Men Of The Bible - free ebook by Dwight Lyman Moody

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Men Of The Bible

Dwight Lyman Moody

64 chapters

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64 chapters

I

I

In the first place, Abraham was called to give up his kindred and his native country , and to go out, not knowing whither he went. While men were busy building up Babylon, God called this man out of that nation of the Chaldeans. He lived down near the mouth of the Euphrates, perhaps three hundred miles south of Babylon, when he was called to go into a land that he perhaps had never heard of before, and to possess that land. In the twelfth chapter of Genesis, the first four verses, we read: “Now

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II

II

Abram became rich; but we don’t hear of any altar—in fact, we hear of no altar at Haran, and we hear of no altar in Egypt. When he came up with Lot out of Egypt, they had great possessions, and they increased in wealth, and their herds had multiplied, until there was a strife among their herdsmen. Now it is that Abram’s character shines out again. He might have said that he had a right to the best of everything, because he was the older, and because Lot would probably not have been worth anythin

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III

III

On Abram’s way back with the spoils one of the strangest scenes of history occurs. Whom should he meet but Melchizedek, who brought out bread and wine; and the priestly king blessed the Father of the Faithful. After the old king of peace had blest him, he met the King of Sodom, and the King of Sodom said, “You take the money, and I will take the people”; but Abram replied: “Not a thing will I take, not even the shoe-latchets, lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram rich.” There is another surr

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IV

IV

The last surrender is perhaps the most touching and the hardest of all to understand. Perhaps he could not have borne it until the evening of life. God had been taking him along, step by step, until now he had reached a place where he had learned to obey fully whatever God told him to do. I believe the world has yet to see what God will do with the man who is perfectly surrendered. Next to God’s own Son, Abraham was perhaps the man who came nearest to this standard. Abraham had been in the Promi

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HE THOUGHT THE LORD HAD MADE A MISTAKE,

HE THOUGHT THE LORD HAD MADE A MISTAKE,

that he was not the man. He said, “Who am I?” He was very small in his own estimation. Forty years before he had started out as a good many others have started. He thought he was pretty well equipped for service. He had been in the schools of the Egyptians, he had been in the palaces of Egypt, he had moved in the bon ton society. He had had all the advantages any man could have when he started out, undoubtedly, without calling on the God of Abraham for wisdom and guidance, yet he broke down. How

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BIG HEADS AND LITTLE HEARTS.

BIG HEADS AND LITTLE HEARTS.

If a man has a shriveled-up heart and a big head he is a monster. Perhaps Moses looked down on the Hebrews. There are many people who start out with the idea that they are great and other people are small, and they are going to bring them up on the high level with themselves. God never yet used a man of that stamp. Perhaps Moses was a slow scholar in God’s school, and so He had to keep him there for forty years. But now he is ready; he is just the man God wants, and God calls him. Moses said, “W

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THE BIGGEST FOOL IN THE WORLD.

THE BIGGEST FOOL IN THE WORLD.

“Why,” they would say, “look at the opportunity that man had! He might have been commander of the Egyptian army, he might have been on the throne, swaying the sceptre over the whole world, if he hadn’t identified himself with those poor, miserable Hebrews! Think what an opportunity he has lost, and what a privilege he has thrown away!” He had dropped out of the public mind for forty years, and they didn’t know what had become of him, but God had His eye upon him. He was the very man of all other

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A BLANK CHECK,

A BLANK CHECK,

and all he had to do was to fill it out from that time on. When he wanted to bring water out of the rock, all he had to do was to fill out the check; when he wanted bread, all he had to do was to fill out the check and the bread came; he had a rich banker. God had taken him into partnership with Himself. God had made him His heir, and all he had to do was to look up to Him, and he got all he wanted. And yet he seemed to draw back, and began to make another excuse, and said: “They will not believ

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NOT AN ORATOR.

NOT AN ORATOR.

