but in time of stress, of trial, when we are weak or\nsuffering in body, when we are weary or feel discouraged, then it is that\nwe most readily feel impatient. It is not that we have less patience at\nsuch times, but that impatience more easily manifests itself. We should at\nall times resist every feeling of impatience, yet we should not condemn\nourselves for feeling what we can not help feeling. We should not think\nthat we are not sanctified simply because we are not so patient as we\ndesire to be.\n\nIt is natural for a saved person to long for greater patience to endure\nand suffer. We should do all in our power to grow in patience. \u201cBut how\nshall I add patience?\u201d you may ask. There are two things to do. First,\npray; and second, cultivate patience. Make it a practise day by day never\nto yield to an impatient feeling. Let this attitude be manifested by word\nand act. Reflect upon the patience of Jesus and study to know what is the\nScriptural ideal. When your patience is tried, deliberately take hold of\nyourself by your will-power and make yourself act and speak as you know\nyou should. By following this rule you will become more and more patient.\nThis is the only possible way of adding patience.\n\nWe become in nature the reflection of our acts. Good acts repeated become\ngood habits. Good habits followed out make good character. Not that good\nhabits will save or take the place of grace, but they are equally\nnecessary in the formation of Christian character. \u201cLet patience have her\nperfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK THIRTY-SEVEN. STUMBLING-STONES, OR STEPPING-STONES?\n\n\nThings may be stumbling-stones or stepping-stones to us. They may be\nhindrances or helps\u2014trials or blessings. What they prove to be depends not\nso much on their nature as upon our attitude toward them. It is not our\nopportunities that count, but the use that we make of them. It is not how\nmuch money we possess, but the wisdom we display in its expenditure. It is\nnot how many obstacles we meet in life, but the manner in which we meet\nthem. It is not the soul who has the fewest trials and difficulties that\nprospers most, but the one who meets them with courage and confident\ntrust. Some are crushed down and made to despair by the very things that\nstir others to renewed effort and courage.\n\nWhat our trials are to us depends on what we are to them. This is well\nillustrated in Elijah\u2019s experience. The king and queen were his bitter\nenemies. He feared them and fled away and lived in hiding.(2) He was\nafraid, lest he should be betrayed to them. He looked to his enemies; he\nsaw their power; he looked at himself and saw his own impotence. And so he\ndwelt in fear. But the time came when God spoke to him, and as he looked\nto God he began to see His greatness and his soul was lifted up with\ncourage. His own weakness and the might of his enemies faded away from his\ngaze. He came out boldly and challenged the idolatrous party to a test of\nstrength. Single-handed and alone, we see him walk out before the\nassembled multitude, superior to them all. There is no fear in his heart\nnow. He is not in the least daunted by his adversaries. He can look them\nsquarely in the eyes without shrinking. His heart is full of confidence.\nHe knows whom he is trusting. Throughout the long day while the priests of\nBaal are calling so earnestly upon their powerless god, the prophet is the\ncalmest man of all the many witnesses. He is looking on God\u2019s side now,\nand he is conscious master of the whole situation. He even grows ironical\ntoward his enemies.\n\nThe outcome does not surprize us, for we know the God he served. He was\nvictorious now, but let us look at him a few days later. Under a\njuniper-tree in the wilderness sits a man, weary and dejected. He has fled\nfor his life, but now even his life has lost its value, and he says, \u201cIt\nis enough: now, O Lord, take away my life.\u201d Elijah has fallen from the\nsummit of victory to the depths of despair. What occasioned this great\nchange? Things did not turn out as he had expected them to. Instead of the\nqueen being humbled by the display of God\u2019s power, she was only made\nharder and her anger became more fierce. And when Elijah heard her threat\nto kill him, he lost sight of God and saw only the anger of the queen and\nhis own weakness and danger; so his heart was filled with fear, and he\nfled as does a hunted animal to the depths of the wilderness. So long as\nhe looked to God, he was victorious over his enemies and fearless as a\nlion; they could not harm him. But when he looked upon the strength of his\nfoes and his own weakness and lost sight of God, he was overcome with fear\nand fled terror-stricken.\n\nWhat made the difference in his conduct? Were not his enemies the same?\nWas not their wrath to be feared as much one time as another? Was not God\nprotecting and keeping him all the time? Had he need to fear them more at\none time than at another? The secret of his different behavior was his\nattitude toward them. When he feared them, they were stumbling-stones to\nhim. When he feared them not, their enmity became the stepping-stone by\nwhich he was raised to the lofty height of victory.\n\nThe same principle is true in our lives. If we approach a conflict or\ntrial with fear and trembling and shrinking, it will very likely prove a\nstumbling-stone to us; but if we approach it with calm confidence in God\nand a settled determination to overcome, we may make it a stepping-stone\nupon which we may mount to higher and better things.\n\nSometimes things that are at first very discouraging to us afterwards\nbecome sources of help and encouragement; not that the things themselves\nchange, but because we see them from a different angle. This is well\nillustrated by the effect of my long affliction. One of the worst things\nthat I had to face in the first two or three years was the consciousness\nof the depressing and discouraging influence that it was having upon\nothers, not only upon those about me, but upon many persons here and\nthere, as evidenced by numerous letters showing that the effect was\nwide-spread. It seemed to be a hindrance to the faith of many people. But\nin the last two or three years I have received many letters telling me how\ngreatly the writers had been encouraged and helped by my affliction. The\naffliction itself was the same; the change was in them; for that which was\nonce a source of discouragement would have continued so had they continued\nto look at it as they had formerly done. The fact that the changed point\nof view, or changed attitude, changed the effect shows that it is not so\nmuch the thing itself as our attitude toward it that affects us.\n\nIt is so in regard to all things. We have need to learn the lesson that\none sister learned. Speaking of the early months of my affliction, she\nwrites, \u201cAt that time it was a hindrance to my faith; but it has ceased to\nbe so, for I have learned not to ask why, but to have faith in God and\nwait and trust.\u201d\n\nLearning to wait and trust is the secret. This gives God the opportunity\nto bring out that which is best. How could we know the virtue of patience\nif no one had a trial of his patience? If we looked only at the trial,\nwhere would be the blessing? We often must look beyond the things that\nfirst appear. We must often look at \u201cthe things which are not seen\u201d that\nwe may have courage to meet the things that are seen. It is when we do\nthis that our trials become blessings; our stumbling-stones,\nstepping-stones.\n\nWhen we face things courageously and hold to our course steadily through\nthe storm, or when we bear opposition and trials patiently and hold fast\nour integrity through temptation, it is then that we mount up by means of\nthese very things to a loftier height and a broader outlook. When we try\nto lift up ourselves by expending our forces upon ourselves, we make but\nlittle progress. How hard it is to keep good resolutions! How hard it is\nto make ourselves better or stronger by the study of abstract goodness or\nby wishing ourselves something else than we are! We may look to the\nheights above us and long to be there; we may think of the noble outlook\nwere we there, but there is but one way to attain those heights\u2014by the\nslow, laborious, and wearisome process of climbing; and the things upon\nwhich we must set our feet are the difficulties that we have overcome.\n\nIt is easy to go down toward the valley of discouragement. It takes no\neffort to let a thing weigh us down. We can easily let our courage and our\nconfidence slip if we will. It is sometimes easier to go down-hill than it\nis to stop in our going. But in life it is the up-hill going that counts.\nEvery time you overcome or trust clear through to victory, you have made\nprogress upward. If you see a trial coming, do not shrink and do not fear.\nDo not say, \u201cOh, how shall I bear it!\u201d\n\nGod designs that your trials shall help you, not hinder you. He could keep\nyou from having them if it were wise; but he sees that you need them, yes,\nthat you must have them, or you will never rise above your present level.\nLook for the good in them; count them blessings. Meet them bravely, and\nyou will find them in truth stepping-stones, not stumbling-stones.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK THIRTY-EIGHT. USE WHAT YOU HAVE\n\n\nFew people really are and do their best. Nature has blessed a few with\ngreat talents and abilities. These persons often become proud,\nself-centered, and feel themselves to be superior, and for that reason\nmany times they fail to make the proper use of their abilities. How often\nare they used in a bad or foolish way, so that what might be a blessing to\nthe world fails to be such! There are many others who realize they do not\npossess these natural gifts. They look upon those who have them, and envy\nthem. They bemoan their own lack, and say, \u201cIf I only had the talents that\nperson has,\u201d and meanwhile they sit in idleness, making no use of what\nthey have.\n\n\u201cIf I could preach like So-and-so, what I would accomplish for the Lord!\u201d\nanother says; or, \u201cIf I had the money So-and-so has, what I could\naccomplish for the kingdom!\u201d\n\n\u201cIf my circumstances were different, I might hope to do something,\u201d comes\nfrom another.\n\nBut all these are like the dreamer who says, \u201cTomorrow I will do great\nthings,\u201d and yet today he does nothing.\n\nMake the Best of Yourself.\n\nYou will always be yourself. You can never be any one else. If you ever\naccomplish anything, it will be through those powers and abilities you now\npossess. It is of no use to lament that you are not as somebody else is;\nit is of no use to envy another\u2019s talents. You are only yourself. You\nmight as well face that fact, and endeavor to make the best possible use\nof the gifts you have. They may look very small compared with those of\nsome others, but they are all you have. Time spent in troubling yourself\nbecause you are not greater is worse than wasted. The question is, Shall I\nimprove and make use of what I have?\n\nMan is capable of great development. Eye, hand, strength, mind, will\u2014in\nfact, the whole man may, by proper efforts, be taught and developed, and\nexpanded until he becomes something very different from what he was at\nfirst. The blessing of God will help us much, but that will not take the\nplace of our own determined and persevering efforts.\n\nHave you ever attempted to develop yourself? Do not think that because\nyour abilities now seem small they never can be greater. You were only a\nchild once. You did not think that you never would be larger. You looked\neagerly forward to the time when you would be as large as grown-up people.\nEach day you ate and drank and breathed and exercised\u2014the very things that\nwould produce the growth that you desired. You used what you had of energy\nand strength, and thus increased them. We ought to be as wise in spiritual\nthings as in natural things. Paul said to Timothy, \u201cNeglect not the gift\nthat is in thee.\u201d\n\nYou must make use of what you have, then God will bestow more. But he can\nnot bestow more until you use with your might what you have. You are, so\nto speak, the raw material of what you may be. What you will be depends on\nthe use you make of this material. The responsibility for the final\nproduct lies with you. Develop your mind, develop your soul, develop\npatience, courage, faith, loyalty, justice, benevolence, endurance,\ncheerfulness, determination, diligence, industry, and all those other\nqualities that make up real Christian manhood and that are the foundation\nof success in life. If you lack the will to try and keep trying, you will\nsee yourself always a failure. Decide to be your best and do your best. If\nyou will do this by God\u2019s help, you will not fail.\n\nUse Wisely What You Have.\n\nIsrael was oppressed. The Philistines had taken the Israelites\u2019 swords and\nspears, in fact, swept the country bare of armor. Shamgar had not much to\nfight with. He had no sword nor spear, no shield, no helmet. The\nPhilistines were coming; something must be done. There was the ox-goad,\nbut what would that amount to against swords and spears? It was all the\nweapon he had. But he had something else; he had courage, determination,\nand faith. So he started straight for the host of enemies, and we are told\nthat he slew \u201csix hundred men with an ox-goad: and he also delivered\nIsrael\u201d (Judges 3: 31). He had only an ox-goad, but he used it manfully.\nHad he not done so, Israel would not have been delivered.\n\nDavid, when he went against Goliath, had only his home-made sling and a\nfew stones from the brook. But he went up to battle with unshaken faith in\nGod. He had not much to start with in the way of weapons, but he had the\ncourage to use what he did have. And he is famous to this day as Israel\u2019s\ndeliverer.\n\nSamson had only a jaw-bone, but he did not stop a moment to lament that\nfact. He did have the three things necessary in himself\u2014courage,\ndetermination, and faith. And we are told that the Spirit of the Lord came\nmightily upon him. The result was he slew a thousand of his enemies, and\nput the rest to flight. Have you not as much equipment as any of these men\nhad? But the results of their efforts were glorious. If you think you have\nbut little to use for God, just add to it courage, determination, and\nfaith, and go ahead. You will find that the Spirit of the Lord will make\nyou mighty. Do not worry because you have so little to give; just be sure\nyou give what you can. Do not worry because you seem to have so little\nability, or so little time, or so little opportunity; but do not fail to\nuse what you have. Make the best of them.\n\nUse Your Environment.\n\nIt is of no use to say, \u201cIf my surroundings were different,\u201d or \u201cIf I were\nin some other place, then I could do better.\u201d Possibly you could, but that\nis not the question. Are you doing what you can in your present\nenvironment? If you can change your environment for the better, do it. If\nyou can not, then decide to do your best where you are.\n\nYou may dream of ideal conditions, but you will not find them in this\nworld. Whether you succeed or fail depends less on your environment than\nit does on yourself. If you will be true to the best that is in you, your\nenvironment will not have the influence that you imagine it will.\nFavorable circumstances never take the place of soul-qualities. Develop\nyour soul-qualities, and you will be master of your environment. You need\nnot let it master you. Be your best, and do your best, in your place. Make\nthe best of your situation. There is a way for you to succeed, no matter\nwhat is against you. God will help you find that way if you are determined\nto find it. Never permit yourself to spend time in lamentation over\nyourself or your circumstances. Keep the following thought and\ndetermination ever before you: \u201cI will make the best of myself and my\ncircumstances.\u201d This is the true and only road to success.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK THIRTY-NINE. WHERE THE JOY IS\n\n\nA sister wrote to me recently desiring me to tell her how she might find\nsweetness and joy in her trials. She seemed to have in her mind an ideal\nexperience in which she could be joyous and calm and sweetly contented\nwhile undergoing trials, and she was struggling to attain to her ideal.\n\nThis sister is not alone in her reaching out after such an experience.