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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Chap. Copyright No. 

Shell / 8 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



WORKING FOR JESUS: 



OR, 



INDIVIDUAL EFFORT 



SALVATION OF PRECIOUS SOULS. 



BY 

REV. J. A. R. DICKSON, B. D., Ph. D. 

PASTOR OF THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, GALT, ONT. 

NEW EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED. 

" He that winneth souls is wise." Prov. n : 30. 

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

IO EAST 23d STREET, NEW YORK. 



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COPYRIGHT, 1896, 
BY AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 



LC Control Number 



tmp96 027447 



RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 

TO THE 

YOUNG PEOPLE'S SOCIETIES OF CHRISTIAN 
ENDEAVOR. 



My Dear Fellow Endeavorers : 

In dedicating this book to you I do so knowing 
that, as you endeavor to do what Christ would have 
you do, you will seek the salvation of immortal souls. 
And more than that : you will never cease to do so, 
because it is not only His will but it has become your 
delight and your joy. It will be an outstanding fea- 
ture of your life. Tou will sow beside all waters. 
You will be instant in season, out of season. At first 
you may be timid and fearful, but as the commands of 
Christ sound in your ears, " Let him that heareth say, 
Come," "Son, go work to-day in my vineyard," "Let 
your light so shine before men that they may see your 
good works and glorify your Father which is in 
heaven," and as your heart is touched by their mo- 
tive force, you will be like the apostles who cried, 
" We cannot but speak the things which we have seen 
and heard." The word will be "like fire shut up in 
your bones." You must speak, to be eased of your 
burden of heart. 

Of all the good works that we endeavorers do this 



4 Dedication. 

is the best, the most influential, the most enduring. 
We increase the band of believers. We multiply the 
workers in the vineyard of the Lord. To encourage to 
this service, to point out different ways of working, to 
supply motives of the highest nature and to stimulate 
the individual so as not to grow weary in well-doing 
this book has been written. Like the famous Puritan 
preacher, Thomas Brooks, I may say, "I have made it 
as pleasurable as time would permit, so that it might 
be the more profitable to the reader, and that I might 
the better take the young man by a holy craft, which 
is a high point of heavenly wisdom." I have packed it 
full of incident and story that every reader might 
know that in this high and Christly work he is not 
singular, but in sympathy with the best of all ages. 

This work may be concurrent with any other work. 
Whatever your occupation is you may weave into its 
texture the golden thread, and by and by, when all 
else perishes, this will remain. May the loving Sav- 
iour so bless this book to you that you will work 
while it is day; for "the night cometh, when no man 

can work." 

"Work, for the night is coming, 
"Work through the morning hours ; 
Work while the dew is sparkling, 
Work 'mid springing flowers ; 
Work when the day grows brighter, 
Work in the glowing sun ; 
Work, for the night is coming 
When man's work is done." 




CONTENTS. 



PREFACE page p 

/. TO EVERY MAN HIS WORK _ // 

//. SON, GO WORK TO-DAY IN MY VINEYARD. 26 

III LET YOUR LOINS BE GIRDED ABOUT AND 

YOUR LIGHTS BURNING 48 

IV. MY WORD SHALL NOT RETURN UNTO ME 

VOID 65 

V. ALWAYS ABOUNDING IN THE WORK OF 

THE LORD - 71 

VI LO y I AM WITH YOU AL WAY 79 

VII. GIVE ATTENDANCE TO READING 85 



PREFACE. 



In our day a great problem presents itself for solu- 
tion ; namely, How are the masses to be Christianized ? 
How are all the grades of society, from the lowest to 
the highest, to be brought to Jesus ? Any word that 
will throw light on this important question, and clear 
it of difficulties or incite to its being wrought out 
satisfactorily, is of value, It is acknowledged that 
when ministers of the gospel have done their best 
there is still a vast outlying field untouched. The 
ordained ministry is only a part of God's plan. Here 
the mistake has been made. Ministers have had all 
the work cast upon them and thus one of the chief 
channels of vitality has been taken from the church ; 
leaving it cold, heartless, and dead. The ministry has 
its place in the Divine order and we should grievously 
err if we were to disparage it. But God's plan is 
broader, deeper and more thorough than mere clerical 
service : it embraces all who believe ; all who know 
and love and live in Jesus. Upon each one, in his 
peculiar sphere, he calls for ministry. And, believers 



8 Preface. 

being of every rank and grade in society, through 
them, in their own positions, he seeks to subject the 
world to his sceptre. Each one has his own world — 
where live those who know him, those he can reach 
and influence, those who will more readily receive the 
gospel at his lips than from any other — and therefore in 
that sphere he is to work, living there and laboring 
there for Christ, casting himself into the moral and 
spiritual conflict in his own peculiar way, that by the 
grace of God he may gain some. The light of the Lord 
is to shine through him, into eyes that are dim or dark- 
ened, that they may see. The peace of God is to pour 
through his heart into the souls of sorrowing ones that 
they may have rest. The power of God is to flow 
through him as a channel and take captive the hearts 
and wills of those who are under the sway of evil. 
However unfit for service he may seem, he, by his rela- 
tion to those about him, by his sympathy with them, 
by his knowledge of their conditions, by his habits of 
thought and modes of expression, is best able to reach 
them. This is the principle on which God acts : " For 
every high-priest taken from among men is ordained 
for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer 
both gifts and sacrifices for sins ; who can have com- 
passion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of 
the way, for that he himself also is compassed with 
infirmity." This is the natural way, and therefore the 
easiest. It has been proved so in the labors of Harlan 



Preface, 9 

Page and others who have imbibed his spirit. Like 
draws to like. The poor sympathize most with the 
-poor, the rich with the rich. These natural laws are 
to be put under tribute in the service of the King. 
The renewed heart of the beggar or the merchant or 
the prince is to act in fullest freedom, under the power 
of the truth, in the hand of the Spirit, in the proclama- 
tion of the good news, each saying to his neighbor, 
" Know the Lord." Then all shall know Him, from the 
least unto the greatest. The great work shall be 
compassed. 

Individual effort for the salvation of precious souls 
is what is wanted to-day. Then shall public preach- 
ing be more prolific, churches better filled, thousands 
of souls saved, and the earth blessed. 




WORKING FOR JESUS. 



TO EVERY MAN HIS WORK.— Mark 13 : 34. 

{ T is a delightful truth, though in our day degen- 
erated in great measure into a platform com- 
monplace, that Christianity is adapted to the 
wants and condition of every human being. It is 
generally admitted that it is the only remedy for the 
moral and spiritual ruin into which man is fallen. 
The question, then, with which we have to deal is : 
How is it to be applied to dead hearts ? How is it to 
be brought into contact with sin-stricken souls ? How 
shall it be made effectual to the regeneration and re- 
newal of man's nature ? Judging from the teachings 
of the Holy Word, it is God's intention that all who 
become subjects of his grace should also become pro- 
moters of his glory. As soon as a man has accepted 
Jesus as the Christ, and is thereby brought into the 
relation of sonship with God, the word goes forth, 



1 2 Working for Jesus. 

"Son, go work to-day in my vineyard." As soon as 
the quickening voice of Jesus penetrates the soul's 
ear the behest bears in upon the new creature the 
great duty of the new life. " Let him that heareth say, 
Come !" It is as if our Saviour said, " I can have no 
idlers, I must have no drones ; engage yourselves at 
once. Occupy till I come." And in answer to this, if 
the right spirit prevails, the apostle's response will be 
repeated : " The love of Christ constraineth us ; be- 
cause we thus judge, that if One died for all, then 
were all dead ; and that he died for all, that they 
which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, 

BUT UNTO HIM WHICH DIED FOR THEM, AND ROSE AGAIN." 

This is the highly -privileged position in which God 
places his sons, so that they can truly say " We are 
laborers together with God." The renewed heart holds 
with the Divine appointment, and joyously works for 
the salvation of others. Its very constitution leads it 
in this direction. Entered into the rest, the bliss, the 
freedom, the fullness of the new life, the first impulse is 
to call others to the enjoyment of the same. Having 
found a Physician that can cure the deep-seated disease 
of the soul, the Christian must recommend Him to all 
who so suffer. Translated from the cold darkness of 
death into the warm, cheerful light of life, the soul 
sings sweet songs, and long and loud, without fear of 
being heard ; yea, it desires to declare God's righteous- 
ness. As Bishop Hall says, " No good man would be 



To Every Man His Work. 13 

saved alone." This is borne out by the testimony of 
all history and experience. Andrew, having found the 
Messiah to the joy of his heart, goes immediately in 
search of his own brother Simon, and tells him the glad 
tidings, "We have found the Christ," and both, follow 
Jesus. Philip, being called himself, findeth Nathanael, 
and saith unto him, "We have found him of whom 
Moses in the law and the prophets, did write, Jesus of 
Nazareth, the Son of Joseph." And beating down his 
objection, "Can there any good thing come out of 
Nazareth ?" with " Come and see," he brought him to 
Jesus. The woman of Samaria at Jacob's Well, hav- 
ing drank other water than that she came to draw, is 
so quickened by it that she must leave her water-pot 
and go her way into the city and cry aloud, " Come see 
a man that told me all things that ever I did ! Is not 
this the Christ?" Noble heroine, to carry her cross 
that very day and hour. What was the result of her 
preaching ? A rich harvest of souls. Many of the 
Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying 
of the woman. These, again, besought him to tarry 
with them, which he did two days. And many more 
believed because of his own word. In these cases we 
have a beautiful exemplification of the out- working of 
the new nature. He that is joined to the Lord is one 
spirit, and the cry of that spirit is, " I must be about 
my Father's business." " I delight to do Thy will : 
yea, Thy law is within my heart." 



14 Working for Jesus. 

But an important question may arise here ; namely, 
Why are all saved souls not at work ? "Why do not all 
occupy some post in service ? We answer, with sad- 
ness of heart, that there is no doubt that this spirit of 
love to souls and endeavor to save them may be 
checked or suppressed. Alas 1 it is a fact that too 
often, through carnal causes, it is ruthlessly trampled 
out or trifled away on useless or unworthy objects. 
An emotion may evaporate without doing any good. 
Love may leak out through little occasions and never 
lift any soul to light. Desires of great strength may 
effect nothing, because they are not properly directed 
and controlled. One of the most mighty and prevalent 
causes of inactivity in this ministry is the taking heed 
to other voices than those of our Lord ; the giving 
place to other considerations than those he urges upon 
us ; in one word, the subjection of our will to another 
master, whether that master be ourselves, or our 
friends, or custom — which is Satan's great instrument 
for controlling men ; sometimes through their fears, at 
others by their pride, and at others again by their 
profit. If the believer would work for the salvation of 
souls he must hear Christ's voice alone, giving to that 
all his ear, all his heart, all his will. He must never 
forget that he occupies a priestly position. He, like 
Aaron and his sons under the Old Testament economy, 
is consecrated by the blood to God's service alone. 
He is separated and set apart for the hearing of God's 



To Every Mart His Work, 15 

word, the doing of God's will and the running on God's 
messages. That is the meaning of the blood of sacri- 
fice put on the tip of the right ear and the tip of the 
thumb of the right hand and the tip of the great toe of 
the right foot. He is wholly yielded to God, to live 
for him in a whole-hearted service. This entire sur- 
render is the key not only to successful endeavor, but 
also to joyful, delightful, satisfying service, so that the 
worker can truly say, "My meat is to do the will of 
him that sent me and to finish his work." 

Now, to direct desire into duty, to lead love to 
noble labor, to control emotion and guide it into fitting 
expressions, is the grand purpose of all the commands 
that compass the believer's heart with waking, warn- 
ing and work-inspiring voice. To engage the believer 
in a blessed "deedful" life is the great end of all the 
words of precious promise that gem the pages of the 
Holy Scripture. "Ye are the light of the world. A 
city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do 
men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a 
candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the 
house. Let your light so shine" — the light of the 
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus 
Christ being graciously given you for the purpose — 
" that they may see your good works and glorify your 
Father which is in heaven." "Ye are my witnesses, 
saith the Lord." 

These utterances embrace all believers. Not one is 



1 6 Working for Jesus. 

omitted, not one is overlooked. The spiritual temple is 
to be edified to-day in the same manner as the wall of 
Jerusalem was built under Nehemiah : each man is to 
take his place and work and watch and, if need be, 
fight. There is no liberty given to any to defer enter- 
ing on this important duty. To-day, to-day, is the call. 
"Say not ye, There are yet four months and then Com- 
eth harvest ! Behold, I say unto you. Lift up your 
eyes and look on the fields, for they are white already 
to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages and 
gathereth fruit unto life eternal, that both he that sow- 
eth and he that reapeth may rejoice together." As 
every leaf contributes to the life and strength of the 
tree, so every believer in the body of Christ is to aid in 
augmenting the life and strength of the church by 
striving to add to the saved, the sacramental host of 
God's elect. Indeed, the Church — that is, all who be- 
lieve in the Lord Jesus Christ as their sin-bearing Sav- 
iour, wherever they are and under whatever denomina- 
tional banner they may range themselves — is only a 
vast army under the captaincy of Christ seeking to 
make conquest of the world for God and his reign of 
righteousness. Every Spirit-baptized soldier has his 
post to hold, his work to do, his honor to maintain. 
Every one, if he will, may be an angel of mercy — strew- 
ing his world-way with blessings and benedictions, 
imparting sweetest comforts and consolations — or else 
he may be a messenger of evil. There is no middle 



To Every Man His Work. 17 

ground, no neutral position. " He that is not with me 
is against me." 

