Echoes of Grace: 1947

There is a quiet seaside village in Scotland, not far from the capitol. The majority of its inhabitants are fishermen, among which are quite a number of God-fearing men. Some of the more recent villagers are miners who came there to work in a nearby mine, but there are few real Christians among them.

In the month of March, a few years ago, God began working among the people of the village. Special gospel meetings were held and there were some bright cases of conversion. Then on the first day of April the miners went out on a strike. Many of the miners who were not working because of the strike drifted into the gospel meetings, and a goodly number were truly converted to God. Among these was Tom—the subject of our story. The story itself falls in-to five brief chapters.

Chapter one opens in a fisherman's shed, close to the little harbor where the boats are lying. It is Thursday afternoon. Four miners have just dropped in and engaged in conversation with two fishermen. The fishermen are Christians and are speaking of the gospel meetings being held and of the wonderful way God is dealing with souls. They then suggest to the miners that they should all go to the meeting that evening. One young man speaks up in favor of going to hear the gospel, but Tom says: "Well, I have a ticket for a concert and am going there, so I shall not be at the meeting.”

One of the fishermen starts to leave, but turns round to Tom and says, "The Bible says, 'My Spirit shall not always strive with man." Tom appears quite indifferent, but God who knows how to drive "a nail in a sure place" has started one into Tom's conscience by one short sentence from His own Word.

"Chapter two takes us to a nearby city where Tom is going to have an evening of pleasure. Just before entering the "Alhambra," Tom is suddenly accosted by an unknown man who thrusts a piece of paper into his hand. Our young miner glances at it. Two or three verses of Scripture are printed on it, but only one of them stands out before his eye: it is, "My Spirit shall not always strive with man." The divine hand struck another blow on the head of the nail. Tom jokingly hands the piece of paper in at the theater as though it were an admission ticket; it is promptly returned to him with a laugh and, "This won't admit here!" "No," replies Tom with a sudden burst of gravity, "perhaps it will admit to a better place.”

Chapter three shows us our young friend stepping into his seaside home late that night. His parents have gone to bed, but on the mantel stands a printed notice of special gospel meetings to start two weeks later on Sunday. Tom's parents love the Lord and the preacher is to stay with them.

This son in the family has decided that he will be out of the house when the preacher is in, and in when the preacher is out. However, he decided to go over and read the printed notice of the meetings and see what it says. But lo, at the foot of the notice is a short verse from the Scriptures:

"My Spirit shall not always strive with man." This was another telling blow on the head of that nail.

Chapter four takes place the following Sunday and one week before the special meetings are to begin. Tom is found in the regular gospel service that evening, and according to his custom is reading the Bible while the preacher is speaking. He would read anywhere just so long as his mind was distracted from what was being said.

On this occasion Tom's Bible was opened near the beginning of Genesis, and as Tom read he came to chapter 6, verse 3. There it said: "My Spirit shall not always strive with man." Now the nail in his conscience was driven still farther in. It was a more effectual blow than anything the preacher could have said.

The fifth and last chapter conducts us to the following week. It is Wednesday and the village has been stirred by the number of people who have already been converted.

The special meetings have started and the preacher is staying with Tom's family. The young man, however, has proved himself very able in dodging this servant of the Lord still, he is miserable and cannot stay away from the meetings. He knows that the Spirit will not always strive with man, and he almost fears that he is beyond hope. This evening he is seated, with five other young men from the mine, where the gospel is being preached.

At the close of the meeting Tom and his friends started away and, after walking a short distance, stopped down by the harbor where a discussion about their souls broke out. The whole six were convicted sinners, so much so that some of them wanted to go back and speak to the preacher. Tom, his poor heart rebellious, said: "You may go back, and I'll go with you; but I'll not be converted.”

Just then, an earnest Christian who had observed them and followed them, stepped up and invited them all to return to the hall. And what happened when they got back? Just what always happens when convicted sinners want to know what to do to be saved. One by one they came to the Lord Jesus.

Tom believed also and confessed the Savior that very night. He proved in his case that, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God path raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Rom. 10:9. Tom walked out of the hall that night a saved man, and so did his five companions.

For the rest of the preacher's stay Tom dropped his clever little game of hide-and-seek, and managed to be in when the preacher was in. He had plenty of time to be in, for the mines remained closed. He agreed with others that it was for their good that they were not working at that time.

Now, reader, what about your soul? Are you saved? Remember that God has said, "My Spirit shall not always strive with man.”

There are many, many souls in a lost eternity because they refused to heed the Spirit's strivings. Stories may be multiplied of those who, after refusing to own themselves lost sinners before God and accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior, were cut off suddenly and died in their sins. God is speaking to you today. Why resist His tender pleadings? He waits to bless you; will you let Him?

Salvation by Grace Alone

"Not of works"—no vain endeavors

Can God's great salvation bring;

"All of grace"—the Word proclaims it,

Gift of heaven's eternal King;

"In Believing" simply take it,

And the Giver's praises sing.

I Don't Care About Death

A short while ago I overheard a conversation between two young men. The subject was Death. Notwithstanding the intense solemnity of such a subject, I was shocked at the light and careless way in which they discussed it.

"I don't care about death," said the one.

"What does it matter to me whether I live a month more or less? I would rather die at once than spend a month in sickness.”

"You have overlooked one thing," I remarked.

"What is that?" said he.

"Once to die, but after this THE JUDGMENT," I replied.

"But I don't believe in anything after death.”

"That may be but your refusal to believe in anything after death doesn't in the smallest degree alter the fact that when you die you must meet a holy God in judgment. God has said it; and if you are wise you will believe it, and more, you will not rest until you are ready for it.”

How many there are who, like this young man, are speeding down the broad road to hell, blinded by their unbelief, and deceived by the devil as to a matter which concerns their souls' eternal welfare. O, my reader, I do solemnly warn you of these three tremendous realities—death, judgment and hell! I heed not your assertions of unbelief. I love your soul, and your immortal soul's salvation is at stake. Fleeting time is taking you with rapid strides to the first: you may soon reach the grave. But remember, "The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth." John 5:28.

Whose voice is this, my reader? The voice of the Son of man who has been given authority to execute judgment (John 5:27).

The voice of Him who has been lifted up upon the cross, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:14).

Ah! yes, all those whose eyes are sealed in death, who are slumbering amid the dark caverns of the tomb, shall hear His voice, and shall come. forth, they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. Listen to these terribly solemn words: "I saw THE DEAD, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and THE DEAD WERE JUDGED out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works (Rev. 20:12). Reader, will you form part of this ghastly throng? See them as they start from their graves—their unbelief forever gone, as they find themselves before the great white throne, and hear their awful doom pronounced; for "whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

But listen still: the voice that then will speak in righteous judgment, now speaks to you in tenderest love and grace. Hear his own words, and may the Spirit of God apply them to you this moment in soul-saving power: "Verily, verily, I say unto you He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (or judgment); but is passed from death unto life”

John 5:24.

Jesus Loves Sinners

Jesus lived—He lived for sinners,

Outcast in the world He made;

Lived, that in His blessed Person

God's full grace might be displayed.

Jesus died—He died for sinners,

On the cross He cried, "Forgive;”

Died, that lost and ruined rebels

Through His precious blood might live.

Jesus rose—He rose for sinners,

Proving that the work was done:

Sweet assurance that the Father

Was well pleased with the Son.

Jesus lives—He lived for sinners,

High upon the Father's throne;

Liveth, evermore to succor

Those who made His love their own.

Jesus loves—He loveth sinners,

Loveth more than tongue can say;

Prove Him now, accept His mercy,

Turn not from such love away.

A Crucial Test

A violent storm overtook a vessel on one of the lakes. Among the passengers were Volney, the French atheist, two men, and several ladies. The danger became imminent, but no one exhibited such terror as Volney, who threw himself on the deck, now imploring, now cursing the captain, and reminding him that he had engaged to carry him safely to his destination. At last, as the probability of their being lost increased, he loaded his pockets with dollars and prepared to swim for his life.

One of the men remonstrated with him on his folly, pointing out that he would sink like a piece of lead with so great a weight.

After this, Volney became so noisy, and was besides so much in the way of the sailors, that they pushed him down the hatchway.

He, however, soon came up again, having lightened himself of the dollars, and in agony of mind he once more threw himself on the deck, exclaiming with uplifted hands and streaming eyes, "O, my God! my God! what shall I do?”

"What, Mr. Volney!" said one of the passengers. "So you have a God now!" Volney replied, with trembling anxiety,

"O yes, yes!”

He then became so ashamed of himself that he hid away from his fellow-passengers, who had previously heard his boastful scoffing against Christianity.

There is, properly speaking, no such person as an atheist—one who does not believe in a Supreme Being: "No God" is mere idle talk. It is comparatively easy, when in health and safety, to protest loudly against the possibility of the existence of a God; it is altogether another thing when grim death stares one in the face. Then these so-called atheists or infidels betray their secret belief in the power of God, and are overwhelmed with a dread of the Eternal.

Many instances can be adduced of their abject terror in times of danger, and if all the deathbed experiences of infidels were truly narrated, it would probably be found that scarcely one of them departed without some recognition or fear of God.

The Death of a Young Skeptic

"I want none of your cant," said a young skeptic to a minister who sought to convince him of sin; "I am not going to die; and if I were, I would die as I have lived." And later on, when the physician informed him that there was no hope of his recovery, he exclaimed,

"O! tell me I'm not dying; I will not die!”

"My poor friend, I cannot speak falsely to you; your soul will, ere long, be with your God.”

"My God?" he exclaimed; "I have no God save the world. I have stifled conviction; I have fought against God; I have resisted my mother's pleadings; and now you tell me that I must die! Do you know," he added, in a tone of despair, "all that this means? If I die today I shall go to hell! Take it back; tell me I'm not going to die.

Father, 'twas you who taught me; you who led me on in this way, and now you say I'm to die. Stand back!" he shrieked, "I will not die!”

A torrent of imprecations followed these words. The poor mother was borne fainting from the room, while, great drops of agony rested on the father's brow.

How must that infidel father's heart have bled as, in the midst of dire cursing, his gifted son fell back a corpse!

Death leads the unbeliever to a place where there are no atheists. When hell is entered "atheism" is gone; there, too late, all believe and feel that there is a God.

Ah, be wise, and recognize the truth in time. God is, and your eternal interests depend on your relation to Him. By nature and through actual sin you are His enemy, and there is but one way to that reconciliation with Him in which lies our safety.

"God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. 5:8.

God is infinitely holy, and sin is utterly obnoxious to Him.

"Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts.”

Isa. 6:3.

Unbelieving reader, will you take Christ as your Savior now?

"We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2 Cor. 5:20.

What Think Ye of Christ?

This is a testing question for every heart—for every conscience. Religion, ordinances, doctrines, and churches may well be laid aside for a little, in order that the soul may be free to give an answer to the solemn query—What think ye of Christ?

The Three Men

Luke 23:33-43

When Christ was crucified there were two others who were crucified with Him.

These two men were thieves, so it was according to the word of the prophet Isaiah, "He was numbered with the transgressors.”

Isa. 53:12.

The Scripture tells us that one of these men turned to Christ and called upon His name in confession of his guilt, while the other died in his sins, or in other words, with his sins still upon him. Many of our readers have heard the hymn,

"There is a fountain filled with blood,

Drawn from Immanuel's veins,

And sinners washed in that blest flood

Lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see

That fountain in his day,

And there may I, though vile as he,

Wash all my sins away.”

Many have proved the virtue of that precious blood from that day to this, while thousands still reject, and go on to meet God in judgment. O, reader, how is it with you?

The following plain statements have been sent in to us which should be of interest to all, and we trust they may be of special interest to some hungry soul:

1. The man on the left hand cross had sin in him, and on him.

2. The Man on the center cross, the Lord Jesus Christ, had sin on Him, but never had sin in Him.

3. The man on the right hand cross had sin in him, but not on him, for his sin was on the Lord Jesus. He confessed the Lord on the cross, was saved, and received into the presence of the Lord that very day. Jesus said to him, "Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.”

How wonderful is the grace of God that meets the guilty sinner in all his need, and that blesses him beyond all that he could hope or ask for. And this could only be through the death of the spotless "Lamb of God," or, as Scripture says, through "the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Pet. 1:19.)

"THE FOOL HATH SAID

IN HIS HEART,

THERE IS NO GOD!”

Psa. 53:1

"IF YE BELIEVE NOT

THAT I AM HE,

YE SHALL DIE

IN YOUR SINS.”

John 8:24

“HE THAT HATH

RECEIVED HIS TESTIMONY

HATH SET TO HIS SEAL

THAT GOD IS TRUE.”

John 3:33

February

Converted in a Prison

I was nineteen years of age when brought before the criminal court on a charge of highway robbery, of which I was not guilty.

But being unable to prove my innocence, and having no friends to take up my case, I was sentenced to fifteen years confinement in a penitentiary.

This was the saddest hour of my life.

But though all seemed to be against me, there was One whose eye looked in grace and pity down upon me. God, against whom I had sinned all my life, had compassion with me, stretching out His hand in love and mercy to save me. It was indeed His own remarkable way to bring me behind the prison walls and there save my soul.

Five years I had spent behind the prison walls when one Lord's day, on arriving at the chapel, a great surprise awaited me.

Alongside the prison chaplain stood a man whom I knew too well from years past. It was one of my former pals, the "Terrible Gardener" as he was called by us.

How that man was changed! He addressed the prisoners after a few remarks by the chaplain. Every word sank deep into my heart. What power could that be which had changed this terrible man so remarkably? When his address was concluded, he came down, right among us, telling us with many tears how he, through the grace of God, had learned to know himself as a lost and guilty sinner and had found the Lord Jesus as his Savior. While relating this, the man looked so happy that one could but feel all he said was true.

And I felt so very, miserable and forsaken. Afterward the man prayed for us. We all wept, such was the power of his testimony. Concluding he read several passages from the Bible—that glorious book for which I had never cared, but through which a merciful God was now speaking words of love and compassion to me, a poor castaway.

Returning to my cell and while still occupied with what I. had heard, my eyes wandering around in the desolate room, I discovered suddenly in an opening, which served as a ventilator, an object which engaged my attention. I took it down, and, what surprise! It was a Bible. It was covered with a thick layer of dust, but otherwise well preserved, complete and readable. It was certainly the providence of God to discover the book only now, for had I found it before this memorable day, I would undoubtedly have torn it to pieces. How grateful I was for its possession! Gladly I would have looked up the verses which had been read to us, but not knowing where to find them, I began to read at the very beginning.' My interest began to increase with every moment. Not for the most fascinating romance would I exchange my new-found treasure. I read on until I had to go to bed. My interest did not slacken in the following days, but I read on and on until I came finally to the narration of the life and sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. This touched me so that on one evening, while meditating on the remarkable change in my friend Gardener, and while pacing up and down my little room, a real hunger for a new life took hold on me. Could such a change with me be possible as he had experienced? A voice seemed to suggest: "Pray! pray the prayer of the publican: 'O God, be merciful to me the sinner!’” I tried thus to pray but in vain. My sins stood before me, terrorizing and condemning me.

Then, suddenly, the word "whosoever" came to my mind. "That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish," I had read.

"That means you," whispered the sweet voice again.

"But I am so ungodly," I put in, "too bad to be forgiven.

"Thus the battle in my soul continued, raging for weeks. At times I was almost despairing; for what shall a poor sinner do when between himself and a holy God there is nothing but a life of black and awful sins? I prayed much, and my desire to be accepted of God was deep and sincere.

One evening I concluded not to cease praying until I had found peace. I might have to stay on my knees until the morning; but, behold, at midnight my prayers were answered! The sense of my great need seemed to have reached a climax, when suddenly, as it were, a hand was laid on my head and a voice spoke to me: "My son, thy sins are forgiven thee!”

I do not know whether I actually heard a voice thus speaking, but most certainly were these words spoken to my soul. It was Jesus, the blessed Savior, who had thus spoken to me by the Holy Spirit. Now I knew and believed that He had died for my sins on the cross. This fact took hold of me with such power that I sprang to my feet. A flood of heavenly light seemed to fill my being. I did not know at first whether I was still in this world or in the other.

Clapping my hands together, I shouted:

"Thanks be to God! Blessed be His name!”

One of the watchmen passed by my door, and, hearing me, asked what I wanted.

"I have found Christ," I called out to him.

"My sins are forgiven, thanks be to God!”

Of course, the man could not comprehend my joy. He told me to be still, threatening to report me next morning for disturbing the peace. But this could not dampen my joy; my happiness was too great and too deep. Oh, what a night was this; never shall I forget when the Lord Himself spoke peace to my soul. Jesus alone can save!

When Will You Decide for Christ?

“Will you decide now?” was the question I put to an elderly man; but no answer followed. His head was bowed in thought. I waited, and still waited, but no reply came.

“When will you decide?” was my next interrogation; but yet no response.

“Will you decide twenty years hence?” Twenty years, twenty years, and the man already old!

“No,” said he; “it is not likely that I shall live twenty years!”

“Then will you decide ten years hence?”

“No, I dare not put it off ten years.”

“Then will you decide five years hence?”

“No, I dare not delay for five years.”

“Then will you decide this time year?”

“No, I might die before next year.”

“Then will you decide this day next month?”

His answer was delayed. It may be that the devil suggested that four weeks would soon roll round, and that he might safely wait that length of time; but at last, after long consideration, he said, “No, I should not wait a month.”

“Then will you decide this day next week?”

Again he said, “No.”

“Then will you decide this time tomorrow?”

Tomorrow, so near at hand! Tomorrow, only a few hours away! Tomorrow! “No,” said the old man, “I ought to decide now!”

Why now? Age, wisdom, conscience, time, eternity, Scripture, furnish the reason why. Their combined and unanimous, their long, and loud, and only cry is Now! Now! Now!

Undecided reader, say when it shall be? When? It may be Now or never. God placed a period before you. He says, “Now is the day of salvation”; nay, more, He says, “Now is the accepted time.” Decide for Christ Now!

A True Saying

"If you will not

When you may

Then you can not

When you will, I say.”

Joyful Joe

“But if you were to die tonight where would you go to?” I asked him.

“To heaven, I hope,” was his reply.

“But why do you hope to go there? Many won’t. In what way do you differ from others, that entitles you to that hope?”

“Well, I do all I can that’s good, and I try to live the best way that I can, and I believe in God, and I hope I’ll go to heaven when I die.”

“Yes, that’s all very good; but you know ‘the devils also believe and tremble,’ and they are none the better for it.”

“True,” he said, rather staggered at the idea, and struck with the possibility of his ground not being altogether so firm as he had thought it was. “But,” he added, after a little pause, “the devils believe and tremble; they do not believe and serve.”

“Well, do you believe and serve?”

“I do.”

“You serve God? How long have you served Him?”

“Oh, this long time!”

“How long?”

“These many years now.”

“How many?”

“A good many—perhaps a dozen or thirteen.”

“But have you ever been converted?”

“Well, I can’t say as to that, exactly, but I have served God now these many years; that I’m sure of.”

“But Judas Iscariot served also. The Lord Jesus chose him as an apostle, and sent him out to preach the Gospel, and to cure diseases, and do many similar things along with the other apostles—yet we know that he was a traitor after all, and has gone to hell.”

“Oh! I hope not! I hope no one has gone there, nor ever will go. That’s an awful place, and it’s an awful thing to say of anyone. I would not say that of anyone. I hope God is too good to send anyone there. No, I wouldn’t say that of anyone.”

“But do you believe there is a place of ‘everlasting burnings’?”

After a pause he replied thoughtfully, “Yes, I do; the Book says it, and if I did not believe in ‘everlasting fire,’ I could not believe in ‘everlasting life,’ for it is the same Book that tells me of the one that tells me of the other also. I must believe it.”

“Well, and if you had your deserts, which would be your proper portion, eternal life or eternal judgment?”

“Eternal judgment; I know that, if I had my deserts, for there’s not a wickeder living man in the town than I have been.”

“And how then are you to escape it, if you deserve it? How do you expect to go to heaven?”

“Well, I just do the best I can, and pray to God, and believe and hope He will have mercy on me when I die, and overlook my sins.”

“That He won’t. He couldn’t do it,” I replied.