\nPeople often chide and condemn themselves because they have not attained\nto such heights. When they suffer and are distressed in their trials, they\nthink there is something wrong with their experience, and they become\ndiscouraged. The Bible lifts the standard just to the place where it ought\nto be; and if we have a higher ideal, we are sure to be constantly coming\nshort of it.\n\nMy answer to the sister was that she was looking in the wrong place for\nthe sweetness and joy. Jesus is our example, and we can expect trials to\nhave the same effect upon us as they had upon him. In that dark hour of\ntrial in Gethsemane, with the heavy weight of the cross already upon his\nspirit, did he say to his disciples, \u201cBehold, how joyful I am in such\nawful circumstances\u201d? Ah, no! his state was very different, and we hear\nhim say, \u201cMy soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.\u201d He was \u201ca man\nof sorrows and acquainted with grief.\u201d When he hung upon the cross, he\ncried out in agony, \u201cMy God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?\u201d Do you\nthink there was joy or sweetness in that? Such feelings had no place in\nhis emotions that day. But there was joy connected with these trials. We\nread that \u201cfor the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross\u201d\n(Heb. 12: 2). Here we have endurance and joy, but we do not find them\ntogether: the endurance is present; the joy is \u201cset before him.\u201d This is\nthe order in which such things come to us. Christ\u2019s joy came, not from his\nsufferings, but from the result of these sufferings. His joy is in the\nredeemed souls that have been saved through his sufferings.\n\nOur own trials will of necessity mean suffering, and there can be little\njoy in suffering. Joy never has its direct origin in suffering; but it\ndoes often come out of suffering, or as a result of enduring suffering.\nThe order in which it works is clearly seen in Heb. 12: 11\u2014\u201cNow no\nchastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous:\nnevertheless _afterward_ it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of\nrighteousness.\u201d This is what you may expect\u2014grievousness in time of trial\nand chastening, and afterward the reaping of joy. The Bible speaks of our\nbeing \u201cin heaviness through manifold temptations,\u201d and also says, \u201cWe\ncount them happy which endure.\u201d Enduring implies suffering; and suffering,\nof itself, can never be joyful. We might, in a figure, say that suffering\nis the soil in which the tree of patient endurance grows, and that joy is\nthe ripened fruit of the tree.\n\nThere are many different kinds of trials, and they have different effects.\nSometimes they are like a great storm that sweeps over the soul, when the\ndashing rain obscures all view of the distant landscape and its beauties,\nwhen the howling of the wind, the flashing of the lightning, and the\nrolling of the thunder shuts out everything else and holds our entire\nattention. It is only when the storm is over and the calm has come, that\nwe can look out again upon the broad and peaceful landscape. There are\nother trials that remind one of a nail in one\u2019s shoe: everywhere one goes,\nit is present, irritating, annoying, torturing. It hinders and detracts\nfrom all the common pleasures of life.\n\nWhen trials come, there is just one proper way to meet them; that is, with\ndetermination to overcome them and to keep our integrity during the time\nthat we are suffering under them. It was the joy set before Jesus that\nmade him strong to suffer. And so we, if we would be strong for our\ntrials, must look beyond them to the joy that is set before us. It is what\nis coming out of the trials that is the source of our rejoicing. If you\nhave endured some trial\u2014something that took real courage and fortitude\u2014and\nyou look back upon it and realize that you stood true, that you did not\nyield nor falter, is it not a source of great joy to your soul? When you\nsee the grace that God gave you, does it not strengthen and encourage you?\n\nYou desire the peaceful fruit of righteousness in your life; you want joy,\npeace, victory; but remember that these are the \u201cafterwards\u201d of patient\nendurance through the trial or chastening. You must wait for the fruit to\nripen. If you try to enjoy it before it is ripe, you may find it works\nlike eating a green persimmon\u2014you not only will spoil the fruit, but will\nfind some unpleasant consequences.\n\nThere are certain kinds of trials that bring forth joy quickly if they are\nmet in the right spirit. We read that the early Christians \u201ctook joyfully\nthe spoiling of their goods,\u201d and again that they \u201crejoiced that they were\ncounted worthy\u201d to suffer for the name of Christ. This was persecution.\nOften we can \u201crejoice and leap for joy,\u201d not because of the persecution,\nbut because of the fact that great is our reward in heaven. The joy comes\nfrom the contemplation of that reward. We suffer the persecution; we\nrejoice in the reward of our patient endurance.\n\nIf we walk close to God, we shall find that in the midst of our trials,\neven when they are bitter, there is an undercurrent of sweet joyfulness\naway down in the depths of our souls. The consciousness that we are the\nLord\u2019s, that he loves us, and that he is our helper will be sweet in the\nmidst of all our woes. This may sometimes be obscured by doubts and fears\nfor a time, but if we hide away under his wings and trust securely, the\nharp of joy will sound in our souls though in the tumult of emotions. We\nmay sometimes have to listen carefully, however, to hear the soft, sweet\nstrains of its melody.\n\nBe patient in your trials; endure hardness as a good soldier; keep up the\nshield of faith; fight the good fight; and in due season your soul will\nsing triumphant songs of victory, and the joy-bells, pealing out their\nmerry music, will summon God\u2019s people to rejoice with you in your Lord and\nSavior.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FORTY. BLOWING THE CLOUDS AWAY\n\n\nI had been passing through a period of sore conflict. For several days I\nhad had gloomy and distressing feelings. I had struggled with all my might\nagainst them. I had tried to draw near the Lord and to get special help\nfrom him. It was hard to pray, and it seemed that when I prayed no answer\ncame. Discouragement pressed in upon me. I had no idea of giving up the\nfight, but I knew not what to do next. It seemed that my strength was\nexhausted by the conflict. As I lay there meditating; it seemed that all\nat once a quiet voice said to me: \u201cDo not try to blow away the clouds with\nyour feeble breath. If you will be content to wait, the same wind that\nbrought them will carry them away again.\u201d\n\nAs the voice spoke I seemed to see myself in a little ravine where I had\noften been, with a great mass of thick clouds overhead moving slowly\nalong. The lesson that God would get to me illuminated my mind. I saw how\nfoolish it would be to try to blow away those great clouds. All my blowing\ncould not move them an inch. I might strain and struggle, and try until my\nstrength was all gone, but the clouds would not pass away, nor would the\nsunshine come a moment sooner for all my efforts.\n\nSo those spiritual clouds that were hanging so low above me and wrapping\nme in their somber shadows could not be blown away by my feeble breath. I\nhad nearly worn myself out by my efforts, but had gained nothing at all. I\nhad worried myself, and it was all to no purpose. As I looked back at the\nbeginning of that season of heaviness and darkness, I could not see\nanything that I had done to bring it; it had just settled down upon me\nwithout any apparent reason, just as the clouds in the heavens come over\nthe face of the sky without relation to any act of yours or mine.\n\nBrother, sister, have you not had such experiences in your Christian life?\nHave not darkness and gloom, heaviness and depression, come over your soul\nand you could not tell why? You began to question yourself, thinking that\nsurely there must be something wrong. You doubted and wondered; you could\nnot tell why you felt so. Perhaps for several days these feelings\npersisted. You resisted them. You prayed, you struggled. You searched\nyourself, but to no avail. The darkness still covered you; the heaviness\nstill pressed you down. Possibly Satan also came with powers of accusation\nagainst your soul. You blew with all your might at the clouds, but still\nthey lingered, and your heart was sorely troubled. By and by the clouds\npassed away, the sunshine came, and your heart sang again. You knew not\nwhat carried the clouds away nor what brought the sunshine; nevertheless\nthere it was illuminating, warming, and refreshing you again.\n\nThere are many times in our lives when the clouds come through no fault of\nours. Nothing that we can do will keep them from coming. No matter how\nclose we live to God, they will sometimes come. We can not hope that our\nsky will always be clear, but I hope you will get the lesson that God gave\nme that day, years ago. The same wind that brought that cloud over you\nwill carry it away again.\n\nDo not waste your strength struggling against your feelings; be patient\nand wait. Do not accuse yourself of having done wrong or of being wrong.\nDo not take these gloomy feelings as evidence against yourself, any more\nthan you would take the literal shadows of a cloudy day to prove you were\nnot right.\n\nIf you have done wrong, God will show you just what the wrong has been,\nand he will also show you the way out. When the clouds come, then is the\ntime to trust. If in your heart you mean to serve God, you know it, and he\nknows it. No matter how dark it may become, look up into his face and tell\nhim that you mean to serve him no matter how things look, no matter how\nyou feel. Our emotions are not governed by our wills\u2014we can not feel as we\nplease to feel; but we can be true when we will to be true, and we can\nwait and trust. We can not control circumstances; we can not help being\naffected by surrounding influences. These in a great measure rule our\nfeelings. We can keep the citadel of our soul and not allow sin to enter.\n\nRemember this one thing, that all your struggling is only blowing at the\nclouds. It is easier to struggle than to be quiet and trust, but it\nprofits nothing. In a few days your gloomy feelings and heaviness and\ndarkness will pass away without any effort on your part. It may be longer\nin passing if you struggle against it. Just trust and wait; don\u2019t try to\ntake the wind\u2019s task; let it do its own work. Then, when the sunshine\ncomes again, you will not be worn out, but will be fresh and vigorous for\nthe tasks that lie before you.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FORTY-ONE. HOW TO FERTILIZE LOVE\n\n\nLove is the greatest thing in earth or heaven. Out of it flows most of the\nthings that are worth while in life. Love of relatives, love of friends,\nand love of the brethren (1 John 3: 14) make life worth living. There is\nno heart so empty as the heart that is without love. There is no life so\njoyful as the love-filled life. Love puts a song in the heart, a sparkle\nin the eye, a smile on the lips, and makes the whole being glad. And God\u2019s\nlove is greater than all else. He who has God\u2019s love has a continual\nfeast. There may be sorrow and care and suffering in the life; but if\nthere is love, it lightens all these.\n\nSometimes there is not the love for the relatives that there ought to be.\nSometimes there is not the love for the brethren that should characterize\nus. When we realize this and feel our lack, the question naturally arises,\n\u201cHow can my love for them be increased?\u201d Plants can not grow without\nfertility; that is, the soil must contain the elements necessary to\ngrowth. If these are absent, they must be supplied, or there can be no\nharvest. This is equally true of love; it must be fertilized if it is to\ngrow. Do you realize that you are lacking in love for some one? Do you\nmanifest as much affection toward your conjugal companion as you did in\ndays gone by?\n\nThere are very many things that may choke out love in the home. One of\nthese is the lack of kindness. If you have grown less kind in your\nfeelings, in your actions, and in your words, love can not thrive.\nKindness is one of the best fertilizers for love. Do you show the same\nconsideration for the feelings and tastes of your companion as you used to\nshow? There are so many people who have two sets of tones in which to\nspeak, and two sets of manners in which they act. They have their company\nmanners and their family manners. When they have company, the voice is\nsoft and pleasant, the manners are agreeable and kindly. They treat their\nfriends with the greatest consideration; but as soon as their friends are\ngone, the pleasant voice changes into crossness or harshness and\nfaultfinding, and the pleasantness of manner disappears. In how many homes\nis this true! The greater consideration, the greater kindness, is due the\nhome folks. Otherwise, love can not flourish. If you wish to have love for\nyour home folks, you must show them the consideration that is due them.\n\nSome professors of religion are like the catbird. When it is away from its\nnest, it is one of the sweetest of the northern warblers, and so it is\noften called the northern mocking-bird; but when it is close to its nest,\nyou will hear only a harsh, discordant note. It has no sweetness in its\nvoice while at its nest. Some people reserve all their kindness,\ntenderness, and sweetness for those outside the family circle. Is it any\nwonder that love dies in such a home? If you realize you do not love some\none enough, begin to consider his desires. Begin to show a special\ninterest in him. Watch for opportunities to be kind to him. Try especially\nto be agreeable, and you will soon find that this reacts upon yourself; in\na short time you will find your love increasing; and the more you follow\nthis course, the more your love will increase.\n\nI have been asked if we should love all saints the same. Some have even\ntaught that if we were right in our souls we would love one of God\u2019s\nchildren as much as another. This, however, is not possible. Even Jesus\nloved some of his disciples more than others. There were three\u2014James,\nPeter, and John\u2014who were closer to him than the others; and of these, John\nwas most beloved. He calls himself \u201cthat disciple whom Jesus loved.\u201d If\nlove for the brethren depended solely on spiritual things, then, possibly\nwe might love all the same; but it depends to a great extent on other\nthings as well. Jesus loved John much because of John\u2019s loving nature. We\nlove those most who seem to us most lovable. We are drawn most to those\nwhose dispositions and characters and interests appeal most strongly to\nus. There are those who are saved, who, because of their faults or\nunlovely dispositions, repel us rather than attract us. We will not find\nourselves drawn into the same close relations with them as with the\nothers. There is danger of a twofold nature. On the one hand, we are\nliable to love some so much that we become partial towards them to such an\nextent that others will feel that we do not value them as we should. On\nthe other hand, there is danger of looking at the unlovely qualities in\nanother until we lose sight of the good that is in him, and grow\nprejudiced against him until it becomes hard to feel the proper love for\nhim.\n\nIf we realize we do not love some of the brethren as we should, let us\ncease looking at the unlovely things, and look for the good things, the\nnoble qualities. Seek out these things, keep them before the mind,\noverlook the faults and failings and unlovely traits. Begin to show\nspecial kindness, make it a point to speak to these brethren kindly; show\nan interest in them. Watch for a chance to do something helpful; go out of\nyour way to do them favors. Possibly your own coldness has much to do with\ntheir attitude and feelings. Be as genial and sunshiny toward them as you\nare toward your closest friends. Some reserved natures need sunshine to\nopen them up, just as do some flowers. Have you not seen flowers open up\nin the sunshine and throw their fragrance upon the breezes, and then, as a\nheavy cloud suddenly overspread the sky and the dark shadows fell, quickly\nclose up? It is just that way with some natures. If we radiate sunshine,\nthey unfold their beauties to us; but if we are cold and distant, we are\npermitted to see only the rough exterior. Love begets love. If we so act\nthat love in us may grow and develop, we shall be loved in return.