He who knows the honor of this work will not will- 
ingly lose its rich reward, its delicious joys. Ruther- 
ford said, " It were my heaven, till I come home, even 
to spend this life in gathering in some to Christ." 
Thomas Brooks, the renowned Puritan, said, " Oppor- 
tunities of doing service for Christ and for souls are 
worth more than a world." "The winning of souls to 
Christ is my highest ambition in this world." Duncan 
Matheson, the earnest evangelist, was offered by a gen- 
tleman an important situation with a large salary, 
which, though penniless, he at once declined and after- 
wards said, " What ! did he think I could give up 
preaching Christ for £200 a year ?" Robert Annan, of 
Dundee, though in lowly and straitened circumstances, 
having an opportunity afforded him of. bettering his 
worldly condition by removing to Glasgow, said, "No ; 
God is blessing my poor endeavors here just now and I 
will not go. Saving souls is better than making 
money." William Burns, the apostolic missionary, left 
the land he loved and sought other shores as scenes of 
soul-saving as soon as his ministry ceased to be fruit- 
ful at home.* His soul burned to save men. Jesus 

8 la confirmation of this fact we have this sentence in one of 

his letters addressed to the Rev. Horatius Bonar, D.D., as he was 

leaving England: " My way seems to have been very plain in the 

matter hitherto ; and yet you can easily see that it is a dark and 

2 



1 8 Working for Jesus. 

himself is our example, the perfect example of his peo- 
ple in this heavenly mission. " Follow me," he cries, 
" and I will make you fishers of men." 

Turning a deaf ear to the call of our Lord sadly 
mars the perfection of our character and lays the axe 
to the root of our God-given manhood. There is a 
beautiful completeness in the Christian character, as it 
is sketched in the Word, that cannot be gained with- 
out working for Jesus. We may believe in Christ, 
read the Holy Word, pray in public and in secret and 
be strictly attentive on ordinances ; but without corre- 
sponding works, as the outcome of all this, all these are 
ineffective, fruitless, joyless. 

Listen to these plain truths : " We are his work- 
manship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, 
which God hath before ordained that we should walk 
in them." Eph. 2:10. " Ye are the light of the world f 
"Let your light so shine before men that they may 
see your good works and glorify your Father which 
is in heaven." Matt. 5:14, 16. Faith in Christ is to 
reveal itself in work for him. Having the root of 
reliance on Christ as our sacrifice for sin, we are to 
bring forth the fruit of holy service to him. If we 
do not work for Jesus our faith is a dead faith, an 
empty profession. " For as the body without the 

solemn dispensation either to myself or to those I leave behind, 
when one of the grounds of my departure is the want of any special 
blessing at home." — Life of Rev. John Milne, p. Iy2. 



To Every Man His Work, I 9 

spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." 
James 2:26. 

Many no doubt deceive themselves in this way : 
they think of good works, they imagine good works, 
building castles in the air ; they even speak of good 
works and go not farther, yet conceiving that they 
have really done something when really nothing has 
come forth as a result. The deed that embodies the 
thought, that gives living expression to the imagining 
and actuality to the speech, has not been done. The 
man has been in cloudland dreaming and not at all 
engaged in the real work of the world. Our Lord in 
closing his sermon on the mount said, "Not every one 
that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the 
kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my 
Father which is in heaven." Matt. 7:21. Alas! with 
how many does the saying go for the doing and the 
thinking for the thing itself! What self deceivers men 
are ! Oh how they delude themselves, going on even 
to the judgment-seat of Christ under false impressions I 
See Matt. 7:22, 23. 

Too many have this one-sided development, if de- 
velopment it can be called. "By their fruits ye shall 
know them." There is not a shadow of such a char- 
acter as this in Jesus. " He went about doing good " 
is the summary of that self-sacrificing life he lived ; 
and he left us an example that we should follow in his 
steps. Working for Jesus in seeking the salvation of 



20 Working for Jesus. 

precious souls brings every grace into exercise and 
every power into action. Just as the infant, tossing 
its little limbs and throwing about its arms, sends the 
fresh blood tingling along the veins laden with life and 
health and strength, giving color to the cheek, light to 
the eye, power to the muscle and ring to the voice ; so 
caring for souls calls into exercise every spiritual grace : 
faith and knowledge and prayer and patience and holi- 
ness of life. Many of God's dear children go mourning 
all their days, shrouded in gloom, simply because they 
do nothing for Jesus. A little work would put all to 
rights and fill them with rejoicings. Sweet old Sibbes 
says, "Those that are fruitful in their places never 
want good assurances of salvation. It is lazy, luke- 
warm Christians that want assurance." Dr. John 
Owen, that prince of theologians, bears this testimony : 
"Great opportunities for service neglected and great 
gifts not improved are oftentimes the occasion of 
plunging the soul into great depths. Gifts are given 
to trade with for God ; opportunities are the market- 
days fur that trade. To napkin up the one and let slip 
the other will end in trouble and disconsolation. Dis- 
quietudes and perplexities of heart are worms that will 
certainly breed in the rust of unexercised gifts. God 
loseth a revenue of glory and honor by such slothful 
souls and he will make them sensible of it. I know 
some at this day whom omissions of opportunities for 
service are ready to sink into the grave." David 



To Every Man His Work. 21 

Sandeman, a devoted young Christian, writes thus in 
his diary : "Again and again I find it confirmed that 
the more I am engaged in working for the Lord the 
more do heavenly and becoming thoughts possess me." 
On another occasion he says, " Felt that important 
principle confirmed to-day — that the more I engage in 
duty the more I am glad with a holy joy." William 
Carvosso, an earnest, believing class-leader, though 
much weighed down through oppressive outward cir- 
cumstances, yet amid all writes : " I was much blessed 
in laboring to make myself useful to souls." By soul- 
seeking our lights burn clear, the salt retains its savor, 
the epistle is readable ; otherwise, all is confusion. 

How many empty excuses are offered for neglect of 
duty in serving the Lord ! 

Some try to purchase exemption from active service 
by giving of their means. The Lord claims that and 
far more. The rich are but his stewards. They are 
intrusted with the Lord's treasure that they may use it 
for his glory and the extension of his kingdom. And 
though they so use it they can never thereby release 
themselves from ministry in seeking the good of souls. 
'* We are not redeemed with corruptible things, as sil- 
ver and gold, . . . but with the precious blood of 
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without 
spot." We cannot repay that with money. God asks 
our life ; the devotion of all our powers to his service 
and glory. "Ye are not your own." Most men think 



22 Working for yesus. 

far different from this. But God declares it : " Ye are 
not your own, for ye are bought with a price ; there- 
fore glorify God in your bodies and in your spirits, 
which are God's*" Lady Powerscourt says, "I would 
also enforce it on myself, that to give money is the lead 
gift we have to give in token of love. Love, while pro- 
ducing self-denial, also produces generosity in every 
way in which we can show kindness. Love is not al- 
ways counting its pence." 

Others, again, are ready to murmur at the work of 
those who in all faithfulness are seeking to answer 
God's gracious demands on them for glory. Fault- 
finding, they fancy, frees them from their obligations. 
Hindrance they take to be their peculiar privilege. 
Foolish souls ! they are a heavy burden to the people 
of God and to themselves. They are enemies of the 
Lord ; they hurt and harass his sons in their service ; 
for, saith Jesus, " He that gathereth not with me scat- 
tered abroad.'' Did these mistaken ones listen to the 
voice of the Lord, and enter into labor, they would very 
soon repent of their bitter words and severe judg- 
ments, and heartily sympathize with their brethren and 
endeavor to sustain them in their trying duties. 
Those who carp at the efforts of others to do all they 
can for Jesus never do so for the glory of God. It is 
too evident that it is a defensive stroke entirely — 
beating back the strong condemnation that falls upon 
them from the active and exemplary lives of others. 



To Every Man His Work. 23 

Those who indulge in fault-finding often do so in an 
exceedingly pious manner. As it is written, "The 
words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but 
war was in his heart ; his words were softer than oil, 
yet were they drawn swords."* This spirit is evil. 
Shame on those who are professed friends and yet 
practical foes of Jesus ! 

Another class, and that a numerous one, think that 
being saved themselves their only duty is to enjoy 
their salvation. We are not saved for our own com- 
fort, although that arises out of salvation, but we are 
saved for the glory of God. It is the very worst sort 
of selfishness, being brought safe ashore from the 
wreck to sit down and see others drowning while we 
have hands to help. God's commands, the natural out- 
goings of the new creation and the state of the world 
form a threefold protest against this selfish Christi- 
anity. All unite in saving, Up and work ! " Why 
stand ye here all the day idle V ' Charles Spurgeon 
utters a much needed thought bearing on this point 
when he says, " I think we lack one evidence of the 
perfect reconciliation of our souls to God until we get 
something to do for him." And, " There is no fellow- 
ship with Christ that seems to me so vivid, so real to 
the soul, as when you get to try and win a soul for 
him." " I like nothing that makes me feel easy about 
my fellow creatures' souls." 

* Psa. 55:21. 



24 Working for Jesus. 

Others, again, excuse themselves by saying, "We 
are not gifted as others ; we are slow of speech ; we 
are but children ; we can do nothing." Now it is not 
great ability that God asks, nor eloquent declamations, 
nor poetic fancies, nor philosophical theories ; but the 
heart touched witli the truth uttering itself. And this 
every man has who is Christ's. God asks only what 
we really can do. If the work seem to be far beyond 
our power, we are to consider, with Dr. John Owen, 
that " the duties that God in an ordinary way requires 
at our hands are not proportioned to what strength we 
have in ourselves, but to what help and relief is laid 
up for us in Christ." Paul's joy was that he could do 
all things through Christ strengthening him. We may 
without any error assure ourselves that every believer 
in Jesus has, if not ten, certainly one talent intrusted 
to his using. The faithful use of the smallest ability, 
the narrowest resources, may bring much honor to God 
and largely help to fill his garner with fine wheat. 
God looks on remote as well as immediate results. 
His eye gathers all into one view. As an acorn in the 
soil will give birth to a tree that will produce thou- 
sands of acorns, so it is with man planted in Christ : 
he brings forth fruit, and that fruit is the seed whence 
"much fruit" may be gathered. No one is to turn 
from this honorable service however weak his powers 
may be. These powers put in exercise may unfold 
great treasures of ability, great fountains of strength. 



To Every Man His Work. 25 

If this be not the case their employment will at least 
strengthen them and enlarge them. Often do we see 
small ability effecting grander things than large abil- 
ity, simply because the lesser is properly and patiently 
used, while the larger is laid aside and neglected. 
Remember this : " If there be first a willing mind, it is 
accepted according to that a man hath and not accord- 
ing to that he hath not." 

Others still look to those who have ability and hold 
it idle in Christ's cause, however well used in their own 
interests, and plead their example for neglect of duty. 
" He is better fitted than I for service and he is idle ; 
it would be presumption in me to try to do what he 
never attempts. Surely it cannot be my duty if it is 
not his, seeing he is so well qualified." So, many seek 
to thrust aside God's claims. But this cannot be. 
The inactivity of others cannot release us from our 
obligation. However plausible our plea, it is un- 
availing. "Every one of us shall give account of 
himself unto God." No excuse can set aside God's 
injunction, " Son, go work to-day in my vineyard." 



II. 




SON, GO WORK TO-DAY IN MY VINEYARD. Matt. 21 : 28. 

ELL, then, it may be asked, where is the 
Christian to work? In one light this 
K)(D6^ question is proper and in place ; that is 
if it arise out of a desire to labor where largest gains 
may reward the toil and the sphere be not clearly seen, 
or if it spring from ignorance as to the teaching of the 
Word with regard to the position of the believer in 
every-day Christian duty. In another light this ques- 
tion is highly improper, because it betrays a sad mis- 
apprehension of the nature of salvation. It proceeds 
upon the destructive error that working for Christ is 
something aside from or beyond living in Christ — 
something that does not naturally and necessarily flow 
from being a new creature in Christ Jesus. This is a 
very prevalent and exceedingly hurtful error. In 
Christ we are new creatures ; he is our Lord and we 
are under law to him. "He that saith he abideth in 
Him ought to walk even as He walked." He pleased 
not himself ; he did not his own will. Hence, follow- 
ing Jesus, it is not left us to choose what we shall be 
and what we shall do. "Ye are Christ's" saith the 



Go Work in My Vineyard. 27 

Holy Ghost. "None of 11s liveth to himself, and no 
man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live 
unto the Lord ; whether therefore we live, or die, we 
are the Lord's." The sons of God are able to say, " I 
live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Christ in us 
creates a fruitful life.* 

Having thus spoken we may now answer the ques- 
tion, Where is the Christian to work? The royal 
commission is, " Go ye into all the world and preach 
the gospel to every creature." This applies with equal 
force to the Christian and the ordained minister. It 
embraces all who know the gospel of the grace of God. 
All have a ministry to fulfil, for all are kings and 
priests to God. We know that all are not called to 
be pastors, evangelists and teachers,f but all are 
preachers. 