Looking at me with a mixture of amazement, curiosity, and contempt at my ignorance, he replied in a cynical tone, “Then there’s no salvation for me.”

“No,” I calmly said, “not in that way.”

“Then how am I to get it? Let me hear your way.”

“Now,” I said, “look here; suppose you owed a bill, say $100.00, at some store, and you could not pay it. And suppose there were different partners in the firm; we will call them, for example, Mr. William and Mr. Henry, etc. Now, if you went in one day to make known your poverty, and found Mr. William making up the books, and he said to you, ‘Well, Joe, I know you are a poor man, and cannot pay the money. I will overlook your account in the book, and not charge you with it.’ Wouldn’t that make you very happy? Wouldn’t you come away in great joy, and tell your wife that it was all right now because Mr. William had overlooked your account, and you need not pay the money?”

“I would, to be sure.”

“Now, suppose the next day you met one of the other partners— Mr. Henry, say— and he said, ‘Joe, you owe us $100.00!’ You would say, ‘Yes, but Mr. William has overlooked the account, and I haven’t to pay it.’ ‘Oh but,’ says Mr. Henry, ‘Mr. William has no power to do any such thing; he is but cone of the firm, and the firm demands it, so get ready to pay or go to prison.’ Where would your joy be then?”

“I confess it would be gone in a minute.”

“Of course it would. But suppose, instead of that, Mr. William had said, ‘Joe, you are poor and cannot pay; I will pay for you.’ And he put his hand into his pocket, and pulled out $100.00, and put it into the till for you and said, ‘There, Joe, the money is paid; I will give you a receipt, and put paid to your name in the book.’ Would you then be afraid to meet the rest of the firm, with that receipt in your pocket?”

“No, that I would not.”

“Well now, Joe, God could not overlook your sin. His righteousness demanded the payment of the debt; but what justice demanded grace has provided. In the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ God has shown how ‘He might be just, and the Justifier of him which believeth on Jesus.’ The Cross is not the overlooking, but the settlement of sin. The debt is paid! Now, ‘being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’” Rom. 5:1.

“Bold shall I stand at that great day,

For aught to my soul shall lay;

While by Thy blood absolved I am

From sin’s tremendous curse and fear.”

Thus I told him the story of the Cross. As I looked up, I saw his hand stealing to his pocket to get his handkerchief to wipe away the big tear-drops that were rolling down his cheeks while he tried to stifle his emotion. Seeing that I had noticed him, he said in a broken voice, “You must really excuse me, sir, for I cannot help it. There’s something in that that touches me. I haven’t wept any this many a long year, for my heart was as hard as a stone; but somehow that touches me, and I cannot help it.” Then he fairly broke down:— “I see it all! I was blind—the Cross settled it—it is not overlooked, but settled. I thank God. I thank Christ. I thank you, sir. Oh! but there are many blind that do not see the way, and those that teach them are as blind as themselves. No one ever told me that before, and I never heard it. I am thankful that I lived till today, for if I had died yesterday I would have been lost. I was on the wrong road, and many hundreds besides me; but now I see that the Cross has settled it all. Thank God! Thank God! I’m not afraid to die now,” and he sobbed right out.

His joy was so manifest and abiding that some called him “Joyful Joe,” and the name stuck to him ever after.

Reader, are you joyful, knowing that the Cross has settled all the claims of justice, and that all that is left for you to do is to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved”? Acts 16:31.

Jesus

Among some papers in the desk of a man who once professed infidelity, but just before he died got deeply interested in the well being of his precious soul, were found these words:

I've tried in vain a thousand ways,

My fears to quell, my hopes to raise,

But all I need, the Bible says

Is Jesus.

My soul is night, my head is steel,

I cannot see, I cannot feel;

For light, for heat, I must appeal

To Jesus.

He died, He lives, He reigns, He pleads;

There's love in all His acts and deeds;

All, all, a guilty sinner needs

Is Jesus.

Though some will mock and some will blame,

In spite of fear, in spite of shame,

I'll go to Him because His name

Is Jesus.

Spurning the Remedy

A man said to me not long ago, “Do you think there is any justice in my being condemned because a man sinned six thousand years ago? I don’t believe a word of it!” Now, let me say, there will be no one lost on account of Adam’s sin. But I hear someone say, “That’s a plain contradiction. You have said we should be, and now you tell us we shall not be.”

Let me see if I can illustrate it. Suppose I am dying of some terrible disease, and I am given up by the physicians, who say I must die. But there comes a man whom I have known for years, and he says, “You are a dying man!”

I say to him, “I know it; I don’t need anyone to tell me that.”

He says to me, “But there is a remedy.”

I say, “I don’t believe there’s any remedy. I have tried all the leading physicians, and they say there is no hope.”

“I tell you there is a remedy!” says he. “Twenty years ago I was as far gone with that disease as you are now, and I was given up by all the physicians to die; but I took that medicine (and he holds it out to me), and it cured me. Listen now—there is the medicine. It shall not cost you a penny. Just take it, and you will get well.”

But I do not take it, though I have every reason to believe the man is speaking the truth. I shall die, but not because there is no cure. It is because I spurn the remedy. And if men die eternally it will not be God’s fault, not because they are sinners, but because they have despised the remedy—they have rejected the Saviour. (Heb. 2:3.)

The Bell Is Ringing

Passing along the main thoroughfare of a large seaport town, I noticed that people were hurrying past me, hot and breathless, towards the end of the street. It was quite dark, and to the stranger it became a matter of surprise why such haste was manifested without any apparent cause or object.

I was making my way to the railway station, but there was plenty of time, and I had no cause to exert myself unnecessarily. But seeing the "eager, anxious throng" pushing onward, I quickly made my way over the footbridge which spans the lock-pit between two docks and forms part of the main road.

The bell which had been ringing for some minutes then ceased, and all hurry and bustle among the foot passengers as suddenly subsided.

On inquiry I found that in this great town, which is intersected by docks, vessels are at certain intervals passed through the dock-gates, during which times the drawbridge is lifted and all traffic is suspended sometimes for half an hour at a stretch. In order to give due notice of this obstruction, the gatekeeper rings a large bell as a note of warning, and those acquainted with the usages of the place are at once aware that unless they make haste they will be delayed.

The bell of grace rings out an invitation to all. The voice of the preacher echoes God's message, "Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation.”

The glad tidings of a dying Savior's love are told out by those who have been sought and found by the meek and lowly Jesus.

We see men hastening on in the race of life; and though the night is dark, and the object of their pursuit is un-discerned by those around them, yet they press forward towards the mark for the prize of their high calling, with Christ.

Others, again, linger by the way, disregarding the ringing of the bell, or the affectionate appeal of the preacher. They have "plenty of time." They want to get over the bridge, and they mean to do so, but there is no cause to hurry.

Presently the bell stops, and the bridge is raised. Those who have passed safely over are at once peaceful and calm.

Reader, the hour is coming—God only knows how soon—when the bell of grace will be hushed forever! The preacher and those who have crossed over will be occupied in singing the song of the redeemed, in the presence of the Lord of Glory. And the door, which no man can open, will be shut forever!

Heaven's gate is still wide open, and the message of God's love is ringing in your ears.

"Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37.

Millions have crossed the bridge; millions more are passing along with fast hurrying feet, accepting the Savior's loving invitation, "COME," and all are welcome.

And so "God is no respecter of persons.”

The day of grace is lengthened out, dear reader, for you, whoever you are, or in whatever circumstances you may be. And Jesus, the Lamb of God, who died for sin, is stretching forth His hands still, and bidding His servants ring the Gospel bell of invitation— "come." And all you have to do is to accept the gift of eternal life so freely offered—will you come?

"The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6:23.

A Message for You

CHRIST

the chosen one of God, His beloved, His anointed Son, sent from the Father to be the Saviour of the world,

HATH

once suffered. Yes, it is passed; the work is finished-all fully completed-done, well done-

ONCE

by one offering, once offered. It was to this one sacrifice the many sacrifices of old all pointed. They were repeated again and again because the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins. But when He, the Lord of Glory, came and

SUFFERED

upon the cross, the whole question was settled. Suffered! Who can tell the depths of anguish, the awful character of that agony which He endured when forsaken of

FOR SINS

not His own; for He was spotless, and without blemish. For the sins of others He suffered there. As believers can say, “He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” He was

THE JUST,

righteous, and holy One in all His path; ever bringing honor to Him by whom He was sent. Yet, taking the sinner’s place, in wondrous love He became the substitute

FOR THE UNJUST,

bearing the judgment they deserved; enduring the wrath of God; draining the last dark drop of woe for the believer,

THAT HE MIGHT BRING US TO GOD,

as those fitted to be His companions in glory, freed from their sins by His sacrifice and able to rejoice in God Himself, who gave His Son to do this wondrous work, and to praise Him for His matchless, immeasurable grace.

No Reason Why

There is no reason why you should not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. You have sinned against God, and meet Him you must, for it is written, "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Rom. 14:12.

You can meet Him now in grace, through the Lord Jesus Christ, but if you despise His grace, you will have to meet Him in judgment, and then it will be too late for you to be saved.

"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Cor. 6:2.

You could not do a wiser thing than to come to Christ at once and accept Him as your own blessed Savior.

"Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”

Prov. 27:1.

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Acts 16:31.

What Is Meant by Believing?

Friend, there are multitudes of people, who believe all about Christ and the Gospel, but who have never believed on or in the Lord Jesus Christ. The difference is most important. Let me illustrate my meaning.

A friend of mine visited Mount Vernon, the old home and burial place of General Washington. He got into conversation with an old colored man, who had been a slave in the Washington family. The old man was a Christian, and in the course of conversation he put the matter very forcibly. He said, “There are a mighty lot of professing Christians in America, sir, but if you were to cut off their heads there would be nothing left.” This was his graphic way of explaining that with such there was nothing in the heart, no real conversion, no real believing to the saving of the soul.

Let me further illustrate my meaning. Suppose I am walking with a friend down one of the principal streets of a large city. My friend says to me, “Do you see that large house at the corner, with the brass plate?”

I answer, “Yes.”

“Well, that is where the great heart specialist of the city lives. Indeed, patients come from all parts of the country to consult him. He is a most successful man.”

While my friend is telling me about this celebrated physician, he comes out of his house and steps into his car, and I am privileged to see him. His face and whole look bear out my friend’s remarks. Intelligence and kindliness mark his appearance.

But my heart happens to be as sound as a bell, or I think that it is. I believe all my friend has told me about the doctor, but the information is of no importance to me. I don’t need his services.

But suppose a few weeks after the conversation I am stricken down with a sudden heart attack. I immediately think of this doctor, send for him, put my case unreservedly into his hands, and, with the blessing of God, recover. I now know the doctor, know his skill, and when I speak of him I do so with warmth, for I am grateful to him for his attention. In short, I have believed on and in the doctor—before, I only believed about him.

Or again, suppose you and I are walking by the seashore on a beautiful summer day. We see the lifeboat lying on the sands. We admire its strength, its grace, its adaptability for saving life. In short, we believe all about it. But we are in no need of the lifeboat at the moment. Our feet are on the sands. We are in no danger of drowning.

But in six months, suppose we are on the deck of a sinking ship, and our only hope of rescue lies in the lifeboat. With what different feelings we watch the brave men propelling it through the angry sea! With what relief we drop into it, and are saved! We believe not only about it, but on and in it.

Now every sinner is in need of Christ; all are stricken down with the terrible disease of sin. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Friend, have you ever come as a needy sinner to Christ, and received Him as your personal Saviour? Have you received from Him salvation? If you have not, it doesn’t matter what you may believe about Him, you have never believed on or in Him. You have never believed to the saving of your soul. See to it that you really and truly “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:31.

The Missing Link

The train stood at the platform, and the passengers were busy getting their seats.

The railway bell and repeated calls from the company officials reminded us the time for starting was at hand. Several who had tarried until the "last minute," either talking with their friends or making themselves sure there "was plenty of time yet," had, in their haste, rushed into the most convenient cars nearest the end of the platform they entered from. The cars were as comfortable, and looked as well, as the others they stood on the same line of rails, they seemed bound for the same destination, but one thing they lacked, only one—they had no connecting link with the engine in front.

They were uncoupled from the starting train, and for this one cause were left standing in their place, while the others, at the appointed time, with all their occupants, moved along.

Reader, there are men and women in the world, living at this present hour, who are making the same mistake for eternity as these did with the railway cars, and unless speedily they take warning, and "change Cars," will be left behind at the coming of the Lord, when He cometh to take His own people to heaven, to be forever with Himself. Are you sure you are not one of the number? To get into a carriage is one thing; to get into a right carriage, connected with the engine, another. So it is one thing to have a profession, and be religious; but another thing to be converted: to have life in Christ, in union with Him: to live because He lives: to be born from above: to be God's child.

"I am the light of the world. He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12.

Thou Art More to Me

Dear Lord, I thankfully kiss the hand

That gently stripped me bare,

And laid me on Thy tender breast

To lose my sorrow there.

‘Twas anguish when earth’s cup was spilled,

But now with Thee ‘tis overfilled;

For Jesus, Thou art MORE to me

Than all earth’s brimming cups could be.

"Yes" or "No"

"I wonder, Harry, that you are not afraid to die; I am terribly afraid!" were the words of an old man to a little boy, who lay on the next bed to him in a large ward of one of our city hospitals.

Harry was about eleven years old; his fevered cheek, too-bright eye, and quick breathing, telling plainly that his short life was fast nearing its end.

Mr. Clayton, a Christian visitor, had just been pressing on the old man an immediate acceptance by faith of pardon and eternal life, as the free gift of God's great love in Christ Jesus.

"I know it all," he had replied, "but I do not understand how I can get it, how I can make it my own.”

"How did you get it, Harry?" the visitor asked, turning to the child.

"Why," said the boy, "when the Lord Jesus said to me,

`Come unto Me . . . and I will give you rest' (Matt. 11:28), I just said with all my heart, 'Yes, Lord, I come,' and He was true to His Word, and gave me rest. And when He said, 'Come now,' I just said, 'Yes, Lord, now; not to-morrow.' And when He promised to forgive me freely, to make me His own, and fit me to be with Him forever, I just said,

‘YES, LORD,'

for I knew He could not break His Word.

How could I say 'No' to Him?”

Tears filled Mr. Clayton's eyes as he listened to these simple words of unquestioning faith.

"Yes, Thomas," he said, "Harry has told us the truth; it is just saying 'Yes' or 'No' to God's own Words. It must be one or the other. It is a solemn thing to know, if we are not saying 'Yes' to His gracious invitations, and to His blessed promises, we are saying 'No, Lord, I do not believe Thee.' 'No, Lord, I will not come to Thee!'”

After praying with them he left. Just as he did so, the old man himself turned to the child to know why he was not afraid to die.

"I have nothing more to tell," said Harry, "nothing but just that I say, 'Yes, Lord,' to whatever Jesus says to me. If you are afraid, Mr. Brown, it must be that you are saying 'No.' He says, " 'When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee' Isa. 43:2. And, I just say, 'Yes, Lord; yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me' Psa. 23:4. He says, 'It is I, be not afraid' (John 6:20), and I say, 'Yes, Lord, I am not afraid.'”

"You are right, Harry. I have been saying 'No' all my life to His gracious words; but it is too late now. I wish I had known before that it was just that—saying 'Yes' or 'No'. O, that it had been 'Yes' that I had said!”

"But Mr. Brown," said the child, "it is not too late;

`Jesus is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him' Heb. 7:25.

Uttermost will surely reach as far as you—as far as now.

`God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life' John 3:16. That 'whosoever' must mean you as well as me. Will you not now say,

`Lord Jesus, all my life I have been saying "No" to Thee, but now I will say "Yes"? Yes, Lord, I believe Thy Words, that whosoever believeth shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Yes, Lord, I believe.'”

The sick boy was exhausted through the very earnestness with which he had told out the glad, good news. They were his last words, for when Brown awoke in the morning and turned again to speak to the boy, the bed was empty. During the night Harry had quietly passed away to be with Christ.

Old Brown's days were not much longer. Very different, however, was his state of mind after that last conversation he had with Harry. He took promise and invitation as addressed to him personally; and often, as the precious words were repeated or read, you could hear him say, "Yes, Lord, yes." The unbelieving "No" was no longer his utterance he received God's Words with a grateful "Yes," and when his last moments came, his words were those of the aged Simeon:

"Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy Word" Luke 2:29.

"HE IS ABLE

ALSO TO SAVE THEM

TO THE UTTERMOST

THAT COME UNTO GOD

BY HIM.”

"HIM THAT COMETH

UNTO ME I WILL IN

NO WISE CAST OUT.”

John 6:37

“COME UNTO ME ALL

YE THAT LABOR AND

ARE HEAVY LADEN, AND

I WILL GIVE YOU REST.”

Matt. 11:28

Extract

Do you know that the Lord Jesus Christ, who was once here in grace, is coming again to judge? And His own word is, “Be ye ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.”

The way that we are made ready is to believe on Him as our personal Saviour. His word now is, “Him that COMETH unto me I will in no wise cast out,” but then it will be, “I never knew you: DEPART from me.”

March

A Soldier's Conversion

A soldier lay on his bed in the infirmary of— Barracks. Though his ailment was not a dangerous one, it was serious enough to confine him to bed. Time lay very heavily on his hands.

One day a comrade went into the ward and sat down to chat with him. The sick man remarked, "Look here, I am desperately tired lying here doing nothing. I wish you would go down to the library and find some good novel or some book of that kind, and bring it up for me to read.”

The man, who was an invalid, it may be added, was one of the most vile and depraved in his regiment a man who had no fear of God before his eyes. His visitor, in reply to his request, said, "O, yes, I will do that for you," and in a few minutes he returned with a book in his hand, which he put on, the bed, saying, "My good brother, I have brought you a very pious and instructive treatise, which I have no doubt will be profitable to you; it is called 'James' Anxious Enquirer.'" so saying, he burst into a laugh, and left the room.

"Well," the sick man said, "my first impulse was to seize the book and fling it at him; but it occurred to me on second thought that it was better than nothing. When he was gone a strange curiosity entered my mind to read it. I opened it, and read the first few chapters; and, strange to say, I was wonderfully interested. But I was terribly afraid lest anyone should find me reading it. My eyes and ears were kept open, and if I saw or heard anyone, 'James' Anxious Enquirer' was under my pillow in a moment. I went on reading, and the more I read the more miserable I became. As I lay in bed, it seemed as if all my past life rose up before me its guilt, debauchery, and the wretched souls I had helped to destroy. O, how miserable I became. Day after day my convictions deepened, until I made up my mind, and said, 'O, God, I cannot go on with this life any longer.'

"When I recovered I made up my mind that I would join the little band of Christian men who used to meet in a shed a few hundred yards from the barracks to read the Bible together. I set forth and found myself in the middle of a sort of triangle. At one angle was the shed, and at another was a saloon, where I had been in the habit of spending my evenings. When I got half way I was between two opposing influences, and found myself standing still. There arose within my mind the thought, `Now, then, you are not going to turn your back on your old life. Look at the saloon; you have had many a pleasant evening there; if you go down to these saints, just think of what a life you will lead in the regiment; the life of a dog would be nothing to it. You cannot stand that.'

"Then my courage began to give way, and I crept slowly towards the saloon. I reached the door; I laid my hand on the handle and was just going to enter, when, all of a sudden, it was just as if a voice of thunder spoke to me. There was no outward sound, but that terrible voice came rolling through my inmost soul like the voice of doom, and the words it uttered were, `Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and My words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father, with the holy angels.' Mark 8:38.

"I let the door handle drop as if it were red hot, turned away from the threshold of the saloon, and passed along till I found myself standing outside of the shed, where those Christian men were sitting reading the Word of God.

"Once again I was about to open a door, when the thought came into my mind, 'How queerly they will all look at you. There is not a man in the regiment they will be more surprised to see than you. What will you say? How silly you will feel! How foolish you will look.' Again I found myself standing still, and a voice seemed to say, `Go home, go home don't make a fool of yourself.' As I stood hesitating for the second time there came thundering through my soul, `Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me, and of My word... of him shall the Son of man be ashamed,' and as the words rang in my ears I gave the door a push, and sprang into the room. If a bomb-shell had dropped into their midst these good men could not have looked more surprised than they did. But one of them had presence of mind enough to greet me in a friendly sort of way.