\n\nLove can not survive carelessness, indifference, and neglect. These things\nare poison to the tender plant. We can easily kill the love in our hearts,\nor we can cultivate and increase it till its blossoms and fragrance are\nthe delight of our lives. If your love is not what it ought to be, try\nfertilizing it with kindness, gentleness, and self-sacrifice, and take\naway the weeds of selfishness, carelessness, and indifference. You will\nfind that love will grow and increase, and become sweeter and more tender\nwith the passing days.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FORTY-TWO. HOW TO OVERCOME DISAPPOINTMENT\n\n\nYou have been disappointed, haven\u2019t you? Of course you have, again and\nagain. Does it hurt very much when things do not go as you have planned\nand hoped? Does it seem as if you \u201cjust can\u2019t stand it\u201d? Some people can\nbear disappointment; they seem to have learned the secret of taking off\nthe keen edge so that it does not hurt so much. Have you learned that\nsecret yet? I fancy I hear some one say, \u201cOh! I wish I knew the secret.\u201d\nThere is more than one part to the secret. You may learn it if you will;\nyou may get where you can bear disappointment and keep sweet all the time.\n\nMany people prepare themselves to be disappointed; they arrange things so\nthat they are certain to be disappointed. They set their heart so fully\nupon the thing they wish to have or do, whatever it may be, that they make\nno provision whatever, except to carry out their plans exactly as they\nhave devised them. They do not provide for any contingencies that may\narise. Their plans fill their whole horizon. They can see nothing else;\nthey can think of nothing else; they want it just that way and no other\nway. Thus they prepare themselves to suffer keen disappointment should\nanything happen different from what they expect. This is what puts the\nsting in disappointment. Always make provision in your plans for whatever\nmay happen. Always make your promises to yourself with the proviso, \u201cIf\nnothing prevents.\u201d If you are going on a journey, say, \u201cIf it does not\nrain, or if I am well, or if this or that does not prevent.\u201d Keep the\nthought in your mind that something may prevent, and do not get it too\nmuch settled as a fact that you will do what you have planned. Take into\nconsideration that you are a servant, not the master; do not forget to put\nin, \u201cIf the Lord wills.\u201d\n\nIf disappointment comes, it may be necessary for us to repress our\nfeelings of dissatisfaction. If we begin pitying ourselves and saying,\n\u201cOh, it is too bad! it is just too bad!\u201d we shall only feel the more\nkeenly the hurt; and the more we cultivate the habit of self-pity, the\nmore power it exercises over us. Some people have so yielded to the power\nof self-pity that whole days are darkened by little trifling\ndisappointments that they ought to throw off in a few minutes. Nine tenths\nof the suffering that comes from disappointment has its root in self-pity.\nYou have better qualities in you; use them. When you are disappointed,\ntake hold of yourself and say, \u201cHere, you can not afford to be miserable\nall day because of this.\u201d Repress those feelings of self-pity, lift up\nyour head, get your eyes on something else, begin making some new plans.\nYour old plans are like a broken dish and you can not use them any longer.\nAll your fretting and brooding over them will not make them work out\nright. Take a new start, smile whether you feel like it or not. You have\nmany other things to enjoy; do not let this one thing spoil them all.\nRefuse to think of your unpleasant feelings; resolutely shut the door\nagainst them. God will help you if you try.\n\nAnother thing to learn is to submit the will and desires to God. When our\nplans fail, we must submit to circumstances, whether we want to or not. If\nwe rebel, that will not change the circumstances, but it will change our\nfeelings. The more we rebel, the more we shall suffer. The way to get rid\nof the suffering is to get rid of the rebellion. We must submit;\ntherefore, why not do it gracefully? Many times we can not change\ncircumstances, no matter how much we dislike them. Resentment will not\nhurt circumstances, but it will hurt us. We need to learn the lesson of\nsubmission without rebellion\u2014submission to circumstances and to God.\n\nThe Lord is our Master. It is right for him to order our lives as he sees\nbest. Sometimes it is he who changes our plans for his own purpose; and\nwhen he does this, the outcome is always better than the thing of our own\nchoosing. If we rebel, we are rebelling against God, and right there lies\nthe danger. If we are so determined to have our own way that we do not\nwillingly submit to God\u2019s way, he may have to let us suffer. But when we\nsubmit and commit our ways to him, then we shall have the consolation and\ncomfort of his Holy Spirit. If we will just learn to change a single\nletter in disappointment, and spell it with an \u201ch\u201d instead of a \u201cd,\u201d it\nwill help take the sting out. Try it once. This is what we have: His\nappointment. Now, does not that make it quite different?\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FORTY-THREE. THE BIG END OF TROUBLE\n\n\nI once saw in a paper some verses the first lines of which were something\nlike the following:\n\n\n    \u201cTrouble has a way of coming\n      Big end first;\n    And when seen at its appearing,\n      Looks its very worst.\u201d\n\n\nMany people are always seeing trouble. They are \u201ctroubled on every side.\u201d\nWhen they talk, it is generally to tell of their trouble. There are others\nwho, though they have troubles, seem able to put them in the background,\nand say but little about them. They talk of victory, of the Lord\u2019s help,\nand of the joys of salvation. We all have our troubles; for man is \u201cof few\ndays, and full of trouble,\u201d but the greatest troubles any of us have, I\nthink, are the ones that never come. How truly the poet has spoken in the\nabove-quoted lines! Just as he says, trouble comes big end first and fills\nus with forebodings.\n\nHow easy it is to worry over the troubles that loom up in the future. \u201cOh,\nhow shall we meet them!\u201d we exclaim. \u201cOh, I do not see what I shall do!\u201d\nand we fear and tremble before them. Nearly all the joy is excluded from\nsome people\u2019s lives by the shadow of coming troubles; but when those\ntroubles come upon us, we someway, somehow, pass through them. Many of\nthem, and sometimes very threatening ones, disappear entirely before we\nreach them; and the others, when they do come, are usually not nearly so\nbad as we had thought they were going to be. We always find a way through\nthem. Many times we are surprized at the ease with which we overcome them.\nOne brother who had been troubled all his life was finally enabled to see\nthat the Lord always made a way through for him, and in speaking of it he\nsaid, \u201cThings nearly always turn out better than I think they are going\nto.\u201d\n\nA young brother and I once had an experience that well illustrates how\ntrouble works. We were going to meeting one night. There was such a heavy\nfog, that we could see only a few feet ahead of us. Suddenly there loomed\nbefore us what appeared to be a great giant. He came striding toward us\nthrough the fog with legs twenty feet long and body towering up out of\nsight. It was an awe-inspiring spectacle and at first sight startled us.\nThere it was, coming right toward us in a most threatening manner. If we\nhad been frightened and had run away, we might have had a great story to\ntell; but we continued walking on toward it, when suddenly we came face to\nface with one of our neighbors. He was only an ordinary-sized man, and\nthere was nothing terrible about him; but he was carrying a lantern, which\nswung partly behind him, and as he walked threw that gigantic shadow\nforward into the fog. The giant that we saw was not the real man; it was\nonly his shadow.\n\nThat is just the way trouble comes. The thing we see is not really the\napproaching trouble in its true size and shape; it is only the shadow of\nit that we see. Our imagination pictures it as something terrible, and we\nworry and live in its shadow for days and weeks, only to find at last that\nwe have been scared by a shadow and that the real trouble is only a\nfraction of what we supposed it would be.\n\nWhen Alexander the Great was a youth, his father had a war-horse that no\none could ride. The youthful prince made up his mind to conquer the\nanimal. When he tried it, he discovered that the horse was afraid of its\nshadow; so he turned its head toward the sun and soon had it conquered.\nLet us learn a lesson from this, and when we become afraid of the shadows\nof trouble, let us turn our faces toward the Sun of Righteousness, thus\nleaving the shadows behind us. The Scripture says: \u201cThe Lord also will be\na refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that\nknow thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not\nforsaken them that seek thee\u201d (Psa. 9: 9, 10).\n\nDavid said: \u201cThough an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not\nfear. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavillion: in the\nsecret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.\nAnd now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me\u201d\n(Psa. 27: 3, 5, 6).\n\nO troubled soul, instead of looking at your troubles, look to Jesus. The\nmore you look at your troubles, the worse they will appear, the more you\nwill be troubled, and the less you will see of God and his help. Do you\nnot know that God loves you? do you not know that he sees the trouble? do\nyou not know that he knows the best way to meet it, and just exactly how\nmuch grace you will need? Instead of worrying, try trusting; you will find\nit works much better. Cultivate the habit of casting your care upon Jesus.\nFace your troubles boldly. Assert in your soul: \u201cThe Lord will make a way.\nThe Lord will help me through.\u201d Continue repeating it until it becomes\nreal to you, and you will be surprized how simple trust will take you\nthrough to victory.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FORTY-FOUR. SELF-MADE BARRIERS\n\n\nIt seems strange that anyone should build barriers in his own way and lay\nhindrances in his own path. But that is just what many people are doing.\nThey wish to accomplish something; they desire to do something for the\nLord; but some way they find themselves always hindered. They look back\nupon their lives, and see that they have done very little. How many times\nthey have desired to be as useful as others! But someway, somehow, they\nwere not.\n\nThe greatest hindrances to our success are often found within ourselves.\nWe build up walls between ourselves and usefulness, and then lament\nbecause we can not surmount them. We look over the wall and long to be\nthere, while all the time we are placing new stones upon the wall and\nbuilding it higher and higher.\n\nOne of the greatest of these barriers is \u201cI can\u2019t.\u201d How many people have\nbuilt up this wall before themselves! They see work to be done, they see\nplenty of opportunities for doing effective service, but they distrust\ntheir ability. Or sometimes they are not willing to do their duty, and\nthey begin at once to build a barrier of \u201cI can\u2019t\u201d between themselves and\ntheir opportunity. Oh yes, it ought to be done, and they would like to do\nit, but there is that wall in the way. They would gladly do the work if\nthey were over the wall, but it is too high, so the work must remain\nundone. This barrier is very easy to build, but hard to surmount. The\nreason it is hard to surmount is because the person is not willing to try.\n\nNo one knows what he can do until he tries. \u201cI can\u2019t\u201d shuts out God\u2019s help\ncompletely. It leaves no room for the operation of faith; it increases\nweakness. The more you say, \u201cI can\u2019t,\u201d the weaker you will feel; and the\nweaker you feel, the less courage you will have to attempt anything. It is\ncertain that we can not do anything if we do not try. It is certain that\nwe can succeed in doing whatever God wants us to do. He has said, \u201cMy\ngrace is sufficient\u201d; has he spoken truly? He says, \u201cI will help thee\u201d;\ndoes he mean it? If he does, you will not fail if you do your part. The\ntrouble is, you do not give him a chance to help. When the opportunity\ncomes and the Spirit moves you to act, you draw back behind the wall of \u201cI\ncan\u2019t,\u201d and do nothing. Have you not had many chastisements because of\ndoing thus? Have you not missed many blessings? has not work gone undone,\nand have not opportunities remained unused?\n\nPaul had no place for this barrier in his life. He was a man who did\nthings. He believed that God would help him in all he undertook. \u201cI can\u2019t\u201d\nhad no place in his life. He said, \u201cI can do all things through Christ,\nwhich strengtheneth me.\u201d What you need is to quit saying, \u201cI can\u2019t,\u201d and\nbegin believing God. Throw down this self-made barrier; quit looking at\nyour weakness; look at God\u2019s strength. Dare to do, dare to act, and you\nwill succeed beyond your expectations.\n\n\u201cI am afraid\u201d is almost as common a barrier as \u201cI can\u2019t.\u201d How many people\nshrink from duty, saying: \u201cI am afraid I will make a mistake. I am afraid\nI shall not do it right.\u201d They let this fear become a great wall before\nthem; they pile fear upon fear; and as they look at them, their fears\nconstantly grow greater. Soon they come to a place where these fears hedge\nthem in till they dare not attempt anything. Do you remember the man who\nsaid, \u201cI was afraid,\u201d and went and hid his lord\u2019s talent in the earth?\nRead his story in Matt. 25: 24-30. See what his lord said to him, and note\nthe result of his conduct. Are you doing the same thing? If so, what will\nbe the result in your case? Fear will tie your hands if you allow it; it\nwill make you a profitless servant.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know how\u201d is a third barrier. Have you hidden from duty behind\nthis wall? Is this your answer to God when he tells you to do something?\nThe Bible says that \u201cChrist is made unto us wisdom.\u201d Again, it says, \u201cIf\nany man lack wisdom, let him ask of God.\u201d If God gives you a task to\nperform, he will give you the wisdom to do it as he wishes to have it\ndone. Possibly you do not know how, but God knows, and if you try,\nunderstanding will be given you. If you seek wisdom from him, he will not\nfail to give it. If we always knew how to do things, we should not need\nGod\u2019s help to show us; but as it is, we must often dare to undertake what\nhe wants us to do in his wisdom and in his strength, no matter whether we\ncan see the outcome or not. God wants us to rely on him, and to go ahead\nin his strength.\n\n\u201cI am not sure\u201d is another barrier. It is well to know God\u2019s will\ndefinitely, but many times people want to be so very sure that God has no\nway of making them feel sure. They do not take the assurance that he\ngives; they want something more. Reason and good judgment tell them to go\nahead, but they build up the barrier \u201cI am not sure,\u201d and hide from duty\nbehind it. We ought not to decide hastily or rashly, but we ought to\ndecide, and then act upon our decision. One may cultivate the habit of\nindecision until his usefulness is greatly hindered, and he is constantly\ntortured wondering what he ought to do. It would be better to make a few\nmistakes than to let indecision hold us back from everything.\n\n\u201cThey will think\u201d is still another self-made barrier. The fear of being\nmisunderstood or having remarks made about them is some people\u2019s greatest\nhindrance. \u201cThey will think I want to push myself ahead\u201d; \u201cThey will think\nsome one else ought to do it\u201d; they will think this, or they will think\nthat, and so fear of what people will say closes the mouth and ties the\nhands, rendering life fruitless. The thing that ought to concern us is,\n\u201cWhat will God think if we do not do it?\u201d It is to him we must give\naccount. It is his approval we should seek. If he approves, what others\nthink is a small matter. Are we not willing to be misunderstood for Jesus\u2019\nsake?\n\nLet us cease to build these barriers before us. Let us throw down what we\nhave built. Let us decide we will not be held back from duty by our fears.