Those who are brought to a knowledge of the truth 
through the ministry of the apostles "continued stead- 
fastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in 
breaking of bread and in prayers ; . . . and they, con- 
tinuing daily with one accord in the temple and break- 
ing bread from house to house, did eat their meat with 
gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and 
having favor with all the people. And the Lord added 
to the church daily such as should be saved." That 
the apostles' "doctrine" was not a selfish, sleepy thing, 
warring against the workings of the new life in the 
* John 15:5. t Eph. 4. 



28 Working for Jesus. 

soul, is seen from the scripture just quoted. But this 
is more fully borne out by an incident that happened 
in the early history of the church.* No doubt this in- 
cident is but a repetition of what took place in Jeru- 
salem every day, only it is not recorded until opposi- 
tion to the truth disperses the disciples and discloses 
the real burden of their life — preaching Jesus the Naza- 
rene. "They that were scattered abroad," on ac- 
count of the great persecution of the church which was 
at Jerusalem, " went everywhere preaching the word? 
Again : " Now they which were scattered abroad upon 
the persecution which arose about Stephen travelled as 
far as Phenice and Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the 
word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of 
them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when 
they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, 
preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord 
was with them ; and a great number believed and 
turned unto the Lord." 

They had believed and therefore they had to speak, 
testifying the grace of God. Out of full hearts they 
bore witness to the resurrection power of the Saviour. 
They had no need of other consecration than that of 
the anointing of the Holy Ghost, which they enjoyed 
through faith in Jesus. Having this, the love of Christ 
constrained them wherever they went to preach the 
gospel. Separated from home they might have been 
e Acts 8:4; 11:19-21. 



Go Work in My Vineyard. 29 

Bilent had they known only onr modern Christian pru- 
dence and propriety ; but they must assent to the im- 
pulses of the new life — they must obey the Lord's com- 
mand, "As ye go into all the world preach the gospel 
to every creature." They could never be at "home" 
here, because they were pilgrims and strangers as all 
their fathers were. Heaven was their fatherland ; 
heaven was their home. And so it is to-day. This 
being the case, the mission field is the wide, wide 
world : close at home as well as beyond the sea ; at 
our elbow, in our steps, all around our life wherever 
we are. There is no disorganization of life by the in- 
troduction of Christian principles, rather the perfect 
completion of it ; it is now life such as God would have 
it, and, being so, it is to burn as a calcium light to his 
glory and the inbringing of his kingdom. As Morley 
Punshon sings : 

" Work for the good that is nighest, 

Dream not of greatness afar ; 
That glory is ever the highest 

Which shines upon men as they are. 
Work, though the world would dtfeat you ; 

Heed not its slander and scoru ; 
Nor weary till angels shall greet you 

With smiles through the gates of the morn. ' ' 

Ordinarily, and always at first, the scene of the 
Christian's labor is where his every-day duty is ; where 
the stream of his active life flows ; if it runs down the 
thronging streets, or fills the merchant's office or the 



30 Working for Jesus. 

mechanic's workshop, or stands in the crowded mart or 
bustling market, or gathers in the surging, crowd, or 
circulates round the hearthstone, or rushes along the 
rail. Wherever it is, or under whatever conditions it 
may move, the command enjoins faithful work for 
Jesus. He is to sow beside all waters, let down the 
net into all seas. Considering no circumstances as 
unfavorable, he is to unfurl the banner God has given 
him because of the truth, and preach the gospel: 

" The old, old story of unseen things above ; 
Of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love." 

Christ calls that " my vineyard," God's garden for rais- 
ing fruit that shall rejoice and satisfy his heart. 
What a beautiful designation ! And, mark you, it is 
not merely a poetic designation — it is truth. It is not 
mere fancy — it is fact. Your surroundings, however 
unlovely and repulsive and miserable, are God's vine- 
yard. Weeds may be growing in it, the paths may be 
overrun by ugly thorns and brambles, the trellises on 
which the vines lift themselves may be broken down, 
the stones may not be gathered out, it may be in a 
ruinous condition — what may seem to you an utterly 
hopeless condition. Yet it is God's vineyard for his 
loving and obedient "son" to labor in. A spot, how- 
ever externally unattractive, dear to God's heart be- 
cause there are precious souls there. It matters noth- 
ing to him whether it be a lane or an alley or a tene- 
ment, or a street where the devil reigns and holds high 



Go Work in My Vineyard. 31 

carnival ; there is his vineyard ! Clear it up. Gather 
out the stones, destroy the weeds, clear the paths, lift 
up the vines, restore it, by God's help, so that it may 
be said : " My beloved is gone down into his garden, 
to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to 
gather lilies." Song of Sol. 6:2, 

How numerous are the ways of working ! Each 
one is instructed by his circumstances and by his gifts 
and opportunities as to what he shall do. God opens 
up his way before his face and lays work ready to his 
hand. "We mention some of these : 

Words dropped by the wayside are not lost. " God's 
seed will come to God's harvest," as Rutherford said. 
When Mr. Pennefather, well known in connection with 
the Mildmay Conferences, was leaving Barnet, he met 
an old soldier in the street to whom he said, after listen- 
ing to his strong expressions of regret at his departure, 
"I am going on another journey ; will you come with 
me ?" Then adding a few earnest words he left him, 
and from that day the old man started on his heaven- 
ward way. Faithful dealing with perishing souls in 
the market-place may be as productive of fruit there 
as in the religious assembly. An earnest talk on 
eternal interests while walking the street may arouse 
attention and regard in the soul. Salutations may 
bear stirring thoughts. Felix Neff's word to the 
stranger, who he supposed was his friend, is familiar, 
as also its blessed results : " Friend, how is it with thy 



32 Working for Jesus. 

soul ?" Kindly and consistent demeanor in the work- 
shop may win a ready way for any words the Spirit 
may give us to speak concerning the Saviour and his 
great salvation. A shoemaker narrated this incident 
one day in a Fulton Street prayer-meeting, New York: 
"I was a bootmaker in Ann Street years ago, and a 
dissipated man and an associate of gamblers. One da}' 
a gentleman, I do not know who, after buying a pair 
of boots asked me if I would do him a favor. I said, 
1 Yes/ He then asked me to attend the Fulton Street 
prayer-meeting for a few moments the next day. I 
promised and I went. From that visit I date my 
change of heart. Back of it all was a praying mother. 
Her last words to me before she died were, ' Sam, you 
don't know my God, but you will be brought to him. ,w 
Travel affords numberless opportunities for testimony to 
the love of Jesus that should always be improved. One 
day William 0. Burns was walking to Kilsyth and he 
tells us this : "I first made up to two boys going home 
from school who seemed very ignorant of Jesus. I 
spoke to them, gave them tracts, and shortly prayed 
with them on the road. I then met Mr. Lusk going 
home, with whom I also prayed on the road. At the 
Oaigmarloch Bridge I met Widow Mitchell and her 
daughter Agnes, an old school companion of my own. 
With them I prayed, going for a little into the house." 
Is not that simply grand ! What devotion to Jesus 
this shows. William C. Burns was a man in whom 



Go Work in My Vineyard. 33 

our Lord's words were fulfilled: "He that believcth on 
me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall 
flow rivers of living water." He was a blessing" 
wherever he went and to all he met. Business and 
lower interests ought not, yea, must not, displace 
higher interests. The Divine order is, "Seek ye first 
the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all 
these things [earthly necessaries] shall be added unto 
you." This order cannot be violated with impunity. 
The soul is more valuable than the body ; eternity is 
more momentous than time. And now is the season, 
the point of time, to attend to the salvation of the one 
and prepare for the enjoyment of the other. 

Friendly visits ought ever to be turned to the best ac- 
count. The good news spoken then in the quiet confi- 
dence of brotherly and sisterly communications comes 
sweetly home. Dr. Payson, being on one occasion 
kindly entertained, said to his friends on leaving the 
house, "You have treated me with much kindness and 
hospitality, for which I sincerely thank you. Allow 
me to ask you one question before we part : How do 
you treat my Master ?" This simple though striking- 
question led ultimately to the conversion of that entire 
household. 

Too frequently other themes steal away the time 

that ought to be given to the " Chiefest among ten 

thousand," and leave the heart dry as the desert sand 

or wrung with remediless remorse. An incident in the 

3 



34 Working for Jesus. 

life of Dr. Chalmers supplies a touching illustration. 
Returning from a journey to the south of Scotland " he 
visited a nobleman near Peebles. On a favorite theme — 
pauperism and its cure — he kept the circle of friends 
gathered there entranced, especially an old Highland 
laird, who was riveted by the lucid details that he gave. 
They sat late. Dr. Chalmers' bedroom was just across 
the lobby from the old laird's room. As the doctor was 
undressing he heard a strange sound thence and then a 
deep groan. He hastened in. In a few minutes more 
all the visitors followed. The old man drew but a few 
breaths more and died. Dr. Chalmers loved souls. 
He gazed with outstretched hands as he bent over the 
clay. He was the picture of distress ; the first to 
break the silence. ' Never in my life did I see or did I 
feel before this moment the meaning of that text, 
Preach the Word ; be instant in season and out of season. 
Had I known that my venerable friend was within a 
few minutes of eternity I would have addressed my- 
self earnestly to him. I would have preached unto 
him and unto you Jesus Christ and him crucified. I 
would have urged him and you, with all earnestness 
befitting the subject, to prepare for eternity. You 
would have thought it, and you would have pronounced 
it, out of season. But ah ! it would have been in sea- 
son, both as it respects him and as it respects you.' " 
Fidelity to the Master demands the discharge of duty 
in all relations, and especially in this. 



Go Work in My Vineyard. 35 

How vivid and impressive is the parting scene of 
the Rev. Charles Simeon and his brother. Being sum- 
moned to his deathbed, he hastened to obey. As he 
entered the room his brother extended his hand and 
with deep emotion said, " I am dying, and you never 
warned me of the state I was in and of the danger to 
which I was exposed from neglecting the salvation of 
my soul.'* " Nay, my brother," replied Mr. Simeon, " I 
took every reasonable opportunity of bringing the 
subject of religion before your mind and frequently 
alluded to it in my letters." "Yes," exclaimed the 
dying man, "you did ; but that was not enough. You 
never came to me, closed the door, and took me by the 
collar of my coat and told me that I was unconverted 
and that if I died in that state I should be lost. And 
now I am dying, and but for God's grace I might have 
been forever undone 1" This scene was never effaced 
from Mr. Simeon's mind. Let it teach us how earnest 
and persevering we should be in watching for souls. 
Far from us be the thought of intrusion when we ad- 
dress men on a theme so vital, so important, yea, so 
transcendent. To speak is an imperative duty. On 
the leaf of one of Robert Murray M'Cheyne's note-books 
was found this memorandum : "Rule worth remembering : 
When visiting in a family, whether ministerially or 
otherwise, speak particularly to the strangers about 
eternal things. Perhaps God has brought you to- 
gether just to save that soul." Dr. Watts says, "He 



36 IV or king for jesus. 

that has the happy talent for parlor preaching has 
sometimes done more for Christ and souls in the space 
of a few moments than by the labor of hours and days 
in the usual course of preaching in the pulpit." 

Often in conversing with anxious inquirers, whose 
companions I know to be members of churches, I have 
asked if they have never been spoken to by them of 
Jesus ; the answer was made in astonishment, " No ; 
they had only complained that they had not greater 
liberty to attend dances, parties, etc." This reveals 
dark depths of degeneracy. No wonder the world 
scoffs at religion. No wonder men question profes- 
sions of Christianity. The light burns dim, the salt is 
savorless, the epistle is a blot. 

