Amii\ 
 
AND JUDAS ISCARIOT 
 
And Judas Iscariot 
 
 Wi{h Otter Evangelistic Sermons 
 
 J. Wilbur Chapman, D. D. 
 
 Author of Present Day Parables, And Peter, Fishing for Men, The 
 Secret of a Happy Day, Present Day Evangelism, etc., etc. 
 
 Introduction by 
 
 Parley E. Zartmann, D. D. 
 
 Tke Winona Publishing Company 
 
 Chicago Illinois 
 
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 v^ 7 
 
 .C4-1 
 
 LIBRARY of CONGRESS) 
 Two Cooies Received 
 JM 2 1 907 
 
 Capyrteht I 
 
 Copyright 
 
 zgo6 
 
 The Winona Publishing Company 
 
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 CONTENTS 
 
 ._ And Judas Iscariot 11 
 
 An Old-Fashioned Home 37 
 
 The Swelling of Jordan 67 
 
 ^J> A Call to Judgment : m 79 
 
 A Changed Life . , t 89 
 
 The Lost Opportunity 103 
 
 A Great Victory 113 
 
 Paul a Pattern of Prayer . 137 
 
 A Startling Statement 163 
 
 The Grace of God 183 
 
 Conversion 199 
 
 Five Kings in a Cave 215 
 
 Definiteness of Purpose in Christian Work . 237 
 
 The Morning Breaketh 249 
 
 An Obscured Vision 265 
 
 The Compassion of Jesus 287 
 
 San ctifi cation 309 
 
 An Unheeded Warning 331 
 
 The Approval of the Spirit 351 
 
 A Reasonable Service 375 
 
 The True Christian Life 391 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The sermons contained in this volume 
 are published in response to numerous 
 requests that they might be put into per- 
 manent form. 
 
 The author of these sermons needs no 
 introduction to the Christian readers of 
 America. His fame as an author, preacher 
 and evangelist is more than national. 
 As Director of the evangelistic work 
 carried on by the General Assembly's 
 Committee of the Presbyterian Church, 
 he has achieved distinction as a preacher 
 of the Gospel. Under his direction simul- 
 taneous evangelistic campaigns have been 
 held in many of the leading cities of the 
 land, and the Christian Church and the 
 world have had an experience of a new, 
 aggressive and emphatic evangelism that 
 has stirred the Church, revived Christian 
 service and been the means under God 
 of turning thousands to a life of allegiance 
 to Jesus Christ. 
 
 Therefore it is a privilege and pleasure 
 to put into book form some of the sermons 
 which Dr. Chapman has preached in his 
 
10 Introduction 
 
 evangelistic work and also as the Director 
 of the Interdenominational Bible Con- 
 ference at Winona Lake, Indiana. Thou- 
 sands have borne witness to the profound 
 impression and enduring influence of those 
 messages. Especially is this true of "And 
 Judas Iscariot" and "An Old-Fashioned 
 Home." One can never forget the scene 
 when the latter sermon was preached on 
 Thanksgiving Day, 1905, in the great thea- 
 ter in Jersey City. Great numbers of men 
 have confessed their sins and accepted 
 Jesus Christ as a personal Savior follow- 
 ing the preaching of "The Swelling of 
 Jordan." 
 
 The book is sent forth with devout 
 gratitude to God for his blessing upon the 
 preaching of these sermons, and with a 
 prayer that even the reading of them may 
 be attended with deeper devotion to 
 Jesus Christ, and increasing service to 
 those for whom Christ died. 
 
 Parley E. Zartmann, 
 
AND JUDAS ISCARIOT 
 
 AND JUDAS ISCARIOT 
 
 Text: "And Judas IscarioL"— Mark 3: 19. 
 
 There is something about the name of 
 this miserable man which commands our 
 attention at once. There is a sort of fasci- 
 nation about his wickedness, and when we 
 read his story it is difficult to give it up 
 until we have come to its awful end. It is 
 rather significant, it would seem to me, 
 that his name should come last in the list 
 of the Apostles, and the text, "And Judas 
 Iscariot," would suggest to me not only 
 that his name was last, but that it was 
 there for some special reason, as I am sure 
 we shall find out that it was. It is also 
 significant that the first name mentioned 
 in the list of the Apostles in this third 
 chapter of Mark was Simon, who was 
 surnamed Peter. 
 
 The first mentioned Apostle denied 
 Jesus with an oath, the one last referred 
 
12 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 to sold him for thirty pieces of silver and 
 has gone into eternity with the awful sin 
 of murder charged against him. The 
 difference between the two is this: their 
 sins were almost equally great, but the 
 first repented and the grace of God had 
 its perfect work in him and he was the 
 object of Christ's forgiveness; the second 
 was filled with remorse without repen- 
 tance and grace was rejected. The first 
 became one of the mightiest preachers in 
 the world's history; the second fills us 
 with horror whenever we read the story of 
 his awful crime. 
 
 Different names affect us differently. 
 One could not well think of John without 
 being impressed with the power of love; 
 nor could one consider Paul without be- 
 ing impressed first of all with his zeal and 
 then with his learning. Certainly one 
 could not study Peter without saying that 
 his strongest characteristic was his en- 
 thusiasm. It is helpful to know that the 
 Spirit of God working with one who was 
 a giant intellectually and with one who 
 
And Judas Iscariot 13 
 
 was profane and ignorant accomplished 
 practically the same results, making them 
 both, Paul and Peter, mighty men whose 
 ministry has made the world richer and 
 better in every w r ay. But to think of 
 Judas is always to shudder. 
 
 There is a kindred text in this same 
 Gospel of Mark, but the emotions it stirs 
 are entirely different. The second text 
 is, "And Peter." The crucifixion is over, 
 the Savior is in the tomb, poor Peter, 
 a broken-hearted man, is wandering 
 through the streets of the City of the 
 King. He is at last driven to the company 
 of the disciples, when suddenly there 
 rushes in upon them the woman who had 
 been at the tomb, and she exclaims, "He 
 is risen, has gone over into Galilee and 
 wants his disciples to meet him." This 
 was the angel's message to her. All the 
 disciples must have hurried to the door 
 that they might hasten to see their risen 
 Lord — all save Peter. And then came 
 the pathetic and thrilling text, for the 
 woman gave the message as Jesus gave it 
 
14 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 to the angels and they to her, "Go tell his 
 disciples — and Peter" 
 
 But this text, "And Judas Iscariot," 
 brings to our recollection the story of a 
 man who lost his opportunity to be good 
 and great; the picture of one who was 
 heartless in his betrayal, for within sight 
 of the Garden of Gethsemane he saluted 
 Jesus with a hypocritical kiss; the recol- 
 lection of one in whose ears to-day in 
 eternity there must be heard the clinking 
 sound of the thirty pieces of silver; and 
 the account of one who died a horrible 
 death, all because sin had its way with 
 him and the grace of God was rejected. 
 
 The scene connected with his calling is 
 significant. Mark tells us in the third 
 chapter of his Gospel that when Jesus 
 saw the man with the withered hand 
 ,and healed him, he went out by the sea- 
 side and then upon the mountain, and 
 there called his Apostles round about 
 him, gave them their commission and sent 
 them forth to do his bidding. 
 
 In Matthew the ninth chapter and the 
 
And Judas Iscariot 15 
 
 thirty-sixth to the thirty-eighth verses, we 
 are told that when he saw the multitudes 
 he was moved with compassion, and he 
 commissioned the twelve and sent them 
 forth that they might serve as shepherds 
 to the people who appeared to be shep- 
 herdless. "Then saith he unto his disci- 
 ples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but 
 the laborers are few ; pray ye therefore the 
 Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth 
 laborers into his harvest." And then he 
 sent the twelve forth. As a matter of fact 
 the Scriptures concerning Judas are not 
 so very full, but there is a good outline, 
 and if one but takes the points presented 
 and allows his imagination to work in the 
 least, there is a story which is thrilling in 
 its aw^fulness. 
 
 The four Evangelists tell us of his call, 
 and these are practically identical in their 
 statement except concerning his names. 
 Matthew and Mark call him the Betrayer; 
 Luke speaks of him as a Traitor, while 
 John calls him a Devil. The next thing 
 we learn concerning him is his rebuke of 
 
16 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 the woman who came to render her serv- 
 ice to Jesus as a proof of her affec- 
 tion. In John the twelfth chapter, the 
 fourth to the sixth verse, we read, "Then 
 saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, 
 Simon's son, which should betray him, 
 Why was not this ointment sold for three 
 hundred pence, and given to the poor? 
 This he said, not that he cared for the 
 poor, but because he was a thief, and had 
 the bag, and bare what was put therein. 5 ' 
 
 Next we hear of him bargaining with 
 the enemies of Jesus for his betrayal. The 
 account is very full in Matthew, the 
 twenty-sixth chapter the fourteenth to the 
 sixteenth verse. "Then one of the twelve 
 called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief 
 priests, and said unto them, What will ye 
 give me, and I will deliver him unto you? 
 And they covenanted with him for thirty 
 pieces of silver. And from that time he 
 sought opportunity to betray him." 
 
 Then we are told of his delivering Jesus 
 into the hands of his enemies, in Matthew, 
 the twenty-sixth chapter, the forty-seventh 
 
And Judas Iscariot 17 
 
 to the forty-ninth verses: "And while he 
 yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, 
 came, and with him a great multitude, 
 with swords and staves, from the chief 
 priests and elders of the people. Now he 
 that betrayed him gave them a sign, say- 
 ing, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same 
 is he: hold him fast. And forthwith he 
 came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Master; 
 and kissed him." And then finally comes 
 his dreadful end, the account of his re- 
 morse in Matthew, the twenty-seventh 
 chapter, the third and the fourth verses. 
 "Then Judas, w T hich had betrayed him, 
 when he saw that he was condemned, 
 repented himself, and brought again the 
 thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests 
 and elders, saying, I have sinned in that 
 I have betrayed the innocent blood. And 
 they said, What is that to us? see thou 
 to that." And the statement of his suicide 
 in Matthew, the twenty-seventh chapter, 
 the fifth verse, "And he cast down the 
 pieces of silver in the temple, and de- 
 parted, and went and hanged himself." 
 
18 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 i 
 The natural question that comes to 
 every student of the life of Judas must be, 
 "Why was he chosen?" but as Joseph 
 Parker has said, "We may well ask why 
 were we chosen ourselves, knowing our 
 hearts as we do and appreciating our 
 weakness as we must." It has been said 
 that if we study the Apostles we will 
 find them representatives of all kinds of 
 human nature, which would go to show 
 that if we but yield ourselves to God, 
 whatever we may be naturally, he can 
 use us for his glory. It was here that 
 Judas failed. I have heard it said that 
 Jesus did not know Judas 5 real character 
 and that he was surprised when Judas 
 turned out to be the disciple that he was ; 
 but let us have none of this spirit in the 
 consideration of Jesus Christ. Let no man 
 in these days limit Jesus' knowledge, for 
 he is omniscient and knoweth all things. 
 Let us not forget what he said himself con- 
 cerning Judas in John the thirteenth 
 chapter and the eighteenth verse, "I speak 
 
And Judas Iscariot 19 
 
 not of you all; I know whom I have 
 chosen ; but that the Scripture may be ful- 
 filled, He that eateth bread with me hath 
 lifted up his heel against me." Again, in 
 the sixth chapter and the seventieth verse, 
 " Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen 
 you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" and 
 finally, in the sixth chapter and the 
 sixty-fourth verse, "But there are some of 
 you that believe not. For Jesus knew 
 from the beginning who they were that 
 believed not, and who should betray him. " 
 There were others who might have been 
 chosen in his stead. The Apostles found 
 two when in their haste they determined 
 to fill the vacancy made by his betrayal. 
 Acts 1:23-26, "And they appointed two, 
 Joseph called Barsabas, who was sur- 
 named Justus, and Matthias. And they 
 prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which 
 knowest the hearts of all men, shew 
 whether of these two thou hast chosen, 
 that he may take part of this ministry 
 and apostleship, from which Judas by 
 transgression fell, that he might go to his 
 
20 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 own place. And they gave forth their 
 lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias, and 
 he was numbered with the eleven apos- 
 tles." 
 
 It seems to me that there can be no 
 reason for his having been called of Christ 
 except that he was to serve as a great 
 warning to those of us who have lived 
 since his day. There are many such warn- 
 ings in the Scriptures. 
 
 Jonah was one. God said to him, "Go 
 to Nineveh/ 5 and yet, with the spirit of 
 rebellion, he attempted to sail to Tarshish 
 and we know his miserable failure. Let 
 it never be forgotten that if Nineveh is 
 God's choice for you, you can make no 
 other port in safety. The sea will be 
 against you, the wind against you. <It is 
 hard indeed to struggle against God. 
 
 Jacob was a warning. Deceiving his 
 own father, his sons in turn deceived him. 
 May we never forget the Scripture which 
 declares, "Whatsoever a man soweth that 
 shall he also reap." 
 
 Esau was a warning. Coming in from 
 
And Judas Iscariot 21 
 
 the hunt one day, weary with his exertions, 
 he detects the savory smell of the mess of 
 pottage, and his crafty brother says, "I 
 will give you this for your birthright," 
 which was his right to be a priest in his 
 household; a moment more and the 
 birthright is gone; and in the New Testa- 
 ment we are told he sought it with tears 
 and could find no place of repentance. 
 But many a man has sold his right to be 
 the priest of his household for less than a 
 mess of pottage, and in a real sense it is 
 true that things done cannot be undone. 
 
 Saul was a warning. He was com- 
 manded to put to death Agag and the 
 flock, and he kept the best of all the flock 
 and then lied to God's messenger when he 
 said that the work had been done as he 
 was commanded. He had no sooner said 
 it than, behold, there was heard the bleat- 
 ing of the sheep and the lowing of the 
 oxen. "Be sure your sin will find you 
 out/' 
 
 The New Testament has many warn- 
 ings like these in the Old, but Judas sur- 
 
22 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 passes them all. There is something 
 about him that makes us shudder. 
 
 It is said that in Oberammergau, where 
 the Passion Play is presented, the man 
 taking the character of Judas is always 
 avoided afterwards. He may have been 
 ever so reputable a citizen, but he has 
 been at least in action a Judas, and 
 that is enough. 
 
 I was once a pastor at Schuylerville, 
 N. Y., where on the Burgoyne surrender 
 ground stands a celebrated monument. 
 It is beautiful to look upon. On one side 
 of it in a niche is General Schuyler, and on 
 the other side, if I remember correctly, 
 General Gates; on the third, in the same 
 sort of a niche, another distinguished gen- 
 eral is to be seen, but on the fourth the 
 niche is vacant. When I asked the reason 
 I was told that "It is the niche which 
 might have been filled by Benedict Arnold 
 had he not been a traitor. " 
 
 The story of Judas is like this. He 
 might have been all that God could have 
 approved of; he is throughout eternity 
 
And Judas Iscariot 23 
 
 a murderer, and all because grace was 
 rejected. Numerous lessons may be 
 drawn from such a story. Certain things 
 might be said concerning hypocrisy, for 
 he was in the truest sense a hypocrite. 
 Reference could be made to the fact 
 that sin is small in its beginnings, sure 
 in its progress, terrific in its ending, for 
 at the beginning he was doubtless but 
 an average man in sin, possibly not so 
 different from the others; but he rejected 
 the influence of Christ. Or, again, from 
 such a character a thrilling story could 
 be told of the end of transgressors, for 
 hard as may be the way the end baffles 
 description. Judas certainly tells us this. 
 
 ii 
 
 However much of a warning Judas 
 may be to people of the world, I am 
 fully persuaded that there are four things 
 which may be said concerning him. 
 
 First: He gives us a lesson as Chris- 
 tians. There were many names given 
 him. In Matthew the tenth chapter and 
 
24 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 the fourth verse, and in Mark the third 
 chapter and the nineteenth verse, we 
 read that he was a betrayer; in Luke 
 the sixth chapter and the sixteenth verse 
 he was called a traitor; in John the 
 sixth chapter and the seventieth verse he 
 is spoken of as a devil, but in John the 
 twelveth chapter and the sixth verse he 
 is mentioned as a thief. To me however 
 one of the best names that could be 
 applied to him is that which Paul feared 
 might be given to him when he said, 
 "Lest when I have preached to others 
 I myself should be [literally] disapproved" 
 (1 Corinthians 9 : 27). It is indeed a 
 solemn thought, that if we are not right 
 with God he will set us aside, for he 
 cannot use us. I have in mind a minister, 
 who once thrilled great numbers of people 
 with his message. Under the power of 
 his preaching hundreds of people came 
 to Christ. There was possibly no one 
 in the Church with a brighter future. 
 To-day he is set aside, for God cannot 
 use him. I have in mind a Sunday 
 
And Judas Iscariot 25 
 
 school superintendent, who used to be 
 on every platform speaking for Christ, 
 and then yielded to undue political in- 
 fluence of the worst sort, lost his vision 
 of Christ and his powder in speaking, and 
 to-day is set aside. But of all the 
 illustrations, I know of nothing which 
 so stirs me as the story of Judas. He 
 might have been true and faithful and 
 he might have been w r ith Christ to-day 
 in glory; instead, he is in hell, a self- 
 confessed murderer, with the clinking 
 of the thirty pieces of silver to condemn 
 him, and his awful conscience constantly 
 to accuse him. It is indeed enough to 
 make our faces pale to realize that, what- 
 ever we may be to-day in the service of 
 God, we can be set aside in less than a 
 week, and God will cease to use us if 
 we have anything of the spirit of Judas. 
 Second: I learn also from Judas that 
 environment is not enough for the un- 
 regenerate. It is folly to state that a poor 
 lost sinner simply by changing his en- 
 vironment jnay have his nature changed. 
 
26 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 As John G. Woolley has said, "it is like 
 a man with a stubborn horse saying, 
 'I will paint the outside of the barn a nice 
 mild color to influence the horse within.' ! 
 The well on my place in the country 
 some years ago had in it poisoned water. 
 It was an attractive well with a house 
 built around about it, and the neighbors 
 came to me to say that I must under no 
 circumstances drink from it. What if 
 I had said, "I will decorate the well 
 house that I may change the water?" 
 It would have been as nonsensical as to 
 say, "I will change the environment of 
 a man who is wicked by nature, and 
 thereby make him good." Judas had 
 lived close to Jesus, he had been with 
 him on the mountain, walked with him 
 by the sea, was frequently with him, I 
 am sure, in Gethsemane, for we read in 
 John the eighteenth chapter and the 
 second verse, "And Judas also, which 
 betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus 
 ofttimes resorted thither with his dis- 
 ciples. 5 ' He was also with him at the 
 
And Judas Iscariot 27 
 
 Supper. But after all this uplifting, 
 heavenly influence of the Son of God he 
 sold him for silver and betrayed him 
 with a kiss. Nothing can answer for the 
 sinner but regeneration. His case is hope- 
 less without that. 
 
 Third: Hypocrisy is an awful thing. 
 The text in Galatians is for all such. 
 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked." 
 Those words in Matthew in connection 
 with the sermon on the Mount are for 
 such, when men in the great day shall 
 say, "Have we not prophesied in thy 
 name? and in thy name have cast out 
 Devils? and in thy name done many 
 wonderful works ?" Jesus will say, " I never 
 knew you." If we read the commission 
 in Matthew the tenth chapter the fifth 
 to the twentieth verses inclusive, we shall 
 understand that these Apostles were sent 
 forth to do a mighty work, and evidently 
 they did it. Judas had that commission, 
 and he may have fulfilled it in a sense, 
 but he is lost to-day because he was a 
 hypocrite. The disciples may not have 
 
28 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 known his true nature. In John the 
 thirteenth chapter the twenty-first to the 
 twenty-ninth verses we read, "When 
 Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in 
 spirit, and testified and said, Verily, 
 verily, I say unto you, that one of you 
 shall betray me. Then the disciples 
 looked one on another, doubting of 
 whom he spake. Now there was leaning 
 on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, 
 whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore 
 beckoned to him, that he should ask who 
 it should be of whom he spake. He then 
 lying on Jesus 5 breast saith unto him, 
 Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He it is 
 to whom I shall give a sop when I have 
 dipped it. And when he had dipped the 
 sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son 
 of Simon. And after the sop Satan 
 entered into him. Then said Jesus unto 
 him, That thou doest, do quickly. Now 
 no man at the table knew for what intent 
 he spake this unto him. For some of 
 them thought, because Judas had the 
 bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy 
 
And Judas Iscariot 29 
 
 those things that we have need of against 
 the feast; or that he should give some- 
 thing to the poor." Which would seem 
 to impress this thought upon us. Oh, 
 may I say that it is a great sin to be untrue? 
 The only time that Jesus is severe is not 
 when sinners seek him out, nor when the 
 woman taken in adultery is driven to 
 him by those who would stone her with 
 stones, nor with the thief on the Cross, 
 but when he faces hypocrites; he can 
 have no tenderness for them. 
 
 Fourth: I learn from Judas that sin 
 is of slow progress. There may have 
 been first just a natural ambition. He 
 thought that the Kingdom of Jesus was 
 to be a great temporal affair, and he 
 desired to be a part of it. How many 
 men to-day have wrecked their homes 
 and all but lost their souls, because of 
 unholy ambitions! It may be an am- 
 bition for your family as well as for your- 
 self. Doubtless Jacob had such when he 
 stopped at Shechem. The result of his 
 tarrying was his heart-breaking experi- 
 
30 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 ence with the worse than murder of his 
 daughter. There are souls to-day in the 
 lost world who were wrecked upon the 
 rock of ambition. 
 
 Fifth: He was dishonest. It is a short 
 journey from unholy ambition to dishon- 
 esty. The spirit of God Himself calls 
 him a thief. But, 
 
 Sixth : Let it be known that while sin 
 is of slow progress, it is exceedingly sure. 
 In the twenty-second chapter of Luke 
 and the third to the sixth verses we read 
 that Satan entered into Judas. It seems 
 to me as if up to that time he had rather 
 hovered about him, tempting him with 
 his insinuations, possibly causing him 
 to slip and fall in occasional sins, but 
 finally he has control and then betrayal, 
 denial and murder are the results. 
 
 I looked the other day into the face of 
 a man who said to me, "Do you know 
 me?" and I told him I did not, and he 
 said, "I used to be a Christian worker 
 and influenced thousands to come to 
 Christ. In an unguarded moment I de- 
 
And Judas Iscariot 31 
 
 termined to leave my ministry and to 
 become rich. My haste for riches was 
 but a snare. I found myself becoming 
 unscrupulous in my business life and now 
 I am wrecked, certainly for time — oh/' 
 said he, "can it be for eternity? I am 
 separated from my wife and my children, 
 whom I shall never see again. " And 
 rising in an agony he cried out as I have 
 rarely heard a man cry, " God have mercy 
 upon me! God have mercy upon me!" 
 
 in 
 
 There are but three things that I would 
 like to say concerning Judas as I come 
 to the end of my message. 
 
 The first is that he w r as heartless in 
 the extreme. It was just after a touching 
 scene recorded in Matthew the twenty- 
 sixth chapter the seventh to the thirteenth 
 verses, "There came unto him a woman 
 having an alabaster box of very precious 
 ointment, and poured it on his head, as 
 he sat at meat. But when his disciples 
 saw it, they had indignation, saying, To 
 what purpose is this waste? For this 
 
32 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 ointment might have been sold for much, 
 and given to the poor. When Jesus 
 understood it, he said unto them, Why 
 trouble ye the woman? for she hath 
 wrought a good work upon me. For ye 
 have the poor always with you; but me 
 ye have not always. For in that she hath 
 poured this ointment on my body, she 
 did it for my burial. Verily I say unto 
 you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be 
 preached in the whole world, there shall 
 also this, that this woman hath done, be 
 told for a memorial of her." It was after 
 this that Judas went to the enemies of 
 Jesus and offered to sell him, and as if 
 that were not enough, it was just after he 
 had left Gethsemane, in Matthew the 
 twenty-sixth chapter the forty-fifth to 
 the forty-ninth verses, that he betrayed 
 him with his kiss. "Then cometh he to 
 his disciples and saith unto them, Sleep 
 on now, and take your rest; behold, the 
 hour is at hand, and the Son of man is 
 betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, 
 let us be going : behold, he is at hand that 
 
And Judas Iscariot 33 
 
 doth betray me. And while he yet spake, 
 lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and 
 with him a great multitude, with swords 
 and staves, from the chief priests and 
 elders of the people. Now he that be- 
 trayed him gave them a sign, saying, 
 Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: 
 hold him fast. i\.nd forthwith he came to 
 Jesus, and said, Hail, Master; and kissed 
 him." The blood drops had just been 
 rolling down the cheeks of the Master, 
 for he sweat, as it were, great drops of 
 blood; and I can quite understand how 
 upon the very lips of Judas the condemn- 
 ing blood may have left its mark. But do 
 not condemn him; he is scarcely more 
 heartless than the man who to-day rejects 
 him after all his gracious ministry, his 
 sacrificial death and his mediatorial work 
 of nineteen hundred years. 
 
 Second: His death was awful. Acts 
 1: 18, "Now this man purchased a field 
 w T ith the reward of iniquity; and falling 
 headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, 
 and all his bowels gushed out." I can 
 
34 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 imagine him going out to the place 
 where he is to end it all, remember- 
 ing as he walked how Jesus had looked 
 at him, recalling, doubtless, some of his 
 spoken messages, and certainly remem- 
 bering how once he had been with him 
 in all his unfaithful ministry. All this 
 must have swept before him like a great 
 panorama, and with the vision of his 
 betrayed Master still before him he 
 swings himself out into the eternity; 
 and then as if to make the end more 
 terrible the rope broke and his body 
 burst and his very bowels gushed forth. 
 Oh, if it be true that the way of the trans- 
 gressor is hard, in the name of God what 
 shall we say of the end? 
 
 Third : I would like to imagine another 
 picture. What if instead of going out 
 to the scene of his disgraceful death he 
 had waited until after Jesus had risen? 
 What if he had tarried behind some one 
 of those great trees near the city 
 along the way which he should walk, or, 
 possibly on the Emmaus way? What if 
 
And Judas Iscariot 35 
 
 he had hidden behind some great rock 
 and simply waited? While it is true that 
 he must have trembled as he waited, 
 what if after it all he had simply thrown 
 himself on the mercy of Jesus and had 
 said to him, " Master, I have from the 
 first been untrue; for thirty pieces of 
 silver I sold thee and with these lips I 
 betrayed thee with a kiss ; but Jesus, thou 
 Son of David, have mercy upon me"? 
 There would have been written in the 
 New Testament Scriptures the most beau- 
 tiful story that the inspired book con- 
 tains. Nothing could have been so 
 wonderful as the spirit of him who is 
 able to save to the uttermost, and who 
 never turned away from any seeking 
 sinner, and he would, I am sure, have 
 taken Judas in his very arms; he, too, 
 might have given him a kiss, not of be- 
 trayal, but of the sign of his complete 
 forgiveness, and Judas might have shone 
 to-day in the city of God as shines Joseph 
 of Arimathaea, Paul the Apostle, Peter 
 the Preacher, 
 
36 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 The saddest story I know is the story 
 of Judas, for it is the account of a man 
 who resisted the grace of God and must 
 regret it through eternity. 
 
AN OLD-FASHIONED HOME 
 
 Text: "What have they seen in thy house?" — 
 2 Kings 20: 15. 
 
 If you will tell me what is in your own 
 house by your own choice I will tell you 
 the story of your home life and will be 
 able to inform you whether yours is a 
 home in which there is harmony and peace 
 or confusion and despair. Let me read 
 the names of the guests in your guest 
 book, allow me to study the titles of the 
 books in your library in which you have 
 special delight, permit me to scan your 
 magazines which you particularly like, 
 allow me to listen to your conversation 
 when you do not know that you are being 
 overheard, give me the privilege of talking 
 but for a moment to your servants, and 
 make it possible for me to visit with your 
 friends in whom you have particular de- 
 light — and I will write a true story of what 
 you have been, of what you are, and of 
 what you will be but for the grace of God, 
 
 37 
 
38 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 even though I may not know you person- 
 ally at all. In other words, whatever may 
 be seen in your home determines what 
 your home is. 
 
 I was a man grown before I visited 
 Washington, the capital of the nation. 
 I was the guest of a member of the Presi- 
 dent's Cabinet. Riding with him the first 
 evening, when the moon was shining, we 
 suddenly came upon the National Capitol, 
 and I said to my host, "What in the world 
 is that?" He said, with a smile, as if he 
 pitied me, "That is the Capitol building, 
 and that is the home of the nation." I am 
 sure he was right in a sense, because the 
 building is magnificent, and is in every 
 way the worthy home of such a nation as 
 ours; but I think I take issue with him, 
 after careful thought, in his statement 
 that the Capitol building is the home of 
 the nation. I can recall a visit made to a 
 home which was not in any sense palatial, 
 where the old-fashioned father every 
 morning and evening read his Bible, knelt 
 in prayer with his household about him, 
 
An Old-Fashioned Home 39 
 
 commended to God his children each by 
 name, presented the servants at the throne 
 of grace, and then sang with them all one 
 of the sweet hymns of the church; and 
 from the morning prayer they went forth 
 to the day of victory, while from the even- 
 ing prayer they went to sleep the undis- 
 turbed sleep of the just, with the angels of 
 heaven keeping watch over them. 
 
 I recall another home in the State of 
 Ohio where the father and mother were 
 scarcely known outside of their own 
 county. The size of their farm was ten 
 acres, but they reared two boys and two 
 girls w r hose mission has been world-wide 
 and whose names are known wherever the 
 church of Christ is known and wherever 
 the English language is spoken. These, 
 in the truest sense, are the homes of the 
 nation, and such homes give us men and 
 women as true as steel. 
 
 Napoleon once was asked, "What is the 
 greatest need of the French nation?" He 
 hesitated a moment and then said, with 
 marked emphasis, "The greatest need of 
 
40 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 the French nation is mothers." If you 
 will ask me the greatest need of America 
 I could wish in my reply that I might 
 speak with the power of a Napoleon and 
 that my words might live as long, for I 
 would say, the greatest need of the Amer- 
 ican nation to-day is homes; not palatial 
 buildings, but homes where Christ is hon- 
 ored, where God is loved, and where the 
 Bible is studied. 
 
 A returned missionary, who had been 
 for twenty-five years away from his home 
 because he would not accept his furloughs, 
 was asked after he had been in California 
 for a little season what impressed him the 
 most after his absence of a quarter of a 
 century. The reporter expected him to 
 say that he was impressed with the tele- 
 phone system which bound houses and 
 cities together, or that he was amazed at 
 the wireless telegraphy, by means of which 
 on the wave currents of the air messages 
 were sent from one city to another; but 
 the returned missionary expressed no such 
 surprise. He said, "When I went away 
 
An Old-Fashioned Home 41 
 
 from America almost every home had its 
 family altar; now that I have returned I 
 have watched very carefully and find that 
 a family altar in a home is the exception 
 and not the rule." Wherever this is true 
 there is real cause for great alarm, for in 
 proportion as the home fails the nation is 
 in danger. 
 
 Hezekiah had been sick unto death. 
 The word of the Lord by the mouth of 
 the Prophet came to him, saying, "Set 
 thy house in order, for thou must die." 
 Then he recovered for a season. The 
 King of Babylon sent messengers to him, 
 and when the messengers had gone Isaiah 
 asked him the question of the text, "What 
 have they seen in thy house?" 
 
 The dearest and most sacred spot on 
 earth is home. Around it are the most 
 sacred associations, about it cluster the 
 sweetest memories. The buildings are [ 
 not always palatial, the furnishings are 
 not always of the best, but when the home I 
 is worthy of the name ladders are let down 
 from heaven to those below, the angels of 
 
42 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 f 
 
 God come down, bringing heaven's bless- 
 ing and ascend, taking earth's crosses. 
 Such a home is the dearest spot on earth, 
 because there your father worked and 
 your -mother loved. There is no love 
 which surpasses this. 
 
 Some years ago, when the English sol- 
 diers were fighting and a Scotch regiment 
 came to assist, the Scotchmen, strangely 
 enough, began to die in great numbers. 
 The skill of the physicians was baffled. 
 They could not tell why it was that there 
 seemed to be such a rapid falling away of 
 the men. But at last they discovered the 
 cause. The Scotch pipers were playing 
 the tunes that reminded the Scotchman 
 of the heather and the hills, and they were 
 dying of homesickness. When the music 
 was changed the deaths in such large 
 numbers almost instantly ceased. 
 
 We are drifting away from our old- 
 fashioned homes; fathers have grown too 
 busy, mothers have delegated their God- 
 given work to others. We have lost in- 
 stead of gained. Wherever the homes are 
 
An Old-Fashioned Home 43 
 
 full of weakness the government is in 
 danger. The homes of our country are 
 so many streams pouring themselves into 
 the great current of moral and social life. 
 If the home life is pure, then all is pure. 
 I stand with that company of people to- 
 day who believe that we are at the begin- 
 ning of a great revival of religion, and I 
 am persuaded that this revival is to be 
 helped on not so much by preaching, 
 though that is not to be ignored; nor by 
 singing, though that in itself is useful ; but 
 it is to be helped or hindered by the condi- 
 tion of the homes in our land. 
 
 i 
 I have a friend, George R. Stuart, who 
 says that when God himself would start a 
 nation he made home life the deciding 
 question. He selected Abraham as the 
 head of the home, and in Genesis, the 
 eighteenth chapter and the nineteenth 
 verse, he gives the reason for this in these 
 words: "For I know him, that he will 
 command his children and his household 
 after him." 
 
44 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 There are two great principles which 
 must prevail in every home : 
 
 First: Authority, suggested by the word 
 "command." 
 
 Second : Example, suggested by the ex- 
 pression, "He will command his children 
 and his household after him." 
 
 In order that one may rightly command 
 he must himself be controlled or be able 
 to obey an authority higher than his own. 
 It is absolutely impossible for one to be 
 the father he ought to be and not be a 
 Christian, or to be worthy of the name of 
 mother and not yield allegiance to Jesus 
 Christ. If we are to set before those about 
 us a right example, we cannot begin too 
 soon. Your children are a reproduction 
 of yourself, weakness in them is weakness 
 in yourself, strength in them is but the re- 
 production of your own virtue. 
 
 A convention of mothers met some years 
 ago in the city of Cincinnati and was 
 discussing the question as to when one 
 ought properly to begin to train the child 
 for Christ. One mother said, "I begin at 
 
An Old-Fashioned Home 45 
 
 six"; another suggested seven as the 
 proper age; another said, "I begin when 
 my child takes his first step, and thus 
 point him to Christ, or when he speaks 
 his first word I teach him the name of 
 Jesus. " Finally an old saint arose and 
 said, "You are all of you wrong; the time 
 to begin to train the child is the generation 
 before the child is born," and this we all 
 know to be true. 
 
 But the responsibility does not rest 
 simply upon mothers; fathers cannot ig- 
 nore their God-given position. Judge 
 Alton B. Parker and his favorite grandson, 
 Alton Parker Hall, five years old, narrowly 
 escaped death by drowning in the Hudson 
 River. For half an hour the two played 
 in the water. Then Judge Parker took 
 the boy for a swim into deep water. Plac- 
 ing the boy on his back, he swam around 
 for awhile, and then, deciding to float, 
 turned over, seating the boy astride his 
 chest. In this manner the judge floated 
 a distance from the wharf before noticing 
 it. Then he attempted to turn over again, 
 
46 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 intending to swim nearer the shore. In 
 the effort to transfer the boy to his back 
 the little fellow became frightened and 
 tightly clasped the judge about the neck. 
 Judge Parker called to the boy to let go 
 his hold, but the youth only held on the 
 tighter, and, frightened at the evident dis- 
 tress of the judge, began to whimper. In 
 a few moments the grasp of the boy be- 
 came so tight that Judge Parker could not 
 breathe. He tried to shake the boy loose, 
 and then attempted to break his grasp. 
 The boy held on with the desperation of 
 death, however, and every effort of the 
 judge only plunged them both beneath 
 the choking waves. With his last few 
 remaining breaths, Judge Parker gave up 
 the struggle and shouted for assistance. 
 The mistake that the distinguished man 
 made was that he went too far from shore 
 with the boy. There are too many men 
 to-day who are doing the same thing. 
 They are going out too far in social life, 
 they are too lax in the question of amuse- 
 ments, they are too thoughtless on the sub- 
 
■An Old-Fashioned Home 47 
 
 ject of dissipation. Some day they will 
 stop, themselves recovering, but their boys 
 will be gone. 
 
 Example counts for everything in a 
 home. If there is any blessing in my own 
 life or others, if there has been any help- 
 fulness in my ministry to others, I owe it 
 all to my mother, who lived before me a 
 consistent Christian life and died giving 
 me her blessing; and to my father, who 
 with his arms about me one day said, "My 
 son, if you go wrong it will kill me." 
 I was at one time under the influence of a 
 boy older than myself and cursed with 
 too much money. I had taken my first 
 questionable step at least, and was on my 
 way one night to a place which was at 
 least questionable if not sinful. I had 
 turned the street corner and ahead of me 
 was the very gate to hell. Suddenly, as I 
 turned, the face of my father came before 
 me and his words rang in my very soul. 
 If my father had been anything but a con- 
 sistent Christian man I myself, I am sure, 
 would have been far from the pulpit, 
 
48 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 and might have been in the lost world. 
 There are those who seem to think that 
 the height of one's ambition is to amass 
 a fortune, to build a palace or to acquire 
 a social position. My friend, George R. 
 Stuart, says you may build your palaces, 
 amass your fortunes, provide for the satis- 
 faction of every desire, but as you sit amid 
 these luxurious surroundings waiting for 
 the staggering steps of a son, or as you 
 think of a wayward daughter, all this will 
 be as nothing, for there is nothing that 
 can give happiness to the parents of God- 
 less, wayward children. Some one has 
 said, "Every drunkard, every gambler, 
 every lost woman once sat in a mother's 
 lap, and the downfall of the most of them 
 may be traced to some defect in home life/' 
 The real purpose of every home is to 
 shape character for time and eternity. 
 The home may be one of poverty, the 
 cross of self- sacrifice may be required, 
 suffering may sometimes be necessary, 
 but wherever a home fulfills this purpose 
 it is overflowing with joy. One of my 
 
An Old-Fashioned Home 49 
 
 friends has drawn the following picture 
 which he says is fanciful, but which I 
 think is absolutely true to life: 
 
 Back in the country there is a boy who 
 wants to go to a college and get an educa- 
 tion. They call him a book-worm. Wher- 
 ever they find him — in the barn or in the 
 house — he is reading a book. "What a 
 pity it is," they say, "that Ed cannot get 
 an education!" His father, work as hard 
 as he will, can no more than support the 
 family by the products of the farm. One 
 night Ed has retired to his room and there 
 is a family conference about him. The 
 sisters say, "Father, I wish you would 
 send Ed to college ; if you will we will work 
 harder than we ever did, and we will make 
 our old dresses do." The mother says, 
 "Yes, I will get along without any hired 
 help; although I am not as strong as I 
 used to be, I think I can get along without 
 any hired help." The father says, "Well, 
 I think by husking corn nights in the barn 
 I can get along without any assistance." 
 Sugar is banished from the table, butter 
 
50 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 is banished from the plate. That family 
 is put down on rigid, yea, suffering, econ- 
 omy that the boy may go to college. 
 Time passes on. Commencement day 
 has come and the professors walk in on 
 the stage in their long gowns and their 
 classic but absurd hats. The interest 
 of the occasion is passing on, and after 
 a while it comes to a climax of interest 
 as the valedictorian is introduced. Ed 
 has studied so hard and worked so well 
 that he has had the honor conferred 
 upon him. There are rounds of applause, 
 sometimes breaking into vociferation. It 
 is a great day for Ed. But away back in 
 the galleries are his sisters in their old 
 plain hats and faded clothes, and the old- 
 fashioned father and mother; dear me, 
 she has not had a new hat for six years; 
 he has not had a new coat for a longer 
 time. They rise and look over on the 
 platform, then they laugh and they cry, 
 and as they sit down, their faces grow pale, 
 and then are very flushed. Ed gets the 
 garlands and the old-fashioned group in 
 
An Old-Fashioned Home 51 
 
 the gallery have their full share of the 
 triumph. They have made that scene 
 possible, and in the day that God shall 
 more fully reward self-sacrifice made for 
 others, he will give grand and glorious 
 recognition. "As his part is that goeth 
 down to battle, so shall his part be that 
 tarrieth by the stuff/ 5 
 
 This experience describes a home in the 
 truest sense of the word better than all the 
 palaces the world has ever known where 
 love is lacking and the spirit of God is gone. 
 
 ii 
 
 There are two great forces in every 
 home. I speak of the father and the 
 mother, not but that the children have 
 their part in either making or breaking a 
 household, but these two are the mightiest 
 of agencies. 
 
 The mother stands first. There are 
 certain things which must be true of every 
 mother. She must be a Christian. The 
 father may fail if he must, but let the 
 mother fail and God pity the children. 
 She must be consistent. The children 
 
52 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 may forget the inconsistencies of the father 
 but when the mother fails the impression 
 is lasting as time and almost as lasting as 
 eternity. She must be prayerful. I do 
 not know of anything that lifts so many 
 burdens or puts upon the face such a look 
 of beauty as the spirit of prayer. And she 
 must study her Bible. When we pray we 
 talk with God, but when we read the Bible 
 God talks with us and every mother needs 
 his counsel. 
 
 A poor young man stood before a judge 
 in a great court to be sentenced to death. 
 When asked if he had anything to say, he 
 bowed his head and said, "Oh, your 
 honor, if I had only had a mother!" 
 
 A mother's love is unfailing. When I 
 was in Atlanta, Georgia, in October, 1904, 
 a little girl and an old mother came to see 
 the governor. They had met on the train, 
 and the child agreed to take the old lady 
 to see the governor of the State. They 
 entered the governor's office and she spoke 
 as follows: 
 
 "I want to see the governor," was the 
 
An Old-Fashioned Home 53 
 
 straightforward request of the little lady 
 addressed to Major Irwin, the private 
 secretary to the governor, as he inquired 
 her errand. 
 
 "That is the governor standing there. 
 He w411 see you in a moment/' replied the 
 major, indicating Governor Terrell stand- 
 ing in the group. The governor went over 
 to her. "What can I do for you, dear?" 
 he asked. Throwing back her curls she 
 opened wide her baby brown eyes and 
 said: 
 
 "Governor, it is not for me; it is for this 
 old lady. Her name is Mrs. Hackett, and 
 she wants to talk to you about pardoning 
 her boy." This was said by a little lady 
 of eleven, who spoke with all the grace 
 and savoir-faire of a woman twice her age. 
 
 In a voice choked with emotion, Mrs. 
 Hackett began her tearful, scarcely audi- 
 ble story and presented her petition for 
 clemency for her boy. 
 
 "Governor, have mercy on me," she be- 
 gan, and threw back her bonnet, showing 
 a face wrinkled by age and furrowed and 
 
54 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 drawn by suffering, "and give me back 
 my boy/ 5 
 
 Breaking down under the strain of talk- 
 ing to the governor, whom she had 
 planned for months to see, the pleading 
 mother gave way to her grief. The gov- 
 ernor was visibly moved, and continued 
 to stroke the curly hair of Mrs. Hackett's 
 little guide. "Give me back my boy. I 
 am an old woman, going on seventy-nine, 
 and I cannot be here long. I know I am 
 standing with one foot in the grave, and I 
 do want to hear my boy, my baby, say to 
 me, 'Ma, I'm free/ Let me go down on 
 my knees to you and beg that you have 
 mercy on a mother's breaking heart. 
 During the last month I picked five hun- 
 dred pounds of cotton and made two dol- 
 lars to get here to see you. I got here with- 
 out a cent, and this little angel gave me a 
 dollar — her all. I don't care if I have to 
 walk back home, for I've seen you and 
 told you of my boy." 
 
