Puslapio vaizdai
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ther or mother? Now, I've lived nearly forty years, and I've learned one thing if I've learned nothing else, that no man or woman who treats disrespectfully father or mother ever prospers. How many young ladies have married against their father's wishes, and gone off and just made their own ruin. I never knew one case that did not turn out bad. They brought ruin upon themselves. This is a commandment from heaven: 66 Honour thy father and mother." In the last days men shall be disobedient to parents, void of natural affections; and it seems as if we were living in those days now. How many sons treat their mothers with contempt, make light of their entreaties. God says, "Honour thy father and mother." If the balances were placed in this hall would you be ready to step into them against this commandment? You may make light of it and laught at it, but young men, remember that God will hedge your way. No man shall succeed that disobeys his commandment. But bear in mind you are not going to be weighed only against this solitary commandment-every weight will be put in.

"Thou shalt not kill." Most of you say, "That don't touch me at all; I never killed anyone; I'm no murderer." Look at that sermon on the Mount, which men think so much of. Look at it. Did you never in your heart wish a man dead who had done you an injury? That's murder. How are you? Innocent or guilty? If you have, you are a murderer at heart. Now, come, my friends, are you ready to be weighed against the law? Ah, if most of us were weighed to-night we would find this word written against us: "Tekel," thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting.

But, let us take another, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." I don't know any sin that afflicts us like this. It is a very delicate subject to approach, but I never preach without being compelled to touch upon it. Young men among us are being bound hand and foot with this evil. Young men, hear this law tonight: "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Are you guilty even in thought? How many would come into the Tabernacle but that they are tied hand and foot, as one has been in the halls of vice, and some harlot, whose feet are fastened in hell, clings to him and says: "If you give me up, I will expose you." Can you step on the scales and take that harlot with you? "Thou shalt not commit adultery." You may think that no one knows your doings; you may think that they are all concealed; but God knows it. He that covers his sins shall not prosper. Out with it to-night. Confess it to your God. Ask Him to snap the fetters that bind you to this sin; ask Him to give you victory over your passions, and shake yourself like Samson and say,

"By the grace of God I will not go down to hell with a harlot," and God will give you power. "Thou shalt not commit adultery." As I said the other night, I don't know a quicker way to hell. How many men have by their lecherous life broken their mothers' heart and gone down to their grave rotten, leaving the effect of their sin to their posterity?

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Well, let us take up the next. "Thou shalt not steal." many have been stealing to-day! I may be speaking to some clerk, who perhaps to-day took five cents out of his employer's drawer to buy a cigar, perhaps he took ten cents to get a shave, and thinks he will put it back to-morrow; no one will ever know it. If you have taken a penny you are a thief. Do you ever think how those little stealings may bring you to ruin? Let an employer find it out. If he don't take you into the courts, he will discharge you. Your hopes will be blasted, and it will be hard work to get up again. Whatever condition you are in do not take a cent that does not belong to you. Rather than steal go up to heaven in poverty-go up to heaven from the poor house-and be honest rather than go through the world in a gilded chariot of stolen riches. A man who takes money that does not belong to him never gets any comfort. He never has any pleasure, for he has a guilty conscience. "Thou shalt not steal." Are you ready to be weighed to-night in the balances?

Then let us take the ninth commandment: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour;" or, in other words, thou shalt not be guilty of lying. If you had a chance to make $200 or $300 are you not willing to go into a court and lie to get it? "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." Are you ready to step into the balances against this ? Then take another. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods." Are you innocent or guilty? How many times I used to covet that which belonged to other people before I was converted. I believe that is one of the greatest sins among us. My friends, how is it? innocent or guilty? But suppose you are innocent of all these ten commandments, let us take that eleventh commandment of Christ's: "A new commandment I give unto you; thou shalt love one another." My friends, how is it tonight? Is love reigning in your hearts. Do you love your neighbours? Do you try to do them good, or are you living a life of selfishness, merely for yourself.

Now I can imagine that nearly every man or woman is saying to himself or herself, "If we are to be judged by these laws how are we going to be saved?" Every one of them has been broken by all people. The moral man is just as guilty as the rest. There is not a moralist in Chicago who, if he steps into those

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scales, can be saved; "except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Except ye repent ye shall all perish." That is on one side of the scales, and He will see on the other. "Except ye be converted ye shall not enter the kingdom of God." I have heard a good many pharisees saying: "These meetings are reaching the drunkards and gamblers and harlots; they are doing good;" but they don't think they need these meetings. They are all right: they are moral men. Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." I don't care how moral he is. Nicodemus was probably one of the most moral men of his day. He was a teacher of the law; yet Christ said: "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ́ I would a good deal rather preach to thieves and drunkards and vagabonds, than preach to self-righteous pharisees. You don't have to preach to those men weeks and months to convince them that they are sinners. When a man learns that he has need of God, and that he is a sinner, is very easy to reach him. But, my friends, the selfrighteous Pharisee needs salvation as much as any drunkard that walks the streets of Chicago. There is another class I want to speak of. If I had time I would just like to take up the different classes in the city. That class is the rum-sellers. Put the rum-sellers in the balances. They ignore God's laws, but by and by He will say to them,,'Tekel," "woe be to the man that put the bottle to his neighbor's lips." My friends, I would rather have that right hand cut off before I would give the bottle to a man. I would rather have my right arm cut off than deal out death and damnation to my fellow-men. If any poor drunkard here should be summoned into eternity to-night-weighed in the balances, what would he hear? "No drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God." I can see how he would reel and stagger when he heard that. "No drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of heaven."