Where words cannot conveniently be spoken tracts 
may very properly be used. But see to it that they are 
gospel tracts — plain, brief, pointed. Use those you 
have tested and tried yourself first. How many have 
employed this means ! men of the greatest gifts ; 
men who had no need on account of want of ability ; 
men like Richard Knill, William Hewitson, W. C. 
Burns, D. L. Moody, David Sandeman, John Wesley, 
and hundreds beside of like talents. They used them 
because the tract speaks when they could not, it is 
near when they are not, it can be appealed to again 
and again, and read and thought of, till the seed of the 
Word it carries in its basket enters into the heart and 
germinates and springs up there and brings forth the 



Go Work in My Vineyard. ?>7 

fruit of a new life. In the brief and precious journal of 
William Hewitson we have these entries : " During a 
walk distributed some tracts." " Strong in the Lord, 
I went out to walk having tracts and a New Testa- 
ment in Spanish." Charles Spurgeon often gave away 
as a tract a penny New Testament. Mr. D. L. Moody 
gives away tons of tracts at the church doors where 
his immense gatherings are held. William C. Burns 
has this entry in his diary : " Walked with Mr. Milne, 
distributing many tracts and having many interesting 
conversations with persons on the road." Another 
entry is : "At Cumbernauld I left the coach, after giv- 
ing tracts to ail on it and in it (a practice I intend to 
follow wherever I go, as eminently calculated to ad- 
vance the salvation of souls), and walked over the hill 
toward Kilsyth." Richard Knill began working for 
Jesus in this way. This indeed is usually the Chris- 
tian's " first works " in the world's great field of battle. 
And it is a good way to begin. The following incident, 
showing how tracts should be distributed, is given by 
a London minister : 

"I had been recommended to Mr. M'Cheyne and my 
school had been commended to his care. He had at 
that time just published the beautiful tract entitled ' I 
Love the Lord's Day,' and I was asked to call on him 
at his house : he wanted to see me ; he would give me 
some of these tracts to distribute. I went. Just as he 
was in the act of showing me the street door, all at 



38 Working for Jesus. 

once he said, ' Do you lift up your heart and ask God's 
blessing on each of these tracts before you give it 
away ? You cannot expect it to be blessed unless you 
do.' I answered, ' No, I had never thought of such a 
thing; nobody had ever asked me to do it. 1 So he 
said, ' Come back, dear friend, come back ; I am very 
busy, but come back.' So with an earnest gesture he 
led me back to his study, shut the door, took the bun- 
dle of tracts out of my hand, knelt down beside me at 
the sofa, my hand in his, and there he prayed. I re- 
member the prayer still. Here is the substance of it : 
' Oh, what wicked hearts we have. Here we were do- 
ing God's work without ever asking God's blessing on 
it ; could we be forgiven ? Were there depths of mercy 
so deep as to cover the sins of two such sinners as we, 
kneeling here together? Here was this poor young 
man: he had been sinning in ignorance ; would not 
God forgive him ? Would he not grant that even yet 
all the prayerless tracts might be blessed ? He could 
do it ; would he not ? And then, was there ever such 
sin as his own ? Here was he, a pastor over God's 
flock ; this young man had been committed to his 
charge, and he had never told him how rightly to dis- 
tribute tracts. But that too would be forgiven, through 
the merits of the priceless blood. And then, finally, 
might this lesson never be forgotten, but remembered 
all the daj 7 s of their life by both ;' and then an Amen 
from a full heart, and again he led me to the door, and 



Go Work in My Vineyard. 39 

I found myself in the street. It was a circumstance 
never to be forgotten, and has often since risen to my 
remembrance at the right moment, proving a word in 
season." 

Those whom the voice cannot reach may be reached 
by letters of grace and truth. It was by a letter from 
his sister that W. C. Burns was awakened to spiritual 
life. Zeal for God will devise many ways in which to 
be useful to souls. 

Lending plain, pointed gospel books has been much 
blessed. When Dr. Chalmers was brought to see the 
deficiencies of his legal system of salvation, through 
reading Wilberforce's "Practical View," he lent it to 
others, that they might receive through it the same 
blessing that he had got. Harlan Page had on the last 
leaf of his journal a memorandum of " Books out." He 
lent Baxter's " Call to the Unconverted," and others of 
a kindred character, suitable to awaken and convict 
sinners and to confirm them in faith when they had 
trusted in Christ. This was one of his means of use- 
fulness. "When the book is returned a conversation on 
its subject may fitly follow, impressing its lessons and 
augmenting its moral influence on the heart, so that it 
may produce immediate results. 

The singing of gospel hymns has been used of God to 
win many. Every one loves sweet song and listens at- 
tentively to it. It captivates the heart. The music 
sinks into the emotional nature, carrying with it the 



40 Working for fesus. 

words which in the necessary reproduction of the air 
are recalled to the mind, and thought about, till mayhap 
they revolutionize the life. He who works with song 
uses a two-edged sword. Pure gospel on the wings of 
sweet melody is irresistible. One marked advantage 
of singing the gospel is this, that it is recalled repeat- 
edly if the music has been good. The housewife in the 
kitchen, the young man at his work, the traveler on his 
journey, the business man at his desk, find waves of 
melody breaking in upon them out of the memory of the 
hymn that thrilled them the night before. And they 
catch it up and hum it over, try to recall the words, 
drawing out one line after another, sometimes broken, 
sometimes whole ; but the sweetness of the music 
charms them into an acquaintance with the whole 
hymn. And that being full of precious gospel truth, 
what a blessing it is ! It may be : 

" Down at the cross where I first saw the light, 

And the burden of my sin rolled away. 
'Twas there by faith I received my sight, 
And now I am happy all the da} 7 ." 
Or it may be : 

1 ' I heard the voice of Jesus say, 
Come unto me and rest." 



Or, 

Or, 
Or, 



" Nothing either great or small, 
Nothing, sinner, no," etc. 

' Just as I am, without one plea," etc. 

"Rock of Ages, ckft fur me." 



Go Work in My Vineyard. 41 

Or it may be a lovely duet, or trio, or quartette, which 
being heard abides with us as a part of ourselves. At 
the Central Music Hall in Chicago, at the World's Fair, 
Mr. Moody showed the wisdom for which he is pro- 
verbial in his conduct of the meetings. He made much 
of sacred song. Trained singers rendered them in the 
best style at every service, The song service greatly 
enriched the occasion and helped to make it memorable. 
Who that heard it will ever forget the Young Men's 
Quartette singing the twelfth chapter of Ecclesiastes, 
or Mr. Burke's rendering of " Sometime we '11 under- 
stand " ? What a gift it is to be able to sing sweetly ! 
Every Christian so endowed should follow the exam- 
ple of Miss Frances Eidley Havergal, who gave up 
singing secular pieces that she might sing only sacred 
songs, her prayer being : 

" Take my lips, and let me sing, 
Always, only, for my King." 

Whatsoever we do, we are in that to glorify God. 
Was it not the famous Albert Barnes, who wrote so 
many excellent Bible Commentaries, who said that if 
he had his choice he would rather sing the gospel than 
preach it, because of the greater effects produced ? He 
was right. He who can, or she who can sing a beauti- 
ful gospel song effectively is an excellent gospel 
preacher. 

The reading of the Word has ivrought wonders. The 
simple reading of the Holy Word has convinced of sin, 



42 Working for Jesus. 

opened up the way of life, brought the soul to Jesus, 
and established it in the faith. Indeed, God has mag- 
nified his Word above all his name. Alexander Pater- 
son, the missionary of Kilmany, was wont, while he 
lived in the farmer's bothy at Cruvie, to rise early in 
the morning to read the Bible before going out to work. 
In the bothy was a fellow ploughman who took great 
delight in collecting and committing to memory ballads 
to sing at the plough. One morning, as Paterson was 
reading his Bible, the ballad singer awoke, asked him 
why he had not roused him, v/hat he was doing, and if 
he would not read aloud. With great solemnity and 
pathos he read a passage from the Word. The arrow 
entered at " the joints of the harness ;" the man was 
wounded. From that time a change was observed in 
him. He burned all his ballads, of which there was an 
immense collection, and in their stead he began to com- 
mit to memory the Psalms, and sing them. 

The Rev. Newman Hall tells this beautiful story, 
finely illustrative of the power of the simple Word : A 
few persons were collected round a blind man, who had 
taken his station on a bridge and was reading from a 
Bible with raised letters. A gentleman on his way 
home from the city was led by curiosity to the out- 
skirts of the crowd. Just then the blind man, who was 
reading the fourth chapter of the Acts, lost his place, 
and while trying to find it with his finger, kept repeat- 
ing the last clause he had read — " None other name — 



Go Work in My Vineyard. 43 

none other name — none other name." Some of the peo- 
ple smiled at the blind reader's embarrassment ; but 
the gentleman went away deeply musing. He had 
lately become convinced that he was a sinner ; he had 
been trying in many ways to obtain peace of mind ; 
but religious exercises, good resolutions, altered habits, 
all were unable to relieve his conscience of its load and 
enable him to rejoice in God. When he reached his 
home and retired to rest these words were still heard — 
"None other name — none other name — none other 
name." And when he awoke the strain continued — 
"None other name — none other name — none other 
name." The music entered his soul and by the bless- 
ing of God he awoke to a new life. "I see it all !" 
said he ; "I see it all ! I have been trying to be saved 
by my own works. I see my mistake. It is Jesus who 
alone can save. To him I will look. Neither is there 
salvation in any other. For there is none other name — 
— none other name — none other name under heaven, 
given among men, whereby we must be saved." 

A kind invitation to go to the house of the Lord has in 
many cases been the occasion of conversion. Such was 
the case of John Williams, the martyr of Erromanga. 
Standing idly on the street in the city of London, wait- 
ing for some friends with whom he had promised to go 
to the public gardens, he was observed by a lady who 
invited him to go with her to church. He went. The 
truth preached was carried to his heart. He was con- 



44 Working for Jesus, 

verted and lived a new and glorious life to its last day. 
Many like cases we know ourselves. Beloved, many 
hearts, touched in this way, would with all the delight 
of the Psalmist cry out, " I was glad when they said 
unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Our 
feet shall stand within thy gates, Jerusalem." 

Let every opportunity be embraced, or let opportuni- 
ties be made, for doing this soul-saving work. John 
Brown, the author of the "Self-interpreting Bible," said 
as he drew near the end of his life : " Were the Lord to 
make me young again, I think I would study to devise 
other means for gaining souls than those which I have 
used, and prosecute them with more activity than ever 
I did." And James Sherman, of Surrey Chapel, Lon- 
don, gives this good advice : "Now, let me beg every 
one of you to carry a small bag with this precious corn 
of the gospel. When you write a letter, drop a word 
for Christ ; it may be a seed that will take root. 
Speak a word for Christ wherever you go ; it may be 
productive of a great deal of fruit. Drop a tract on 
the counter, or in a house ; it may be a seed productive 
of a plenteous harvest." 

The biographies of Harlan Page, Hedley Vicars, 
John Milne of Perth, Duncan Matheson, Brownlow 
North, Henry Martyn, William Pennefather, Adelaide 
Newton, Csesar Malan, William Hewitson, Matthew 
Henry, Jerry McAuley, David Sandeman, Asahel Net- 
tleton, and many others eminent as soul winners, are 



Go Work in My Vineyard. 45 

full of helpful lessons. Some of these every Christian 
ought to read as a spiritual stimulant : to get shaken 
loose from the dead formality that presses down ordi- 
nary Christian life ; to get lifted up into a purer and 
more bracing atmosphere; to get freed from the 
thraldom of use and wont, and come into communion 
with the noblest servants of the Lord who have lived 
here, and labored here, in the same conditions as those 
in which we now pass the time of our sojourning. 
Or, better than all, he ought ever to be " looking unto 
Jesus," contemplating his burning zeal, his indefati- 
gable labors, his quenchless love, his long-suffering for- 
bearance, his entire self-sacrifice. "Bo ye therefore 
followers of God, as dear children ; and walk in love, as 
Christ also hath loved us, and given himself for us, an 
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling 
savor." 

God in his providence often calls men out of the 
quiet seclusion of private life into the noisy turmoil 
and heavy responsibility of public life, either by grad- 
ually opening up ways of usefulness, or by an unequiv- 
ocal and irresistible impression of his Spirit. Their 
duty is clear, to leave all and follow Jesus. The call 
may be to teach in the Sabbath-school, or to speak in 
the mission-house, or to address assemblies ; in either 
case the glorious gospel of the blessed God is what is 
needed, and individual dealing with souls as to its re- 
ception. To bring the soul at once to Jesus is the end 



46 Working for Jesus. 

of all ministry ; therefore " Jesus only " must be 
preached — "Jesus alone" lifted up, as Moses lifted up 
the serpent in the wilderness, that whosoever believeth 
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
However fully and forcibly the glad tidings may be 
presented on the platform, in the pulpit, or in the desk, 
personal effort is required as well. The driven nail 
must be clinched. Imp ressions are often made in the 
religious meeting that must be followed up with in- 
structions and exhortations in the home, or on the 
street, or in the market. The mind may be dark, the 
world -influence may be strong, and the heart is deceit- 
ful : hence the necessity of constant attendance by the 
" ambassador of Christ," the spiritual physician. Great 
pains should be taken, much prayer made, so that he 
may never lose a case. Oh, to feel the weight of souls ! 
Oh, to realize their preciousness ! Oh, to travail in 
birth for souls till Christ be formed in them ! 

