CHAPTER XIII.

Then take thepromises of God. Let a man feed for a month on the promises of God, and he will not talk about his poverty, and how downcast he is, and what trouble he has day by day. You hear people say, “Oh, my leanness! how lean I am!” My friends, it is not their leanness, it is theirlaziness. If you would only go from Genesis to Revelation, and see all the promises made by God to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, to the Jews and the Gentiles, and to all His people everywhere; if you would spend a month feeding on the precious promises of God, you would not go about with your heads hanging down like bulrushes complaining how poor you are; but you would lift up your heads with confidence and proclaim the riches of His grace, because you could not help it. After the Chicago fire a man came up to me and said in a sympathizing tone, “I understand you lost everything, Moody, in the Chicago fire.” “Well, then,” said I, “some one has misinformed you.” “Indeed! Why I was certainly told you had lost all.” “No; it is a mistake,” I said, “quite a mistake.” “Have you got much left, then?” asked my friend. “Yes,” I replied, “I have got much more left than I lost; though I can not tell how much I have lost.” “Well, I am glad of it, Moody; I did not know you were that rich before the fire.” “Yes,” said I, “I am a good deal richer than you could conceive; and here is my title-deed, ‘He that overcometh shall inherit all things.’” They say the Rothschilds can not tell how much they are worth; and that is just my case. All things in the world are mine; I am joint heir with Jesus the Son of God. Some one has said, “God makes a promise; Faith believes it; Hope anticipates it; and Patience quietly awaits it.”

Word Study—“Blesseds” of Revelation—“Believings” of John—“The Fear of the Lord” of Proverbs—Key Words.

ANOTHER way to study the Bible is to take one word and follow it up with the help of a concordance.

Or take just one word that runs through a book. Some time ago I was wonderfully blessed by taking the seven “Blesseds” of the Revelation. If God did not wish us to understand the book of Revelation, He would not have given it to us at all. A good many say it is so dark and mysterious that common readers cannot understand it. Let us only keep digging away at it, and it will unfold itself by and by. Some one says it is the only book in the Bible that tells about the devil being chained; and as the devil knows that, he goes up and down Christendom and says, “It is no use your reading Revelation, you can not understand the book; it is too hard for you.” The fact is, he does not want you to understand about his own defeat. Just look at theblessingsthe book contains:

1. “Blessed ishe that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

2. “Blessedare the dead which die in the Lord. . . . . Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors.”

3. “Blessedis he that watcheth and keepeth his garments.”

4. “Blessedare they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

5. “Blessedand holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

6. “Blessedis he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.”

7. “Blessedare they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

Or you may take the eight “overcomes” in Revelation; and you will be wonderfully blessed by them. They take you right up to the throne of heaven; you climb by them to the throne of God.

I have been greatly blessed by going through the “believings” of John. Every chapter but two speaks of believing. As I said before, he wrote his gospel that we might believe. All through it is “Believe!Believe!” If you want to persuade a man that Christ is the Son of God, John’s gospel is the book for him.

Take the six “precious” things in Peter’s Epistles. And the seven “walks” of the Epistle to the Ephesians. And the five “much mores” of Romans V. Or the two “receiveds” of John I. Or the seven “hearts” in Proverbs XXIII, and especially an eighth. Or “the fear of the Lord” in Proverbs:—

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.

The fear of the Lord prolongeth days.

In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of Life.

Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.

The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom.

By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

The fear of the Lord tendeth to life.

By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.

Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.”

A friend gave me some key words recently. He said Peter wrote aboutHope:“When the Chief Shepherd shall appear.” The keynote of Paul’s writings seemed to beFaith, and that of John’s,Love. “Faith, hope and charity,” these were the characteristics of the three men, the key-notes to the whole of their teachings. James wrote ofGood Works, and Jude ofApostasy.

In the general epistles of Paul some one suggested the phrase “in Christ.” In the book of Romans we find justification by faithin Christ. Corinthians presents sanctificationin Christ. The book of Galatians, adoption or libertyin Christ. Ephesians presents fulnessin Christ. Philippians, consolationin Christ. In Colossians we have completenessin Christ. Thessalonians gives us hopein Christ.

Different systems of key words are published by Bible scholars, and it is a good thing for every one to know one system or other.

Bible Marking—Borrowing and Lending Bibles—Necessity of Marking—Advantages—How to Mark and What to Mark—Taking Notes—“Four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise”—“Every eye shall see Him”—Additional Examples—Suggestions.