 With unsteady voice the governor told 
 her the law, and referred her gently to the 
 
An Old-Fashioned Home 55 
 
 prison commission, assuring her that they 
 would give her petition the most consid- 
 erate attention. I am told that when the 
 books were examined the crime was found 
 to be one of the blackest on the calendar, 
 and yet the mother loved him. 
 
 Her love always stimulates love. It 
 lasts when everything else fails. A man 
 cannot wander so far from God as to for- 
 get his mother, or go so deep in sin as to 
 be unmindful of her sweet influence. 
 
 The following is a sketch, full of touch- 
 ing interest, of a little ragged newsboy who 
 had lost his mother. In the tenderness of 
 his affection for her he was determined 
 that he would raise a stone to her memory. 
 
 His mother and he had kept house to- 
 gether and they had been all to each other, 
 but now she was taken, and the little fel- 
 low's loss was irreparable. Getting a stone 
 was no easy task, for his earnings were 
 small; but love is strong. Going to a 
 cutter's yard and finding that even the 
 cheaper class of stones was far too ex- 
 pensive for him, he at length fixed upon 
 
56 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 a broken shaft of marble, part of the re- 
 mains of an accident in the yard, and 
 which the proprietor kindly named at such 
 a low figure that it came within his means. 
 There was much yet to be done, but the 
 brave little chap was equal to it. 
 
 The next day he conveyed the stone 
 away on a little four-wheeled cart, and 
 managed to have it put in position. The 
 narrator, curious to know the last of the 
 stone, visited the cemetery one afternoon, 
 and he thus describes what he saw and 
 learned : 
 
 "Here it is/ 5 said the man in charge, 
 and, sure enough, there was our monu- 
 ment, at the head of one of the newer 
 graves. I knew it at once. Just as it was 
 when it left our yard, I was going to say, 
 until I got a little nearer to it and saw what 
 the little chap had done. I tell you, boys, 
 when I saw it there was something blurred 
 my eyes, so's I couldn't read it at first. 
 The little man had tried to keep the lines 
 straight, and evidently thought that cap- 
 itals would make it look better and bigger, 
 
An Old-Fashioned Home 57 
 
 for nearly every letter was a capital. I 
 copied it, and here it is; but you want to 
 see it on the stone to appreciate it: 
 
 MY MOTHER 
 
 SHEE DIED LAST WEAK 
 
 SHEE WAS ALL I HAD. SHEE 
 
 SED SHEAD Bee WaiTING FUR — 
 
 and here the boy's lettering stopped. After 
 awhile I went back to the man in charge 
 and asked him what further he knew of 
 the little fellow who brought the stone. 
 "Not much/' he said; "not much. Didn't 
 you notice a fresh little grave near the one 
 with the stone? Well, that's where he is. 
 He came here every afternoon for some 
 time working aw-ay at that stone, and one 
 day I missed him, and then for several 
 days. Then the man came out from the 
 church that had buried the mother and 
 ordered the grave dug by her side. I 
 asked if it w T as for the little chap. He said 
 it was. The boy had sold all his papers 
 one day, and was hurrying along the street 
 out this way. There was a runaway team 
 
58 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 just above the crossing, and — well — he 
 was run over, and lived but a day or two." 
 He had in his hand when he was picked 
 up an old file sharpened down to a point, 
 that he did all the lettering with. They 
 said he seemed to be thinking only of that 
 until he died, for he kept saying, "I didn't 
 get it done, but she'll know I meant to 
 finish it, won't she? I'll tell her so, for 
 she'll be waiting for me," and he died with 
 those words on his lips. When the men 
 in the cutter's yard heard the story of the 
 boy the next day, they clubbed together, 
 got a good stone, inscribed upon it the 
 name of the newsboy, which they suc- 
 ceeded in getting from the superintendent 
 of the Sunday school which the little fel- 
 low attended, and underneath it the touch- 
 ing words: "He loved his mother." 
 
 God pity the mother with such an in- 
 fluence as this if she is leading in the wrong 
 direction! 
 
 It is necessary also to say just a word 
 about the father. There are many pic- 
 tures of fathers in the Bible. Jacob gives 
 
An Old-Fashioned Home 59 
 
 us one when he cries, "Me ye have bereft 
 of my children." 
 
 David gives another when he cries, 
 "O Absalom, my son." The father of 
 the Prodigal adds a new touch of beauty 
 to the picture when he calls for the best 
 robe to be put upon his boy. I allow no 
 one to go beyond me in paying tribute to 
 a mother's love, but I desire in some 
 special way to pay tribute to the devotion 
 and consistency of a father. 
 
 There are special requisites which must 
 be made without which no father can 
 maintain his God-given position. He 
 must be a Christian. I rode along a 
 country road with my little boy some time 
 ago. I found that he was speaking to my 
 friends just as I spoke to them. One man 
 called my attention to it and said, "It is 
 amusing, isn't it?" To me it was anything 
 but amusing. If my boy is to speak as I 
 speak, walk as I walk, then God help me 
 to walk as a Christian. 
 
 He must be a man of prayer. No man 
 can bear the burdens of life or meet its 
 
60 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 responsibilities properly if he is a stranger 
 to prayer. 
 
 He must be a man of Bible study. One 
 of the most priceless treasures I have is a 
 Bible my father studied, the pages of 
 which he turned over and over, and which 
 I never used to read without a great heart 
 throb. 
 
 "I con its pages o'er and o'er; 
 Its interlinings mark a score 
 Of promises most potent, sweet, 
 In verses many of each sheet; 
 Albeit the gilding dull of age, 
 And yellow-hued its every page, 
 No book more precious e'er may be 
 Than father's Bible is to me. 
 
 "Its tear-stained trace fresh stirs my heart 
 The corresponding tear to start; 
 Of trials, troubles herein brought, 
 For comfort never vainly sought, 
 For help in sorest hour of need, 
 For love to crown the daily deed, 
 No book more precious e'er may be 
 Than father's Bible is to me." 
 
 He must also erect in his house a family 
 altar. I know that many business men 
 
An Old-Fashioned Home 61 
 
 will say this is impossible, but it is not im- 
 possible. If your business prevents your 
 praying with your children, then there 
 must be something wrong with your busi- 
 ness. If your life prevents it, then you 
 ought to see to it that your life is made 
 right and that quickly. 
 
 My friend, George R. Stuart, one 
 of the truest men I know, gave me the 
 following picture of a Christian home. 
 He said: "When I was preaching in 
 Nashville, at the conclusion of my sermon 
 a Methodist preacher came up and laid 
 his hand upon my shoulder and said, 
 'Brother Stuart, how your sermon to-day 
 carried me back to my home ! My father 
 was a local preacher, and the best man 
 I ever saw. He is gone to heaven now. 
 We have a large family; mother is still at 
 home, and I should like to see all the 
 children together once more and have you 
 come and dedicate our home to God, 
 while we all rededicate ourselves to God 
 before precious old mother leaves. If you 
 will come with me, I will gather all the 
 
62 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 family together next Friday for that pur- 
 pose/ I consented to go. The old home 
 was a short distance from the city of Nash- 
 ville. There were a large number of 
 brothers and sisters. One was a farmer; 
 one was a doctor; one was a real estate 
 man; one was a bookkeeper; one was a 
 preacher; and so on, so that they repre- 
 sented many professions of life. The 
 preacher brother took me out to the old 
 home, where all the children had gath- 
 ered. As we drove up to the gate I saw the 
 brothers standing in little groups about 
 the yard, whittling and talking. Did 
 you never stand in the yard of the old home 
 after an absence of many years, and en- 
 tertain memories brought up by every 
 beaten path and tree and gate and build- 
 ing about the old place ? I was introduced 
 to these noble-looking men who, as the 
 preacher brother told me, were all mem- 
 bers of churches, living consistent Chris- 
 tian lives, save the younger boy, who had 
 wandered away a little, and the real object 
 of this visit was to bring him back to God. 
 
An Old-Fashioned Home 63 
 
 "The old mother was indescribably 
 happy. There was a smile lingering in 
 the wrinkles of her dear old face. We all 
 gathered in the large, old-fashioned family 
 room in the old-fashioned semicircle, with 
 mother in her natural place in the corner. 
 The preacher brother laid the large 
 family Bible in my lap and said, 'Now, 
 Brother Stuart, you are in the home of a 
 Methodist preacher; do what you think 
 best. 5 
 
 "I replied, 'As I sit to-day in the family 
 of a Methodist preacher, let us begin our 
 service with an old-fashioned experience 
 meeting. I want each child, in the order 
 of your ages, to tell your experience. 5 The 
 oldest arose and pointed his finger at the 
 oil portrait of his father, hanging on the 
 wall, and said in substance about as fol- 
 lows : 'Brother Stuart, there is the picture 
 of the best father God ever gave a family. 
 Many a time he has taken me to his secret 
 place of prayer, put his hand on my head, 
 and prayed for his boy. And at every turn 
 of my life, since he has left me, I have felt 
 
64 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 the pressure of his hand on my head, and 
 have seen the tears upon his face, and 
 have heard the prayers from his trembling 
 lips. I have not been as good a man 
 since his death as I ought to have been, 
 but I stand up here to-day to tell you and 
 my brothers and sisters and my dear old 
 mother that I am going to live a better life 
 from this hour until I die/ Overcome 
 with emotion, he took his seat, and the 
 children in order spoke on the same line. 
 Each one referred to the place of secret 
 prayer and the father's hand upon the 
 head. At last we came to the youngest 
 boy, who, with his- face buried in his 
 hands, was sobbing and refused to speak. 
 The preacher brother very pathetically 
 said, 'Buddy, say a word; there is no one 
 here but the family, and it will help 
 you. 5 
 
 "He arose, holding the back of his chair, 
 and looked up at me and said, 'Brother 
 Stuart, they tell me that you have come 
 to dedicate this home to God ; but my old 
 mother here has never let it get an inch 
 
An Old-Fashioned Home 65 
 
 from God. They tell you that this meet- 
 ing is called that my brothers and sisters 
 may dedicate their lives to God, but they 
 are good. I know them. I am the only 
 black sheep in this flock. Every step I 
 have wandered away from God and the 
 life of my precious father, I have felt his 
 hand upon my head and heard his blessed 
 words of prayer. To-day I come back to 
 God, back to my father's life, and so help 
 me God, I will never wander away again/ 
 
 "Following his talk came a burst of 
 sobbing and shouting, and I started that 
 old hymn, 'Amazing grace (how sweet the 
 sound!) that saved a wretch like me !' etc., 
 and we had an old-fashioned Methodist 
 class-meeting, winding up with a shout. 
 As I walked away from that old home- 
 stead I said in my heart, Tt is the salt of a 
 good life that saves the children. 5 A boy 
 never gets over the fact that he had a good 
 father." 
 
 "What have they seen in thy house?" 
 If we are to help our children for time and 
 eternity, our homes must be better, our 
 
66 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 lives must be truer, our ambition to do 
 God's will must be supreme. When these 
 conditions are met it will be possible for 
 us to answer the question of the text. 
 
THE SWELLING OF JORDAN 
 
 Text: "How wilt thou do in the swelling of 
 Jordan?"— Jer. 12:5. 
 
 High up in the mountains of Anti-Leb- 
 anon a famous river was born which was 
 to play so important a part in the history 
 of God's people that it would not have 
 been strange if the birds of heaven had 
 chanted their praises when first it began 
 its journey. From four different places in 
 the mountain the stream starts. Then 
 the four streams become one, and in a 
 single channel the river makes its way 
 across the plain. 
 
 There are two chief characteristics 
 which must be borne in mind. The first is 
 that a part of its journey is through a 
 rocky country, and caves are on either side 
 of the river, sometimes one above another; 
 frequently three caves are to be seen 
 one above another. The other charac- 
 teristic is that it overflows its banks in all 
 
 67 
 
68 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 the time of harvest. These two things 
 must be kept in mind if the text would 
 teach its lesson. 
 
 There are certain people who will al- 
 ways remember the river Jordan — -the 
 children of Israel first of all, because it 
 separated them from the Promised Land ; 
 and while scripturally Canaan does not 
 stand for Heaven, yet in the mind of 
 many it does, and the Jordan typifies an 
 experience which stands between us and 
 the future. Naaman will remember it, 
 for when he came as a leper to the servant 
 of God he was bidden to wash seven times 
 in this river. At first he rebelled against 
 the thought, finally he entered the stream, 
 bathed twice, three times, four, five, six 
 times, and was still a leper; but you will 
 remember the word of the Lord, seven 
 times must he bathe, and when the seventh 
 plunge was taken, behold, his flesh was as 
 the flesh of a little child ! No man need 
 expect to have light and peace and power 
 or eternal life until he has fulfilled all the 
 commands of God. 
 
The Swelling of Jordan 69 
 
 The wild beasts frequently make their 
 way to these caves as a place of refuge. 
 When the waters begin to rise they are 
 driven out, when they go to the higher 
 cave, and then to the highest of all, and 
 the waters constantly rising fill this cave 
 and they are overpowered and put to 
 death. Thev are an illustration for us. 
 Men of to-day are in caves of different 
 sorts; some in the cave of dissipation, 
 others in the cave of infidelity, and still 
 others in the cave of morality. One day 
 the waters of judgment will begin to rise, 
 and it w r ill be an awful thing to stand in 
 terror before God, driven forth without 
 refuge. 
 
 i 
 
 Dissipation. "I am in the clutch of an 
 awful sin," wrote some one to me recently, 
 whether man or woman I cannot tell, but 
 this was the story: 
 
 Three years before the writer had been 
 free, and then in an unguarded moment 
 had gone down. Now came the pathetic 
 cry, "I am helpless and hopeless." I do 
 
70 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 not know what the sin was, but it makes 
 no difference; any sin can bind us if we 
 but yield to it. Under the subject of dis- 
 sipation I do not speak of drinking as the 
 worst of sins, because it is not the worst, 
 by any means. I had a thousand times 
 rather admit to my home the drunkard 
 who has been cursed with his appetite than 
 to admit there the man who is lecherous, 
 who possibly stands high in society and in 
 the business world, but whose sin is great 
 and whose heart is vile beyond descrip- 
 tion. I speak of drinking because it is 
 the most common of sins. 
 
 John B. Gough ^cries out concerning 
 this sin, "I do not speak of it boastingly," 
 said he, "for I have known what the curse 
 of strong drink is ; I have felt it in my own 
 life and seen it in others, but I say the 
 truth, let the bread of affliction be given 
 me to eat, take away from me the friends 
 of my old age, let the hut of poverty be 
 my dwelling place, let the wasting hand 
 of disease be placed upon me, let me live 
 in the whirlwind and dwell in the storm, 
 
The Swelling of Jordan 71 
 
 when I would do good let evil come upon 
 me — do all this, merciful God, but save me 
 from the death of a drunkard." When he 
 would speak in such language, God pity 
 the man who yields to such a sin. 
 
 It may be that gambling is your weak 
 point. When I was in Colorado a young 
 man who was a graduate of Harvard, the 
 honor man of his class, and who had re- 
 cently buried his wife, sat at the gambling 
 table, staked his last dollar and lost it; 
 then deliberately put up his little child 
 and lost her; and then, in despair, blew 
 out his brains and sent his soul to hell. 
 When such a man of culture and training 
 would go down under such a sin, God pity 
 the man who yields to it. 
 
 Or it may be licentiousness, that sin 
 w r hich makes men lower than the beasts 
 of the field, from which one can scarcely 
 break away. I do not know what the sin 
 may be that clutches your life, but if you 
 have given way to it and rejected Christ, 
 how w r ilt thou do in the swelling of Jor- 
 dan, when the waters rise higher and 
 
72 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 higher and you are without Christ and 
 without hope? 
 
 ii 
 
 Some are in the cave of infidelity. That 
 there are honest skeptics in the world we 
 all believe, and the honest skeptic is one 
 who says, "I cannot believe as you do, and 
 I do not know that I w r ould if I could, 
 but if your hope is any comfort to you, 
 then cling to it and go down to your grave 
 trusting in it." 
 
 The dishonest skeptic is the man who 
 sneers at my faith, who laughs at the old- 
 fashioned religion, who says that once he 
 believed in it but has^ grown away from it, 
 seemingly forgetting that the greatest men 
 the country has ever produced have been 
 humble followers of Jesus of Nazareth. 
 Infidelity does not satisfy. It leaves an 
 aching void in life and mocks us in death. 
 Besides, it is deceiving and the talk of the 
 infidel orator is deceiving. Said one of 
 the most eloquent not many years ago, 
 "When I think of the Christian's God and 
 the Christian's Bible, I am glad I am not 
 
The Swelling of Jordan 73 
 
 a Christian. I had rather be the humblest 
 German peasant that ever lived, sitting in 
 his cottage, vine clad, from which the 
 grapes hang, made purple by the kiss of 
 the sun as the day dies out of the sky, shod 
 with wooden shoes, clad in homespun, 
 at peace with the world, his family about 
 him, with never a thought of God — I say 
 the truth I had rather be such a peas- 
 ant than any Christian that I have ever 
 known." And when he said it the people 
 cheered him. It was, however, but the 
 trick of an orator. Let us change the 
 sentences and give a new ring to the 
 thought. "When I think of what infidel- 
 ity would do I am glad I am not an infidel ; 
 how it would rob me of the hope of seeing 
 my mother and meeting again my child; 
 how it would take me in despair to the 
 grave and send me away with a broken 
 heart — I say I am glad I am not an infidel. 
 I had rather be the humblest German 
 peasant that ever lived, sitting in his cot- 
 tage, vine clad, from which the grapes 
 hang, made purple by the kiss of the sun 
 
74 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 as the day dies out of the sky, clad in 
 homespun, shod with wooden shoes, at 
 peace with the world and at peace with 
 God, his family Bible upon his knees, the 
 look of ineffable joy in his face and singing 
 that grand old hymn of Luther's, 'A mighty 
 fortress is our God' — I had rather be such 
 a German peasant than to be the mighti- 
 est infidel the w^orld has ever known," and 
 so I would, a thousand thousand times. 
 God pity you if you allow yourself to put 
 Christ out of your life and stand in the 
 midst of the rising floods with no hope in 
 him! How wilt thou do in the swelling 
 of Jordan? 
 
 in 
 
 Some are in the cave of morality. It 
 seems a strange thing to have a word to 
 say against it, only when we remember 
 that he that offends in one point is guilty 
 of all, and when we remember God's word 
 as he has declared, "Cursed is every one 
 that continueth not in all the things writ- 
 ten in the Book of the law to do them. " 
 
The Swelling of Jordan 75 
 
 Then the question for the moralist is this, 
 "Have you ever offended in one point?" 
 
 A splendid steamer was launched on 
 Lake Champiain. She made her way 
 safely across the lake and started back, 
 when a storm came upon her, the engines 
 were disabled and she drifted to the rocks. 
 "Out with the anchor," said the captain, 
 and the command was obeyed, but still 
 she drifted, and although the anchor was 
 down she crashed against the rocks with 
 an awful force, and all because the anchor 
 chain was three feet too short. Your 
 morality so far as it goes may be a good 
 thing, but it does not reach the standard 
 of God, nor can it until you are safely 
 united to Christ; and if you have put 
 him out of your life and stand alone in 
 the midst of the rising floods, then how 
 wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? 
 
 Sin is a terrible thing. It not only 
 blights our hopes and prospects for the 
 future, but it wrecks the strongest char- 
 acters. One has only to open his eyes to 
 see, if he will but look abroad, what dread- 
 
76 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 ful havoc this awful evil hath wrought in 
 the world, and yet the wonderful thing is 
 that "God so loved the world that he 
 gave his only begotten Son that whoso- 
 ever believeth in him should not perish 
 but have everlasting life/ 5 and no matter 
 how dreadful the wreck or how awful the 
 ruin, Jesus Christ comes seeking to save 
 that which was lost. 
 
 Major Whittle used to tell the story of 
 the aged Quaker named Hartmann whose 
 son had enlisted in the army. There came 
 the news of a dreadful battle, and this old 
 father, in fear and trembling, started to 
 the scene of conflict that he might learn 
 something concerning his boy. The 
 officer of the day told him that he had not 
 answered to his name, and that there was 
 every reason to believe that he was dead. 
 This did not satisfy the father, so, 
 leaving headquarters, he started across 
 the battlefield, looking for the one who 
 was dearer to him than life. He would 
 stoop down and turn over the face of this 
 one and then the face of another, but 
 
The Swelling of Jordan 77 
 
 without success. The night came on, 
 and then with a lantern he continued his 
 search, all to no purpose. Suddenly the 
 wind, which was blowing a gale, extin- 
 guished his lantern, and he stood there in 
 the darkness hardly knowing what to do 
 until his fatherly ingenuity, strength and 
 affection prompted him to call out his son's 
 name, and so he stood and shouted, "John 
 Hartmann, thy father calleth thee. " All 
 about him he would hear the groans of 
 the dying and some one saying, "Oh, if 
 that were only my father. " He continued 
 his cry w T ith more pathos and power until 
 at last in the distance he heard his boy's 
 voice crying tremblingly, "Here, father." 
 The old man made his way across the 
 field shouting out, "Thank God ! Thank 
 God !" Taking him in his arms, he bore 
 him to headquarters, nursed him back to 
 health and strength, and he lives to-day. 
 Over the battlefield of the slain this day 
 walks Jesus Christ, the Son of God, crying 
 out to all who are wrecked by this awful 
 power, "Thy Father calleth thee," and if 
 
78 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 there should be but the faintest response 
 to his cry he would take the lost in his 
 arms and bear them home to heaven. 
 Will you not come while he calls to-day? 
 
A CALL TO JUDGMENT 
 
 Text: "I call heaven and earth to record this day 
 against you, that I have set before you life and death, 
 blessing and cursing, therefore choose life, that both 
 thou and thy seed may live'' — Deut. 30: 19. 
 
 Moses was a wonderful man; whether 
 you view him as a poet or as a leader of 
 men, he is alike great. This text was 
 spoken by him to the people of Israel at 
 the close of his career. The leadership of 
 God's chosen people is now to be trans- 
 ferred to Joshua, and it is in order that he 
 may speak to them as they should 
 be addressed, and at the same time in 
 order that he may free himself from judg- 
 ment, that he speaks as he does. 
 
 I have two great desires as I present 
 this message. 
 
 First, that I might myself be faithful, 
 and that it might be said that I am free 
 from the blood of all men, for I have not 
 shunned to declare unto you the whole 
 counsel of God. 
 
 79 
 
80 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 Second, that I might help some one 
 to the knowledge of Christ. This is 
 no time for argument, for argument 
 always calls forth discussion. It is no 
 time for theory. Practical, every-day 
 people of the world care nothing for 
 mere theories. And it is no time for 
 speculation, for to give such to the 
 people is like giving a stone when they 
 have asked for bread. But it is time 
 for eternal choice. The audience of 
 the preacher vanishes when he thinks 
 of the text and its meaning and he is 
 face to face with the Judgment when 
 he shall be judged for the way he has 
 spoken, and the people shall be called 
 to account for the way they have heard. 
 It is indeed a solemn word. "I call 
 heaven and earth to record this day 
 against you, that I have set before 
 you life and death, blessing and curs- 
 ing: therefore choose life, that both thou 
 and thy seed may live." 
 
 i 
 
 Record. I desire to use this word 
 
A Call to Judgment 81 
 
 as if it were a noun for the time being, 
 for it will bring to us the same truth. 
 This leads me to say that every one is 
 making a record, either good or bad. 
 Deep down through the surface of the earth 
 you will find the evidence of storms cen- 
 turies ago; the record was indelibly made. 
 
 Two records are being kept. This 
 is indicated in the twentieth chapter 
 of Revelation, where it is said, "And 
 the books were opened. " Notice that 
 it is plural and not singular. There 
 is a record in heaven kept by the Re- 
 cording Angel. If it were in the mem- 
 ory of God it would be an awful thing, 
 for while God does not remember for- 
 given sin, he cannot, from the very 
 nature of the case, forget unpardoned 
 sin, and if that is the record one day 
 we shall meet it face to face. 
 
 There is also a record upon earth. 
 We have seen it in the characters of 
 men who have gone astray, and in the 
 faces of those who have been affected 
 by their sins. 
 
82 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 In an eastern city where I was preach- 
 ing my attention was called to a young 
 man of brilliant prospects. He was a 
 member of a great wholesale grocery 
 firm, and young men looked at him 
 almost with envy; but he began to 
 drink, and at the end of a year the 
 senior partner called him in to say 
 that he must change his conduct or 
 retire from the firm. He made prom- 
 ises only to break them, and finally, 
 going from bad to worse, he was forced 
 to retire. One morning we read the 
 news in the paper that his bloated body 
 had been found floating in the Hudson 
 river; and his old father, up to a few 
 years ago, walked up and down the 
 streets with bowed head, giving every 
 evidence of an almost broken heart. 
 Sin is an awful thing and makes its 
 record on whatever it touches. 
 
 ii 
 
 Two Ways. There are just two ways 
 in this world along which men may 
 
A Call to Judgment 83 
 
 walk, and they are not parallel ways. 
 I used to have that idea, but I am sure it 
 is wrong. As a matter of fact, it is but 
 one way; going in one direction is death, 
 and in the opposite direction is life. 
 
 First: Away from God, away from 
 his love, every step only leads us farther 
 from Him — not because of anything he 
 is, but because of what we have done 
 ourselves. 
 
 A father in the South sent his boy to 
 a northern university, and for seven 
 years he was away from the restraints of 
 his home. Then he came back with his 
 diploma but with the habit of intem- 
 perance fastened upon him. It seemed 
 impossible for him to break it, and 
 his old father was fairly crushed. His 
 mother broke her heart and died, all 
 because of her boy. And yet the father 
 loved him. One day the old father 
 stepped from his carriage in the town 
 in which he lived. The son was heard 
 to make a request of him, and when 
 evidently it was refused the boy turned 
 
84 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 and struck him full in the face. The 
 old father staggered and would have 
 fallen to the walk except for assistance. 
 He entered his carriage, drove back 
 to his home, the servants saw him go 
 out into the grove where his wife was 
 buried, throw himself on the grave and 
 shriek aloud. Some time later the boy 
 returned and the father met him at 
 the door to say, "You must go away; 
 you have disgraced my name and killed 
 your mother and broken my heart." 
 This is the measure of a father's love 
 perhaps in this one instance, but think 
 how many times you have trifled with 
 God, spurned his love, disregarded his 
 Son, and yet he has loved you. And 
 remember also that word which says, 
 
 " There is a time, we know not when, 
 A place, we know not where, 
 That seals the destiny of men 
 For glory or despair. " 
 
 Second: Towards God. How easy a 
 thing it is, therefore, to be saved if there 
 is but one way and this way runs in oppo- 
 
A Call to Judgment 85 
 
 site directions, meaning either life or 
 death. It is just to "right about face/' 
 as the soldier would say, by an act of 
 the will and with the help of God to 
 turn away from sin and from self. 
 I am very sure we can do it, because 
 it is commanded in this text, and God 
 would not mock us with a command 
 which could not be obeyed. I am equally 
 sure that we must do it now, for God 
 has plainly stated this in his Word. 
 
 in 
 
 Choose Life. As has been indicated, 
 the text proves that we may choose life 
 if we will, but I have more especially 
 in mind the question, "Why should we 
 do it?" and I answer, because it is the 
 best sort of life and the only life. 
 
 One of my friends used to tell of a 
 man whom he saw in Colonel Clarke's 
 mission. The man rose for prayers and 
 accepted Christ. Later on he saw him 
 again in the mission. He went for- 
 ward to testify. He had that look upon 
 his face the result of sin, because of 
 
86 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 which you could not tell whether he 
 was young or old, and leaning up against 
 the platform he gave his testimony. 
 Among other things he said: "I came 
 to Chicago some little time ago from 
 my home in the east, my father having 
 made two requests — first, that I should 
 change my name because I had disgraced 
 his; second, that I should go away and 
 never return. I had fallen too low 
 here for them to receive me even in the 
 station house, and I was on my way 
 to end it all when I heard the music of 
 this mission and came in and found 
 Christ. As I came xlown the aisle this 
 evening I heard one man say to another, 
 'He is getting paid for this,' and I wish 
 to say that I am. I have a letter in 
 my pocket from my father, and he 
 tells me that I cannot come home too 
 soon for him. Boys, I am getting paid. 
 I have a sister at home whose name I 
 would hardly dare to have taken upon 
 my impure lips, and she writes me that 
 every day she has prayed for me and 
 
A Call to Judgment 87 
 
 that a welcome home awaits me. I am 
 getting paid, for to-night I am starting 
 back to my New England home." 
 
 It is life which we may choose, and 
 life of the very best sort. It is better 
 than anything that this world can give. 
 Men have tried other ways, and they 
 have ended in despair and shame and 
 death, but this way is the path of the 
 just and shines brighter and brighter 
 unto the perfect day. Therefore choose 
 life and choose it now. 
 
 In St. Paul's cathedral in London 
 it is said that under the dome there 
 is a red mark, and I have been told 
 that this mark indicates the place where 
 a workman lost his life. He fell from 
 the scaffolding and was dashed to pieces 
 upon the floor. I have been told that 
 in the Alps very frequently you will 
 see black crosses where men have slipped 
 into eternity as the result of an accident. 
 But I suggest these stories in order 
 that I may say that where you are at 
 this present moment may be the black 
 
88 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 cross of death, because there some one 
 rejected Christ. If you feel this, choose 
 Jesus Christ; choose him, and choose 
 him now. 
 
 "I call heaven and earth to record 
 this day against you, that I have set 
 before you life and death, blessing and 
 cursing: therefore choose life, that both 
 thou and thy seed may live." 
 
A CHANGED LIFE 
 
 Text: "And, behold, there was a woman which 
 had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed 
 together, and could in no wise lift herself up. And 
 when Jesus savj her, he called her to him, and said 
 unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity: 
 And he laid his hands on her; and immediately she 
 was made straight, and glorified God" — Luke 13: 
 11-13. 
 
 These verses present to us one of the 
 most interesting stories imaginable — of 
 interest to us first because it is one of 
 our Lord's miracles, and one has only 
 to study these manifestations of his 
 power to be persuaded of his divinity; 
 interesting, again, because it is the ac- 
 count of a remarkable recovery from a 
 great infirmity, for instead of bondage 
 which had held this woman for eighteen 
 years we behold her standing upright glori- 
 fying God. But it is all the more interest- 
 ing to us because it presents a picture of 
 what may be called the overflow ministry 
 
 89 
 
90 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 of Jesus, of which there are many in- 
 stances — as, for example, the account of 
 the staunching of the issue of blood when 
 the woman touched the hem of his gar- 
 ment. He was going upon another er- 
 rand, but was so filled with virtue that 
 when one of the multitude at his side 
 touched him, by faith healing was the 
 result. And, again, we have an illustra- 
 tion in the raising of Jairus' daughter, and 
 once again in the rescue of the widow's 
 son from death. He was on his journey 
 across the country and beheld the funeral 
 procession coming. Mr. Moody used to 
 say that Jesus broke- up every funeral he 
 attended, and he stops long enough in this 
 journey to restore this boy to his broken- 
 hearted mother. Again, in the case of 
 the woman of Samaria, when he is going 
 about his Father's business, he stops by 
 the wellside to rest, and even in his rest- 
 ing moments forgives a woman's sins, so 
 that under her influence an entire city is 
 moved. Would that we could learn that 
 it is the overflow of our lives that gives 
 
A Changed Life 91 
 
 power to our Christian experience! 
 This text is one of the best illustra- 
 tions of this truth in the life of our 
 Savior. 
 
 i 
 
 Many lessons might be drawn from this 
 scripture, the first of which would be his 
 power to uplift womanhood ; but this is so 
 Well understood that it is unnecessary to 
 take a moment of time to discuss it, except 
 to say in passing that all that woman is to- 
 day she owes to Jesus of Nazareth. She 
 was as truly bound as this afflicted woman, 
 and just as truly was she set free. But I 
 prefer rather to let the woman of Samaria 
 illustrate many Christians to-day who 
 are bound in one way or another and so 
 are shorn of power. For this suggestion I 
 am indebted to my dear friend, the Rev. 
 F. B. Meyer, a brief outline of whose 
 sermon I recently had the privilege of 
 reading. 
 
 She was a daughter of Abraham, as we 
 read in verse 16, "And ought not this 
 woman, being a daughter of Abraham, 
 
92 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 whom Satan had bound, lo, these eighteen 
 years, be loosed from this bond on the 
 Sabbath day?" And therefore she was 
 like many children of God whom we 
 know. What it is that binds them we 
 cannot always tell. With this person it 
 is fashion, and with that it is earnings; 
 with another it is pride, and still another 
 selfishness; with this one it is the encour 7 
 agement of some passion, and with still 
 another it is the practice of some secret 
 sin. It is not necessary to describe the 
 bondage; it is true, alas, that many of us 
 are sadly crippled in our influence because 
 of these things, for this woman was just 
 as truly bound as if she had been in chains. 
 When Jesus entered the synagogue his 
 eye saw her instantly, and he detected her 
 difficulty. He is in the midst of us to-day, 
 and while we are unconscious of the bond- 
 age of the one who is beside us, he under- 
 stands it perfectly. That minister who 
 has lost his old power and is therefore an 
 enigma to his people, that church officer 
 who is out of communion and whose tes- 
 
A Changed Life 93 
 
 timony has lost its old ring of genuineness, 
 that young woman bordering on despair 
 because in her heart she knows she is 
 not right with God, and that young man 
 whose character is being undermined by 
 the cultivation of a secret sin — all these are 
 known to him. He looks them through 
 and through, and not a point of weakness 
 is hidden from his gaze. 
 
 Note again, that she was powerless to 
 help herself. I doubt not that she had 
 tried again and again to lift herself up. 
 She had been unable to turn her eyes up- 
 ward to see the stars, her vision had been 
 centered upon things below, and in this 
 way she is like many a Christian attempt- 
 ing to be satisfied with earthly things and 
 making life a miserable failure. The 
 Scriptures declare that she "could in 
 no wise lift up herself," and I have been 
 told that this expression is the same w^ord 
 which is used in another place in the 
 Epistle to the Hebrews, where Jesus is 
 said to be able to save to the uttermost; 
 so that really the Scriptures mean that she 
 
94 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 tried to the uttermost to lift herself up and 
 failed, and that she had gone to the utter- 
 most in the matter of bondage, and then 
 because Jesus is able to save to the utter- 
 most he set her free; or, in other words, 
 her need was met by his power. Oh, 
 what an encouragement to know that the 
 thing which has been your defeat and 
 mine he may easily conquer! It is a 
 striking picture to me; he laid his hands 
 on her and said, "Woman, thou art 
 loosed," and she stood straight and glori- 
 fied God. 
 
 Some years ago there came into the 
 McAuley mission, in^New York City, a 
 man who was, because of his sin, unable 
 to speak and was bound down until, in- 
 stead of standing a man six feet high, as 
 he should have done, he was like a dwarf. 
 He came to Christ in the old mission, and 
 when kneeling at the altar he accepted 
 him, as if by a miracle Jesus set him free 
 also, and when he stood up the bonds were 
 snapped that held him, and he had his old 
 stature back again. His speech, however, 
 
A Changed Life 95 
 
 was not entirely recovered. It is the cus- 
 tom in the mission for one to observe his 
 anniversary each year and to give a testi- 
 mony. Whenever the anniversary of this 
 man occurred he always had another read 
 his lesson, then he would stand before the 
 people bowed down as he had been in sin 
 and suddenly rise before them in the full 
 dignity of his Christian manhood, glorify- 
 ing God in his standing. This was like 
 the woman of the text, and oh, that it 
 might be like some one reading this who, 
 bound by an appetite or a passion, shall be 
 set free by the power of God ! 
 
 The difference between this woman 
 in the one case bound and wretched and in 
 the other straight and glorifying God is 
 the difference between Christians bound 
 by appetite, pride or sin and when set 
 free by the power of Christ. It is the 
 difference between the average Christian 
 experience and what God means we 
 should be. 
 
 Two things this woman had — first, 
 his word, when he said, "Woman, thou 
 
96 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 art loosed"; and, second, the touch 
 of his hand as he laid his hands 
 upon her. Both of these privileges we 
 may have. 
 
 ii 
 
 Have you really taken all that God 
 meant you should have? Your life is the 
 test of this question. If you are constantly 
 failing at the same point, if you are dom- 
 inated by a spirit of unrest, if you are lack- 
 ing in spiritual power, something is wrong 
 and you need the touch of the living 
 Christ. The early disciples were an illus- 
 tration of those of us who have not yet 
 fully appreciated and appropriated our 
 Savior. He had given them life, for in the 
 seventeenth of John he declares that this is 
 true. They had peace as a possession, for 
 in the fourteenth chapter and twenty- 
 seventh verse he says, " 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. 55 They also had joy as a gift, for 
 he said, "These things have I spoken unto 
 
A Changed Life 97 
 
 you, that my joy might remain in you, and 
 that your joy might be full"; and yet they 
 quarreled among themselves, one of them 
 denied him with an oath, and all of them 
 forsook him. They were a weak, vacillat- 
 ing company of men, but suddenly there 
 came a remarkable change. It w T as as if 
 there had been two Peters. The first was a 
 coward, the second a perfect giant in his 
 fearlessness. The first was afraid of a little 
 girl, the second faced a mob and fearlessly 
 proclaimed the truth of God that con- 
 demned him; and the secret of this change 
 is found in the fact that the Holy Ghost 
 had fallen upon him and upon them. This 
 is what we need. Jesus was God's gift to 
 the world, and the Holy Ghost is his gift to 
 the church. Have we failed to take both? 
 A man over in England, telling his pastor 
 about his experience, said that he had 
 taken Jesus for his eternal life and the Holy 
 Ghost for his internal life. This is cer- 
 tainly what we need to do more than any- 
 thing else. We need the Holy Spirit of 
 God in our lives. He would illuminate our 
 
98 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 minds as we read the Bible, strengthen our 
 faith as we appropriate Christ, transform 
 our lives as he came to do, and enable us 
 to live and preach in demonstration of the 
 Spirit and with power. Have you ever 
 stopped to think what is really associated 
 with the full acceptance of the third Per- 
 son of the Trinity? 
 
 First, Power. " Ye shall receive power 
 after that the Holy Ghost has come upon 
 you." 
 
 Second, Ability to pray. "We know not 
 what we should pray for as we ought, but 
 the Spirit himself maketh intercession 
 for us. 55 
 
 Third, Victory over sin. "For the law 
 of the Spirit of Christ in Christ Jesus sets 
 me free from the law of sin and death. " 
 
 Fourth, Cleanness of life. "Ye have 
 purified your souls in obeying the truth 
 through the Spirit. 55 
 
 Fifth, The representation of Jesus 
 Christ. Not imitation, but reproduction, 
 is what we need. 
 
 Two artists are painting before a pic- 
 
A Changed Life 99 
 
 ture. The work of one is sadly deficient* 
 the other an inspiration, for one is copying 
 while the other is reproducing his own 
 work. Oh, that we might be so filled with 
 the spirit of God that men should take 
 knowledge of us that we not only had been 
 with Jesus but were like him ! Two things 
 we need, both of which we may have : His 
 word and his touch. First, his Word. 
 We surely have this. Has he not said, "Ye 
 shall receive power " ? But with this there 
 is coupled a condition, "Come out from 
 among them and be ye separate. " Fulfill- 
 ing this condition, we have only to step out 
 upon his promise on the ground of the fact 
 that he has said, "That ye might receive 
 the promise of the Spirit through faith. 55 
 Second, we have the touch of his hand. 
 This emphasizes his reality. One of the 
 greatest dangers of the day, it seems to 
 me, is the fact that we are so inclined 
 to make him unreal. It also indicates 
 his nearness. He can fill us so that his 
 life may come throbbing into our very 
 being, and this is the secret of victory 
 
 Lore 
 
100 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 in the time of temptation. We must be 
 empty to be filled, but no man can empty 
 himself. Two ways may be presented for 
 the emptying of a jar of air. First, use the 
 air pump; but in this way it cannot be per- 
 fectly done. Second, fill the jar with 
 water. This is the better way. When 
 Christ fills our lives he empties us of self 
 and sin. To some unknown friend I am 
 indebted for four steps which we must 
 take if we would be loosed from our bond- 
 age and stand straight in the presence of 
 God and men. 
 
 First: What God claims I will yield; 
 that is myself. 
 
 Second: What I yield God accepts. 
 Since I have taken my hands off from my- 
 self I am not my own. 
 
 "I have not much to bring Thee, Lord, 
 
 For that great love which made Thee mine, 
 I have not much to bring Thee, Lord, 
 But all I am is Thine." 
 
 Third: What God accepts he fills. 
 Fourth : What God fills he uses. 
 
A Changed Life 101 
 
 in 
 
 Mind you, it is not once and for all that 
 we are filled with the Spirit of God; there 
 will be a necessity for daily renewal, not 
 only because we may sin but also because 
 we may use the strength which he has 
 imparted to us. Three suggestions may 
 be made, therefore, for our constant in- 
 filling. 
 
 First: Make his word your daily por- 
 tion. Count that day lost which passes 
 without a portion of his word absorbed 
 into your life. 
 
 Second : Make his will supreme. There 
 can be no joy in the household when the 
 children rebel against the parents. There 
 can be no power in Christian experience 
 when our wills are contrary to his. 
 
 Third : Make him the king of your life. 
 His coronation will one day come, when 
 he shall be proclaimed King of kings and 
 Lord of lords; but while we wait for that 
 we may crown him in our own lives. 
 
 When Queen Victoria had just ascended 
 
102 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 her throne she went, as is the custom of 
 Royalty, to hear "The Messiah" rendered. 
 She had been instructed as to her conduct 
 by those who knew, and was told that 
 she must not rise when the others stood at 
 the singing of the Hallelujah chorus. 
 When that magnificent chorus was being 
 sung and the singers were shouting "Hal- 
 lelujah! hallelujah! hallelujah! for the 
 Lord God omnipotent reigneth," she sat 
 with great difficulty. It seemed as if she 
 w^ould rise in spite of the custom of kings 
 and queens, but finally when they came 
 to that part of the chorus where with a 
 shout they proclaim him King of kings 
 suddenly the young queen rose and stood 
 with bowed head, as if she would take her 
 own crown from off her head and cast it 
 at his feet. Let us make him our King 
 and every day be loyal to him. This is 
 the secret of peace. 
 
THE LOST OPPORTUNITY 
 
 Text: "And as thy servant was busy here and 
 there , he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto 
 him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided 
 itr—l Kings 20:40. " 
 
 There is a very striking incident con- 
 nected with this text. The great battle 
 is raging, a certain important prisoner has 
 been taken, and if you read between the 
 lines you seem to know that upon him 
 depend many of the issues of war. His 
 skill in leading the enemy had been mar- 
 velous, his courage in the thick of the 
 fight striking; and now he is a prisoner. 
 The king puts him in the keeping of a 
 Jewish soldier, saying, "Guard this man; 
 if he escapes thy life shall be demanded 
 for his." It is possible that they gave an 
 extra pull to the thongs that bound the 
 enemy and the guard w^as left alone with 
 him. It is an important duty he has to 
 perform. His life hangs in the balance. 
 