My friends, we have too many orators. I am tired and sick of your “silver-tongued orators.” I used to mourn because I couldn’t be an orator. I thought, Oh, if I could only have the gift of speech like some men! I have heard men with a smooth flow of language take the audience captive, but they came and they went, their voice was like the air, there wasn’t any power back of it; they trusted in their eloquence and their fine speeches. That is what Paul was thinking of when he wrote to the Corinthi

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YOUR MESSAGE, AND NOT YOURSELF,

YOUR MESSAGE, AND NOT YOURSELF,

the most prominent thing. Don’t be self-conscious Set your heart on what God has given you to do, and don’t be so foolish as to let your own difficulties or your own abilities stand in the way. It is said that people would go to hear Cicero and would come away and say, “Did you ever hear anything like it? wasn’t it sublime? wasn’t it grand?” But they would go and hear Demosthenes, and he would fire them so with the subject that they would want to go and fight at once. They forgot all about Demos

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TOLD THESE THREE THOUSAND YEARS.

TOLD THESE THREE THOUSAND YEARS.

Father, mother, sisters, brothers, the grave of her husband—she turned her back on them all. Ruth, come back, and tell us if you regret your choice! No: her name shines one of the brightest among all the women that have ever lived. The Messiah was one of her descendants. Moses, you come back and tell us if you were afterwards sorry that God had called you? I think that when he stood in glorified body on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus and Elijah, he did not regret it. My dear friends, Go

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NO PHYSICIAN

NO PHYSICIAN

who could help him in Syria. None of the eminent doctors in Damascus could do him any good. If he was to get rid of the leprosy, the power must come from on high. It must be some one unknown to Naaman, for he did not know God. But I will tell you what they had in Syria—they had one of God’s children there, and she was a little girl, a simple captive maid, who waited on Mrs. Naaman. Naaman knew nothing about this little Israelite, though she was one of his household. I can imagine that one day, a

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GOD HONORED HER FAITH.

GOD HONORED HER FAITH.

“What do you say? A prophet in Israel that can cure leprosy?” “Yes.” “Why, did you ever know any one that was cured?” “No.” “Well, then, what makes you think there is a prophet that can cure leprosy?” “Oh, that isn’t anything to what Elisha can do. There was a little child that lived near us that died, and he raised him to life. He has done many wonderful things.” She must have had a reputation for truthfulness. If she hadn’t, her testimony would not have been taken. Some one told the general of

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HOW MANY WOULD BUY SALVATION!

HOW MANY WOULD BUY SALVATION!

But, thank God, it is not in the market for sale. You must buy it at God’s price, and that is “without money and without price.” Naaman found that out. My dear friends, did you ever ask yourselves which is the worse—the leprosy of sin, or the leprosy of the body? For my own part, I would a thousand times sooner have the leprosy of the body eating into my eyes, and feet, and arms! I would rather be loathsome in the sight of my fellow-men than die with the leprosy of sin in my soul, and be banishe

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THOROUGHLY IN EARNEST.

THOROUGHLY IN EARNEST.

He was quite willing to go one hundred and fifty miles, and to take the advice of this little maid. A good many people say: “Oh, I don’t like such and such a minister; I should like to know where he comes from, and what he has done, and whether any bishop has laid his hands on his head.” My dear friends, never mind the minister; it is the message you want. If some one were to send me a telegraph message, and the news were important, I shouldn’t stop to ask about the messenger who brought it. I s

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AFRAID THEY WOULD GET MAD.

AFRAID THEY WOULD GET MAD.

Don’t be afraid of getting them mad, if it is the truth that makes them mad. If it is our foolishness that makes them mad, then we have got reason to mourn over it. If it is the truth, God sent it, and it is a good deal better to have a man get mad than it is to have him go to sleep. I think the trouble with a great many nowadays is that they are sound asleep, and it is a good deal better to rouse them even if they do wake up mad. The fact was, the Jordan never had any great reputation as a rive

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BID HIM DO SOME GREAT THINGS.

BID HIM DO SOME GREAT THINGS.

Instead of that, Elisha, who was perhaps busy writing, did not even come to the door or the window. He merely sent out the message: “Tell him to dip seven times in the Jordan.” And away went Naaman, saying, I thought, I thought, I thought . I have heard that tale so often that I am tired of it. Give it up, and take God’s words, God’s thoughts, God’s ways. I never yet knew a man converted just in the time and manner he expected to be. I have heard people say, “Well, if ever I am converted, it won

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CONVERTED THE REGULAR WAY.