I found I was among true friends and brothers. Everyone had a kind word and a warm welcome for me. They stopped the Bible-reading, and all knelt and prayed with me, crying to God to have mercy on my soul, to wash me from my sins, and to show me the Savior. Still I did not get blessing; my heart was filled with doubt and fear; I crawled away back to the barracks, as miserable as I could be.

"When I entered the barrack-room it was like going from the porch of heaven to the gate of hell. One man was singing an obscene song; another was telling a filthy tale; another was swearing and blaspheming at the top of his voice; all was profanity, and for the first time in my life I felt horrified with it. I suppose it was, no worse than usual, but I had never noticed it before. Now the whole thing was revolting to me. I crept to my bedside like one astonished, and sat there dumb-stricken, lost in a reverie of conflicting emotions. I was wondering what I should do next; and at last I thought I would get into bed and have a quiet time of meditation and prayer, turning over in my mind all I had heard from the men in the shed.

"I undressed myself, got my shoes off, and was just on the point of stepping into bed, when, for the third time, that tremendous voice came thundering through my soul, `Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me, and of My words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed.' I dropped on my knees as if I had been shot, and cried aloud, `Great God, have mercy on me, a sinner!'

Well, if those Christian men had been electrified when they saw me in their room, I tell you these rebels in the barrack-room were tenfold more astonished. They stood there gaping, petrified with amazement; they had not the presence of mind to say a word. They knew what kind of life I had led, and there they stood dumb and astonished. By and by, they stole off one by one to bed, and left me alone. They did not say a rough word to me; they were too much surprised.

They knew it was the power of God; so, contrary to my expectations, they left me alone.

"The battle was won now—the barriers of pride and shame were swept away; and only a few days after, light, and joy and peace burst into my soul. But I always look back upon the moment I heard that voice of thunder in my ear as the turning-point of my life.”

"He saw me ruined in the fall,

Yet loved me notwithstanding all;

He saved me from my lost estate,

His loving-kindness, O, how great.”

"Through this MAN (Jesus) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him, all that believe, are justified from all things." Acts 13:38, 39

"The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7.

What God Declares of One Who Believes on Him

"By Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." Acts 13:39

A Sovereign for a Shilling

"A sovereign for a shilling." So cried a man one day a few years ago, standing upon London Bridge. "A real sovereign for a shilling," but no one heeded him.

The circumstances were as follows. This man took up a bet with another, that he would stand upon London Bridge for an hour, and offer a real sovereign for a shilling: and more, that nobody would accept his offer.

"A sovereign for a shilling," he still cried, but amidst the traffic of that busy thoroughfare, nobody paid the slightest attention to him.

"What fools they were," you say, "not to accept such a good offer. I for one would not have missed it."

Yes, it was a good offer, and no one accepted it, and I question if you would have done so either, my friend, for if you are still unsaved, you are despising a far greater offer, even the salvation of your never-dying soul, and God gives that for nothing. God has been put in such a position by the death of Christ, that He can offer you as a free gift at this present moment eternal life. "The gift of God is eternal life" (Rom. 6:23). My dear friend, if you are neglecting this gift, you are as great a fool, aye, a thousand times greater than those who refused the sovereign for a shilling. This offer of eternal life may be withdrawn from you at any moment, and then you'll not get it at any price. Why not put in your claim now, and accept Jesus as your own personal Savior. With Him you have all you need for time and for eternity. Without Him an eternity in the awful burning awaits you. Trust in Him ere it is too late, and by so doing you get everything for nothing.

"Not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ."

1 Peter 1:18-19.

All Our Righteousnesses Are As Filthy Rags" Isa. 64:6

A Christian was conversing upon the subject of salvation with a young man whom the world would call "good living." He was honest, upright, moral, respectable, religious and apparently quite satisfied that he was doing everything that was necessary.

He sought to show him that his own goodness was worth nothing.

"What," said he, "do you mean to say that doing all I can, and following my religious duties are all to no purpose?”

"What would you do if I were to bring a great heap of filthy rags into your shop?" was the reply.

"Kick them out," he said, very decidedly.

"And yet, though you would not have filthy rags in your shop, you think that you will be able to stand before God in your own righteousness, which His word declares to be as filthy rags.”

His countenance fell; he had never thought of it like that before.

Dear reader, what are you seeking to stand in? Have you nothing better than filthy rags? Is yours but a fig leaf garment? If so, cast it away this moment. Away with the last filthy rag. Take your place in self-judgment before God as a poor, naked sinner, guilty, ruined, lost, and He will clothe you in a manner worthy of Himself, and suited to your need.

"Christ died for our sins." 1 Cor. 15:3.

Tomorrow

"Tomorrow" he promised his conscience;

"Tomorrow" I mean to believe;

"Tomorrow" I'll think as I ought to;

"Tomorrow" the Savior receive;

"Tomorrow" I'll sever the shackles

That hold me from heaven away;

But ever his conscience repeated

One word, and that one only, "Today.”

Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow—

Thus day after day it went on,

Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow—

Till youth like a vision was gone;

Till age and his passions had written

The message of fate on his brow;

And forth from the shadows came Death,

With the pitiless syllable "Now.”

Settled Peace

It is impossible that judgment can be the portion of those whose sins Christ has wholly borne away; as impossible as it is that Christ's work should be inadequate, or that God should punish the same sin twice over. If anyone had to be shut out of heaven, so to speak, it must have been Christ, because He had taken our sins; but He was accepted, received up into glory, therefore the matter must be settled for me, if I believe.

"As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many: and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation." Heb. 9:27, 28

He did not hold back; our sins in all their terribleness were laid upon Him, and judgment fully passed upon Him; and so the whole question has been settled between the All-seeing God and His spotless Son. There we have, not a hope merely, but solid, abiding peace.

The Serpent Charmer

When we were at Bombay we saw a remarkable scene. An Indian woman came into the market-place and by her side was a sack full of serpents. Opening the sack she began playing on a reed flute. The released snakes, quivering under the effects of the music, raised themselves on their tails, lowering and extending themselves, balance their flattened heads to the cadence of the air.

But look! she has thrown down her flute.

Her arms crossed on her uncovered breast, her neck extended, her eyes brilliant, she waits thus. The writhing mass of hissing serpents surround her, twine themselves about her feet, her body, her arms.

In the midst of this horrible encircling, constantly expanding and contracting, the woman stood erect, grand and fierce, implacable and triumphant.

Suddenly, by a rapid movement, the young woman disengaged herself from her defiling environment, which she shook off like filthy rags and stood forth free again. Then she chose the most dangerous of the reptiles, the Egyptian ceraste, and played with it in a way that was curdling to the blood of the onlookers. When the charmer advanced, the serpent retired; when she retired, it followed her; when she looked fixedly at it, the snake flattened itself out. It was her slave, her subject, her very own altogether. At times the snake, overflowing with venom, opened its vile mouth and prepared to spring; but as it did so, the charmer seized it, and fixing upon it her hypnotizing look, rendered it inert, turned it round and round, and then let it fall at her feet helpless and vanquished, as though struck by lightning.

The spectators applauded furiously, and bouquets were cast in heaps about her. She stooped to pick up a bunch of roses. Instantly she raised herself again, the paleness of death on her face. She had been bitten by the ceraste, which clung to her finger like death itself. Slowly the charmer sank down on the sand of the ring and expired.

She died, as so many victims of the poison of death die, killed by the vices they have loved. The sins they caress and the lusts they yield themselves to are the serpents which kill them at last.

Look at that young man who now seems so full of health and strength. He has already been bitten by a serpent whose bite is fatal. Soon you will see him failing prematurely, used up, sick, dying. He thinks himself master of his passions, but they will master him.

Look into that saloon. It is full of men talking, laughing, drinking. The serpent whose bite is deadly has bitten them.

They, too, face the death of the body. God has said "the wages of sin is death".

After this brief life has passed, for those without Christ then begins a never-ending death, an existence without termination of indescribable and unceasing agony for "their worm dieth not," and the fires of God's judgment never go out.

The venom of the serpent could only destroy this life; the venom of that old serpent, the devil, extends into eternity and results in the second death. Oh, why will you die! Turn to God, accept the provision His grace has provided for you in His blessed Son, and have eternal life.

Read Num. 21:6-9; and John 3:14-16.

Good for Evil

John Wesley, we are told, was accosted one night by an outlaw who demanded of him his purse or his life. Without protest, Mr. Wesley gave him all he had. Then the thief started to run, but Mr. Wesley called to him:

"Hold on, my friend," he said, "just a word with you. The day will surely come when you will regret the road you are now pursuing; but remember this little verse of scripture:—

`The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin.’” 1 John 1:7.

Years after this little episode, John Wesley was coming out of a hall where he had been preaching. Among those near the door was a man who appeared to know him and spoke to him as an old acquaintance. The preacher, rather puzzled, said to him, "I am sorry, but I can't remember who you are.”

"Well," said the man, "don't you remember the thief who stole your money a long time ago?”

"Oh yes, I believe I do. And I remember the Bible verse I gave him, too.”

"So do I," said the man, "for I am that very one. That verse made a great impression on me; it has changed the course of my life. Through it God made me see my shame and wretchedness, and how I could get rid of my sins. Now, through His grace, I am a new creature in Christ Jesus. Truly, 'the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin.'" 1 John 1:7.

"FOR GOD SENT NOT

HIS SON INTO THE

WORLD TO CONDEMN

THE WORLD; BUT

THAT THE WORLD

THROUGH HIM

MIGHT BE SAVED."

John 3:17

"THERE IS THEREFORE

NOW NO CONDEMNATION

TO THEM WHICH ARE

IN CHRIST JESUS."

Rom. 8:1

April

They Put It in Writing

Once Mr. Spurgeon, in the course of a sermon, suggested that every one of his hearers when they got home should write a truthful description of himself, in the fewest possible words, thus;

"Thomas Jones, lost," or "Henry Williams, saved.”

"If you see it in writing, it may startle and impress you," he said.

A Christian woman who was present, determined to act upon his advice.

When she and her family were seated around the table in their home, she had pen and ink and note-paper, and said, "I want to tell you what Mr. Spurgeon said in his sermon today.”

The father, who was reading his Sunday newspaper, looked up for a little to watch the preparations, but when he heard Mr. Spurgeon's name mentioned, he went on reading.

"Mr. Spurgeon asked us all," continued his wife bravely, although with a heart beating fast, "to write our names on a sheet of paper, and to put 'saved' or 'lost' after them, and to be quite truthful about it.”

Mr. Mitchell got hold of the poker, and with a good deal of unnecessary noise, banged the coals about in the grate.

Meanwhile his wife was writing. She wrote at the top of the page,

"Sarah Mitchell, saved.”

Then she handed the paper to her eldest daughter, who had been with her to hear Mr. Spurgeon.

She took the paper and wrote under her mother's name, "Lucy Mitchell, saved.” It was now Harry's turn. Mother was anxious about Harry. She longed that he might be a Christian, but she did not know whether he had taken the step. How hard her heart beat when he took up the pen! With a steady hand and without a moment's hesitation he wrote, "Harry Mitchell, saved.”

Her joy threatened to overcome her. The good woman wiped her eyes, and looked as only a mother can look at her eldest son, who had thus boldly taken his stand on the side of the Lord.

Baby, as they called the youngest, had learned to love Jesus at the Sunday School.

She could make capital letters, and wanted to add her name. Some of the letters were large and some were small, and she made a blot on the paper, but when it was handed to the mother, she read, "Alice Mitchell, saved.”

That was the whole family, except father, who was reading his paper. George Mitchell was at least an honest man and a kind father. The children were not in the least afraid of him, even when he somewhat gruffly said,

"Pass me over the paper.”

"Hand me the pen, Harry," he added a moment later. "It's all trash, but I may as well join in the game." So he wrote under the other names, "George Mitchell, l—”

Before he could add another letter to that "1" his wife seized his arm and cried out, "George! you shall never write that.”

Then the children all joined in, shouting out, "No, no, dear father, you must not write that; you shall not write that.”

Father tried in a good-humored way to shake himself free. He tried to laugh in a nervous, forced way, at the whole thing; but as they all stood and cried and pleaded, he broke down and fell on his knees beside his wife and children, confessing his sins, and accepted the Lord Jesus as his Savior, and was able to write, "George Mitchell, saved.”

And wasn't that a happy family, all loving the Savior, and on the way to heaven!

" ... These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name." John 20:31.

"Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his way and live?" Ezek. 18:23.

Just Chance?

A missionary traveling in Brazil had sold some Bibles and Testaments in a little town in the interior of the country. However, where the Spirit of God is active, there also Satan busies himself; and a short time later an order was given that those in authority should collect all Bibles and Testaments and burn them in the town square.

There was a strong wind that evening; and as the flames still rose over the pile of burning books, a half-consumed leaf was caught by the breeze and carried away over the roofs and into an open window. Then it drifted to the feet of a woman sitting there. Printed matter is not as common in those out-of-the-way parts of Brazil, as it is with us, so she eagerly picked it up and began to read.

"That must come from a good book," she said to herself, "for I see the names of God and of Jesus.”

She was right, for the leaf was a part of the third chapter of John's Gospel. She was totally ignorant of the grace of God to a sinner, so it was with amazement she read: "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." And another complete verse, "He that believeth in Him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

She put the partly charred leaflet aside to show it to her husband when he came home from work. He too was interested, and the oftener they read the verses on their one page, the more they longed to possess the whole book from which it came.

About a year later the missionary passed that way again, and called at this house with his Bibles and Testaments.

"No, thank you, we don't want your books," they said, "but we would like to have the book from which this half-burnt leaf came." And they showed him the piece of paper they had so carefully preserved.

With joy he recognized the page. Opening a Testament at the third chapter of John, he showed them that it was the very book they wanted. They bought it at once and began to study it carefully.

There was no preacher of the Gospel in that neighborhood, but God wrought by His Word alone in the souls of these people, and by His Spirit, to lead them to a knowledge of Himself and of His Son. The man and his wife were converted, and soon began to spread the news of salvation among their neighbors.

May we not trace the hand of God in that gust of wind which carried the half-burnt leaf of the Gospel and laid it at that woman’s feet?

"Just chance," you may say,—and yet it will have eternal consequences. God says in Isa. 55:11:

"My word shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

Dear reader, in whatever way these words come to you today, be assured it is not by chance. God can use the smallest as well as the greatest means to reach men's hearts and make known His love. "For God willeth not the death of the sinner," but "will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

The Psalmist speaks truly when he says:

"The entrance of Thy word giveth light, it giveth understanding to the simple.”

The Questions

What has the world to give thee

That thou holdest its hand so fast?

It gives thee pleasure and laughter,

Can it give thee peace at last?

What has the devil to give thee?

Thou hast wrought for him faithfully;

Thro' life's morning, and noon, and even,

None was thy master but he.

Thou hast worked and hast played—art thou

weary?

He will give thee thy wages, he saith;

They come at the end of the journey,

And what are the wages?—Death.

What can thy heart do for thee':

Is it strong enough to save?

Is it wise enough to guide thee

To the land beyond the grave?

Thou thinkest it strong it is feeble;

Firm it is tempest-tost:

Free 'tis the slave of Satan,

Thou thinkest it safe—it is lost.

What has the Savior to give thee?

He gives Himself to thee,

He gives thee peace and pardon,

And life for eternity.

His presence for life's rough pathway,

His voice through the din of strife,

His smile at the end of the journey,

And His love which is "better than life.”

The First Business of Man

If "man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever," surely man's first business, as lost, guilty, and undone, is to be saved.

"Salvation is of the Lord," says the prophet Jonah; and all that is required for man's salvation was finished on the cross, says the apostle John; therefore the sinner—the chief of sinners—has only to believe the good news and rest and rejoice therein.

"Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else." Isa. 45:22.

Here the invitation approaches the character of a command—of a command to be saved.

"Look unto Me, and be ye saved." It is not by feeling, realizing, or appropriating, that I am saved; but simply in looking to

Jesus as the one who died for me—who died for me just as I am. I am not called to be anything, or to bring anything, or to experience anything; but just what I am, as judged by God, sinful in my nature, and my sins actually committed, innumerable. But,! glorious truth! Jesus died for such—"the Just for the unjust." For me! faith exclaims, and God has accepted the mighty sacrifice in my stead; and faith accepts it too, and I stand complete in Him as risen and glorified. (See Jonah 2:9; John 19:30; Isa. 45:22.)

When man discovers that he is a lost sinner; that his sins bring burning wrath and banishment from God's presence forever and ever; that by no supposed goodness, or good works can he meet His righteous requirements, or satisfy the fair demands of His holy law; he is sure to have hard thoughts of God, and to wish in his heart that there were no God to judge, and no hell to punish. But when he is brought to listen to the gospel of peace, and hears that God so loved the world — a world of lost sinners—that He “gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life;” he finds out two things: namely, that the very hopelessness of his condition establishes his title to the love of God and the work of Christ. And what more does he need—or can he need—than the love of God and the work of Christ? God loves him,—Christ died for him. What is its measure? The gift of Jesus, His sufferings and death. He died for the sinner, in the sinner's stead, that the sinner who "believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Christ has met all God's claims and all the sinner's needs. He not only suffered for "sins"; but God in the person of His own dear Son on Calvary's cross has judged, or condemned, sin in the flesh (Rom. 8:3; Heb. 10:17; 1 Peter 3:18).

But the young believer, in his musings on the love of God and the work of Christ, must not rest here. Too many content themselves with only half a gospel, and that the human half, or, rather, with the human side of the gospel. It is said, that Christ having died for us, we are pardoned and accepted when we believe, in virtue of His death, and will surely go to heaven when we die. This is true, and precious truth so far as it goes.

But it is not the whole truth, and must come short of perfect peace of mind. When Christ "made an end of sin" on the cross, He did a perfect work which gives the believer the privilege of knowing not only that Christ died for him, but that he, the believer, died in Christ's death—as man, as sinner, as child of the first Adam.

But if he died in Christ's death, he also rose in His resurrection.

"Like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Rom. 6:4, 5, 6

This is the only true ground of peace.

There is nothing against the believer. Sin has been judged, and the risen Lord has introduced the believer into a new position in association with Himself; and there he stands complete in Him before God, free from all charge of sin, and free from all fear of judgment.

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Rom. 8:2.

Nothing less meets the need of the sinner, the presence of God, and the glory of the great Workman.

Surely man's first business is to be saved—saved according to the love of God and the work of Christ. Has my reader thought of this, or has he neglected it? No question of equal importance can come before you in this life; nothing can justify your delay; nothing can be admitted as an excuse. All things are ready all—that is required for your salvation is done. You have only to rest in that finished and accepted work. And this should be your first business.

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

Mark 8:36.

Perfect Peace

A stone-mason had fallen from his scaffold and was fatally hurt.. In the hospital where he was carried he was approached by a Christian who said to him: "My friend, I hear that there is no hope for you. You will soon be in eternity. Have you made peace with God?”

"Peace with God?" echoed the dying man.

A smile of transcendent beauty glorified his pain-wracked face as he continued:

"Two thousand years ago JESUS, the Lord of glory, took my place as a lost, guilty sinner before God, and on Calvary's cross He died for me—HE IS MY PEACE.”

A mind at "perfect peace" with God:

Oh, what a word is this!

A sinner reconciled through blood:

This, this indeed is peace!

By nature and by practice far,

How very far from God!

Yet now by grace brought nigh to

Him Through faith in Jesus' blood.

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Rom. 5:1.

The Gospel Alphabet

All men have sinned, God's Word declares,

And thus come short of heaven

But 'twas for sinners vile and base,

That God's own Son was given.

Christ died for the ungodly ones,

For those whose strength is gone,

Delivers them from hell's deep pit,

And brings them to a throne.

Eternal life He gives to all

Who bow to Him the Lord.

Forgiveness free they know, e'en now,

Who trust His faithful Word.

Grace brings salvation to the lost,

No sinner need despair.

How shall we escape, unless

We to the Lord repair?

In Christ all condemnation's gone,

And God is glorified.

Justly He pardons, all who come

And trust in Him who died.

Kings, they are made, and priests to God:

Their sins are washed away.

Loved with a Father's love, they know

Christ as their strength and stay.