 103 
 
104 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 He must have been impressed with it. 
 But, as we read on between the lines, 
 strange as it may seem, he becomes neg- 
 ligent, his bow is laid down and his spear 
 is left standing against the tent. He be- 
 comes hungry and takes a few small cakes 
 to eat, he is weary and lies down to doze 
 and sleep. Suddenly there is a snap and 
 a bound, and the guard arouses himself 
 just in time to see his prisoner dash into 
 the thicket, and he is gone. Now the king 
 requires the prisoner at the guard's hand. 
 Terror-stricken, he falls upon his face to 
 cry aloud in the words of the text, "And 
 as thy servant was busy here and there, 
 he was gone. And the king of Israel said 
 unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thy- 
 self hast decided it." 
 
 It is my purpose to show in this illus- 
 tration that God is always placing oppor- 
 tunities within our grasp. In a sense they 
 are bound, for they may be made to do 
 our will if we rightly use them. And it 
 is also my purpose to show that as saint 
 and sinner alike we have permitted oppor- 
 
The Lost Opportunity 105 
 
 tunities to slip away while we doze in weari- 
 ness or give attention to matters of less 
 importance. God save us all from the 
 expression, "It might have been/' when 
 it is too late, for even God himself cannot 
 reverse the wheels of time and bring back 
 the lost opportunity. We see this all about 
 us. I hold in my hands a piece of cold 
 iron. I cannot bend it; if I put it in the 
 fire it becomes pliant; if I take it out it is 
 cold again. There is a point in time, how- 
 ever, where it is bent as easily as a piece 
 of paper. 
 
 Years ago our nation sent astronomers 
 to Africa to witness the transit of Venus. 
 Preparation for this great sight had been 
 going on for months. There was a criti- 
 cal moment when the sun, Venus and the 
 earth were all in line. Every astronomer 
 knew that at that moment his eye must be 
 at the smaller end of the glass if he would 
 see the planet go flying past the larger 
 end. If he should miss that moment no 
 power on earth could bring the planet back 
 again. The world is full of these moments. 
 
106 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 Galileo studied the eye of an ox and 
 beheld the principle of the lens. Watts 
 looked at the teakettle lid as it was lifted 
 by steam, Columbus saw the wind's direc- 
 tion and knew there was land not far 
 away. The difference between these men, 
 to whom the world is indebted, and many 
 others is this, that they have looked at the 
 oxen's eyes and have been unmoved, have 
 allowed the teakettle to boil without mak- 
 ing an impression upon them, and the 
 wind to blow without leading them 
 to any shore. The opportunity for great- 
 ness is gone. There is not a person in the 
 world but to whom at some time a great 
 opportunity has been given, and for the 
 use or abuse of it we shall be called to a 
 
 strict account. 
 
 i 
 
 These opportunities for doing good 
 come to the one who is a Christian. 
 
 First: I would not preach to others 
 what I did not first preach to myself, but 
 there are many of us as ministers like 
 Chalmers, who was one day visiting an 
 
The Lost Opportunity 107 
 
 old man seventy-two years of age, appar- 
 ently in perfect health. They talked to- 
 gether about everything but Christ. The 
 minister was inclined to speak about his 
 soul, but did not. Before morning the old 
 man was dead. Dr. Chalmers returned 
 to the house, called all the old man's 
 household about him, and offered the 
 most touching apology and prayer. He 
 spent the entire day in the w r oods, saying, 
 " If I had been faithful this might not have 
 been. " I have no question but God would 
 say, "So shall thy judgment be." 
 
 Second : You who are Christian workers 
 have failed. A Christian merchant was 
 told that there was a certain man with 
 whom he had traded for years to whom he 
 had never spoken about his soul. "I 
 will speak the next time I see him," he 
 said, but he never came, for while he was 
 busy here and there the man was gone 
 from him. Before he came again death 
 met him. So shall his judgment be. 
 
 Third : You who are parents have failed. 
 Years ago a young Scotchman from Fife, 
 
108 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 in Scotland, was leaving home. He was 
 not an active Christian. His mother went 
 with him to the turn of the road and said, 
 "Now, Robert, there is one thing you must 
 promise before you go." "No," said the 
 lad, "I will not promise until I know." 
 "But it will not be difficult," said his 
 mother. "Then I will promise," he said. 
 And she said, "Every night before you lie 
 down to sleep read a chapter and pray." 
 He did not want to promise it, but he did. 
 Who was that Robert? It was Robert 
 Moffat, the great missionary, who, when 
 he came into the Kingdom, brought al- 
 most a continent in .after him. Many a 
 mother has lost her opportunity to speak 
 to her boy, and she has lost it because she 
 has not lived as a mother should who 
 would help her boy. So shall her judg- 
 ment be. 
 
 ii 
 
 These opportunities come to the un- 
 saved. The Bible is full of men who have 
 had an opportunity to be saved but are 
 lost. 
 
The Lost Opportunity 109 
 
 First: There is Herod. His face 
 blanches as he listens to the truth, he is 
 ready to forsake some of his sin; but more 
 is required than that to be a Christian, 
 and Herod fails. 
 
 Second: Look at Felix. As he gazes 
 into the face of Paul the Apostle and hears 
 his message, he trembles ; a moment more 
 he will be a Christian; but more is required 
 than that to be saved, and Felix is lost. 
 
 Third: Behold Judas. See him at the 
 feet of Jesus. Later he is full of re- 
 morse because he has sold him for thirty 
 pieces of silver; but mere remorse never 
 saved a soul, and Judas is lost. 
 
 You have doubtless heard of that young 
 girl of whom the poet tells us. She had a 
 string of pearls in her hand and her hand 
 is in the water, the string is broken, and 
 one by one the pearls slip away. So it 
 has been with you who have been Chris- 
 tians. My hope is that there may be 
 one pearl left yet. To-day is the ac- 
 cepted time; do not let the opportunity 
 slip. 
 
110 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 in 
 
 The Bible is full of men just the oppo- 
 site who had opportunities to be saved and 
 embraced them. 
 
 First: Zaccheus. There was just one 
 day, one hour, one moment; when Jesus 
 would pass by, and Zaccheus ran to the 
 sycamore tree; but he made haste and 
 came down, and that saved him. 
 
 Second: Bartimeus. There was just a 
 moment when Jesus was near to hear the 
 sound of his voice. If Bartimeus failed 
 that moment he would be blind forever. 
 I can see him quickly turning his sight- 
 less eyes in the direction of the Savior. 
 He cried unto him and it was his earnest- 
 ness that saved him. We must make 
 haste while yet it is to-day. 
 
 Third: Coming down from the moun- 
 tain, where he had preached his great 
 sermon, Jesus beheld the leper. He was 
 dead, according to the law, yet he had a 
 napkin bound about his mouth. If one 
 had called to him, "Your child is dead," 
 he could not have gone to see the little one. 
 
The Lost Opportunity 111 
 
 But he breaks through all of this and cries, 
 "If thou wilt thou canst make me clean/ 5 
 It was his desperation that saved him. 
 
 Fourth: Look at the dying thief, so 
 near that he could have touched Christ if 
 he had been free. Here yawned before 
 him the very brink of hell, here was judg- 
 ment for his sins, for he acknowledged that 
 he w T as justly punished. I can see him 
 struggle to decide whether he shall speak 
 or not, and at last he cries, "Lord, remem- 
 ber me. " And Jesus said, "To-day shalt 
 thou be with me in paradise. " It was his 
 last chance, and he took it. And this may 
 be yours. God forbid that you should let 
 the opportunity slip away. 
 
 But whether jmy message is to ministers, 
 to Christian workers, to parents or to the 
 unsaved, I call your attention to this fact : 
 It was when the soldier was busy that 
 the prisoner escaped. Many of you have 
 been busy about pleasure, and some day 
 it will mock you. You have been caught 
 by the fascination of business, and it does 
 not prevent your soul having been sur- 
 
112 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 rounded by sin from which after a while 
 you cannot escape, and if the opportunity 
 slips away so shall our judgment be, for 
 we must decide it. In a few years at the 
 latest, possibly in a few months, perhaps 
 in a few weeks — who knows but within a 
 few days? — eternity shall be upon us. If it 
 is an opportunity that is gone or a soul that 
 is lost it will be a sad eternity indeed for 
 us. To this end may God keep us 
 watchful. 
 
A GREAT VICTORY 
 
 Text: "And they stood every man in his place 
 round about the camp, and all the host ran, and cried, 
 and fled." — Judges 7: 21. 
 
 Few things in this world are so inspiring 
 to the traveler and at the same time so de- 
 pressing as a city or temple in ruins. I re- 
 member a delightful experience in passing 
 through the ruins of Karnak and Luxor, 
 on the Nile in Egypt, and later passing 
 through Phylae at Assuan on the Nile; 
 and these two thoughts, each the opposite 
 of the other, kept constantly coming to 
 my mind. The loneliness is oppressive, 
 and one would be delighted to hear the 
 song of a bird, the bark of a dog, or the 
 cry of a child. These ruins were once 
 happy homes, or were temples filled with 
 worshipers. Here little children played 
 and gray-haired patriarchs worshiped 
 their gods. 
 
 Akin to this picture is the one of the peo- 
 
 113 
 
114 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 pie of Israel at the time of this story, and 
 the alternating feelings of pleasure and 
 sadness keep constantly coming and going. 
 The condition of the land beggared de- 
 scription. Homes were there, but no chil- 
 dren were about the doors; there were 
 fields, but no crops to be harvested; pas- 
 tures, but no cattle fed upon them; the hills 
 were to be seen, but no flocks bleated on 
 their sides ; people were there, but they were 
 found in the caves and hiding away on the 
 mountain sides. When they had entered 
 Canaan, these chosen people of God, he 
 had said unto them, "And it shall come to 
 pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto 
 the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe 
 and to do all his commandments which I 
 command thee this day, that the Lord thy 
 God will set thee on high above all nations 
 of the earth; and all these blessings shall 
 come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou 
 shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord 
 thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the 
 city, and blessed shalt thou be in the 
 field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy 
 body, and the fruit of thy ground, and 
 
 
A Great Victory 115 
 
 the fruit of thy cattle, the increase 
 of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 
 Blessed shall be thv basket and thv 
 store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou 
 comest in, and blessed shalt thou be 
 when thou goest out. The Lord shall 
 cause thine enemies that rise up against 
 thee to be smitten before thy face; they 
 shall come out against thee one way, and 
 flee before thee seven ways. The Lord 
 shall command the blessing upon thee in 
 thy storehouses, and in all that thou set- 
 test thine hand unto; and he shall bless 
 thee in the land which the Lord thy God 
 giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee 
 an holy people unto himself, as he hath 
 sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the 
 commandments of the Lord thy God, and 
 walk in his ways. And all the people of 
 the earth shall see that thou art called by 
 the name of the Lord; and they shall be 
 afraid of thee. " 
 
 We have here the Old Testament Beati- 
 tudes, and there is nothing like them. 
 
 The story with which the text is associ- 
 
116 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 ated really begins in the first verse of the 
 sixth chapter of Judges, "And the children 
 of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord; 
 and the Lord delivered them into the hand 
 of Midian seven years." But there must 
 also be read in connection with this the 
 last verse of the fifth chapter of Judges, 
 "So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord; 
 but let them that love him be as the sun 
 when he goeth forth in his might. And 
 the land had rest forty years." 
 
 It seems incredible that there could be 
 such a difference in the experiences of 
 God's people, and yet, as you study them 
 in all their wanderings, you will find, if 
 you turn over but one leaf of the Bible, 
 the people who sing to-day are active in 
 evil to-morrow, and the history of Israel 
 is the history of one's self. Life is like a 
 short ladder, as some one has said, and 
 we spend most of our time going up to 
 pray and down to sin. There is a striking 
 picture in the second verse of the sixth 
 chapter. The chosen people of God were 
 dwelling in caves instead of their rightful 
 
A Great Victory 117 
 
 positions in their homes, and the same is 
 true to-day; men who ought to be at the 
 front are left behind because they are liv- 
 ing selfish lives or lives of sin. Do not for 
 a moment think that I am saying that be- 
 cause a man is living out of sight that he 
 is doing nothing, for we have only to re- 
 member Gideon to know that this is not 
 true. He was a hidden man doing an 
 honest work, and the Angel of the Lord 
 called him, saying/ 'The Lord is with thee, 
 thou mighty man of valor." To this 
 Gideon makes a significant reply in the 
 thirteenth verse of the sixth chapter of 
 Judges, "And Gideon said unto him, 
 Oh, my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why 
 then is all this befallen us? and where be 
 all his miracles which our fathers told us 
 of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up 
 from Egypt? but now the Lord hath for- 
 saken us, and delivered us into the hands 
 of the Midianites." For the angel had 
 said, "The Lord is with thee, Gideon," 
 and Gideon had said, "If the Lord is with 
 us, then how can these things be?" And 
 
118 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 the angel did not say it. How often it is 
 true that we miss the truth of God be- 
 cause we miss the grammar of the Bible. 
 When Gideon had thus replied, we read in 
 the fourteenth verse of the sixth chapter, 
 "And the Lord looked upon him, and said, 
 Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save 
 Israel from the hand of the Midianites; 
 have not I sent thee? 55 And the thing to 
 pay special attention to there is that the 
 angel looked at Gideon. Sometimes in 
 translating a foreign language you come 
 upon a word which you cannot express in 
 your own language; so it is with us here, 
 for the Lord looked Gideon into a new 
 man and said unto him, "Go and thou 
 shalt save the people," which leads me to 
 say that one man right with God is might- 
 ier than a host against God. The seventh 
 chapter of Judges opens with the signifi- 
 cant word "then." You must have all 
 that goes before in your mind to appreci- 
 ate this word. God has a plan for every 
 life, and all your sickness, your disap- 
 pointment, your discipline, is for some- 
 
A Great Victory 119 
 
 thing. There must be a "then" for you. 
 It is the call of God and the answer to it 
 that makes real life. Compare Gideon 
 the farmer with Gideon the soldier, and 
 you will see the difference in a human life. 
 Let one, however low or ignorant, but hear 
 the voice of God and respond to it, and 
 when such an one answers God's call 
 for his country, for the church, or for 
 Christ, the heroic in him is being stirred. 
 
 It is said that years ago there used to 
 be a man in Mr. Spurgeon's Tabernacle 
 who never had spoken in his social meet- 
 ings, for the reason that he had a stammer- 
 ing tongue. One day he heard the great 
 preacher say that the Lord could use even 
 the tongue of the stammerer. It sent 
 him to his home, and to his knees, and 
 when he rose to his feet after having 
 yielded himself wholly to God, as if by 
 miracle God gave him the gift of speech, 
 and I have been told that no one in the 
 Tabernacle spoke more to the edification 
 of the people or the praise of God than he. 
 
 Some years ago when John G. Woolley 
 
120 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 was delivering his closing address on the 
 commencement day at college a young boy 
 heard him under peculiar circumstances. 
 He had walked in from the country. It 
 was a hot day, and to quench his thirst he 
 had tasted the water of one of the springs. 
 It made him very ill, and just to "escape 
 the heat of the sun he crept under the 
 platform, which had been erected upon 
 the college campus for the commencement 
 exercises. While there he fell asleep and 
 was awakened by the sound of a musi- 
 cal voice. Something that the graduating 
 student said stirred his soul, and he there 
 made a vow that he w T ould be a preacher. 
 It was God's call to him and his answer. 
 He has since become one of the world's 
 most famous preachers, and his influence 
 has been as wide as the world itself. When 
 the Midianites stood against the children 
 of Israel God called Gideon to lead an 
 army against them, and this text is part 
 of this story. 
 
 The scene was remarkable. Thirty-two 
 thousand people following Gideon's lead- 
 
A Great Victory 121 
 
 ership with the first flush of the battle upon 
 them. They were ready to march, and 
 God said when he looked at them, "The 
 people are too many." They would seem 
 to us to have been too few, for literally a 
 multitude of Midianites stood against him. 
 But we go wrong so often by applying 
 human arithmetic to divine decrees. It is 
 said that when Napoleon marched with 
 his soldiers he was counted as being equal 
 to 40,000 of his men, and so, after all, it 
 is not a question of numbers with God, 
 but of the few men whom he can use. 
 The test by means of which Gideon's 
 army was decreased was remarkable. In 
 Judges, the seventh chapter and the sec- 
 ond to seventh verses, we read, "And the 
 Lord said unto Gideon, The people that 
 are with thee are too many for me to give 
 the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel 
 vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine 
 own hand hath saved me. Now there- 
 fore go to, proclaim in the ears of the peo- 
 ple, saying, Whosoever is fearful and 
 afraid, let him return and depart early 
 
122 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 from Mount Gilead. And there returned 
 of the people twenty and two thousand; 
 and there remained ten thousand. And 
 the Lord said unto Gideon, The people 
 are yet too many; bring them down unto 
 the water, and I will try them for thee 
 there; and it shall be, that of whom I say 
 unto thee, This shall go with thee, the 
 same shall go with thee; and of whomso- 
 ever I say unto thee, This shall not go with 
 thee, the same shall not go. So he brought 
 dow x n the people unto the water; and the 
 Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that 
 lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a 
 dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by him- 
 self; likewise every one that boweth down 
 upon his knees to drink. And the number 
 of them that lapped, putting their hand 
 to their mouth, were three hundred men; 
 but all the rest of the people bowed dowoi 
 upon their knees to drink water. And 
 the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three 
 hundred men that lapped will I save you, 
 and deliver the Midianites into thine 
 hand; and let all the other people go every 
 
A Great Victory 123 
 
 man unto his place. 35 This test is going 
 on now among men; by the way we walk 
 and talk, by the way we listen and work, 
 men form their judgment of us, and so 
 does God. We may measure our spiritual 
 state by the way we spend our leisure 
 moments, by the way we spend our Satur- 
 day afternoons, by our rest days, and by 
 the books we read. There is flowing past 
 us the stream of literature and the stream 
 of pleasure, and the question is whether 
 we are going to fall down before these 
 streams to drink or whether we are just 
 going to dip up as we hurry along to ful- 
 fill our mission; or, in other words, 
 whether we are to be so taken up with 
 God's plan that we have no time to idle 
 away and no disposition to turn aside. 
 
 "It does not so much matter how many 
 members one may have in his church, for 
 under the banner of a popular Christianity 
 soldiers march. What if there should be 
 a struggle ahead when to be a Christian 
 would mean to suffer martyrdom, or dying 
 at the stake, or contending with the beasts 
 
124 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 of Ephesus like Paul, how then do you 
 think it would be? 55 And yet all the time 
 to-day the struggle is going on; both from 
 within and from without the foe is assail- 
 ing us, the Bible is being attacked, Christ 
 is being denied, the resurrection is counted 
 a myth, and the future is being questioned, 
 and in every part of the church it would 
 seem as if men thought that the life of the 
 Christian was all a holiday, for people are 
 idling, gossiping, buying and selling, mar- 
 rying and giving in marriage, instead of 
 being in the thick of the fight in the name 
 of the Lord of hosts. Give us three hun- 
 dred in the church right with God rather 
 than the thirty-two thousand compromis- 
 ing with sin and the world, and we shall 
 win the victory. 
 
 I am impressed in this story with the 
 thought of how much may be accom- 
 plished without wealth, influence or ma- 
 terial strength. We somehow seem to 
 think that we cannot work as ministers 
 
A Great Victory 125 
 
 without a fine equipment. We have an idea 
 that we must have a committee back of 
 us to be assured of success, that if we are 
 without influence we have a small mission 
 in the world, forgetting that Michelan- 
 gelo wTOught the frescoes in the Sistine 
 Chapel w4th the ochres which he digged 
 with his own hands in the garden of the 
 Vatican; forgetting also that the greatest 
 work in the world has been accomplished 
 by men like Gideon, who delayed not for 
 elaborate preparation, but just took fire- 
 brands and torches — indeed, anything 
 they could lay their hands upon — and 
 cried out, "The sword of the Lord and of 
 Gideon," and won the victory. The text 
 is most striking, and presents an outline 
 which any one ought to be able to see. 
 
 ii 
 
 They stood. It is not so easy to stand as 
 to march or to fight. I have been told that 
 the most difficult service of the soldier is 
 picket duty; and yet never until we learn 
 to stand shall we be able to fight. In the 
 
126 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 fourteenth chapter of Exodus, the thir- 
 teenth and fourteenth verses, we read, 
 "And Moses said unto the people, Fear 
 ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of 
 the Lord, which he will shew to you to-day, 
 for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to- 
 day, ye shall see them again no more for- 
 ever. The Lord shall fight for you and 
 ye shall hold your peace. " And again, in 
 2 Chronicles, the twentieth chapter and 
 the seventeenth verse, it is recorded, 
 "Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: 
 set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the 
 salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah 
 and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; 
 to-morrow go out against them, for the 
 Lord will be with you." 
 
 Three thoughts are impressed upon my 
 mind: 
 
 First: Before any service, let us stand, 
 giving God a chance with us. Let him 
 use you and not you use him so much. 
 In the beginning of his Christian service 
 Hudson Taylor, the China Inland mis- 
 sionary, was desirous of being used and 
 
A Great Victory 127 
 
 cried out for God to send him out into 
 service. At last God seemed to say to 
 him, "My child, I have made up my mind 
 to save inland China. If you will come 
 and walk with me I will do it through 
 you, " and the China Inland Mission was 
 born. 
 
 Second : Wait for orders. In Ephesians 
 the sixth chapter and the tenth to the thir- 
 teenth verses, we have the following de- 
 scription of a soldier: " Finally, my breth- 
 ren, be strong in the Lord, and in the 
 power of his might. Put on the whole 
 armor of God, that ye may be able to stand 
 against the wiles of the devil. For we 
 wrestle not against flesh and blood, but 
 against principalities, against powers, 
 against the rulers of the darkness of this 
 world, against spiritual wickedness in high 
 places. Wherefore take unto you the 
 whole armor of God, that ye may be able 
 to withstand in the evil day, and having 
 done all, to stand. " The striking part of 
 that description is the sentence, "having 
 done all, to stand. " In other words, with 
 
128 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 all our ingenuity and our planning, with 
 all our preparation and equipment, we 
 lack one thing: that one thing is the touch 
 of the Almighty God. 
 
 Third: Be willing to do the common 
 thing. It was rather interesting to march 
 with thirty-two thousand, and a striking 
 thing to break pitchers and cry aloud, 
 "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon," 
 but just to stand was a different matter, 
 and not at all easy. If we were only will- 
 ing to do the common things for Christ 
 we should accomplish more in our lives. 
 
 The great Bethany Sunday school 
 building standing in Philadelphia is a 
 model in its perfect equipment. The 
 mighty Sunday school held there is one 
 of the wonders of the world. The build- 
 ing was begun not only in the mind and 
 heart of the distinguished superintendent, 
 the Hon. John Wanamaker, but when 
 he appealed for funds as they were then 
 needed one of the poorest children in the 
 city made practically the first and best 
 contribution. She gathered bones from 
 
A Great Victory 129 
 
 the alleyways, sold them and brought 
 her few pennies to help make this wonder- 
 ful work a success. 
 
 in 
 
 Every man in his place. 
 
 First : Let us remember that God has a 
 plan for every life. Ephesians 4:8-13, 
 "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended 
 up on high, he led captivity captive, and 
 gave gifts unto men. (Now that he as- 
 cended, what is it but that he also de- 
 scended first into the lower parts of the 
 earth? He that descended is the same 
 also that ascended up far above all 
 heavens, that he might fill all things.) And 
 he gave some, apostles ; and some, proph- 
 ets; and some, evangelists; and some, 
 pastors and teachers; for the perfecting 
 of the saints, for the work of the minis- 
 try, for the edifying of the body of Christ ; 
 till we all come in the unity of the faith, 
 and of the knowledge of the Son of 
 God, unto a perfect man, unto the meas- 
 
130 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 ure of the stature of the fulness of 
 Christ." 
 
 Second: That which in our lives fits 
 into God's plans dignifies and strengthens 
 in every way. 
 
 A few years ago there was a young man 
 selling farming implements. He felt in- 
 clined to do Christian work, and later on 
 became a Christian Association secretary. 
 He became known locally because of his 
 ability to sing in a male quartette. He 
 was a good singer. Whether he was more 
 than the average secretary I do not know. 
 He one day felt the call to preach and 
 shrank back from itJbecause he felt he was 
 without ability, then gave himself to God 
 without reserve. He has since become 
 one of the greatest preachers to men in 
 our country, has possibly led more men to 
 Christ than any other man of his day, and 
 it was my privilege a short time ago to see 
 hundreds of men under the power of his 
 preaching come to Christ; and this was 
 all because Fred B. Smith gave himself 
 unreservedly to Christ. 
 
A Great Victory 131 
 
 Third : It may be a very ordinary serv- 
 ice that God calls you to perform, but if 
 you feel it your place your service will 
 please him. Rev. Dr. Torrey tells the 
 story of the poor mother who by hard day's 
 work made it possible for her boy to attend 
 college. The day of the graduation came, 
 and he said to her, "You must go with me 
 to the commencement. 55 Naturally she 
 shrank from it, for her clothing was of the 
 poorest sort; but he said that there would 
 be no commencement without her. He 
 was the valedictorian of his class. Proudly 
 he led her into the hall, and with beaming 
 face she listened while the great throng 
 applauded his brilliant speech. When 
 he received his gold medal he walked 
 down from the platform and pinned it 
 upon her breast, saying, "This is yours, 55 
 and she was as proud as any queen 
 could have been. It w^as a very com- 
 mon thing to wash and iron for one's 
 daily living, but to be honored thus 
 was something any mother might long 
 to experience. She simply did her 
 
132 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 best in a humble way and pleased 
 God. 
 
 IV 
 
 Round about the Camp. 
 
 First: Let it be remembered that we 
 have a responsibility to others. Some 
 years ago on the Irish Sea a terrific storm 
 was raging. It was known that just 
 off the coast a vessel was going to pieces. 
 Suddenly two men, an old sea captain 
 and his son, put out through the storm. 
 Everybody tried to persuade them not 
 to do so, for it seemed to be absolutely 
 useless. Over the waves, which appeared 
 almost mountain high, they pushed along 
 until at last amid the cheers of the waiting 
 throng they returned with their little boat 
 filled with those who had been all but lost 
 upon the ship. When the minister said 
 to the old sea captain, "Why do you do 
 this? Why take such a risk?" he answered, 
 "I have been there myself, and I knew 
 the danger. " It is because we have been 
 once in sin and now are redeemed by the 
 precious blood of Christ that we say 
 something to those who are about us. 
 
A Great Victory 133 
 
 Second: We are responsible for others. 
 When Horace Bushnell was a tutor in 
 Yale he was a stumbling block to all the 
 students because he was not a Christian. 
 He realized this himself, and yet he said, 
 "How can I accept Christ or the Bible, for 
 I do not believe in either one." And then 
 the question came to him as from God, 
 "What do you believe?" and he said, "I 
 only know there is a difference between 
 right and wrong." God seemed to say to 
 him, "Have you ever taken that stand 
 where you would say, 'I am committed to 
 the right even if it ends in death 5 ?" and he 
 said, "I never have." Falling upon his 
 knees he said, "O God, if Jesus Christ be 
 true, reveal him to me and I will follow 
 him. " And he began to walk in the light, 
 which constantly increased, and almost 
 every student in Yale came to Christ. 
 "No man liveth unto himself alone. " We 
 are responsible for the souls of other 
 men. We are also responsible for their 
 service; if we are half-hearted they will 
 surely be. 
 
134 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 v 
 
 "And the host ran, and cried and fled." 
 What hosts are against us to-day? 
 
 First: As individuals there may be 
 coming constantly to our minds a ques- 
 tion of doubt, of pride, or of secret sin, 
 and we wonder if these are evidences that 
 we are not Christians. Not at all. They 
 are but the fruit of our old nature, and 
 are the hosts encamped against us. We 
 have only to take our stand with Christ, 
 right with him, and we shall win the 
 victory. 
 
 Second: In the Church we meet with 
 indifference, worldliness, infidelity, and 
 we wonder how we may win the victory. 
 The answer is simply, "We have but to be 
 right with God and to walk with God," 
 and three hundred such followers of his 
 could put the enemy to rout quickly. 
 
 Third: There is also a battle which 
 those of us who are Christians are obliged 
 to fight. It has to do with the unsaved 
 man. Men are not Christians to-day not 
 because they do not believe, not because 
 
A Great Victory 135 
 
 they are without interest in the future, 
 but simply because they have put off and 
 put off, and I know of no way to overcome 
 this difficulty except by taking one's stand 
 with Christ and with those w T ho are like- 
 minded with Christ. Having first con- 
 cern for the lost, then his intense earnest- 
 ness in their salvation, the proscrastination 
 of the sinner will flee away. For such a 
 victory as this we plead and pray. 
 
PAUL A PATTERN OF PRAYER 
 
 Text: "If ye shall ask anything in my name I 
 will do it" — John 14: 14. 
 
 Jesus testified in no uncertain way 
 concerning prayer, for not alone in this 
 chapter does he speak but in all his 
 messages to his disciples he is seeking 
 to lead them into the place where they 
 may know how to pray. 
 
 In this fourteenth chapter of John, 
 where he is coming into the shadow 
 of the cross and is speaking to his dis- 
 ciples concerning those things which 
 ought to have the greatest weight with 
 them, the heart of his message seems to 
 be prayer. What an encouragement it 
 is to his disciples to pray when they 
 remember that he said, "Verily, verily, 
 I say unto you, He that believeth on me, 
 the works that I do shall he do also; and 
 greater works than these shall he do; 
 because I go unto my Father. And what- 
 
 137 
 
138 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 soever ye shall ask in my name, that 
 will I do, that the Father may be glorified 
 in the Son" (John 14: 12-13). 
 
 Jesus was himself a pattern of prayer. 
 He had prayed under all circumstances; 
 with him the day was born in prayer, 
 went along in meditation and closed in 
 most intimate fellowship and communion 
 with his Father. Under all circumstances, 
 whether it be the raising of Lazarus from 
 the dead, or the breathing in of the very 
 spirit of God so essential to him in his 
 earthly ministry, he prayed; and because 
 he was a man of prayer himself, he could 
 speak to his disciples with authority 
 concerning this subject. 
 
 If we ourselves would know how to 
 pray there are certain great principles 
 which must be remembered when we 
 come to him. 
 
 First: We must believe that he is, 
 and that he is the rewarder of them that 
 diligently seek him. If one has hazy or 
 mystical ideas of Christ then from the very 
 nature of the case prayer is impossible. 
 
Paul a Pattern of Prayer 139 
 
 Second: We must believe his word. 
 Mr. Spurgeon's statement that when he 
 went to God he always wxnt pleading a 
 promise is the secret of his great success 
 as a man of prayer. Earthly parents 
 are not insensible to the pledges they 
 make to their children and surely God 
 cannot be. 
 
 Third: We must confess and forsake 
 our sins. To confess sin is to arraign 
 before us those sins of which we know 
 ourselves to be guilty, and when they 
 appear before us in solemn and awful 
 procession we must heartily renounce 
 them. If we do not we cannot pray. 
 In another place in God's word we read, 
 "Ye ask and receive not, because, ..." 
 and while in the verse the rest of the 
 sentence is "Ye ask amiss," we might 
 finish by saying, "We ask and receive 
 not, because our lives are not right in 
 God's sight." 
 
 Fourth: We must exercise our faith. 
 The little child who prayed for rain and 
 then wanted to carry an umbrella with 
 
140 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 her when the sun was shining is an oft 
 repeated illustration, but such faith as this 
 is what every child of God must practice. 
 
 The text is exceedingly broad. "If 
 ye shall ask anything in my name I will 
 do it." It is broad enough to include 
 temporal blessing and spiritual power, 
 comprehensive enough to lead us to 
 believe that God will direct our lives if 
 we ask him and will bear our burdens 
 even though they be almost insignificant 
 in their weight. Thank God for the 
 "anything" in the text! 
 
 It may be stated truly that God's 
 promises to Israel are especially concern- 
 ing temporal blessing and that his 
 promises to the church have particular 
 reference to spiritual possessions; and 
 they both, the history of Israel and the 
 history of the church, prove that God 
 will give to us temporally as well as 
 spiritually. These blessings are included 
 in the "anything." 
 
 I have been greatly impressed with 
 Paul as a pattern in prayer, and for the 
 
Paul a Pattern of Prayer 141 
 
 outline of this message as well as for 
 many of the suggestions I am indebted 
 to an English clergyman, the Rev. E. W. 
 Moore, who has written, "The Christ 
 Controlled Life," and "Christ in Pos- 
 session," and has recently sent out a 
 little book entitled, "The Pattern Prayer 
 Book." 
 
 I have noticed in studying Paul that 
 the burden of his prayer was for spiritual 
 blessing rather than for temporal power, 
 and throughout the Epistles at least 
 seven illustrations are to be found con- 
 cerning this subject. 
 
 Prayer for Pentecost. Ephesians 3: 
 17-19, "That Christ may dwell in your 
 hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and 
 grounded in love, may be able to com- 
 prehend with all saints, what is the 
 breadth, and length, and depth and 
 height; and to know the love of Christ, 
 which passeth knowledge, that ye might 
 be filled with all the fulness of God. " 
 
142 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 Just what is the burden of this prayer 
 of Paul's? 
 
 First: He is not asking for that in- 
 dwelling which is ours at conversion; 
 for this he would not need to pray, for 
 at the moment of regeneration Christ 
 is ours and eternal life (which is only 
 another way of saying, "the life of the 
 eternal") is our never failing posses- 
 sion. 
 
 Second : He is not asking for the bodily 
 presence of Christ, as some have suggested, 
 for in this scripture he states that it is 
 by faith that Christ is to dwell with us. 
 
 Third: It is by no means a figurative 
 expression, for if this were true there 
 would be no comfort in it to God's 
 children. Yet, as a matter of fact, this 
 prayer of Paul's has been an inspiration 
 to God's people everywhere. It is rather 
 a special Pentecostal privilege for God's 
 children concerning which Paul is pray- 
 ing. In Galatians 4:19 we read, "My 
 little children, of whom I travail in birth 
 again until Christ be formed in you. " 
 
Paul a Pattern of Prayer 143 
 
 And this is his petition. Let it be noticed 
 that the tense of the verb in this connec- 
 tion denotes singleness of action, so that 
 Paul's prayer may be answered not 
 gradually but immediately. If this be 
 true then let it be answered now for you 
 and for me. 
 
 There are three blessings which would 
 flow out of this answer to prayer. 
 
 First: Constancy of experience. "That 
 Christ may dwell/' pleads the Apostle. 
 It does not mean that he is to come in 
 a fitful experience, but the language of 
 the hymn is true, 
 
 "Abide with me; fast falls the even tide, 
 The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide; 
 When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, 
 Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me." 
 
 Second : Strength will be our possession, 
 for the Apostle tells us that we are to 
 be "rooted and grounded in him." As 
 the roots of the tree take hold upon the 
 ground and the giant oak withstands 
 the storms of the Northern coasts, so 
 we may withstand temptation and trial 
 
144 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 and be more than conquerors if this 
 prayer is answered. 
 
 Third: There will be cleansing, for 
 we are told that "as a man thinketh in 
 his heart so is he." We are told also 
 that we must keep our hearts with all 
 diligence, for out of them are the issues 
 of life. It is easy enough to understand 
 how our lives would be pure if Christ 
 were only in possession. 
 
 II 
 
 Prayer for Perception. Colossians 1: 
 9-10, "For this cause we also, since the 
 day we heard it, do not cease to pray for 
 you, and to desire that ye might be filled 
 with the knowledge of his will in all 
 wisdom and spiritual understanding; that 
 ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto 
 all pleasing, being fruitful in every good 
 work, and increasing in the knowledge of 
 God.' 5 The need of this prayer was not 
 that the Colossians were weak, or that 
 they had been conspicuous in the failure 
 of their Christian experience, for in the 
 
Paul a Pattern of Prayer 145 
 
 third and fourth verses of the first chapter 
 of Colossians, Paul says concerning them, 
 "We give thanks to God and the Father 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always 
 for you, since we heard of your faith 
 in Christ Jesus, and of the love which 
 ye have to all the saints"; and then in 
 the face of this statement he prayed 
 earnestly for them. The subject of his 
 prayer was not that he desired anything, 
 humanly speaking, very great for them; 
 he did not ask honor, nor did he desire 
 that wealth should be theirs, but merely 
 states in the ninth verse that they might 
 be filled with the knowledge of his will 
 in all wisdom and spiritual understand- 
 ing. I have been told that literally, 
 this means that they might have full 
 knowledge, not simply a passing opinion 
 concerning him and his work. 
 
 If we study this particular scripture in 
 which Paul is praying for the Colossians 
 we will learn how this prayer is to be 
 answered. 
 
 First: We must meditate upon God's 
 
146 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 word. He makes himself especially 
 known to his people in his word. There 
 are certain great principles which we must 
 remember if we would know God's will. 
 
 (1) We must present our bodies to him. 
 Romans 12: 1, "I beseech you therefore, 
 brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye 
 present your bodies a living sacrifice, 
 holy, acceptable unto God, which is your 
 reasonable service.' 5 
 
 (2) We must be delivered from this 
 present evil age. Galatians 1:4, "Who 
 gave himself for our sins, that he might 
 deliver us from this present evil world, 
 according to the will of God and our 
 Father. " 
 
 (3) We must separate ourselves from 
 the world. 1 Thessalonians 4:3, "For 
 this is the will of God, even your sanctifi- 
 cation, that ye should abstain from forni- 
 cation. 5 ' 
 
 (4) We must be thankful. 1 Thessa- 
 lonians 5: 18, "In everything give thanks; 
 for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus 
 concerning you." 
 
Paul a Pattern of Prayer 147 
 
 (5) We must continue patiently to serve 
 and follow him. 1 Peter 2: 15, "For so 
 is the will of God, that with well doing 
 ye may put to silence the ignorance of 
 foolish men." 
 
 All of these things are God's will for 
 us. If we but practice them the results 
 can be only beneficial. As a result of such 
 a study of God's word the general knowl- 
 edge of God and his will shall be ours. 
 
 Second: The spiritual perception 
 spoken of in this particular scripture 
 may be ours, as we listen to the 
 Spirit of God, for he will speak to us 
 God's message and make known to us 
 God's will. The purpose of this prayer of 
 Paul's for the Colossians was that they 
 might walk worthy to all pleasing. What 
 a joy it is to know that we may please 
 God! For this we should be grateful. 
 
 in 
 
 Prayer for Purity. 1 Thessalonians 5: 
 23-24, "And the very God of peace sanc- 
 tify you wholly; and I pray God your 
 
148 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 whole spirit and soul and body be pre- 
 served blameless unto the coming of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that 
 calleth you, who also will do it. 55 
 
 This prayer is also remarkable if we 
 notice the spiritual condition of the 
 Thessalonians, for of them we read that 
 they had received the word of God with 
 joy, and had turned from idols to serve 
 the living God, and yet the Apostle prays 
 for their sanctification. By this he does 
 not mean sinlessness, and a careful study 
 of his position would lead us to know 
 that he does not teach that sanctification 
 may be ever apart^ from growth. We 
 must day by day come more and more 
 into the likeness of Christ. There are 
 three words which it would be well for us 
 to remember in our study of this subject. 
 
 First: Position. If we would grow 
 unto his likeness we must be where he 
 can let shine upon us the light of his 
 countenance. Frances Ridley Havergal 
 had an aeolian harp sent to her which she 
 tried to play with her fingers, and failed. 
 
Paul a Pattern of Prayer 149 
 
 At last a friend suggested that she 
 place it in the window, and the music as 
 the wind touched the strings was en- 
 trancing. We must be where he can 
 use us. 
 
 Second : Purification. Sanctification is 
 necessary because God uses only that 
 which is clean, never an unclean life. 
 
 Third: Possession. It is really Christ 
 filling us, and he will fill us if we give 
 him the opportunity. The extent of 
 this work is made plain in Paul's prayer: 
 
 (1) The spirit is touched, and the 
 spirit is that part of our nature which is 
 capable of fellowship with God. 
 
 (2) The soul is filled, and the soul 
 is the seat of all our intellectual fac- 
 ulties. 
 
 (3) The body is possessed, and since 
 the body is just the servant of the higher 
 powers of man, we can easily under- 
 stand how necessary the work is. It 
 is needful, 
 
 (a) For our peace, for the God of 
 peace is to sanctify us. 
 
150 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 (b) For our prayers. For Paul is talk- 
 ing about prayer when he praises. 
 
 (c) For our praise, for we are told 
 that we must rejoice evermore. 
 
 IV 
 
 Prayer for Power. Ephesians 1 : 15-20, 
 " Wherefore I also, after I heard of your 
 faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto 
 all the saints, cease not to give thanks 
 for you, making mention of you in my 
 prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto 
 you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in 
 the knowledge of him: the eyes of your 
 understanding being enlightened ; that 
 ye may know what is the hope of his 
 calling, and what the riches of the glory 
 of his inheritance in the saints, and 
 what is the exceeding greatness of his 
 power to usward who believe, according 
 to the working of his mighty power; 
 which he wrought in Christ, when he 
 raised him from the dead, and set him at 
 his own right hand in the heavenly places." 
 
Paul a Pattern of Prayer 151 
 
 The Church at Ephesus was in every 
 way remarkable, but to this people Paul 
 wrote his most spiritual epistle, which 
 in itself is a compliment to them, for as 
 in another instance it was not necessary 
 for him to write unto them as if they were 
 carnal. With this people for the space of 
 two or three years he labored, as we find 
 recorded in Acts the nineteenth chapter 
 and the tenth verse, "And this continued 
 by the space of two years ; so that all they 
 which dwelt in Asia heard the word of 
 the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks/' 
 Acts 20:31, "Therefore watch, and re- 
 member, that by the space of three years 
 I ceased not to warn every one night and 
 day with tears. 5 ' 
 
 There were no divisions in this church 
 as at Corinth; there were no heresies as 
 at Galatia, and no dissensions as at 
 Philippi; and yet, for all that, he prays 
 most earnestly. The natural question 
 for us to ask is, just what is it for which 
 he prays, and the question is easily 
 answered. 
 
152 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 First: For advancement in knowledge; 
 he asks God that the eyes of their under- 
 standing might be enlightened. Under 
 this general petition there are three 
 special requests. 
 
 (1) That they might know the hope of 
 their calling. We have but to study Paul's 
 Epistles to realize that this calling in- 
 volved : 
 
 A perfect vision, for one day it is 
 Christ's promise and teaching that they 
 shall see him as he is. The hooe of this 
 would keep them faithful. 
 
 It involved, in the next place, a perfect 
 likeness, for, seeing him as he is, they 
 would become like him, and the hope of 
 this would keep them clean. 
 
 It involved, in the third place, a perfect 
 union, for when this hope of their calling 
 is fulfilled there is no possibility of any- 
 thing coming between the believer and 
 Christ; so the fellowship must be perfect. 
 
 (2) Paul also requests that they may 
 know the riches of the glory of his in- 
 heritance in the saints. That is very 
 
Paul a Pattern of Prayer 153 
 
 wonderful. He does not say the riches of 
 the saints in him — that could be easily 
 understood; but what an inspiration it 
 is to know that he has glory in us, and 
 that the mere possession of poor, frail 
 creatures like ourselves is to him a 
 perfect delight! We sometimes say that 
 we could not get along without Christ, 
 but how inspiring it is to know that he 
 could not and he would not get along 
 without us! 
 
 (3) The Apostle also prays that the 
 church at Ephesus might know what is 
 the exceeding greatness of Christ's power 
 towards us. It is not simply a great 
 power that is described but an exceedingly 
 great power. There is absolutely no 
 limit to what he can accomplish in 
 and through us if we but yield ourselves 
 unreservedly to him. 
 