\nLet us go forward in the strength that God will give. Let us trust more in\nGod, and be confident that he will not fail us. Have you not read that the\n\u201cman of God\u201d was to be thoroughly furnished unto every good work? If you\nwould pay more heed to getting your furnishings than you do to your fears,\nyou might become far more fruitful. Thus, you would be more happy here and\nreap a greater reward hereafter.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FORTY-FIVE. HOW TO WORK GOD\u2019S JOY-MACHINE\n\n\nIt was a bright, sunny morning as Brother Littlejoy walked down the street\ntoward the railway-station. But somehow the brightness of the morning was\nnot reflected in Brother Littlejoy\u2019s face. He seemed gloomy; his gaze\nrested upon the ground. As he entered the waiting-room, he saw a man with\na smiling countenance, and he said to himself, \u201cWhy, there is Brother\nJoyful.\u201d\n\nBrother Joyful, seeing Brother Littlejoy, hastened to him and shook hands\nwith him warmly and said: \u201cGood morning, Brother Littlejoy. What a fine\nmorning this is! It seems that all nature is rejoicing in the spring\nsunshine. But, Brother Littlejoy, why do you look so gloomy this morning\nwhen everything else seems so bright?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Brother Littlejoy, \u201cI have so many troubles and worries and\nperplexities, so many trials and difficulties, that it seems I have little\njoy in my life. I never can understand how you are always so joyful. You\nalways have a smile for everybody and never seem to have any of the\nworries and troubles that other people have. You seem to be, as Paul said,\n\u2018always rejoicing.\u2019 How I wish I were as you are! It certainly must be a\nhappy life.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d replied Brother Joyful, \u201cI think I have my full share of the\ntroubles of life. You know every one must expect them. We all have plenty\nof them, but that is not the cause of your trouble. It is not the number\nof trials and perplexities people have that keep them from being joyful;\nfor some of the most joyful people whom I know have many cares, sorrows,\nand troubles. There is just one thing wrong in your case, Brother\nLittlejoy\u2014you have not learned how to work God\u2019s joy-machine.\u201d\n\n\u201cGod\u2019s joy-machine!\u201d exclaimed Brother Littlejoy, \u201cwhy, I did not even\nknow that he had one. What do you mean by his \u2018joy-machine\u2019?\u201d\n\nBrother Joyful laughed, and his eyes twinkled as he said, \u201cCome over here\nand let me give you an object-lesson.\u201d\n\nSo they walked over to the side of the room where two machines were\nstanding side by side.\n\n\u201cYou see this weighing-machine,\u201d said Brother Joyful; \u201cI will just step\nupon it and get weighed.\u201d\n\nHe stepped upon the platform of the machine, but the indicator remained at\nzero.\n\n\u201cWhy, it seems it does not work this morning!\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course not,\u201d answered Brother Littlejoy, \u201cyou have to drop a penny in\nthe slot before it will act.\u201d\n\nThen Brother Joyful took a penny from his pocket and dropped it into the\nslot. The indicator immediately flew around on the dial.\n\n\u201cOne hundred and seventy-two pounds,\u201d said Brother Joyful. \u201cThat is just\nwhat I weighed two weeks ago. Now let us try this one, and have some\nmusic.\u201d\n\nSo saying, he took a disk from the rack and adjusted it in the machine and\npressed the lever, but nothing moved; no music came forth.\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d said Brother Littlejoy, \u201cit will not play until you drop a nickel\ninto the slot.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Brother Joyful, \u201cthat\u2019s the way!\u201d\n\nHe dropped a nickel into the slot, and the machine began sounding forth\nits melody.\n\nSitting down on a seat near by, they listened until the music ceased, when\nBrother Joyful said:\n\n\u201cYou see I might have stood there on the platform of that weighing-machine\nall day and wished to have known my weight ever so much, but I should not\nhave found it out until I had dropped a penny into the slot. We might have\nstood there by the music-box all day and wished to hear it play; we might\nhave asked it ever so earnestly to play for us; but until the nickel was\ndropped into the slot, there could be no music. Now, God has a\njoy-machine, and it works on the plan of the slot-machines. You can see\nits picture almost anywhere in the Bible. But there is a real place where\nyou can get the joy\u2014real joy and there is plenty of it. This music-box\nwill play a tune for each nickel dropped into it, and so God\u2019s joy-machine\nwill yield you a heartful of joyfulness every time you can get it to work,\nand it always works whenever you proceed right. Some people merely stand\naround and look at the box. They see others getting joy out of it and\noften try to get joy, but somehow it does not work for them. The trouble\nis, they do not put in the coin; in other words, they do not do what is\nnecessary to get the machine to work. The joy is there, plenty of it,\nenough for everybody; there is no reason why people should be without it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d sighed Brother Littlejoy, \u201cI would give almost anything if I knew\nhow to get joy like you; but I suppose it is not for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cRight there is where you are mistaken,\u201d said Brother Joyful. \u201cTake\nanother lesson from those machines yonder. They are set out in plain\nsight, and the public, everybody who wishes, may, by dropping coins into\nthe slots, get what the machines have to give. The more coins dropped, the\nbetter the owners are pleased. They do not want the weights, they do not\nwant the music; these are provided for the public; and whosoever will may\nhave his full satisfaction on certain conditions. Now, God\u2019s joy for his\nchildren is just the same\u2014the more they have of it, the better pleased he\nis. The more joyful they are, the more joyful he is. You are mistaken in\nthinking that you are denied joy. You are not denied it any more than you\nare denied music from the music-box. If you know how to operate the box\nand are willing to pay the price, you may have plenty of music. It is\nequally true that if you are willing to pay the price, you can work God\u2019s\njoy-machine all you please.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Brother Littlejoy, \u201cI do wish I knew how. And what do you\nmean by the price of joy?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is something many people have not learned yet,\u201d answered Brother\nJoyful; \u201cbut I will tell you the secret. I will tell you how I get God\u2019s\njoy-machine to operate. A specified coin is required to operate these\nmachines, but there are many different things that will work God\u2019s\nmachine. Sometimes one thing will do it, sometimes another, and sometimes\nit takes several things together. The first thing I try is obedience.\nWhole-hearted obedience to the Lord never fails to bring me a good supply\nof joy, but that is a price many people are not willing to pay. They would\nlike to have the joy, but when it comes to obeying God and throwing their\nwhole soul into that obedience, they draw back. Often they obey\nreluctantly, with more or less unwillingness in their hearts, or they want\nto do it just a little differently from God\u2019s way. That kind of obedience\nnever makes the joy-machine work. There are others who are willing to obey\nGod, provided he will do so-and-so to suit them. Such people wait a long\ntime for their joy. So long as the heart is closed up against God\u2019s\ncommands, you can count on God keeping a lock on the joy-machine.\n\n\u201cSometimes, and very often too, we have to drop some trust into the slot.\nIf you are doubting God and questioning whether he means what he says or\nwhether he will keep his promises, the machine will not work. When I want\na feast of joy, I make sure that I am obeying God, and then I tell him\nthat I believe him, that I trust myself and my all completely into his\nhands, and that I feel perfectly safe in doing so; that I believe his eye\nis over me and his everlasting arms are beneath me and that he will work\nout everything for my good and keep me in whatever circumstances I am\nplaced. That makes the joy-machine work. Often it brings \u2018joy unspeakable\nand full of glory.\u2019\n\n\u201cOf course, there is something else that goes with obedience and trust,\nand that is really a part of them. It is submission. Unless our hearts\nsay, \u2018Thy will be done,\u2019 the joy-bells will not ring much. If we get any\njoy, it will be only a sort of human enthusiasm. I say the heart must say\nthis. It is not enough for the mouth to say it; the heart must not say it\nreluctantly nor hesitatingly, for the joy will not come until the heart\nsubmits unreservedly.\n\n\u201cPraise is another thing that makes the machine work; that is, the kind of\npraise that comes from the depths of the heart\u2014the kind that comes\nspontaneously from a deep appreciation of God\u2019s goodness and mercy. Only\nthose who obey God have this kind. We may shout God\u2019s praise loud enough\nto be heard two blocks away; but if we are not obeying him, he knows it is\na pretense, and it will not work the machine. One may be ever so\nenthusiastic, and seem to be very happy, but if he is not obeying God,\nwhat he gets does not come out of God\u2019s joy-machine. Praise amounts to\nmuch when there is obedience back of it, but is nothing but noise when it\nis otherwise.\n\n\u201cSometimes it is patience and long-suffering that make the machine work.\nSometimes when opposition or accusation come or when railing, abuse,\nscorn, or similar things must be borne, the joy-machine does not work\nimmediately. We have to put a good supply of patience into the slot, and\nperhaps suffer a while; but when the proper time comes, they will make the\nmachine work all right.\n\n\u201cA smile or a cheery word or a bit of song, a kindly greeting, or almost\nany kindly act put into the slot may fill up our cup with joy when we are\nnot expecting it. Sometimes nothing but enduring a hard trial will start\nthe joy flowing. One may not be very joyful during the trial; for the joy\ngenerally comes at the end of the trial. Some people think that it would\nbe pleasant if they could put their trials into the slot and make the\njoy-machine work, but it does not work that way. It is the endurance that\nmakes it work, and the endurance will not make it work until it is dropped\ninto the slot; that is, until we have endured through to the end of the\ntrial.\n\n\u201cThen, I find things in my pocket-book, too, that I can drop into the slot\nto make the machine work. Money in the pocket-book will not make God\u2019s\njoy-machine work any more than it will make yonder machine play music.\nWhen people look into their pocket-books and see only money, the only joy\nit can make is a sort of selfish, human joy. I know of people who can see\nsomething besides money in their pocket-books. Why, just the other day\nBrother Sympathy looked into his pocket-book and saw a sack of flour there\nfor the Widow Grimes. And last fall one day he looked into it and saw a\nwhole ton of coal for old Mrs. Benson and an overcoat for Tom Jones, and a\nlittle later he found a pair of shoes for Johnnie Peters. Of course, he\ntook them all out and delivered them to their owners. I suppose you wonder\nwhy his face shone so in meeting. It was because these things, and many\nmore like them, kept God\u2019s joy-machine going.\n\n\u201cNow, Brother Littlejoy, I have told you a few of the things that will\nmake the machine work when put into the slot, and I am sure that if you\nwill use them, your joy-cup will not be empty much of the time.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, Brother Joyful,\u201d said Brother Littlejoy, \u201cyou have surely taught me\na lesson. If that is the way to get joy and if I can have it as well as\nanybody, I think I shall try to get my share in the future. But how am I\nto get rid of all my troubles and worries and heavy burdens?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d answered Brother Joyful, \u201cyou are working the wrong machine; you do\nnot get such things from the Lord.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d asked Brother Littlejoy.\n\n\u201cWhy, Satan has a slot-machine also, and many people are working it\novertime. Some good people are working it, but they do not know they are\nusing Satan\u2019s machine.\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease explain yourself,\u201d said Brother Littlejoy; \u201cI do not know what you\nmean.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is this way,\u201d replied Brother Joyful; \u201cSatan has a great machine, or I\nmight say several different ones, and there are many different things that\ncan be dropped into the slots to make them work. But none of the things\nthat work God\u2019s machine will work Satan\u2019s. Now, you have, you say, trouble\nand gloom and such things. These come from Satan\u2019s machine. This is the\nway it works: You drop some unbelief into the slot, and you get darkness\nand fear; doubts, and you get gloom and despondency; disobedience, and you\nget condemnation; fear, and you get weakness; murmuring, and you get\ndiscouragement. Oh, there are many things you can get out of Satan\u2019s\nmachine; and he is very glad to have you get them. Drop in some cross\nwords, some fretfulness, some self-will, a little pride, a little\nsuspicion of the brethren, a little envy, or anything of that sort, and\nyou will get a large return from Satan.\n\n\u201cNow, as I said, Brother Littlejoy, you have been working the wrong\nmachine, and if you will just think a while, you may be able to tell what\nyou have been putting into the slot to get these things that you would\nlike to be rid of. Perhaps it is a little disobedience or self-will or\nunbelief. Make a good prayerful search and find out; then stop dropping\nthings into the devil\u2019s slot-machine, turn your attention to learning how\nto operate God\u2019s joy machine, and I am sure you will soon see a gratifying\nchange.\u201d\n\nAs Brother Littlejoy walked out of the door, he said to himself, \u201cI think\nBrother Joyful is right; I will begin working the other machine.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FORTY-SIX. BE BRAVE\n\n\nBe brave. Only the brave are strong. The coward is a weakling; if he has\nstrength, he dares not use it. We must be brave, for life is a battle. The\nforces of good and evil are in deadly combat. You can not avoid having a\npart in the conflict. You must fight whether you will to do so or not.\nThere will be obstacles to meet no matter where your path may lie. You\nmust overcome them or they in turn will overcome you.\n\nDo not dream of a time in this life when all your obstacles will be\novercome. There is no day so bright but the darkness follows. There is no\nship that sails the sea but must meet the storms. No tree sinks its roots\nso deeply into the soil but its strength is tested by the gale.\n\nUpon you will blow the piercing winds of adverse circumstances. Things\nwill come that you can not foresee. Do not shrink before them when they\nappear. Lift up your head, throw back your shoulders, look them squarely\nin the face, and with courage born of faith meet them in the strength God\nwill give you.\n\nSometimes it may seem that to endure is impossible. Your strength may\nfail, but when you have come to the end of yourself, God will add\nstrength, and that added strength will mean victory. Be brave. It is only\nwhen you bravely face the foe that you can know the measure of your\nstrength. There can be no defeat to him who will not be defeated.\nCircumstances may prevail against you for a time, but if you fight\nmanfully on, the seeming defeat will end in victory.\n\nNapoleon once fought a battle and lost. His troops were driven back. One\nof his marshals, who with his troops had not arrived in time for the\nconflict, came up during the retreat. Napoleon said to him, \u201cWe have lost\nthe battle.\u201d \u201cIt seems so, sire,\u201d was the reply, \u201cbut there is still time\nto fight another.\u201d Encouraged by the words of his marshal, Napoleon\nrallied his troops, attacked the enemy, and won a great victory.\n\nIf defeated, never count that defeat final. Attack the foe again and keep\nat it till you win. Bravery is a quality of mind and soul. You may be weak\nin body, you may be timid and shrinking, but if you will, your soul may\nrise above all this and wax strong in God. Courage is the basis of your\nstrength. It will bring strength from God. But should he give you ever so\nmuch strength, only through courage can you make use of it.