Mercy and truth can now agree,

And peace and justice meet.

Now God can gladly welcome man

Before the mercy seat.

O, wondrous love! O, matchless grace!

The plan devised by God.

Pardon and peace are now revealed

Through faith in Jesus' blood.

Quickened by God the Holy Ghost,

And new-born from above,

Redemption now is known in Christ:

Fruit of the Father's love.

Salvation is of God alone,

To Him all praise is due.

There's nothing wanting, blessed thought,

For we could nothing do.

Unto His name, the Savior God,

Be ceaseless praises given.

Vast is His love! boundless His grace,

The triumph song of heaven:

Worthy of homage and of praise,

Worthy to be adored.

'Xalted on the Father's throne

We hail Thee, Savior, Lord.

Yes, blessed Lord, Thy claims we own,

For Thine alone are we,

Zealously would we serve Thee here

Until Thy face we see.

"YE WERE NOT REDEEMED WITH CORRUPTIBLE THINGS, AS SILVER AND GOLD, BUT WITH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST.”

1 Peter 1:17, 18

"HE HATH MADE HIM TO BE SIN FOR US, WHO KNEW NO SIN; THAT WE MIGHT BE MADE, THE RIGHTEOUS NESS OF GOD IN HIM.”

2 Cor. 5:21

May

He Stole It Away in the Meeting”

There are moments in the history of certain places, as well as souls, when God comes very nigh unto them. Such was the case in the town of L—some years ago, when a wave of gospel blessing rolled over the inhabitants thereof. God's Spirit was working blessedly, and in some streets there was scarce a house that grace did, not visit and save some therein. In some cases whole households were converted. The gospel meetings, held in large halls, were crowded with attentive listeners, anxious inquirers, and rejoicing believers, many of them but lately saved. Truly they were blessed moments—"times of refreshing"—such as one longs and prays to see again.

Among my auditors, one Lord's Day evening, I observed a young woman deeply affected as the preaching went on. The story of the Savior's love, of the value of His blood, and of God's desire for man's salvation, completely captured her soul, and tears flowed freely as she eagerly heard the Word. An "after-meeting" being announced, I observed that she kept her seat; so at a fitting moment I drew near and got into conversation with her. She was still weeping profusely, but no look of anxiety was on her face. Inquiring of her why she so wept, she replied, "Oh, I can't help it, after what I have seen tonight.”

"And what have you seen tonight—yourself a lost sinner, and Jesus a living, loving Savior?”

"Yes, that is just it. I never saw things before as I see them tonight.”

"Then the Spirit of God has shown you yourself tonight as an utterly lost, ungodly sinner in God's sight?”

"Yes, I see that most clearly. I've seen that I am utterly helpless and lost," and here the tears rolled faster than ever.

"And what else have you seen?”

"I have seen that Jesus loves me, a poor, wicked sinner; and that He gave Himself for me, and died for me on the cross, bearing my sins and God's judgment of them.”

"That is a blessed thing to have learned. And now, tell me, how many of your sins did Jesus bear on the cross?”

"I believe He bore them all, every one of them," she replied.

"And how many of them did He blot out from God's sight, by His precious blood, when He so hung on the cross?”

"I believe He blotted them every one out," was her emphatic reply, "for it says, 'The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin',' (1 John 1:7).

"Good. That is faith. And if He died for them all, and blotted them all out when He shed His precious blood for you on the tree, how many do you suppose He forgives you tonight, now that you believe in Him?”

"I believe He forgives them all, every one," she replied, with a fresh flood of tears, which had, however, the manifest appearance of tears of joy, as indeed they were.

"Quite right, my dear friend," I rejoined; "you have a divine warrant for knowing that. To a poor sinner, weeping at His feet, the blessed Savior once said, 'Thy sins are forgiven; thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace;' and He says the same now to you, depend upon it. Of all who trust in Him it is truly written: 'In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace' (Eph. 1:7). And, if I understand you aright, you are now, for the first time in your life, assured that your sins are all blotted out, and forgiven through the finished work and present grace of the Savior?”

"Yes, thank God, I am quite sure about it now," she replied, and her face, radiant with joy, bespoke the inward sense of the Lord's forgiving love.

"That is an immense mercy; and now that the Lord Jesus has so greatly blessed you, may I ask how much of your heart are you going to give to Him?”

"I couldn't give Him any," was her sincere and simple, but nevertheless, to me astounding answer.

"Couldn't give Him any?" I replied in amazement. "What can you mean? Here you sit and tell me that, for the first time in your life, you have learned that Jesus has borne all your sins on the cross, sustained all the judgment due to them and you, blotted them all out, and forgiven them all this night; and then you add that you `couldn't give Him any' of that heart of yours that should be His, entirely His, henceforth.”

"I have none left to give," was her quiet reply. "HE STOLE IT AWAY IN THE MEETING.”

"Ah! I see what you mean, now. He won your love by the revelation of His own.”

"Just so. While you were speaking tonight of Him and His love in dying for such as me, before I knew it I was drawn to Him, and my heart is His, not mine, henceforth.”

Reader, has your heart yet been stolen? With all my heart I wish you true happiness. Would you have a sure recipe for it? Taste the love of His heart "the love of Christ that passeth knowledge" and let Him, in return, simply and unreservedly, have the love of yours, and you will be truly happy. For "blessed are all they that put their trust in Him," and each such one may add: "Thou wilt show me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psa. 16:11).

A Savior

"Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." Matt. 1:21.

How sweet, dear reader, is the name and title that Jesus bears: Savior! How well it suits us as lost sinners!

It is of all importance that we should know the truth, and acknowledge the truth about ourselves: that we are really lost sinners before God sinners needing a Savior.

We cannot be patched up by any religious process so as to be fitted for the presence of God. Our case is desperate, and nothing less than a Savior can meet it. Our hope of going to heaven, without the Savior, is a delusion.

Some time ago we came in contact with a young woman who had talked very nicely about "hoping to go to heaven:" but, having some doubts as to her state of soul, we asked her how long she had been saved.

She replied: "I can't say I'm saved; but my parents are Christians, and I have been brought up to it.”

We fear she represents a large class; and we would say, in all love and faithfulness, that this "being brought up to it" is a delusion of the devil.

Of course, one may be saved while young; thank God, many are! But, whether young or old, be assured of this, dear reader: it is only a personal, living Savior Who can fit you for God's presence.

Now, God in His love has provided this Savior. Jesus "appeared once to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Heb. 9:26. He has "suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God." 1 Peter 3:18.

"This Jesus hath God raised up, and exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior."

Acts 5:31

"He is able," the Scripture says, "to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him." Heb. 7:25. We assure the reader that He is not only able, but that He delights to save needy, lost sinners.

The Scripture further says: "Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other Name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12.

O, weary soul, lost in sin, listen to His tender loving words: "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matt. 11:28.

Nothing but Christ

A dying infidel who sent for the evangelist, Mr. B—, said to him: "I have not sent for you to talk about religion, but to thank you for your great kindness." The infidel was poor and had been ill for a long time,, and the evangelist had generously provided for his needs.

Mr. B—said: "Will you answer me one question?”

"Yes," said the dying man, "providing it is not about religion.”

The evangelist realized that he might never again have an opportunity to present the love of Christ to this man who was nearing a Christ-less eternity. Lifting his heart in prayer to God for guidance, Mr. B—said: "You know I have to preach tonight.

Many will be there, mostly poor people who, like you, will soon have to face death. I ask you: What shall I preach about?”

There was a long silence. Then, with tear-dimmed eye and trembling voice, the dying infidel said: "Mr. B—, preach Christ to them; PREACH CHRIST." Then utterly broken down, he was ready to let the evangelist preach the Lord Jesus Christ to him, to the saving of his soul.

"For there is none other Name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Acts 4:12.

Jesus Died for Me

Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus! How vast Thy love to me;

I'll bathe in its full ocean to all eternity;

And, wending on to glory, this all my song shall be,

"I was a guilty sinner, but JESUS died for me.”

O Calvary! O Calvary! the thorn-crown and the spear;

'Tis here Thy love, my Savior, in flowing wounds appear;

O! depths of grace and mercy, to Thy dear side I flee;

"I was a guilty sinner, but JESUS died for me.”

Adore Him, adore Him, the glorious work is done;

He paid the debt He bore the load God's holy, sinless Son!

"'Tis finished," cried His suffering soul, and I my title see;

"I was a guilty sinner, but JESUS died for me.”

In glory, in glory, "forever with the Lord,”

With joyful heart this glad refrain I'll sing with loud accord;

With all the ransomed hosts I'll praise His name eternally:

"I was a guilty sinner, but JESUS died for me.”

Doors

Several years ago when work was scarce, a man seeking a job would come to the door of a shop or factory, only to find a sign upon it, "No help wanted." That door was closed to him. It is not so now. Many shops are in need of help, and the door is wide open for those who wish to work.

Ever since our Lord Jesus died on the cross for our sins the door of heaven has been wide open for any who wish to be saved. He says to you and to me, "I am the Door, by Me if any man enter in he shall be saved" (John 10:9). We can only come to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is the Way. There is no salvation in any other; for, "There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." It is by His precious blood, shed on the cross for sinners, by which we are sheltered from judgment, and find heaven's door wide open.

When God was about to pass through the land of Egypt and destroy all the firstborn sons, He told the Israelites to kill a perfect lamb, and sprinkle its blood outside their doors, on the lintel and door posts. He said, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt." Where there was no blood on the door there was no salvation, but where the blood was applied there was safety. So every guilty sinner who has taken refuge under the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, shed on the cross of Calvary, is safe and sure, for he is inside the door of salvation.

We read of a door in the Ark which God commanded Noah to make to save him and his family from the flood of judgment coming on the whole world for its sins. There was only one door to the Ark. Noah and those who believed God entered into the Ark of Safety, and the Lord shut them in (Gen. 6). They were safe because shut in behind the closed door. All who did not enter into the Ark, which is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and His work for us, perished. So will all who now refuse to come to the Lord Jesus and be saved. Judgment is coming on a sinful, guilty world.

"One Door, and only one, and yet its sides are two—

Inside and outside; on which side are you?”

We have a similar picture in the account of the ten virgins in Matt. 25, who went Out to meet the Bridegroom. When He came, "They that were ready went in with Him to the marriage, and the door was shut!" It was too late for the foolish virgins to get in. Only those who were wise got in. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming again. Those who have trusted Him and are wise unto salvation will be with Him when He comes. All others will be left behind for judgment. Then the door of salvation will be closed.

Paul and Silas were in jail because they were Christians (Acts 16). The Lord sent an earthquake and opened the prison doors. The jailer thought his prisoners had fled and was about to kill himself, when Paul cried out, "Do thyself no harm, for we are all here." The jailer fell down before Paul and Silas and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved; thou and thy house." God's way of salvation for you is the same way: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”

God now has an open door for salvation; soon it may be a closed door for you, for if you do not enter in you will be outside for judgment. You also have a door which God wishes you to open. It is the door of your heart, which, so far, you have kept closed against God, if you are not a Christian. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice and open the door I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me" (Rev. 3:20).

"There's a Stranger at the door,

Let Him in;

He has been there oft before,

Let him in.

Let him in ere He is gone,

Let Him in, the Holy One,

Jesus Christ, the Father's Son,

Let Him in!”

Let the Lord Jesus into your heart now, so your sins may be forgiven, ere He go away grieved, and you find, too late, that you a lost soul have closed the door against Him.

The Student and the Cobbler

Caught in a pelting shower of rain

When in the City Road,

Lest it should wet me to the skin,

I to a cobbler's stall stepped in

The door stood wide abroad.

I begged to stay a moment there,

Until it should subside;

And, while he did the lamstone pat,

We entered on a friendly chat;

I spoke and he replied,

"Old soles," said I, "That still decay

Thou dost to mend device,

But canst thou not thy powers extend,

An unbeliever's soul to mend

Wherein all mischief lies?”

He paused a moment, dropped his awl,

Looked up and thus he said:

"I might as well attempt to bind

The surging ocean, or the wind,

With this my waxen thread.

"No, sir, a heart as bad as mine

So bad in all its bearing,

Is like a leprous house, that must

At once be leveled to the dust;

'Tis far beyond repairing.

"Go now and search the sacred page;

That holy Book is true, sir;

Nor does it e'er a thought admit

Of God's intent in mending it.

He'd rather form anew, sir.”

Thus spake the man, a saint indeed,

And that by calling, too;

He still contrives old shoes to mend,

But says he never shall pretend

To make an old soul new.

Then hand in hand, we bade adieu!

I left his humble shed,

And from that period to this hour

I bless God for the pelting shower

And what the cobbler said.

Extract

The believer rests for peace with God, not upon any goodness of his, nor even upon the work of grace in his soul. He rests upon the work that was done 1900 years ago, even the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He "made peace through the blood of his cross." Col. 1:20.

God's Word Is Sure?

If all the shalls in scripture meant perhaps,

And all the haths meant simply hope to have,

And all the ares depended on an if, I well might doubt;

But since our Savior God means what He says, and cannot lie,

I trust His faithful Word, and know that I

Shall surely dwell throughout eternity

With Him whose love led Him to die for me;

E'en Christ Himself.

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." John 3:36.

The Triumph of Faith?

Faith came singing into my room,

The other guests took flight;

Fear, Anxiety, Grief and Gloom

Sped out into the night.

I wondered how such peace could be;

Faith said gently: "Don't you see?

They really could not live with me.”

"Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." Luke 7:50.

"CHRIST ALSO HATH ONCE SUFFERED FOR SINS, THE JUST FOR THE UNJUST, THAT HE MIGHT BRING US TO GOD."

1st Peter 3:18.

FOR WHEN WE WERE YET WITHOUT STRENGTH, IN DUE TIME CHRIST DIED FOR THE UNGODLY."

Rom. 5:6.

June

The Door Was Shut

Luke 13:25

The train stood by the platform, being rapidly filled by those who were desirous of making the journey. Their tickets were examined, as, one by one, they passed through the open door leading to the platform. Rapidly fly the moments, until the hands of the clock show the appointed starting time. The bell rings, and the man in charge of the door cries aloud, "Any more for B—?" None of the many within the sound of his voice avail themselves of the "Last Call", and the door is shut. The train has not started. It is not even filled. But the door is shut.

Suddenly, an old man pushes forward with all his might, wishing to obtain a seat in the train. There is plenty of room for him; and those already seated who see him at the barriers are moved with compassion towards him. But they cannot help him. The door is shut. The old man thrusts his head over that door and sees the train in which he might have been start without him.

The last look of that sad, disappointed face we shall not soon forget. He is closed out! He has missed it. As we looked back at that sad, sad face, the thought rushed upon us What must it be to be closed out of Heaven for all eternity?

"There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out” (Luke 23:28). May the door be shut for you? You thrust out? You? You? Leave everyone else aside for a moment, and think about yourself. You? You say, "I hope not." But what is the ground of your hope? If you are to be saved you must pass in before the door is shut. You must pass in by Jesus, the Way.

Take warning, O sinner. You have no time to lose. That poor man never meant to lose his train. He perhaps said to himself, "Time enough." The door had been standing open, but he did not enter in. And now HE CANNOT. Whom can he blame but himself? Perhaps some acquaintance detained him on the way until he was late! But yet he has allowed himself to be detained, and he should blame no other. Perhaps his luggage kept him back. The result is the same—he is closed out! Procrastination, acquaintances, luggage, all may have had a part in closing him out. But the great fact is—he is closed out, and he never meant to be!

And of the multitudes moaning in Hell today, not one of them meant to be there. The Devil whispered, "Time enough." Yonder is a man in Hell. Once upon a time he was troubled about his soul. He knew that he was not fit to meet God—that he needed to be converted. "Time enough" lulled him to sleep, until at last he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, now to experience what "Time enough" means. Reader, do you believe it? That now, as you read this paper, there are souls irrevocably lost in Hell?

"Strong language," you say. "Awfully so,” we reply. But awful facts call for awful words.

That they are "tormented?" Yes. That they weep and wail and gnash their teeth?

Yes. And if you die without being saved, you must help to swell the river of tears.

"Escape for thy life." If you don't hurry you may be eternally damned.

See the hand that was pierced, beckoning you to the Father's house. Hear the voice that now rings out in triumphant tones, "He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.” John 6:47.

Weary, heavy laden sinner,

I have waited very long,

Willing not that thou should'st perish,

Calling thee to Heaven's throng.

Rest I'll give thee, weary sinner,

Bending 'neath a heavy load

Turn and look to Me, thy Savior,

I will bear thee all the road.

Wherefore wilt thou choose perdition?

Why not take the life I give?

I am waiting to receive thee,

Why not look to Me and live?

An Indian Hymn

The following hymn, found in some very old hymn-books of New England, was written by a converted Indian, William Apes, born in Massachusetts, a descendant of King Philip, the Indian warrior.

In de dark wood, no Indian nigh,

Den me look heaben, send up cry.

Upon my knees so low.

Dat God on high, in shinee place,

See me in night, with teary face;

De priest, he tell me so.

God send Him angel take me care;

Him come Heself and hear urn prayer.

If Indian heart do pray.

God see me now, He know me here.

He say, Poor Indian, neber fear.

Me wid you night and day.

So, me lub God wid inside heart;

He fight for me, He take my part.

He save my life before.

God lub poor Indian in de wood;

So me lub God, and dat be good;

Me pray Him two times more.

When me be old, me head be gray,

Den He no lebe me, so He say,

Me wid you till you die.

Den take me up to shinee place,

See white man, red man, black man's face,

All happy like on high.

Few days, den God will come to me,

He knock off chains, He set me free.

Den take me up on high.

Den Indian sing His praises blest,

And lub and praise Him wid de rest,

And neber, neber cry.

A Timely Word

One cold, sleety, gloomy November evening, when I had settled comfortably down before my bright fire, with the pleasant jingle of the tea-things in my ear and an entertaining book in my hand, a furious ring was heard at my surgery door.

"Dear me!" I thought, putting my slippered feet snugly on the fender, "Surely nobody wants the poor doctor tonight.”

"Wanted, please, sir," said my servant, as he slipped a note into my hand. I looked at it in dismay. Yes, I was really wanted, and that without delay. Only a distance of eight or ten miles, and that right across the dreariest part of the Forest. There was no help for it; I must put on my coat and start immediately. The moon was nearly at the full, that was one good thing.

"Who brought the note, Giles?" I inquired eagerly, with a vague hope that the messenger might bear me company.

"Old Peter Cox, sir.”

"Is he going back, then?”

"O no sir. He'll sleep at his daughter's, sir.”

"Well, get Jerry saddled, Giles; I must start in five minutes.”

Jerry came around at the appointed time—a fine, stoutly built, brindly cob, capable of doing a vast amount of work, with a splendid head and a pair of large lustrous eyes.

Jerry and I had been fast friends for several years. He knew the Forest almost as well as I did. I always selected him for difficult journeys. I think he knew it was rather unpleasant now, so he gave a snort of determined acquiescence.

We cantered pleasantly along the straggling village road, catching glimpses of snug firesides and busy farmsteads, then out into the lonely, dreary Forest.

Not one single wayfarer did we meet, though we had passed over five or six weary miles. Suddenly Jerry pricked up his ears, and gave a snort of intensified delight. I listened, and by-an-by saw something looming in the far distance; then the creak of wheels was heard breaking on the silence.

What could it be? A coal-huckster's cart, drawn by a wretched, half-starved horse, dragging his load painfully along. But where was the huckster himself? Not with his cart: O no; the patient and diligent creature was fulfilling his task more faithfully than his master. Where could he be?

Jerry seemed concerned, and cast a pitying glance on the lank, lean, much-enduring animal; but he went on, and so did we. For a full mile nothing was to be seen; then a small dark speck was discernible in the road a man careening along, legs apart like a pair of compasses, making vain endeavors to steady his reeling steps. The man, though evidently under influence of strong drink, apparently knew me, and remembered my profession.

"I say, doctor," he stammered out, "is that you? Stop, if yor plase; I want to ax you a question.”

"Well, my friend," I replied, gently drawing Jerry to a stand, "what is it?”

"Why, I want you to give me a prescription. You've a great name, doctor, in these parts, and you're a good friend to the poor; maybe ye'll give it to me for naught.”

