Chapter I: Know

There is no hesitation about it, no qualifying the expression. Naaman doesn't now say, "I think"; no, he says, "I know there is a God who has power to forgive sins and to cleanse the leprosy."

Then there is another thought. Naaman left only one thing in Samaria, and that was his sin, his leprosy; and the only thing God wishes you to leave with Him is your sin. And yet it is the only thing you seem not to care about giving up. "Oh," you say, "I love leprosy, it is so delightful, I can't give it up; I know God wants it, that He may make me clean. But I can't give it up." Why, what downright madness it is for you to love leprosy; and yet that is your condition. "Ah, but," says some one, "I don't believe in sudden conversions." Don't you? Well, how long did it take Naaman to be cured? The seventh time he went down, away went the leprosy. Read the great conversions recorded in the Bible. Saul of Tarsus, Zacchaeus, and a host of others; how long did it take the Lord to bring them about? Why, they were effected in a minute. We are born in iniquity, shapen in it, dead in trespasses and sin; but when spiritual life comes it comes in a moment, and we are free both from sin and death.

The other day, as I was walking down the street, I heard some people laughing and talking aloud, and one of them said, "Well, there will be no difference, it will be all the same a hundred years hence." And the thought flashed across my mind, "Will there be no difference?

WHERE WILL YOU BE A HUNDRED YEARS HENCE?"

Young man, just ask yourself the question, "Where shall I be?" Some of you who are getting on in years may be in eternity ten years hence. Where will you be, on the left or the right hand of God? I cannot tell your feelings, but I can my own.

A hundred years hence all this vast audience will be gone. Some will probably be gone in less than a week, in less than a month or a year, and at the best we shall all be gone in a few more years. I ask you once again, "Where will you spend eternity? Where will you be a hundred years hence?"

THE CONVERTED NOBLEMAN.

I heard the other day of a man who came a few years ago from the Continent, and brought letters with him to eminent physicians from the Emperor. And the letters said, "This man is a personal friend of mine, and we are afraid he is going to lose his reason; do all you can for him." So the doctor asked him if he had lost any dear friend in his own country, or any position of importance, or what it was that was weighing on his mind. And the young man said, "No; but my father and grandfather and myself were brought up infidels, and for the last two or three years this thought has been haunting me, 'Where shall I spend eternity?' And the thought of it follows me day and night."

The doctor said, "You have come to the wrong physician, but I will tell you of one who can cure you"; and he told him of Christ, and read to him the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, "With His stripes we are healed." And the young man said, "Doctor, do you believe that?" The doctor told him he did, and prayed and wrestled with him, and at last the dear light of Calvary shone on his soul, and a few years ago he was writing to this self-same doctor as only one Christian can to another. He had settled the question in his own mind at last where he would spend eternity; and I ask you sinners to settle it before you leave this hall to-night. It is for you to decide. Shall it be with the saints, and martyrs, and prophets, or in the dark caverns of hell, amidst blackness and darkness for ever? Make haste to be wise; for "how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?"

DECIDE NOW.

At our church in Chicago I was closing the meeting one day, when a young soldier got up and entreated the people to decide for Christ at once. He said he had just come from a dark scene. A comrade of his, he said, who had enlisted with him, had a father who was always entreating him to become a Christian, and in reply he always said he would when the war was over. At last he was wounded, and was put into the hospital, but got worse and was gradually sinking. One day, a few hours before he died, a letter came from his sister, but he was too bad to read it. Oh, it was such an earnest letter! The comrade read it to him, but he did not seem to understand it, he was so weak, till it came to the last sentence, which said, "Oh, my dear brother, when you get this letter, will you not accept your sister's Saviour?" The dying man sprang up from his cot, and said, "What do you say? What do you say?" and then, falling back on his pillow, feebly exclaimed, "_It is too late! It is too late!_"

My dear friends, thank God it is not _too late_ for you to-day. The Master is still calling you. Are you going to let present opportunity pass without coming to Christ? Are you going to let these solemn moments come to an end without entering the ark? Let every one of us, young and old, rich and poor, come to Christ at once, and He will put all our sins away.

Only a step to Jesus,
O why not come, and say,
Gladly to Thee, my
Saviour, I give myself away.

ONE WORD--"GOSPEL"

Read 1 Cor. xv. 1

I shall take for my text the one word "gospel." I do not think there is a word in the English language that is so little understood in this Christian land of England as this very word "gospel." We have heard it from our earliest childhood up. There is not a day, and with many of us not an hour during the day, but that we hear the word "gospel." And yet, I say, a partaker of the gospel is a long time before he really knows the meaning of the word. It means "good tidings." I think it would do us good sometimes to get a dictionary and hunt up the meaning of some of the words we use so often; some of those Bible words, such as "gospel" and "Christ." I think it would change our ideas. I think this would be a very joyful meeting to-night, if every one really believed that the gospel is good news. Let a man or a boy bring a despatch into this audience and hand it to any one here, and if that brings good news you can see it immediately in the man's face; his face lights up when he opens the despatch. You can see he really believes it. And if it is really good news, if it brings him the tidings of a long-lost boy coming home, why, if his wife is sitting next to him, he passes the despatch to her; he wants her to have knowledge of it too. He does not wait for her to ask for it; he does not wait till they get home. So when I preach, those who really believe the gospel, if I am near enough to look into their eyes, I see their faces light up and they look remarkably sharp; but those who do not believe it put on a long face, and look as if you had brought them a death-warrant, or invited them to attend a funeral.

THE BEST NEWS IN THE WORLD.