DON’T be afraid to borrow and lend Bibles. Some time ago a man wanted to take my Bible home to get a few things out of it, and when it came back I found this noted in it:

Justification, a change of state, a new standing before God.

Repentance, a change of mind, a new mind about God.

Regeneration, a change of nature, a new heart from God.

Conversion, a change of life, a new life for God.

Adoption, a change of family, new relationship towards God.

Sanctification, a change of service, separation unto God.

Glorification, a new state, a new condition with God.

In the same hand-writing I found these lines:

Jesus only;the light of heaven is the face of Jesus.

The joy of heaven is the presence of Jesus.

The melody of heaven is the name of Jesus.

The theme of heaven is the work of Jesus.

The employment of heaven is the service of Jesus.

The fulness of heaven is Jesus himself.

The duration of heaven is the eternity of Jesus.

An old writer said that some books are to be tasted, some to be swallowed, and some to be chewed and digested. The Bible is one that you can never exhaust. It is like a bottomless well: you can always find fresh truths gushing forth from its pages.

Hence the great fascination of constant and earnest Bible study. Hence also the necessity of marking your Bible. Unless you have an uncommon memory, you cannot retain the good things you hear. If you trust to your ear alone, they will escape you in a day or two; but if you mark your Bible and enlist the aid of your eye, you will never lose them. The same applies to what you read.

Bible marking should be made the servant of the memory. If properly done, it sharpens the memory; rather than blunts it, because it gives prominence to certain things that catch the eye, which by constant reading you get to learn of by heart.

It helps you to locate texts.

It saves you the trouble of writing out notes of your addresses. Once in the margin, always ready.

I have carried one Bible with me a great many years. It is worth a good deal to me, and I will tell you why; because I have so many passages marked in it, that if I am called upon to speak at any time I am ready. I have little words marked in the margin, and they are a sermon to me. Whether I speak aboutFaith, Hope, Charity, Assurance,or any subject whatever, it all comes back to me; and however unexpectedly I am called upon to preach, I am always ready. Every child of God ought to be like a soldier, and always hold himself in readiness. If the Queen of England’s army were ordered to India to-morrow, the soldier is ready for the journey. But we can not be ready if we do not study the Bible. So whenever you hear a good thing, just put it down, because if it is good for you it will be good for somebody else; and we should pass the coin of heaven around just as we do the coin of the realm.

People tell me they have nothing to say. “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.” Get full of Scripture and then you can’t help but say it. It says itself. Keep the world out of your heart by getting full of something else. A man tried to build a flying machine. He made some wings and filled them with gas. He said he couldn’t quite fly, but the gas was lighter than the air and it helped him over lots of obstructions. So when you get these heavenly truths, they are lighter than the air down here and help you over trouble.

Bible marking makes the Bible a new book to you. If there was a white birch tree within a quarter of a mile of the home of your boyhood, you would remember it all your life. Mark your Bible, and instead of its being dry and uninteresting, it will become a beautiful book to you. What you see makes a more lasting impression on your memory than what you hear.

There are many methods of marking. Some use six or eight colored inks or pencils. Black is used to mark texts that refer to sin; red, all references to the cross; blue, all references to heaven; and so on. Others invent symbols. When there is any reference to the cross, they put “+” in the margin. Some write “G”, meaning the Gospel.

There is danger of overdoing this and making your marks more prominent than the scripture itself. If the system is complicated it becomes a burden, and you are likely to get confused. It is easier to remember the text than the meaning of your marks.

Black ink is good enough for all purposes. I use no other, unless it be red ink to draw attention to “the blood.”

The simplest way to mark is to underline the words or to make a stroke alongside the verse. Another good way is to go over the printed letters with your pen, and make them thicker. The word will then stand out like heavier type. Mark “only” in Psalm 62 in this way.

When any word or phrase is oft repeated in a chapter or book, put consecutive numbers in the margin over against the text. Thus, in the second chapter of Habakkuk, we find five “woes” against five common sins; (1) verse 6, (2) verse 9, (3) verse 12, (4) verse 15, (5) verse 19. Number the ten plagues in this way. When there is a succession of promises or charges in a verse, it is better to write the numbers small at the beginning of each separate promise. Thus, there is a seven-fold promise to Abraham in Gen. 12, 2-3: “(1) I will make of thee a great nation, (2) and I will bless thee, (3) and make thy name great; (4) and thou shalt be a blessing; (5) and I will bless them that bless thee, (6) and curse him that curseth thee: (7) and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” In Prov. 1, 22, we have (1) simple ones, (2) scorners, (3) fools.