"What for, my friend? What ails you?”

"Well, sir, I want a prescription for keeping my legs from turning into the saloon. If I could only get that, I should be all right, you know, doctor.”

"You set me fast, my man," I replied, quite puzzled for the moment; "you set me fast. I really cannot give you such a prescription. But, now I think of it, there is a very great Physician, a Friend of mine, who both can and will give you what you want, if you apply to Him.”

"Where is he, doctor? Does he charge very high?”

"He is not far off; and He gives His advice quite freely, without money arid without price. He is a very great Physician, as I said. Your only plan is to go to Him.”

"That will I. Only tell me his name, and where he lives.”

I hesitated, looking steadfastly at the poor, reeling, staggering figure of the drunken huckster, and wondering if indeed he might be able to understand me. The man thought I was undecided about giving the Great Physician's address, so he cried out imploringly, "O doctor, let me know where he lives.

Now do, doctor, for indeed and I'll take whatever it may be I will indeed and in truth, doctor." And the man fixed his keen gray eyes earnestly upon me. He really meant what he was saying. "I be a poor, wake, frail body, doctor, and I be feared of losing body and soul; I be indeed. Now tell me his name, doctor?”

"Well, my man," I said, touching his shoulder with the tip of my whip, "listen to me, and mark my words. The Great Physician is the Lord Jesus Christ. Go to Him straight.

GO TO HIM, for He alone can give you what you want. And He says, "Him that cometh to Me I shall in no wise cast out.” John 6:37.

The poor fellow seemed suddenly sobered. He gathered his feet together, and stood erect; he neither spoke nor stirred. His thoughts were powerfully, irresistibly engrossed; he seemed riveted to the spot. I wished him goodnight, and passed on my lonely track. I looked back; there stood the small dark figure, transfixed. I looked again; there it was, scarcely discernible in the great distance. There was a turn in the road, so I saw the coal-huckster no more. Some weeks passed, and again I beheld the small wiry figure; not drunk now, but alert and brisk about his small traffic. He avoided me, however, so I took no notice.

Another day, some few months after, when the dull winter had passed away, and the spring flowers were peeping, and the birds building among the trees, or in the thatch and all nature wore a smile, I espied the little coal-huckster sitting on his cart.

He, too, wore a smile. He caught my eye, bounded towards me, took hold of the rein of my horse, of my hand, of both hands, shook them warmly, pressed them between both his own, quite unmindful of their state.

Tears rolled softly down his thin cheeks— blessed tears, such as angels love to see.

"God bless you, dear, good doctor! God bless you! You sent me to the right One.

The Great Physician filled my need.”

That was all, and enough. We understood each other entirely. I returned the grateful pressure. I fancy my own eyes grew dim I know that tears were in my voice as I echoed his "God bless you!”

That coal-cart was never seen standing in front of a saloon again. The poor huckster had found Christ a Savior indeed, able to deliver him from "the snares of the devil,” that he might live in a way pleasing to Him Who so loved him and gave Himself for him.

"He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him." Heb. 7:25.

Extract

"We know nothing of life till we are born.

So we know nothing of spiritual life until we are born again.”

Savior of Sinners

No works of law have we to boast—

By nature ruined, guilty, lost,

Condemned already; but Thy hand

Provided what Thou didst demand;

We take the guilty sinner's name,

The guilty sinner's Savior claim.

No faith we bring. 'Tis Christ alone—

'Tis what He is, what He has done;

He is for us as given by God,

It was for us He shed His blood:

We take the guilty sinner's name,

The guilty sinner's Savior claim.

We do not feel our sins are gone,

But know it from Thy Word alone;

We know that Thou our sins didst lay

On Him who put our sin away:

We take the guilty sinner's name,

The guilty sinner's Savior claim.

Because we know our sins forgiven,

We happy are: our home is heaven;

O help us now as sons, our God,

To tread the path that Jesus trod!

We take the guilty sinner's name,

The guilty sinner's Savior claim.

Are You Waiting?

A young man was once awakened to cry, "What must I do to be saved?" He went to a friend who was a professing Christian, and, unburdening his mind, eagerly and earnestly besought him to tell how salvation was to be obtained. His adviser declared that if he patiently waited, in "God's own time” he would get what he was in quest of.

"But how long am I to wait?" he asked.

"I cannot answer that question," was the reply.

Months and months passed on. He "waited," and "waited" "God's time." His agony of soul increased and grew more intense.

At last he resolved to call on another friend and seek his advice. This person told him that instead of "waiting" he ought to pray earnestly to God for pardon and he would obtain it.

"How long am I to pray?" asked the anxious enquirer.

"You must just continue praying, and in due time you will receive it," was the reply.

He prayed earnestly, and besought God to give him salvation. For years he continued "striving" and "agonizing in prayer" to God, entreating Him to be reconciled, and imploring Him to "have mercy" on his soul.

At the end of three years he began to think that his friends had both given him wrong advice, and resolved to seek the counsel of another friend, an earnest Christian, and see how he had received the forgiveness of his sins. When he had told what his other friends said, and how he had been "waiting” and "praying," this Christian pointed him to God's simple plan of salvation. He showed that all the time God had been waiting, and had been beseeching him to be reconciled; that Jesus had already taken his place, died in his stead, satisfied the law, and paid his debt. He saw his mistake, and immediately "took God at His word," and rejoiced in the liberty which the truth alone can give.

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:14-16.

"Just as I am, without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bid'st me come to Thee:

O Lamb of God, I come! I come!

"Just as I am—and waiting not

To rid my soul of one dark blot,

To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot:

O Lamb of God, I come! I come!”

Extract

To speak of the blessedness of faith is one thing. To exercise it is quite another.

Let us learn to trust Him more. Let us withdraw our expectations from all others, and place them only upon the living God.

On Him only let us wait; in Him only let us trust. Then, whatever the morrow may bring in its hand, we shall find the grace of Christ sufficient. Whether our ship sails on smooth waters, or across tempestuous seas, He will keep us in perfect peace.

"PEACE I LEAVE WITH.

YOU, MY PEACE I GIVE

UNTO YOU: NOT AS

THE WORLD GIVETH,

GIVE. I UNTO YOU.

LET NOT YOUR HEART

BE TROUBLED, NEITHER

LET IT BE AFRAID.”

John 14:27.

July

Caught in a Trap

Harry Morris, at the time this incident happened, was a splendid young man of four and twenty. He had a godly, Christian mother but he himself, though honorable, clever, upright, and prosperous, was utterly godless and even sneered at religion and those who adhered to it. He was very popular with his fellow workmen and had become the leader of a set among them known as the "Free Thinkers.”

One evening Harry, being an able orator, had made a highly spiced speech which had been received with uproarious applause. In his discourse he had not neglected to give a few side sneers at the churches, the clergy, and religion in general but on his way out of the building he had come face to face with Mr. Elliott, an earnest Christian man whom he had known from boyhood. He could see by the man's pained expression that he had heard his speech. As Harry tried to slip past him, Mr. Elliott laid a detaining hand on his arm and said quietly: "God has given you an eloquent tongue, Morris, and the power of rousing the passions and guiding the feelings of other men. May He forgive the sinful use you are making of it. Perhaps someday, you may be in terrible danger, CAUGHT IN SOME TRAP.

Then you will feel His hand and acknowledge His power but then it may be too late.”

These words struck a chill upon Harry's heart and he slunk home like a beaten dog. About six months after this, our young man went gaily to work one morning, more pleased with himself than usual. He was about to finish a very important piece of work. It was a large iron safe intended to be built into the wall of a bank a safe of immense strength. The locks had been partly designed by Harry, and, unless one was in the secret, could not be opened even with a key. The bank manager had inspected the safe and expressed great satisfaction with the idea. The manager of the factory had the day before highly complimented Harry and finally put one of the two keys in his pocket (Harry had the other one) remarking, as he did so, that no one could rob the bank but himself and Harry.

No one else had been allowed to see the working of the locks, but, when all was completed that morning, the other workmen crowded in to see the masterpiece. While they were jostling around, Harry got into the safe to see if the hinges worked well, pulling the door slightly toward him. Whether the immense weight of the door caused it to slam or whether someone accidentally pushed it is not known, but, before Harry could prevent it, the door, shutting with a spring, closed instantly. Harry was caught in his own trap!

No one could open the door except the manager who had the other key. Would the men think of sending for him?

The horror of his position gradually burst upon the imprisoned man. The air in the safe soon became close and heavy and the awful thought came that he might be suffocated before Mr. Wilson, the manager, came. For some moments he seemed to take leave of his senses. He tore at the door and shouted, only to fall back gasping for breath. To add to his terror, Mr. Elliott's words came back to him, "Someday you may be caught in a trap. Then you will feel His hand and acknowledge His power, BUT IT MAY BE TOO LATE THEN!”

There, alone, in the dark, he stood face to face with God—and the hereafter! God had indeed laid His hand on him and made him feel that there IS a God that judgeth in the earth.

The atmosphere in the safe was becoming stiffing; a little further delay and help would be too late. But stay! What precious words of sweetness rushed suddenly into his mind, calming his terror for a few moments?

"When they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, He delivered them out of their distress.”

But how could he cry to a God he had ridiculed? He knew now there certainly was a God a heaven a hell! He knew he deserved no pity, but, like those of old, he would cry to Him.

For the first time in years he got on his knees. Leaning his aching head against the cold iron, he begged Him, if it were not His will for him to live longer, to forgive all the black catalog of his sins for Christ's sake. He then thought of his dear mother and her grief at his untimely death. Taking a sheet of paper from his pocket and a pencil he wrote, as well as he could, "God bless you, Mother; I have asked God to forgive me.”

A buzzing was now beginning in his head and soon the pain became unbearable. He finally fell forward unconscious.

The next he knew there seemed to be a hum of voices far off—then a futile struggle to get his breath— a blinding light—a sinking down—and again unconsciousness.

When he next opened his eyes he was in his own room, his mother holding his hand.

"Let us thank God, the God Who saved you in your fearful trouble, my boy." He was too weak to speak, but in his heart he followed his mother as she knelt and thanked God, asking that the life He had given back might be used for His glory.

After this Harry began slowly to amend.

One evening when his friends from the factory were gathered around his bed he told them of his conversion in the safe, and that henceforth his life was not his own. He belonged to Christ. He wanted to redeem the time undoing the harm he had done. As the men listened a quiet hush stole over them. One young fellow said, "Morris, you have come out of the very jaws of hell, but you have found in that safe that there is a God who hears and answers prayer. I, for one, will trust Him too, and believe His Word from this time on, and I hope you men will do the same.”

Will you not do so as well, dear reader?

These are the days of sudden and awful deaths "traps" everywhere abound on the highways, at home, abroad. Are you ready to meet God? For meet Him you must. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?”

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Fragment

Put off thy repentance till the morrow, and thou wilt have a day more to repent of and a day less to repent in. "Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.”

"What Shall I Do With Jesus Which Is Called the Christ?"

Like children swinging on a gate and getting no farther forward, so is it with many souls who hear the Gospel.

Decision is called for. Is it to be Christ or Satan? Is it to be heaven or hell? Decide today, and let your decision be the right one.

It was an election day, the most serious election day the world has ever seen. And never will its equal be seen again. It was Christ or Barabbas. These were the only candidates. The vote was cast. Not one vote was recorded for Christ. If there were a hundred thousand voters, the result stood thus:

Christ —0

Barabbas —100,000

Majority for Barabbas —100,000

Yes, Christ was refused. He was set at naught.

But Who is He? "Jesus which is called the Christ.”

JESUS His name shall tell us much.

He is Jehovah the Savior. The Lord of glory become man for the salvation of sinners.

JESUS—His name had resounded throughout the land. He was the Healer and Blesser, who in grace had journeyed from north to south, from east to west, healing and blessing. The Son of God, with all power to forgive the sins, to hush the sorrows, to remove the pains of stricken men and women. And He was the CHRIST, the Messiah, the anointed of God. The long promised Prophet, Priest, and King had come. The types had pictured Him, the Scriptures had promised Him, the psalmists had sung of Him. Now He had come, and by word and work and way had shown His presence. But He was refused and rejected, condemned, cast out, and crucified. With one voice men said, "We will not have this Man to reign over us.”

So said men, and with wicked hands they murdered the Son of God, Jesus which is called the Christ.

What has God done with Jesus which is called the Christ?

It was God who gave Him—His only begotten Son—to be a Savior, so that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

It was God who visited the judgment against sin on His holy head, when He was made sin for us at Calvary.

It was God who raised Him again from the dead, when His glorious atoning work was done.

God has set Jesus at His right hand in glory. He has made Him both Lord and Christ in highest heaven.

The world has rejected Him. God has glorified Him. God and the world are at issue concerning Him then.

Pilate and Herod, Caiaphas and Annas, priests and rulers, the great and the small, all alike rejected Him in that day—nearly two thousand years ago.

But what have men done TODAY? Let us make it personal. What have YOU done with Jesus which is called the Christ?

Unless you have already accepted Him as your Savior you are rejecting Him also.

The world cast Him out and you have kept Him out. He is your Lord. He claims you as His. He knocks at your heart's door today. Hitherto, you have kept that door bolted and barred against Him. You let in business and pleasure, relatives, friends, and acquaintances. But Jesus which is called the Christ has stood knocking in vain—you would not let Him in.

But that is past—you cannot recall it—the record has gone into eternity. We come to this present moment NOW. Does not Pilate's question sound in your soul?

Are you not now saying to yourself, "What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ"?

Open the door even now to the Savior.

Let Him in while you may.

Behold the Savior at the door!

He gently knocks— has knocked before;

Has waited long—is waiting still:

You use no other friend so ill.

Admit Him, for the human breast

Ne'er entertained so kind a guest

No mortal tongue their joys can tell,

With whom He condescends to dwell.

The Pitying Savior

Jesus, Thou didst pity me,

When I wandered far from Thee;

Thou didst hasten to my aid,

In the dust of death wast laid,

That Thou might'st obtain for me

Life and immortality.

O my Savior! Precious Lord!

Worthy Thou to be adored;

Let Thy mercy, vast and free,

Bind my very soul to Thee!

Daily let me Thee adore,

Loving now and evermore!

Have You Returned Thanks?

It was a chilly evening in early September. The Lady Elgin, brilliantly lighted, loaded with happy excursionists returning to their homes, stopped suddenly, shuddered as if stricken, and began slowly to go down.

There was no wireless in those days, but none was needed. The Lady Elgin had almost reached Chicago; she lay only a few hundred yards off the shore of Evanston. A thousand pairs of eyes were fastened on her from the shore; a thousand voices raised their cry of terror and alarm.

Only a few hundred yards from shore, yet it might as well have been miles. The ship's small boats could not possibly live in such a sea. The Lady Elgin was sinking, and sinking fast. Before help could come from Chicago she would be gone, and the crowds upon the shore who watched her were powerless to help. But, not all of them were helpless. Two brothers, students at the theological seminary at Evanston, plunged through the crowd, a rope in their arms.

Nat, the elder, a powerful man and a trained swimmer, fastened the rope about his waist and leaped into the waves; yard by yard he fought his way through, until at last he reached the ship and climbed aboard. A moment later e plunged back again with a woman in his arms. The crowd hauled him in, choking, cold, but still strong. Again he plunged in, and again, until seventeen women and children were brought to shore, one after the other. At last he sank to the ground exhausted, but the cries still rang in his ears. After a bit he raised himself, and again he plunged in, and they pulled him back to shore with another human life.

Twenty-three lives Nat Spencer saved before his strength entirely left him. Then they carried him away to bed, exhausted, sick, and almost out of his mind. It was many weeks before he left that bed. The twenty-three whom he had saved had scattered to their homes. The bodies of the other three hundred were lost.

Surely the twenty-three whom he had saved could never forget this brave man. How thankful they must have been! But the solemn truth about those twenty-three is that not one of them ever came back to thank Nat Spencer for what he had done. Not one of them even wrote him a letter.

You may say, "I could never be so ungrateful; I would never forget, his name as long as I lived." Stop for a moment and think. Someone not only risked His life, but laid it down for you. Jesus, God's beloved Son, died the most cruel death for you. "When we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Have you ever thanked Him?

Dear Reader, your frail bark may be nearer eternity's shore than you think it may be just a few yards. If you have no hope in Jesus you are lost, lost, out on the sea of eternity. The only anchor that will hold is Jesus, the Rock of Ages.

"Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom. 10:13; John 3:16-18). Jesus is calling to you today.

Come! The grandest invitation ever extended to mankind is to the whosoever, and that means you.

God Loves You

At the close of a gospel address I spoke to a young man who, I thought, seemed to be impressed by the Word; but I soon found out that he had not heard anything that was said, for he was a deaf-mute. However, I was not hindered by that difficulty; for, knowing a little of their language, I just told him the words at the head of this paper—"God loves you.”

He looked at me with a vacant stare, and, shaking his head, replied flatly, "No, no, I can't believe it; I know He hates me.”

"However can you say so?" I asked.

"I went to a church, and the minister gave an address, which was interpreted to us. He told us that 'God would forever cast us into hell if we did not live holy lives, and keep His holy commandments.' Ever since I heard that I have not opened a Bible—I was so afraid. Of course, I never went to that church again.”

"What did you come here for? You could not hear anything.”

"I don't know why I came.”

"Shall I tell you?" I asked.

"If you know, you can.”

"Well dear fellow, you were drawn by an unseen influence, that you might know that `God loves you'.”

"I wish that I did know it.”

Taking up a Bible, I turned to John 3:16, that grand old verse, which has brought peace to thousands: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

The light seemed to shine in little by little; but still there was a kind of dread. So, turning to many other scriptures which speak of God's love, I at last pointed out to him 1 John 4:17,19. "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world.”

"We love Him, because He first loved us.”

Again and again he read them, and the change in his countenance was wonderful.

Taking his note book out, he wrote down all the passages I had shown him, and after saying "good bye" he said, "I see it all now; and, although dumb, I can praise God for the gift of Jesus.”

Reader, are you deaf, spiritually deaf?

Or have your ears been unstopped to hear the voice of the Son of God? God loves you, and has shown that love in giving His Son" to die for you. He delights not in the death of a sinner. Nay, nay; if He did, there would have been no need for the Lord Jesus to die. I want you to understand this, and to make no mistake about it, that God loves you. Now give Him credit for it by just owning yourself a sinner, and let that love draw you to Himself.

Oh, 'twas love, 'twas wondrous love!

The love of God to me;

It brought my Savior from above,

To die on Calvary.

“WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED

Romans 10:13

"WHOSOEVER LET 'HIM. TAKE WATER OF LIFE FREELY."

Revelation 22:17

"WHOSOEVER WAS NOT FOUND WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE WAS CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE.”

Rev. 20:15

August

The Burning Hotel

A great hotel, recently an ornament and pride in a big city, is now a shapeless mass of ruins. At the dead hour of night, when nearly all the guests were sleeping soundly without a thought of danger, suddenly the cry of "Fire" rang through the halls. On some the spirit of slumber had fallen so heavily that the doors of their rooms had to be broken in before they could be aroused to their peril. Others leaped from their beds only to encounter the blinding, suffocating smoke, and were driven back in terror, or groped their way into the blackest darkness to the stairs. Some slept on into death.

Every part of the vast edifice presented a scene of the wildest confusion and every heart was appalled. Screams, shrieks, groans, curses, and prayers ascended into the gloom, and mingled with the roaring flames that soon burst from the roof. The sirens pealed out their alarm the fire engines dashed through the streets; and in a few minutes an immense crowd had gathered around the doomed building. Far up in the windows of the upper floors men and women were seen standing, stretching forth their hands in imploring appeals for help. Ever and anon someone, frantic with fright, would leap from the windows, to be dashed to death on the stone pavements beneath. Here and there sheets and blankets were torn into strips, and on these several attempted to descend, but usually only to loosen their hold, or to find their frail support failing to bear their weight.

As the policemen were hurrying through the halls, they heard from one of the rooms the report of two pistols, and bursting open the door they discovered a man and his wife dying, having preferred to meet death by their own hands, rather than face the fierce flames.

A man, suspended from a sheet fastened to a window, was heard to cry as he dropped to the earth, "O Lord, forgive my sins for Jesus' sake." Another, rescued by the firemen, was led to a neighboring hotel, and instantly surrounded by a sympathetic throng.