No better news ever came out of heaven than the gospel. No better news ever fell upon the ears of the family of man than the gospel. Hark! hear those shepherds talking to one another after the angels had gone away. They believed the message, and they were full of joy. You can see them on the way now to Bethlehem. They said, "Let us go and see what has taken place." And what was the message that the angels brought to those shepherds? "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour." Now, if those shepherds had been like a good many people at the present time, they would have said, "We do not believe it is good news. It is all excitement. Those angels want to get up a revival. Those angels are trying to excite us. Don't you believe them." That is what Satan is saying now. "Don't you believe the gospel is good news." Because he knows the moment a man believes good news, he just receives it. I never saw a man in all my life that did not like good news. And every man and woman that is under the power of the devil does not believe the gospel is good news. The moment you are out from under his power and influence then you believe it. May God grant that the gospel may sink deep into your hearts, and that you may believe it and be saved.

It is the best news that ever came to this sin-cursed world. It means "Good spell," or, in other words, "God's spell." We are dead in trespasses and sin, and God wants us to be reconciled. It is a gospel of reconciliation, and God is shouting from the heights of glory, "Oh, ye men, I am reconciled, now be ye reconciled!" We have glorious news to tell you--God is reconciled and beseeches his subjects to be reconciled. The great apostle says, "We beseech you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." The moment a man believes the gospel, down goes his arm of rebellion, and the unequal controversy is over. A light from Calvary crosses his path, and he can walk in unclouded sun, if he will. It is the privilege of every man and woman in this vast assembly from this hour to walk in unclouded sun if they will. What has brought darkness into the world? Darkness came because of sin, and the man who does not believe the gospel is blinded by the god of this world. Now I want to tell you why I like the gospel. It is because it has been the very best news I have ever heard. That is just the reason I like to preach it. Because it has done me so much good. I do not think a man can preach the gospel until he believes it himself. A man must know it down deep in his own heart before he can tell it out; and then he tells it out but very poorly at the best.

POOR AMBASSADORS.

We are very poor ambassadors and messengers; but never mind the messenger, take hold of the message--that is what you want. If a boy brought me good news to-night, I would not care about the look of the boy; I would not care whether he was black or white, learned or unlearned. The message is what would do me good. A great many look at the messenger instead of the message. Never mind the messenger. My friends, get hold of the message to-night. The gospel is what saves, and what I want now is that you may believe the gospel now.

CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS.

Paul says in this fifteenth chapter of the 1st of Corinthians what the gospel is. He says, "I declare unto you the gospel." And the first thing he states in the declaration to these Corinthians is this: "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures." That was the old-fashioned gospel. I hope we never will get away from it. I don't want anything but that old, old story. Some people have itching ears for something new. Bear in mind there is no new gospel. Christ died for our sins. If He did not, how are we going to get rid of them? Would you insult the Almighty by offering the fruits of this frail body to atone for sin? If Christ did not die for our sins, what is going to become of our souls? And then he goes on to tell that Christ was buried, and that Christ rose again.

CHRIST RISEN.

He burst asunder the bands of death. Death could not hold Him. I can imagine, when they laid Him in Joseph's sepulchre, if our eyes could have been there, we should have seen Death sitting over that sepulchre, saying, "I have Him; He is my victim. He said He was the resurrection and the life. Now I have hold of Him in my cold embrace. Look at Him. There He is; He has had to pay tribute to me. Some thought He was never going to die. Some thought I would not get Him. But He is mine." But look again. The glorious morning comes, and the Son of man bursts asunder the bands of death, and came out of the sepulchre. We do not worship a dead God, but a Saviour who still lives. Yes, He rose from the grave; and then they saw Him ascend. That is what Paul calls the gospel. Not only Christ's death and burial, but His ascension into heaven. He went up and took His seat at the right hand of God, and He will come back again. The gospel consists of five things: Christ's death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and coming again; for "I will come again," said He. Thanks be to God, He is coming back by and by. He will come and take the kingdom; He will sway His sceptre from the rivers to the ends of the earth. A little while and He shall rule and reign. Let us lift up our heads and rejoice that the time of our redemption draweth near.

Let us get back to the simple gospel--Christ died for our sins. We must know Christ at Calvary first, as

OUR SUBSTITUTE,

as our Redeemer; and the moment we accept of Him as our Saviour and our Redeemer, then it is that we become partakers of the gospel. The moment I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as my substitute, as my Saviour, that moment I get light and peace. I know some people say, "Oh, it is not Christ's death, it is Christ's life. Do not be preaching so much about the death of Christ, preach about His life." My friends, that never will save any one. Paul says, "I declare unto you the gospel. Christ died"--not Christ lived--"Christ died for our sins," "who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree." Now, when I accept of Christ as my Saviour, as my Substitute, then I am justified from all things which I could not be by the law of Moses.

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

The reason I like the gospel is, that it has taken out of my path the worst enemies I ever had. My mind rolls back to twenty years ago, before I was converted, and I think very often how dark it used to seem at times as I thought of the future. There was death--what a terrible enemy it seemed! I was brought up in a little village in New England. It was the custom there when a person was buried to toll out the age of the man at his funeral. I used to count the strokes of the bell. Death never entered that village and tore away one of the inhabitants but I always used to count the tolling of the bell. Sometimes it would be away up to seventy, or between seventy and eighty; beyond the life allotted to man, when man seemed living on borrowed time when cut off. Sometimes it would be clear down in the teens, and childhood, and death would take away one of my own age. It used to make a solemn impression on me; I used to be a great coward. When it comes to death, some men say, "I do not fear it." I feared it, and felt terribly afraid when I thought of the cold hand of death feeling for the cords of life, and being launched out to eternity, to go to an unknown world. I used to have terrible thoughts of God; but they are all gone now. Death has lost its sting. And as I go on through the world I can shout now, when the bell is tolling, "O death, where is thy sting?" And I hear a voice come rolling down from Calvary, "Buried in the bosom of the Son of God." He robbed death of its sting; He took the sting of death into His own bosom. If you take a wasp, and just take the sting out of that wasp, you will not be afraid of it any more than you would of a little fly. The sting has been taken out. And you need not be afraid of death if you are in Christ. Christ died for your sin. The penalty, the wages of sin is death. Christ received the wages on Calvary, and therefore there is no condemnation. All that death can get now is this old Adam. I do not care how quickly I get rid of it. I will get a better body, a resurrected body, a glorified body, a body much better than this. Yes, my friends, "To die," says the apostle, "is gain."