Put a “x” in the margin against things not generally observed: for example, the laws regarding women wearing men’s clothes, and regarding bird-nesting, in Deut. 22, 5-6; the sleep of the poor man and of the rich man compared, Ecc. 5, 12.

I also find it helpful to mark: 1. cross-references. Opposite Gen. 1, 1, write “Through faith, Heb. 11, 3”—because there we read—“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God.” Opposite Gen. 28, 12, write—“An answer to prayer, Gen. 35, 3.” Opposite Matt. 6, 33, write “1 Kings 3, 13” and “Lu. 10, 42,” which give illustrations of seeking the kingdom of God first. Opposite Gen. 37, 7, write—“Gen. 50, 18”—which is the fulfilment of the dream.

2. Railroad connections, that is, connections made by fine lines running across the page. In Daniel 6, connect “will deliver” (v. 16), “able to deliver” (v. 20), and “hath delivered” (v. 27). In Ps. 66, connect “come and see” (v. 5) with “come and hear” (v. 16).

3. Variations of the Revised Version: thus Romans 8, 26 reads—“the Spirit Himself” in the R. V., not “itself.” Note also marginal readings like Mark 6, 19, “an inward grudge” instead of “a quarrel.”

4. Words that have changed their meaning; “meal” for “meat” in Leviticus. Or where you can explain a difficulty: “above” for “upon” in Num. 11, 31. Or where the English does not bring out the full meaning of the original as happens in the names of God: “Elohim” in Gen. 1, 1, “Jehovah Elohim” in Gen. 2, 4, “El Shaddai” in Gen. 17, 1, and so on.

5. Unfortunate divisions of chapters. The last verse of John 7 reads—“And every man went unto his own house.” Chapter 8 begins “Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.” There ought to be no division of chapters here.

6. At the beginning of every book write a short summary of its contents, something like the summary given in some Bibles at the head of every chapter.

7. Key words and key verses.

8. Make a note of any text that marks a religious crisis in your life. I once heard Rev. F. B. Meyer preach on 1 Cor. 1, 9, and he asked his hearers to write on their Bibles that they were that day “called unto the fellowship of His Son Christ our Lord.”

When a preacher gives out a text, mark it; as he goes on preaching, put a few words in the margin, key-words that shall bring back the whole sermon again. By that plan of making a few marginal notes, I can remember sermons I heard years and years ago. Every man ought to take down some of the preacher’s words and ideas, and go into some lane or by-way, and preach them again to others. We ought to have four ears—two for ourselves and two for other people. Then, if you are in a new town, and have nothing else to say, jump up and say: “I heard someone say so and so;” and men will always be glad to hear you if you give them heavenly food. The world is perishing for lack of it.

Some years ago I heard an Englishman in Chicago preach from a curious text: “There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise.” “Well,” said I to myself, “what will you make of these ‘little things’? I have seen them a good many times.” Then he went on speaking: “The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer.” He said God’s people are like the ants. “Well,” I thought, “I have seen a good many of them, but I never saw one like me.” “They are like the ants,” he said, “because they are laying up treasure in heaven, and preparing for the future; but the world rushes madly on, and forgets all about God’s command to lay up for ourselves incorruptible treasures.”

“The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make these their houses in the rocks.” He said, “The conies are very weak things; if you were to throw a stick at one of them you could kill it; but they are very wise, for they build their houses in rocks, where they are out of harm’s way. And God’s people are very wise, although very feeble; for they build on the Rock of Ages, and that Rock is Christ.” “Well,” I said, “I am certainly like the conies.”

Then came the next verse: “The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands.” I wondered what he was going to make of that. “Now God’s people,” he said, “have no king down here. The world said, ‘Caesar is our king;’ but he is notourKing; our King is the Lord of Hosts. The locusts went out by bands; so do God’s people. Here is a Presbyterian band, here an Episcopalian band, here a Methodist band, and so on; but by and by the great King will come and catch up all these separate bands, and they will all be one; one fold and one Shepherd.” And when I heard that explanation, I said; “I would be like the locusts.” I have become so sick, my friends, of this miserable sectarianism, that I wish it could all be swept away.