Declaring Christ's finished work to one solitary in- 
dividual may appear a small thing to a worker gifted 
with eloquence and ability, and perhaps may look like 
a loss of time and talent. But it is not so. Consider 
our Saviour's going through Samaria to meet that poor 
lost woman that she might be saved. A great forest 
lay in that one acorn. Think of the Holy Spirit carry- 
ing Philip southward to Gaza to be the means of salva- 
tion to the Ethiopian eunuch, who doubtless carried the 
light of the gospel into the bosom of Africa. The 



Go Work in My Vineyard. 47 

teaching of these incidents is evident to every spiritual 

mind ; and those who have followed in their footsteps 

have reaped rich harvests, as the record of Christian 

work during this present century shows. They render 

it as delightsome to preach the gospel to one as to ten 

thousand. A Christian woman, with singular fidelity, 

exhorted William C. Burns to watch for individual 

souls, saying, " You may lose a jewel from your crown ; 

though you do not lose your crown, you may lose a 

jewel from it." "He that hath ears to hear, let him 

hear." 

" Go and toil in any vineyard, do not fear to over-dare ; 
If you want a field of labor, you can find it anywhere.'" 




III. 




' LET YOUR LOINS BE GIRDED ABOUT AND YOUR LIGHTS 
BURNING."— Luke 12:35. 

I^UT bow shall the believer work so as to obtain 
cpB results? This is an important question, see- 
ing tbat many work much and long without 
achieving adequate results. Their labor goes for 
naught and their strength is spent in vain. They live 
a fruitless life, in direct opposition to the declaration of 
our Saviour, " He that abideth in me, and I in him, the 
same bringeth forth much fruit." "Herein is my Father 
glorified, that ye bear much fruit ; so shall ye be my 
disciples." As the healthy apple-tree bears abundantly 
fruit to reward the husbandman, so is the man of God 
to be fruitful in his labor. The work he does, the word 
he speaks, is not lost. His labor is not in vain in the 
Lord. He is not to carry on a barren ministry that is 
wasting and wearing and wearisome. The heavens 
above are not to be as brass and the earth beneath as 
iron. In answer we say that there are a few pre- 
requisites essential, without which all will not only be 
useless but laggard if not legal service. 



Loins Girded and Lights Burning. 49 

Fiest. He must Lave a full, settled confldence of 
his own salvation and what salvation has brought him 
into ; of his standing before God in Christ and its glo- 
rious privileges, his justification through faith, that he 
is accepted in the Beloved, that he is one with Christ 
and complete in Him. He must realize his relation to 
this present evil world, to sin, to the flesh, and the 
glorious liberty wherewith Christ hath made him free, 
so that he may not be entangled with any yoke of bond- 
age, whether traditional, ecclesiastical, or theological. 
He must rejoice in being Christ's freeman. A soul 
doubtful and unbelieving is not fit for the field, nor pre- 
pared to endure hardness nor to suffer reproach. How 
can any one press the truth on the hearts of others who 
does not believe in it himself? How can any one guide 
another in the way in which he has not himself walked ? 
It is he that heareth that is to say, "Come I" It is the 
son that is called to work in the vineyard. But there 
may be a very partial hearing, and a very imperfect 
apprehension of the full blessing of sonship, and thence 
will come unfitness for service and feebleness in effort. 
To direct the believer into the perfect knowledge of his 
God-given birthright in Jesus is the reason why we 
turn his thoughts to it. Moreover, it is essential as a 
preparative for service. Paul says, "We, having the 
same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I be- 
lieved, and therefore have I spoken ; we also believe, and 
therefore speak." " Yea, doubtless, I count all things 
4 



5<D Working for Jesus. 

but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ 
Jesus my Lord." 

This faith and knowledge of the apostles is un- 
folded in all fulness in their epistles. John says : 
"That which was from the beginning, which we have 
heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we 
have looked upon and our hands have handled, of the 
Word of life. . . . declare we unto you, that ye also 
may have fellowship with us ; and truly cur fellowship 
is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ." Where 
there is no fellowship there will be little following. 
Fellowship secures following, since it imparts full joy. 
This position is entered into by simple faith in the 
Word of truth. Just as at first receiving God's testi- 
mony touching his Son saves the soul, so is it now, re- 
ceiving the Spirit's testimony respecting the believer's 
standing sets him in a wide place — in Divine freedom ; 
brings him, through the Holy Ghost, " into the glorious 
liberty of the children of God.'' 

To see the saint's community of life with the Sa- 
viour, and his being blessed with all spiritual blessings 
in heavenly places in him, read the first and second 
chapters of the Epistle to the Ephesians ; to learn his 
freedom from the power and pollution of sin, read the 
fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth chapters of Romans, 
and the ninth and tenth chapters of Hebrews ; to know 
his completeness in Christ the head, read the first and 
second chapters of Colossians ; to understand his son- 



Loins Girded and Lights Burning, 51 

ship and his hope, read the third chapter of the First 
Epistle of John. 

Second. He must make diligent study of the re- 
vealed will of God that he may rightly divide it. There 
must be a discrimination of things that differ. The 
truth must be seen in its Divine order and bearings. 
Many a man wastes both precious time and golden op- 
portunities through unintelligent applications. A case 
in point, and no doubt there are thousands like it in all 
lands, is that of John Berridge. He says, " I preached 
up sanctification very earnestly for six years in a for- 
mer parish and never brought one soul to Christ. I 
did the same in this parish for two years without any 
success at all ; but as soon as ever I preached Jesus 
Christ, and faith in his blood, then believers were added 
to the church continually — the people flocked from all 
parts to hear the glorious sound of the gospel, some 
coming six miles, others eight, and others ten, and that 
constantly. And now, let me ask, what is the reason 
why my ministry was not blessed when I preached up 
salvation partly by faith and partly by works ? It is 
because this doctrine is not of God, and he will prosper 
no ministers but such as preach salvation in his ap- 
pointed way ; viz., by faith in Christ Jesus." There are 
truths for sinners and there are truths for saints. 
These must be distinguished and judiciously applied. 
Any mixing of them is a marring of the truth in its 
harmony and adaptation to special wants. Any dis- 



52 Working for Jesus, 

placement of them can only breed confusion in the 
speaker and the hearer. The counsel the Holy Spirit 
gives is, " Study to show thyself approved unto God, a 
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly 

DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH." 

A little careful consideration of our Saviour's mode 
of dealing with the Scriptures, in their bearing upon 
different characters and different stages of progress, 
will do much to rectify all misunderstanding on this 
point. What is required is a clear discernment of the 
order and bearings of the words of God, and a clear 
declaration of them in that same order and bearing. 
Dr. Chalmers, lecturing to his divinity students, touches 
on this important point by the way and says, "I have 
heard my deceased friend, Robert Hall, say of many 
preachers in England, that they were so encumbered 
with the dogmas of their creed as positively not to 
know in what terms so to lay down the gospel as that 
a plain man should know how to take it up." This 
from many causes obtains everywhere, and it can only 
be remedied in the way we suggest. 

Third. He must have preparation of heart as well 
as of mind. Indeed, heart-power is what he needs most. 
It is heart that deals with heart. The fire that glows 
and burns in one heart will touch and melt others. 
Love alone unlocks the palaces of love. The life of the 
Christian is mighty to convert. It, of itself, readies 
the heart and makes conquest of the will without a 



Loins Girded and Lights Burniiig. 53 

word. The African traveler, H. M. Stanley, furnishes 
out of liis own experience an impressive illustration. 
He says, "In 1877 I went to Livingstone as prejudiced 
as the biggest atheist in London. To a reporter and 
correspondent such as I, who had only to deal with 
wars, mass-meetings and political gatherings, senti- 
mental matters were entirely out of my province. But 
there came for me a long time for reflection. I was out 
there away from a worldly world. I saw this solitary 
old man there and asked myself, 'How on earth does 
lie stop here ? is he cracked, or what ? what is it that 
inspires him?' For months after we met I simply 
found myself listening to him, wondering at the old 
man carrying out all that was said in the Bible — 
'Leave all and follow Me.' But little by little his 
sympathy for others became contagious ; my sympathy 
was aroused ; seeing his piety, his gentleness, his zeal, 
his earnestness, and how he went quietly about his 
business, I was converted by him, although he had not 
tried to do it. How sad that the good old man should 
have died so soon ! How joyful he would have been if 
he could have seen what has since happened there." 
Oh to have this Christlike character which works so 
mightily upon the hearts of others ! How then may 
the heart be prepared ? In many ways. 

1. By meditation on the Word till the fire burns 
within and diffuses its heat and spreads its light and 
moves mightily the whole man. Whitefield gives us 



54 Working for ycsus. 

his experience in these precious sentences : " I began 
to read the Holy Scriptures (upon my knees), laying 
aside all other books and praying over, if possible, 
every line and word. This proved meat indeed and 
drink indeed to my soul. I daily received fresh life, 
light, and power from above. I got more true knowl- 
edge from reading the Word of God in one month than 
I could ever have acquired from all the writings of men. 
In one word, I found it profitable for reproof, for cor- 
rection, for instruction in righteousness ; every way 
sufficient to make the man of God perfect, thoroughly 
furnished unto every good word and work." 

2. By communion with God. Communion with oth- 
ers may be beneficial, and sometimes quickening, but it 
is less by far than we need. Says John Milne, of 
Perth: "Communion with the best of God's people will 
not compensate for the loss of communion with Him- 
self." That girds the soul with strength, that fills the 
heart with heavenly joys, that fits for the conflict and 
the strife by imparting endurance and courage and con- 
stancy. William C. Burns says in his diary : " Nov. 1, 
1839. I spent the whole of this forenoon till half-past 
twelve in private with the Lord, and enjoyed more of 
his glorious presence humbling and elevating my soul 
than I have had for some time past when alone. Oh 
for a day every week to spend entirely in the secret of 
his presence !" We need not marvel that he goes on 
to tell us that he preached the same day at one o'clock 



Loins Girded and Lights Burning, 55 

in St. George's Church, to the genteel society of Edin- 
burgh, and that he " was carried far above the con- 
scious desire of trie favor and the conscious fear of 
man : and in preaching from Isaiah 42 : 21 I felt much 
more of the presence of the Holy Spirit enlightening my 
mind in the knowledge of Christ, and melting my heart 
under a view of his glory and his love, than I have for 
some time enjoyed in public." 

That saintly soul, Hedley Vicars, captain of the 
91th Kegiment, says, "Whenever I have been brought 
nearest to my Saviour, even 'into the holiest by the 
blood of Jesus,' I have been constrained and forced 
' while the fire burns f to ' speak with my tongue ' and 
to make use of the golden hours of communion with 
Jesus in the solitude of my chamber to publish when 
1 1 go without the camp ' what the Lord has done for 
my soul ; even for me, than whom a man more unde- 
serving of mercy does not exist." 

3. By the Divine bestowment of the Holy Spirit. 
That may be made through the study of the Word, or 
in communion — but it must be sought as a distinct 
blessing. "The preparation of the heart in man, and 
the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord." The Lord 
only can prepare our hearts by possessing them with 
the energy of the Holy Spirit. The Lord anointed 
Christ, according to Isaiah, to preach the good tidings. 
The apostles were forbidden to go forth into the world 
until they were endowed with power from on high. On 



56 Working for Jesus. 

the day of Pentecost the power of the Highest rested 
upon them and their words were weapons of might, 
pulling' down the strongholds of Satan, and setting free 
the prisoners. The energy of the Holy Ghost is what 
every one requires for success : without it there can be 
none. Without the Spirit's presence " we are like other 
men," powerless, profitless. " Ye shall receive power 
after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." Acts 1 : 8. 
Power with God and power with man. Without this 
all is vain, empty, formal. But with it a stone from the 
brook, rough and small, cast by a weak arm, will smite 
down blaspheming Goliaths and vanquish a host. 
Great stress is laid by us, in our carnal wisdom, on 
philosophic disquisitions, sublime thoughts, solid sen- 
tences, logically-linked arguments, grand discourses, 
with the accompaniments of a good presence, a proper 
delivery, and bewitching music ; but all these without 
" power from on high " only show our nothingness. 
Miss Adelaide Newton, whose aim in all her work was 
to win souls, one day asked her sister to share part of 
her district in distributing books and tracts. Her sister 
having observed how long she waited at the different 
doors, before going in, asked her the reason of this on 
the way home : "Do you always wait, when you knock 
at a door, till they open it?" "No," was her reply, 
11 but I always like to wait a moment before I knock, to 
ask for the Holy Spirit to be my mouth and teach me 
what to say in each house." " I have often thought of 



Loins Girded and Lights Bttrning. 57 

it since," her sister adds, " and have attributed to it 
her wonderful success among the poor whom she 
visited." 