THE FEAR OF DEATH.

If a man is in Christ, let death come. Suppose death should come stealing up into this pulpit, and should lay his cold, icy hand upon my heart, and it should cease to throb; I should rise to another world, and should be present with the King. I should be absent from the body, but present with the Lord. That is not bad news. There is no use in trying to conceal it, death is an enemy to a man's rest. What a glorious thought to think that when you die you will sink into the arms of Jesus, and that He will carry you away to yon world of light. A little while longer here, a few more tears, and then you can gain an unbroken rest in yon world of light. The gospel turns that enemy into a friend, and you even shout for death. Well, then, I used to go and look into the cold, silent grave, and I used to think of that terrible hour when I would have to be laid down in the grave, and this body would be eaten up with the worm. But now the grave has lost its terror and gloom; I can go and look down into the grave and shout over it, and cry out, "O grave, where is thy victory?" And I hear a shout coming up from the grave; it is the shout of the Conqueror, of Him who has been down and measured the depth of it, of my Lord and Saviour: "Because I live, ye shall live also." Yes, the grave has lost its victory. The grave has no terror to the man in Christ Jesus. The gospel takes that enemy out of the way.

SIN PUT AWAY.

Again, I thought all my sins would be blazed out before the great white throne; that every sin committed in childhood and in secret, and every secret thought, and every evil desire, would be blazed out before the assembled universe; that every thing done in the dark would be brought to light. But, thanks be to God, the gospel tells me my sins are all put away in Christ. Out of love to my soul, He has taken all my sins and cast them behind His back. That is a safe place to have sin, behind God's back. God never turns back; He always marches on. He will never see your sins if they are behind His back. That is one of His own illustrations. Out of love to my soul, He has taken all my sins upon Him; not a part. He takes them all out of the way. There is no condemnation to him that is in Christ Jesus. You may just pile up your sins till they rise up like a dark mountain, and then multiply them by ten thousand for those you cannot think of; and after you have tried to enumerate all the sins you have ever committed, just let me bring one verse in, and then that mountain will melt away--"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." The blood covers the sin.

WHAT GOD CANNOT DO.

In Ireland, some time ago, a teacher asked a little boy if there was anything that God could not do, and the little fellow said, "Yes; He cannot see my sins through the blood of Christ." That is just what He cannot do. The blood covers them.

Is it not good news to get rid of your sin? You come here a sinner, and if you believe the gospel your sins are taken away. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." You shall be justified from all things, which you could not be by the law of Moses. By believing, or by receiving the gospel, Christ becomes yours. Only think, young man, you are invited to accept of the gospel, you are invited to make an exchange--to get rid of all your sins, and to take Christ in the place of them. Is not that wonderful? What a foolish young man you will be not to make the bargain. The Lord says, "I will take your sins, and give you Myself in the place of them." But a great many say, "No"; and just hug the sin to their bosom. May God help you to come up, sinner, to-night, and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your way, your truth, and your life.

There is another name which used to haunt me a good deal--

THE GREAT JUDGMENT-DAY.

I used to think that was a terrible day when I should be summoned before God, and could not tell till then whether I should have a seat on His right hand or on His left. Until I stood before the great white throne of judgment I could not tell whether I should hear the voice of God saying, "Depart from Me, ye cursed," or whether God would say, "Enter thou into the joy of the Lord." But the gospel tells me that question is already settled--"There is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." Listen to this verse--"Verily, verily"--and when you see that word "Verily, verily" in Scripture, you may know there is something very important coming; it means, "Mind what I tell you," or, "Truly, truly"--"Truly, truly, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath [h-a-t-h, hath] everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation [that means, into judgment]; but is passed from death unto life." Well, now, I am not coming into judgment for sin. The question has been settled, because Christ was judged for me, and died in my stead, and I go free. Is not that good news?

I heard of a man praying the other day that I might lay hold of eternal life. I could not have said Amen to that. I laid hold of eternal life twenty years ago when I was converted. What is the gift of God if it is not eternal life? And that is what God wants to give to every one in this hall to-night, and it is the greatest gift that can be bestowed on any one down here in this dark world. If an angel came straight from the throne of God on to this platform, and proclaimed to this vast assembly that God had sent him here to offer to this audience any one thing they might ask, that each one should have his own petition granted, what would be the cry in this audience? There would be but one cry coming up from you, and the shout would make heaven ring--"Eternal life! eternal life!" Everything would float away into the dim past. There is not anything a man values more than his life. Let a man worth a million sterling be on a wrecked vessel, and if he could just save his life for six months by giving that million, he would give it in an instant. The gift of God is eternal life; and is it not one of the greatest marvels that we have to stand and plead, and pray men to take this gift. May God help you to take it now. Do not listen to Satan any longer. Reach out the hand of faith and take it now. Young man, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Trust Him to save you now, and then there will be no condemnation. Death will have lost his sting, the grave and its victory will be safe out of the way, and the judgment will be past for you. Believe the gospel. Lay hold of eternal life while God is offering it to you. Be reconciled to-night. Take your stand hard by the cross, and you are saved for time and eternity. I am told that at Rome, if you go up a few steps on your hands and knees, that is nine years out of purgatory. If you take one step now you are out of purgatory for time and eternity. You used to have two steps into glory--out of self into Christ, out of Christ into glory. But there is a shorter way now with only one step--out of self into glory, and you are saved. May God help you to take the step now! Flee, my friends, to-night to Calvary, and get under the shadow of the cross.

THE FIRE ON THE PRAIRIE.