CONVERTED THE REGULAR WAY.

He believed in the regular Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and that was the place for him to be converted. The employer tried every way he could to get him to attend the meetings, but he wouldn’t come. After we left that town and went away up to Inverness, the employer had some business up there, and he sent this employee to attend to it in the hope that he would attend some of our meetings. One night as I was preaching on the banks of a river I happened to take this for my text: “I thought; I

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A VERY SIMPLE ONE.

A VERY SIMPLE ONE.

Now, don’t you see yourselves there? How many men there are who are waiting for some great thing; waiting for some sudden feeling to come stealing over them; waiting for some shock to come upon them. That is not what the Lord wants. There is a man that I have talked to about his soul for a number of years, and the last time I had a talk with him, he said: “Well, the thing hasn’t struck me yet.” I said: “What?” “Well,” says he, “the thing hasn’t struck me yet.” “Struck you; what do you mean?” “We

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THE STARTING-POINT OF HIS FAITH,

THE STARTING-POINT OF HIS FAITH,

although still he thought it a foolish thing, and could not bring himself to believe that the result would be what the prophet had said. At last Naaman’s will was conquered, and he surrendered. When General Grant was besieging a town which was a stronghold of the Southern Confederacy, some of the officers sent word that they would leave the city if he would let them go with their men. But General Grant sent word: “No, nothing but an unconditional surrender!” Then they sent word that they would g

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IN THE VERY ACT OF OBEDIENCE

IN THE VERY ACT OF OBEDIENCE

he was blessed. Look at those ten New Testament lepers who came to Christ. He said to them: “Go show yourselves to the priests.” “Well,” they might have said, “what good is that going to do us? Here we are all full of leprosy, and if we go and show ourselves to the priests they will order us back again into exile. That is not going to help us.” But those ten men started off, and did just what the Lord Jesus Christ told them to do, and in the very act of doing it they were blessed; their leprosy

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NOT A MYTH, BUT A PERSON.

NOT A MYTH, BUT A PERSON.

“He came to His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons and daughters of God.” That is the way you get the power. Naaman goes down to the river and takes the first dip. As he comes up I can imagine him looking at himself, and saying to his servant: “There! there I am, no better than I was when I went in! If one-seventh of the leprosy was gone, I should be content.” The servant says: “The man of God told you to dip seven times. Do j

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WANTS TO GIVE MONEY

WANTS TO GIVE MONEY

for his cure. How many people want to do the same nowadays. Why it would have spoiled the story of grace if the prophet had taken anything! You may give a thank-offering to God’s cause, not to purchase salvation, but because you are saved. The Lord doesn’t charge anything to save you. It is “without money and without price.” The prophet Elisha refused to take anything, and I can imagine no one felt more rejoiced than he did. Naaman starts back to Damascus a very different man than he was when he

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I KNOW.

I KNOW.

There is no hesitation about it, no qualifying the expression. Naaman doesn’t now say, “I think”; no, he says, “ I know there is a God who has power to cleanse the leprosy.” Then there is another thought. Naaman left only one thing in Samaria, and that was his leprosy; and the only thing God wishes you to leave with Him is your sin. And yet it is the only thing you seem not to care about giving up. “Oh,” you say, “I love leprosy, it is so delightful, I can’t give it up; I know God wants it, that

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JOY AMONG THE SAINTS IN HEAVEN.

JOY AMONG THE SAINTS IN HEAVEN.

Once, as I was walking down the street, I heard some people laughing and talking aloud. One of them said: “Well, there will be no difference, it will be all the same a hundred years hence.” The thought flashed across my mind, “Will there be no difference? Where will you be a hundred years hence?” Young man, just ask yourself the question, “Where shall I be?” Some of you who are getting on in years may be in eternity ten years hence. Where will you be, on the left or the right hand of God? I cann

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THE WRONG PHYSICIAN,

THE WRONG PHYSICIAN,

but I will tell you of one who can cure you”; and he told him of Christ, and read to him the 53d chapter of Isaiah, “With His stripes we are healed.” The young man said, “Doctor, do you believe that?” The doctor told him he did, and prayed and wrestled with him, and at last the clear light of Calvary shone on his soul. He had settled the question in his own mind at last, where he would spend eternity. I ask you, sinner, to settle it now. It is for you to decide. Shall it be with the saints, and

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LOVED HIS COUNTRY.

