In a certain camp-meeting there was a young man who professed to be saved, and was saved, so far as I know. I noticed, however, that when others were busy at work in some necessary service, he was always standing back a mere onlooker. One day about the middle of the meeting this young man came to the altar, and when asked what was the trouble he said that he had backslidden. Being asked what he had done, he said that he did not know. I said to him: "I think I know your trouble. Whenever there has been a meeting, you have been ready to go and enjoy all you could of it; whenever a meal is ready, you are always ready for it; but when there is any work to be done, you are never ready. Now," I continued, "when there is need of water at the boarding-house, you take a bucket and go for it; when there is wood needed, get an ax and use it, or when there is anything to do in which you can help, be ready for it and do your part." He took my advice, and from that time on he seemed to be a different man. The reason many people get so few blessings is because they do not love enough to serve.

There are duties for all. There are opportunities everywhere. Every one of them is a test of love. Brother, sister, how does your love stand the test? Love will not grumble; it will not complain; it will not shrink from service. Do you love as fervently as you ought?

II. How Much We Sacrifice.

The mother who loves her child thinks no sacrifice too great for it. Even her life will she give for it, if need be. The man who loves his country will, if the need should arise, count no sacrifice too great. He who loves God as truly as the mother loves her child or the patriot loves his country is willing to sacrifice for God. Abraham proved his love by not withholding his son. He offered him freely in obedience to God's command. Paul loved, and as a result he counted not his life dear to himself so that he might do the work of God. Christ so loved the world that he sacrificed everything for our salvation.

We say that we love this glorious gospel; we say we desire to see it spread to the ends of the earth; but how much do we love it compared with our love of self? Do we love it more than self, or equal with self, or far less than self? Many persons spend willingly and even lavishly for self who give sparingly and reluctantly to God. They spend more for their pleasures than they give. Some spend more for candy than they give to missions. Some spend more for gasoline for pleasure-riding than they give to all causes. In fact, some spend so much on their own selfish desires that when a need of God's work is presented they can truly say, "I can not give much." They might feel disposed to give if they had anything to give, but are they willing to deny themselves of some self-gratification in order to have something to give? There is the test of love that proves its real direction—whether it runs out selfward or Godward. If we love God and souls as much as we love self, we can spend money for them just as willingly and with as little reluctance or regret to see it go as if it were being spent for ourselves. If we can not spend for God and his work more willingly than for self, it is because we do not love him more than self. If we do not get more pleasure out of giving than we do out of consuming, we may well question both the amount and quality of our love and its direction. Often the work of God must go on crutches because of lack of means while professors live in luxury.

There is no way to avoid the issue. There is plenty of money so that all the work of the church could be properly financed and no undue burden rest upon any. The fact is, there are too many whose love is wanting in that quality which draws out their hearts into the work of God until they are willing to sacrifice for it. It is true that there are many who do love and who prove it by their sacrifices. But it is just as true that there are many others who do not deny themselves and will not even from a sense of duty, to say nothing of making willing sacrifices through the prompting of love.

It is time that we heard more of the practical side of love preached from the pulpit and that people who profess salvation and at the same time manifest an indifference toward the salvation of souls and the work of the church in general should not be left to drift along in coldness and be lost at last. A sacrificing person or a sacrificing church will be spiritual if the sacrifice is prompted by love. People who are willing to serve and sacrifice rarely backslide.

III. How Much We Endure.

Christ proved his love by enduring the scoffs and ill-treatment of the people and the shame and suffering of the cross. By this he proved his love to be real. If our love is genuine, as was that of the saints of old, we can rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer for His name. Paul endured all things for the elect's sake, that they might be saved. If we can not endure the little persecutions, the unkind words, the sneering smiles, the scoffs and jeers, of the unbelieving world, is it not because our love lacks fervency? The early church took joyfully the spoiling of their goods because they loved their Lord far more than they loved their goods. God's ministers in all ages have endured hardships and perils and have suffered in a thousand ways without faltering, because they loved souls as God loves them.