 Second: Another question may natu- 
 rally come to us, Why have we not this 
 power of his? The answer is simply 
 because the eyes of our understanding 
 have not been enlightened. We have 
 
154 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 been too much self-centered and too 
 closely wedded to the world. We need a 
 stronger vision. There are stars in the 
 heavens to-day that have never yet been 
 seen, not because they do not exist but 
 because there has been no glass invented 
 strong enough to take them in. Each 
 new day brings a vision of new heavenly 
 bodies. We also need stronger faith, for 
 if we have become persuaded of the fact 
 that he can do all things the victory is 
 won when we take this position. 
 
 Prayer for Perseverance. Philippians 
 1:9-11, "And this I pray, that your love 
 may abound yet more and more in 
 knowledge and in all judgment; that 
 ye may approve things that are excellent, 
 that ye may be sincere and without offence 
 till the day of Christ. Being filled with 
 the fruits of righteousness, which are 
 by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise 
 of God." Paul has a tender affection 
 for this Philippian Church. Naturally 
 
Paul a Pattern of Prayer 155 
 
 he would wish for them only the best 
 things, and the burden of this prayer of 
 his is, 
 
 First: That they might be able to 
 persevere to the end, or rather to the 
 day of Christ. Let it not be forgotten 
 that he who said, "Nothing can separate 
 us from the love of God," at the same 
 time prays that those who are the object 
 of this love may be faithful in their 
 perseverance until time shall be no more. 
 It is God's privilege to preserve us, it 
 is our privilege to persevere; and if we 
 study the words "preserve" and "per- 
 severe" we shall find that they are 
 composed of almost the same letters 
 with only a slightly different arrangement. 
 We must be exceedingly careful in our 
 walk and we must rely perfectly upon 
 Christ. 
 
 Second: Paul prays for the purity of 
 these Philippians when he asks that 
 they may be sincere and without offence. 
 I have been told that the word "sincere" 
 sometimes means sunlight; which leads 
 
156 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 me to say that our conduct as Christians 
 should be such as to bear the clearest 
 light of investigation. Possibly the use 
 of this word grew out of the custom of 
 the people who stored away their goods 
 in the darkest corners of the bazaar where 
 their defects could not be seen plainly. 
 When the purchase had been consumma- 
 ted they were brought out into the sunlight. 
 The word also means "wax." It is said 
 that in the days of imperial Rome when 
 a sculptor came to a flaw in the marble 
 he filled it with wax to hide the defect, 
 but when the hot days came and the 
 wax was melted the defect was seen 
 plainly. Paul is desiring for these Phil- 
 ippians that there may be none of this, 
 but that their lives should commend 
 themselves both to God and to men. 
 
 Third: He desires that they may be 
 filled with the fruits of righteousness, not 
 simply that they may produce fruit 
 of one sort or another. It is not enough 
 simply to bear fruit. "Herein is my 
 Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit." 
 
Paul a Pattern of Prayer 157 
 
 This is the overflow experience of the 
 Christian and must be realized by us all. 
 
 VI 
 
 Prayer for Perfectness. Hebrews 13: 
 20-21, "Now the God of peace, that 
 brought again from the dead our Lord 
 Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 
 through the blood of the everlasting 
 covenant, make you perfect in every 
 good work to do his will, working in you 
 that which is wellpleasing in his sight, 
 through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory 
 for ever and ever. Amen. " The burden 
 of this prayer of the Apostle is that his 
 people may do the will of God. This 
 is required in all times and for various 
 reasons. 
 
 First: The glory of God demands it, 
 and unless we are doing his will we are 
 robbing him of his glory. Revelation 
 4* 11, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to re- 
 ceive glory and honor and power: for 
 thou hast created all things, and for thy 
 pleasure they are and were created. " 
 
158 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 Second: Our own happiness depends 
 upon it. Let it not be thought for a 
 moment that we are simply to do God's 
 will when some sort of trial is upon us, 
 but rather let us remember the scriptural 
 expression, "I delight to do thy will, O 
 God." What if God's will should be 
 done for but one year in all things in any 
 of our cities; would the result be anything 
 else than perfect joy? 
 
 Third: Our safety depends upon it. 
 We must lean hard upon God's will. 
 In Switzerland at one of the most danger- 
 ous passes, where men used to travel 
 with their faces white with fear, to-dav 
 any ordinary traveler can pass in safety 
 because along the edge of the cliff there 
 is an iron rail against which you may 
 lean and have almost no danger beside 
 you. This iron rail corresponds to the 
 will of God for Christians. Paul also 
 asks in this prayer that God's people 
 may be made perfect to do his will. We 
 need not be afraid of this word perfect, 
 nor of Paul's prayer, for as Dr. Moore 
 
Paul a Pattern of Prayer 159 
 
 has said, it is not a perfection of doing 
 but a perfection to do, not a finality but 
 a fitting. The same Greek word is used 
 elsewhere, as for example, 
 
 "Fitted." Romans 9:22, "What if 
 God, willing to show his wrath, and to 
 make his power known, endured with 
 much longsuffering the vessels of wrath 
 fitted to destruction. " 
 
 "Prepared. " Hebrews 10 : 5, "Where- 
 fore when he cometh into the world, he 
 saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest 
 not, but a body hast thou prepared me. " 
 
 "Framed. " Hebrews 11 : 3, "Through 
 faith we understand that the worlds were 
 framed by the word of God, so that 
 things which are seen were not made of 
 things which do appear.' 5 
 
 "Restored." Galatians 6: 1, "Brethren, 
 if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye 
 which are spiritual, restore such an one 
 in the spirit of meekness, considering 
 thyself, lest thou also be tempted." 
 
 "Mend." Mark 1 : 19, "And when he 
 had gone a little farther thence, he saw 
 
160 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 James the son of Zebedee, and John 
 his brother, who also were in the ship 
 mending their nets." 
 
 The illustration has been used of a 
 man with his leg out of joint. He cannot 
 walk except with great pain, but when 
 he puts himself without reserve into the 
 hands of the doctor and the leg is set 
 he can then rise and walk. He is not a 
 perfect walker, but he is made perfect 
 to walk. And the idea of all the verses 
 above quoted is that we may be set 
 with right relations to Christ that he may 
 have his way with us, that we may stand 
 where he willed we- should stand; and 
 as a result we shall be well pleasing in 
 his sight. 
 
 VII 
 
 Prayer for Peace. 2 Thessalonians 3: 
 16, "Now the Lord of peace himself 
 give you peace always by all means. 
 The Lord be with you all." Peace is 
 most difficult to define. It is the opposite 
 of unrest, confusion and strife; and this 
 
Paul a Pattern of Prayer 161 
 
 peace for which the Apostle prays is, 
 first, not the peace of indifference. Let 
 this never be forgotten. Second: It is 
 not the peace of prosperous surround- 
 ings. Some people frequently fail at 
 this point but it is the very peace of 
 God himself. The peace here prayed 
 for looks in three directions. 
 
 First: Godward. "Being justified by 
 faith we have peace with God." His 
 pardoning voice we hear and he is 
 reconciled. 
 
 Second: Inward. "Peace I leave with 
 you, my peace I give unto you; let not 
 your heart be troubled." 
 
 Third: Outward. With such a pos- 
 session we may meet trial and bear bur- 
 dens and never be moved. How may 
 we secure such a possession? 
 
 (1) By having confidence in Christ's 
 work, for when he met his disciples and 
 showed them his hands and his side, he 
 said, "Peace be unto you." 
 
 (2) By submission to Christ's rule. 
 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace/ 5 
 
162 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 or, as the literal translation is, "Thou 
 wilt keep him in peace, peace, who 
 trusteth in thee because his mind is 
 set on thee. 55 This is our possession, 
 and for that Paul prays. 
 
A STARTLING STATEMENT 
 
 Text: "The wicked shall not be unpunished' 1 — 
 Prov. 11: 21. 
 
 There are very many passages of 
 Scripture which ought to be read in con- 
 nection with this text; as for example, 
 "Fools make a mock at sin" (Proverbs 
 14:9), for only a fool would. Better 
 trifle with the pestilence and expose 
 one's self to the plague than to discount 
 the blighting effects of sin. And, again, 
 "The soul that sinneth it shall die" (Ezek- 
 iel 18 :4) . From this clear statement of the 
 word of God there is no escape. Or, again, 
 "Our secret sins in the light of thy coun- 
 tenance" (Psalm 90:8). There is really 
 nothing hidden from his sight. We may 
 conceal our sinful thoughts from men and 
 sometimes even our evil practices; but 
 not from God. Or again, "Sin, when it 
 is finished, bringeth forth death" (James 
 1: 15). Here is unexampled progress 
 
 163 
 
164 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 indicated from which there never has 
 been the slightest deviation. But one of 
 the sharpest texts in all the Word of God, 
 and one which men somehow in these 
 days seem to ignore, is Paul's expression, 
 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: 
 whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he 
 also reap" (Galatians 6:7), and if we 
 compare this reference in the New Testa- 
 ment to the text in the Old Testament 
 the harvest indeed seems to be sure, for 
 "The wicked shall not be unpunished. " 
 
 There is a note of truth in all of these 
 statements for both saint and sinner. 
 Jeremiah the thirtieth chapter and the 
 eleventh verse, "For I am with thee, 
 saith the Lord, to save thee: though I 
 make a full end of all nations whither I 
 have scattered thee, yet I will not make 
 a full end of thee : but I w ill correct thee in 
 measure, and will not leave thee alto- 
 gether unpunished." The old Prophet 
 is speaking to the people of Israel; and 
 while he tells them that they are God's 
 people, nevertheless they shall not alto- 
 
A Startling Statement 165 
 
 gether go unpunished, for if they sow 
 to the flesh they must of the flesh reap 
 corruption. In Deuteronomy the fifth 
 chapter and the ninth verse, we read, 
 "Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto 
 them, nor serve them: for I the Lord 
 thy God am a jealous God, visiting the 
 iniquity of the fathers upon the children 
 unto the third and fourth generation of 
 them that hate me." It is a solemn 
 fact that the sins of the fathers descend 
 upon the children unto the third and 
 fourth generation. It is more solemn 
 that so blighting is the effect of sin 
 that the fourth generation is the last. 
 There is no fifth. Even though we be 
 pardoned from sin forever, we shall not 
 altogether go unpunished. 
 
 Certainly it is true that if one rejects 
 Jesus Christ, punishment for him is 
 absolutely certain. The other day in 
 the city of Chicago the following appeared 
 in the Inter-Ocean as an editorial under 
 the title of "Preaching for Men." 
 
 'To thosie who look upon men as they 
 
166 And Jiidas Iscariot 
 
 are it is simply astounding that so many 
 preachers should act as if the hope of 
 reward alone could be efficient to move 
 average mankind to leave sin and follow 
 after righteousness. In every other re- 
 lation of human life every man is con- 
 stantly confronted with the alternative: 
 Do right and be rewarded; do wrong and 
 be punished. The pressure of fear as 
 well as the pressure of hope is continually 
 upon him. He knows that he may con- 
 ceal his wrongdoing from the eye of man, 
 but he is always under the fear of dis- 
 covery and punishment. But he goes 
 to church, and in nine cases out of ten 
 the preacher, while insisting that he can 
 hide nothing from the eye of God, yet 
 says nothing to arouse in him that fear 
 of God which is the beginning of wisdom. 
 If he turn from religion to science he 
 finds science more positive of the certainty 
 of punishment than of the certainty 
 of reward. Science cannot, for example, 
 assure him of a long life, even though 
 he scrupulously obey hygienic laws. But 
 it can assure him of a speedy death 
 
A Startling Statement 167 
 
 if he wantonly violates those laws. 
 Precisely this fact that the consequences of 
 sin in punishment can be foretold more 
 positively than the consequences of right- 
 eousness in reward is what makes fear 
 the strongest influence dominating and 
 directing human conduct. Yet many 
 preachers deliberately abandon the ap- 
 peal to fear and then wonder why their 
 preaching does not move men to active 
 righteousness. When more preachers 
 recover from the delusion into which so 
 many of them have fallen such complaints 
 will diminish. For all human experience 
 proves that the preaching that appeals 
 to fear of punishment as well as to hope 
 of reward is the preaching that is really 
 effective — is the preaching of all the 
 great preachers of the past and the present 
 — is the preaching that moves." 
 
 The statement of the text is exceedingly 
 plain and the teaching is unquestioned. 
 It is a good thing for us to-day to under- 
 stand what sin is, for if we have a wrong 
 conception of sin it naturally follows that 
 we shall have a wrong conception of the 
 
168 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 atonement. Without an understanding 
 of sin there is no sense of guilt, and with- 
 out the sense of guilt there is no cry for 
 pardon. The best definitions that I 
 have ever found for sin are written in the 
 word of God. 
 
 i 
 1. "Whosoever committeth sin trans- 
 gresseth also the law : for sin is the trans- 
 gression of the law" (1 John 3:4). The 
 word "transgression" means to go across. 
 Does your life parallel God's law or 
 cross it? Your answer to this question 
 determines the measure of your sin. 
 You have only to read the ten com- 
 mandments and try to mold your life 
 by them to find your answer. Better 
 still, you have only to read these com- 
 mandments in the light of Jesus' interpre- 
 tation, where the look of lust is adultery 
 and anger without cause is murder, to 
 see how far short you have come; and 
 if this is true certainly you are a sinner, 
 and the text is for you. "The wicked 
 shall not be unpunished." 
 
A Startling Statement 169 
 
 2. "All unrighteousness is sin; and 
 there is a sin not unto death" (1 John 
 5: 17). Righteousness means right rela- 
 tions with God. You may make ever 
 so strong a claim to right living and 
 speak ever so vehemently concerning the 
 good that you are accomplishing in 
 the world, but the first question for you 
 to settle is this, What is your relation to 
 God and what have you to say with 
 reference to your acceptance or rejection 
 of Jesus Christ? It is a solemn thought 
 that whatever we do counts for nothing 
 if our relation to God be wrong, w T hile 
 the little that we may do may count for 
 much if we have taken the right position 
 before him. 
 
 3. "Therefore to him that knoweth to 
 do good, and doeth it not, to him it is 
 sin" (James 4: 17). 
 
 Omission, according to this scripture, 
 is sin; neglected opportunity is sin, shirk- 
 ing responsibility is sin, refusing to obey 
 God is sin; and so when I ask you about 
 being a Christian, if it is best and right and 
 
170 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 you acknowledge that it is, then if you 
 are not a Christian, this very fact is in 
 itself sin, for when one knows the right 
 and refuses to do it he is a sinner, and 
 the text is true — "The wicked shall not 
 be unpunished." 
 
 4. "And he that doubteth is damned 
 if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: 
 for whatsoever is not of faith is sin" 
 (Romans 14:23). Active doubt is sin. 
 If you have a doubt concerning the sin- 
 fulness of certain things, then to do those 
 things is sin. If I have the least doubt 
 concerning the amusements which may 
 be questionable, or the position which 
 may be doubtful, so long as a doubt or 
 a question remains these things are sin; 
 and the Bible states the fact that "The 
 wicked shall not be unpunished. " 
 
 5. "And when he is come, he will re- 
 prove the world of sin, and of righteous- 
 ness, and of judgment" (John 16:8). 
 Unbelief is the chief est of sins. It is to re- 
 ject Jesus Christ, it is to close in our own 
 faces the door of hope, it is to trample the 
 
A Startling Statement 171 
 
 blood of the Son of God under our feet, 
 and it means also to insult the spirit of 
 grace. 
 
 One morning in the city of New York 
 a man dashed down the street and past 
 three men standing on the pier. They 
 could not tell how old he was, nor how 
 he was dressed, but they saw him jump 
 upon the bulkhead near by, strip off his 
 overcoat, coat and hat, and, before they 
 could stir to save him, plunge off the 
 end of the pier. There was a short rope 
 lying near by, and seizing this a man ran 
 with his companions to the point from 
 which the man had jumped. They threw 
 the rope toward the struggling figure 
 that they could just make out below 
 them. The rope fell a foot and a 
 half too short. Then they ran back to 
 the gas plant and got a longer rope. 
 The ice was running so thick in the river 
 that the man's head and shoulders were 
 still to be seen above the water when 
 they returned. Taking careful aim they 
 threw the rope squarely across the strug- 
 
172 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 gling form, shouting, "Catch it and 
 we'll pull you in." The unknown man, 
 however, making a last effort, threw the 
 rope aside and shouted back: "Oh, to 
 
 h with it! I'm through!" Then he 
 
 sank out of sight. That is a picture of the 
 man who, having offered to him mercy 
 and grace in Jesus Christ, spurns all that 
 God offers, and is therefore hopeless. 
 
 Sin separates us from God. 
 
 Sin separates us from each other. 
 
 Sin pollutes us and we become impure. 
 
 Sin deceives us and we are in danger 
 and know it not. 
 
 A friend of mine -walking along the 
 streets of Cincinnati early one morning 
 saw a young girl standing upon the very 
 edge of the roof of one of the highest 
 office buildings. She was carefully bal- 
 ancing herself and every moment it 
 seemed as if she would fall. The elevator 
 was not running, but he made his way 
 hurriedly to the roof of the building, 
 walked carefully across it, seized her by 
 the hand, drew her back and found 
 
A Startling Statement 173 
 
 that she had risen in her sleep and all 
 unconsciously was standing on the very 
 brink of eternity. This is what sin does 
 for us, and it is a solemn thought that 
 for all such the text is true, "The wicked 
 shall not be unpunished." 
 
 ii 
 
 I do not make my appeal, however, 
 on the ground that the punishment is 
 all for the future, for that is indeed sure. 
 I ask you the question, Do you believe 
 in heaven as a place of rewards ? If so, the 
 same argument will prove the existence 
 of hell. Do you reject hell, because 
 it seems to you to be inconceivable? Then 
 the same argument will blot heaven out 
 of existence. What it is that awaits the 
 wicked, I am sure I do not know — only 
 that it is to be away from God, with the 
 door of hope shut forever, and the Bible 
 tells me that there is weeping and wailing 
 and gnashing of teeth, for the wicked shall 
 not be unpunished. I lift my voice 
 against the punishment here, for sin is so 
 
174 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 sure in its deadly work, it is so insidious 
 in its influence, that before you know it 
 it is upon you; just one day of trifling and 
 you are gone. 
 
 The people about Pittsburg will never 
 forget the Cheswick mine horror in 1903, 
 when one hundred and eighty-two dead 
 men were taken from the mine. Under 
 the direction of one of the mining engi- 
 neers, a rescuing party started into the 
 mine to see if there was any hope of 
 saving the men who might be yet alive. 
 The journey is described by one who 
 volunteered to go with the engineer on 
 his perilous journey. "When we got 
 to the foot of the shaft, Mr. Taylor 
 lighted a cigar. He blew out a great 
 cloud of smoke and watched it drift into 
 a passage. 'This way,' he said, "The 
 smoke will follow the pure air draught.' 
 So we went on, Mr. Taylor blowing clouds 
 of smoke, and we following them. Sud- 
 denly he wheeled and yelled; 'The black 
 damp is coming!' The cigar smoke 
 had stopped as though it had come to a 
 
A Startling Statement 175 
 
 stone wall, and was now drifting over 
 our heads. We ran with death at our 
 heels, ran with our tongues dry and 
 swelling and our eyes smarting like balls 
 of fire. It seemed only a minute until 
 Mr. Taylor shrieked and fell forward on 
 his face. He crawled along for a while 
 on his hands and knees, and then fell 
 again and lay still. I stopped for a 
 second, with the idea of carrying him. 
 Then I realized how hopeless that was. 
 We were still a quarter of a mile from the 
 mouth of the pit. He was a very heavy 
 man, and I, as you see, am small and 
 weak. Again I ran choking and beating 
 my head with my hands. I fell, cut my 
 face, called upon God, struggled to my 
 feet and fell again. So I plunged on, 
 falling and fighting forward. Black mad- 
 ness came upon me. The horrible, sick- 
 ening after-damp was tearing my heart 
 up through my dry throat. My brain 
 was bursting through my temples. Then 
 a stroke, as though by a sledge hammer, 
 and I knew nothing more. They found 
 
176 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 me at ten minutes past one Tuesday 
 morning. At first they thought I was 
 dead. Then they saw my head rise and 
 fall while I weakly pounded on a rock 
 with a stick that I had caught in my 
 delirium. 55 This is to me a striking 
 picture of what sin does for us. There 
 is no one so strong but he may be over- 
 powered by its awful influence. God save 
 us from it, for "The wicked shall not 
 be unpunished." 
 
 in 
 
 Oh, is there no hope? For it w r ould seem 
 from the message thus far as if nothing 
 but despair was ahead of us. Two ways 
 to escape from the power of sin have 
 been suggested; one is man's way, the 
 other is God's. Let us consider them 
 both. 
 
 1. Man suggests reformation. But how 
 about the sins of the past? They are 
 still untouched. Man tells the sinner 
 to do his best; but how about the will 
 which has been weakened by sinful 
 practices, and which seems unable to 
 
A Startling Statement 177 
 
 act? Man tells the depraved man to 
 change his surroundings; but how about 
 the heart that is unclean? The fact is, 
 man's way will not reach us. 
 
 In January, 1904, the American Liner 
 New York left Southampton and came 
 into the New York harbor with a sad 
 story to tell. A sailor was suspended 
 over the side of the vessel making repairs 
 when an enormous wave tore him away, 
 and he was very soon under the forepart 
 of the ship. The waves began to carry 
 him away, and a life line was thrown to 
 him with a buoy attached. The sailor, 
 sometimes visible and then obscured by 
 the rising of a swell, grasped the line, and 
 a cheer went up. He took a half turn 
 with the line around his waist, was rolling 
 himself over into the bight of the line and it 
 looked as if he would be saved. The 
 sailors on deck were just about to haul 
 in. The poor fellow's hands and fingers 
 must have been numb, for he suddenly 
 rolled out of the half-formed bight, 
 losing his grip upon the line. 
 
178 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 None of the passengers could help the 
 man, none of the crew dared jump to 
 his rescue, no boat could live in such a 
 maelstrom. The sailor, who was strug- 
 gling and being whirled around and bob- 
 bing like a cork, his oilskins partially 
 spreading out and sustaining him, kept 
 drifting further and further away. 
 
 Aroused by the commotion, the second 
 officer came on deck just as the sailor 
 lost his hold. Tossing aside his cap, 
 overcoat and jacket, he bade the seamen 
 take a bowline hitch around his body 
 and lower him away. The volunteer 
 life-saver was cheered^ by the passengers 
 as he went over. It was bitter cold, the 
 sleet sharp and the swells ugly. A strong 
 swim in the trough of the seas and over 
 the crests and the officer might reach 
 the seaman. It was his only chance. 
 
 He had no more than touched the 
 spume before the waves hurled him 
 against the side of the steamer again and 
 again, bruising his ankle and knee, but 
 he struck out bravely and gradually 
 
A Startling Statement 179 
 
 drew nearer the sailor. For fifteen 
 minutes the second officer struggled. 
 During one of his brave spurts in the 
 direction of the struggling man he looked 
 up to the rail. The practiced eye of the 
 seafaring man saw something that caused 
 him suddenly to turn and breast his 
 way back to the ship. The line was 
 too short. The seaman holding the line 
 attached to the officer had in his hands 
 the mere end of it, and there was not 
 another bit to pay out. It was a sixty 
 fathom line, "all gone," and the officer 
 yet only half way to the drowning man. 
 It was too late to splice another. Had it 
 been thought of in time the man might 
 have been saved. A longer struggle 
 was useless, and the officer allowed him- 
 self to be hauled aboard, leaving the 
 helpless man to go to his last account. 
 That is always the difficulty with man's 
 effort to save the lost. It does not reach 
 far enough and fails just when it ought 
 to hold. 
 
 2. God's way. "The blood of Jesus 
 
180 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin," 
 that is God's message. "Let the wicked 
 forsake his way, and the unrighteous man 
 his thoughts: and let him return unto 
 the Lord, and he will have mercy upon 
 him; and to our God, for he will abun- 
 dantly pardon. " This is God's invitation. 
 "I even I, am he that blotteth out thy 
 transgressions for mine own sake, and 
 will not remember thy sins." This is 
 God's pledge, and he has never failed 
 to keep it. 
 
 In the old days, when England and 
 Scotland were at war, the English came 
 up against Bruce. They drove him from 
 his castle and as he fled away from them 
 they let loose his own bloodhounds and 
 set them upon his trail. His case seemed 
 hopeless. He could hear the bay of the 
 hounds in the distance, and those who 
 were with him had just about given 
 up in despair; but not so with Bruce. 
 He came to a stream, flowing through 
 the forest, he plunged in, waded three 
 bow-shots up the stream and then out 
 
A Startling Statement 181 
 
 upon the other side. The hounds came 
 up to the stream, stopped and sniffed ; they 
 had lost the track. They turned back 
 defeated, and Bruce in time won the 
 day. Is it not like this with our sins? 
 Like a pack of hounds they are after me ; 
 wherever I flee they are close upon me. 
 "The wages of sin is death/' I am told, 
 but I have found the way of escape. Here 
 flows a stream which runs red with the 
 blood of Jesus Christ, and I plunge in 
 and am free. 
 
 " There is a fountain filled with blood, 
 Drawn from ImmanueFs veins; 
 And sinners plunged beneath that flood 
 Lose all their guilty stains." 
 
THE GRACE OF GOD 
 
 Text: "J, even 7, am he that blotteth out thy trans- 
 gressions for mine own sake, and will not remember 
 thy sins" — Isaiah 43: 25. 
 
 In looking over an old volume of 
 sermons preached by H. Grattan Guiness, 
 forty-five years ago, I came across the 
 message which he delivered with this 
 text as a basis. So deep was the impres- 
 sion made upon me by my first reading of 
 the sermon that I have taken Mr. Guiness 5 
 outline and ask your careful attention 
 to its development. 
 
 If one should enter a jewelry store and 
 ask to see a diamond, or any other 
 precious stone, the jeweler would first 
 spread upon his show case a black cloth 
 and then place the diamonds upon it, not 
 only for protection but also in order 
 that the black background might bring 
 out distinctly the brilliancy and worth 
 of the gems. So God gives this best of 
 
 183 
 
184 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 all his promises with the dark picture 
 of sin clearly and thoughtfully portrayed. 
 In verses twenty-second to the twenty- 
 fourth we read, "But thou hast not called 
 upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been 
 weary of me, O Israel. Thou hast not 
 brought me the small cattle of thy burnt 
 offerings; neither hast thou honored me 
 with thy sacrifices. I have not caused 
 thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied 
 thee with incense. Thou hast bought 
 me no sweet cane with money, neither 
 hast thou filled me with the fat of thy 
 sacrifices : but thou hast made me to serve 
 with thy sins, thou hast wearied me 
 with thine iniquities/' 
 
 In these verses God says that his people 
 have not called upon him in prayer, they 
 have not presented their offerings, neither 
 have they presented unto him themselves. 
 He also affirms that they have wearied of 
 him, and that they have also wearied 
 him with their iniquities, and then he 
 exclaims, "I have not caused thee to 
 serve with an offering, nor wearied thee 
 
The Grace of God 185 
 
 with incense," and with these clear state- 
 ments he gives us the gracious statement 
 of the text, "I, even I, am he that blotteth 
 out thy transgressions for mine own sake, 
 and will not remember thy sins." 
 
 Mr. Guiness gives us four beautiful 
 thoughts in this text concerning our sins. 
 
 First: They are blotted out from God's 
 Book. 
 
 Second: They are blotted out with 
 God's hand. 
 
 Third : They are blotted out for his sake. 
 
 Fourth: They are blotted from his 
 memory. 
 
 A more admirable outline of a text of 
 Scripture I do not know, a more cheering 
 message to a child of God I have never 
 found. 
 
 I 
 
 Not long ago, in Chicago, a young man 
 was induced to confess to one whom he 
 thought was his friend the killing of 
 his father and mother. As the confession 
 was being made, as he supposed to but 
 one person, it was all being taken down 
 
186 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 by those who were near enough to hear 
 him speak, and when he appeared before 
 the court his own confession was used 
 against him and sent him to a life im- 
 prisonment in the penitentiary. What 
 was true of this young man is true of 
 us. Every sermon the minister preaches 
 is recorded, every word an individual 
 speaks is put down. It is a solemn 
 thought to realize, that at the judgment 
 we shall give account for even our idle 
 words. 
 
 Science has proven that our acts, our 
 words and even our thoughts make their 
 indelible record. 
 
 Not long ago in our home we came 
 across a long-unused phonograph. We 
 started it going, placing upon it one of the 
 cylinders which had been packed away 
 with the phonograph, and were startled 
 to hear the voice of one who had been 
 dead for years. We heard the message 
 he dictated, the song in which he joined 
 and the laugh with which he closed it, 
 and yet his voice has long been silent 
 
The Grace of God 187 
 
 in death. There is not a sin of your youth 
 which has not made its record, not a 
 passion of your mature years that does 
 not stand somewhere against you, not 
 an act, a feeling or an imagination that 
 has not been indelibly written; not all 
 the changes of time, not all the efforts of 
 man, can wipe these things out. 
 
 In the British Museum there is a piece 
 of stone not larger than the average Bible 
 at least four thousand years old, and in 
 the center of the stone there is a mark of 
 a bird's foot; four thousand years ago 
 the track was made, and for four thou- 
 sand years the record has stood. If these 
 things are true of us — and they are, 
 according to the Word of God — then what 
 prospect is there for us but that of eternal 
 punishment? For when we stand at the 
 judgment there shall appear before us 
 the sins of omission and the sins of com- 
 mission, the sins we have forgotten and 
 the sins we have but recently committed 
 against ourselves, against our fellow men, 
 and against God. 
 
188 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 It is indeed a black picture, and with 
 whitened faces and rapidly beating hearts 
 we ask, Is there any hope? I bring you 
 God's gracious answer to this important 
 question: "I, even I, am he that blotteth 
 out thy transgressions for mine own sake, 
 and will not remember thy sins. " Notice, 
 it is the voice of God speaking. "I, even 
 I," he exclaims, "will blot out your trans- 
 gressions. " 
 
 It is, first of all, a commercial term. We 
 were in debt to God, hopelessly in debt, 
 and our obligation has been canceled; 
 over against our sin is placed the righteous- 
 ness of the Son of God> and we are free. 
 
 "Jesus paid it all, 
 All to him I owe; 
 Sin had left a crimson stain, 
 He washed it white as snow." 
 
 It is also a chemical expression, for it 
 is a picture of God applying the blood 
 of Jesus Christ to every page of the 
 written record. The sins of our youth 
 long ago passed out of mind; the sins of 
 our manhood, which have taken up every 
 
The Grace of God 189 
 
 part of our being, the sins of to-day — 
 all have gone, for he himself has blotted 
 them out. When we realize that we' are 
 forgiven of God it means more than if we 
 were forgiven of men, for in the might of 
 his forgiveness our past sins are gone, 
 they shall not even be mentioned against 
 us; the *fear of judgment is taken away, 
 for Jesus himself says, "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; but is passed from death 
 unto life" (John 5:24). It is the Pass- 
 over story over again, "When I see the 
 blood, I will pass over you." Thus are 
 our sins blotted out. 
 
 ii 
 
 It is with God's hand that the work is 
 done; and for very many reasons this 
 is a great comfort to us. 
 
 First: Because it was God's hand that 
 made the record, he it was who put down 
 all your sins. He never rested in his 
 
190 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 work; week after week, month after 
 month, year after year, the recording 
 work was being done until your record 
 became blacker than the blackest mid- 
 night; and behold the hand that made 
 the record blots it out. 
 
 Second : It was his hand against which 
 you offended. Your sin was against 
 yourself. It is true it hurt your char- 
 acter, lowered your self-respect; but more 
 especially was it against God, for you 
 despised his authority, forsook his service, 
 broke his laws, defied his justice; you 
 grieved his spirit, and you crucified his 
 Son. And behold it is^ the hand against 
 which you committed all these offenses 
 which blotted out your transgressions. 
 
 Third: It is the offended hand which 
 blots them out. It was the hand that 
 opened the fountains of the deep, and 
 behold the floods came, the waters above 
 and the waters below clasped their hands 
 and destruction was everywhere save in 
 the Ark. It was his hand that brought 
 destruction upon the cities of the plain, 
 
The Grace of God 191 
 
 consuming them with a mighty flame, 
 and it was his hand that opened the 
 sea for the children of Israel and then 
 closed the sea over the pursuing Egypt- 
 ians. The very thought of the offended 
 hand makes us tremble, but behold, it 
 is this hand that blots out all our trans- 
 gressions. 
 
 Fourth: It is the hand of justice that 
 does the work. The same hand wrote, 
 "The wicked shall not go unpunished/ 5 
 and wrote again, "The soul that sinneth 
 it shall die," and wrote yet again, "The 
 wages of sin is death." This hand is 
 stretched forth in our behalf. 
 
 I doubt not the question has often 
 come to us, "How can God be just and 
 be the justifier of them that believe?" In 
 the light of such statements as these just 
 quoted I am sure it is for this reason — 
 it is for the offering of the just for the un- 
 just. He made him to be sin for us 
 who knew no sin, that we might be made 
 the righteousness of God in him. A man 
 was needed for such an offering, and 
 
192 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 Christ became man. The man required 
 must be born under the law, so Christ 
 came in the likeness of sinful flesh. 
 The man born under the law must be 
 without sin, so he was born pure. The 
 man born under the law and without 
 sin must be willing to die, and so he came 
 saying, "I delight to do thy will, O God." 
 And the man born under the law, without 
 sin and willing to die must be able to 
 provide an atonement which would make 
 the wandering sinner and the love of God 
 one, and so Christ at the command of 
 God was thus furnished a sacrifice of 
 sufficient power and magnitude to save 
 the whole world. It is this hand of God 
 that blots out our transgressions. 
 
 Fifth: It is the hand of the Supreme 
 Being that does the work. What a word 
 of encouragement this is. It was this 
 hand that made the worlds and hurled 
 them off into space. It was this hand 
 that created man and made him in the 
 likeness of God. It was this hand 
 that formed the countless number of 
 
The Grace of God 193 
 
 angels, and has ever directed their 
 heavenly movements. It was this hand 
 that wrote the law upon Sinai. And it 
 was this hand that holds the keys of the 
 kingdoms of heaven and hell. He blots 
 out our transgressions. From his decision 
 there can be no appeal. With such a w r ork 
 as this, who shall lay anything to the 
 charge of God's elect? Would God that 
 justifieth do it, or Christ that died consent 
 to it? In the light of such a thought the 
 Apostle Paul says, "For I am persuaded, 
 that neither death, nor life, nor angels, 
 nor principalities, nor powers, nor things 
 present, nor things to come, nor height, 
 nor depth, nor any other creature, shall 
 be able to separate us from the love of 
 God, wilich is in Christ Jesus our Lord" 
 (Romans 8:38-39). 
 
 in 
 
 Our sins are blotted out for his sake. 
 
 God saves the sinner not alone because of 
 
 pity for the sinner, and certainly not simply 
 
 because he is in danger of hell, but in 
 
194 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 order that he may glorify himself; and 
 this is no selfish glorification, but rather 
 in order that he may show to us now and 
 throughout all the ages what he really 
 is. God has made different revelations of 
 himself. We have beheld his wisdom 
 in creation, in his providences and in 
 his word. We have seen his justice 
 in that he gave his only begotten Son to 
 die for poor lost men. We have seen his 
 power in the working of miracles and the 
 transforming effect of his grace. It re- 
 mains for us to see his love in the story 
 of salvation, for until we behold him as 
 the Savior of the sinner we do not know 
 him. It is this that shall make us not 
 only rejoice here in time but rejoice with 
 joy unspeakable in eternity. The Apostle 
 Paul writes in Ephesians 2-7-8, "That 
 in the ages to come he might shew the 
 exceeding riches of his grace in his kind- 
 ness toward us through Christ Jesus. 
 For by grace are ye saved through faith; 
 and that not of yourselves: it is the gift 
 of God." 
 
The Grace of God 195 
 
 IV 
 
 Our sins are blotted out from God's 
 memory. The last of this wonderful 
 text is the best. When we detect a failure 
 of memory here in this world among our 
 friends it is an evidence of weakness, but 
 it is no weakness in God to forget. This 
 is but another one of those expressions 
 descriptive of God in which human 
 language is used to describe a thought 
 and in which human language is 
 too poor an agency to convey all the 
 depth of the meaning. It is just another 
 picture of God stooping down to meet 
 our weakness and it is God assuring us 
 that our sins are gone completely It 
 is as if they never had existed, for they 
 shall never stand against us and in the 
 day of judgment they shall not even be 
 mentioned. Our sins must have been a 
 grief to him, just as the sin of an earthly 
 child is the source of sorrow to an earthly 
 parent; but they are so no longer, for 
 he has forgotten. The Bible represents 
 God as being angry because of our trans- 
 
196 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 gressions, but if ever there was anger 
 with him it is so no longer, for you cannot 
 be angry with a person whose injury 
 against you you have forgotten entirely. 
 We do not in this world speak of what we 
 have forgotten, nor will God speak of our 
 sins. We do not punish what we have 
 forgotten, nor will God permit us to 
 be punished, for he has blotted out our 
 transgressions and will remember them 
 no more. There is no awaiting penalty 
 for your sin, there is no judgment to 
 meet at the great white throne, there is 
 no hell for you at the last, for your sins, 
 for Christ's sake, have been forgotten. 
 
 If you cast a stone into the water and 
 it sinks away there is for a time a ripple, 
 where the stone has gone down; but in a 
 moment it has gone forever, you can 
 see it no more. So God has cast our 
 sins into the sea and the place where they 
 have gone cannot even be found. 
 
 v 
 
 But what must I do to take advantage 
 of all this gracious offer of God? I answer 
 
The Grace of God 197 
 
 according to the Scripture. There must 
 be true repentance; repentance is a change 
 of mind, it is having a new mind for God. 
 There must be regeneration; regeneration 
 is a change of nature, it is a new heart 
 for God. There must be conversion; 
 conversion is a change of living and a new 
 life for God. If we would be born from 
 above we must accept God's word. 
 
 Two friends were conversing one even- 
 ing. One of them with a skeptical mind 
 had just rejected the Bible because it 
 did not tell him the things that he would 
 know. He insisted on knowing how the 
 worlds were made, and demanded that 
 he should be told concerning the origin 
 of heaven and why God permitted it, 
 and because the Bible failed here he 
 would have none of it. Just as his friend 
 was leaving the skeptic said to him, "Here 
 is my lantern. I want you to take it and 
 it will light you home." But the lantern 
 was refused by the Christian man, "for," 
 said he, "this lantern will not light up 
 the mountains in the distance, nor the 
 
198 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 valley stretching away at my feet." His 
 friend was amazed. "Man," said he, "take 
 the lantern; it will make a road for you 
 across the moor and light up your path- 
 way home." "Oh," said his friend, 
 "if that is true I will take it; but listen 
 to me. So is the Bible not for distant 
 paths of investigation; it is not so 
 much to tell us concerning creation and 
 existence — we shall know these things by 
 and by. It is for the path at your feet and 
 it will light you home a space at a time." 
 The skeptical man saw it in an instant, 
 he took God's w r ord and came back again 
 to the faith of his childhood. 
 
 So I offer it to you with its promises as 
 of lanterns, if its commands are care- 
 fully received and followed out. You, too, 
 may pass from darkness into light and 
 you may claim from God this text of mine 
 which says, "I even I, am he that blotteth 
 out thy transgressions for mine own sake, 
 and will not remember thy sins." 
 
CONVERSION 
 
 Text: "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except 
 ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall 
 not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." — Matt. 18: 3. 
 
 Jesus Christ was the world's greatest 
 teacher and preacher. Multitudes fol- 
 lowed him because he taught them, not 
 as the scribes, but as one having author- 
 ity. He came to them with the deepest 
 truth of God, but couched in such familiar 
 expressions, and told in such a fascinating 
 way, that all men heard him and went 
 their way rejoicing that so great a teacher 
 had come into the world as the messenger 
 of God. He desired to speak to them 
 concerning the kingdom, and seeing on 
 the distant hillside a farmer sowing his 
 seed, he gave them the parable of the 
 sower; and every farmer in his company 
 began to understand his message. He 
 told them the story of a woman baking 
 bread, and in the spreading of the leaven 
 
 199 
 
200 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 every housekeeper had a vision of one of 
 the deepest principles of the coming king- 
 dom. He gave them the account of the 
 boy who went away from his home, 
 breaking his mother's heart, and, accord- 
 ing to tradition, putting her in her grave; 
 causing his old father to bow his head in 
 shame again and again, and yet in spite 
 of it all, his father loving him; and every 
 listener learned from the story a lesson 
 concerning the love of God which could 
 have been given to him in no other way. 
 He was acknowledged as the world's 
 greatest teacher and preacher. 
 
 The text is introduced by the word 
 u verily," and this is peculiar to Jesus. 
 The word calls especial attention to the 
 coming message. It was as if he had 
 sounded a bell and said, "Stop and listen" ; 
 and wherever the word "verily" occurs 
 the Bible reader would do well to give 
 heed to the message of Jesus. 
 
 What hope is there for the moralist when 
 Jesus said, "Except ye be converted"? 
 What hope can there be for the man who 
 
Conversion 201 
 
 says God is so merciful that he will not 
 allow him finally to be lost when Jesus said 
 "Ye shall not enter into the kingdom, 
 except ye be converted and become as 
 little children." 
 
 It will be necessary for us to read care- 
 fully verses eight and nine in this eight- 
 eenth chapter of Matthew, if we would 
 be impressed with the importance of con- 
 version. There are solemn words here. 
 "Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot 
 offend thee, cut them off, and cast them 
 from thee: it is better for thee to enter 
 into life halt or maimed, rather than hav- 
 ing two hands or two feet to be cast 
 into everlasting fire. And if thine eye 
 offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it 
 from thee: it is better for thee to enter 
 into life with one eye, rather than having 
 two eyes to be cast into hellfire." 
 
 I have been told that there are two 
 ways of reading this text. The first is 
 as we have it in the King James version; 
 the second would make it read thus: 
 "Verily, I say unto you, except ye convert 
 
202 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 yourselves and become as little children, 
 ye shall not enter into the kingdom of 
 heaven. " Those who hold to this second 
 reading say that there is a difference be- 
 tween regeneration and conversion — that 
 regeneration is God's part of the contract, 
 while conversion is ours; that conversion 
 is simply having the willing mind, while 
 regeneration is God's imparting to us his 
 own life; and to convert one's self is 
 simply to be willing to be saved. And this 
 is all-important, for even God himself 
 cannot save us against our wills. But 
 I prefer to use, in my treatment of the 
 text, the generally accepted idea of con- 
 version, and wish my message to center 
 around the following questions: What 
 is conversion? How may I be converted? 
 Do I know when I was converted? How 
 may I know certainly? 
 