Out in our western country, in the autumn, when men go hunting, and there has not been for months any rain, sometimes the prairie grass catches fire, and there comes up a very strong wind, and the flames just roll along twenty feet high over that western desert, and go at the rate of thirty or forty miles an hour, consuming man and beast. When the hunters see it coming, what do they do? They know they cannot run as fast as the fire can run. Not the fleetest horse can escape from that fire. They just take a match and light the grass around them, and let the flames sweep, and then they get into the burnt district and stand safe. They hear the flames roar as they come along, they see death coming towards them, but they do not fear, they do not tremble, because the fire has swept over the place where they are, and there is no danger. There is nothing for the fire to burn. There is one mountain peak that the wrath of God has swept over--that is, Mount Calvary, and that fire spent its fury upon the bosom of the Son of God. Take your stand here by the cross, and you will be safe for time and eternity. Escape for your life; flee to yon mountain, and you are saved this very minute. Oh, may God bring you to Calvary under the shadow of the cross now! Then let death and the grave come. You will shout, "Glory to God in the highest." We will laugh at death and glory in the grave, and just know this, that we are safe, sheltered by the precious blood of the Lamb. There is no condemnation to him that is in Christ Jesus.

God is coming down and beseeching you to take the pardon. Every man and woman here has broken the law, and he that has broken the least of the laws is guilty of all. I am sure I am not talking to one man or woman in this audience to-night who can say they have not broken the law.

"NOW AND TO-MORROW."

You have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, but God comes, and says, "I will pardon you. Come now, and let us reason together." "Now" is one of the words of the Bible the devil is afraid of. He says, "Do not be in a hurry; there is plenty of time; do not be saved now." He knows the influence of that word "now." "To-morrow" is the devil's word. The Lord's word is "now." God says, "Come now, and let us reason together: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Scarlet and crimson are two fast colours; you cannot get the colour out without destroying the garment. God says, "Though your sins be as scarlet and crimson, I will make them as wool and snow. I will do it." That is the way God reasons. He puts the pardon in the face of the sinner the first thing. That is a queer way of reasoning, but God's thoughts are not our thoughts; and so, my friends, if you want to be saved, the Lord says He will pardon you.

THE GOVERNOR IN THE CONDEMNED CELL.

A few years ago, when Pennsylvania had a Christian governor, there was a young man down in one of the counties who was arrested for murder. He was brought before the court, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death. His friends thought there would be no trouble in getting a reprieve or pardon. Because the governor was a Christian man, they thought he would not sign the death-warrant. But he signed it. They called on the governor, and begged of him to pardon the young man. But the governor said, "No, the law must take its course, and the man must die." I think the mother of the young man called on the governor and pleaded with him, but the governor stood firm, and said, "No, the man must die." A few days before the man was executed, the governor took the train to the county where the man was imprisoned. He went to the sheriff of the county, and said to him, "I wish you to take me to that man's cell, and leave me alone with him a little while, and do not tell him who I am till I am gone." The governor went to the prison, and talked to the young man about his soul, and told him that although he was condemned by man to be executed, God would have mercy upon him and save him, if he would accept pardon from God. He preached Christ, and told him how Christ came to seek and to save sinners; and having explained as he best knew how the plan of salvation, he got down and prayed, and after praying he shook hands with him and bade him farewell. Some time after the sheriff passed by the condemned man's cell, and he called him to the door of the cell, and said, "Who was that man that talked and prayed with me so kindly?" The sheriff said, "That was Governor Pollock." The man turned deathly pale, and he threw up both his hands, and said, "Was that Governor Pollock? was that kind-hearted man the governor? Oh, sheriff, why did you not tell me? If I had known that was the governor, I would have fallen at his feet and asked for pardon; I would have pleaded for pardon and for my life. Oh, sir, the governor has been here, and I did not know it."

RECONCILIATION.

Sinner, I have got good news to tell you. There is one greater than the governor here to-night, and He wants to pardon every one. He does not want you to go away condemned. He wants to bring you from under condemnation; to pardon every soul. Will you have the pardon, or will you despise the gift of God? Will you despise the mercy of God? Oh, this night, while God is beseeching you to be reconciled, let me join with your praying mother, with your praying father, with your godly minister, with your Sabbath-school teacher, and all your praying friends; let me join my voice with theirs to plead with you to-night to be reconciled. Make up your mind now, while I am speaking, that you will not cross your threshold until you are reconciled, and there will be joy in heaven to-night over your decision. Oh, may God bring hundreds to a decision to-night!

An Englishman told me some time ago a little story of reconciliation, which illustrates this truth. We want to preach the gospel of reconciliation; the good news that God is reconciled. God does not say He can do, but that He has done it. You must accept what He has done. The story is this: There was an Englishman who had an only son; and only sons are often petted, and humoured, and ruined. This boy became very headstrong, and very often he and his father had trouble. One day they had a quarrel, and the father was very angry, and so was the son; and the father said he wished the boy would leave home and never come back. The boy said he would go, and would not come into his father's house again till he sent for him. The father said he would never send for him. Well, away went the boy. But when a father gives up a boy, a mother does not. You mothers will understand that, but the fathers may not. You know there is no love on earth so strong as a mother's love. A great many things may separate a man and his wife; a great many things may separate a father from a son; but there is nothing in the wide world that can ever separate a true mother from her child. To be sure, there are some mothers that have drunk so much liquor that they have drunk up all their affection. But I am talking about a true mother; and she would not cast off her boy.

A MOTHER'S AFFECTION.

Well, this mother began to write and plead to the boy to write to his father first, and his father would forgive him; but the boy said, "I will never go home till father asks me." She pleaded with the father, but the father said, "No, I will never ask him."