Sometimes people quote the text, "We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren"; but if these same brethren do something that does not please them, they are offended and grieved and are full of complaint and murmuring, and it is hard for them to be reconciled to their brethren. Is the love of such people genuine? Does it really prove that they have passed from death unto life? Many think that the preacher ought to be willing to endure almost anything for the cause (and so he should), but they do not consider that the same love in them will give them the same spirit of endurance and willingness to suffer as it gives to the minister. Love that can not endure hardness, misrepresentation, neglect, and such things, and still be sweet and strong, needs to be increased.

Love makes service sweet, sacrifice easy, and meek endurance possible. Love enriches, ennobles, and blesses. It sweetens the bitter cup: it lightens the heavy load. It strengthens the faltering soul. Let us, therefore, see that we have fervent love toward God, toward each other, and toward the lost world.



TALK FIFTY-FOUR. TWO WAYS OF RISING

The human passions are like water: left unconfined, their tendency is always downward. You can carry water upward or force it upward with a pump, but in order to do so you must confine it in a vessel or a pipe. The moment it gains its liberty by breaking through the barrier, it rushes downward. So the human passions and propensities must be kept confined by the will. When they are not, they carry the whole man downward. By the power of our wills we may raise ourselves to higher altitudes, to greater heights of morality; but the moment the will weakens so that passion breaks through, the course is immediately downward. Water is raised to heights by great labor; so we reach morality only by the greatest efforts, and maintain it only by careful watchfulness and stedfast purpose.

But the sun, with its warming rays, smiles down upon the water, and the water rises in unseen vapor and floats into the atmosphere. There is no struggle and terrible compulsion and repression, but only silence, calmness, and peace. When it rises from the muddy pool, the stagnant pond, or the filthy gutter, it rises pure and clean, leaving behind the mud, the slime, the offensive odors, the noxious germs and bacteria. So when the sunshine of God's love shines upon and warms our hearts, it lifts us up from all the slime and filth of sinful habits, clean and pure, into heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

So long as the water is kept warm, it floats onward; but when it cools, it condenses and falls back again, perhaps into the same slimy pool. Likewise, so long as our hearts are kept warm by the rays of God's love shining therein, our pure moral state is easily maintained; but when we lose the warmth of that love, lower things begin to attract us and soon we fall down toward the former level. Keep your heart ever turned toward the Sun of Righteousness, cherish its soul-warming rays of love, and you will float on the atmosphere of heaven far above the things of sin.



TALK FIFTY-FIVE. GETTING EVEN

"I'll get even with that fellow if it takes ten years." Thus declared a man about another who had wronged him, as his eyes flashed with passion and his teeth set firmly with resolve. In his heart he determined to do his enemy as great an injury as his enemy had done him. "Get even," I thought; "what does it mean to get even?" Then appeared before my mind's eye a view of the various classes of humanity, each person in the scale of morality where his life had placed him. I saw the Christian on God's plane of holiness and truth. Far below him stood the moral though unchristian man, and down, down, step by step, my mental eye beheld man to the lowest depth of moral degradation.

Vile and wrong deeds always degrade man to a lower state. Every evil deed, word, or thought lowers us in moral being. If some one has done evil toward us, he has lowered himself by that act; and for us to decide to "get even" by a similar act toward him is for us to decide that we will lower ourselves to his level. To "get even" means to get on the same level. It means to abase and degrade ourselves. If we "get even," we are as bad as he, and worthy that others look upon us with the same feelings with which we regard him. If you want to get even with any one, do not choose some one below you, but some one above you in moral attainments, and labor to attain to his height, instead of the other's depths. This will ennoble you, make you better, and be worthy of a reasoning being.

The principle of revenge has no part in Christianity. God refuses to let us avenge ourselves, no difference what the provocation nor how good the opportunity for vengeance. He says, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12: 19-21). "Recompense to no man evil for evil" (verse 17). "See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men" (1 Thess. 5: 15). When one who is a Christian so far forgets what is right that he stoops to take vengeance, he is then upon the level of the sinner who did him evil, and is himself a sinner, and is fallen from his high position to the level of sin. God forbids us to threaten to "get even" with anyone. "Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work" (Prov. 24: 29).