It is our unspeakable privilege to claim the promise 
of the Father. It is ours. But we must claim it that 
we may be filled with the Spirit. For this we must 
take time. Tarry ye until ye be endued with power 
from on high. Are we not too often in overgreat 
haste ? We run before we are ready. We speak 
with undigested and disordered thought. We trust 
to our own skill and our own shrewdness, and so 
often fail. Ah, we require to wait on the Lord. 
Tarry till we receive power from on high. In this, 
patient waiting is no loss. Moreover, we need a 
thorough self-emptiness, that the Spirit may fill us. 
We need to be nothing, that God may be all in all. 
Thus, and thus only, shall we have a true heart 
and a right spirit— Christ's Spirit. A right spirit is 
the chief thing in ministry. Work done in a bad spirit 
is worse than spoiled, it is made evil. Dr. Nettleton, 
famous all over America as an evangelist in the begin- 
ning of this century, observes : "We may talk about 
the best means of doing good ; but after all the greatest 
difficulty lies in doing it with a proper spirit. Speaking 
the truth in love. In meekness instructing those that 
oppose themselves. With the meekness and gentleness of 
Christ. I have known anxious sinners drop the sub- 
ject of religion in consequence of a preacher addressing 



58 Working for Jesus, 

them in an angry tone." Hence the injunction, " Let 
the same mind be in you which also was in Christ." 
When the heart is subject to Divine preparation, then 
we gain that earnestness that consumes all obstacles 
as stubble ; that faith that accounts nothing impos- 
sible ; that tearful tenderness that subdues the most 
wayward spirit ; that patience that will wait, godlike, 
to be gracious ; that discrimination that of some has 
compassion, making a difference, and other saves with 
fear, pulling them out of the fire ; that charity that 
beareth all that things, believeth all things, hopeth all 
things, endureth all things. 

Fourth. There should also be much prayer made for 
those with whom we are dealing, that the Spirit of God 
may come down upon them, convicting them of sin, 
righteousness and judgment. We hold up Christ, we 
preach the truth of the gospel, but it is the power of 
the Highest which is needed to convert to God. Let 
us never go a-warfaring at our own charges. God must 
fight for us if we are to win the battle. His Spirit 
must carry home the Word, and take the fortress of the 
heart, and bring into subjection the whole nature. The 
wonderful work at the Kirk of Sholts in Scotland, in 
1636, called sometimes " the Covenanters' Pentecost,'' 
was the result, Dr. White of Edinburgh tells us, of the 
prayer of Lady Culross and her companions, who had 
waited on God all through the previous night. So may 
every gracious work be traced to some persistent plead- 



Loins Girded and Lights Burning* 59 

er at the throne of grace for the manifestations of divine 
power. We have many instances of this in the lives 
of Luther, Whitefield, Wesley, Burns, Finney, Moody, 
Spurgeon and every man used of God in the conver- 
sion of souls. Knox cried with lips and life and heart 
together, " Lord, give me Scotland or I die." And how 
grandly has that heart cry been answered ; what an 
uplifting influence Scotland has had on the world ! It 
has been one of its brightest examples as well as one of 
its greatest teachers in self-sacrificing devotion to Jesus 
Christ. 

Fifth. There must be added to this, faith in God. 
That is, such a resting in God that we shall feel confi- 
dent that his Word shall be fulfilled. Our Lord's word 
to his disciples, when they marvelled that the barren 
fig tree had perished at his rebuke, was, " Have faith in 
God." God's word never fails. Heaven and earth 
shall pass away but God's word shall not till all of it 
is fulfilled. How grand is the life of faith ! 

George Muller, of Bristol, whose life has been a 
nineteenth-century marvel, tells us what faith is. No 
doubt it will be a revelation to many of us. When he 
asked God for anything, and did not receive it at once, 
he asked again next day, and if the answer came not 
next day he kept on asking, day after day, week after 
week, month after month, year after year, five, ten, 
fifteen, twenty years, till the answer came. This is 
faith. He believed God. How much do we need that 



60 Working for Jesus. 

persevering faith, that overcoming faith, that conquer- 
ing faith in working for Jesus! "All things are pos- 
sible to him that belie veth." 

Having then these pre-requisites — a knowledge of 
salvation and the things that accompany it ; a mind 
full of the truth, well understood and divided ; a heart 
prepared by the power of the Holy Ghost, and much 
prayer offered for the manifestation of the Holy Spirit 
in those who hear the word, and firm faith in God's 
truth and faithfulness — go work to-day in God's vine- 
yard. Go tell the story of the cross plainly, pointed- 
ly, clearly, and simply, as God himself has told it. Tell 
it without any of the adornments of human wisdom, 
without any of the fine-spun conceits of human philos- 
ophy, without any of the improvements of human 
doctors. Just as it is, speak it. Have a firm and un- 
faltering faith in the pure and simple Word of God, It 
is God speaking on earth into dull and heavy ears. "The 
dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they 
that hear shall live." It is God's fire burning into the 
soul ; it is God's hammer breaking the stony heart. " Is 
not My word like as a fire ? saith the Lord ; and like a 
hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces ?" It is the 
sword of the Lord that pierces through every coat 
of armor and displays the hidden character. "The 
word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than 
any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing 
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and mar- 



Loins Girded ci7id Lights Burning. 61 

row, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of 
the heart." 

Paul counsels Timothy — and it is well to remember 
that he does so under the guidance of the Holy Ghost — 
to " preach the Word," and this counsel is given with 
solemn circumstance : " I charge thee, therefore, be- 
fore God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge 
the quick and the dead at his appearing and his king- 
dom, preach the Word ; be instant in season, out of 
season ; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering 
and doctrine." There is nothing like the Word, and 
nothing but the Word, for this warfare. Says one who 
had large experience : " When I first came to the uni- 
versity I applied myself diligently to my studies, think- 
ing human learning to be a necessary qualification for 
a divine, and that no one ought to preach unless he had 
taken a degree in the university. Accordingly I stud- 
ied the classics, mathematics, philosophy, logic, meta- 
physics, and read the works of our most eminent di- 
vines ; this I did for twenty years, and all the while 
was departing more and more from the truth as it is in 
Jesus, and vainly hoping to receive that light and in- 
struction from human wisdom which could only be had 
from the Word of God" The Word is the Spirit's own 
instrument ; as such we should ever honor it. 

There are many passages that have been specially 
blessed of God to the salvation of immortal souls, such 
as : " God so loved the world that he gave his only be- 



62 Working for Jesus. 

gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not 
perish, but have everlasting life ;" "Him that comcth 
unto Me I will in no wise cast out ;" " He suffered, the 
just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God ;" 
" He was wounded for our transgressions f "All we 
like sheep have gone astray, but the Lord hath laid on 
him the iniquity of us all ;" " Once in the end of the 
world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacri- 
fice of himself;" "And this is the record, that God hath 
given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." 
These tell the good news in a word, and they suggest 
man's deep need and man's great danger. Often it is 
needful to create a sense of need and a feeling of dan- 
ger ; that is done by the Holy Spirit through such 
scriptures as these : "All have sinned, and come short 
of the glory of God f " This is the condemnation, that 
light is come into the world, and men loved darkness 
rather than light, because their deeds were evil." In 
the Word, through the accompanying power of the Holy 
Ghost, there is everything that is required to give rest 
to the anxious, light to the darkened, joy to the sor- 
rowful, hope to the downcast, life to the dead. Then 
use faithfully the pure Word of the living God. Take 
opportunities and make opportunities for using it. Do 
not be afraid of bringing into prominence your own 
individuality. Are you sympathetic ? are you learned ? 
are you wise ? are you plain and honest ? are you fig- 
urative in your speech ? are you parabolic in your 



Loins Girded and Lights Burning. 63 

modes of thought ? are you diffident, but above all 
want to be used in rescuing some poor soul from the 
devouring sea ? Then be true to yourself as to your 
nature, and be true to God as to his truth, and go for- 
ward doing what you can ; what God gives you to do. 
Seek means to arrest attention, then speak the word. 
Get the ear, then reach out unto the heart. Speak the 
Word lovingly, largely, boldly. Do not be sparing of 
the seed. Your harvest will be according to your sow- 
ing. Let seeking the salvation of souls be your ruling 
passion. Concentrate your mind and heart and ener- 
gies here. Care not though the world may call you 
mad. Of Jesus they said, " He is beside himself;" and 
of his eminent follower, Paul, "Much learning hath 
made thee mad." The same honorable mention has 
been made of many since. "Would to God it were said 
of more from the same cause ! Burning earnestness 
and intense concentration are needed to do much in this 
godlike service. Said John Foster : " He who would 
do some great thing in this short life must apply him- 
self to the work with such a concentration of his forces 
as to idle spectators, who only live to amuse themselves, 
must look like insanity." Out of a loving heart speak 
of the unsearchable riches of the Saviour. Entreat 
men to come unto him. Beseech them to be reconciled 
to God. Warn them against delay. Press them to 
hear now, to believe to-day, to enter into the pos- 
session of peace that passeth knowledge without delay. 



64 Working for Jesus. 

The Saviour has suffered for sin ; the Spirit convinces 
of sin ; God waits graciously to forgive sin. Work, 
and go your way singing — 

"Where 'er I go I'll tell the story of the cross ; 
In nothing else my soul shall glory save the cross. 

Yea, this my constant theme shall he — 

Through time and in eternity — 
That Jesus tasted death for me on the cross." 




IV. 



" MY WORD SHALL NOT RETURN UNTO ME VOID."— 
Isaiah 55:11. 

mgJvNCOURAGEMENTS are not wanting to those 
/o -r^ o w ^° ^ a i tn ^ u ^y serve the Lord with gladness. 
N^-^i) Conscience in man is always, however 
seared or perverted, on the side of the Christian worker. 
It ever speaks for truth and right and God, even though 
its voice be smothered by mountain heaps of trans- 
gression. Even among the heathen, who had sunk into 
the dreadful conditions delineated in the first chapter of 
the Romans, we are told that their consciences bear 
witness, their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else 
excusing one another. The truth of God is fur the 
conscience, appeals to the conscience, arouses the con- 
science. It stirs up in the heart of man either an un- 
allayable uneasiness, or else rings its warning in his 
ear with clarion note. The word spoken without 
strengthens and encourages and makes more effective 
conscience within. The heart of man is also on the 
side of the Christian worker. Its bright hopes, its 
mighty aspirations, its unquenchable cravings, its deep 
5 



66 Working for Jesus. 

needs, and its boundless desires, can be realized only 
through faith in and union with Jesus. As Augustine 
saith, " Thou madest us for thyself, and our heart is 
restless until it rests in thee." 

The. Spirit of God is specially interested in the 
proclamation of Gospel truth. It is his office to take 
of the things of Christ and show them unto the soul. 
He testifies of Christ as he is lifted up on the cross. 
He carries the word home with convicting energy to 
the heart. He stands beside every faithful messenger 
of the Lord as he delivers his message and gives him 
guidance, and so illumines the Word that it shines in 
the mind like a sun and conquers the will for God. 

The chief hope of the man who utters the truth that 
saves is in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. 
It is his work to convince of sin because men believe 
not on Christ ; of righteousness, because Christ has 
gone to his Father ; and of judgment, because the 
prince of this world is judged. And he does this 
through the Word of God declaring Christ's putting 
away sin by the sacrifice of himself, bearing our sins 
in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sin 
should live unto righteousness. This is the sheet- 
anchor of the confidence of the herald of God's mercy in 
Christ Jesus. It is an inspiration that lifts up and 
sustains the soul. It is the Spirit that quickeneth. He 
quickens his minister and those who hear the message 
at his mouth. 



My Word Shall Not Return Void. 67 

The examples of successful working recorded in the 
Word and elsewhere strengthen faith. Look at that 
carpenter who is ever at work in the vineyard of the 
Lord : Harlan Page is his name. In the Sabbath-school, 
in the factory, in the boarding-house, in the work-room 
of the Tract Society, in the monthly concert of Sabbath 
school teachers, he is ever busy, instructing, winning, 
and inciting both sinners and saved. Consider that 
day-laborer, Robert Annan ; with tracts in hand for 
distribution, with chalk in pocket to write Scripture 
sentences on the pillars and pavements, and with love 
in his heart and ready words on his tongue, he is ever 
engaged for the glory of his Lord. No time is lost : 
his daily labor is dignified with duty for Christ per- 
formed, his nightly toil is that of angelic ministry in 
the lanes and closes of Dundee. Time would fail to 
speak of David Brainerd, Charles Finney, Legh Rich- 
mond, Charles Simeon, Billy Bray, Joseph Alleine, Alex- 
ander Patterson, Rowland Hill, William Carvosso, and 
the long line of Christ's Legion of Honor who have 
blessed this earth with their seraphic zeal and saintly 
presence and clustering fruits. What they accom- 
plished is within the reach of every one of us if we 
would but use our talents and opportunities well. 
What man has done man may do. 