At last the mother was brought down to her sickbed, broken-hearted, and when she was given up by the physicians to die, the husband, anxious to gratify her last wish, wanted to know if there was not anything he could do for her before she died. The mother gave him a look; he well knew what it meant. Then she said, "Yes, there is one thing you can do, you can send for my boy. That is the only wish on earth you can gratify. If you do not pity him and love him when I am dead and gone, who will?" "Well," said the father, "I will send word to him that you want to see him." "No," she says, "you know he will not come for me. If ever I see him you must send for him." At last the father went to his office and wrote a despatch in his own name, asking the boy to come home. As soon as he got the invitation from his father, he started off to see his dying mother. When he opened the door to go in he found his mother dying and his father by the bedside. The father heard the door open, and saw the boy, but instead of going to meet him he went to another part of the room, and refused to speak to him. His mother seized his hand--how she had longed to press it! She kissed him, and then said, "Now, my son, just speak to your father. You speak first, and it will all be over." But the boy said, "No, mother, I will not speak to him until he speaks to me." She took her husband's hand in one hand and the boy's in the other, and spent her dying moments and strength in trying to bring about a reconciliation. Just as she was expiring she could not speak, so she put the hand of the wayward boy into the hand of the father, and passed away. The boy looked at the mother, and the father at the wife; and at last the father's heart broke, and he opened his arms, and took that boy to his bosom, and by that body they were reconciled. Sinner, that is only a faint type, a poor illustration, because God is not angry with you. God gives you Christ, and I bring you to-night to the dead body of Christ. I ask you to look at the wounds in His hands and feet, and the wound in His side. My friends, gaze upon His five wounds. And I ask you, "Will you not be reconciled?" When He left heaven, He went clear down to the manger that He might get hold of the vilest sinner, and put the hand of the wayward prodigal into that of the Father, and He died that you and I might be reconciled. If you take my advice, you will not go out of this hall to-night until you are reconciled. "Be ye reconciled." Oh, this gospel of reconciliation! My friends, come home to-night. Your Father wants you to come. Say as the prodigal did of old, "I will arise and go to my father," and there will be joy in heaven.

THE WAY OF SALVATION

Read Acts xvi. 23, 40

I shall not preach a sermon; I have just one thought, and that is, to tell every anxious soul what they must do "to be saved." That is the first question of every one who is honestly and really inquiring "the way of salvation," and, God helping me, I will try to-night to make it plain to all.

BELIEVING.

If I say to you, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," you will reply, "Oh, believe! I have heard that word till I am sick and tired of it. Scarcely a week but I hear it in the church, or at a prayer-meeting, or at some drawing-room meeting." You have all heard it over and over again; I don't suppose there is a child here over five years of age but can repeat that text. What you want is, to know how to believe--what it is to believe.

Some of you say, "We all believe that Christ came into the world to seek and to save the lost; and that he that believeth shall be saved." But the devils believe, and are not saved. Ay, they believe and tremble! You must believe _on_ the Lord Jesus Christ, and not merely _about_ Him, and then you will know what _salvation_ is.

RECEIVING.

Well, we'll take another word which means the same thing; perhaps you'll get hold of it better. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as _received_ Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." Bear in mind, "received _Him_." That's it; not receiving a doctrine or a belief, but receiving _Him_. It is a person we must receive.

Now, my experience of the last few years is, that we all want to have the _power_ before we receive Christ. That is, we want to _feel_ we are in Christ before we will receive Him. But we cannot love God and feel His presence until we have received Him into our hearts. It is just like a boy with a ball; he throws it to you. Well, you must catch it before you throw it back again. That is the real meaning of "believe"--it is "receive"--receive Christ as yours. I don't know any verse in the Bible that God has blessed to more souls than John i. 12: "To as many as received Him, to them gave He power."

I don't know any better illustration I could have than matrimony; for every other one doesn't hold good in some points; but I think this is one of the best I could use. Some of you smile at this illustration, but the Bible uses it, and if God uses it in His word, why should not I?

In the Old Testament He uses it--"I am married unto you" (Jer. iii. 14). Jesus Himself uses it, when He speaks of the bride in John iii. 29. Paul uses it in his epistles, as in Romans vii. 4, as an illustration of the union between Christ and His church.

Now, it is an illustration you can all understand; there is no one here but knows what it means. When a man offers himself, the woman must do either of two things--either receive or reject him. So every soul in this hall must do one of these two things--"receive" or "reject" Christ. Well, if you receive Him, that is all you have to do, He has promised power.

THE RICH HUSBAND.

There was a shop-girl in Chicago, a few years ago; one day she could not have bought a pound's worth of anything; the next day she could go and buy a thousand pounds' worth of whatever she wanted. What made the difference? Why, she had married a rich husband; that was all. She had received him, and of course all he had became hers. And so we can have power, if you only receive Christ. Remember, you can have no power without Him; you will fail, fail constantly, until you receive Him into your heart; and I have Scripture authority to say that Christ will receive every soul that will only come to Him.

SEEKING A WIFE.

You know that Abraham sent his servant Eliezer a long journey to get a wife for his son Isaac. When Eliezer had got Rebekah, he wanted to be up and off with the young bride; but her mother and brother said, "No, she shall wait awhile." When Eliezer was determined to go, they said, "We will inquire of the damsel." And when Rebekah appeared, they said to her, "Wilt thou go with this man?" That was a crisis in her life. She could not have said "No." Undoubtedly it cost her an effort; it would, of course, be a struggle. She had to give up her parents, home, companions, all that she loved, and go with this stranger. But look at her reply; she said, "I will go."

I have come to-night to get a bride for my Master. "Wilt thou go with this man?" I can tell you one thing that Eliezer could not tell Rebekah; he could not say, "Isaac loves you." Isaac had never seen his bride. But I can say, "My Master loves you!"

HE GAVE HIMSELF FOR YOU.