LOVED HIS COUNTRY.

I like to see a patriotic man. He began to inquire about his people and about the city that was very near to his heart, Jerusalem. He had never seen the city. He had no relations back there in Jerusalem that he knew of. Nehemiah was not a Jewish prince, although it is supposed he had royal blood in his veins. He was born in captivity. It was about one hundred years after Jerusalem was taken that he appeared upon the horizon. He was in the court of Artaxerxes, a cupbearer to the king, and held a

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THE PRAYER

THE PRAYER

of this wonderful man, his cry which has been on record all these years, and a great help to many people: “I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which

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NEVER HAVE HEARD OF

NEVER HAVE HEARD OF

either of them if they had not done this. They stooped to conquer; and when you get ready to stoop God will bless you. Plato, Socrates, and other Greek philosophers lived in the same century as Nehemiah. How few have heard of them and read their words compared with the hundreds of thousands who have heard and read of Nehemiah during the last two thousand years! If you and I are to be blessed in this world, we must be willing to take any position into which God puts us. So, after Nehemiah had pra

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CHANGE THE VERY COUNTENANCE

CHANGE THE VERY COUNTENANCE

of a man. I know some godly men and women, and they seem to have the stamp of heaven on them. The king noticed a strange look about this cupbearer, and he began to question him. Then the thought came to Nehemiah that he would tell the king what caused his sorrow,—how his own nation was degraded, and how his heart was going out for his own country. After he had told the king, the king said: “What is your request?” Now, some men tell us they don’t have time to pray, but I tell you if any man has G

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SHOT UP A PRAYER

SHOT UP A PRAYER

to heaven right there in the king’s dining hall that the Lord would help him to make his request in the right way. He first looked beyond Artaxerxes to the King of Kings. You need not make a long prayer. A man who prays much in private will make short prayers in public. The Lord told Nehemiah what to ask for, that he might be sent to his own country, that some men might go with him, and that the king would give him letters to the governors through whose provinces he would pass so that he might h

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THE CONVERTED CUPBEARER,

THE CONVERTED CUPBEARER,

had arrived from the Persian court, and was going to build the walls of Jerusalem. There are some men who are always telling what they are going to do. Man, let the work speak for itself. You needn’t blow any horns; go and do the work, and it will advertise itself. Nehemiah didn’t have any newspapers writing about him, or any placards. However, there was no small stir. No doubt every one in town was talking about it, saying that a very important personage had arrived from the Persian court; but

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WE SPREAD SO THIN

WE SPREAD SO THIN

the world never hears of us. After he had been in the city three days and nights, he called the elders of Israel together, and told them for what he had come. God had been preparing them, for the moment he told them they said: “Let us rise up and build.” But there has not been a work undertaken for God since Adam fell which has not met with opposition. If Satan allows us to work unhindered, it is because our work is of no consequence. The first thing we read, after the decision had been made to

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RIDICULE

RIDICULE

is a mighty weapon. “What do these feeble Jews?” said Sanballat. “Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they make an end in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?” “Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall,” said Tobiah the Ammonite. But Nehemiah was wise. He paid no attention to them. He just looked to God for grace and comfort: “Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their repro

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NO EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY

NO EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY

then; they were on duty from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. They did not take off their clothes except to wash them. Fancy, this man who came from the Persian court with all its luxury, living and sleeping in his clothes for those fifty-two days! But he was in earnest. Ah, that is what we want! men who will set themselves to do one thing, and keep at it day and night. All the people were bidden to lodge within the city, so that they should always be on hand to work and fight.