Crazed with anxiety and dread, only one subject could engage his attention. A reporter for a newspaper stood before him with pencil in hand, and said to him, "What is your name?”

"Can I be saved?" was the passionate answer.

"Where do you live?" was the next question.

"Will you save me?" was the immediate reply.

"What is your occupation?" asked the reporter.

"Shall I be saved?" was his only response.

Oh, how his whole being was occupied with one thought! Salvation, salvation from the burning hotel, was worth more to him than name, residence, occupation, and all the world beside.

But what can be said of the day of the Lord? It will come as a thief in the night; "in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10). There will be no escape then at the last minute for the ungodly and unbelieving.

"When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" (2 Thess. 1:7-9). "The fearful and unbelieving," as well as "the whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8).

Such is the distinct and solemn testimony of the Holy Ghost, given through inspired Apostles who went everywhere, beseeching men to become reconciled unto God. To this must be added the positive testimony of the compassionate and loving Savior. "The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 13:41, 42); "then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:41);

"Into the fire that never shall be quenched; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:43, 44); "The same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (Luke 7:29,30).

There can be no doubt, therefore, concerning the terrible doom of those who persist in putting away from them the offer of a free and certain salvation, pressed so tenderly and so urgently upon their acceptance now. "Come; for all things are now ready" (Luke 14:17); "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2); "Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith, today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts" (Heb. 4:7, 8). No time is to be lost, for "behold, the judge standeth before the door" (James 5:9).

Even while the fire was kindling in that magnificent hotel, a party playing cards in one of the rooms were seeking to forget God and eternity. Many of the guests had spent the evening in revelry, dissipation, and utter worldliness. Thus shall it be at the end, "for as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not, until the flood came, and took them all away; thus shall also the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matt. 24:38, 39).

Oh, what piercing shrieks will then ring in vain around the globe, "Save me! Save me! Save me!”

How Far Have You Gone?

There is a time, we know not when,

A point, we know not where;

To fix the destiny of man,

For glory or despair.

How far may we go on in sin?

How long will God forbear?

Where does hope end and where begin

The confines of despair?

An answer from the skies is sent

Ye that from God depart,

While it is called today repent,

And harden not your heart.

Almost Saved - Altogether Lost

Felix was one of those who was "almost persuaded" (Acts 24:25). His name means "Happy." Yet Scripture leaves him in a most unhappy condition. He was "almost persuaded" to receive Christ, yet he rejected Him. He was under a certain conviction of sin. We are expressly told that he "trembled.”

But conviction is not always followed by conversion. It was "not convenient" to be saved. He did not say he utterly rejected the message. Yet he rejected it. He said he would call for the apostle at another time. But we never read of that other time.

Scripture leaves him as it finds him—without God, and without hope.

Reader, you may have nothing to say against the Gospel. You may be "almost persuaded." But you must definitely decide for Christ. The day is at hand when to be "almost persuaded" will mean "altogether lost." What is your decision NOW?

Fragment

Death keeps no calendar.

The Merchant's Book of Life

"Yes, sir," said the merchant,' "this book is my book of life. It is my consolation,. my support, my hope. When my last hour comes I will meet it calmly, resting upon the certainty that I have made a good use of the talents which God entrusted to me. Yes!

In this book rest all my hopes, both for this world and the next!”

The words were spoken confidently, and almost triumphantly. At least, so it seemed to the Christian visitor, who was sitting in the merchant's office and listening with much surprise and grief.

"If you were to read it," he continued, "you would find some names in it that would surprise you. But I have never shown it to any one, for it contains the secrets of others. This book is a record of all the services which I have ever rendered to anyone. It is secured from every eye except my own, for I keep it in this box, of which I alone have the key. And then, take a look at the inscription.”

The visitor glanced at the writing on the cover, and read these words: "To be placed in my coffin without being opened.”

"I would like to ask," the visitor said, "if in those moments which come to us all, when conscience rises up to accuse us, and we feel we are guilty in God's sight, do you then find that anything in this book can give you peace? Does it lead you to believe yourself pardoned and justified before God?”

The merchant leaned over, and laid his hand upon that of his visitor. "Sir," he said, "if this book had not power to give me peace I would burn it, and never give another halfpenny to the poor. Yes, I know that I commit sins; I have my faults, like everyone else. But this book reassures me.

When I look it over I feel that my account stands well, and that there is sufficient recorded in its pages to make all my faults and sins be forgiven and forgotten.”

Years passed by, and the merchant was dying. He sent a message to his friend, begging him to come to his bedside, which he gladly did. As the visitor entered the room, what should he see lying on a table beside the dying man but the register of his good works.

"It will be a relief to me to confide in you before I leave this world," said the merchant. "It was hard to give up a delusion which I have treasured for thirty years. But the veil was torn away, and there was revealed to me the utter worthlessness of this book which I had so prized.

"Imagine," he continued, "what would have been my state if I had ended with this thought: I have labored for myself, and have received my reward. But I saw that, far from having atoned for my sins by my good works, those very works were in themselves full of sin, and that I was a lost sinner, in danger of eternal death, and with no power to save myself. And then, for the first time in my life, I felt my need of a Savior, and I thought of Him who 'though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich' (2 Cor. 8:9). Now I treasure in my heart those words which once were so distasteful to me:

`By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

NOT of WORKS, lest any man should boast' " (Eph. 2:8-9).

It is not your hold of Christ that saves you, but His hold of you.

Needing Salvation

Men clinging to an upturned and sinking boat are in need of salvation, and they know it. They long for deliverance and look this way and that hoping to see some signs of rescue. Alas! many in such peril look and cry out in vain. They are far from helpers and find but a watery grave.

On every side there are those today who need, not temporal, but eternal salvation.

They are in dire danger of everlasting woe.

They live as those who are unaware of their peril, or else they are blinded and go on their way as though there were no death, no judgment, no eternity before them.

God be thanked that there is salvation for all who call upon the name of the Lord today. "Look unto ME and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth," is His invitation.

Happy indeed are those who have accepted that invitation and have looked and are saved.

Extract

The cross ought to have been enough for the crucifixion of all our infidelity.

A Story of the Northern Woods

It was a sunny day in early spring. The snow and ice had begun to melt, crows had returned from the south and were proclaiming in hoarse cries that winter would soon be gone, while the woodpecker's tapping told out his joy at the prospect of summer's approach.

Mr. Watt and his son Jack had gone to the woods with the horses and sleigh to load some logs from a skidway to take to the mill. The pile was quite high and still covered with ice and snow. A number of the heavy birch logs had been rolled down for loading, and Mr. Watt was standing between two of them, his back to the skidway.

Suddenly, without warning, the logs in the pile began to slide down, loosened by the sun's warm rays from the ice that held them. Jack called to his father to jump, but it was too late. With a sickening thud the logs rolled against one of the two between which Mr. Watt was standing. At the moment he had one foot up on the other log. The force of the fall caused the two logs to roll together, thus pinning the other leg between them and breaking the bone in such a manner that the limb had, later, to be amputated.

Jack sprang over with a canthook and released the injured man, laying him gently on the snow while he ran for the horses and the sleigh.

Now, what were Mr. Watt's thoughts as he lay there writhing in agony?

He afterward told a neighbor that, as he lay there, his whole life flashed before him.

He saw himself a lost, guilty sinner bound for hell. The thought came to him that, had he been killed, his would have been a lost eternity. He thought of others who had been suddenly snatched away from this life, and he shuddered at the awful solemnity of thus going unprepared to meet God. The agony he was enduring made him think of One who had borne the anguish of the Cross.

For the first time in his life he realized that those sufferings were for him. There, as he lay, he acknowledged that dying Man on the Cross to be his Savior. It was not long before Jack returned with the sleigh, but in those few moments this precious soul passed "from death unto life," saved by believing in. that work accomplished on the Cross for him.

Later, when visited in the hospital, he wept—not for his own sufferings, but for what his Lord endured for him when hanging on that shameful cross. "Oh those spikes!" he would cry, "Oh those spikes!”

Reader, has it ever touched your heart that Christ should suffer, bleed, and die for you? Have you acknowledged that this sacrifice was for you? Surely God's ways are past finding out. This accident was used of Him to bring this dear man to Himself, and he lived to prove the reality of his conversion.

The Gain of the Gospel

"I don't know you, and so I don't know whether you are happier than I am.”

These words were spoken to a Christian by a man whom he was urging to attend to the claims of the Gospel. He seemed to confuse happiness with truth. The believer has not accepted the Gospel because it gives him happy feelings, but because it is true.

A lie may make you as happy as a lark, but that is no reason why you should accept it.

At the same time, the one who accepts the Gospel gains immensely even in this life. Peace of conscience, rest of mind, and satisfaction of heart are surely worth having, and all these we get when we truly receive the Lord Jesus Christ.

The one who knows Christ as his Savior has no reason to fear death, and can look forward to the future beyond the grave without the least misgiving. The future is no longer dark with the thought of judgment.

It is no longer a dismal gulf into which he fears to fall, and which he strives to forget.

On the contrary, it is bright with the thought of home and glory.

It is no mean gain to realize that sin, "that horrid burden and impediment on the soul,” no longer oppresses the heart. It is no mean gain to enjoy the smile of a Savior-God and communion with His Son. Even in this life "sin forgiven is the dawn of heaven.”

But all these present advantages, which are so real to the regenerate soul, seem as an idle tale to an unsaved person. What he thinks he will lose by accepting the Gospel is painfully real to him, while what he is told he will gain but faintly appeals to him.

Like a beggar who is offered magnificent apparel, but hugs his rags still closer for fear of losing the miserable clothes he is accustomed to wear, so the unsaved man starts back at the, to him, dreadful thought of parting with his paltry worldly joys for the sake of the spiritual delights of the children of God.

But a moment's consideration of the eternal future should at once settle all hesitation at making the blessed exchange. Better die in the gutter with our sins forgiven than die on a throne unsaved. Better spend a lifetime in prison if heaven is our portion in the next world, than live the happiest life that mortals ever knew down here, if our fate in the existence beyond the grave is everlasting banishment.

If men were not filled with sin's reckless madness they would consider it the act of a lunatic to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, when the end was to be eternal punishment.

Unsaved reader, consider the brief span of existence here on earth; then you will realize something of the meaning of the old, unanswerable question, "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

"AS I LIVE, SAITH THE

LORD GOD, I HAVE NO

PLEASURE IN THE

DEATH OF THE WICKED;

BUT THAT THE WICKED

TURN FROM HIS WAY

AND LIVE: TURN YE,

TURN YE FROM YOUR

EVIL WAYS; FOR WHY

WILL: YE DIE?”

Ezek. 33:11

THE LORD IS NOT SLACK

CONCERNING HIS PROMISE,

AS SOME MEN

COUNT SLACKNESS; BUT

IS LONGSUFFERING TO

US WARP, NOT WILLING

THAT ANY SHOULD

PERISH, BUT THAT ALL

SHOULD COME TO

REPENTANCE.”

2 Peter 3:9

September

I Want Something?

A Jew was sauntering down a street in the Metropolis on a Sunday evening, and noticing a light streaming through a half-open door, without thinking, he put in his head and glanced around:

As he did so, the preacher—for it was a mission hall—cried aloud: "The wages of sin is death.”

He drew back his head quickly. He had had enough—ay, more than he bargained for—in that one imprudent movement, and he would stay no longer.

He hurried away. His saunter was over for that evening at least. How did it come to pass that he should have forgotten his usual caution? But in that single moment he heard what was to prove the turning point in his life.

One of our great poets says:

"There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.”

And he breathed a deeper truth than he was aware. He had referred to earthly and temporal advantage, yet is his saying verily true in thy soul's history, reader, and in mine. There comes a time when decision, one way or the other, has to be made.

Then the tide of God's special individual dealing with me has risen to its flood, and if I do not launch the vessel of my life out into the free, boundless ocean of the love of Christ, and sail away to the haven of rest, I shall be left forever stranded on the shores of hopeless despair.

Little thought this Jew what issues, for time and eternity, would result from this event. "The wages of sin is death." He felt that was true, and true of him—his sin would be punished with death.

The following evening found him walking towards the street in which the hall stood. He did not want to go, and yet he could not keep away.

He would not go in, but just look at the place. Of course it would never do for him to show himself there. Then, had he not had enough—indeed, too much—last night? Ah, that was it. And his conscience smote him. How he would like to have the uncomfortable burden which was pressing on him removed. Perhaps the place would not be open tonight; and, if it were, would the same preacher be there, he wondered. But, then, he was an Israelite, and these were Christians who believed in that Impostor, so there could be nothing in common between them.

Soliloquizing thus, he found himself before he was aware of it, at the self-same door again.

Yes, there was a meeting this night also, for the gas was lit inside, and the door stood temptingly ajar. He would peep in. What were they doing? There was no preaching; they were on their knees: and a strange awe filled him, adding to the weight of his soul.

Did he feel that they were praying for such as he, who had heard a word in season the night before? If so, he felt aright.

He wished he might go in, yet dared not. Oh! he felt so miserable. What would make him happy? What did he want? He knew what he would do he would wait outside until the meeting was over, and the people had gone, then he would try to speak to the preacher alone.

It seemed a long time to him as he waited, till the meeting was concluded; then the congregation were so loath to separate; and, as they passed him, spoke of "Such a happy meeting!" which but deepened the darkness already on his soul.

He now went nervously inside, and asked of a gentleman if he could speak to the preacher of last evening. He was told he was not there.

"I should like to have seen him," he said, "for something I heard him say last night has made me very miserable. My sin is so great. I want something; yet I don't know what.”

"Why," replied the gentleman, "It's very plain. You want Jesus.”

The Jew started back, and exclaimed passionately, his face expressing the most intense abhorrence.

"I want him! No! Indeed I don't.

Had you known I was an Israelite, you could not have offered me a greater insult. I have been always taught to look upon Him as an impostor.”

"Will you listen while I read you a verse out of the New Testament? You may be rejecting what you neither heard nor judged for yourself.”

The man inclined his head, but averted his face, as if listening under protest.

The gentleman read: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness—." His hearer started.

"Does that Book speak of Moses? Never! Why Moses was our great prophet who gave us the law!”

"Come and read it for yourself, then.”

He read: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:14, 15.)

He shrugged his shoulders incredulously as he read the latter part.

"Stay," said his friend, "before you come to a rash conclusion, consider what these words say. You have often read in the book of Numbers how Moses erected the serpent of brass on the pole in the center of the camp when the people were bitten by fiery serpents?”

The Jew nodded assent.

"Well, your condition just now, and theirs then, agree in this important particular—something wanted. In their case, naught availed but the serpent of brass, because it was God's only remedy; and in yours nothing will satisfy but Jesus, for He is Jehovah's appointed Savior.”

"Oh!" said the Jew, clasping his hands in evident agony of soul, "I can't think that; I can't believe in Him.”

"Stay, now," said his friend. "You believe in the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?”

"Yes, of course I do.”

"Then, will you kneel down here with me, and I will ask Him to reveal to you if Jesus is not the very One you want?”

The Jew consented, and they knelt down. After praying for some time, his friend asked him: "Have you any light yet?”

"No, none.”

He prayed again more earnestly, and while he was praying, the Jew suddenly exclaimed joyfully: "I see it! I see it!" And leaping to his feet, he danced about the room for very gladness.

"What do you see?" "Oh, I see it! I see it!”

"Well, calm yourself. Come and sit down here, and tell me what you see.”

At length he was persuaded. With difficulty restraining his emotion, he said: "While you were praying, the whole scene in the wilderness presented itself to my mind. I saw the stricken Israelites stretched, writhing in agony, in every stage of dying-helpless, and undone. I saw Moses take the serpent of brass and set it on a pole, where the people could look on it. Then as I looked, the pole changed into a cross, and the serpent into One like unto the Son of Man. I saw and I believed.”

And the poor fellow wept tears of joy. Ah! the gloom was dissipated, the burden gone. He had found that what he wanted was Jesus, and Jesus only.

Reader, you have known, and do know, this want, which naught you have tried has ever truly satisfied. You, too, want Jesus, and He, too, wants you.

Guilty - Pardoned

Guilty! 'Twas thus the verdict stood,

Guilty! Yes, guilty before my God:

Guilty! In thought and word and deed:

Guilty, already condemned.

Guilty! Without a word to say;

Guilty! Without a cent to pay;

Guilty! And hopelessly out of the way,

Yes, Guilty, already condemned.

Pardoned! Oh joy! So the document reads;

Pardoned! 'Tis just what a guilty one needs;

Pardoned! My thoughts, my words, my deeds;

Pardoned by God Himself!

Pardoned! Although I had nothing to say;

Pardoned! Without a cent to pay;

Pardoned! Though hopelessly out of the way,

Yes, pardoned by God Himself!

Who Made It?

"In the beginning GOD created the heaven and the earth." Gen. 1:1.

Sir Isaac Newton had a friend who, like himself, was a great scientist; but he was an infidel, while Newton was a devout believer. They often locked horns over this question, though their mutual interest in science drew them much together.

Newton had a skillful mechanic make him a replica of our solar system in miniature. In the center was a large gilded ball representing the sun, and revolving around this were smaller balls fixed on the ends of arms of varying lengths, representing Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, in their proper order. These balls were so geared together by cogs and belts as to move in perfect harmony by turning a crank.

One day, as Newton sat reading in his study with his mechanism on a large table near him, his infidel friend stepped in. He was scientist enough to recognize at a glance what was before him. Stepping up to it he slowly turned the crank, and with undisguised admiration watched the heavenly bodies all move in their relative speed in their orbits. Standing off a few feet, he exclaimed, "My! What an exquisite thing this is! Who made it?”

Without looking up from his book Newton answered, "Nobody!" Quickly turning to Newton the infidel said: "Evidently you did not understand my question. I asked you who made this thing?" Looking up now, Newton solemnly assured him that nobody made it—that the aggregation of matter so much admired had just happened to assume the form it was in. But the astonished infidel replied with some heat, "You must think I'm a fool! Of course somebody made it. He is a genius, and I'd like to know who he is.”

Putting his book aside, Newton arose. Laying a hand on his friend's shoulder, he said: "This thing is but a puny imitation of a much grander system whose laws you know. I can't convince you that this mere toy is without a designer and maker; yet you profess to believe that the great original from which this replica is taken has come into being without either designer or maker. Now tell me by what sort of reasoning do you reach such an incongruous conclusion?”

No word of argument did the infidel offer. Instead, as a simple believer, at last he owned that "Jehovah, He is the God." 1 Kings 18:39.

"All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men." John 1:3, 4.

Scripture

"To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins." Acts 10:43.

Echo Answers

Some years ago a servant of Christ was preaching in a large public square formed by lofty and elegant buildings, in one of our manufacturing towns. Very earnestly he told out the glad tidings of God, and in the fervor of his spirit shouted out at the top of his voice those well-known and precious words, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." As he paused, there was heard following his words the very distinct echo—"hath everlasting life.”

Some deem it presumption on our part when we say we have everlasting life, and think if we said that we hoped to have it eventually, or that we trusted it might be so, it would be more becoming. What false humility! It is pride and presumption to dare to call in question the word of the God that cannot lie; it is true humility to receive and believe it with the simplicity of a child. Ought the echo to have altered the words of the preacher into, "may hope to have everlasting life"? Surely not. An echo returns the words exactly as they are pronounced; and just so simply should our hearts respond to the word of God.

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." Has the word come home to you, dear reader, laden with all the love of God's heart, the love which led Him to give His well-beloved, His only begotten Son, that you might not perish, but have everlasting life? If it has, then echo it back to Him, laden with all the joy of your own heart in the realization of the blessed fact—"hath everlasting life.”

White Rain

Sambo was a big, black African who was soldiering in France, far from his warm native land. One dreary winter day he was standing at the door of his quarters, looking out on the bleak, unhappy countryside. It was bitterly cold, and Sambo took on an almost blue tinge, so keenly did he suffer from the penetrating chill of that winter weather. Now, as he looked, the expression on his face changed. Eyes and mouth each formed big round O's, so widely did they open as he watched soft, white flakes drifting to the earth.

"What's the matter, Sam?" asked a British soldier who was standing near.

"Ooo! white rain!" Sambo answered in a hushed voice.