Ah, that is love! But bear in mind, my friends, that the moment Rebekah made up her mind to accept Isaac he became everything to her, so that she did not feel she was giving up anything for him. Ah, what a mistake some people make! They say, "I'd like to become a Christian if I hadn't to give up so much." Just turn round and look at the other side. You don't have to give up anything--you have simply to receive; and when you have received Christ, everything else vanishes away pretty quick. Christ fills you, so that you don't feel these things to be worth a thought.

When a bride marries a man, it is generally love that prompts her. If any one is here that really loves a man, is she thinking of how much she will have to give up? No; that wouldn't be love. Love doesn't feed upon itself, it feeds upon the person who is loved. So, my friends, it is not by looking at what you will have to give up, but by looking at what you will receive, that you will be enabled to accept the Saviour.

WHAT IS CHRIST TO YOU?

What is He willing to be to you, if you will have Him? Won't you be made heirs of heaven, joint-heirs with Christ--to reign with Him for ever and ever--to be His--to be with Him where He is--to be what He is? Think, then, of what He is, and of what He gives. You don't need to trouble yourselves at present about what you have to give up. Receive Him, and all these things will appear utterly insignificant.

I used to think of what I would have to give up. I dearly loved many of the pleasures of this earth; but now I'd as soon go out into your streets and eat the dirt as do those things. God doesn't say, "Give up this and that." He says, "Here is the Son of my bosom--receive Him." When you do receive Him, everything else goes. Stop that talk about giving up; let Christ save you, and all these things will go for nothing.

Mark the words, "To as many as received Him, to them gave He power." Now, my friends, will you go with this man? You have often heard about Christ; you know as much about Him as any one on this platform perhaps; but did you ever know a man or woman who regretted receiving Him?

No man ever regretted receiving Christ; but I have heard of thousands who have been followers of the devil, and have regretted it bitterly. And I notice that it is always the most faithful followers of the devil who are regretting it most.

TAKE JESUS.

My friends, accept my advice, and take Jesus with you when you leave this hall. Remember, He is the gift of God offered to _whosoever_. You belong to that class, don't you? Just take _Him_; that's the first thing you have to do. When you go to cut down a tree, you don't take the axe and commence to hew down the branches. No, you begin right down at the root. So here, you must take Christ, and then you will get power to resist the world, the flesh, and the devil.

RUTH AND ORPAH.

Now, another case--Ruth and Orpah. Many are like these two young widows. A crisis had come in their lives; they had lost their husbands, and had been living up there in the mountains of Moab. Often had they visited the graves of their dear ones, and perhaps planted a few flowers there, and watered them with their tears. Now, Naomi is about to return to her native land, and they think they will go a bit of the road with her. It is a sad parting; but now the crisis comes. Down in the valley they embrace each other, and give the parting kiss. Then they both say they will go with Naomi, but she warns them of the difficulties and the trials which might await them. So Orpah says, "I will go back to my people"; but Ruth cannot leave her mother, and says she will go with her.

Orpah turns back alone, and I can see her on the top of the hill; she stops, and turns round for a last look. And Naomi says to Ruth, "Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back to her people, and unto her gods; return thou after thy sister-in-law." What does Ruth say? "Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." Her choice was made. Poverty here or suffering and want yonder, she would share Naomi's lot.

A BLESSED DECISION.

Orpah loved Naomi, but not enough to leave all for her; while Ruth loved her mother so much, that the leaving of her people seemed nothing to her. Oh, may God draw out all your hearts, so that you may leave _all_ and follow Him! We never hear any more of Orpah; the curtain falls upon her life. Perhaps she died away up in the mountains of Moab, without God and without hope. But how different with Ruth! She becomes famous in history; she is one of the few women whose names have come along down the roll of ages; and she is brought into the royal line of heaven. I have an idea that God blessed her for that decision. And He will bless you if you decide in a like manner. Who will say to-night, as Ruth did, "I will follow thee; and thy God shall be my God"? Will any one take up the language of Ruth? Is there not a Ruth here? If there is, the Master is calling.

I'll take another word. I have been speaking of "receive"; the next word I want your attention to is,

TRUSTING.

Many get hold of that when they cannot get hold of "believe" or "receive." You all know what it is to trust. If it were not for trust, there would be a terrible commotion in this building to-night.

If you could not trust that the roof was firmly put up, you would get out pretty quick; and if you could not trust these chairs to support you, how long would you sit on them? Why, you wouldn't have come here at all if you didn't trust our word that there would be an address. Now, it is just the same trust that God wants. It is no miraculous trust or faith, but just the same kind, only the object is different. Instead of trusting in these earthly things, or in an arm of flesh, you are asked to trust in the Son of God.

THE DUBLIN MERCHANT.

In Dublin I was speaking to a lady in the inquiry-room, when I noticed a gentleman walking up and down before the door. I went forward and said, "Are you a Christian?" He was very angry, and turned on his heel and left me. The following Sunday night I was preaching about "receiving," and I put the question, "Who'll receive Him now?" That young man was present, and the question sank into his heart. The next day he called upon me--he was a merchant in that city--and said, "Do you remember me?" "No, I don't." "Do you remember the young man who answered you so roughly the other night?" "Yes, I do." "Well, I've come to tell you I am saved." "How did it happen?" "Why, I was listening to your sermon last night, and when you asked, 'Who'll receive Him now?' God put it into my heart to say, 'I will'; and He has opened my eyes to see His Son now." I don't know why thousands should not do that here to-night. If you are ever to be saved, why not now?

But another point you must remember--

SALVATION IS A FREE GIFT,

and it is a free gift _for us_. Can you buy it? It is a free gift, presented to "whosoever." Suppose I were to say, I will give this Bible to "whosoever"; what have you got to do? Why, nothing but take it. But a man comes forward, and says, "I'd like that Bible very much." "Well, didn't I say 'whosoever'?" "Yes; but I'd like to have you say my name." "Well, here it is." Still he keeps eyeing the Bible, and saying, "I'd like to have that Bible; but I'd like to give you something for it. I don't like to take it for nothing." "Well, I am not here to sell Bibles; take it, if you want it." "Well, I want it; but I'd like to give you something for it. Let me give you a penny for it; though, to be sure, it's worth twenty or thirty shillings." Well, suppose I took the penny; the man takes up the Bible, and marches away home with it. His wife says, "Where did you get that Bible?" "Oh, I bought it." Mark the point; when he gives the penny it ceases to be a gift. So with salvation. If you were to pay ever so little, it would not be a gift.