“Well,” he went on again, “the spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.” When he got to the spider, I said, “I don’t like that at all; I don’t like the idea of being compared to a spider.” “But,” he said, “If you go into a king’s palace, there is the spider hanging on his gossamer web, and look-down with scorn and contempt on the gilded salon; he is laying hold of things above. And so every child of God ought to be like the spider, and lay hold of the unseen things of God. You see, then, my brethren, we who are God’s people are like the ants, the conies, the locusts, and the spiders, little things, but exceeding wise.” I put that down in the margin of my bible, and the recollection of it does me as much good now as when I first heard it.

A friend of mine was in Edinburgh and he heard one of the leading Scotch Presbyterian ministers. He had been preaching from the text, “Every eye shall see Him,” and he closed up by saying: “Yes, every eye. Adam will see Him, and when he does he will say: ‘This is He who was promised to me in that dark day when I fell;’ Abraham will see Him and will say: ‘This is He whom I saw afar off; but now face to face;’ Mary will see Him, and she will sing with new interest that magnificat. And I, too, shall see Him, and when I do, I will sing: ‘Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.’”

Turn to Exodus 6:6-7-8. In these verses we find seven “I wills.”

I willbring you out from under the burden of the Egyptians.

I willrid you out of their bondage.

I willredeem you with a stretched-out arm.

I willtake you to me for a people.

I willbe to you a God.

I willbring you in into the land [of Canaan].

I willgive it to you for a heritage.

Again: Isaiah 41:10. “Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Mark what God says:

He iswithHis servant.

He is hisGod.

He willstrengthen.

He willhelp.

He willuphold.

Again: Psalm 103:2: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” If you can not remember them all, remember what you can. In the next three verses there are five things:

Whoforgivethall thine iniquities.

Whohealethall thy diseases.

Whoredeemeththy life from destruction.

Whocrowneththee with loving kindness and tender mercies.

Whosatisfieththy mouth with good things.

We can learn some things about the mercy of the Lord from this same Psalm:

v. 4.—Its quality, “tender.”

v. 8.—Its measure, “plenteous.”

v. 11.—Its magnitude, “great,” “according to the height of the heaven above the earth.” See margin.

v. 17.—Its duration, “from everlasting to everlasting.”

Twenty-third Psalm. I suppose I have heard as many good sermons on the twenty-third Psalm as on any other six verses in the Bible. I wish I had begun to take notes upon them years ago when I heard the first one. Things slip away from you when you get to be fifty years of age. Young men had better go into training at once.

With me, the Lord.

Beneath me, green pastures.

Beside me, still waters.

Before me, a table.

Around me, mine enemies.

After me, goodness and mercy.

Ahead of me, the house of the Lord.

“Blessed is the day,” says an old divine, “when Psalm twenty-three was born!” It has been more used than almost any other passage in the Bible.

v. 1.—A happy life.

v. 4.—A happy death.

v. 6.—A happy eternity.

Take Psalm 102:6-7: “I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert. I watch and am as a sparrow alone upon the housetop.” It seems strange until you reflect that a pelican carries its food with it, that the owl keeps its eyes open at night, and that the sparrow watches alone. So the Christian must carry his food with him—the Bible—and he must keep his eyes open and watch alone.

Turn to Isaiah 32, and mark four things that God promises in verse 2: “And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” There we have:—

The hiding place from danger.

The cover from the tempest.

Rivers of water.

The Rock of Ages.

In the third and fourth verses of the same chapter: “And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.” We have eyes, ears, heart and tongue, all ready to pay homage to the King of Righteousness.

Now turn into the New Testament, John 4:47-53.

The nobleheardabout Jesus.

wentunto Him.

besoughtHim.

believedHim.

knewthat his prayer was answered.

Again: Matthew 11:28-30:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, 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.” Someone has said these verses contain the only description we have of Christ’s heart.

Something to do, come unto Jesus.

Something to leave, your burden.

Something to take, His yoke.

Something to find, rest unto your soul.

Again: John 14:6. “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

The way, follow me.

The truth, learn of me.

The life, abide in me.

Do not buy a Bible that you are unwilling to mark and use. An interleaved Bible gives more room for notes.

Be precise and concise: for example, Neh. 13, 18: “A warning from history.”

Never mark anything because you saw it in some one else’s Bible. If it does not come home to you, if you not understand it, do not put it down.

Never pass a nugget by without trying to grasp it. Then mark it down.