 What is conversion? I own a piece of 
 property, and you desire to purchase it. 
 You pay me a price, and the property is 
 
Conversion 203 
 
 transferred from my ownership to yours. 
 It is a converted piece of property. This 
 is just a hint as to what conversion is. 
 We were sold under sin; and if any should 
 object to this expression, we have sold 
 ourselves under sin. Jesus came and in 
 the shedding of his own blood paid the 
 price of our redemption. As a child of 
 God, I am bought back from bondage 
 to freedom. To be converted is to be 
 turned about. Going away from God, 
 I turn towards him. With my face set 
 away from heaven, I deliberately turn 
 and accept Jesus, who said, "I am the 
 way, the truth, and the life. " To be con- 
 verted is to cross the line which separates 
 light from darkness, and may be done 
 as easily as if one drew a line in the path 
 before him and stepped over it. Both 
 of these would be by the act of one's will ; 
 only it is to be remembered that when 
 by faith we accept Jesus there is im- 
 parted to us a knowledge which comes 
 from the Holy Ghost alone; while we seem 
 to be acting in our own strength, yet 
 
204 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 really it is in the strength of God. Let it 
 be remembered, however, that no two 
 people may have exactly the same ex- 
 perience. There is an illustration of this 
 in the healing of the blind men in the 
 New Testament. I can imagine them 
 having a convention, and each giving 
 his testimony. One declares that the 
 only way to receive your sight is to have 
 clay and spittle put upon your eyes and 
 to wash in the pool of Siloam. Another 
 ridicules this experience and declares that 
 only the touch of the fingers of Jesus is 
 necessary. Still another speaks and em- 
 phatically declares that even the touch of 
 Jesus is superfluous, for at the command 
 of Jesus he saw clearly. Another says 
 that instantaneous sight is impossible, 
 and describes his own experience, when 
 he saw men like trees, walking. But 
 when all have given their testimony, they 
 finally unite in declaring that whereas 
 they once were blind, now they can see; 
 and after all this is the important matter. 
 A friend of mine described a numbe* of 
 
Conversion 205 
 
 people who came to view "The Angelus" 
 that celebrated masterpiece of Millet's. 
 Some people admired the perspective; 
 others, the figure of the man; others, that 
 of the woman. One man simply stood 
 aghast as he looked, and exclaimed," What 
 a marvelous frame that picture has!" 
 and no two people expressed the same 
 opinion concerning the masterpiece. How 
 could we expect them to have the same 
 experience in coming to Christ? 
 
 It may be that some will say, "Why in- 
 sist upon conversion when my life is a 
 moral one?" And my answer is that 
 the difficulty with morality is that it is 
 worked out according to men's standard 
 and falls far short of God's. 
 
 In my first pastorate I had a blind man 
 as one of my hearers. He used to walk 
 about the village where I preached, gener- 
 ally without a guide, and apparently 
 went as easily as a man with eyes. He 
 had a little stick in his hands, with which 
 he touched the trees and the fences, and 
 seemed to know by the very sound where 
 
206 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 he was. One day at noon, when he 
 should be going home, I saw him walking 
 rapidly away from his home. I finally con- 
 vinced him that he was going in the w^rong 
 direction, and he asked me to set him 
 straight, which I did. Going in the new 
 direction, he used his stick in the same 
 fashion, used his legs in the same mechan- 
 ical way, but the difference between the 
 man in the first instance and the second 
 was this — that in the first picture he was 
 going away from home, while in the 
 second he was going homeward rapidly. 
 The trouble with man's morality is that 
 it is self-centered and not Christ centered 
 if he is rejected. 
 
 ii 
 
 How may I be converted? For from 
 the text which says ''Except ye be con- 
 verted" it would seem as if some power 
 outside of ourselves must be working in 
 our behalf, and this is true. The founda- 
 tion of it all is the atonement by Christ, his 
 sacrificial death upon the cross. Reject- 
 
Conversion 207 
 
 ing this truth, there is no hope for us. 
 In our sinful condition, the spirit of God 
 rouses us, convicts us of sin, convinces 
 us of our need of a Savior, and finally God, 
 in his grace, gives us the strength to 
 yield, and we pass from darkness to 
 light. 
 
 Sometimes great need drives us to 
 light, as in the case of Nicodemus; while 
 again great sin compels us to come to 
 him, as in the case of the thief on the cross. 
 But whether it be need or sin, let us 
 start with little faith, if we have no more, 
 and God will meet us the moment we 
 start. I once conducted services in a 
 soldiers' home. The commanding officer 
 told me, when the service was concluded, 
 of a former inmate, an old sea captain, 
 who came to the institution a confessed 
 infidel. He refused te attend any of the 
 services in the chapel; finally he was 
 taken ill, and then the commanding 
 officer entered his room, asking him to 
 read the Scriptures, which he declined 
 to do. Again he came suggesting that he 
 
208 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 read the Bible to see if there was any part 
 he could believe, and a bottle of red ink 
 and a pen were left by his bedside, the 
 officer suggesting that he mark any verse 
 red if he could accept it. This appealed 
 to the dying man and he said, "Where 
 shall I read?" The officer said "Begin 
 with John's Gospel." And he did so. 
 He read through two chapters without 
 making a mark, and through fifteen 
 verses of the third chapter. Then he came 
 to the sixteenth verse, which is a picture 
 of the very heart of God, and he reached 
 for his pen and marked the verse red. 
 When this much of the story had been 
 told we reached the old captain's room and 
 passed the threshold to find the bed 
 empty, for he was gone. "I wish you 
 might have seen his Bible," said the 
 captain. "I sent it to his family recently. 
 There was not a page in it that was not 
 marked red." Over his bed swung a 
 pasteboard anchor; marked upon it were 
 these words — "I have cast my anchor in 
 safe harbor." For he had gone home. 
 
Conversion 209 
 
 in 
 
 Do you know when you were converted? 
 That is, do you know the exact time? 
 There are two extremes in experiences 
 in this matter. I recall the experience of 
 an old man who sat in my lecture room 
 one Friday evening, and just as the hands 
 of the clock marked the hour 9 : 30 he 
 said "I will," and came to Christ. That 
 was the moment of his conversion. But, 
 as for myself, I have not had this experi- 
 ence; I do not know just when I turned to 
 Christ. It must have been when I was 
 but a small child. One of the best women 
 I know has had an experience similar to 
 mine, while one of the greatest preachers 
 in the land has told me that he was a 
 drunkard until he was 21 years of age, 
 and then, on his knees, by his father's 
 death bed, he came to the Savior. After 
 all, it is not so much a question of the 
 knowledge of the day, or the hour, or the 
 month of one's conversion as "Do we 
 now know Christ? 
 
210 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 IV 
 
 How may we know that we have passed 
 from death into life? Certainly not with 
 our feelings as a proof, for they change 
 as the sands shift on the seashore. 
 If our feelings be the foundation, then 
 we may be in the kingdom and out of it 
 a great many times a day. It is not always 
 to be determined by a great change in 
 one's life, for men who have not accepted 
 Christ have had such an experience. 
 There is only one sure way of knowing it, 
 and that is on the authority of the word 
 of God. John 5: 24, "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: but is passed from death 
 unto life. 55 And John 6:47, "Verily, 
 verily, I say unto you, he that believeth 
 on me hath everlasting life." 
 
 It is said that Napoleon while rid- 
 ing; in front of his soldiers lost control 
 of his horse, when a private stepped from 
 
Conversion 21 1 
 
 the ranks, seized the horse's bridle and 
 saved the officer's life. Napoleon saluted 
 him and called him captain. "But, sir," 
 said he, "I am not a captain, only a pri- 
 vate." "Then, "said Napoleon, "I will 
 commission you captain. " And immedi- 
 ately he stepped into the company of those 
 officers ; they ordered him to the ranks, but 
 he said, "I am a captain." "By whose 
 authority?" they said. If then he had 
 replied, "Because I feel like a captain," 
 how ridiculous it would have been! 
 Pointing to Napoleon, he said, "I am a 
 captain, because he said it." Thus with 
 God's word as a foundation we stand 
 secure. 
 
 Do not forget to notice that we are told 
 that we must come like little children. 
 Not like the philosophers of the world, 
 but like little children who always trust 
 implicitly those who are about them. 
 If we would be saved, we must be will- 
 ing to be taught, and we must some 
 
212 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 time make a beginning. Then why not 
 now? 
 
 Some years ago John B. Gough visited 
 a home in a New England city, and the 
 heartbroken mother told him that her 
 boy, who was an inebriate, was confined 
 in an upper room in the house, which 
 was much like a cell. The great temper- 
 ance leader went to speak to him and said 
 ' 'Edward, why don't you pray?" and he 
 said, "Because I don't believe in prayer." 
 "But," said Mr. Gough, "You must be- 
 lieve in God." And he replied, "I do not 
 believe in anything. " "I am sure you are 
 wrong in this," said he, "for I know that 
 you believe in your mother. " Then there 
 came a new look into his face when he 
 said, "Yes, I believe in her." "Well," 
 said Mr. Gough, "you must then believe 
 in love. Let us fall upon our knees and 
 pray." And the young man began, "O 
 love," and the spirit of God said unto 
 him, "God is love," and he changed his 
 prayer and said "O God," and then 
 came the same spirit and said, "God so 
 
Conversion 213 
 
 loved the world that he gave his only 
 begotten son/ 5 and he said "O Christ," 
 and when he said this the deed was done. 
 He immediately rose from his knees, 
 and he has been free ever since. 
 
FIVE KINGS IN A CAVE 
 
 Text: " And it came to pass, when they brought out 
 those kings unto Joshua, thai Joshua called for all 
 the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the 
 men of war which went with him, Come near, put 
 your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they 
 came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. 
 And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dis- 
 mayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall 
 the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye 
 fight"— Joshua 10:24-25. 
 
 The history of the children of Israel 
 is one of the most fascinating stories ever 
 written. It abounds in illustrations which 
 are as practical and helpful as any that 
 may be used to-day, drawn from our 
 every-day experience. God certainly 
 meant that we should use their story in 
 this way, for in the New Testament we 
 read that the things which happened 
 to them were as ensamples for us. 
 The word "ensample" means type, or 
 figure, or illustration. 
 
 215 
 
216 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 To appreciate this text and the story of 
 the five imprisoned kings we must go 
 back a little bit to the place where the 
 leadership of Moses had been transferred 
 to Joshua. God is never at a loss for a 
 man; his plans are never frustrated. If 
 Moses is to be set aside Joshua is in prepa- 
 ration for his position. Doubtless Joshua 
 may have felt somewhat restrained, as he 
 was kept in a position of not very great 
 prominence, but he certainly realized 
 when he stood as the leader of the children 
 of Israel that all things had been working 
 together for the good of his leadership, 
 and doubtless he praised Jehovah for his 
 goodness to him. There are many 
 incidents in connection with the immedi- 
 ate story of the children of Israel which 
 should be mentioned here. 
 
 When they were ready to move towards 
 Canaan Joshua told them that when the 
 soles of the feet of the priests touched the 
 water of the Jordan the water would 
 stand on either side before them and they 
 could pass dry shod into Canaan. Sud- 
 
Five Kings in a Cave 217 
 
 denly the marching began. They stood 
 within three feet of the waters, which 
 ran the same as they had been running 
 for years; then two feet, then one, and 
 then six inches, but there was no parting 
 of the waters before them. Let us remem- 
 ber that God had said, "When the soles 
 of the feet of the priests touch the water 
 they shall separate. " And it was even as 
 he said, and on dry land the children of 
 Israel passed over to the other side. It 
 is a perfectly natural thing for one who 
 is unregenerate to say, "Why insist upon 
 confession, and the acceptance of Christ, 
 and how can the mere acceptance of the 
 Savior save me from the penalty and the 
 power of sin?" But a countless multitude 
 will rise to-day to say, "It was when we 
 stepped out upon what we could not 
 understand and what seemed as impass- 
 able and impossible as the parting of 
 the waters of the Jordan that God gave 
 us light and peace/' 
 
 When once they were in Canaan what 
 an interesting story that is in connection 
 
218 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 with Rahab of Jericho ! The spies had 
 entered her home and a mob outside was 
 seeking them that they might put them 
 to death. Rahab promised them de- 
 liverance, only she exacted from them a 
 promise in return that they would save 
 alive her father and her mother and her 
 loved ones; and when she let them down 
 by means of a cord from the window of 
 her home they said to her, "Bind this 
 scarlet cord in the window and gather 
 your loved ones here and they shall be 
 saved. " And when the children of Israel 
 had marched about Jericho and the walls 
 were about to fall, ^suddenly they lifted 
 their eyes and they saw the red cord 
 fluttering from the window, and while all 
 else was destroyed Rahab and all her 
 loved ones were saved. 
 
 What a little thing evidently stood 
 between them and death — just a red 
 cord ! And yet as a matter of fact it is 
 only a red cord that is between us and 
 death — namely, the blood of the Son of 
 God; for, as in the Old Testament times 
 
Five Kings in a Cave 219 
 
 when God saw the blood and the de- 
 stroying angel passed over the home, so 
 in these New Testament times the blood 
 which has been received by faith insures 
 us our safety and we are set free from 
 sin's penalty and sin's power. 
 
 The story of Achan is a note of warn- 
 ing. It is rather singular that when the 
 children of Israel had taken Jericho they 
 failed at Ai, and yet not singular when we 
 realize that one man had sinned in all 
 the company. He had taken gold and 
 silver and a Babylonish garment and had 
 hidden the same in his tent, and this was 
 in direct disobedience to the commands 
 of Joshua. The sad thing about sin 
 is that we cannot sin and suffer alone. 
 Our friends suffer, our kindred must 
 bear a part of the woe with us. When 
 Achan sinned the children of Israel 
 lost a victory. Sin is progressive. In 
 the seventh chapter of Joshua and the 
 twenty-first verse, we read, "When I 
 saw among the spoils a goodly Babylon- 
 ish garment, and two hundred shekels of 
 
220 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels 
 weight, then I coveted them, and took 
 them; and behold they are hid in the 
 earth in the midst of my tent, and the 
 silver under it." And you will notice 
 that, first he saw, then he coveted, then 
 he took. It is always thus ; a sinful imag- 
 ination will lead to outbreaking iniquity, 
 and a small sin encouraged will ultimately 
 mean disgrace. 
 
 The story of the Gibeonites is also inter- 
 esting. They had heard of the power 
 of the children of Israel and were 
 afraid of them; but they made up their 
 minds to deceive them,. So, lest the Israel- 
 ites should think that they came from a 
 near by territory and therefore should 
 turn against them they put on old clothes, 
 wore old shoes upon their feet and carried 
 musty bread in their baggage. Then they 
 stood before Israel and said, "We have 
 come from a far country; look at our 
 clothing, it is worn out ; and at our shoes, 
 they are in holes ; and at our bread, it was 
 fresh when we started, it is musty to-day." 
 
Five Kings in a Cave 221 
 
 And Joshua said, "We will make them 
 hewers of wood and drawers of water/' 
 and they were saved from death but they 
 served in bondage. Let this be remem- 
 bered always that deception inevitably 
 means bondage. One is in bondage to 
 his conscience, for it constantly reproves 
 him. He is in bondage to the one he has 
 deceived, for he can never stand honestly 
 before him. He is most of all in bondage 
 to his sin, for he will surely be found out. 
 The Amorites were against the children 
 of Israel and they w r ere a great company. 
 It is in connection with their struggle 
 against this power that the text is written. 
 
 The Israelites started in this conflict 
 with a mighty power against them, as we 
 have seen. But so have we. There are 
 first of all the tendencies of our old nature 
 against which we must fight, for just as 
 with the law of gravitation if I take my 
 hand away from a book or a stone it 
 falls to the floor or the ground because 
 
222 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 this law pulls it downward, so there is a 
 law in my members and has been in the 
 life of every man since Adam's day pulling 
 me away from the true to the false. It is 
 for this reason that it is easier to do wrong 
 than to do right, to be untrue than to be 
 true. Then there is against us the very 
 world in which we live. Its atmosphere, 
 its business, even its social life is tainted 
 with that which is sinful or to say the 
 least questionable, and he who lives in the 
 world and is in any sense of it has a hard 
 battle to fight. But there are two special 
 things which are against us. 
 
 First: The sins which we have en- 
 couraged. It may be in the beginning 
 very small, but Satan is perfectly satisfied 
 if he can have the least hold upon the life 
 of the one whom he washes to wrong. I 
 read in a Chicago paper the story of a 
 woman who was making a heroic struggle 
 against an awful curse. She had become 
 addicted to the use of morphine. For 
 fourteen years she was a consumer of 
 the drug. Apparently she could not 
 
Five Kings in a Cave 223 
 
 shake off the habit. Building up a resist- 
 ance to the action of the drug, her system 
 became accustomed to enormous quan- 
 tities of it. She could not eat, nor sleep, 
 nor work without it. Most of her scanty 
 earnings went to purchase it. She was a 
 seamstress, and by toiling many hours 
 a day managed to get enough money to buy 
 it. Some years back she had been a happy 
 wife and mother. Her husband loved 
 her; she was devoted to him and to their 
 two children. She lost him; she lost the 
 care of her children; rapidly she drifted 
 away from them. The powerful narcotic 
 helped to deaden her pain. When her 
 anguish became unbearable a double 
 dose of it would enable her to drowse 
 away the hours. 
 
 "I will never again touch or taste 
 morphine, so help me God!" she said. 
 Immediately she discontinued the use of 
 the drug wholly. She could get no sleep; 
 she could not swallow food half the time 
 or retain it. She was beset by horrible 
 visions. She was racked by an inexpress- 
 
224 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 ible longing. But she held on. Those 
 who knew her and watched her agonizing 
 battle with astonishment and sympathy 
 told her that she was killing herself. 
 "It may be/ 5 she would answer, "but 
 I shall die true to my oath." "But," 
 they would urge, "a habit like yours, 
 which has obtained for years, should 
 be broken gradually." "I will master 
 it. I have blotted it from my life," she 
 would answer. "I shall quit it this way 
 even if I go into the grave. It has mas- 
 tered me ; it has cost me my home, hus- 
 band and children; now I will master it." 
 She started at shadows, her nights were 
 nights of horror; she would bury her nails 
 in the palms of her hands and compress 
 her lips to keep from screaming. There 
 was no rest for her. Still she tried to 
 work and grew weaker. "You cannot 
 give me that," she said, "I remember 
 my oath. Give me any medicine you 
 choose save opium. God would for- 
 sake me now if I forsook my promise 
 to him." The physician remonstra- 
 
Five Kings in a Cave 225 
 
 ted with her, but in vain, so he gave 
 her a substitute which failed of its 
 effect, as he knew it would, and she died. 
 Even when the hand of death had 
 clutched her grimly, though her terrific 
 sufferings would have been allayed by 
 the poison, she refused to take it. Any 
 person in the room would have bought it 
 for her and administered it gladly, so 
 that she might pass away in peace, but 
 she would not prove traitor to herself. 
 She was a friendless woman except for 
 acquaintances recently made. Her life 
 had been sad and hard. Held in the grip 
 of an enemy that set its mark upon her, 
 she was shunned and went her downward 
 way alone. Those who were with her say 
 that just before the end came she smiled, 
 knowing that she had won her fight; and 
 yet years ago she began to trifle with sin, 
 and it had mastered her. 
 
 Again, we have against us sins which 
 not only have been encouraged but have 
 been committed again and again until they 
 have become a habit of our lives, and he 
 
226 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 who has such a sin as this finds himself 
 in the grip of one who is a tyrant. 
 
 In a city paper the other day I came 
 across the story of a man who once 
 had some prominence in the world but 
 began to go wrong, naturally drifted 
 towards the evil and finally found himself 
 surrounded by the lowest of companions. 
 Because of his natural ability he easily 
 assumed leadership. 
 
 The particular form of crime they 
 practiced was administering chloral to 
 those who sat at the bar in the saloon to 
 drink. They did this by attracting the 
 attention of the man who was to drink 
 to something else in the room and then 
 the deadly knock-out drops would be ad- 
 ministered and they would rob the man. 
 One night the dose was too strong and 
 the victim died. The one who caused 
 his death came before the city authorities 
 recently to give himself up and pitifully 
 ask that he might be quickly sent to death 
 to pay the penalty of his crime for, said 
 he, "From that moment my mind has 
 
Five Kings in a Cave 227 
 
 never been at rest. I wandered about 
 town for two or three days trying to get 
 rid of the sight of that fellow's face; but 
 at night was when I suffered. The mo- 
 ment I dozed off I could see him in my 
 dreams beckoning and laughing as he 
 dragged me over some cliff, and I waked 
 up cold with fear. No one knows what 
 I suffered. I left the city. I went to Den- 
 ver. I went to Butte. I traveled every- 
 where, but wherever I went night and 
 day that dead man was hovering around 
 me. I couldn't sleep and my mind began 
 to weaken. One night I went into a 
 gambling den. I thought the excitement 
 might drive that vision out of my head. 
 I played roulette. I bet on the black; the 
 red won. And right before me I saw 
 that printer's face just like I see you now, 
 grinning as the dealer dragged in my 
 money. I ran out of that club like a 
 crazy man and wandered about town till 
 I saw a freight train pulling out of the 
 yards. I climbed into an empty box car 
 and lay down in the corner to rest. For 
 
228 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 a few moments the face was gone. Sud- 
 denly a flash of lightning lit up that car 
 as bright as this cell, and there, just a 
 couple of feet from me, I saw that man 
 I'd killed plainer than I see you. He 
 reached out and caught me by the arm. 
 I screamed and jumped out of the car. 
 They found me next day lying beside the 
 track; and when they got me to a hospital, 
 as I hope for pardon, that thing's black 
 and blue finger marks showed on my 
 shoulder. I've been in a lot of places 
 since that but I never got over it. Finally 
 it got so bad I couldn't stand it and I 
 came back to Chicago to confess." And 
 just as we have all these things against us 
 so the children of Israel had the Amorites 
 against them and the five kings were 
 unitedly arrayed to fight them. 
 
 ii 
 
 But there was a sure deliverance for 
 Israel and there is a sure deliverance for 
 us. God promised to be with Joshua and 
 his people. Joshua 1:5, " There shall 
 
Five Kings in a Cave 229 
 
 not any man be able to stand before thee 
 all the days of thy life: as I was with 
 Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not 
 fail thee, nor forsake thee." Even the 
 things that were impossible he helped them 
 to accomplish. Joshua 6 : 1-2, "Now Jeri- 
 cho was straitly shut up because of the 
 children of Israel: none went out, and 
 none came in. And the Lord said unto 
 Joshua, See, I have given unto thine hand 
 Jericho, and the king thereof, and the 
 mighty men of valor. " Even where men 
 had failed him he gave them victory. 
 Joshua 8: 1-2, "And the Lord said unto 
 Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dis- 
 mayed: take all the people of war with 
 thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have 
 given into thy hand the king of Ai, and 
 his people, and his city, and his land; 
 and thou shalt do to Ai and her king 
 as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: 
 only the spoil thereof, and the cattle there- 
 of, shall ye take for a prey unto your- 
 selves: lay thee an ambush for the city 
 behind it." Even where the forces were 
 
230 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 combined against them it made no differ- 
 ence. Joshua 10: 8, "And the Lord said 
 unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have 
 delivered them into thine hand; there 
 shall not a man of them stand before 
 thee/' So it is with us. God has promised 
 to deliver us, and over our sinful nature, 
 the atmosphere of the world, sins en- 
 couraged and sins committed, we may 
 expect a complete victory. Everything 
 is at man's disposal if only God is with 
 him. In connection with the children of 
 Israel even the day was made longer that 
 they might fight their battles. Joshua 10: 
 12-14, "Then spake Joshua to the Lord 
 in the day when the Lord delivered up 
 the Amorites before the children of Israel, 
 and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, 
 stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, 
 Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the 
 sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until 
 the people had avenged themselves upon 
 their enemies. Is not this written in the 
 book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in 
 the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go- 
 
Five Kings in a Cave 231 
 
 down about a whole day. And there was 
 no day like that before it, or after it, that 
 the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a 
 man: for the Lord fought for Israel." 
 The weak w r ere made strong that the 
 enemy might not triumph over them. "If 
 God be for us who can be against us?" 
 In this struggle with the Amorites Israel 
 won the day. 
 
 in 
 
 The victory of the Israelites over the 
 Amorites was like the general deliverance 
 which God has given us from the power 
 of sin, but there are certain sins which 
 may pursue us, and from these w T e ought to 
 be set free. When the children of Israel 
 started from Egypt and had passed 
 through the Red Sea certain of the Egyp- 
 tians started after them, the waters of the 
 Sea came together and they were put to 
 death. The next day the Israelites camped 
 upon the shore and they could easily go 
 back. Doubtless more than one could say 
 as he turned over the body of a dead man 
 
232 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 to see his face, "Why, this is my old tax 
 master who used to beat me. He will never 
 have power over me again." Is such a 
 deliverance as this from individual sins 
 possible ? I think it is. I can think of five 
 sins which stand in the way of men and 
 which may be likened to the five kings 
 shut up in the cave. 
 
 First: Sinful imagination or secret 
 sins. I doubt not but that almost every 
 one whose eyes may light upon this sen- 
 tence has been guilty at this point. He 
 may have said again and again, "I will 
 never do this thing again," and he has put 
 the king into the cave and rolled the stone 
 against the door. 
 
 Second: Impurity. It may be that 
 some one who reads this sentence will 
 plead guilty at this point, and he may have 
 said, "This sin which is now my defeat 
 began with only a suggestion of evil which I 
 encouraged; but I will never be guilty 
 again," and he puts the sin into the cave 
 and rolls the stone against the door. 
 
 Third : Intemperance, not simply in the 
 
Five Kings in a Cave 233 
 
 matter of drinking strong drink, but it 
 may be intemperance in the matter of dress, 
 or eating, or pleasure; in other words, it is 
 the lack of self-control. This has been the 
 defeat of more men than one, and as you 
 stop and think you say, "I will never 
 lose control of myself again," and you put 
 the sin within the cave and roll the stone 
 against the door. 
 
 Fourth : Dishonesty; not simply in what 
 you do but in what you say, for one 
 may be dishonest in speech as well as in 
 appropriating that which does not belong 
 to him. If you should be condemned just 
 here and have determined never to fail 
 again at this point, by an act of your will 
 you consign this king to the cave and close 
 up the entrance. 
 
 Five: Unbelief, which is the greatest 
 sin of all and is the last and greatest sin to 
 be put into the cave. As a result of such 
 an action there may be temporary relief, 
 but not permanent, for the kings may 
 break away from the cave and organize 
 their forces against you once more and you 
 
234 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 go down. Here comes in the power of the 
 text. Bring the kings out, every one of 
 them, and put your feet upon their necks 
 and stand in all your right and dignity as 
 Christian men, and expect deliverance 
 not so much because of what you are but 
 because of the fact that from the days of 
 the first sin it has been said, "The seed 
 of the woman shall bruise the serpent's 
 head." 
 
 Near Toledo, Ohio, there used to live 
 an old doctor noted for his infidelity. He 
 was violent in his opposition to the 
 church. One day he called Robert In- 
 gersoll to the town where he lived and paid 
 him two hundred dollars, that he might by 
 means of his lecture break up the revival 
 meeting. Everybody was afraid of him. 
 He heard of an old preacher back in the 
 country who was a stranger to the schools 
 but not a stranger to God, and he asked 
 his friends to make it possible for him to 
 meet him. Finally they met, and the 
 infidel with a sneer said, "So you believe 
 the Bible, do you?" and he said, "Yes, 
 
Five Kings in a Cave 235 
 
 sir; do you?" "And you believe in God, 
 do you? 55 and he said, "Yes, sir." "Well, 
 I want you to understand that I am an 
 infidel, and believe none of these things." 
 The old minister looked at him and said 
 simply, "Well, is that anything to be 
 proud of?" and it was an arrow that went 
 straight through the unbeliever. He went 
 back to his office and began to think it 
 over. "Anything to be proud of," he said, 
 and he finally realized that he was not in a 
 favorable position. Then he thought of 
 an old Christian he knew and said, "If 
 I could be such a Christian as that I 
 would come to Christ." He went to tell 
 the minister, and the minister said to him, 
 "Get down on your knees and tell God 
 so," and he began to tell him, then broke 
 down and sobbed out his confession of 
 sin. His cry for deliverance was heard, 
 and he rose up a free man in Christ Jesus. 
 From that day till this he has been freed 
 from every one of his sins, is preaching the 
 Gospel and counts it his highest joy to 
 contribute in every possible way to the 
 
236 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 enlargement of the bounds of the King- 
 dom of God. So there is deliverance from 
 every form of sin if we will but move in 
 God's way. 
 
DEFINITENESS OF PURPOSE IN 
 CHRISTIAN WORK 
 
 Text: "Salute no man by the way." — Luke 10: 4. 
 
 Luke is the only one of the Evangelists 
 giving us the account of the sending out 
 of the seventy. The others tell us that 
 Christ called certain men unto him and 
 commissioned them to tell his story; but 
 in this instance after Jesus had said, 
 "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air 
 have nests, but the Son of man hath not 
 where to lay his head/' he calls the seventy 
 and sends them forth prepared to endure 
 any sacrifice or suffer any affliction if only 
 they may do his will. And when he had 
 said unto another, "Follow me," but he 
 answered, "Suffer me first to go and bury 
 my father/' Jesus said unto him (Luke 
 9: 60-62), "Let the dead bury their dead; 
 but go thou and preach the kingdom of 
 God. And another also said, Lord, I 
 will follow thee; but let me first go bid 
 
 237 
 
238 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 them farewell which are at home at my 
 house. And Jesus said unto him, No 
 man, having put his hand to the plough, 
 and looking back, is fit for the kingdom 
 of God." From this expression of the 
 Master we quite understand that no other 
 service, however important it may seem to 
 us, is to come between us and our devotion 
 to him. And in the expression concerning 
 the man having put his hand to the plow 
 and looking back we have one of the 
 strongest illustrations that Jesus ever used. 
 He does not say that if any one puts his 
 hand to the plow and turns back to some 
 other form of service he is not fit for the 
 Kingdom of God, but what he says is this : 
 If any man has his hands to the plow and 
 simply looks back he is not fit for the 
 Kingdom; and this for two reasons: 
 
 First: Because no man could plow as 
 he ought to unless he would keep his eyes 
 straight ahead of him, and 
 
 Second : No man could plow if he has 
 his mind fixed upon something else. Jesus 
 wants his disciples to know that his work 
 
Definiteness of Purpose 239 
 
 is the important work, that nothing can 
 surpass it. Not only is it wrong for us to 
 turn away from him to any other service 
 but it is a sin even to take our eyes off of 
 him to gaze upon anything else. Under 
 such sharp teaching as this he sends forth 
 the seventy. 
 
 Let it be noted, first, that he sent them 
 forth two by two. Perhaps one was sent 
 because he was strong in the opposite 
 direction from his fellow laborer. Who 
 knows but one could speak and the other 
 could sing ? Certainly one was the comple- 
 ment of the other. And they went forth 
 with burning hearts to give the message 
 of Jesus. That illustration in the New 
 Testament where four men brought the 
 sick man to Jesus is along the same line. 
 Two men might have failed utterly, three 
 men would have found it difficult service, 
 for four men it was easy. 
 
 I once made my way into the office of 
 a doctor to ask him to come to Christ. 
 The meetings were in progress in the 
 church and I thought he was interested. 
 
240 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 He received me kindly, but firmly declined 
 even to talk of Christ and I left him, utterly 
 discouraged. The next night the man 
 gave his heart to Christ, and for this 
 reason, I believe. We had made him in a 
 little company of church officers a subject 
 of prayer, and you cannot pray earnestly 
 for one for any length of time without 
 speaking to him concerning his soul's 
 salvation. Without having had a con- 
 ference four men determined to see the 
 doctor, and they all called upon him 
 within two hours of time. When the first 
 came he laughed at him; when the sec- 
 ond came his prominence in the business 
 world at least commanded the doctor's 
 respect; when the third came, having 
 driven four miles in from the country, he 
 began to be interested ; and with the com- 
 ing of the fourth there was awakened in 
 him a deep conviction. He closed his 
 office, went to his home and before the 
 evening hour of service came had accepted 
 Christ. 
 
 We have practically the same commis- 
 
Definiteness of Purpose 241 
 
 sion as the seventy. "As the Father hath 
 sent me even so send I you/' said Jesus to 
 us. These conditions are as true to-day 
 as in those days in the work of the seventy. 
 The harvest is great. There possibly 
 never has been a time when more people 
 are absenting themselves from the church 
 than at the present time. These men and 
 women are fit subjects for the Gospel. 
 The seventy went as the messengers of 
 peace, so may we go. There are troubled 
 hearts all about us, there are those who are 
 in despair, men and women who are say- 
 ing, "Peace, peace," when there is no 
 peace, while ours is the very message of 
 peace. Jesus said to them, "Carry neither 
 purse nor scrip nor shoes," for their de- 
 pendence was upon him. So must it be 
 to-day. Not upon method nor upon skill 
 must we depend, nor upon the schemes 
 of men, however successful they may have 
 been in the past, but upon him. In those 
 days the men were sick and troubled, in 
 these days they are dead in sins and as his 
 messengers we carry the message of love. 
 
242 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 This expression of the text meant very 
 much to the Oriental, for as a matter of 
 fact the salutation of the Eastern people 
 frequently took a half an hour of time, 
 and sometimes an hour would be con- 
 sumed. They touched their turbans, fell 
 upon their knees, saluted one another with 
 a holy kiss, talked together concerning 
 their own interests. These things were a 
 part of the salutation. Jesus says to the 
 seventy, " Salute no man as you go." They 
 were not bidden to be impolite — this is 
 farthest from the spirit of the Christian — 
 yet they were commissioned to be about 
 the king's business and the king's busi- 
 ness required haste. 
 
 The idea of the text is that there must 
 be definiteness of purpose in Christian 
 work. When Elisha kept his eyes fixed 
 upon Elijah there came to him as the 
 result the mantle of Elijah and he was 
 clothed with power. When Gehazi fol- 
 lowed Elisha's command and as he went 
 
Definiteness of Purpose 243 
 
 to the home of the Shunammite saluted 
 no one he became the forerunner of life 
 to the child. And when Paul said, "This 
 one thing I do/ 5 and nothing could 
 swerve him from his path of duty, he 
 became the mightiest preacher in the 
 world's history since Christ. But let it 
 not be thought for a moment that we are 
 advocating a gloomy religion; far from it. 
 
 I like the story of the little girl who 
 went one day into her grandfather's room 
 to ask him to read to her and found him 
 asleep with his head upon the back of the 
 chair, his Bible upon his knees and the 
 sunlight coming through the window at 
 the proper angle to cast about him a halo 
 of glory, and she ran to her mother say- 
 ing, "I have been in grandpa's room and 
 I have seen God." If as a Christian the 
 people of the world can have any thought 
 other than this, that we at times at least 
 remind them of Christ, something is wrong 
 with our Christian experience. 
 
 There were two sides to the experience 
 of Jesus . In one we see him at the wedding 
 
244 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 rejoicing with those that did rejoice, mak- 
 ing wine out of w^ater and contributing to 
 the happiness of all those who w^ere 
 present. In the other instance we see him 
 upon the mountain side and crying out, 
 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!'' with an 
 almost breaking heart. 
 
 When Charles G. Finney was in Utica 
 there came down to see him a woman who 
 was concerned for the town in which she 
 lived. She returned to her home and 
 through days and nights found it im- 
 possible either to eat or to sleep because 
 she realized the lost condition of those 
 about her. At last when she was so weak 
 that she could not pray, she had rest only 
 when those about her prayed for her. 
 When Mr. Finney reached that town one 
 of the greatest revivals in his history as 
 an evangelist was the result. 
 
 I was one day engaged w r ith other pas- 
 tors in an eastern city in a Gospel cam- 
 paign. The ministers were preaching in 
 turn each day and when it came my time 
 to preach I could find in all the audience 
 
Definiteness of Purpose 245 
 
 scarcely one of my people. Up to that 
 day the interest had been remarkable, but 
 somehow from that day on, although 
 people had been converted by the hun- 
 dred, there was no perceptible spiritual 
 impression. When the meetings had 
 closed one of the prominent society lead- 
 ers of my church came to explain to me 
 why she was away from the service and 
 she said, "I gave my afternoon recep- 
 tion and the people of our church were 
 there." When I told her that I felt that 
 as a result of that afternoon reception our 
 own church had lost a blessing she seemed 
 utterly amazed; and yet to this day I am 
 firmly persuaded that hundreds of people 
 might have come to Christ if we had not 
 in that day grieved the Spirit. 
 
 ii 
 
 The text means that those of us who 
 are Christians shall show by our very 
 faces that we are on the king's business 
 and that it is solemn business. 
 
 One day a man knocked at the door of 
 
246 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 my study, was admitted, sat down on the 
 couch in the room and began to sob. He 
 did not need to tell me why he had come. 
 I knew, but finally when he sobbed it out 
 this was his message: "I have come to 
 ask you to bury my wife, and to ask if 
 you will not go with me to comfort the 
 children, for they are heartbroken." I 
 knew by the very look of his face that he 
 had lost a loved one. Do you think for a 
 moment that those who gaze at us would 
 imagine that we had the least conviction 
 that people away from Christ were lost? 
 I am sure they would not. 
 
 The text also means that we shall be 
 desperately in earnest. A father and his 
 boy heard a minister preach a sermon on 
 the judgment and as they went to their 
 home the father said, "My boy, it was a 
 great sermon and you must think about 
 it." And the boy did. He made his way 
 to his room and threw himself on his bed 
 only to hear his father downstairs laugh- 
 ing and singing; and he said to himself, 
 "It is not true, for if mv father believed 
 
Definiteness of Purpose 247 
 
 I was in danger of the judgment he could 
 not laugh and he would not sing." That 
 day was the turning point in the boy's life. 
 He became a man of renown but never a 
 believer in Jesus Christ as we accept him. 
 The text also indicates how we should 
 pray, with an eye single to his glory but 
 with a purpose that cannot be shaken. 
 Pray as the Shunammite prayed, pray as 
 the woman besought the unjust judge; 
 such prayer brings victory. 
 
 in 
 
 Did you ever realize that you were 
 standing in the way of the conversion of 
 your friends? How about your living? 
 If your testimony rings anything else than 
 true to Christ you are a stumbling block 
 in the way of some one. 
 
 How about your testimony? In the 
 meetings to which I referred there came 
 a young woman one day evidently greatly 
 moved. First one pastor would speak to 
 her and then another, and finally I was 
 given the privilege. For a long time I 
 
248 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 could not understand her words for her 
 sobs and then she said, "I am a Chris- 
 tian, a member of one of the churches 
 in this movement. I have been engaged 
 to a young man for the last three years. 
 He was not a Christian. Three weeks 
 ago he was taken ill and a week ago he 
 died. In all the time that I knew him I 
 never spoke to him about Christ. I do 
 not know that he even knew that I was a 
 Christian, and now/ 5 she said, with a heart 
 which seemed to be literally crushed, "he 
 has gone and I never warned him." And the 
 text means that no one could come within 
 the reach of our influence without having 
 at least a suggestion made by ourselves to 
 them that we are the followers of Christ 
 and that we long to have them know him 
 who means so much to us. 
 
THE MORNING BREAKETH 
 
 Text: "Watchman, what of the night? The 
 watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the 
 nigW 9 — Isaiah 21: 11-12. 
 
 It is very interesting to note that, 
 whether we study the Old Testament or 
 the New, nights are always associated 
 with God's mornings. In other words, 
 he does not leave us in despair without 
 sending to us his messengers of hope and 
 cheer. 
 
 The Prophet Isaiah in this particular 
 part of his prophecy seems to be almost 
 broken-hearted because of the sin of the 
 people. As one of the Scotch preachers 
 has put it, he has practically sobbed him- 
 self to sleep. A great shadow has fallen 
 upon the people of God and he is in 
 despair because of it. They have sown 
 to the wind and now they are reaping the 
 whirlwind, a result which is inevitable. 
 They are away from Zion with its temple, 
 
250 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 and are deprived of the view of those 
 mountains which are round about Jerusa- 
 lem and to this day are clad with vines 
 and olive trees. They are in captivity and 
 are the abject slaves of the enemies of 
 God. Isaiah's heart is well-nigh crushed, 
 but in the midst of the despair he has a 
 vision of the chariots coming and hears a 
 cry which rejoices his soul, "Babylon is 
 fallen." It is because of these tidings that 
 he cries out in the words of the text. 
 
 What a night they had had of it ! They 
 had been in darkness that was ever in- 
 creasing, and the song of thanksgiving 
 which used to fill their souls because of 
 the nearness of Jefiovah had entirely 
 departed from them. 
 
 The figure of the watchman is often 
 used in the Bible, as for example when he 
 stands upon the city walls and is told that 
 if he sounds the trumpet telling of the 
 approach of the enemy and the people 
 hear and do not take warning their blood 
 is upon their own heads, while if he fails 
 to sound the trumpet and the people are 
 
The Morning Breaketh 251 
 
 cut off, their blood is required at the 
 watchman's hand. And again in the first 
 chapter of Zechariah the eighth to the 
 eleventh verses, "I saw by night, and be- 
 hold a man riding upon a red horse, and 
 he stood among the myrtle trees that 
 were in the bottom ; and behind him were 
 there red horses, speckled and white. 
 Then said I, O my Lord, what are these? 
 And the angel that talked with me said 
 unto me, I will shew thee what these be. 
 And the man that stood among the myrtle 
 trees answered and said, These are they 
 whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and 
 fro through the earth. And they an- 
 swered the angel of the Lord that stood 
 among the myrtle trees, and said, We 
 have walked to and fro through the earth, 
 and behold all the earth sitteth still and 
 is at rest." For here the man standing 
 in the midst of the myrtle trees is him of 
 whom the prophets did speak, while the 
 messengers are those who bring him tid- 
 ings of the progress of his kingdom. But 
 again where David comes to the watch 
 
252 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 tower and sees the two messengers run- 
 ning, the second one bringing him tidings 
 of the death of his son, and from this 
 watch tower he staggers back again to 
 his room crying out, "O Absalom, my 
 son, would God I had died for thee !" 
 
 The poet usually sings of the night as 
 a time of beauty. He sings of the moon 
 and the stars; but in the Bible night al- 
 ways stands for that which is dark, foul, 
 loathsome, sinful, cold and deadly. There 
 are different nights mentioned in the 
 Scripture, for the most part in the Old 
 Testament. There was that night in 
 Eden when sin blinded the eves of Adam 
 and Eve and a great darkness fell round 
 about them. There was the night of the 
 flood, all because the people had neglected 
 God; and there was the night of the 
 destroying angel passing over the cities 
 of Egypt, all because of the indifference of 
 those who knew not God. But even in 
 these nights God does not leave his people 
 without help, for in Eden we read, "The 
 seed of the woman shall bruise the ser- 
 
The Morning Breaketh 253 
 
 pent's head"; while in the flood behold 
 the Ark ; and in the Passover night we see 
 the blood of the Paschal lamb sprinkled 
 upon the lintels of the door. 
 
 There are different mornings mentioned 
 in the Scriptures, and as a rule we find 
 them in the New Testament. 
 
 The morning of his birth. 
 
 The morning of his resurrection. 
 
 The morning of his miracle when the 
 empty nets are filled and the discouraged 
 fishermen are made to rejoice. 
 
 The morning of his return, when, after 
 the rising of the morning star, an endless 
 day of blessing shall be ushered in. 
 
 It used to be the custom in Scotland, 
 especially in Aberdeen, for the night 
 watchman of the city guard as he paced 
 the streets to cry aloud, "Twelve o'clock 
 and the night is dark; one o'clock and 
 the storm is heavy/' and the restless 
 sleeper would toss upon his pillow and 
 listen for the tidings of the morning hour, 
 "Two o'clock and the morning is starry." 
 It is in this spirit that we listen to-day 
 
254 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 to the cry of the watchman when he 
 declares, "The morning cometh and also 
 the night." 
 
 i 
 
 We are in a sense in the night in these 
 days, even though we are Christians. 
 