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A MASTERPIECE OF THE DEVIL

A MASTERPIECE OF THE DEVIL

to get men into friendly discussions. I don’t know whether Nehemiah had a typewriter in those days or not; I don’t know whether he had a printed form of letters, but he always sent back the same reply: “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.” How many a church has turned aside for years to discuss “questions of the day,” and has neglected the salvation of the world because they must go down to the “plain of Ono” and have a friendly discussion! Nehemiah struck a good keynote—“I am d

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AN OPEN LETTER,

AN OPEN LETTER,

in which they said that they had heard he was going to set up a kingdom in opposition to the Persians, and that they were going to report him to the king. Treason has an ugly sound, but Nehemiah committed himself to the Lord, and went on building. Then his enemies hired a prophet, one of his friends. A hundred enemies outside are not half so hard to deal with as one inside—a false friend. When the devil gets possession of a child of God he will do the work better than the devil himself. Temptati

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OPEN-AIR MEETING

OPEN-AIR MEETING

for the reading of the law of Moses in the hearing of the people. A pulpit of wood, large enough to hold Ezra the Scribe and thirteen others, was built. The people wept when they heard the words of the law, but Nehemiah said: “Mourn not, nor weep. Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” He did not forget the poor. Reading the Bible a

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THE PREACHER.

THE PREACHER.

I contend that John the Baptist must have been one of the grandest preachers this world has ever had. Almost any man can get a hearing nowadays in a town or a city, where the people live close together; especially if he speaks in a fine building where there is a splendid choir, and if the meetings have been advertised and worked up for weeks or months beforehand. In such circumstances any man who has a gift for speaking will get a good audience. But it was very different with John. He drew the p

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ONE TEXT:

ONE TEXT:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Day after day you could hear his voice ringing through the valley of the Jordan: “Repent! repent! repent! The King is at the door. I do not know the day or the hour, but He will be here very soon.” By and by some of the people who flocked to hear him wanted to be baptized, and he took them to the Jordan and baptized them. The news spread to the surrounding villages and towns, and it was not long before it reached Jerusalem. Then the people of the c

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ALL SENSATION.

ALL SENSATION.

“Catch me there! No, sir; I never did like sensational preaching.” Just as some people speak nowadays when any special effort is made to reach the people! “Great harm will be done,” they say. I wish all these croakers had died out with that generation in Judea; but we have plenty of their descendants still. I venture to say you have met with them. Why, my dear friends, there is more excitement in your whisky shops and beer saloons in one night than in all the churches put together in twelve mont

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NOT ABLE TO SLEEP MUCH

NOT ABLE TO SLEEP MUCH

that night; he kept thinking of what he had heard. When the Holy Ghost is dealing with a man’s conscience, very often sleep departs from him. Herod cannot get this wilderness preacher and his message out of his mind. The truth had reached his soul; it echoed and re-echoed within him: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He says: “I went out to-day to hear for the Roman Government; I think I will go to-morrow and hear for myself.” So he goes back again and again. My text says that he h

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A HEAVEN-SENT MESSENGER.

A HEAVEN-SENT MESSENGER.

Had you gone into the palace in those days, you would have heard Herod talking of nobody but John the Baptist. He would say to his associates: “Have you been out into the desert to hear this strange preacher?” “No; have you?” “Yes.” “What! you, the Roman Governor, going to hear this unordained preacher?” “Yes, I have been quite often. I would rather hear him than any man I ever knew. He does not talk like the regular preachers. I never heard any one who had such influence over me.” You would hav

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HE WOULD NOT GIVE UP ONE DARLING SIN.

HE WOULD NOT GIVE UP ONE DARLING SIN.

The longer I preach, the more I am convinced that that is what keeps men out of the kingdom of God. John knew about Herod’s private life, and warned him plainly. If those compromising Christians of whom I have spoken had been near John, one of them would have said: “Look here, John, it is reported that Herod is very anxious about his soul, and is asking what he must do to be saved. Let me give you some advice; don’t touch on Herod’s secret sin. He is living with his brother’s wife, but don’t you