Personal Work—Three Kinds of Church Services—Church Members—Individual Experience—One Inquirer at a Time—Those who lack Assurance—Backsliders—Not Convicted of Sin—Deeply Convicted—The Divinity of Christ—Can’t Hold Out—No Strength—Feelings—Can’t Believe—Can’t be Saved all at Once—Not Now—Further Suggestions.

PERSONAL dealing is of the most vital importance. No one can tell how many persons have been lost to the Kingdom of God through lack of following up the preaching of the Gospel by personal work. It is deplorable how few church-members are qualified to deal with inquirers, yet that is the very work in which they ought most efficiently to aid the pastor. People are not usually converted under the preaching of the minister. It is in the inquiry-meeting that they are most likely to be brought to Christ. They are perhaps awakened under the minister, but God generally uses some one person to point out the way of salvation and bring the anxious to a decision. Some people can’t see the use of inquiry-meetings, and think they are something new, and that we haven’t any authority for them. But they are no innovation. We read about them all through the Bible. When John the Baptist was preaching he was interrupted. It would be a good thing if people would interrupt the minister now and then in the middle of some metaphysical sermon, and ask what he means. The only way to make sure that people understand what he is talking about is to let them ask questions. I don’t know what some men, who have got the whole address written out, would do if some one should get up and ask: “What must I do to be saved?” Yet such questions would do more good than anything else you could have. They would awake a spirit of inquiry. Some of Christ’s sweetest teachings were called forth by questions.

There ought to be three kinds of services in all churches: one for worship—to offer praise, and to wait on the Lord in prayer; another for teaching; and at these services there needn’t be a word to the unconverted, (although some men never close any meeting without presenting the Gospel), but let them be for the church people; and a third for preaching the Gospel. Sunday morning is the best time for teaching, but Sunday night is the best night in the whole week, of the regular church services, to preach the simple Gospel of the Son of God. When you have preached that, and have felt the power of the unseen world, and there are souls trembling in the balance, don’t say, as I have heard good ministers say: “Ifthere are any in this, place concerned—at all concerned—about their souls, I will be in the pastor’s study on Friday night, and will be glad to see them.” By that time the chances are the impression will be all wiped out. Deal with them that night before the devil snatches away the good seed. Wherever the Gospel is proclaimed, there should be an expectation of immediate results, and if this were the case the Church of Christ would be in a constant state of grace.

“Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.” How much would Paul and Barnabas have accomplished if they had pronounced the benediction and sent these people home? It is a thing to weep over that we have got thousands and thousands of church members who are good for nothing towards extending the Kingdom of God. They understand bazaars, and fairs, and sewing-circles; but when you ask them to sit down and show a man or woman the way into God’s kingdom, they say: “Oh, I am not able to do that. Let the deacons do it, or some one else.” It is all wrong. The Church ought to be educated on this very point. There are a great many church-members who are just hobbling about on crutches. They can just make out that they are saved, and imagine that is all that constitutes a Christian in this nineteenth century. As far as helping others is concerned, that never enters their heads. They think if they can get along themselves, they are doing amazingly well. They have no idea what the Holy Ghost wants to do through them.

No matter how weak you are, God can use you; and you cannot say what a stream of salvation you may set in motion. John the Baptist was a young man when he died; but he led Andrew to Christ, and Andrew led Peter, and so the river flowed on.

In the closing pages of this book I want to give some hints in regard to passing on the good to others, and thus profiting them by your knowledge of the Bible. Every believer, whether minister or layman, is in duty bound to spread the gospel. “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” was the wide command of our parting Savior to His disciples.

There are many Bible students, however, who utterly neglect the command. They are like sponges, always sucking in the Water of Life, but never imparting it to thirsty souls around.

A clergyman used to go hunting, and when his bishop reproved him, he said he never went hunting when he was on duty.

“When is a clergyman off duty?” asked the bishop.

And so with every Christian: when is he off duty?

To be ready with a promise for the dying, a word of hope for the bereaved and afflicted, of encouragement for the downhearted, of advice for the anxious, is a great accomplishment. The opportunities to be useful in these ways are numerous. Not only in inquiry-meetings and church work, but in our everyday contact with others the opening constantly occurs. A word, a look, a hand-clasp, a prayer, may have an unending influence for good.

“Is your father at home?” asked a gentleman of a doctor’s child.

“No,” he said, “he’s away.”