 First: Because of the existence of sin. 
 It is everywhere, in the heart as a mighty 
 principle of evil pulling us down as the 
 law of gravitation pulls material sub- 
 stances toward the earth's center. In the 
 life as shown by our habits and practices, 
 for these are the fruits of sin. In the very 
 air we breathe sin is manifest, and sin has 
 brought the night. „ 
 
 Second: I sometimes think that the 
 darkness is increasing because as min- 
 isters we fail to preach concerning sin. 
 We speak of it as an error or a mistake; 
 we talk about the devil and call him his 
 Satanic majesty; we preach about hell 
 and call it the lost world, while it is true 
 that in the olden days when men trem- 
 bled under the word of the preacher the 
 man of God spoke of the devil and hell 
 
The Morning Breaketh 255 
 
 and sin in all their awfulness. But the 
 morning cometh, for while it is true that 
 sin is in the world and it has gripped many 
 of us, yet because of Christ's death upon 
 the cross we are free from the penalty of 
 sin; we may be free from the power 
 of sin, for the law of the spirit of life in 
 Christ Jesus sets us free from the law of 
 sin and death; we may be free from the 
 practice of sin, for Christ is the secret of 
 our deliverance. But the text tells us 
 that while the morning cometh the night 
 also appears. And so for those of us whose 
 lives have been such a struggle we cry, 
 "Is there no deliverance?" and I answer, 
 yes, we shall one day be free from the 
 presence of sin; and that will be at his 
 return when we shall see him and be like 
 him, and the new day w^hich is never to 
 close shall be upon us. 
 
 Third : We are in the night because of 
 the existence of sorrow. Next to sin this 
 is the greatest fact in the world, for men 
 are born unto trouble as the sparks fly 
 upward. And somehow the morning and 
 
256 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 the night as they are fastened together in 
 this text present to us the story of our 
 lives, for we are first in the morning when 
 everything seems peaceful, and almost 
 immediately in the night when we are 
 really in despair. 
 
 I journeyed from Naples to Rome over 
 a fine piece of railway and found myself 
 now in the darkness of a tunnel and 
 almost immediately rushing out onto a 
 fertile plain. That railroad is the story 
 of many a life. But "Is there no deliver- 
 ance that is complete?" and I answer, 
 yes, there is a time coming when there 
 shall be no sea and no tears and no night, 
 for the former things are passed away. 
 
 Fourth: We are in the night because 
 of mystery. Life is full of questions. 
 " Why must I have this trial or pain or 
 trouble?" So many of us are asking these 
 questions, and there is really no answer, 
 at least none for the present. And yet God 
 has not deceived us, for he has said, 
 "What I do thou knowest not now but 
 thou shalt know hereafter." He tells us 
 
The Morning Breaketh 257 
 
 that when we see him we shall know, but 
 also declares that no one can see his face 
 and live; and then, said the sainted Augus- 
 tine, '"Let me die that I may see him." 
 It is true that we shall go on from light 
 into darkness, from morning into the 
 night, but is there no final deliverance? 
 And I answer, yes, when we see him and 
 become like him we shall know as we are 
 known. Let us wait and believe until 
 that dav. 
 
 Have you ever seen a perfect rainbow — 
 that is, a rainbow in a perfect circle? I 
 never have. The most perfect one I have 
 ever seen was on the plains of Jericho, but 
 it was a half circle. However, in the Reve- 
 lation we are told that in that day there 
 shall be a rainbow round about the throne, 
 when half circles shall be made whole and 
 half things shall be made complete; that 
 is the morning for which we long. 
 
 n 
 
 But there is another suggestion, "the 
 morning cometh and also the night." 
 There is the thought of the transition from 
 
258 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 the one to the other. We certainly have 
 been in the night so far as our living is 
 concerned and our working, but now I 
 feel sure there is coming a change and 
 we are living in a critical time. May God 
 help us to be faithful. 
 
 All truth is like a cycle and at differ- 
 ent points in the circumference there are 
 truths which must be especially empha- 
 sized. 
 
 The late A. J. Gordon once preached a 
 sermon on the "Recurrence of Doctrine/ 5 
 in which he stated that while in one day 
 justification by faith was the prominent 
 truth for the church, in another sanctifi- 
 cation was prominent, in still another the 
 return of the Lord, and in still another 
 the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. All this 
 I firmly believe and it only proves to me 
 that the prominent truth for to-day is 
 every man for his neighbor, every friend 
 for his friend, every parent for his child, 
 the individual seeking the individual for 
 Christ. God is calling us to action; let 
 us not fail. 
 
The Morning Breaketh 259 
 
 I have a friend who used to use an 
 illustration of a sea captain, his first 
 mate and his wife wrecked upon a rocky 
 shore, huddled together upon a rock out 
 from the shore but too far for them to 
 escape by throwing themselves into the 
 waves. The life-line is shot out to them 
 and the captain puts it round his first 
 mate and bids him jump and he is drawn 
 to the shore in safety. Then he put the 
 cord around the waist of his wife, but the 
 current is running in such a way that she 
 must spring at just the proper second or 
 she will be thrown back against the rocks 
 and be killed. And he shouts to her, 
 "Spring!" but she waited to kiss him 
 and waited too long, sprang into the sea 
 and was thrown back against the rock 
 and drawn shorew T ard lifeless. Whether 
 that story is true or not I cannot say, but 
 it is an illustration of the present day 
 to me. God is saying, "Now is the day 
 of opportunity." May he pity us if we 
 fail! 
 
260 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 in 
 
 While all that has been said is true 
 concerning the morning of the Eternal 
 Dav, in another sense it is true that al- 
 ready a brighter day is breaking. 
 
 First: A better day for Bible study. 
 This old Book which people have feared 
 was going to pass away is better to-day 
 than ever. It is the object of deeper affec- 
 tion, and there is no question but that 
 more people are believing in it to-day as 
 the inspired Word of God than for years ; 
 and all because they have tested it and 
 it has stood the test. 
 
 Second: A better day of prayer is 
 dawning. Fifty thousand people in 
 Great Britain are banded together to 
 pray and to pray until the blessing comes 
 if that be for years. Oh, that God would 
 teach us to pray ! We do not half under- 
 stand what it means to ask God for 
 blessings. 
 
 A story of prayer which would seem 
 impossible if I did not know it to be true, 
 
The Morning Breaketh 261 
 
 for I have friends who have been in the 
 town where it occurred and have met the 
 descendants of the old sea captain, is 
 the story of the captain who took his 
 boy and others to fish and in the midst 
 of the hurricane the boy was washed over 
 board. Broken-hearted, he returned to 
 the shore and the fisher wife, as was her 
 custom, came down to meet them, only to 
 sob her wav back to her home because 
 her boy was gone. They spent the 
 night in the kirk in prayer, when the 
 minister said, "Why not ask God to re- 
 store his body?" and they did. They put 
 out to sea and journeyed sixty miles until 
 he told them to stop and when they let 
 over the grappling hooks they knew by 
 the very tug of the rope that they had his 
 body. They bore it back again to the 
 broken-hearted captain and his wife, who 
 had all the time been waiting in the kirk in 
 prayer. May God teach us how to pray ! 
 A brighter day is dawning, and while it 
 may be that some of us cannot see it, 
 while there may be skeptics who say it is 
 
262 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 not exactly true, yet I know from what I 
 have seen myself that the darkness is 
 passing away. 
 
 In June, 1897, the steamer Catalonia 
 at ten o'clock at night was found to be on 
 fire. One of my friends has told me that 
 he paced the deck and considered himself 
 lost because the flames were burning 
 fiercely. Finally the fire was under con- 
 trol and the people sang, "Praise God 
 from whom all blessings flow. 55 Telling 
 me of the lessons that he learned on this 
 awful journey, he said: "That night at 
 twelve o'clock, when the pumps were 
 being forced and the clouds of smoke 
 were taking on new dimensions and we 
 were wondering what the morning would 
 bring us, the man on the bridge shouted, 
 as he had at each midnight of the trip, 
 ' Eight bells, all's well!'" Had the man 
 down in a stateroom watching by the 
 side of his sick wife heard the words, he 
 might have said, "It's a falsehood," but 
 that man's vision was restricted by the 
 narrow walls of his stateroom. Had the 
 
The Morning Breaketh 263 
 
 mother and daughter, sitting in the cabin, 
 with their arms about each other, won- 
 dering why they had been allowed to sail 
 on the Catalonia and leave their loved 
 ones behind, heard it, they might have 
 said, "The man is beside himself," but 
 they could not see beyond the cabin. 
 Had the lonely traveler who stood near 
 the hatchway given it a thought he might 
 have said, "It's a lie," but he could not 
 see through the clouds of smoke at which 
 he stared silently. But the vision of the 
 watch swept the horizon, and there was 
 no obstruction in the ship's path. He 
 knew that each revolution of the Catalo- 
 nia's machinery pushed the ship on her way 
 to Queenstown. He had a right to say it. 
 I somehow seem to hear the sound of 
 the goings in the tops of the trees and 
 have evidence that God is coming to his 
 church with blessing. It is true there is 
 in some quarters indifference, in many 
 places worldliness, but I can see no insur- 
 mountable barrier in the way of the pro- 
 gress of the Kingdom of God. 
 
AN OBSCURED VISION 
 
 (Preached at the opening of the Winona Lake Bible 
 Conference.) 
 
 Text: "Where there is no vision, the people 
 perish."— Proverbs 29: 18. 
 
 It is not altogether an easy matter to 
 secure a text for such an occasion as this ; 
 not because the texts are so few in num- 
 ber but rather because they are so many, 
 for one has only to turn over the pages of 
 the Bible in the most casual way to find 
 them facing him at every reading. 
 
 Feeling the need of advice for such a 
 time as this, I asked a number of my 
 friends who knew me intimately and 
 knew the occasion which was before me 
 to suggest what in their minds would be 
 an appropriate Scripture, and in their 
 suggestions I have had the most singular 
 indication of the leading of Providence. 
 
 One said, "Use Hosea 5: 4, where God 
 
 265 
 
266 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 in speaking concerning his people Israel 
 says, 'They will not frame their doings/ ' 
 which means that his people would not 
 set before themselves the way in which 
 they were going; or it might mean that 
 they would not set up a plan for their 
 lives which would be according to his 
 will and which he might bring on to 
 completion. 
 
 Another said, "Use Genesis 26:18/' 
 where we are told that Isaac digged again 
 the wells of his father Abraham. This 
 is a suggestive incident and has in it a 
 message for to-day, for if there is one 
 thing needed more than another it is that 
 the old wells at which our fathers drank 
 and were refreshed and which, alas! in 
 in these modern times have been filled in, 
 at least to a certain extent, should be 
 opened and men be summoned once again 
 to drink of their living waters. 
 
 Another said, "Use Jeremiah 6:16, 
 'Ask for the old paths ;'" for as a matter 
 of fact we cannot improve upon the ways 
 in which our fathers walked, so far as the 
 
An Obscured Vision 267 
 
 revelation of God is concerned or the 
 doing of his will. 
 
 Still another suggested that I should 
 use Isaiah 62:10, "Gather out the stones, 
 lift up a standard for the people," in 
 which the description is of a great prince 
 coming and all hindrances should be re- 
 moved that the journey might be robbed 
 of its difficulties and dangers. 
 
 You will notice if you have watched 
 the suggestions of these Christian workers 
 that the texts are practically all the same, 
 and then when I tell you that the line of 
 thought they have indicated was the very 
 line which God suggested to me weeks 
 and months before the conference you 
 will be impressed as I have been that this 
 subject is not of my own choosing, and 
 therefore must be a message from God. 
 Neither is the text one of my own choos- 
 ing, for God pressed it in upon me again 
 and again and from it I was afraid to 
 turn away. 
 
 I like the text because it is in the book 
 of Proverbs. This book is not simply a 
 
268 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 collection of wise sayings and affectionate 
 exhortations, for you will remember that 
 the Proverbs were put down after the 
 event and not before its occurrence. This 
 being true, Proverbs presents an estab- 
 lished fact: here we find what the wise 
 men in all the ages have learned to be 
 truth. If they speak of sin and its pen- 
 alty they do it in the light of their own 
 experience; if they say the fear of the 
 Lord is the beginning of knowledge they 
 mean that they have tried other sources 
 of wisdom and all have failed but this. 
 All this makes the text exceedingly valu- 
 able, for the wise men of other days must 
 have tried to walk without the vision and 
 not only failed themselves but have set 
 the people astray. 
 
 By a vision we do not mean simply an 
 imagination or dream which might come 
 to some person who had little practical 
 understanding of the ways of life, but we 
 mean an appreciation of God's thought 
 and approximate understanding of his 
 plan and a desire to know his will. 
 
An Obscured Vision 269 
 
 The word "perish/ 5 does not mean 
 destruction, but rather the idea is to "run 
 wild"; so the literal rendering of the text 
 is, "Where there is no revelation the 
 people run wild" — that is to say, if God is 
 put out of thought every man is a law unto 
 himself and therefore is dangerous to the 
 community in which he lives. He is like 
 a ship sailing for a harbor without chart 
 or compass and with utter indifference 
 to the pole star. Whatever your impres- 
 sions, convictions or purposes, they should 
 always be squared by reverent, careful 
 and profound study of God's will and 
 word. 
 
 The first sentence of the Bible is this, 
 "In the beginning God," and it must be 
 the first sentence of every plan and of 
 every purpose of the individual and the 
 community or there is danger ahead. 
 
 I 
 
 There ought never to be an age with- 
 out a vision, indeed without repeated 
 visions. If there should be such a time 
 
270 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 it might be a time of prosperity, but inev- 
 itably souls would be neglected. There 
 ought not to be an individual without a 
 vision. If there should be such an one 
 he is missing the best of his life. If there 
 be no vision the horizon of man may be 
 bounded by his office, his store, his 
 home, his own city or his native land, 
 while as a matter of fact this is only a 
 part of what God meant him to do and 
 to be. God's plans are from everlasting 
 to everlasting. The wonderful work he 
 is doing in this world is only a part of the 
 plan, for in the ages to come he expects 
 to show forth the manysidedness of his 
 grace and reveal to us the depth of his 
 love to us in Christ. 
 
 John McNeill's friend had an eagle 
 which he had reared in the farm yard 
 with the ordinary fowl that lived there. 
 This friend sold his property and deter- 
 mined to move to another part of Scot- 
 land. He could dispose of his horses and 
 sell his chickens but no one wanted the 
 eagle. What should he do with it? He 
 
An Obscured Vision 271 
 
 determined to teach it to fly, and threw it 
 up in the air only to have it come down 
 with a thud upon the ground. Then he 
 lifted it and placed it upon the barn yard 
 fence and was holding it for a moment 
 when suddenly the eagle lifted its eyes and 
 caught a glimpse of the sun. It stretched 
 forth its head as far as it could, threw out 
 one wing, then another, and with a scream 
 and a bound was away flying upward 
 until it was lost in the face of the sun. 
 This is what we are needing to-day— 
 namely, to lift up our eyes and see God's 
 plan and try to understand his purposes. 
 The eagle so long had held its head down 
 that it had lost the vision of the sun; the 
 first glimpse of it set him free. What we 
 mean by a vision, therefore, is an appreci- 
 ation of God's purposes and plans and a 
 hearty yielding to him for service in the 
 accomplishment of the same. 
 
 Joseph Cook when he was making a 
 plea for China's millions said one day, 
 "Put your ear down to the ground and 
 listen and you will hear the tramp, tramp, 
 
272 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 tramp of four hundred millions of weary 
 feet/' I have to say this morning, Lift up 
 your eyes and look, open your ears and 
 listen and you will both see and hear that 
 God has a great plan for us which he will 
 reveal to all if only we will permit him to 
 do so. In proportion as a people loses 
 its faith in a revelation from God it falls 
 into decay. The student of history re- 
 calls vividly the story of the French Revo- 
 lution, which is a proof of this statement. 
 God has always spoken concerning his 
 plans and it has been to living men and 
 women that he has granted visions. He 
 came to Abraham and he saw Christ's 
 day and was glad : he visited Moses and 
 he endured as seeing him who is invisible : 
 he was lifted up before Isaiah and he 
 first confessed his sin and shame, then 
 cried, "Here am I, send me." He granted 
 Saul of Tarsus a vision of himself as he 
 approached Damascus until he cried, 
 "Who art thou?" and then began to walk 
 in fellowship with him until like the hero 
 that he was he mounted from the Eternal 
 
An Obscured Vision 273 
 
 City to that City which has foundations 
 whose Builder and Maker is God. He 
 stood before John as in apocalyptic vision 
 he saw him with his head and his hair, 
 white like wool, as white as snow and his 
 eyes as a flame of fire. 
 
 But if you should say, "Oh, yes, but 
 this is in Bible times and we are living in 
 a different age/' then hear me when I say 
 that he has come to living men and 
 women in our own day with a revelation 
 of his will. He spoke to Zinzendorf and 
 we have a mighty work among the Mora- 
 vians. He revealed himself to the Wes- 
 leys and we have the mighty movement 
 of Methodism. He talked with Edwards 
 and we have the great Revival of New 
 England. He revealed himself to Finney 
 and we have the great manifestation of 
 power in the state of New York. He 
 walked and talked with Moodv and we 
 have the greatest evangelistic work of his 
 day and generation with Moody as his 
 instrument. These were all men with 
 visions. He has come to great mission- 
 
274 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 aries like Paton who saw the New Heb- 
 rides Islands evangelized while yet they 
 sat in darkness, because he saw God. He 
 has spoken to our own Fulton in China, 
 who writes that the people are flocking to 
 Christ. To him it is no surprise, for he 
 knew that they would do it while others 
 were still skeptical. He knew it because 
 he knew God. 
 
 Let us remember that, however true it 
 may be that God speaks in conscience, 
 providence, through the church and by 
 the preaching of his Word, his supreme 
 revelation is in his own Word. This Book 
 contains the revealed will of God and this 
 Book is his Word. 
 
 ii 
 
 Why are we not having revelations to- 
 day as we know they have been given at 
 other times? Why is not some one in our 
 own land especially working out some of 
 the great plans and purposes of God? 
 The question is easily answered. The 
 
An Obscured Vision 275 
 
 difficulty is not with God. He is the 
 same forever. We alone must be at fault. 
 Without any spirit of harsh criticism and 
 with a prayer to God that he will make my 
 spirit as he would have it, permit me to 
 say that I fear the visions are not being 
 given to us for the following reasons : 
 
 First : Because of the disrespect shown 
 to his Son. We have come to a time when 
 men seek to limit his knowledge, and 
 occasionally they are saying that he did 
 not know concerning the things of which 
 he spake. Such blasphemy makes us 
 shudder. There is a disposition to mis- 
 interpret his teaching. They did it in 
 Paul's day and he spoke by inspiration 
 when he said, "If any man present an- 
 other gospel than that which I have pre- 
 sented let him be accursed." There is a 
 disposition to rob him of his deity. "Is 
 Jesus divine?" was the question asked not 
 long ago of one who called himself a 
 minister, and he answered, "Yes, in the 
 sense that Buddha is divine or Confucius 
 is divine." Our faces grow white with 
 
276 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 fear as we listen to such blasphemous 
 statements in such an age as this. This 
 helps to overcast the sky and God can 
 hardly trust us with a vision in such an 
 atmosphere. 
 
 Second: An irreverent criticism of the 
 Word of God. That there is a reverent 
 criticism all will allow, and that many who 
 are walking these paths are devout be- 
 lievers in God and in his word I would 
 like to be among the first to acknowledge. 
 There are three kinds of critics to-day. 
 First: Those who honestly want the best 
 and who are studying carefully and 
 prayerfully to know ^the truth. Second: 
 Those who ape scholarship. Third: 
 Those whose lives may not be right, and 
 for them if any part of the Bible could be 
 cut away they would be less condemned. 
 We need not fear, however; our Bible is 
 not in danger, for this is largely a question 
 of scholarship. Some of you who listen 
 to me may not class yourselves as scholars. 
 I certainly do not put myself in that com- 
 pany, but one thing I know : I have seen 
 
An Obscured Vision 277 
 
 the Bible work as no other book has ever 
 worked, and I have seen Jesus Christ save 
 miraculously multitudes of poor lost sin- 
 ners. I am not disturbed for the future; 
 there are as great scholars as the world 
 has ever known who still hold to your 
 mother's Bible and who have lost not 
 one whit of confidence in it. 
 
 Thomas Newberry, a devout English 
 student, spent fifty years in study to give 
 the world his Newberry Bible. He said, 
 "I accept the theory of the plenary in- 
 spiration of the Scriptures. I have studied 
 every 'jot and tittle 5 of the Word of God 
 and after these fifty years I see no reason 
 for changing my position. 55 Scholars 5 
 names almost without number could be 
 mentioned as believing in the Scriptures 
 as the divinely inspired Word of God. 
 For myself I would have great assurance 
 in standing side by side with Dr. Paton, 
 and I would not think of trembling so 
 long as our sainted Dr. Moorehead walks 
 courageously along life 5 s journey as he 
 nears its end with faith in God's Word 
 
278 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 unshaken, with confidence in God's Son 
 constantly growing. This blessed old 
 Book has been railed at in all the ages. Men 
 have professed to overthrow it, they have 
 cut and slashed at it like Jehoiakim of 
 old, but it is better than ever to-day. It 
 is the Word of God. Heaven and earth 
 may pass away but this Word, never. 
 
 Not long ago I attended a conference 
 of Christian workers and was told by one 
 of them that I could not appreciate the 
 Bible except I read it with the thought 
 of literary criticism in mind. My friend 
 interpreted a portion of the Word of God 
 for me in this way and it was beautiful. 
 It reminded me of nothing so much as a 
 diamond perfectly cut, kissed by the sun- 
 light and throwing back its sparkling light 
 to me as I gazed upon it. 
 
 Another said that I would never be able 
 to understand the Bible until I read it from 
 the standpoint of the elocutionist in the 
 best use of that expression, and he read 
 in my hearing the story of Joseph and his 
 brethren and I felt that I myself had 
 
An Obscured Vision 279 
 
 never read the Bible before and really had 
 never heard it read. 
 
 Still another came with his higher criti- 
 cism and said that much of the Bible was 
 mythical, that the stories I had loved were 
 simply allegorical; and I listened to him 
 and went back to my Bible to read, only 
 to find that you may read it any way, spell 
 it out in your youth letter by letter, read 
 it through your tears as you reach middle 
 life and your heart is aching, hold it 
 against your heart when your eyes are 
 too dim to read its pages, and it will yield 
 to you a sweetness which is actually be- 
 yond the power of man to describe. This 
 is a wonderful Book and in this Book God 
 reveals himself. Handle it irreverently 
 and vou will have no vision. 
 
 Third : It seems to me that the church is 
 not what she ought to be, and this being 
 true the vision is denied. One of my 
 friends said the other day that the diffi- 
 culty with the church is that she has lost 
 her interrogation point. At the day of 
 Pentecost people were saying, "What do 
 
280 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 these things mean?" To-day they never 
 think of saying it. I have been told in a 
 little pamphlet issued by an English 
 writer that the church has lost her possess- 
 ive case, which means that somehow she 
 has gone on without realizing that the 
 risen, glorified Christ is her blessed Lord. 
 It is a great thing to say "Jesus" ; infinitely 
 greater is it to say "My Jesus." The 
 church has lost her imperative mode. 
 In days that are past it was possible 
 for the church to stand in the presence 
 of evil and say, "In the name of Almighty 
 God this iniquity must stop." But to-day 
 it is not possible. The church has lost 
 her present tense. We are constantly look- 
 ing for blessings in the future. God's 
 promises are all written for the present. 
 It is to the church on fire that God grants 
 a vision. 
 
 Fourth: Some of the difficulty must 
 rest with us as ministers of the Gospel. I 
 fear that some of us have lost our message. 
 It has loosened its grip upon us, and you 
 never can move another man until you 
 
An Obscured Vision 281 
 
 are first moved yourself by the message 
 you would give to him. 
 
 At a great gathering not long ago I 
 heard a distinguished Eastern professor 
 speaking. The topic of his lecture was 
 "My Foster Children/ 5 and these foster 
 children were some animals which he had 
 had as pets, whose habits he had care- 
 fully studied. One was a Gila monster 
 from the plains of Arizona, another was 
 a horned owl, the third was a rat, and the 
 fourth was an opossum. If you can im- 
 agine more uninteresting subjects than 
 these you are more imaginative than my- 
 self, and yet he thrilled me and held three 
 thousand people in breathless interest. 
 Oh, my brethren, if I believe in Jesus 
 Christ as the Son of God and as a Savior 
 able not only to save to the uttermost but 
 to keep through eternity, and that mes- 
 sage grips me, I am a poor preacher if I 
 fail with it to grip and move other men. 
 I fear we have lost our boldness. I am a 
 minister of the glorious Gospel of the 
 grace of God and I have a right to de- 
 
282 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 mand a hearing and to give my message, 
 not because of what I am myself — God 
 forbid — but because of what my Savior is. 
 Some of us have lost our passion for 
 souls; we mourn over it, we know that 
 when we once had this it was the secret 
 of a successful ministry. It is not wrong 
 for me to say to you this morning that 
 to the minister without a message, to 
 the minister who has lost his holy bold- 
 ness, to the minister who has anything 
 less than a burning passion for souls, 
 God cannot give his vision. 
 
 in 
 
 I know that I have your deepest sym- 
 pathy in the longing which I now express 
 for this great gathering — namely, that 
 God would give to us a vision. 
 
 First: As to what the Bible really is. 
 One of my friends told me the other day 
 of a blind girl who could not read because 
 she had been too busy and somehow had 
 not thought that she could use the 
 
An Obscured Vision 283 
 
 raised letters which have been such a 
 boon to God's blind children. I am 
 told she learned that she might read while 
 on these grounds last summer. It was 
 made possible later on for her to have a 
 teacher and she began to study little 
 books until she could read quite fluently. 
 One day unknown to her there w T as 
 brought into her home a Bible with raised 
 letters and without telling what the book 
 was it was opened at the fourteenth chapter 
 of John and she was bidden to read in it. 
 She had no sooner touched the page, 
 her fingers enabling her to read, "Let not 
 your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, 
 believe also in me," than with radiant 
 face she exclaimed, "Why this is God's 
 Word; the very touch of it is differ- 
 ent." I would that we might have this 
 vision. 
 
 Second: I wish that w r e might have a 
 vision of Christ. He is the chief est among 
 ten thousand, and the one altogether 
 lovely. He is a mighty Savior and a 
 mighty helper. I cannot bring him a bur- 
 
284 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 den too great, nor talk to him about a 
 trial too insignificant. Oh, that we might 
 see him as he is ! 
 
 And finally, I wish that we might 
 know what service is, for knowing this we 
 would be instant in season and out of 
 season. Some years ago Fannie Crosby, 
 the blind hymn writer, was speaking in 
 one of the missions in New York City. 
 Suddenly she stopped and said, "I won- 
 der if there is not some wandering boy 
 in this audience this evening who would 
 have the courage to step out from 
 this audience and come up and stand 
 by my side so that I might put my arms 
 around him and kiss him for his mother?" 
 There was a hush upon the audience; 
 then a boy from the rear seat started and 
 came to the platform, and with her arms 
 around about him and her lips against his 
 cheek for his mother's sake, Fannie Crosby 
 said, "Oh, my friends, let us rescue the 
 perishing." From this meeting she went 
 to her home, and sitting in her room 
 wrote : 
 
An Obscured Vision 285 
 
 " Rescue the perishing, 
 
 Care for the dying, 
 Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave, 
 
 Weep o'er the erring one, 
 
 Lift up the fallen, 
 Tell them of Jesus, the Mighty to save." 
 
 Years afterward she spoke in St. Louis 
 at a great meeting and related this inci- 
 dent. Before she had finished a man in 
 the audience sprang to his feet and said, 
 "Miss Crosby, listen to me. I am a pros- 
 perous merchant in this city, a husband 
 and a father, a Christian and an officer 
 in the church. I was that boy around 
 whom you threw your arms." Such an 
 experience as that is worth a lifetime of 
 service. I wish to put myself on record. 
 I know that many of you are with me. I 
 stand for nothing in these days that would 
 in the least obscure men's vision of the 
 power of God, or their vision of the glori- 
 ous majesty of the Son of God, and I 
 count nothing worth while except to do 
 that thing which would mean the winning 
 of a soul to Jesus Christ. 
 
286 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 I believe God is giving to some men in 
 these days a vision as to what may be 
 accomplished if only a mighty work of 
 grace should be given to us. He cer- 
 tainly is ready to pour out his Spirit upon 
 his own people, and it is only necessary 
 that we should first of all realize our 
 weakness, then understand his power, 
 realize that souls are lost and dying and 
 then know that he is able to save to the 
 uttermost; and above all to realize that 
 in all ages he has used human instru- 
 ments for the accomplishment of his pur- 
 poses, and realizing these things to see 
 that our lives are right in his sight, to 
 have such a victory for God as the world 
 has never seen. For this day w T e hope 
 and pray and cry aloud, "O Lord, how 
 long, how long? 55 
 
THE COMPASSION OF JESUS 
 
 Text: "But when he saw the multitudes, he was 
 moved with compassion" — Matt. 9:36. 
 
 The keynote of the earthly ministry of 
 Jesus Christ was " compassion/' You 
 have but to follow him in his journeys by 
 day and by night to find the proof of this 
 statement. Whether he ministers to the 
 sick of the palsy, turns aside to help 
 the father whose child is dead, heals the 
 woman with the issue of blood, drives 
 away the leprosy from the man dead by 
 law, stops to open the eyes of the blind 
 man by the wayside, helps the beggar or 
 wins the member of the Sanhedrim, he 
 is always the same. 
 
 If you journey with him in the morn- 
 ing on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, or 
 at noon rest with him as he sits on the 
 well curb of Jacob's well; if you stop 
 with him in the evening as he bares his 
 side and thrusts forth his hand to the 
 
 287 
 
288 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 doubting Thomas, or behold him as he 
 is roused from his sleep in the boat to 
 quiet the storm; if you study him on the 
 mountain side at midnight or behold him 
 in the garden of Gethsemane when no 
 one beholds his agony but the eye of his 
 Father — you will learn that he was al- 
 ways compassionate. You cannot dis- 
 cover him under any circumstances when 
 this statement is not true of him. 
 
 This ninth chapter of Matthew is indeed 
 remarkable. It can be appreciated only 
 when we read the closing part of the eighth 
 chapter, for it is here that the people, 
 angry because of the destruction of the 
 swine, besought him to leave their coun- 
 try; and it is here we see him taking his 
 departure. Men have since that time 
 driven him from their hearts and their 
 homes for reasons quite as trifling. It is 
 a sad thing to know that any one can 
 drive him away if he chooses to do so. 
 
 The chapter is remarkable, however, 
 because here we not only read the story 
 of the calling of Matthew from his 
 
The Compassion of Jesus %89 
 
 position of influence, but find more 
 specific cases of healing than in most 
 other chapters of the New Testament. 
 There is the healing of the sick of the 
 palsy in the second verse, the significant 
 part of which is he was healed when Jesus 
 saw their faith; the picture of the father 
 whose child was dead and then raised 
 by him, in the eighteenth verse and the 
 twenty-fifth verse; the account of the wom- 
 an with the issue of blood, in the twen- 
 tieth verse, and the picture of discourage- 
 ment when all earthly physicians had 
 failed changed into great joy when the 
 virtue of the great physician healed her: 
 the account of the dumb man, in the 
 thirty-second verse, who was possessed of 
 a devil as well; and then in the thirty- 
 fifth verse a general statement concerning 
 him to the effect that he healed all man- 
 ner of diseases. 
 
 The chapter is also remarkable be- 
 cause these cases presented to Jesus were 
 of the very worst sort. The man with 
 the palsy could not come himself, however 
 
2^0 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 much he wanted to do so, and four men 
 were required to bring him; the child 
 was dead and so beyond all human help; 
 the two blind men were undoubtedly 
 beggars and outcasts ; the dumb man was 
 possessed of a devil in addition to his 
 dumbness ; the group of people who were 
 subjects of his healing power had every 
 manner of disease, but while the people 
 were different and the cases were desper- 
 ate, Jesus was always the same. 
 
 There were six specific illustrations of 
 healing: three of these came to Jesus for 
 themselves, the two blind men and the 
 woman ; two others were brought to him, 
 the man sick with the palsy and the man 
 who was dumb; and for the other case 
 the father came and took Jesus to the 
 child. In all the general cases Jesus went 
 himself to the suffering. 
 
 When all these subjects have been pre- 
 sented then comes the text, which is its 
 own outline. There is first the picture 
 of the multitudes, a great number of peo- 
 ple. Then the statement that they had 
 
The Compassion of Jesus 291 
 
 fainted; literally it is, "they were tired. " 
 Then they were described as sheep, the 
 only animal known which in its wander- 
 ing cannot find its way home of itself. 
 And finally it was stated that they had no 
 shepherd, the responsibility for their wan- 
 dering resting upon others rather than 
 upon themselves. This is the outline of 
 of this message. 
 
 The picture which Jesus beheld as he 
 walked through his own country is re- 
 peated to-day on every side of us, and he 
 is still moved with compassion because 
 of those who are helpless and undone. It 
 is true we have done something for him. 
 The last census shows that the member, 
 ship of the Protestant churches has in- 
 creased more rapidly than the population. 
 For this we should be thankful. It is also 
 true that the church machinery of the 
 day is well nigh perfect: the buildings 
 and equipment with which we have to do 
 
292 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 have never been excelled. Yet, counting 
 the membership of both the Catholic and 
 Protestant churches, there are forty mil- 
 lion people to-day in our land who are not 
 in the church and who evidently do not 
 care for the church. With these people 
 there seems to be a growing indifference 
 to everything that is spiritual. 
 
 A man in an apartment house in New 
 York, when asked the other day to do 
 something for a poor family for the sake 
 of God, answered blasphemously, "I do 
 not care for the opinion of men, I do not 
 even care for God himself; I am for 
 myself first, last and all the time. 5 ' 
 As we walk the streets we ought to be 
 impressed with the fact that men on 
 every side of us are lost in the proportion 
 of one to four. As we sit in a car we ought 
 to be impressed with the fact that one in 
 four have rejected Christ and are hope- 
 less. In every city it is literally true that 
 there are thousands of unchurched people 
 without God and without hope in the 
 world. Of them the text would be true. 
 
The Compassion of Jesus 293 
 
 "But when he saw the multitudes he was 
 moved with compassion." 
 
 ii 
 
 When Jesus saw these multitudes he 
 saw them fainting or literally "growing 
 tired," and this is the picture of lost peo- 
 ple to-day. I am persuaded that they are 
 tired of many things which follow in the 
 wake of sin. 
 
 1 . They must be weary of the hollow- 
 ness of the world, for it cannot satisfy. I 
 one day talked with a woman in Massa- 
 chusetts whose opportunity to mingle with 
 the so-called best people of the world had 
 been unexcelled. She had been a chosen 
 and welcomed guest in the homes of roy- 
 alty and knew intimately every President 
 of the United States since she had grown 
 to womanhood. After her conversion 
 I asked her if the life of the world had 
 satisfied; her answer was, "It is hollow- 
 ness and sham almost from beginning to 
 end." 
 
 2. The unchurched people must be 
 
294 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 weary of an accusing conscience. There 
 is no unrest like it. The man who sees 
 the folly of his conduct and whose con- 
 science will not let him sleep, the man 
 who realizes the blighting power of sin 
 and yet seems powerless to heed the call 
 of conscience, is in a pitiful condition. 
 
 "And I know of the future judgment, 
 How dreadful so'er it may be, 
 That to sit alone with my conscience 
 Would be judgment enough for me." 
 
 3. They must be tired of the world's 
 sorrow, for it is on every side. We are 
 born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward 
 and I cannot but think that in all parts 
 of our cities to-day the people away from 
 Christ are saying, " Oh, that I knew where 
 peace might be found." 
 
 4. I know they are tired of the slavery 
 of Satan. A man formerly prominent in 
 social and political circles, the cashier of a 
 bank, when he found that he was a de- 
 faulter took his own life and left a letter 
 for his wife in which he said, " Oh, if some 
 
The Compassion of Jesus 295 
 
 one had only spoken to me when I so much 
 needed help all this might have been 
 different." 
 
 in 
 
 In the Old Testament and New, God's 
 people are represented by the figure of 
 sheep. Especially it seems to me this 
 must be a good figure, because sheep when 
 wandering find it impossible to seek again 
 for themselves their home, and in their 
 helplessness they fittingly represent the 
 one who wanders away from God. There 
 are so many people to-day who are trying 
 to find their way back without Christ. 
 They are like wandering sheep. There are 
 so many who are seeking to climb up some 
 other way into the favor of God. These 
 are on every side of us, and the time has 
 come for us to present unto them Jesus 
 Christ the Savior of the world. 
 
 IV 
 
 These people that Jesus saw were shep- 
 herdless. The responsibility for their 
 
296 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 wandering therefore rested not so much 
 upon themselves as upon the fact that the 
 one who should have cared for them was 
 not doing so. We are our brother's keeper, 
 whether we are willing to acknowledge it 
 or not. 
 
 In meetings in California one of the 
 ministers went forth during the week to 
 invite those who were away from Christ 
 to come to him. He found an old white- 
 haired soldier who said, "When I was in 
 the army years ago I promised God that 
 I would be a Christian. I have never kept 
 my word. Yes, I will come to him now/ 5 
 And when he came his wife and children 
 came with him. "All these years/' he 
 said, "I have waited for some one to ask 
 me." He called upon another man who 
 had been impressed in the meetings and 
 this man acknowledged that he had long 
 felt his need of help, that he had prayed 
 the night before, "O God, if you want 
 me to come to thee send some one to speak 
 to me." When the minister came the 
 man trembled when he said, "You must 
 
The Compassion of Jesus 297 
 
 be the messenger of God for whom I have 
 been waiting/' and he came beautifully 
 to Christ. On every side of us people are 
 waiting as sheep without a shepherd for 
 us simply to do our duty. 
 
 The result of this vision which Jesus 
 had was that he did an unusual thing. In 
 the tenth chapter and the first verse we 
 read, "And when he had called unto him 
 his twelve disciples he gave them power 
 against unclean spirits, to cast them out, 
 and to heal all manner of sickness and 
 all manner of disease/ 5 Which leads me 
 to say that we must have the same spirit. 
 Our present day church methods reach 
 not more than one-fourth the unsaved and 
 many of these come from the ranks of our 
 Sundav schools and from Christian homes 
 where for one reason or another they have 
 not made a profession of their faith in 
 Christ. Three-fourths of the lost are left 
 to wander farther and farther away simply 
 
298 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 because they will not yield to our present 
 dav church methods. This is not as Jesus 
 would have it. 
 
 In the twenty-first chapter of John the 
 fifth and sixth verses we read, "Then Jesus 
 saith unto them, Children, have ye any 
 meat? They answered him, No. And he 
 said unto them, Cast the net on the right 
 side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast 
 therefore, and now they were not able 
 to draw it for the multitudes of fishes." 
 Although these disciples had toiled and 
 taken nothing the results were all changed 
 when they cast their net on the right side 
 of the boat. May it not be that we have 
 been fishing on the wrong side or fishing 
 in our own strength, or, as some one has 
 said, fishing in too shallow water, when we 
 should have been casting our nets in the 
 deep? The fact is, we need him and 
 without him we can do nothing. 
 
 I have been told that of the forty dis- 
 tinct cases of healing in the New Testa- 
 ment only six came to Jesus by them- 
 selves. Twenty were brought to Jesus and 
 
The Compassion of Jesus 299 
 
 to the fourteen others Jesus was taken. 
 I doubt not that the proportion is the 
 same to-day, and if it is true then our 
 methods of work must be changed and 
 instead of praying for them to seek Jesus 
 we must either take them to Jesus or bring 
 the Master into their company. There 
 can be no successful winning of the multi- 
 tudes until the personal element enters 
 into it all. 
 
 1. There must be prayer. When Jacob 
 went forth to meet Esau he walked with fear 
 and trembling, but in Genesis thirty-sec- 
 ond chapter and twenty-eighth verse we 
 read, "And he said, Thy name shall be 
 called no more Jacob, but Israel, for as 
 a prince hast thou power with God and 
 with men, and hast prevailed, 55 so that 
 long before Esau was met victory was 
 won. There must be no attempt to win 
 the lost without first of all we have gained 
 an audience with God in prayer, and if 
 we pray as we ought to pray he will 
 give us the assurance of victory before 
 we start upon our mission. 
 
300 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 2. There must be personal contact. It 
 is said that a man recently went into a v / 
 jewelry store to buy an opal and re- 
 jected all that were presented to him. 
 One of them he rejected instantly. The 
 salesman picked it up and closed it in 
 his hand and finally in a casual way opened 
 his hand and placed the opal upon the 
 counter. "Why/ 5 said the customer, 
 "that is the opal I want. I have never 
 seen anything finer/' and yet he had re- 
 jected it first. The salesman told him 
 that it was a sensitive opal and needed the 
 touch of a human hand before it could 
 reveal its beauty. Oh, how many souls 
 there are like this in the world ! 
 
 I have read that when Robert Louis 
 Stevenson visited the island of the lepers 
 where Father Damien did his illustrious 
 work he played croquet with the children, 
 using the same mallets that they used; 
 and when it was suggested that he put 
 gloves upon his hands he refused to do so 
 because, he said, "it will remind them the 
 more of the difference between us. 55 This 
 
The Compassion of Jesus 301 
 
 spirit must prevail in our work if we are 
 to win souls. 
 
 Two things we may do to reach the 
 lost. 
 
 (1) Speak to them. The power of 
 human speech is simply marvelous. A 
 Sunday school boy appeared in a 
 Baptist Church to apply for membership 
 and when they asked him about his con- 
 version he said, "My Sunday school 
 teacher took me for a walk one Sunday in 
 Prospect Park and talked with me about 
 Jesus and I gave myself to him." One 
 of the officers of my church when an 
 unsaved man was asked by his minister 
 to attend special services in the church 
 and then was urged by his wife to go with 
 her. Both invitations were angrily de- 
 clined. He at last agreed to escort her to 
 the church but not to enter in. The bit- 
 ing cold wind of the night drove him into 
 the church and he was just in time to 
 hear the minister's appeal to the unsaved. 
 All were asked to lift their hands who 
 would know Christ and then he remem- 
 
302 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 bered that when he was a boy and had 
 been drowning in Lake George he lifted 
 up his hand as high as he could and his 
 brother took hold of it and kept him from 
 sinking. Suddenly it came to him in the 
 church that he was sinking in another 
 way, and instantly he raised his hand and 
 Christ took hold of it. I do not know of 
 a more godly man among all my list of 
 friends than he; and he says to-day that 
 the invitation given to him and refused 
 with anger led him to Christ. 
 
 (2) Write. The chief justice of the 
 supreme court of a western state was 
 not a Christian until a few years ago. He 
 was a genial, kindly man, and naturally 
 a great lawyer, but he had never confessed 
 Christ as his Savior, and apparently had 
 little real interest in the church. One day 
 the pastor of the Presbyterian church deter- 
 mined that he would write him a letter, 
 and then decided that so great a man 
 would not receive his communication and 
 destroyed it. But the pastor's wife had 
 more faith and urged him to write again. 
 
The Compassion of Jesus 303 
 
 He did so, and sent the second letter and 
 forwarded with it Spurgeon's "All of 
 Grace." He received word almost in- 
 stantly that the chief justice had been 
 deeply impressed, and that as a matter 
 of fact he was waiting for years for some 
 one to speak to him. The letter moved 
 him and the little book gave him the in- 
 structions needed. To-day he is one of 
 the brightest Christians I know. His face 
 is a benediction. He said to me 
 one day that it was a wonderful thing 
 to be a Christian; that he never allowed 
 any one to meet him that he did not talk 
 with him about his soul. Are there not 
 hundreds and thousands of other men 
 waiting, as the chief justice waited, for 
 some one to speak or write? 
 
 3. There must be a personal consecra- 
 tion not only to Christ but to the work if 
 we would be successful. The biography 
 of Helen Kellar, who was released from 
 her imprisonment by the devotion of her 
 teacher, is an illustration along this line. 
 This teacher must go to this girl sitting 
 
304 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 in darkness and describe to her the com- 
 monest objects of every-day life. She 
 told her about water, heat and cold and 
 when something hurt her she told her 
 with the language of touch that she loved 
 her and Helen Kellar answered back, "I 
 love you, too/ 5 The devotion of this 
 teacher brought this noble soul to light 
 and power. A work like this awaits many 
 of us in bringing the lost to Christ. 
 