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FORTY-SEVEN. \u201cBUT JESUS SENT HIM AWAY\u201d (LUKE 8: 38)\n\n\nHow natural it is for us to desire to be in the presence of the Master, to\nwalk with him, to talk with him, and to behold his wondrous works! How\npleasant to sit at his feet and learn of him! How often we think of those\nwho enjoyed walking with him over the hills of Judea and wish for\nourselves that glorious privilege! It is our privilege, though our natural\neyes can not see him, to dwell in his presence, to commune with him, and\nto learn the deep things of God. In the secret closet we often seem to be\nvery near to him, and how our souls would love to remain there, but\nofttimes, like the man out of whom the devils were cast, we are not\npermitted to remain with the Lord; he sends us away.\n\nWhen we feel ourselves apart from him, it is not always because we have\nwandered away, for often he finds it needful to send us away for some\npurpose. Even those who were privileged to be his closest companions while\non earth were sent away from him from time to time on various missions.\nSometimes he sent them with the message, \u201cGo and tell.\u201d Obedience to this\ntook them away from his presence. Their eyes no longer saw his mighty\nworks, nor did their ears hear his gracious words. They did not have the\nsupport of his presence, but found themselves apart from the Master. So we\nmust often go out from him with a message, and, being apart from him in a\nsense, we shall ofttimes find ourselves needy and seeming to go on our own\nstrength; but we must daily bear his message to the people, and while we\nare bearing it, what wonder if we are lonely sometimes? Like the\ndisciples, however, when we have spoken our message, we may go back again\ninto his presence.\n\nOne he sent away for investigation, saying, \u201cGo ... show thyself to the\npriest.\u201d Sometimes we must go out among our enemies and be a gazing-stock\nfor them. We must be the object of their criticism, of their scoffs, of\ntheir mockings, and all this apart from the Master. But shall we not bear\nall these things and rejoice in them, that when we have returned to the\nMaster, and are sitting in the quiet and silence at his feet, holding\nsweet converse with him, we may know we have wrought his will and\nglorified his name?\n\nSometimes he sends us forth to perils. \u201cBehold, I send you forth as sheep\nin the midst of wolves.\u201d But he also gives us the sweet assurance,\n\u201cNothing shall by any means hurt you.\u201d His messengers now, as in the days\nof old, must face perils; and these perils must, in a sense, be faced away\nfrom the Master\u2019s presence.\n\nSometimes he sends to suffering. He said of Paul, \u201cI will show him how\ngreat things he must suffer for my name\u2019s sake.\u201d Even Christ himself was\nsent apart from the Father. He had to leave the glories of heaven and all\nthat those meant, sacrifice all the honor that he had, with all his joys\nin the presence of the Father, and go to earth to be despised, mocked,\nhated, scourged, and crucified. Sometimes his spirit was heavy, and sorrow\nweighed him down, and at last, in the most trying hour, he felt his\nseparation from his Father most keenly and cried out, \u201cMy God, my God, why\nhast thou forsaken me?\u201d If it was necessary for the Son of God to go apart\nfrom the Father, to be sad and lonely and heavy-hearted, and at last feel\nhimself forsaken, should we think it a strange thing if we sometimes have\na similar experience?\n\nHow sweet to be with him in the secret closet and in the meetings with his\nsaints! How it warms our hearts and fills us with courage and hope! But\nfor our work\u2019s sake we must go apart and endure, sacrifice and suffer. We\ncan not always see his smiling face. But there will be a time when we\nshall forever be with the Lord. Until the time shall come, let us be\nwilling to obey him, even though it takes all the courage and fortitude we\nhave. If we find ourselves apart from him, let us not accuse ourselves of\nwandering away, if we are doing the work of God. Heaven will be all the\nsweeter because of our having been, in this sense, apart from the Master\nhere, and we shall be the better prepared to enjoy his presence when he\ncomes for us.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FORTY-EIGHT. GETTING THE KERNEL\n\n\nOne afternoon a mother with her children about her knees sat cracking\nnuts. The older children picked out the kernels for themselves, but the\nmother stopped now and then to pick out some for the smaller children, who\nwatched with eager eyes and ate the kernels with keen relish. Presently a\nnut fell to the floor. The smallest child picked it up; and as his mother\nwent on cracking others, he held it up to her and in his baby language\nasked to have it cracked. He knew that there was something good inside of\nit. The shell was dry and hard. He might bite on it all he pleased, but\nthe delicious kernel he could not get until the shell was broken.\n\nThe Scriptures are just like that nut. If we wish to enjoy their richness\nand sweetness, we must, so to speak, get them cracked, and thus obtain the\nkernel, the inner hidden meaning, which will enrich the soul. But many are\ncontent to know so little of what is really contained in the Word!\n\nHow full of meaning, how rich, how wonderful, is a single expression! One\nsingle phrase may contain enough, if you get the \u201ckernel\u201d of it, to make\nyour soul bubble over with joy all day. A single word may give you\nstrength to fight victoriously through a sore conflict. The trouble is,\npeople do not take the time to get an understanding. They are too ready to\nthink that they can not understand. Learn to take a sentence, a clause, or\na word, and meditate on it. The more you think of it, the longer you\nconsider it, the richer and fuller it will become. To illustrate my\nmeaning I will take a text familiar to all and try to show you what I mean\nby getting the kernel out. \u201cThe Lord is my shepherd.\u201d I have often heard\npeople quote this text when I knew it meant little to them. But suppose we\nstudy it a little and place emphasis on each part in turn. Every word has\nits \u201ckernel\u201d of meaning, every word is full of richness and\nsoul-satisfaction, if we can but get it out.\n\n\u201c_The_ Lord\u201d\u2014not just any Lord, for there are \u201clords many.\u201d It signifies\none definite, particular Lord; not one of a number of equal lords, but one\nstanding out separate and distinct from all others\u2014the one above all\nothers. This is the Lord who is \u201cmy shepherd.\u201d When rightly considered,\nthis one little common word as here used contains a world of meaning. We\ncould profitably study it for hours. There is a whole sermon in it.\n\n\u201cThe _Lord_ is my shepherd.\u201d It is not a man nor even an angel who is my\nshepherd; it is the _Lord_, the almighty One\u2014he who created all things,\nwho stretched out the heavens, who upholds all by his might; the Lord who\nspeaks and it is done; the Lord who wills and it comes to pass; the Lord\nunchangeable, unfailing, glorious in strength, perfect in wisdom and\nunderstanding. Baal is not my shepherd, but he who sits upon the throne of\nthe heavens, whose face is as the lightning and whose words are as the\nrolling thunders, whose love is more tender than a mother\u2019s, whose touch\nis as soft as the kiss of a sunbeam, whose eye is tender with pity, and\nwhose heart is a fount of compassion\u2014this is the Lord, my shepherd.\n\n\u201cThe Lord _is_ my shepherd.\u201d Yes, he _is_. There was no questioning with\nthe Psalmist; it was to him a positive reality. He did not doubt it in the\nleast. He was as sure of it as he was of his own existence. But he was not\nany more sure than we can be. Repeat the text over a few times with strong\nemphasis on the \u201c_is_.\u201d This will help you get the kernel out of it. If\nyou are a little doubtful, keep going over it until the \u201cis\u201d really means\n_is_ to you.\n\n\u201cThe Lord is _my_ shepherd.\u201d Yes, he is _my_ shepherd. It is I for whom he\nis caring. It is I over whom he is watching. It is I who can safely trust\nhim. I may see him looking with favor on others, helping, blessing, and\nstrengthening them, but he is _my_ shepherd, so I may with confidence look\nfor him to give me the same kind of treatment that he gives the other\nsheep. The shepherd has made promises. He is _my_ shepherd; therefore I\nbelong to him and have all claims upon him that any sheep has.\n\n\u201cThe Lord is my _shepherd_.\u201d To others he may be a judge, austere and\nstern. Some see him as a tyrant, some see him as one to be feared, but he\nis my _shepherd_. Being my shepherd and the \u201cgood shepherd,\u201d he will care\nfor me. He will care for my safety. He will keep me in his fold from the\nravenous beasts; he will protect me. Into pastures green he will lead me.\nBy the still water I shall rest secure. He is \u201cmy shepherd.\u201d\n\nThis brings out only to a small degree the richness of the text, but it\nillustrates the manner in which we should study the Scriptures if we are\nto get the \u201ckernel\u201d; but we should carefully avoid every tendency to read\ninto any text what it does not teach. It is all right to read a chapter or\na number of chapters; but you will get more soul-food by taking a little\nand studying it well. Study each word carefully by itself and in relation\nto the other words of the sentence. Follow this method of study until it\nbecomes a habit, and it will unlock to you rich storehouses of heavenly\ntruth. Your soul will find a feast wherever you go in the Sacred Book.\nThere is in every scripture a \u201ckernel.\u201d Do not be content until you get it\nout.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FORTY-NINE. TWO SUNSETS\n\n\nWe stood on the brow of the hill gazing out over the valley beneath us. In\nthe distant west the sun sank quietly and serenely toward the horizon. The\npurpling shadows of the hills grew longer in the valley. The clouds\noverhead, which scarcely seemed to move, were in broken, fluffy masses. As\nwe gazed upon the scene, the sun as a mighty king in stately majesty and\nresplendent glory sank to his evening repose. The clouds caught the\nafterglow, looking as if a gigantic brush had swept across the sky\nscattering gold and orange and crimson and purple. The sun had gone, but\nthe glory of his vanished presence still lingered in the beauty of the\nclouds.\n\nAt the close of another day we stood on the same hill-top. The sun was\nhanging low. The purpling shadows lengthened in the valley. The sun did\nnot sink in glory tonight, but passed out of sight into a bank of dark and\nthreatening clouds. The voices of the day were stilled. A solemn and\nforeboding hush seemed over all, and our spirits felt the general gloom.\nThere was no afterglow. There was no resplendent painting of the sky. All\nwas somber and gloomy; nature seemed to await what would come, in\nexpectancy and awe. And as the darkness fell, we saw a gleam of lightning\nplay across the distant cloud.\n\nHow like the sunsets of some lives were these two sunsets! In my mind,\nunfading while I live, are the memories of two life-sunsets. When but\nseven summers had passed over my head, my little sister and I were at a\nneighbor\u2019s two or three miles from home. In the early twilight a horseman\ncame galloping down the road bearing the fateful news that Mother was\ndying. Quickly placing me behind him on the horse and taking my little\nsister in his arms, he galloped away through the early night.\n\nWhen we arrived at home, we found the house filled with neighbors. Upon\nher bed lay Mother with pallid face. Through the hours of the night we\nwatched by her bedside. About three o\u2019clock in the morning she asked them\nto sing that old song \u201cShall We Gather at the River?\u201d With choking voices\nand tear-dimmed eyes the little band of neighbors sang the song. The eyes\nof the sufferer gazed stedfastly above. A heavenly light beamed forth from\nher countenance. A smile of joy was upon her face. Presently she called\nthe sorrowing relatives one by one and bade them a last good-by. I fell\nupon my knees by her bedside and sobbed out my childish grief. She turned\nand looked fondly down upon me and, laying her hand upon my head, said,\n\u201cCharlie, be a good boy and meet me in heaven.\u201d\n\nA little while she was quiet. Then her life\u2019s sun sank to its rest. But\nthe afterglow of that beautiful life still shines in that community.\nCircumstances later took me far away; but after sixteen years, I again\nstood upon the scene, and over and over during my stay the neighbors told\nme of her beautiful Christian life. Many a time during those years when I\nwas tempted to do evil, I would behold that scene again, and those last\nwords of my sainted mother would ring in my ears; they stood as a bulwark\nbetween my soul and evil.\n\nThe same afternoon that the message so dreadful came to me grandmother\nvisited a neighbor who was drawing near to his life\u2019s sunset. When she\ncame back, she told what passed while she was there. The man was a\nskeptic. There was no life beyond the grave for him. There was no hope of\nreunion around the throne of God. Grandmother spoke to him of his\napproaching end and asked him if he was prepared. His answer I shall never\nforget. Young as I was, it struck me with terrible force. With a look of\ndeepest melancholy on his face he said, \u201cIt is taking a leap into the\ndark.\u201d\n\nA few days later he passed away, and he and mother lie there in the little\ncountry cemetery waiting till the voice of the Son of God shall call them\nforth. But ah, the difference between those two life-sunsets! One left the\nglorious hope of a Christian shining forth, tinting the sky with beauty;\nthe other\u2019s sun sank into a dark cloud of despair, lighted only with the\nlurid glare of the lightning of God\u2019s wrath.\n\nReader, what will be your life\u2019s sunset? Will it be serene and calm and\npeaceful, lighted up with glory from the throne of God, or will it be\ndark, without a promise or ray of hope? You are fast hastening to that\nhour. It may be nearer than you think. If you live without God, you will\ndie without God. Take a view of yourself now. Would you like for your\nlife\u2019s sunset to find you as you now are? If not, what assurance have you\nthat it will be different? Good intentions will never change it. Good\ndesires will never change it. God only can make you ready for that hour.\nUnless you seek him, you too will take a \u201cleap into the dark\u201d; for you\nthere will be only the \u201cblackness of darkness forever.\u201d \u201cIf ye will hear\nhis voice, harden not your heart.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FIFTY. THE SCULPTOR\u2019S WORK\n\n\nOne day years ago, as I was walking along in the suburbs of a city, I came\nto a large shed with wide-open doors. My attention was attracted by the\nsound of blows; and as I came opposite the door, I saw some workmen at the\nback end of the shed busily at work. Near the door on a small platform\nstood a large irregular piece of stone. Standing by it was a man with a\nlarge chisel in one hand and a heavy mallet in the other. As I looked he\nwalked up to the stone and began to knock great pieces off it with chisel\nand mallet. I paused to watch him, my curiosity aroused to know what he\nwas doing in his apparently aimless work.\n\nAs I watched, he continued breaking large flakes and pieces from the\nstone; and so far as I could see, he was just simply breaking it to\npieces. I wondered what he wanted such pieces of stone for. But presently\nhe began to kick them out of the way as if he had no use for them, and so\nI wondered still more what he was doing. After a time he stepped over to\nhis work-box, took another chisel and a lighter mallet, and began to knock\noff more pieces of the stone. For a long time this continued. I could not\ntell what the outcome would be. So far I had seen nothing but destruction.\nFrom time to time he changed tools; but still he cut away pieces of stone\nin the same seemingly aimless fashion. At length he began to cut\ndepressions into the stone here and there.\n\nA long time I watched him, still wondering. At last he made a few quick\nstrokes on one end of the stone, and I saw the outline of a head appear. A\nfew more strokes, and I exclaimed within myself, \u201cA lion!\u201d I watched until\nthe head became more distinct and life-like. Then under the quick strokes\nof the biting chisel, one paw appeared, then another; and as I watched,\nthe whole figure took outline, and I knew that what seemed to be only an\naimless work of destruction was instead the skilled work of a sculptor.