The spirit of Christianity is to render good for evil, blessing for cursing, love for hatred. The blood of Christ will wash away the "get even" disposition from us; and until we are thus cleansed, let us not presume to call ourselves by that holy name of Him who "when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." Good is stronger than evil. Evil used against evil, begets more evil; but we may "overcome evil with good."

I once asked a man why he did not become a Christian. He replied that there were so many in his business who were trying to get the financial advantage of him that he could not do right, but must do the same with them or he could not "keep even."

But let us see what it really means to be "even." If a man lies about me, and to get even I lie about him, then we are even. He is a liar and I am a liar—both on the same plane. He is going to the judgment to give account for his lie and so am I for mine—even again. If he does not repent, he will go to hell for lying; and if I do not repent, I shall go, too. Yes, we may get even, but I would rather not be so. If a man beats me out of ten dollars, to get even I must watch my chance to do likewise to him. If I do not try to beat him to get even, he may have more money in his pocket than I; but if I turn the matter over for settlement to Him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay," when the final account is rendered, I shall be ten dollars or more ahead.

Let us not endeavor to be "even" with our enemies by taking vengeance, but let us do right and win them to the gospel by overcoming evil with good. Let us get even by raising others up instead of lowering ourselves to their sinful level. Be a blessing to all. Set a right example.



TALK FIFTY-SIX. DO YOU KNOW YOURSELF?

Everyone desires success, but not every one succeeds. In any line there are certain things on which success depends. Success can be built only on a properly and carefully laid foundation. Those who desire to be Christians desire to be successful in the Christian life. Those who are called to work for God desire to be successful workers. Jesus said to Martha, "One thing is needful." There is generally one basic principle on which all else must be built. If this is overlooked or neglected, partial or complete failure is certain. Many attempts are failures because of being begun at the wrong place. In mathematics we must master the rudiments before we can compute the orbits of the planets. In music we must learn tones and relations of tones before we can produce the exquisite harmonies of the master. In astronomy we must know something of our little home-planet before we can launch out into the heart-stirring immensities of space. Before we can rightly know God we must know ourselves.

The animal instinctively knows that the gnawing pain in its stomach is a hunger for food, and immediately seeks to satisfy it. But the man who does not know himself, who does not stop to consider and analyze, feels an unrest, a yearning, a hungering within his soul, and knows not why or what it is. He tries worldly pleasures; but they only partially satisfy, and at last render the case more serious than before. He tries all the remedies that he can find for his soul-hunger, but performs no cure, simply because he has not properly diagnosed his case. It is only when he knows that the cause of his unrest is soul-hunger for God and the bread of life, that he begins to try to satisfy himself properly. Women, and many of them professors, try to satisfy this craving by decking themselves with gold and gems and fine array, with the plumage of birds and the skins of beasts. Men try to satisfy it in the pool-room, by plunging into the muddy waters of the political sea, or by accumulating money and by the follies of life. As food is the only thing that properly satisfies the hunger of the body, so God is the only thing that satisfies the hunger of the soul. When people come to know that this hunger is for God, they begin to search for him if haply they may find him. The trouble is that people look at Christianity in the abstract, as a something apart from themselves, whereas it is a vital part of every spiritually normal man or woman. The saying of the old philosopher, "Know thyself," proves his wisdom. True wisdom comes only by first understanding ourselves so as to know our relation to other things.

One of the things that must constantly be preached to the sisters is proper modesty and plainness of apparel. How often do we meet with those who once were plain who now dress almost as the world! Why is it that these thing's are put on? Because there is a longing in the heart. They do not understand what this longing really is nor what will satisfy it. They interpret the unrest of soul as being a desire for these things, yet when put on they do not satisfy.

No, sister, it is not the flowers on your hat nor the feathers nor fine dresses, that you are really desiring. You may think it is, but only because you can not rightly interpret your soul-cry. No, brother, it is not that fine team nor that other eighty acres that your soul really desires. Both your souls are crying for more of God. Give them a chance to get what they are hungering for, and you will be surprized to find out that you did not really want these other things after all. If you find in you a desire, or what seems to be a desire, for anything not in accord with spiritual prosperity, there is a real desire in your soul which you do not realize. Sister, if you pass the millinery-store and see a display of worldly hats and something seems to say, "Just to be honest, I should like to have one of those," your soul is hungry. Go home and feed it. Go to your closet, fall upon your knees, and get a good feast of the "bread from heaven" and "water of life," and then go back and look in that window again and see if there is any hunger. There is not a bit, is there? Do you not see you were mistaken? Your soul wanted more of God, and you did not know yourself any better than to think it was a fine hat you desired.