"Oh, that's snow you are watching. Have you never seen snow before?”

"Never, sar. We have no snow in my country.”

Then, as the snow fell thick and fast, Sambo ventured out. Soon his delight knew no bounds as the fleecy flakes fell upon him, and the countryside became beautiful under a coating of pure, white snow.

The British soldier, who was a Christian, watched Sambo enjoying himself for some time, and then he asked: "Can you tell me anything that is whiter than snow, Sam?”

"Yes, sar," the black man answered seriously. "The soul that is washed in my Savior's blood is whiter than this beautiful snow.”

"Why, Sam," came the pleased response, "where did you hear about that?”

"Way in my country, missionary teach me about Jesus, how He shed His blood for me; and we sing in meeting, 'Whiter than the snow.' See my hands—big, black hands? Just like my big, black sins. Now look!" Sam bent down, and when he rose again his hands were completely covered with snow.

"Oh, the grandness of it! Black sins all gone, never to be remember' any more. Washed all white in the blood of the Lamb." And the two men—one black, the other white—shook hands as brothers in Christ Jesus. They had learned the great lesson that, no matter what color the skin may be, the only thing that can cleanse the sinful heart of anyone is the "precious blood of Jesus.”

Have you found this out for yourself, dear reader? God's Word tells us: "The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from ALL sin." 1st John 1:7.

What Is Salvation?

It is not a Religion to profess.

It is not a Church to join.

It is not a creed to accept.

You may have all these, and yet be without the salvation of God.

Salvation is deliverance from judgment, and emancipation from sin.

It is a known and enjoyed justification from the guilt of sin.

It is freedom from the mastery of Satan, the dominion of sin, and the claims of the law.

It was for this end that Jesus came. The word first uttered by the angel on the plain of Bethlehem was, "Unto you is born a Savior, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).

It is not a Helper, but a Savior, that sinners need, and it is such a Savior that God has provided. "God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17).

Reader, if ever you are saved at all, it must be by Jesus Christ. There is no other Savior. Neither reformation nor religion can save. Neither sacraments, prayers, nor works can do it. "Salvation belongeth unto the Lord" (Psa. 3:8), and His Word is, "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord" (Ex. 14:13).

Are you willing to be saved in this way and on these terms?

Scripture

"To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Rom. 3:26.

"BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED

THROUGH FAITH:

AND THAT NOT

OF YOURSELVES:

IT IS THE GIFT

OF GOD."

Eph. 2:8

"FOR THE WAGES

OF SIN IS DEATH;

BUT THE GIFT OF GOD

IS ETERNAL LIFE

THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

OUR LORD."

Rom. 6:23;

October

The Labor Problem

Morning by morning a group of men may be seen around the office of a large engineering plant seeking employment. Among them are a few decent, hard-working men who, owing to slackness of work, have been laid off there and in other plants. These are usually the first to be re-employed, and find the work they seek and are willing to do. The greater number who comprise that morning crowd are of the class who only work at times, and are always reckoned as "the unemployed." Many of them, alas! spend the greater part of their wages in drink, and no solution of the "Labor Question" will meet their case. They need Christ and His salvation. Nothing else will ever fully meet their need.

Among the men who stood at the gate one morning, haggard and hungry after a week's debauch, was Bill. Bill had been a skilled workman in earlier years, but drink had driven him to the position of a day laborer, picking up jobs wherever he could find them. Nobody cared for the poor fellow, further than giving him his day's wage when he earned it. Things looked gloomy in the extreme for Bill, both for time and eternity. But God cares for His fallen creatures, and in the ways of His divine wisdom has instruments in all spheres for the accomplishing of His purposes of grace.

Bill was working one afternoon with a country gardener. The gardener's wife, instead of letting him go back to town, possibly to spend his wages for drink, gave him a good supper and a comfortable bed, formerly used by a gardener no longer with them. It was the custom in the gardener's home to have reading of God's Word and prayer each night, to which all the servants were invited. Bill, although somewhat shy, attended with the rest, and said after it was over he had "never heard the like" since he was a child in his grandfather's home. For days he worked in the nursery, keeping perfectly sober and spending his evenings about the place. An apprentice gardener, who was a decided Christian, took a special interest in him, never failing to put the Gospel and his need of it before him.

On Sunday nights this young gardener attended a simple Gospel service held in a farmhouse nearby, and Bill went with him. There the Lord met him. Under the power of the Gospel of Christ Bill was melted to tears, and as a guilty sinner he yielded himself to the Savior.

The news of Bill's conversion soon spread. Some of his old friends, healing of it, came out to the gardens to see him. To all their questions his reply was, "I'm no longer among the unemployed, lads. I've got a new master, and His name is Jesus Christ. I served the devil too long and too faithfully, to my cost, but the grace of God met me as I was, and by that grace I will seek to serve the Lord as faithfully as I once served the devil.”

Bill has for many a long year been enabled to do it, showing by his godly and earnest life that he is "saved by grace." And the same grace waits to save you, and to keep and help you after you are saved to live a new life in Christ. You, too, need a Savior! No reformation or outward change will give you what you need. Jesus Christ alone can save. He alone can keep. Only trust Him.

Darkness and Light

"We were sometimes darkness.”

Life passing aimlessly,

Seeking for joys,

Building bright hopes upon

Frail earthly toys;

Satan gilt time for us

As it slipped by,

Little we thought of God

Then you and I.

Pleasure an opiate,

Making us deem

Hell but an idle threat,

Heaven a dream;

Caught in his world-web,

Like any fly,

Satan had hold of us

Then—you and I.

Varied his baits for us

In that vain life,

Different paths we trod

Down in its strife;

Down to its ending in

Hell, by and bye,

Heedlessly drifting on,

Then—you and I.

"Now Are We Light in the Lord"

Not all our carelessness,

Not all our sin,

Kept Him from calling us,

Who died to win;

In love unspeakable,

Jesus drew nigh,

And He has saved our souls,

Now—you and I.

He took us up to find

That we were lost,

He gave us hearts to feel

What pardon cost;

He gave us eyes to see

Why He did die;

We know and trust in Him,

Now—you and I.

Oh! what a taste it is!

Herein is love!

What an eternity

Waits us above!

Not for ten million joys

Earth can supply

Would we exchange our hope

Now—you and I.

Well do we know this hope

Cannot prove vain;

His faithful word is passed,

"I'll come again!”

Down here we live in Him,

While, by faith's eye,

Looking up, wait for Him,

Now—you and I.

The Big Question

The big question is: "HAVE YOU BEEN BORN AGAIN?" Not, "Have you joined a church?" or, "Are you trying to do your best?" or "Have you got religion?" but "Are you twice-born?" "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).

The First Essential

Life begins with a birth. Physical life begins with a birth; spiritual life likewise begins with a birth. We become members of the human family by birth; we become members of the family of God by birth by being "BORN AGAIN." There is no way to get into the human family except by birth. There is no way to get into God's family except by new birth. Education will not do it. Reformation will not do it. Joining a church will not do it. Making up your mind to "do better" will not do it. Trying to do your best will not do it. "Turning over a new leaf" will not do it. What is needed is not a new "leaf," but a new "life." "Ye must be born again.”

A New Nature

By physical birth we become partakers of the human nature. By being born again we become "partakers of the Divine nature" (2 Peter 1:14). A Christian is the product of a Divine "begetting." The second birth is not an improvement of the old nature; it is the imparting of a new nature—entirely new. The old nature is unimproved and un-improvable in God's sight; it is hopelessly corrupt and incapable of ever being made fit for His presence. The new birth requires a creative act of the Holy Spirit. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17).

"Christ in You”

At the second birth the life of the Lord Jesus Christ begins in us. "Christ liveth in me" (Gal. 2:20). "Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you?" (2 Cor. 13:5); "Christ in you" (Col. 1:27); "I in you" (John 15:4). The unanimous testimony of the Word of God is that when one is born again the Lord Jesus Christ comes in and becomes the life of that one. "Christ—our life" (Col. 3:4).

Christianity is Christ

Christianity is not "religion." Christianity is LIFE—the life of the Lord Jesus Christ introduced in us at the moment we are born again, and reproduced in us moment by moment by the Holy Spirit. "I am come that they might have life" (John 10:10); "He that hath the Son hath life" (1 John 5:12); "To me to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21).

Not "Trying"—But "Trusting”

"Trying to follow Christ" is not Christianity. Christianity is not imitation of Christ, it is the indwelling of Christ. Christianity is not trying to do anything, it is trusting Christ Who has done it all! He has finished the work and there is nothing left to do—simply receive and trust Him Who said, "It is finished!" He shed His precious blood on the cross and the work is all done once and forever! Cease trying and begin trusting!

How May I Be "Born Again"?

Simply "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 16:31). "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God" (1 John 5:1). "As many as received Him, to them gave He the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12-13).

You are born again, you become a Christian, by trusting a Person—receiving the Person of Christ. The very moment you do this the Lord Jesus Christ comes in, and life, His life, begins in you.

What Is Meant By "Believe"?

To "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" means more than believing the historic facts concerning Him. Intellectual belief about Christ is not sufficient. "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble" (James 2:19)—but they are not saved! The belief that accompanies salvation must be "with the heart"—"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness" (Rom. 10:10).

To thus believe upon and receive Christ means to rely on Him alone. It is not "Christ and the church" or "Christ and baptism," or "Christ and my faith." It is not "Christ and"—anything else! It is trusting Christ alone. It is to depend on Him, definitely and deliberately to receive Him. It means to trust Christ alone, so utterly and completely that if He should fail—there is nothing left!

How May I Know that I Am "Born Again"?

This is an important question. We know that we are born again on the testimony of God's Word. God says, "He that heareth my Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24). Have you thus believed on the Lord Jesus Christ? If so, then you are saved, you are "born again," you have "passed from death unto life" —God says so! Take God at His Word, and go on your way rejoicing!

How It Ended

Some time ago, twelve young men—all unsaved—left England to see life and rough it in an out-of-the-way part of one of the distant colonies.

As time passed and the nights became long, they hardly knew how to amuse themselves. They were tired of cards and other worldly amusements, so they hit upon a novel device. They decided to have a mock debate about the Bible. Of course, somebody must defend it, so they drew lots. It happened that the young man who was chosen knew absolutely nothing about the Word of God, as is the case with many disbelievers in the Bible.

In order to win his case the young man began to study the Scriptures. At first he read it for the argument, but he soon began to be deeply interested. As he read on he became entranced by the beauty and majesty and wisdom of the Book, and by the time the debate was to take place, that Living Word, the two-edged Sword of the Spirit, had entered his heart and brought joy and peace to his soul. Henceforth he was no longer a mocking unbeliever, but a humble, reverent follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Heb. 4:12.

How Do You Read the Bible?

There is an old story told of how a man and his wife began to read the word of God. After the first few days' reading, the man exclaimed, "Wife, if this book is true, we are wrong!" After a few more days' perusal, he said, "Wife, if this book is true, we are lost!" After a further continuance in the study of the Word, he exclaimed, "Wife, if this book is true, we may be saved!”

God's Holy Spirit thus convicted them of their need as lost sinners, but they were not left there. Seeing how they could be saved they accepted, gladly, God's way of salvation as they found it so plainly shown in His Word. Dear reader, do you say, as you read this, that you do not think it is very plain?

Men have made it difficult by their reasoning and theories, but God's Word makes it very simple to those who have ears to hear, and hearts to accept it for it says, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).

"All we like sheep have gone astray" (Isa. 53:6).

So we may surely say, "If this book is true (and it is), we are lost.”

But now, listen to the other side and then turn to it and read for yourself.

"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8).

"Christ died for the ungodly" (Rom. 5:8).

"The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).

"The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world" (1 John 4:14).

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36).

So, if we truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work, we can say with the greatest joy, "If this book is true, we may be saved," but, better still, "we are saved," and, to make it personal, "I am saved." If it be so, then thank the Lord Jesus for saving you, and seek to live for Him and for His glory.

Extract

God does not cause to germinate some little seed already folded up in man, but He implants an altogether new principle of life. God cannot see in man what we can see in examining a seed through the microscope—the exact form of the future plant all folded up, which when the seed is put into the ground begins to spread forth. When God's eye examines the sinner, what does He see? What did He see in such an one as Saul, the persecutor? Did He see the divine life, afterward manifested in him, all nicely folded and shut up within his soul? No; but the enmity which made Saul persecute to the death the followers of Jesus. He saw moral death, but no life in him. And how was all this changed? By the communication of a new life, an incorruptible seed. (1 Peter 1:23.)

Finished and Written

"It is finished" (John 19:30). These words were uttered by our Lord on the cross, when He was bearing our sins in His own body on the tree, when by His cruel death He was working out our redemption, and these words tell us that the great work is done. Our sins being there "laid on Him", God judged them and put them away forever. Now that the work is done, we cannot add to it; we cannot take from it. The work is forever FINISHED.

And this is our salvation, for by faith we see God dealing with Christ about our sins. Christ, our Substitute, bore the judgment of them. Thus the sins of all who believe on Him are borne away. This is shown by God having raised Him up from the grave by His own power, proving clearly that God was satisfied with Christ's death on the cross, and that "in Him we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins." We have simply to believe the record and be eternally saved.

But just as "It is finished" is our salvation, the precious word, "It is written," ASSURES us of our salvation —gives us the knowledge of it. The first text tells us of the work of Christ by which we are saved; the second text makes us happy because we know it. And we know we are eternally saved, not from our feelings or experiences or good conduct, but from the Word of God, which never changes. It is always the same.

When Satan whispers in your heart any doubts about this, just do what our Lord did: say, "IT IS WRITTEN." The WORD is available to us as it was to Him. Let us use it, the sword of the Spirit. These sword-thrusts will soon make the enemy flee.

Let us rejoice that the work on the cross of Calvary ("It is finished") forever saves us, and that "It is written" assures us, gives us the blessed knowledge of it. So the Blood makes us safe, but the Word makes us certain.

Forgiven

In the evergreen Cemetery near New York there stands a gravestone. Upon it is carved one solitary but charming word—"FORGIVEN." No name, no date, nothing but the one word is to be seen.

Could as much be truthfully engraved on YOUR gravestone?

JESUS SAID:

"I AM THE WAY,

THE TRUTH,

AND THE LIFE:

NO MAN COMETH

UNTO THE FATHER

BUT BY ME."

John 14:6

"NEITHER IS THERE

SALVATION IN ANY

OTHER; FOR THERE IS

NONE OTHER NAME

UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN

AMONG MEN, WHEREBY

WE MUST BE SAVED."

Acts 4:12

November

The Druggist's Mistake

A young Christian had a life-long friend; a druggist, who was far froth sharing the Christian's faith. Every time the latter spoke to his friend about God the young chemist made fun of him. Finally, the friend decided never to touch upon the subject again in their conversation. He said: "In future, old man, I shall not mention these matters, because you only make light of them. I have only one more word to say before closing the subject until you care to reopen it: a word from God to you. It is a verse from the 50th Psalm: 'Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.' Don't forget it!" But the other just laughed.

Some time after this the young chemist was on night duty at the pharmacy when a sudden and violent ringing at the door roused him from sleep. A little girl had brought a prescription which the doctor had just given to her mother, who was very ill.

Annoyed at being disturbed, and still half asleep, the young fellow weighed out the drugs, mixed them, stuck the label on the bottle, and handed it to the child, who ran off with it as fast as she could.

After she had gone he proceeded to put the various bottles back in their places when—horrors! what had he done? He had used the wrong drug! Instead of a soothing potion he had put a violent poison into the prescription! If the patient took any of it death was sure—a death of agony.

But he did not know the little girl, nor where she lived. How could he find her? He rushed out of the store and into the dark streets. He ran to the right, then to the left, but in vain. The darkness had swallowed her amid the streets of the great city. Besides, she seemed in such a hurry, perhaps at that very moment she was giving her mother a draft of the poison he had prepared!

A cold sweat covered the poor fellow he was at his wit's end when suddenly his friend's verse flashed on his memory: "Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.”

He hurried back to the pharmacy, threw himself on his knees, and prayed. Oh, he did not make any fun this time. In his terrible anguish he besought God to help him, for He alone could What! Another ring? He rushed to the door and, to his unspeakable amazement, saw the little girl, her face bathed in tears, and in her hand the neck of the bottle broken!

"Oh sir!" she sobbed, "What shall I do? I ran so fast that I fell and broke the bottle.”

We can imagine the feelings of the young man as he took the prescription in hand again and prepared it correctly. But the gratitude of his heart did not vanish like a fleeting, though profound, impression. Conviction had pierced his soul; he realized how unworthy he was of such goodness from God, whom he had so long slighted and even mocked. He soon learned to know the Savior whom his friend knew, and was enabled, too, to realize the last part of the verse: "And thou shalt glorify Me.”

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

"By-and-By"

Charles Alsbury, the famous theatrical man of England, wrote a famous stanza ere he died which many more from that day to this could say has been theirs:

I reveled under the moon,

I slept beneath the sun:

I lived a life of "going to" —

But—I died with nothing done.

Yes, going to, but never doing it; halting between two opinions, until too late, too late, "died with nothing done.”

This stanza is Charles Alsbury's epitaph, written with his own hand, and shows that the Spirit of God had convicted him time and again, but he lived a life of going to, saying to himself, "Some day I'll accept God's salvation," but never apparently deciding for Christ.

What about you, dear reader? Have you been brought to face your deep need for Eternity, which only Christ can meet? Have you accepted Him? Or is it still "a life of 'going to'"? Beware lest you repeat the folly of the young man above and "die with nothing done.”

Eternity - Where?

Reader, your time on earth is short. Each closing year, each setting sun, each tick of the clock is shortening your days on earth, and swiftly, silently, surely carrying you on—on to ETERNITY and to God.

The year, the day, the hour, the moment will soon arrive that will close your life on earth and begin your song in heaven or your wail in hell. No future hour will come to bring you back to earth again. You will be there forever—for ETERNITY.

Today, your feet stand on time's sinking sand; tomorrow, the footprints remain, but you will be gone. Where? Into ETERNITY.

Today your hands are busy at work, your eyes are seeing, your mind is active, you are planning for the future; tomorrow all may be over:—the folded arm, the closed eye may remain, but YOU may be gone— gone into ETERNITY.

Others were once as busy as you are, healthy as you are, thoughtless as you are. They are gone— gone into ETERNITY.

The famous actor, the painted clown, the talented singer, whose presence once made theater, pantomime, and concert an attraction for you, are gone; they are removed far from the region of fiction to that of reality the—reality of ETERNITY.

The shrewd merchant, whose voice was so familiar to you in the crowded store, is silent; he buys and sells no more—he has entered ETERNITY.

Reader, your turn to enter ETERNITY will shortly come. Ask yourself honestly, "Amos 1 prepared for ETERNITY?" Conscience speaks to you today; drown not its voice lest it speak to you no more. Let heaven and hell stand before you in all their reality. One of these must be your eternal dwelling-place, and today is the time to make your choice. Tomorrow may be too late—one day behind time. For which are you living? To which are you traveling? ETERNITY—where?

To go, unrenewed, unsaved, from the haunts of pleasure, sin, debauchery, and vice, into the presence of God and the Lamb is impossible; from the crowd of the condemned to the crown of glory—no, never!

Jesus says, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).

Reader, has this ever happened to you? Have you been born again for an eternal heaven? If so, well; but if not, the horrors of an eternal hell are awaiting you, and today you are nearer its unquenchable flame than you have ever been before.

Halt! Why will you meet God with an unsaved soul? He wills it not. Today He pleads, "Turn ye, turn ye,... for why will ye die?”

Today He points you to yonder cross, with the Son of God uplifted, groaning, bleeding, dying, for sinners. Yes, reader, for the guilty the crown of thorns encircled His brow; for the lost the soldier's spear brought the blood from His side; for the helpless and undone He cried in triumph,. "It is finished"; and through His death there is free salvation for you today.

"He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21).

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31).

"Where will you spend eternity?

This question comes to you and me!

Tell me, what shall your answer be

Where will you spend eternity?”

What God Declares - Says - Testifies

"By Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." Acts 13:39.

What God Says of Me

"All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:23.

What God Testifies of Christ

"Through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins." Acts 13:38.