\n\nI had seen only the block of stone; but within that block of stone he had\nseen the beautiful figure of the king of beasts. The work that seemed to\nme to be without purpose, now proved to have been full of purpose. The\npieces of stone cut off were merely so much waste-material that hid the\nbeautiful statue.\n\nI knew now that what would be left of the stone after the sculptor had\ncompleted his work would go to adorn some fine building and to be looked\nupon and admired by many people. No one had admired it in its former\nstate. It was only a block of stone, unattractive and of little value. But\nit would now be a thing of beauty to be treasured. Yet that change could\ntake place only when the sharp steel had bitten away all useless parts.\n\nI went away thoughtful. I realized that that was a great allegory of life.\nThe great Sculptor sees in every human being, no matter how rough and\nirregular, great possibilities. Whereas we can see only the exterior, he\nsees within the potential image with which he would adorn his glorious\nbuilding above. Man was created in the image of God, but that image is now\nobscured by sin and its results. And so the divine Sculptor must do with\nus as the sculptor did with the stone. He must bring to bear upon us the\nsharp chisel of circumstances, of disappointment, of trial. It seems that\nthese things will destroy us. It seems that these things are evil, and we\nshrink from them. Some think that God is not just toward them. Some cry\nout in pain. Some mourn and lament. Some cry to God to stay his hand. And\nmany, oh, how many! rebel. They can not see what it means. They feel that\nit is all wrong. Sometimes they murmur against God and their hearts grow\nbitter; but all the time the Master Sculptor with his sharp chisel of pain\nis only trying to carve in their natures and characters his own image.\n\nYou want to be in his image, do you not? You desire the beautiful lines of\nrighteousness, purity, truth, meekness, faithfulness, and kindness to\nappear in you. You want to be a part of the adornment of the heavenly\ntemple. If you would be not a mere block of stone without form or beauty,\nbut the image of the Creator, you must let Pain do her work in you; there\nis only one way. Christian character comes only through pain. If you\nshrink and murmur or if you rebel, that image may be marred forever.\n\nThink not that God will let your life be ruined. He wants you for the\nadornment of his palace. So when pain comes\u2014the pain of sorrow, of\nbereavement, of temporal loss, of being reproached and having your name\ncast out as evil, of being wounded by the tongue of slander\u2014in whatever\nform pain comes to you, hold still; bear it patiently; it will work out in\nyour life God\u2019s great design.\n\nWould you have patience? You must have many things to try your patience.\nWould you have meekness? You can obtain it only through endurance. Would\nyou have faith? You must meet and overcome many obstacles. God puts in us\nlatent qualities of good, but these can be brought to view in the solid\nstructure of Christian character only by long and continued chiseling.\n\u201cBeloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try\nyou, as though some strange thing happened unto you\u201d (1 Pet. 4: 12).\n\u201cWhich _is_ to try you\u201d\u2014did you ever notice that? It does not say which\n_may_ try you or which _probably_ will try you; it says, \u201cWhich _is_ to\ntry you.\u201d That signifies that it was _intended_ to try you. It was meant\nfor that purpose; it does not come by accident. Trials are necessary. If\nyou are ever to be what God wants you to be, you need trials, you must\nhave them; you can never be strong or patient or meek or brave or possess\nany other virtue God wants you to have unless you stand the test. \u201cMany\nshall be purified, made white, and tried.\u201d God will do the purifying; and\nhe will also see that we get our \u201ctrying.\u201d \u201cAfter that ye have suffered a\nwhile,\u201d Peter says, God will \u201cmake you perfect, stablish, strengthen,\nsettle you.\u201d\n\nThe chisel pain must do its work. Even Jesus was \u201cmade perfect through\nsuffering.\u201d Let us bear it manfully, yea, joyfully, knowing that it will\nleave its mark upon us, even the mark of our Lord Jesus Christ. It will\nbring out the beauty and richness of the Christ-life and fit us to be in\nHis presence forever.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FIFTY-ONE. THE HELPLESSNESS OF THE GOSPEL\n\n\nMuch has been said about the power of the gospel. It is \u201cthe power of God\nunto salvation.\u201d By it millions have been redeemed and cheered and\ncomforted and inspired. Others have been warned in tones of thunder to\nawakened consciences. It has been the greatest civilizer known. But\nhowever great its power and influence, however wonderful its\naccomplishments, there are conditions under which it is pitifully\nhelpless, under which it can do nothing to help the perishing masses. You\nmay take your Bible into a heathen land or to a race of another language,\nand though all its truth, its promises and warnings, its light and glory,\nare within its lids, yet it is dumb. It speaks not to them. They perish\nall around it. They remain in darkness, when light is there, heavenly,\nglorious light. Not a ray reaches them. It is helpless. It is voiceless;\nit speaks not to them its story of love. In your own home it may lie\nclosed and silent. Visitors come and go, but it helps them not. Your\nchildren hear not its voice. Your neighbors receive not its counsel,\nwarnings, nor promises. How helpless it is! Oh the many dumb Bibles in our\nland! If they only had tongues, what messages they would speak to the\npeople! You have a tongue. Do you not often use it in a way that is of\nlittle profit either to you or to others? The Bible has no tongue to use.\nWill you lend it yours? Will you let it speak its message with your\ntongue? Must your neighbors be lost because your Bible has no voice? O\nbrother, sister, let your Bible be no longer dumb. Give it a tongue. There\nare hearts all around you needing its truth. Will you speak for it? A\nsilent and voiceless Bible\u2014what can be more helpless?\n\nAgain, if a tongue be lent it and its message be spoken and repeated again\nand again, what can it do if it is not believed? It is the power of God in\nthis world only to \u201cthem that believe.\u201d If we will not believe it, it can\ndo us no good. It can not save or comfort or heal unless it is believed.\nWill you give it a believing heart? Unless you do, it is absolutely\npowerless to help you. Oh, how helpless is an unbelieved Bible!\n\nAnd though it have a voice and speak ever so clearly, what can it do if\nthe ears be closed against it? If \u201chaving ears, we hear not,\u201d but close\nour minds and hearts against its voice, it will profit us nothing. It can\nhelp not the least. Oh, give it a listening ear and heart!\n\nThe Bible has no hands. It can not reach out to the needy nor go about\ndoing good. It can not clothe the naked nor feed the hungry. Why not give\nyour hands to the gospel\u2019s use, that it may not be longer helpless?\n\nIt has no feet. It can not go from place to place, but must remain supine\nwherever it is put. It is a poor \u201cshut-in.\u201d Who will pity its helplessness\nand give it feet, that it may go to the nations?\n\nIt has no money. It is as poor as a pauper. It can not pay its way to the\nyearning, hungry souls that await its coming. It needs its way paid to\nIndia, to Africa, to China. It needs to go to the ends of the earth. You\ncan send some of its messages afar for a few cents, and perchance thus\nhelp it to reach a soul ready and waiting that will otherwise be lost.\nThere are tongues ready to speak for it; there are feet ready to run with\nit; but who will pay its fare? Have you money and houses and cattle and\nlands, and yet are not helping this helpless gospel on its mission of\nmercy? Must it fail to reach the people, that you may consume your means\nfor the gratification of the flesh? Might not the money you have spent the\npast year needlessly, have sent the gospel to a number of lost souls?\n\nOh! pity the poor Bible, which has no tongue, no hands, no feet, and no\nmoney! How will it reach the lost? Give it your hands, your feet, your\ntongue, your pocketbook. Behold the countless throngs going down the broad\nway. Listen to the groans of the lost. Behold your own friends and\nneighbors and perhaps your own kindred on the way to hell. Can you longer\nlet the gospel be helpless and voiceless? What would you answer the lost\nin the judgment were they to say to you, \u201cYou had the Bible, but you did\nnot tell us its truths. You did not carry or send it to us, and so we\nperish\u201d? What will you do to help the Bible to save the world? The time is\nshort. The shades of the evening are falling around us. \u201cThe night cometh,\nwhen no man can work.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FIFTY-TWO. HE CARETH FOR YOU\n\n\n\u201cCasting all your care upon him; for he careth for you\u201d (1 Pet. 5: 7). God\ncares for us in the sense of having a personal interest in us. We are the\nwork of his hands, and as such he is interested in our prosperity. He\nwatches over the development of our lives; he notes every step of\nprogress. The one who plants a flower, waters it, cares for it, and\nwatches the development of each tiny shoot and bud, cares more for that\nflower and has a deeper interest in it than has the one who merely stops\nfor a few minutes to admire its full-blown beauty and to enjoy its\nfragrance. To the one it is only one plant out of many, but to the other\nit has a special meaning and attraction and worth, because its bloom and\nfragrance are the result of his labor, care, and patience. It is his\nplant. So it is with God. He gave us our being; he has nourished and\nprotected us and watched us develop day by day; he is interested in us and\ndesires our lives to bloom and send forth a fragrance of trueness and\npurity all around. Let us so live that he will not be disappointed in us.\n\nHe cares for us because he created us for his glory and to fill a place in\nhis eternal kingdom. He created us, not merely that we might have an\nexistence, but for a purpose for himself. He wants us to make a success of\nour lives, not simply for our own advantage, but to fill the place for\nwhich he created us for his purpose and glory. And because of this he will\nuse every endeavor to help us succeed in our lives.\n\nHe cares for us in the sense that he loves us. \u201cThe Father himself loveth\nyou.\u201d \u201cI have loved thee with an everlasting love.\u201d \u201cGod so loved the\nworld.\u201d He has a deep and abiding affection for every soul, and even when\nwe stray away from him into the depth of sin, his heart yearns over us as\na mother over her erring boy, only his love is stronger than a mother\u2019s.\nHe sends his servants out to seek the lost, and his Spirit to plead with\nthem. Sinner, he loves you. Though you have grieved him and have repelled\nhis Spirit over and over again, yet his eye beams with pity, his heart is\ntender with love, and his arms are outstretched toward you to welcome you\nto his embrace.\n\nIf he thus cares for the rebellious and neglectful sinner, how much does\nhe care for his own obedient, loving children! How tender his love!\nSometimes in a dark and troublesome hour when his face seems hidden, we\nmay feel as did the disciples when they cried out in their distress,\n\u201cCarest thou not that we perish?\u201d Ah, he did care. At once he arose and\nrebuked the elements and brought the disciples safely to the land. Yea, he\n_does_ care. \u201cHe careth for _you_.\u201d His help may sometimes seem delayed,\nbut it will come and just at the time to be most effective. In your joys\nand victories and seasons of refreshing he cares for you and also in the\ntime of trial, of persecution, of heaviness and longing, and of bitterness\nof soul. In it all he cares, and he will bring you through when he sees\nthe soul refined and fitted for his purpose. \u201cHe careth for you.\u201d Believe\nit. Let your soul exult in it and shout it aloud. Or if you can in your\nsorrow only whisper it, let your heart still say: \u201cHe loves and he cares.\nI will trust him and be content.\u201d\n\nAgain, he cares for us in the sense of taking care of us. His care is\nproved in his making so beautiful a world to be our home. The flowers, the\nfruits, the grains, the grasses, the animals, the sunshine, the winds, the\nrains, and all were made to minister to man\u2019s need, comfort, and\nhappiness. For us these exist. That we may be fed, he causes the earth to\nbring forth bountifully. That we may be clothed, he makes the cotton and\nthe flax to grow out of the soil, the wool upon the sheep, and causes the\nsilkworm to spin its glossy house. That we might be warmed, he made the\ncoal, the gas, and the forests. That we might be protected, he made the\nstone, the wood, the iron, and the clay that we might have houses.\n\nHe cares also for our bodies, that we may have health. He gives us pure\ncrystal water to quench our thirst and cool us in fever, balmy\noxygen-laden air to build us up, and countless other blessings. Above all\nthis, he is himself to us a Great Physician whose word heals our suffering\nbodies and takes us out of the grasp of death.\n\nHe cares for us spiritually, giving us his grace to help in every time of\nneed\u2014to shield in temptation, to strengthen in trial, to make strong in\nadversity, courageous in danger, and valiant in conflict.\n\nTruly, he cares for us. Let us doubt and fear no more, but commit\nourselves to him, knowing that he will \u201cin no wise fail\u201d us.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FIFTY-THREE. THREE TESTS OF LOVE\n\n\n\u201cWherefore show ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your\nlove\u201d (2 Cor. 8: 24). Love is capable of demonstration. Where it really\nexists, it will manifest itself. It need not be made known by mere\nassertion. We are told to love not in word or in tongue, but in deed and\nin truth. In these days there are many who, like some of old, show much\nlove with their mouths while their hearts are far from God. The test of\nour love is not how much we talk about it, but how much we manifest it in\nour lives. There are three tests of love, which never fail to show exactly\njust how much we love. Let us consider them in order.\n\nI. How Much We Serve.\n\nWe are told that Jacob loved Rachel so much that he served seven years for\nher, and that those years seemed to him as only a few days. The amount of\nour love to God is proved by our willingness to serve him. If there is in\nus a disposition to do only what we please to do, and if we can, to\ndisregard any of the known will of God, it is a clear evidence that we do\nnot love him. It matters not what we profess, if we are not willing to put\nobedience to God\u2019s will before everything else, it is from lack of love.\n\nLove makes people willing-hearted. There are many things to do; there are\nmany ways to serve; and love prompts us to serve wherever possible. If the\nwork of God stands first in our love, our hands will always be ready for\nservice. I have attended many camp-meetings, where I have noticed those on\nwhom the labor of the meeting fell. Everybody was willing to sit in the\nmeeting and enjoy the good sermons and take all the blessings they could\nget; but when it came to the labor and responsibility connected with the\nmeeting, willingness suddenly disappeared, and a greater part of the\nburden fell upon the ministers and a few consecrated brethren and sisters\nwho loved God and the people enough to go to work. I have often had\noccasion to call for volunteers for service, and have often found that\nmany people who can say \u201cAmen\u201d and \u201cPraise the Lord,\u201d and perhaps shout in\nmeeting, become suddenly silent when it comes to volunteering for work.\nThe test of their love proves that love is wanting.\n\nIn a certain camp-meeting there was a young man who professed to be saved,\nand was saved, so far as I know. I noticed, however, that when others were\nbusy at work in some necessary service, he was always standing back a mere\nonlooker. One day about the middle of the meeting this young man came to\nthe altar, and when asked what was the trouble he said that he had\nbackslidden. Being asked what he had done, he said that he did not know. I\nsaid to him: \u201cI think I know your trouble. Whenever there has been a\nmeeting, you have been ready to go and enjoy all you could of it; whenever\na meal is ready, you are always ready for it; but when there is any work\nto be done, you are never ready. Now,\u201d I continued, \u201cwhen there is need of\nwater at the boarding-house, you take a bucket and go for it; when there\nis wood needed, get an ax and use it, or when there is anything to do in\nwhich you can help, be ready for it and do your part.