Or you, brother, if you feel as if you wanted people to notice you more and say nice things about you and tell how talented you are, you are hungry. Go and give your soul a feast of heavenly manna—not just a taste; eat plenty, feast on it. Now come back in the crowd, and when that man goes to praising you, it makes you feel ashamed. You did not really know what you did want, did you?

And you who desire to be a big preacher and stir the world and be like a mighty man of war among the people. You are getting real hungry. It will take a lot to fill you up, but God has plenty, and you had better get to the table quickly. When you get full, though, you will find you do not really want to be a big preacher at all, have not the least desire to be. Why, you will feel so small, just as if you wanted to hide behind the cross where nobody would see you at all.

After we have a good, square meal on divine food, any sort of worldliness will "go against our stomachs," and we can not bear it, sight or smell.

And you there, you want to have your own way in everything, do you not? Your judgment is so good that all the brethren must accept it and act upon it or all the sweetness in your soul turns to vinegar right away. Go and eat some of the "honey out of the rock." Do not come back until you get enough. When you get filled up once, you will wake up in the night and catch yourself saying, "Not my will, but thine be done."

God is what you want. Everything else is husks. You can eat husks all you please and not get satisfied. You may get a bad case of spiritual dyspepsia or die altogether. Better find out what you really do want, and then "eat in plenty and be satisfied." Do not try fine dresses and rings and flowers and feathers and houses and lands and honors for soul-diet. "Eat ye that which is good." Get acquainted with yourself enough to know that all the real desire of your heart is for godliness, and that these longings for other things are only symptoms of your need of more God and that they will disappear at once when the soul is filled with the "bread of life."



TALK FIFTY-SEVEN. BALKERS

No man likes a balky horse. It is a nuisance. It may be fine in appearance, strong, and able to do a great amount of work, and it may pull along very well on good roads; but when a mud-hole is encountered, it is likely to stop, and absolutely refuse to budge, regardless of the efforts of the driver, just when it should get down to business.

Some people are as balky as some horses. When everything goes to please them, they are "good Christians" and often seem very zealous; but as soon as something does not go just to suit them, they draw back in the harness and refuse to pull a pound. What is the matter? They are balkers. Others do well when public sentiment is in favor of the truth; but as soon as it becomes a reproach to walk in the straight way, they can not bear the little persecution that comes, and immediately they become balkers.

I have seen others who made much noise in meeting and talked a great deal outside about their religion and their doings, but who, when it came time for them to make some sacrifice for the cause or to do some work that required consecration on their part, were ready to balk at once and throw the responsibility on others who were not balky. There are others who will work hard and sacrifice for the cause if they can direct operations; but as soon as they can not lead in the work, or if some one questions the wisdom of something they do, they are ready to throw up everything and quit and have no more to do with it, no matter how much good they might do if they were content to fill any place in which they could be useful. They are balkers. They will work only when they can have the honor of leadership. Like some balky horses, they will work only so long as they can have everything their own way.

There are many ways in which people balk. There are the ones who are always giving up their profession at every little thing; they are chronic balkers. God can never depend on them. Just when he wants something done that they might do if they were in condition for work, they have a balky spell and are of no use. Then there are the ones who can not go to meeting because the sun is too hot or because it looks a little like rain. Others balk if the wind blows a little or if they do not feel just as good as they have felt at other times. Some go along with a profession till new light comes to them, but are unwilling to walk in it. They stop attending meeting or quit professing or try to go on with a profession and not measure up. In any of these cases they are balkers.