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WHAT IS THE PRICE

WHAT IS THE PRICE

that you put upon your soul? You say you do not know. I will tell you. It is the sin that keeps you from God . It may be whisky; there is many a man who will give up the hope of heaven and sell his soul for whisky. It may be adultery; you say: “Give me the harlot, and I will relinquish heaven with all its glories. I would rather be damned with my sin than saved without it.” What are you selling out for, my friend? You know what it is. Do you not think it would have been a thousand times better f

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ALMOST DECIDED

ALMOST DECIDED

to become Christians cut down in battle without having taken the step that would have made them sure of eternal life. I confess there is something very sad about it. In one of the tenement houses in New York city, a doctor was sent for. He came, and found a young man very sick. When he got to the bedside the young man said: “Doctor, I don’t want you to deceive me; I want to know the worst. Is this illness to prove serious?” After the doctor had made an examination, he said: “I am sorry to tell y

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AN EVIDENCE OF THE TRUTH

AN EVIDENCE OF THE TRUTH

of what He said by performing some miracle. If He had said He was the Light of the world, He would show them in what way He was the Light of the world. If He had said He was the Life of the world, He would prove Himself to be such by quickening and raising the dead; just as He did, after telling them that He was the Resurrection and the Life, by going to the graveyard of Bethany and calling Lazarus forth. When Lazarus heard the voice of his friend saying, “Lazarus, come forth!” he came forth imm

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I

I

The man mentioned in this chapter was born blind. We find the Lord’s disciples asking Him: “Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be manifest in him.” When He had thus spoken, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him: “Go wash in the pool of Siloam.” The blind man went his way and w

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II

II

Now we come to Joseph of Arimathea. I do not think he came out quite so nobly as this blind beggar did; but he did come out, and we will thank God for that. We read in John that for fear of the Jews he was kept back from confessing openly. “And after this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews , besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him leave. He came, therefore, and took the body of Jesus.” Read the four accounts

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REVILING.

REVILING.

The first thing we read, then, of this man is that he was a reviler of Christ. You would think that he would be doing something else at such a time as that; but hanging there in the midst of torture, and certain to be dead in a few hours, instead of confessing his sins and preparing to meet that God whose law he had broken all his life, he is abusing God’s only Son. Surely, he cannot sink any lower, until he sinks into hell!...

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UNDER CONVICTION.

UNDER CONVICTION.

The next time we hear of him, he appears to be under conviction: “And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on Him, saying, If thou be Christ, save Thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this Man hath done nothing amiss.” What do you suppose made so great a change in this man in these few hours? Christ had not preached a sermon, h

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TALKING TO HIMSELF

TALKING TO HIMSELF

in this way: “What a strange kind of man this must be! He claims to be king of the Jews, and the superscription over His cross says the same. But what sort of a throne is this! He says He is the Son of God. Why does not God send down His angels and destroy all these people who are torturing His Son to death? If He has all power now, as He used to have when He worked those miracles they talked about, why does He not bring out His vengeance, and sweep all these wretches into destruction? I would d

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BROKE HIS HEART.

BROKE HIS HEART.

It flashed into this thief’s soul that Jesus was the Son of God, and that moment he rebuked his companion, saying: “Dost thou not fear God?” The fear of God fell upon him. There is not much hope of a man’s being saved until the fear of God comes upon him. Solomon says, “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.” We read in Acts that great fear fell upon the people; that was the fear of the Lord. That was the first sign that conviction had entered the soul of the thief. “Dost thou not fear God?

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CONFESSING.

CONFESSING.

Next, he confessed his sins: “We indeed justly.” He took his place among sinners, not trying to justify himself. A man may be very sorry for his sins, but if he doesn’t confess them, he has no promise of being forgiven. Cain felt badly enough over his sins, but he did not confess. Saul was greatly tormented in mind, but he went to the witch of Endor instead of to the Lord. Judas felt so bad over the betrayal of his Master that he went out and hanged himself; but he did not confess to God. True,

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JUSTIFYING CHRIST.

JUSTIFYING CHRIST.

The next thing, he justifies Christ: “This Man hath done nothing amiss.” When men are talking against Christ, they are a great way from becoming Christians. Now he says, “He hath done nothing amiss.” There was the world mocking him; but in the midst of it all, you can hear that thief crying out: “This Man hath done nothing amiss.”...