Extract

A woman, nearing her end, when asked WHAT she believed and HOW she believed, replied, "God is satisfied with Jesus: that is WHAT I believe; I am satisfied as well: that is HOW I believe.”

One Thing Lacking

A nobleman who lived near an old Christian gentleman one day asked him to dine with him. Before dinner they walked in the garden. After looking at all the beautiful flowers and fruit trees, and all sorts of rare-plants with which the garden abounded, his lordship exclaimed: "You see, I want for nothing. I have all that my heart can desire.”

His visitor made no reply, but seemed lost in thought. His lordship asked him the reason.

"Why, my lord," said the old gentleman, "I was thinking of another very rich man who came to question the Lord Jesus one night. He found that, though a man may have all these things, he may never see nor enter the kingdom of God. In John 3:3, Jesus said to Nicodemus: 'Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God'.”

These words forcefully struck the noble-'man, and he found no rest till he knew that he had the true riches through faith in Christ.

"For ye know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich" (2nd Cor. 8:9).

"I'm Glad to Accept It"

"Will you come and see my husband?" This question came from a woman just recently converted. "I am very anxious about his soul.”

My wife and I promised to pray for the husband, Mr. C—, and on the following evening, accompanied by a friend, I went to his home. He was sitting by the fire with his wife and son, and appeared glad to see us. I took the proffered seat next to Mr. C—, and listened quietly to his voluble conversation. He talked of his trials, of his work, how long he had held his present position, of his club, of his many friends. At last I asked: "Do you read much?”

"Oh, yes," he said; "I always keep the Bible handy." And reaching around, he took a large-print Bible off a table. As he turned' over the leaves, he said, admiringly, "Some pretty stories there are in it, too. Now what could be prettier than the tale of Joseph and his brethren, or of Daniel in the lion's den?”

"Let us leave both Joseph and Daniel," I said, "and hear what God has to say about ourselves. In the third chapter of Romans it is written, 'ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God.' Each of us in this room is included in that word 'all.' There is a difference, however. Some of us can say that, by God's mercy and grace, we are going to be in the glory with the Lord Jesus Christ. Your wife will be there. Will you?”

Great beads of perspiration stood on his brow, but not a word did he speak. I opened my Bible and read Matt. 7:13, 14. " 'Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.'

"Now, C—, there are two ways spoken of in the verses I have read. Can you tell me which 'way' you are in?”

"I am in the broad way," he slowly answered.

"And where does that way lead?”

A solemn silence followed my question. In that little room God, by His Spirit, was working, opening the blind eyes. At last the answer came: "It leads to hell!”

"My poor husband," cried the wife. "God grant that you may never go there!”

My companion and I silently thanked God for giving another sinner to see his lost condition. "'All things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light' (Eph. 5:13). But God is love as well as light," I continued. "'God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.' Now will you rest your soul upon the Word of God, and accept His offer of rich, boundless mercy?”

But James C—had been spiritually dead for nearly sixty years, and was now just beginning to be aroused to the fact that he was a sinner, lost and guilty before a holy God. For the first time he saw God's valuation of his righteousnesses as filthy rags. Well then might he be afraid and reiterate:

"I'm going to hell!”

We repeated the "good news" of accomplished redemption; of peace made through the blood of the cross; of God's satisfaction in the work of His Son; of a risen and glorified Savior at God's right hand. But he sat stolidly silent, seemingly alive only to the thought that he was in the broad way that leads to destruction. Committing him in prayer to God, we left him with this verse: "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37).

Various hindrances prevented me from seeing him again for about three weeks, though we heard that his agony of soul appeared to increase. "Surely," said his wife, "the Lord will have mercy upon him. He prays sometimes all night, calling upon God to save him from going down into the pit. Can't you come and see him again?”

"Let us wait upon God to use His Word, whether by one of us or through any other channel," I replied. But soon an opportunity opened of itself, and I was glad to visit him.

"My friend," I asked, "is it well with your soul?”

"Oh, that it were!" he replied.

"You know that you are a sinner?"

"Indeed I do; lost—guilty.”

"'This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners' (1st Tim. 1:15). It is also written that 'he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.' Surely it is worthy of your ACCEPTANCE to believe that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”

A moment of deep meditation followed, as this blessed truth entered his soul. Then a bright look came over his face as he said, "I'm, glad to accept it.”

"And do you really believe on the Son of God?”

He looked at me then, nor did I question the words he uttered: "I believe from the very depths of my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, and now I know I have everlasting life.”

"And what has the blood of Christ done for you?”

While tears rolled down his cheeks, he smiled happily and said, "Cleansed me from all sin.”

"And what have you to do?”

"To thank Him for what He has done. Oh, I thank Him now!”

While the praises of this new-born soul went upward, his wife came in. She saw the change in him, and a joyful "Praise the Lord" came from her lips.

Sinner-friend, have you learned that you are in the "broad way"? It can lead only to destruction. Will you not turn to the Savior who is THE WAY to life everlasting?

"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Prov. 14:12.

The Lost Book

Mr. Benjamin Glasgow was well known as a godly man and an evangelist. About 1894, he called one day at a book-shop to buy a book suitable for an unconverted friend. There were in stock two copies of the one he chose—one in ordinary binding, the other very beautifully bound, as if especially for a gift. This one he chose, and on his way to Bayswater on leaving the bus, he absent-mindedly left the volume on the seat. A few days later he again visited the book-shop and bought the other copy, which he sent to his friend. Nothing was ever heard of that copy again.

About three years later, Mr. Glasgow was at a noon-day prayer meeting. Among those present he was surprised to see an old friend, a man for whom he had often prayed but to whom he had never spoken about his soul. After the meeting had begun, this friend arose and said: "I wish to record how the Lord met me in grace. Three years ago, I found on a seat in a Bayswater bus a book which showed me my state before God. I took the book home, read it, and prayed over it. By its means the Holy Spirit convinced me of my lost condition. I had no peace nor rest until I found both peace and rest in the full atonement of Jesus.”

When the speaker sat down, Mr. Glasgow arose and said: "My brother, now I know why I lost that book. It puzzled me much at the time; but now I see that God intended to make use of it not as I thought, but according to His own purpose and grace.”

"Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days" (Eccl. 11:1).

"MERE IS NO PEACE,

SAITH MY GOD,

TO THE WICKED."

Isa. 57:21

"BEING JUSTIFIED

BY FAITH,

WE HAVE

PEACE WITH GOD

THROUGH

OUR LORD

JESUS CHRIST."

Rom. 5:1

December

Is There Reality in It?

Many a newfangled notion is quite pretty to look at—as pretty as some of those flimsy fabrics made to catch the eye. Like those fabrics, however, they are very disappointing in actual use, being simply no good at all when it is a question of facing the rough wear of everyday life.

For downright hard wear there is nothing like the sweet old gospel of the Grace of God. It stands alone, without a rival.

Beyond the rough and tumble of this world there stretches eternity with its vast issues for weal or woe, and into that eternity we, men and women, must enter, since we are immortal in our spirits and not like to beasts that die and are done with. Where will you find a clue to lead you through the labyrinth; where the peace and joy that cannot be quenched by the sorrows of this world or the pangs of death itself The men who go down to the sea in ships see as much of the rough side of life and death as most of us, and in many cases a good deal more. Listen to the testimony of two who experienced the gospel's power.

Years ago a sailor lad, John G., found the Savior one Sunday morning. On the following Tuesday he sailed for the River Platte on board the "Bombing Argian." The voyage was safely completed, though John had all the way to put up with a great deal of persecution from the mate, David by name, who fiercely assailed him for his "religious cant and psalm singing," as he termed it.

The cargo being discharged, the ship reloaded but only two days afterward a violent storm caught them in its grip. The sails were blown to ribbons and the ship was not far from foundering. A great sea finally struck them on the starboard quarter while John and the mate David were hoisting in the boom sheet. Both were washed away, but David caught the rigging and was saved, whilst John was swept clean out to sea on the crest of the wave. Without the least hope of being saved, and with nothing but death before him, the dear lad shouted out, "David! David! I'm going through the seas to glory!”

Another instant and he was gone, never to be seen again. But those last words, "I'm going through the seas to glory," rang so effectually in David's ears, that the old persecutor said to himself; "A man with death staring him in the face never yet told a lie with his last breath.”

He was a convicted man, and ere he reached home, a converted man too. He found the peace that John enjoyed by believing in Christ Jesus.

Some years before the above event a Swedish sailor, who had signed on in an English ship, went ashore with a mate of his for a stroll. Returning, the wharf watchman had a chat with them about salvation and the grace of God, saying, "Since I trusted the Lord, I have been so happy.”

This greatly struck the young Swede, and he thought to himself,

"I would like to share your happiness."

Still, he knew not the way. A few days afterward, having put out to sea, but lying anchored off Gun fleet Sand owing to contrary winds, he picked up a leaflet on the forecastle floor, on which was printed the first Psalm.

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly" was what he read.

He asked his mate for an explanation, but all he got was, "Well, you are not godly, therefore you must be ungodly.”

This was only too true. He felt it, and became very anxious. At 10:00 o'clock that night he was called on deck to keep anchor watch, and whilst praying and meditating on God's Word in the dark it was as though a heavy burden fell from his heart. The words of Scripture flashed into his mind:

"Ye must be born again" (John 3:7), and "Old things are passed away behold all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17).

He trusted in Christ, and said to himself, "Yes, that's it! I'm saved! Hallelujah!”

Next morning he told his shipmates. They said, "Oh, religion, that's only for old women." And again, "Ah, we will give him twelve months." This did not damp out the fire that the Lord's hand had lit. Shortly afterward, he declared in public what the Lord had done for his soul.

' The years have rolled by and the Swedish sailor still lives in L—. The twelve months they gave him would now have to be multiplied many times. No seas have swept him out to glory, but it has been his to prove the good wearing qualities of the gospel, its intense reality in life rather than in a sudden death. If you meet him, he will still tell you what the Lord has done for his soul, with the added weight of nearly fifty years' experience.

Is there reality in it? Why, yes, thank God, indeed there is. Would you be persuaded of it? Then come to the Savior yourself. Theorize no longer! Try the experiment! Rest your guilty soul on the value of the blood that cleanses from all sin.

"O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him”

(Psa. 34:8).

Scripture

"Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man (Jesus) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." Acts 13:38, 39.

A Personal Matter

"Christianity," said Martin Luther, "is a religion of personal pronouns." How true this is!

It is not, We are all sinners, but—

I am a sinner.

It is not, Jesus is a Savior, but —

Jesus is MY Savior.

If you have not made it a personal matter like this, my reader, you are not saved.

A young man in the West Indies once said to me, "I believe all you say, and I like your meetings yet I am not saved. How is it?”

I replied, "Have you ever got into the presence of God and said, 'O God, if there were not another sinner on earth, I am one. As a sinner, I claim Christ as my Savior, even though every other sinner refuses "Well," he said, "it is your very personal way of putting it that I do not like.”

Ah! This was the secret. He had missed the blessing because he had refused to make his own soul's salvation a personal matter between himself and the One with Whom we have to do.

Reader, have you made it a personal matter yet?

"Marvel not that I said unto THEE, YE must be born again" (John 3:7).

None Other Name”

A blind man, a Christian, had taken his customary station on a busy street corner.

He was reading aloud from his Braille Bible as his sensitive fingers traced the lines. Several passers-by drew near; and a man on his way home from work, led by curiosity, stopped at the edge of the crowd.

Just then the blind man was reading Acts 4:12, and lost his place. While trying to find it with his finger, he kept repeating the last clause he had read: "None other name, none other name." Some smiled at his embarrassment, but the man at the edge of the crowd walked away deeply musing.

He had lately been under conviction for sin. He had sought in many ways to find peace. Religious exercises, good resolutions, altered habits did not enable him to rejoice in the Lord. Now ringing in his ears were the words repeated by the blind man: "None other name, none other name!”

After he was in bed for the night, the phrase persisted in his mind. "NONE OTHER NAME!" He thought, "What name?” And like music to his burdened soul came the answer: that "name which is above every name: that at the name of JESUS every knee should bow" (Phil. 2:9,10).

"Ah, Lord, I see it," he said. "I have been trying to find peace through my own works, my reformation, my prayers. JESUS alone can save me. Lord, I receive YOU as my Savior." With this simple confession of faith in the finished work of Christ, his heart was filled with the "peace that passeth understanding.”

How blessed, dear burdened soul, you who are trying in your own way to make peace with God, how very blessed it is just to "let go, and let God!" For "neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

The Prize-Winning Notice

A dangerous railway crossing was the source of many an accident. No warning put up seemed sufficiently clear to arouse attention. So a prize was offered for the best notice. Many suggestions were made. The prize-winner was simple and plain. It was this STOP LOOK BOTH WAYS LISTEN It called for immediate observance and for the exercise of the faculties of sight and hearing. Being placed at the danger point, it helped avert many an accident.

Shall we think of this sign in connection with the future of every traveler on the road of time? We are in danger of going into eternity unprepared, and we do well to STOP and consider whither we are bound: HEAVEN or HELL everlasting life or everlasting punishment. Our Lord Jesus, who spoke as never man spake, and loved as never man loved, Himself warns us to halt and to give thought. It is a day of rush and hurry, of hustle and bustle, and the things of time and sense attract and engage the mind. But we are creatures of so little a time here, and creatures of so long a time hereafter, that to stop awhile before we go further is but wisdom. Indeed, it is folly in the extreme to go on with our eyes closed to the future.

The prudent man for seeth the evil and hideth himself. The simple pass on and are punished.

Prudent or foolish, which shall we be?

Stop, and consider your latter end.

LOOK BOTH WAYS

Look up the line and down the line with care. Look back on your past history— look forward to that which lies before you.

Your sins are following you apace. They will catch you up in the Day of Judgment unless they are blotted out by the precious blood of Christ. So much for the glance at the past.

What lies in front? Christ is coming for His own. Any moment the door of grace may close. Then many who intended to be inside will find themselves outside forever.

Knocking at the door will be of no use. The word from within will be, "I know you not.”

But LISTEN

The sounds of approaching judgment warn you. The words of gospel grace fall on your ears. Oh, listen! Heed the warning, accept the invitation. The Savior says, "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.”

Never did he refuse a sinner who came to him. Never was a sin-sick one found who could not be healed by Him, the Great Physician. He has saved the chief of sinners.

He can save you even now. Turn then to Christ! You will find in Him a present help, a Friend who is mighty to save.

Joy in God

Rom. 5:11

Joy is a fruit that will not grow

In nature's barren soil;

All we can boast, till Christ we know,

Is vanity and toil.

But where the Lord has planted grace, And made His mercies known, There fruit of heavenly joy and peace Are found, and there alone.

The Deliverer

Imagine yourself blind and standing near a precipice. One little step and you will be lost in the black depths below.

I see your danger and, in a calm, cool way, begin to remark, "Dear sir, permit me to point out that if you are not careful you stand a chance of suffering the inconvenience of an unpleasant fall.”

What would you call me if you took the fatal step and rushed through space? "Murderer," you say. Yes, and you would call me by a right name.

But if instead I darted forward, seized you with a firm hand, and dragged you from your threatened death, though perhaps bruising your flesh, what would you call me when you realized your escape? "Deliverer,” you say. Yes, and you would call me by a right name.

Reader, I speak as one whose eyes are opened. I see you standing on the brink of endless woe. I listen and I hear the waves of judgment breaking in thunder at the foot of the abyss on the edge of which you stand, unconscious of your danger. In trumpet tones I shout and warn you, but I cannot save you.

No, deliverance is not with me. Although I see your peril, and long for your salvation, I cannot help you. But I know of One who can, and will, if you will let Him.

I speak of Jesus Christ. Ah! You do not know Him? Well, thank God, I do, and I would introduce you to Him.

See Him, crowned with thorns and buffeted by the soldiers. On to Golgotha He journeys, this patient, blessed One, whose heart is filled with love for man. There He is crucified, and endures the ribald insults of the men He came to save. There He, the sinless, is made sin and bears the judgment of the God whose will He came to do.

And then, from out of the gloom, a cry bursts forth, the echoes of which shall live forever:

"It is finished.”

And in this Savior, in His work, is your salvation found, my friend your ransom paid in blood. Life, peace, and heaven, the blessed fruits of Jesus' finished work, are offered you, for He who died at Calvary that day was God's eternal Son. He visited us as man, and of His own free will took up the sinner's cause and suffered in his stead.

Would you see Jesus now? Then look beyond the vacant cross and empty tomb, through opened heavens up to the throne of God. There He sits, crowned with glory, His suffering over and His work all done.

Today the veil is rent, the darkness gone.

We have seen God's Son, full of grace and truth, here in this world. Jesus was the name He bore. He came from heaven to earth to make God known and to bring man nigh to God. In Jesus the wealth of God's great love to man shines forth. In heaven He dwells, image of the Invisible God. In His face God's glory shines. All that God is, is now made known in Jesus.

In His powerful hand He holds a gift, the gift of love divine, salvation for the lost, bought with His blood. He offers it to you. He says, "Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.” But hark! Another voice is heard. The world is speaking now and it, too, offers something. What is it? You hesitate to say. Then I will say it for you. "Come to my arms, and years of pleasure shall be thine.”

And then: what then? Ah, it is silent now! False world, thou dost not tell that all thou givest thy victim at the last is this: death, the grave, and then the anguish of the lost forever.

"In hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments.”

Good News

The gospel of God's Son is Good News, the blessed expression of His person and work. All, until the gospel, was a holy God's claim upon sinful man. The gospel does not alter this claim but maintains it. It shows that all is hopeless for fallen man, for he can never meet that righteous claim. But the gospel brings in the power of God—power on behalf of man.

It is not power to help man meet the claims of God upon him; it reveals the righteousness of God consequent upon man being altogether without strength. Thus peace flows into the soul that ceases from everything else and submits to the revealed righteousness of God, which is given to everyone that believes in Him. If I am in the presence of God, help will not do. I am lost.

I need righteousness and pardon; and, to stand before God, I need them now. The soul cannot have solid peace until, in the presence of God, by His power, it has His righteousness and pardon.

The Apostle Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth... for therein is the righteousness of God revealed." This righteousness is declared unto all, to Jew and Gentile, yea, to every creature, and it is upon all them that believe.

"All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Rom. 3:23-24.

Extract

"The grand matter should be what God thinks of us, not what man thinks. The praise of man is only an awful indication that we are not meet for the praise of God.”

“THE FEAR

OF MAN

BRINGETH

BUT

WHOSO PUTTETH

HIS TRUST

IN THE LORD

SHALL BE SAFE.”

Prov. 29:27

Echoes of Grace: 1947

Table of Contents

January

An Unexpected Result of a Coal Strike

Salvation by Grace Alone

I Don't Care About Death

Jesus Loves Sinners

A Crucial Test

The Death of a Young Skeptic

What Think Ye of Christ?

The Three Men

February

Converted in a Prison

When Will You Decide for Christ?

A True Saying

Joyful Joe

Jesus

Spurning the Remedy

The Bell Is Ringing

A Message for You

No Reason Why

What Is Meant by Believing?

The Missing Link

Thou Art More to Me

"Yes" or "No"

Extract

March

A Soldier's Conversion

What God Declares of One Who Believes on Him

A Sovereign for a Shilling

All Our Righteousnesses Are As Filthy Rags" Isa. 64:6

Tomorrow

Settled Peace

The Serpent Charmer

Good for Evil

April

They Put It in Writing

Just Chance?

The Questions

The First Business of Man

Perfect Peace

The Gospel Alphabet

May

He Stole It Away in the Meeting”

A Savior

Nothing but Christ

Jesus Died for Me

Doors

The Student and the Cobbler

Extract

God's Word Is Sure?

The Triumph of Faith?

June

The Door Was Shut

An Indian Hymn

A Timely Word

Extract

Savior of Sinners

Are You Waiting?

Extract

July

Caught in a Trap

Fragment

"What Shall I Do With Jesus Which Is Called the Christ?"

The Pitying Savior

Have You Returned Thanks?

God Loves You

August

The Burning Hotel

How Far Have You Gone?

Almost Saved - Altogether Lost

Fragment

The Merchant's Book of Life

Needing Salvation

Extract

A Story of the Northern Woods

The Gain of the Gospel

September

I Want Something?

Guilty - Pardoned