\u201d He took my advice,\nand from that time on he seemed to be a different man. The reason many\npeople get so few blessings is because they do not love enough to serve.\n\nThere are duties for all. There are opportunities everywhere. Every one of\nthem is a test of love. Brother, sister, how does your love stand the\ntest? Love will not grumble; it will not complain; it will not shrink from\nservice. Do you love as fervently as you ought?\n\nII. How Much We Sacrifice.\n\nThe mother who loves her child thinks no sacrifice too great for it. Even\nher life will she give for it, if need be. The man who loves his country\nwill, if the need should arise, count no sacrifice too great. He who loves\nGod as truly as the mother loves her child or the patriot loves his\ncountry is willing to sacrifice for God. Abraham proved his love by not\nwithholding his son. He offered him freely in obedience to God\u2019s command.\nPaul loved, and as a result he counted not his life dear to himself so\nthat he might do the work of God. Christ so loved the world that he\nsacrificed everything for our salvation.\n\nWe say that we love this glorious gospel; we say we desire to see it\nspread to the ends of the earth; but how much do we love it compared with\nour love of self? Do we love it more than self, or equal with self, or far\nless than self? Many persons spend willingly and even lavishly for self\nwho give sparingly and reluctantly to God. They spend more for their\npleasures than they give. Some spend more for candy than they give to\nmissions. Some spend more for gasoline for pleasure-riding than they give\nto all causes. In fact, some spend so much on their own selfish desires\nthat when a need of God\u2019s work is presented they can truly say, \u201cI can not\ngive much.\u201d They might feel disposed to give if they had anything to give,\nbut are they willing to deny themselves of some self-gratification in\norder to have something to give? There is the test of love that proves its\nreal direction\u2014whether it runs out selfward or Godward. If we love God and\nsouls as much as we love self, we can spend money for them just as\nwillingly and with as little reluctance or regret to see it go as if it\nwere being spent for ourselves. If we can not spend for God and his work\nmore willingly than for self, it is because we do not love him more than\nself. If we do not get more pleasure out of giving than we do out of\nconsuming, we may well question both the amount and quality of our love\nand its direction. Often the work of God must go on crutches because of\nlack of means while professors live in luxury.\n\nThere is no way to avoid the issue. There is plenty of money so that all\nthe work of the church could be properly financed and no undue burden rest\nupon any. The fact is, there are too many whose love is wanting in that\nquality which draws out their hearts into the work of God until they are\nwilling to sacrifice for it. It is true that there are many who do love\nand who prove it by their sacrifices. But it is just as true that there\nare many others who do not deny themselves and will not even from a sense\nof duty, to say nothing of making willing sacrifices through the prompting\nof love.\n\nIt is time that we heard more of the practical side of love preached from\nthe pulpit and that people who profess salvation and at the same time\nmanifest an indifference toward the salvation of souls and the work of the\nchurch in general should not be left to drift along in coldness and be\nlost at last. A sacrificing person or a sacrificing church will be\nspiritual if the sacrifice is prompted by love. People who are willing to\nserve and sacrifice rarely backslide.\n\nIII. How Much We Endure.\n\nChrist proved his love by enduring the scoffs and ill-treatment of the\npeople and the shame and suffering of the cross. By this he proved his\nlove to be real. If our love is genuine, as was that of the saints of old,\nwe can rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer for His name. Paul\nendured all things for the elect\u2019s sake, that they might be saved. If we\ncan not endure the little persecutions, the unkind words, the sneering\nsmiles, the scoffs and jeers, of the unbelieving world, is it not because\nour love lacks fervency? The early church took joyfully the spoiling of\ntheir goods because they loved their Lord far more than they loved their\ngoods. God\u2019s ministers in all ages have endured hardships and perils and\nhave suffered in a thousand ways without faltering, because they loved\nsouls as God loves them.\n\nSometimes people quote the text, \u201cWe know that we have passed from death\nunto life because we love the brethren\u201d; but if these same brethren do\nsomething that does not please them, they are offended and grieved and are\nfull of complaint and murmuring, and it is hard for them to be reconciled\nto their brethren. Is the love of such people genuine? Does it really\nprove that they have passed from death unto life? Many think that the\npreacher ought to be willing to endure almost anything for the cause (and\nso he should), but they do not consider that the same love in them will\ngive them the same spirit of endurance and willingness to suffer as it\ngives to the minister. Love that can not endure hardness,\nmisrepresentation, neglect, and such things, and still be sweet and\nstrong, needs to be increased.\n\nLove makes service sweet, sacrifice easy, and meek endurance possible.\nLove enriches, ennobles, and blesses. It sweetens the bitter cup: it\nlightens the heavy load. It strengthens the faltering soul. Let us,\ntherefore, see that we have fervent love toward God, toward each other,\nand toward the lost world.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FIFTY-FOUR. TWO WAYS OF RISING\n\n\nThe human passions are like water: left unconfined, their tendency is\nalways downward. You can carry water upward or force it upward with a\npump, but in order to do so you must confine it in a vessel or a pipe. The\nmoment it gains its liberty by breaking through the barrier, it rushes\ndownward. So the human passions and propensities must be kept confined by\nthe will. When they are not, they carry the whole man downward. By the\npower of our wills we may raise ourselves to higher altitudes, to greater\nheights of morality; but the moment the will weakens so that passion\nbreaks through, the course is immediately downward. Water is raised to\nheights by great labor; so we reach morality only by the greatest efforts,\nand maintain it only by careful watchfulness and stedfast purpose.\n\nBut the sun, with its warming rays, smiles down upon the water, and the\nwater rises in unseen vapor and floats into the atmosphere. There is no\nstruggle and terrible compulsion and repression, but only silence,\ncalmness, and peace. When it rises from the muddy pool, the stagnant pond,\nor the filthy gutter, it rises pure and clean, leaving behind the mud, the\nslime, the offensive odors, the noxious germs and bacteria. So when the\nsunshine of God\u2019s love shines upon and warms our hearts, it lifts us up\nfrom all the slime and filth of sinful habits, clean and pure, into\nheavenly places in Christ Jesus.\n\nSo long as the water is kept warm, it floats onward; but when it cools, it\ncondenses and falls back again, perhaps into the same slimy pool.\nLikewise, so long as our hearts are kept warm by the rays of God\u2019s love\nshining therein, our pure moral state is easily maintained; but when we\nlose the warmth of that love, lower things begin to attract us and soon we\nfall down toward the former level. Keep your heart ever turned toward the\nSun of Righteousness, cherish its soul-warming rays of love, and you will\nfloat on the atmosphere of heaven far above the things of sin.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FIFTY-FIVE. GETTING EVEN\n\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll get even with that fellow if it takes ten years.\u201d Thus declared a\nman about another who had wronged him, as his eyes flashed with passion\nand his teeth set firmly with resolve. In his heart he determined to do\nhis enemy as great an injury as his enemy had done him. \u201cGet even,\u201d I\nthought; \u201cwhat does it mean to get even?\u201d Then appeared before my mind\u2019s\neye a view of the various classes of humanity, each person in the scale of\nmorality where his life had placed him. I saw the Christian on God\u2019s plane\nof holiness and truth. Far below him stood the moral though unchristian\nman, and down, down, step by step, my mental eye beheld man to the lowest\ndepth of moral degradation.\n\nVile and wrong deeds always degrade man to a lower state. Every evil deed,\nword, or thought lowers us in moral being. If some one has done evil\ntoward us, he has lowered himself by that act; and for us to decide to\n\u201cget even\u201d by a similar act toward him is for us to decide that we will\nlower ourselves to his level. To \u201cget even\u201d means to get on the same\nlevel. It means to abase and degrade ourselves. If we \u201cget even,\u201d we are\nas bad as he, and worthy that others look upon us with the same feelings\nwith which we regard him. If you want to get even with any one, do not\nchoose some one below you, but some one above you in moral attainments,\nand labor to attain to his height, instead of the other\u2019s depths. This\nwill ennoble you, make you better, and be worthy of a reasoning being.\n\nThe principle of revenge has no part in Christianity. God refuses to let\nus avenge ourselves, no difference what the provocation nor how good the\nopportunity for vengeance. He says, \u201cDearly beloved, avenge not\nyourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance\nis mine; I will repay saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger,\nfeed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap\ncoals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with\ngood\u201d (Rom. 12: 19-21). \u201cRecompense to no man evil for evil\u201d (verse 17).\n\u201cSee that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that\nwhich is good, both among yourselves, and to all men\u201d (1 Thess. 5: 15).\nWhen one who is a Christian so far forgets what is right that he stoops to\ntake vengeance, he is then upon the level of the sinner who did him evil,\nand is himself a sinner, and is fallen from his high position to the level\nof sin. God forbids us to threaten to \u201cget even\u201d with anyone. \u201cSay not, I\nwill do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man\naccording to his work\u201d (Prov. 24: 29).\n\nThe spirit of Christianity is to render good for evil, blessing for\ncursing, love for hatred. The blood of Christ will wash away the \u201cget\neven\u201d disposition from us; and until we are thus cleansed, let us not\npresume to call ourselves by that holy name of Him who \u201cwhen he was\nreviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but\ncommitted himself to him that judgeth righteously.\u201d Good is stronger than\nevil. Evil used against evil, begets more evil; but we may \u201covercome evil\nwith good.\u201d\n\nI once asked a man why he did not become a Christian. He replied that\nthere were so many in his business who were trying to get the financial\nadvantage of him that he could not do right, but must do the same with\nthem or he could not \u201ckeep even.\u201d\n\nBut let us see what it really means to be \u201ceven.\u201d If a man lies about me,\nand to get even I lie about him, then we are even. He is a liar and I am a\nliar\u2014both on the same plane. He is going to the judgment to give account\nfor his lie and so am I for mine\u2014even again. If he does not repent, he\nwill go to hell for lying; and if I do not repent, I shall go, too. Yes,\nwe may get even, but I would rather not be so. If a man beats me out of\nten dollars, to get even I must watch my chance to do likewise to him. If\nI do not try to beat him to get even, he may have more money in his pocket\nthan I; but if I turn the matter over for settlement to Him who said,\n\u201cVengeance is mine; I will repay,\u201d when the final account is rendered, I\nshall be ten dollars or more ahead.\n\nLet us not endeavor to be \u201ceven\u201d with our enemies by taking vengeance, but\nlet us do right and win them to the gospel by overcoming evil with good.\nLet us get even by raising others up instead of lowering ourselves to\ntheir sinful level. Be a blessing to all. Set a right example.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FIFTY-SIX. DO YOU KNOW YOURSELF?\n\n\nEveryone desires success, but not every one succeeds. In any line there\nare certain things on which success depends. Success can be built only on\na properly and carefully laid foundation. Those who desire to be\nChristians desire to be successful in the Christian life. Those who are\ncalled to work for God desire to be successful workers. Jesus said to\nMartha, \u201cOne thing is needful.\u201d There is generally one basic principle on\nwhich all else must be built. If this is overlooked or neglected, partial\nor complete failure is certain. Many attempts are failures because of\nbeing begun at the wrong place. In mathematics we must master the\nrudiments before we can compute the orbits of the planets. In music we\nmust learn tones and relations of tones before we can produce the\nexquisite harmonies of the master. In astronomy we must know something of\nour little home-planet before we can launch out into the heart-stirring\nimmensities of space. Before we can rightly know God we must know\nourselves.\n\nThe animal instinctively knows that the gnawing pain in its stomach is a\nhunger for food, and immediately seeks to satisfy it. But the man who does\nnot know himself, who does not stop to consider and analyze, feels an\nunrest, a yearning, a hungering within his soul, and knows not why or what\nit is. He tries worldly pleasures; but they only partially satisfy, and at\nlast render the case more serious than before. He tries all the remedies\nthat he can find for his soul-hunger, but performs no cure, simply because\nhe has not properly diagnosed his case. It is only when he knows that the\ncause of his unrest is soul-hunger for God and the bread of life, that he\nbegins to try to satisfy himself properly. Women, and many of them\nprofessors, try to satisfy this craving by decking themselves with gold\nand gems and fine array, with the plumage of birds and the skins of\nbeasts. Men try to satisfy it in the pool-room, by plunging into the muddy\nwaters of the political sea, or by accumulating money and by the follies\nof life. As food is the only thing that properly satisfies the hunger of\nthe body, so God is the only thing that satisfies the hunger of the soul.\nWhen people come to know that this hunger is for God, they begin to search\nfor him if haply they may find him. The trouble is that people look at\nChristianity in the abstract, as a something apart from themselves,\nwhereas it is a vital part of every spiritually normal man or woman. The\nsaying of the old philosopher, \u201cKnow thyself,\u201d proves his wisdom. True\nwisdom comes only by first understanding ourselves so as to know our\nrelation to other things.\n\nOne of the things that must constantly be preached to the sisters is\nproper modesty and plainness of apparel. How often do we meet with those\nwho once were plain who now dress almost as the world! Why is it that\nthese thing\u2019s are put on? Because there is a longing in the heart. They do\nnot understand what this longing really is nor what will satisfy it. They\ninterpret the unrest of soul as being a desire for these things, yet when\nput on they do not satisfy.