“Where can I find him?”

“Well,” he said, “you’ve got to look for him in some place where people are sick or hurt, or something like that. I don’t know where he is, but he’s helping somewhere.”

That ought to be the spirit animating every follower of Him who went about doing good.

I admit one can’t lay down positive rules in dealing with individuals about their religious condition. Tin soldiers are exactly alike, but not so men. Matthew and Paul were a good way apart. The people we deal with may be widely different. What would be medicine for one might be rank poison for another. In the 15th of Luke, the elder son and the younger son were exactly opposite. What would have been good counsel for one might have been ruin to the other. God never made two persons to look alike. If we had made men, probably we would have made them all alike, even if we had to crush some bones to get them into the mould. But that is not God’s way. In the universe there is infinite variety. The Philippian jailer required peculiar treatment. Christ dealt with Nicodemus one way, and the woman at the well another way.

It is a great mistake, in dealing with inquirers, to tell your conversion experience. Experience may have its place, but I don’t think it has its place when we are dealing with inquirers; for the first thing the man you are talking to will do will be to look for your experience. He doesn’t want your experience. He wants one of his own.

Suppose Bartimeus had gone to Jerusalem to the man that was born blind, and said:

“Now, just tell us how the Lord cured you.”

The Jerusalem man might have said: “He just spat on the ground, and anointed my eyes with the clay.”

“Ho!” says Bartimeus, “I don’t believe you ever got your sight at all. Who ever heard of such a way as that? Why, to fill a man’s eyes with clay is enough to put them out!”

Both men were blind, but they were not cured alike. A great many men are kept out of the kingdom of God because they are looking for somebody else’s experience—the experience their grandmother had, their aunt, or some one in the family.

Then it is very important to deal with one at a time. A doctor doesn’t give cod-liver oil for all complaints. “No,” he says, “I must seek what each one wants.” He looks at the tongue, and inquires into the symptoms. One may have ague, another typhoid fever, and another may have consumption. What a man wants is to be able to read his Bible, and to read human nature, too.

Those do best who do not run from one person in an inquiry-meeting to another, offering words of encouragement everywhere. They would do better by going to but one or two of an afternoon or evening. We are building for eternity, and can take time. The work will not then be superficial.

Try first to win the person’s confidence, and then your words will have more weight. Use great tact in approaching the subject.

It will be a great help to divide persons into classes as much as possible, and bring certain passages of Scripture to bear upon these classes. It is unwise, however, to use verses that you have seen in books until you are perfectly clear in your own mind of their meaning and application. Avail yourself by all means of suggestions from outside sources, but as David could not fight in Saul’s armor, so you possibly may not be able to make good use of texts and passages which have proved powerful in the hands of another. The best way is to make your own classification, and select suitable texts, which experience will lead you to adopt or change, according to circumstances. Make yourself familiar with a few passages, rather than have a hazy and incomplete idea of a large number.

The following classification may be found helpful:—

1. Believers who lack assurance; who are in darkness because they have sinned; who neglect prayer, Bible study, and other means of grace; who are in darkness because of an unforgiving spirit; who are timid or ashamed to confess Christ openly; who are not engaged in active work for the Master; who lack strength to resist temptation and to stand fast in time of trial; who are not growing in grace.

2. Believers who have backslidden.

3. Those who are deeply convicted of sin, and are seeking salvation.

4. Those who have difficulties of various kinds. Many believe that they are so sinful that God will not accept them, that they have sinned away their opportunities and now it is too late, that the gospel was never intended for them. Others are kept back by honest doubts regarding the divinity of Christ, the genuineness of the Bible. Others again are troubled by the mysteries of the Bible, the doctrines of election, instant conversion, etc., or they say they have sought Christ in vain, that they have tried and failed, they are afraid they could not hold out. A large class is in great trouble about feelings.

5. Those who make excuses. There is a wide difference between a person who has areasonand one who had anexcuseto offer.

The commonest excuses are that there are so many inconsistent Christians, hypocrites in the church; that it would cost too much to become Christians, that they could not continue in their present occupation, etc.; that they expect to become Christians some day; that their companions hold them back, or would cast them off if they were converted.

6. Those who are not convicted of sin. Some are deliberately sinful; they want to “see life,” to “sow their wild oats;” others are thoughtless; others again are simply ignorant of Jesus Christ and His work. A large number do not feet their need of a Savior because they are self-righteous, trusting to their own morality and good works.