 When Elisha went down to raise the 
 Shunammite's boy he put his eyes to the 
 eyes of the boy, his hands to the boy's 
 hands and his mouth to his mouth. Some- 
 thing like this we must do. We have 
 friends who possess eyes and see not, we 
 must have eyes for them; they have lips 
 and speak not, we must speak to God for 
 them; they have hands and reach them 
 not out after God, and we must have faith 
 for them. In other words, we must not 
 let them go away from Christ. Such 
 a spirit as this pleases God and such a 
 spirit saves our friends. A friend told me 
 that with the ship's surgeon of a vessel 
 
The Compassion of Jesus 305 
 
 he once crossed the sea. He said the 
 doctor told him that one day a boy fell 
 overboard and was rescued but the case 
 seemed hopeless. The ship's surgeon 
 casually passing along the deck said to 
 those who labored with him, "I think you 
 can do nothing more; you have done all 
 that is possible/ 5 and then curiosity led him 
 to look at the boy for himself. Instantly 
 his whole spirit was changed. He blew 
 into his nostrils, breathed into his mouth, 
 begged God to spare him, labored for four 
 hours with him before he could bring him 
 back to life, for the boy was his own boy. 
 What if we should not have this spirit 
 with the lost! 
 
 "If grief in Heaven could find a place, 
 Or shame the worshiper bow down, 
 Who meets the Savior face to face, 
 'Twould be to wear a starless crown." 
 
 But on the other hand, what if we should 
 simply be faithful ? Then may the follow- 
 ing be true of us : 
 
306 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 " Perhaps in Heaven, some day, to me 
 Some sainted one shall come and say, 
 
 All hail, beloved, but for thee 
 
 My soul to death had fallen a prey. 
 
 And, oh, the rapture of the thought, 
 One soul to glory to have brought/ * 
 
 General Booth of the Salvation Army 
 describes a vessel making its way home 
 from the Australian gold fields. The min- 
 ers had struggled to get rich and at last 
 every man had around about him his 
 belt of gold. The ship lost her way in the 
 ocean and, set out of her course, suddenly 
 crashed upon the rocks of an island near 
 by. Almost instantly she sank. As one 
 miner stood looking at the shore he knew 
 that he was strong enough as a swimmer to 
 save his gold and save his own life; but 
 as he was about to throw himself into the 
 sea a little girl whose mother and father 
 had been washed overboard came over 
 to him to say, "Oh, sir, can you not save 
 me?" It was then a choice between the 
 child and the gold. The struggle was 
 terrific but at last the gold was thrown 
 
The Compassion of Jesus 307 
 
 aside, the child fastened to his body and 
 he struggled through the waves until he 
 fell exhausted and fainting upon the 
 shore. The great Salvation Army officer 
 says that when this strong man came to 
 himself the little child was by his side. 
 Throwing her arms about his neck she 
 exclaimed with sobs, "Oh, sir, I am so 
 glad you saved me." "That was worth 
 more to him than the gold/ 5 said General 
 Booth. And if in heaven some day 
 upon the streets of gold we shall meet just 
 one redeemed soul who was once lost and 
 in the darkness, and we know that that 
 one soul is there because we were true, the 
 streets of gold will be better, the gates of 
 pearl will be brighter, the many mansions 
 more beautiful, the music sweeter, and, 
 if such a thing were possible, the vision 
 of Christ more entrancing. Certainly it 
 would be thrilling to hear him say to us, 
 "Inasmuch as ye did it unto these little 
 ones ye did it unto me." 
 
SANCTIFICATION 
 
 Text: " This is the will of God, even your sane- 
 tification." — 1 Thess. 4: 3. 
 
 It is quite significant that the Apostle 
 Paul writes explicitly concerning sanctifi- 
 cation to a church in which he had such 
 delight that he could write as follows : 
 
 "Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, 
 unto the Church of the Thessalonians in 
 God our Father and the Lord Jesus 
 Christ : Grace be unto you, andpeace^from 
 God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 We are bound to thank God always for 
 you, brethren, as it is meet, because that 
 your faith groweth exceedingly, and the 
 charity of every one of you all toward 
 each other aboundeth ; so that we our- 
 selves glory in you in the churches of 
 God for your patience and faith in all 
 your persecutions and tribulations that 
 ye endure: which is a manifest token of 
 the righteous judgment of God, that ye 
 
 309 
 
310 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 may be counted worthy of the kingdom of 
 God, for which ye also suffer: seeing it 
 is a righteous thing with God to recom- 
 pense tribulation to them that trouble 
 you; and to you who are troubled rest 
 with us; 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 ever- 
 lasting destruction from the presence of 
 the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 
 when he shall come to be glorified in his 
 saints, and to be admired in all them that 
 believe (because our testimony among 
 you was believed) in that day" (2 Thessa- 
 lonians 1: 1-10). 
 
 No higher commendation than this 
 could be paid to any followers of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and yet unto such a people 
 we find him saying, "This is the will of 
 God, even your sanctification." 
 
 It reminds us of that other scene in 
 the New Testament when Nicodemus 
 
Sanctificaiion 311 
 
 comes to Jesus by night. He was a mem- 
 ber of the Sanhedrim, he was in the tru- 
 est sense of the word a moral man, and 
 yet Jesus, knowing all this, deliberately 
 looked into his face and said with empha- 
 sis, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except 
 a man be born of water and of the Spirit 
 he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 
 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; 
 and that which is born of the Spirit is 
 spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, 
 Ye must be born again" (John 3: 5-7). 
 
 Both of these statements lead us to 
 believe that God's requirements for his 
 people are very high. These we may not 
 attain unto at all in our own strength or 
 the energy of our flesh or because of any 
 inherited righteousness which we may 
 possess. There is no way to reach his 
 standard except by complete identity with 
 Christ; and this is made possible by 
 means of faith. 
 
 To know the will of God concerning 
 anything is a great satisfaction. It is like 
 food to our souls if we can say with Jesus, 
 
312 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 "My meat is to do God's will." It is an 
 indescribable pleasure if we can say with 
 the Son of God, "I delight to do thy will." 
 It is the key to the highest form of knowl- 
 edge, for we have found it true that "he 
 that doeth the will of God shall know of 
 the doctrine." It is the promise of eternal 
 life, for we are told in God's Word, "He 
 that doeth the will of God abideth for- 
 ever." There is possibly no place where 
 God's will for us is more clearly stated 
 than in this text. Sometimes we may 
 know his will by praying. How often 
 revelations have come thus to us as if from 
 the very skies concerning his desires for 
 us ! We may know it sometimes by think- 
 ing. If one would but yield his mind per- 
 fectly to God in his providences as well 
 as in his word he would know God's will 
 concerning him. We may know it some- 
 times by talking to others, for not infre- 
 quently God gives a revelation to one 
 child of his for the guidance of another's 
 life. But in this connection it is most 
 definite] v stated, "This is the will of 
 
Sanctification 313 
 
 God 9 even your sanctification." And the 
 Apostle emphasizes his words, 
 
 •First : By the use of the most affection- 
 ate expression, "Furthermore then we 
 beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by 
 the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received 
 of us how ye ought to walk and to please 
 God, so ye would abound more and 
 more" (1 Thessalonians 4:1). 
 
 Second : He speaks on the authority of 
 Jesus himself. "For ye know what com- 
 mandments we gave you by the Lord 
 Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 4:2). 
 
 Third: He emphasizes it by referring 
 to the second coming of our Lord, for he 
 well knew that if one was looking for the 
 appearing of the Son of God he would 
 turn away from fleshly lusts and abstain 
 from that which was unclean, thus en- 
 couraging the work of sanctification. The 
 Apostle Paul says to the Thessalonians 
 after he has clearly set before them God's 
 will concerning their living, "But I would 
 not have you to be ignorant, brethren, 
 concerning them which are asleep, that 
 
314 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 ye sorrow not, even as others which have 
 no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died 
 and rose again, even so them also which 
 sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 
 For this we say unto you by the word of 
 the Lord, that we which are alive and 
 remain unto the coming of the Lord 
 shall not prevent them which are 
 asleep. For the Lord himself shall 
 descend from heaven with a shout with 
 the voice of the archangel, and with the 
 trump of God: and the dead in Christ 
 shall rise first: then we which are alive 
 and remain shall be caught up together 
 with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord 
 in the air : and so shall we ever be with 
 the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another 
 with these words' 5 (1 Thessalonians 4: 
 13-14). It was not enough for them, in his 
 judgment, to abide in the faith ; they must 
 abound in the works of the Gospel. To 
 talk well without walking well is not pleas- 
 ing to God, for the character of the Chris- 
 tian is thus described, "He walks not 
 after the flesh but after the Spirit." 
 
Sanctiftcation 315 
 
 The presentation of this subject im- 
 presses upon us the fact that we have 
 lost many of the best words in the Bible 
 because they have been misused and their 
 teaching misapprehended. If you speak of 
 holiness men look askance at you, and yet 
 holiness is simply wholeness or health- 
 fulness and is to the soul what health is to 
 the body. Who, then, would be without it ? 
 If you speak of sanctification immediately 
 your hearers imagine you are talking con- 
 cerning sinlessness, and yet there is no 
 better word in the Scriptures than sancti- 
 fication, for in one way it means separa- 
 tion from sin, in another way it means an 
 increasing likeness to Christ. There are 
 six particular effects of faith. 
 
 First: There is union with Christ. It 
 is true that we were chosen in him before 
 the foundation of the world and that we 
 are an elect people, but it is also true that 
 we are by nature the children of wrath and 
 it is necessary that we should make a delib- 
 erate choice of him as a Savior. When by 
 faith we have taken Christ as a Savior we 
 
316 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 are united to him. Faith is counting that 
 which seems unreal as real, as untrue 
 as true and that which seems not to exist 
 as if it existed. Faith unites us to him. 
 Without him we are as nothing. 
 
 Second: Justification. " There is there- 
 fore now no condemnation to them which 
 are in Christ Jesus , who walk not after the 
 flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:1). 
 "He that believeth on him is not con- 
 demned; but he that believeth not is con- 
 demned already, because he hath not be- 
 lieved in the name of the only begotten 
 Son of God" (John 3 :18). As we believe 
 in Christ we are clothed with his right- 
 eousness. Whether we can explain it or 
 not, this righteousness answers every de- 
 mand of God's justice. Thus it is that 
 Romans the eighth chapter the thirty- 
 third and the thirty-fourth verses becomes 
 true for us. Let it be noticed, however, 
 that in both of these verses the two words, 
 "it" and "is" are in italics, which would 
 indicate that they were not in the original. 
 Concerning those who are justified, there- 
 
Sanctification 317 
 
 fore, the verses would read as follows: 
 "Who shall lay anything to the charge 
 of God's elect/ 5 The rest of the verse is 
 a question, "God that justifieth?" The 
 thirty-fourth verse reads, "Who is he 
 that condemneth?" and the answer is 
 a question, " Christ that died, yea rather 
 that is risen again, who is even at 
 the right hand of God who also maketh 
 intercession for us?" and Paul here simply 
 means to say that if God can lay nothing 
 to our charge and Christ would not con- 
 demn us then we are free, and justifica- 
 tion at least to the layman carries with it 
 this thought: 
 
 1 . The justified man stands as if he'had 
 not sinned at all. His record is clean. 
 
 2. The debt which sin had incurred is 
 paid and instead of being afraid and trem- 
 bling at the thought of sin we sing with re- 
 joicing," Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe." 
 
 Third: Participation of his life. Paul 
 writes to the Galatians, "I live, and yet 
 not I, but Christ liveth in me." And in the 
 fifteenth chapter of John the first six 
 
318 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 verses we read, "I am the true vine, and 
 my Father is the husbandman. Every 
 branch in me that beareth not fruit he 
 taketh away ; and every branch that bear- 
 eth fruit, he purgeth it/that it may bring 
 forth more fruit. Now ye are clean 
 through the word which I have spoken 
 unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As 
 the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, ex- 
 cept it abide in the vine; no more can ye, 
 except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye 
 are the branches : he that abideth in me, 
 and I in him, the same bringeth forth 
 much fruit: for without me ye can do 
 nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is 
 cast forth as a branch, and is withered; 
 and men gather them, and cast them into 
 the fire, and they are burned." So faith 
 unites us to him and his life becomes a 
 very part of our being. 
 
 (a) It is like the principle of grafting. 
 When the branch is grafted into the tree 
 the life of the tree throbs its way into the 
 branch and ultimately there is fruitful- 
 ness. If we only could sustain the right 
 
Sanctification 319 
 
 relations to Christ we would have the cure 
 for worldliness. 
 
 (b) Because of this participation and 
 privilege we need not be concerned. I 
 have heard of a man who grafted a branch 
 into a tree and then went each day to take 
 the graft out to see what progress it had 
 made, and the branch died. 
 
 (c) Our life need not be intermittent— 
 that is, hot to-day and cold to-morrow — 
 but it may be all the time an abundant 
 life ; not because of what we are but be- 
 cause of what Christ is. 
 
 Fourth: Peace. Romans 5:1, "There- 
 fore being justified by faith, we have peace 
 with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 And peace arises from a sense of reconcil- 
 iation. If faith is strong, then peace is 
 abundant; if it is fitful peace partakes of 
 the same character . That man who has 
 faith in Jesus Christ as a personal Savior 
 has the following threefold blessing — 
 first, Peace with God; second, The 
 Peace of God; third, The God of Peace. 
 
 Fifth: Sanctification. Acts 26: 18, "To 
 
320 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 open their eyes and to turn them from 
 darkness to light, and from the power of 
 Satan unto God, that they may receive 
 forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among 
 them which are sanctified by faith that is 
 in me.' 5 Of this we shall speak more at 
 length a little later. 
 
 Sixth : Assurance. This is plainly 
 written in God's word. Notice John 3: 
 16, "For God so loved the world, that 
 he gave his only begotten Son, that whoso- 
 ever believeth in him should not perish but 
 have everlasting life." And John 5: 24, 
 "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: but is 
 passed from death unto life. 55 The entire 
 first Epistle of John also emphasizes the 
 same truth. 
 
 Sanctification is therefore entirely by 
 faith. 
 
 First : By faith we receive the indwell- 
 ing of the Spirit and he makes Christ real 
 
Sanctification 321 
 
 to us. Because Christ is real by faith we 
 may walk with him; and that man who 
 keeps step w T ith Jesus Christ will find that 
 he has come day by day to turn away from 
 those things which were formerly his de- 
 feat. We may also talk with him. That 
 hymn which we sometimes sing, 
 
 "A little talk with Jesus, 
 How it smooths the rugged way," 
 
 has been true in the experience of many 
 of us. We may also be so constantly asso- 
 ciated with him that we may find our- 
 selves actually like him; and to grow like 
 Christ by the power of the Spirit is to 
 have the work of sanctification carried on. 
 Second: By faith exercised in God the 
 Spirit continues his work. We have only 
 to remember the promises of God con- 
 cerning him, the first of which is that the 
 Spirit is here carrying on his special work 
 in his particular dispensation. His second 
 promise is that he is in us if we be children 
 of God, and we need only to yield to his 
 presence day by day to be delivered from 
 
322 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 the power of sin. His third promise is 
 that he will take of the things of God and 
 show them unto us. Things which the 
 world's people cannot understand he 
 makes plain unto us. "Eye hath not seen 
 nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into 
 the heart of man to conceive the things 
 which God hath prepared for those who 
 love him/' but the Spirit hath revealed 
 them unto us. The fourth promise is that 
 he will not leave us. We may resist the 
 Spirit, we may grieve the Spirit, but we 
 will not grieve him away. His power may 
 be greatly limited in our lives, the work 
 of sanctification under the influence of 
 his presence be greatly hindered, but he 
 is with us, " nor height, nor depth, nor 
 any other creature can separate us from 
 him/' 
 
 Third: By faith we have a vision of 
 things unseen and they become real to us. 
 Faith is to the soul what the eye is to the 
 body. The things of God become actually 
 real, and becoming so they are powerful. 
 Under the influence of this vision temporal 
 
Sanctification 323 
 
 things are trifling. The Christian who is 
 true to his position lives in heaven, 
 breathes its atmosphere, is pervaded by 
 its spirit and so becomes pure, tender, 
 obedient, loving. No wonder that to these 
 people whose lives were so attractive 
 Paul wrote in the text, "This is the will of 
 God, even your sanctification." 
 
 ii 
 
 Justification and sanctification ought to 
 be compared to appreciate the latter. The 
 first is an act, the second is a work. We 
 do not grow in justification. There is no 
 distinction between Christians in this 
 respect; the smallest child accepting 
 Christ is as truly justified as the saint of a 
 half century. So far as sanctification is 
 concerned there is the widest possible dif- 
 ference. Justification depends upon what 
 Christ does for us, sanctification depends 
 upon what Christ does in us. First of all 
 it is a supernatural work. In this respect 
 among others it differs from reformation. 
 Henrv Drummond has said that in refor- 
 
324 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 mation men work from the circumference, 
 in sanctification they work from the cen- 
 ter. The Triune God may really be 
 counted upon as the author of this work. 
 In 1 Thessalonians the fifth chapter and 
 the twenty-third verse we have the work of 
 the Father. "And the very God of peace 
 sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your 
 whole spirit and soul and body be pre- 
 served blameless unto the coming of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ." In Ephesians fifth 
 chapter twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth 
 verses we have the work of the Son. "Hus- 
 bands, love your wives, even as Christ also 
 loved the Church and gave himself for it; 
 that he might sanctify and cleanse it with 
 the washing of water by the word." 
 
 In John the seventeenth chapter and 
 the seventeenth verse we have special em- 
 phasis laid upon the work of the Spirit. 
 "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy 
 word is truth." What folly, therefore, to 
 think that we could carry on this work 
 by ourselves ! 
 
 Second: Just what, therefore, is this 
 
Sanctification 325 
 
 work of sanctification? When we are re- 
 generated we have given to us an entirely 
 new nature. The old nature and the new 
 are absolutely different; and the old and 
 the new war one against the other. The 
 Bible is full of the accounts of those who 
 have met this inward conflict. Some of the 
 most eminent people in the world whose 
 names have been mentioned in the Bible 
 and out of it have told the story of their 
 backsliding, their falling, their repent- 
 ance, and their lamentation because of 
 their weakness. You have all read the 
 seventh chapter of Romans. Whether 
 this is the story of Paul's experience of not, 
 it is the story of yours. Galatians the 
 fifth chapter sixteenth and seventeenth 
 verses gives us the same thought. 
 "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, 
 and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the 
 flesh. For the flesh lusteth against 
 the spirit, and the Spirit against the 
 flesh: and these are contrary, the one 
 to the other: so that ye cannot do the 
 things that ye would." What is it, there- 
 
326 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 fore? It is just the working day by day 
 of the spirit of Christ in us. It is the 
 growth of that spiritual nature which after 
 a w T hile controls our whole being. It is the 
 bringing into subjection of the old nature 
 until it has no more dominion over us. 
 After Paul's struggle in the seventh chap- 
 ter of Romans he comes triumphantly 
 to the second verse of the eighth chapter 
 of Romans and exclaims, "For the law of 
 the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made 
 me free from the law of sin and death." 
 
 in 
 
 If God is the author, then certain things 
 need to be emphasized. 
 
 First: We need only to be yielding day 
 by day to his efforts and presence and 
 power to become more and more sanctified. 
 His life flows along the path of least resist- 
 ance; if there is difficulty with us in the 
 matter of temper, sharpness of tongue, an 
 impure mind or an unforgiving spirit, give 
 him liberty and the work is complete. 
 
 Second : We must learn that the least 
 
Sanctification 327 
 
 thing may hinder his work in us. It be- 
 came necessary for me recently to 
 purchase a hayrake. I was told of two 
 different kinds, one the old-fashioned kind 
 where the prongs of the rake must be 
 lifted by hand, the other an automatic 
 arrangement where by simply touching the 
 foot to a spring the movement of the wheels 
 would lift the rake at the proper time so 
 that raking hay was a delight. The first 
 day the rake was in the field it was almost 
 impossible to use it. It was too heavy to 
 lift by hand and the foot attachment would 
 not work We sent for the man who had 
 sold us the implement. There was just 
 one little part of the attachment missing. 
 Missing that, hard effort was required and 
 poor work was accomplished. It may be 
 that some little thing stands in the way of 
 your blessing, or the lack of some little 
 thing hinders your usefulness. 
 
 Third : We have only to remember the 
 law of growth. We do not grow by trying. 
 Who ever heard of a boy growing in this 
 way? Who ever heard of a doctor who 
 
328 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 had a prescription for growth ? Our effort 
 for Christian growth is just a succession 
 of failures. How many times we have 
 said, "I am determined to be better; my 
 temper shall never get the better of me 
 again' 5 ! We are beginning at the wrong 
 end. Instead of dealing with the symptoms, 
 let us see that we are in right relations with 
 Christ and he will effect the cure. Let us, 
 therefore, just observe the right attitude 
 towards Christ and we have the secret. 
 
 Henry Drummond has said in one of 
 his books that the problem of the Christian 
 life is simply this: "Men must be brought 
 to observe the right attitude. To abide in 
 Christ is to be in right position and that 
 is all." Much work is done on board a 
 ship in crossing the Atlantic, yet none of 
 this is spent in making the ship go. The 
 sailor harnesses his vessel to the wind, he 
 lifts his sail, lays hold of his rudder and 
 the miracle is wrought. God creates, man 
 utilizes. God gives the wind, the water, 
 the heat, and man lays hold of that which 
 God has given us, holding himself in posi- 
 
Sanctification 329 
 
 tion by the grace of God, and the power 
 of omnipotence courses within his soul. 
 
 IV 
 
 We are in this world slowly but surely 
 coming to be like Christ. To be Christ- 
 like is one thing — we may be in this way or 
 that — but to be like Christ is entirely dif- 
 ferent. Wonderful transformations have 
 been wrought in this world by education 
 and by culture. I remember when I was 
 a lad in Indiana being told of a celebrated 
 Indianapolis physician who advertised 
 for the most helpless idiot child and the 
 most hopeless was brought to him. For 
 weeks and months no impression could 
 be made upon that child. He used every 
 day to take the child into his parlor, put 
 him down on the floor and then lie beside 
 him with the sunlight streaming in his 
 face. He said over and over one syllable 
 of a word until at last the child caught it, 
 and I remember as a boy seeing that same 
 child stand upon a platform, repeat the 
 Lord's Prayer and the twenty-third Psalm 
 and sing a hymn to the praise of God. This 
 
330 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 is wonderful; but more remarkable than 
 that is the work which is going on in us 
 day by day. We are becoming more 
 Christlike ; one day we shall be like Christ. 
 "But when?" you say. This is the answer : 
 "Beloved, now are ye the sons of God, 
 and it doth not yet appear what we 
 shall be : but we know that, when he shall 
 appear, we shall be like him, for we shall 
 see him as he is." 
 
AN UNHEEDED WARNING 
 
 Text: "My Spirit shall not always strive with 
 men." — Genesis 6:31. 
 
 For the truth of this statement one needs 
 only to study his Bible and he will find 
 written in almost every book of Old Testa- 
 ment and New a similar expression. At 
 the same time in the study of God's word 
 it will be revealed to him that God has a 
 great plan which he is carefully working 
 out. We must be familiar with the be- 
 ginning and the unfolding of this plan .and 
 with the conclusion he reached. When 
 after the rebellion of his people and their 
 unwillingness to obey his precepts we find 
 him saying, " And God saw that the wick- 
 edness of man was great in the earth, and 
 that every imagination of the thoughts of 
 his heart was only evil continually. And 
 it repented the Lord that he had made 
 man on the earth, and it grieved him at 
 his heart. And the Lord said, I will de- 
 
 331 
 
332 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 stroy man whom I have created from the 
 face of the earth; both man, and beast, 
 and the creeping thing, and the fowls of 
 the air; for it repenteth me that I have 
 made them." 
 
 Then turning to the New Testament 
 Scriptures we find almost a similar ex- 
 pression when Jesus reaches the climax of 
 his compassionate and gracious ministry 
 with the children of Israel. "He came 
 unto his own and his own received him 
 not"; and in the twenty-third chapter of 
 Matthew and the thirty-seventh to the 
 thirty-ninth verse, inclusive, we hear 
 him saying, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 
 thou that killest the prophets, and stonest 
 them which are sent unto thee, how 
 often would I have gathered thy children 
 together, even as a hen gathereth her 
 chickens under her wings, and ye would 
 not ! Behold, your house is left unto you 
 desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall 
 not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, 
 Blessed is he that cometh in the name of 
 the Lord." 
 
An Unheeded Warning 333 
 
 From that day on his special ministry 
 was to the Gentiles, and he has been seek- 
 ing in every possible way to bring us to 
 an appreciation of what it means to know 
 him and to be filled with all his fullness. 
 We have but to stop for a moment and 
 consider to realize that by many his over- 
 tures have been declined, his Spirit 
 grieved and his Son rejected. Men have 
 lived as if they had no responsibility to- 
 wards him at all and in many instances 
 they have put him entirely out of their 
 consideration. If we compare present day 
 indifference and sin with the condition of 
 things at the time of the flood, and then 
 again compare them with the position of 
 Israel when Jesus turned away from them 
 with tears, it would seem almost as if the 
 world of the present day had made 
 progress both in the matter of indiffer- 
 ence and rejection; and therefore it is 
 not strange that such an Old Testa- 
 ment text as this would be applica- 
 ble to people living about us. It is a 
 solemn text. "My Spirit shall not always 
 
334 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 strive with men." It is along the line of 
 those solemn words of Dr. Alexander : 
 
 " There is a time, we know not when; 
 A place, we know not where, 
 That seals the destiny of man 
 For glory or despair." 
 
 Again we read, "Ye shall seek me and 
 shall not find me, and where I am there 
 ye cannot come." That also is the spirit 
 of the text. God tells us, "To-day if ye 
 will hear his voice harden not your heart," 
 which simply means that if we neglect to 
 hear the heart will become hardened, the 
 will stubborn, and we shall be unsaved 
 and hopeless. Again he tells us, "Now 
 is the accepted time, and now is the day 
 of salvation/ 5 So for men to act as if they 
 might come at any time and choose their 
 own way of salvation is to sin against him, 
 and to all such he speaks the text — "My 
 Spirit shall not always strive with men." 
 It is assumed that the spirit of God does 
 strive with men. If he will not strive 
 always, then he does strive at some partic- 
 
An Unheeded Warning 335 
 
 ular time, and with many of us he is striv- 
 ing now. We may not be willing to con- 
 fess it to our friends, but nevertheless it is 
 true. In many ways he is bringing to our 
 attention the eternal interests of our souls, 
 and this is striving. . 
 
 It is implied that men are resisting the 
 Spirit of God. If this were not so there 
 could be no striving, and the text indi- 
 cates that men may continue so long to 
 resist him and to sin against him that after 
 a while the door of mercy will close and 
 hope be a thing of the past. 
 
 What is the striving of the Spirit? I 
 have no doubt but that many are asking 
 this question seriously and fearfully and 
 it is worthy of our most careful considera- 
 tion. 
 
 1. It is just God speaking to us and 
 causing us to say to ourselves if not to 
 others, "Well, I ought to be a Christian; 
 this life of worldliness does not pay." There 
 is nothing but an accusing conscience, a 
 
336 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 weakened character and a blighted life as 
 the result of it. Do not for a moment think 
 that this is just an impression that has 
 come to you ; it is the voice of God and you 
 would do well to hear it. This striving of 
 the Spirit is simply the Spirit of God seek- 
 ing to convince men that the only safe 
 life is that which is hid with Christ in God, 
 safe not only for eternity — the most of us 
 believe that — but safe for time. Tempta- 
 tions are too powerful for us to withstand 
 alone and trials are too heavy for us to 
 bear in our own strength. The striving 
 of the Spirit is just our heavenly Father 
 graciously attempting to persuade us to 
 yield to him, sometimes by providences. 
 When but a lad my old pastor used one 
 night an illustration from which I never 
 have been able to get away. It was the 
 story of the old fisherman who took his 
 little boy with him to fish and found that 
 on his accustomed fishing grounds he was 
 unsuccessful ; so, leaving the boy upon the 
 little island, he started away to fish alone. 
 The mists came down in his absence and. 
 
An Unheeded Warning 337 
 
 missing his way, he lost his boy. He rowed 
 everywhere calling him and at last he 
 heard him in the distance, saying, "I am 
 up here, papa ; over this way. 55 The fisher- 
 man found him, but not quickly enough 
 to enable him to escape the cold night 
 winds, and the boy sickened and died. 
 The old fisherman said: " Every night 
 when I stood at my window I could see 
 his outstretching hands and always above 
 the storm I could hear his voice calling 
 me upward. I could not but be a 
 Christian." My mother had just # a 
 few weeks before gone home to God, and 
 I heard her voice as plainly as I could 
 hear the voice of my friend at my side. 
 Every vision of a mother in heaven, of a 
 child in the skies, is a call of God. He 
 seeks to persuade us by calamities. The 
 Chicago theater horror, with its hun- 
 dreds of women and children dead and dis- 
 figured, was God's call to a great city and 
 to the world. This is the striving of the 
 Spirit. Not with audible voice does he 
 speak to us but by means of impressions and 
 
338 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 convictions. Let us not think for a mo- 
 ment that these come simply because the 
 preacher has influence and may possibly 
 be possessed of a certain kind of genius 
 or power. These are God's warnings to 
 us. Be careful, therefore, how you resist 
 them. Jesus said in John the sixteenth 
 chapter the seventh to the eleventh verses, 
 " Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is 
 expedient for you that I go away : for if I 
 go not away, the Comforter will not come 
 unto you ; but if I depart, I will send him 
 unto you. And when he is come, he will re- 
 prove the world of sin, and of righteousness 
 and of judgment. Of sin, because they 
 believe not on me; of righteousness, be- 
 cause I go to my Father, and ye see me no 
 more; of judgment, because the prince 
 of this world is judged. 5 ' The word 
 "reprove" is a judicial word. When the 
 judge has heard the testimony for or 
 against the criminal and the arguments 
 of the counsel, he himself sums up the 
 case and lays it before the jury, bringing 
 out the strong points or the weak ones in 
 
An Unheeded Warning 339 
 
 relation to the criminal. This is reproving, 
 and it is this that the Spirit does. He 
 brings before us Jesus Christ and then 
 presents unto God our treatment of him, 
 and so it is easy to understand how the 
 text could be true. "My spirit shall not 
 always strive with men." 
 
 2. How may we know that he is striv- 
 ing? There are very many ways. 
 
 (1) If the attention is aroused and cen- 
 tered upon religious subjects and interests, 
 then be careful how you treat God. The 
 student who finds his mind constantly 
 escaping from his books to the thought of 
 eternity; the business man who cannot 
 possibly escape the thought that he owes 
 God something and ought not to slight 
 him, these have proofs that the Spirit is 
 striving. 
 
 After an evangelistic meeting which I 
 recently conducted I received the fol- 
 lowing letter, which clearly indicates the 
 striving of the Spirit: 
 
 " I had not attended the church for 
 years until to-night, but being a visitor in 
 
340 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 C. and hearing that you were from the 
 East and a Presbyterian I determined to 
 go. I was lonely and it may be the Spirit 
 was calling me. I heard you speak of 
 your little boys and of the sainted mother 
 who has gone before and my proud heart 
 was touched. I, too, have two darling boys 
 back in the old state, a loving Christian 
 wife and a dear old mother who in 
 parting said, 'Dear son, I am old and I 
 may never see you again on earth, but if 
 I am not here when you return, remem- 
 ber, my son, my boy, we must meet in 
 heaven/ 
 
 "How much thaj meant to her! I did 
 not quite realize it then, but your talk 
 to-night impressed me and I believe that 
 her prayers are being answered together 
 with those of a loving, courageous, stead- 
 fast Christian wife, and that I am at last, at 
 the age of forty-two, beginning to see how 
 great my opportunities to do good have 
 been and how my example has been a 
 great hindrance and stumbling block to 
 others in the way of life. Admitting that 
 
An Unheeded Warning 341 
 
 this life has no stronger emotion than our 
 love for our families, how much more I 
 am impressed to-night with my duty to 
 him who gave his only Son to suffer that 
 we might live in the life everlasting ! 
 
 "In a busy business life and career I 
 had drifted away from the safe anchorage 
 of the church and Sunday school of my 
 boyhood and had almost convinced my- 
 self that by charity and exercising good 
 will and kindliness in my business I could 
 do almost as much good as if I were in the 
 church ; but I see my mistake. To make 
 an army effective we must stand in the 
 ranks, must be soldiers in the army of 
 Christ ready and willing to do at all times 
 whatever we see before us. 
 
 "I have written my dear old mother a 
 letter to-night which I know will please 
 her far more than if I had told her I had 
 found a mine of California gold; her 
 prayers, my wife's, yours and those of 
 other true Christian men and women have 
 been answered, and I realize that now, 
 (not next week, nor next month, nor when 
 
342 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 I get my business finished and go back to 
 the East) is the day and the hour to remem- 
 ber Christ and know that his love for us 
 is greater even than the love that tugs at 
 our heartstrings when we think of the 
 dear little ones at home who lovingly call 
 us father, and for whom we gladly 
 endure the heartaches of separation when 
 we know that our labors will contribute 
 to their comfort and happiness. 
 
 "I realize from the standpoint of a busi- 
 ness man how many there are in the world 
 to criticise your best efforts and your work 
 and how few who ever stop to say, 'I 
 thank you; you have done me good/ I 
 take time to-night to do more. I want to 
 say that your message from the King of 
 kings has not fallen on stony ground. 
 I shall try to enter again the battle of life, 
 not as only in search of the wealth of this 
 world but in search of the wealth that the 
 world cannot take away — life everlasting. 
 
 "You were right. Preach and pray the 
 fathers into the Kingdom of God and the 
 rest is easy, for all unconsciously our chil- 
 
An Unheeded Warning 343 
 
 dren follow in our footsteps, watch our 
 every word and action ; then how much, 
 how much it means if our example is 
 wrong !" 
 
 ii 
 
 (1) Whenever we are convinced espe- 
 cially of the sinfulness of sin we may be 
 sure that the Spirit is striving with us. There 
 are times when we may be thoughtless 
 and sin with impunity; but not so when 
 the Spirit is doing his work, for sin is an 
 awful thing. 
 
 (2) Whenever we are impressed with 
 the heinousness of unbelief be assured 
 that the Spirit is at work, for the worst sin 
 in all this world is not impurity but rather 
 that we should not believe on Jesus Christ. 
 To reject him is to sneer at God, to 
 trample the blood of his Son under foot, 
 to count his sacrifice a common thing and 
 really to crucify him afresh. In all this 
 impression God speaks. 
 
 (3) When we see the danger of dying in 
 ouj sins he is moving us. It is a mystery 
 to me how men can close their eyes in 
 
344 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 sleep when they realize that any night 
 God might simply touch them and time 
 would give way to eternity and the judg- 
 ment would be before them. As a matter 
 of fact men are not indifferent to this, and 
 the fact that they are not proves that the 
 Spirit of God is opening their eyes. 
 
 (4) When he strips us of excuses be sure 
 that he is working. The man who has 
 said, " I will wait until I am better, " begins 
 to realize that his past sins must be taken 
 into account and no future resolutions can 
 touch them. The man who has said, 
 "There is time enough/' suddenly realizes 
 that between him and eternity there is but 
 a beat of the heart. The one who has 
 claimed that hypocrisy in the church kept 
 him out of it comes to see that hypocrisy 
 proves the life of the church, for men 
 never counterfeit that which is bad money 
 but rather that which is good. 
 
 (5) Whenever we see the folly of trust- 
 ing in any other word than Christ's then 
 the Spirit of God is with us. Not reforma- 
 tion, for it does not touch the sins of the 
 
An Unheeded Warning 345 
 
 past ; not resolution, for this is too weak, 
 and though we may seem better than others, 
 this may be true only according to our 
 own standard. When we see the folly of 
 these positions the Spirit of God is doing 
 his work; so be careful how you treat him. 
 
 in 
 
 What would be the consequences of the 
 Spirit ceasing his work? We really could 
 not express it in words. No man has 
 power or energy to make it plain. We can 
 only just hint at the condition. 
 
 1. There would be an opposition to reli- 
 gion, for whenever you find a man turning 
 against that which has been the world's 
 hope remember that the state of that man 
 is awful in the extreme and will grow 
 worse. 
 
 2. There will be an opposition to re- 
 vivals, to all preaching and to the minis- 
 ters of the Gospel wherever this spirit is 
 made manifest. We ought to tremble for 
 ourselves if this is our spirit, or for others 
 if it is theirs. 
 
346 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 3. Wherever men settle down into some 
 form of error this is a description of one 
 who has sinned against the Spirit of God, 
 for there is a longing in every soul for some- 
 thing outside of and beyond one's self; 
 and the things of the world cannot alone 
 satisfy. 
 
 4. When men continue to grow worse 
 and worse and seem to glory in their shame 
 there is great cause for solemn thought. 
 In the light of these suggestions the text is 
 given, "My Spirit shall not always strive 
 with men. 55 
 
 IV 
 
 Why should he cease his striving? 
 Not because he is not compassionate, for 
 he is ; nor forbearing, for that is his char- 
 acter ; not that he is without patience, for 
 he is infinite in this grace; nor because 
 he is without mercy, for his mercy is from 
 everlasting to everlasting. 
 
 1. But because it will do the sinner no 
 good to continue his pleadings. It is a 
 known law of the mind that truth resisted 
 
An Unheeded Warning 347 
 
 loses its power. Why should God con- 
 tinue when we only spurn his offers of 
 mercy? 
 
 Agassiz, the great Christian scientist, 
 tells of his work in the mountains when 
 his assistants lowered him to his work by 
 means of a rope and a basket. They al- 
 ways tested his weight before letting him 
 down; and yet he said that one day when 
 they had lowered him deeper than ever 
 they found that they could not lift him, 
 though they had tested his weight before 
 he had been lowered. They must go away 
 over the mountains to secure other assist- 
 ance. "And then," said the scientist, 
 "when they did lift me they found that their 
 failure was due to the fact that they did 
 not take into account the weight of the 
 rope." Every time you refuse Jesus Christ 
 as your Savior and God calls you again 
 you must lift against that other refusal, and 
 this is why it is so difficult for some to 
 come to Christ. 
 
 2. Because to continue warning is to 
 hinder the sinner. The more light we have 
 
348 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 the greater guilt. Better would it be for 
 the sinner when all hope is gone for the 
 Spirit to leave, for he shall be called to 
 account for warnings. Oh, the solemnity 
 of the day of judgment ! 
 
 3. Because to resist the Spirit of God is 
 for men to sin willfully if the rejection is 
 final. It is a sad thing to say "no" to God, 
 and if we sin willfully there remaineth no 
 more sacrifice for sins. 
 
 What is meant by the Spirit not striving? 
 Not that he will be withdrawn from men 
 in general, but rather from the individual. 
 
 1. He mav not follow the sinner, who 
 will be indifferent to preaching, to 
 praying, to his own spiritual condition, for 
 he has given himself over to error. 
 
 2. It simply means that we have come 
 to the limit of his patience, for we have 
 trifled with him in our continued rejection. 
 
 3. It also means that there is just some 
 one point where he will cease to work. 
 That point may be here and that day may 
 
An Unheeded Warning 349 
 
 be now, and so the text is solemn. A long 
 time ago an old woman tripped and fell 
 from the top of a stone stairway in Boston 
 as she was coming out of the police 
 station. They called the patrol and car- 
 ried her to the hospital and the doctor 
 examining her said to the nurse, " She will 
 not live more than a day." And when 
 the nurse had won her confidence the old 
 woman said, "I have traveled from Cali- 
 fornia, stopping at every city of impor- 
 tance between San Francisco and Boston, 
 visiting two places always — the police 
 station and the hospital. My boy went 
 away from me and did not tell me where 
 he was going, so I have sold all my prop- 
 erty and made this journey to seek him 
 out. Some day," she said, "he may come 
 into this hospital, and if he does tell him 
 that there were two who never gave him 
 up." When the night came and the doctor 
 standing beside her said, "It is now but a 
 question of a few minutes," the nurse bent 
 over her to say, "Tell me the names of the 
 two and I will tell your son if I see him." 
 
350 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 With trembling lips and eyes overflowing 
 with tears she said, "Tell him that the two 
 were God and his mother/' and she was 
 gone. 
 
 I cannot believe that God has given any 
 of you up- You would not be listening to 
 this message, you certainly would not be 
 reading these words if he had. He has not 
 given you up. I beseech you therefore 
 hear him. It would be a sad thing for you 
 to say no to him at the last and have him 
 take you at your word, and if he has not 
 given you up I am persuaded that there 
 is some one else in the world deeply con- 
 cerned for your soul. 
 
THE APPROVAL OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 Text: "Yea, saith the Spirit"— Rev. 14:31. 
 
 The world has had many notable gal- 
 leries of art in which we have been en- 
 abled to study the beautiful landscape, to 
 consider deeds of heroism which have 
 made the past illustrious, in which we have 
 also read the stories of saintly lives; but 
 surpassing all these is the gallery of art in 
 which we find the text. Humanly speak- 
 ing John is the artist while he is an exile 
 on the Island of Patmos in the Aegean 
 Sea. The words he uses and the figures 
 he presents are suggested by his sur- 
 roundings, and it would be difficult to 
 imagine anything more uplifting than the 
 book of Revelation if it be properly studied 
 and understood. When John speaks of 
 the Son of Man he describes his voice as 
 the sound of many waters — undoubtedly 
 suggested by the waves of the sea break- 
 ing at his feet. Locked in by the sea on 
 
 351 
 
352 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 this lonely island he gives to us this Reve- 
 lation for which every Christian should 
 devoutly thank God. His eyes are opened 
 in an unusual way and before him as in 
 panoramic vision the past, the present and 
 the future move quickly, and he makes a 
 record of all the things that he beholds. 
 His body is on Patmos but as a matter of 
 fact he seems to be walking the streets 
 of the heavenly city and gives to us a 
 picture of those things which no mortal 
 eye hath yet beheld. He describes the 
 risen Christ. It is a new picture, for as 
 he beholds him his head and his hair are 
 white like wool, as white as snow; and 
 yet it is an old picture he gives, for he is 
 presented as the Lamb that has been slain, 
 w^ith the marks of his suffering still upon 
 him, and these help to make his glory the 
 greater, and if possible to increase the 
 power and sweetness of the angels' music. 
 He presents to us a revelation of the 
 glorified church and of the four and 
 twenty elders falling down at the feet of 
 Jesus, casting their crowns before him 
 
The Approval of the Spirit 353 
 
 and giving him all adoration and praise. 
 He cheers us with a knowledge of the 
 doom of Satan, for in the closing part of 
 the book he presents him to us as bound, 
 cast into the pit and held as a prisoner for 
 a thousand years, while in every other 
 part of the Bible he is seen going about 
 like a raging lion seeking whom he may 
 devour. He gives to us some conception 
 of the final judgment, and the great white 
 throne is lifted up before us; the dead, 
 small and great, stand before God, the 
 books are opened and those whose names 
 are not found written in the book are cast 
 away from his presence forever; and then 
 as a climax of the picture we have before 
 us the new r heaven and the new earth. 
 Again I say, there is nothing so wonderful 
 as Revelation if only we have the mind of 
 the Spirit in its interpretation. 
 