Do not be a balker. If there is work to be done, do it. If there are sacrifices to be made, make them. If there is persecution to bear, bear it. If there are difficulties to be overcome, overcome them. If there are hard places to pull through, pull through them. If you can fill only a minor place, fill it well. If you have trials and difficulties and discouragements, pull through anyway. Do not be a balker. If you have acquired the habit already, quit it. Get down to business and pull your share. And do not try to pull independently; pull with the rest of God's people. All pull together. "If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."



TALK FIFTY-EIGHT. SPONGES AND WATERING-CANS

It was Jesus' custom to draw spiritual lessons from the things surrounding him and by some similitude impress upon his hearers a profitable truth; so we may get many valuable thoughts from the simple things of every-day life. The articles mentioned in the heading bring to my mind pictures of two classes of people.

The most noticeable feature of a sponge is its power of absorbing a liquid and retaining it within itself. If dipped in or placed in contact with a liquid, it will absorb several times its weight. Some people are like sponges. They go to meeting and drink in the truth time after time. They love it. It delights their hearts. They love the singing, the preaching, the testimonies, and the prayers. They absorb and absorb, but, like the sponge, they give out nothing. The sponge gives up what it has taken in only when it is subjected to pressure. So it is with these human sponges. While they love to listen, they have to be urged to do anything. They testify only when they feel duty-bound to do so or when they are urged by somebody else. They rarely pray in meeting. They are among the last in all such things. To go where a congregation are mostly sponges is to find a few having all to do and to find a dull, insipid meeting. Wet sponges will not burn. Neither will the fire of God burn in a congregation of sponges. A preacher may be full of fire, but he can not set sponges burning. Do you have to be urged to testify? Are you ready to pray or do whatever you can in the meeting? Do you love to talk to people about salvation? or do you speak of it only when some one else starts the conversation? Do you have to be constantly urged to do your duty? Are you a sponge?

A watering-can is different. It too will take in to its full capacity; but, as soon as it is turned in the right position, it freely gives out again. Streams of cooling, refreshing water fall on the thirsty plants. The drooping flowers raise again their heads to blush in beauty, and their fragrance floats out on the balmy air once more. A delicious coolness surrounds the place, and we delight to be there. While the sponge represents the selfish class, the watering-can represents the open-hearted, cheerful giver—one who is ready to pass on the good things and who in return reaps the promise, "He that watereth shall be watered also himself." If the watering-can is emptied, does not the gardener fill it again, and with fresh water? So, if we are pouring out to others, we shall be filled anew. We shall not be empty, but fresh and rich in our souls with the water of life. The great Gardener fills us that we may pour out to others, not simply that we may be filled ourselves. It is said of Jesus that he "emptied himself" (Revised Version.) He became poor that through his poverty we should be made rich.

O beloved, God wants us to be "ready unto every good work." Do not be a sponge. Do not have to be pressed into duty. Do not live in yourself and for yourself. Be no longer content with drinking in. Begin to pour out. Be ready to do your part in meeting, yea everywhere. Be ready to water others. The world is indeed "thirsty ground."

A sponge, if left to itself, gives out by evaporation until it becomes hard and dry; and in such a state it is useless. Many people have drunk in the truth and delighted in it, but instead of pouring out to others, that they might be refilled, they have just given out by evaporation until they have become dry and formal and lifeless. That is the usual result with spiritual sponges. Who are those who are fat and flourishing, those who have showers of blessings? Are they the sponges? Nay, verily. "Give, and it shall be given." "It is more blessed to give [to be a watering-can] than to receive [to be a sponge]."

Now, face the question squarely. Which of these things are you? Look over the past year. Have you been ready for duty? Is your testimony always "ripe"—ready for the opportunity? Are you ready for service of any kind? If you have been a sponge, quit being one. Quit now. Get God to make something better of you. If we are not now sponges, we can soon become so by neglect of duty. The only safe way is to keep pouring out.



TALK FIFTY-NINE. THE FINAL RETROSPECT

There is a new grave in the cemetery today. An hour ago the sad-hearted mourners, with fast-falling tears, looked for the last time upon that familiar face. The light has gone out of the eye, and the sound of the voice is stilled forever. "Finis" has been written at the close of his life's story. He no longer is.