My friends, if you don't repent of your sins and ask Him for mercy, there is no hope for you. Let me ask you to-night to take this question home to yourself. If a summons should come at midnight to be weighed in the balances what will become of your souls, because the law of God must be kept. Now there are many of you only making professions. You belong to the first Methodist Church, or you may be a member of a Baptist Church, but are you ready to be weighed--ready to step into these scales to-night. I think a great many would be found like those five foolish virgins. When the hour came they would be found with no oil in their lamps. If there is a person here to-night who has only an empty lamp, or is living on mere formalism I beg of you to give it up. Give it up that dead, cold,

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miserable lukewarmness. God will spit it out of his mouth. He will have none of it. Wake up. Some of you have gone almost to sleep while I have been trying to weigh you in the balances. God will weigh you, and then if you have not Christ it will be "Tekel."

I can imagine some of you saying: “I would just like Moody to put those tests to himself. I wonder what would become of him." My dear friends, if God was to ask me to-night I would tell Him "I am ready." I don't say this in any spirit of egotism, of self-righteousness, remember. If you ask me if I have broken the law of Moses, I would answer “Yes, sir.” Ask me if I have broken the commandments, "Yes, sir." You may ask me then how I am ready to be weighed. If I step into the scales to-night the Son of God will step into the scales with me. I would not dare to go into them without Him. If I did how quick the scales would go up. If a man has not got Christ, when the hour comes for him to be weighed, it will be "Tekel, tekel, tekel." How are you to-night, my friend-ready to be weighed? (pointing to one of the audience.)

Answer-Yes, sir.

Mr. Moody-Have you got Christ?
Answer-Yes, sir.

Mr. Moody That's right. Suppose I put the question to every man and woman in this audience. How quick many of them would begin to color up. Oh, my friends, if you haven't got Him, get Him to-night. May God open your eyes and your minds to receive Him before you leave this Tabernacle tonight. Christ kept the law; Christ was the end of the law. If He had broken the law He would have had to die for Himself; but He kept it, and we are enabled to be clothed in righteousness. My friends, it is the height of madness to go out of this hall to-night and run the risk of being called by God and have to answer without Him. Now is the day and hour to accept salvation, and then he will be with us. Then there will be no alarm with us. I pity those Christian people who are afraid. of death. They need not be afraid of death if they have Him. When He is with us it is only a translation. We are absent from the body to be present with the Lord. Here is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Will you be saved to-night? If you do not, when by-and-by God summons you into these scales, it will be written over you: "Tekel, tekel; thou art weighed in the balance and art found wanting." My friends, what will you do to-night? Remain as you are and be lost, or accept salvation and be saved? Let us pray.

The "I Will's" of Christ.

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WANT to call your attention to-night to the eight "I wills of Christ. Now, when we say "I will" very often it don't mean much. My friends, I want you to pay attention to the I see some of you looking after Mr. Sankey. [Mr. Sankey moving out.] You may forget the songs which have been sung to-night, you may forget the sermon; but if the text gets down to your heart you will never forget it. The eight "I wills" of Christ. I was going to say that a man, when he says "I will" may not mean much. We very often say "I will " when we don't mean to fulfil what we say, but when we come to the "I will" of Christ, He means to fulfil it; everything He has promised to do He is able and willing to accomplish, and He is going to do it. I cannot find any passage in Scripture in which He says "I will" do this, or "I will" do that, but it will be done. The first "I will" I want to call your attention to occurs in Matthew xi., 28: "Come unto me all ye that labor, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Now, what is it that man wants more than rest? What is it that the world is in pursuit of? What are all the men in Chicago after if it isn't rest? What do business men toil for if it isn't for rest? Why do men spend their lives in hunting for wealth if it is not for rest? But, my friends, that is not the way to get rest. A man cannot find it in wealth: he cannot find it in pleasure. Take the pleasure-seekers of Chicago, and ask them if they have rest. They are like the waves of the sea, perpetually troubled. My friends, the man who is away from God never knows what rest is. You can see this in their faces-in the wrinkles of their brow. They don't know what rest is. What does Christ say: Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." It isn't in the market for sale. How many men in Chicago would not gladly go up to the Board of Trade to-morrow morning, and give thousands for for it if it was for sale? They would give thousands of dollars for it if they could buy it. But it is not for sale. If you get it you must take it as a gift from Him who came from heaven to

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