 In this text John is speaking of those 
 who die in the Lord and the w r hole 
 verse reads as follows: "And I heard 
 a voice from heaven saying unto 
 me, Write, Blessed are the dead which 
 
354 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, 
 saith the Spirit, that they may rest from 
 their labors; and their works do follow 
 them" (Revelation 14:13). Ordinarily 
 this text has been used only on funeral 
 occasions, but literally interpreted the 
 text which stands as the heart of the verse 
 may be read as follows, "Amen, saith the 
 Spirit." It would seem as if the Holy 
 Ghost were giving his assent to the 
 truth which has been spoken. "Blessed 
 are the dead which die in the Lord." It 
 is like an old time antiphonal service, when 
 choir answered choir in the house of God; 
 or, to put it in another way, it is one of 
 those remarkable interruptions several 
 instances of which are found in the Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 One is in Hebrews the thirteenth chapter 
 and the eighth verse, "Jesus Christ the 
 same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever." 
 According to the revision this verse has 
 an added word and reads as follows, 
 "Jesus Christ the same yesterday and 
 to-day, yea and forever." I call special 
 
The Approval of the Spirit 355 
 
 attention to the little word "yea." Some- 
 body has said that it is as if the Apostle 
 were saying that Jesus is the same to-day 
 that he was yesterday, than which no 
 thought could be more comforting. And 
 it would seem at the closing part of the 
 verse as if the angels of God had broken in 
 upon his message to say, "Yea, and he is 
 forever the same," which is certainly true. 
 Could anything be more inspiring than to 
 know that we have the approval of the 
 Holy Ghost of the things we say or think ? 
 There are many representations' of 
 the Spirit of God in the Bible. His love 
 is presented under the figure of the 
 mother love, as in Genesis the first chap- 
 ter and the second verse; "And the earth 
 was without form, and void ; and darkness 
 was upon the face of the deep. And the 
 Spirit of God moved [or brooded] upon the 
 face of the waters." In this text the Spirit 
 broods over the world as the mother bird 
 hovers over her little ones. We see him 
 in the figure of the dove in Matthew T the 
 third chapter and the sixteenth verse: 
 
356 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went 
 up straightway out of the water, and lo, 
 the heavens were opened unto him and he 
 saw the Spirit of God descending like a 
 dove, and lighting upon him. 55 And here 
 we have a revelation of his gentleness. 
 Again he is presented to us under the 
 figure of the wind, "And suddenly there 
 came a sound from heaven as of a rush- 
 ing mighty wind, and it filled all the house 
 where they were sitting 55 (Acts 2:2). 
 Here we see his power. We catch a vision 
 of him in the fire in Acts the second chap- 
 ter and the third verse, "And there ap- 
 peared unto them cloven tongues like as 
 of fire, and it sat upon each of them 55 ; and 
 here we understand his cleansing influence. 
 But here in this text we have his directing 
 power. It is as if he were giving par- 
 ticular attention to all that John is saying 
 and giving his approval to it because it is 
 the truth. Since the day of Pentecost he 
 has occupied a new position. 
 
 However, he has existed from all 
 eternity. We behold him in his work in 
 
The Approval of the Spirit 357 
 
 the Old Testament Scriptures. But from 
 the day of Pentecost the affairs of the 
 church have been committed to him, its 
 organization, its development, its services, 
 whether it be the preaching, the praying 
 or the singing. We cannot ignore him, 
 for he has to do with all the work and with 
 the preaching of the word. He convicts 
 of sin. John 6 : 44, "No man can come to 
 me, except the Father which hath sent 
 me draw him : and I will raise him up at 
 the last day." He applies Christ to the 
 awakened sinner, "Howbeit when he^ the 
 Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you 
 into all truth: for he shall not speak of 
 himself ; but whatsoever he shall hear, that 
 shall he speak : and he will shew you things 
 to come. He shall glorify me: for he 
 shall receive of mine, and shall shew it 
 unto you." He helps to interpret the Word 
 of God because he inspired men to write it. 
 It is impossible to get along without him. 
 I put no mark of disrespect upon scholar- 
 ship. I know what it has accomplished; 
 it has filled libraries with knowledge 
 
358 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 which has made the world rich, it has 
 weighed planets and given us almost a 
 perfect understanding of the heavenly 
 bodies. It has estimated the velocity of 
 light until we have stopped to say, "Such 
 things are too wonderful for us/ 5 It has 
 read the tracings upon obelisks, and made 
 the past an open book to us, giving us the 
 secrets of men who have been thousands 
 of years in their tombs, but I do wish 
 to say that that which comes to us directly 
 from the Spirit of God is beyond scholar- 
 ship. Hear what Paul has said to us in 
 1 Corinthians the second chapter and the 
 ninth to the fourteenth verses. "But as it 
 is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
 neither have entered into the heart of man, 
 the things which God hath prepared for 
 them that love him. But God hath re- 
 vealed them unto us by his Spirit : for the 
 Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep 
 things of God. For what man knoweth the 
 things of a man, save the spirit of man 
 which is in him? even so the things of God 
 knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 
 
The Approval of the Spirit 359 
 
 Now we have received, not the spirit of the 
 world, but the spirit which is of God ; that 
 we might know the things that are freely 
 given to us of God. Which things also we 
 speak, not in the words which man's wis- 
 dom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost 
 teacheth ; comparing spiritual things with 
 spiritual. But the natural man receiveth 
 not the things of the Spirit of God: for 
 they are foolishness unto him ; neither can 
 he know them, because they are spiritu- 
 ally discerned." 
 
 There are certain great truths to which 
 
 1 am sure the Holy Ghost would say a 
 deep amen. 
 
 i 
 
 The Bible is the word of God — not 
 simply that it contains the word of God, 
 but is that very word. 
 
 Peter tells us where we got our Bible. 
 
 2 Peter 1 : 21, "For the prophecy came not 
 in old time by the will of man; but holy 
 men of God spake as they were moved by 
 the Holy Ghost/ 5 It is an inspired Book, 
 and inspiration is the inbreathing of God 
 
360 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 himself. This makes the Bible different 
 from every other book. We cannot study- 
 it exactly as we study others. We may 
 pick it up and say it is just paper, ink and 
 leather, like any other book, but we have 
 missed the power of it if we say this. We 
 might say, "Jesus is just a man, eating, 
 drinking, sleeping, suffering like a man"; 
 but we have missed his power if we say 
 only this, for the Bible is filled with God, 
 and Jesus is God Himself. Jesus said, 
 "Ye must be born again if ye are to enter 
 my Kingdom," and this makes the dif- 
 ference in men. Because of this new 
 birth one man sees the things of God to 
 which another would be totally blind, and 
 this makes the difference in books and 
 leaves the Bible incomparably beyond all 
 other books. 
 
 How may we know that the Bible is the 
 word of God? Not simply scientifically, 
 although the Bible is a scientific book; but 
 not in this way any more than we could 
 find life in the body by cutting it up with 
 a knife. The Bible is like a sensitive 
 
The Approval of the Spirit 361 
 
 plant; approach it in the wrong way and 
 it will close its leaves and withhold its 
 fragrance. Come to it reverently and 
 there is no blessing that it cannot bestow. 
 
 1. Accept it by faith and act according 
 to its principles. If God exists, as we 
 know he does, then talk with him; if 
 Christ is here presented to us with all his 
 uplifting teachings, then walk with him; 
 if the promises of God are written here, as 
 we know they are, then present them to 
 him expecting him to keep his word. 
 
 General Booth of the Salvation Army 
 once said in a great meeting where I was 
 present that we were poor, weak Christians 
 to-day because we were not living up to 
 our privileges as Christians. He described 
 a young man who had lost his position and 
 had gone from one degree of poverty to 
 another until at last he was on the verge 
 of starvation. With his wife and little 
 ones about him he sits in deepest gloom. 
 There is a rap at the door and the post- 
 man brings a letter which is a message 
 from a former employer who tells him 
 
362 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 that he has just learned of his distress, 
 that he will help him, and that in the 
 meantime he incloses his check for a sum 
 of money which he hopes may make him 
 comfortable. A check is simply a promise 
 to pay. The young man, says General 
 Booth, looks at it a moment and then be- 
 gins to rush about the room in great ex- 
 citement. "Poor man/' said his wife, 
 "I knew it would come to this. His 
 mind is giving way." Then he presents 
 the check to her and says, "I know what 
 I shall do with it. I will frame it and hang 
 it on the wall." Then again he exclaims, 
 "I shall take it to my friend and have him 
 set it to music and sing it each day," and 
 he might do both of these and starve to 
 death. What he should have done was 
 to present it for payment and live off of 
 its proceeds. "We have been framing 
 God's promises long enough," said Gen- 
 eral Booth, "and singing them quite long 
 enough ; let us now present them for pay- 
 ment, and we shall know that God is 
 true." 
 
The Approval of the Spirit 363 
 
 2. Live its truth. Whatever God pre- 
 sents as a principle translate into your life 
 and then believe that God will transform 
 your living. It will support you in trial 
 and it will comfort you in the deepest 
 sorrow. 
 
 The world was shocked by that great 
 railroad accident which meant the death 
 of Mrs. Booth-Tucker, but when in Car- 
 negie Hall Commander Booth-Tucker 
 stood to speak great words concerning his 
 noble wife he said: "I was once talking 
 with a man in Chicago about becoming, a 
 Christian and he said to me, 'If God had 
 taken away your beautiful wife and you 
 were left desolate with your little children 
 would you believe in him?' And/' said 
 the Commander before his great New 
 York audience, "if that man is in this 
 audience to-day let me tell him, God 
 has taken my beautiful wife and I am here 
 surrounded by my children, but I never 
 believed in him more thoroughly and was 
 never more confident of the truth of his 
 Word." 
 
364 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 ii 
 
 Jesus Christ is the Son of God. To this 
 truth I am very sure the Holy Ghost will 
 add his amen. In John the fifteenth chap- 
 ter and the twenty-sixth verse we read, 
 " But when the Comforter is come, whom 
 I will send unto you from the Father, even 
 the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from 
 the Father, he shall testify of me. 55 And 
 if you would know that Jesus Christ is 
 God's Son I would suggest, 
 
 1. That you simply test him; try him 
 in heathen lands and tell me if any other 
 story could thrill and transform as does the 
 story of his life and death. Dr. Torrey 
 says that whether the story was told in 
 China or England, whether the story was 
 told in India or Australia, it was always the 
 same and never was without effect. 
 
 2. Try him in your own life. One 
 day in a service in a western city an old 
 woman was wheeled into the church in 
 an invalid's chair. I knew by the expres- 
 
The Approval of the Spirit 365 
 
 sion of her countenance that she was suf- 
 fering. When I met her after the service 
 and asked her about her story she said as 
 the most excruciating pain convulsed her 
 body, "I have not been free from pain in 
 twenty years and have scarcely slept a 
 night through all that time/' and then, 
 brushing the tears from her eyes, and with 
 an expectant face, she exclaimed, "but if I 
 could tell you all that Jesus Christ has 
 been to me in these twenty years I could 
 thrill you through and through." 
 
 3. If you would know that he is the 
 Son of God just lift him up and behold 
 him as he draws all men unto him. This 
 is the secret of the power of great preach- 
 ing. It made Mr. Moody known where- 
 ever the English language is spoken and 
 constituted Mr. Spurgeon one of the 
 world's greatest preachers. As a matter 
 of fact there is no other theme which may 
 be presented in the pulpit by the minister 
 with an assurance of the co-operation of 
 of the Holy Ghost. There may be times 
 when he may feel obliged to preach con- 
 
366 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 cerning philosophy, poetry, art and 
 science, but unless these things lead 
 directly to Christ we have no reason for 
 believing that the Holy Ghost will add his 
 amen to our message, and without this 
 amen the time is almost lost. 
 
 in 
 
 The church is the body of Christ. I am 
 persuaded that to this truth he will give 
 his hearty assent. This is Paul's over and 
 over. Notice the following verses. 
 
 Acts 2:41, "Then they that gladly 
 received his word were baptized ; and the 
 same day there were added unto them 
 about three thousand souls. " The words 
 "unto them" are in italics, so not in the 
 original, and we ask "added to what?" 
 
 Acts 2: 47, "Praising God, and having 
 favor with all the people. And the Lord 
 'added to the Church 9 daily such as 
 should be saved." Here we are beginning 
 to get the truth. 
 
 Acts 5:14, "And believers were the 
 more added to the Lord, multitudes both 
 of men and women." This is the truth. 
 
The Approval of the Spirit 367 
 
 You will see that Christ is the head, the 
 church is his body and we are, as in- 
 dividual members of the church, just 
 being added to him. One day the body 
 will be completed and then the Lord him- 
 self will appear. If Christ is the head he 
 must control the body. If his life is hin- 
 dered and not permitted to flow through 
 every part of it there is confusion, strife, 
 unrest and loss of power. 
 
 There are certain things which we must 
 do if we are to be in this world as he would 
 have us. 
 
 He must control the preaching. If 
 given an opportunity he will direct in the 
 choice of a theme, he will quicken our 
 intellect in the development of that theme, 
 he will give us an insight into the best way 
 to present it to our hearers, and putting 
 faith in these preliminary conditions he 
 will take care of the results. He must also 
 dictate the praying in a church. There is 
 much of it that is meaningless. It is too 
 formal, too lifeless, and entirely too gen- 
 eral in its character. In Matthew the eight- 
 
368 And Judas Iscarioi 
 
 eenth chapter and the nineteenth verse, 
 we read, "Again I say unto you, That if 
 two of you shall agree on earth as touching 
 anything that they shall ask, it shall be done 
 for them of my Father which is in heaven." 
 It does not mean that if the two should 
 agree together as touching any one thing, 
 but agree with him, for wherever you find 
 two in prayer there are three, and wherever 
 there are three there are four, and the 
 additional one present is the Spirit of God 
 waiting to help us in our praying and to 
 present our prayers unto the Father in the 
 name of Jesus Christ. 
 
 He must inspire the singing of the 
 church. In Ephesians the fifth chapter 
 and the nineteenth verse we read, " Speak- 
 ing to yourselves in psalms and hymns and 
 spiritual songs, singing and making melody 
 in your heart to the Lord." One reason 
 why there is such a lack of power in many 
 churches in this country is due to the fact 
 that the singing is simply used as filling for 
 the services. Hymns are used in a hap- 
 hazard way with little thought as to their 
 
The Approval of the Spirit 369 
 
 bearing upon the theme to be presented. 
 I am quite persuaded that when the 
 preaching, praying and singing are all 
 submitted to his control, whatever may be 
 man's opinion of the service, he himself 
 will give to it his hearty amen. 
 
 IV 
 
 We are the sons of God. In Romans 
 the eighth chapter the sixteenth and seven- 
 teenth verses we read, "The Spirit itself 
 beareth witness with our spirit, that we are 
 the children of God ; and if children, then 
 heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with 
 Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, 
 that we may be also glorified together." 
 To this truth he will say amen. A careful 
 study of the Scriptures will reveal the fact 
 that, 
 
 1. We are heirs. If therefore this be 
 true we have but to claim our birthright 
 privilege, and there is no weakness in our 
 lives but may be offset by the strength 
 of his. Whatever Christ has received as 
 the head of the church he has received in 
 
370 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 trust for the body and we may have our 
 possession in him if we but appropriate it. 
 
 A man in England died the other day 
 in the poorhouse. He had a little Eng- 
 lish farm upon which he could raise no 
 grain and he let it go to waste and died a 
 pauper. His heirs discovered that on this 
 little English possession there was a cop- 
 per mine and they are living in luxury 
 to-day in the possession of that which 
 belonged to their ancester all the time but 
 was not appropriated and used by him. 
 
 2. Being sons of God, we are not free 
 from trial; but there is this one thing to 
 say about our Christian experience: "Our 
 light afflictions which are but for a mo- 
 ment work for us a far more exceeding and 
 eternal weight of glory/ 5 and God's pres- 
 ence with us in trial is infinitely better 
 than his absence from us in the time of 
 prosperity. Our trials are but the discipline 
 through which we must pass in order that 
 we may one day be prepared to stand in 
 his presence and do his bidding through- 
 out eternity. 
 
The Approval of the Spirit 371 
 
 3. Being sons of God, we are sure one 
 day of glory. The song which has been 
 singing its way around the world in the 
 Torrey-Alexander meetings presents this 
 thought to us beautifully. 
 
 "When all my labors and trials are o'er 
 And I am safe on that beautiful shore, 
 Just to be near the dear Lord I adore 
 Will thro' the ages be glory for me. 
 
 "When by the gift of his infinite grace 
 I am accorded in heaven a place, 
 Just to be there and look on his face 
 Will thro' the ages be glory for me. 
 
 "Friends will be there I have loved long ago; 
 Joy like a river around me will flow; 
 Yet just a smile from my Savior, I know, 
 Will thro' the ages be glory for me. 
 
 Chorus. 
 "Oh, that will be glory for me, 
 Glory for me, glory for me, 
 When by his grace I shall look on his face, 
 That will be glory, be glory for me." 
 
 Whatever may be our limitations here, 
 they shall be gone there; whatever may be 
 our weakness here, it shall be lost there. 
 
372 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 Dr. Charles Hodge in his "Lectures on 
 Theology' ' has given us an imaginary pic- 
 ture of Laura Bridgman, the famous deaf- 
 mute. The celebrated theologian has 
 described her standing in the presence of 
 Christ in that great day when we shall all 
 be before Him, when Christ shall touch 
 her eyes and say, "Daughter, see," and 
 there shall sweep through her vision all 
 the glories of the sky; when He shall 
 touch her ears, which have been so long 
 closed, and say, "Daughter, hear," and 
 into her soul shall come all the harmonies 
 of heaven ; when he shall touch her lips, 
 which on earth have never spoken a hu- 
 man word, and say, "Daughter, speak," 
 and with all the angel choir she will burst 
 into the new song. What Dr. Hodge has 
 said concerning Laura Bridgman will be 
 true of us. Our day of limitations will 
 be past, the experiences of weakness be 
 gone, and we shall be like him, for we 
 shall see him as he is. 
 
 This, therefore, is a good outline of a 
 creed for us to-day. We believe the Bible 
 
The Approval of the Spirit 373 
 
 is the Word of God, we believe that Jesus 
 is the Son of God, we believe that the 
 Church is the body of Christ, we believe 
 that we are by regeneration the sons of 
 God, and making such a statement we 
 have a right to stop and listen and I am 
 sure we shall hear as from the skies, 
 "Amen, saith the spirit." 
 
A REASONABLE SERVICE X 
 
 Text: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the 
 mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living 
 sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your 
 reasonable service." — Romans 12: 1. 
 
 There is perhaps no chapter in the New 
 Testament, certainly none in this epistle, 
 with which we are more familiar than 
 this one which is introduced by the 
 text; and yet, however familiar we may.be 
 with the statements, if we read them care- 
 fully and study them honestly they must 
 always come to us not only in the nature 
 of an inspiration but also with rebuke, 
 especially to those of us who preach. 
 
 Paul's intellectual ability has never been 
 questioned. Yet, giant though he was 
 in this respect, he was not ashamed to be 
 pathetic when he likens his care for his 
 people to the care of a nurse for her chil- 
 dren. He is not ashamed to be extrava- 
 gant when he likens his sorrow and pain 
 
 375 
 
376 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 at their backsliding to the travail of a 
 woman for her child. He is not ashamed to 
 be intense when in the ninth chapter and 
 the first, second and third verses he says, 
 "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my 
 conscience also bearing me witness in the 
 Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness 
 and continual sorrow in my heart. For I 
 could wish that myself were accursed from 
 Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen 
 according to the flesh." 
 
 We must also be impressed with the 
 fact that he was not at all afraid of public 
 criticism. He not only sat at Gamaliel's 
 feet but the great lawmaker might well 
 have taken his place at his feet, and yet he 
 says, "I am willing to be counted a fool 
 if only I may win men to Christ.' ' He 
 is not bound by custom. He not only 
 preaches in the synagogue and in the 
 places set apart for the churches of the 
 early days, but he goes about from house to 
 house entreating people to come to Christ. 
 He is not ashamed to weep, for he sends 
 his messages to the people and exclaims, 
 
A Reasonable Service 377 
 
 "I tell you these things weeping"; and 
 here in this text he is strikingly unusual, 
 for he is not a preacher speaking with 
 dignity, nor an Apostle commending 
 obedience, but a loving friend beseeching 
 in the most pathetic way the yielding of 
 themselves to Christ. 
 
 There are two things to remember about 
 Paul in the study of such a subject. 
 
 First: He was a Jew and he knew all 
 about offerings. Sacrifices were not forms 
 to him and a living sacrifice was ngt a 
 meaningless expression. He had been 
 present on the great day of Atonement 
 when the scapegoat bore aw T ay the sins of 
 the people. He had heard the chimes of 
 the bells on the high priest's robe as he 
 moved to and fro before the entrance to 
 the holy of holies, and he had waited 
 with breathless silence for him to come 
 forth giving evidence in his coming of the 
 fact that Israel could once more approach 
 Jehovah. The text to him was throbbing 
 with holy memories and was full of signifi- 
 cance. 
 
378 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 Second: He received his instructions 
 concerning these things of God, not from 
 men, for when he writes to the Galatians 
 he says : "But I certify you, brethren, that 
 the gospel which was preached of me is 
 not after man, for I neither received it of 
 man, neither was I taught it, but by the 
 revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1: 
 11-12). And so, since he is a heaven- taught 
 man, we must listen while he speaks and 
 give heed to his entreaties. 
 
 The context. We shall not appreciate 
 this striking text unless we take into 
 account its setting. 
 
 The first chapters of Romans present 
 to us a black cloud indeed, for when the 
 first sentences are spoken we shudder 
 because of their intensity. We read in the 
 twenty-fourth verse that God gave the 
 people up to uncleanness; in the twenty- 
 sixth verse that he gave them up to vile 
 affections, but in the twenty-eighth verse 
 that he gave them over to a reprobate 
 
A Reasonable Service 379 
 
 mind. With this awful condition of 
 affairs we start; and yet for fear that the 
 man who counts himself a moralist might 
 read these verses and feel that they did not 
 apply to him, Paul writes in the third chap- 
 ter and the twenty-second verse these 
 words, "Even the righteousness of God, 
 which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all 
 and upon all them that believe ; for there 
 is no difference." But when the cloud is 
 the blackest the rays of light begin to ap- 
 pear, and they are rays of light from 
 heaven; looking on the one side at mystery 
 and catching a vision on the other side of 
 grace, Paul exclaims, "I beseech you there- 
 fore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that 
 ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, 
 holy, acceptable unto God, which is your 
 reasonable service" (Romans 12: 1).. 
 
 The word mercy is of frequent occur- 
 rence in the Bible. "From everlasting to 
 everlasting is God's mercy," we read. This 
 gives us some idea of duration. "New 
 every morning and fresh every evening 
 are his mercies." This reveals to us the 
 
380 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 fact that they are unchanging. "He is a 
 God of mercy. " This is his character. 
 "Let the wicked forsake his way and the 
 unrighteous man his thoughts and let him 
 return unto the Lord and he will have 
 mercy upon him." This is the invitation 
 of God given to all the world ! But Paul 
 is not speaking of mercy in general ; he 
 goes on in his masterful argument out- 
 lining the doctrines of grace and on the 
 strength of that he uses the text. 
 
 First : We are justified. The fifth chap- 
 ter and the first verse, "Therefore being 
 justified by faith, we have peace with 
 God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 In justification our sins are pardoned and 
 we are accepted as righteous because of 
 the righteousness of Christ, which is im- 
 puted unto us and received by faith alone. 
 And yet to him this definition in every day 
 language means that, being justified, we 
 stand before God as if we never had sinned. 
 No wonder that in the light of such a 
 doctrine Paul could say, "I beseech you 
 therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, 
 
A Reasonable Service 381 
 
 that ye present your bodies a living sacri- 
 fice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is 
 your reasonable service" (Romans 12: 1). 
 
 Second: We are kept safe. Romans 5: 
 10, "For if, when we were enemies, we 
 were reconciled to God by the death of his 
 Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall 
 be saved by his life.' 5 Literally the closing 
 part of this verse is, "We are kept safe in 
 his life." A child in its mother's arms 
 could not be so secure as we in his life. 
 Underneath us are the everlasting arms 
 and around about us the sure mercies of 
 God. 
 
 Third: We are baptized into his death. 
 "Know ye not that so many of us as were 
 baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized 
 into his death?" (Romans 6:3.) "The 
 wages of sin is death." This is God's 
 irrevocable statement, but Christ died for 
 our sins and Paul's argument here is that 
 we died with him, so the demands of the 
 law have been met and we are to go free. 
 No wonder Paul could say, "I beseech 
 you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of 
 
382 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 God, that ye present your bodies a living 
 sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which 
 is your reasonable service/' 
 
 Fourth: We are alive unto God. Ro- 
 mans 6: 11, "Likewise reckon ye also 
 yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but 
 alive unto God through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord." Not only are we justified and kept 
 safe and crucified with him and buried 
 with him but in the plan of God we are 
 risen with him. What a wonderful mercy 
 this is ! 
 
 Fifth: We have deliverance from the 
 self life. The seventh chapter of Romans 
 is just the cry of a breaking heart and 
 reaches its climax in the twenty- fourth 
 verse, "O wretched man that I am! who 
 shall deliver me from the body of this 
 death?" But the deliverance is in the 
 eighth chapter, especially in the second 
 verse, "For the law of the Spirit of life 
 in Christ Jesus hath made me free from 
 the law of sin and death." What a mercy 
 this is ! 
 
 Sixth: For those of us who believe 
 
A Reasonable Service 383 
 
 there is no condemnation. Romans 8:1, 
 " There is therefore now no condemnation 
 to them which are in Christ Jesus, who 
 walk not after the flesh, but after the 
 Spirit." Judgment is past because he has 
 been judged. We have nothing to do with 
 the great white throne; Christ as our 
 substitute has met sin's penalty and paid 
 our debts. What a mercy this is! No 
 wonder Paul is thrilled with the thought 
 of it. 
 
 Seventh : No separation. Romans 8 : 
 38-39, "For I am persuaded, that neither 
 death, nor life, nor angels, nor principal- 
 ities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
 things to come, nor height, nor depth, 
 nor any other creature, shall be able to 
 separate us from the love of God, which 
 is in Christ Jesus our Lord." So that for 
 time we are safe and our eternity is sure. 
 Was there ever such a catalogue of mer- 
 cies? In the light of all this the Apostle 
 exclaims, "I beseech you therefore, breth- 
 ren, by the mercies of God, that ye present 
 your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, accept- 
 
384 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 able unto God, which is your reasonable 
 service" (Romans 12: 1). 
 
 It is a good thing to study Paul's 
 "therefores." He is a logician of the high- 
 est type. 
 
 In Romans 5:1, there is the "therefore 
 of justification." 
 
 In Romans the eighth chapter and the 
 first verse there is the "therefore of no con- 
 demnation" 
 
 In Romans the twelfth chapter and the 
 first verse there is the "therefore of conse- 
 cration, " and this as a matter of fact is the 
 outline of the Epistle. 
 
 ii 
 
 Present your bodies. This means the 
 entire yielding of one's self to Christ It 
 corresponds to the Old Testament presen- 
 tation of the burnt offering all of which 
 was consumed. Back in the Old Testa- 
 ment times for fourteen years there had 
 been no song in the temple, for it was filled 
 with rubbish and uncleanness, but the 
 rubbish was put away and the unclean- 
 
A Reasonable Service 385 
 
 ness vanished, the burnt offering was pre- 
 sented and the song of the Lord began 
 again. If you have lost your song and 
 have been deprived of the harmony of 
 heaven then present your bodies a living 
 sacrifice. 
 
 There is a threefold division in man's 
 nature. 
 
 The Spirit, where God abides if we are 
 his children. This is like the holy of 
 holies. 
 
 The SouL which is the abode of the man 
 himself. 
 
 The Body, which is the outer court. 
 
 When Christ was crucified the veil of the 
 temple w^as rent in twain and the whole 
 was like one great compartment. I can- 
 not but think that if we should come to the 
 place of complete consecration, the accept- 
 ance in our lives of what was purchased 
 for us when he was crucified, for us 
 the veil of the temple would be rent in 
 twain and not only would God abide in 
 our spirits but he would suffuse our whole 
 nature, look with our eyes, and speak with 
 
386 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 our lips. This must have been what Paul 
 meant when he said, "I live, yet not I, but 
 Christ liveth in me." 
 
 in 
 
 A living sacrifice. That is in contrast 
 with the dead offering of the Old Testa- 
 ment sacrifice. Suppose for a moment 
 that it would have been possible for an 
 offering to have been presented in the Old 
 Testament times and then after that for 
 it to have lived again; it is inconceivable 
 that this offering would have been put to 
 any unholy use. I have many times tried 
 to imagine the surprise of the son of the 
 widow of Nain and the daughter of Jairus 
 after their being raised from the dead. 
 They certainly could not have lived self- 
 ish, sinful lives again, and I am sure that 
 Lazarus when once he had been in the 
 grave and was raised at the voice of the 
 Master could never again have been 
 worldly and unclean. But let it not be for- 
 gotten that we are a risen people; we were 
 crucified with Christ, we died with Christ, 
 
A Reasonable Service 387 
 
 we were buried with Christ, we have risen 
 with Christ ! How then ought we to live ? 
 
 In one of our western cities a minister 
 told me recently of a young man w T ho had 
 graduated at a school for stammerers and 
 came to see him one day. Keeping time 
 with his fingers in the use of his words 
 he said slowly: 
 
 "I — want — to — speak — to — you. ' ' 
 Without following his method of speech 
 through I will quote what he said: "I 
 have for a long time wanted to bfe a 
 Christian and was ashamed to attempt to 
 speak when it was so imperfectly done, 
 but now I have graduated and I have the 
 control in part at least of my speech, and 
 I have come to you to-day to make my 
 confession, for the first use I make of my 
 voice must be the confession of him who 
 loved me and gave himself for me. 55 
 
 IV 
 
 Your reasonable service. It is a reason- 
 able service, 
 
 First: Because God uses human in- 
 
388 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 strumentality and he needs you, and it is 
 therefore a reasonable demand to make, 
 for we should place ourselves absolutely 
 at his disposal. 
 
 In the guest book of a friend I saw 
 recently a few lines written by Dr. John 
 Willis Baer in which he said, quoting from 
 another : 
 
 "God gave himself for us. 
 
 "God gave himself to us. 
 
 " God wants to give himself through us.' 5 
 
 But if our lives are inconsistent and 
 our hearts are unclean he cannot do it. If 
 we have not yielded ourselves altogether 
 God himself is limited. 
 
 Second: It is a reasonable request to 
 make because of what God has done 
 for us. 
 
 One of the distinguished ministers of 
 the Presbyterian Church told us the other 
 day in a conference in a western city that 
 a little boy who had been operated upon 
 by Dr. Lorenz said as soon as he came out 
 from under the anesthetic, "It will be a 
 long time before my mother hears the 
 
A Reasonable Service 389 
 
 last of this doctor"; and then, said my 
 friend, "I thought of an incident in my 
 own life of a poor German boy whose feet 
 were tw r isted out of shape, whose mother 
 was poor and could not have him operated 
 upon, and I determined to bring him to a 
 great doctor and ask him to take him in 
 charge. The operation was over and was 
 a great success. When the plaster cast 
 had been taken off from his feet my friend 
 said he went to take him home. He called 
 his attention to the hospital and the Boy 
 admired it, but he said, 'I like the doctor 
 best/ He spoke of the nurses and the 
 boy was slightly interested, but said, 'They 
 are nothing compared to the doctor.' He 
 called his attention to the perfect equip- 
 ment of the hospital and he was unmoved 
 except as again and again he referred to 
 the doctor. They reached the Mis- 
 souri town and stepped out of the station 
 together, and the old German mother 
 was w r aiting to receive him. She did not 
 look at her boy's face nor at his hands but 
 she fell on her knees and looked at his 
 
390 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 feet and then said sobbing, 'It is just 
 like any other boy's foot/ Taken into 
 her arms, the minister said all the boy 
 kept saying to her over and over was, 
 'Mother, you ought to know the doctor 
 that made me walk/ " 
 
 Then my friend said, "There is not one 
 of us for whom Jesus Christ has not done 
 ten thousand times more for us than the 
 doctor did for this boy, and we have never 
 spoken for him, we have not yielded our- 
 selves to him." It must have been with 
 some such spirit as this that the Apostle 
 said, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, 
 by the mercies of God, that ye present your 
 bodies a living sacrifice, which is your 
 reasonable service ' ' (Romans 12:1)., 
 
THE TRUE CHRISTIAN LIFE 
 
 Text: "My beloved is mine, and I am his." — ■ 
 Sol. Song 2:16. 
 
 "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine" — Sol* 
 Song 6:3. 
 
 "I am my beloved's and his desire is toward me ." — 
 Sol. Song 7:10. 
 
 These three texts should be read B to- 
 gether, and the significant change found 
 in each text as the thought unfolds should 
 be studied carefully. They remind one 
 of three mountain peaks one rising higher 
 than the other until the third is lifted into 
 the very heavens. Indeed, if one should 
 live in the spirit of this third text he would 
 enjoy what Paul has described as a life 
 in the heavenly places, and his picture of 
 Christ would be surpassingly beautiful. 
 At the same time the three texts give us a 
 complete picture of a true Christian life. 
 The first text may be regeneration, the 
 
 391 
 
392 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 second text consecration, and the third 
 text sanctification. 
 
 The Jews counted this Book, the Song 
 of Solomon, as exceedingly sacred. They 
 hid it away until the child had come to 
 maturity before he was allowed to read 
 it, and it was to them the holy of holies 
 of the Old Testament Scripture. These 
 texts are also like the division of the an- 
 cient tabernacle. There was first of all 
 the outer court w^here the altar of sacrifice 
 was to be found — and this must be con- 
 stantly kept in mind, for no one can say 
 "my beloved is mine" until he has passed 
 the altar of sacrifice. It is only by faith 
 in Jesus Christ that we are adopted into 
 the membership of the family of God. 
 
 The second division was the holy place, 
 where was found the laver. Here the 
 priests made themselves clean, and they 
 could not minister in the presence of 
 Jehovah until they had been made clean 
 from all earthly defilement. This second 
 text gives us the same thought, for here the 
 writer changes the order exactly and says, 
 
The True Christian Life 393 
 
 " I am my beloved/' instead of saying, "My 
 beloved is mine." This is consecration 
 and the consecration of a clean life. God 
 will not accept or use that which is un- 
 clean, and it is only as we come to the place 
 where we allow him to have full control 
 of our lives that we realize we are his. 
 
 The third division of the tabernacle 
 was the holy of holies, where the high 
 priest made his way once a year that he 
 might stand in the presence of Jehovah. 
 In this third text, where the writer says, 
 "I am mv beloved's, and his desire is 
 towards me," we have come to the place 
 in our experience w T here if his desire for us 
 controls our living we are in the holy of 
 holies indeed; where we can see him and 
 enjoy his presence. 
 
 "My beloved is mine." This is regen- 
 eration. A minister once preaching to his 
 congregation said, "Let every one say 
 Jesus," and from all over the congrega- 
 tion there came the music of his name. 
 
394 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 "Now," said the minister, "Let all those 
 who can, say ' my Jesus, 5 " and the response 
 was not so hearty. A line ran through 
 the congregation separating husband from 
 wife and parents from children. It is only 
 by faith in Christ and by the operation of 
 the grace of God that we can experience 
 this first text. Two things are true con- 
 cerning this point. 
 
 First : He wants to make better all that 
 we have. Whatever may be our natural 
 characteristics, he can make all that we 
 have more beautiful. 
 
 One day in Colorado I wanted to make 
 a journey to the summit of Pike's Peak, 
 only to find that throughout the entire day 
 the train was chartered. I was turning 
 away in despair when a railroad man said, 
 "Why do you not go up at three o'clock 
 to-morrow morning, for then," he said, 
 "you can see the sun rise, and the sight is 
 beautiful." So the next morning we started. 
 Just as I was going on the train a railroad 
 man said, "When you come to the sharp 
 turn in the way as you go up, look over in 
 
The True Christian Life 395 
 
 the Cripple Creek district and you will see 
 a sight never to be forgotten." We climbed 
 higher and higher, leaving the darkness 
 at the foot of the mountain, until at last 
 we came to the place indicated and I 
 looked away, only to be intensely disap- 
 pointed. The sight was almost common- 
 place. As we pursued the journey upward 
 finally we came to another place, where I 
 heard some one give an exclamation of 
 delight. As I looked in the same # direc- 
 tion there was a marvelous transfor- 
 mation. I could see before me a mountain 
 which looked like a white-robed priest 
 and another like a choir of angels and 
 still another like a golden ladder reaching 
 up into the skies, and all because the sun 
 had risen upon the same scenery which a 
 moment ago was uninteresting. If Christ 
 could only thus take possession of our 
 lives and become our Savior the transfor- 
 mation would be quite as great. 
 
 Second: He is ours to exercise in our 
 behalf all that he is as Prophet, Priest and 
 King. His office of Prophet relates to the 
 
396 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 past, his office of King to the future when 
 he shall be crowned King of kings and 
 Lord of lords, but his office as Priest is 
 now being fulfilled and he is my great 
 High Priest to intercede for me with God 
 and make explanation for all my weak- 
 ness. 
 
 Adelaide Proctor has given us the 
 story of a young girl who was in a con- 
 vent in France, whose special work it 
 was to attend the portal and keep the 
 altar clean. The war swept over France, 
 the battle raged near the convent, many 
 of the soldiers were killed and a num- 
 ber injured. These were borne into the 
 hospital that they might be nursed back 
 to strength, and one of them was given to 
 this young girl. Her nursing was success- 
 ful, but he tempted her to leave the con- 
 vent. They made their way to Paris, 
 where she lost everything that makes life 
 worth living. Then, just a wreck of her 
 former self, she came back again to die 
 within the sound of the convent bell. 
 She touched the portal and instantly it was 
 
The True Christian Life 397 
 
 opened, not by a girl such as she had been 
 but by a woman such as she might have 
 been — true and noble. She bore her 
 in her arms to her old cell, nursed her 
 back again to a semblance of her old 
 strength, and then she slipped into her 
 old place to answer the portal and keep 
 the altar clean, and not a nun in all the 
 convent ever knew that she had sinned. 
 This is Christ's ministry in our behalf at 
 this time. Making up for my weakness, 
 answering for my defects, he is my High 
 Priest. 
 
 ii 
 
 "/ am my beloved's" This is really 
 better than the first text, because if he is 
 mine, and faith is like a hand of the soul, 
 then faith may grow weary and the result 
 would be sad ; if I am his and he holds me 
 then that is different. In John the tenth 
 chapter, the twenty-eighth to the thirtieth 
 verses, we have a picture of the true 
 sheepf old and of the place where the child 
 of God may rest, held in the hand of 
 
398 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 God and of his dear son. "And I give 
 unto them eternal life ; and they shall never 
 perish, neither shall any man pluck them 
 out of my hand. My father, which gave 
 them unto me, is greater than all; and no 
 man is able to pluck them out of my 
 Father's hand. I and my Father are one." 
 What a joy it is to know that we are his ! 
 
 First: His by redemption, for we are 
 redeemed not with corruptible things such 
 as silver and gold, but with the precious 
 blood of Christ. "Ye are not your own 
 but ye are bought with a price. 55 
 
 Second : We are his because God gave 
 us to him; in his wonderful intercessory 
 prayer Jesus said, "Thou gavest them to 
 me," and again, "Ye are not our own. 55 
 
 Third: We are his because again and 
 again we have said so with our lips. How 
 true the text is, then, in the light of the 
 Scripture ! If this is true then what is con- 
 secration? It is not giving God some- 
 thing, for how could we give him that 
 which is already his own? Consecration 
 is simply taking our hands off and letting 
 
The True Christian Life 399 
 
 him have his way with us in everything. 
 The late George Macgregor used to 
 tell the story of one of the bishops of the 
 Church of England, who had an invalid 
 wife and who never could surrender be- 
 yond a certain point. He was unwilling to 
 say that he would give up his wife, for God 
 might call him to some mission he could 
 not perform, and she had been the con- 
 stant object of his care. But at last he 
 won the victory and rose from his 
 knees to say to his friend that the Surren- 
 der should be complete, and then they 
 went into the room of his invalid wife to 
 tell her. With a sweet smile upon her face 
 she said, "I have reached the same deci- 
 sion and you can go to the ends of the earth 
 if need be." That night the old bishop's 
 wife died and when they went across the 
 hall to tell the bishop there was no an- 
 swer to their knock. When they entered 
 the door they found the bishop with eyes 
 closed, hands folded and heart still. He, 
 too, had gone. God did not want to sepa- 
 rate them. He wanted them to be united, 
 
400 And Judas Iscariot 
 
 their wills surrendered to him and then 
 he would send them in the same chariot 
 up into heaven. 
 
 in 
 
 "J am my beloved's, and his desire is 
 towards me." If we would know God's 
 desire for us we have only to study the 
 Scriptures, and if we should fulfill his 
 desires we would have an experience of 
 heaven upon earth. 
 
 First: It is his desire that we should 
 be holy. Ephesians 1:4, "According as 
 he hath chosen us in him before the foun- 
 dation of the world, that we should be holy 
 and without blame before him in love." 
 Holiness in not sinlessness, it is to the 
 spiritual nature what health is to the 
 physical life. In other words, God 
 desires that we should be spiritually 
 healthy, and this we cannot be with secret 
 sins in our lives. 
 
 Second : It is his desire that we should 
 be sanctified. 1 Thessalonians 4: 3, "For 
 this is the will of God, even your sanctifi- 
 
The True Christian Life 401 
 
 cation, that ye should abstain from for- 
 nication/ 5 
 
 Sanctification is not sinlessness, it is 
 separation. It is absolutely useless to 
 think of pleasing God if we are in touch 
 with the world in any way, for since the 
 days of the crucifixion it has been against 
 him. 
 
 Third : It is his desire that we should 
 present ourselves unto him in the sense 
 above suggested — namely, that we should 
 take our hands off from ourselves and 
 allow him to direct and to control his 
 own possession. Romans 12:1-2, "I 
 beseech you therefore, brethren, by the 
 mercies of God, that ye present your bodies 
 a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto 
 God, which is your reasonable service, 
 and be not conformed to this world; but 
 be ye transformed by the renewing of your 
 mind, that ye may prove what is that good, 
 and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." 
 Romans 6:13, "Neither yield ye your 
 members as instruments of unrighteous- 
 ness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto 
 
402 .And Judas Iscariot 
 
 God, as those that are alive from the dead, 
 and your members as instruments of 
 righteousness unto God." In these ex- 
 pressions the tense of the verb indicates 
 that the action is to be definite and that 
 it is to be once and for all. He has certain 
 desires for us also expressed in the seven- 
 teenth chapter of John. 
 
 First: He desires that we should have 
 joy. Joy is better than happiness ; happi- 
 ness depends upon our surroundings and 
 circumstances, joy has nothing to do with 
 these but rather is the result of centering 
 our affections upon him. 
 
 Second : He desires that we should be 
 one with him. By this I am sure he means 
 that we should be one in our thought of 
 sin, one in our desire for holiness, one in 
 our efforts to reach the unsaved, and one 
 in our longing in all things to be pure and 
 true and good. 
 
 Third : He desires to make us the object 
 of his love. In this seventeenth chapter 
 of John he tells us that the same love 
 which he had for his son he has for those 
 
The True Christian Life 403 
 
 of us who are in his Son. Thank God 
 for this. If he must open the windows of 
 heaven to speak forth his love for that 
 Son and then has the same for us, oh, what 
 joy it is to be a Christian ! 
 
lr 
 
JJBJP