The words of precious promise also cast their 
cheering light from the page of revelation into the 
heart with quickening energy. Have you been casting 



68 Working for Jesus, 

bread upon the waters, and do you long for its return ? 
fear not ; thou shalt find it not many days hence. God's 
word shall not return unto him void ; it shall accom- 
plish that which he pleaseth, and prosper in the thing 
whereto he sendeth it. It is the incorruptible seed. 
It may lie long, in dark, damp, hearts ; but, like the seed 
sown in the fields, ever and anon a ray of light will 
strike in upon it, and at length it will germinate and 
put forth, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn 
in the ear. The Rev. John Flavel preached a sermon 
at Dartmouth, England, from these words : " If any 
man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anath- 
ema, Maranatha." At the close of the service when he 
arose to pronounce the benediction he paused and said, 
" How shall I bless this whole assembly, when every 
person in it who loveth not the Lord Jesus Christ is 
Anathema, Maranatha?" The solemnity of this address 
deeply affected the audience, and one gentleman was so 
overcome by his feelings that he fell senseless to the 
floor. In the congregation was a lad named Luke 
Short, then about fifteen years old, and a native of Dait- 
mouth. Shortly after hearing the sermon he came to 
America, where he passed the rest of his life. He lived 
to be a hundred years of age, and even at that time his 
mental faculties were little impaired and his physical 
strength so good that he wrought on his farm. He had 
lived up to this time in carelessness and sin ; he was 
now a " sinner a hundred years old," and apparently 



My Word Shall Not Return Void. 69 

ready to " die accursed." But one day as he sat in his 
field he busied himself in reflecting on his past life. 
Recurring to the events of his youth his memory re- 
called FlaveFs discourse, a considerable part of which 
he was able to remember. The blessing of God accom- 
panied his meditations ; conviction was followed by re- 
pentance, and this aged sinner found peace. What an 
encouragement to use freely God's word ! It endureth 
forever. Therefore work on. "In the morning sow 
thy seed, in the evening withhold not thine hand ; for 
th.GU knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or 
that, or whether both shall be alike good." Blessed are 
ye that sow beside all waters ! He that goeth forth 
and weepeth, bearing precious seed r shall DOUBrLEss 
come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with 
him. Attend to the warning and receive the encour- 
agement the Lord gives through the Scripture: "This 
I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also spar- 
ingly ; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also 
bountifully." Your reaping shall be proportionate to 
your sowing. This is great encouragement to increase 
of love and labor, surely I 

There is another source of heart-quickening in this : 
that the Lord marks your service. He says, " I know 
thy works." How inspiring is the Saviour's eulogy of 
the woman who anointed him with the box of ointment 
of spikenard : " She hath done what she could." Right 
motives dignify the lowest labor : a holy intention 



JO Working for "jfesus. 

sheds a glory over it. Yours may be no dazzling ser- 
vices, no obtrusive, noisy doings. You cannot do much 
yet, but do what you can in the name of the Lord. 
Remember God has stars as well as suns in his system, 
and both serve his purpose. The brooklet that sings on 
its way to the sea does its work as well as the far-rolling 
Mississippi, or the great St. Lawrence, or the deep- 
resounding sea. And though your labor may be lowly 
it may through its earnest love gather into largeness 
by and by. It is not that which seems greatest that 
always is so. Samuel Martin says truly : " Many a 
quiet worker may be doing more for the kingdom of 
God than some others who have a name known through- 
out Christendom. If God gives us a name let us feel 
it as a trust ; but if not, let us remember that he 
knows our work and if we are working as his servants 
he thoroughly appreciates us." Oh, then, be encour- 
aged. God is with you, the Saviour's eye is upon you, 
the Holy Spirit is helping you. You shall succeed, you 
shall do good. " Let us not be weary in well-doing ; 
for in due season we shall reap if we faint not." 

"The smallest effort is not lost : 
Each wavelet on the ocean tossed 
Aids in the ebb-tide or the flow ; 
Each raindrop makes some floweret blow, 
Each struggle lessens human woe.'' 




V. 



ALWAYS ABOUNDING IN THE WORK OF THE LORD.— 
i Cor. 15 : 58. 

T^T^r OW much there is to stir the redeemed soul 
to unceasing labors ! If Paul's spirit was 
stirred within him when he saw the literary 
and philosophic Athens wholly given to idolatry, cer- 
tainly there is much more to move the heart of the fol- 
lower of Jesus to-day, as he sees on every hand hun- 
dreds of pretendedly pious and openly impious, men of 
repute and men of no repute — vile, vicious, virtueless — 
all rushing with, the madness of a mountain torrent into 
the mouth of hell. 

But none is beyond hope and redemption. The 
very worst are often the first to repent. In the minis- 
try of our Lord the lowest down in the mire of the 
world, crushed and bruised by its selfishness and sin, 
were the most accessible to the truth. The parable of 
the prodigal son has this lesson in it. He seemed quite 
gone, lost in every way, down in the dark depths, be- 
yond hope of recovery, but he repented, and came back 
to the Father's house and heart, and was royally wel- 



*]2 Working for Jesus. 

corned and feasted. The publicans and harlots pressed 
into the kingdom of God, while the self-righteous Phari- 
sees stood murmuring without. Never let us lose hope 
of an}', even the very worst. Christ Jesus is able to 
save unto the uttermost. Where sin abounds grace 
does much more abound. 

There is hope for the outcast, the sons of Belial, the 
children of evil, because they know what they are ; 
they feel their desperateness and destitution ; they are 
in their own estimation " sinners," and therefore ready 
to hear of deliverance and life ; as the man was to whom 
Jesus said, "Dost thou believe on the Son of GodV 
At once he answered and said, "Who is he, Lord, that 
I might believe on him ?" When Jesus told him, he 
believed and worshipped. Christlike dealing with the 
worst wins them. To touch them and show them re- 
spect heals their backslidings, as our Saviour's touch 
drove away the foul plague of the leper. Here, in the 
deeps, haste to the rescue ! This world lies under- 
ground in the dark ; night is its day ; evil its work ; 
death and damnation its wages. We often touch the 
outskirts of this land of woe where no bright hope casts 
its heartening ray. Let us enter it with light and love 
and life. " Is not the Lord gone out before us ?" 

There is another world, open to the sunlight but 
none the less in the arms of the wicked one. This is 
what we often call the religious world. The world that 
professes godliness but does not possess it ; that has 



Abounding In the Work of the Lord. j$ 

a name to live but is dead ; that has the form of god- 
liness but denies the power thereof. This religious 
world needs conversion and salvation and freedom 
from the thraldom of sin and Satan. It is deceiving 
itself with a mere name. It cares nothing for the true 
nature of a religious life, which is holy, self-sacrificing 
and separate from sinners. Ah me ! is not this so- 
called religious world without God ? at enmity against 
God ? It cries out in all its words and acts, " No 
God /" Satan's battle banner floats and flutters in every 
breeze. Thousands are perishing under his onsets. 
Thousands are tossed about and driven by his dark 
delusions. Their cry comes ringing out of their con- 
dition : " Come and help us /" Think of his machin- 
ery ! Consider his traps and snares ! The theatres 
draw down multitudes into darkness by ministering to 
their vices ; the concert-rooms and opera-houses carry 
away numberless crowds into captivity through sheer 
thoughtlessness ; the pleasure parties and the dance 
drive all seriousness from the mind ; the card tables, 
where precious time is spent as though it were worth- 
less, and not given for high uses — -the drinking houses, 
from the princely hotel to the miserable gin-shop — are 
recruiting-sergeants for the devil. 

Go a step or two higher, and think of the fashion- 
able impropriety of speaking plainly of the best inter- 
ests of the soul ; the " rudeness " charged against one 
who dares to defy conventional usages and speak out 



74 Working for Jesus. 

concerning the Lord Jesus ; the arrest laid upon true 
spirituality of thought and word and life by the strong 
and almost resistless tide of world-serving. Oh how 
plain it is that Christ and his brethren are in open re- 
jection. What incitement springs hence for working for 
Christ ! 

Add to these the announcement that " Time is 
short." Oh, how short ! While we read it flies, never 
to return. To-day never repeats itself. Once gone, 
with all its privileges and possibilities and opportuni- 
ties, it comes again no more. What an inciting force 
to earnest labor it is to consider that we go through this 
ivorld-scene but once. Leaving undone what we might 
do for Jesus to-day, it remains for ever undone. Let 
us then write this Scripture on our heart and eye and 
memory : Time is short ! Time is short ! and now is 
the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. 

Dr. A. H. Bonar once preached in St. Peter's, Dun- 
dee, upon the text, "Thine eyes shall see the King 
in his beauty." Mr. McCheyne said to him as they 
walked home together, " Brother, I enjoyed your ser- 
mon ; it was sweet. You and I, and many in our con- 
gregations, shall see the King in his beauty. But, my 
brother, you forgot there might be many listening to 
you to night who, unless they are changed by the 
grace of God, shall never see him in his beauty." How 
nobly faithful was that ! Grand indeed ! It is said 
that Dr. Bonar never after these words of kindly re- 



Abounding in the Work of the Lord, 75 

proof preached a sermon in which he did not commend 
Christ to the unsaved. This a lesson we need to keep 
in mind in connection with the truth that Time is short. 

Again, God is gracious, and is waiting, ever ready 
to receive and bless the returning prodigal. He cries, 
"Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die?" "Come unto 
Me, and I will give you rest." "Bim that cometh 
unto Me I will in no wise cast out." To prove and 
proclaim the genuineness of his love "He gave his 
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life." How en- 
couraging this is to us as we entreat men to be recon- 
ciled to God. 

We cannot make too much of the love of God. 
With our poor conceptions we dip it up as a child dips 
up the sea with a tea-spoon. Edward Irving's one sen- 
tence to the poor dying consumptive, " God loves 
you," transformed him. Henry Moorehouse's sermons 
on God's love enlightened the mind of Mr. Moody and 
gave bis thoughts of God marvellous enlargement. Oh 
press God's love ; pray that God's love may be believed, 
accepted, relied on. That is one of the mightest 
weapons to wield on human hearts 1 

Again, Eternity is near. Eternity in which every- 
thing is fixed for ever and ever. Eternity which is 
the life time of the immortal spirit. Eternity — who 
can measure it, who can describe it, who can conceive 
it aright ! Our brief life time here determines what 



76 Working for yesus. 

eternity is to be. As the tree falls so it must lie. The 
divine judgment is uttered in these words : " He that 
is unjust, let him be unjust still ; and he that is filthy, 
let him be filthy still ; and he that is righteous, let him 
be righteous still ; and he that is holy, let him be holy 
still." There is no change of moral condition in 
eternity, except it be that the soul sweeps on in the line 
of its development : the holy one becoming holier, the 
wicked growing more wicked. And in this way bless- 
ing coming more to the good, and cursing more and 
more to the bad. 

Christ says in connection with the words quoted 
above, " And, behold, I come quickly ; and my reward 
is with me, to give to every man according as his 
work shall be." Just think : a faithful word may alter 
everything. Robert Annan wrote " Eternity," on the 
pavement and it changed hearts as hard as stone. 
Work for eternity is great work. Everything dwin- 
dles before it into nothingness. What inspiration is 
here to diligence and persevering effort ! 

Again, a dreadful doom awaits the lost. They 
" shall go away into everlasting punishment." For ever 
and ever shall they be in misery unspeakable. The 
smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever. 
Oh, to save men from such an end I It is awful to 
think of ; what shall it be to endure ? Beloved, cry 
aloud, and spare not. Warn, exhort, entreat every 
man to flee from the wrath to come. Ah ! this is writ- 



Abounding in the Work of the Lord, jy 

ten on the walls of hell, which every eye sees and every 
hearts feels : Wrath to come I Wrath to come! Wrath 
to come ! 

If we rightly appreciate the salvation we have in 
Christ ; if we rejoice in there being no condemnation 
now to us, but life, sonship, and blessing ; and if our 
eyes are open to see the unrenewed in their guilt, under 
the delusions of the evil one, and if we have hearts to 
feel for them, surely we have power to work for their 
salvation : surely we cannot rest until we do. To be the 
means of saving one soul from death is to gain more 
than a world can bestow in all its fame, honor, glory, 
goods, and gifts. Then, beloved, work on, work on I 
Be diligent, be earnest, be entirely devoted. Dr. Ly- 
man Beecher, shortly before his death, was asked by 
a friend, " What is the greatest of all things V To 
whom he answered, " It is not theology, it is not con- 
troversy, but it is to save souls." John Berridge, that 
devoted servant of the Lord, seeing the utter ignorance 
of the way of salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ that prevailed throughout England, entered 
largely into evangelistic work, preaching on all oc- 
casions and at all times. This gave great offence to 
his idle brother-clergymen ; they therefore complained 
of him to the bishop, who sent for him and reproved 
him for preaching at all hours and on all days. " My 
lord," said he, modestly, " I preach only at two times." 
''Which are they, Mr. Berridge?" "In seasou and 



78 Working for Jesus. 

out of season, my lord." So, beloved, preach " in 
season and out of season." Never be idle. Learn to 
sing from the heart, 

" 'T is sweet to work for Jesus 

In this life's little day ; 
To spread abroad the joyful sound, 

As those forgiven may ; 
To tell His loving-kindness, 

His promises so true, 
To urge the young that they may come 

And trust this Saviour too. 