THE USELESSNESS OF TRYING.

Man is always trying to do something. This miserable word "try" is keeping thousands out of heaven. When I hear men speak of "trying," I generally tell them it is the way down to death and hell. I believe more souls are lost through "trying" than any other way. You have often tried, and as often failed; and as long as you keep trying you will fail. Drop that word, then, and take as your sure foothold for eternity, "trust." "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" I that is the right kind of trust. Would to God that you would all say, "I will trust Him now, to-night." Did you ever hear of any one going down to hell trusting in Jesus? I never did. This very night, if you commit yourself to Him, the battle will be over.

You are complaining you don't _feel_ better. Well, remember, the child must be born before it can be taught. So we cannot learn of God until we receive Him. We must be born--born again--_i.e._ the new birth, ere we can feel. Christ must be in us the hope of glory. How can He be in us if we don't receive Him and trust Him?

PRESENT SALVATION.

Another verse that has been used a great deal during the past two years, and I feel that I rest my own salvation on it, is John v. 24. I trust God will write it on your hearts, and burn it down into your souls. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, _hath_ everlasting life." Thank God for that "hath."

I had a few men in the inquiry-room the other night who could not find peace. I said, "Do you believe the Bible?" "Yes, sir." "I think I will prove you don't. Turn up John v. 24." They turned it up. "Read the verse." "'He that heareth My Word--'" "You believe that?" "Yes, sir." "'And believeth on Him that sent me--'" "You believe God sent Jesus?" "Yes." "Well, read on." "'Hath everlasting life.'" "You believe you _have_ everlasting life?" "No, we don't." "Oh, I thought you didn't believe in the Bible!" What right have you to cut a verse in two, and say you believe the one half, but not the other? It plainly says, that he who believes "hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." Why, if you believe God's words, you can say, "I have passed from darkness into light." Just by resting on that one little word in the present tense we may have "assurance" now. We don't need to wait till we die, and till the great day of judgment, to find it out.

"TAKE, TAKE!"

A lady in Glasgow came to me, and said, "Mr. Moody, you are always saying 'Take, take!' Is there any place in the Bible where it says 'Take,' or is it only a word you use? I have been looking in the Bible for it, but cannot see it." "Why," I said, "the Bible is sealed with it; it is almost the last word in the Bible. 'And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him _take_ the water of life freely.'" "Well," she said, "I never saw that before. Is that all I have to do?" "Yes, the Bible says so." And she took it, just there. God says, "Let him take"; who can stop us if God says it? All the devils in hell cannot hinder a poor soul from taking, if God says "Take." My friends, are you going to "Take" to-night? Are you going to let these precious meetings pass without getting Christ--without being able to look up and say, "Christ is my Saviour, God is my Father, heaven is my home"?

AN ANXIOUS INQUIRER.

A lady came to my house the other night, anxious about her soul; but after some conversation she left, without finding peace. She came again, and I asked, "What is the trouble?" "I haven't got peace." I took her to this verse, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John iii. 36). I just held up that little word "hath" to her, and turned to John v. 24, and vi. 47. There these words were spoken by Jesus, and they are all linked on to believing on the Son. After we had talked for some time, she looked in my face earnestly, and said, "I have got it!" and went away rejoicing in the Saviour's love.

If you seek life you can have it now, as you sit upon your seat. The word "hath" occurs again in Isa. liii. 6: "All we like sheep have gone astray;... and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Our iniquity has been laid upon Christ, and the Lord is not going to demand payment twice. "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree."

THE DEBT PAID.

Suppose I owed Mr. Wanamaker a thousand pounds, and I became a bankrupt; I would have nothing to pay, so he might send me to prison. But suppose Mr. Stone heard of it, and says, "I don't want to see Moody taken to prison." So he pays the debt for me, and gets the receipt. When I see the receipt, I know that I am free. But Mr. Wanamaker finds out that I didn't pay it, and gets me hauled off to court. He says he must have me pay it myself, or I must go to prison. I show the receipt. "Why," says the judge, "the debt is paid."

Mr. Wanamaker says, "Moody didn't pay it." Would any judge in the land support him? No; it is paid, and cannot be demanded again. Well, if man do not ask payment twice, will God? No, certainly not! The case is this: the debt has been paid, our sins have been atoned for. Christ Himself has redeemed us, not with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, but with His precious blood; therefore we are free.

But remember, although salvation is so free for us, it cost God a great deal to redeem us. He had an only Son, and He gave Him up freely for us. What a wonderful gift! If you make light of so great a salvation, how can you escape the damnation of hell?

THE GREAT QUESTION.

Now, one question: What are you going to do with Christ? You have got to settle that question. You may get angry, like a man a short time ago, who marched out of a church, saying, "What right has that American to make such a statement?" But it is true; you must settle it. Pilate wanted to shirk the responsibility, and sent Jesus to Herod; but he was forced to a decision. When the Jews forced him to decide, he washed his hands, and said he "was innocent of this just man's blood." But did that take away his guilt? No.

An angel may be here, hovering over this audience, and he is listening to what is said. Some one may say, "I will receive Him; I will delay no longer." Immediately the angel will wing his way right up to the pearly gates, and tell the news that another sinner has been saved. There will be a new song ringing through the courts of heaven over sinners repenting. God will issue the command to write down their names in the book of life, and to get rooms ready for them in the new Jerusalem, where we all will soon be.

GUILTY, BUT SAFE.