\n\nNo, sister, it is not the flowers on your hat nor the feathers nor fine\ndresses, that you are really desiring. You may think it is, but only\nbecause you can not rightly interpret your soul-cry. No, brother, it is\nnot that fine team nor that other eighty acres that your soul really\ndesires. Both your souls are crying for more of God. Give them a chance to\nget what they are hungering for, and you will be surprized to find out\nthat you did not really want these other things after all. If you find in\nyou a desire, or what seems to be a desire, for anything not in accord\nwith spiritual prosperity, there is a real desire in your soul which you\ndo not realize. Sister, if you pass the millinery-store and see a display\nof worldly hats and something seems to say, \u201cJust to be honest, I should\nlike to have one of those,\u201d your soul is hungry. Go home and feed it. Go\nto your closet, fall upon your knees, and get a good feast of the \u201cbread\nfrom heaven\u201d and \u201cwater of life,\u201d and then go back and look in that window\nagain and see if there is any hunger. There is not a bit, is there? Do you\nnot see you were mistaken? Your soul wanted more of God, and you did not\nknow yourself any better than to think it was a fine hat you desired.\n\nOr you, brother, if you feel as if you wanted people to notice you more\nand say nice things about you and tell how talented you are, you are\nhungry. Go and give your soul a feast of heavenly manna\u2014not just a taste;\neat plenty, feast on it. Now come back in the crowd, and when that man\ngoes to praising you, it makes you feel ashamed. You did not really know\nwhat you did want, did you?\n\nAnd you who desire to be a big preacher and stir the world and be like a\nmighty man of war among the people. You are getting real hungry. It will\ntake a lot to fill you up, but God has plenty, and you had better get to\nthe table quickly. When you get full, though, you will find you do not\nreally want to be a big preacher at all, have not the least desire to be.\nWhy, you will feel so small, just as if you wanted to hide behind the\ncross where nobody would see you at all.\n\nAfter we have a good, square meal on divine food, any sort of worldliness\nwill \u201cgo against our stomachs,\u201d and we can not bear it, sight or smell.\n\nAnd you there, you want to have your own way in everything, do you not?\nYour judgment is so good that all the brethren must accept it and act upon\nit or all the sweetness in your soul turns to vinegar right away. Go and\neat some of the \u201choney out of the rock.\u201d Do not come back until you get\nenough. When you get filled up once, you will wake up in the night and\ncatch yourself saying, \u201cNot my will, but thine be done.\u201d\n\nGod is what you want. Everything else is husks. You can eat husks all you\nplease and not get satisfied. You may get a bad case of spiritual\ndyspepsia or die altogether. Better find out what you really do want, and\nthen \u201ceat in plenty and be satisfied.\u201d Do not try fine dresses and rings\nand flowers and feathers and houses and lands and honors for soul-diet.\n\u201cEat ye that which is good.\u201d Get acquainted with yourself enough to know\nthat all the real desire of your heart is for godliness, and that these\nlongings for other things are only symptoms of your need of _more God_ and\nthat they will disappear at once when the soul is filled with the \u201cbread\nof life.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FIFTY-SEVEN. BALKERS\n\n\nNo man likes a balky horse. It is a nuisance. It may be fine in\nappearance, strong, and able to do a great amount of work, and it may pull\nalong very well on good roads; but when a mud-hole is encountered, it is\nlikely to stop, and absolutely refuse to budge, regardless of the efforts\nof the driver, just when it should get down to business.\n\nSome people are as balky as some horses. When everything goes to please\nthem, they are \u201cgood Christians\u201d and often seem very zealous; but as soon\nas something does not go just to suit them, they draw back in the harness\nand refuse to pull a pound. What is the matter? They are balkers. Others\ndo well when public sentiment is in favor of the truth; but as soon as it\nbecomes a reproach to walk in the straight way, they can not bear the\nlittle persecution that comes, and immediately they become balkers.\n\nI have seen others who made much noise in meeting and talked a great deal\noutside about their religion and their doings, but who, when it came time\nfor them to make some sacrifice for the cause or to do some work that\nrequired consecration on their part, were ready to balk at once and throw\nthe responsibility on others who were not balky. There are others who will\nwork hard and sacrifice for the cause if they can direct operations; but\nas soon as they can not lead in the work, or if some one questions the\nwisdom of something they do, they are ready to throw up everything and\nquit and have no more to do with it, no matter how much good they might do\nif they were content to fill any place in which they could be useful. They\nare balkers. They will work only when they can have the honor of\nleadership. Like some balky horses, they will work only so long as they\ncan have everything their own way.\n\nThere are many ways in which people balk. There are the ones who are\nalways giving up their profession at every little thing; they are chronic\nbalkers. God can never depend on them. Just when he wants something done\nthat they might do if they were in condition for work, they have a balky\nspell and are of no use. Then there are the ones who can not go to meeting\nbecause the sun is too hot or because it looks a little like rain. Others\nbalk if the wind blows a little or if they do not feel just as good as\nthey have felt at other times. Some go along with a profession till new\nlight comes to them, but are unwilling to walk in it. They stop attending\nmeeting or quit professing or try to go on with a profession and not\nmeasure up. In any of these cases they are balkers.\n\nDo not be a balker. If there is work to be done, do it. If there are\nsacrifices to be made, make them. If there is persecution to bear, bear\nit. If there are difficulties to be overcome, overcome them. If there are\nhard places to pull through, pull through them. If you can fill only a\nminor place, fill it well. If you have trials and difficulties and\ndiscouragements, pull through anyway. Do not be a balker. If you have\nacquired the habit already, quit it. Get down to business and pull your\nshare. And do not try to pull independently; pull with the rest of God\u2019s\npeople. All pull together. \u201cIf any man draw back, my soul shall have no\npleasure in him.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FIFTY-EIGHT. SPONGES AND WATERING-CANS\n\n\nIt was Jesus\u2019 custom to draw spiritual lessons from the things surrounding\nhim and by some similitude impress upon his hearers a profitable truth; so\nwe may get many valuable thoughts from the simple things of every-day\nlife. The articles mentioned in the heading bring to my mind pictures of\ntwo classes of people.\n\nThe most noticeable feature of a sponge is its power of absorbing a liquid\nand retaining it within itself. If dipped in or placed in contact with a\nliquid, it will absorb several times its weight. Some people are like\nsponges. They go to meeting and drink in the truth time after time. They\nlove it. It delights their hearts. They love the singing, the preaching,\nthe testimonies, and the prayers. They absorb and absorb, but, like the\nsponge, they give out nothing. The sponge gives up what it has taken in\nonly when it is subjected to pressure. So it is with these human sponges.\nWhile they love to listen, they have to be urged to do anything. They\ntestify only when they feel duty-bound to do so or when they are urged by\nsomebody else. They rarely pray in meeting. They are among the last in all\nsuch things. To go where a congregation are mostly sponges is to find a\nfew having all to do and to find a dull, insipid meeting. Wet sponges will\nnot burn. Neither will the fire of God burn in a congregation of sponges.\nA preacher may be full of fire, but he can not set sponges burning. Do you\nhave to be urged to testify? Are you ready to pray or do whatever you can\nin the meeting? Do you love to talk to people about salvation? or do you\nspeak of it only when some one else starts the conversation? Do you have\nto be constantly urged to do your duty? Are you a sponge?\n\nA watering-can is different. It too will take in to its full capacity;\nbut, as soon as it is turned in the right position, it freely gives out\nagain. Streams of cooling, refreshing water fall on the thirsty plants.\nThe drooping flowers raise again their heads to blush in beauty, and their\nfragrance floats out on the balmy air once more. A delicious coolness\nsurrounds the place, and we delight to be there. While the sponge\nrepresents the selfish class, the watering-can represents the\nopen-hearted, cheerful giver\u2014one who is ready to pass on the good things\nand who in return reaps the promise, \u201cHe that watereth shall be watered\nalso himself.\u201d If the watering-can is emptied, does not the gardener fill\nit again, and with fresh water? So, if we are pouring out to others, we\nshall be filled anew. We shall not be empty, but fresh and rich in our\nsouls with the water of life. The great Gardener fills us that we may pour\nout to others, not simply that we may be filled ourselves. It is said of\nJesus that he \u201cemptied himself\u201d (Revised Version.) He became poor that\nthrough his poverty we should be made rich.\n\nO beloved, God wants us to be \u201cready unto every good work.\u201d Do not be a\nsponge. Do not have to be pressed into duty. Do not live in yourself and\nfor yourself. Be no longer content with drinking in. Begin to pour out. Be\nready to do your part in meeting, yea everywhere. Be ready to water\nothers. The world is indeed \u201cthirsty ground.\u201d\n\nA sponge, if left to itself, gives out by evaporation until it becomes\nhard and dry; and in such a state it is useless. Many people have drunk in\nthe truth and delighted in it, but instead of pouring out to others, that\nthey might be refilled, they have just given out by evaporation until they\nhave become dry and formal and lifeless. That is the usual result with\nspiritual sponges. Who are those who are fat and flourishing, those who\nhave showers of blessings? Are they the sponges? Nay, verily. \u201cGive, and\nit shall be given.\u201d \u201cIt is more blessed to give [to be a watering-can]\nthan to receive [to be a sponge].\u201d\n\nNow, face the question squarely. Which of these things are you? Look over\nthe past year. Have you been ready for duty? Is your testimony always\n\u201cripe\u201d\u2014ready for the opportunity? Are you ready for service of any kind?\nIf you have been a sponge, quit being one. Quit now. Get God to make\nsomething better of you. If we are not now sponges, we can soon become so\nby neglect of duty. The only safe way is to keep pouring out.\n\n\n\n\n\nTALK FIFTY-NINE. THE FINAL RETROSPECT\n\n\nThere is a new grave in the cemetery today. An hour ago the sad-hearted\nmourners, with fast-falling tears, looked for the last time upon that\nfamiliar face. The light has gone out of the eye, and the sound of the\nvoice is stilled forever. \u201cFinis\u201d has been written at the close of his\nlife\u2019s story. He no longer is.\n\nA few days ago he realized that the end was drawing nigh. Before that he\nhad looked forward, and it seemed to him that his life might run on for\nyears. But it was not so to be. The death-angel drew near, and he heard\nthe sound of its coming wings. He then began to look backward, to see his\nlife as a completed whole. He could now see life in its true light; for\nlife does not appear the same when we look back upon it from the end as it\ndoes when our gaze is turned forward in the busy hurry of the days of\nhealth. When one is brought to the brink of the grave, life takes on a\ndifferent aspect; it appears in its true perspective. We are usually so\nabsorbed in the present that the past and the future have little place in\nour thoughts. Most lives are lived, not according to any plan or purpose,\nbut according to the fleeting influence of the present moment.\n\nReader, you and I are on the path to the cemetery. Some day, and it may\nnot be far off, we shall look back over our lives from the end. Day by\nday, often with but little thought, we are building the structure of our\nlives. Yesterday we laid the foundation of today, and today we lay the\nfoundation of tomorrow. Unless we lay a good foundation and build well\nthereon, when we look back upon our lives at the last we shall find much\nto regret. The wood, hay, and stubble of selfish works and selfish\npurposes will be burned up in the fire that will try every man\u2019s work.\n\nHow much of the selfish element enters into most lives! The ambition, the\nlabor, the planning, is for self. If self prospers, what else matters? If\nself has ease and comfort, what matters it about others? If self is\npleased, is not that enough? Self seems to be the mainspring of most\nlives; is it so in our own? When we come to look back at the last, we\nshall find no pleasure in viewing our own selfishness or its fruits. We\nshall not desire to retain it in our memories. We shall see that whatever\nwas done through selfish motives was time and energy lost.\n\nWhen we look back, shall we see bitter words, unkind deeds, and\nunfaithfulness to God and man? Shall we look back upon broken promises? on\nfriends who trusted us and were disappointed? Shall we look back upon\nwrongs to our fellow men and sins toward God? It seems to me that the\nkeenest regrets that ever come to a soul on earth are the regrets that\ncome to him who, during his last hours on earth, has to view a misspent\nlife.\n\nHow many have said, \u201cOh, if I could live my life over!\u201d Alas! that can not\nbe. My brother, my sister, you can live this day but once. You will look\nback in time and eternity and see this day just as you lived it. Not only\ntoday, but every day, when it is today, holds the same momentous\nresponsibility. Let us live today as faithful to God and man, as true,\npure, just, and kind as we shall in the last day wish we had lived. Do not\nthink that tomorrow you will live better, and be more kind and true and\ngentle. Today is your day; tomorrow is out of your reach.\n\nThere was one of old who looked back over his life and summed it all up in\nthese words: \u201cVanity of vanities; all is vanity.\u201d He was rich and wise; he\nwas a mighty king, and had great honors; but he lacked that good\nconscience that comes from a life well spent. He had not held back his\nheart from the enjoyment of any pleasure. He had given free rein to his\ndesires. He had lived a life of ease and luxury. He had but to speak, and\nhe was obeyed. But, alas! when he looked back, there was nothing in the\nscene to give him pleasure. It was only \u201cvanity and vexation of spirit.\u201d\n\nThere was another man who looked back and who told us what he saw. His\ncircumstances were very different from those of the other. He was a\nprisoner. In a little while the sword of the executioner would sever the\nfrail bond of life. He knew the time was near, and these are his words; \u201cI\nam now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I\nhave fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the\nfaith.\u201d His words are a shout of triumph; there is in them the exaltation\nof final victory. There is no tinge of regret, there is no tear of sorrow.\nWhat mattered it if his way had been rugged and thorny? What mattered the\nthousand perils that had threatened him on every side? What mattered the\nshipwrecks, the scourgings, the stoning, the opposition of false brethren\nand of the heathen, the dungeons, the cold, the weariness, the sorrows? He\nlooked back over them all; and his soul, glowing with joy, burst out in\nlanguage of supreme satisfaction: \u201cI have fought a good fight.\u201d\n\nNot once had he laid down his weapons. Not once had he faltered. Not for a\nday had he ceased to be true to his Lord. Therefore he could say, \u201cI have\nkept the faith.\u201d Though many times he might have avoided trouble had he\nkept back the message of truth, yet how glad he was that in every instance\nhe had been true!\n\nSometimes you will not find it easy to do right, sometimes you will have\nto sacrifice and endure, sometimes you will be reproached and mocked; but\nwhen you take that last retrospective view, the fact that you have been\ntrue will cause you to be glad, as was Paul of old. Then, be true today.\nFill today with a full measure of faithful service. Think not of tomorrow,\nbut do the right, in each today, and thus you may exclaim with Paul,\n\u201cHenceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the\nLord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day\u201d (2 Tim. 4: 8).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES\n\n\n    1 Arms should be covered with long sleeves.\n\n    2 Elijah was in hiding because God instructed him to do so. Read 1\n      Kings 17: 3.","title":"Heart Talks","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":73389}