A few days ago he realized that the end was drawing nigh. Before that he had looked forward, and it seemed to him that his life might run on for years. But it was not so to be. The death-angel drew near, and he heard the sound of its coming wings. He then began to look backward, to see his life as a completed whole. He could now see life in its true light; for life does not appear the same when we look back upon it from the end as it does when our gaze is turned forward in the busy hurry of the days of health. When one is brought to the brink of the grave, life takes on a different aspect; it appears in its true perspective. We are usually so absorbed in the present that the past and the future have little place in our thoughts. Most lives are lived, not according to any plan or purpose, but according to the fleeting influence of the present moment.

Reader, you and I are on the path to the cemetery. Some day, and it may not be far off, we shall look back over our lives from the end. Day by day, often with but little thought, we are building the structure of our lives. Yesterday we laid the foundation of today, and today we lay the foundation of tomorrow. Unless we lay a good foundation and build well thereon, when we look back upon our lives at the last we shall find much to regret. The wood, hay, and stubble of selfish works and selfish purposes will be burned up in the fire that will try every man's work.

How much of the selfish element enters into most lives! The ambition, the labor, the planning, is for self. If self prospers, what else matters? If self has ease and comfort, what matters it about others? If self is pleased, is not that enough? Self seems to be the mainspring of most lives; is it so in our own? When we come to look back at the last, we shall find no pleasure in viewing our own selfishness or its fruits. We shall not desire to retain it in our memories. We shall see that whatever was done through selfish motives was time and energy lost.

When we look back, shall we see bitter words, unkind deeds, and unfaithfulness to God and man? Shall we look back upon broken promises? on friends who trusted us and were disappointed? Shall we look back upon wrongs to our fellow men and sins toward God? It seems to me that the keenest regrets that ever come to a soul on earth are the regrets that come to him who, during his last hours on earth, has to view a misspent life.

How many have said, "Oh, if I could live my life over!" Alas! that can not be. My brother, my sister, you can live this day but once. You will look back in time and eternity and see this day just as you lived it. Not only today, but every day, when it is today, holds the same momentous responsibility. Let us live today as faithful to God and man, as true, pure, just, and kind as we shall in the last day wish we had lived. Do not think that tomorrow you will live better, and be more kind and true and gentle. Today is your day; tomorrow is out of your reach.

There was one of old who looked back over his life and summed it all up in these words: "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity." He was rich and wise; he was a mighty king, and had great honors; but he lacked that good conscience that comes from a life well spent. He had not held back his heart from the enjoyment of any pleasure. He had given free rein to his desires. He had lived a life of ease and luxury. He had but to speak, and he was obeyed. But, alas! when he looked back, there was nothing in the scene to give him pleasure. It was only "vanity and vexation of spirit."

There was another man who looked back and who told us what he saw. His circumstances were very different from those of the other. He was a prisoner. In a little while the sword of the executioner would sever the frail bond of life. He knew the time was near, and these are his words; "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." His words are a shout of triumph; there is in them the exaltation of final victory. There is no tinge of regret, there is no tear of sorrow. What mattered it if his way had been rugged and thorny? What mattered the thousand perils that had threatened him on every side? What mattered the shipwrecks, the scourgings, the stoning, the opposition of false brethren and of the heathen, the dungeons, the cold, the weariness, the sorrows? He looked back over them all; and his soul, glowing with joy, burst out in language of supreme satisfaction: "I have fought a good fight."

Not once had he laid down his weapons. Not once had he faltered. Not for a day had he ceased to be true to his Lord. Therefore he could say, "I have kept the faith." Though many times he might have avoided trouble had he kept back the message of truth, yet how glad he was that in every instance he had been true!

Sometimes you will not find it easy to do right, sometimes you will have to sacrifice and endure, sometimes you will be reproached and mocked; but when you take that last retrospective view, the fact that you have been true will cause you to be glad, as was Paul of old. Then, be true today. Fill today with a full measure of faithful service. Think not of tomorrow, but do the right, in each today, and thus you may exclaim with Paul, "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day" (2 Tim. 4: 8).



FOOTNOTES

1 Arms should be covered with long sleeves.

2 Elijah was in hiding because God instructed him to do so. Read 1 Kings 17: 3.

THE END