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FAITH.

FAITH.

The next step is faith. Talk about faith! I think this is about the most extraordinary case of faith in the Bible. Abraham was the father of the faithful; but God had him in training for twenty-five years. Moses was a man of faith; but he saw the burning bush, and had other evidences of God. Elijah had faith; but see what good reason he had for it. God took care of him, and fed him in time of famine. But here was a man who perhaps had never seen a miracle; who had spent his life among criminals;

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WHAT A CONFESSION

WHAT A CONFESSION

of Christ that was! He called Him “Lord.” A queer Lord! Nails through His hands and feet, fastened to the cross. A strange throne! Blood trickling down His face from the scars made by the crown of thorns. But He was all the more “Lord” because of this. Sinner, call Him “Lord” now. Take your place as a poor condemned rebel, and cry out: “Lord, remember me!” That isn’t a very long prayer, but it will prevail. You don’t have to add—“when Thou comest into Thy kingdom,” because Christ is now at His F

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THE ANSWERED PRAYER.

THE ANSWERED PRAYER.

Now consider the answer to his prayer. He got more than he asked, just as every one does who asks in faith. He only asked Christ to “remember” him; but Christ answered: “To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise!” Immediate blessing—promise of fellowship—eternal rest; this is the way Christ answered his prayer....

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DARKNESS.

DARKNESS.

And now darkness falls upon the earth. The sun hides itself. Worse than all, the Father hides His face from His Son. What else is the meaning of that bitter cry: “My God! my God! Why hast Thou forsaken me?” Ah! It had been written, “Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” Jesus was made a curse for us. God cannot look upon sin: and so when even His own Son was bearing our sins in His body, God could not look upon Him. I think this is what bore heaviest upon the Savior’s heart in the garden

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THE LAST ACT OF THE SON OF GOD

THE LAST ACT OF THE SON OF GOD

was to save a sinner. That was a part of the glory of His death. He commenced His ministry by saving sinners, and ended it by saving this poor thief. “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered.” He took this captive from the jaws of death. He was on the borders of hell, and Christ snatched him away. No doubt Satan was saying to himself: “I

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SALVATION IS DISTINCT AND SEPARATE FROM WORKS.

SALVATION IS DISTINCT AND SEPARATE FROM WORKS.

Some people tell us we have to work to be saved. What has the man who believes that to say about the salvation of this thief? How could he work, when he was nailed to the cross? He took the Lord at His word, and believed. It is with the heart men believe, not with their hands or feet. All that is necessary for a man to be saved is to believe with his heart. This thief made a good confession. If he had been a Christian fifty years, he could not have done Christ more service there than he did. He

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SALVATION IS SEPARATE AND DISTINCT FROM ALL ORDINANCES

SALVATION IS SEPARATE AND DISTINCT FROM ALL ORDINANCES

—not but that ordinances are right in their place. Many people think it is impossible for any one to get into the kingdom of God if he is not baptized into it. I know people who were greatly exercised because little children died unbaptized. I have seen them carry the children through the streets because the pastor could not come. I don’t want you to think I am talking against ordinances. Baptism is right in its place; but when you put it in the place of salvation, you put a snare in the way. Yo

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TWO SIDES.

TWO SIDES.

The cross of Christ divides all mankind. There are only two sides, those for Christ, and those against Him. Think of the two thieves; from the side of Christ one went down to death cursing God, and the other went to glory. What a contrast! In the morning he is led out, a condemned criminal; in the evening he is saved from his sins. In the morning he is cursing; in the evening he is singing hallelujahs with a choir of angels. In the morning he is condemned by men as not fit to live on earth; in t

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THE FIRST MAN TO ENTER PARADISE

THE FIRST MAN TO ENTER PARADISE

after the veil of the Temple was rent. If we could look up yonder, and catch a glimpse of the throne, we would see the Father there, and Jesus Christ at His right hand; and hard by we would see that thief. He is there to-day. Nineteen hundred years he has been there, just because he cried in faith: “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.” You know Christ died a little while before the thief. I can imagine that He wanted to hurry home to get a place ready for His new friend, the fir

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