"'T is sweet to work for Jesus ; 

Be this our one desire, 
Our purpose still to do His will, 

Whatever He require. 
No action is too lowly, 

No work of love too small ; 
If Christ hut lead, we may iudeed 

Well follow such a call. 

*' 'Tis sweet to work for Jesus ; 

Oh weary not of this, 
But onward press with cheerfulness 

Though rough the pathway is. 
Hold on, unmoved and patient, 

Till He shall call thee home, 
With joy to stand at God's right hand 

To serve before the throne.'' 

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, 
unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, 
forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain 
in the Lord." 




VI. 



LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAY.-Matt. 28:20. 



YT often happens that the one who works for 
Jesus in seeking the salvation of men has to 
work for a time all alone. He is a solitary 
standard bearer. Her majesty's recruiting ser- 
geant usually has a fife and drum attending him, as he 
goes forth decked out to attract recruits to his regi- 
ment ; but the King's servant fares forth in more hum- 
ble guise. He carries the good news of a salvation 
he himself enjoys in his heart. He finds none who 
have sympathy with him, none likely to support him. 
He has through his own faithful dealing to raise 
up individuals like-minded with himself, who may 
stand beside him and his work ; and until this takes 
place he must endure hardness as a good soldier of 
the Cross. He must take up his cross and follow 
Christ. And then he will realize, as Jesus declared, that 
he is not alone, for the Father is with him. Paul was 
often alone in his brave battle, but he too had to say, 
when no man stood by him, but all forsook him ; 



8o Working for Jesus, 

" Nevertheless the Lord stood with me, and strength- 
ened me." Ah, is it not worth much to be forsaken 
of men just that we may be favored of God ? Our 
extremity is God's opportunity. It is not an evil 
without compensation to be alone witnessing for God. 
No doubt, it is a greater trial but out of it come 
greater triumphs. It is a harder fight to stand alone 
and endure the contradiction of sinners against one's 
self, but when the victory is gained it is rich in 
satisfactions. 

What may one man do ? Some may be ready to 
say, and to say thoughtlessly, Hardly anything. What 
is one among so many ? One counts for nothing ! 
One can do nothing ! And so thoughtless unbelief goes 
on, forgetting both facts and declarations. What does 
God say ? One shall chase a thousand, and two put 
ten thousand to flight. " One thousand shall flee at 
the rebuke of one." Isa. 30 : 17. Did not our Lord 
tread the winepress alone ? Did not his solitary arm 
bring salvation ? and is it not a fact in the history of 
the world that much of the best work has been done 
by individuals, singlehanded. Think of Livingstone's 
life and work in Equatorial Africa ; of Robert Mof- 
fat's work in Southern Africa ; of Paton's work in 
the New Hebrides ; of Dr. Geddie's work in the same 
group of islands, which when he arrived had not a 
Christian, and when he left had not a pagan ; of Dr. 
Mackay's work in Northern Formosa ; of the woik 



Lo, I Am With You Alway. 81 

of John Pounds among the waifs of Portsmouth ; of 
Robert Raikes' work among the children of Gloucester, 
which set the key for a music the world has been 
singing every since ! 

Dr. Cameron Lees in his "Life and Conduct" ob- 
serves : " The greatest works that have been done have 
been done by the Ones. No learned society discovered 
America, but one man, Columbus. No parliament 
saved English liberties, but one man, Pym. No con- 
federate nations rescued Scotland from her political and 
ecclesiastical enemies, but one man, Knox. By one 
man, Howard, our prisons were purified. By one wo- 
man, Miss Nightingale, our.disgraceful nursing system 
was reformed. By one, Clarkson, the reproach of slavery 
was taken away. God in all ages has blessed individual 
effort, and if we are strong enough to take up any 
special line of benevolent and Christian work that seems 
open to us we should not shrink from it.' 7 Let us never 
forget Christ's words, " Alone, yet not alone, for the 
Father is with me." There is a splendid spiritual 
culture and training in this high consciousness. How 
much we can bear because of it — all the reproach 
and all the contempt and contumely that may be cast 
upon us. Did not the people say to Jesus : " Thou 
hast a devil''? Did not his friends say : " He is beside 
himself"? Did not Festus say to Paul with a loud voice 
(showing how deeply he was moved), "Paul, thou 
art beside thyself: much learning doth make thee 
6 



82 Working for Jesus, 

mad "? And at the judgment seat of Pilate did not the 
Jews cry out against Christ, " Crucify him ! Crucify 
him "f The esteem in which even professedly religious 
people held the earnestness and zeal of such saintly 
men as Robert M. McCheyne and Andrew A. Bonar 
is seen in such a question as this, asked touching 
McCheyne : " How are you getting on with that wild 
man from Dundee?" and the reply being, "Mr. 
Bonar is bad enough, but that man is ten times 
waur." 

When Richard Knill began to distribute tracts to 
the militia at Barnstaple they formed a circle about 
him and swore at him till he wept. And so is it in 
this lost world always. " Therefore the world hateth 
you" because you are not of it. This is the seal of 
the God- sent man. And it has its uses. It frequently 
make the truth memorable to the persecutor. The 
very heat of his heart harrows it up to receive and to 
remember the truth. It is thereby planted deep, 
and in course of time it puts forth its gracious and 
saving power. This anger is a thousand times better 
than stolid indifference. When it rises one ought to 
follow the practice of Duncan Matheson at the Scotch 
Fairs. When a row was made to stop his preaching he 
kept on uttering God's words of invitation and warn- 
ing and entreaty to sinful and rebellious men. Many 
hearts did they enter like fiery arrows, from which there 
was no rest till rest was found in Christ. 



Lo, I Am With You Alway, 83 

Another use of this opposition and conflict is that 
it puts to proof the faith of the worker. Its strain 
tests all his graces. It helps to bring out his strength, 
and to take away his fear of man, and to make him 
look to God. It removes him from the deceits of self- 
confidence to rest on the strong arm of the Lord. It 
gives him courage and self-control and ease in the most 
difficult positions. And so it makes him an inspiration 
to others. As the oak is strengthened by the tempest, 
and the sailing vesel pushed onward by the storm, so 
is the Christian worker benefited by his adverse ex- 
periences. As the frost of winter mellows the hard 
clods of earth in the field so do these miserable and 
dreary days break down the stiff clay of self-conceit 
and self-trust in the soul, and make it more produc- 
tive of true faith and love and goodness. These are 
among the " all things" that "work together for good 
to them that love God and are the called according to 
his purpose.'' In doing honestly what God wants us 
to do we need never fear as to the results, either tem- 
poral or eternal. 

" Stand up ! stand up for Jesus ! 

Ye soldiers of the cross ; 
Lift high his royal banner, 

It must not suffer loss. 
From victory unto victory 

His army shall he lead, 
Till every foe is vanquished 

And Christ is Lord indeed. 



84 Working for Jesus. 



1 ' Staud up ! stand up for Jesus ! 

Stand in his strength alone : 
The arm of man will fail you ; 

Ye dare not trust your own ; 
Put on the gospel armor, 

And, watching unto prayer, 
Where duty calls or danger 

Be never wanting there." 





VII. 

GIVE ATTENDANCE TO READING.— I Tim. 4 : 13. 

10AUL the aged lays this command on Timothy, 
r his son in the gospel : " Give attendance to 
reading." And this seems to stand in vital 
connection with other things of moment. " Till I come, 
give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 
Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given 
thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the 
presbytery. Meditate upon these things ; give thyself 
wholly to them ; that thy profiting may appear to all. 
Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine ; continue 
in them ; for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself 
and them that hear thee." In the second epistle Paul 
tells him to "do the work of an evangelist" — just the 
work to which every saved soul is called : to testify 
of Christ's saving power, to preach the word of the 
gospel, to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love 
to all who have not yet accepted him within the limits 
of his world. 

Now, in doing this, freshness of heart, fullness of 
statement, and scriptural proportion in doctrine are 



86 Working for Jesus. 

needed, and therefore attendance must be given to 
reading", that the message may be from God, and at 
the same time fitted for the minds of those to whom 
each one is sent. But some one may ask, Read what ? 
First and foremost, the Bible. Such an acquaintance 
should be had with that, from Genesis to Revelation, 
that God's thoughts, God's laws, God's picturesque fore- 
shadowings of Christ and his work as a Redeemer in 
the Old Testament, and the fulfillment of all in the 
New, should be clearly seen. Throughout the whole it 
is one gospel : salvation by substitution ; salvation by 
an atoning sacrifice ; the Just dying for the unjust ; 
the blood making atonement for the soul. This read- 
ing underlies everything in the life of a godly man. It 
stands related to everything. It keeps his doctrine 
sound, his statements certain and clear cut, his work 
good, and his own life pure and happy. Chrysostom 
learned the Bible by heart. That is where the Hebrew 
Psalmist put God's Word, in the hiding of his heart. 

Isaac Ambrose, who wrote two large volumes on 
u Looking unto Jesus," always set apart one month in 
the year for seclusion in a hut in a wood at Garstang. 
That is the secret of power : converse with God through 
his Word. Thence the message comes fresh as water 
from the spring, and satisfying to every hearer. 

But there are other books besides the Bible. The 
Bible must ever be the One Book, but we may read 
others, especially those that are freighted with holy 



Give Attendance to Reading, Sy 

thought and Christian feeling, those that will nourish 
our life with large experiences and wide knowledge of 
divine things. To-day there are many of these : books 
that will charge the atmosphere about us with spiritual 
ozone ; that will keep our minds clear in their views of 
saving truth, and our hearts mellow and sympathetic 
with sinful men in their lost condition. We mention 
them, not in order of merit, but as they come. 

There are the books of one of the choicest spirits in 
America, Dr. Theodore Cuyler, late of Lafayette Avenue 
Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn, Take his " Newly En- 
listed" and his " Heart Life" for a tonic. Dr. Cuyler 
always grips the heai"t and girds one with power for 
every good work. 

There is "American Heroes in the Mission Field" — 
stcries of godly and self-sacrificing heroism, and ear- 
nest toil for the spiritual welfare of the millions lying 
in heathen darkness. There are the lives of Henry 
Havelock, the soldier, John G. Paton, and Uncle John 
Yassar, foreign and home missionaries laden with 
wisdom and fired with zeal and indefatigable in labor. 
They carry one into an atmosphere that is bracing, and 
invigorate his soul with the loftiest considerations and 
present to it the noblest examples. 

There are the story of " Mary Jones and her Bible," 
and the life of Mary Lyon, and the life of Dr. Duff, 
all laden with the myrrh and cassia of the blessed 
gospel. 



88 Working for Jesus. 

" Christie's Old Organ n may be read with great ad- 
vantage, as it illustrates with a beautiful and sweet sim- 
plicity the way of life. V Jessica's First Prayer " gives 
another side of the same kind of holy Christlike service. 

The life of Duncan Matheson, the Scottish evan- 
gelist, is brimful of interest and spiritual power, and 
its suggestion is exceedingly rich and varied ; while 
that of Harlan Page, the devoted depositary of the 
American Tract Society, shows how seeking the 
spiritual good of men may be woven like threads of 
gold into the web of an engrossing occupation. How 
numerous are the books, great and small, that might be 
proposed as spiritual stimuli to the Christian worker : 
the lives of Asahel Nettleton, Philip Henry, Edward 
Payson, Francis Ridley Havergal, David Brainerd, 
Adelaide Newton, John Vine Hall, Fidelia Fiske, 
Brownlow North, Agnes Jones, and many others 
of kindred spirit : all quickening, uplifting, enlight- 
ening and strengthening. Perusing them we hold 
a very close and real fellowship with the best. One 
cannot do better than saturate his soul with them. 
Drink deeply into them. Read, and read, and read 
them again. They are not abstract treatises of truth. 
They are the truth alive, truth transmuted into experi- 
ences, truth embodied in feelings and in actions, just 
what every worker requires : truth in all its sweet at- 
tractiveness and glorious power ; truth in the living 
person. 



Give Attendance to Reading. 89 

It matters much with whom we hold communion. 
We catch their accent, we look along their line of 
vision, we breathe their spirit, we think and feel with 
them. They color and character our life. Their influ- 
ence plays upon us and in the most subtle way trans- 
forms us, changes us into their likeness. How impor- 
tant, therefore, is it that we should be much with Christ, 
ever with Christ and those who are near to him and in 
living fellowship with him ; whose faces are full of his 
light, whose hearts are full of his love, whose lives are 
full of his power, who are channels of his grace. Then 
shall we ever be ready to witness a good confession. 
We shall be in line. To do something will require no 
effort, no stepping up into new conditions. We are in 
the right conditions constantly, being in fellowship with 
Jesus. Then we never can be taken at unawares. Like 
the Roman sentinel, we shall always be at our post, on 
the alert, doing the Master's will ; transmitting the 
healing light and virtue that come to us ; being dis- 
tributers of the mercy and grace of God. Then shall 
we, all through our new life in Christ, do what Dr. Sam- 
uel Johnson did to his physician on his death-bed — de- 
clare that there is no salvation but in the propitiatory 
sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 



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