7. Those who hold hostile creeds, embracing sectarians, cranks, Jews, spiritualists, infidels, atheists, agnostics, etc.

Always use your Bible in personal dealing. Do not trust to memory, but make the person read the verse for himself. Do not use printed slips or books. Hence, if convenient, always carry a Bible or New Testament with you.

It is a good thing to get a man on his knees (if convenient), but don’t get him there before he is ready. You may have to talk with him two hours before you can get him that far along. But when you think he is about ready, say, “Shall we not ask God to give us light on this point?” Sometimes a few minutes in prayer have done more for a man than two hours in talk. When the spirit of God has led him so far that he is willing to have you pray with him, he is not very far from the kingdom. Ask him to pray for himself. If he doesn’t want to pray, let him use a Bible prayer; get him to repeat it; for example: “Lord help me!” Tell the man: “If the Lord helped that poor woman, He will help you if you make the same prayer. He will give you a new heart if you pray from the heart.” Don’t send a man home to pray. Of course he should pray at home, but I would rather get his lips open at once. It is a good thing for a man to hear his own voice in prayer. It is a good thing for him to cry out: “God be merciful to me a sinner!”

Urge an immediate decision, but never tell a man he is converted. Never tell him he is saved. Let the Holy Spirit reveal that to him. You can shoot a man and see that he is dead, but you can not see when a man receives eternal life. You can’t afford to deceive one about this great question. But you can help his faith and trust, and lead him aright.

Always be prepared to do personal work. When war was declared between France and Germany, Count von Moltke, the German general, was prepared for it. Word brought to him late at night, after he had gone to bed. “Very well,” he said to the messenger, “the third portfolio on the left”; and he went to sleep again.

Do the work boldly. Don’t take those in a position in life above your own, but as a rule, take those on the same footing. Don’t deal with a person of opposite sex, if it can be otherwise arranged. Bend all your endeavors to answer for poor, struggling souls that question of all importance to them. “What must I do to be saved?”

1. Have for constant use a portable reference Bible, a Cruden’s Concordance, and a Topical Text Book.

2. Always carry a Bible or Testament in your pocket and do not be ashamed of people seeing you read it on trains, etc.

3. Do not be afraid of marking it, or of making marginal notes. Mark texts that contain promises, exhortations, warnings to sinners and to Christians, gospel invitations to the unconverted, and so on.

4. Set apart at least fifteen minutes a day for study and meditation. This little will have great results and will never be regretted.

5. Prepare your heart to know the law of the Lord, andto do it. Ezra 7:10.

6. Always ask God to open the eyes of your understanding that you may see the truth; and expect that He will answer your prayer.

7. Cast every burden of doubt upon the Lord. “He will never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Do not be afraid to look for a reason for the hope that is in you.

8. Believe in the Bible as God's revelation to you, and act accordingly. Do not reject any portion because it contains the supernatural, or because you can not understand it. Reverence all Scripture. Remember God's own estimate of it: “Thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy Name.”

9. Learn at least one verse of Scripture each day. Verses committed to memory will be wonderfully useful in your daily life and walk. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” Some Christians can quote Shakespeare and Longfellow better than the Bible.

10. If you are a preacher or a Sunday school teacher, try at any cost to master your Bible. You ought to know it better than any one in your congregation or class.

11. Strive to be exact in quoting Scripture.

12. Adopt some systematic plan of Bible study: either topical, or by subjects, like “The Blood,” “Prayer,” “Hope,” etc.; or by books; or by some other plan outlined in the preceding pages.

13. Study to know for what and to whom each book of the Bible was written. Combine the Old Testament with the New. Study Hebrews and Leviticus together, the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles, the Prophets and the historical books of the old Testament.

14. Study how to use the Bible so as to “walk with God” in closer communion; also, so as to gain a working knowledge of Scripture for leading others to Christ. An old minister used to say that the cries of neglected texts were always sounding in his ears, asking why he did not show how important they were.

15. Do not be satisfied with simply reading a chapter daily.Studythe meaning of at least one verse.

[1]The New Topical Text Book. An aid to topical study of the Bible. Cloth, 25 cents; by mail, 30 cents.

The Bible Text Cyclopedia, a complete classification of Scripture texts in the form of an alphabetical list of subjects by Rev. James Inglis. Large 8 vo. cloth, $1.75.

Both issued by the publishers of this volume.

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