A man was once being tried for a crime, the punishment of which was death. The witnesses came in one by one, and testified to his guilt; but there he stood, quite calm and unmoved. The judge and the jury were quite surprised at his indifference; they could not understand how he could take such a serious matter so calmly. When the jury retired, it did not take them many minutes to decide on the verdict "guilty"; and when the judge was passing the sentence of death upon the criminal, he told him how surprised he was that he could be so unmoved in the prospect of death.

When the judge had finished, the man put his hand in his bosom, pulled out a document, and walked out of the dock a free man. Ah, that was how he could be so calm; it was a free pardon from his king, which he had in his pocket all the time. The king had instructed him to allow the trial to proceed, and to produce the pardon only when he was condemned. No wonder, then, that he was indifferent as to the result of the trial. Now, that is just what will make us joyful in the great day of judgment; we have got a pardon from the Great King, and it is sealed with the blood of His Son.

THE CHICAGO FIRE.

After the Chicago fire took place, a great many things were sent to us from all parts of the world. The boxes they came in were labelled "For the people who were burned out," and all a man had to do was to prove that he had been burned out, and he got a share. So here, you have but to prove that you are poor, miserable sinners, and there's help for you. If every man who is ruined and lost will cling to "try," there is no hope; but if he give it all up as a bad job, then Christ will save him. The law condemns us, but Christ saves us.

THE LOST SCHOLAR.

The superintendent of a Sabbath school in Edinburgh was walking down the street one day, when he met a policeman leading a little boy by the hand, who was crying bitterly. He stopped, and asked the policeman what was the matter with the boy. "Oh," said the officer, "he has got lost." The superintendent asked to look at him. They went to a lamp, and held up the little fellow. Why, in a moment the boy knew his superintendent, and flew to his arms. The gentleman took him from the policeman, and the boy was comforted. The law has got us, but let us flee into Jesus' arms, and we are safe.

A friend of mine in the North told me of a poor Scottish lassie, who was very anxious about her soul. He told her to read Isaiah liii. She replied, "I canna read, and I canna pray; Jesus, take me as I am!" That was the true way; and Jesus just took her as she was. Let Him take you this night, just as you are, and He will receive you to His arms.

THREE YEARS SEEKING JESUS.

One night, when preaching in Philadelphia, right down by the side of the pulpit there was a young lady, whose eyes were riveted on me as if she were drinking in every word. It is precious to preach to people like that; they generally get good, even if the sermon be poor.

I got interested in her, and after I had done talking, I went and spoke to her. "Are you a Christian?" "No, I wish I was; I have been seeking Jesus for three years." I said, "There must be some mistake." She looked strangely at me, and said, "Don't you believe me?" "Well, no doubt you thought you were seeking Jesus; but it don't take an anxious sinner three years to meet an anxious Saviour." "What am I to do, then?" "The matter is, you are trying to _do_ something; you must just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ."

"Oh, I am sick and tired of the word, 'Believe, believe, believe!' I don't know what it is." "Well," I said, "we'll change the word; take 'trust.'" "If I say, I'll trust Him, will He save me?" "No, I don't say that; you may _say_ a thousand things, but if you _do_ trust Him." "Well," she said, "I do trust Him; but," she added in the same breath, "I don't feel any better." "Ah, I've got it now! You've been looking for feelings for three years, instead of for Jesus. Faith is up above, not down here."

People are always looking for feelings. You are getting up a new translation of the Bible here, and if the men who are translating it would only put in _feelings_ instead of _faith_, what a rush there would be for that Bible. But if you look from Genesis to Revelation, you cannot find feelings attached to salvation. We must rise above feelings. So I said to this lady, "You cannot control your feelings; if you could, what a time you'd have! I know I would never have the toothache or the headache."

FEELINGS, THE DEVIL'S STRATAGEM.

"Feelings" is the last plank the devil sticks out, just as your feet are getting on the "Rock of Ages." He sees the poor trembling sinner just finding his way to the Saviour, when he shoves out this plank, and the poor sinner thinks he's "all right now." Some sermon you have heard arouses you, but then you feel all right when you get on this plank. Six months after, perhaps, you are dying, and the devil comes along when you think you're quite safe. "Ah," he tells you, "that was my work; I made you feel good." And where are you then? Oh, take your stand on God's word, then you cannot fail. His word has been tried for six thousand years, and it has not failed.

So I said to the lady, "Have no more to do with feelings; but, like Job, say, 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.'" She looked at me a few minutes, and then, putting her hand to take mine, she said, "Mr. Moody, I trust the Lord Jesus Christ to save my soul to-night." Then she went to the elders and said the same words. As she passed out she met one of the church officers, and, shaking his hand, said again, "I trust the Lord Jesus to save my soul."

Next night she was right before me again. I shall never forget her beaming face; the light of eternity was shining in her eyeballs! She went into the inquiry-room. I wondered what she was going there for; but when I got there, I found her with her arms round a lady friend, saying, "It's only to trust Him. I have found it so." From that night she was one of the best workers in the inquiry-room, and whenever I met a difficult case, I got her to speak to the person, and she was sure to help them.

"WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION."

Surely you can trust God to-night. You must have a very poor opinion of God if you cannot trust Him. You have only to come to Him thus--receive Him, trust Him. What more can you do, and what less can you do than trust Him? Is He not worthy of it? Now, let us be perfectly still a moment, and while the voice of man is hushed, let us think of one passage of Scripture "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." That is Christ standing at the door of your heart, knocking; and He says, "If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." Will any one to-night pull back the bolts, and say, "Enter, thou welcome, thrice welcome One. Blessed Saviour, come in." God grant that all here may do this!

EIGHT "I WILLS" OF CHRIST

Read Matt. xi. 28, 29

I wish to call your attention to eight "I wills" of Christ.

1. The first one you will find in Matthew xi. 28: "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and